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! :)

I LOVE PACKAGES!

So last night I got a package from my sister Ashlee who lives in Virginia. I opened it up and inside there was some cute baby clothes for our boy. Oh I was so excited. They were so cute and I was so so so so happy. We haven't gotten any clothes yet so this was our first. The fabric is so soft and I can hardly wait to see our baby in them. One says "I love mommy" and one said "I love daddy". The daddy one just melted my heart. I think Allen thought I was going crazy because I couldn't set them down. I just had to keep them with me and hold onto them! I just love holding them and looking at them. It is crazy to know that our little baby is going to fit into those little clothes! :) I can hardly wait for him to come. Thanks so much Ashlee, I love them a lot! Thanks for making my night...

Im on here too

So i thought i would suprise everyone and my wife i posted something yay! for me um mmmmmmm..... i really dont have much to say but go cougars yahoooooo!!!!!!

Baby Blog

For those who don't know, I have a baby blog. I am using this as my pregnancy diary. Each post is kind of like a letter from us to our son explaining what is going on in our pregnancy. I write about each doctors appointment and will post every ultrasound picture as we get them. I try to talk about what the pregnancy is like for us to give you and our child an understanding of what these 9 months are like (well obviously only the good stuff...I don't want our son to know the bad stuff!)

Today I changed the background and designed a header for the top! I also added a new post! So there is a link to it in the right side column under the sections labeled "My Blogs", or you can CLICK HERE to get to it!

16 weeks and counting!

"Get ready for a growth spurt. In the next few weeks, your baby will double his weight and add inches to his length. Right now, he's about the size of an avocado: 4 1/2 inches long (head to rump) and 3 1/2 ounces. His legs are much more developed, his head is more erect than it has been, and his eyes have moved closer to the front of his head. His ears are close to their final position, too. The patterning of his scalp has begun, though his locks aren't recognizable yet. He's even started growing toenails. And there's a lot happening inside as well. For example, his heart is now pumping about 25 quarts of blood each day, and this amount will continue to increase as your baby continues to develop."




So our little boy is growing so big! I absolutely love getting these emails. I can't believe I am already 16 weeks. So up until 20 weeks the way they measure the baby is from head to their bum...not to their feet. Once I hit 20 weeks they start measuring from head to toe. So our baby from his head to his butt is about 4 1/2 inches right now, but really he is a lot longer than that because of his legs...I dont understand why they dont include the legs. So I wonder how big our baby really is! :) It is so much fun. Stay tuned for some pregnancy pictures. As soon as I get the energy to get ready for the day I will post a picture! :)

It's called the awkward stage!

So you know when you are a little girl and everyone hits that awkward stage? Things start changing on your body and you feel uncomfortable. Everyone seems prettier than you and you so badly want to fit in. You try a little bit of makeup and try doing your hair. No matter what you do its just awkward. Well you don't know you are awkward until you look back and you say, "WOW!" Well this happens to almost every girl growing up when they hit around 10 and it lasts a couple years. Everyone goes through it. Well, people don't tell you this but you hit that awkward stage again in your life. It's when you get pregnant.

I have been in this awkward stage for about the last month and I just can't seem to get out of it! This awkward stage hits when your stomach tightens up and gets rock hard. Your belly grows a little bit but not a ton. You get this awkward looking gut that you can't suck in anymore because your stomach is so hard. Your normal clothes are too tight and uncomfortable, but maternity clothes are too big! You just can't find anything to wear, and you don't feel cute. You do your makeup and hair and you just feel gross. You've gained some weight but people don't know you are pregnant. It's just AWKWARD! Most women get in and out of this stage very quickly because one morning their belly just "POPS" and you start looking pregnant. I have been waiting for this pop and it just isn't happening. People keep telling me that I should be grateful that I haven't popped yet but I am not. I am so sick of this stage. I just sit around in my husband clothes because they are loose on me and I can get comfortable. I just want out of this awkward stage.

What do you do to feel better? What can you wear? How do you get comfortable? I have decided that there is no answer to that question. My sister in law Maria told me on Sunday that I probably just hide my belly differently because I am so tall. Short people tend to just stick out because there isn't anywhere for the little guy to go but straight out. For me there is more room I guess...but still I want to feel cute being pregnant. It makes sense that tall people can hide it better but I don't want to hide it anymore.

How do you get out of this stage? Any suggestions would help so please keep them coming...

We will name our son:

Everyone has been asking us if we know yet what we will name our little boy...and we do! So I thought I would announce that we will be naming him Riley. Allen wanted to continue the tradition in their family, which is him, his dad, and grandpa all have the same first name. Most people don't know this of my husband, but his first name is Jerald, and he goes by his middle name Allen. So the tradition will be continued to the next son, so his full name will be Jerald Riley Bennett. He will be known as Riley, so please don't refer to him as Jerald! :) We are very excited about the name and I am so grateful that Allen and I don't argue about the names. We both love the names that each other loves so it works out great! So Riley it is!

Oh this is wonderful!

Today we slept in until 10:00. It felt so great! I was so amazed that Allen slept that long because he doesn't like sleeping in. So we woke up (well because the deacons came by to collect fast offerings...otherwise we could have kept sleeping) and had a nice morning together. It was great to have some alone time together all morning! Lately he has had to pick up extra shifts since I cant work. He is such a trooper and I love him so much. So this morning we cuddled for awhile and it was so nice to just lay there together. Then we did the laundry together which was greatly needed. It was just so nice to spend time together...and then he had to leave for his church meetings. He had 2 before church and then all of church...and I am just sitting here. My doctor instructed me to not even go to church for 3 weeks...I think that is crazy. It was General Conference the week before so then add three weeks to that and I wouldn't have taken the sacrament then for a month...we can't have that! So we will see if I stay home for three weeks or not, I want to get out and at least go to church!

Maria (Allen's sister) invited us over for dinner tonight! That was so sweet of her since I am not supposed to be up cooking. It will be nice to have a good meal tonight because I have been dying for one. Thanks Maria we really appreciate it a lot!

I talked again with Roberts on the phone and told them what my doctor said. My doctor said that it would be okay for me to continue there after my bedrest since it isn't strenuous on my body. I thought they would fill my position in the meantime but the Lord sure is blessing Allen and I. My manager said, "Ok we will see you in 2 more weeks then!" Oh I was so happy that I didn't lose that job. So in two weeks I get to start working there again, but I am finished at The Pizza Factory. The doctor said that it wasn't good to continue there and that it could cause harm to the baby. So first comes mine and my little sons health, so I am finished. It is really sad though because it is s great job. So goodbye Pizza Factory!

Also in the previous post I posted a pic of the baby furniture I am thinking about for our little son. Tell me if you like it or not. As for nursery colors I was thinking about baby blue, brown, and cream...but Allen doesn't like it. Any other suggestions?

Baby Furniture

I've been looking at baby furniture and I think this is my favorite!  It is the crib, the 4 drawer dresser, and a dresser/changing table combo. What do you guys think of the 3 set of furniture?

Tagged again by Casey

8 things I like a whole lot
- Anything that has to do with art.  I love doing ceramics, drawing, painting, scrapbooking, etc.  You get the picture.  I am kinda an art nerd.  I haven't been able to do much with art since I moved from Washington because I didn't have the space, nor the time.  I guess since I am on bed rest now I have time! :)
- I absolutely love more than anything when Allen laughs.  When you tickle him he lets out this laugh that you never hear.  It is my FAVORITE.  When I hear it, it just makes me day!  Love ya honey!
- Craft stores.  Roberts is my favorite store.  I love every section of craft stores!  Right now they are especially fun because they have their holiday decorations out and they are so neat!
- When the seasons change.  I am always ready for the new weather and colors of each season.  By the end of each season I am just so sick of the cold or heat and am ready to move on.  My favorite season change is from summer to fall.  I just love it so much.  P.S. We are supposed to have the first snow fall today on the ground...we've had it in the mountains but not here yet!
- I love my son!  I love reading updates on him each week.  I love holding my hand on my stomach and knowing that he is in there.  I love hearing his heart beat and I love watching him move around in my stomach in the ultrasounds.  The joy and love you feel is amazing and UNBELIEVABLE.  I can hardly wait to start feeling him kick and to hold him in my arms.  I just love him already!
- Mexican food!  I can live off of it 24/7 and be perfectly happy.  Beans and rice are just so dang good!
- Naps.  Well until this bed rest thing I loved them...now they just suck!  But I know I will love them again once I can leave this house
- My husband!  I know, I know...it's annoying hearing how much people love their husband.  But I love the way he is.  He makes me so happy and I couldn't imagine being without him.  When he walks in the door each day from work I get so excited and just want to hug him.  He is just so great!

8 words or phrases I say often
- "Are you done YET?!?!?!, I am SOOO bored!" (When Allen plays his Xbox)
- "I want cheese" (lately I just cant get enough, I love eating string cheese and those Tilamok cheddar sqaures!)
- "Is it bedtime yet?"  (every night when I want to go to bed and Allen isn't finished watching tv, and everynight it ends up me going to bed by myself and him coming in hours later)
- "I love you!"  (I say it a million times a day and I think it annoys Allen...haha)
- "I HATE THIS BEDREST THING" (and Allen responds always, "sorry but get used to it!"....what a stinker)
- ok thats only 5, I couldn't think of anymore.

8 things I want to do before I die
- Go skydiving but Allen wont let me
- Have lots of children/grandchildren to love and spoil!...ok I dont want to spoil my kids but I want to spoil my grandkids! :)  HAHAHA!
- Probably go on a mission with Allen when we are old
- Travel around the world to some cool places
- Move away from Utah! HAHAHA.  :)
- I agree with Casey on this one: Make a difference in the world…somehow. How? I do not know.
- Watch my children grow up righteously and marry into the Temple.
- Memorize what temperatures I need the oven on for each meal so that I don't have to call my mom everytime! :HAHAHA.  One day I will get it mom...

8 things I've learned in my life thus far
- Everything happens for a reason and Heavenly Father has a plan for us.
- Always treat adults with respect
- You always get caught lying...so just don't do it!
- Without an education, you get nowhere in life.  
- Your family will be there for you when no one else is.
- Always save your 20% off coupons from Bed, Bath & Beyond that you get in the mail, because you can use them all at once in one purchase and get all your items for 20% off!  SERIOUSLY!
- Actions speak louder than words!
- Don't be afraid to give people compliments when they come into your head.  You never know when they are having a bad day and you saying something nice can change everything for them.  

8 places I'd love to visit
- Seattle everyday of my life!
- England
- Argentina
- Hawaii
- New York.  I have been there once and it was awesome!
- Australia
- Egypt
- Paris

8 things I currently need or want
- My baby
- Food storage to protect my family
- Money.  We are broke since I cant work.  I need maternity clothes but we just cant go get any.
- I want to own a house so that we can do whatever we want to it and have a lawn and a garden!
- ONE good pair of shoes.  I need a pair to last me through the winter and to be comfortable for me while being pregnant and on my feet.
- The money to go grocery shopping and actually get stuff to make good food.  
- Something to keep me busy while on bedrest.  I seriously can't do this anymore!
- I want Christmas to come sooner.  This will be Allen's and my first Christmas together.  I am so excited...

8 people I tag
I dont care.  Whoever wants to do it can

I had another Dr appointment today!

This morning I passed what looked like a very LARGE blood clot and I called the doctors to make sure it was okay, and of course they wanted to see me. Allen brought me to the appointment and they did an ultrasound. They said my placenta has started to move up already which is GREAT! They said hopefully everything will be normal in a few weeks. They printed off a picture of our babies little face...it's fun to see but it sure looks like a skeleton...its kinda scary. Those big black holes are his eye sockets and you can see his mouth and chin. So here it is:

A funny evening.

Well, even though I am bored out of my mind sitting at home everyday, I had a funny eventful night last night. We needed groceries BAD...I mean we were completely OUT! My doctor told me I couldn't go grocery shopping and that Allen would have to. But we figured it out. Allen and I drove to Target and I hopped on one of those motorized carts and Allen about died. It was so funny. He was so embarrassed to be walking around with me. He kept telling me, "SIT UP YOU LOOK LIKE AN OLD LADY!" Hahaha, it was sooo funny! So I just drove around and pointed to stuff on the shelf we needed and Allen took it off the shelf and put it in my basket. The funniest thing was when I would back up...IT WOULD BEEP! Oh it was so so so funny. I am glad I got some good laughs in me because I sure needed that. So I guess when you are lonely and on bed rest, riding around in one of those motorized carts is the cure! I had a blast.

Some good and bad news...

I met with my doctor today. We talked about what happened the other day and he is very excited that my bleeding hasn't occurred all day. He said that is a really good sign that the bleeding hasn't gotten worse. He told me that there is a really good chance that the placenta will move as it grows in size and we will just have to wait and see. Instead of having our 20 week ultrasound where we were supposed to find out the sex of the baby, we are having it in 3 weeks (at 18 weeks along). During that ultrasound we will be able to see if my placenta has moved up and see if the baby is still ahead of schedule. The hospital said he is growing ahead so we will see how the progress is in 3 weeks. He checked the heart beat and he said that the babies heart beat is still very strong, which is also a good sign! :) So the good news is that the doctor is happy with the bleeding not occurring, the baby is still fine, and that he has high hopes that the placenta will move. Here comes the waiting game to see... :(

Now for the bad news...I cannot lift or do ANYTHING whatsoever for at least a week. If I do anything at all besides stay laying down, the bleeding could happen again and could cause some problems. After a week, I can do VERY minimal activity. He said I could leave the house after a week but still cant lift anything and cant be on my feet for very long. I cannot go to work at Roberts for a good 3 weeks because it is considered too strenuous on my body still. I am sure Roberts will just fill the position with someone else because thats a long time away. As for my job at The Pizza Factory, the doctor said that it would not be good for my situation to continue waitressing. There is too much walking and carrying things and it could cause harm to myself and my baby. So my waitressing days look to be over for now. I am hoping to be able to pick up shifts every once in awhile though once the baby comes so that we can get some extra income. I am really bummed because it looks like I am now going to be unemployed. I sure don't know what Allen and I are going to do, but I know the Lord will bless us. We are supposed to bring this blessed boy into this world and I know we will be blessed through our struggles. So I am on bed rest for at least three weeks, and at that point we will see if it has progressed.

So that is the update. Our baby boy is still healthy and we will know more in 3 weeks...until then, I will be BORED stiff at home. KILL ME NOW! :)

An insight on my bed ridden days...

For those who don't understand why I am on bed rest, I talked about it in the previous post. Wow, today has been really rough. Normally on my days off I love sitting around all day being lazy...but when you are forced to do it, it is miserable! I sure don't like this bed rest thing and it is only day one. The earliest my doctor could squeeze me in is tomorrow, so I am really hoping that I will be able to get some more answers about my situation. As of now, our little baby boy is still okay and we are all just praying it stays that way. I feel so lucky to know this early what we are having because I have so many friends who are pregnant and still DYING to know. My bleeding has continued today but it is very little. Hopefully it will just stop...

Since I am on bed rest I obviously can't work. The Pizza Factory has been so great about everything and I feel so grateful that my manager Hillary is helping me out. All of the servers have been so great at taking my shifts and texting me to see if I am okay or if I need anything. Thank you all so much. As of right now I asked Hillary to take me off the schedule till things get better. The hospital told me last night that with my situation it will be very dangerous for me through my whole pregnancy and I shouldn't be serving. I am going to speak to my doctor tomorrow and if he tells me I am done serving, then that's how it is going to have to be. I am really sad though because I really like my job and wanted to continue serving up until I deliver. But if it is going to be dangerous for me and the baby with the situation, then it just isn't worth it. We will see...

As for Roberts they were also so great with everything. Seeing that I just got hired and only have worked 3 shifts and they didn't even know I was pregnant, they took it great. I told them that the doctor has put me on bed rest and I am not sure when I will be able to work and that I understand if they need to hire somebody else. My manager Karen was so great and told me to relax and take it easy. She told me to describe my work duties there to the doctor and see if that will be okay for me to continue there. So tomorrow I will know so much more. If I can't do either jobs anymore through my pregnancy I will have to find a desk job where I just sit there. If anyone knows of anything let me know because I may be needing a new job. I will be SOOOO sad if I have to leave Roberts because it is seriously such a fun job. I enjoy working there and everyone is just so nice. It sure is fun to work there during the holidays because of all the decorations...it just makes me so happy.

So all day today I have just laid on the couch and watched TV in Allens clothes. I love wearing them because they are big on me and so comfortable. I am so lonely all day because I just lay there bored stiff! If anyone has any ideas on what to do....PLEASE LET ME KNOW!!!!

On a happier note, I am 15 weeks today. Here was my email for today:
"Your growing baby now measures about 4 inches long, crown to rump, and weighs in at about 2 1/2 ounces (about the size of an apple). She's busy moving amniotic fluid through her nose and upper respiratory tract, which helps the primitive air sacs in her lungs begin to develop. Her legs are growing longer than her arms now, and she can move all of her joints and limbs. Although her eyelids are still fused shut, she can sense light. If you shine a flashlight at your tummy, for instance, she's likely to move away from the beam. There's not much for your baby to taste at this point, but she is forming taste buds. Finally, if you have an ultrasound this week, you may be able to find out whether your baby's a boy or a girl! (Don't be too disappointed if it remains a mystery, though. Nailing down your baby's sex depends on the clarity of the picture and on your baby's position. He or she may be modestly curled up or turned in such a way as to "hide the goods.")"


Haha...I already know the sex of the baby so I am already ahead of this email. Well like I said in the previous post the hospital measured the baby in the ultrasound and our little boy is growing ahead of schedule. This means that he is BIGGER than the apple. :) They said the doctor should be moving me up ahead about a week so I will maybe find out tomorrow. I will let everyone know how everything is going and keep you all posted. Thanks so much for your concerns and love. It sure has helped a lot!

Baby complications...

Tonight was one of the scariest nights of my life. All day everything went great. I woke up, went to work...nothing different from normal. Well around 5:00 today I went to the bathroom and noticed that I was bleeding. Not just a little but a LOT! I just started bawling and tried calling Allen. He was on his way home from work. Poor guy walked in and I was sitting on the couch just a mess! We hugged and he was so sweet. Then we called our doctor and asked him what we should do. He said that since I am in my second trimester and with how my pregnancy has been going so far that he had some concerns. He told me I needed to get to the ER right away and get checked out and have an ultrasound. I went and got in the shower and then we went over to my sister-in-laws house so that my brother-in-law and Allen could give me a blessing. The blessing was so sweet and it really calmed me a lot! We went to the ER and we were seen right away...it was great to not wait! They did a pelvic examination and said everything seemed to look okay but that I needed to get an ultrasound. YAY for my first ultrasound...but I wasn't very excited for it because I didn't know if my baby was still alive or not. They wheeled me away into the ultrasound room and right away we saw the heart flickering in the picture. Tears of joy ran down my face because I hadn't miscarried. We watched our baby and she measured everything. She said with how the baby is growing it looks like the baby might be about a week early. So we may be having a March baby instead of April. I am 15 weeks tomorrow and we weren't going to be able to find out the sex of the baby until 20 weeks...so 5 weeks away. I asked the doctor if they could tell if it was a boy or a girl, and she looked....

I know you are all wanting to know what we are having.....soooooo......

We are having.......

...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...

!!!!!!!!!! A BOY !!!!!!!!!!

Oh we are so excited! Allen and I were both hoping for a boy so we are just so dang happy! The doctor said that I am still at high risk for miscarriage because of how my placenta lays over my cervix and there is a tare in my placenta. So I am now on bed rest until directed otherwise. This is really sad seeing that I just started my new job a few days ago and now I cant work. I sure hope they are going to be okay with anything. If you all could just keep Allen and I in your prayers that would be great. I am going to stay off my feet for awhile and pray and hope that everything goes well...

What's for dinner tonight?

Go find out! I posted two recipes today on my recipe blog. I posted our dinner from tonight and another one that's a great recipe for this season! Enjoy!

***For those who don't know about my recipe blog, there is a link to it in the right hand column under the list "My Blogs"

Ladies Night Out

So last night I didn't get to go out for Ladies Night Out because I had to work at Roberts. Let me tell you, that store gets CRAZY on Ladies Night Out. For those who don't know what Ladies Night Out is let me explain. Twice a year we have what is called General Conference, where the members of the church get to hear from the general authorities in our church and listen to their counsel. Well on General Conference weekend there is a Priesthood session that all the men in the church get to go to...and while the guys are gone all the girls go out and do something fun. Well, hopefully I explained that well enough. Anyways, you can imagine how packed a craft store is with how much mormon ladies like their crafts! :) Everyone is there buying stuff and they get to participate and take classes for free. These classes included stuff like making cards, trick-or-treat bags, etc. They served hot popcorn with melted chocolate and caramel drizzled on top...oh it was delicious! They also did a cake walk every fifteen minutes from 5-9. Instead of winning cakes and cupcakes, they won fun prizes. It was a huge event and so much fun...but VERY VERY VERY crazy. Luckily I didn't have to work the cash registers that night. I got to teach a class on card making and teach them how to make this ADORABLE I love you card. So I got to sit there and do crafts and eat popcorn while getting paid! It was quite the evening. Well after we closed we had to put all the go backs back (all the items that people decided they didn't want once they got to the register). We had carts and carts of stuff. There was also another new girl there with me and we didn't know where lots of the stuff went. Everything was bought out in the scrapbooking section so all the pegs were EMPTY! So trying to match up exactly where an item went on a specific peg was VERY difficult to find out. We finally left at 10:40 at night, and we hadn't even finished all the go backs! I was very excited to go home and relax! :)

Conference was great this morning. I sure love Thomas S. Monson! Isn't he just so great. I do have to admit though that it is still weird to not see cute Gordon B. Hinckley with his cane and his smiles! I sure miss him! I avoided trying to eat breakfast today because I didn't feel like throwing up today. Eventually I got hungry so I made some toast, and that worked out well for me. I am going to attempt to eat Fried Chicken with mashed potatoes and gravy tonight. Wish me luck!

Also, I posted a new recipe so check it out. Stay tuned this week for some more recipes!

General Conference

Wow, conference was really great this morning. I was so excited to hear about the new temples to be built. When they said there was going to be another one in Argentina, Allen screamed for joy...it was so cute. He said that they are really in need of another temple there and I am so excited. Also, how cool is it that they are going to build a new temple in ROME! Wow...that is the coolest news. I am so excited for these new temples. Oh this is so great!

I really enjoyed Dallin H. Oaks talk this morning. I think that his talk really needed to be heard. For those who didn't get to listen to it, it was about the sacrament. He talked about the reverence that should be held in the chapel and everything. Oh it was so great. I LOVED how he mentioned that we should all arrive early and sit in our seats quietly while listening to the music. It is not a time for socializing and preparing. We need to sit there reverently and prepare for the sacrament. I thought about how noisy it is ALWAYS in sacrament before it starts and how everyone walks around talking. I sure hope people listened to his talk and follow his direction. I know that if we listen to the music and prepare for the sacrament that we will get so much more out of the talks and church.

So you know how most people make a big breakfast the mornings of conference and you sit there in you PJs and eat breakfast in front of the TV...well we did that today, like always. My family has always done that and it is my favorite. Well normally we make a huge breakfast with eggs, hashbrowns, bacon, sausage, toast....EVERYTHING! There is a little bit of everything. Well with being pregnant I cant keep down hasbrowns and eggs so we had to alter the normal "conference breakfast". So I decided we would make waffles with homemade syrup, bacon, and sausage. Not huge, but stuff I can keep down. Well, I didn't keep it down. Oh I was so sad. I couldn't even enjoy my conference breakfast! I ate almost all of it and I only had a few bites left when all of a sudden I spit out my bite that was in my mouth and stood up quickly. Allen knew what was up...I was about to throw it up. I tried to drink some water and try to keep it down but I knew I wasn't going to be able to. So I ran to the bathroom and you get the picture. I was so sad! Allen came into the bathroom and stood there with me and made sure I was okay. It was so cute. I was just so glad that he came and checked on me and showed me that he loves me. I love my husband so much!

I have to work tonight at Roberts for ladies night out. I am prepared for it to be one CRAZY night tonight. I will let you know how it goes...

What a great day!

So today I got hired at my FAVORITE store ever...Roberts Arts & Crafts. Oh I am so excited. It is just a few blocks away from my house which is a plus, and I think it will be fun to work somewhere fun. I will be able to help out at some of the classes they teach and I will be able to learn so many new crafty things....TOTALLY me! I think this job will be great for me, seeing I wont have anymore time for me once this baby comes. I start tomorrow morning and I am pretty dang excited. And best part is...I get a 30% discount off anything in the store...INCLUDING cricut stuff. Wow, this is great!

For my new job I cant wear skirts, and seeing thats all I own, I had to go get some new pants. I cant wear blue jeans there so I have to wear like black pants and khakis, etc. So I thought it was pointless to go buy regular pants seeing that my belly will probably start growing more in the next few weeks. I had to get maternity pants...

I went to JCPenney's cuz I hear that's a great place to get maternity clothes. They were having a sale like always. I got a pair of khakis for $21 and they were normally $40. These pants I got are so stinkin' cute and so comfortable. Oh I love them so much. I hear there is really uncomfortable maternity pants but if you get the right ones, that they can feel really nice. Let me tell you, I wore my khakis to the Pizza Factory tonight at work, and boy do I love them. They are the most comfortable pants EVER! I LOVE MY MATERNITY PANTS! I know how dumb that sounds but they feel GREAT! I also got a pair of capris. They are black and they are really dressy...and also so comfortable. But get this....the capris were normally $35 and they were on clearance for.....drum roll please....$3.48 CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT! I was SOOOOOO stinkin' excited and Allen was proud of my purchase.

So now here I am having to wear maternity pants with such a small pregnant belly. Most girls wait forever to get them, but now I am ahead of the game. Now all I need is my baby to grow so these pants can fulfill their purpose. Oh how fun...

Oh how fun!

So I really enjoy scrapbooking, but I have never really tried digitally scrapbooking...until today! Wow, is it fun. I made a few pages and I think they've turned out pretty dang cute. What do you think?

14 weeks and in the second trimester! WOOHOO

Welcome to your second trimester! This week's big developments: Your baby can now squint, frown, grimace, pee, and possibly suck his thumb! Thanks to brain impulses, his facial muscles are getting a workout as his tiny features form one expression after another. His kidneys are producing urine, which he releases into the amniotic fluid around him — a process he'll keep up until birth. He can grasp, too, and if you're having an ultrasound now, you may even catch him sucking his thumb.

In other news: Your baby's stretching out. From head to bottom, he measures 3 1/2 inches — about the size of a lemon — and he weighs 1 1/2 ounces. His body's growing faster than his head, which now sits upon a more distinct neck. By the end of this week, his arms will have grown to a length that's in proportion to the rest of his body. (His legs still have some lengthening to do.) He's starting to develop an ultra-fine, downy covering of hair, called lanugo, all over his body. Your baby's liver starts making bile this week — a sign that it's doing its job right — and his spleen starts helping in the production of red blood cells. Though you can't feel his tiny punches and kicks yet, your little pugilist's hands and feet (which now measure about 1/2 inch long) are more flexible and active.



YAY FOR MY BABY! This last week my stomach hardened up. It now is so hard, it's crazy. It sure is very uncomfortable...