A moment to vent...

As I have started using this blog to sort of "journal" our lives, I'd like to take a moment to share some things we've noticed...

At least once a week (if not more) people like to tell us the phrase "Just wait until the baby comes, then _________________ will happen/be impossible." (You fill in the blank). While this may be true in many cases (i.e. sleep, going out on a whim...), I find that these sort of statements from people are really interesting. Not only do I find them to be oddly limiting, but I find that one life changing event yields a very different effect for every individual and couple.

Take Bradley and I. We were told a thousand times "Just wait until you're married, then _______________ will change. That's just the way it is." Well, I hate to inform the world, but none of the things those people told us turned out to be true. It's NOT just the way it is. Sorry. Bradley and I are, to put it plainly, a different sort of couple. That's not to say we are cool or anything, just different. We don't watch sports. We don't have "girl's nights" or "boy's nights" to have some time away. We've never had an argument or a fight. Disagreements? Yes. More in love than on our wedding day? Absolutely.

Here's another one of my favorites. "You'll barely survive medical school. I hope you're prepared to be alone for 4 years. Its going to be rough. Your husband won't see your children grow up." Um...no. Not true. Its not an exact science that medical school=hard on marriage, hard on family. Its a choice. I see Bradley more now than I ever have. In fact, Bradley said that he'd rather get B's and be home rather than get A's and never see me and our family. Has this held true? Yes. Will it continue to hold true? Yes. We chose it. And he's doing much better than the "B" range, too. I think there's a connection...

My point is, life isn't a rubber stamp. One thing most certainly doesn't equal another. Of course our baby will change our lives. How could it not? But it doesn't mean that the habbits and personalies of our lives and relationships will change for the worse unless we allow it.

Just sayin'... I heard these sort of statements too much lately to not put my two cents in. We're just a bunch of weirdos over here apparently ;-) But I bet a lot of you would agree...burn the rubber stamps!!

Pregnancy Favorites

So far, these are some things I've found to really work for me. And for flavor, a few things that really didn't...

The Good.

#1 My Angelsounds Fetal Heartrate Monitor. Yeah, I know these only work for some people. But it worked wonders for me. I could hear our baby's heartbeat at 9 weeks and every day after that. So reassuring. Plus, you can hear him roll and hick-up. I would've lost my mind with out it.

#2 *Walmart* brand Advanced Therapy Lotion. Haven't got a stretch mark yet. The stuff lasts all day and you can tell it's working. I wish I would've used more of this stuff pre-pregnancy. Totally awesome. But once again, that's me talking.

#3 Old school toothbrush. I loved my electric toothbrush, but I found that it was irritating my gums. On our trip to Chicago I took a really soft travel toothbrush and...wow! It felt so good on my gums I brushed for way longer than needed. No more pink in the sink. Yea! It was like a spa resort massage for my chops.

#4 Ice Mountain water bottles. You drink out of them almost like a baby bottle so you don't take extra air down with you. Need I say more?

#5 www.i-am-pregnant.com- I like reading the comments on this website because other moms with my same week and due date post things. And it's totally candid and real. I laugh at it all the time because I can totally relate.

#6 Chocolate dessert. Okay, I know that's broad. Let me explain. Anything that sounds WAY too rich after a huge meal is exactly what I want. Yes, hand me that slice of cheesecake that is the size of my head, please. And yes, the more chocolate the better. Anything that I couldn't possible down pre-pregnancy I can down now. And it must be chocolate. And it must be really bad for you.

#7 Target brand t-shirts. They stretch. They come in great colors. They make my bump look like a basketball. Everyone's happy. And no one needs to look twice. Yes, I AM pregnant.

#8 Carnation Instant Breakfast (Chocolate Flavor). It's like drinking a yummy vitamin and it makes me just as happy as chocolate milk.

#9 E.l.f. cosmetics. How come no one told me about this before? $1. Are you serious? The other day I needed a confidence boost and I came across this. Thank you, Target. Once again, you prove to me that you are in the mind and heart of the pregnant lady (and female, in general).

Some things I'm not liking so much...

#1 My hair. It's out of control. I hate styling it. I get way too overheated when I try. It looks like a poodle/Jane Austen character. Get me out of here! I'm in the process of looking for some edge. Ughhhh. I just want it be cute without trying, but that's asking way too much.

#2 Our bed. Don't even get me started on this. It isn't comfortable. We even put a memory foam pad on top. I think I'll blame it on the pregnancy, but seriously. It's not on my nice list right now.

#3 Cocoa butter. It's okay, I guess. But it makes you smell like a chocolate cake and it doesn't last as long as my beloved Walmart lotion. Plus, it's expensive.

#4 Crest Pro Health toothpaste. I thought this would be good for tooth sensitivity and whatever. Well, I'm sure it works fine, but the flavor is ubber gross. It tastes like chemicals. Plus the beads in it give it a concrete texture. Bring me some of that on a cracker. Not.

#5 Movies. Could we get a good movie on isle 5, please? Geez, I feel like there's nothing good to see lately! I've just given up. I can't rely on movies for an occasional distraction anymore. They are just blah. Or maybe it's just hard to get around pregnancy/baby brain. After all, baby stuff is fun to think about...

29 Weeks

Here's me at 29 weeks. I think I popped out at 25 weeks and have been the same ever since. At least it feels that way. The little guy's feet have now found their favorite place: my ribs. He kicks and rolls all the time and I'll admit, sometimes they hurt! I feel like he's trying to break out of prison! I guess he just wants out so he can be best buddies with his parents ;-) Lately, Bradley and I have been joking as to whose feet he got: mine with the webbed toes, or Bradley's weird pinkie toe that doesn't like to touch the ground. Sound weird? Just imagine if he got both! At least I'LL still think it's cute.

And here's the red bird that likes to hang out in the tree by our deck. I don't know about you, but I've never seen a bird like that outside the zoo...hmmm, maybe I need to get out more, but those are some seriously red feathers!

The Wonderful Things of Spring!

Hi Everyone! This past week was really fun with it being my 23rd birthday and Easter! For my birthday, we kept it low-key, but Bradley had lots of little surprises for me! He is such a fun guy. And the weather was pretty much perfect. I couldn't believe it!
Here's my Cold Stone cupcakes that I've wanted to try forever.

And we went on a picnic...



Easter was great. In fact, its my favorite holiday. The sun is usually out and the green starts to come in. In Colorado, I remember the tulips in our backyard would start to sprout. Here in Iowa, everyone's lawn is already green! How does that happen? And the meaning of the day is wonderful, and it usually isn't that bombarded by secular things. (Except we did eat our share of candy~could we help ourselves?!). Also, it was awesome because of General Conference. We hooked up Bradley's laptop to our TV and watched away!
Here's our pre-Easter egg dying party...




And the best part about future holidays is that we'll be able to project our excitement on our little man instead of feeling silly doing the "kid" stuff. But we all know grown-ups like that stuff too ;-)