Una noche de amore

Yesterday, Bryant and I attended Una Noche De Amore.

It's an annual Valentines fund raising dinner/dance for my wards Young Women program.

The theme this year was a Latin/salsa theme and it was super fun! We decided to get all dressed up for the event. You paid for the dinner, then they had options to purchase flowers for your hair, boutonnieres for your sweetheart and chocolate-dipped strawberries, but unfortunately all we could afford was just the dinner. But I didn't want Bryant to go without a stylin' Boutonniere!

So I whipped one up out of some left-over felt I had.

(I appologize for the crappy photos. They were all taken on a camera phone and we all know how great those turn out in dark rooms...)

I made a Calla Lilly for him. That's what we had at our wedding and I loved them!
I thought it turned out pretty good.

I also decided to make a feather hair clip to match my dress, but I don't think you can see it that well in any of these photos

(shiny faces... bleh)

The turnout was huge! There were a lot more people than I expected but I was fun seeing everyone go all out.

I particularly enjoyed the people who wore old prom dresses from the 80's and 90's. If I weren't so massively huge around the middle these days, I would have borrowed my mom's old high school prom dress. I regret never wearing it to any of my high school dances.

My parents (sorry for the white out-shiny face look mom and dad! Blame the phone!)

The food was really really good too. For appetizers, they had fruit, chips, salsa and meatballs. Then they had a salad and chicken with mashed potatoes and green beans, then all sorts of chocolate goodies for dessert.

They also had a band playing. Our music conductor for the ward owns a music school and has something like 6 bands, one of which travels the world and just recently came back from a gig in New Orleans.

(I wish I had a better picture of the band!)

They has some dance instructors come and teach some basic salsa moves. Bryant made me go up to learn but for some weird reason I chickened out. Stupid pregnancy hormones. I'm not sure what happened. I suddenly felt way too fat and felt like everyone was watching me. I felt like everyone could see my swollen ankles and stretch marks and fatty hands, which was ridiculous because the dance instructors partner was a lot more pregnant looking than me (how she could dance in stilettos, I'll never know...).

I promised myself that after we ate, I would get up and dance, but once I got up for a quick bathroom run, my whole body felt stiff and sore, like I had hiked all day long the day before and my muscles were sore. I realized that, in my flip flops or not, I was not going to be able to cut a rug. I blame the fact that I spent an hour and a half on my hands and knees cleaning out the refrigerator earlier that afternoon.


(it's ok, I know I look like Shamu...)

But despite our lack of dancing, Bryant and I had a great time! Some people were really getting into the dancing and It was great to see how much fun everyone was having.

(My handsome stud helping to clean up afterwords)


It was a great night! I told Bryant that that could be our Valentines date this year, seeing as we will be in a birthing class on Valentines day.

Shy...

So the Sundance Film Festival is well underway in beautiful Park City!
I've never attended any of the film screenings there but I have been up there for a lunch during the festival (Main Street Pizza and Noodle? Yes please!)

However, I have not seen a famous person while I was up there (well, none that I recognized).

The other day I was listening to the radio and they were interviewing the guy who does the voice of Elmo on Sesame Street and I started wondering what I would do if I ever came face-to-face with any sort of famous person. Would I be nervous? Would I start babbling about nothing? Would I geek out and tell them how awesome they were in such-and-such?

Well, I got my answer that afternoon.

And the answer is:
I'd just stand there grinning like and idiot.

No, I didn't meet an actor, or a director, or a music producer.

I met Stephanie Nielson. (A.K.A Nie Nie)

She's a bit of a big deal in the blogging world. If you've never stumbled across her blog, you can go here. I love her blog. I started reading it about a year ago when a friend of mine said she had met her in a grocery store or something.

Her story is amazing.

Anyways, she came into the bookstore the other day and I was covering the registers for a bit while another girl was taking her lunch. I was busy cleaning up the books that were in a basket and when I looked up I saw her husband. I instantly recognized him and my first thought was "oh my gosh! I hope Stephanie is with him!" And there she was, checking out the mini notebooks we had on the shelf.

This was like meeting a celebrity to me. Immediately, my mind was going nuts. "What do I say? Do I tell her I read her blog? No, that might seem too fan-girl-ish... Should I just tell her it's nice to meet her? What if I just sound like an idiot? I bet she gets this all the time..."

Instead, I just greeted them, asked if they had a member card, and stood there grinning like an idiot. To make it worse, I was so excited that I was slightly shaking (this could also be due to the fact that we were behind on lunches and I was starving). So I was a grinning, shaking, shy idiot.


I really regret not saying anything. I wish I would have told her that I read her blog, that her strength and optimism are impressive and that it was really great to meet her.

Dang my shyness!

Well, I'm just going to have to buck up and say something if I ever happen to meet her again.

Or, you know, any celebrity or famous person for that matter...

Stop... It's Jimmertime!

It's been a while since I've blogged!

Sheesh!

You can blame it on Bryant though, he tried to do something to the router to make his xbox work better and the result was us with no internet at all for a few days. (Take it easy on him though, he was just trying to help...)

But I'm back! And it feels good to be back!

I was a little worried that I would have nothing interesting to write about since my week has been filled with mostly work and lazy afternoons. In fact, I had today off so I spent most of my morning in my bathrobe in bed finishing up "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" and dozing off every so often. It wasn't until Bryant called me at 2:00 to say his was off work and didn't have class that I finally decided to jump in the shower.

Since Bryant and I had some extra time together, I dragged him out to do some maternity clothes shopping with me. I really really hoped that my clothes would last the next 9 weeks but every day has become a battle of the closet. It usually consists of me trying on 3 or 4 different outfits that are just too small and just too uncomfortable, so I end up wearing the same 3 or 4 outfits every day, and what I can wear to work is even less.

I just really didn't want to pay for clothes that I was only going to wear for 2 months or less but Bryant made the point that we are going to have other kids, and so maternity clothes are a good investment.

Once we got home we had dinner with my parents and then Bryant got a call from his Brother Tyler saying that he and his roommate had 2 extra tickets to the BYU vs. SDSU game so we raced on down to the stadium and got there about 10 minutes into the game. Mind you, this was the game people waited outside at 7am for 6 hours to get tickets yesterday, not to mention the attendance tonight was over 22,700 people... Yeah, you can be jealous that we got tickets 20 min before and walked right in AND got amazing seats...


Of course the star of the night was Jimmer Fredette. Bryant said that he wants our baby girl to marry his future son hahaha!

It was so loud towards the end of the game too! Little Stokes started pushing and stretching, just like she does when we go to a movie and it gets loud.


It was nuts when the game ended, of course everyone ran onto the court but the police were grabbing people left and right trying to throw them back towards the seats.



It was really pointless for them to even try. This was the crowd on the court after just a couple of minutes. Some of the police were even throwing punches! Lots of people were recording it, i'm sure one may end up on youtube or something, I'll post one if I find one. It just seemed a bit silly that there were about 5 cops and that even though there were already so many people on the court, they still tried to keep more from coming on.


Bryant and his brothers and dad were able to get tickets to the BYU vs SDSU game in San Diego next month. I was invited but I really don't think I can sit in a car for 12 hours. I can't even sit on the couch for 1 hour without needing to get up and walk around. My back just hurts too bad. Plus, I wouldn't have a ticket to the game so the only reason I would go is if my mother-in -law or one of my sisters-in-law came too so we could go to the zoo or shopping or something.

No, I think I'll enjoy a quiet weekend at home instead.

Thats Right, Be Jealous!

I have an amazing husband.
No really, the BEST!

I was craving 3 things tonight:

Italian doughnuts dipped in chocolate
Ice cream
milk

I didn't have doughnuts or ice cream (well, I had a teeny bit but most of it had freezer burn so I ate what I could and tossed the rest) and I only had a few sips left from the Jug of milk I made Bryant buy 2 nights ago. Yeah, I drank a whole gallon by myself in 2 days.

Give me a break, I'm pregnant!

I was also feeling like mush this evening. I came home from work, took a nap and was still groggy so there was no chance that I was going to personally go out and get the these items I so craved.

But Bryant came to my rescue!

The only place I know that sells doughnuts with chocolate to dip them in is the Olive Garden.


Soooo good!

He also spoiled me and brought me back dinner


Go ahead, you have the right to be jealous.

And yes, I used my footstool as a table. My kitchen table in in the future nursery at the moment covered in baby items and craft/scrapbooking supplies.

How awesome is the "But honey, I'm pregnant..." excuse?

Pretty awesome.

But it's ok. My father-in-law told me on the phone tonight that I was allowed to make Bryant do anything I wanted. I'm the "control chip" he said.

We welcome you to munchkin land!

When Bryant and I were dating, a good friend of ours invited us over to play a game called munchkin. It's a card game that, in a way, makes fun of the dungeons and dragons game.
For example, your "character" may be an elf or dwarf or something, but the monsters you fight are evil potted plants, ex-girlfriends and geeks. And your armor may be the pantyhose of incredible strength or the boots of butt-kicking.

Yeah, it's pretty funny.

I got it for Bryant as a Christmas gift because he has always talked about how he loved that game, and he was way excited to play it.

My friend Janine and her husband invited us over to their apartment to play games with my friend Jessica and her husband last night.



Unfortunately, there are a TON of instructions and we couldn't remember how to play it so it was slow going. We had a lot of fun, but after 2 hours I think we made up more rules than followed the real ones.


After the game, Bryant and Janine's husband played some xbox and her and I sat down to talk and we played around with the idea of opening up and Etsy shop together with our friend Jessica. I LOVE this idea because I have been meaning to open one for myself for quite a while but I was nervous about investing in it all by myself and whether or not my stuff would sell well. I like the idea of going in on it with them because we would have more product in the shop without needing to invest so much on our own.

Plus, this will give me something to do while I'm on maternity leave (you know, if the baby is taking a nap and I, for some reason, don't need one... yeah right)

I'm super excited for this and I'm hoping it works out!
I'm meeting with Janine and Jessica tomorrow to figure things out and get some ideas rolling!

It was so nice to hang out with great friends. I hope now that all my classes are online and I'll be gradually working less and less over the next 12-ish weeks (something my manager and I discussed today. Glad to get that figured out!) That I'll be able to spend more quiet around-the-table nights with my friends before baby takes up most of my time.

Angels and Prayers

My heart has been so heavy all week.
My week began with the regular stresses that come with the beginning of the semester. Waiting for money to come in, trying to get into classes (I'm waitlisted for 19! I'm desperate here!) trying to order hard to find books. Things like that.

Then the stress got a little heavier.
Finding out we need to apply for a loan, more hours at work, both headlights in my car went out, trying to keep up on housework (and failing) more issues with getting into school.

Just a lot of stuff I didn't, and couldn't deal with anymore.

Poor Bryant has had to deal with at least 3 of my melt-downs just this week alone (I'm sure more are to follow)

Then my heart broke.

A few months ago, one of my best friends had a stillborn baby girl. My heart was so torn for her and her loss. It wasn't long after I had found out I was pregnant and my anxiety level jumped 100% Not only for her, but for my baby as well.

It's taken weeks for my worries to lessen and it's been largely due to her strength and resilience. She is such a strong woman and I admire her so much for that.

But my heart was broken again last night when I learned that another friend of mine from high school lost her beautiful 5 month old baby this week.

You never plan or expect these things to happen. I am absolutely crushed and I feel so awful for her and her family.

All my fears and worries and anxiety had returned full force. Bryant sat there and tried to comfort me last night, but I just felt heavy. And every time I thought of my two friends and their sweet angels, it just got worse. I wanted to help my friend, to be there to comfort her, but I knew I couldn't be there with her. So I decided to do the only thing I could think of.

I prayed for comfort to come to her, and to my other friend. I prayed that their heavy hearts and sorrows would be mended and their souls uplifted.

Then I decided to pray for myself.
I knew I needed this comfort too.
I needed assurance that everything would be alright.

The answer I received was a feeling and a knowledge that if I did everything I could to the best of my ability, then that was enough and that no matter what happens in my life, that that would be up to my heavenly father and he would pick up the slack and still be proud of me.

Today, I still feel sad, and still stressed about so many things that need to be done this week. But I have a comforting hand on my shoulder.

These two strong women and their husbands and families will continue to be in my heart, thoughts and prayers. Their beautiful angels were just too perfect to stay here on such an imperfect world.




.

I'm old... And baby update!

Ok, Ok, so I'm 23, not old at all.
But New Years eve I felt old.
Why?

Because all the excitement had me exhausted by 12:05 and in bed soon after.

Where did those days go when New Years was an excuse to party until the sun came up and sleep all day the next?

Oh yeah, they were back in high school and my first years at college. Now that I'm preggo, I'm tired by noon. (Last night it was killing me that it was only 6:30 and Bryant didn't want to head to bed like I did. I was exhausted!)

This year, we decided to hang out with my parents and their friends. I tried really hard to guilt people into inviting Bryant and I to their parties but I got the same response from everyone "oh, we are just staying home this year, maybe going to bed early.." Bah humbug to you.

Don't get me wrong though, My parents are pretty groovy.
I just feel sad that no one wants to hang out with us anymore, but I understand that it is a little weird that a lot of my friends are still single and such. We need more couples to "date" as Bryant puts it.

But we had a fantastic night nonetheless.


We played fun games and my Mom did Bajio style salads for dinner. Yum!

The best entertainment of the night was this adorable toddler. She's my parent's friend's granddaughter and she was super cute! My mom passed out those popper things you shoot off at midnight and she had fun going to each person asking if she could "blow up" theirs.

She also had a lot of fun with Bryant and even gave him a hug and a kiss on the cheek when she left. My heart melted. I can't wait to watch him play with our kids!


After everyone left, Bryant and I crashed. We were so extremely tired. But we had a lot of fun! Next year will be interesting when I have an 9 month old to put to bed early. I think gone are the days of all night partying...

Speaking of Baby, we had another appointment today. I had to wake up extra early to drink this sugar drink for a glucose test to check for diabetes. It tasted like ultra-strong fruit punch and it burned my throat going down, but it wasn't as bad as the nurse made it up to be. We went to the lab and got the blood work done (the rubber band around my arm hurt worse than the needle) then headed over to the office for the check up.

(27 weeks along!)

Thankfully I didn't gain near as much weight as I thought I did over the holidays. Only 5lbs which is what the doctor said he wants me to gain each month (he said between 5-8lbs a month and I've never gained over 7 so I feel pretty good about that)

My blood pressure was good, sugar, protein and potassium levels were good and my belly measured good, which means baby is growing right on track (woe is me with all the stretch marks I've gotten this week though!)

(I've really started to get big these last couple of weeks, there's no mistaking me for chubby anymore, I'm pregnant!)

We got to get another ultrasound this week because at our 20th week ultrasound she was hiding her face and we couldn't check her lip for a cleft pallet. This time, he was able to get a good look at one side and while he was trying to push her to move to the other, she balled her fists up and hid her eyes, then, right at the perfect moment, she yawned! It was so adorable! He froze the picture and said that there was no better way to check for a cleft pallet than a yawn and she looked perfect! We also got to see her nose and eyes, but it's too hard to really tell what she will look like. I wish he would have printed that picture for us but he didn't :-(

He also double checked to make sure she was still a girl haha! Her bum was way up high, which explains all the kicks I've been getting in the ribs, her feet are up in there!

Our next appointment is in 4 weeks, which will put me at around 31 or 32 weeks along. After that appointment, they are going to have me come in a lot more frequently because she could really come at any time after that. He also said to start watching for contractions. He said I should be getting Braxton Hicks contractions, which are painless and "fake" contractions. He said if I didn't get them, that was perfectly normal too.

I'm still feeling pretty good. Just the normal aches and pains that come with pregnancy. Lots of backaches and leg cramps. Tying my shoes is becoming an annoyance these days. She's getting pretty strong too. Her kicks can be so strong sometimes that it hurts for 10 minutes after!

We are really getting close here! I'm so excited!