Pregnancy Update

How far along?  34 weeks and 3 days
Total weight gain: 27 lbs
Stretch marks? Heaven help me. I swear I applied gobs of cocoa butter daily....oh well, all in the name of love!
Sleep? I can't complain tooooo much, but lately my back will get really stiff if I am up on my side too much. Tylenol PM is fabulous and I love it. Lately I have been needing to get up quite a few times in the middle of the night to visit the bathroom, last night was 4 before 5 am....i'm pretty positive his head is smooshing my bladder! :)
Movement: Goodness gracious. We nicknamed him Monkey for a reason. He is quite the wiggle worm! He will stretch when I give him room and his cute little butt will pop out right above my belly button. It's fun because we can hold it and feel like we are interacting with him a little more! However, I DO NOT like it when he stretches so much he kicks me in the ribs. Today he managed to push his head on my bladder and kick me in the ribs at the same time. It was the first time I had to yell at my son! :)
Food cravings: Water! Mountain Dew (which I NEVER liked before) ,V8 splash, english muffins have been frequent, cheese, anything carbs really. oh, STEAK! Which I never liked before, either! He is definitely a boy, who loves boy food.Thank goodness I haven't gained too much weight. What is frustrating is I can barely eat anything. My eyes are bigger than my stomach!  I might want more things if everything didn't give me heartburn!
Gender: Boy  
Labor Signs: Braxton Hicks, cramps, and I guess high blood pressure counts, because if it stays up, it will be happy birthday to the little man. I am on bed rest until then. I haven't been "checked" yet, but that will start in 2 weeks to see if there is any progress going on down there! (I personally think he is ready ;) )
Belly Button in or out? Flat? Depends on the day and the time. If he is poking out, so is my belly button. If he is hiding farther back, its in pretty far. The top sticks out the farthest. 
What I miss: Feeling healthy. This has been a rough pregnancy. And that is not just my opinion :) The Docs agree! Bed rest is no fun, so I miss freedom. It is a bit depressing that it is summer and I am hanging out on the couch when I want to be out and about, walking, swimming, playing in the park, boating, camping, etc, but I would MUCH rather have a healthy, happy, little man! 
Monthly Wisdom: Just because you feel fine, you are not. This is true. It's crazy that you and the baby are in incredible danger in regards to blood pressure, and you don't feel a thing! I am learning to listen to my body, and things that I think might be alarming, probably are. I am grateful that pregnancy has forced me to listen to my body more. 
Milestones: I just love being able to say "I will have a baby next month!" It has been a long journey, but it really has flown by! I also secretly enjoy the rib kicks because it means my little man is getting so big! :)

Morgan, this one is for you...!

Ok, so I guess it has been a while since I have updated this, but most of you know what is going on in our lives already! 

First of all, on Nov 12, we found out that we were pregnant! It was such an exciting time for us, especially since we had been trying and praying for so long! About 2 weeks later, I was having some troubles and had to go to the emergency room in St. George, while attending Miranda and Jordan's wedding. At the ER, we were told that we would be having twins. Not one, but two! However, there was a problem with baby B, and it did not survive. We found out when I was 8 weeks along that the baby had quit developing. This was indeed a very hard time for us, but we felt so blessed to know that our other baby, baby A as he was called, was alive, well, and healthy! The positive aspect to this is that we have a perfect child in heaven waiting for us! That is very comforting. 

If you were paying close attention, you would notice that I said he. We are having a boy!!!! This is such a exciting and scary time for us, and we couldn't be happier! Major changes in life have always been a challenge for me, but they always turn out to be the best things ever! I know having our sweet little boy will be no different! WE CAN NOT WAIT FOR JULY 19TH! (or somewhere around there- he is actually measuring a week large) When we get to welcome our little one!

So, on that note- we are also going to be moving, somewhere in Utah County, where to- I don't know! We have looked at quite a few places, but nothing really seems right. I am pretty adamant about not living below people. We have had a TERRIBLE experience with the elephants who live above us at the moment. They are the most rude and inconsiderate people I have ever met! Even a few weeks ago, the "wife"- as Devin calls her- came stomping down the stairs and banging on our door, because we  banged on the ceiling. (It was almost 11 p.m., and things were falling off of our walls- excuse us!) I guess she hasn't heard about me, because all 4 feet and 80 lbs of her tried to get loud with me, so I got louder. And she "shook like a chihuahua" according to my hubby. Haha! I swear I am not a mean person, but when you disturb a pregnant woman, when she is tired, and trying to share the news of the baby's gender, I tend to get a little moody...if you know me, you know that I am always the most sweet and charming girl around...! Right? :) Anyways, we need to move to a bigger place for our little man, and for some piece of mind for myself! If you know of any fab places, please make us privy to the location! 

Thank you for reading my banter, and those are the major things happening right now. We are also starting a strict budget/meal and menu planning routine, so maybe I will let my faithful readers out there ( All two of you) know how that goes! Love you all!

Fun Fall Activities!

So I have come to the conclusion that I love fall. A lot! It is truly a great time of year! Here are some things that I love about Fall:

-The crisp air
-The colorful leaves everywhere, especially in the canyons!
- Fall/Winter Clothes. I love love love layers and sweaters and boots!
-Extra blankets on the bed
- Hot chocolate and red box movies are a must in our house
- Fall scented candles (pumkin spice!)
- Pumpkin cookies
-Utah's love for Halloween. There is so much to do! (Haunted Forest, Haunted Houses, Corn Mazes)
- The lights on the SLC temple go up
-Coming home and putting on PJ's and snuggly socks!
- Refreshing walks in the afternoon
-All the feelings that come with fall!
AND MOST IMPORTANTLY....
My birthday (Thanksgiving) and Christmas are JUST around the CORNER!

Fall Days....

After the Saturday sessions of General Conference, we decided to grab some hot chocolate from the gas station (Abuelitas!) and drive up to Bridal Veil Falls to enjoy the lovely views. It was chilly, and fabulous!

Somebody call 911...!

Oh goodness. Let me tell you a little story about illness. It is NO fun. Devin and I recently had a visit from Mr. Flu. Or Mr. H1N1. We haven't heard back from the Dr. yet to confirm. Okay...here is what happened....

On Monday while Devin and I were at work, I looked at him and said, "In the whole time that you have worked here, you never have called in sick, huh?" He agreed. Our jobs are not ones we can just 'call in sick' to. We deal with lives, not french fries. If we are not at work the whole world gets tipped upside down. YES PEOPLE, we ARE that important! :) Devin's boss, Annabelle, commented that his attendance is why she loves him so. 

Tuesday rolls around. Alarm goes off. Devin whines. Not like him. He says, "My throat hurts soooo bad! I can't go to work, I just can't!" I sit up to talk to him, and am smacked in the stomach with nausea. I quickly lay back down and think crap. Now that you mention it, my throat hurts too! And I think I'm gonna......you know the rest.

One trip to the toilet and some mouth wash later, I decide its time to call for some substitutes. We need to rest a little bit!

I go out to lay on the couch, my favorite location when ill. I watch the Today show, which reminds me of Christmas time, since that is the only time I can ever watch it. I fall asleep but am awakened by a banging on the wall. I go into the bedroom and Devin is convulsing. Like really shaking. I take his temperature and its 103 DEGREES! He is burning up! I end up taking him to insta-care. He doesn't look so hot...well, he's hot, but he's shaking, so he looks cold. Ya know?

We arrive to insta-care and some large lady at the desk is taking her sweet time talking about Hawaii with another patient. ?(Ok- we have a contagious person here who is going to infect you if you don't hustle...! ) After Devin sits down and I put a mask on him, things get moving. He gets called back and while we are visiting with the Dr, things get worse. He ends up vomiting while I tell his symptoms. Yuck. Add that one to the list! 

The Dr. looks worried. Then tells us what I thought all along. "Well, I want to tell you it doesn't appear to be seasonal flu. He has no cough, or congestion, nor a stuffy nose. I'm sure you have heard of H1N1. It appears that this may be that." 

 

Whoa Whoa Whoa! Hold the train up. We can't have SWINE FLU! It's not possible!

"Well, he continues, it may also be mono...."

"Oh good, I hope its that!" Says Devin.

"Umm...mono is worse, Devin!" I say. "You could be sick for months!"

"oh..."

"Well," says the Dr, "do you have good insurance?"

"yesss..."

"Okay, I am giving you both a prescription for tamiflu, and Devin will get a naproxin shot in his butt. That will make him feel better! Also, don't go to work or school for a few days. Both of you."

"Oh....okay...." I reply, and he leaves to get the goods.

Well, after we leave the hospital, I head over to Smiths to fill the prescriptions. I wander around to get sick people food. You know, popsicles, jello, soup,powerade.

I decide to call my family to let them know what has happened. They make some pig kissing jokes, and then my dad proceeds to tell me that he just got back from the hospital with my dear mother, who was taken there via ambulance due to what they suspected was a stroke. (Wait-WHAT!?!?) He goes on to tell me that for the last 2 months my dear mother has not been taking her blood pressure medicine- something she has needed almost her whole life. He said she is back on it and hopefully learned her lesson. Umm. Ok?

I return to the pharmacy to pick up the goods. The cashier swipes the meds and I watch with big eyes the numbers that pop up on the register. After she hits enter, the total comes up. I don't believe it. Then I hear her say, "$152.78" 

WHAT!?!?!?!

"Did you get my insurance, I have insurance!"

"Yes ma'am, but these kind of pills are in such demand the drug companies can hike the prices up." Crap. That is a lot of money. 

I'm sure it was all Obama's fault. And a democrat would blame it on my pal, George Double-ya Bush.

Anyways. I think- Dang. What a crappy day.  

Ohhh it gets better. 

The next day of our sickness. I get on Facebook to see all of these status updates about how Vandenberg Air Force Base is on fire. Ummm. My parents house is on the edge of that field. Like 3 miles away. We have been evacuated before because of fires. My sisters have terrible life threatening Asthma. Time to call home again. Find out that they can see it coming and its smoky. Sisters all left to go into town so they can breathe. Kristen just ran out of her inhaler. Will keep me posted. Lovely. 

Get updates throughout the night. Feeling panicky. Nauseous. Get sick again. Remember that I scheduled a meeting for the next day after school and did none of the paperwork. Email everyone to cancel. Try and breathe. Devin needs a quesadilla. How convenient, Dev!

Fall asleep at 8pm, up at 5. No work for me. Call for another sub.

OH YEA! And I got a call from Geico saying we had to bring our car to Sandy at 10:40, about 30 min away, to pick up a rental and get it repaired, after another teacher I work with bashed our back end in. Genius. Thank goodness we had surveillance, and the decided to pay.

To make the sicky days worse, they give us a Dodge Callibur to drive for the next week. I think feel sick again. Had lunch with the in-laws. Feeling good. Relaxed the rest of the day. Devin is feeling good, too.

Wake up today, feeling good. Come to work. Walk in to a banner saying how much they missed me, balloons, and a pile of cards. Its good to be back!

I just wanted to say...that people who just gush and talk about how amazing and wonderful life is EVERY day....are usually full of crap! :)

Okay, so I guess I NEED to update this thing. Lets see, what is new...

1. We are working two jobs a piece. Why? I'm still not sure. I am teaching and working at a group home in Spanish Fork, and Devin is still an aide, and working at the group home, AND going to school full time. What a stud!

2. My sister, Kristen, is coming to stay with us for a while starting on the 6th. If you have ever seen the size of my apt, this should be interesting to say the least. 

3. The school year is in full affect. Things are going well, and I am having NO behavior issues. Woohoo!

4. I love Devin, and he loves me. But that is not really new....