Sneak Peek

Ok ok I gave in.  Here is a little sneak peek of our nursery so far.  I have so much to do to it and fun little decorations.  Once I finish it completely I will post more pictures of the entire room.  What do you guys think?

WE HAVE A NURSERY!

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas. I know Allen and I sure did. We ended our Christmas today by hitting the day after Christmas sales. Allen was able to get 2 new suits for Church and 3 XBOX 360 games. I am putting my money towards a video camera so I can take videos of my precious baby boy! We went to buy the camera today but they were out, so we will have to go get it tomorrow when the shipment comes in. We finished up the day by putting together our baby furniture in our other room! How fun!

Allen and I got some really neat gifts this Christmas. Allen's parents bought us a digital camera and I am so excited about it. Allen got this really neat wrench thing and some really nice dress shoes. They bought me a velour sweat suit and I sure love it. It is soooo comfy. I also got some new pajama's which I LOVE! I have to brag that I have the most amazing husband. Allen bought me a Kitchen Aid for Christmas, along with my purfume that I have been dying for and some nice slippers. He did soooo good and I just love him so much. Thanks so much honey, you are amazing. I got Allen some new church clothes and socks, a fun game, cologne, some XBOX stuff and a movie. So we had a wonderful Christmas this year and I am sad to see it end. On a happier note, next time Christmas rolls around, we will be celebrating it with a 9 month year old baby!

It took Allen and I about an hour and a half to put our crib together today. We quickly learned that this was one of those times you do NOT read the instructions, you look at the pictures. Luckily our combo table was all one piece, so no assembly needed, and our glider chair only needed a few screws. I have been enjoying sitting in my chair in my baby nursery. I even took a nap on the chair earlier. I am so excited to get some neat decorations for the room, and I have a few projects ahead of me. I wont be posting a picture of our nursery till I get more done to it, so sorry! I am just so excited that my furniture is up and just waiting for the baby! WOOHOO!

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Christmas Eve....crazy eh? Tonight we opened up the gifts from my parents. I got some more of my china and I got some disney movies. Allen got some fun church socks and stuff that he is excited about. We got tons of gift cards, and LOTS of baby clothes. I sure enjoyed looking at them. We have a wonderful collection of baby clothes now...YIPPEE! I sure love our baby. Anyways, we had a wonderful nights with the Bennett's and got some Christmas PJ's. We have to wake up so early for presents. They do presents at drum roll please............. 4 AM! I know, so early! So in a few hours we will be driving to his sisters to open presents with them and spend Christmas together. I sure love Christmas.

Our baby furniture came in last Thursday but they wouldn't unload the dang truck. So finally today we got the call that we could come get our furniture. It sure isn't fun waiting. So on Friday morning Allen and I will be spending the morning putting our baby nursery together. I am so excited I can't even explain! I want Friday to come quicker.

Today I hit my 26 week mark and am officially 6 months pregnant. I cannot believe that I am already that far ahead. Our son is now 14 inches long and loves to play in his mommy's tummy. He kicks, rolls, and stretches ALL day long. He is a very very very active little man. I guess he takes after his Daddy and Mommy. This afternoon he stretched his foot out and I could see my stomach push out really far and I touched it and could tell it was his foot. Oh it was sooooo fun. I just love being able to feel my baby. I just hope I can wait three more months. My email I got from baby center today said that the baby can hear Allen's and my voice. I just so badly want him to come out so I can hold him and kiss him....oh it's KILLING me. My stomach just grew a lot. He must be hitting another big growth spurt because I constantly feel my stomach just expanding and I swear my belly gets bigger every time I look in the mirror. Some days I just look HUGE! I will be posting another picture within the next couple days. I have just gained so much weight so I am dreading taking another picture. Of course I am getting fat because I have been eating WAY too much because of the holidays. Well anyways, there will be a ton of pictures to be posted soon of me and also our nursery....so stay tuned!

Merry Christmas everyone!

SNOW!

I love snow to look at, but I HATE it on the roads. I tend to wreck in snow and it scares me. I absolutely hate how in other states school is closed down, stores are closed...they just close things when it snows. Why does Utah not do any of this. Seeing that Utah has the WORST drivers, you would think they would close things down. I am dreading going to work tonight because I am scared to leave the house. This morning I had to drive something to Allen's work and I about crashed the car. I was just backing out of our driveway in our jeep and it started sliding and I got so close to hitting this light post at the bottom of the driveway. Then my car got stuck and I couldn't pull forward or back up for so long. What the heck? We have an off roading vehicle and our Jeep has huge tires. I shouldn't have that problem, but I did. I am just so scared to leave the house. If I wreck it could put me into labor and that freaks me out. Why can't Utah just close things like other states do. AHHHH! I like snow for the purpose of snowmen, sledding, snowball fights, etc...but when it comes to driving in it, I would rather die.

This morning I did something TERRIBLE that I will never ever do again. Our landlord shoveled the snow on his side of the drive way but it pushed a TONG of snow on our side down the whole drive way. I was scared enough to drive down the driveway, so I shoveled our side of the driveway. I started getting major pains because it was working me body too hard. When Allen found out I was shoveling the driveway he called me and told me to stop and that I was to never do that again. He was right, I should not have done that. I had to leave though and there was way to much snow. What else am I supposed to do. Oh how I hate the snow sometimes....

I am SOOO mean!

HAHAHA! So get this: I signed Allen and I up at the hospital for those prenatal classes. Our insurance covers it and I hear they are really important to go to for your first child. So I signed us up! It is every Tuesday night from 6:30-9:30 for 5 weeks starting February 3rd. I called Allen to inform him and he was not very happy. Oh it was so funny. I felt like I had a crying kid screaming that I was soooo mean. You know how we all used to tell our parents that? Allen wasn't screaming or telling me I was mean, but he sure doesn't want to go to them. Haha, this is all kinda funny to me. Sorry honey!

Christmas Time

I am getting so excited for Christmas. It will be sad that this will be my first Christmas away from my family, but I have Allen and his family, so it's okay. One of the great things this time of the year is all the work Christmas parties. Tonight was one of Allen's Christmas parties. Everyone in the business office at UVU was invited with their spouses to Tucano's for a free dinner. I love Tucano's, so I very much enjoyed myself. It was fun to get out together and have a free dinner at one of our favorite places!

Today I finally finished the nursery wall that I have been working on. I have spent at LEAST 8 hours on it, so it sure has been a major project. It looks great though, so it was worth it. I just got off the phone with Babies R Us to see what was up with our order. To my surprise they said my crib and combo table was already on the truck and it's coming from San Diego. I was hoping it would come in this week and I was right. So woohoo, we will get our furniture within a couple days. I have been working so hard at cleaning out this room. Let me tell you, it is very hard to clean this room spotless and find places for everything around the house. I have piles throughout the house of stuff to sell, stuff to throw away, and stuff to go to DI. My house is a wreck right now. If anyone came inside they would die seeing it all, but I feel great about the mess because I know it's our start of getting it all out.

We have been begging our landlord to get two chairs out of our apartment. They were here when we got here and we can't store them anymore. They are HUGE orange ugly chairs but dang are they comfortable! We have just had them in the other room collecting dust but we need them out. He keeps saying he'll get them out the next morning and he wont show up. It's been about a month now of him making excuses and we are getting very upset. Allen wont even go upstairs to talk to him anymore because he is so annoyed. I am about to open our door and throw them on the drive way. All I know is they better be out by the time our furniture comes in. So there is my venting on the chairs, I am just getting fed up!

The baby nursery...

I sure gave myself one HUGE project. You can't even imagine how big this project is. I can't paint my walls and I want color, so I came up with a solution. I have been working on my main wall of the nursery since early this morning and I am only HALF way done. It sure is a project and also so much fun. I bet you all want to see what I am doing with the nursery....but that will stay my little secret for a little bit longer. :) Well, a few people have seen it so far, but I am not posting a picture quite yet. You'll have to stay tuned!

WOOHOO!

So I have been stressing about our baby nursery! How dumb does that sound? HAHAHA! I just want it to be so dang cute and be such a good expression of how much I love our little boy. I want it to be PERFECT, just like him. I look online like EVERYDAY to find ideas on how to decorate. We can't paint our walls, and I don't want plain white walls, so I have to do something about it. Up until last night I was planning on cutting out polka dots out of vinyl in different sizes and putting them on the wall. Well I found something even better and is more boyish. I will save my polka dot idea for my girl when I have her...or as Allen would say, IF I have her. I am just so dang excited for the nursery to be DONE. I haven't even started it. I am cleaning it out and have stuff ordered for it but haven't yet started. I am really hoping that Monday and Tuesday I can tackle the walls and get my vinyl idea up and done. My in-laws are coming to Utah this year for Christmas and I think our crib and combo will be in by then. I would just LOVE to have the vinyl on the walls and have some of the furniture in so that they can see part of the nursery. Wouldn't that be just great to have it all done and out of the way so I don't have to stress about it anymore. I know its dumb for me to stress about this, but hey, nothing is too good for my little son! :)

Some people sure know how to make you feel awful!

Like I posted in the previous post, we are preparing our second room for the baby.  I posted our computer desk and my craft table on KSL.  I thought it would take awhile to sell like most things do, but I sold them both within a couple hours.  It sure is nice to be able to make room for this baby.  So here comes the story:

Our computer desk was wonderful.  I LOVED it.  Here is a picture of our old desk:

The desk was great. It is HUGE and was so spacious. The only problem with it was that it was a little wobbly. It wasn't terrible at all and besides that is was in great shape. I seriously had about 15 calls on the desk within the first couple hours. Allen and I posted on KSL that it was only $25. Who wouldn't want the desk for $25 right? So we had some people who came and looked at the desk and then we got this phone call. It was a man and he said that he wanted the desk. I asked him if he would like to come look at it and he said no. He said that he had a truck and would come pick it up and didn't care to look at it first. I had explained on the ad on KSL that it was a little wobbly, and I confirmed on the phone that he knew that. He said yes. Well the desk is HUGE and isn't brand new, so Allen and I spent awhile taking the desk apart and keeping all the pieces together. If we didn't take the desk apart it would have broken in his car seeing that it isn't new and perfect. So the guy comes to our house and I explain to him that we took the desk apart for him for easy travel and that we kept all the pieces together so it could easily get put back together. He handed me the $25 and I said thank you. Allen helped him load the pieces into his truck and off he went. This was yesterday. Well today I get this NASTY email from him:

"Your computer desk that you guys sold me was a piece of S***! I don't even know why you guys took it apart cause i told you i had a truck. The metal pieces that were suppose to go in the wooden holes were messed up! They were recently glued together which you guys already know and when i tried to put the desk together the metal pieces started to fall apart! What a waste of my time and money! I hope you guys have a great Christmas with that 25 bucks!"

I cleaned up the swear word for you but he actually said the real word in the email to me. I am soooo upset. The desk was great. It wasn't crappy and it wasn't falling apart. We had so many people who wanted the desk and we could have sold it to ANY of them. We sold it for such a great price. I just can't believe that this guy had the nerve to buy the desk, not even wanting to look at it first, and we help him out, and then I get this nasty email back. I wish we sold the desk to someone who would have appreciated it and not make me have a horrible night now. Thank you guy who was a JERK!

Last night...

Last night was so much fun.  Allen and I went to Babies R Us to order our crib.  He was so funny in the store.  I watch him sitting in the glider chairs, being a goof, running off with the strollers, cracking jokes.  Such a hoot!  The lady who was helping us was laughing so hard at him sometimes.  Well we were planning on just ordering our crib last night but we walked out with much more fun stuff as well.  We ended up picking out our crib mattress, and getting our bedding, and also buying our travel system.  She totally convinced us into getting this WAY nice Chicco system that is just so cool.  It has so many mor functions than the other stroller/carseats.  We ended up getting the one that is Brown with an Orange Trim.  It wasn't our favorite fabric choice, but with all the features, we fell in love!  It was so much fun going there together and buying stuff for our little baby boy.  You should have seen us in the car with all the stuff we bought last night.  We fit it all into our 2 door Honda, and Allen and I could barely breathe.  It was so funny driving home and being so cramped...but anything for our little baby!  I can't believe how much of our baby stuff we already have bought.  We still have another 3 1/2 months to go, but hey we will be prepared! :)  We still don't have any clothes for the little guy, so we need to get on that.  Actually we have two little clothes that my sister bought me, but besides that we have NOTHING.  I started posting our stuff in the second bedroom on sale.  We need to get this stuff out so that we can make room for baby.  Our crib and combo should be here by Christmas so I want to have this room cleaned out so we can start setting up and decorating.  I am having way too much fun with this and can hardly WAIT!  I can't stop dreaming about our son...I dream about him everynight.  He plays around in me a lot and it makes me smile and laugh.  I just can't even express enough the love I already have for this baby.  It is absolutely unbelievable!  

I'm obsessed....

...with my husband and my son!  I just wanted to let you all know.  I just can't get enough of them...

So So FUN!

This morning I went and ordered stuff for our baby nursery!  It was way to much fun to go and order the stuff.  I ordered the glider chair and a couple pieces of furniture because some of them can take up to 14 weeks to come in...so they needed to be ordered.  There isn't many of the combo tables left in the warehouse so I ordered that as well so we make sure to have it.  It will be coming in within the next couple weeks which means I need to start clearing out our second bedroom.  We were going to wait awhile longer to order our crib because we don't really have room for it yet, but it is on sale right now for $60 off.  And when I was paying for stuff today they gave me a 20% off coupon that is only good for tomorrow night, so Allen and I are going to buy it tomorrow.  We will save a grand total of $160 just off our CRIB.  How cool is that.  So the crib will be coming in within the next couple weeks too.  I am just so excited to start getting ready for our little baby boy.  I really had so much fun ordering stuff today for the nursery.  I really just want the glider chair right now so badly but that will take up to 8 weeks to come in, so I am going to have to be patient.  I think that chair will be a major life saver come the end of the pregnancy and I am so uncomfortable.  YAY FOR BABIES!

The feelings I feel...

Maybe I am just weird, I don't know if everyone feels this, but when you poke your belly button do you get this tingly feeling?  Well, I do.  I hope thats normal.  Well ever since the baby has become more active I keep feeling that same tingly feeling over and over again.  I swear my baby is playing jump rope with his umbilical cord all the time, or so it feels!  He is so funny!  Last night I was laying in bed on my side and he kept doing something that was tickling my inside.  He kept doing it over and over again and I just kept laughing!  Sometimes I sure love feeling him move, but other times I get annoyed because he tends to always want to play when mommy wants to sleep.  Cute little boy!

New Layouts

I've posted a few more backgrounds on my site so check them out.  I am hoping to get a few more Christmas ones on there within the next few days and then I am going to move to basic all year round backgrounds.  Check it out.  I hope you enjoy them!  

SpecialMadeDesigns.blogspot.com

Launching website!

So I have had a lot of emails about my few blog backgrounds I have made, so I decided to go on and open up a blog for my free backgrounds.  Allen is going to KILL me when he reads this because he says I have too many blogs, which I do.  But hey it's fun!  So if you want to check out my website it is SpecialMadeDesigns.blogspot.com

I have had a lot of fun making the website and I sure hope you enjoy it.  I have like 5 Christmas backgrounds on there and will start making many more, so stay tuned for more.  I have complete intructions on my site of how to add them as your backgrounds.  Tell me what you think!  And tell me if you use one of them! :)  

Brand New Layouts

This morning I have been making new Blogspot Backgrounds. Here is a few I made this morning. As I make more, I will post them. If you want to use any of them let me know and I will tell you how to get them. Tell me what you think!

OH PLEASE?!?!?!

I just got back from my doctor's appointment, and let me tell you...I AM NOT VERY HAPPY! I had an appointment 4 weeks ago and as of that appointment I had only gained 2 pounds. Well I stood on the scale today and I have gained 8 pounds since the previous appointment which puts me at 10 pounds so far. YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME! How does someone gain 8 pounds in 4 weeks? I guess by eating a ton...which I sure have done. I just don't get full anymore. I am always hungry. The doctor walked in the room and said, "Hello Whitney, how are you today?" and I replied, "I was great until I stood on that scale!" He laughed and brought over my chart. He said, "What are you talking about? You could not be any better than you are right now. Last appointment you were under your weight that you should be at and you are perfectly on track!" OH BROTHER! You can't tell a woman that it's good to gain 10 pounds. I know that I should have and that some of it is the weight of the baby and stuff but it still SUCKS! I want to lose weight, not gain weight. So I guess the next few weeks I am going to be really good at not eating so much. I don't want to gain more than 2 pounds at my next appointment. I am going to start exercising! :)

So this morning has been so great. For as long as I can remember my family has always made English Toffee at Christmas and then started making caramels too! The last few years I have made it by myself since I no longer live at home. With today being my day off and having NOTHING to do all day I decided to start my annual Christmas candy making.



Here I have one batch of English Toffee and one batch of Caramels! Oh they are so yummy. I only make these once a year, so it sure is a treat when I make them. So I have one batch of each down, and many more to go! Oh I just love this time of the year! :)

Christmas at the Bennett's

The day after Thanksgiving we went and bought our Christmas tree. We really, really, really struggled with that and I can't stress it enough. Allen and I both come from families who had LARGE Christmas trees, like 15 foot ones. It was hard enough to buy a small one, because it just seemed dinky! Well besides that obstacle, Allen and I have very different taste in trees. For him, the less branches the better, and my family we like it to be a little bit heavier. We don't like the extremely bushy ones, but we like it a little fuller. After a long time, we found one that was right in the middle and that we both agreed on. As you can see it fit PERFECTLY into our home. The top is about 1/4 inch from the ceiling! :) I think the tree ended up being 8 feet. As soon as we got it in our house, it didn't seem very dinky and small anymore! We had been collecting ornaments and stuff for our tree for about the past month so that we were ready to go the day after Thanksgiving. We will need to invest in a tree topper and tree skirt next year, as you can see, we don't have one this year. So for our tree topper we just tied a nice bow out of ribbon. I think it works great! It was so much fun putting up our tree together. Now my family has a little tradition...when we put up Christmas decorations, we listen to the Chipmunks CD. It has been something I have done since I was a little girl. Well Allen hates the Chipmunks with a PASSION, so I put on my Christmas music on shuffle on my iPod so that we could get a little bit of everything. I am sad to report that we did not get to listen to the Chipmunks because every time one of their songs came on, Allen would switch to the next song. So so so sad! Hopefully as our kids grow they can stand with me and vote that we keep the Chipmunks on. We'll see how that goes.

Another difference with Allen and I is that my family puts the presents out under the tree right away. It is so pretty to look at the tree for a few weeks with presents all wrapped under there. Allen says the presents don't go out until the night before. There is another thing that I am going to HAVE to win on! So as I am buying the presents I am wrapping them and putting them under the tree. He already has finished shopping for me and refuses to wrap them and put them under the tree. So I guess only the ones I buy him are going to go under there! :( Right now I only have two, as you can see in the picture. I very badly need to go get him more gifts. I am just waiting for us to get paid next and then Allen will have many more presents. YAY FOR CHRISTMAS!

Lots to catch up on.

So much has gone on in the past few days! I am so glad that this week is finally almost over, although it has been very fun. Wednesday we celebrated Allen's birthday. His Birthday was actually Thursday, but since it was Thanksgiving, we decided to do it the day before. We both got home from work and then went to Chili's for dinner. The is Allen's favorite place to eat, he could eat it 24/7 and be happy. So we went out to dinner and then came back home. His family came over and we opened presents. I made him a BYU blanket and he LOVES it. I also got him a nice football for him to play with and a season of Seinfeld. He got some cards in the mail from my family so he opened those and his sister Maria gave him a Fudruckers gift card. (That is his next favorite restaurant so he was so excited!) We all had cake and ice cream, and it was a nice fun night. The next day we woke up and Allen went and played football for a couple hours, came home and showered and then we went bowling. That is one of my family traditions. We ALWAYS go bowling on Thanksgiving morning and it worked out great because one of Allen's favorite things to do is bowling, so he got to do it on his birthday. We had a huge dinner that was sooo delicious and we sat around for the rest of the day. It was such a nice relaxing day. Then the next morning I had to be at work at 5:45 in the morning for black friday. Wow, that is way too early for a pregnant woman who is sick and can't sleep. It was HORRIBLE. But work was fun and went by really quick. Then that night which was last night, we went and bought some lights for our christmas tree and then we went and picked out a christmas tree. We went with his family go get a tree and it was so fun to see Abby's (my niece) excitment about the trees. It sure is fun having a little kid around who just loves everything about the holidays. They picked out their tree and Allen and I picked out ours. It was very difficult to buy our tree because Allen and I were both raised with our trees being like 15 foot trees. We had to buy like a 7 foot tree so it could fit in our apartment. It is just so weird to have a small tree, but I guess we will be having small trees for many more years until we own a house with vaulted ceilings. We came home and put on Christmas music and decorated our first tree together. It was such a fun night but I was so tired from being up all night. This morning I had to be at work at 6:45, not as early as the day before but still WAY too early. Now I am home from work and I am so so so tired from everything that has been going on. It sure wipes you out!

22 weeks along (5 months)

At 11 inches (the length of a spaghetti squash) and almost 1 pound, your baby is starting to look like a miniature newborn. His lips, eyelids, and eyebrows are becoming more distinct, and he's even developing tiny tooth buds beneath his gums. His eyes have formed, but his irises (the colored part of the eye) still lack pigment. If you could see inside your womb, you'd be able to spot the fine hair (lanugo) that covers his body and the deep wrinkles on his skin, which he'll sport until he adds a padding of fat to fill them in. Inside his belly, his pancreas — essential for the production of some important hormones — is developing steadily.


I cannot believe how big our little baby is getting! My stomach sure has grown some more and my belly button is starting to flatten out. Before, I had a huge hole and now it is starting to flatten. The baby kicks a lot and moves a ton. Sometimes one side of my stomach is higher than the other and when I touch it, it is rock hard. It so fun to be able to see where the baby is in my stomach sometimes. Nobody told me that your belly gets hair when you are pregnant. I HATE IT! I mean its not like thick hair or anything, but I never had hair on my stomach before. Oh dear! I have gotten to the point where most of the time I can't get up from sitting down. Allen always has to help me up now off the couch now. I look like an old lady trying to get up and it takes so long. He is so sweet about it because I don't even have to ask for help anymore, he just does it. He is getting really good at seeing what I need and helping me out. And when I stop and hold my stomach he goes, "ARE YOU OKAY?!?!" It is so sweet. I just love how he notices all the little things now. I sure appreciate him. Well the pregnancy is going well. I get to start ordering some of our baby furniture within the next couple weeks. I am so excited to start getting ready for this baby. I just love him so much!

Twilight!

Allen and I saw Twilight on Saturday night. I didn't know what to expect of the movie. I did really enjoy watching the movie, but I was also really disappointed. I felt as if the movie was really choppy and would move so quickly from one scene to the next. But then again, how in the world are you supposed to fit a whole book into one short movie. I know that they can't show everything but I wish they showed more. I felt like sometimes during the movie, the acting wasn't very good, although I believe they casted the characters PERFECTLY! I was so happy with their choices of the characters. At times I felt as if it looked like it was a low budget film, but other times it was AMAZING. I LOVED LOVED LOVED the fight scene and the baseball scene was SO AMAZING. When they were playing baseball and having fun I leaned over to Allen and told him I wanted to be apart of the Cullen family! :) HAHA! I was soooooo surprised how different the movie was from the book though. I kept hearing from everyone that they followed the book perfectly but I found myself CONSTANTLY through the whole movie going, "That didn't happen like that," or "They really messed up the sequence of that." But as a whole I did really enjoy the movie. On the drive home I was telling Allen so many things about the movie that bothered me because they changed scenes COMPLETELY!

Allen the whole time before the movie came out, swore he would NEVER read the books. Finally after awhile I found out he would go see the movie with me so I was so excited. The whole time during the movie I would look at Allen and he seemed as if he was bored watching the movie. But when we got home from the movie he was so anxious to read the first book! HAHAHA! We got home at 1, so he couldnt start it, but he woke up at 9:30 and got dressed and ran out of the house to go borrow it from his sister. My husband is SO adorable. I just love him so much. He read a ton of the book last night and I asked him if now he understands why the movie was driving me nuts. He said, "Yeah, they changed a lot!"

So now my adorable husband is into the whole Twilight thing he swore to never be apart of. I do recommend everyone to see the movie. You just have to keep in mind, how can they fit a whole book in one movie? They cant. And that is what you get. The end!

A sad sad story...

Today I called my mom to talk to her. She informed me of some horrible news. There was a family that I knew from back home who had something so horrible happen to them. I know a lot of you know this family and for those who have not heard, it is Mark and Susan Lee. Some of you know this family by their girls, Erica Lee and Lexi Lee who attended the singles ward back home. They are such a loving and wonderful family that I have always LOVED. They are so caring and do foster care. They have taken in so many kids and are truly a great family.

They moved from Mukilteo to Arlington about a year ago and purchased a home that was larger and they could take in more foster kids. Well late last night their house caught on fire and burned completely to the ground. Eight out of ten of them made it out of the house. Unfortunately two of the foster boys, ages 11 and 12 were stuck in the house and did not make it out. How devastating would that be to lose children in a house fire, to know of how much they suffered and the pain they felt. My heart is just broken for them! For those who would like to read more about the story go to http://www.komonews.com/news/34929894.html#idc-container.

This family does not deserve what happened to them last night. It is such a sad story and my heart is broken for them. Please everyone remember to keep the Lee's in your prayers!

I am dying!

Oh wow...I cannot even describe what I am feeling. I was at work and towards the end of my shift I started feeling pains in my stomach. I had sneezed and then after the sneeze my stomach felt as if I had spent the last 45 minutes doing sit ups. It just felt so sore. Then it started getting worse. By the time I left work I was in so much pain. I just feel as if I am going to explode, well like my stomach is. I don't like this pressure and pain. I don't know what it is but please, please, PLEASE go away. I can't even explain the feelings my stomach is experiencing. OUCH! Somebody please help me...

21 week picture

OH YES!

Today I actually feel cute! :) It's the first time in a very long time I have felt cute. When you are pregnant you just don't like to look in the mirror, even when your stomach hasn't started growing, because you just feel gross. This morning I woke up early and I did my hair and make up and put on some nice clothes. I just feel GOOD! I don't know why I feel so good today but I just have so much energy. I sure hope this lasts longer than just today. I went out today and wasn't totally embarrassed. Normally I want to hide my face and pray that I don't run into anyone. Not today. Oh I sure hope this lasts!

Up until today I have felt like I have gained 20 pounds being pregnant. But every time I went to the doctors and got weighed that wasn't so! As of my last appointment which was 2 weeks ago, I have only gained....drum roll please.....2 POUNDS since I've been pregnant! Amazing huh? I have been reading on the internet that by now most women have gained an average of 10 pounds, I guess I have just been lucky. Its amazing that the scale says that when I feel like everything has gotten bigger, which I KNOW my stomach has. But hey if that's what the doctors say that I weigh, I'LL TAKE IT! I know that my next appointment I will have gained much more weight because I have been eating TERRIBLE the last 2 weeks.

Anyways, I am just so grateful for how I feel today. I haven't felt so good in SOOO long. Oh please last...

For all you TWILIGHT lovers...

I get to go see twilight this weekend for FREE! HAHAHA SUCKERS! Don't be upset.... :) My work does movie nights twice a month and this Saturday is Twilight. I get to bring as many family members as I would like! :) So I ordered 6 tickets and I am going to bring some of my in-laws. The lucky people who get to go are Scott & Maria, AJ & Katie, and Allen with me! HOW FUN! I am just so happy that I get to go opening weekend and I don't have to pay for it. The movie is at 9 at Thanksgiving Point and they are doing free give aways at 8:30 for people at my work. Oh I have the best job. I just love my job so much because everyone gets along. There is no gossiping at my work and everyone is so friendly. I just LOVE my job! I can't say it enough. So don't be jealous that I get to go for free, and you all have to pay! HAHAHA!

Tonight we are going to Tucanos for dinner. I LOVE EATING THERE! It is one of my favorite places to eat, but it is just too dang expensive. ($20/plate) Well they do free dinners for birthday people if you sign up. So this is the second year we get to go for Allen's birthday for free! Of course I still have to pay for my meal, but 2 for 1 is a great deal. I know its not Allen's birthday yet, but it is in about a week. Allen's and AJ's birthday are a couple weeks apart, so we are doing dinner for both of them in between. So yay for TUCANOS!

I LOVE YOU!

So today I got off work at three. I drove up to the house and Allen was waiting for me outside the house in our jeep. He rolled down the window and gave me a big smile and then said to get in because we were going out. It was so fun to be surprised like that. He laughed at me as I attempted to climb into the Jeep. (and yes I said climbed) For those who haven't seen our Jeep it has HUGE tires and is raised. I never had troubles before getting in the car but now it is nearly impossible to get in with being pregnant. So after I finally got in we went for a nice drive and talked. We went and got some YUMMY sandwiches at this delicious place called Zubs in Springville. Then we went looking around for some Christmas ornaments for our Christmas tree this year. We went to the quilted bear and they had some that we really liked. Then we went across the street to the Provo Towne Mall and walked around together. It was so much fun. We just walked around holding hands and laughing and looking at fun stuff. We both pointed out some stuff that we would like for Christmas to give eachother some ideas. I fell in LOVE with this black purse and I sure hope I get it. Allen really liked it too! We went to the cologne counter and smelt like EVERY one and by the end I was feeling dizzy because of all the scents. Boy was it fun though. We went to the food court to share a drink, and we got a frozen cherry lemonade from Hot Dog on a Stick. It was YUMMY! Then we came home! It was just so nice to be surprised like that and go out together and share a wonderful night. Thanks so much honey! You are so wonderful to me and I love you so very much!

New Recipes

I have posted a bunch of new recipes all this week and hope to continue to post a few more in the next couple days so check them out. :)

Newborns

I constantly lay there and wonder what our little baby boy will look like. I sure hope he doesn't look like I did as a baby because I sure was NOT cute. HAHAHA! Here is my newborn picture:

Oh this picture makes me laugh. I have the biggest cheeks and the squintiest eyes. But no matter how our baby looks, I know I will just love him with all my heart!

Half way there!

So today I have officially hit 20 weeks and we have 20 more weeks to go...so I am HALF WAY THERE! It's so funny how at the beginning of my pregnancy, 20 weeks felt so far away and I didn't think I would ever get there. Well here I am and now I am like, "Why was I so anxious to get to this point?" It's not like it changes anything but I was so excited. Now I am thinking, will I ever get to 30 weeks? That feels so far away too but I hope it goes by quick. I think the next two months at least are going to fly by because of the holidays and stuff. So yay for being half way done. It's amazing how people say you should feel great your second tri-mester! I had such an EASY first trimester and as soon as I almost hit the second one it started becoming a struggle. My second trimester has been filled with throwing up, not sleeping, HORRIBLE back and stomach pains, being put on bedrest, bleeding, terrible head aches, and just being too dang uncomfortable. So many of my friends who are pregnant feel great in their second trimester and it sucks to know I am just getting worse! I guess I will ignore what the books and the doctors say about how I should be because I am not following the trend. At least I know that the baby is still healthy and moving around a lot. That gives me so much comfort. For those who have never been pregnant let me explain something. Before you feel the baby, you stress EVERY DAY that you have lost the baby. You just hope and pray that he is still there. Right before your doctors appointments you get so nervous that something isn't right, but as soon as you hear the heartbeat, your worries go away. (For that moment at least!) But now that I can feel our precious boy, I get that reassurance every time he kicks that he is still alive. It sure is great to feel it!

WOOHOO!!!!

ALLEN JUST FELT THE BABY KICK!!!!!!  :)  I am so so so excited.  Yesterday I started feeling the baby move around like I said in the previous post.  Well last night the baby started really kicking more and it was so cool.  I bet the baby has been moving around like this for awhile but I haven't noticed because I have been so busy.  Well with having the last 2 days off of work I have been able to relax and I have really felt the baby.  Once you recognize what it feels like to feel the baby, so start noticing it more often.  Last night as I would lay there they baby was kicking a lot and stuff.  I didn't think Allen was going to be able to feel it for awhile though until the kicking got stronger.  Well I was just laying down on the couch with my hand on my stomach enjoying feeling my baby.  Allen kept reaching over and putting his hand on my stomach to see if he could feel it and he couldn't.  Well on about the third time of him trying, the baby kicked and he said, "WOW I FELT THAT!"  I was so excited to know he can feel the baby too.  I can't explain how special that moment was for me though!  I have spent the last 20 weeks experiencing the baby alone, and finally he can too!  It almost brings me to tears to think about it.  Allen was so sweet today and kept putting his hand on my stomach over and over again without me asking him to.  Its great to know that he wants to feel it as well.  It is great to know that now he will be able to experience part of the pregnancy along with me for the next 20 weeks.  I love you Allen!

And the baby moves!

Today is a great day for some reason. I woke up and I slept pretty well last night. It took about and hour and a half to fall asleep because I had so much on my mind last night. It was fun to just lay there and think and listen to my husband asleep! :) But once I fell asleep I slept pretty well. Today is my day off and I am really enjoying sitting around today! I was just sitting here at the computer reclined in my chair and I felt something in my stomach. It was a feeling that I know that my stomach could not make by itself and I know it was our little baby boy! Oh how fun this is. Something moved in there and I kept feeling it over and over again. It sure is pretty neat. I am sure it wont be very fun when you feel it all day long and feel him kicking you like crazy, but for now I will enjoy this! :)

Totally humiliated!

About 2:30 this afternoon I started feeling really dizzy and like I was going to throw up. I was supposed to be at work at 3 so it wasn't good that I was getting sick then. I called work and asked then if maybe I could come in at 4 instead of 3 so I can take some medicine and lay down for a little bit. They were really short handed so they told me I still had to come in at 3. I was feeling really dizzy at work so they gave me a stool to sit on at the cash register. 6:30 rolls around and it was time for my break, so I went to the break room to eat. I was taking my last bite of my food and all of a sudden I knew what was about to happen. I threw up everywhere. Now when I throw up I start crying so hard and I start sweating like CRAZY. My whole body heats up and my face gets really red. Right when I was about finished throwing up a girl walks into the back and screams, "ARE YOU OKAY?!?!?!" I probably looked really weird with my face sweating and everything. (Luckily I didn't cry this time because I held it back since I was at work) They sent me home from work to rest and I am so completely humiliated!

A morning without your husband!

Its so boring sitting at home by yourself! :( Allen had to leave this morning to meet up with the Young Men to collect food for a food drive or something like that. Then there was something after that I didn't know about. I think it was some kind of run to collect money for a girl or something. I don't know, I may be completely wrong cuz when he told me it was so quick I didn't understand. And then there is the BYU game. He called me and asked if I wanted to go to his uncles house with his family to watch the game, but I had to work at three. So he went to the game and I had to stay behind! :( I don't even like watching football, but I don't like sitting here alone either. But it turned out okay because I had something to work on. Allen's birthday is coming up so I had to figure out some presents. (Which is so hard to do for some reason) Well I am making one of them and I can hardly wait to give it to him. I started it yesterday morning before work and then I got to work on it today. Obviously I can only work on it when he isn't home, so I can only do little bits at a time. Well, I have almost finished it now but put it away to work on another time. Now I get to get ready for work and pack a dinner for my break. Oh, I am so excited for him to have this present I am making...I sure hope you like it honey!

Oh the pain...

I open my eyes at 8am disappointed because of lack of sleep. I can't remember the last time I slept through the night, it certainly was awhile ago. I am so tired and my body can't move. I make my way out of bed and struggle just walking out of the bedroom. I hear my husband in the front room, "What's wrong?" I must have looked drugged or something. I feel my body just dragging along the floor as I am attempting to walk. My stomach hurts, and hurts bad! I am holding my hand on my stomach, my bump that just aches. "I just hurt...", I respond walking into the bathroom. Shortly after he left for school, I put some clothes on and drove to get some things I needed for his birthday present. I started the present and then looked at the clock. I had to hurry and get to work! I walk into work and instantly I wanted to go home. I knew today was going to be long because of my body. Customers after customers walked through the line. "Can I get the coupon on that?" "Where are your magnets?" "That was supposed to be 75%off" "Where's the bathroom?" Today just isn't a good day. I am told that I am the last one to get a break today. WHY? I need to sit down, I can't even stand. Finally 2:00 rolls around and I tell the customers that my till is closed and that someone else can help them as a try to hustle into the back room. The whole way to the back I get stopped every few feet, "Where are your ribbons?" "Will these pencils show up on wood?" "Is this on sale?" "Where can I find..." I just want to go on break! After 30 minutes sitting at the table in the back enjoying my salad and relaxing, I clock back in and make my way back to the register. I stood there customer after customer in horrible pain. My back was burning in pain, my feet felt swollen, my lips burning from being chapped, my stomach going CRAZY! All day I felt as if my belly was just growing. There was so much pressure and it wouldn't stop! I realized that if I hold my hand under my stomach that the pain would be minimal, so I tried to hold it every chance I could. The entire day I felt like I would collapse and fall asleep on the floor. Every employee left for the day and I was still there. Oh how badly I wanted to leave too. I watched new employees get there for the new shift and I wanted to leave, but I was there for another two hours! The pain was coming on even stronger! I look at the clock at 4 to find that I still had one more hour of work...NO WAY! I didn't want to be there one more minute. I felt like 30 minutes passed by and glanced at the clock. It had only been 5 minutes. That last hour was killing me. Finally it was 5 and I hurried to clock out and get home. Once home I felt so much better but as the night is progressing, the pain is coming back. I have no strength in my body. I am sitting here at the computer now typing this post and just trying to get through the day. I think I am going to go take a nice bath, put some warm pajamas on and some chap stick and go cuddle with my husband under a blanket and watch a movie as I fall asleep in his arms.

I will wake up in the morning the same way and then go to work again. Oh the joys of being pregnant, and the sad thing is I know this is just the beginning. There is much more and much worse pain to come. It is amazing what we do for our children, and I wouldn't trade this in for anything!

Feelings

I thought a lot yesterday about our new President elect. Let me start off by first saying that I don't think it is good having him in office! But putting that aside I feel so blessed to be apart of this history having our first black president. How amazing is it that they went from not being able to vote and be around whites, not too long ago, to being our President. I think that it is absolutely AMAZING and I am so proud to know the America has been able to elect a black man as our president. I am sad though that he does not have our same standards and morals. It would be even more amazing if he had such great morals and was black, but unfortunately that is not the case. I am truly scared for what America is becoming and what it is going to do to us having Obama in office. After a lot of thinking I realized there is nothing we can do about this situation. America has voted and even though we don't agree, we have to support him because we are obligated to as an American citizen. I know a lot of people will argue that with me, but I feel like we have an obligation to support our leaders whether we agree with them or not. It's like getting a new bishop, we may not agree with who is called, and we may not like him, but we still need to support him. We all need to remember that even though we do not like the new President, God will always have control. So, lets put our faith in God and do everything we know is right. I hope I haven't offended anybody by this, but its how I feel.

Now moving past the whole election topic, it snowed yesterday and HARD! I woke up and had to take almost 2 inches of snow off my car. I am frightened by driving in the winter. I wreaked my car BAD once on the ice, so every winter I get frightened again. I do love getting snow, but I hate driving in it. It is a love/hate relationship! :)

I absolutely love my job! It is seriously the best job I have ever had. It is so close, so I don't have to drive far! :) My managers are the sweetest most loving ladies and they are so kind to me. The girls I work with are the best! The customers are always so happy and is just makes work so enjoyable. They are so great to me about me being pregnant. They don't like for me to lift anything or so anything that could put strain on my body. How wonderful it is to work in such a professional environment. I sure wish I started working here before because I am just so happy everyday because I just LOVE my job. I can't say it enough!

Anyways, enough of me going off on nothing! If you want this recipe for this breakfast casserole

that Allen and I had this morning, go to my recipe blog. I posted it today. I hope you all have a wonderful day!

Our precious little boy!

I had my ultrasound today and I sure enjoyed it. A few weeks ago our baby was measuring a little large but not anymore. She said he is measuring perfect and is measuring 18 weeks and 6 days, WHICH IS WHAT HE IS TODAY! So that is great news. From head to toe the baby is 8-9 inches long. His heart beat is 140 and the average is 120-160, so more good news. She said his brain looks great and that his heart is nice and strong. Looking at the ultrasound she said that my placenta has completely moved up and I am no longer low-line and is no longer a concern for me! :) Everything is going just wonderfully with the baby and I sure love him so much!

As for the pains I was having last night she said not to worry about them too much. The first pains I was having she said was a pinch in my sciatic nerve and that happens as everything is stretching. (So you were right one Jaclyn!) The other pain that I was having in bed later she said was like a muscle spasm in my stomach or something like that. I don't exactly remember what she said about it but that sometimes it happens when you are pregnant and maybe are getting a UTI/bladder infection. They had me do a pee test to see if I had one and I didn't, and they said it could be caused if I did a lot of movement that day. I guess I am still stressing out my body too much!

So the baby is healthy and doing just wonderfully!

Today has finally come...

...and I wish it would go away! Today is the big day. I cannot believe that we will have a new elected president. I am so very scared. I am so scared for what America has become and what it will become. It scares me to be bringing a child into the world with how it is becoming. I don't feel like either of these candidates are going to help this situation and are suited to be President. I personally feel as if we are doomed no matter what. I know we are heading towards a second great depression and that just scares me. Something has got to change and change now before this gets out of hand. I feel so blessed that Allen's and my jobs have not been effected yet by this economy. I have so many friends who have lost their jobs and I know how hard it is to find good jobs right now. Too many good people are losing their jobs and their houses! I am also so scared to know the outcome out Prop 8. I don't want to get into this issue because I know it is a touchy subject for some individuals, but I will say, "WHAT IS THIS WORLD COMING TO?!?!?!" It just really scares me!

I guess all we can do at this time is fast, pray, and go to the Temple often. We just need to put our faith in the Lord, and everything will work out!

On a happier note, I have another doctor's appointment. We are having our ultrasound appointment today and boy am I happy and excited to see our little precious baby moving around. I just cant express enough how much I already love this little boy! Last night he sure was hurting me bad though...but I still love him. For those who have been pregnant before, can you tell me if this is normal: Last night I was getting the WORST pain in my lower stomach above my left leg. I felt like I kept having a muscle spasm or like a sharp thick needle was poking me deep inside. It kept happening like every 5 minutes for awhile and then when I laid in bed and tried to roll over it was a constant pain to where I couldn't even roll over because I couldn't move. I don't know what I was feeling last night but it sure wasn't pleasant. I don't know if that is normal or a big concern or not. So if you could inform me that would be great!

Oh yeah I also posted a new recipe this morning. Its a pasta dish. Quick and easy!

What's for dinner TONIGHT?

I posted a new recipe that Allen and I had for dinner tonight. It is a recipe to DIE for. Allen and I sure love it so make sure to check it out. There is a link to my recipe blog in the right side column under the "My Blogs" section. You must try it out. It is such an easy recipe. ENJOY! :)

I can't believe it's NOVEMBER already!

The end of the year is approaching us FAST! I can't even believe that it has gone by so quickly. At work we already have all of the Christmas stuff out. For anyone looking for way cute Christmas decorations COME TO ROBERTS! I am so excited to get a few things. Last night was a lot of fun. Allen and I just sat around together. He dressed up and I did not. We passed out candy to the kids who came by and surprisingly there were a lot of them. We didn't know how many kids we would have but I was pleasantly surprised! After passing out candy we went to Maria's house and watched the last two Offices we missed. It was just a nice relaxing night...and I have to say...my niece Abby was so stinking adorable. I don't know how you can get any cuter! Here were Allen's and my pumpkins from last night:

Allen's was the one on the left (the little devil kid or whatever it is) and mine on the right (the witch one). Allen's was falling apart because he had it out in the sun and it ruined his pumpkin. We tried to save it by using a toothpick to hold the mouth part together...as you can see the mouth ended up a little demented! But oh well! It was a fun Halloween together!

This morning I got a phone call from Roberts and one of the girls was really sick so they asked if I could come in. So I worked this morning from 11-4. It was nice to get out of the house. I picked up some extra shifts next week and I am working so much. I hope my body can handle it by the end of the week. I am now working on Saturday from 9 in the morning until 10 at night. KILL ME! I hope everything will be okay.

My belly is getting rounder and it sure is starting to make me hurt. My back has been killing all morning. I love to just lay down and rub my hand over my belly and try to feel the baby move or something. I felt a few things last night but it wasn't strong feelings. It sure is fun to know there is a baby in there and that its growing SO much! :) I just love our little boy so much. We have our ultrasound on Tuesday morning and I am dying to see the baby again and see him move! That will be a blast!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

I hope everyone has a great day today. Allen and I had some plans for what to dress up as this year but that didn't end up happening. So, Allen wore his costume from last year and I am not dressing up. It's weird to not dress up but I have a belly now so it made things more complicated. Well, let me introduce my husband, the pirate!



I woke up this morning and put on some face makeup. I put facial hair on and scruffed up his face with brown face makeup. He also put tooth discoloration stuff on his teeth so they are all rotting looking. It's kinda gross up close. Oh I also put black eye liner around his eyes....kinda scary to look at your husband like that.

Now he is at school and work until 5 and I am going into Roberts today at noon for a little halloween party for the employees. Tonight Allen and I are going to spend halloween together tonight passing out candy. We will probably only have our niece come by but we got a bag of candy just in case we might have more. I dont think we will but its better to be safe than sorry! :)

So that is our plan for today. Are any of you doing anything fun?

I am such an emotional mess!

It is amazing how emotional you get when you are pregnant! Little things tick you off or make you cry and you just can't help it. Well last night Allen and I went to Target because he needed to exchange something and I went off into the baby section! I found the cutest little footie PJ's that were so extremely soft. It was baby blue and had little basketballs, footballs, and soccer balls printed really lightly in the fabric. It also had this cute little dinosaur with a basketball and then in the upper right hand corner it said "Dads most valuable player". It was so cute and I just fell in love. I could totally picture our little boy in it! Well I grabbed one that was for 0-3 months and headed over to find Allen. I was hugging it so close to me because I didn't want to put it down. This is how our conversation went:

Allen: What is that?
Whitney: (her face is perking up and holding up the PJ's) Look at these cute PJ's!
Allen: Hmmm....
Whitney: Look, it says dads most valuable player (pointing to the saying and tears start to flow!)
Allen: Are you crying? WHY?!?!?!
Whitney: I just fell in love with it and it is making me so anxious for our little boy!
Allen: You know you are going to have to put it back!
Whitney: WHY?!?!?! I love it and it is soooo soft. It's only $7.99 and we haven't boughten anything yet for our little boy. Don't make me put it down, it's going to break my heart.
Allen: Go put it back Whitney.
Whitney: Can I at least carry it around with me until we leave? (So sad and holding it close to my body again)
Allen: Sure but you look like an idiot carrying it around like that


So as we walked around I carried it with me close to my body. As we got to the cash register I looked at the lady and handed her the baby PJ's and said, "My husband is being mean and not letting me get this so we don't want it." She looked over at Allen and he said, "What? I know she is going to come back next week anyways and come get it without me knowing!" I smiled and then as we were leaving the lady said to me, "See you next week!" and she had a big smile. Hahaha...it was so funny. In the car I promised Allen I wouldn't go get it until he gave the okay for me to. So he said maybe when we get paid next I can go get it. Oh I want it so bad! It is so soft and our baby will LOVE it! I know I would! :)

This morning I was supposed to have our "BIG ULTRASOUND" appointment. It wouldn't be so big for us though since we already know the sex, so it would just be for pictures and to see the size and see how my condition is getting. Well it was at 9:30 and since we already found out the sex Allen wasn't going to come since he has work and school. Well I set my alarm last night and went to sleep. I wake up instantly when I realize it is to light outside to be the time I set me alarm for and never heard it. I quickly glance at the clock and it was 9:30 on the dot. I MISSED MY APPOINTMENT. I was supposed to be there right then. I about cried because I was so excited to see our little boy moving around again and to get more pictures. I messed up on setting my alarm! :( So I called to doctors and the next appointment they have is Tuesday at 11:30. So I will be having my appointment then! Man, I was so so so bummed. Why do we get so emotional being pregnant. Its crazy!

18 weeks

"Head to butt, your baby is about 5 1/2 inches long (about the length of a bell pepper) and he weighs almost 7 ounces. He's busy flexing his arms and legs — movements that you'll start noticing more and more in the weeks ahead. His blood vessels are visible through his thin skin, and his ears are now in their final position, although they're still standing out from his head a bit. A protective covering of myelin is beginning to form around his nerves, a process that will continue for a year after he's born. If you're having a girl, her uterus and fallopian tubes are formed and in place. If you're having a boy, his genitals are noticeable now, but he may hide them from you during an ultrasound."




I seriously hate that until 20 weeks they only measure from head to their butt. Why dont they include the legs? His legs are long so they would add so much length to the measurement. I guess they only count to the butt because the legs are bent and stuff. Its awesome to know though that my baby boy is 5 1/2 inches from his head to butt...because really he is way longer than that. Its CRAZY to know I have a baby inside of me. My belly is getting big enough to were I dont know were to put my arms. Its so funny! So last night I felt this weird feeling in my stomach and I am pretty sure it was the baby, but cant be positive. I guess I wont really know its the baby until I start feeling it more often. That's twice now that I have felt something in there but I am not counting it to be the first time I felt him because i am not positive!

Today was my first day back at work. My body is KILLING me. I worked an 8 hour shift standing at a cash register all day. So doing that right after being on bed rest for 3 weeks really kills. I work 7 hours tomorrow night and then I am off for the rest of the week. It will be great to relax over the weekend.

Well things are going well in the Bennett house. We have carved our pumpkins and are so excited for the holidays. Allen's birthday is on Thanksgiving this year so that will be fun. This year Allen's family is coming up here for Christmas so that will be great! It will be nice to work and not have to ask for it off. This is my first year away from my family for Christmas so it will be different, but I am very excited at the same time to spend the holidays with the Bennett's for the first time. Allen is going to school and working really hard between 2 jobs. He is such a trooper and I am so proud of him. Besides that nothing new is going on. I am just anxiously waiting for our little boy. We have so much more to go...almost half way! :)

Maternity hunt

Today was soooo much fun.  I am off bedrest so I am able to walk around and go shopping and stuff.  I haven't bought new clothes in who knows how long...besides a couple maternity shirts and a pair of maternity pants a few weeks ago.  So besides that I probably haven't boughten new clothes in ages!  Well, the great thing about your belly popping is that you don't fit into your clothes anymore so you have to go shopping.  All day today I drove around and went to I swear everystore that I thought would have maternity clothes.  I am sooo suprised how many department stores do NOT carry maternity clothes.  Did you know that Dillards, Mervyns, and Sears do not carry maternity clothes?  I was shoked!  Anyways, I found some really great deals.  My favorite deal was at JCPenney's.  Right now they have all of their maternity clothes as "Buy 1 get one for $0.88"  Wow, it was great.  So I found some way cute shirts and pants today.  I even found a nice black skirt for church!  I went to motherhood maternity last because I hear their shirts shrink...and I found the dang cutest pants.  I cannot express to you my joy! :)  They also had this cool pregnant belly thing for you to put on under your clothes.  It is to show you how big you should be in like 3 or 4 months so you can make sure the clothes you are going to buy will fit through the pregnancy.  When I put that belly on, I about had a heart attack.  It is so weird to see yourself with such a big belly.  Anyways, after a long day of going from store to store I now have 5 more shirts, 2 more pairs of pants, and a church skirt.  I was so happy with my purchases.  I hit great deals and they are all really dressy clothes so I feel really cute.  When Allen got home from work I had a little fashion show and showed him my new clothes and he really liked them all.  Boy was this a great day.  Tonight we are going to carve pumpkins and make carmel apples.  Yummy!  For those who didn't see my pregnancy picture I posted, it's in the previous post.  I look a lot bigger in that shirt than I really do.  So I guess I should take some more pictures in a fitted shirt so you can really see.  Well, enjoy!

Pregnant Picture

As promised here is my first pregnancy picture. I dont know where this baby bump came from because I swear I didn't have it a few days ago. Yesterday it seems like I woke up to a belly and then I woke up this morning and it was even BIGGER! Holy cow now I look huge. Anyways, there is my baby bump...I guess our little boy just had a growth spurt! We love him already! :) I am almost 18 weeks in this picture...

Tired as can be!

So here's a little bit of an update of the last few days. I finished the "Twilight" series. I finished the fourth book on Friday night. Man was I bummed that my Edward and Bella life was over. Those books sure are great...I kinda wish I didnt read them so quickly. I finished all 4 books within a week. I am so proud of myself though because I hate reading. I was surprised that I finished the fourth book in one day (mind you, the fourth book is 750 pages.) I have never read so much in my life!

Allen had a little "campout" last night with the Young Men. Well it wasn't really a campout, but whatever! The church rented a cabin up in Park City for the Priest group and they made plans for future activities. I guess they made Pizzas for dinner and breakfast burritos this morning. He got home this afternoon and I was so happy to see him! I just love when my husband comes home!

Today was such an eventful day and I am so tired. It wouldn't be eventful for the normal human being, but seeing that I've been on bedrest the past 3 weeks, doing ANYTHING wipes me out! It was our nieces third birthday party today. Man was she adorable. We just LOVE her to death. Here is a little picture of her so I can show everyone how spoiled I am for having the cutest niece around:

She is just the cutest thing around and the most perfect little girl. It sure is fun to have her in your life! She is always so happy and constantly doing the funniest things. I just love how she makes you laugh always and you cant help but smile. Whenever you walk in the room her face lights up and she gets so excited to see you. Even though her birthday was officially this past Thursday, HAPPY BIRTHDAY ABBY! WE LOVE YOU SOOOO MUCH! She had a strawberry shortcake birthday party and she was just adorable!

After the birthday party we went with Allen's family to this corn maze place here in Orem. We went last year as well. It is so fun to walk around and see Abby playing. They have all sorts of stuff there and it is fun. Then Allen and I went to pick out pumpkins, but couldn't find any there that we really liked. So we drove to Albertson's and we each picked out a pumpkin to carve. The plans were to carve it tonight but I was too wiped out and started feeling sick. My stomach was KILLING me because I was walking around so much. So when we got home I took a little nap. I guess tomorrow will be pumpkin carving time....and I am going to take a picture so everyone can see me pregnant. My belly is starting to grow! WOOHOO!

Addiction...

I AM DYING! I just finished the third book today. Man does each book get thicker and thicker...this one was over 600 pages long. I never would have thought I would read such big books and read them so quickly, but I am ADDICTED! I could not put this book down. Oh it was so good. After reading the last paragraph of this book I just got so restless. I HAVE TO READ THE FOURTH BOOK! Allen's sister is letting me borrow it. All I have to say is I am not ready to finish reading this series. I dont want my life with Bella and Edward to end. I want to read about them forever. I think Allen is ready for me to be done so he can finally have his wife back. I have been neglecting him because the books are just so good. I am sorry honey. For any of you out there who have STILL not read these books, you have to. You wont regret it. We have a month until the movie comes out so GET ON IT SO YOU AREN'T MISSING OUT!

Okay I am done...now I am just waiting patiently! :)

17 weeks today!

"Your baby's skeleton is changing from soft cartilage to bone, and the umbilical cord — his lifeline to the placenta — is growing stronger and thicker. Your baby weighs 5 ounces now (about as much as a turnip), and he's around 5 inches long from head to bottom. He can move his joints, and his sweat glands are starting to develop."


Man these emails are starting to get shorter and shorter each week! :( Oh well. I have been really uncomfortable this week. My stomach has funny pains and I just hurt always. Poor Allen has to keep listening to me say, "MY STOMACH HURTS!" and he just replies, "What else is new?" Poor guy. When I lay down flat on my back I feel like my baby sinks into me and it just hurts. I lay on my side and my side aches. I hear from everyone that's its time to get a body pillow. I am just so uncomfortable...

New Moon

So I finished the second book today. I wont say anything about any details of this book for the sake of those who have not read them. This book took longer for me to read. I was able to put it down. I am not saying that it wasn't interesting, it just wasn't as good as the first book. I still really enjoyed the book, so don't get me wrong, it just had its ups and downs. I have mixed feelings, a lot of frustrations, and a lot of questions. After about the first 100 pages or so I didn't want to continue reading the book. But after many people telling me that I had to continue, I did. It took a day for me to pick it back up, but once I did I was very glad. All I have to say is WHY?!?!?! Everything in this book I keep wanting to scream WHY?!?!?!?! I know that the third book is amazing and very interesting like the first (at least that's what I've heard.) I know that the third book will answer a lot of those "WHY" questions and I just need to get on it. So here I go... ECLIPSE HERE I COME!

So cute!

I love love my nephew so much. My sister Ashlee had Peyton in April. He is just the sweetest little guy and so adorable. It just makes my day when she posts new pictures of him. We don't get to see him because they live in Virginia. Well she posted these pictures today and I decided to scrapblog them. Isn't he just the cutest? I love his little butt in that picture of him by the tub! :) It makes me so anxious for our little boy to get here!

I DID IT!

Yes everyone I have some great news. I know I am late in the game but I finally started reading



I know, I know...some of you HATE these books because of how Stephanie Meyers writes, but most of you love it. I think everyone in the world has read the whole series except for me. Well, being on bedrest was the great time to start. I am the slowest reader in the world and I HATE reading with a passion. Surprisingly I started the book at 3:30 PM and I closed the book when I was finished at 4:00 AM. I know it took me a long time to read because I suck at reading. I absolutely LOVED the book. Even in high school when we were reading a certain book in English and required to read the book, I refused. I NEVER READ because I absolutely HATE reading. I would just read the cliff notes and call it good :) Well I am in love with these books. My sister in law Maria is letting me borrow the first three. I am going to be finished in no time...

Thanks for the date night!

So my doctor said that after a week that I could leave the house for a minimal amount of time as long as it wasn't strenuous and that I wasn't on my feet for a long period of time. I have been locked up in this boring house now for a week and a half and couldn't handle it anymore. Allen has the night off so we had a little date night. We just made dinner at home and then he took me to Babies R Us. OMG I had such a blast. I have been dying to go to see my furniture in person. I saw the furniture online that I wanted and when I saw it in person I was in LOVE! It is just so gorgeous and the furniture is HUGE! It is so much bigger than the other furniture in the store. It doesn't look big in the picture but it is very LARGE. Allen really liked the furniture as well so that is what we will be getting. So here is another picture of the furniture we are going to get:



Oh I just love it so much. I showed Allen the colors I was thinking for our nursery and he thought that it would be great. So our colors are going to be Brown, Cream, and Baby Blue. I don't want to do a theme for the room like some people do...I just like plain colors. Since our furniture is so dark we are going to just stick with cream bedding and then accent with blue and cream throughout the room. I was looking at some picture online at some baby rooms and saw the decorations for this nursery and I love it!



We cant paint in our apartment so I was thinking about maybe getting brown, cream, and light blue vinyl and cutting out polka dots to put on the main wall that the crib will be on. I wanted to bring in some colors on the walls so that it isn't just plain white and I think this is a great idea to do it. I haven't cleared it with Allen yet, so I guess he will find out when he reads this post! :) So what do you guys think?

After we did some planning at Babies R Us, Allen took me out for ice cream at Sub Zero. For those who haven't had it...it is the best ice cream in the world. You choose your base, whether you want non fat yogurt, custard, etc...and then you choose your flavor ice cream. They have seriously like 50 flavors ice cream and then you choose a topping for a mix in. The ice cream is just a liquid in front of you as they mix it together, and right in front of your eyes....THEY FREEZE IT! It is the coolest thing to see your liquid you picked out freeze in front of your eyes. I chose Chocolate fudge with skor bar pieces and it was the best ice cream I have ever tasted. We will for sure go back again. For those living in the Provo/Orem area, YOU MUST GO! So yummy. So thanks Allen for the wonderful date night. It sure was fun planning for our little boy! We love him already! :)