Random

Since we got home from Elba it was back to work I go. No fun. It rained cats and dogs all day Tuesday which means that our basement flooded again. I had to fish out the snow shovel out of the garage and shovel the water out of the bottom of the stairwell because our drain is clogged. That was fun.

I was also asked by our young women's president to come to mutual last night to help the girls with a sewing project. I am still dumbfounded by this because I have absolutely no idea where she got the idea that I can sew, haha. For real though, I. Can't. Sew. I went hoping and praying that she had invited other women in the ward to help who actually did know something about sewing, but I was the only one there aside from the leaders. To top it all off I was led to believe there would be patterns for these skirts and bonnets (the girls wanted to make their own clothes for the pioneer trek in July), but the patterns were on her ipad! Haha, I about died and was sweating bullets, but as the night progressed I got the hang of things and pretended to know what I was doing well enough that I even fooled myself into believing I knew what I was doing.

Toby sure missed us while we were gone. He couldn't get enough of the petting, cuddling, treats, and love he was getting from Stephen and I. I'm really trying to get him used to staying outside, so while we were gone over the weekend my sister-in-law Rachel came over to feed him and make sure he was still alive. We put his dish outside, so hopefully he's starting to get the hint. I have more landscape designs to work on until Friday. I'll be glad when I get it all done so I can focus on my house projects and get my garden planted.

Weekend In Elba

Memorial Day weekend came and went. I was the sickest I have ever been with this pregnancy last week right before we were supposed to leave for Elba for the weekend. I took two days off work last week so I could spend some time with Alissa while she was in town, and ended up throwing up the rest of the week.

We decided to go to Elba anyway and I got better with the passing days. We rode the four wheelers with the kids, Stephen took the horse for a ride, we went out to dinner at the Outpost and got pulled over. Fortunately we weren't the ones driving; we rode with Tim's family. It was going to be a $160 ticket, but it was Base who pulled us over, so he let Tim off with a warning, haha. I haven't seen Base for years, so I never would've recognized him. Anyway, dinner was good, but Trish was the one who made my night. She was talking about Ty phu oil and what it can help cure--from sun burns to bug bites to soothing baby's tummy and teething and goose bumps, haha, I know she didn't mean to say goose bumps, but it just made me laugh. I didn't catch on at first as to what she said, then I thought about it and thought, "Wait a minute, this oil cures goose bumps?" I couldn't help myself but laugh.

We played games while the kids caught bugs in their nets, and Grandpa came up for a few hours to give the kids a ride in his new wagon train he wants to use in the 4th of July parade. All the kids loved it, and so did Grandpa. Everyone took turns cooking a meal each day and everyone outdid themselves; all the meals were delicious. Stephen and I even made Dutch oven cobbler. Its not camping without the cobbler. We went to church, and went for a picnic Monday afternoon before we all went our separate ways. It would've been a perfect weekend if we just had everyone there. We missed Adam and Brad this time, but there's always next year.

 On our way to the cemetery to put flowers on Great Grandma and Grandpa's graves, and clear the area of weeds and debris

 We gathered around the graves as Dad told stories of his relatives

 Big stink bug

All the picnic areas were full of people, so we made our own.

 I found a cute little skunk in the skunk cabbage!

Where Did May Go?

I have been looking forward to the month of May because then my first trimester will be over, we have craft day here in utah, and our Memorial Day trip with the family in Elba. Well, May is half way over already and I'm 13 weeks, hooray! I am happy to report that I have been feeling better, but I still have a few of those days where I'd rather stay in bed or at least stay at home all day.

Craft day last weekend was wonderful. It was just the break I needed, although I have stressed all of April because I was in charge of the craft this time and I hadn't finished it until two days before. I also tried to finish some clay garden stakes for the Mellows they asked for last year, and I ended up having to finish them at Aunt Nancy's while everyone did the craft. Our craft were these super cute felt birds. I only made the one, and wanted to make two more, but maybe I'll get around to making them later (yeah right!)

Anyway, lots of shopping, eating, and chatting; that's what's craft day is for. The best part was I got to see Mom (I didn't think she was coming until she called me the second day), all my aunts pampered me and made sure I was fed and feeling good. Can I just say, I love my family! All my aunts, uncles, and cousins--we all get along so well, and they are just so fun to be with. I wish I could go to more craft days throughout the year, but living a state away makes it difficult.

I have been looking forward to our camping trip in Elba this year probably because its been a few months since I've seen my family, but its just a time for me to relax and swim, ride the four wheelers, maybe a horse, and see all the grand kids. I've been trying to convince Becky to come even though she still isn't feeling very good so we can be miserable together. I probably won't feel so bad in a few weeks, but it'll be good to see everyone.

May has proven to be another very hectic and stressful month. I've eased up on my work hours so I can be home by the afternoon instead of 3:00 or 4:00. I have several landscape designs to finish this month which I am so grateful for the business, but it's a lot to take on all at once. I'm really hoping for a break in June. I haven't decided if I should pull our ad or not so I can just take a break, but I doubt I'll do it just because the more business I get the better off we'll be when baby arrives.  Speaking of which, I got some awesome toys and baby stuff at a garage sale at craft day last week. I was pretty excited. This baby is going to be spoiled, lol.

I have been dying to get out in the yard to plant flowers, weed my flower beds, and plant my vegetable garden. I am so behind! The last few weekends we're either gone or I don't feel well enough to sit in the hot sun planting flowers or pulling weeds. I haven't cleaned my house for two weeks either, yikes! It's really disgusting and embarrassing. I'm crossing my fingers I'll get out there this weekend. We also have major house projects such as retexturing our living room ceiling, redoing our master bedroom with paint, texture and finally hanging stuff up on the walls after a year of living here. I'd also like to work in the nursery, but I'm not sure how far I'll get. It's wall papered with a plain tan color, so it's not too bad, but its just outdated and I'd like to tear that out and give it some fresh paint and nice curtains, and also clean the carpet. Anyway, I'll keep dreaming while I design other's landscapes.

Heartbeat

The past week I've actually been feeling better......I think. The nausea is still there, but its not as bad as it has been, and hopefully I only have a couple more weeks until I feel much better and more energetic. I have been craving fried chicken for the past week too. Everywhere I go at work when I fill up my water buckets in break rooms and kitchens, all I smell is fried chicken, and I need it! So one night I had Stephen pick me up some KFC. I know how unhealthy it is, but man, that tasted so good! I'm still crave it every night, but I'm trying not to give in so I have a healthy diet while pregnant. I don't want to have extra weight to lose after the baby. 

I had my first appointment with my midwife yesterday. I've been looking forward to this for a few weeks now. I didn't know what to expect, but I knew I'd be able to hear our tiny baby's heartbeat. It was really easy and my midwife is so personable--I liked her immediately. A urine analysis and five viles of blood later, I laid on the table ready and eager to hear the heartbeat for the first time. She searched for a few minutes and said sometimes you can't hear it because of the position it's in. I started to panic a little bit because she hadn't found it, and then there was a loud thump, thump, thump. I stared to get excited until she said that was my heart beat. As soon as she said that my heart started to pound harder because I was afraid that maybe the baby really wasn't there and she was going to give up until my next appointment. Then, I heard a rapid thump, thump, thump, thump. "That's your baby's heartbeat" my eyes welled up; what a precious moment that was. A flood of relief rushed over me. I'm having a baby on November 22nd!

My Hero

It's been a few weeks, I know, but what can I say? Morning sickness has been kicking my bum! There are times when I just want to roll over and die rather than get out of bed and go to work in the mornings. Seriously. For the past few months I couldn't think of anything else except how crappy I felt, in fact, I kept questioning myself why I had gotten pregnant in the first place, and that there is no way I can be a parent--I just can't do this.

Good thing I have my man! Stephen has been my personal superhero since day one. He has been so supportive and caring through this whole thing. I cannot stress enough how important it has been that he cooks! I would have withered away without him. He comes home from work each night tired from a long day yet still manages to get me food, whether he makes it himself or he runs to the nearest restaurant to get it. Sometimes he just doesn't feel like cooking, I mean, who wouldn't? So we've been eating take-out and restaurant food more often. I hate that we do it because I know how unhealthy it is to eat out so much, not to mention the expense, but I can't help it. When I need food, I. Need. Food!

Thank you sweetie, for all you do. You really are my better half.