Costume Hunt

I love dressing up for halloween! Fall is so fun because it's so full of holidays! & things made out of pumpkin. I LOVE PUMPKIN!

I've been trying to think of a fun halloween costume for work. I dress up every year, but this year, I am putting the pressure on myself to be something awesome. Who knows if/when I'll be pregnant on Halloween again!?

I came across these on pinterest!

1. This makes me feel funny | 2. Easy... but boring | 3. Same | 4. Funny & gross | 5. Hilarious, would be good for when we go out at night | 6. YIKES | 7. Hilarious, but so not BYU Honorcode approved

Have you ever been pregnant on halloween or seen good pregnant Halloween costumes?

Counting down the DAYS!

We are now just 7 weeks away from the entrance of the world's cutest baby.

Want to see what full-time work & 8 months pregnant looks like? Maybe I'll put up a picture sometime, but it's not pretty. 

Some days I get out of bed early enough to get ready, but most days I wake up with just enough time to brush my hair & teeth, apply some powder & mascara then jet out the door.

Teddy Bear gets to be the lucky one to test out the safety & protocols of our baby gear.

So far he's given it two paws up.

I cannot wait for our little girl to come! I am so anxious to see her on the ultrasound a week from today.

Seriously, guys, I'm freaking out. It's been way too long since we've seen those chubby cheeks!

She's getting really big.

Also, you know those pregnant women you see & have judged for waddling.

I used to be a judger. I would think, ew, just walk normal.

Well, now, I'm that waddler.

It is not for the reason that I'd always assumed they waddled for, though.

I waddle because my back/hips have a pinched nerve & the only way I can walk without getting shooting pains is to walk with my feet pointed out. Honestly, it's the most un-sexy walk you've ever seen.

Recently, I've developed a gorgeous limp that comes every once in a while with vengeance when my hip is trying to pop out of the socket, that one is a new one that started last week & is a little more embarrassing simply because it's more dramatic. Sometimes it hits so bad I think...hmm...okay, if my hip pops out of the socket is this a good place to collapse? hahahah 

It also makes me fear going to the grocery store alone, simply because I don't want to cause a scene if that were to actually happen. That would just be embarrassing.

It's serious stuff, people. Waddling is no joke.

I remember the night we found out we were having a girl I begged Weston to go to Baby's R' Us so we could go look around. He gave in & I had SUCH bad back pain that I could barely walk. (that night when we were home was the first time I was unable to take a step bc of the sharp shooting pain)

Anyway, I wasn't very big then & I remember one of the clerks laughed & said I wasn't big enough to start having to walk like that. I did a fake polite laugh & secretly wanted to punch her in the face. 

"You don't know me, you don't know my life!" (Baby Mama, anyone?)

So, anytime you see a waddling lady & you judge, think twice, bc karma is seriously not cool.

Also, I don't know if I ever boasted about it before, but my first 8 months of pregnancy were seriously a breeze as far as emotions. We had a couple scares, but you know those jokes made about crazy pregnant ladies? I, luckily, wasn't one of them for that long.**

Well, I've noticed my emotions have picked up full speed.

I am emotional over everything.

Also, I think I need to go to ABS Anonymous. No, I'm not addicted to working those obliques, I'm talking about A Baby Story.

I've probably watched 4,000 episodes of it. Seriously, now I have to delete ones off of DVR simply because they're re-records of ones I've already seen. It's that bad.

After the baby's born, I cry. Every time.

Sometimes I want to sob.

I'm so happy for that couple.

I have to admit it is healthier watching a baby story when you're actually pregnant rather than when you've been trying to get pregnant for over 2 years. The tears are a little sweeter now.

But seriously, guys, I need an intervention.

Anyway, poor Weston gets to deal with an overly emotional wife, now. & midterms. & his future job. & his future grad program. & ...&...&..&... Sorry, Wes.

Also, I've felt lousy for about a month w/ intense congestion, sore throat & ear aches. It never got more severe than that, I never got a fever & my lymph nodes never swelled up. So, I never stayed home from work & I never went to the Dr. for it. Well, Sunday I just didn't feel good, so I stayed home from church & we decided to go to an instacare clinic just to fix it, bc I was sick of feeling sick.  Well, first of all, unless you're dying or have something "really cool" popping out of a joint that it shouldn't be, instacare clinic workers will act like you're a huge burden. Even when you are the only patient in their entire office.

Turns out it was allergies. ALLERGIES. What the?? How do I not have allergies in TN & have them in Utah?? Chalk another one up for my need to be back in Tennessee.

So, we were off to Walgreens for some Claritin & some nasal spray.

I feel like a million bucks now.

EXCEPT, for Monday  night when I accidentally took a sleeping pill instead of my allergy pill (they look the same) & then I slept through work the next morning & felt like a complete drag the whole next day & my ear aches & sore throat were back. I didn't realize it till Wednesday night that that is what I'd done.

Lesson learned: Always read pill labels or else you could sleep through work. Or die.

I admit that was stupid, & luckily it's an OTC sleeping pill that is pregnancy safe. 

Don't worry, though, I learned my lesson.

**PMSing is another story

**NOTE FROM THE EDITOR** Life is so good & I love being pregnant! & I'm seriously happy every day & so happy waking up to a squirming baby in my belly! Despite what these whiney posts sound like, I'm totally good! I have been coping with not being able to move, & just relax at home after work in the evenings! But sadly I do have to walk from point A to point B (aka from my work chair to the bathroom) & consequently have to be seen waddle-limping in public. I can deal with the pains of it just fine, I just don't like doing for audiences hahah

SOS

This week has been full of sweet family &friends. I feel absolutely destroyed though.

I have had earaches that are not steady for about 3 weeks off & on. & I have started having issues sleeping. My hips & back are acting like they're being tortured or something because they're absolutely killing me.

We had our visit yesterday with the doctor & everything is looking SO good! She is so adorable & also measuring 2 weeks ahead! Go figure, they still will not move that due date. I'm all for her coming 2 weeks early, aka on time, though. I fully support her decision if she decides to do that!

Dr. D is so thrilled she's growing so well & that she is still cooking! I'm so proud of our little girl!

Starting a few weeks ago she started getting really squished in my womby womb!

Her kicks aren't felt very easily anymore, instead I feel like my insides are tearing when she stretches!

She is always pushing out on the top left side of my abdomen & what I thought was her bum. I've been pattting & rubbing it for weeks! Just day dreaming of patting her little diaper bum after feeding her.

We found out yesterday I've been patting her on the head. 

Whoops. Mom fail #1.

She literally wakes me up at night & I can feel everything really tight so I'll rub my tummy & there is her noggin pushing out of my stomach like you wouldn't believe. I think Bella & Edward's baby is living in me & clawing out of my stomach. My doctor laughed that this is all happening so early because of my awesome split in half womb!  She's got half the space & I feel like she should be due any second! Nope, definitely have 8 more weeks!

I was pretty sad when I realized she was breech. He called her position Frank Breech.

Apparently she's sitting like an olympic diver in my stomach is how he described it.

Perfect visual.

Hello waist that I once knew, I can't wait to see you again some day.

This morning was kind of a rough morning.

We went to bed & then around midnight Weston got an EMS call that just about gave us both a heart attack. I forgot he was on call!  I finally fell back asleep, but then I kept waking up throughout the night from my hips & back hurting so bad. It was a terrible night's sleep. I almost called into work this morning. BUT we bought tickets from my coworker to the BYU v. MTSU football game tonight. WHICH I'm so excited for!

Thank you mom for raising me not to go do fun things at night if you skip work/school.  That is literally what got me out of bed & to work today. I felt sick about going to the football game after calling in sick to work. Though here I sit feeling like death!

It is also rainy/snowy in Utah right now & I have the dilemma of finding a coat that will go around my pregnant belly. 

We went to Sundance last weekend & rode the chairlift & I looked hilarious with my tiny coat.

I could kind of relate with Aladdin.

via

He never complained about it in the movie, but I bet he would've liked a bigger vest.

Anyway, I guess I'm feeling a little down, because I was so hopeful our girl would go head down. If people don't understand my womby issues they think I'm stupid for thinking she won't flip. But she is really unlikely to flip at this point. I asked the doctor if they'll do that manhandling procedure to get her to flip. He called the perinatologist. They gave us a big fat nope.

So, I'm praying for a miracle, because I would love to skip out on a c-section folks!

I hope this doesn't sound too mopey. I love our little girl & I really love being pregnant. I love feeling her move & stretch & feeling her little body getting stronger!

I love our baby so much & honestly, I am busting with joy because we have a non stress test in 2 weeks aka we get to see her on the ultrasound machine again! & then we have a growth measurement ultrasound with the Perinatologist 2 weeks after that. I'm so excited for those visits! We've been spoiled with so many ultrasounds & it's been torture not having had one in a month.

Wednesday mornings we wake up & Weston's first loving words are

"GUESS WHAT DAY IT IS! GUESS WHAT DAY IT IS!"

So, I should not have been surprised when today we were talking about how we're getting to "that point" that we've been talking about for a long time. We tried so long to get pregnant. Our girl comes in < 2 months.

We always talked about when we move to TN.

That's happening in about 3 months.

And we talk about how excited we are for Weston to be finished with his undergrad.

< 3 months.

We were just talking about all the whirlwind life changing events we have coming up & how life has been good & great & is about to be even better.

I love sleep, but I can tell you I already love my baby more.

This baby better realize HOW much love that is!

Anyway, when we were talking about this, Weston told me.

This pretty much sums up how I'm feeling right now:

VIA

Hmm, I now know exactly how you're feeling.

Seriously, I was rolling on the floor laughing.

Speaking of bows & anti-drugs

PLEASE look at these ADORABLE bows my sister made. I'm drooling over them & cannot wait for them to come in the mail. Seriously, I'll probably wear them. Sorry, baby, they'll be too stretched out for your head when you get here. You'll have to wait a decade or two to wear them.

Seriously, my sister is so talented.

And obviously really nice.

And I'm so lucky to be her only sister. She spoils me so bad.

Also, she's really funny, check out her blog HERE.

Life lately.

Weston & I watched BYU show the Texas Longhorns what's up.

It was seriously a good game, maybe just a little better, too, because I was expecting us to get destroyed by them.

40-21.

 I am the master multi-tasker. I made these beautiful babies during the game.

Baby headbands are my anti-drug.

 Also, I am just dying over the ripeness of tomatoes right now. I LOVE summer's produce.

We made a lot of salsa last weekend. Unfortunately, it wasn't our best batch, but it was still yummy!

 Wearing my souvenir like a champ.

I cannot figure out how to straighten this picture.

This is our bean's yellowstone souvenir.

The bear is velvet & I love it so much.

 Also, I'm 29 weeks & feeling large & in charge.

Mostly just large though.

SOS, someone tell this baby to grow a LITTLE slower.

On the upside, you can tell from the very athletic look of me in this picture that my back was good enough to go for over a 1.5 mile walk. Before we had to go home for a potty break. I was so happy.

Yesterday was a good day!

Life is good, the baby is growing big & strong, the doctor just loves that she is always swimming & kicking about we have our visits. Little does he know it's all the time when we're not there, too.

She is her father's child.

I seriously love her & love watching my stomach contort as she stretches & pushes her back or bum or whatever limb against my stomach. It's amazing. & very alien-like of her.

Jellystone National Park via my iphone!

Weston & I went to Yellowstone for our 3 year anniversary over Labor Day weekend. If you are planning a wedding. I highly recommend gravitating towards 3 day weekends. It's amazing for anniversary celebrations.

These pictures are all from my phone. I have a trillion more from my real camera, I might get those up here sometime. BUT FOR NOW..

We went camping at Yellowstone & seriously had the greatest time.

We were both a little depressed on the way back. Mostly because we drove the longer route through Jackson Hole, WY so we could see the Tetons...& clouds covered the entire Tetons. Weston has been obsessed with wanting to see those mountains for years. He was really sad about that!

We left Saturday morning & drove up to Yellowstone.

Turns out that being pregnant slows down roadtrips by 25%. Weston was so patient with our thousand potty breaks.

These are roadtrip shades.

Also, make sure stocking stuffers are approved by you before your parents give them to your USA-wear obsessed husband. My mom is full of cruel jokes.

Our first night we went to the bear & wolf exhibition in West Yellowstone.

He thought we smelled tastey.

Our first night we camped at Madison Campground about an hour drive into the park.

We brought 1,000 pillows to stack under my body to help me camp. We had set up the accomodations, but I woke up at about 2 in the morning & couldn't move. It was actually really awful. & I had to go to the bathroom so bad. But literally my sciatic nerve pain was so bad I literally couldn't move. It was a really pathetic scene.  Anyways at about 4 a.m. I was able to move & we relocated to the car. Have I mentioned Weston is so sweet & patient & helpful & awesome?

The next morning we went to Old Faithful first thing.

 You better believe I got this night shirt. 

 That day we had an AWESOME picnic in the most beautiful little location.

 We wanted to go see a waterfall. When we got to the lodge at the trail head someone had a medical emergency down the trail. Weston ran off w/ people to go save the day. It was pretty neat. Love my paramedic man. And the fact that I am really good at entertaining myself.

 That night we went to these awesome sulfur waterfalls.

This is a no judge zone of our hot & sweaty selves. The temperature wasn't that hot, but it was really hot outside. Plus, I'm a human crockpot right now.

We went & found another campground that night, because, unfortuntately it's illegal to sleep anywhere in the park. Otherwise we would have pulled into a turn around spot and slept in our car. Instead we slept in our car at a campground. We got there & roasted our weenies for dinner & chatted for a while, then covered up our windshield w/ a blanket & bundled up in our sleeping bags...in our car.

The next morning we woke up to VERY welcomed cloudy weather.

We have had a really hot summer in Utah & I usually really love warm weather, but seriously, I've been dying.

Well it got to around 32 degrees at night while we were there.

Our sleeping bags rock!

 We drove around the other half of the figure 8 of the park & got to see a lot of neat sites.

 Yellowstone lake is so big! Next time we're bringing our canoe!

 We saw quite a lot of these guys.

  

 We loved the exhibits in the visitor centers!

 One of my favorite things to see was the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. It was gorgeous.

& terrifying.

 Also, no judging the bedheads. 

 I took this picture while we were driving through Cokeville, UT. Naturally we stopped & got our coke's of choice. 

 We had the greatest time. It was such a fun trip & though I acted like quite the invalid, we had an AMAZING time.  The alone time with no technology was SO fun and so refreshing. I love Weston so much & have loved being married to him. Seriously, guys, he is really fun.

We had an unforgettable trip & cannot wait till we can go back, next time with a mini-me strapped to our backs!

happyhappyhappy!

Yesterday we went & got an ultrasound!

We had no idea they were going to make a 3d picture for us there, too!

Uh, wow.

Here's our little girl.

It's a little smudgled because her feet & ankles are up in front of  her face, making it difficult for the tech to get enough pictures of her face to form this one.

I couldn't believe it when I saw it. It is the sweetest little face I have ever seen. I cannot wait to kiss those chubby little cheeks & nose & eyes & lips. I just love her so much. I cannot believe that is my baby. I cannot believe that she is in my belly right now!

I'm so in LOVE!

Our baby's heartbeat was good & strong this morning! 140s is what we LOVE to hear!

I love this girl so much. We have an ultrasound this afternoon. I get giddy for these ultrasounds possibly more than Christmas.  I cannot wait to see her again. It's been too long!

Our doctor told us today that they'll start doing weekly ultrasounds at 32 weeks.

Our doctor also said he has no idea if we'll carry to term or not. I'm so anxious to know, trying to work out finances & plan ahead with my work is really hard with the unknowns.

He said, though, that he'd be thrilled if we make it to 32 weeks, that she'd be in the NICU for a while, but that she shouldn't have lifelong affects from it at that point. He also said anything over 32 weeks we will count as icing on the cake!

That was weird & exciting all at the same time...that is only a few weeks away.

Is time fast forwarding somehow. We're 5-6 weeks away from that. That is really soon. Ah.

He said she's growing great & she is snuggled inside just like a little burrito!

I love her! 

Look what finally came in the mail!

I have been looking everywhere for one of these puppies!

This is the baby bath my mom had for all of us kids & I remember giving my little brother's baths when they were babies on the sponge.  Stores did not have them, though & I thought they were a lost item.

Hello, Amazon!

$6

Are you looking for a cheap & small baby bath? You can get one HERE.

We have had awesome luck finding things on the cheap. We work with a really small budget, but still have been able to find baby items either really cheap or second-hand.

It has been awesome!

Pretty much all the clothes I have bought have been on clearance for next year's season. (not to mention the adorable baby clothes we've received as gifts from my mom/sister/grandmother/etc.) I've just bought the size of clothes she will be that season next year!  Let's hope she's not too big or small for them or she'll be wearing cute tank tops underneath her winter coat!

Saturday was our gut/clean/organize day. Nevermind that we spent ALL day in one room.

And that the power went out.

That's what headlamps are for.

We got the nursery room which was our junk collector/guest room before.

It is still the guest bedroom & Weston's study & the room w/ his closet in it, but it is now also our nursery.

I know that we will only have the baby just right before we move, but I still just really wanted to get things set up for her. It helped w/ my sanity to know that we're gearing up for it & ready for our special little lady this fall.

We started the evening at the mall foodcourt for dinner. Remember, the power had been out?

Then we went to home depot & got the hardware to fix our awesome second-hand cradle. 

It looks like a college dorm nursery. & I don't even care, I love every bit of it. We have to conserve space & our set-up is perfect.  I can't wait for her to come!

Sunday I'd felt like I'd been hit by 4 trains. And seriously, if you are wondering "How bad can one room be?" It can be really bad. It was Weston's junk room, plus the storage of everything we're afraid to store in our garage. It was a DISASTER! I gutted that room for a preliminary round on the fourth of July. The REAL deep cleaning & gutting would have to be saved for When he's home w/ me at the end of the summer & boy does it look amazing now. Ah, you should see his closet, too. I think I fell in love with him all over again. And you can see the floor. Ah, nothing says love like cleanliness :)

Now to gut/clean/organize our bedroom, that will only take about an hour, but still, I cannot wait till that is attacked sometime this week!

Proud Wife!

WESTON IS NOW OFFICIALLY A NATIONALLY CERTIFIED PARAMEDIC!

Lurve. Totally in lurve.

Yesterday we made an outing to SLC to do some baby errands.

Oh & for Weston to take his national certification exam.

Waiting for results is really hard.

I decided to finagle my work hours & we'd make it a date to celebrate his hard work & finally taking his exam!

We used a gift card my parents had given us for Valentine's Day to Cheesecake Factory! Thanks & yum!

(I love their Skinnilicious Ceasar Salad.)

We also stopped in Taylorsville to buy a Boppy from an ad on KSL.

(I am a germaphobe to make sure it's smoke/pet free home & then reassess that the person looks clean when I buy that stuff! Don't you worry.)

It was very successful.  

We couldn't be in SLC & not stop at the Traverse Mountain Outlets on our way back.

The baby stores there melt my heart.  Hello, Gap Outlet. I wish they had an entire Baby Gap there.

We got her "take home from the hospital outfit." It is the coziest thing you've ever seen. I want to snuggle with it already. I don't have a good picture of it right now, you just may have to see it on her when we actually take her home! I hope it fits her!

I have been dying to share this with you. My mom came into town last weekend for Weston's graduation & brought me a surprise! She had made me a maternity dress that will also be wearable post baby (once I get this tummy flat!) It is so cute & with the scraps of that dress she made a baby dress. OF COURSE! It's amazing. Seriously, it is so cute, & I feel bad, because I just might have given it a way bigger reaction than the dress, which I LOVE also. I just die over anything baby girl.

She also made a matching headband.

My mom makes quality stuff. It is SUCH an adorable dress & seriously I cannot wait to dress her in it. These hand made items from my mom are priceless to me & I know that our little one will treasure them, too.

I might have forced coerced Weston to go inside H&M with me while we were at Fashion Place Mall to just "look" at their baby section.

I've been earning some extra side money that we decided could be spent on baby items, I've just been wanting to get some warm cuddly outfits for our little girl when she comes, all the clothes we have so far are for next summer & so on.

This little onesie is so cute! It is lined with soft jersey knit fabric and the outside is fleece. We loved it!

If this little girl is anything like her mom, she's going to freeze to the bone in the Utah winter...so I'm getting stocked up with warm things to take her outside the house in!

 Again...warm and snuggly.

She owns 2 pairs of fuzzy shoes already.

The brown ones I got from Babies 'R Us a few years ago when we started trying to get pregnant.

The fuzzy white Ugg-like boots we got at H&M last night.

Our baby will not be cold!

Plus they're way too cute to pass up.

This up coming weekend has been on my calendar for months as our GUT THE HOUSE & clean it floor to sealing. Fall cleaning. I've been dying to do it, but really have not had the energy, time, or back pain-freeness.  But I decided, this Saturday is the one. THE cleaning day.

Last night Wes & I were talking about our plan of attack for Saturday & I started going through my craft supplies. I wanted to condense it to 2 plastic drawer sets instead of 3 so that we could use the 3rd one for baby supplies.

I was crocheting something last night & went to grab something out of my craft bins & if you give a moose a muffin....

A half hour later those drawers were all gutted, there was a ginormous trash bag next to my bins full of leftover craft supplies & Weston was 409-ing the heck out of those puppies.

Another half hour later they are our little girls' new dresser & her old one, which was smaller, is now holding random supplies that we've been given through samples & blankets etc.

It felt so good.

While we're on the topic, can I just give my awesome husband a shout-out?

When I haven't been working or on the run, I have been totally sprawled out on the couch. I have had sciatica so bad. Honestly, I think it's a lesson to me to chill out & relax, though. My mom tells me to do that every time we chat.

Anyway, with all of that going on, it's hard to keep a clean house when you're just living in it & not cleaning it as you go. That's where Weston steps up. He has been doing the dishes every night & making dinner every night. & then cleaning up from dinner every night. & making our bed. & vacuuming. And cleaning the bathroom. And hanging up my clothes. Honestly, could I have scored a better support than Weston?
I don't think so.

I tell him all the time how awesome he is. He doesn't believe me that what he does is extraordinary at all. One day, I hope he sees how truly awesome all of that is to me.

I also loves how excited he is in the process. The ultrasound techs, doctors & nurses love Weston. They always comment on how attentive & involved he is & how rare that is.

Featured

I have to give a shout out to an awesome blog.

You can find it at beausandblossoms.com

My friend Ashley launched it earlier this year & it is one of my favorite reads. Her & her friend started it together. It has different life events, DIYs & adventures.

They are both such cute girls & you should check out their site!

I was featured on it a few weeks ago here, but was swamped & did not have a chance to give it a shout out then. I promise you'll love it!

Our little bean!

This little babe is inside my belly!

I love her so much. I cannot believe how fast she is growing and how close we are to d-day! Ah! When did time start going twice as fast?

She is growing really rapidly and is now 2 lbs. 9 oz. I cannot get over it. She's measuring 2 wks ahead! Come on doctor! Move up our date! :) I'm getting anxious to meet our girl!

Life is so so sweet. If you need me sometime in the next couple months i'll probably just be sitting in a corner staring at this picture of my baby.

Friday night after the wedding we just wanted to unwind from an insane summer.

We needed some serious R&R Want to know what we did?

We made baby shoes & watched Annie!

Weston really enjoyed it actually!

We had such a fun & relaxing afternoon/evening.

 Our first pairs. They aren't the best, but I am excited to work on perfecting the art & making them wider...because let's be honest, this baby isn't going to have ski feet too long after birth!

I suspect she'll chub right up!

 I also dyed fabric for a baby blanket. Dying fail, my color turned out not a thing like I was attempting.
Babies love being swaddled in bright orange, right?

 This is probably Punjab inspired.

I also got these two new fabrics for a certain project that I'll post after I've finished. I had a couple hiccups working on it yesterday! I am so excited, though, & am so happy to have time to create again!