Phred Updates

We went to the doctor again on Wednesday and it was a pretty uneventful visit. No ultrasound this time, bummer, but I did get to hear Phred's heartbeat again. It's amazing how such a funny little sound can be so reassuring! The doctor said that everything looks good and since I live West of the Mississippi I can eat whatever kind of fish I want as long as I don't eat it every day. That's a nice thing to know. We find out on March 25th whether Phred is a boy or girl (if Phred is willing to cooperate, that is). So we have a poll on the sidebar now. Vote for what you think (or want) Phred is. The poll closes on the 25th and then we'll post after that along with pictures and updates. So far we're just happy that both Phred and mom are doing well and seem to be healthy. I am also very happy that I've only gained 3 pounds total - yay! I know that I'll be gaining more weight as Phred grows, but it's nice to know that he's using up some of my squishy reserves in the meantime. :)

Fun blog gift share thingy

fun for you and fun for me...
The first five people to respond to this post will get something made by me! My choice. For you.This offer does have some restrictions and limitations:

1- I make no guarantees that you will like what I make!
2- It'll be done this year.
3- You have no clue what it's going to be.

The catch is that you must repost this on your blog and offer the same to the first 5 people who do the same on your blog. The first 5 people to do so and leave a comment telling me they did win an awesome homemade gift by me! Oh, and be sure to post a picture of what you win when you get it!!!

P.S. If more than five people want to do this, I may be able to be persuaded if you leave a funny memory of me that makes me laugh. Or just a funny story that makes me laugh. :)

Happy in Love Day!!!

I know that a lot of people hate Valentine's day, and I think that a big part of that is because (especially at BYU) there is a lot of pressure to be dating and married and in love. However, my mom has always been wonderful at celebrating all of the little holidays with us. For Valentines we usually had a nice dinner at home, got new pink or red shirts to wear to school, and came home to our beds made and chocolate or candy of some sort. Sometimes she even bought each of us a rose. My mom worked full time when I was growing up, so her being able to take the time to make our beds when we weren't at home was a big deal, at least to me.
Now that I have Jared, Valentines day is still wonderful. Jared dreads the holiday and doesn't like cards or gifts, so this year when we got a flyer in the mail for Hale Centre Theatre and I mentioned that I liked the play that was there at the time, he jumped on the idea. On Valentines day we slept in (as far as my parent's dog would let us, that is). Then we went to Hale and saw Cash On Delivery, a funny British comedy about a man who is cheating the Social Security Department of Britain and is trying to get out of it but can't. Of course, everything is crazy and just gets worse from there - hilarious. Afterwards, we went to the mall to pick up a few random items. While there, Jared bought me a chocolate covered strawberry from Godiva. One is about the size of my fist and very yummy - and all of the chocolate that Phred will currently let me eat in one day:) Then we decided to go to McGrath's Fish House for dinner and that was very delicious, too. It was a great day, Phred and I were feeling good, and I got to spend it with just me and my honey.
Speaking of Phred, our next doctor's appointment is next Wednesday. I'm not entirely sure that I like the office, although I do like the dr that I go to. It's almost impossible to get ahold of them since they don't monitor their answering machine and they are closed from noon on Thursdays until Monday morning. I don't feel right calling the on call dr about a simple question, but I'm also not a fan of having to wait four days to talk to someone if I have a concern. Also, I never received a call back about my blood tests, and I got a few more done than just the standard slew because the dr had a few extra concerns about my thyroid. I guess that means that everything is okay....? Oh, well. Phred and I are doing well. I am finally to the point where I'm not exhausted all the time. Phred still makes me nauseous if I haven't eaten much, but that's understandable. I have stopped expanding for a little bit, which is good because Phred popped out so fast in the beginning that I've been in maternity clothes since the 8 week mark. We still have no ideas as to Phred's gender, but we hope that he/she won't be shy at the end of March and we'll be able to share with everyone Phred's real name :)
Anyway, we are back in town and getting caught up on housework that we've not done since we were gone so much. This Sunday is my grandpa's birthday party, though, so we'll make it to Sacrament then we'll have to leave and head up to Salt Lake again. A whole month without going to our Relief Society....sigh. Hopefully March will be less eventful.

We did not fall of the face of the planet...

So, my parents are currently celebrating their 30th wedding anniversary. We are very excited for them and love the example that they have set for us. They are in Disney World, for ten days, by the way. Anyone who knows my parents would expect no less. Anyway, my 84 year old grandmother lives with my parents and can't be left alone. She isn't well enough to pack up and move to another person's house. Although there are 8 of 9 children in the county and at least 25 of 32 gradchildren (of whom I am the fourth youngest) live in the county, nobody can come spend a few weeks at my parents' house to take care of grandma. Two of my aunts are checking in on grandma by phone every day and are bringing her meals two of the nights my parents are away. The rest of the time is divided between me and Jennie staying in West Jordan to take care of grandma. Last Thursday night Jared and I went up and started our first shift. We came home Sunday evening. Jennie has had the wonderful pleasure of waking up early enough to commute from West Jordan to Spanish Fork every day for her student teaching. She is also engaged and planning a wedding and probably missing her finace quite a lot since she doesn't have a bunch of time to see him this week. Friday night Jared and I get to go back up and stay until Sunday evening when we pick my parents up from the airport. So, we didn't disappear, we just aren't in Provo at the moment.
I am very excited, no matter how this post sounds, that my mom and dad are able to take some much needed vacation time. They need a break and it's got to be nice to spend some just them time together without work and grandma demands. I also love my grandma, but she is 84 and has had several strokes which have made her a bit (a lot) on the cranky side of life. Oh, well, I get to sit and talk to her and as long as I don't bring up Obama she's pretty pleasant with me. :)
On a wonderful and unrelated side note; Jared and I have bought our first large baby item. Obviously I have already purchased some clothes, and other little things (not that much) but we decided that we weren't going to get any of the big items (stroller, crib, carseat, etc) until after we move. We aren't sure when or where we're going, but we do know that it is most likely going to be May or June, and we don't want to pack anything more than we have to. But, we were at Target last Saturday and saw this cute stroller on sale for $35! I know that the big travel combinations that come with car seats seem more exciting, but I couldn't fit one of those strollers in my trunk without Jared's help. Also, I can't push one with a baby older than 3 months in it because it's too tall for me. So, I thought a compact stroller would be better and we'll just buy the carseat separately. The picture is of a newer model, since ours was on clearance. Ours is way cuter, though. It's at an color, not the lime green/yellow that the picture shows. The background has a cream, light blue, and brown patterns. I really like it, and it can fold and unfold really easily, which was the important part to us.