Things That Make Me Happy - September 2012

I'm in the final 10 weeks of my pregnancy and let's face it, it's not the most fun thing right now.

I'm huge.  I'm uncomfortable.  I can't sleep.  I'm STILL nauseous.

(Going to go to the pharmacy today to find an anti-nausea bracelet to see if that helps.)

BUT, I'm determined to stay positive through to the end.  Make no mistake, I wanted this, I planned it, and ultimately I'm thrilled and can't wait to hold my babe.

So,

I've decided to start posting about the little things that make me happy

(even though I cry almost every day--hormones!).

I'll be doing this once a month--my happy post.  :)

#1

Getting out some of my Halloween/Fall decor.

I'm simplifying this year and not going overboard and getting everything out.

Too much work.

I'll be lucky to have my Christmas tree out by Christmastime.

A few pumpkins, ghosts, and orange lights cheers me up and makes me happy.

#2

These two adorable faces.

They are best cousin friends.

Sam and Sophie

#3

 I know it's silly, but I'm ridiculously giddy over my ultra clean bathroom.

The cleaners were here yesterday (hey, I can no longer hunch over a shower and tub and scrub, nor do I have the time or energy),

and they are soooooo good!

I went up in the bathroom yesterday and just sat and basked.

#4

Hubs cleaned out and organized the garage this last Saturday.

We bought some shelves and "hired" my 14-year-old to build them.

Aaaaah, I love driving into my garage, you know, 12-14 times a day, since I practically live in my car.

#5

A chandelier for Lucy's room.

#6

A dinosaur bed for Sam--no more toddler bed.

(I caught him kneeling by the toddler bed, sobbing, and saying goodbye to it.  I knelt down and cried right along with him.)

#7

Jacob was chosen as the first Student of the Month at his school.

#8

Another silly one.

I bought these lunch bags online.

They fold up and store nicely in the freezer.

There is so much more I can pack in the kids' lunches now that the food stays cold for up to 10 hours.

I've made pasta salad, 7-layer bean dip, and ham and cheese sandwiches WITH mayo for them.

I can also pack cheese snacks, yogurt, and milk without worrying about spoilage.

#9

Still picking tomatoes from my garden

#10

Beginning the countdown to our annual Disneyland trip

Only 4 months!!!

(I've never taken a 2-month old baby before but I am NOT missing out this year.)

Jeff and I and the three oldest kids were able to attend the dedication of the Brigham City temple this last Sunday.  I almost didn't go because it hurts (so much!) these days to sit on those hard chairs and someone needed to stay home with Sam.

When we went to get our temple dedication recommends I told the Bishop that I didn't need one because I wouldn't be going.  He was inspired to give me one anyway, "just in case," he said.

I decided one hour prior to get ready and go.  

We dropped Sam off at my brother's house.

I'm so glad I went.

When we entered the chapel (which they say is an extension of the temple during the dedication), I immediately felt an overwhelming presence of the Spirit.  

I couldn't stop crying.  We all had such a great experience, and I made it almost all the way through on my chair--I had to stand for the last talk.

#11

Found this old, favorite picture of Lulu at 2 years old.

#12

Stacey, Chris and baby Franklin have moved home to Utah.

They live right here in our neighborhood.

Our baby boys are only going to be three months apart.

They will be best of friends.

#13

And the last thing that has made me so happy this month:

(sorry, no picture)

At my 20 week ultrasound, they thought I would have to have a C-section because of the location of my placenta.

This last week, they did a re-check and everything looks picture perfect and fabulous.

No C-section!

They also ran several blood tests to see if I had the same issues I had with the last pregnancy.

Nothing!

This pregnancy could not be more ideal.  My blood pressure, iron, thyroid, all of it, are perfect.

So, so thankful and HAPPY!!!!!

First Day of School and a Bit O' Nostalgia

Our first day of school around here didn't go as smoothly as I'd hoped.

Jacob woke up in the night and started barfing.  

(Bless his heart, he said he didn't want to wake me up so he just vomited and took care of it all on his own all night.)

Josh was absolutely furious with me because the new uniform shirts that I bought him, WHICH HE TRIED ON AND APPROVED AT THE STORE, were too big and he had to tuck them into his pants.  Oh the shame!

Nothing significant happened with Sam, except this was a Tuesday and he didn't start until Wednesday.

So, the only picture I got was of cute little Lucy.

She had this outfit planned for days, if not weeks.

 Sam's first day of pre-school.

At this point I'm crying.

It's always hard when they start school for the first time.

Speaking of firsts, for the first time in 14 1/2 years I have 2 1/4 hours three times a week ALL TO MYSELF!

And you know what?

I'm bored.

Ha!  Not for long.  Can't wait to have this new little one.  I'm so glad to have another buddy with me at home for 4 more years.  

Alone-ness does not suit me.

I haven't posted any flashback photos for awhile, but here are three gems I found while cleaning out my laundry room cupboard.

This was October 2006 at my sister, Julie's, wedding.

All the sisters L to R:

Keri, Stacey, Julie, me, Steph, Nicole (my brother's wife)

All I remember from this day was that Josh woke up with a raging fever and a sore throat.  We ran him to Instacare as fast as we could--STREP!!!

But what can you do?  We can't miss a wedding.  So we loaded him up with ibuprofen, tylenol, and antibiotics, and told him to stay away from people as much as possible.

Hawaii--May 2007

Lucy celebrated her 3rd birthday there.

We had planned and booked another trip to Hawaii for this October over UEA.

Haha!  Then I found out I was pregnant and would be 7+ months along by this time.

I'm not going to spend a load of money to be fat, irritable, and pregnant on a trip to Hawaii, so we postponed it until baby is here and old enough to take along.

Circa 1996

I'm pretty sure this was in our first year or two of marriage.

We look like babies.

Nostalgia Post #2

Some more old photos:

Lucy's birthday:

May 29th, 2004

I'll never forget the day I had her.

It was a Saturday.  I started having labor pains around 4:00 p.m.

Jeff was sooooo mad at me that I still got in the shower, dried my hair, put on makeup, and dressed up nice.

I wore black pants, a pink shirt, and black heels.

The nurses thought I was absolutely crazy when I strutted into the hospital, all decked out, and announced I was in labor.

They didn't believe me.  Didn't call the doctor.

I laid there with mild contractions for about an hour.  They were about to send me home.

Then everything went crazy!

I dilated from a 3 to a 10 in 20 MINUTES!!!!

I was sobbing and swearing in pain.

They got the epidural in just in time.

Doctor finally arrived.

My precious baby girl arrived 4 minutes later.

I figured it was $700.00 for that 4 minute epidural.

But it was worth it.

Four generations.

I miss my Nana.

3 months old

4 months old.

Lucy and big brother Josh

Now she's growing up.

And I love it and hate it all at the same time.

Nostalgia

December 2004

Josh 6 1/2, Jacob 4, Lucy 6 months

Can you believe there was a time without digital cameras?

Remember when you had to buy a roll of film, take all your pictures without knowing what they looked like, take the roll down to a camera center, wait 2-3 DAYS for them to be developed, drive back to the camera center, pick them up, look through them, and be glad that maybe half of them turned out?

I do.

I'm currently in the process of getting all (most? some?) of our old photos from the scrapbooks onto the computer.  It's going to be a lengthy process, so I thought it would be fun to share a few at a time on my blog.

Four generations

 June 1998

(Yes folks, way back before the turn of the century.  Crazy.)

Josh is one month old

And my cute, squishy little Joshy.

He is 3 months old in this picture.

He is now 13 1/2 years old.

Where did that time go?

Makes me cry a little bit...