I did it!

 I made my first thing for the baby today. I feel so accomplished. Now, don't look closely, I am not great at sewing. I always TRY to do it, and well I think I lose my patience so quickly and never can finish. But I finally did! 

 I fell in love with this fabric about a week ago and could not decide what to do with it. The colors don't quite show up but its more coral, seafoam and grey with a cream background. The whole thing is very simple, but for someone that does not sew it is still a challenge. The back is minky dots which I love so much and if it was not so expensive I would make all my blankets out of this stuff. There are two huge layers of batting in the middle because baby girl will be born in the end of fall early winter and I wanted to make sure she is toasty. This made the blanket a little bit more difficult to work with but I knew the end result would be worth it. 

 Finally finished, it only needed one more step. Since I have the dog about the size of a new born everything is "Puppy Tested, Mommy Approved". So here is Sophie testing out the swaddling capabilities of the blanket for her little sister. Its a little big but that makes it extra comfy! 

P.S. Have you ever met a dog that willingly laid on their back while their master swaddled them? 

Then STAYED there?

I seriously have the best dog in the world. 

 Silly girl cuddled right in and almost fell asleep. 

 She was a little upset when I unwrapped her and would NOT get off of the blanket. Guess she wants one of her own. 

So that being said, maybe I don't suck completely at this crafting thing and I will give it another go. The best part was feeling baby girl go CRAZY while making it and the smile on my face knowing its all worth it. 

Can't wait to meet her in a few months. 

To the beautiful women in my life

I know I say this alot but I have been so blessed in my life. I have so many wonderful women influence my life! They are wonderful examples of the kind of women I want to be in my life.

My Grandmother is amazing. I have really grown to love and appreciate the wonderful quialities she possesses. My grandmother sees the beauty in everything. She appreciates a beautiful note in a song, or a flower just ready to bloom. I think, how often do I stop and think about the things around me? Not enough. 

Being a mother of eight, Grandma knows compassionate. She is BEYOND compassionate for everyone. She has adopted every neighborhood kid and they frequently visit the house for cookies and a tea party. Her door and pantry is always open. My grandmother has a strong testimony. She knows her beliefs and will tell anyone who will listen. We were privileged to share our first few year of marriage living with her and my Grandfather, and see their wonderful examples of a happy marriage.

My mom taught me about life. She taught me the value of a dollar. She put up with the crazy teen years. She indulges with me in the occasional spa night. She still lets me cuddle in her bed when I come to visit. She taught me discipline and how to clean the house. She pushed me to use my talents and to try my hardest in everything that I do. Though she may be the busiest women I know, she always made time for our family. She came to every baseball game (including being the coach) and choir concert without fail. She taught me that life isn't fair but that is ok. She taught me to not gossip and to try and find the best in every person and situation. My mother is always willing to listen to my problems and to help figure out a solution. She has kissed every ouchie better and nursed every cold. She really has taught me everything I know and she continues to teach me as I prepare to become a mother as well. 

My mother in law has now been in my life for almost four years. She is great. I have loved getting to know her over the years and learn all about her life as a mother of FIVE boys. She is a trooper to say the least.  She frequently reminds me that there is nothing better then sitting on the beach with a good book and your toes in the sand... unless you include a pack of Dr. Pepper and some red vines, then that is heaven. She is very creative and is always working on a project for church or sewing an outfit for herself or her grandkids. She is a thrift store master, this woman always seems to find a diamond in the rough.. and is always willing to share her amazing finds with me! She is always coming up with fun new things to do with her grandchildren and I think she really loves being a grandma. She has had almost seven years of experience to get the hang of it. My mother in law does a great job of including people and trying to never leave anyone out. We always have a good time when we are at their house. She has made me appreciate the little things in life. 

I truly love these women. 

I am excited to be a Mother because of them. Mothers hold such a dear place in our hearts that can never be replaced. They teach us how to grow. How to love. How to live.
Mothers are amazing.

I'm not good at keeping secrets....

So for those of you who have been waiting and wanting to know what we're expecting....

 We are thrilled! Yes, its true. We were waiting till Mothers day to share the news. BUT we have known for almost a month now and its just too hard to keep referring to her as "it". We were waiting to share the news because Zach's younger brother Josh is currently serving a mission. He will be calling Mothers day, and since he was not here to share the news that we were pregnant, we figured at least he could be the first to know if it was a boy or girl. Then after much deliberation, we decided that with 5 brothers, none of them are really going to even care... and they will care even less when they find out its a girl. That being said we slowly started leaking the information to our friends and family. The brothers still don't know. The parents do. And any friend we happen to see we tell them as well. So there you have it. My little one is a girl. I will have a daughter. Wow. Poor Zach, is becoming out numbered 3-1. 

Boys are gross

Last week we I have been packing. Zach was busy studying for the MCAT and his finals. 

This week, I am still packing and Zach is out of town on a conference. Perfect timing all around.

There are piles of stuff in every room. Our house is a mess. Honestly, I will miss this place. There was plenty of space and everything is clean. The lights may not all work and it may have its fair share of problems but it was our home and it was nice. 

 Progress is being made slowly, eventually it will all be done and we will move.

He was home one afternoon and I put him to work for a few hours. I miss him, he is a huge help. Mostly because I am too weak and fat to carry the heavy stuff right now. So I pack boxes and leave them everywhere and he has to be the one to put the in the same room.  

Then yesterday we got the keys to our new place. We weren't able to move in yet because the place is dirty! (AND Zach isn't home and I'm not quite finished packing.) I went over yesterday and  the deep cleaning began. 6 hours and a couple friends later, we made a slight dent in the place. That black bucket of crud? Shampooing ONE small area on the carpet. Gross. That mattress? Found in one of the rooms. Barf. There was an inch of dust on EVERYTHING. BOYS. ARE.GROSS.

Dear Mothers, Raise your boys to be clean freaks. Teach them to freak out over dirt. Show them how to use a vacuum and wash a dish. They need these life skills, and their future wife will love them for it. Not to mention that you may reap the benefits until they move away.

The good part is that this have given me something to do and really helped with my "nesting urge". Sadly its for nothing baby related but I still have a while to go before I need to worry about that.

How to make a move

Step one: This works best if you are not actually planning on moving to begin with. Being caught by surprise causes an entire excitement and urgency about the whole thing or as I like to call it, motivation.


Step two: Have this news fall at the worst possible time. For us that would be middle of finals week, Zach taking the MCAT TOMORROW and both of our jobs being cut back for the summer so finances are extremely low. 


Step three: Start right away being glued to your computer looking for any and all cheap living situations that are still open. Call several strangers and try not to curse or yell at them when they say the apartment is already taken. 


Step four: Cry in your bedroom (without your husband seeing) because you are very emotional, stressed and 5 months pregnant attempting to do all this alone.


Think you can handle all of this?


If so, you are now ready to begin the packing process. During the process, you may begin to wonder why you have any stuff at all. You may become so delirious that you ask preposterous questions such as: Is there a reason that our family of three owns 37 plates? Who bought all of these decorative picture frames? And why does a person own 29 pairs of shoes? I mean, you can only wear one (MAYBE two) pairs at a time, so what's with the extra 27? You may also be tempted to just drop a match on everything and run. Resist that urge.


It is imperative that during your move you do the following: (in no certain order) 
* Eat all food in the fridge and freezer and promise yourself that you won't make a grocery store run until you get into your new place.
* Now starve for a couple days because you ate all the food too soon and your only option is now the dollar menu at your local fast food place.
* Don't do laundry, ever. If you must do some laundry, either forget about it in the washer or dryer. Whatever you do, DO NOT FOLD AND PUT AWAY.
*Pull all of your items out of every drawer in your house and make a nice mountain to tackle. Get upset, and cover said mountain with a blanket and walk into another room. 
* Make list of all the things you will need in your new home. Cry, crumble up list and throw away. Eat ice cream and see whats on TV instead. 
*Realize that pregnancy has taken almost all of your energy and this move is taking forever, so you should stop to blog about it or take a nap.
*Attempt to leave husband alone because he needs to study for the biggest test of his life. Do not call or text him even though you have a million questions to ask. 
*Once you have found a place, visit it and plan the lay out of your new home. Try not to gag when you walk in the door and the overpowering smell of a boys locker room permanently creeps up your nose. You continue to smell it even though you left the home 15 minutes ago.
*Demand your husband stop at the store and buy as much air freshener and cleaner as possible. (you're not going to the new place without it)
*Once you have put off actually packing as much as possible; you must now throw your crap randomly into different boxes. Then you are finished.


There you have it, Packing 101. I should write a book. 


DISCLAIMER: This being my third move in three years you would think I would be a pro at it. I am not. My handy dandy friend comes to my rescue every time. With out her, I would have broken dishes and break downs every 5 minutes. So thank you dear friend for coming to my rescue, listening to me whine and helping me pack. I am so thankful for you in my life and there are not enough cookies in the world to pay you back for what you do.  So thankfully I am not completely alone during all of this. 

Quotes

" You are good enough.
You are smart enough.
God loves you and he will make you strong enough. "


A friend said this to me in a note that I just happened to find today. It could not be more perfect for the current situations in our life.

ducky

This is my ducky at the ultrasound this week. For those of you that are looking at this photo and trying to guess what the heck you are looking at... its the profile of the baby on the right and the left is the arm. It likes to stay in a tight curled ball and not move around much or act out for the "camera". The most movement we got to see was when the nurse poked my tummy a few times to wake it up, and then it started to move its mouth and suck a little bit. For the most part, it was completely content staying asleep and did not want to be bothered. Lets hope that means this baby is very laid back and likes to sleep tons. (*dreaming*)

Maybe it will have Zach's personality instead of being a spaz like me. 

I'm sorry that this blog has turned into baby central. Let's be honest. I don't really have much else going on right now. I work full time for Ital LLC and grow a human inside of me 24 hours a day.  Husband on the other hand is extremely busy. Let me give you a current run down of his life:

Zach takes the MCATS next weekend. That is a huge step towards medical school, obviously. He has been studying like mad, on top of studying for finals to finish his SECOND bachelors degree. 

That's right, I said second. 

He also just became the student senator for the School of Public Services for Utah Valley University. This is a brand new position and makes him responsible for several new things. He will have meeting and weekend conferences to attend. As well as be the voice of the students and manage their budget. We got to go to a fancy dinner last night to watch him be swarn in for his new position. 

He currently works two full time jobs as well as school full time. He works on call as a Psychiatric Tech  in the ER for Provo Hospital. Sometimes during the day, but mostly at night and on the weekend. 

He also teaches paramedics and EMT classes on two different campus during the week. 

His new club on Utah Valley Campus (Emergency Response Team)  has officially started which takes up a good chunk of his time as well. He volunteers several hours a week, runs meetings, talks to important people, interviews new team members and makes sure the entire thing runs smoothly its first year. 

This is not a paid activity.

Did I mention, he still has time to be a rock climber, teach Elders quorum and be a husband during all this? He is a hard worker and typically puts in 16-18 hour days EVERY DAY. Which means he leaves around 7am most days and is home usually between 10 - 11pm.   He is the hardest working person I have ever met. I am extremely proud of him and his desire to continue his education and his follow his passions.

I bet you are thinking to yourself at this point, and I thought MY husband worked long hours?

 Consider yourself lucky that your husband is home most nights and at a reasonable hour too. 

But don't worry about little old me. Somehow I manage being alone.

 I'm not saying that its easy or that I even like it, but I know one day it will be worth it all.