Journey of a Kumquat: Week 74 and week 26

So Charlotte is finally better... what began as a weekend of the same crap (so to speak) of 4 times a day diarrhea got better as of Friday - with no poo overnight! Yes! I think that the whole experience is far more manageable without overnight poo! (Christ, I never thought I would be writing so much about poo). So Charlotte's disposition has never really been affected by this, so after a steady diet of chicken congee and other bland foods we splurged and took her to Fat Boys for burgers on Saturday (rather decent though I think that they mix chopped onions in their meat - blah - I am not a fan of other things besides meat and seasonings) where of course Charlotte nicked the steak cut French fries because she is a French fry nicker (carb whore anyone? I suppose I could learn my lesson with this with this pregnancy but I like carbs! And I hate feeling hungry while pregnant). Anyway - this resulted in a climactic poo that smelled (and looked - bleh) of French fries. And this ended our active engagement with rotavirus! Charlotte has since slept well and is back to her once a day poo routine. We started her back on milk on Monday and everything seems copacetic. Wow are we relieved!

Our friend Jenn visited from Hong Kong this weekend and we ate at the aforementioned Fat Boys and at the high tea at the Ritz Carlton (where she was staying). Wow - the high tea was amazing! The nicest one I have ever been to - elegant but not pretentious as the one at the Peninsula in Hong Kong. The desserts were well presented and delicious! My biggest complaint about the high teas are the desserts that mostly taste the same - little petit fours that, aside from color, are virtually indistiguishable from each other - not the case here. The ambience was bright and verdant (the lobby lounge is adjacent to a garden) and they had a guitar/piano duo playing Burt Bacharach and Jack Johnson covers. The guitar player was smitten by Charlotte's unabashed dancing, as were two Japanese women who were initially confused by seeing Matt carry Charlotte around until they saw me approach and I confirmed that yes, indeed, I am the mother. The teas were both traditional and modern - Jenn and I ordered the hot tea while Matt ordered a peach iced one that came with 'tea' ice cubes. The chocolate souffles closed our meal with a flourish - they are served in these tiny ramekins that are indeed generous given the richness of the dessert. Forty six smacks was a lot for a tea but a great value for money for the experience... at least I thought so.

Charlotte has begun biting her nails! I think that this has been going on for a while but I have only caught on to it recently. She bites them before she goes to bed. She doesn't do a bad job of it - her nails look tidy and she doesn't bite them to the quick... I am not sure how to curtail this as she seems to do this before she goes to bed at night.

Regarding the pregnancy - I am feeling more stiff and achy since Charlotte was getting up at night - when I get up too I feel rather unable to move when I get up in the morning. This is frustrating to me. I also have begun pregnancy yoga and walking - as I have been somewhat lazy to exercise I am trying to be better for the mental aspects more than anything really (though the yoga helps as the delivery can be very physically demanding - from what I remember). Since she has slept better my aches have subsided a bit - but I must accept that this is part of the new normal of this pregnancy.

Ok - on with the pictures...

Charlotte likes hamburger places, ok, she likes the fries...