Blogging.

Holy cow! I never realized blogging would be such a challenge with my schedule "on demand". I'll to get in a REAL post next week when we're back in UT. With pictures and everything.

I Love Being A Mom, Even At 3 AM.

During the last couple weeks, I've grown a greater appreciation for mothers. Especially stay at home moms. After I was laid off from my desk job in June, I felt like a loser. I did not serve a mission, don't have a degree, wasn't even in school, and was four months pregnant. The chances of me getting another full time job were pretty slim. At least when I was working full time, I felt like I was actually contributing and doing something. We didn't need to worry about finances, or health insurance.

I took on a paper route and spent the days cleaning, cooking, making Ross' breakfast and lunch before school, running errands and walking. I still felt like it wasn't enough. A couple months before Claire was born, I read. A lot. And I came across a talk from Jeffrey R. Holland in a book. Just a simple line stood out. " there is nothing more important in this world than participating so directly in the work and glory of God, in bringing to pass the mortality and earthly life of His daughters and sons"

Growing up, I always thought that being a stay at home mom would be the easiest thing on the planet. Truth be told, after the last couple weeks, I have discovered that it is one of the most challenging things I have done. Being a mom is tough, being a stay at home mom though, is so much more difficult.

Mom's really do sacrifice a lot for their kids. I don't think I really noticed or appreciated the things my mom did till now. Not only do they sacrifice the tangible things, but I realize now, that many moms would probably love to have a full time job, or go to school, but instead choose to stay home. I'm an active person. I'm not satisfied if I let my day go by without doing something productive. I love being busy, and feel lazy if the house isn't spotless and dinner isn't on the table when Ross gets home.

With Claire, I don't get out of bed till 11, am lucky if I can squeeze in a shower, and haven't made Ross breakfast, lunch, or dinner. The laundry is currently on my bedroom floor just waiting to be folded, while the second load is still in the washer. Three days later. I am so beyond grateful for both of my moms who have come and helped us out, and seriously dreading Saturday when we will be on our own again.

I'm so grateful for that quote and small reminder that it really doesn't matter that I haven't showered in two days, and we pick up clothes off of the floor as needed. I don't have a full time job and I'm not back in school yet, but I don't feel like a complete loser anymore. I've never been so tired in my entire life, my new perfume is ew de spit up, but I love being a mom.

BTW, Ross' mom took us to get pictures of Claire. It was a real treat! We get the prints back on December 10th, but they're online for people to look at. You can take a gander by clicking here. Thanks, Mom!

Two Weeks.

Claire is 2 weeks old today. Seriously child, stop that. I feel like we just brought her home yesterday. We accidently slept through her appointment yesterday, so I have no idea how much she weighs right now. Lesson learned: Do not schedule appointments at 9 AM when you KNOW you won't be sleeping much at night. But she is getting chunkier, so I assume she's getting bigger. If she actually slept through the night, I'd be ok with her staying this small forever. I love her.

We're actually going to take newborn pics in 40 min, so I'll post more pics later. I promise. :]

Introducing: Claire Danielle Loveland

I haven't blogged in a while. I apologize. The past few weeks haven't been filled with much, besides trying everything I could think of to have this baby, and that's not really interesting to blog about. Well, nine days ago, she finally came! So now I can finally post something somewhat worth reading!

The Stats:

Born 8:17 PM

7 pounds 11 ounces

20 1/2 inches long, and just the cutest thing.

The Story:

I'm a vain person. My own mother even told me so. For the last few weeks, I'd make sure to do my hair and put on make up in the morning. Just in case that day was THE day. Then I'd shower at night, and tell the baby in my stomach that she isn't allowed to be born until the following day. Just so I wouldn't look too repulsive in pictures.

We decided Friday was going to be a great date night. We were planning on going to the dollar theater to see the Wall Street movie. Friday morning came and I spent literally 3 hours getting ready for my hot date. I did my face mask, painted my toes and fingers, curled my hair, and did a great job on my make up. I had my outfit picked out and was even planning on wearing heels. That didn't happen very often, being huge and all. Normally I just go with flip flops. This date was going to be a big deal. Our last date without kids for well, forever! I was scheduled to be induced Tuesday morning at 6:30 if she hadn't come by then.

5:00. I was on my way to pick up Ross, and was hurting a little. After dinner, I was hurting a lot more. We decided to stay home and just have a game night. There was no way I was going to be able to sit through a movie. By midnight, I was just about in tears so we went to the hospital. I hadn't progressed after an hour of being monitored, so the nurse suggested we walk around the hospital for half an hour to see if that would help. It didn't.

We got home around 3:30. Ross went right to sleep. I, on the other hand, was up all night. By morning, I was sure I couldn't handle any more pain. I didn't really want to go back to the hospital without being positive that I'd be coming home with a baby. I held out as long as I could. I took 4 showers/baths. Ross gave me a blessing, and we were off to the hospital again around 11. Turns out, I really didn't care WHAT I looked like.

While being monitored, the nurses were incredible. They did everything they could to make me as comfortable as possible. After half an hour, I still hadn't dilated more. They called my midwife and came back with great news. I WAS ADMITTED! After a few hours, and a wonderful epidural, Claire Danielle was born. This new addition is such a joy and great blessing.

I Want To Fake Labor

Just so Ross can come home. I quit the paper route about a week and a half ago, thinking I could catch up on sleep, and get some things done. The first few days were great! But it is HARD sitting at home alone ALL day. There's only so much you can clean. I'm confident that you could eat off of ANY surface in my house. And no amount of walking will encourage this little girl to make an appearance. I almost want to tell Moms that we had the baby, just so they can come play with me for a week. Sure, faking labor would get Ross home, but he'd just be home for the day, and probably not too happy with me for making him skip school and work.

Dear baby,

Please show up soon. I am bored and lonely, and kind of bored of talking to you through my stomach. You don't listen to me anyway. Love, Mom.

Sleep.

Weds was the last day of the paper route. Thursday was supposed to be glorious and I was supposed to sleep the entire night and enjoy not getting up at 2:30 to go roll 300 newspapers. I was up the entire night with contractions and didn't sleep at all. Lame. The next night, I was passed out before 10 PM, and didn't even wake when Ross finally came to bed. I slept the ENTIRE night. Without unisom. I didn't wake up till 7. That's NINE hours of sleep right there, ladies and gents.

I was making Ross' lunch while breakfast was baking and told Ross my body was feeling really weird today. His response: "Uhh rested?" It's true. I was thinking about it and this will be the first day in a few months that I would not be going back to bed after taking Ross to work. I have the ENTIRE day alone. And I have NO idea what to do with myself. Yesterday I scoured and scrubbed the house, so there isn't even anything to clean today! We'll have to see what I can come up with.

Gratitude.

It's something I'm working on. I complain. And whine. A lot. I'm pretty sure I've used up all of my complain vouchers for my lifetime in just the last few months.

Tomorrow is my last day on the paper route. Each day usually on my way home, but sometimes on my drive to the warehouse I see a man on University Avenue in downtown Provo. He's either curled up on a park bench in front of the Health and Justice building, or under the eve of Zion's bank with a tarp of a blanket covering him. He has a shopping cart full of random things right by him, and if you look close enough, you'll notice the only shoes he has is a pair of pink women's 2 in heels. And it just breaks my heart. I think about him often and make a mental note to talk to Ross about him. But I usually forget by the time Ross is awake and I begin all of my morning "chores".

Last night I was treating myself to a hot bath while Ross was reading in the other room and I started thinking about this man. I didn't want to forget to talk to Ross about him, so we had a chat shouting through the door. Ross is probably the kindest person I know. He's never said anything mean or negative about anyone, even if he's had a bad day, and never gossips, or makes jokes at another's expense. It's one of the things I like best about him, and something I need to improve.

Ross suggested I give him a pair of Ross' old shoes and his winter coat when I see him this week. It was something I had been thinking about for a while. I love how in tune Ross is. Thinking about it, I got scared and told Ross how scary it would be to approach an old stranger and possibly wake him up, just because I'm a girl and it'd be dark. Ross just said, "Scary for you, or for him?" Good point.

This morning when I left for the route, it was snowing. SNOWING. And I was tired and achey and it was freezing outside. As I got in the car, I thought about that old man on University Avenue, and just didn't want to complain to myself anymore. I have been so incredibly blessed and have so many things that I really don't NEED. This last year of being married and truly on my own I have learned that having just a little is more than enough. I love it. I have so much to be grateful for that I haven't really even thought of. Instead of thinking about how cute my living room would look if I just had some curtains, I'm thinking about how great it is to own a pair of shoes that fit and are for my gender. I am so grateful for such a wonderful husband who can teach me a little more each day about kindness and gratitude.

One Year Down, Eternity To Go.

Things have been a little busy and it's taken me a couple weeks to get around to it, but we've been married for a whole year! Everyone always says the first year is the hardest. If that's true then we're in for a real treat! This has been the greatest, most fun year! A week ago, Ross and I were running errands. Sitting in the car, I go, "I think I've really grown up over the last year. I always thought that after you get married, you're automatically a mature adult. It was kind of a shock when that didn't happen!" Ross responded, "Yeah, you're definitely not the girl I married." uhhhhh "It's a good thing! You ARE a lot more mature and grown up! You're not as crazy as you were then." I love pure honesty. In all seriousness, it really has been the best year ever. Married life is just so fun!

After we got married, we had so much time after pictures until reception so we went to Olive Garden for some soup, salad, and breadsticks, and then did a corn maze. Most people shoot us weird looks and laugh when we say that, but I loved it. It was so fun! We decided then that that's what we'd do each year from there on out to celebrate and let me tell you, I was SO excited to go do a corn maze this year!

We went to Cornbellies at Thanksgiving Point. When we were looking at it online, it looked a little pricey, but they had two huge mazes and thought we'd give it a shot. It was the coolest fall/Halloween place I've ever been. They had SO much to do! One of my favorites was the mechanical bull. Though I didn't ride it, I am so excited for next year when I won't be cooking a baby. I told Ross that I WAS going to be getting on that next year. The guy operating the bull was so funny. After someone would fall off, he'd still move the bull around and charge, forcing whoever fell off to get up and run, usually stumbling and falling before they could get out.

They also had a princess pumpkinland with play structures and a princess bounce house. We liked watching all the little girls go inside the costume shop to play dress up in huge princess ball gowns and then go play. Ross is super excited to play dress up in a couple years. :]

We could have spent HOURS just walking around and doing all the little things and looking at stuff, there was just SO much to do. The maze this year was in honor of the 100th anniversary of Boy Scouts. It was huge! When we went in, we turned instead of going straight through the arch, and ended up doing the maze backwards till we got stuck and decided to turn around and go back to where we went in. It was so hard and by then we were cold and ready to be done. Maybe next year we'll have more luck with the maze!

I'm sure you've all noticed over the last year that we have been TERRIBLE at taking pictures. I fully intended to bring the camera and actually take pictures on our anniversary date, but I was too excited thinking about soup and salad that when we left for Olive Garden, I forgot the camera. We're hoping that once our little girl is out, we'll improve our picture taking skills. We don't want to end up being like, "Well, this is us when we got married, and this is you when you're 5. We're not really sure what you looked like before then, because we didn't really take pictures." Hopefully we see an improvement for year 2.

It's Official.

I am going to be pregnant forever. I've been sitting at 1 cm and "really soft" for three weeks now. My latest appointment was on Monday. This little girl has gotten HUGE and is now measuring 2 whole weeks ahead instead of just a little bit ahead. My midwife has me going in every week now so they can keep a close eye on me, and said to watch out for water breaking.

So naturally I've been walking six miles a day. The only thing that has accomplished is giving me the dumbest looking tan line. So yesterday, I took a break. I decided I was only going to get things done and run errands.

I finally changed my name and am now officially, and legally, a Loveland. I got a changing pad and cover (so cute), found those zigzag clip things that are on the back of picture frames to put on the backs of the name blocks, and I cleaned. A lot. Last week I spent 5 hours in our kitchen rearranging things and ended up throwing away a million boxes along with 4 sacks of garbage. Yesterday I took on Ross' study room, the bedroom, bathrooms, and laundry. I am now obsessed with laundry. If even just ONE piece of clothing is dirty, I have to refrain from immediately tossing it in the washer until I can fill it. I finally decided I didn't want this little girl to come until after Saturday. Ross and I can finish getting her room ready, and pack our bags. (Right now I have a list made and a pile in her room of the things I know I won't use until then. And it's a MESS.) Also, Ross will be participating in a Quidditch game on Saturday and I really want to watch and take pictures!

By the end of the day, I was pooped. After spending some quality time with Ross, I decided to take a bath. Just before I started running the water, there was a trickle down my leg. And it was hot. It wasn't very much, but it was enough to make me wonder. So I threw on some thin shorts and decided to hold off on the bath until I knew what was going on for sure. The last couple days I've been having a lot more Braxton Hicks contractions. For a couple hours after the mysterious trickle, there were a lot more. Sure, it was uncomfortable, but how is that different from the last MONTH!?

I'll go ahead and skip the TMI stuff, but a little after 11 last night, Ross talked me into calling to find out if we should go in. Lo and behold, a little before 12 we were on our way. The amniotic fluid test was negative. I was having little contractions on the monitor, but they kept me on there for almost 2 hours to keep being monitored. After the nurse left, the big ones came. Ohhhhh boy. We are def getting the epidural when it's real! It was kind of fun watching the monitor, and a relief to see it start to go down so I could tell when it was almost over. A couple times though, it would start to go down, stay there for a little bit, and then shoot back up for a really really long time. I'm sure Ross enjoyed listening me talk to the monitor, telling it to GO BACK DOWN, NOW!!! The nurse came back after a couple hours and did the amniotic fluid test again. Still negative. Cool. Baby girl is hanging out so low, and bladders are so fun and squishy. Nurse said contractions were getting a lot stronger and she could tell I was hurting, but I was STILL sitting at a 1 and "really soft". So we got sent home, but were told that if the contractions keep getting stronger to come back in. (Yeah right. They won't.)

Poor Ross didn't get to bed till almost 3:30, and had to get up at 7, while I went and did the paper route. I fell asleep on the couch when I got home, and didn't even wake up when Ross was getting his things ready to go. I did not make his lunch, and we did not get our cinnamon roll Friday this morning. I'm thinking we're going to have to have those for dinner.

I am confident that I will be pregnant forever.

17 Years Later, and My Raising is Still in Effect.

Last week on the paper route, I came across a white rose. It was super dark out. (well duh, it was 4 AM!) It was small, but looked pretty enough, and smelt divine. Naturally, I picked it. When I got home, I grabbed a cup from the kitchen, stuck the rose in it, and put the cup on the bathroom counter with a "Good morning!" note for Ross to wake up to. In the light, however; the rose was missing half it's petals, and was dirty and wilting. Oh well.

At breakfast, Ross casually brought up said rose.

R: Where'd you get the rose, babe?

K: *huge smile* I found it!!

R: Oh, so some guy didn't give it to you then?

K: hahahahah N-

R: Wait. You took it from someone's YARD?!

He has no faith in me.

To give him some credit, I DID find it while walking back from putting a paper on a porch. But it was growing in a gutter. Hence, the unattractiveness of it. The next day though, I paid more attention to all the flowers in people's yards. The majority of people on my route are mmm old. No offense. And as we learned from Secondhand Lions, old people garden. Their yards are perfect manicured and have gorgeous flowers. I could make Ross a prize winning bouquet out of them.

However, the last time I stole something, I was three years old at the grocery store, in the produce section, with my mom. I was shoveling in grapes like it was an all you can eat buffet about to close. Of course I got caught and she told me what I was doing was stealing, and taught me that was wrong. When we were checking out, my dear sweet mother had me tell the checker pay her something like two cents and while sobbing tell her what I had done. I had stolen her grapes. Thanks mom. You did a good job and I have never even THOUGHT about stealing anything ever again, and haven't even snacked on a few grapes at the grocery store.

People of Spanish Fork, you can be at peace, confident that I will not be creeping through your yards at 4 AM snipping your beautiful flowers to take home to my hunk o' burning love of a husband, all thanks to my mama.

I Will Probably Be This Kind Of Mom....Don't Tell Ross.

Remember that one time when I got married and thought I'd magically be a mature adult? It didn't happen. To this day I still laugh when I fart, enjoy giving Ross wet willies, (K so we grew out of that one after a few months of being married, but he did it first, so I'm not to blame.) and am currently plotting to hide a rubber snake in the shower to scare Ross. My poor daughter. She's coming in less than 2 months and she only has one responsible grown-up for a parent.

That being said, I stumbled across an old blog post from The Pioneer Woman. If you haven't read her blog, I highly recommend it. I adore her. And idolize her. She keeps me entertained when baby girl thinks it's play time, but it's really BED time. I would love to meet her someday. Anyway, this particular post is an audio clip of her with her kids. I was laughing SO hard and thought I'd share, mainly because I will probably be this kind of mom--but probably not when Ross is around.

http://thepioneerwoman.com/blog/2006/09/farewell_dear_r/

I love her. My day is off to a great start already, even though baby girl is keeping me awake. Enjoy.

I Gave In.

Well folks, we have a new record here. I bought Ross' anniversary presents over a month ago and just gave them to him last night. Only 13 days early. I had only been asking him if he wanted his presents for a couple days before I gave them to him. I was determined to make it until the actual day this time.

Ross has a pretty big load this semester, along with work, pregosterone wife, and baby coming in less than 2 months now. So last night he was pretty stressed and just having one of those days. When no cure could be found, even after tasty meat, a good chat, and massage, I gave in. After all, what better remedy for a bad day than presents!? At first, he was only going to open one, (I got him three) but watching him open the first was so fun, I couldn't stop!

All of his presents were themed, and somehow connected. Because we'll soon have a little princess, I figured actual date nights were going to be hard to come by for a while. So each present was a different thing we could do as a stay at home date. I love stay at home date nights. We love games, so I got him the Monty Python Fluxx game, Ticket to Ride Europe, and then the Three Amigos.

Funny part. When we finally went to bed, we were talking and I was expressing how I felt a little bad that I didn't get him presents that were just for him.

K: Man, I should have gotten you a sweater or some shirts that actually FIT you. (He's been getting buff. And he's really really tall.)

R: No, I hate spending money on clothes.

K: Exactly! I should have done it FOR you. I love spending money on clothes! Before we got married, I'd spend money on clothes all the time! That's probably why I had no money when we got married. To be honest, I just married you for your money.

R: *sleepy smile* Yeah, I know.

I love him.

Cinnamon Roll Fridays

I love Fridays. But really, who doesn't?! Over the last few weeks, I've gotten into the habit of having a hot breakfast ready when Ross wakes up. It isn't anything big, usually some muffins, banana bread, or blueberry pancakes, but Fridays are special. We get cinnamon rolls. Orange sweet rolls to be exact. I can't think of a better way to start off the last day before the weekend.

When we were first married, we'd make waffles every Saturday. Yeah, guess how long that lasted. I love cinnamon roll Friday, though it probably isn't very kind to my derriere. I hope it sticks around for a while. :]

I Want To Be A Soccer Mom.

Let me explain. Last night I was grocery shopping at Macey's when a soccer team came in for ice cream. I'm guessing they just finished up with a game. There were a couple boys that were so excited and kept yelling out to their mom who had gone to their game and went with the team for ice cream. Right then I decided I wanted:

A huge SUV, or even the 15-seater van

Mom jeans or capris with the sneakers

the Mom hair cut

with the Mom baseball cap/visor

Every single Saturday to be taken up by 7 soccer games in 5 different places

Window decals for the SUV of each family member in the Mickey Mouse ears. And one for the dog, too.

My own tribe of little boys to yell Mom!! Mom!! Mom!!! Did you SEE me?! That was SOOO cool!!! Across the grocery store with sticky ice cream streaking their face.

I want to be a soccer mom.

Month Eleven.

I can't even believe that we've been married for almost a whole year! Here are some things I've learned.

1.) Boys don't like it when the floor in their room is covered with clothes.

2.) Sharing a bed is STILL hard, we're going to need a King, or two Queens shoved together.

3.) You can tell Ross doesn't like dinner when he doesn't go back for seconds. He won't SAY anything, he just won't take more.

4.) Husbands make the greatest male cheerleaders and biggest fans.

5.) I have the greatest best friend in the whole world.

6.) My husband is a spider slaying, bug squishing WARRIOR. And he's not scared of anything.

7.) Being married is just plain FUN.

8.) We've been so busy having fun, we've forgotten to take more pictures. Oops.

9.) I will probably be treated like the Queen of Sheeba for forever.

10.) It just doesn't get any better than this.

A Potpourri of The Last Few Weeks.

I get really particular about keeping a clean house. I'd probably vacuum the carpet by the front door every time it was opened if Ross would let me. The last few weeks, we've been working on our house. We put up some autumn decorations on the piano, and got some new pictures and posters on the walls. The posters are super epic, heroic posters and I love them. You can check them out here. We got a HUGE one for Ross' study room, and a medium sized one for the front room. They look SO much better in person than on the site. I'm really excited about how they turned out. We're still waiting on a temple picture we ordered. At Costco, there was an artist who does custom paintings, both religious and not. It was really neat, so we decided to get one of the Portland temple.

The nursery is finally painted. That was such a pain in the butt, but I'm really excited about the way it turned out. I'm waiting to take pictures till the room is actually finished and put together. Right now it's just a mess with the new stroller and car seat I put together and I'm still trying to figure out where I want everything. Yesterday we found a crib, mattress, and bedding on KSL for super super cheap. I can't wait to get it set up!! I've rearranged all her drawers about a million times, painted, moved her furniture around, and put together the travel system; so I figured I'd let Ross build the crib so he wouldn't feel left out or anything. I'm definitely ready for this little girl to get here.

We had a surprise in our bank account a couple weeks ago. I've secretly been saving up for a new TV, something Ross and I have talked about for a while. I wanted it to be a surprise, but after the bank account surprise, I just went ahead and told him and we ended up getting a new TV. Ross also ordered a custom PC to hook up to the TV as a media system. It came last week!! We've had a lot of fun loading movies onto the PC and getting the media system going. I think I won't mind the 3 AM feedings as much anymore. :]

Yesterday I decided I wanted to read the Book of Mormon by the end of the year. I really liked the First Presidency Message in the Ensign this month, and decided to make that my personal goal. There's a really cool site that lets you create your own reading plan. You input what you're reading, when you're starting, and when you'd like to finish. So I made one for beginning yesterday and scheduled to end on December 31st. I would love to invite you to take on this challenge with me! You can find a link to the site so you can create your own reading schedule here.

Sorry Ella.

Some of you know that I'm working on cutting a few words out of my vocabulary. As the due date draws closer, I've become more aware of the things I say and do. I decided I didn't really want this little lady walking around repeating some of the words and phrases I say. This last week, I think I've nailed a couple of the words, but I still have a long way to go. So if you hear me say these four words, feel free to give me a reminder! It's good for me!

The S word: Suck

The C word: Crap

The H word: Hate

The R word: Retard.

I never really realized how much I say those words till now! Kind of like how I didn't know how often I look down while walking till we spent a weekend in Vegas. My list will probably grow, but four new swears to work on is enough for now! I've started to recognize when people say the new S word now, and it feels almost like it does when I hear people say the REAL S word. It's crazy how fast my attitude about that word changed!

On a completely opposite note, I don't think we will be getting a cat. Ever. We spent the last week in Oregon, and got to spend the last couple days with Ross' family. They have a cat. Granted, you hardly ever SEE Ella. We don't have any pets so whenever I see something furry with eyes and a tail, I always try to touch it. (Especially on the paper route. Though, thus far I have been unsuccessful in getting within six feet of an animal.) Ella is special though. I've found that if I can pet her and scratch her head for just a couple seconds, she decides she likes me enough to not run away. And if I can manage to scratch her head for just a little longer, she'll follow me a little, wanting me to continue the head scratch.

Yesterday was one such day where she let me pick her up and set her beside me on a couch and scratch her head. I was slouching, and she decided to move in closer. She parked herself on my stomach, to be exact. When she started purring, it didn't take long for baby girl to start kicking, punching, elbowing, ANYthing she could, as hard as she could. I removed Ella from her post and baby girl settled down. I don't think she really likes cats. Sorry Ella. I still love you and love that you sometimes let me get close enough to touch you. It means a lot.

Gratitude.

I have the greatest best friend in the whole world.
I'm one lucky girl.

So. Tired.

I understand I have a weird schedule with this paper route. It used to be great. That is, before I found out we are breeding the next soccer champ. This little lady loves her daddy already. She gets so excited whenever he's around. Not gonna lie, it's weird. During the day when I'm by myself she'll move a little, not much. But when Dad gets home and is close by, watch out!! We'll just be sitting there watching a movie and she goes CRAZY. It's cute then, but not so much when I'm trying to sleep and have to get up in 3-4 hours. I sleep great for the first couple hours when it's just me in bed, but once Ross comes in.... BAM! Nocturnal kickboxing champ!

Who knows? Maybe after she's born and up all night, she'll only want Daddy and I'll finally be able to get some sleep. :]

Sugar, Spice, and Everything Nice... And a Bunch of Burgers And Popsicles.

Turns out, we're cooking a girl! Lord help us all! I was 100% convinced it was a boy so it was a shock for me, but Ross knew better.

Ross' younger brother, Jeremy, is here visiting, so he got to go with us. It was so cool checking out all her organs and blood vessels, and just all her parts! She was stretching out her legs for a while, and crossed them towards the end of the ultrasound. She liked having one hand in a fist by her face, and the other just spread out so we got to see all her fingers, too! I loved being able to check out all the parts of her body, especially her brain and heart. SO cool. She really is a wiggly, squirmy little thing. It's so crazy how fast the little bebe goes from this...

To THIS:

We went and bought some newborn little girl outfits to celebrate. I can't wait to start setting up the nursery and get ready for this little lady to get here! Let's just hope she's more like her Dad, or we're all in trouble!

Please Disregard Any Broken Windows or Dents on Cars For a Couple Weeks

It's perfect. A few weeks ago I was waking up at odd hours of the night. Starving. Now I have a purpose in being awake at strange times. I'll probably develop a decent throwing arm, too. Hello turkey bowl.

Today was my first day. It was surprisingly relaxing. You're the only person on the road in what seems like the entire city. And not gonna lie, it was a freaking blast. I mean, how often do you get to drive on BOTH sides of the road, windows down, throwing things as hard as you can?

I really like that I get to come home and make Ross breakfast and lunch. After I go back to bed, I still have so much time in the day to do everything else that needs to get done. Perfect job for mama.

Now, if only I got to be on a bike, too, I'd get some SERIOUS exercise.

I Drink Milk From A Glass, So That Means I'm A Real Grown Up Now, Right?

Almost anyone who has ever eaten a meal with me understands that I will only drink milk from a plastic cup. It just tastes better that way. When you buy the milk, it comes in a plastic jug. Milk is just meant to be in plastic. Growing up, we had very few plastic cups but those were MY cups. Simply existing for the purpose of allowing Kate to drink milk.

Not anymore. Since being married, we have only had ONE, yes ONE plastic cup. That cup happens to be my favorite. It's green and tall and just all around BIG. I fill it was ice water while cleaning the house, juice-so I don't have to get up five times to refill it, and stick it in the car when I need to pick up Ross. It's the cup that is so big, no refill is required. The downside is that there is only ONE of them and requires a lot of washing.

For the last eight months, Ross has been weening me onto actual glasses at meal time. Where we usually drink MILK. For the first few months, I would INSIST on having my plastic cup. When I had a glass full of milk, I'd shut my eyes, squint my nose, and try to make the pain of enduring milk from a GLASS as short as possible. I hated it.

My family, especially my parents, would be so impressed to hear me say that I now drink milk from a glass, without whining or complaining. At all. So, that means I'm a REAL grown up now, right? Though, I'd still argue that milk tastes better in plastic. A mug would even be better than a cup. But the important thing is that I now drink milk from a real glass.

So Here's The Deal

I want a jogging stroller, and I want one BAD. A DOUBLE jogging stroller to be exact.

Please?

It's June, And My Life Revolves Around Food.

I'm all about positive reinforcement, especially when it comes to goals. I love reward systems that motivate me. For the last few months all of the goals I had in line since January have gone out the window. The second story window. One of those goals was exercising.

A few of you know that in the beginning, Ross was very diligent with P90X. He LOVED it. Meanwhile, I bought some Billy Banks Tae Bo tapes. Ross would be doing homework in his study room, laughing at the black man on the TV yelling with enthusiasm. I'm POSITIVE that secretely he really really wanted to run out and start moving with me. The tapes are hilarious and goofy which fits me perfectly. I still remember when busting out my mom's old Kathy Smith's Winning Workout tapes when I was little. I always wanted an 80's bright leotard. So having a black man with a huge grin screaming with enthusiasm is my cup of tea. Though, I'd also run a little and do 100 sit ups each day. Even with the screaming, smiling huge black man, it didn't take long to lose my motivation. I decided to try P90X.

HOLY COW. Talk about a work out. Tony Horton is all about changing your entire life style and getting you in the best shape you have ever been in. And it is HARD. I guess getting in shape wasn't enough of a motivator for me. That's when we started the tanning plan.

If you've seen me, even just across the room in the dark, I stand out. I'm pastey white. Glow in the dark white to be more correct. Tanning was the perfect motivation. Ross had gone tanning before and he really loved it, so it was just an extra bit of fun for him. This was the plan. If I completed all six of the DVDs that week, Saturday afternoon we got to go tanning. Here's the catch. BOTH of us had to do it and FINISH each one. An hour and a half of intense Yoga on Thursdays was rough. Only the idea of eight minutes in tropical bliss could keep me going. I loved it. I used the little stickers to mark my progress and felt fantastic. I was getting more fit and looked and felt great, AND I was TAN.

Then we got pregnant. And I felt MISERABLE for a little over a month. No more tanning and I sure didn't want to work out! I just wanted to lay on the couch and eat pickles, popsicles, burgers, and cupcakes. All at once.

Then May happened and second trimester happened. I began to notice the added volume and surface area in my buttock region. (Honestly, I like the extra booty. Now I actually HAVE a booty) But here's the extra bonus. I was feeling GREAT! I've never had so much energy in my life! I started using the treadmill again. And then the cycle started again. The lack of motivation hit.

I can't go tanning without cooking the baby. I think the hardest part is I LOVE hot baths. The kind of baths where you can see the water evaporating and steam rising from the tub. Now, every now and then, Ross will come in and stick his hand in the water just to make sure I'm not being selfish and making baby stew in my stomach.

A few weeks ago we were playing bananagrams with some great friends of ours. (We love games.) -Bananagrams is kind of like scrabble, but you build your own. At the end of the game, Ross was looking at my set up and started laughing. All of the words I had formed were all FOOD items. We had JUST eaten dinner. Ross had been asking what I wanted for my birthday. All I could come up with were certain foods that I wanted. Food was taking over my LIFE. My child is not going to be made up of those cute lists that rhyme saying what little boys and girls are made of. My child is going to be made up of burgers and popsicles.

My life is run by food. That's when I came up with the perfect idea. The perfect motivator. I made a chart. My chart looks like this. for every six days I exercise (doesn't have to be in a row, just SIX days) I get a snack day. You need to understand, when I want a certain food, the want doesn't go away until I get it. It'll start as an idea. An 'oh that sounds good' idea. Then it'll just grow from there till I'm ready to beat someone up to get it. (not really, but that's how badly I want it!) So if I think of something I want, but decide I can't have it till I exercise six times, by the time those six days are up, I'd do ANYTHING to get it. (If you ever want me to do anything for you, just bribe me with a jar of pickles, a burger, rice krispies and I'll be in the palm of your hand. Seriously. It's BAD.)

Yesterday I exercised. We had family prayer. I washed my face. I'm reading a lot more books and cooking dinner and cleaning the house. We even did family scripture study. I think my exercise/snack chart is helping me remember my other goals that have gone out the window. The poster I made when I was doing P90X is even up on the fridge, though I don't know what good it'll do. (It's a pic of Tony Horton smiling and pointing his finger with a word bubble saying Kate! Don't eat that!) I'm ready to make June a good month. Even if it's controlled and motivated solely by FOOD.

I Use My Time Wisely

Using my time extremely well at work mixed with being excited about the parasite turning into an actual baby, this is what I've found.

So in this one, I love the changing table. The mirror actually folds down to be a changing table. GENIOUS. It just makes sense to have your baby facing you while changing, instead of sideways. And the two edges of the dresser are actually for dirty diapers. There's holes in the top, and the droors pull out. I love the upholstery on the fronts of them, too.

At first, I thought this was the cutest thing I'd ever seen. That is, until I discovered it took Daddy four months to draw and paint it all. The other side of the room is night time with glow in the dark stars, and a moon night-light. I just thought it was so creative and fun! Not to mention a TON of work!

I really do like the pink and green color scheme. I also really like the name on the wall. I think I'd probably buy wooden letters and paint them myself and hang those on the wall with ribbon instead of actually painting the name on the wall. But I do think this is very cute.

I also found themed party ideas for little kids. This was my favorite, though I don't think anyone could truly appreciate it unless they've read the Fancy Nancy books.

For each of the girls' place settings, they had gloves with feathers, and a beaded necklace. I love the idea of a sundae bar with all of the toppings. So posh.

Obviously, I have a lot of time on my hands at work. It's really difficult having to wait eight more weeks to find out what we're having. I can't wait to start buying things and setting up the nursery. I'll have to thaw out my debit card before then. ;) (For those of you who don't know, my debit card is at the bottom of about four inches of ice in the freezer right now. Being pregnant, I also developed super picky eating habits. I found I was probably spending more money on food than I should, so I decided I lost my card privileges. I can no longer go shopping without Ross being there and having his approval first.) I'll be thawing it out once it's time to start getting things ready though!

My Midwife's Name is Jennifer.

I went home before my appointment to get snacks, change, and grab the paperwork we needed. Hello pregnancy brain. Ross wanted me to bring him an orange. So I put a couple oranges in a bag. There was also a bag on the couch that had Ross' leftovers from lunch the day before.First I left and remembered oh yeah! I forgot the medicaid card. Went back. Realized I hadgrabbed the wrong back. Switched bags. Oh dang! I left the medicaid card again. Went back. Uhm, I have NO idea where I'm going. Went back to grab the directions I had just looked at. Finally picked Ross up and was heading to pick up my records from my first visit. Went the WRONG way. Got lost. Finally on the way to my real appointment. Lo and behold, the directions I had looked at weren't making ANY sense anymore when I understood it completely ten minutes ago. I'm so glad Ross is so smart and figured out how to get there. I thought it was hilarious so I thought I'd share. Now on to the main point of this post.

We met our midwife at our 12 week appointment. Other than being slightly disappointed we didn't get an ultrasound, I LOVED it. We arrived a few minutes late. I hate being late for anything so I was a little frazzled. Probably something I get from my mom. There were probably a half a dozen kids in the waiting room. The kids knew the nurses and midwife by name, and the other way around. They'd come running up to the door yelling their name with excitement and the nurses would pick up the kids and just play with them. Everyone was just so happy. The receptionist was the first to say that she was so excited to have us, and we heard that probably three more times throughout the appointment.

When we went back to the room, the first nurse came in just to go over my previous records, and take my vitals. She was so funny and just NICE. She asked if we wanted anything to drink. She even asked what Ross wanted. When he said he was ok, she wouldn't take no for an answer and repeated his choices. My midwife's nurse came in next to go over more history. She was just as funny and kind as the first nurse. Finally the midwife came in. I was so excited. She was a little more serious, but still not serious. Just a really fun, kind person. Going over my paperwork, we discovered that the previous doctor's office failed to inform me of two pretty important results from the lab work they did. They also didn't do a thorough full physical/exam with me. I'm not really the secretive type and don't really have a problem sharing what's going on so here's what's up. The pap they did came back abnormal. Also, they found Group B Strep in my urine and if it's not treated, the baby will have it. 5% of babies die from it. I'm not really concerned, but it would have been nice to know so we can get it taken care of! Needless to say, the Dr I previously visited will be getting a phone call from me this morning.

We were there for close to two hours. The first nurse came in after the exam to draw my blood. She was hilarious and so kind. The midwife spent so much time with us, just getting to know us and answering any concerns and questions. She told us to go set up a new appointment (the other office just told us to leave). As we were leaving, everyone came out and said bye. I just wanted to hug them all! I'm really excited to get to know them better and spend more time with them. You can tell everyone really loves there job and are genuinely kind. They really do care about you. Pretty much just the greatest visit experience of my life. I wish I had a picture of my midwife, Jennifer, to show you. I'm sure I'll get a few as the weeks go by.

AND I haven't gained any weight in the last four weeks. HALELUJIA! I honestly thought I gained 7 pounds from my popsicle diet. Only three more days and then being pregnant is supposed to get fun, right?

My Latest Obsession I Thought I'd Share

I've had a lot of obsessions lately. From Pad Thai to Popsicles. Usually they last about a week and I find something new to obsess over. I really hope my latest sticks around a bit. I've been using my down time at work to find different freebies and coupons online and thought I'd share my favorites!

www.hip2save.com

This gal posts her latest finds, and allows guests to post theirs.

www.joysdumbdeals.blogspot.com

This is one of my absolute favorites. She posts her shopping experiences. If she doesn't mention it, she didn't buy it. She also lists how much she spend, the retail price, and what her total savings were.

www.couponmom.com

On here, you put in your location, and it'll give you a list of all the grocery coupons in that area. For Provo, the only ones they have are for Smith's, but still a great deal! Their general idea is that if you use their coupons, it'll cut your grocery bill in half. I don't know about you, but Ross and I can sure EAT, so I'm excited to give it a go and see what I can find.

www.coupongeek.net

This gal posts coupons for both restaurants and grocery items. Sometiems you'll find free samples, or restaurants that are giving out free food.

www.deallocker.com/blog/

Again, this one has free samples and coupons to different stores.


If you're on facebook, if you 'like' some different companies or products, they'll give you coupons for free stuff, too! How cool is that?!
http://www.heyitsfree.net/2009/08/25/current-facebook-freebies/
This site posts different facebook freebies they find. Love it.

I've also signed up on different diaper sites for free samples and coupons. The sites often lead you to different coupons that you might be interested in as well. I heard Babies R Us sends you some pretty good coupons every now and then if you go one their mailing list, but I haven't tried that one yet. Everyone knows I can go on and on about how much I love the free section on KSL, so check that out, too! There's always a lot of animals there, but there are usually some great finds in there, too!

Anyway, so that is my latest obsession, and I thought I'd share! http://picky-palate.com/ This is the other thing I've been drooling over. The recepies are super easy and look so delicious. I haven't been cooking lately, so I can't wait to get my stomach back to get back in the kitchen!

This is why I'm so lucky

My husband's pretty great. And he never makes that face at me. I'd say that I'm pretty fortunate to be married to this kid for ETERNITY and that makes me pretty dang happy.

Wanna know what else makes me dang happy? He served a full time two-year mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in Romania. He always sets such a good example for me and his little brothers and sisters. He's the most kind, patient person I know. I've never heard him say anything mean or negative about anyone. He's pretty great.











This picture is a two parter. I love that Ross reads his scriptures every day. It sets a huge example for me because I really struggle in that area. I also love that he loves his family and always helps them. He's so selfless and really does care about his family. He loves his parents, especially his mom. (And he's not afraid to give her a kiss on the cheek even though he's 22) :]











Wanna know how else he's great? He's the best of friends with his brother. And he's ok with being a little goofy sometimes. The key word is a little. He's sure to give me an age/maturity level check sometimes, but he has fun.







I love that Ross is tall. If you know me, you know I love shoes. Really tall shoes. I can wear my shoes and not have to worry about being too tall. (selfish and bratty, yes) I also love that Ross is active and likes to play. I've had a lot of fun going to different games and being his cheerleader. I love watching him.




Wanna know what else makes me pretty dang happy? Ross always makes time for me every single day. He always does his best to make sure I get at least a little bit of attention, no matter how busy he is. He works really hard at all that he does. Lately, he's been especially busy with school and work. He has NO time but he's always sure to save some for me! He's really great at putting a smile on my face and making me laugh. And he doesn't even get mad when I accidently give him a really bad haircut. He doesn't even care!






This is what makes me the most happy though. Out of the millions of girls, I got to be sealed to this wonderful person. We get to be married for FOREVER. And in a few months he gets to be a dad! How great is that? Yup, I'm one lucky girl and pretty dang happy. I love you husband!

I Just Took On a Midwife

What? Yeah, I just took on a midwife. After talking to a few people and doing some homework, I have decided to go natural. Tuesday I went to my Dr. appt with the OB GYN. I was really grateful to have some questions answered, and even more excited to get to see our baby! The main lab area though, where they check all your vitals, and do tests felt like a kitchen in an apartment or something. When the gal drew my blood, I looked away for the initial poke, but then continued to watch. Blood started spouting from there the needle was and I kind of freaked and the needle fell out. She waits a little, and then goes in again, this time a little higher than before. I decide to not look at all. "Oh no, I think it's going to collapse." A few seconds later... "Yup, I just collapsed your vein." Bless her heart. I hadn't eaten all day and was now spinning and light headed, convinced I'm about to vomit all over this poor girl. I did get a couple granola bars and a bottle of juice though! She decides to just work up a lab order so I can go in whenever I'd like to the outpatient lab area at the hospital. Wonderful. Up until my appointment, I hadn't really made up my mind about how I wanted this whole labor and delivery thing to go down. I've had a lot of time to think and do research and have decided to take on a midwife and do things naturally. I think I would actually love to do it at home, but I wouldn't put the neighbors through that. Maybe someday. Wish us luck!
By the way, this is our REAL sea-monkey. It was 1 inch long, and had a heart rate of 178. We love our little blob and are so glad it is healthy and staying put! It's been quite the adventure so far and we're excited for what's ahead.

Ross is getting the best birthday present EVER!

I probably could have organized this better instead of just throwing random thought on here so we'll try this again. News has been leaking so we figured we'd just come out and clear everything up. Yup, it's true! Ross will be getting the gift that just keeps on giving for his 23rd. Looks like all those hot pregnant mamas from Grandview 2nd and all the cute kids we STARE at during church finally got to us. Our little sea monkey is supposed to be done cooking on November 21st and we couldn't be more excited, aside from the throwing up, becoming the pickiest eater on the planet, and lack of sleep of course. Due to the suddent and constant lack of energy P90X is on hold and will now become my 'body after baby' work out plan. So bring on the chubbs! We do want to have bilingual children so Ross has a little while to brush up on his language skills. He's going to be the Hispanic influence.

Name suggestions are more than welcome. We have a few that we like but we're always entertained by suggestions. Well, at least I am. Among the winners that we've heard is "Rupert".

Epic FAIL.

I kept a surprise a secret for six days. PERSONAL BEST. Usually I just spoil surprises within minutes of planning them. So far in our married career, I have managed to ruin Ross' birthday, Christmas, Valentine's Day for both Ross and myself. This last weekend was supposed to be so impressive, it would have made up for every holiday and birthday for the next year and a half.

MONDAY: I texted Ross and told him that I had gotten a phone call saying we had to meet with the Stake President this coming Saturday at 1:30. It was a lie. A couple Sundays ago, while sitting in sacrament meeting the bishopric kept looking over at Ross, so it was believable. Like I said, it was a lie. There's an Italian restaurant in downtown Provo that we sometimes drive past. We have heard great things about it and have always wanted to try it out.

THE PLAN: When it came time to go to the "meeting" I would give him directions to the restaurant. Then I would tell him that there was no meeting with the Stake President and that I just wanted to take him on a surprise date. At lunch, I would tell him that we were going to see a play. Really though, we'd go do a session at the Salt Lake temple. (the Salt Lake temple does live sessions.) BRILLIANT plan! I was so excited and couldn't wait!

Later in the week, Ross gets a call from someone in the ward asking if Ross and I can babysit Saturday at 6:30, he says we'd love to. To make sure we'd be back in time, I decided I'd have to move the meeting time.

THURSDAY: We were supposed to get a dishwasher. The guy called and said he'd come between 11 and 1. Well, I'd be at work and Ross would still be in class. So, I had Ross give him a call and reschedule, thinking he'd just come at a later time. I get home from work and Ross says he'd be coming sometime on Saturday, and he'd call Friday night to set up a time. GREAT.

FRIDAY: I'VE KEPT A SECRET FOR FIVE DAYS!!! I AM SO PROUD OF MYSELF AND SO EXCITED!!!!!!!

SATURDAY: THE BIG DAY! Ross has a basketball game at 9. I am so excited. Before we left for his game, Ross said our family prayer and prayed that the meeting with the Stake President would go well. He was convinced! Dishwasher guy STILL hasn't called, so everything will work out. While Ross is playing, I pretend to be talking on my phone. During half-time, I tell Ross that the Stake President called and said his wife was in the hospital last night. He asked if we could have the meeting at 11 at his house. Ross was convinced. SCORE.

While Ross was in the shower, I took our temple clothes and hid them in the car. I covered up the shelf where they usually are with a towel so he wouldn't notice something was missing. I got my bag together with a camera and everything so when I'd update our family blog, I'd have pictures and evidence that it really happened.

11:45 Rolled around. Ross was about to put on his tie so we could leave. Then Ross' phone rang.

Ross: "Hello? Yes, this is Ross Loveland. 11:15? Well, my wife and I won't be home, but we should be back about 11:30. Yeah, 11:30. Ok, Sounds great! Thanks so much!"

CRAP!!!!!

So Ross had told the dishwasher guy that he could come at 11:30. I had kept this secret for six DAYS and everything was down the toilet. Ross was all ready to go when I just looked at him, frantically trying to decide if we'd have time to do lunch and make it back before 11:30. Disappointed, I finally just decided to tell him. I looked at him, and said, "Don't bother putting on your tie. There's no Stake President meeting." All week we had been talking about this meeting and how nervous we were and wondering what it could be. Ross just stared and said, "Are you serious?!"

I then told him about my plan. I had kept that secret for SIX DAYS. Needles to say, Ross was impressed and felt special for my efforts.

Dishwasher guy came. e pulled out our dishwasher and told Ross he'd give us time to clean it up. The floor under the dishwasher was revolting. We took out the bucket and Pine-sol and cleaned it. I chose to dump our basket of nasty down the sink. Dishwasher friend didn't tell us he had disconnected the drain. The bucket of nasty was now all under the sink and flooding out from the cupboard. GREAT start to the surprise day alternative.

After the dishwasher was installed and bucket of nasty cleaned, Ross said we could still do lunch. We drove to the restaurant and tried to open the doors. CLOSED till 3 on Saturdays. Whoops.

So then we decided to just walk around downtown. We ate some Mexican and went to a bookstore. It was a HUGE bookstore with a ton of really cool stuff. (like a $1,200 burnt Book of Mormon) There were TONS of super old books and a whole room of just books in other languages. We spent hours there and decided it was our favorite store in Provo.

It turned out to be one of the greatest weekends ever even though absolutely NOTHING went how I had planned. It was fun just walking around, though the salsa at the Mexican place wasn't nearly spicy enough. We would have never discovered that bookstore. I was pretty proud of myself for keeping it a surprise for six days. Though, later I didn't really see the point in keeping it a surprise if nothing worked out. It will be a while before I can out do my personal best. Ross said ti still made up for his Birthday. And Christmas. And Valentine's Day. It was an EPIC FAIL (especially with the Italian place being CLOSED anyway!!), but a really great weekend .

Pumped up and RIPPED.

Well, for the past two weeks Ross and I have been working out. Ross has been doing P90X. Since I'm such a wussy when it comes to working out, I was sticking with the treadmill and Taebo. This week though, I decided to man up and take on the full challenge with P90X. Because clearly waking up at 5:30 in the morning isn't hard enough. After two weeks of treadmills, my pants no longer fit. But we wanted to maximize our results. So according to our fitness goals, we should be looking like this in just a couple months!! The program comes with a nutrition guide, but a girl's gotta eat. I tried it for a day, but after lunch I was starving. We'll have to see if I can actually stick to it. BUT I have found a protein drink that I actually like and that's a start! The ward basketball finally made it to regionals. I guess in previous years, the ward basketball team hasn't been very good. Usually when Ross plays, he gets made fun of for his shoes because they aren't high tops. Someone always warns him he's going to roll his ankle. This week, it finally happened. We thought about skipping church the next day in fear of "I told you so". Kidding. Ross was a trooper, but is now looking at shoes for next year.

Updates

I figured our little family could keep everyone posted on what's going on. Ya know, since we're poor married people and have SO MANY exciting things going on. Ross is now going with Computer Science and still studying languages. Right now he's interviewing for the International Language Program to go to Ukraine and teach English to kids for almost five months next year. I've been working full time at a title insurance company while trying to figure out what to do with my life. In the meantime, I have become a KSL master. We have acquired a piano, treadmill, aerobic rider, P90X, and Jazz tickets. After the Blazers/Jazz game last night, we have decided to potentially become Jazz fans. They were so fun to watch. Especially from out incredible seats in the corner near the top. Ross is playing on two basketball teams this year. (Church ball and IM) So far both teams have a perfect record! One of the rooms in our house is turning into a home gym equiped with weights and pull up bar supposedly to help us with our fitness goals. Ross is much more consistant than I am, but I have decided to go without chocolate for a year and have been flawless thus far. Ross is very supportive and makes sure to enjoy brownies and cake for me.