February Funnies

(Me trying to get Courtney to eat breakfast)
Me- "Let's take a bite together, 1...2...3..."
(Nothing)
Me- "I bet you can't take a bite with your eyes closed...."
(Nothing)
Me- "Courtney take a bite....*endless nagging*"
Courtney- (sigh) "Mom, let's play the quiet game, okay?"

(In car, Courtney singing, Jeremy starts singing along)
Courtney- "Daddy, STOP singing, that's NOT OKAY!"
Jeremy- "But I wanted to sing that song with you."
Courtney- "Well you can sing the part that's over!"

(Driving past our church house)
Courtney- "Hey, that's where we're going to go once Daddy gets new pants!"
(All of Jeremy's church pants are too small now and he needs new ones)

(After walking 15 minutes with her arm elevated to hold my hand)
Courtney- "Mom, my hand is going to bed."

(Going for a walk to get the mail)
Courtney- "Whoa!..... I need to pull my pants up so people don't see my butt crack!"

(In a public restroom, Courtney goes into big handicap stall, I wait outside stall for her)
Courtney- "Mommy, come in here with me. I don't want anyone to take you while I'm going potty."

(Me laying on couch in plain full view, Courtney searching frantically for me running right past me several times without noticing me)
Courtney- "Mom, where are you?! This is no time for games!"

Me- "Go get your shirt on right now, I'm not going to tell you again!"
Courtney- (with sarcastic attitude) "Well aren't we bossy?"

Me- "Why are you still in your dirty shirt?"
Courtney- "It's not dirty, it's just colorful."
Me- "It has popsicle all over it!"
Courtney- "Yep, the popsicle is just part of the colorful!"

Courtney- "Mom! Belley ate my Valentines Day flowers! Let's put her outside."
Me- "If we put her outside, the other cats will get her."
Courtney- (slow evil grin creeps across her face) "Yah...."

Totum Pole Courtney

My moosey moose, my goosey goose... my Totum Pole. I don't know where she gets it from. (kidding, because I totally know where she gets it from!) The 3rd pic down is the closest I could get to her actual "Totum Pole Face". She has this face when she gets REALLY REALLY MAD... and it is HILARIOUS!! the picture doesn't do it justice because she was being silly at the same time. (imagine it less silly and more vicious) When she starts her temper tantrums and out comes this face, I always say, "Totum Pole Face!!" which will either make her start laughing or get even madder. Haha!

Wishing for Spring

I know that being a born and raised Idaho girl, I really should be use to this cold, but oh my goodness, I am so wishing for spring right now. (I never would have lasted in Mackay, Natalie, I can't even handle Rexburg! You are much stronger than I).

Cabin Fever set in quite a while ago and we're going crazy. And the hard part? There are so many paved trailways and walk ways meandering all around our neighbood going over bridges and such, winding you up at places like Wal Mart that I am just ITCHING to go explore!

Yesterday was decent, so Courtney and I put our coats on and went for a walk. All the pathways were buried in snow though, so no exploring there. But we discovered we could walk to McDonalds where Hallelujah there is an indoor playground! (We can't even get to the playground in our neighborhood due to so much snow!) It is a bit of a walk though, bikes will be more ideal once all this snow finally leaves us.

There's really so much to look forward to once the snow is gone and the flowers are here! There's even a paved trail across the street that's about a 2 minute walk to the High School track. Since they built the new high school, this one is empty, meaning we can go use the track any time we want. That'll be SOOO nice this spring. Me and my pregnant belly waddling around the track. I'll have no excuse not to exercise, which will be good for me, since I'm good at coming up with excuses.

We're also I think a 10 minute walk from one of the biggest city parks, where during the summer EVERY DAY (monday-friday) they do free lunches for kids 12 and under. Do you know where Courtney and I will be every day this summer? picnics and playgrounds all summer :)

So for now, I'll stare longingly out my windows, dreaming of the warm sunny days to come when we can spend all our time outdoors at parks and playgrounds. And planting our vegetable garden and flower beds in our new yard, building the 2 new decks onto the house where Courtney and her new little friends will have dress up tea parties. Wearing shorts and sunglasses. I'll dream of bike rides and barbecues, picnics and warm leisurely strolls down the paths. Aww...spring, how I love thee, please come soon!

An Eventful Valentines Day

Where do I start?

Yesterday morning was lovely. Courtney and I got up and while we were getting dressed and ready, Jeremy made us scrambled eggs, bacon, and milk, and set the table (which was so prettily decorated with 2 potted flower plants, and 2 hearts of chocolates for Courtney and I, and some candy hearts!). So breakfast was really nice.

My Day is Fabulous!

We had our first doctor appointment at 11:15, so we ran a couple errands in Rexburg, then headed to Idaho Falls where my doctor is. And due to the fact that we wouldn't be near a potty for a good 45 minutes, Courtney decided that once we were on the highway, THAT's when she neeeeeeded to go potty ("right NOW")! So it was a frantic rush to get somewhere with a potty. We ended up at Petco, and I rushed her back to the bathroom (keep in mind I'm nauseous as heck this whole time). Once we get back there and she sits up on the potty, oh guess what. "Huh...my peeps don't want to come out, I guess." Yah.

My Day is Still Good!

So we head on over to the doctor appointment, and the first thing they do is the UlTrAsOuNd. It was so fun to see our little jellybean floating around in there! Courtney just loved it. They decided I was only 9 weeks along instead of 10 due to something about ovulating late or some such explanation. But the ultrasound was the only good part about this doctor visit, because next came the blood drawing. (this is to be said with the 'DUN DUN DUN' atmosphere).

My Day is About to go Downhill....

Everyone who knows me well knows I DON'T LIKE NEEDLES. or veins. or blood. Or even just talking about any of those said subjects. Or thinking about it. The night before the appointment I had nightmares ALL night of gushing veins and needles and blood spatters on the walls and ceilings. I woke up in a cold sweat at 3 am and never went back to sleep. Even just the mere thought of the vein inside the crease of your elbow.. makes me want to puke. I can't look at it or talk about it.

I would rather slice my forearm open 6 inches with a steak knife than have a needle in my inside elbow vein. ((ugh...just the thought..i'm making myself sick))... A couple hours after I had Courtney, the nurse came in for a blood sample. Yes, I FREAKED out and begged and pleaded if they could take it ANYWHERE but THERE. She shrugged and said 'sure!'... popped it in my forearm, and it was over and done with. No freaking out. So I've kept myself sane this whole time thinking I'd just request the forearm thing for the appointment. So when they got ready to do it, I made my request (after letting them know about my extreme phobia of needles/veins) and for some reason they thought that was impossible.

Cue the tears. Feeling pity for me, the PA that I was seeing said she could try the vein on the side of my wrist. This is only about 2 steps down from the elbow vein on my freaking out scale, but I thought it was the better option. So we tried that. That wasn't a good idea. The vein kept rolling and she had to keep digging for it. At this point I'm BAWLING and FREAKING OUT and SHAKING so hard. Jeremy's hand was covering my eyes while I'm squeezing the life out of his other hand. And because I'm bawling, my face is all wet, my mascara is EVERYWHERE smeared all over under Jeremy's hand... I was too freaked out to notice or care, but I can't imagine it was a very pretty sight. Then I hear, "This isn't working" and I lose it. She pulls out the needle after collecting only 1 vile of blood. Now I'm hysterical that I'm going to have to get poked AGAIN to get the other 3 viles. The PA now feels terrible seeing the state I'm in and goes to get another nurse who is "the best ever" at this. So this other girl comes in and they decide the only way to finish is.... yes.... in my elbow vein.

My Day has Gone from Downhill to RockBottom with People Standing at the Top of the Hill Throwing Boulders Down on Me.

Seriously, how could this possibly get worse? I am now such a mess. And funnily enough, the room I'm in is about 3 feet from the waiting room. The waiting room full of people. And here's me just bawling my eyes out screaming "OW!! MAKE THEM STOP!!" I could only hope and pray that there would be no one out there by the time we were allowed to leave because I'm sure they all heard every word. Not to mention the conversations between all the nurses standing outside my door trying to decide what to do with me.

I won't write about the actual blood drawing in the mentioned area because I'm so lightheaded and nauseous just thinking about it. I'm sure you all can imagine how well that went. *shudders*

My day has just experienced the worse experience I've had in over 3 years.

You would think it could only get better from here, right? Well, I guess you could say it did...but it was still awful. My face is now red and splotchy with NO makeup whatsoever left... unless you count the mascara on my forehead... Needless to say I'm a disaster. I can barely breathe or even walk. I wobble out to the waiting room (which thankfully was almost empty, minus only a few staring horrified patients gawking at me). I make my appointment for next month, only agreeing to come back if it involved NO blood or needles whatsoever. They reassured me and we left.

Thankful this whole thing was over, we went to taco bell...where who do we run into. Oh yes. A little family who was in the waiting room who saw/heard my whole episode. There's just no escaping this. *sigh* They kept staring at me while we all ate... probably waiting for me to freak out again. I'm sure I would find it slightly comical if i were 'the watching' instead of 'the being watched'.

I was just so ready to leave Idaho Falls and get back to Rexburg. So off we go, with Jeremy telling me would find someplace nice for Valentines Day Dinner.

My Day is Getting Better...Bit by Bit...

We get to our favorite restaurant here just to find out there's a 50 minute wait. Boo. So we search this entire town and there's NOTHING without a huge wait. We drove out to Applebees to check them, which we could barely get into the parking they were so full, so we just left. And on our way back into town what do we see in our rear view mirror? FLASHING RED AND BLUE LIGHTS.

Of. Course. Because really, what better way to top off your Valentines Day? I'm now starving, nauseous, and headachy, with no food in sight while stuck in a parking lot with a cop. (No worries, we just got a warning that we needed to renew our registration). After he let us go, we just gave up on a romantic night and went to Little Ceasars and picked up some pizzas and went home.

At least breakfast was good though, right?

A girl, a tub, and a belly

I think Courtney is loving this tub just as much as I am! She was so funny. In this picture, she actually let out a contended relaxing sigh as she closed her eyes.

And what good is a huge tub without playing in it?

This picture remind you of anyone *cough cough jeremy* ?

And I decided since I already had the camera out and was standing in front of the mirror anyway, why not throw in a belly pic? Here I am at 9 weeks looking like 5 months!

Our Goings-On here in Frigid Rexburg

This post is being written for 2 reasons.

Reason #1: For my sweet sis-in-law Mallena who is in Washington and not here to get the scoop first hand.

And Reason #2: I have locked myself in the computer room as far away from Jeremy as possible due to the fact that he is eating mexican restaurant left-overs and just the thought of it makes me want to run (more of an awkward pregnant shuffle) to the nearest bathroom and puke to my heart's content, and I need something to do to keep me busy until he's done and the aroma has cleared out of the air.

So here's what's happening in the lives of us.

Let me first start out by saying, "Seriously, what the crap?!" I am just now starting month 3 (week 9) and I'm not even kidding when I say I look the exact same as when I was 5 months pregnant with Courtney. This little belly of mine has popped right out of nowhere. True Story.

And as super duper excited and happy and in love I already am with this little one growing inside me, I've got to say... not the best timing. He/she certainly took his/her time deciding to come to our family, and it just happened to be right as we were moving. Not the most convenient timing... also putting delivery smack in the midst of hunting season, as was Courtney. Jeremy says we need to work on our timing.

I'm thinking this one will be a boy because I have never been SO SICK in my entire life. Being pregnant with Courtney was a pleasant breeze through the flowery meadows. This one is not so much a breeze as a blustery bitter cold gust of wind that just knocked me over into the side of a dumpster.

So combine my new-found insane levels of sickness and moving and cleaning the new house and the cleaning the old house, and you get a pretty pathetic picture of me not accomplishing a whole lot. Packing was a nightmare. Jeremy would go to work morning til night and I would stay home alone trying to pack everything up by myself. Pack a box, go lay down next to the toilet for a while. Pack a box, lay down on the couch from exhaustion. Pack a box, go lay next to the toilet... you get the picture. (Not a pretty one, I must admit.)

Thankfully, Jeremy's dad and his brother Spenser were beyond super amazingly helpful. Spenser was here painting this house every night with Jeremy (with a broken hand, by the way!) and his dad literally did everything possible there was to do in this house. He even paid for all brand new carpet to be put in. My heart just pours out with gratitude for these two who did everything they possibly could to make our move go as smoothly as it could.

And good ole' Dwight. Jeremy's good friend from back in the days. I swear he probably loaded 90% of our stuff into the moving trailers. Such a huge help!

And my mom : ) I love my mom! My dad loaned us his truck and huge moving trailer which was soooo fabulous to have (Thanks guys!!) and my mom came and helped unload the boxes out of the trailers and unpack and get my kitchen set up. And Melina was here, but being 9 months pregnant, she would probably pop if she bent over. But it was nice to have her here sitting on the couch for support!

So to Rob, Spenser, Dwight, Mom & Dad, and Melina... Thank you so much for all your help and support, it has meant the world to us!!

So you may ask, how do we like it here? I've got to say... going from almost 4,000 sq ft to about 1,100 sq ft... not an easy task! The biggest downside is this frigid cold! We don't have a garage here... only one long drive way, meaning one car is in front of the other. Depending on who needs out, I might have to go move the car out of the way so Jeremy can get his truck out... or vice versa. Wouldn't be such a big deal if it weren't (get this... are you ready?) 20 degrees BELOW zero! Yep. It took Jeremy 10 minutes just to start his truck this morning.

But we seriously love it here. Absolutely! Everything is on one level. Because, really, imagine me 9 months pregnant having to haul laundry down hallways and 2 flights of stairs just to get to the washer and dryer. That's not a pretty picture either. I'm so freakin excited to have everything right where it needs to be. And really, this little house of ours is all we need right now. It has everything we need, the neighbors are wonderful, it's a 3 minute walk to the h.s. track so I can go walking, parks are everywhere in walking distance. It's all just fabulous.

And the best part of it all... our rent-to-own plan. We are renting this house from Jeremy's sister, Nicole, and when we decide to leave, we have it written in contract that if we choose, we will sell it back to them for 90% of what we've paid into it. So if you think about it... (all numbers and such considered) We are literally paying $25/month to rent this house. I really don't think you are going to ever anywhere find a cute little home for $25/month.

So to sum it all up (because I believe the mexican food stench has dissipated from the air and it's safe for me to leave my little stench-free haven) We truly are very happy here and it's a fabulous little home to be in while we get back on our feet and save up a nice little nest egg to build our home once Jeremy is finished with school.

And that's that, it's 11:02 p.m. and my ever so soft and inviting warm bed is calling my name :)

Good Golly that was a novel.