Tuesday, November 29, 2011

39 Weeks and Non-Stressed!

Soooo BIG
 Just hit 39 weeks today and due to some iffy blood work results, baby and  I got to celebrate by going in for a "non-stress test", yay!

Luckily everything looks fine, although Evie was napping and REALLY didn't want to wake up (the nurse used a little buzzer to wake her and she kicked at it once and went right back to sleeping!).  In other news, when the nurse was looking at the ultrasound she said "looks like baby has some hair there! At least, on the back of her head."  I'm not quite sure how she could even see hair (we looked and weren't even sure we were looking at her head!), but if she does have hair I'm really hoping it's on her WHOLE head, not just the back--just not that into the Danny DeVito look for my baby girl, haha.

I'm superly excited to finally meet this little character in person!  It's getting so close!!

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

My life is over...

Ok, that is an incredibly over dramatic statement, I will admit it.  What I MEAN to say is that sometime in the next couple of weeks here, life as I know it will be over for ever.  To me, that is incredibly amazing, wonderful, and a little bit terrifying all at the same time!  It will never just be me and Karl like this again and I will never be pregnant and childless again.  As soon as she is born I'm going to be a mother, something I've never been before! We're going to be a little family instead of just a couple! I'm so excited and nervous and happy and scared all at once!!  I love her so much already, I can't wait to hold her and see her, but I know it's going to be hard too!!  Anyway, just thought I would get that out there :)

Aaaaand, just for something exciting (because I'm in a really stagnant feeling place right now) here's a clip of Evie's 20 week ultrasound!  She looks like a little alien, but she's my alien :)



Sunday, November 20, 2011

The Waiting Game


Waiting... Waiting... Waiting...

I'm now almost 38 weeks, and the waiting game has more than officially begun :/  I wouldn't be quite so anxious if I wasn't so uncomfortable!   I've been having pretty darn painful contractions for the last couple of days, but no actual labor yet.  This week is Thanksgiving break, so I would be more than happy for her to decide to show up in the next couple of days!!  I guess, on the other hand, if she decided to stay for the next two weeks then I could at least get more classes/school work under my belt before taking the plunge into motherhood.  I just don't know if I'm going to be able to get much done, or even walk anymore, if she doesn't come out soon!  I think my body has decided to fall apart in the last couple weeks, lol!  I guess we'll just have to wait and see what happens... So crazy trying to prepare for something when I have no idea when it will happen!!

I feel like I have more to say, but I'm just superly exhausted and I'm technically supposed to be working on homework (I should probably get as much done as I can before baby decides to show up!).  I feel so bad that I've been majorly slacking on the blogging thing lately!  So many thoughts, so many changes, so much going on... Oh well, maybe someday I'll get back with the program!

Friday, October 28, 2011

HouseParty.com

Today I got an AWESOME package in the mail, and this is what it had in it:



Why is this so awesome you ask?? Well, because it was FREE!!!  Twister Mania is a $50 xbox kinnect game that's not going to be released until the 1st, and I just got it totally free!  The catch?  Well, I've got to share all this awesome stuff with my friends by having a "Twister Mania House Party"!  Not a bad stipulation if you ask me!  And all this is made possible by HouseParty.com.  

Now, I'm not trying to sell anybody on anything here, I just think it's a superly awesome site and I wish I had known about it sooner!  You go to the site, sign up for an account, answer some questions about your household/what kinds of parties you'd be interested in, and then you can apply to host a party!  I will admit that right at this moment there aren't a lot of good parties open for application, but you just gotta keep checking back!  Recently they've had a couple of different video game parties--Zumba Fitness for the Wii (we don't have a Wii, so didn't qualify, darn it!!), Everybody Dance for the Playstation, etc.-- and they've also a couple of Shutterfly parties for those who like pictures and making cards and things!  They have all kinds of categories from food to games to crafts to kids!  Another downside is that it can be hard to get a spot hosting a party, so it may take a while before you get in on one, but I feel like it's worth it to keep trying!  Once you get selected to host a party, they send you a "Party Pack" that has stuff for your party!  They usually include the product that they are trying to promote (i.e. the Twister Mania game), coupons, and party favors for your guests (in my pack I got balloons, twisty straws, and twister coasters)!  After the party, post pictures and/or video, and you're more likely to get selected for more parties!

Anyway, I just thought it was super cool I needed to share!!  I feel like this is an especially good opportunity for those who have a few friends, like to host social gatherings, and want some free stuff!

I'm having my Twister Mania party next Friday (November 4th) at 7:00 at my house, so if you want to come try out the game and hang out, let me know! (you can also RSVP by clicking this link: RSVP which will help me to get host spots next time I apply, though it has the wrong date and time!)

Also, if you want to try the house party thing, go here:

Friday, October 21, 2011

Hobby Lobby Adventures ;)

Let me just start by saying that I love Hobby Lobby... It is an extremely dangerous place for me to wander into when I have my wallet with me, haha.  That being said, the other day I found out that my 11:30 class had been canceled (after driving all the way to school), and seeing as my next class wasn't until 1:00 and Hobby Lobby was juuuust up the street, I decided to go waste some time there.  It seemed like a really good plan.  

I spent some time wandering, and wishing I could buy all the Fall/Halloween decor (and wishing that I had a cute house for it all to go in!), and then I decided it was time to get down to business.  I really wanted to buy some wooden letters for Evie's room--all the crafty mom's make them for THEIR kids, so I decided I needed some too (darn you Etsy and Pinterest!!).

I found some superly cute curly letters and I was just about to start looking at cute scrapbook paper to decorate them with, when I realized I wasn't feeling the greatest.  My arms were feeling really fatigued just from holding the letters and my purse and I just wasn't feeling "right".  So I thought, "ok, I'll just go check out and I can go sit in the car til I feel better."  Bad plan, but I REALLY wanted to buy my letters.  I got to the checkout line and I knew I was in trouble.  My vision was starting to get a little bit blurry and I felt like I was going to pass out.  Normally at this point I would sit down, but I was in the middle of the check out line and wearing my nice slacks, so I thought I'd just tough it out a few more minutes, buy my things, and run out to my car.  

Yeah, I'm brilliant. 

There were only two people ahead of me in line, but I swear they took FOREVER!!  Finally it was my turn, and as the girl started ringing me up, I congratulated myself on making it.  That's is, until I realized that I couldn't hear anything, my vision was almost completely black, I had lost all concept of time, and I could feel my head going down towards the checkout counter...  Luckily, through some miracle, I "came to" enough to catch myself before I face planted (my face was inches from the counter at this point).  I could see and think just well enough to fumble through sliding my card, grabbing my receipt, and running out to the car... 

I must have looked absolutely crazy. 

After I sat down for a couple minutes I felt fine, embarrassed and stupid for staying in line when I knew what was coming, but fine none the less...

Seems that Hobby Lobby may be dangerous to more than just my wallet!

Well, now that you know how much sacrifice and effort went into purchasing the darn letters, I am now pleased to present...

The craftiest thing I've done in a long time!!

Bad lighting, but you get the picture!
 
This picture shows the patterns much better :)
We now cannot under any circumstances decide on a different name, because these letters took SO much work!!!  I'm just glad that "Evie" is only four letters long, because I probably would have given up and screamed if I had to make any more!!

I think they're cute, not even close to perfect (this is seriously my first time trying anything like this!), but good enough :)


Sunday, October 9, 2011

Halloween!


I love Halloween!  It's probably my favorite holiday ever.  Maybe it's because I've always loved dressing up (still do, but have no energy or time for something so childish, lol...), or maybe it's because I love all things creepy and supernatural (ok, I like to be freaked out).  Or maybe because it's the first real holiday of the fall season, and it's a good excuse for eating candy.  I don't know what it is, but I love Halloween.  

Unfortunately, the last couple of years haven't been so good for me and my festiveness.  I haven't even had a costume for three, maybe four years now (Karl's been working on Halloween for the last few years and I just have no place to go!), and last year I didn't even get to indulge in my favorite Halloween tradition, Thriller.  If you haven't been to Thriller (not the MJ video, though that's a great Halloween tradition too!) then you're missing out!  It's a superly awesome Halloween dance production put on by a professional company, it's perfect Halloween fun for those who are too old to go trick or treating, but still want to get into the spirit of the holiday.  Seriously though, you should check it out:

 

Anyway, back on topic...  I don't think I'm going to get to go to Thriller or any Halloween parties this year, and our newest apartment doesn't lend itself to any major decorating unfortunately... So, I need ideas!!  I'm looking for any awesome ideas for having an exciting, fun, festive Halloween.  How do you celebrate Halloween?  Any fun traditions??  Good scary (but not TOO scary) movies to watch??  Cool places to go??  Help me out here!!

And while you're thinking about that, here's what Halloween looked like for us last year :)


I love this wreath!! And I'm proud to say I made it myself!


This is Mr. Ghoulie, he's pretty frightening... He scared me more than a few times and I'M the one who put him there!!

Christer's, Karl's, and my jack-o-lanterns :)
Oh!  Another creepy Halloween tradition I like is having a Ghost Adventures (my favorite ghost hunting show!) marathon with my little sisters. It's on netflix so you can check it out there.  It's kind of silly sometimes, but some pretty creepy stuff!  I don't know if this clip is any good, but I wanted to put up something :)




Monday, October 3, 2011

Labor & Delivery


Got to make my first visit to labor and deliver last night!  It was superly fun and exciting, kinda like Disney Land!  Ok, that's a lie, I really dislike doctors and hospitals, but since I love my baby and my hubby (who was stressing) I went any way. 

I've been feeling my Braxton Hicks since the end of my first trimester, so they're not really that huge of a deal anymore (although I admit they're getting way more uncomfortable!), but on Saturday night I started having a lot, pretty regularly.  I think at one point they were less than 5 minutes apart, which made me nervous, but I ended up just drinking a bunch of water and falling asleep.  Sunday morning and afternoon I was having a lot, but they were pretty random, so I again, drank a ton and tried to stay in bed as much as possible.  By Sunday night they were getting really regular and close together again--despite all my efforts--so when Karl got home he made me call my midwife and she told me to go to labor and delivery, yay!

We got there, had to answer a million questions, I got to be examined in all sorts of uncomfortable ways, and got all hooked up to the monitors, and as soon as I laid down in that bed, my contractions stopped!  I was having them up until the minute I walked into the hospital room, and then, nothing!!  I must say I was more than a tiny bit frustrated with my silly body (thanks for making me look like a crazy person-_-)!! Oh, and can I also mention that I started having them again as I walked out to the parking lot... *sigh*

On the bright side, we got to hear baby, and she seems to be doing wonderfully!  My cervix is still closed and everything seems to still be going well, which relieves a lot of anxiety for me!  Still don't know why I've been having so many contractions lately, I guess my uterus is just really excited about getting ready for the big day?  I wish I had as much motivation to work out as my uterus seems to!

Anyway, that's what Karl and I got to do last night, and as much as we enjoyed it, I'm hoping to not have to do it again for about 6 or 7 weeks!

Saturday, October 1, 2011

"A" for Attendence


I would just like to officially and publicly pat myself on the back for making it through the entire first month of school without missing a single class.  This may not seem like a huge accomplishment to anyone else, but it's a big deal for me!  Taking into consideration that I've had "senioritis" since last semester, sitting through my hour and 15 minute classes is literally painful, I'm sleepy, and that all I want to do is focus on all things "baby", I'm very proud of myself for getting out the door and to my classes everyday!!  I have a feeling that things are only going to get harder the closer I get to the end, but I can do it!! ...Or so I have to keep telling myself, anyway!!

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Life Update

So, I'm 29 weeks today, and am officially on my way in my third trimester!  Yay!  Time is going and going and going and I feel like I still have so much to do before she gets here--it's crazy!  Anyway, just thought I'd give a quick update on how things are right this instant (because you care, I'm sure).

Things I'm loving:
  • My baby belly :)  I've never been extremely fond of my body shape, but I honestly love my baby bump!  It feels good to actually be able to love and accept my belly, lol!
  • Feeling baby move :)  I have to admit that I'm having a terrible time concentrating in class, on homework, on housework, on anything!  Every time she moves I just want to stop the world and savor every minute.  I don't want to miss even a second of it because I know time is running out to be with my little one like this!  Lol, I feel like I have my own imaginary friend; I'm always talking to someone that no one else can see.  She is my constant companion!
  • Feeling laid back and even tempered :)  I know this really isn't the case for most pregnant women out there, but since I've been pregnant, I just feel so much more in control emotionally!  Sure I still get weepy over stupid things, but I'm a lot less stressed, grumpy, and anxiety ridden as I usually am.  No idea why, but I'm grateful for it!

Things I'm not loving quite so much:
  • Pain :(  I can't sit for any amount of time with out getting terrible cramping/pain in my back and ribs (makes sitting through long classes a literal pain!).  My hips and pelvis have also been hurting a ton lately, which makes walking and moving uncomfortable.
  • Stretch marks :(  Evie-cakes has been growing in leaps and bounds lately, and my tummy is not taking the punishment so well!  I guess I should be grateful, it's not too bad (yet), but I really can't say that I like this part of growing a baby!
  • Not being able to eat :(  I'm trying to feed a baby going through growth spurts here, and I'm having a terrible time eating!  Between the very little space my big baby is leaving my stomach and the heartburn and indigestion, I'm struggling to keep us both fed!
  • School :(  I really don't want to be in school, I just want to spend time with the alien in my tummy and work on getting ready for her arrival in the world!

Anywho... That's just a glimpse into how things are going at the moment, this is definitely subject to change!


Friday, September 16, 2011

Bleach Shirts


Creeper face!!!

All right, I was hoping to have some better pics before I posted this, buuuuut it doesn't look like that will happen for awhile... So I guess we'll just go with what we've got and possibly update the pictures later :)


Anyway... Karl and I worked on these really cool bleach shirts the other night, and I really wanted to share the instructions, so here they are!

Supplies:
  • Black Cotton T-shirt
  • Bleach
  • Water
  • Clean Spray Bottle
  • Freezer Paper (if you need some, come to my house, we have WAY too much)
  • Scissors or X-acto Knife
  • Iron (you know, the one you use to get wrinkles out of your clothes)
  • Plastic Grocery Bags 

1. First things first, choose the design you want!  Once you have that, you can either draw or print it onto the freezer paper (hint: cut out a piece of freezer paper to as close to A4 size as possible if you want to use a printer, and make sure it prints on the papery side!).

2. Once you have the design on the papery side of the freezer paper, use either the scissors or the x-acto knife (depending on how fancy and detailed your pattern is) to cut out your pattern.  Keep in mind that you can either cut out pieces of a solid paper like a stencil (this is how we did the "baby loading" shirt) and the cut outs will be orange, or cut out blocky pieces that will look like black floating in a mist of orange (like the creeper face at the top of the page).  That doesn't really make much sense, so hopefully you're smart and can figure these things out, lol!



3. Now that you have your pattern, position it where you want it, waxy side down, on the t-shirt (another hint, make sure the t-shirt is as wrinkle free as possible).  Use the iron on a low heat setting to stick the pattern to your shirt.


Yay! Your shirt is ready for the fun part!  

4. For this step, make sure you're not wearing any clothes you like!  Make a solution of 1 part bleach to 1 part water and fill the spray bottle with it.

5. Carefully place your shirt on a "safe" surface (one that can handle being bleached--outside is a good option, but we used the kitchen floor) and CAREFULLY (if you move the shirt around too much the pattern can get detached!) line the inside of the shirt with the plastic grocery bags.  This will keep the bleach from bleeding through to the back of the shirt.


6. Now for the fun part!  Spray your shirt with the bleach solution!  You might have to experiment a little to decide what you like.  You can spray a fine mist or let big drops fall on the shirt.  You can also spray just a little for a lighter look, or saturate things a little more for a more solid look.  After you've sprayed the shirt, watch it start to change colors!

7. When your shirt looks like it's about the color you want, rinse it immediately.  Some people say you should stick the shirts in the washer as soon as you rinse them, but we just hung them up to dry.  As soon as they are dry (whether you decide to wash them or just rinse them) they are ready to go, and you have a unique, one of a kind shirt to make all your friends jealous! lol!
 

Here are the shirts while they were drying, they look a lot cooler dry

Yeah, I know, you've all seen this shirt, but I needed a better example pic! lol


Here's the template I made for the baby loading shirt :) I can email the actual document if anyone wants it


















































For Halloween I want to make one with a jack-o-lantern face on my belly!  We'll see if I ever get around to that though, haha.  Anyway, I hope someone else gets as big a kick out of this as we did :)


Friday, September 9, 2011

Baby Loading...

Karl made a superly cute "maternity" shirt for me, so I thought I'd show off :)  PLUS I have to show off how incredibly big this child has gotten in the last couple weeks (I'm starting to have a really hard time rolling myself out of bed!!).  I'll have to post the how-to for the shirt and some pics of the other awesome shirts we made, but this will have to do for now :)





27 and a half weeks! 88ish days to go!!!


Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Mistakes

 

Everyone makes mistakes... Right?  It's just a part of life, a part of our learning and growing experience here on earth.  Sometimes though, I really wish there was a way that we could learn just as well from other people's mistakes and not have to make them all over again for ourselves.  Those who have "been there and done that" can only do so much for us, it seems.  Maybe it's just me, but I'm very much a "have to touch the oven to understand it'll burn" kind of person (ok, I'm more of a "keep touching the oven to make sure it's still hot" kind of a person).  I might not seem to be that rebellious, but I definitely have to make my own mistakes before I really understand.  Because of this, I've made a lot of mistakes.

 Now that I'm on the other side of those mistakes (the wisdom side, as I like to call it), it's so hard to see people making the same choices and know that I can't do anything about it!  I know that my parents (both earthly and heavenly) have probably felt exactly this way about me my whole life as they've watched me tumble into one problem after another, and I feel stupid that I didn't listen more.

 I just want to protect the people I love from the hurt that I know comes from mistakes of all shapes and sizes, but I can't.  I can offer advice, give my cautionary tales, lend support, but in the end they get to make the choices.  And honestly, as hard as it is for me now, I know it's just going to get harder.  I can't imagine how hard it's going to be being the parent!  I never thought about this aspect of parenting until now, and I know I'm not going to like it! 

I'm really rambling tonight (too much in my head!), but I guess, in the end, we're all going to make mistakes-some big and some little-because none of us are perfect.  And, whether or not we think we deserve it, there is always someone there who can help us pick up the pieces (or to heal our burns, as the case may be.)  I can't keep anyone else from getting burned and I try as I might, I can't take away the pain once they've been hurt, but there is someone who can.  I am so grateful that I have a Savior who was willing to feel all that pain so that my stupid mistakes don't have to hurt so much.

Wednesday, August 31, 2011

We have crazy mornings...

Today, like most days, Karl got woken up an hour early by work calls.  He eventually went out to the other room because he had to solve a bunch of communication problems, and I just lay there in bed, grumpy over the loss of sleep.  I was laying on my side so my arm was kind of draped over my belly... and that's when Evie decided she wanted to be awake too!  She was kicking me so hard my arm was moving!  I almost called Karl back to come feel her moving around, but I didn't want to interrupt him while he was being business-y.  Eventually Evie calmed down and Karl came back to bed.  I was a little disappointed because that's what always happens!  She loves to stop moving as soon as daddy's around and wants to feel her.  Anyway, he got back into bed and we cuddled up together to try to get a few more minutes of sleep before we had to head to school... but Evie had different ideas.  I felt her kick really hard and it made me giggle a little, but then I realized that Karl made a noise when she kicked too!  Evie was kicking him in the back and he was feeling it!  Suddenly she was going crazy again and keeping us both awake.  I thought it was funny :)

As grumpy as I was about not getting that hour of sleep (it's been a REALLY bad sleep week for us!), I'm really glad we got to have a bonding moment with our baby cakes!

Sunday, August 28, 2011

Jiffy Pop!


Wow... Ok, I'm just lying here in bed, trying to relax, and honestly, I feel like I've swallowed a bag of JiffyPop!!  Goodness!!  Baby is getting so big and strong and ACTIVE!  I can't believe she was ever the size of a grape, and I can barely remember a time when I couldn't feel her going crazy in there.  It took so long before I could even feel her move, and now I feel like she's training to be a ninja or something.  I really love feeling her move... most of the time!  The bladder kicks and simultaneous headbutts to the ribs I could do without, lol!  At least it let's me know she's still doing ok in there, definitely puts my mind at ease to know she's still cooking! :)

Monday, August 22, 2011

Thinking About Baby

(I know everyone's seen this pic, but I don't have many of her at this point and I love it, lol)
Karl and I got to see baby moving my tummy for the very first time the other night.  It was an amazing thing to experience!  Karl's been able to feel her kick only couple of times and I'm just so happy that we're finally getting to the point where he can be more involved with baby. I think it makes it that much more real for him :)
Anyway, that just got me thinking...

I think I’m going to really miss being pregnant with this little girl.  Sure, pregnancy has its aches, pains, gross things, and discomforts (and I’m sure in a couple months I’m just going to want her out!), but I really love it.  I AM anxious to see her face and to hold her, to get to know her personality, and to love her on the “outside”, but there is still just something about this connection and relationship I have with her now.  If you think about it, it’s basically physically impossible for the two of us to get much closer!  There is just something so incredibly unique about being pregnant and basically giving up your body for your child.  I love feeling her move and watching her bumping around in my belly!  Perhaps it’s just for this one moment, but for now, nine months seems like such a short amount of time!  I love her so much already and I can’t even fathom what the future has in store for us.  I like thinking about it-I can’t wait to see what she looks like, whose eyes she’s going to have, if she’s going to be a baldy or have lots of hair, if she’s going to be superly energetic or calm and contemplative-but for right now I’m just so content to hold her as closely as I’m ever going to be able to.

On a semi related note…

Karl laughs at me when I say this, but when I think about time in terms of baby (3 and a half months ‘til she’s here :D !!!!) time seems to being flying by!  Then again when I think about time in terms of school (three and a half months ‘til it’s over D: ????) that same amount of time seems like an eternity!!  I’m very interested in how the time will pass this semester because of my unique situation.  I’m dreading the end of this semester just a little bit (labor/delivery, newborn, AND finals—what an awesome combo!), so maybe it will fly by quickly?  Or is it going to drag on and on because of pregnancy discomforts and stressful classes?

I guess I’ll just have to wait and see—wish me luck!!!


Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Old Wives Tales



Disclaimer: I'm a pretty scientifically minded person, and I KNOW old wives tales are mostly ridiculous and have absolutely no meaning what so ever, so this is just for fun :)

Now that we have that out of the way... During that 20 week wait to find out baby's gender (drove me crazy, no idea how some people wait 40!!) people had a lot to say about what THEY thought the baby was.  So, now that we know our little jelly bean is a girl, I thought I would see how this pregnancy measures up to all the gender old wives tales that are floating around out there!

 

  • Heart Rate: The very first prediction I got was just after my first doctor's appointment.  Baby's heart rate was 160 bpm (and has been pretty much since then!) and apparently a high heart rate (over 140) means it's a girl :)
  •  Nausea: This Old Wives Tale says that if you're really sick first trimester (and/or beyond), then you can expect a girl!  I would say I was pretty DARN sick at the beginning of this pregnancy so I guess that's another point for the old wives!

  • Sweet Cravings:  Ok, seriously, ALL I want to eat with this little girl is SUGAR (can you say, Gestational Diabetes?)!! I constantly crave candy, pop, fruit, juice, cake, cookies, chocolate... basically, anything sweet!  We've decided that baby knows what she likes and has a fit if I don't give it to her (One day I got up and just ate some fresh cucumbers and tomatoes... and they promptly came back up again). The old wives say that sweet cravings mean a girl vs. salty and sour cravings that mean a boy :)  
  • Citrus Cravings: A random one that I actually had never heard before is that craving citrus means a girl, which is really interesting because about the only thing I wanted to eat for the first few months was oranges!

  • Carrying Baby: I'm pretty sure this is one of the best known gender myths: carrying low, round and in front (basketball) means a boy, carrying wide, and high (football) means a girl.  I don't totally get this one, but I would say I'm carrying pretty high, although I think that's because my torso is so short that baby has no where else to be but high!  Also, I guess she's kind of widening my middle a bit, but once again, I think that has way more to do with my body shape than anything! 
  • Weight Gain: Another one I believe I've heard is that girls make you gain weight in your hips, thighs, and butt, and I will sadly admit that is the case (no stretch marks on my belly yet, but my dang hips aren't faring so well!).
  • Mood: Girls are supposed to make you more moody and emotional than boys.  I know it sounds crazy, but I actually feel like I've been way more emotionally stable since I've been pregnant!  Sorry, old wives...
  • Graceful or Clumsy: If you feel more graceful, that means you'll have a baby girl, feeling clumsy means a boy.  Maybe it's just that I'm ALWAYS clumsy, but I feel like I've done nothing but trip over things, run into things, and drop things lately :/
  • Zits!: This one says that girlies "steal your beauty" and therefore if you're having a girl you'll have a bad complexion while you're pregnant.  The state of my face hasn't really changed since I've been pregnant, so I'm really hoping that doesn't mean I'm going to have an ugly girl, haha!

So, it looks like the old wives were eerily right on some things, lol!  What are the chances?

Friday, August 5, 2011

Year Number Three


I really can't believe that I've been married to my best friend for three whole years!  I really feel like it was just yesterday that I was impatiently awaiting our wedding day, and here we are!  It doesn't feel like that much has changed over the last five-ish years of our relationship, but when I think about it, a lot HAS changed.  I was actually thinking about this a couple of weeks ago...  

My dear friend looked at Karl's phone and noticed that he has me listed as "wife" on his phone, she said she hated that because she loves the butterflies she gets when the name of the guy-in-her-life pops up on her phone.  

Well, you know what?  I don't get butterflies when I see Karl calling me or texting me anymore. 

In fact, the tingles and butterflies are actually getting kind of few and far between.  I felt a little bit bad about this, but now that I've had sometime to think about it, I realize that it's not such a bad thing!  I do sometimes miss that ever present excitement that made our dating years so fun, but I've got something I think may be even better!  As dumb as it sounds, I feel like our love has "matured" a lot in the last five years.  Even as much as I thought I loved him the day we got married, it was nothing compared to how much I love him now.  Sure the tingles are fun, and they are great for getting people to get married in the first place, but it's the "deeper" love (the part hiding under the tingles) that gets you through all the tough times.

Karl and I have been through a lot since we first met--some awesome things and some really UN-awesome things--and we've come out of it on this end closer and more in love than ever.  I do still look at him and just marvel at how much I love him and how much he loves me.  I also still look at him and think to myself how attractive I find him, and wonder how I got him to marry me in the first place!

I guess the point I'm trying to make is that the butterflies aren't going to last forever, at least, they're not always going to be the same way they were in the beginning, but it's ok!  Things change as time goes on, but change can be good!

And now, since I'm on the topic of changes that have happened during our marriage, and juuuust for fun...
 
Me--August 4th, 2008



Me--August 3rd, 2011

All right, can't deny the photographic evidence... I'll admit I've changed a tiny bit since my wedding day!

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Big Brother Karl

Karl and 5 year old Preah
I love this picture!  I think it shows so well what an awesome big brother Karl is.  He is so cute with his baby sister Preah; she loves him! They run around, dance, shoot each other with nerf guns, have tickle fights, and wrestle til they drop!  I'm so glad he's going to be the father of my kids, because he's so good with little ones!  I'm not that energetic or fun, so my babies really lucked out when I picked Karl to be their daddy :)  Anyway, I just think Karl and Preah are so adorable that I decided to make a scrapbook page for them!

Here's where I need a few opinions... I made the original page and thought it was awesome.  THEN I tinkered with it and added a little extra color.  Now I can't decide which page I like better, and I need to pick one if I want to print it!!  So let me know what you think!! (You can also click on the pictures to see them better!)


Original "bland" version

Colorful version

OH!!! And while I'm on the topic of Preah and scrapbooks, I have to show off the pages that Preah made for the baby!  She was super cute and picked out every piece and told me where to put it.  She even told me exactly what to type on the picture.  She can be so sweet when she's not bouncing off the walls, lol!!


Monday, July 25, 2011

Arkansas!

See that little red bit in the corner?  That's where we are!
 After an hour drive to Layton to drop off a car and pick up a sister-in-law, then a 30 minute drive to the airport, a two hour flight to Tulsa, Oklahoma, a two hour drive into Arkansas, and lots of standing/sitting and waiting in between, we have finally made it to our destination!!  It was KILLER on my back (felt like I was sitting against a bunch of rocks the whole time), but worth it!  Only been here a day, but it's awesome to be able to visit the Smith side of the family in their superly awesome new Arkansas-ian home!

On another note, we've been to Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Missouri in the last two days!  Lots of traveling!!
Daisypath Anniversary tickers
Lilypie Fourth Birthday tickers
Lilypie First Birthday tickers