Baby's coming! Not today...but soon!

The reality that we will probably have the baby early is surreal. My due date is Jan. 28th and this whole pregnancy I had made up in my mind that the baby was going to be born in February. After all, most first time mom's go late rather than early. So when the possibility of having a premature baby came into reality two weeks ago, I was slightly very freaked out. Obviously about the health of the baby, but also because in my mind I still had a full+ month before the little girl was going to grace us with her presence and I wasn't ready. It was too soon!

We've made it two weeks since then, now we only have one more week and she'll be full-term! I will be able to breathe easier next Thursday. Even though I've progressed my midwife doesn't think I'll have a problem making it full-term, that gives me a great deal of comfort. Her prediction is week 38. So we'll see! For all we know maybe I still won't have a baby until February.

Thirteen days ago when we went to the hospital for our little scare I found out that the baby was 1/2 in. away from being engaged and my cervix was close to dilating, but nothing at that time. Five days later at my appointment I was about 1.5 cm dilated and nearly 25% effaced. We got the okay from my midwife and decided to travel to my parents for Christmas, which is two-hours away, we just knew I'd have to relax and take it easy. On Christmas Eve something felt different, I was having a lot of pressure and abdominal soreness/cramping, among some other symptoms. I was also getting a lot of braxton-hicks, nothing consistent though. On Christmas morning I made the mistake of doing a little reading online and totally freaked myself out. I read about all these things I was feeling and the results said it could be pre-term labor. I was very worried and couldn't relax, after all, I wasn't at home and the reality that my doctor was a couple hours away (not to mention the fact that we were experiencing the biggest snowstorm MN has seen in years,) was quite disturbing. But I knew I wasn't actually in labor and I had good enough reason to know that if you have signs of pre-term labor to drink a ton of water and lay down for awhile on my left side. After I relaxed and realized I wasn't going to have the baby that day things got a little better. I rationally tried to figure out the causes of my symptoms and to remember that several things were very quite normal to experience. I figured the baby must've dropped further, hence all the pressure and soreness. The only thing I could do was wait and take it easy.

I had an appointment with my midwife yesterday, anxious to see what my progress was, but scared too because of the ever-possibility of a preemie. I learned that I definitely progressed. The baby did drop and is past the engagement point. I am dilated 3cm and my cervix is 50% effaced. Crazy! To me that seems like a lot of progress in a short amount of time, but I also know that every woman is different and progresses differently. Some woman aren't dilated to 3cm until they're in active labor, some women are at 3cm for 3 weeks before they go into labor. Same goes for effacement. So obviously it all just depends. As I mentioned, my midwife thinks I won't have an issue making it full-term, she thinks this is just my body's way of preparing, so we will see what the progress is in a week. One week goes by fast, and after that the little angel can come anytime she pleases. It's all very exciting :) and even though the probability of her coming before the due date is likely, I don't want to get my hopes set on going early because if I do that'll just make the days miserable as I approach my due date. And the new discomfort added from the baby being so low, among all the other pregnancy discomforts is miserable enough. So, my spirits are good and now that I'm home and so close to the 37-week-mark, I feel very relaxed, excited and peaceful. It'll happen when it happens!

Just what the doctor ordered

This last weekend took a turn for a change that we weren't expecting, but turned out to be just what I needed. Wednesday night we had a little scare and had to go to the hospital, which resulted in getting instructions by my midwife to "rest." I was suppose to be getting my nieces that evening as I was going to watch them for the weekend, but when I asked her about this she advised me it wasn't a good idea - so I had to cancel on my sister and brother-in-law. I felt bad, for their sake, but I also wanted to listen to my doctor. Andy and I were both bummed about not spending time with two of the most adorable little girls on the planet, we had thought of some fun things to do while they stayed with us and were looking forward to it. I even bought all the supplies needed to make sugar cookies to frost and sprinkle, knowing it would've made a mess but thinking the girls would have fun doing it. (Side note: I actually bought shortening. Odd as that may sound my husband understood me when I declared this. I don't ever have shortening in my house. I don't cook or bake with it, for some reason it just grosses me out. Call me a weirdo, it's okay.) Anyways. I obeyed my instructions from my midwife and took it easy... which is something I haven't done in a long time.

I literally feel like I have been go-go-go since we moved back to MN in August. I can't even remember the last time Andy and I had a weekend with nothing to do. And during the week there was always something to keep me busy. So it was kind of a challenge for me just to sit still for a few days, but it turned out to be great.

Lets make it clear that I wasn't ordered on bed rest - my midwife told me if she could write a prescription to watch a Christmas movie every morning and night, she would. I asked her if she could include not cooking supper in the same prescription. :) I was just instructed to take it really easy and rest.

So being that we didn't have plans anymore, Andy and I spent a very lovely weekend doing absolutely nothing. It was perfect. The first two days I took my "prescription" very literal since I'm typically one of those people that find it hard to not be doing something - and I don't want to be cause of having our baby prematurely. So I spent the time watching movies, reading and staying in my PJ's. By Friday night I needed some fresh air, so Andy took me to a movie...New Moon, and I think he'll admit that he actually liked it. After the movie we tried a Mexican restaurant in town, it was excellent. Saturday, we did entirely nothing...and it was quite wonderful, though, I didn't stay in my PJ's all day. :) Sunday, we took a quick trip to Target to get all the rest of our baby "essentials" that we still needed, like wipes, gas drops, pacifiers, bouncer, etc. It was fun to pick stuff out. We went home and decided that since I'd already bought all the ingredients for those cookies, we shouldn't let them go to waste! So the two of us rolled out the dough, cut out shapes, baked and then decorated them. By the end we were tired of it - lol - and decided it would've been much more enjoyable with kids.

But regardless it was all very relaxing, peaceful and enjoyable - just spending time together and taking it easy. A weekend of doing nothing of importance really... was actually quite wonderful.

Little visitors

This last weekend we had a couple of little visitors stay at our house. Our nephews, Brendyn and Tyvan. I believe it was the first time they'd ever spent the night without Mommy and Daddy in a strange new house, and they did so well! They were so excited to come over, Brendyn kept calling our spare bathroom and the bedroom he was sleeping in, "My room," and "My bathroom." He unpacked his suitcase in the empty dresser and used every drawer - one for a shirt, one for a sock, one for pants... it was very organized!

We took them outside to hang up a strand of lights on our deck, the boys were very excited to help Andy. We bundled them up in some big-people hats and gloves and tried to keep them warm. It was cold, and so when we came back inside we had hot cocoa to warm up. Brendyn kept calling it "hot tea." Tyvan wasn't sure how to drink from the cup at first, so I helped him. But after he got the hang of it he inhaled it. It was so cute, he hardly came up for a breath of air!

Time sure flies when there are kids around. The day goes by so fast and before we knew it, it was bedtime. (They did an awesome job going to bed and sleeping all night. I didn't hear a peep out of them.)

The kids left Sunday night and when I woke up Monday morning the house was oddly quiet. I kind of missed the pitter-patter of little feet and the constant jabber of little voices. Andy and I talked later that day about the kids being here, he felt like it was a taste of parenthood and I know it got him excited to be a dad. It's funny, when you watch kids and the reality of your own baby is facing you at the door only weeks away, you look at things a little differently. All in all I think we made a pretty good team and even though I'm scared to become a parent, I'm excited out of my mind!

Tree is up, lights are strung, music is playing...it's time!

Time for Christmas! I love Christmas. Have I mentioned that? Well I do. I love everything about Christmas.

We always get a tree right after Thanksgiving and decorate the house so we can enjoy it as long as possible! We pick out a real tree, listen to Christmas music while we decorate, and enjoy a glass of wine or hot cocoa after it's all done! (I had hot cocoa this year... in case you're wondering.)

I love that Christmas means snow. The big fluffy kind is the best. I remember one time specifically there wasn't snow on the ground at Christmas, I almost cried.

I don't think there is anything I don't like about Christmas... And this year is our last Christmas, or Holiday for that matter, alone as a couple! Last Christmas ever without kids. So we are taking extra time to enjoy everything and enjoy being just us.

Apples

My neighbor's - that don't exist yet - have an apple tree in their yard. Since no one lives there we picked a bunch of the apples off the tree before the weather got too cold. Just a couple weeks ago I noticed that there were a few random apples left on the tree that hadn't fallen off yet, and I don't know if it was the lighting outside or the contrast of red apples, blue sky/water and brown deadness that caught my eye, but it looked like a picture. So I went outside and snapped a few pictures and played around with some editing effects.

The Results

If you read my last blog you will remember me mentioning some sewing projects I was starting. I spent a few days at my parents house and my mom helped me with my projects. I am finally getting around to putting up some pictures of the finished results - I am quite happy with the way they turned out!

I finally found a print for curtains! I wanted something simple and "pretty" for the nursery.

It was super tough to make curtains, I think it was the type of fabric - it was very hard to measure and sew, but they turned out in the end! The picture isn't great, but you get the idea.

I absolutely loved this print the minute I saw it and knew I had to make something for our little girl out of it. So I decided on a blanket. And it not only looks cute but feels real nice, it's that soft-stretchy-jersy-type material. I just love it!

I also made two oversized receiving blankets for my nephew, Liam, who was just born in October. I forgot to snap a couple pictures of the blankets before I gave them to my sister-in-law. But they were fun prints and turned out super cute!

Oh the possibilities!

One thing that will always remind me of my mom is fabric. I have so many memories of her sewing and picking out material for quilts or whatever project she was making. She'd take us to the fabric store and spend (what felt like to me) hours, matching up fabric swatches. I never really liked it much. I would stand there and wonder how in the world it could possibly take so long to pick out material. I'm sure I huffed and sighed, rolled my eyes, and gave my mom crap for how bored I was. Sorry mom.

I made a quilt once when I was maybe 12. I still have it. It's a big quilt, big enough to fit onto a king size bed. My mom helped me pick out material and taught me how to cut squares and sew them together. I did the entire quilt by myself (with my mom's guidance of course), and I remember it taking forever. I mean, forever. I thought it was never going to end. Just when I thought it was done, there was something else to do. I swore I'd never make another one. That was the end of my sewing desire.

That was, until recently. I am doing a nursery and in my searching to pull it together I became baffled by the price of curtains. I mean really, some things are just too expensive for what they are. And the windows in the nursery are kind of an awkward length, so I decided if I was going to go through the work of buying expensive curtains just to hem them - why not make my own? But then I soon found that making your own curtains can be just as expensive as buying them. Note that 'can' is the key word. I was looking in the wrong places, and at the wrong fabrics. After knowing where to look I have settled on making my own curtains, at a cheaper cost than buying them. And let me add...they'll be much cuter. I mean really, I didn't like much that was out there anyway - at least in the price range I was looking.

So I venture into a fabric store yesterday. I had no agenda and just decided to ho-hum around and look at all the different patterns. All these different colors and designs were calling to me, they kept saying, "ooh look how cute I am. I could be a ____." And I kept agreeing, saying back, "I love you." It was kind of like shopping for clothes, except the possibilities of what you could do with this cute new and enticing print was endless! I admit, I became my mom. I spent far too long in the store and I enjoyed every minute of it. And found way too many patterns that I liked and also got a list of too many ideas of things to make. Who am I becoming? I have always been artsy, but painting, drawing and music were more my thing, not sewing.

I went back into the store today to pick up a few pieces of fabric, Andy was with me. He became who I was when I was little - bored out of his mind and dying to walk out of the store and go home. And me, well I had a cart full of fabric trying to decide on what to choose and had a hard time deciding to put a few of my cute little friends away. I still have yet to get curtain fabric, there wasn't enough yards of the print I wanted, but that's okay, I have some other projects to work on. :)

We'll see what I say after I sit at a sewing machine for awhile. I might revert back. :)

New discoveries & yummy supper

Why is that all of the sudden when you hit the third trimester it seems like everything changes? I am a few weeks into my third trimester and already the baby's movements have started to become very painful at times, my back hurts, my legs hurt, I'm definitely getting exhausted by doing everyday normal things and all around I just feel completely different than I did a few weeks ago. Andy makes fun of me watching me walk when I'm completely exhausted. I admit, I probably look pretty silly. Sleeping is increasingly getting more and more difficult. The baby seems to get the hiccups just as I turn off my light for the night, which results in keeping me awake. :) Before I could get away with doing a bunch of things if I had the energy, but now, I can definitely tell when I overdue it. Just last night I wasn't feeling well, I had some intense back pain and my stomach hurt - I'm still trying to figure out if its contractions or not. Andy kept telling me all day to go lay down and take a nap (as I was having pains all day,) I kept telling him no, I wasn't tired enough to sleep and things needed to get done. But when supper came around I was utterly wiped out, so Andy, being the wonderful husband that he is, made me to go lay down and cooked supper for us. Salmon, au gratin rice and broccoli, and it tasted wonderful. I mean, really really yummy. I don't know if it was the fresh salmon we bought, or the fact that I didn't have to cook it - but every bite was just fabulous. It's not a new recipe but every time I make it I forget how yummy it actually tastes, better than any salmon I've had in a restaurant. I owe the credit to my sister-in-law, Tia, she found the recipe online and shared it with me. You should try it, it is very very very good.

SALMON

1 TSP ground Ginger
1 TSP Garlic powder
1/3 Cup Soy Sauce
1/3 Cup Orange Juice
1/4 Cup Honey
1 1/2 LBS Salmon fillet

1. In a large self-closing plastic bag, combine first six ingredients; mix well. Place salmon in big and seal tightly. Turn bag gently to distribute marinade.

2. Refrigerate 15 minutes or up to 30 minutes for stronger flavor. Turn bag occasionally.

3. Lightly grease grill rack. (I've cooked it over the stove too and used like 1/2 to 1 TBLS of butter to grease the pan.) Preheat grill to Medium heat. Remove salmon from marinade. Grill 12-15 minutes per inch of thickness or until fish flakes easily with a fork. Brush with reserved marinade (this is key to making it it taste really good!) up until the last 5 minutes of cooking time.

I said I'd never... but I did.

I did it. Something I said I was never going to do.

I have been sick for the past five days, fever, nasty cough and congestion and a sore throat. I feel miserable. Well, I am one of those that believes if you're sick - stay home, don't spread the sickness. Well, I went against my own rule. I seem to be over the fever part and my fridge and kitchen cupboards are screaming for some food in them. I very well could have sent my husband grocery shopping if I wanted to wait, but I didn't. I went myself, I've spent several days doing nothing but blow my nose and watch movies, so I wanted to step out of the house. But I totally shouldn't have gone, by the end of the trip I was twice as miserable and now feel worse than I did before I left. The whole time I felt like people were staring at me like they knew that I was sick and I shouldn't be out. Oops.

I did something else too.

I am also one of those people that believes that when you go to the grocery store you should buy something before you consume it. Anything - a bottle of pop/water, chips, etc. I have firmly stuck by this rule, until today. Twice I broke it. One, I was so incredibly thirsty I literally couldn't stand it, I drank a bottle of water before I bought it. Oops. Two, my lips are like the Arabian desert, they have never been so chapped before in my life, they look terrible and feel terrible. The only thing that I find ever works for my lips when they get this chapped is Vaseline - I also used that that today too before I bought it- several times. Oops, again.

14 weeks

Lately I have been realizing how little time I really have left before our baby arrives. It's exciting and nerve-wracking all at the same time! 14 weeks may not sound like a short time to you, but it does to me! For some reason when I think of time in terms of months, it seems longer. But no matter, weeks...months... she's going to be here before we know it!

I feel like my pregnancy has flown by. I guess that's a good thing though since so many woman complain that their pregnancies seem like they never end. I feel like I just found out that I'm pregnant, and now all the sudden I have a very noticeable pregnant belly and am struck with the reality that our life is going to be completely changed in just weeks!

I am enjoying being pregnant though. Sure, there are times - like when she moves onto my bladder and I have an instant and overwhelming urge to pee - that I don't enjoy. Or when I have to get up at least three times every night to use the bathroom. And when every time I do get up I feel sick to my stomach and have the urge to vomit, then, have a hard time going back to sleep. And when I gag every single time I brush my teeth. But despite all the nausea, weird body changes and the ever continuing difficulty to do normals things, I'm enjoying it.

Recently she's gotten a lot bigger and her movements are a lot stronger. I think it's cool that I can now physically see my belly move, ripple and pulsate when she moves. I enjoy that she seems to "calm" down when I rest my hand on my stomach. I think it's interesting that she loves when I do prenatal yoga. Every single time I do it I feel her move like crazy - I feel like she's doing flips in excitement or something, like she's got more room to stretch. I can feel her have hiccups. I also enjoy watching my husband think and talk about having a baby girl. I'm so excited to see him as a daddy. I enjoy throwing around name ideas, though, I've gotten to the point where I like so many names that I'm tempted to give her seven middle names just to use them all. ;) I am so insanely excited for the end of 14 weeks to see our baby girl and to hold her and kiss her!

But I'm nervous too. Real nervous. Being a mom? I've never done it before, I have no idea what I'm doing. I can try to prepare myself but I know no matter how much I do it's never going to be enough. It's not going to be just me and Andy anymore. I'm going to have a child. I'm going to give birth. I'm going to get huge and even more uncomfortable in my own body. There is so many things I need to do before then. Holy crap... that '14 weeks' thing is settling in again...

Back!

Well it's no lie that I have been absent from my blog for quite some time. Sorry. Hopefully I didn't lose any avid readers. My life hasn't been normal in any way for the last two months, and two weeks ago we finally moved into our own place and I have been busy cleaning, unpacking and organizing. Not to mention that we had issues getting internet hooked up at our house. Now that we finally have the working net at a good speed and I've got several rooms in my house organized and functional, I feel like I have time for things like... my blog!

So I'm back, for real this time.

Some new things:

• My blog background! The other one was too summery... plus I like change.
• I added an option on the right sidebar to follow my blog from facebook! Those of you facebook users that access my blog from my postings, you can now follow my blog without a google account!

Thoughts

I have to say that it is very easy to get caught up in "everyday" stresses, to the point where you're ruled by it... most of the time unknowingly so. And everything else just gets lost behind.

Ever been there?

I spent last weekend (labor day) at my parents house. Okay, not just the weekend...five days. :) I was looking forward to going as I was anxious for the chance to relax and re-evalute. I am definitely an extrovert at heart, but I need my alone time to think. I felt like my brain had been on fire for a couple months with no break...and I was exhausted. I'm sure most of you can relate. Sometimes just getting away or having a change in the pace of "normal" life can greatly ease.

My husband took a walk today and were discussing the on-load of thoughts we've been dealing with over the last couple months. I shared with him something I realized over the weekend: that being at that point makes us so vulnerable, its so easy to believe that that is "normal" and continue feeding into the busyness around us and completely lose sight of everything but what is right in front of us. Having our minds so wrapped up makes us susceptible to the ever-flowing temptations that try to rule our life. Its easy to forget things that are truly important, or things that we cared about, and before you know it you're making decisions you never thought you'd make.

Ever been there?

I am thankful to have had time to regenerate. I can focus on what's really important to me and being the person who I am, and the wife and mother-to-be that I want to be.

"Homesick", hormonal, or just plain tired?

It's an odd situation to be in, the one where you're in-between leaving an old life and starting a new one. We've been in Minnesota now for nearly four weeks, and of course are thankful to be fortunate enough to receive Andy's promotion and have the generosity of family to stay with, but it hasn't felt like we're actually living here yet. At least not to me. Last night I was struck with the realization that I had an entire life back in Indiana, and as I see pictures of my friends carry on with their life - the life that I normally would be part of - it makes me sad to think I'm not there. Regardless I would miss that and them, but I think it's a little more difficult since we haven't settled into a home here yet, and are having a hard time finding one, and that I haven't lived the normal daily things that I typically do. If I think about it... it has been an overload of constant stress for the last two+ months. First with packing, finishing up jobs, saying goodbyes, trying to sell our house... to the actual moving part, being away from Andy for two weeks, searching for a house, looking at house after house to be disappointed, living out of suitcases, and feeling like I'm intruding on the lives of those I'm staying with. :) So maybe I'm just tired. Or maybe I'm just hormonal.

The day has come!

On Sunday I thought I felt the baby move while driving in the car for 3 hours to my brother's house (my temporary place of residence). But it ended up being just gas.

Nice.

All day yesterday something strange was happening with my tummy and my chest, and I couldn't really figure out what was going on. I asked my sister-in-law what her heartburn felt like when she was pregnant and realized that I was having heartburn. It felt like someone was pushing on my chest and I slightly had a hard time breathing. Part of the problem solved. At 10 o'clock at night I was sitting on the couch by myself, everyone had already gone to bed, and my stomach lurched again - suddenly it finally hit me that I'd been feeling the baby move all day! YAY!!! I've been so excited to feel that from the moment I found out I was pregnant. And by the time I realized it everyone was in bed and I didn't have anybody to share it with. ;) That's okay, it's been fluttering quite a bit today again- very cool :)

Watch, I probably won't be saying that in a month or two when its constantly kicking me, but I'm enjoying it for now!

Also, my sister-in-law's midwife told her that if you can pinpoint what day you first feel your body move and then count five months from that day - that's your due date. Not sure if that's true or not, but if it is I'd be a couple weeks early! A girl can hope, right? :) But I've already programmed in my head the baby won't be born until February... that way if I'm on time, or early (not likely), I'll be surprised.

The Process

Well, it's two weeks later and I am still exhausted and stressed. I don't think that feeling will stop until we finally settle into our own place. After staying with my parents for two weeks while Andy traveled to Chicago, and back and forth from Minneapolis for training, we moved in with my brother and his family. We are only an hour away from Andy's work and our soon-to-be home town, hopefully things won't feel so stressful now that traveling has been cut back quite a bit.

I'm in the process of trying to find a home for us. I'm trying not to be too picky, but I want to like where we live if we're going to be there for the next year or two. I really don't want to live in apartment. It's really hard to go from owning a big whole home to moving into a smaller place, and I really had my hopes set on finding a house to rent. But so far, nothing. I have one option, an apartment that only has four units in the building and its outside of town and even has a nice view of a lake, but just the fact that its an apartment is stopping me from getting it. I don't love it, there is a couple of things I don't like about the place - I can't paint, which isn't a surprise, but I really wanted to do a nursery for the baby, so I'm a little bummed about that. And the layout of the living room is kind of impractical, and there is a couple of other things I dislike. Am I being too picky? I figured if I don't find a place by the end of this week then we'll probably just take that place. It just doesn't scream "home" to me, but then I'm not sure if anything will until I've lived there for awhile.

Who knows.

I'm still crossing my fingers for a house! :)

Cold and Exhausted.

We made it. After a not-so-fun week of packing, finishing work, saying goodbyes and 14 hrs of traveling I am left completely exhausted. I am glad to be in Minnesota finally after all the preparations to move, but its friggin' cold! You Minnesotan's weren't joking when you said it has been a crazy non-summer by being colder than usual. I've cuddled with a blanket all day - apparently it was around 62 ish degrees our first day here. Whoo. Hoo. It's August, seriously? 62 degrees? Sigh. Well, it'll be an adjustment for awhile, not having a permanent place to live just yet, colder weather, living out of suitcases... I am glad to be here though, I just desperately need to relax for a little bit and recover and I will be a much happier camper. Sleep. Sleep....ah how lovely you sound.

My first baby shower

Monday night I hop in the car with a couple friends to meet some other ladies for a "girls' night" while Andy went with his friends for a "guys' night," one last hoo-rah before we move this weekend. We get to one of my favorite restaurants in town (a unique old-style restaurant that used to be used as a brewery) and once inside I discovered that this "girls' night" is actually in fact a baby shower for me! A total surprise, I had no idea. Who typically gets a baby shower at only 13 weeks along? I felt so loved and so honored that they did that for me. My friends said they wanted to do something since I was leaving, they've been praying for this baby almost as much as I have been- so I know they're disappointed not to be able to see it when it arrives and see me get big and pregnant! It was such a blessing and a fun night.

I felt so special. :)

My friends here are great. I am truly going to miss life here and the people most of all. Can't I just pack them up with me and take them along? ;)

Baby Bump 13 weeks!

Garage Moving Sale

I am having a moving sale right now, its the first sale I've ever done by myself. Its a little tricky to attend to the stream of people coming to shop at the sale and try to do necessity things like use the bathroom, or eat. On top of that with being pregnant I get really sick when I get too hungry and I of course make more frequent trips to the bathroom. So much fun.

I'm typically a huge fan of garage/yard/moving sales. Scoring deals on things like kids clothes for instance: people sell things for 25cents, things their kids only wore once or twice and grew out of. I love buying basically brand new things for a fraction of its original cost. Granted, you do have to do some searching and there are a lot of junk thing and sales.

I've put on four garage sales in the last five years. Its a lot of work to put together, organize and price things, but it has always been worth it, walking away with profits of hundreds of dollars for getting rid of things that you never used anyway. I've always gotten good reviews from the garage sales I've participated in, comments like "Oh! This is nice stuff!" or "Wow, you sell really cheap." Or "I need to tell my friend about this sale!" That makes me feel good, not only because I'm getting rid of things and making money but because it appears to be helping and making someone's day because they scored a deal. I know I love it when I score deals- I'm glad I can do that for someone else.

However, this particular sale has been rather exhausting, boring, frustrating and not as pleasant as previous ones. I find myself more and more irritated with some people.

• Like when someone switches tags on your items, taking off the $1 sticker and putting on the 25 cent one from something else. Just ask if I'd take less... don't be dishonest about it.
• Or when someone asks if you'll take less and you say no or counter offer and they get pissed about it and walk off in a huff.
• Or when someone offers you $5 for an item that was $15 and you counter offer and then they turn around and counter that offer with "How about $6?" Umm...if I didn't take $5 why do you think I'd take $6. Seriously.
• Or how about when you total someone's purchase "It'll be $5 please," and they scrounge through their purse trying to come up with the amount and give you $3.50 claiming that's all they have and expect you to say "Okay, that's fine." Whatever, its just stuff, I gave them the deal.
• Or when that very person comes back that same day and buys more things. Hmm, maybe they have a Mary Poppins purse and money just magically appears in random amounts. No, she didn't offer to pay for the stuff I let her take.

Sigh. Don't you just love garage sales. :) Typically I do. But not today. I'm so ready for four o'clock to come.

News and a Story

Okay, first let me explain why I haven't blogged in awhile. My life has taken the turn for some life altering changes, one of which we were trying to keep a secret for awhile and the other because we weren't certain on yet. So every time I wanted to blog it involved either of the two things going on in my life- thus explains my absence.

Now, I'm back.

And I'm pregnant! (if you haven't heard yet)

We've wanted a baby for a long time (that's another whole story) and were surprised and thrilled to finally get a positive test result! I wanted to tell everyone right away but we really wanted to tell our families in person so we waited five long weeks for our scheduled trip back home and it was worth the wait to see everyones faces! So now that they know, everyone gets to know!

The other big news.... we're moving! My husband got promoted to run an office in Minnesota - which of course he is very excited about - they actually created the job for him so we were both completely blown away and thrilled. We always intended to move back to MN but didn't think everything would happen so suddenly and fall into place like it has. We are excited, though nervous, and I'm especially nervous because we're moving in less than three weeks! We just found out that they want him there earlier than we expected (we thought we'd have six weeks or so) but nope...only three! I'm slightly freaking out about everything that needs to get done in this short amount of time. This week especially is so incredibly busy I can hardly think. I'm consciously trying not to get stressed and to take it easy, and I keep telling myself that it's okay if not everything gets done. :)

So because of all this talk about moving I debated whether or not to go to the doctor/midwive here or wait until we move. When I first found out I was pregnant there was a possibility of us moving so I wanted to wait until it was more definite before I made a decision about going in. Mainly because I'm not on insurance and I'd have to go through the hassle of getting on state insurance just for one doctors visit only to move and try to get on insurance again. So I called up the hospital here and talked to a nurse and asked her if she could give me an honest opinion, I told her my situation and she said that if it were her she'd wait to see the doctor/midwife until she moved. If I was high risk or used some method to get pregnant I would've gone in in a heartbeat, but since I'm not and we didn't, we both felt comfortable waiting.

Don't yell at me. :) I know some would frown on that decision. But I feel comfortable about it and think I'm knowledgeable enough on prenatal care to be safe.

So I was talking to my boss yesterday about all of this (I work for a couple that are in the medical profession) and she didn't disagree with my decision, instead she made a startling offer and I was crossing my fingers in hopes that it would work out. She suggested that since she was supervisor that night at the hospital she could "sneak" me in and use the doppler on me to hear the heartbeat - though we weren't sure if we'd actually hear it since I'm only twelve weeks along. But I hoped!

I got the call that we could come in and try just as I was getting ready to go to bed (okay, it was only nine, but I had to get up at 4:45 this morning so I was trying to call it an early night.) We get there and a nurse pulls out the doppler and tries to search for the heartbeat, she told me if we couldn't find it not to worry, it didn't mean something was wrong it could just simply be too early to hear it. She rubbed that thing all over my tummy and my heart sunk when I realized we weren't finding anything. Then all of the sudden you could hear its speedy little heart racing its beat - it was amazing! Of course I knew and believed I was pregnant this whole time, but actually hearing your baby inside makes it so much more real! The nurse turned off the doppler and said, "Okay, now that I've heard that lets do an ultrasound." Andy almost freaked, just on the way in he said that it would be awesome if we could get an ultrasound done. I told him that it wasn't going to happen, my boss was pulling enough strings for me just to hear the heartbeat. So to our utter surprise when she announced that and pulls in this old ultrasound machine it was like Christmas morning! Seeing the baby was so amazing, I can't even describe it. There's actually a little life growing inside of me...wow. The baby never stopped moving, it was kicking its legs and arms everywhere and bouncing around. The nurse kept saying "Oh wow, that's a good shot" I guess our little baby was putting on a show for us and making sure we got to see its little arms and legs and freaky alien eyes. :) We got a few pictures, though they're not very good, she said the machine was old and didn't even know if the printer would work. But we got a couple shots nonetheless!

I was blown away. Totally unexpected and very very generous of my employer to do that for us. It was so exciting, not only because we got to see our baby, but because we weren't expecting it at all. I am so thankful to her for doing that for us, free! Wow, I feel truly blessed right now.

Camping

I grew up going camping every year with my family. It was a yearly family tradition and in general I loved it. The only thing I didn't love were the endless hours of fishing. I'm not talking about just a couple of hours on the boat...it was all day event, everyday. We came back to eat and that was about it. I still remember peeing in a bucket and pouring it over the side of the boat. My sisters and I would read through book after book trying to be quiet so as to not scare the fish away while our parents and brothers fished. I never really liked that part much when I was younger. However, as an adult I can honestly say I enjoy every part of camping- except the bugs. I do enjoy fishing now, as long as it's in moderation. I love, love, love being on the lake- especially at sunset and sunrise if I'm ambitious enough to get up early to go fishing with my dad and brothers, (this year I wasn't so ambitious.) I love lounging, relaxing and having no agenda. Campfires is a must, especially with s'mores.

Oh, and let me make one quick note about our family camping: we don't rough it. Sure, some of us sleep in tents, but my parents drive their RV and park it, so we've got a place to store lots of yummy food and supplies. We cook over a grill, not a campfire (even though I love the taste of campfire cooked food) we have pancakes and sausage for breakfast, and enjoy an endless supplies of snacks. We also have bathroom facilities and showers where we camp. Some say that's not true camping, but I choose to differ. I've done both types of camping and yes they are different experience, in my opinion it's all camping just the same!

Here are some pretty pictures I took on the boat:

And these are my adorable nephews. I had so much fun camping with them, they had a blast!

This is fearless Tyvan. He loved playing at the beach and tried to catch the duck that kept hanging around. When I say fearless, I mean fearless. Tyvie's first swimming experience was a face plant into the water- a minute later he was in the water and loving it. He had no fear looking over the edge of the boat- if someone hadn't been holding onto his life jacket at all times he probably would've went for a dip!

This is prince Brendyn with the prince crown I made out of flowers. He loved fishing, we were on the boat for three hours one night and he enjoyed every second of it. Could be because he caught five fish! He caught more than anyone that night. He loved reeling them in but didn't want to touch them.

Andy didn't have too much luck fishing- he was getting so frustrated not catching anything so he decided to use Brendyn's kiddie pole since Brendyn had so much luck. Haha! This makes me laugh. :) He ended up catching a few throughout the whole trip.

All in all, camping was a blast. We went home utterly exhausted. Inconsistent sleep, being outside 24/7 and weather changes from cold to hot definitely wears a person out. I got home, laid in bed just to catch my breath from bringing in luggage and was out within twenty seconds! I'm still recovering. :)

My Nieces

The last two days I've been able to enjoy some time with my sister Heidi and her two girls at our parent's house. I love my family and have so much fun spending time with them- regardless what we do. The girls love to be outside, go for four-wheeler rides and pick wildflowers. They're so much fun to watch and every time I see them they've changed so much from the last visit.

These are my nieces, aren't they gorgeous?

This is the beautiful and adventurous Berlin

This is the lovely and imaginative Trynica

And Andy has enjoyed spending time with the girls too :)

I kinda like them. :) I kinda like my nephews too... can't wait to see them in a few days! (Except Gabe who is in S. Korea...MISS YOU!)

Feline Experience

My favorite part of the zoo has always been seeing the lions and tigers, but they always seem to be hiding and I never get a good look at them through all the layers of metal, gorges, wire and sometimes glass.

Well yesterday I got to experience lions and tigers up close, literally within touching distance. Separated by only chain link fence. Exhilarating. I'm positive that at any zoo you would never been allowed to be so close to wild animals. Experiencing this place is definitely not like a touring a zoo- it was intense.

The rescue is a facility that provides permanent homes for exotic cats that have been rescued from abused owners. They have nearly 200 cats there, and it costs no more than a movie to take a tour and come close enough to the animals to touch them. It was the second time I'd been there, the first time was a year ago: I went on a field trip with some kids between the ages of 3 & 6. At the time I was more concerned about holding onto the kid I had in each hand than observing the animals. Each adult was paired up with two kids- I don't think I'd ever gripped a child's hand as firmly as I had theirs. Especially when we walked between two cages and had a lion and tiger paces us earnestly on either side. Yeah. Holy crap.

Yesterday was the second trip. I'd wanted to take Andy there since I'd been the first time, I knew he would like it. We went with some friends of ours and their three kids. At the first tour stop the guide told us that the lions will stalk the little ones, its their instinct. We didn't totally believe it until one of the lions whole demeanor changed when the little ones came by and eyed them like they were lunch, the look in the face was freaky. Here's a picture of one of the lions staring down one of the kids, just before he growled at him. (It's a little hard to see his face but his eyes were scary.)

And this one was hunting us. Can you see him? I couldn't believe how well he blended in- for how big he was. We could hear him growling before we could actually see him.

Did you know that tigers actually get larger than lions? Yeah, me neither. Some of tigers we saw were 600 lbs!

See the trail between the cages in this picture? Yeah, we walked through that- for a long time. And they tell you stay 3 feet away from the cages... That trail is barely larger than 3 feet wide! The lion in the picture followed us, the second picture is literally how close we were to some of the animals. It's not a good picture, but it gives you the idea. It's not zoomed in. You literally could've touched them. Not that I wanted to!

These pictures don't really do the experience justice. It was incredible to be so close to the animals. To see the sheer mass of their size. To be warned to move along quickly by the tour guide when the animals showed signs of aggravation. To hear how loud a small growl is and imagine what a roar would sound like.

Oh, did I mention that a cougar escape from here last year and was never found? Holy crap!

Project

So I haven't blogged in awhile, sorry about that. I feel like I've been running around like a chicken with its head cut off. Things have been crazy with work, normal life stuff, and trying to "fix up" our house as we're thinking about putting it on the market soon. So I've been doing lots of cleaning, fixing little odds and ends trying to get things just right. I didn't realize how filthy my windows were until I started cleaning them, or how much a few paint touchups can make a room look so much nicer.

Our biggest project was the outside of our house. We attempted landscaping last year and just let it go- so we had to bascially start over again this year. I've decided that I like, and dislike, gardening. I like that it makes my house look nicer, and I like doing things that I can see the outcome progress; but I don't think I have the patience to be really good at it. We're definitely not perfectionists about it, but it was fun to do together.

We laid new rock in our driveway and expanded it a bit.

Most of my lilies I planted last year in the back flower bed came up nicely again this year, I only had to replant two, and we laid new mulch. Our bush still needs to get trimmed though.

This is our front of the house. We planted the "tree/bush" and laid mulch, last year we planted the hostas plants. I still want to get a couple of flowers to add to the corner bed -maybe. I haven't decided yet. We also hung some potted flowers.

Our front flower bed was kind of an experiment. It turned out okay, I don't totally love it, but it doesn't look bad either. I planted some impatience- but I didn't have many colors to choose from.

We also planted two trees in the front of the house. They still need some mulch at the bottom though.

So here it is, the finished product. Now I've got to paint a couple rooms inside and it'll be ready!

Picture

Real quick.

I just had to post this picture I took at work yesterday. I just had to capture this on camera, it was so cool. It just amazes me how nature paints masterpieces everyday right before our eyes. I love it.

p.s. I know lots of you visit my blog! Don't be shy about leaving comments, I always love to read your thoughts! There's even an option to comment anonymously if you want!

Minnesota

There is something special about going to my parents house. First, its a vacation for us--some people don't have that luxury when they visit their parents, but everything about staying there screams vacation. It's remote, quiet, we're usually there for a week (which it always seem a lot longer--in a good way) and you're surrounded by people who love you for you--no strings attached, no pressure, no expectation. What better break from everyday-life could you ask for that doesn't require a passport or a hole in my purse?

Second, there's always an abundant of very tasty coffee, and yummy breakfast (there's nothing like my parents breakfasts'!)

Third, it's surrounded by woods. Not just a block of trees and on the other side is civilization. I mean...a forest. That alone adds to the remote feeling (well, not a feeling really--its a fact) and peacefullness. Sometimes it freaks me out when I come back from visiting friends and its dark out (and by dark I mean pitch black) I start to imagine a bear wandering in the yard or raccoons ready to snip at my feat by the garage--I usually run walk really fast up the walkway to the house and make lots of noise.

Fourth, I just love spending time with my family. Going for walks, riding four-wheeler, playing games, whatever catches our fancy. I have four siblings, three sibling-in-laws, and five nieces and nephews--I don't get to see them very often so I cherish the times that I do!

These are some fun pictures I took of my nieces and nephews. They are just so cute!

I stole this picture off my sister's camera. (L to R) my big sis Heidi, me, and sister-in-law Tia (we're missing my younger sister Kayla--she's overseas!)

Oh, and Heidi posted a fabulous blog about visiting our parents--her story is quite a bit more interesting than mine!

On a side note: this is the busiest trip I've had yet! I went somewhere almost everyday--though it was all in good fun! Lots of trips with and to my other family--the in-laws, which is always a good time! I am lucky to have in-laws that feel like family :)

And I got to spend some time with some dear friends of mine! (It stinks to live so far away from life-long friends, but I do love that they're the kind of friends that when you get together its as if nothing every changed and you pick-up where you left off!)

This is a picture of some very very good friends of mine (we've been friends for ages!) Ryan, Teri and their son Ezra. They are like family!

Lastly, we drove home on Andy's birthday--so I took advantages of the fact that we were with our families and threw a little surprise birthday party for him before we left to celebrate his birthday. It was last minute (bad me) but it was fun and he didn't expect it--I'm just glad he got to enjoy that for his birthday instead of just a crummy twelve-hour car ride.

It was fun! And I can't wait to go back again :)