Down the Rabbit Hole

In the US, Thanksgiving is a nationwide holiday, traditionally centred about giving thanks for a bountiful harvest. It's akin to the religious  Pahiyas Festival in Lucban, Quezon but Thanksgiving is more secular and less colourful in nature. Typically, a Thanksgiving dinner has roasted turkey as a centrepiece. This year, we didn't have turkey. Instead, we had grilled ribs, baked macaroni, bread, mashed potatoes, and vegetables... and ice cream! Our family has a lot to be thankful for this year. We're particularly blessed because (among many other blessings) Gabriel has given us so much happiness for the past year; Ate Maddie is graduating magna cum laude  from her nursing program; Daddy's working as a stationary engineer; Kuya Allan started working in his dream job in San Jose; and Tita Babie and Tito Donnie finally got their church wedding. Not everyone is in this picture because our family's big party is Christmas.

Week 1 The doctor had told me, during my last check-up, to start drinking pre-natal vitamins with folic acid to allow my body to create ample nutrient stores, just in case Val and I become successful with getting pregnant. Anna and I went to Walgreens and I purchased a bottle of Rainbow Light Pre-Natal tablets prior to flying out. During my vacation in the Philippines, I started drinking it. Week 2 The ClearBlue digital ovulation prediction test kit showed a positive result! What a timing: Val and I were travelling by airplane and I was wondering if the stress of flying would affect my hormones. It must have, because I was quite emotional during our trip. One day, I noticed that there's a dark spot on my cheek that I haven't seen before. I dismissed it as some uneven skin colouration because I have been under the sun a lot the past few days; the skin peeling off my shoulders and my dark arms were proof of that (first, the hike in Korea, then the walking tours in Sing