Best Card Ever

Yesterday morning Jaren woke up and told me "Happy to be Mother's Day" then went on to explain that he could NOT find a "soon to be Mother", Mother's Day card so he was going to make me one. I was actually glad. Jaren said he was going to use crayons!

He was busy all day. 2 hours before church he was out checking water (starting, stopping, making sure enough fertilizer is there). We went to church and had to come home for the 2nd hour so I could eat and he went out again. He came back, we left for the third hour and then we came home, he changed and went out again. I read for about half an hour then fell asleep. He came home while I was sleeping and he fell asleep, too. We woke up just in time to leave to his parent's house for dinner and then came home. He left AGAIN. He was gone ALL DAY! He was finally home around 8 and made me my card. I had been bugging him, "where is my card?" "when are you going to make my card?" I wasn't going to let him off the hook - he's never done anything like this before and I was very excited.

He went off with the crayons and a piece of paper and came back with this:
Of course, I'm full of hormonal crazies so I cried.
My favorite part is the belly. I said, "I love how you made my belly so big" to which he responded, "well, you had to know there was a baby in there." As if the baby arrow doesn't tell you. :)

He is wonderful and I think I'm going to make it mandatory that he just color me a card for everything from now on.

My Shiny New Toy

Now if I could just figure out how to turn it on.

Bye Bye First Trimester

Hello second.

I hear I have less peeing to look forward to. More belly growing, more energy, fetal movement and I'm VERY excited about finding out the gender (on June 2nd).

But I want to reflect on the last 3 1/2 months.

LOTS and LOTS of trips to the bathroom. One day, by noon I realized I had made so many trips that I counted 9 times so I counted the rest of the day and it ended up being SEVENTEEN times in one day! It led me to wonder how much time in a persons life is spent traveling to the restroom. Not even how much time is spent in there - let's not think about that, but traveling time. Whether your in your own house or a grocery store, the mall, class, the wilderness. I wonder, if you take how much time it takes to get from wherever you started (the couch, a tree, a desk, the ice cream isle...) to get to the actual restroom... how many hours, days, weeks would that add up to in your lifetime? I've never had that thought until pregnant. Thought provoking, huh. ;)

I mentioned a few posts ago about finding out we were expecting. I hope its like that every time because that was a pretty magnificent reaction. Telling people was so much fun. I think I assumed everyone would be very excited for us, but that wasn't the case a few times. I wasn't prepared for that and it was hard. Some people just need to digest before they can be excited and that's fine. I was pleasantly surprised at how the boys on Jaren's side reacted (his dad and grandpa). A lot more visible excitement than I thought and it made me VERY happy. We are having the first grandbaby on Jaren's side and the 7th on mine (but I'm the first daughter to get knocked up).

Telling my Young Women girls was the best. I teach the 14 and 15 year olds and I decided I wanted to play hang man. If I didn't have enough time I was going to put "november third" and then tell them that was the official date I needed a baby sitter. But I had ten minutes so I made it super long "whitney is making a person right now" It was long on the board with all the little lines for letters. It couldn't have worked out more perfectly. I couldn't put the word "baby" because the second they guessed that word they would have known. They guessed all of the letters except the "m" and the "k" in "making". They stopped guessing letters and tried to guess the one word; "whitney is dating someone right now??...... whitney is hating a person right now??....." So I told them to keep guessing letters. Someone guessed an "m" so I just wrote in the "k" and sat there with a huge grin on my face. Finally the other leader after a few seconds says.... "wait.. are you pregnant?!" I said yes and there was the loudest screaming I've ever heard. All four of my girls screamed bloody murder and then were squealing and asking questions after. I was beaming. We got out of class and people in the halls were coming worried that we had had some horrific accident. So they had fun telling everyone. It made me happy that they were so excited. And now every time I see them, "Your belly is getting bigger! It's WAY bigger than last week!!" And that makes me love them even more.

My nausea was on and off. It happened every day in the morning and at night and sometimes during the afternoon until 11 weeks. 7up was my saving grace. I took ginger and vitamin B6 pills to help. I think they helped some, but I didn't notice a huge difference. I started taking my prenatals at night and that helped quite a bit. At 11 weeks it let up. Wasn't as strong all the time and some days I didn't have it at all. As of now I've felt pretty good the last few days, it's just when I'm hungry that I start to feel a little sick, but by no means nauseaus.

I am SO THIRSTY. I have never drank so much water in a day in my whole life. Yes, probably doesn't help with my squashed bladder situation, but it tastes SO GOOD. I down at least 80 ounces a day - it's pretty amazing.

I've not been as tired as I would have thought. There's only been a few days that I've really really needed a nap. But... the exhaustion is supposed to let up for this trimester, but the last few days I have been very, very tired. I'm worried I'm all mixed up. I need my energy to get my house spotless and the nursery ready and everything finished before I get too huge to do anything.

The cramping. I found out I was pregnant on a Friday and the cramping started on the Monday before that. So, from day one I have had it. It has got progressively worse. Stronger and more often. It's getting to be a bit more painful which isn't the most fun at times, but I'm not at all worried. I'm going to talk to my doctor about it next week at my next appointment, but since it's been going on the whole time and so far everything is fine I'm not worried. It's just inconvenient and really uncomfortable.

I got my Bella Band yesterday and had to use it on my first pair of pants that I can't zip. With the others I can zip, but I can't button. Well.. that was as of about 4 or 5 days ago, so it's probably changed now. I'm very glad for it and will probably order at least 2 more in different colors. I have two maternity shirts; one that my mom bought for me at 10 weeks that I haven't put on yet and the other I ordered online (it was very much on sale and very cute) and haven't got yet. I don't think I'll need shirts for another month or two - it's the pants I'm going to need. The problem is all of the one's I've tried on I really don't like. And those are the cheaper ones. And looking online the ones that I like and are flattering are the more expensive ones. It wouldn't be such a big deal if I knew I'd be this size every pregnancy. So, I'm waiting and thinking. I'm going to Salt Lake at the end of the month and that's when I'll go try on a bunch of different ones and try and find some on sale. Does Nordstrom Rack have maternity? Because that would be fabulous.

I'm excited. I'm hoping to get my appetite back soon. Even though I'm starving all the time nothing looks or sounds good. Except Mexican and Top Ramen. So, hopefully soon I will start wanting other foods so I don't have to force everything down my throat.

Also, I can't wait to feel this baby move. I know he's too small right now but I'm still trying to feel something, anything. I'm not expecting it for a few more weeks. But I fully expect the emotional hormones to fully rage when I do feel it. I'm going to be a mess.

Here is my 14 week picture. I'm trying to decide whether to post a picture once a week or once every two weeks. Tell me if it would be too many pictures of my belly once a week and I'll do once every other week. Either way I take a picture for myself each week. :)

I'll probably always have that hand on my love handle for the sole purpose that it hides it :D

Rock A Bye Baby

Why is it that I'm 22 years old and have never really listened to these lyrics??

I've sang this song so many times to babies as I'm rocking them... it's so wrong!!!

Excuse the language:

I was very disturbed and realized - wait, the rhyme originated from somewhere.... which is even more frightening.

So I looked it up.

Here are the lyrics:

Rock a bye baby on the tree top,
When the wind blows the cradle will rock,
When the bough breaks the cradle will fall,
And down will come baby, cradle and all.

(horrible image, by the way, of a cradle falling out of a tree....)

Here is where famousquotes says this rhyme came from:

Origins in American history
The words and lyrics to this nursery rhyme are reputed to reflect the observations of a young pilgrim boy in America who had seen Native Indian mothers suspend a birch bark cradle from the branches of a tree enabling the wind to rock the cradle and the child to sleep. The rhyme also hold a warning on the choice of bough!

Why would any sane mother stick her child up in a tree?! In a cradle?! WITH THE WIND BLOWING?! There had to have been some casualties before they realized this was NOT a good idea.

I'm sure I realized how weird it was to sing about a falling out of a tree baby to another baby, but since it's such a common nursery rhyme I don't think I thought much of it.

Now I'm wondering what other rhymes I've been absently singing without realizing what I'm actually saying.

The Sickness

Is what I call "morning sickness". It's easier to say and I think it also sums up my "condition". This post is going to be some venting and whining. If your not in the mood for that - skip this one.

I am 13 1/2 weeks. Isn't it from 12-14 your supposed to feel better? Right on the day I hit 11 weeks I started to feel better. It was strange, but I took it. That lasted a few days then the nausea came back. It comes and goes. It's not all day and it's not every day. But on the days that it's there it seems to be the worst it can be. I don't throw up - which I am grateful. Although, when it get's this bad sometimes I wish I could. Wouldn't that make me feel better? I think the best way to describe the nausea is incapacitating. Only the severe times. Which has been happening about twice a day the last few days. I HAVE to get up and get myself something to eat because I know it will make me feel better. Even though I just want to lay down with my eyes closed and whine and moan about how I want the baby to grow out of this stage.

I've found a few things that work. 7up for sure. I take 3 sips of that and I automatically feel better. I only end up drinking about 1-2 ounces total out of the can. I waste so much. But I can't drink the whole thing - it's too much! And it's at the times I feel this sick that nothing looks good. Nothing. Or even sounds good. I've been forcing food down my throat. And since Top Ramen hasn't tasted so bad; on the days I eat that I really have to force something good for me down.

I guess I'm just ready for the nausea to leave. I feel grateful that I can be home because when it was this bad and I was in school it was horrible. I walked around with a huge thing of 7 up that I would only drink about 1/8th of. I have things I want to do. I've been going on jogs/walks and it's been nice. But when I am feeling this sick my desire to exercise goes out the window. I have 5 shirts left to iron. Out of around 20. I've been ironing a bunch every day, except the last 2 days because of the sickness. I want to vacuum, I want to clean the bathrooms, I want to finish folding laundry, I want to DO something other than sit on the couch holding my growing belly.

The cramping is still going on. Quite a bit. Sometimes it get's painful, most times it's just really uncomfortable. I have a few different theories as to what it could be. I'd like to think it's just that I'm super sensitive to the stretching of my uterus. Which would make sense since I got horrible menstrual cramps. But if this is the case... I'm even more nervous for labor.

My belly is really growing. I notice that it's getting bigger, but I don't think I notice as much until I put on a pair of jeans I wore just 5 days before and I can't button them this time. I've unbuttoned two pairs of jeans and wow, the feeling is liberating - so much room! I'm thinking if I can keep my legs the same size (which is a goal) I can just wear my jeans more and more undone possibly through the whole/most of the pregnancy? I plan on buying a few pair of maternity jeans, but I'm so picky. And I really don't want to spend the money.

I feel like I have nothing left to whine about. But I can move onto something more light and mushy. I can't wait for this little baby to come out. For those who have been following my blog since last summer they might remember my posts about aching for a kid. Some rolled their eyes at me and thought I just wanted a kid cause everyone else had one. Think twice before making judgments about someone you've never met in person. I grew up baby sitting. Started at 11 and at 13 years old was watching a family of 2. A 2 year old and a 4 year old. Then the mom had a baby and I started watching him when he was just 5 or 6 days old. I was there most days of the week all day until that kid was a year old - then they moved. I watched a lot of families kids. I would say I was pretty good at it. And I enjoyed it. Babies don't scare me or make me nervous. I didn't think about being a parent much growing up, because that was so far from a reality. I thought about the boy I was going to marry - what was he like, have I met him before, how old was he, when would i meet him, how would i meet him, would I know it was him when I met him? All the normal stuff.

Don't read on if you don't want to hear about the joys of finding out about being pregnant.

Then I got married and right away figured when we could get pregnant and have the kid after I graduated. I needed a date to look forward to. I figured October of 2008 (which we know, didn't happen). I didn't get baby hungry until about a month after my one year anniversary. And even then it wasn't too bad because I knew I couldn't get pregnant. It started to get hard last summer - especially when I got off the pill (which I did the second we could have an "accident" and I could still graduate in April). I know there are people who try and try for years. I feel for them. I cannot imagine what that feels like. I only know what it was like for me to want it so badly and not be able to have it. Finally January came around and we could start trying. I was devastated that first month when it didn't work. So much that I knew I couldn't get my hopes up like that again. I pulled myself away as much as I could from the given situation and just decided that it was out of my control, I could only do so much, but until Heavenly Father felt like it was right for us to get pregnant would we get pregnant.

I put off taking a test. I was scared to death it was going to be negative. I was only 2 days late and I had to take the test on this Friday afternoon because my little sister was coming over to stay the night that night and I couldn't wait much longer and it would be impossible to hide the results from her either way. Either I would be very loud crying or very loud screaming. It was screaming. I had barely put the cap on the stick when two pink lines showed up. I can't explain the feeling that went through me. I automatically started to cry and scream and jump and run and jumped on Jaren and cried some more and screamed some more. My kitchen is kind of like a galley, so it is open on both ends, one goes into the family room and one in the dining room and that dining room leads to the family room. I think I danced/ran around that loop a good 20 times before I got tired. My poor husband... haha... He's like, "So.. this means your pregnant??" As if the hysterical laughscream wasn't obvious enough. "So.. your happy about it, right?" hehe. I called two people right away. One didn't answer, the other, my Sister in Law who I would have to tell on the phone anyway given that she was in Michigan gave me the desired screaming I needed. Because my husband just isn't a screamer jumper up and downer like I am.

Anyway... the first 2 weeks were really hard to keep my mouth shut. I was constantly smiling. Responding to peoples conversations in my head, "I'm pregnant" "Yeah, but little do you know I'm already pregnant" "Hey.. wonder what you'd say if you knew I was making a baby right now" That seemed to help.

I guess I'm just writing down some emotions and feelings for myself. And I'm sure there are others who feel/have felt the same way?

I've been told a lot, "I don't think anyone is ever 100% ready for a baby." I beg to differ. Unless your referring to the physical needs for a child, I have none. Wait, I have one little boy outfit and one little girl outfit. Oh, and a bottle from Motherhood Maternity. Other than that - nothing. But as for me, I'm so ready. I've just been waiting to graduate. Now that's done. I'm aware of the changes that have to be made, the sacrifices, the challenges, the no sleep, the frustration. All of it. I may not have experienced all of it yet, but I'm aware it's going to happen. And I'm ready. All my life I've wanted nothing more than to be a wife and a mother. It's such a beautiful thing. Some women have different desires. Some want success, independence and I don't know what else. But I just think I'll be pretty good at being a mom. Or at least I hope so.

I'm just rambling. But it feels good to get out. I find out what the kid is on June 2nd and I can't wait. I'm so excited. Boy or girl, I'll take either I just want a kid. I feel so blessed that things have gone well so far. Having a child has nothing to do with other people, it's all about Jaren and I. That's the way it's been from the beginning. I've been hurt by some comments assuming differently. I feel sad that those people assume and judge. Probably never thought I'd know it was me they were referring to. But I'm not stupid. You know when someone is talking about you. I try not to assume things about people I don't know very well. I just hope others do the same.

Here's to the next 6 months! :)

I started this post grumpy and now I'm happy. Didn't know this would help so much. It's long. Oh well, I don't do that often.

Mice... the Count Continues

Remember this guy?

Back in September I posted about the home I live in and the mice experience we had when we had lived in it for about 3 months. If you don't want to read here is a summary:

After 3 months of peace we saw one mouse. We set traps. We caught 22 over the course of a few months then never saw another again. Until squeaky up there in September. He made 23.

Since I have to get up all throughout the night to pee, sometimes I wake Jaren up. He takes the opportunity to use the restroom himself. I go in the bathroom in our bedroom (my bathroom) and he goes in the one in the hall (his bathroom. Unless guests are here). My bathroom has a standing shower, his has a tub shower. At 4 a.m. he goes and hears scraping. He looks in the tub and there is a little mouse trying to get out and scaring the poop out of himself. I didn't know mice could poop SO MUCH! Jaren, in his sleepy state goes and get's a mouse trap, puts peanut butter on it and sticks it in the tub. He goes out into the kitchen again, comes back and the mouse is GONE. Pooh on the paper plate the trap was on, but no mouse in the trap.

Gross. We decide we are going to put tons and tons of traps out agian.

See, I'm aware we have mice. I'm sure we have A LOT. We don't see them, we don't see the poop but the fact that they are there bothers me. The fact that I know they are dying in the walls or somewhere else bothers me even more. Someday Jaren and I plan on building a home and that home will be super sealed, mind you. But we are saving for that glorious day and didn't plan on starting that project for at least 8 years from when we got married. We figured around 10. See, we could probably get away with building one sooner, but we don't have the children to fill it so it seems pointless. 2 years have gone buy so that puts the count down to 6 or 8. I love the home we live in. It has been completely renovated and is like a brand new home. It has 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 2 levels (main and basement), 2 huge family rooms, a dining room, kitchen, laundry, lots of storage. I'm spoiled, I know. I have so much room in this home to fill with kids! It is just so hard when we see/smell the mice we know are around. I'm just tired of it.. Jaren seems to be the one who it bothers more now. He's thinking of lowering the countdown to new home. I'm not complaining, but I really feel like we haven't spent enough time in this home.

Back to the mouse story:

Jaren pulled out the garbage the other night and there was a little guy in there eating away at the bread I had just thrown in there. He tied him off and threw him out. That makes 24. Jaren sets a trap 2 nights ago and tells me the next day that it caught another one. That makes TWENTY FIVE! We are setting out more tonight. We make sure there is no food anywhere, the garbage is empty when we go to bed and we wait.

He is the designated mouse getter. I can't see them after they have been caught. It's too gross. We don't know what else to do. We wont lay out poison because they eat that, run off and die somewhere in the house. I want to bomb the entire house one of the weeks I'm gone, but is there a bug bomb strong enough to kill mice? And then that leaves them whereever they were dead. Gross again! We can't knock down walls and if we did that would be terrifying to see what lies in them. So, the only option is traps. One by one. The house has been sealed since the 22 count. We got new siding and as he did that he sealed the home and we have seen less spiders as well.

Anyone else have any mice stories? As many as 25?!

Not to worry, I'll update as we keep catching. I know your all dying to hear about it. :)

Infatuated

I have been in love with this thing since I first laid eyes on her a few years ago. The problem is I have nowhere for this to go - yet. Someday, I will have this and someday, I will have a place for it. The other problem is convincing Jaren that it really is beautiful, because he just doesn't see it like I do.

The funny thing is when I was looking for this picture I found this for $169 on one website, then went to another and found it for $269. I think I'll do some shopping around when the wonderful day comes when I give this baby a loving home.

I JUST remembered this chair in a room I saw at a home during the parade of homes last summer. The picture of the other side of the room is on this post. I really wouldn't mind recreating this room someday for a little girl.
Actually, I love black and white with one color so much that in one of my extra bedrooms downstairs I painted the walls green.. really green. It's grown on us and I've bought a few black and white accent things to go with it, I just haven't put it all together down there. Someday, when I do, I'll post pictures.

Some Sweet Threads

I can't help myself. Every day I look up maternity clothes and bookmark the cute ones. I'm already walking around with the button unbuttoned on a few of my jeans. Yesterday was the first day I had to do that. Maybe I'll post some cute stuff I found.... maybe I'll wait till I actually buy some and post those.

This is about some baby clothes. I have a hard time looking at baby stuff that's not crib, stroller, high chair or maybe even diaper bags. Until I know what I'm having will I let myself really want/look at any of them. But yesterday I went to the mall with a friend who is 4 days more pregnant than me. And she suggested we look at the baby clothes in Macy's. BIG MISTAKE. I about died. I wanted EVERYTHING. Although, I did narrow it down to two really really cute outfits: one boy, one girl. But I walked away without them. I know someday I will probably use it, but I don't want to buy stuff that will just sit in my closet for years.

That brings me to this post. I caved and typed in "baby clothes" into google. I clicked on "Retro Baby" and some of the stuff is so funny. I don't think I'd pay 18 bucks for a onsie, but some are really cute - I had to share some of the best.

Thing 1 and Thing 2

"That's How I Roll"

I put a few of these fake dress shirts up, but what I really want is a drawn on coverall with straw sticking out everywhere so he can be just like his(or her) daddy during grain harvest.

"I Like To Hit the Bottle"

"Give A Hoot Don't Pollute"

"Party at My Crib"

"I Just Spent Nine Months on the Inside"

McBaby

I see this on my 18 month old girl with a skirt on a summer day. Screaming....

"Fat kids are harder to kidnap" I think I might spend the 18 bucks on this one.

"Does this diaper make my butt look big?" Like mother, like daughter.

I like the suspenders

This will be very true in my house

Baby Bling

Here is the website in case you see something you HAVE to have. There are a lot of Dr. Seuss stuff. I do think I want the fat baby one......

BYU-Idaho's Own Post Secret

This was in the building where just about all of my classes were. (Goodness... see that word? WERE. Such a beautiful word) I walked past it for a few days, then got curious. So I read every single one on there. Some were very funny, some were to be expected at a Church school, others.. of course, were also to be expected but were still sad. It doesn't matter where you are there are every type of issue and problem. Just because a lot of it is not on the surface, it doesn't mean it isn't there. Hope you can see what some of them say.

Enjoy!The writing under the "I heart Jordan Killpack" says, "been there, done that". The top right sticker says, "I think like a lot of guys do" The black writing sticker next to the jordan one says, "I secretly stalk my teacher's son because I want to marry into his family".

This is my favorite. The "duh", in particular.

The "your not the only one" in red is referring to a sticker above it that said, "I have stolen over $2,000". I know some are hard to read. Sorry :)

Yep, in the light blue that says, "My wife doesn't know I'm gay!"

"I'm attracted to men with speech impediments and receding hairlines!"

This was a final project done by a Communications major.

Pregnant

I am officially out of the pregnancy closet!

I've been dying to talk about it all, but since I had the opportunity to tell just about all of my family in person I kept my mouth shut until everyone heard it from me. This last week I told the last of them and so it meant I could squeal to everyone else whenever I wanted. So I waited 2 days. :) Another thing is when you tell people right away it makes the wait SO LONG for them. And it's already seemed long enough for me.

I'm 3 months, two more weeks left in my first trimester. I'm due November 3rd (my best friends birthday). How have I been feeling? Sick. I have not been throwing up, which I'm very grateful for. Not that I don't feel like I need to quite often, my body just likes food so much, I guess, that it doesn't want to waste any of it. My thighs and face will confirm that. I started taking my prenatal before bed and it's seemed to help a bit, I've not been as nauseous the last few days. It's been nice not having to eat every 45 minutes. Food; nothing really sounds good. I've really liked Bajio Salads. When I went home I had the best tasting Mexican food I've had since... well, the last time I ate there. It's too bad nothing is as good here.

Cramps. A lot of cramps. Anyone else go through their entire first trimester feeling every itty bitty stretch and pull of your uterus? Only sometimes are they painful, most of the time just uncomfortable. I've already made sure everything is fine. But since it's been constant through my whole pregnancy (started before I even knew I was pregnant) and I've made it to 12 weeks I'm not worried. I think I'm just a bit more sensitive to the changes goin on.

I've had my first ultrasound at 8 weeks and the little guy was moving quite a bit. Didn't like the spotlight. Every time the ultrasound thing would push on my belly to get a better view he'd try to move away. Doesn't like the spotlight? Or his picture taken? A lot like his daddy, I'd say. We go in tomorrow to hear the heart beat. I'm excited :) It will just confirm that everything is moving along well. Oh, I keep up on the weekly updates of the development and my kid has fingernail beds, nostrils, elbows and knees, no webbed fingers and a brain. He (yes, I'm calling it a he until I hear otherwise) has a lot of other things, too, but I get excited about the new things. :)

Some of you understand how very much I have wanted this. I am so incredibly happy. I'll whine about some of it, but I am constantly happy with my situation. I feel so blessed that everything has happened at a time where it is perfect (even though I couldn't see further than what was in front of me 5 months ago). I'm finished with school, we just celebrated our 2 year anniversary, we'll have been married for over 2 1/2 years when the kid pops out. I'll be 23, Jaren will be weeks away from 28. Now I get to enjoy making a baby, and getting the house and our lives ready for the change. Which I completely understand will be drastic. But we are very much ready. :D

I'm experimenting with my blog layout. Anyone know how to put your own background into the "layout"? Some sort of code...? I'm not sure how much I like the header I have at the moment. You will probably see a lot of changing going on till I find something I like. Your feedback would be wonderful!

Here is my 12 week picture

I look great, huh! Haven't gained an ounce.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Hah, yeah right. That was 6 weeks. Here is 12 weeks and very much GROWING.

What bothers me is when I'm SO excited about actually looking pregnant and people think they are being nice by telling me I don't look any different. Yes, I realize that unless you've seen me on a regular basis I just look fat. But by no means do I feel like I look the same as I did 3 months ago (or even 6 weeks ago!). So, take note, when a barely pregnant girl says, "Look! I'm showing!" with a smile on her face, don't say, "Oh, no, sweetie, you look the same." Or, "I can't tell any difference." Because what do I hear? "You looked that fat 3 months ago when there was hardly any baby in you." Instead say, "Yeah! you sure are growing." something, anything to confirm there is a DIFFERENCE.

Yes, the difference is minimal to everyone else but me. But don't rain on my parade... I'm excited about the change.

Riddle Me This

+

=

Home Again (With Pictures and A Video)

I'm finally home. I finished school, graduated, left, drove 10 hours Sunday to Washington, woke up the next morning drove 5 hours to Oregon, 2 days later drove 5 hours back to Washington, then 2 days later flew back to Idaho and am now currently sitting on my couch. I'm exhausted. It's so nice to be home. I'm very excited to get started on projects and just living my non student life. I've already read one book and am working on another. I'm going on a long walk around the country tomorrow. I'm sleeping in, doing laundry, have to run my Young Women around, have dinner with friends, prepare a lesson. Still feel busy but no pressure. If I don't get everything done tomorrow... so what. I'm really looking forward to Sunday. It will be the first Sunday in quite some time where I will be able to be home and not be doing/worrying about homework. It's such a nice feeling. I am terrified I'll forget everything I've learned. But I can't say I'm super willing to go through my notes and tests and stuff every once in a while. I can't wait to start cooking, even though Jaren isn't home at dinner time, I might be able to get him to stop by long enough to eat a plate before going out for another round.

Anywho, here are some pictures from the last few weeks.

In my costume for my Jazz Dance final (video all the way at the bottom)

Jaren tried... I couldn't see him in the crowd of people so I just stood there and kind of smiled into the crowd. Turns out he couldn't shove his way to the front - too many people!

So after wards I had him come take a picture of me recreating the moment.

Here is my family. Jaren wanted to take the picture - not be in it. ButI think I got a pretty good one below.

What is funny is that I was SO busy the last 2 months of this last semester that Jaren did dishes, washed laundry and picked up after us. I've never seen him clean like that! So, Saturday I did laundry, cleaned, did dishes so the house would be clean for him before I left and that night he says, "Yay! I got my wife back!" Now if I could just get those shirts of his ironed that i keep promising him I'd do.

DISCLAIMER: I am not the most amazing dancer. Not professional even a teeny bit. This is a beginning Jazz Dance class. We didn't get to practice this dance NEARLY as much as I would have liked. I messed up a good 5 times - most of which are noticable. Poor posture and horrible technique. I wish she had given us more than once to perform this. I choreographed quite a bit of this :) Enjoy! But don't make fun. :| (that is my stern face) And I think you can all possibly figure out which one is me. (front middle - your welcome)

This Week and Next

Today: Jaren and My 2 year anniversary :) (a VERY happy day)

Wednesday: Last day of classes (also a very happy day)

Thursday: I walk with my cap and gown and get my Bachelors in Health Science ('bout time)

Friday: Commencement - listening to Neil L. Anderson (newest member of the 12)

Saturday: Possibly go on a date with the 2 year old husband

Sunday: Go with my parents back to Washington (9 hour drive... gonna get tetris for my phone)

Monday: Drive to Oregon (I'll also get a book to read - along with my Tetris I should be entertained)

Tuesday: Celebrate my cousins wedding (woohoo for her!)

Wednesday: Go back to Washington (the homeland)

Thursday: Fry shrimp with my grandma (I LOVE shrimp)

Friday: Fly back into Idaho - arrive at 5:30, drive to Driggs to attend a baby shower at 6:30 - THEN go home and see my two year old husband. (Hopefully he hasn't starved to death)

Saturday: who knows... laundry? sleep? read a book.... do WHATEVER I want cause I'm finished with SCHOOL!!! (p.s. I'll be catching up on blogs all the while during that second week :D)


WooHOO!!

The Nightmare

Last night I had the strangest nightmare.

See, yesterday was a crazy day. I almost forgot about my visiting teaching appointments and remembered (I had remembered all day, but spaced it while VTing) at 6:30 it was my dad's birthday. I never call my parents late! I did call my mom late on her last birthday, school really is so controlling. So, yesterday was crazy frantic and just weird.

I think that's why I dreamt what I dreamt.

First my schedule on Thursdays goes like this: Class from 8-9:30, then lab from 12:45-2:45.

In my dream: It's Thursday and I'm on my way to my lab when all of the sudden I remember - "Oh my gosh! I forgot about my English class!!" The panic that went through me was immense. Because not only had I forgotten about it that day, I had forgotten about it for an entire month. I remembered that it was scheduled at 9:45 - 12:30. It was a three credit class one day a week, which was why it was so long. I panicked, went to my lab panicked the whole time, then went to the third floor of the English building to get it worked out - I was going to graduate!!!! First of all, the third floor I went to was definitely NOT a BYU-Idaho building. It was totally funky. Neon lights, cafe's, all of the English offices were in the center of the floor with no walls. Tons of people were there, music was playing.. it was really weird considering the horror I was feeling. I went to the English secretary and explained to her that we had two weeks off because the teacher had to go somewhere and during that time I had completely forgot about the class. She was surprised to hear that the teach took 2 weeks off and by her reaction I thought that maybe there was someway I could get around this. I told her I was graduating and I did NOT want to come back for ONE class once a week. I told her I'd make up all my work in the next 3 weeks (all that's really left of the semester).

I remember thinking through my dream wonering if there really was an English class that I had forgotten about. I tried to remember to the beginning of the semester if Thursdays were spent going to an English class. And I could remember the class but all of the people in it were people from my high school.

I woke up at this point, sweating and racking my brain for that English class. But, luckily I finished all of my English classes my first semester married - summer semester of 2007.

I'm still graduating on time :) I picked up my cap and gown yesterday and got a free water bottle and chocolate bar! I thought... wow, this is the most expensive Crunch bar I've ever bought, the price of a brand new car. Oh, and I had to pay 5 bucks for the "Class of 2009" shirts. But I liked the shirt, so I did it.

I'm almost finished! It's getting a little overwhelming because there is SO MUCH to do, but it will be over so fast. And then I can plant my veggi garden and some flowers. And hopefully get started on growing that baby I've been rather ready for.

I hope I don't have anymore Nightmares with this theme.

DagNab that DVR

Don't you just want to cry tears of sorrow when you are done watching DVR'd house only to look at the guide and see that American Idol is on but isn't taping because you forgot to cancel The Biggest Loser because you'd much rather watch a few people sing and Paula dance around like a crazy person who drank too much Coke. So you click over only to watch the last 10 minutes, one person perform and not even your favorite?

Yeah.... me neither.........



thank heavens for the super long re-cap's at the end

I'm Alive!

I promise, I haven't really dropped off the face of the blogosphere. I still look at blogs I just don't have time to comment and read every post that I've missed so I'm skimming when I have time. It's been a while since I've gone this long without posting.

School is getting more and more busy. I have 5 weeks left and, honestly, it could NOT go any slower..... I'm so ready to be finished. I'm trying to do the math to see if I could still pass my classes if I just stop going. Chances aren't high. So I'm just running around like a chicken with my head cut off trying to stay caught up and turn things in on time. I'll try and update a little more often...

News: My brother's have had their babies. Well, the wives did all the work. Kevin and Lena were waiting to find out what they were having and we were all pleasantly surprised to find out the "him" was actually a she :) Her name is Lucy and she is beautiful. I have yet to meet her in person since they are in Boise, but they will be coming here at the end of the month for a combined baby blessing day with Nathan. Nathan and Steph(the one I threw the shower for) had their little boy just under a week and a half after Kevin and Lena had theirs. Conner stopped breathing and had to be taken to NICU right after he was born. He's almost 2 weeks old now and is healthy and so stinkin cute. I go over there every day to hold him and just stare... He makes the cutest facial expressions and I just smile. Can't wait till I get my own someday. Then I can stare all I want :)
My mom is up right now visiting and helping with Conner and it's been so nice getting to see her every day as well. It's been hard getting over there when I have so much to do and not a lot of time to fit it all in. But I just stop by for half an hour to an hour and that keeps me pretty well satisfied.

Well, I've got quite the next few weeks ahead of me. I'll try to update more. I've missed you all!

Here are a few pictures

Here is Conner only a few hours old in the NICU. In a few weeks I'll have some pictures of my own of Lucy to show.

I had dinner with these beautiful girls.

We went to a Jazz game. It was the game after Larry died and so we saw the (3 minute) memorial they did for him. I thought it could have been a little longer..... They won, though!

At the Jazz game :)

A Challenge

I follow the Scrap Matters blog and I've been wanting to participate in some of their challenges and speed scraps but have always missed them or thought I wasn't good enough. But, I've been playing around quite a bit and I think I'm getting okay at it.

This challenge was making your pictures into shapes. I also made a tree then decorated it. I don't think I've ever used one kit on one page. It's always a whole bunch of stuff from a whole bunch of kits, but this time I stayed with one.

The kit I used is a collab kit by WM [Squared] Designs and Digi Keepsakes. It's called "Retro Spring".

Take a look!

Only problem is I don't know how to submit it. Do you know how?

I Have Been Waiting For This Day My Whole Life

I am so excited. I'm saving my pennies for a Camera, but I'm so tempted to go get this TODAY.

Pace Yourself Whit