Well, I won't give myself credit for being the world's best blogger for sure! Here are some updates:
I got my first ultrasound last Friday! The baby is doing really well, is totally adorable as a 14 week old can be, and they think it may be a boy. Still too early to tell, but we won't be disappointed either way. I should be able to tell for sure in January at 20 weeks. Elijah was super excited to see the pictures of his future sibling. I am also starting to show a little bit, which is exciting.
Ryan just registered for his first classes yesterday, as he has decided to go back to school and become a physical therapy assistant. I am very proud of him and wondering how crazy we are to undertake more schooling and newborns, but it is exciting.
Elijah has his first Christmas concert for school in two weeks. I can't wait. I remember having all these plays and Christmas concerts over the years for my parents, so I am sure this is just the beginning, but very exciting.
I am starting to teach Sunday school again in January. I am excited since it has been almost a year since I did this. I took a ministry profile at our church on Sunday to see what I was called to be as far as ministry goes. Hopefully teaching kids Sunday school is on the list.
Construction is slow, slow, slow down here. So we are praying for jobs to open up and people to get the financing to be able to remodel their homes.
My sister-in-law and her four awesome adorable kids are coming to see us next week. I am so excited!!!
30 days to CHRISTmas!!!!
NeoCounter
I am still coping with the Obama election news. I guess it is a shock and my mind still has not absorbed this, but I do have until Jan. 09 right??? Give me a while and I will be okay again.
On other news, I found out regular Claritin is an antihistamine and it is okay to take. Whew.... a weight of guilt of my shoulders. It truly does stink being an allergy person and being pregnant, I miss my good old fast-acting Flonase....
Oh, and I wish it was colder outside. Seriously, I am done with eighty degree falls. We had some awesome forty degree nights last week. Those were the days... I am thinking about hitting the road during Christmas break and finding some snow...
So if you see me trekking north on 95 or 80 sometime between Christmas and New Year's, you know where I am headed.
One more thing, my favorite pen is missing from my desk at work today. Somebody clept it. This makes for a sad work day!
7 Weeks until Christmas------SERIOUSLY!
Elijah got me sick... real sick...
I am one of those girls that really hates to put anything unnatural in my body during pregnancy, medication, coffee, etc... but around 1 am this morning, I woke up choking on fluids in my throat and my nose stuffed so bad I couldn't breathe. Not to mention the 15 hour migraine I had been experiencing. So I gave in and took a Claritin and a tylenol.... Now I feel guilty even though I feel a slight bit better. Being a allergy person has left me pretty miserable these last few weeks and I feel the need to get with my doctors and work out a plan so I can be pleasantly pregnant again.
On other news, waking up at 1 am to see Obama give parts of his acceptance speech was anything but exciting. I do want to give him congrats on winning, giving people hope, etc... but I feel in my heart he was the wrong candidate. I also feel that the heart of this country and Christianity in America will be having a change as a whole and I feel that no matter whether I agree with Obama or not, God has this all worked out in His hands and knows what the future for this country is. I just pray in the meanwhile that my tax credits are not eliminated and that our taxes do not raise next year because we are in the 42K or over bracket. That would truly be depressing.
Oh well, tomorrow is another day. Hopefully a feel better and be glad not to have to listen to anymore political commercials day.
Oh and John, you ran a great race buddy. This country still thanks you for your service and I look forward to still seeing you in the Senate.
(PS... this blog post is finished at 3.22 am EST , so if it is rambling and runny, you now know why!)
If you ever watched The Office you know about the "Party Planning Committee", which has new leadership this season. :) Anyways, as I plan Elijah's Fouth Birthday Party bash this weekend, I wish I had a party planning commitee. Planning a party at a park location for 12 kids and a handful of parents can be stressful. Why did Phyllis want to take charge again....
I have been having the weirdest dreams possible in the last few weeks of my pregnancy. Before I got to be each night I have to brace myself for the night to come and what suprises my dreams hold in store. Never before have I had so many dreams in such a short period of time and so vivid I can recall most of them. The thing that really stinks though is that most of them are stressful or just crazy and I am upset when I wake up... I think it may be the hormones and stress of the economy and life changes lately, but I wish I could avoid these dreams.
Am I the only one to have weird pregnancy dreams? Has anyone else experienced them?...
I walked out the door yesterday morning to a nice chilly breeze and took in a deep breath. Just to remind myself that the 65 degree coolness I was experiencing may be our only taste of fall. Bummer. It is times like these I wish we were in North Carolina or Virginia or Vermont.... Sigh...Back to 85 degree high reality.
On more exciting and cheerful news... The Tampa Rays are going to the World Series. Not many in this neck of the woods have been Rays fans over the years as they sat at the bottom of the league and lost almost every game, but times have changed and Tampa now has Rays fever. Everyone who never even cared about baseball is watching these games and boy are they exciting. I entered a contest to win WS tickets but likely we will watch the games from home and cheer on our favorite hometown underdogs... GO RAYS!!!!
1. When I am pregnant I hate small talk. really. I know it is weird but I like to retreat into my shell for 9 months and hibernate.
2. I no longer like the smell or taste of coffee. Seeing as I was an advid Starbucks coffee morning person just three weeks ago.
3. I have becoming more of an introvert since I became a mom. I like to keep things within our little family.
4. I fear what is going to become of our economy if Obama becomes president.
5. I act really crazy with my husband. It is really fun having someone you live with understand you so much.
6. I fear parenting and making sure my little boy becomes a man of God. It is such an awesome responsibility God has given us. I will try to make the best of it!
7. I am still not a morning person... and as I get older I am not sure I ever will be. Has anyone ever seen a ninety year old woman who likes to sleep in every day? That will be me, so stayed tuned.
So.....
I am almost eight weeks pregnant according to my pregnancy countdown clock I got for my myspace page last night! I thought I was only 5 or 6 weeks but no more like 7.75! Wow, I can't believe we are having another baby! I am thrilled but over the last few weeks I have experienced nausea and dizziness at almost any time of day, ranging from 8 in the morning to 7 at night. Blah! On better news, I have quickly broken my long beloved coffee addiction as the first day I realized I was pregnant two weeks ago, coffee sounded like the least thing I wanted to drink. Hurray! No addiction classes for this girl! Now I am strictly a sprite and water gal. Period. The cravings have already begun- one day i crave ham and cheese sandwiches, the next chicken noodle soup, the next Firehouse Subs. I never was one to care what I particularly at times but now I have gotten picky!
The challenge I am facing this week is picking a new doctor. My old doctor who delivered Elijah was horrible and that in itself is a whole blog post. So know I am on the quest for a new doctor, that takes our insurance and delivers at a particular hospital. It is like the quest for the holy grail these days. I am sure God will lead us into the best hands.
Another thing that has been on my mind is my delivery method for this baby, since Elijah was an emergency C-section due to being breech, do I still want a C-section or opt for a riskier V-back. Hmm... all these things run through my head all the time now!
I will keep you updated as my belly grows as do my moods and cravings....
As we get back to our normal EST time schedule this week, the question runs through my head...
Is it vacation time yet?
Seriously. If I were to inherit, win, be given a lot of money, my answer is always that I would travel and see the world... and to be honest, I would not likely return until my cash flow was diminished. That is how much I love traveling. But there still is no place like home and the comforts of our nice oversized plush king bed, cable television, computer, and community pool were all returned to us, we are at the moment satified with being home.
Here are some highlights of our vacation:
1. Weather: highs in the low eighties, lows in the low sixties and upper fifties.
(weather in Tampa last week: hot, nasty, humid 91 degrees)
2. Family: We got to spend a lot of time with the family and Elijah and his cousin Mikey became instant pals.
3. The mountains: Even flying into Boise, which has more hills than mountains, was exciting. My three (almost four) year old was so excited to see the mountains that he kept asking the first night in Boise if we could go climb to the top of one. Well, we did but it was by car and the drive up felt like going to the top of a rollercoaster because of the loop after loop of driving to the top. But the view was amazing and well worth it. We also got to see lots of views of the Teton mountains, which we love.
4. The smiles: Seriously, we did not encouter one rude person in Idaho. Everyone smiles and looks you in the eye and says hello. This took a day or two of getting used to, as everyone in Florida would give you a weird look for being so happy all the time. Here it is rare to have eye contact or a hi or hello from a stranger. We got to used to the smiles and friendlyness of Idaho.
5. The beautiful Idaho Falls: We took a couple walks, about 100 meters from the hotel, down to the falls area. It is so beautiful, quiet, serene. I miss having it be so close. The views are very nice. Also feeding the ducks and geese can be quite and adventure in itself.
6. The Blue Heron Inn: Our Bed & Breakfast for our last two nights. So beautiful and gorgeous and the rooms were fantastic. I will be posting pics so you can see. Claudia and Dave were great hosts and make it a memorable experience. Our breakfast was awesome and we wish we would have had more time to enjoy. My favorite part was enjoying a glass of wine in the hot tub at dark overlooking the Snake River with my husband. It was very relaxing.
7. Jackson & Yellowstone: Two of my favorite places. Always.
8. Heise Hot Springs: We spent a day at the natural hot pool and springs and it was very nice and relaxing. Could have done without the swarming yellowjackets though...
9. Boise: It has changed a lot since I was last there, but it is a pretty nice place to visit. Very beautiful with lots of trees.
10. Relaxing: No work makes one very happy and relaxed. Horray for vacations.
There are many more hightlights to our trip but these are just a few. I will post pics today or tomorrow to illustrate!
We are having very high winds today in light of Gustav sitting right in the middle of the gulf... likely there will also be some rain bands/tornado watches later on today. I am starting to feel like a true Floridian when I feel very untouched by any news of hurricanes.... A sort of media desensitizing has occurred. I feel bad for the people on the Gulf Coast. I know a class 4 or 5 hurricane in the Tampa Bay area would be just as catastrophic, yet somehow over the last few decades we have been untouched... Amazingly...
In other news, we are getting very excited for our vacation. I am ready to go and experience 40 degree nights again. We are talking a 40-50 degree tempature drop from our weather today! Crazy!
And can I just say, I am sooo thrilled on McCain's VP pick.... I would love to see her be the first woman President if anything happened, way before I would like to see Billary take office! I think it is awesome for her to go in and show woman and wives and moms everywhere that making a difference is possible. Just another reason McCain has my vote!
NObama!
So we are going back home on vacation to Idaho a week from Tuesday. Since I no longer live in Idaho, it really is like vacation. Many people not from the state (likely 95% of you) have never been or lived in the state. When I tell people I am from Idaho they usually reply like this:
"The potatoes right"
or
"I've known people who have been to IOWA and heard it is really nice."
For those of you geographically challenged, Idaho is next to Oregon and Washington in the Northwest. The population is around 1.5 million people.... Total. That is like taking the entire Tampa Bay and Orlando Areas and spreading them around a large state. Needless to say there is a lot of unpopulated areas, small towns, and quiet peaceful nights. So, I have decided to make a list of what Idaho should be popular for. Here goes:
1. The west entrance to Yellowstone National Park.
The drive over the hill from Ashton and onward to the park entrance is very beautiful.
2. Island Park
This is the area between Ashton and YNP that contains many beautiful campgrounds, cabins, waterfalls, the Snake River, and gorgeous wildlife everywhere.
3. Upper and Lower Mesa Falls-
Breathtaking falls. I hope to get lots of pics of these when we go.
4. The Greenbelt, Idaho Falls
The falls in Idaho Falls are man made but the river walkway area is so nice and peaceful. We will be staying at a hotel right by them and I will also take lots of pics.
5. Natural Springs
Lots of natural hot springs that make you want to never return to a hot tub again.
6. Cool evenings
You really take cool evenings in the summer for granted until you move to Florida. There is
nothing like a cool breezy summer evening.
7. Boise
The states largest city. Home of the largest state college and our only college football team
that is competitive. A very nice and modern Idaho city with a ton to do. I heart Boise.
8. Salmon/Challis Area
Some of the world's best white water rafting with the most scenic views. Nice
9. Grand Targee Ski Resort
The world's best skiing hands down. Loads of fresh powder. LOVE IT.
10. Potatoes
Yep, got to love them.
There could be many many more things to post but I better end it there with my top 10. You will see Idaho in all its glory with lots of vacation pics to come.
As you can tell, I am so excited to go back and visit nature at its finest!
Pics:
Salmon/Challis Area
View from Idaho Falls Greenbelt
View of the Teton Mountains from Island Park
Boise, ID
Lower Mesa Falls
trying for our second baby... we will let you know if this occurs...
PS... we really want a girl!
My mother in law broke her ankle going down the hill from her house last Sunday. She had surgery on Thursday morning to put two pins and a plate in her ankle to stabalize the joint. Well, she almost died yesteday after they overdosed her pain medication. It was pretty scary and a kind of long story, but she is doing well as can be now. She will have 6-8 weeks of recovery before returning to regular walking. Thanks to all that have been praying for her!
My ABC's:
A= ADVOCATE FOR: Kids rights. Melaleuca home products. Starbucks Iced Americano.
B = BEST FEATURE: Hmm... I guess my eyes
C = COULDN'T DO WITHOUT: Coffee. Husband. God. Elijah.. (Not necessarily in that order)
D = DREAMS AND DESIRES: To work as a CPA from home. To travel to many more places.
E= ESSENTIAL ITEM: Sunglasses and a cup of iced coffee.
F= FAVORITE PAST TIME: Watching gilmore girl reruns, blog surfing, reading books and magazines, working out.
G = GOOD AT: Keeping a clean house
H = HAVE NEVER TRIED: Lots of foreign cuisines.
I = IF I HAD A MILLION DOLLARS: Travel the world, get a big house and have lots of kids.
J = JUNKIE FOR: Coffee....
K = KINDRED SPIRIT: My husband
L = LITTLE KNOWN FACT: I worry way to much all the time
M = MEMORABLE MOMENT: The birth of Elijah
N = NEVER AGAIN WILL I: Listen to the doctors and assume they are right when going through labor
O = OCCASIONAL INDULGENCE: Getting my nails done
P= PROVOKING THOUGHT: too tired for provokidness
Q = QUOTE: "That's what she said..." (Not mine)
R = REASON TO SMILE: Great husband, Child, and friends. God Loves me!
S = SORRY ABOUT: My anal retentiveness.
T = TAG SOME FRIENDS: Why?
U = UNINTERESTED IN: Barack Obama
V = VERY SCARED OF: Barack Obama getting elected
W = WORST HABIT: Worrying, being crazy about keeping my house perfect
X = X MARKS MY IDEAL VACATION SPOT: Ireland, Alaska, New Zealand, and on and on...
Y = YESTERYEAR DECADE OF CHOICE: I would have loved the 20s
Z = ZODIAC SIGN: Capricorn
Nada...Zilch...Nothing. I took the whole day off because the school was closed and Ryan's mom has broken her foot & ankle bones. So it was nice spending time with Elijah & being able to do some cleaning for Ryan's mom. We did get all worried about Fay becoming a hurricane but there is no exciting things to report, such as 20 ft tital waves or cows blowing in the road. Just another dreary overcast afternoon....
In other news, we are attempting to see if God will allow us another child. We are both hoping for a girl, though we wouldn't be terribly sad on a boy either. We are excited to see what God will let happen!
To my awesome sister-in-law and great friend! Happy Birthday to you! Wish I was there to bake you some cupcakes! Hope it was better!
So.. I can contribute my lack of blogging the last couple weeks to my lack of sleep maybe. I have had late night awakeness for almost two weeks now. I am thinking of possible causes and they could (might) (likely) are:
1. My irrisistable summer love of Starbucks Iced Coffee (even after 5pm)
2. My newly refound love of running (more like jogging fast right now)
3. My childlike excitement for our upcoming trip back home to I-D-Ho!
4. My realization of the peace and quiet that comes in my house after 9pm
5. My anxiety and worriness that Satan likes to try to throw on me
6. I am and likely always will be a night owl like my Grammi
But things are going well despite my lack of sleep. I have successfully planned out our trip from Idaho from arrival to departure, including planes, hotels, and cars. We are all set and I got us a great deal on great accomodations at an excellent price. I also found out the the Fall arts festival is happening in Jackson Hole when we go there, so that should be fun!
I am also still contiplating my school plan for this fall. Should I take one class or two? Or no class and wait for spring so I can take the GMAT? Should I just take classes on line? Too many questions in my head so I guess I need to pray more.
Our family has been blessed with finding a new little community church, which we feel God has been leading us to. We are feeling very welcome and blessed with this church and we are looking foward to what God can do with us there.
We have been doing a lot of running around and hanging with friends this week and I am hoping we can spend some good quality time together this weekend. Ryan & Elijah are going to enjoy their first father and son quality time together tomorrow at the Rays baseball game also!
That's all for now on us....
Well, we wanted to see Wall-E last weekend- BAD! but we didn't get to because Elijah has had another inner ear infection. So we spent all day on the couch watching endless Noggin, which indeed fries my noggin! So maybe this Saturday we will try, try again!
I was working in the yard pulling weeds and trimming shrubs and our palm trees yesterday. I was minding my business and trimming off dead palm tree branches, when all of the sudden I heard buzzing and saw lots of flashes of yellow. Before I knew it, my arm was stining so bad and I was yelling and going crazy all through the garage into the house. It was quite an ordeal. My arm still hurts horribly and is massivly swollen. Now I know... Wasps like to live in Palm Trees... U learn something new in Florida every day!
Going to see WALL-E tomorrow. I am very excited as is Elijah. I will fill you in on its greatness afterwards!
Elijah has been scaring us the last couple days because he has been sooo tired and cranky and not wanting to eat. It started a week ago, when I picked him up from school because his ear was hurting and he was vomiting. A few hours later, he felt better and I just passed it off as being maybe sunstroke. He has been playing okay, but he just gets wiped out so quick.
Last night I looked at his mouth and the right tonsil was pretty swollen and red. So I decided to call him into the doctor today. Fortunately, the doctor found a severe ear infection, which can be cleared by antibiotics. He also feels like his is combating possible strep throat. He did say to watch him over the weekend and if his energy level does not return, we have to take him in for blood work.
So please say some prayers that this is NOT mono and just a simple bacterial infection. THANK YOU! :)
Since it has been raining here a lot the last few weeks and raining physically and financially in our lives and those around us, I found this song I heard very suited to my soul at this moment. I pray God that if these trials that we endure bring us closer to you, then Lord please bring on the rain... Amen
Bring The Rain lyrics (MercyMe)
I can count a million times
People asking me how I
Can praise You with all that I've gone through
The question just amazes me
Can circumstances possibly
Change who I forever am in You
Maybe since my life was changed
Long before these rainy days
It's never really ever crossed my mind
To turn my back on you, oh Lord
My only shelter from the storm
But instead I draw closer through these times
So I pray
Bring me joy, bring me peace
Bring the chance to be free
Bring me anything that brings You glory
And I know there'll be days
When this life brings me pain
But if that's what it takes to praise You
Jesus, bring the rain
I am Yours regardless of
The dark clouds that may loom above
Because You are much greater than my pain
You who made a way for me
By suffering Your destiny
So tell me what's a little rain
So I pray
Holy, holy, holy
Is the Lord God Almighty
Ask me if you are interested, see my previous post!
All this debating over drilling oil (which is very controversial down here) is driving me bonkers. I am all for being dependent on ourselves and not relying on countries that could turn their backs on us in a heartbeat and charge us even more ridiculous prices for oil than we are being charged now. We need to get some kind of energy plan in place and people need to start being more aware of how the whole process works. Just some thoughts.... What do you think.....
In front of the Starbucks
Good friends Lisette & Kim
The Mullins at the Convention Center
Me all GraduatedTo entering contests online. It's official. I found this cool website that posts lots of contests to enter from major companies and I enter them once a day. Is this a bad addiction? I did win a 25 Target giftcard yesterday "SWEET" , which is of course where I do a lot of shopping. Anyways, it is nice to dream sometimes and have something to do to fill my empty time that is void of schoolwork! Maybe there is meetings in my area for this type of thing!
We have been trying to go more organic in the products that we eat, especially meat, fruit, and dairy (when affordable) and also in our cleaning products. My neighbor has introduced me to the Melaleuca line of products which are naturally based, PH balanced, and also free of all those nasty chemicals other products you get in the store have. Better even yet, the prices are comparable and sometimes cheaper than those that you find in the stores and the Melaleuca products are highly concentrated so you have to use less of them. They carry anywhere from laundry detergent to body soap to cold and allergy remedies. And to top it all off, when you decide to purchase their products, you pay an annual fee (just like Sam's or Costco) of $30.00, which until June 20th is only $14.95, and then you get a discount off of all products. You just shop online, enter your order, get your discount, and have it all sent to your door. Your discount does require that you purchase a certain amount of points each month from the store, which is easy to do with soaps, detergents, cleaners, first aid goodies, dental care and such.... There is even opprotunities to make money and earn gifts by referring your friends. Anyways, check them out on their website.
http://www.melaleuca.com/ps/index.cfm?f=ps.mainPage
If you want to sign up, let me know ASAP to get half off your annual fees! Let's protect our
families and environment and save on gas all at the same time! How sweet is that! Plus you are supporting my home state of Idaho!
Hey everyone,
It's been about three months since I graduated and now I am ready to start blogging away! How fun is this. Much better than the myspace blog stuff. Here I will post updates on our life, photos, ramblings, random stuff that runs through my brain and such.... This should be fun so stay tuned!