Sophie's First Dress

It's pretty easy to have a lots of firsts when you're only 12 days old. Sophie had a few firsts today- first day to church, first real bath (her cord fell off yesterday)- but the most important being that she got to wear her first dress!

As the pictures show, she had a darling red, smocked, fluffy Christmas dress. She had a giant red flower headband on for a while, but daddy and grandpa both protested enough that I just took it off. (Don't expect that to happen again soon!) She also got to wear her little white "ruffle bum" tights and lacy white shoes that were given to her by her great aunt Linda (thanks, Linda!!). She looked darling!

...Sorry for the odd picture placement. I still haven't really gotten the hang of placing multiple pictures in my blog aesthetically. I think I really just need a photo album!

Connecticut!

Just a little update this morning. To begin with, we're in Connecticut! We left early afternoon on Thursday- about two hours after my last final. On the way to the airport, we got stuck in the crazy traffic on I-15 north that was caused by the semi/5 car accident. Thankfully, Craig's dad knew some other routes other than the interstate to get us around the traffic and to the airport exactly 1 hour before our flight. Craig was concerned about us hauling a baby, baby car seat, three checked bags, a rolling carry on, diaper bag and large backpack through the airport. He obviously has NO sense of adventure! Instead of attempting that, we used skycap even got our boarding passes (including Sophie's) right outside of the car. Amazing? I think so. I have been pretty apprehensive about going through security as I have a pretty strong opinion about TSA's new equipment and screening procedures. Craig was just worried about getting through in time. Luckily, neither one of us had any reason to worry about anything. We didn't have to wait in line (there really wasn't one!), no one harassed me about having a baby, no one harassed Craig about his request to have the formula and milk examined rather than be x-rayed and surprisingly enough, the TSA employees were actually as helpful as they were allowed to be.

The biggest bump in our day came in the form of some slight delays in and out of Denver but even those weren't bad. Sophie didn't have any problems flying. She wasn't interested in being woken up to suck on her pacifier or anything during take off and landing. In fact, she was perfectly content to just be snuggled the entire trip. We did get a mild little fuss out of her when we were changing her diaper on our laps- she doesn't appreciate cold wipes on her little behind, but really, who does?

We are now settled in and attempting to get caught up on some sleep while grandma spends some time with little miss Sophie.

A small miracle!

Okay, I know that having a baby is the real miracle but I just had a little, tiny mood boost. I took a risk and tried slipping on a pair of jeans. I own exactly two pairs. One pair is a size two "skinny jean." I'm not dumb enough to attempt anything that has the word "skinny" in it for a while. The other pair is a size four Banana Republic pair that my mom and I got on SUPER clearance ($15) years ago. Guess what? They fit! So what if they don't quite zip up all the way-that's what belts are for, right? I'm wearing jeans! That is all. Carry on.

My very own little princess

I love being a mommy. Hormones and all. I never really imagined I could fall so madly in love with someone- a very small someone- so quickly and hopelessly. She is everything I dreamed of and then oh so much more! I could just snuggle with her all day! (Wait... that's what I've been doing. Hmmm...). Oh, for those who have requested more pictures, below is a link & password to a couple professional ones that were taken at the hospital yesterday. Still not enough? Don't worry- we have nearly 100 on my computer already! I am doing my best to resist the urge to post every single picture we have of our darling little miracle.

Website: http://www.bellababyphotography.com/login

Password: 1207sophiepeterson

Announcing...

The birth of baby 

Sophie Brooke Peterson!

Born: 

7 December 2010 at 6:25 pm at American Fork Hospital

Weight: 

7 pounds, 12 ounces (exactly the same as mommy!)

Length: 19 Inches

Another Sunday

It's another Sunday night. I usually have something exciting to report on or a story to tell or pictures of something exciting the share on Sunday. I suppose I have a couple fun little things! Last night Craig and I had a chocolate fest in the kitchen. At one point, grandpa came out and just stared in astonishment at the amount of chocolate, sugar, crushed toppings etc. on the counter. The look was priceless. Craig will be posting about that later. (By the way, the name of my blog had to change before he would even consider posting here, in case you were wondering about the name change.)

Today, I played with my new toy and Christmas present from Craig. He gave me a fabulous Cricut and I have been thoroughly enjoying it! Yes, I know what you're thinking. "That's not fair! It's not Christmas!" BUT it has been helping keep me occupied and happily creating fun little tags and projects for Christmas. It's getting some good use. Today I made tags to go on the treat plates we're going to be taking to the neighbors tomorrow during our FHE.

Grandpa went to get the mail yesterday and came back home with a large bag of apples. He explained that the neighborhood gift exchange had begun. I was planning on making small loaves of pumpkin bread (mmmm I love pumpkin bread!) and wrapping them in some festive Christmas fabric but a very kind, loving husband of mine didn't realize that when he used 5 eggs to make french toast for brunch today he had made it impossible for me to make the bread. (I was then short 5 eggs.)  Instead, we made several dozen muffins from scratch (banana nut, apple oat & apple cinnamon). I will be buying more bananas tomorrow. I forgot how yummy & satisfying a warm, homemade b-nut muffin is!

Because I'm pretty certain (ha- don't get too excited) we're going to have a baby this week, I wanted to take Erin, Grant, Bryan, Andrew, David & Craig's family their Christmas presents today. Being that we're still in school, our budget wasn't big but I was excited about the thought and effort that had gone into the gifts. Andrew James was soo stinking fun to watch! He got so excited about opening his present and then playing with it (we got him and David an art easel and chalk to share). Bryan got a giant bag of something that "doesn't taste bad." Can't beat that! Erin & Grant were very generous and gave Craig a new tool which is going to help him successfully finish his project that is due this week. Our little baby now has sheets for her sleeper and I have a way to both make a mess (an accessory for my new Cricut) and organize it!

For Craig's parents, we put together a wedding book with TONS of pictures- something his mom has been requesting for a while. (We didn't even get them until just a few months ago!!) With our chocolate party last night, we also put together some tins of peppermint bark and assorted truffles for his brother, Kirk, and his parents. We may have sampled a few while we were making them- Yummy!

A rather frustrating Friday

Anyone who knows me knows that I have a few things that really ought not be messed with. One is chocolate. The other is my schedule. Sometimes things need to be rearranged, changed or entirely done away with from time to time, that's fine. It happens. But when you have been planning for weeks to have something major happen like, oh, have a baby, on a certain day and then you don't, that is just totally un-cool. I have been on the schedule both with my doctor (the only one on her list) and the hospital (only 4th in line of a bunch) for several weeks to be induced. I've been slowly but surely progressing towards labor, been getting increasingly uncomfortable, don't enjoy the contractions (I guess you're not really supposed to but lets just say they've gotten old) and am about to lose it over the number of people who are constantly nagging me about when i'm going to "pop" or why can't they "see their baby yet?" I'm not even going into all of the unsolicited advice that continues to flood in.  Really, it's enough to drive anyone nuts.

I guess what I'm saying is that yesterday was really just the proverbial cherry on top.  We had to keep our entire day wide open since we could expect a call any moment telling us to come in and if we weren't there within a short time our spot would be given to someone else and we'd be put at the end of the list. As such, Craig couldn't go to work since he works too far away. I couldn't go to class- the one day this week that I actually had the energy to go- because if they called, I wouldn't have cell service. So, I missed my 5th day of class this semester, Craig went a bit short on hours and we don't have our baby.  Wondering when we found out for certain we wouldn't be going in? That would be after 6:00 last night. I got a call asking if I'd just like to be put on their list for next week- right in the middle of a final. Yes, that sounds PERFECT to me! By the way, there is no guarantee that we'll get in then, either. It's going to be the exact same thing as yesterday- keep the day entirely open. Don't go to work, don't go to class (or in my case, take a final) and just wait for a call.

Yes, I fully recognize the fact that I'm grumpy. Yes, our baby is fine where she is at the moment. Yes, we are incredibly thankful she's healthy and apparently comfortable. Sure, go ahead and even call me selfish for wanting to be induced at all (I've already heard it a few times.) Anyone who has been pregnant and been given a "stop-date" and then not had it happen likely understands exactly what I'm feeling. So, until she decides to come on her own- which at this pace won't be until January- or we actually get in, I'm off to do some more Christmas decorating and projects. Christmas lights on the bushes, here I come.

Goal Report #8

Guess what? This is the very last goal report before our little girl makes her grand entrance into the world! At least we hope. With the way things have been going the last 3 or 4 days, I'm not entirely sure this pregnancy will EVER end. I've been having some pretty regular contractions- a few intense (but not painful!)-ones. We even went in to L & D on Friday night per order of the after-hours nurse for our clinic. Sadly, I was told after observation that while I was having contractions (yes, I knew that) and was in labor (as early as it may or may not have been), I didn't progress enough during my hour to stay. So what have I been doing the last 2 days? Having more contractions, not sleeping all that well and being utterly unmotivated to do anything. Well, I did ask the cat to clean up after herself in the bathroom but that didn't happen. Don't judge my goals for this week too harshly, please. At least we got most of my goals for last week accomplished.

Goals from last week: 

• Be better about taking & accurately recording my blood sugar levels: I haven't been asked for levels so I've been taking a couple reference levels a day. My arm is bruised from all the pokes- it needs a break! 
• Edit my annotated bibliography: Yup. Turned it in on Tuesday and then headed to see the doctor. 
• Turn in bibliography: Check
• Edit my paper topic: Check
• Spend some time on Friday writing my paper: Glad I only made the goal of "some" time. I did spend an hour or so rewriting my thesis and being distracted by contractions. Check. 
• Attempt to stay ahead of laundry: I made an attempt. Craig helped. We have clean laundry. 
• Find envelopes that will fit the cards I've made: Craig picked out black. Check. 
• Address above mentioned cards: collected addresses, no labels yet. Maybe this week. 
• Finish Christmas preparations: So stinkin' close! We were going to get a gift card to our favorite taco restaurant,  Pastorero, for Bryan for Christmas (my brother who lives here and is going to UVU) but they've gone out of business!! I am heartbroken. Seriously. 
• Make packing list for going to Connecticut. We leave in 18 days. Yes, I have a list. Yes, the list will likely change BUT I have it and having it makes me feel better. 
• 30 second clips of this years "Pass & Review" concert for CMB: DONE!!! Not only are they done, they're also online for Bro. Mac to listen to and approve. Aaah. I like getting things done. 

Goals for this week: 

• Teach 90 seconds of choreography (4 hours... 90 seconds...I think that might be reasonable)
• Take 3 stats quizzes
• Survive last full week of classes-no idea what that means but it sounds like a good goal
• Start packing for Connecticut? (I don't know if this is even really possible, but we'll see)
• Finish Christmas for last couple family members
• Have a baby

From my perspective

*(Potentially) Hormonal Rant Warning!*

You always hear or read that no two pregnancies are the same. Guess what? No two pregnant women are the same, either. This means that what one might find to be perfectly acceptable, strangers coming up to you in the grocery store and touching your tummy, for example, might be the most inappropriate thing to another. For most of my own pregnancy here I've tried to remember that not everyone thinks about things the way I do. I'd like to say I've been successful in just letting things- particularly things I find absurd- "roll off," but I think I hit a bit of a snapping point today.

Things that seriously bug me:

• Telling me I'm too big, too small, too round, too pointy etc. I'm not "too" anything- I am exactly the size and shape I need to be for this baby. 
• Telling me that I'm going to go past my due date. (Saying things like "the baby hasn't dropped, you've got tons of time to go" isn't useful.)
• Warning Craig about how terrible and difficult it is going to be to be a parent. Yes, that's really helpful to both of us. How about sharing how wonderful it was the first time you were handed a child of your own? Those are the sort of things we like to hear about. We know babies poop, sleep (or not) and cry. Share the happy things with us! 
• Being told my hips are too narrow to have a baby, labor is terrible, the horrors of transition and how selfish it is to have any pain intervention. At times like this, I think of my mother saying "if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all." Is attempting to scare someone who is going to go through labor helpful? I think not. 
• Okay, I have never had a baby but I can already tell you there is no such thing as "popping out a baby." Not only is that not even remotely accurate, I find it to be rather crude. 
• If I look pregnant, then no, I haven't had the baby yet. You don't need to ask. 
• I don't need medical advice. I'm paying a doctor for that and don't need to hear contradictory information.  
• I'm one of those women who would prefer not to be asked to turn sideways to be looked at, have "mommy/daddy tummy" pictures taken or showing my bare tummy, for crying out loud. I have no issues with women who are cool with that sort of thing- it's just not for me.  Don't ask. 
• And most of all- having my unborn daughter referred to as "Maddie." For the record, if we do name her Madeline after she is born, she will be referred to as Madeline. (Obviously, if we haven't told people how we feel about this we wouldn't be upset at them.) 

Helpful things: 

• My sister-in-law, Jenny, is amazingly sweet. She has great advice, absolutely, but the best part about her advice is that she shares it with us knowing that no two women, babies, pregnancies, deliveries or couples are the same. Suggestions are great! We haven't been parents and appreciate tips but not the ones that come as the end-all answer. 
• Seeing dads at church, the store, on campus etc. with their babies and loving every minute of it- even the less picture-perfect times. 
• My mom (and sisters) listening and not judging me for asking potentially silly questions- sometimes over and over again. 
• Friends who offer to go for walks
• Sleep

Goal Report #7

Woo! We've hit (like a ton of bricks) week 7! I was thinking about what I might like on my list for this week and it was pretty pathetic. Don't worry, I've amended my list of "go to class, teach guard, make green bean casserole" to include a few more things. I'm so de-motivated and tired. Must be the end of a semester AND pregnancy.

Goals from last week: 

• Study for, take and pass my final stats "midterm." Yup! I passed! Time to start studying for the final. 
• Submit-officially- my topic/opening paragraph for Shakespeare: Submitted. Interesting feedback from my professor. I guess I either need to write about every possible use of masking in Shakespeare or narrow my topic substantially. 
• Get my other class assignments for the week done early: I'm sure that it's only because I made this goal that two of my stats quizzes were unsuccessfully submitted, or, non-mitted? Otherwise, everything was done early. 
• Teach 1 minute of routine for WG: yes. A minute was taught. Was it retained? I guess we'll see tomorrow. 
• Get eligibility form signed by administration: we had more people join and I didn't get contracts until Wednesday. Apparently this isn't even required until the end of January. 
• Go on a fabulous little "weekend away" with Craig: fabulous! If you need a new place to eat, try "Eva" in Salt Lake. It's across the street from "The Melting Pot" and stuffed between a sports bar and a Japanese steak & sushi house. It reminded me of one of my favorite places in Boston. 
• Record at our last home BYU football game! It may have been cold, incredibly windy and dark, but we did it! We got a couple good recordings of our last home game, even with halftime being played to all sides. Maybe some day I'll figure out how to post our recordings on here. 

Goals for this week: 

• Be better about taking & accurately recording my blood sugar levels
• Edit my annotated bibliography (apparently I only need 8 sources and I have 12...shouldn't be too hard to fix) 
• Turn in bibliography 
• Edit my paper topic
• Spend some time on Friday writing my paper
• Attempt to stay ahead of laundry
• Find envelopes that will fit the cards I've made
• Address above mentioned cards
• Finish Christmas preparations
• Make packing list for going to Connecticut. We leave in 24 days. I am SOO excited!
• 30 second clips of this years "Pass & Review" concert for CMB

Sigh. I might be making goals that I won't accomplish. I'll do my best but I am so highly unmotivated even making this list. I'm so glad Craig just put in a load of laundry. Maybe these are things to be accomplished but not necessarily by me. Hmmm. I will report next Sunday. 

Grandpa Merrill Quote of the Day:

The end of a mission is like watching your mother-in-law drive off a cliff in your new Cadillac. 

Items of note for the day...

I am so glad that it is still warm enough for flip-flops. (Non-New Englanders would probably think I'm nuts for thinking anything above 50* is acceptable flip flop weather.) No tying of shoes means less bending in my day.

Tomorrow is Friday and starting at about 3:00, I get Craig all to myself. I even have some fun surprises planned. He might think he knows what it/they might be, but not quite. ;)

Despite some peoples' best efforts to convince me otherwise, our baby really is working her way towards her birth day. The end is in sight!!

It is grandpa Peterson's 88th birthday and Mark & Jenny's anniversary. Happy Day to all!

We'll be home (Connecticut) in about 27 days. I cannot really say how excited/glad/etc. I am to be going!!

I only have one stats "midterm" left to take. Sadly, that is where I'm heading now. If I disappear off the face of the earth and never post again, you will know to look for my remains- whatever there might be of them. My favorite spot in the testing center is facing West, clock on the left and pushed right up against the North wall.

Cherry points?

Craig got some serious points last night. (Other than bringing me a diet cherry-limeade which has zero carbs and onion rings which do have plenty of carbs.) We got to take a little trip the labor & delivery for a quick check to make sure everything was as it should be. There is nothing to worry about!

When the triage nurse came in asked, among other things, how much I currently weigh, Craig gave an over-estimate by about two pounds. I looked at him, he corrected and when the nurse gave me a funny look, I explained that I've never been over about 130 in my life. Wondering how Craig earned some bonus points? His response was "you don't, the baby does." VERY nice job, dear!

Yes, I do feel- and look- like the baby has put on about 10 pounds in the last 12 hours. My maternity shirts don't want to fit over my tummy. Must be time to be done being pregnant!

Everyone else is doing it

...Posting today, that is. I love reading my friend's/family member's blogs. (Erin- you haven't updated since September! You've had so many fun trips & adventures with the boys that need to be shared with the world!...or just me & mom.) Some are neat, organized and have lots of thoughtful things to say and others are fabulously random. I think I'll go with random today ;)

Reasons why we can have our baby now:

• Car seat cover is done! 
• Craig was ultra awesome and took me to get a pedicure. He even stayed with me and talked sports with the two (very straight) men who were working at the salon
• Craig put gas in the Passat & even started cleaning it out
• Car seat base is in the car
• Our hospital and diaper bags are both packed. And waiting. 
• The Pack & Play is set up in our room- on Craig's side of the bed
• Winter guard is running right on schedule (How? Not really sure...small goals, I guess)
• Erin gets back from Seattle today
• At my check up last week, I was 2cm dilated and 70% effaced
• I'm sort of getting tired of bugging my mom because I don't know exactly what it is I'm feeling and the changes going on
• Craig can't wait to have his little girl around-he is so excited. Every day, several times a day, he asks if we're going to get our baby today. 
• I'm really quite tired of being pregnant

Reasons we can't have the baby yet: 

• Grandpa is out of "dairy food"

Goal Report #6

It is here. Week 6 (or is it technically 7? Oh, who cares.) We have accomplished all of the things on my original "to-do before baby is born" list but it's still nice to make weekly goals. It has been a mostly productive week...what I can remember of it! I am having some serious memory issues right now! Thankfully, I have my goals from last week posted and can just refer back to them. Isn't that great that we can do that? Well, I think so. 

• Guard auditions Monday: Auditions are done, we've had two good rehearsals including a 5-hour gym blocking rehearsal! As of right now, we have a solid team of 9 with another boy wanting to join tomorrow. We'll just see how things go for him at rehearsal. 
• Write 30 seconds of work (and teach on Wednesday): Actually, the team learned 45 seconds of choreography. Is it clean? No, but it's functional. 
• Get directors book put together. This is an on-going process but I would certainly say this is a goal thoroughly accomplished. 
• Finish (& submit early for review) my annotated bibliography: Done and submitted to my professor for review. I'm still waiting for some feedback but I'm pretty confident in how things are going with it right now. 
• Write half of my rough draft (round about 1,000 words): I didn't get this going since I haven't gotten my paper topic/opening paragraph feedback back yet. I did notice something, however. My annotated bibliography is almost 2,000 words which is the required length of my final paper. I'm feeling much less worried about getting this done in a timely manner. 
• Try, again, to get the house cleaning things done: This is never really done but we had clean laundry, clean kitchen, clean fridge and sparkling clean bathroom. 

A few other things of note from the week: 

• Casey, baby Amelie and I went for a nice, long walk in the mall. That contributed to feeling great from being up and moving, getting a good nights sleep and some mild contractions. 
• I ate solid food! My mouth is still sensitive, but I can at least chew most foods with my molars. 
• We had "pie-day Friday" in my Shakespeare class. I had to slip out early to get grandpa to a dentist appointment, but it was still quite glorious, nonetheless. 
• I got the car seat cover finished! I've only had the material for months and it's not like it's exactly difficult to sew but it's done now!
• Designed and somehow made a funny little pacman birthday cake for Kirk
• Had a fun "dinner date" with Grandpa on Friday night since Craig had work. I like our outings- especially the ones that involve sitting and hearing fabulous stories over food. (Their dinner the day they got married was at a KFC/IBC  in Idaho. As a result, that's where they liked to go for dates. Good draft IBC rootbeer!) 
• Bryan came with grandpa, Craig & I to Brick Oven- thanks for the suggestion, Andrew Charles!- on Saturday night. Grandpa ordered a big pitcher of rootbeer. When it was nearly empty, grandpa asked the server to refill it. She said she was sorry, that it couldn't be refilled. Grandpa's response with a straight face: "Sure it can! Just put it right in the top!" It was incredibly funny. Perhaps you just had to be there. 

Goals for this week: 

• Study for, take and pass my final stats "midterm." I have this test and then the final exam left! 
• Submit-officially- my topic/opening paragraph for Shakespeare 
• Get my other class assignments for the week done early
• Teach 1 minute of routine for WG
• Get eligibility form signed by administration 
• Go on a fabulous little "weekend away" with Craig
• Record at our last home BYU football game!

Lessons learned in Cake

For my birthday, my mom signed me up for the Wilton cake decorating basics course. I finished those classes about 3 weeks ago and have had very little reason to bake or decorate anything since. Baking a cake "just because" is a little more difficult in a house with two people who have diabetes, a cat who isn't a fan and another person who doesn't eat a whole lot of sweet treats.

Lucky for me, Craig's brother Kirk turned 30 today and our birthday present to him was making a creative birthday cake. The food theme was tex-mex and so my original plan was to make a bright red chili-pepper shaped cake. In my design debate, my mom suggested doing something "retro" since 30 is a major birthday or something like that. I finally decided to go with a pacman theme with a Funfetti cake filled with a chocolate-raspberry filling and frosted in homemade cream cheese frosting. I found lots of fun cakes that had been done but most of them involved fondant and I was more interested in attempting some of the frosting/piping techniques I had learned in class.

I learned a few things doing this cake.

• Homemade cream cheese frosting, while delicious, is quite heavy. As a result, it can be difficult to frost a cake cleanly and smoothly with. (I don't like buttercream but maybe next time I'll use it anyway since it's much easier to work with and pipe on.) 
• Piping gel is magical. 
• Having (almost) enough time, everything you need nearby and having the right tools for the job can make anything less stressful and more fun.
• The Wilton color tint is pretty much awesome. I was able to get the colors I wanted and not have globs of food coloring sticking to the sides of my bowls. 
• Torting, piping and filling cakes is not difficult. 
• Craig enjoys making design suggestions (he told me where to put the ghosts, big dots and cherries)
• In the end, no one really cares what a cake looks like as long as it tastes good. I don't think anyone really looked at the cake much before sticking 30 candles in it and then devouring almost the entire thing. 

Even though it didn't turn out quite like I was imagining, it was a good "learning experience" for me and a tasty dessert for a birthday. 

IT IS FINISHED!

My accomplishment for the day: The car seat cover is finally done. Carry on.

A few of the crafty projects that are keeping me sane...

I was told once that the desire to create comes because of the fact that we are the ultimate creation and somehow we then have a need to create. (This came up in a RS lesson after discussing a BYU Devotional address several years ago.) Some people are easily able to create amazing works of art, create working machines, delicious meals, cool sand castles and others to see and really appreciate it. And then there's the rest of us. Those of us who certainly enjoy seeing beautiful or unique things, those who, perhaps not the most talented or knowledgable, enjoy attempting to create something pretty and practical. Sometimes I think the attempt is half the fun even if the final product isn't all that great. Yes, I love crafting and sewing and designing. I'm not the greatest at it but it sure is fun to try!
Here are a few of my most recent attempts...
I keep seeing little girls with giant headbands and flowers and frills all over the place. I think there certainly ought to be a size limit on these things. Those poor babies with flowers bigger than their heads are going to end up with back and neck problems before they're two! I, not being one to spend $15 on a single headband (that had a sloppy glue blob on the back!), decided to make my own and scale it down quite a bit. These here are made of a pair of $0.33 knee-highs, some extra soft felt (for backing), $0.75 worth of frilly accent, a pearl bead I found in my button jar and a flower that won't stay in its pot anymore. So, in total, I spent less than $2 to make a couple (I think) cute headbands.

I've also included pictures of the baby announcements I'm putting together (sans picture & baby info) before little miss is born. The car seat cover I've been attempting to get myself to work on for weeks is nearly done, too. Proof to the right.  I've been asked why I keep doing/making/crafting things and I suppose it is an attempt to keep busy until she comes since for some reason, as long as I'm working on a baby project, it seems to make time pass quicker. Yes, I realize I'm nuts. At least Baby Cosmo enjoyed the dress-up time (Kitty was most displeased when I attempted to recruit her as a model.)

Goal Report #5

Report #5... wow. 5 Seems like a lot. Our little one is due in 29 days and I still have so much to get done. Not just with my projects at home or attempting to get ahead (and staying ahead) of the normal never-ending house items but also with school. Papers, projects, midterms ah! I'm sure I'll miss it all someday but from my perspective now, I just can't wait for it to be done. Anywho, on to my goal report for last week:

• Pick a paper topic for what may be my last major paper in college: Done and done! I'm going to be writing about gender roles, reversal & confusion based on "A Midsummer Nights Dream" and "As You Like It" (yes, this is for my Shakespeare class)
• Outline paper (rough/basic): I have my main questions picked and ready to be "juiced"
• Start my annotated bibliography: I currently have 8 of the 12 required sources completed. I would like to finish those and get going on the paper, though.
• Have blocking and basic choreography written for first 30 seconds of winter guard routine: I know what I want but this really wasn't a goal I should have set before knowing how many people I'm going to have to work with. Instead, I did all of the other paper work for the season I could. 
• Hold winter guard auditions: This was postponed until tomorrow (Monday) after school. 
• Get a good set of recordings at the BYU game: Yup- done and done! And Craig got to help again. 
• Get a lot of the video time-coding done for the BYU band: The entire hard drive I was given has been sorted through, organized and contents listed in a google doc excel spread sheet. 

A couple other things from this week...

• I had all 4 wisdom teeth removed. This wasn't planned and sort of slowed my paper-writing progress. 
• I started working on (and finished!) several Christmas presents. We're on a very tight Christmas budget but still wanted to do something so they're creative and made with lots of love. After we give them to our families after Thanksgiving, I'll post pictures. Wouldn't want to ruin any little surprises! 
• Finish sewing car seat cover TODAY. As in, this afternoon. So close!

Goals for this week...

• Guard auditions Monday
• Write 30 seconds of work (and teach on Wednesday)
• Get directors book put together
• Finish (& submit early for review) my annotated bibliography
• Write half of my rough draft (round about 1,000 words)
• Try, again, to get the house cleaning things done

Okay, fine!

So, I've been asked (repeatedly) to post a "pregnant picture" of myself for quite a while. Craig got one on the sideline at the stadium today while we were waiting for the game to get going and I figure a picture from a game with a score of 55-6 really can't be all bad ;). There. You can now say you've seen my giant side! Hope it's all you were dreaming of (and not too much more!!)

By the way, I am 36 weeks now.

Just because

I felt like I needed to write a quick post this evening before I sit down to attack two more stats lessons and perhaps a little mending. I will admit, I have been one giant grump-ball this week. In the moment(s) I certainly felt justified but really, how often are we truly justified in being grumpy or ungrateful? I hope the answer really is "never".

My gripes:

• I got my wisdom teeth out and can't take any really "good" pain medications and my cheeks & jaw are so swollen I'm still on a soup diet. So? I should be glad that we live somewhere we even have access to safe dental care. Besides, I have tylenol, ice and a husband who was willing to do anything he could to make sure I was comfortable- including getting me a Jamba juice with protein, rubbing my feet, watching girly movies and helping me try over and over again to get some antibiotics down. (And then he put everything involved in that through the wash so I wouldn't have to). 
• We have so many bills to pay and now the added expense of this little surgery on top of everything else already going on. Craig and I are both employed. I heard on the radio again today that nearly 10% of the country is still unemployed. Our combined student loan expenses are less than half of an average college graduate. While we may feel the stresses associated with student loans, medical bills and unexpected expenses, I can't think of anyone who doesn't. Oh, and we have eye, dental and health insurance that- as my mother pointed out- really isn't that bad. Things could be a lot worse. 
• Grandpa had an episode of sorts last weekend and now people are worried about him again and it feels like no one has confidence in our ability to give him the help he needs. Grandpa and I have been on two outings this week- both initiated by him. We also went for a walk outside yesterday.  Before I got home today, he had been out in the neighborhood enjoying the beautiful fall colors. He enjoyed being out in the sun so much that he went for another short walk while I was resting. He is enjoying life, enjoying food and getting better and better every day. 

As hard or as stressful as things get, we're not going to starve or be forced to live in our car. We're getting a good education (and so close to finishing!) Even though sometimes it feels like it's two steps back for every step forward, at least there is a forward step in there at all. 

Halloween!

Yes, I know I've already posted today (and several other times this week...) but I am so happy with how our silly little Halloween dinner turned out and had to share!

Craig informed me a couple weeks ago that growing up his mom would make "spider bread" and chili on Halloween. I had never heard of such a thing but figured I could certainly try! Craig described it as a loaf of bread with breadstick legs "tooth-picked" on.
P.s I had never even made chili before today- I hate beans! But, because I love my husband, I was willing to make that massive sacrifice and cook beans for him.  I got rave reviews about the chili so I guess it is possible to make something I've never enjoyed before! I will say, I even enjoyed it! (No, I didn't eat the beans, mom! I picked them out.)

One of my favorite family Halloween treats from growing up is "Ghosts in the Graveyard." I remember coming home from trick-or-treating with my siblings and dad and having hot chocolate or cider and Ghosts in the Graveyard. Mom used to put gummy (sometimes sour) worms in the dessert and on top around the cookie gravestones. My very favorite part about my mom's version, though, was the sweet-tart skeleton pieces that would be sticking up all over the place!

Not being ones to always want to exactly copy other people, we tweaked our family traditions a bit. Instead of chili and spider bread, I made spider biscuit bowls to hold the chili! As for the ghosts in the graveyard, we couldn't find any skeletons and we didn't use Oreos but a different secret ingredient- Craig gets all of the credit for that! Enjoy the pictures!!

Goal Report #4

Alright!! For the first time since I've started sharing my weekly goals, I am SO very happy to report that every single written goal was accomplished this week! Not quite sure how after looking back at the week but I'll take it! To recap, this week:

• I finished organizing the basement! This meant finding homes for all of the items that we found in the garage during that project a week ago. Several things have been donated to DI ("What is that anyway?"), our small but growing food storage was organized and Craig's toys were put away. He gets to keep up with that from now on. 
• Clean out, sanitize & sufficiently fill the refrigerator (we have 72 cheese sticks. We're good!)
• All of the laundry & ironing: as of Thursday. I have a couple small loads to run on Tuesday but those will be MUCH more manageable now. 
• Vacuuming all of the upstairs 
• Vacuuming all of the furniture the cat touches (grandpa thought it was funny when our kitty came back upstairs and climbed on "her" chair and looked confused)
• Winter guard items. I have everything ready to be printed & put in my directors book. Onward we go! 
• The headboard is made!! WOO HOO! Now, I do have a couple finishing details to attend to but since I haven't decided if I want giant shiny black buttons, white buttons, red buttons or something else just a bit wacky to put on/in the puckers, I am considering this a goal accomplished!! Craig got a staple gun and staples Thursday evening and we, together, double-layered the upholstery foam, attached the pretty fabric and then measured out and set the "puckers" for the added details to come. Pictures included! 

Goals for this week: 

• Pick a paper topic for what may be my last major paper in college
• Outline paper (rough/basic- just to make sure I'm thinking about it) 
• Start my annotated bibliography (also not due for a while but I'm due soon so why not?)
• Sew car seat cover- really!
• Have blocking and basic choreography written for first 30 seconds of winter guard routine
• Hold winter guard auditions! :D 
• Get a good set of recordings at the BYU game
• Get a lot of the video time-coding done for the BYU band

End of Another Season

Surviving high school band competitions. A goal for the ages!
Think the third trimester of pregnancy is easy? Think school buses are comfortable? Try combining the two. Then add 60 squealing high school marching band kids. Multiply that by 2 hours. Throw an icky, sunflower seed-a-spittin' bus driver in the mix. I would rather not say anything else and just let your imagination fill in any other details. It was, in part, this trip to Davis that really let me know that being on a bus for 24 hours in one weekend just wouldn't cut it.

The kids did have a bit of a rough run at the Davis Cup (Davis HS competition). We got there a bit late, were rushed in getting things out, our rehearsal was cut short and the walk from our warmup area to the competition site was not close at all. It was a good 10 minute walk. While this wouldn't normally be an issue, imagine you play tuba or are one of the many parents pushing pit equipment up and down these hills. Yuck. The guard didn't have their best performance of the season but I believe it was a good learning opportunity and they improved dramatically at the following show.

Our group was the last to compete in AA and as a result, they performed, pulled their equipment out of the arena and it was time for awards. They received the music caption and 1st place over all in the AA division. The funny part? Tooele HS received the caption in drumline, guard & visual and still took 3rd. The funniest part was seeing the looks on their faces as 1st place was announced. While it is (obviously) possible to take 3 of the 4 captions and not place first, neither Chris nor I in all of our years around marching band have EVER seen it work out the way it did.

 The kids have done a nice job this season. We're still learning new things every day as a staff about how to better communicate what it is we're attempting to teach, how not to address certain issues, attempting to find a balance between correcting and complimenting (it is VERY difficult to not go to one extreme or another in a competitive setting like band) and how to keep the parents happy. Guess what? That comes from having responsible students! :D The fall season is over for me but my kiddies have one final competition tomorrow morning in California and then a fun parade in Disneyland on Monday. Obviously, I wasn't able to go with them. I'm bummed not to be with them at their competition but I'm sure they're going to have a blast with their last show!!

An Entertaining Return

Someone should really consider making t-shirts or primary bags that proudly state "I Survived the Primary Program!" This last Sunday was our annual primary program. For my non-LDS readers, allow me to explain. The primary consists of children between ages 3-12. Junior primary goes until the child turns 8 and then they are "big kids" and go to senior primary until they turn 12 and enter the young mens or young womens program. I teach a class of 8/9/10 year olds. They are quite the active bunch. Craig looooves coming to class with me! ;)  Each year, the children learn a new set of songs, have lessons in sharing time based on different topics and then usually in October, they have a program in place of the normal Sacrament meeting (the main worship service everyone attends together) where they share what they've learned in a somewhat organized manner. Some wards are better at this than others. Our ward wins for entertainment.

Anyway, last week I missed the rehearsal Saturday morning because of my call time for the football game. I would really like to know who put my two choice boys next to each other in the row I wasn't sitting in. (Yes, everyone had their name on their seat- no "That's my spot!"chatter during sacrament meeting). It was a pretty standard program. Sunbeams waving and calling out to their parents, junior primary children crying and refusing to go to the pulpit to "read" their part, senior primary boys playing with the organ pipes behind them and consequently nearly missing their turn.... I think sitting up there in the very back row with my class and watching the goings-on on the stand in front of me as well as the looks of the parents in the congregation was the best part.

Did I mention this was also the first Sunday since July grandpa has been able to come to church? He shared some valuable advice with Craig as they were choosing their seats that morning. "Find somewhere comfortable you can fall asleep before the program starts. It's so much more enjoyable that way!" Ooh, grandpa! What can you expect but a little humor from a man in a suit two sizes too big? :)

"We will fight day or night, rain or snow!"

Aaaaah... there is nothing quite like BYU Football! Er...marching band.

Saturday morning I was supposed to be to the stadium around 9:30 to get the audio recording system set up for the game that started at noon. I wasn't sure about the weather (which looked very stormy and was supposed to yield a large amount of rain) so I brought Craig along for the ride. I really don't want to do anymore game recording gigs without him. Joseph, the paid audio guy, got there a bit after 10 and we began doing our best to get the systems set up on both sides of the field. Just as we finished (successfully!) testing on each side, it began to lightly rain. In case you missed preschool, electronics and water don't mix well. Craig went off looking for plastic to cover the microphones while Joseph & I attempted to adjust the placement to avoid as much water as possible. Craig did come back with some plastic grocery-style bags from the bookstore (thanks, BYU!) but at that point it was beginning to rain too hard. Long story short, we ran over to the practice field (at Helaman Halls) to inform Bro. Mac that we felt the expensive audio equipment was worth more than a shoddy recording. We ran back and began tearing down as fast as we could. Our extension cord was already sitting in standing water. By the time pregame started, the sidelines were under at least 6 inches of water.

With the help of the video crew (Jon & Lauren) we were able to get everything off of the field and strewn out about the band facility. After everything was dried out, wrapped up, folded and tucked away, Craig and I grabbed the H4 Zoom handheld recorders, popped some windscreens on them and tucked them in the sleeves of our borrowed band parkas to attempt to get some kind of recording of the day. Surprisingly enough, I believe the best recording of the season has come from our handheld stereo recordings. I was able to take the files and edit them together and I think it sounds great- rain and all!

It was a great day!

Goal Report #3- a few days late

Okay, okay. So I usually post on Sunday and report about my weekly progress but it just didn't happen this week. Sorry? It has been a very busy week and a half since I've posted. Let's just do the list thing again. It's so much easier for my mind to organize my thoughts that way. (Confession: I attempted to do just that but my bullet points ended up being long enough to be their own posts. Here is take-two. The longer versions will be published for my loyal readers... like, mom.) Achieved goals from last week:

• Survived the primary program
• (Barely) survived two band competitions
• Made it through another home BYU football game recording session with some creativity
• Started my winter guard directors book (I actually got a TON accomplished on that this week) 
• PASS MY STATS MIDTERM! Yes, this is exciting because it means I can pass the class now!

I did not:

• Sew my car seat cover
• Finish my headboard (Tomorrow! Craig bought a staple gun last night)

Some goals I had for this week which were never publicly shared- unless you count my hand-written list which has been sitting on the table all week: 

• Finish organizing the basement- lots of items from the garage cleaning made their way into the basement family room
• Try (again) to finish the dang headboard (it really isn't going to take that long!)
• Clean out, sanitize & sufficiently fill the refrigerator 
• All of the laundry & ironing 
• Vacuuming all of the upstairs 
• Vacuuming all of the furniture the cat touches
• Winter guard items

Would it be cheating to report that everything on that list is done except the headboard? I do have until Sunday...

Goal Report #2

Okay! Into week 2 of "get everything humanly possible done before the baby comes in 49 days because after that, it ain't gonna happen!" And guess what? Things went pretty well! From my goals at the end of last week:

•  I did get my Shakespeare paper written- "Helena, Hermia and Hippolyta: The role of "feminism" in Shakespeare's "A Mid-Summer Nights Dream." Might sound mildly interesting but you really can't get into too much detail on a 1200 word limit. 
• I've been to a stats review. Continuing goal: pass the damn class. 
• Craig and I spent a while on Saturday cleaning out and arranging our things in the garage. Now, not only are things sorted, arranged and cleaned up to my liking, we have an added bonus: both cars fit nicely in the garage! When little miss does make her grand appearance we won't have to carry her out to the car in the driveway in the snow. This makes us quite happy-grandpa included. 
• We got a baby bathtub! My aunt also got me a Boppie nursing pillow- now to make a snuggly cover for it. :) We have a few little things that we still need to get before she's born, but I count this as progress towards goal #11. 

Goals for this week: 

1. Survive two band competitions (Davis & Mountain View), one band concert and one home BYU football game (recording)
2. Sew a car seat cover
3. Finish our headboard. We were hoping to find the staple gun in the garage while we were cleaning and then Craig remembered he gave it back to his dad. We'll either need to see about borrowing it again or buy our own before this can be completed. 
4. Primary program this Sunday... need I say more?
5. Start doing some serious work on winter guard items. Auditions are in two weeks! Ah!  

And off we go...

Just another day...

Just a quick little post about the day. There wasn't anything particularly spectacular about it. In fact, I spent the greater part of it sitting on my bed doing some homework/work work/sewing a little gift for a very pregnant friend-work/laundry work and my favorite, unintentional sleep-work. I fell asleep around 3:30 and woke up at about 6:15 and then had a little mini freak-out about not having dinner ready for grandpa and Craig.

Luckily, Craig had decided to go with a buddy to a computer conference in Salt Lake last minute so I didn't have to worry about him coming home starving. Grandpa hadn't been awake long, either, by the time I got upstairs. So what did that mean for the evening? Grandpa suggested we just go out to eat since neither of us were really in the mood to cook or wait for dinner.
 We left intending to go to Kneaders for a sandwich but ended up getting Mexican at El Azteca on Bulldog. It was perfect for tonight. While there are few things quite like fried ice cream, we opted to go elsewhere for dessert. We wandered over to the mall for a quick stop at Sees to get a free sample (hey, you can't say no!) and a half dozen rum nougats to share over the next several days. We do actually share, by the way- you cut a rum nougat in half and then it's the perfect serving size for a diabetic! Grandpa got out for the evening, did some walking, we had a little fun and maybe next time we'll take Craig along! :)

Baby Shower!

Last weekend during the priesthood session of conference, my oldest sister, Erin, hosted a baby shower for me and my college-age friends. (My Sisters-in-Law, Jenny/Jen, hosted one in August with family- I will be posting about that shortly). It was so much fun getting to spend the evening goofing off, eating delicious food my sister made (naturally), tying a pretty baby pink blanket and generally just having a great time with my sister, aunt and girlfriends.

The shower was supposed to last from about 6-8 but I got there a little early to see what I could do to help my sister finish getting things ready. Mom had told me earlier that day that Erin had had a seriously crazy busy week and had worked so hard to make everything perfect. Oooh, and boy was it perfect and then some! I am still kicking myself that I didn't take my camera with me so I'll just have to do my best to describe how everything was. When  I (and everyone else) walked in the front door, there was a baby blanket set up in the living room ready to be tied. This was a great place for the early-birds, such as myself, to plop, talk and tie. Continuing on into the kitchen, Erin had made her famous tortellini salad, buttery rolls, delicious pesto pasta, sliced fruit and had a veggie platter. In the family room where we were going to spend most of the evening, Erin had made a darling banner and had clothes-pinned tiny pairs of baby socks between the letters. In the corner was the newly painted armoire that became the holding place for baby gifts.  Mom had sent my blessing bonnet, booties and blessing dress which was hung up on the inside of the left door and hanging on the opposite door was the darling "Madeline" frame my sister had made.

After being completely blown away, I went back into the kitchen and sat down at the counter to help finish putting that together when Erin told me she had one more surprise for me. At that point, my Aunt Susan who lives in Arizona came into the kitchen. She had flown from Phoenix specifically for the baby shower! THAT was a fun treat.

The rest of the evening was spent eating, chatting and playing fabulously funny games with some of my favorite people. Matching games complete with coordinating candy prizes ("Mounds" was my favorite. I'll let you guess on that one;) ) and complete-the-nursery rhyme among other things. It was wonderful spending time with my sister and friends and seeing how loved little Madeline is already.

(Sorry, the pictures included here are mostly taken later at our house or borrowed from facebook-Thanks, Becca!)