5.5 weeks!!

So, baby Evlyn will be here soon!! I'm much less nervous, which is nice. But, sometimes it seems like forever away. She is a little over 5 lbs now, and almost 20 inches, according to the average for her age. I really don't know for sure. But, I do know she's very active and keeps growing! Sometimes I wonder how my stomach can stretch any more.
Here's a front view of my belly at 34.5 weeks. I had a hard time taking a picture in the mirror of a side shot, so I'll get one some other time.

Her room is coming together, although I still have lots to do. Here's a window curtain we got.
It's a long story but we have HUGE windows, and so it gets REALLY hot!! It's been hard to find things to cover the windows, and I found some energy saving panels at Target. They had very bright colors, and this pink was the most mild of the colors. Well, in the day when the sun is shining through, the whole room turns hot pink. lol. Hopefully our baby likes pink!! They work really well, though, keeping the sun out. Here's a picture of the rod too, which I thought was really cute. I liked it the best, and it happened to be one of the cheapest! I love how that works out!

Today I decided to make a papaya pie. It sounds interesting, but I bought a papaya and don't like it plain. So, I decided to make something with it and looked up recipes. This one won my vote.

It does not look very appetizing, but it's good!! Of course, adding lots of sugar to any fruit makes it good. :P

I know I'm behind the times, but Jared and I finally watched Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part one. Let me just say I was so disgusted and angry! There is one part in particular that was not in the book and should not have been in the movie! Or, if they wanted to put it in there, they should have rated it R. Those of you who have seen it probably know what I'm talking about. Okay sorry, I just wanted to rant a little. Needless to say I was not happy about that one bit!

Well, that's the update for today. Conference this weekend!

Surprise Baby Shower!

For mutual last night, the beehives and advisers threw me a surprise baby shower! It was so sweet and cute! They played a game, gave me some gifts, we ate junk food, and then we had a lesson on motherhood. I was so surprised and can't believe how kind they were to someone who just barely moved into the ward! Here's what they gave me.


This is a beautiful baby quilt that all the young women helped tie during a mutual one night that I was totally oblivious to. :P
Here's the pretty details on the front.

And, here's the adorable clothes that the two leaders, Angela and Ruth, gave me. They are sooo cute!!





I can't wait to dress our little girl up!!

Lindsay and Jeff Wedding

On Friday night, 2 of my really good friends growing up had their wedding reception. I've known Lindsay since elementary school, and Jeff since freshmen year. They both looked great and really happy! Here are some pictures.




For some reason I only got pictures of them dancing with their parents lol.This is them walking to the car to leave. Jeff's dad had a really nice BMW they got to take. This reminded me of our wedding. I can't believe it's been over 2 years!

And, here's us sitting and eating.

This one was a strange one b/c my sister was trying to get a picture of my belly, I think.


So, veering from the wedding, we finally got the curtain up!! Jared had to do it, b/c I was too short. But, I think it turned out rather pretty. We haven't put the pretty cords on the sides up yet though.


And here's a close-up of the pretty design that's on it. We watched Megamind this weekend, which was a super cute movie! We both really enjoyed it. It's funny that it seems we like little kids movies more than others now. :P

On Saturday, we got to chaperon a stake youth dance. It was fun, but also strange. It brought back a lot of memories from 5-8 years ago. It was funny to watch the kids though, and most of them just standing in their clicks not dancing. So, Jared and I danced a few songs and had fun! Although, it was sooo hot in that room, I didn't blame them for not dancing.

Evlyn is 4 pounds now, and moving like crazy! haha it's so funny to see my stomach moving. The funniest was in church on Sunday, b/c she started doing flips or something. The leader next to me saw and looked at me and my stomach with a look of terror. I couldn't stop laughing. She said, "There's something in there!" haha she knew I'm pregnant, but this statement was so funny! With all the hiccuping and flipping our baby girl is doing, I'm sure she's gonna be one active girl!

Well, that's about it for our news this weekend.

Stuff

This is just going to be a random post of random things. :P


This is a beautiful flower that my sweet Jared brought to me yesterday! Hopefully I won't kill it like I seem to be good at doing to beautiful plants. :P

YUM!!! I really really like clif and Luna bars, but they're so expensive. So, alas, I do not eat them. But, I was at Target yesterday and these were on clearance!! Yummm!! I'll have to have self control so they last, and so that Jared will get some before I eat them. Yumm!! I blame Lindsay Hardy for getting me hooked on them like 8 years ago at girl's camp. They're like candy bars, but healthy...er than candy bars. lol

Now for my yard project. We loved all the rain these past few weekends, and I was so excited to see some green in our front and backyard! However, what this picture doesn't show you is that this is all weeds!! There are TONS in the front and back yard! I debated pulling them b/c I think the green is pretty, but weeds are not so I decided to start pullin'. Well, It is really hot, first of all. And, I've been getting tired easily, so this project is taking longer than I had anticipated...


There are some of my weed piles that I haven't even cleaned up yet. :P Some day.

MMM! Now for cactus! I was grocery shopping the other day and came across some cactus on sale. Jared gave me a cactus leaf for fun when we were dating as part of a scavenger hunt, and I've always wondered how you eat them. Well, a lady who worked there was cutting them and cleaning them, and advertising. So, I asked how you cook it and you can boil it or saute it. So, I got some. This bag was a lot more full when I first got it. It's yummy, but it's a lot like Okra and has that gooey consistency when you cook it. I made a stir-fry with it with dinner one night, and it was interesting. The next day for lunch, I decided to try again and this time boil it first, put a little baking soda (I read that helps with the sticky stuff), drain it, and then saute it with frozen veggies, spinach, pickle juice, and tuna. Then I made a taco out of it with cheese and it was soo good! I know it sounds weird, but it was really yummy! I might have it again today for lunch.
And, here's another project that's long overdue. So we have these HUGE windows in our house, and they let a lot of heat in when the sun's up. This is our room, with just a comforter over it to try to keep the sun out. Well, I got this beautiful curtain set for only 15 dollars at a yard sale, which is a steal if you look around. Most curtains are at least 15 dollars for one panel, and for this window we would need 3 or four. That doesn't include the pretty pull string things or valence. Well, the set I bought did! Anyway, I bought this about 3 weeks ago, but we didn't have a curtain rod. I bought a cheap one from Walmart about 2 weeks ago, but was scared to try to put it up. I finally got the courage to this week, and opened it up, but it was too small and weak. Luckily they took it back b/c I hadn't done anything but open the package. Then I went to Target and bought the right size, b/c Walmart didn't have it. It's a much nicer curtain rod, and I was determined to put it up today, finally. Well, I don't know what I'm doing and I'm a little too short even when standing on a chair. So, I have to wait for Jared. I wanted to surprise him but what can ya do?

In case anybody doesn't know and wants to, we decided to name our baby girl Evlyn. :P Speaking of her, she's getting super strong! I love playing with her by just barely touching where there's a bump (b/c there's a bump wherever she is so I can tell), and she kicks or elbows or punches or something. haha it's fun! Sometimes it feels like she's scratching though or trying to break out, and that's not quite as fun. I can't wait to meet this hyper little girl!!

Crown, more cleaning/organizing

Well, I finally feel almost back to normal from my cold/flu/whatever I had. :P So, in between cleaning and organizing, I've been watching the Cosby Show on Youtube. haha I never knew how much I liked that show! Especially, for those of you who are girls, the one where the men are pregnant. lol I had Jared watch it with me b/c I couldn't stop laughing. Let's just say I thought it was a little more funny than he did. :P But, I think most girls would enjoy it, and most husbands who's wives are or have been pregnant. It's called "the Day the Spores landed."

Anyway, here's a mini tour of our house and things we have done/gotten for it.

This is an antique upright grand piano that was given to us by very good friends, the Wellings. We decided to add some decorations, so on top is a "Family" sign that was given to us for Christmas from Jared's sister Melinda. To the left is a cute pocketwatch clock Jared got for Christmas, and to the right is a really cool old book of how the Hymns came to be. Then, sitting where a book should is some pictures from when we were dating/engaged. So, there's our cute little antique area. :P

This is the bottom half of a dresser we got for free!! One morning I decided to look on Craigslist and there was a dresser for free. I though, "I can't pick it up, and it's probably too far away". But, I decided to look it up anyway and the person lived about 2 blocks away!! They put the dresser outside and said they wanted someone to come take it but not to knock on the door. So, I drove over to see if it was still there, and it was! The top part is really pretty with a mirror, which I'll show later. The dresser is pretty old and scratched, but after cleaning this part up and tightening screws, it looks pretty good! I still need to work on the top part. Anyway, so my really awesome visiting teacher came to help me load it and even brought her truck to load it in. She was very sweet! Jared was surprised when he came home and I told him that she and I lifted it. haha.

This is our entertainment center, that I showed you when it was empty. We've found some things to put in it, including that TV that my friend Laurice and her roommie Mary gave us! It fits perfectly! The baby high chair is so cute, and my parents gave it to us. :P I can't wait for our little girl to sit in it!

This is the top half of our bookcase that I got at that auction for 10 dollars! We temporarily moved the couch in front of it, but I decided to take a picture anyway. The top two shelves were empty, so I decided to put some signs and pics of us. My sister Aimee and her husband Josh made the two signs in the middle. They are both very pretty! the top one says our names and our wedding date.

Well, there's the end of the mini tour for now. Last week, I went to the dentist b/c I've felt like I had a cavity for about 6 months now. I didn't go to the dentist b/c we didn't have good insurance until December, and then we were moving...anyway, I didn't have any cavities! It's been over 2 years since I've been, so I was relieved to hear this. However, I do have a cracked tooth and they put a crown on it on Tuesday. Not very fun, and the numbness took 5 hours (I'm not exaggerating) to wear off. I was happy to be able to eat, b/c my tongue was so numb that it was hard to swallow.

I still haven't been able to start substitute teaching b/c of all these hoops I have to jump through. But, hopefully I'll be able to start here before the baby comes.

Speaking of the baby, I'm 30 weeks tomorrow! About 10 more to go! I had a doctor's appointment today, and everything's great! She's so active, and she kicked the doctor again. :P However, I am getting a little nervous for the labor part of this. So, if anybody has any advice or knows anything, I would be happy to hear/talk! Here's some pics of me now, at 29 weeks 6 days.

Yup, I am taking them in the bathroom. :P Sorry, it's the only place we have a mirror.

Tonight we have a ward dinner party, which I'm excited about. Yummy food, date with my hubby, and getting to know people in the ward. :) Yay for weekends!

Everything update

We've moved in finally! We moved in last Saturday, so we've been in our new house for a little over a week. I got sick but after 10 days, I'm finally feeling lots better. So, working on cleaning and unpacking has been a bit slower than I expected, but it's coming along. We just barely got the internet today.

I had my first doctor's appointment with my new OB, and things are going great. Everything's right on track, and so far I haven't heard anything about the glucose test. Hopefully no news is good news! I can't believe our baby will be here in less than 12 weeks! I am 28 weeks and 3 days, and getting bigger and bigger! People tell me I'm not big enough to be this far along, but I feel like I am! I just filled-out the paperwork that I have to submit to the hospital before delivery! Crazy! It's all becoming more real and I now have a doctor's appointment every 2 weeks!

I gave my first two lessons in Beehives these past 2 weeks, and they went pretty good! Jared and I have a talk in church this Sunday! Things have been super busy!

My super sweet hubby brought me beautiful red roses yesterday for Valentines day! Hopefully everybody else had a great V-day too! Well, that's it for now, but I plan on having pics sometime soon.

Stress Kinda??

Let me start off by saying we have so much to be grateful for. What I'm about to complain about does not change the fact that I am very grateful for my life and what is happening. However, the past few weeks have been more than a little stressful.

So, I already wrote that Jared has a busy life. Work, school, homework, and now a scout leader. Well, I just got a calling to be the new beehive adviser! I'm excited and a little scared. The girls all seem very nice though. Well, luckily Jared's boys meet on the same night, so we have a little 5 minute car ride date on Wednesdays now. :P

Okay. Now for the house... So, we had to rip the floor out of one of the bathrooms and repair it b/c it had some problems. The guy we had do this was GREAT!! The pictures don't even do it justice!So, that was not one of the major stresses. I shopped with my mother-in-law to find the cheapest tile that we could find, that was the good quality needed for a bathroom. We found a great deal at Home Depot-98 cents per square foot of porcelain tile. This was amazing, since the next cheapest was 1.59 per sq. ft. Anyway, so we felt pretty good about that and we got a washer and dryer combo on craigslist for 125. Then began the stress. We had to rip out some cabinets that had issues that might not have been safe to be around, especially with a baby. Well, the cabinet guy took an extra day, we spent a long time driving around and finding materials for him, and then he changed the price he was charging. When I went to pay him, I asked about the original price he quoted. He stated that he thought that's what he charged, but then he talked to his boss who gets paid more, so he charged more. LAME!! Well, I was in total shock and didn't know what to do. I can think of a few things now! Anyway, so we ended up spending more on that job than we should have.

Next, came the plumbing. We had some leaks, and thought this would be an easy couple-hour project. Well, the plumber came on Wednesday and said that not only do the pipes need replaced on two of the bathroom sinks and the kitchen sink, but also the faucets. He said they were all corroded and would leak if not replaced. ahhh! Then, he checked the toilets and those need to be re-piped. Then, the laundry room faucet needed to be replaced. This faucet, however, was saudered down about 8 in. below the opening, so they had to cut a hole in the wall. *Sigh* So, the one-day job has become 3 and I'm really scared to see the bill tomorrow!

Think that's it? Nope! Last week my parents-in-law went around and kindly replaced most of our light bulbs for us, b/c many were burnt out. Then, on Saturday we went to the house and two rooms of lights did not work! many of those had just been replaced. We couldn't figure out what had happened. They checked the breakers and didn't figure it out. Then, my father-in-law tried replacing a few of the already replaced light bulbs. They worked! So, after 11 light bulbs burnt out at once, we realized there is an electrical problem too. So, I need to find an electrician to come take a look. *another sigh*

Then, we went to put our oven in, and the plug doesn't fit in the socket! So, one more question to ask the electrician when he comes. I was at the house from 7am-11 yesterday, and 7:20am-11:40 today! I'm so tired! Plus, it's freezing! So, our house was 50 degrees today and I was trying to clean cabinets with freezing wet hands! I am proud to say, however, that our kitchen cabinets are clean and polished on the outside, and almost clean on the inside. (I still have more work to do). They were pretty dirty inside and out, and the handles were gross. So, I unscrewed all the handles and washed those, and I've been working on the cabinets. I don't want to start putting food in dirty cabinets that haven't been clean in who knows when! My mother-in-law helped me with the cleaning supplies-thank you! And, the wood stain. Otherwise, they would not look like they do now!

On Saturday, we had someone come to look at our garage door, b/c we wanted a door opener. Well, we found out that a door opener won't work, so we need a new motherboard or receiver. Both are expensive, and the door opener itself was expensive. Also, we need a new spring b/c it's about to fall apart and can ruin the whole door if it breaks. And, the rollers need replaced or the door can come off the rollers. We are waiting on this and will just try to use the garage door as little as possible until we are through with so many expenses.

I've had a to-do list of things to do at our house everyday this week, but the cabinets are taking longer than I thought. Plus, it's really hard when there's no plumbing and I have to go to the bathroom. (You have to go a lot more when you're pregnant!) So, embarrassingly enough, I've knocked on two different neighbors to use their restroom, and also driven to the grocery store. :P

Anyway, enough venting. We have been very blessed with the help our families have given us, and we're still blessed with this house, even though it is a lot of work and money we hadn't counted on.

I'm hoping to start substitute teaching soon-I finally got my application sent in the mail for my license.

We're moving the rest of our stuff on Saturday and officially living in our house! (hopefully we'll have plumbing and electricity!)

I have my first doctor's appointment with my new doctor next week, and I'm excited! It's been 2 months since my last appointment, because I couldn't get in to the new one sooner. Hopefully all is still going well with our little baby.

Well, that's that and hopefully the next post will have more pictures and will be more upbeat. :P