36 Weeks...

Yay!!  We made it to 36 weeks safe and sound. Don't get me wrong, I am all for having this baby early, but 5 1/2 weeks just seemed a little too early for me! But now that I am more or less in the "safe" zone, you better believe that I am going to be off my tush and doing some serious power walking, cleaning, jumping jacks, maybe even get a pedicure... whatever it takes! I am aiming to have the little dude this weekend, as Nate's parent's will be in town for my nephew's baptism, and it would be really nice to have some parental units already in town to watch Asher when we go to the hospital. But he is not allowed to come on Friday from about noon, to Saturday morning, (or during the baptism, that would just be rude!). Nate has a gig in Jackson Hole that he is going to, as long as I'm not in labor or anything. How sad would that be if he missed the little guy being born? Although Nate does think it would be cool if he were to be born on the 29th... leap year. 

But, I am also OK if he decides to wait a little longer, whenever he's ready is fine with me. Except, my Dr says he will induce me at 39 weeks, and I really don't want to be induced, so just as long as it's before then! I'm getting nervous all over again about the delivery, as I really have no idea what to expect, considering our whirlwind experience last time. I'm sure it will all be great, just pray that I don't have the baby in the car!! 

Anyway... I thought I'd also include a picture of me at a chubby 36 weeks, just to document, even though I get no pleasure in showing this to you.

It is done

I just have to do a quick post to let everyone know, as I know you have all been wondering... I have finished all the painting!!! The basement is all done, I finally painted and put on the knobs to the bedroom closet doors, and I even broke out some other colors this evening and walked around doing touchups everywhere that needed it. It is amazing the difference that a fresh coat of paint makes in a room. I know there probably isn't a single person out there (not even Nate!) who cares, but I do, and it has been on my "To Do" list for ages, and now I can check it all off. Yay for me!!

**Note** The office is still not painted, nor will it ever be, unless Nate decides that he wants it to be!! I might give in and do the doors, just because they look so nasty, but other than that, it's all him! The front door still needs some help, but it really needs some serious help, as in scraping off all the paint and starting from scratch, so I don't think I will even attempt it at this point in time.

Our Valentine's Day...

Nate and I had a really nice Valentine's Day. We never really make a huge deal out of it, so this year, we had a $10 spending limit for each other. He got me a super soft body pillow, and Nate loves to look at pictures of him and Asher together, so I made him a frame with  a picture of me and him in the middle, and pictures of him and Asher all around it. Most of you know that Nate loves food, good food, so it wouldn't be a special occasion without a fancy dinner. I pulled out all the stops and made him one of his favorite foods (which I HATE), scallops. It turned out sooo yummy. I did scallops with asparagus in a white wine sauce. I made myself some chicken in the same sauce, and I thought it was very tasty. Nate was so excited as he said he had been thinking about scallops all day and craving them, and he loved the meal, so I was thrilled that it was a success, as my cooking is not always very popular with Nate!

I also made one of his favorite treats, Rocky Road, and then I couldn't pass up the opportunity to make a fancy shmancy cake for the occasion. So I made the "Ultimate Valentine's Day Cake" from epicurious. (I know, I'm a little obsessed with that site, I got the scallops recipe from there too, you just can't go wrong!!) The cake was not only delicious and chocolatey, but so beautiful. I was so proud of myself, and even Nate admitted that it was so pretty.

Go to my Chocolate Kitchen Blog for recipes and pictures of the dessert items!

Baby news...

So, I was planning on leaving this Saturday morning to go to LA with the fam, which would include a fun-filled trip to the happiest place on earth... Disneyland, pending a "check" from my OB/GYN to give me the go ahead to fly at almost 35 weeks. Well, turns out that I am dilated to 3 cm and 75% effaced. So, it's a no-go on the flying thing! I think the Nurse Practitioner was a little flustered to find me dilated, that she pretty much forgot to do the rest of my appointment. Oh well, I guess we'll get all our questions answered next week!

I am way bummed not to get to go hang out and relax by the pool, and visit with the fam and some friends I was going to meet up with, etc. But I am also a little concerned about the whole, possibility of this little kid coming sooner than expected, thingy. Of course I know it might still be 3 weeks or something before he decides to come, but it could also be like, um, 3 days. That freaks me out a little, especially since I have been thinking that I have 5 or 6 weeks left, and am not really mentally prepared, even though physically, I am so ready to be done!! It is starting to hit me that I am going to have 2 children to take care of.... EVERYDAY! It didn't help that I was already feeling like such a bad mom today, for the one child that I have. So anyway... all I ask is that we make it to 36 weeks, then he can come whenever he wants! 

The Dr told me I should be on bed rest...ummm, I don't think so. I mean, I'll take it easy and all, but that just seems a little ridiculous.  My FIL (the pediatrician) made me feel so much better by telling me that I could totally still carry him to term, but even if I don't, in Spokane, they consider 35 weeks the cut off for babies not needing to automatically be in the NICU.  So that is definitely good news!  I am still kind of freaking out at every little pain and prick and BH contraction that I have (as that is all I ever experienced with Asher). Especially since when they check you, you are more likely to contract, and sometimes it puts you into labor sooner (which I why I guess they try not to have to check you before they need to),  so I've noticed myself trying not to move as much as possible.  But that sure didn't stop me from doing some awesome cooking for Nate for V-day this evening (more to come on that later!)!

So there's the baby update... I'm sure everything will turn out just fine!  But for now, it's off to bed with my new  super-soft body pillow that Nate got me for V-day... thanks babe!!

A week of FIRSTS...

Monday was Asher's first time "helping" in the kitchen... making and decorating sugar cookies. He really was more interested in eating the cookie dough than doing any kind of helping.

Then when it came time to frost the cookies, it went like this:

a little for me,

a little for the cookie,

a little more for me...

repeated a bunch of times. Then I actually let him have the enormous cookie, which I didn't end up feeling too bad about, as this is what was left of it...

yah, pretty much the entire cookie!!

This week Asher also drank from a straw for the first time.

He has always been obsessed with drinks with straws in them, but never knew what to do with them. After showing him a few times, he finally got it, and now, he is even more obsessed with straws. He seriously thinks it's so cool to drink from them, I get the feeling that he thinks he is so big and grown up.

First words...
Asher has been surprising me by the random words he has been saying without prompting. The other day, he walked up to the fridge and tried to open it while saying "cheese", as in string cheese, which is one of his favorite snacks. I was so excited that he knew the word that I said "of COURSE you can have some cheese!" Things went similarly the first time he said and signed please. I think I had said no at first, and then he started rubbing his belly and saying please all on his own, and I thought it was so precious, so I gave him what ever he wanted! How horrible am I? It was cool though, because I have been showing him that sign and saying the word for MONTHS, and he would never say the word or sign it, then all of the sudden he just does it. Kids are amazing! While we were at Wal-mart the other day, walking through the toy section, Asher saw a baby doll and said "baby". I didn't even know he knew that word. I was so excited to hear him say it all on his own. Also while at Wal-mart, Asher got his first balloon ever. I know, how sad that he has never had one. But he loved it and it is still going strong!

This week we also put our first child locks on the cabinets. A little late, I know. But I finally got so sick of cleaning up all the stuff he took out everyday, that it forced me into action. I was even forced to put them on his dresser. He would take out his blankets and clothes everyday, and then empty the cupboard with all the burp and wash cloths and swim diapers, etc. It's amazing how excited it made me to have those installed. So all my hard work to organize all my cupboards and closets will not be undone!


On Friday, I bought my first thing ever off of Craigslist, which just happened to be Asher's first car...

a fire engine ball pit... how cute is that?!

He seriously LOVES it. It even has a little steering wheel and horn to honk. The fire engine was only $5, then I bought the balls at Wal-mart for $9.99, what a bargain!

I also sold my first thing on Craigslist this Saturday... Asher's Bassinet, which was practically brand new as he would always wake up whenever I laid him in it. I decided that I needed to sell it in order to help justify this purchase that I just made off of ebay. I am so excited about it, I can't even describe! No more sleeping in the bouncer for months and going through who knows how many D batteries, by using the "calming vibrations" that Asher was addicted to.

So yah, it's been a fun week. I might also add that on Sunday I worked on a Sunday for the very first time, and today was the first time that Nate picked up a paint brush and helped me paint (even though the bathroom is so small, and I didn't really need his help, but I figure I should accept while he's offereing!) since we did the primer coat in our bedroom almost 2 years ago! Thanks babe!!

FYI...

FYI...

It is not a good idea to give your child chicken nuggets with ketchup to dip them in, and then put their high chair right next to the white blinds of the sliding glass door. Same goes for berries!!

Date night

Last night, Nate and I went on a date to Riverdance in SLC. It was such a fun night, just being out together, without the kiddo. MacKay was nice enough to come over and hang out at our house while the Asher dude slept. Thanks Mackay, you're AWESOME!

I haven't been to a Riverdance show since I started doing some Irish dance myself, so it was kind of fun to watch with a whole new outlook. It was cool to think that I could do most of those steps... just not quite so fast, and I definitely wouldn't look near as good. The whole show was great! It's nice for us because there was the band for Nate and the dancing for me, so we both had parts to enjoy. The lead female dancer was this tiny little thing, very cute and of course, very good. The whole show was pretty much the same as before, but still very entertaining. I think my favorite dance was the one with the Russian Dervish dancers, you know with the three couples that do all the fun lifts and turns... love that one, and then the one with the tappers and the Irish guy dancers, such awesome footwork!

We didn't want to spend a ton on the tickets, so we opted for the nosebleed section... seriously the very last row in the center section, right in front of the spotlights. The seats were actually pretty good, except for the fact that I was dying of heat by the end of the show, I thought I was going to pass out. The freezing cold weather felt so nice afterwards!

I think the show is playing through the end of the week, so you should definitely see if they still have tickets in you live in the area.

Bragging rights...

So I just have to brag a little bit about my amazingly talented hubby! As I have mentioned before, Nate wrote a book about contest fiddling that is being published by Melbay. Well, he sent the book to Strings Magazine (which happens to be the leading magazine for string musicians nationwide) to see if they would review it. Well, I'm sure they get hundreds of requests to do reviews for people's books, and seeing as how they only do three an issue (1 issue per month), that's a lot of books that aren't getting chosen to be reviewed/ recommended. Well, to the point now... Nate got his Strings Magazine today, and opened it up to find HIS book in there, being positively reviewed and recommended!! He was soooo excited, as he should be. I am so proud of him! He has had such success with the sales of his book, and hopefully this will only help boost it up even more. He has even sold 2 books in Japan, and is VERY excited about that as well!  Unfortunately, they don't put all the articles online, so you can't read it anywhere but in the actual magazine.  You will just have to use your imagination to picture how awesome it is!  So anyway, I just wanted to share Nate's exciting news. If you happen to be in the market for a book about contest fiddling, or know someone who is, here is the link to his website: Championship Contest Fiddling.

Hooray for Nursery!!

Asher in his Sunday best, right before church

Yesterday was Asher's first day of Nursery... it was a blessed day! However, I did notice that after sitting for 3 hours straight, my rear was killing me! I guess there is an advantage to chasing a toddler around church for 3 hours when you're pregnant! Hard chairs and extra pounds just don't mix!

Asher of course loved Nursery. He was tired after Sacrament Meeting, so he was snuggling on my shoulder, but as soon as I walked into the Nursery room, he was out of my arms and squealing joyfully at the cupboard full of new toys! The Nursery leaders said he did really well, only they did have to keep an eye on him as he was so busy!! That's my boy! I peeked in during singing time, and he was so cute and smiley, which makes me feel so good!

Bedtime routine

Bedtime at our house is usually very repetitive, each night, we have a routine, and we do the same things to get Asher ready for bed. So, naturally, after 18 months, any kid would pick up on "the routine" and start to do it themselves. Well, Asher has been doing that lately. After we wrestle him into his diaper and pjs, he will stand by the microwave with the lid to his sippy cup in his hand, waiting for his milk to be warmed. When it's done, he hands it to me so I can put it on his cup. Then I give him his binky (we are trying to only let him have it at nap and bedtimes...it's going pretty well!!) and he goes to get his blanky. Then, with binky in mouth, sippy cup tucked under his arm, and blanky held up to his face with the rest dragging behind, he tromps off to his bedroom in search of a book to read. After he has found the perfect book (and it really does matter by the way, he totally cares what books are read to him!) he holds out his arms for me to pick him up and sit with him in the rocker to read a story. It is so precious!! I love that he does this because, not only does it mean he is remembering things and learning, etc, but also, that he doesn't mind going to bed. He almost never cries or resists bedtime in any way, he's usually ready! So you can imagine my surprise when I got him out of the tub the other night and was only able to put his diaper on before I witnessed this....

(Don't mind the messy house, clean up time is AFTER Asher goes to bed!!)

Make photo slide shows at www.OneTrueMedia.com

This does not look like a child who would, 15 minutes later, be in bed, asleep, which he was. We love our sweet little guy so much. Just listen to that laugh. It's such a happy sound...I LOVE it!!  I also love his little run and his little belly.  Such a cute kid!!

Tagged...

Lindsay tagged me, so I guess should follow through!

10 years ago: I was 15 and still in HS. I probably still had braces, and I was a cheerleader... awesome!

5 things on my list of things to do today:  1. do the laundry (the ONE thing I REALLY needed to do today, and the only thing that is still not done, but the night is still young! 2. Make peanut butter, banana muffins 3. read my scriptures 4. take care of the kiddo ( I really wanted to get out today, and we did... we took some stuff to daddy at BYU, and then I let Asher run around the HFAC for 2 hours, where he climbed up and down the stairs pretty much the whole time, and made lots of new friends! 5. eat take out chilli's and watch Invasion with my hubby!  ( i just realized that the last time i did a survey thing like this, the last thing i had eaten was Chilli's, which is weird because we really NEVER eat there!)

Things I would do if I was suddenly a billionaire: build my dream house, pay off student loans and car loan, probably buy a new car... or two ;), buy Nate a really nice bassoon, travel A LOT, live abroad so Nate could study cool stuff, donate LOTS, set up college funds for our kids,  give to our family, set up endowments for folk music programs, and invest in people's entrepreneuer (sp) endevours. Lots of cool stuff like that!

3 of my bad habits: Spending too much time on the computer, eating too many delicious desserts, never buying new clothes for myself (yes, that CAN be a BAD habit!)

Places I have lived: Sacramento and Provo

Jobs I have had: daycare worker at a country club in Sacramento, newspaper delivery girl, janitor at the Bean Museum (went there yesterday with Asher and it still smells exactly the same... weird), receptionist (several times), trainer for a girl with Cerebral Palsy, home assistant, medical assistant, employment trainer at DI, mentor at a treatment center, wife and mom

Things most people don't know about me: half of my tongue is numb from when my dentist hit a nerve while taking out my wisdom teeth (when I was 17), i've been hit by a car, i want to go back to school to become a nurse, there really isn't much, my life is pretty much an open book!

Ok, now I tag Katie Rynearson, Kelly Woodland, Rachelle Carling, and BOTH Shane and Emilee Wright!!

Baby update...

After having Asher and only having like 2 pictures of me pregnant from the whole nine months, I vowed to be better with my next pregnancy. Sadly, I have not been better. But I have managed to remember a couple of times. So here is the most recent picture of me and my ever-expanding belly, at a little over 32 weeks. It really isn't so bad, I feel very blessed to have such easy pregnancies. There are many times that I actually forget that I am pregnant, so I know I really can't complain. The little guy is doing great, apparently... I take it as a good sign that my visits with the Dr are approximately 3 minutes each time. He is a very wiggly little dude, which Asher was not, and look at him go now. So I don't know if I should be really worried that this one will be an absolute terror, or if I should count on him being the opposite, like Asher. We shall see!!

'Til we meet again...

I really don't even know what to say about my beloved prophet, except that I love him and will miss him dearly. It hardly seems real that he has passed on, such an amazing and inspired man. I have always thought of President Hinckley as my prophet, the only prophet I have ever known and remember. His love and words have inspired me and helped strengthen my testimony. I always felt comforted knowing that the affairs of the church were in his hands, and have always thought that no one could think ill of the church after knowing President Hinckley and the kind of man that he is.

I will miss him walking into the conference center waving his cane around, and his silly jokes, and his firm and inspiring words and testimony. One memory that I never want to forget about President Hinckley...

During the 2002 Winter Games, I was in Light of the World in the conference center. President Hinckley came to a dress rehearsal, and then came up to the stage to talk to us afterwards. While he was talking, a little girl of about 4 or 5 years old, ran up to him and hugged his legs. It was the sweetest thing in the world, that this little soul knew exactly who this man was, and just couldn't take it any longer, she had to hug him!

I've been picturing the reunion that has been going on in the spirit world, such a happy occasion, with his sweet little wife, it really is hard to be sad. It is definitely bittersweet.

Farewell President Hinckley... 'til we meet again.

When daddy's gone...

Nate has been out of town since Thursday night and it has just been Asher and me since then. Our weekend can be summarized by long periods of productivity, followed by long periods of extreme laziness. I don't know about the rest of you, but for some reason, when my husband goes out of town, I get so much done. This weekend was no exception. These are the results of my productivity...

Before: don't mind the table
on the bed! (both of the big room)

After: small room on the left, big "blue" room on the right
I just got the flowery bedding at Target on CLEARANCE...
great find... I LOVE it!!

I was a little disappointed with the blue paint that I picked out, I wanted more of a french blue to match the bedding better, but I still think it turned out fine... both rooms still need some curtains and a little more decor, but it is DEFINITELY an improvement over what they were. The "before" pictures don't really do them justice. Both rooms were so gross... dirty, scratched, scuffed, stained, etc etc. It was so dark and uninviting down there. I am sure every one who has ever stayed in either of these rooms is wishing that I painted them about 2 years ago... oh well, they're done now, and I think they are very bright and cheery!! They are all ready for everyone coming to visit after the baby is born!! ;)

I was so proud of myself! I painted the blue room in one day (baseboards, doors and all), during Asher's nap and then when he went to bed. Then on Saturday during Asher's nap I did the small room, which was already half way done (I started when I was 8 months pregnant with Asher, but then just couldn't find it in myself to finish it, seeing as how I had already painted our bedroom, the hallway and bathroom and the basement hallway, and all the doors and baseboards. Yes, it has taken me this long to have even the tiniest desire to paint again. I guess there really is something to be said about the "nesting period" during pregnancy!). So I should say that my long periods of laziness were not only warranted, but completely necessary! With my pregnant body, and not being as active as usual, my poor muscles were so sore and my sciatic nerve was killing. After painting, I would lay on the couch with my feet up while Asher played around me, and occasionally on me. Then I would get it together and go run some errands.

Asher was a complete angel all weekend. He was so happy every time we got in the car and went somewhere. On Saturday, I got a little creative... after we went to Robert's for the second time, I wanted him to be able to play and run around, but all the parks are still snowy (even though it was so nice and warm today). So I let him run around Deseret Book for awhile, then we headed out to the sidewalks, which led us to Staples where Asher proceeded to pick out his favorite candy bars for about 20 minutes. By the way, his favorites are Twix and Snickers (king size). Then he didn't even fuss when I put him back in the car. On the way home, we stopped at Aunt Jillian's, where we discovered Asher's love for raisins.

On Saturday night, I was going to paint the basement bathroom (which thankfully is really small) but I opted for a movie night (Hairspray and How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days) and craft time instead (the frames above the flowery bed)... a wise decision I think.

So in a nut shell... checked lots of stuff off of my to do list, relaxed, had fun with Asher, read Anne of Green Gables, and watched chick flicks... I would call that a very successful weekend!!

Tonight: Nate comes home, delicious London Broil for dinner, and Jane Austen's Mansfield Park on PBS... Yay!!

Just what I've been looking for...

I am so excited about this. When Asher was a tiny thing, he would only sleep in his bouncer, or in something with an incline. This seems so much safer than a bouncer, and much more like a bed. Plus I love that it is so snuggly. Most of you know that my sister Whitney and I can be a little bit freakish when it comes to swaddling, and this will just add to their already tight cocoon!!

I found something similar to this by Arm's Reach a couple weeks ago, and fell in love with the idea. But that one is brand new, so there are not comments or reviews about it. So not only is the Amby one tried and true, it is on ebay, which means you will definitely be able to find it for cheaper, which I am a huge fan of!! But the AR one is cheaper already. Check them both out and see what you think!!