Atlanta!!!

My thanksgiving trip to Atlanta was kind of a disaster.  I had limited interaction with family, no contact with any friends, and I saw my fair share of vomit. It just wasn't great and I've been mourning it ever since. 

This trip, I knew I'd only be in Atlanta for literally 48 hours and I was really hoping to make the most of it. I'm happy to report that my 48 hours was absolutely perfect and way better than I even imagined. My only sadness of it was that I didn't get to see my two newest nephews, but other than that, it was everything I hoped for plus more. 

Tuesday morning, I set my alarm and finished packing and got ready. I packed my purse and Chris got the kids up at 7:30 while I was finishing making eggs. We all ate quickly and loaded up in the car and we're off right on time. We parked in that super far away lot that requires a shuttle (it's half price and we're going to be gone for almost two full weeks) and the kids were thrilled that they got to go on a bus in addition to an airplane. Abigail even commented on how pretty the chair fabric was because it looked like pretty jewels. Hopefully I can help her to continue to cultivate that optimism. At the airport we got all checked in and boarding passes printed and then walked around to see the longest security line we've ever ever seen. It was snaked through every single row and overflowing from that even. The entire room held a million and one people and we panicked for a bit because it looked like we'd be there for about an hour. Well, I'm kind of a lucky person and we got randomly selected (it's computer generated) to go in the fast line where you get to skip to the front and then keep your shoes on, coats on, laptops packed, and liquids in. It took like two minutes and we were out of there.

We made it to our gate and hung out for a bit together until it was time for honey to go to his gate (his flight was scheduled for five minutes after ours but headed to slc for business) and we kept commenting about how amazing it was that his flight was on time when my flight was delayed (he has the worst luck ever with flying) but how great that was since he had meetings but it didn't matter if the kids and I got in late. Longish story short... Our flight took off 50 minutes late and honey's flight had mechanical issues, and he switched flights, and then his original flight needed up leaving be more the flight he ended up getting on. Can't win. ; ) 

My flight with the kids was amazing. They're both old enough that I'm positive it was my easiest flight ever with two kids... Especially for me flying by myself with them. I'd taken my headphones out of my purse and not put them back in. And I forgot that delta is one of the airlines that gives you free tv but makes you pay $2 for headphones. Whatever. I excitedly told the kids that they could watch frozen and they were thrilled. Abigail sat in the window, Brady in the middle, and I in the aisle. They happily watched frozen without any sound and didn't even comment or complain that that was weird in any way. So adorable. And the flight was only 2 hours and 50 minutes so that was a bonus that it was so short.  Even when I needed to wash Brady's hands (I'd promised him), it was so simple and I went to the bathroom myself and it was no big deal since Abigail could stay in her seat while we were away. The only complicated thing was when I needed to take Abigail to the bathroom and had to bring Brady with us and there was turbulence going on. Myself and three kids... It was a bit crowded in that bathroom and took some strategic maneuvering. ; )  But seriously, I just kept pinching myself because it was so, so easy. It'll be my last trip flying solo with two kids so it was nice to go out on a happy note. 

We gate checked our bags so we didn't have to carry them through the airport again. So I just held Brady and held Abigail's hand while we made our way to baggage claim and our bags came immediately. And bonus, dad surprised us a few minutes later by walking in the door to get us! We all stopped by the varsity on our way home and picked up food for everyone and met up with mom at home. And then Walter came over. We all enjoyed delicious onion rings and chili slaw dogs and frosted orange. Buddy came upstairs with me while I put the kids to bed and it was so fun to hang out with him so we could laugh together at how cute Brady is when I brush his teeth and other fun stuff involved with getting the kids ready for bed. 

Brady had a bit of a hard time going to bed but I let him cry for a bit and then went in again to comfort him. When I was leaving that time, he was about to cry again and I told him that Abigail was already asleep so I needed him to lay down and be quiet so he wouldn't wake  her up and he totally did it. It's not the first time I've said that to him (I had to use it in Costa Rica a few times when we were all sharing a room) and every time, it surprises me how sweet and considerate he is. It tugs at my heart strings. As soon as he was down, I grabbed dad's car keys and headed to Lynell's house. Jamie and Sarah were already there and rach got there shortly after. It was so fun. Girls nights rejuvenate me. And the snacks Lynell got for us were delightful. I had some of the layered chocolate cake and some of the fruit tart. I mean, how are you supposed to choose only one?!  I love those girls and am so grateful for them. I do dearly miss my friends that have moved away though. If only everyone stayed in Atlanta or came into town when I did. ; )  I didn't even stay out super late and was home before one. 

Wednesday morning, the kids and I all woke up around nine (although I left Brady in his crib til closer to ten) and Liza brought her kids over around 11 maybe to hang out. So fun. Liza and mom and I just hung out in the kitchen and the kids all played. They had to leave sometime around one or so because it was starting to snow and the city declared a state of emergency starting at two. After the snowpocolypse last year, no one is taking any chances so the weather reporters were going crazy with the reporting. It was great. 

After Liza left, I sent mom [in the snow] to get some flank steak from costco so we could make beef jerky. I've been craving it for weeks. Especially craving FRESH jerky. Like warm from the dehydrator. We started on that and started on melting milky ways for ice cream and made cheese balls for good measure. I say we, but really I just continued to sit at the island eat while I hung out with mom and watched her cook. It was a slice of heaven. Walter came over (bekah had gone to visit her parents and was trapped there because of snow) to have a slumber party and hang out but he worked from the basement for several hours (had to get home because of that state of emergency going on) and then finally came up to play. He kept coming up occasionally before so it was adorable when Brady would be playing and then ask us, "where'd uncle Wally go?"  So precious. The kids (as always) couldn't get enough of his airplane rides and it was so cute to watch. 

We had peas and cheese grits and salmon (dad outdid himself with that one... It was seasoned and cooked to absolute perfection... I couldn't stop eating it) and loved hanging out and talking about if Chris would be able to make it to Atlanta (more crazy flight drama with his flight being cancelled because Atlanta was getting snow and they wanted him to get a 1am flight to Kennedy and then to buffalo and then to Atlanta, getting in sometime the following afternoon.  And this is after the previous drama of ditching his flight to Denver -to avoid that snowstorm- and avoid something going wrong with his short layover before Brazil) and then taking the kids upstairs for bed and taking a visiting teaching related phone call from my RS president. When I finished all of that, ice cream was done being churned and was already dished. More fun hanging out. And then Walter showing me tons of pictures of his boys and telling me all about walden and garner since I wasn't getting to see them that night. It was so great. Meanwhile, the jerky was getting done and so I kept sneaking hot pieces while we hung out and waited for Chris's flight to get in. He landed at ten and we all breathed a huge sigh of relief! Buddy went to bed and dad and I went to pick Chris up from Marta at 11. When we got home, mom had some freshly made salmon (since we finished off everything from dinner because it was so delectable) and other food. We all hung out even more and finally went to bed after midnight. That concluded day two of eating food in mom's kitchen... I mean, day two in Atlanta. ; )

Thursday (today) was unplanned but turned out great. We all got up about the same times as before and then headed to Liza's house because school was cancelled (fifth "snow day" in two weeks) but the roads were totally clear. I drove (with my mug of breakfast ice cream between my legs, while honey sat next to me and my dear mother crammed herself between the two car seats in the back. Honey worked and played with kids while mom and Liza and I just hung out. We left a little after one and I put Brady down for nap when we got home. He slept short and was awake by 3 or so. Mom and I had just been busy eating jerky and cheese ball and wassail so when Brady woke up, we had the kids come down so we could all eat ice cream together. Literally constant eating. I never stopped eating the entire trip. Eventually we wrapped up our ice cream session after two bowls per person and I went upstairs to brush my teeth and zip my bag up. We got the kids in the car and left a little after four. Chris sat in the back with the kids. We're so sad to be leaving them. I kept harassing mom with bits of childcare information but, sadly, it didn't help relieve my anxiety about leaving them. I told her she needs to email honey updates since I remember how much I relied on those when we were in Dubai. 

We took a random road to the international terminal and honey and I both couldn't get over how much nicer and less crowded it was than the regular part of the airport. 

And then we sat at our gate for like 2.5 hours waiting for our flight.  So I wrote this all out to relive my time in Atlanta. 

But really all I can think about is how much I miss my kids. 

26 weeks

How far along:  26 weeks  (2.26.15)

Total weight gain/loss: 21 lbs?  I have no clue. 

Maternity clothes:  yes... Just same as what I've been wearing. I packed my maternity skinnies this trip and am wearing them for the first time today.  

Sleep:  not bad. Dreams have been more normal the past few days. 

Best moment this week:  making it to Atlanta!!! It's been amazing... Every second of it. I'm so happy! 

Movement:  just the norm. I've been busy and haven't been paying attention as much but it hasn't been uncomfortable too much. 

Food cravings:  i haven't stopped eating since I got to Atlanta Tuesday afternoon. Varsity, jerky, Milky Way ice cream, cheese ball, spreadable garlic and herb cheese, chocolates, more jerky, wassail, salmon and cheese grits, raisin bran, homemade chicken and dumplings, and soooo much milk.  Be still my soul (and my weight gain please)... It is all to die for. 

Symptoms: nausea at night, big belly. Depression before I came to Atlanta but totally euphoric since I got here. 

Gender:  I'm so excited for another girl. 

What I miss:  not having more control over my emotions. Also, my belly is big enough that's it's starting to get in my way when I try to do things. 

Milestones:  I don't really know but I sure am getting bigger. ; )
Theme: the week of being sad and then being happy. Yeay for Atlanta! 
What's different this time around:  with abigail and Brady, I think I was starting to feel depressed. I'm in that now. Not necessarily 24/7, but definitely getting super sad over things that shouldn't have affected me so much. If everything is happy, then I am too. But if anything isn't super happy, I'm gonna struggle pretty hardcore. 

Extra:  I've had the time of my life in Atlanta and have my eating my heart out the past 48 hours and soaking up every second with family. Nothing to be depressed about here! I'm still concerned about this Brazil trip but I've warned honey that my emotions are fragile and hopefully we'll both have a great time! 

2.26.15 at 26 weeks

2.26.15 at 26 weeks

Chilly escape

It was 11 degrees when I dropped off our library stuff on the way to the airport. Tomorrow night and Thursday morning we're supposed to get another snow storm. And it's forecasted to stay below freezing for the next week. The timing of this trip is turning out even more perfect than anticipated. ; )

On my mind

Here's a quick update...

Abigail and Brady have been super well behaved lately. They are so up on our schedule and it runs like a well oiled machine. They've been especially great about cleaning up. I love never having to clean up toys. That's a kid job. 

Abigail still drives me crazy with her progression and regression. She'll be doing so great and then (yesterday and today) she'll decide to do crap like poop in her underwear and/or lie about all sorts of unnecessary stuff. Seriously kid?!  You're 4.5! Get with the program! 

Brady is at the cutest age ever. I seriously can't get over it. Every word he says and thing he does. It's adorable. Right down to the way he shakes his head and holds his sippy. Sadly, over the last two weeks, he's developed anxiety about going to sleep at night and for nap and doesn't want me to leave (although he's never loved sleep like Abigail who regularly begged for nap time) but it does crack me up when  leaving and he's all "mommy! Come back!" Ha. 

For the last two weeks, I've been experiencing varying degrees of pregnancy depression. As you could guess, it sucks. I know I experienced it in my two previous pregnancies but couldn't remember details. I looked through Abigail archives and apparently it was right at this same time. Ugh I wish I knew how long it lasted though. With Abigail, it was a lot of apathy and not wanting to get out of bed ever. I've got that this time, but the more powerful feeling is that of overwhelming guilt and feelings of worthlessness. So I lay in bed and eat all my meals in bed because I don't want to do normal aspects of life but then it adds to my guilt because I am the biggest jerk ever for not wanting to be out and playing with my kids. It's a vicious cycle. Some days are better than others, but overall, I know I'm in it and I'm trying to act accordingly and somewhat keep things in perspective. 

The kids and I are heading to Atlanta on Tuesday and I'm starting to get packing anxiety. Not for the kids or their stay in Atlanta, but mostly for my pregnant self and Brazil. Honey and I leave for Brazil on Thursday. I've been experiencing more morning sickness lately (mostly the second half of the day) so I'm a little worried about that while traveling, especially in another country. But mostly I'm worried about experiencing depression on this trip and I already warned honey that he'll need to be extra supportive and love me even if I'm horrible or cry a lot. He's more concerned about the snow storm coming in on Wednesday/Thursday and if he'll even make it to Brazil. ; )  Thanks honey. 

I did something scary yesterday and accomplished it 100%. I went to a car dealership yesterday by myself to look at cars. Dealerships are scary to me and I don't actually feel like a grownup yet (I'm seriously hoping this will happen someday) but it didn't make sense to drag honey and/or the kids just so I could check out different minivans to figure out what details were and weren't important to me. Well, I went myself, got a super nice helper guy, and learned a lot. It was soooo helpful and now we're well on our way to hopefully getting a minivan within a month. On a related note, I'm getting nostalgic about having to part with my lil RAV4. I mean, it was honey's car when we were dating and it was our only car until we moved to Parker. It's got a lot of memories in it. 

Anyways, even this was a stretch for me. But a post is a post and we'll just call this good. 

organized puzzles

back in my bedridden, morning sickness days, the kids were pretty much left to their own devices for around ten hours a day and... it showed.  one of the areas hit pretty hard was the puzzle drawer.  abigail is really great about cleaning up, but when brady would dump out five or ten puzzles at once, it was just too challenging for her to sort and clean up.  and i was definitely in no position to help.  several puzzles were spared, but most of the puzzles were scattered and mixed and eventually (y'know, after 4 or 6 day or a week... who can really keep track?!) i just threw them all in a plastic grocery bag and put it on a high shelf in my closet.  and there it stayed until earlier this week when i was feeling ambitious and decided to tackle it.  once brady was down for nap, i enlisted abigail's assistance and told her i needed her to help me tackle and important project during quiet time.  she was enthusiastic.

at first i had her helping with the sorting... but that was a bit much for her so once i got at least ten pieces from one puzzle together, i pushed them in her direction to get started putting it together.  that system worked out great and she was busy putting together puzzles while i was busy finding and sorting the pieces.

eventually, we got them all put together.  including the ones that were mostly still in their boxes in the puzzle drawer.

puzzles all went in bags.  flash cards and card games together.  and all in bins.

and labeled since these will be up for rotation later.

filed.

and stacked.  and for the record... the games that were under the sofa now live here.  it's easier to see what we have and i don't have to worry about brady getting into stuff.  we can pull them down when we want to play.

check it out... in the same closet (in our entryway).  can you tell my preferences in organizing?  cheap, clear bins from walmart, labeled with masking tape and sharpie.  it's perfect for most projects and i love it.

done.

hawaii and ding ding ding ding

brady is currently in the stage where he's like a foreigner that's been living in the states for several years even though he's currently a U.S. citizen that's been living in the states for about two years and two months.  he has virtually perfect comprehension of every day english language but when he speaks, most people can't understand what he's saying.  i mean, i can.  because i'm a genius.  and because i spend his whole life with him so i typically have all the context i could possibly hope for, but without that... it'd be tricky.  sometimes i like to text honey videos and ask him to guess what brady is saying.  this happened wednesday night and is my new favorite.  and in case you can't figure it out, which is 99% likely... he's talking about the library and visiting teaching.  ; )  he's so adorable.

granny and papa

these pictures are from last july but i don't think i ever posted about that trip to the farm.  or if i did, i didn't include pictures from my big camera.  so in case i still never get around to it... here are two favorite pictures from that trip.  my grandparents are the sweetest ever.

25 weeks

How far along:  25 weeks  (2.19.15)

Total weight gain/loss: 17.5 lbs... this is mindblowing to me that i've gained this much in just ten weeks

Maternity clothes:  just maternity shirts and sweaters.

Sleep:  oh holy crap with the strange and bizarre dreams!  i can't even scratch the surface to tell you the weirdness of these dreams.  by far the weirdest dreams of my life... and on such a regular basis.  so so so weird.

Best moment this week:  moments of eating.  ; )  food has been tasting really good to me.  eggs, cereal, chocolate, pringles, apples... whatever i'm eating, it's normally really good.

Movement:  it's getting more and more frequent.  especially mornings and nights when i'm sitting in my bed.  i'm also feeling it more and more while i'm standing, walking, and moving around.  also, the duration is increasing.  so if i feel a lot of kicks and jabs, it'll continue for quite a while before things calm down again.  

Food cravings:  mmm, i've been really enjoying food this week.  i start each day with a bowl of cereal in bed.  we ran out of life, so lately it's been honey bunches of oats, captain crunch, peanut butter captain crunch, and frosted flakes.  for lunch every day, i have scrambled cheese eggs on toasted, buttered french bread and it is delightful.  and dinner is always something new because i'm trying to cook consistently each night.  my favorite thing this week was probably the french dip sandwiches (google it... our best bites) because they're always my favorite and they tasted especially heavenly with each and every bite.  for snacks, i've been loving apples.  and i've been eating a lot of chocolate (thank goodness for valentines day) and starbursts.  dark chocolate is the absolute very best and a handful of chocolate chips can work wonders in times of tragedy.

Symptoms: nausea at night (normally around dinner time and after), back pain (i've been having bad back pain for several months now, and it varies in severity, but the past few days, i've had considerable trouble standing up straight any time i go to stand up and bending over and walking have been difficult at times so i'm not sure if this is my usual back pain flaring up or if this is pregnancy related since i do remember having sciatic trouble during abigail's pregnancy), extra hunger, and depression.

Gender:  i'm excited that our kids so far will be alternating with the girl, boy, girl.  i know that abigail was super into thomas and trains long before she had a little brother, but i think she's more into cars and sports and "boy stuff" than what she would be if she didn't have a little brother that was into that stuff.  also, i know brady is way more into strawberry shortcake and dressup and pretend kitchen and "girl stuff" than what he would be if he didn't have a big sister that loved princesses and all things girly.  when i pull out a pink bowl and an orange bowl to put food in, i have two kids begging for the pink bowl... two kids begging for the purple crayon... two kids begging for a princess paper to color.  i love that and i hope that pattern continues that my kids will love and appreciate toys and activities designed for each gender.  brady looooves anything hockey related, but he also loves playing sports while he wears necklaces, bracelets, and abigail's silver sparkles shoes.  it's so precious, just like abigail always was when she played dressup with her thomas pj's and pink tutu and tiara and purse full of trains.  also, on a more superficial level... i was looking through old pictures of abigail and i'm so excited for this little girl to be able to wear all those dresses and cardigans and bows.  ; )

What I miss:  not feeling like my normal self and knowing that most every day will be a great day.

Milestones:  i really have no clue.
Theme: the week of pregnancy depression
What's different this time around:  i looked back at previous blog posts and i guess with abigail, this is around the time i started getting depressed, but when i was pregnant with brady, i was headed to atlanta (yeay for emmy's wedding!!!) and was just experiencing packing anxiety instead.  hooray that this week i've gotten to experience both!

Extra:  ehhh, i've got nothing.

Valentine's eve

brady and i had eggo waffles.  my main motivation to eat these is to get them out of my freezer.  honey bought a huge box of them from costco an insanely long time ago and i'm so sick of them taking up space.

i did text honey this picture and say that this was the last time i'd be able to eat eggo waffles for a long time.  despite covering them with butter, blackberry jam, syrup, and whipped cream, they taste like cardboard.  honey said he didn't even know we had eggo waffles.  well now that explains the problem.

we went to the library for story time.  brady still loves to lay his head on my belly all the time.  i love it.

i also took a million adorable videos of them but the blogger app still doesn't allow videos so.... those will continue to rest on my phone.

just the four of us reading books together.

one of brady's favorite library activities is coloring.  he grabs a mini pencil and the scrap paper that they put by the computers to write down library book codes (what are those called?  the letter number combos?) and he colors.  i make him color on the floor though because the papers are so tiny and i don't want him scribbling all over the tables.

and sometimes he finds his own spot.  i'm obsessed with this kid.  he's adorable.

and these two play together so so well.  i love it and i love watching them together and listening to their conversations.

brady also likes to play on the computers.  most of the games he doesn't understand at all, but i had a stroke of genius this time and hooked him up with the dora soccer game which only requires him to touch his finger to the soccer ball so it's perfect for him and he loves it.  abigail can't watch though because she gets stressed out that he's always losing.  ; )

abigail likes this letter train game a lot.

i finished organizing the "office supplies" in the office.  now i can actually find stuff and know what we have!

all neatly stored in this little container.  pop a lid on it, slide it in the cabinet, and we're good to go.  can i come organize someone's house?  my family doesn't appreciate my efforts so it's not bringing me satisfaction like it should.  i know i'm making progress, but i feel like i'm breaking the rules.  ha.

i got everyone's valentine presents together.  honey got a card, grapefruit juice, and chocolate twizzlers (along with a handful of starbursts), brady got four blue starbursts and the book "if you give a dog a donut" that i found on a high shelf in one of our closets.  abigail got a $1.50 sweatshirt, this little sticker activity book (i've been so excited to give this to her for the past several weeks so we can work on it together), this pen and heart pencil i found in my organizing efforts, and four pink and red starbursts.

i made this cheesy broccoli quinoa recipe i got from diana.  it was really good.  brady has started holding his bowl or plate in his right hand while using his left hand for his spoon or fork.  so random.  so i saw him doing it at dinner and called christopher's attention to it so he could see brady's quirkiness.  and then i noticed.  honey was holding his bowl in his hand and eating with his other hand.  i'm guessing that's where brady picked up this habit.  how did i never catch that before?!

happy valentines eve!

24 weeks

How far along:  24 weeks  (2.12.15)

Total weight gain/loss: 16 lbs

Maternity clothes:  yes... just maternity shirts.  maybe i'll break out my maternity skinnies this week.  my belly is definitely growing!

Sleep:  this has been the week of bizarre dreams.  like probably the most bizarre dreams of my entire life have been happening this past week.  and i seem to have multiple weird dreams each night, so honestly, i wake up feeling kind of weird and disoriented because they felt so real despite being so crazy.  but really i can't complain.  i get a lot of sleep and never wake up in the middle.  i've been sleeping from 10-8... give or take.

Best moment this week:  monday.  my doctor appointment and costa vida lunch with honey and warm weather and sweet kids.  it was perfect.

Movement:  it's increasing in frequency and power.  i'm feeling more and more even when i'm standing up.  and when i'm sitting down at night, this babe is always going crazy which is fun.  it hasn't gotten painful (except when she lodges herself low and right in my belly) so it's still just awesome.  i love it.

Food cravings:  i'm doing pretty great with eating i think!  this week, i did better about making meals and about eating at regular times.  i'm also doing better at asking myself questions before i eat.  am i eating because i'm bored or tired or no reason at all?  it's helped.  in weeks before, i would find that i'd just make myself a bowl of something and while i was eating it be all "why am i even eating this?! i'm too full to finish, but i guess i'll try so it doesn't go to waste."  i typically eat cereal for breakfast right when i wake up (in bed) and then make scrambled eggs on toasted french bread for lunch.  sometimes i'll eat again around 4 when the kids are up from nap/quiet time and get a snack.  and then i eat dinner at 6.  i have noticed that this past week, i've had more "i have to have that right now" moments which is fine when i think about chocolate chips because i can get a handfull from the kitchen and be done... less fine when i see a commercial for something on tv for something i'd have to prepare or buy.  so i try to limit my exposure to areas where i might see a food that is unattainable to me.  i'm also noticing that i don't want to eat large amounts of food in one sitting, but i'm getting hungrier more frequently than what i used to.  so when i do get hungry before it's time to eat, i try to just make sure i'm only getting a small amount of food that won't give me a stomach ache if i feel obligated to finish it. 

Symptoms: i still sometimes feel nauseaus at night, especially if i forget to take my sleeping pill and find myself awake at 11pm.  other than that, i really haven't been experiencing any pregnancy symptoms.  i'm just in that sweet spot and it's wonderful!  although i will say that i'm more emotional than normal and i cry much more easily when i'm sad about something... but at least i'm able to recognize that i'm emotionally unstable.  identification and admission is half the issue, right?!

Gender:  my head has been stressing out about what if this baby turns out to be a boy.  i feel like the ultrasound pictures weren't as clear this time as they were with abigail or brady so i wonder if the ultrasound tech was too relaxed and didn't investigate enough to really be sure it's a girl.  irrational?  yes.  but i won't be having any other ultrasounds this pregnancy so there'd be no way to know if there was a mistake until this kid is actually born.  i mean, my cousin got a surprise last march when his baby boy, john, was actually born a girl.  they had boy everything... stroller, carseat, clothes, blankets, you name it.  so, they were in a bit of a shock that day (and let's be honest... for several days to come) and i'm just thinking that if it happened to them, it could happen to anyone.  

What I miss:  nothing.  ; )  i'm loving being pregnant.  

Milestones:  it's a big deal... this is what most doctors consider the age of viability!  
Theme: the week of super weird and crazy dreams like i've never experienced before.
What's different this time around:  with abigail, i remember having a special thing for cupcakes... especially if they were professional ones with big, gorgeous icing on top.  and i was obsessed with fruit.  this time, my wants and cravings are so random and inconsistent.  sometimes i'm obsessed with pringles or licking roasted peanut shells or A1 sauce or whatever, and sometimes i can't even handle teriyaki beef or stuffed pepper leftovers because it tastes too salty for me.  sometimes i just want tons of candy and sugar galore and sometimes i can't handle an entire cupcake.  i'm still loving salads though (with ranch... creamy poppyseed, my usual favorite, is way too sweet for me)... which i'm pretty sure i didn't have with either previous pregnancy!

Extra:  i had my 24 week appointment on monday with dr. walker.  she's great and i really like her still.  the lady at the front desk didn't give me my orange glucose drink before my appointment because i was technically only 23.5 weeks along but dr. walker rang for it during my appointment and had me drink it then so i wouldn't have to come back later in the week to do the blood draw.  she asked if i had any questions (i actually didn't!) and was like "really? no questions at all?!" and all i could do was just shrug my shoulders and tell her everything this pregnancy was going along just like the two before and that i was feeling great and everything was wonderful.  then she told me my blood pressure was great, weight gain great, belly measurement was great, etc. etc. and that she wished everyone could have pregnancies like that.  i went ahead and scheduled my next appointment for the wednesday after we get back from brazil.  i was going to do that monday because i've been doing all of my appointments on monday mornings but i think since we get back the night before, i'll want that morning to go grocery shopping and do laundry and whatever.  and i might be tired from the flying.  anyways... it's on the calendar and only a month away!  pregnancy is going so fast right now... i hope things slow down a bit in the next several months so i can keep enjoying things a while longer!

Medium rare steak

Of course since the snow in our yard was 99.9999% melted... We got a fresh blanket of snow last night. Which is 100% melted in our backyard and 100% coating our front yard. Ha. Fresh fun for Abigail to play with which will be perfect because the weather is supposed to be pretty nice the next few days. It's more fun to play in the snow in 60* weather than 30* weather.

Anyways, there's nothing like snow that makes me really want to just stay home for a lazy day so that's what we did. After breakfast, the kids watched rio while I cleaned out my book cabinet. Y'know... Because I'm taking one small step towards minimalism. My current strategy is to put everything I don't want in a certain part of my basement so it will be easier for me to group and deal with stuff (sort, give, donate). But these books will be going to Steph. Glad for them to have found another loving home since they were all well loved by me. 

Brady was reluctant to go down for nap and ended up taking a short nap. He was awake a little after three and I wasn't thrilled about it. Luckily, honey had told me he'd try to come home early so he left the office around 3:30 when I told him Brady was up. 

I also told him I was hungry and although I'd planned on making dinner, I didn't feel like it and we should go to Texas Roadhouse instead. He was all for it and we got there at four when they opened. ; )  we sat in the very farthest booth back by the bathrooms and it was awesome. So private and quiet and secluded and it felt like we were at a completely different restaurant. It was a fun change. Also, mark this that as long as we sit in a booth, we don't need a booster for Brady. We've been doing that at other restaurants for a long time but for some reason always get him a booster at Texas Roadhouse. No booster works much better. My salad was great, rolls were wonderful, and I ordered my steak medium rare. I need a happy medium between medium rare and medium...

Is that so much to ask?! I ate the last of my steak with A1 sauce and was loving it. Now I'm craving rare meat with steak sauce. Oh pregnancy. 

We were home by 5, I went to the church at 5:30 to work on visiting teaching, and I made it home before 7. Our RS president came over during nap time to approve the changes I was proposing so I was glad to get to the church the same day so put it in MLS.  Let's all cross our fingers we won't have to keep making so many changes in upcoming months! It seems like we just have a lot of new move ins and whatever that make that inevitable. Either way, I'm absolutely loving my calling. It's pretty awesome even if it is frequently really time consuming. 

We put kids to bed and then I showered while honey ran on his new treadmill and then we both watched the celebrity apprentice from Monday night. 

It was 10:45 when I finally realized that I was still wide awake because I forgot to take my pills so I got on that and now I think I'm finally tired enough to fall asleep! Woohoo! 

Life is good. I'm excited for another normal day tomorrow. 

Tuesday on time

Today I was punctual!  Who knew that was even possible?! 

I woke up before 8 and had plenty of time to eat my cereal, play on my phone, and get dressed before I got Brady up and put both kids in the car. They ate bananas on the way to preschool. Emmy, Brady finished Abigail's because halfway through she was all "I don't like bananas" and Brady was still hungry. But I was prepared to finish it myself. ; )

We were at least seven minutes early for preschool and it gave me time to hang out in the car while I talked with Abigail and put on makeup. 

Brady and I headed straight to the post office because I got my courage and determination to mail something. And then I got overwhelmed with packing options and I saw the long line and I turned around and walked out. Is this an illness? Can it be diagnosed and treated? Surely I am one of millions with a complete revolaion for the post office. 

Anyways, we went to Walmart with the intention of being super quick and heading to playgroup at the church. But I was in a wish washy mood (I think the post office experience, though brief, zapped my ambition and confidence) and I had a list full of stuff that I didn't normally buy or hadn't ever bought so I shouldn't have been surprised that it took forever. Once I realized that we were too slow to be able to make it for playgroup, we just took our time at Walmart and then went straight to pick up Abigail... So we were at least five minutes early again. Woohoo! I'm almost like a totally with it sort of mom! 

We made and ate eggs for lunch (they were so perfect and way more delicious than what they have been in a long time and I'm thinking it was the extra cheese and fresh loaf of bread. Brady went down for nap around 1:15 and Abigail and I read a book and then went outside. I mailed a Valentine's card to granny and papa. Maybe that will be on time too??? 

The clouds started looming in the sky so we went inside and Abigail went to her room for quiet time while I snuggled in bed to do visiting teaching stuff and we all emerged around 4:30. I came downstairs and started cleaning up the kitchen, finishing putting groceries away and texting honey about his eta while getting the kids a snack. 

Honey said he'd be home around 5:30! Whew! Good thing I had dinner in the crock pot because I wasn't thinking he'd be home until closer to six thirty or so. I started on the rice and the zucchini and set the table and finished cleaning up and guess what! When honey got home, I was all ready with dinner! It's my day to be punctual! 

I tried a new recipe (three ingredients in the crock pot: stew meat, teriyaki sauce, and pineapple tidbits) and services it over rice with just regular zucchini on the side and honey said it was a winner (it's hard to get a big reaction out of him as far as food goes) so that made my day. Especially because it's super easy (like takes literally two minutes) and satisfied the kids too. It was too salty for my taste, but I think maybe that's just because I'm pregnant and my tastebuds are all over the place these days. 

Honey and the kids played in the great room while I put away food and dish dishes and then I got ready and went to church early. We had our RS activity at 7 and I grabbed honeys keys and went fifteen minutes before to just make some visiting teaching changes in MLS.  So I was happy to have gotten that done and I was right on time for the activity on family history. I loved sitting next to my friend kristy and had fun talking to her about the bachelor. She hasn't really been watching this season but I told her she looked just like one of the girls on the show and she said I was literally the fourth or fifth person to tell her that in the last two days. Ha. Well, it's true. And fyi, she looks like Becca, who got the one on one date last night. 

Anyways, it's been a good day. And apparently we're supposed to get snow tonight... I'm so glad all my errands for the week are done and the kids and I can just hang out tomorrow. 

Holy cow I am so so sleepy right now. 

Minimalism

I think I'm a wannabe minimalist with hoarding tendencies. Does anyone have experience with this? Would you like to help me out? I've read a lot of really good minimalist blog posts and I get motivated, and then I seem to have trouble taking action. 

But for the record, all things are relative, and while I already have a very minimalistic home and life in a lot of ways, I'm just looking to simplify a bit more...

Monday

My Mondays are always amazing and this Monday was no exception. It was absolutely wonderful. 

My 24 week appointment. 

Killing time during my glucose test until it was time to get my blood drawn. 

Driving with the windows down while singing Taylor swift. 

Meeting honey for lunch at costa vida. 

Gorgeous weather all day long. 

Spending "quiet time" outside because it was too gorgeous to not soak it up. 

Brady napping forever. 

Going to the library as a family for fhe. 

We drove two cars, so on the way home, home stopped by sports authority and bought s treadmill. It's all set up in our basement now. 

Bedtime together as a family and that Brady wants to lay his head on my belly at every possible opportunity. 

So perfectly wonderful.