3D Echo

One of the most amazing things i have done lately is a 3D echo. On week 27 I decided to figure out what exactly is happening in my belly.The whole time I had an echo i only see like the shape and still can't immagine a baby inside of me. The 3D echo shows as if it is like real laying on the couch... I was so impressed!!! I fell in Love with the picture below...

It is Boy and he is adorable, he was smiling at some point and almost crying at another point. he was holding his toe Foot at a moment and at another moment he was sucking on the umbilical cord...

I cant forget his face... I keep looking at him and i keep missing him. I cant wait to meet him!!!

Being a Mother in the Netherlands

     Become a mother while living in the Netherlands i find it one of the most beautiful things. Too many advantages this country offers.

1)  As an IT consultant you would think asking for part time means being fired at least in the US world. Well last week i asked if that is possible and there was no hesitation. At least here once you have a contract they can't just fire you or say sorry we don't support your needs. One of my good friend in the US had to quit her job since her company refused to let her work 80 % which is 4 days a week.

2) When i am at work and not feeling good it is my right to just go home and relax. I dont have to use my vacation hours or being unpaid for the sick days. isn't that wonderful!!!

3)One of the most beautiful things to be a mother in the Netherlands is the biking with kids. I always had a nice mountain bike or a road bike. For my Birthday my husband bought me the " MAMA FIETS" a bike for mothers...

I love my new bike and i cant wait to put my little one on it. I think it is amazing. the Creche where my little one will go to it is few km away from my house. How cool would that be to drop the baby at the creche while biking.... I wont install the rear seat yet but i have the option to have the baby car seat  installed on my bike... So really i dont have to wait until my kid is old enough to sit on the bike in order to have a good time together on the bike.

4) On of the crazy things that is possible in the Netherlands it is the Option of delivering your baby at home. Sounds crazy and for sure it is not an option for me, but thinking deep about it, it sounds so cool.

Delivering a child while you are in your own bed....hmmm

I can go on and on about being a mother in the Netherlands. Being lebanese and living in the US for almost 10 years, i think i am blessed to have my first baby here and not anywhere else :)

Lebanese Lentil soup

      Today I felt cooking one of my favorite recipes. When I used to run my long runs on sunday i used to have this recipe the night before. It really gives the same boost as pasta ...  This is a popular, healthy lentil dish that can be found all over the Middle East. My version is Lebanese and i really recommend it!

Het is echt lekker!!

Ingredients

•   1 lb black lentils 

•   3 Crushed garlic cloves 

•   16 onces chopped coriander or Fresh Spinash

•   3/4 cup lemon juice 

•   dashes of Salt and pepper

•   1 tablespoon dried mint, crushed

Directions

Put the lentils, garlic, coriander, onions and mint into the pot. Pour in enough water so that it is about 2 inches deeper than the lentil mixture. 

Bring to a boil; reduce heat to medium. Simmer, uncovered, until lentils are tender, about 20 minutes. If soup gets too thick, add a little more water. Salt to taste. Lower heat and stir in lemon juice.

EET SMAKELIJK!

Celebrating our 2nd wedding Anniversary

       I dont believe i have been living in the Netherlands and married for 2 years. Honestly time flies, it is a little bit scary. There should be a way to stop the clock :)
Last year we didn't really celebrate our anniversary because i was catching a flight to lebanon to run a 10 km race.

This year we decided to take a long weekend and go to Maastricht.
 Maastricht is one of the oldest towns in the Netherlands and has a long history as a strategically important location. Maastricht is on this strange peninsula of the Netherlands which juts out from its bottom right corner into what should be, by all 

rights, Belgium. This peninsula is surrounded on the south and the west by Belgium, and by Germany on the east. There’s a distinct difference in the way Dutch is spoken here, much softer and without much of the throat-scraping and spittle-inducing consonants. In other words, much more Belgian.

The town has a more Belgian feel to it as well. It’s an old town with small cobblestone streets and quaintly off-kilter house fronts.

The town is amazing! We stayed a the BeauMont Hotel. A really nice Hotel, they have very comfortable beds :) We shopped till we dropped. I was so excited to buy new baby clothes.We also visited Magraten, i was speechless. The World War II Netherlands American Cemetery and Memorial is the only American military cemetery in the Netherlands. It was exactly what i usually see in movies, i couldn't imagine a more beautiful cemetery.

I am so blessd to have a wonderful Husband. We were remembering our wedding day, it seems like yesterday but at the same time we have done so much since that day!! Here some pictures of one of the best day of my life. 

My Beaitiful Parents

Me and My Beautiful sister

The church we got married In
" Cathedrale St Paul"

I announce you Husband and Wife :)

Cake Time and 200 guests for the cake

My phtoshoot 

Before and after pregnancy

Now i am 25 weeks pregnant ...time flies but at the same time i still have 15 weeks to go. At this moment I am really enjoying being pregnant but at the same time all these changes to my body could be sometimes overwhelming.
All my life i was a fit healthy lady and i always thought when i get pregnant i will just have a little bump but things dont always go the way we want especially when we dont have control over these things....

the first three months i was really sick, i had to eat every two hours and i couldnt do any activities... By the end of the 3rd month the weight started to pile up...from month 3 until month 6 my energy came back i mange 3 workouts a week....it feels great to be able to run or go on the elliptical and do something... Normally i workout to raise my heart rate and sweat and feel good but now it is a total different story... i workout to stay in shape and mainly to feel good about myself... Absolutely no intensity or working out till out of breath...While running or whatever exercise i am doing i ll be sure to be able to talk without loosing breath....

I thought it is nice to share some pictures. Here a photo of me before pregnancy.

And here another picture of me at 25 weeks....

Today i went to work with the cutest shirt on.... i post a picture below...

i cant wait to meet my baby and i cant wait to start running until i am out of breath :))) i miss running so much and i hope i will get the ABS i used to have before pregnancy ...