Baby's first Christmas

Wow it is really hard to blog when you have a newborn baby at home! I only ever get on Facebook anymore because I can do that from my ipod touch while I'm feeding Connor. Still not skilled enough to do very much else yet! I'm getting there though..it's starting to get a tad easier to breastfeed...although the pain is still quite intense at times. Christmas day I completely lost it and bawled off and on for half an hour while I fed the baby..I was in so much pain! He was latched on ok, I just had a really bad crack in my nipple...anyway it was awful. So I was crying to Ben saying I just didn't know if I could take it anymore...but after he finished eating and I was burping him I looked at his content little face and knew I could suffer a lot more if it were for his benefit. Good thing the Lord gave us the ability to love so strongly!!! I understand more and more every day the love of a parent...it's amazing!!! When Connor has to get his heel pricked or nose suctioned at the doctor and he cries in pain I can't stop myself from bawling!

Anyway...I've got lots of pictures...of course....it's been a long time and with the holiday there's been many occasions picture worthy!

These are pictures of more visitors Connor has had...
He met his great-great grandma Woolsey and grandpa Woolsey so we got a five generation picture.
My mom's mom grandma Irene was on a cruise when Connor was born so she was excited to finally see him, we got a 4 generation picture...
Aunt Ashlee was finishing finals at BYU so she got to see him after 2 weeks.
And now Ben's family is here for the holiday break so they are getting to see him too! So fun!

I have a lot of great friends who have come to see little baby boy as well! My friend Mary came to see him when he was just a few days old, it's fun that she lives here!
Lauren and Jake came up on the 13th and spent the day with us, it was so relaxing and enjoyable! I never see Lauren, so it was a real treat!
Wes was able to stop by since he drives to Cedar a few times a week to go to school at SUU, and he gave Connor a cute blanket he MADE!! Thanks Wes!
My uncle Steven came over to see Connor one night and stayed with us for a delicious dinner my momma had made.
We were so blessed to have my mom here for a few days...she helped out so much and made me feel less alone in the whole mommy thing! Sometimes I felt like she was Connor's mommy and I was the helper because she already knows what she's doing and I'm still learning! Could also be from all the years with me helping her out with my baby sisters...but she was
SO great to have around! Love you mom!
Then there's all the random cute pictures I HAD to post, including Connor's first bath! I didn't get any in the tub with his boyhood covered, so there's more below of his latest bath...
Connor loves sucking Ben's thumb, being swaddled, and his sling. Those are daddy's specialties.
With mommy he loves to snuggle, eat, and poop! :-)
Connor also loves his swing in moderation. Depends on the day and the amount of time he is in there, but sometimes it really saves my sanity!!! He also had lots of cute Christmas jammies...love it!

Next is the highlight of every December and I'm so glad Connor was born early enough to go to this party...only Santa got to hold him since he is still a little young to be passed around...but it melted our hearts and made mommy so proud to show off her little baby Santa! We have the Goodwin Christmas party every year and Santa comes to give us all one present! He is the REAL
Santa...we all love him!!! And this year Connor got a bottle from him..haha


Next is just the most recent pictures I took...his bath last night rocked his little world! We let him soak for about 10 minutes...it was so relaxing! He just LOVES bath time!

More to come believe it or not....

I also need to add that on December 13th and 14th Ben sang with the Southern Utah Symphony for their Christmas Messiah concert! He had two solos and did a FANTASTIC job. Connor and I went to hear him rehearse once but didn't get to the show...too many people! So I'll post pictures of that later as well. For now my back hurts because I've done this entire post hunched over the baby who is sleeping peacefully in my lap! :-)

Hope everyone had a MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Warning: Proud mommy post!

I have to say we are so lucky and blessed for how well this week has gone! My final night in the hospital was so miserable, nurses and staff coming in so much I got less sleep than I've gotten at home! Our first night home, however... Connor got a bad tummy ache. I think it was the onion rings they fed me my last meal there. Yikes...so after a few hours Ben went to WalMart at 3 a.m. to get some Milacon. I wish we had gotten it sooner..it was instant relief and Connor fell right to sleep! He was still fussy through the night and the next day...but by the next night he was so tired he slept a lot better. He didn't like his cradle so after sleeping on the couch with him on my chest for a couple hours, my back started to hurt and I gave up. Ben had me lay him in the crook of his arm where he slept for 3 hours straight! We had the BEST day the next day...he was such a good baby, slept a lot and was so alert later in the evening. Last night we got a total of 7 hours of sleep...and then another hour nap for me. He slept on his sleep positioner between us, and while it wasn't always restful sleep cuz I worried I'd smother him, it was so nice to rest. Today he has slept for most of the day and I'm hoping he'll sleep as good tonight as he did last night!

Things I'm loving about motherhood:

~Nursing- It has been really scary for me leading up to it, but now that I'm doing it it's so SO awesome. It hurts a little still, but I love knowing I can provide for this baby and the bonding is so incredible!
~Seeing Ben as a Father. He's AWESOME. I don't even have to ask for his help and half the time he anticipates my needs. He has helped me learn how to nurse..coached me on why things might not be working...and he LOVES this baby. I have never been more in love with him. He has far exceeded my expectations!
~Knowing I am this baby's mother and will be FOREVER! No matter what happens we'll always be together. What an awesome blessing!

Things I love and adore about Connor:

~The back of his head and his little hairline. It's SO cute to watch his little head bob when he's getting burped!
~The little grunting noises he makes. He made them more his first couple of days, but still I can hear them at times. So cute!
~Watching him sleep. He is just perfect and straight from Heaven. He's peaceful and wonderful.
~The way he uses his little hands, whether he's sucking on them or patting me with them when he's eating.
~His SMELL. It's the BEST SMELL EVER!!!!
~His little mouth..it's his defining feature and I feel like he looks like a different baby when he has a pacifier or is nursing and you can't see it as well.
I could go on and on for years...but those are the highlights

I wanted to add the funny thing Ben told me yesterday. We took Connor to the hospital to have a jaundice check, and he was ok so far. On our way home Ben said "I didn't want to tell you this the moment I felt it, but when he came out my first thought was- 'Let's do that again!!!!' " Ha ha! I'm glad one of us felt that way at the time! So cute that he fell so hard in love with Connor that he already wanted more! :-)

Anyway, here are some pictures for your viewing pleasure...I am obsessed...

Baby Connor's Birth Story

I'm going to type it all out while it's nice and fresh in my mind and while Grandma Betsy is holding little baby Connor.

As I posted before, I was on bed rest for Pre-Eclampsia for about a week. It was hard, I was really having a rough time staying down with so much to do to prepare! So Monday we came in for my appointment with the midwife and she sent me down to labor and delivery again; after our 8th ultrasound in which we got a cute picture of Connor giving us a thumbs up :-). I was monitored for a couple of hours to see my blood pressure and the baby's stress levels. Baby was fine all along, he was a real champ in spite of my high levels. When they weren't dropping I was hoping they'd tell me I just needed to have him...but I didn't think I'd get so lucky. But the nurse came in and said "Guess what?" I said, "What, I'm going home AGAIN?" and she said "yeah...but you get to come back at midnight for an induction!!!". I felt like I had the goofiest perma-smile...I felt like someone had just told me Christmas was early this year! This was about 4:00, after being at the hospital already for 3 1/2 hours. So I had orders to go home, eat dinner, take a sleeping pill and sleep from 5:30 til 11:30 and then shower and come back in to be induced. I TRIED to sleep, but again it was like Christmas eve! I only slept 2 1/2 hours then just laid there on and off. We left the house a little after midnight and checked in around 12:15 a.m. They had everything all ready to go but it took til about 2 a.m. to get me all hooked up, poked, blood drawn and get my first "pill". It was a little crumb of medicine that I had to put between my lip and gums to dissolve. It caused contractions to start heavier...and I'd already been sorta having my first real contractions after Laurie checked me that afternoon. I slept from 2-2:55 and woke up because the monitors on the baby were SO lolud that when baby moved it startled me. Not smart of the nurse!!! So I laid there with contractions every 3-4 minutes, and I thought THAT was painful. I had no idea....

When I was checked earlier by Laurie I was at a 1..so not far at all. After the first round of pill I was still a 1+. But I was starting to efface a bit. Second round of pill brought more contractions and still not much progress. I was 50 % effaced after that but still a 1+. I HATED being checked. The worst thing at that point I'd experienced. SO..after my third round (these pills were all 3 hours apart so around 7 I got the last one) and the contractions were starting to make me uncomfortable. I got in the tub and was enjoying the soaking when my midwife came in with the nurse, my friend Annie who has been best friends with my cousin since before I was born. She's hilarious and so wonderful as a nurse. I was already shameless at being seen naked by people..ha ha. Laurie decided she wanted to break my water and strip my membranes. THAT WAS THE WORST PART OF THE WHOLE DAY!!!! I cried and was begging for it to end. The breaking of the water wasn't the bad part, that was really quite cool...felt really crazy. After that my contractions starting hitting me HARD. The stripping membranes did it's job and put me at a 2+, and my contractions started coming SO fast. I was gripping the side of the bed so hard and doing my best not to scream. Ben was being so good and rubbing my back and not touching me when I needed him not to ha ha. Laurie told me to walk the halls for a little while which I couldn't bear the thought of. Annie said it would actually help the pain a bit so I did it. We didn't make it far between each contraction but managed to walk for 35 minutes. It helped but by the time I was done I was begging for an epidural. I didn't think I had a shot in heck at getting one. I was checked again and dilated at a 3, and somehow Laurie got talked into letting me have my epidural. I almost cried I was so happy. I never knew pain like that existed and I had been having pain for 7 hours by the time I got it. I was given the epidural right after my mom showed up, around 10: 30 a.m. I was having the hardest time with my very last contraction and was SO glad it was the last I'd feel. It took effect really fast and I was in heaven. I don't know how people have babies naturally. YIKES. I relaxed and just waited after that. My dad showed up a little bit after that and he and my mom left and came back and he brought Connor a present..baseball bat and ball mit, and Sponge Bob fishing pole, and a Hot Wheels car. Ha ha!!! Grandpa Scott was SO excited!!! He had a nice birthday card for Connor in there as well. So cute.. they also brought me a beautiful bouquet of flowers!

I was checked regularly, and finally around 3:00 I jumped from a 3 to a 6. I felt like it'd be happening soon. I went from 6 to a nine 1/2 in the next hour and then was fully ready around 4:30 and I started feeling the urge to push. I had been SO nervous leading up to the pushing because when my mom had me I got stuck and I did NOT want that to happen to me! I was shaking and scared. But when the time came to push I just went for it. They told me I was a really good pusher and was doing it perfectly. My mom had told me ahead of time how to do it right, since nobody really told her how, hence the long labor and pushing with me. I felt really proud and capable, and I just KNEW I had the power to do this. I was ready to bring the baby into the world! I pushed for about an hour and a half, and for me it felt like 20 minutes. Laurie came in at the end and really stretched me out and coached me well. I had such great nurses but it was nice to have my actual caregiver there finally! She had to turn the baby because he was posterior. His heart rate was jumping all over the place so I had oxygen on between pushes and had to lay on my side to keep him steady. He was getting so tired in the end Laurie was preparing me for the idea of C section. By some miracle it seemed 5 minutes later she was telling me I had one more push! I'll never forget that feeling...so surreal. I was really about to meet my baby?! Oh I forgot to say I'd been clicking my epidural button like crazy cuz I'd started to feel my contractions again...and I didn't want ANY of that going on! Luckily right at the end it kicked back in and I was ready to get him out. I felt all the pressure of baby's head and asked if that's what I was feeling. Ben said yeah, and I was really close. I was so ready!!! Ben said watching his head pop out was the weirdest thing. He thought his head would be really small but all of a sudden the WHOLE head just popped out! It felt SO good to me to have that pressure gone..and then I pushed the rest of him out and tore just a little bit because his arm came out weird. We went skin to skin and when they laid him on my stomach I just bawled. I couldn't believe this was my baby!! I could really only see the top of his head and was just AMAZED. I really made this baby? He came out of ME? He was so small and perfect!!! Ben was crying and that made me cry more...He was SUCH an awesome support. He held my leg the whole hour and a half and was starting to shake from the effort. He was very invested in the whole process, and I loved him so much for that. He was awesome. The baby was perfectly pink and healthy, but not screaming real loud, he was tired. But when they took him off of me to weigh him and such he let them know he had a good set of lungs! He weighed in at 7 lbs 4 oz and was 19 inches long. He was born at 6:15 p.m. I had a nice perfectly sized baby!!! No 10 pounders for me!! Although Laurie did say I would have been fine delivering a bigger baby, I guess I have a good birth canal ha ha.

Recovery has been a little crazy...I have still only slept a total of maybe 5 hours in the past 2 days. I'm staying another night at the hospital to help bring my pain level down and they are monitoring my blood pressure to make sure I'm ok to go home. I also need some more sleep tonight so hopefully Connor behaves in the nursery. He is SUCH a good baby and has already nursed a few times. He latched on right away after he was born and we got him to nurse from both sides! Today he has eaten a couple of times and is doing so well. I love bonding with him and being able to snuggle him and smell him. Ben is holding him now and I sorta miss him. I love Connor more than ANYTHING! I still can't believe he's mine and I get to keep him forever! What a blessing and a beautiful thing. All the pain was worth it in the end...and I'm so excited to start my life as a new mommy! I feel like I have overcome a lot of fears and tears the past 2 days, and now that I've had a baby..I can do anything! :-) Here are some pictures for now, we'll get more up later!

Quick Update

I'm supposed to be laying down right now but I'm cheating for a minute to write about what's going on with us today.

I went to my appointment, business as usual. I had been up at 4:30 in the morning feelin a little nauseous, and had a really sore sciatic nerve. So I took a hot bath and made it back in bed at 6...and then woke up at 7 to Ben's alarm..then 7:30 when he woke me up for good. My appointment was at 8. I went in my slippers, no makeup and no breakfast. I just wanted to get in and out!

No luck..my blood pressure was 146/100...way WAY too high. And then they found a lot of protein in my urine. Lovely! "Have you been having headaches?" they asked... "Why yes I have. I wake up with headaches and they last til I take something..." hmmm..."have you been seeing bright spots or stars or anything?" ....."Yes...as a matter of fact I have..." hmmm... ok well you may get your wish for an early baby. If these levels don't come down you may be induced today or tomorrow. "WAIT WHAT?!!" I started panicking thinking about how NOT ready I am. I mean yeah I'm ready..but there are still things to be done! My bag isn't packed! I felt I had a lot more time! When she checked me, I was not dialated or effaced at ALL..so she said we probably would NOT induce because I just was not ready...and inducing me too early could lead to C-Section. So on to Labor and Delivery I went...

I had to get blood drawn (that was fun, after poking me the phlebotomist realized she hadn't drawn any blood into the vial! Ok..wow. SO I had to get re-poked..and then I had to get an ultrasound, which was fun I guess..then had to have my pressures monitored for a while. They weren't AS high as they had been earlier but still really high..like 137/87. So after getting my labs they decided I could go home, but on bed rest. Only get up to go potty. And starting Thursday morning I have to keep EVERY drop of pee for 24 hours..then go back in Friday morning for more tests, and a 2 hour pressures/non stress test monitoring party. Fun huh? That'll be MY black Friday!!!

I'm having a REALLY hard time being down on bed rest. My nesting has really kicked in and I want to do SO much. I came to St. George tonight with Ashlee as she was driving down from Provo. It'll give Ben a chance to focus on his HUGE final project (75-100 pages anyone?) so that he can get it done in case Baby Tyrrel comes soon. He was SO good to me for the few hours I was home this afternoon. He didn't make me feel like a pain in the butt...he put the baby's swing together in our room so I could watch. He moved the computer to my nightstand so it'd be close to me...and made me some really yummy sandwiches. I love him SO much. I'm sad to be away from him tonight, but know he'll get more work done this way! P.S. Ben is down 26 pounds from his diet! He looks AWESOME.

SO that's our story! Hopefully I can stay healthy for the both of us and keep this pesky pressure down! The hard part is I have NO idea if it's up high or not. I don't feel any different...so it's hard to feel like I NEED to be laying down. Oh well...Can't wait for baby to come and put an end to all this madness!!! :-) Then we can begin a whole new phase of madness...but a lot more fun!

Pregnant Dreams...

Before I get into what could be SO boring for anyone to read...I'll let you see the latest belly picture. This is actually last week, but I don't feel like I've changed a WHOLE lot. As of yesterday I am FULL term! I am trying to do a few things to get this labor thing started..but so far nothing. Let's hope he's here soon! I'm SO ready to meet my little boy!

So those who know me well know that I have WEIRD dreams. I know there are not many dreams that are NOT weird..but I guess what makes me odd is I remember almost ALL of my dreams. Since being pregnant I have had increasingly odd dreams...but I feel like I had the weirdest of them all a few nights ago. I can't get it out of my head so I'm going to write it out....err type it out! If you feel like reading, great. If not, I won't be offended!

Not sure how it started..as most dreams..but for some reason I was dead. Kirsten had ceased to be Kirsten. But my spirit was still alive, and I had to be someone ELSE. I had my same mind, but to everyone I was known as this other person, and I had to BE this person until SHE died. Much like re-incarnation I guess, but I didn't start as a baby. So who was I? Well I bore a striking resemblance to Lindsay Lohan. In fact as the dream progressed I was her twin sister...or something. I was ok with it, I guess Lindsay is a pretty girl when she's not all wacked out. And it was weird to be that skinny..as I have NEVER been that skinny in my life.

As the dream progressed I was swimming in a lazy river type thing..a river that just went in a circle around this section of land. I was a little nervous to do this, because apparently this is where my current "person" would die..and I was going to have to become someone else. I wish I could remember who that person was...another actress...but ANYWAY in the mean time I could hear the voice of this guy I worked with at InfoWest. I looked down and he was a trout. A swimming trout...and beside him..as he explained to me..was his girlfriend Patty. He explained that they had always loved fish and really wanted to try life as a fish, and since it wouldn't be a LONG life if they hated it, they hadn't lost much. WOW. Really?

I honestly can't remember the rest, I would have if I had typed this out the morning after the dream..but it was WACK!!!

My next dream happened this morning. Ben and I were driving through California, in the area we used to live. But the way we were driving was almost like MarioKart on the Wii...weird. So we decide to drive by our old apartment. Only it looked NOTHING like our old apartment. It looked more like a laundromat..but I didn't realize this..in my dream it was normal. We got out of our car and were wandering around but didn't want our old landlord to see us. So we were sneaking around and suddenly Ben thought someone saw us so we were laying down under the stairs hiding. It was gross! So we finally escaped to our car, which was now a big white truck..and the landlady saw us and said something to Ben. When he got in the truck he said she'd told him we needed to take care of that fridge we'd left behind. I yelled out the window "It's been a YEAR! YOU TAKE CARE OF IT!!!!" But then I came to my senses and realized we had a big truck, why not be nice and haul it off ourselves? Maybe we could sell it on Craigslist or something. So we drove around the corner to where all the leftover fridges were (By the way we DID leave our fridge for the guy who moved in after us, but he said it had gone rotten or bad or something in the time it took him to move in. Weird..) So I found our old fridge, opened it and BLEH! It had old peach skins and maggots and I swear I could SMELL it for real in my dream. Ben had wandered off so I went to find him. I was in a field and as he came towards me, so did a raccoon! It started jumping up on me! I was screaming bloody murder, trying to get back in the truck with our kitty and Figaro. Then I woke up. Ok...and that was a mid morning nap dream. YIKES.

I've never been one for recurring dreams, but the ones I seem to have relate in some way to:

Disneyland (or any theme park my mind remembers) namely Wet N Wild as well..
Airports (forgetting ticket, or luggage or missing my flight)
Having my baby but not feeling any sort of love for it...those suck
Realizing it's the end of a semester of high school and I have been MISSING my math class ALL semester! How will I pass the final?!
Being in high school again and not remembering the combo to my locker
The ocean or Lake Powell. I never seem to ENJOY that dream though..it's always a scary one.

Anyone else have any recurring dreams?

Lovely Last Day...

As I posted yesterday, today is my last day at work. You'd think KNOWING that would have made it SO easy to come to work! WRONG! I just wanted to lay around and do NOTHING today! So I'm glad all my efforts to look decent today paid off with a nice going away "party" at work. There aren't that many people working in my office on Fridays..in fact only my boss and one other co worker at this moment. Another will be in within the hour. So "parties" are a little weird. More like the boss saying..hey I got cookies..everyone have one...and here's a card for you Kirsten. It was cute though, being in an office consisting mainly of men they managed to get me a card with a pink fairy on the front (the good luck fairy) that makes magical noises when it opens. Impressive right? Inside the card was a $25 Visa giftcard from the office. SO nice. I don't even think there was a going away event or gift when I left my job in Cali and I had done a LOT more for that company! Just goes to show you can never predict how people will be. I'm grateful my boss and office made me feel so special and that they are sad to see me go. Makes me feel special...

Here's a close-up of the turkey iced cookie I'm still trying to finish...frosting OVERLOAD!

The END!

Punching out...

So tomorrow is my last day of work...EVER. I say that now, but I'd better be careful in case someday I HAVE to work again. I just figure since Ben and I have already done the whole unemployed, living with parents thing, we will never have to suffer in that way again. In a perfect world right?

ANYWAY...I am officially going to be done working after my shift tomorrow! Can I tell you how much I will NOT miss having to work?! Yes I have the easiest job EVER. I only work 4 hours a day, I answer phones, and do very menial work on the computer. But it IS a job. I have to ask for time off, I have to make sure I keep an eye on the clock everyday. I have to get READY..( a task that gets increasingly annoying the bigger I get).

So as of Monday...bring on the freedom! Here are some things I hope to do before my ticking time bomb goes off..

~Clean my car...REALLY well
~Organize my cupboards in the kitchen
~Get every last thing put away in the baby's room
~Organize our garage
~Finish putting up Christmas decorations (yes our tree and half our decor is already up...)
~Read a few good books
~Get in a walk everyday, in spite of how cold it may be outside
~Take afternoon naps
~Get my spare bedroom ready for our guests that will be staying with us...YAY! :-)
~Make sure my cameras are charged and ready to go for the hospital
~Pack my hospital bag
~Learn the meaning of PATIENCE...

I think that should keep me somewhat busy while I play the waiting game! Not to mention Thanksgiving is next week and I can't wait to see "The Blind Side" and "New Moon"..as soon as I feel up to braving the crowds!!!

Being pregnant...

I feel like since I've been pregnant I complain a LOT. Maybe that's just normal...it's easy to express your discomforts and pains, but not so fun to talk about what is GREAT about pregnancy. Not sure why that is...but I have just had a lot of fun complaining! But before this big process is over I guess I'd better post on how much I have LOVED being pregnant in spite of the incessant heartburn and getting bigger by the day...but I digress...

I looked in the mirror today at my big belly and realized how much I will miss it when it's gone! I of course cannot WAIT to have my waistline back...but I have grown quite used to that big bump. I remember being SO excited to finally show! I was one of those who was not hiding it by any means, but poking it out before it was even there! I have been so proud of this baby bump. I would almost get mad when people couldn't tell by looking at me that I was CLEARLY pregnant. What, did they think I was just fat? Probably...

Anyway...I have waited a long time to be pregnant. I have wanted a baby since I was married the first time, and am SO thankful no baby came of that relationship. But even though I was living a single life I STILL could not wait to become a mommy. So when Ben and I had only been married for 3 months I was THRILLED when he agreed to try for a baby! The conversation went something like this..I remember it very clearly. We were laying on our bed and I was whining about how yet ANOTHER friend of mine was pregnant...and I said " I just feel like it's my TURN!" Ben said very quietly.. "Me too..." I had to probe him for a long time to get him to repeat what he'd said to know if I'd heard him right!!! He finally admitted to saying it and said we could start trying but I HAD to keep it a secret. Ok..sure..I could do that. YEAH RIGHT.

A LOT of people knew I was trying the longer we tried unsuccessfully to get pregnant. We started in August and it took until March for it to happen. I was pretty much resigning myself to the fact that it'd never happen. I'd never be pregnant...and I was even getting used to the idea of adopting if we had to! My last breakdown was about a week before I found out I was pregnant. I cried in Ben's lap and wanted him to just be as mad as I was...and he was. He let me rant and rave. I even said "I'll feel so stupid if this turns out to be the month I actually AM pregnant.." Maybe that sealed the deal? Who knows...but I WAS pregnant!

I still remember my shock at seeing that little pink line. Could it really be? FINALLY?! I have never been so over the moon for anything in my life. And I still am...and know I always will be when this baby is concerned! It's amazing how that little line on a pregnancy test has turned into this big growing, kicking, amazing little boy in my ever growing belly!

I have loved feeling him kick, turn, hiccup and sometimes even tickle me. I love knowing he's in there all safe and sound. It has been the easiest babysitting I've ever done! It amazes me that he can survive in there without air or real food...but when he's out I have to watch him so carefully to make sure the temperature is right, he is eating enough, pooping enough, sleeping enough and getting enough love (which won't be hard). I feel like this baby is so self sufficient now...and he'll be born so helpless! Ha ha..how backwards is that?

Anyway, in spite of all the discomfort...being pregnant has been one of the greatest blessings. I know part of me will miss it. I have really gotten used to it and dare I say...I can't wait to be pregnant again when this is all over! I guess that's the beauty of motherly love. I know this is one of the greatest most meaningful things I have ever done in my life...and I know I have a big responsibility ahead in bringing up a little baby who will become a grown person with goals and dreams of his own. I hope he knows how much he is loved already and that I will enjoy motherhood as much as I have enjoyed being pregnant!

Breach Baby

SO my sweet little baby boy is BREACH again. I know his head was down 2 weeks ago..but the last couple days what I thought was a little bum is apparently his HEAD. I had my appointment today and that's the situation! SO...

Monday morning I have an appointment with my office to see if he has turned. If not then I'll have an appointment with Dr. Gatherum later that day whenever they can fit me in, just to do a consult. Since I am seeing a nurse midwife, there are certain things she can't do alone, without the help of an MD. After he sees me they will schedule a procedure for Tuesday in which they will try to turn the baby. They'll put me under anesthesia and give me an epidural, so that just in case things get complicated, they can do emergency C section. I guess the risk involved is that the placenta could rupture, or the cord could get stuck around his neck or something. So just in case, they want me ready to go. They are pretty aggressive with him to get him to flip. This can also induce labor..so I could have this baby as soon as NEXT WEEK! YIKES!

I'm hoping baby will turn on his own and not even need any of this done. I think he probably will, as he is a little squirmy boy already! If not, then ok, let's have a baby! :-)

I love saving money...

It's true. Many of you know it's become somewhat of an addiction! I love cutting coupons, I love finding deals, and I LOVE saving money. If you haven't yet, check out my money saving blog HERE. It is still being worked on, but I will be making bigger strides in the next couple of weeks to keep my mind off the slow going last month of pregnancy. I will post other fun things too, like great easy recipes, advice for stay at home moms, book referrals..stuff I am really into. I love finding new fun blogs to follow, and want to have one that people can really enjoy if they are into the same things I am! :-)

I just wanted to share my INCREDIBLE savings I got last night...and inspire you to find some great deals of your own!

Walgreens had always been just another store in my mind...extra and over-priced. I thought, "Why would ANYONE shop there?! It's so expensive..." But really..I was SO wrong. Not only do they have really great prices and save you a trip to WalMart..they have REGISTER REWARDS. Wow. I was overwhelmed the first time I read about this..and tried it. The first time I went to Walgreens to cash in on register rewards Ben and I were there for over an hour! And last night on my second trip..it was like 20 minutes. A BIG improvement.

If you are still interested...read on. If not, this may be boring info....

Here's how I worked my awesome deal last night.
Walgreen's had a deal...spend $20 on select medicines and get $10 in register rewards (RR)
Also, buy Nyquil any 2 for $12 and get $5 in RR.
SO I used all my many coupons, as well as the in-ad coupon they had this week for $5 off your purchase of $25 or more. The key is to give them THAT coupon first. that way your manufacturer coupons don't take you UNDER the $25 mark. For example..I had $12.50 worth of coupons I had cut from the paper. So if I had used those first I may have gone under $25 and not been able to use the $5 off. SO I gave them that first..then had my other coupons. Total discount in coupons? $17.50! So if you add up what I WOULD have spent..it would come to about $51.90 with tax. I spent $23.50 with tax! YIKES! :-) Then if you factor in my RR..I spent $8.50. And I got GOOD stuff..like Sudafed, Tylenol and NyQuil products. Things that we use regularly during cold season. I was really happy about it!

SO what will I do with my RR? I have til 11/24 to use them. I'm going back to Walgreens but in St. George...because THEY got a coloring book that has coupons in it. The Cedar store did NOT get them in stock. They have a coupon for $1 off Huggies. It will apply to all packages I buy. So I'll spare you the details..but I am going to buy 9 packs in 3 different transactions and the end result will be $1.69 per pack! FOR DIAPERS! Gotta love RR...and coupons. If you don't take the time to cut them..and think it doesn't save enough money for the effort ( I used to think this way)..THINK AGAIN! IT'S SO WORTH IT!

Good luck finding some great deals of your own this week @ Walgreens!

Baby Shower!!!

This weekend was the event I've been looking forward to for a long time! I was originally going to have a small shower in St. George primarily for my friends, but after realizing my whole family would be in St. George the same day, we decided to combine showers! My mom went ALL out and made it the cutest most fun shower I've ever been to! My mom bought everything BLUE she could possibly find. We had blue iced cupcakes, blue candy, blue punch, even chips in blue bags! She used her blue sheets to cover the furniture and had blue balloons everywhere! There were little baby boys taped along the banister of the stairs and baby clothes hanging from a makeshift clothesline. It was an eyeful and took me a long time just to notice all the adorable decor!!! I was so grateful and overwhelmed...I truly have the best mom in the world! She even surprised me a few minutes before the shower by putting on blue sweats that had been embroidered "Connor's Grandma".

A lot of my mom's friends and neighbors were told very last minute about the shower (as well as some of my aunts) but showed up and showered me with some really fun gifts! Connor is VERY prepared for his first few months of life! We played some fun games, and my mom made me wear a baby pacifier (big person sized ha ha) around my neck, and a big blue bow headband on my head! (no picture of that on my camera) My aunt Michelle helped out with some of the games and made the cute little baby shoe candies pictured above. My mom served little bbq weenies and meatballs...her little inside joke that everyone caught on to...ha ha. Leave it to my mom!

I felt so loved and had such a fun day. Connor started moving around in my tummy right when the shower started and he didn't stop for the entire afternoon! He was so excited to hear his mommy get lots of fun presents for him! Just look at the loot we brought home today!!!

There will still be more to come from family that couldn't make it which is amazing, because we feel so blessed already! We also have a fun giftcard to Babies R Us from Connors Grandma and Grandpa Tyrrel that we are excited to use!

Thank you to everyone who came and made it such a fun day! And thank you Lauren for taking some fun maternity pictures for us after it was over! I can't wait to see them!!!

Only 34 more days til Connor's due date...WE CANNOT WAIT!!!

Ben's pregnant!

Ha ha ok..he's not really. But if he peed on a stick it'd probably show positive! Ben started the HCG diet today...after a lot of research and making sure it was what he wanted. It'll be a bit weird for me to watch Ben shed the pounds as I am still gaining a few before this baby comes out..but I have never been more excited for him! He's struggled with his weight his whole life. He remembers being really heavy when he was 10 years old even...so this will be a life changer for him and something I feel he'll really stick to! So..if you feel like watching his progress..he started a blog of his own! Click on Ben's Blog to check it out! Good luck babe!

As for me, my feet are swollen..it looks gross..I have cankles...and I'm ready for Connor to be BORN! I love this baby...but I think I'll appreciate him a lot more when he's OUT! :-) Only a few more weeks left thank goodness! WAHOO!

I was SO excited to buy this pretty collar coat..til my husband told me it was a TREE skirt. As if! :-) Ha ha...
For those who do NOT comprehend my sense of humor..I really DID know it was a tree skirt. Ben was dying of embarrassment when I put this on in Target for my mom to take a picture. ha ha!

One last thing..I have officially stained the belly of THREE shirts since being prego. I just am not used to my belly catching my spills. Oops...

YAY for me

I have been SO tired lately that I literally just sit on the couch when I wake up in the morning and watch tv...then I get home from work and do the same thing. If I DO get up to do "just a little bit" I end up getting a LOT done. So it's just getting me off the couch that is the key. I don't remember feeling this tired since I was a kid and had pulled an all nighter with my friends! And trust me--I'm getting 9-10 hour night sleep every night! I gotta admit--caffeine and I have been friends today. Oh well...

So last night I had been sitting in my usual couch position for about 2 1/2 hours when I asked Ben if he'd gotten the mail. Oh yeah...he had. I opened one of the letters to me to find it was my $500 check from my second online offer I completed! I had been waiting for it to come Fed Ex...so I had no idea it had even arrived! I was SO excited!

If you haven't looked into doing one of these offers, you really SHOULD because they are legit and so far I have done 3 (received 2 with the other one on it's way) worth $1500.00. I have spent about $150 out of pocket. SO....check into it!

Connor Tyrrel-32ish weeks

Here's our sweet baby at roughly 32 weeks! He is measuring a LOT bigger than that..about 34 weeks and a few days. According to their measurements he is almost 5 pounds...so either he's gonna be a FATTY or he's coming early! They said he'd be due November 29th if those measurements were accurate. Unfortunately even the docs don't trust their own machinery and said they can't technically change my due date. But trust me--I'll be surprised if he doesn't come at least a little early! He's measured at least a week ahead the whole time...so if he wants to come a bit early that's fine with me! Here's a cute little face shot of him! He's turned and his head is down where it should be...so we're just waiting for him to grow and be ready to come into the world! Everything is ok with his heart, nothing to worry about there...now we just gotta stay healthy!

Aaaaa CHOOO!

This weekend was supposed to be relaxing, fun and our last "getaway" before baby Tyrrel graces us with his presence. We were going to stop at the Beaver cheese factory and get yummy ice cream cones. We were going to eat at The Blue Iguana in Salt Lake--my favorite Mexican food. We were going to stay in the SUITE at the Kimball right across from Temple square-complete with a HUGE jacuzzi tub that was going to be WONDERFUL for my sore muscles and crazy sciatic nerve.

We were going to see Music and the Spoken Word because Ben has never been.

We were going to get free hot chocolate at 7-11 because I found coupons...(he he)

We were going to enjoy a weekend of no homework, no primary class, and no stress at all.

This was all going to happen until yesterday morning when...

It literally started out of the blue. The night before I had felt FINE. That night I slept really restlessly and woke up at 6:30 to find my head felt like I had been hit by a bus. I thought it was due to the lack of restful sleep, but Ben asked if I maybe had gotten his sinus infection..sure enough what I described was how he'd felt all week. WHAT?! I just got over a COLD last week. Now I'm sick again????

I suffered all day and called in sick to work. I was going to visit a doctor but my cousin told me I could have my baby nurse midwife call in a prescription for me. SO I did just that. They called in a Z pack and I'm waiting for it to do it's magic. But that doesn't change the fact that I am just NOT up for a trip now. Our plans will have to wait until AFTER baby Tyrrel comes!

I am just hoping and praying now that I really have JUST a sinus infection and not something much worse like swine flu. It seems that's all you hear/read about..and what if I DO have it? How long should I wait to go to the ER and be tested? I only had a fever last night and it's gone now. Sigh...what would YOU do?

On the upside- we adopted a sweet little kitten the other night. She would have gone straight to the pound if the owners couldn't find a home for her, and I couldn't stand the thought of it! So since we wanted Figaro to have a friend to distract him when the baby comes...we figured what the heck. She's 11 weeks old and the biggest FLUFF ball we've ever seen! So far she and Figaro are still getting to know one another...





It's funny to hear her little set of paws running around the house...and Figaro keeps her on her toes. He wants to play so badly but she's still just so small! :-) We're crazy I know--blame it on the nesting.

AIDA

So back in 2001 before 9/11 and all that devastation hit NYC, I took my very first plane ride and went to the Big Apple with my performing group, Diamond Talent. I scrimped and saved for that trip for months..even having a big car wash a few weeks before hand and getting the sunburn of a lifetime! I cleaned so many toilets I swore the first time I went to the bathroom IN New York it'd make up for all the ones I'd cleaned to get there! It definitely did...

I don't have any pictures from that trip online, that was back in the days of film...but the memories I have from that trip are still SO vivid! I LOVE New York City and hope I can visit a few more times in my life. Ben will be going there in January for a school trip. It'll be hard not only to be without him, but to miss out on a NY trip! We had so much fun there together when we did our engagement pictures!

My point for this post is to rave about my favorite Broadway show of all time...AIDA. I saw 8 shows that week, but this one took the cake. I saw it on a Tuesday after eating at Tavern on the Green for my best friend Tishanne's 16th birthday. It was a fairytale day...followed by one of the best nights EVER! I even recall the food from Tavern made me sick...REALLY sick. But I didn't care because I got to see AIDA with the original cast comprised of Heather Headley and Adam Pascal. I was rocked to the core after this show. Heather Headley had this amazing gift of not only the most remarkable VOICE but the ability to connect with her audience. I wasn't on the front row or anything, but felt that woman's passion for her role several rows back. I wasn't the only one who felt this way either...almost all of us were at a loss for words for the rest of the night. It was AMAZING!!!!So of course, 8 1/2 years later I was a bit hesitant to see the show again at Tuacahn, which puts on great shows but is definitely not BROADWAY. I mean what if the woman playing Aida just did not GET it? What if she couldn't portray the role correctly? What if her voice was sub-par? What if the set was lame compared to the gorgeous Broadway set? What if Radames didn't have that awesome rock voice needed for the role? SO many unknowns. :-)

If I wouldn't have free tickets to this show I may not have gone..in fact we almost forgot to go! We realized Sunday that the show was closing this week and we could only use our free tix on Tues or Thurs. Luckily we got amazing seats for last night's performance.

I was NOT disappointed. I had told myself I'd never be able to enjoy this show again after the original..but the second the lights came up and I saw the beautiful museum setting and pyramids in the back on the beautiful Ivins mountain..I started to cry. And I cried more when I saw Princess Amneris in her museum "box". I bawled when she started to sing and the main characters made their way on stage. I finally calmed down when things got a little more...I don't know. Just not emotional. But I cried again when Aida belted out her first phrase "You know NOTHING ABOUT ME! AND CARE EVEN LESS!" Thank GOODNESS she had an awesome voice. Thank goodness Radames was good looking and had rock and roll quality.

I am SO glad I went and saw the show again. It was so refreshing to sit through a show that long and enjoy EVERY second of it. I haven't been that entertained at a show since I saw La Boheme at Opera Pacific...but that's another story!

Photo Session giveaway!

Hey all, my friend Errin Andrus is having a photo session giveaway on her new website/blog! Check out HER SITE to find out how to enter! She does an amazing job, I'm having her take baby Connor's pictures right after he's born! I already wanted to hire her even before I got pregnant. Check out her site and see her fabulous work! Here's a sample--a picture she took of my sister for Senior Pictures a few months ago.

Beautiful right? Errin also teaches photography in private one on one classes if you are interested in learning the art of photography! :-) Go to her website soon to check out all the fabulous photos and deals she has!

31 weeks!

I can't believe how fast the last 12 weeks have gone by. While they were happening they felt very long, but knowing I only have about 8-9 weeks left...I can't believe how fast it has gone! The other day I looked down at my belly and started to laugh because I hadn't realized how BIG it had gotten almost overnight! Here's a picture to prove it...

How can I possibly grow any bigger?!
Baby Connor weighs about 3.3 pounds right now...and I feel every ounce of it. My tummy is HEAVY!

Things I am loving about this pregnancy right now:

~The baby moves ALL the time. He is hardly ever sleeping and I can feel little parts of him more distinctly! I love that I can feel him kick his little foot and leave it pushed against the top of my tummy for a few seconds.
~When I push on my tummy where he's kicking or pushing, he'll move it to another part of my tummy
~I feel the hiccups a lot more distinctly now...and they don't bother me. It cracks me up!
~I feel very bonded with this little baby boy and find myself daydreaming about him ALL the time.
~My baby loves music! It puts him to sleep...and I can't wait to sing to him when he's here.


Things I am NOT loving:

~Thinking I am about to pee my pants only to find I have barely 4 drops of pee when I finally go...
~The heartburn that has been there since day 1
~Not being able to sleep due to sore muscles and constant anxiety/excitement about this baby!
~The muscles in my sides pulling and stretching to make more room for baby...ouch.
~The fact that Connor found my ribs and is NOT shy to kick them to bits. My sides have also been sore on the inside from his intense kicking.
~Swollen hands and feet...they are just gross.

Things I have learned this past week:

~What Braxton Hicks contractions feel like...
~I can't sit close enough to the table anymore...puts me at higher risk of spilling food all over myself. I think this is why women start to use their tummies for a table...
~Why it's natural to waddle when you're pregnant...
~Nesting instincts reach far beyond just decorating and cleaning a nursery...they can make you very determined to rake the leaves in the backyard you never even sit in...

All in all I LOVE being pregnant. Ben thinks after this one I won't want to do it again...but in spite of my complaints I'd do it over and over. Knowing I'll be a mommy soon to this sweet little baby makes all the suffering SO worth while! We love our baby Connor and can't wait to meet him!

WHY?

Today's post is for all of us wondering WHY people can be SO lame, dumb, stupid, etc...

I am luckily not severely affected by the course of action that has led to this complaint blog...so I'm not shaking with anger or anything. Just wondering WHY?

2 years ago Ben and I had just started dating. We were doing the long distance thing-and it was so fun to travel back and forth! Being the wonderful man Ben is--when I called him on September 27th crying because my grandma had just passed away, he asked if I wanted him to come. At first I said no, that would be too much to ask. But after we hung up I realized I DID want him there. And I knew chances were I'd be asked to sing for the funeral, and judging by how HARD it was to sing for my grandpa's funeral years before, I thought it'd be nice if we could sing a duet. Ben didn't hesitate for a moment, he bought his plane ticket and was there within 2 days. He rented a car for that visit, since I didn't have the energy to drive to Vegas to get him, and the shuttle schedule didn't work with his flight time. I remember he was SO tired and could hardly wait to get into town.

He picked up the rental car and had a hard time figuring out how to get out of the airport...they had just changed their exit or something. He was talking to Lauren on the phone when he hung up all of a sudden (after saying one swear word--which indicated something BAD had happened since he NEVER swears). He called back and said he had jus been in a small accident, a fender bender. I can't relay the exact details, as I was not there- but it sounds like he changed lanes at about the same time as a lady was merging into the same lane, so the very back bumper of his rental car hit the front of hers. VERY minor--nobody was even near hurt. It was SO ridiculous. There had been a cop nearby that saw the whole thing and apparently had blinders on because he wrote BEN the ticket-even though it was technically both of their fault.

Long story short--Ben's insurance with State Farm DOUBLED because of the mishap. The woman racked up a TON of medical bills for "injuries" sustained in the accident. More like chiropractic work she probably blamed on the accident that didn't even cause any damage! He had to switch to a new company when we got married, and then recently we switched to a very cheap company here in Utah.

It's been a little over two years since the incident. State Farm called him today and let him know that woman has filed a suit against him. She had attempted this before in the past I believe--but finally went through with it just days before the statute of limitations expired. We are not worried- State Farm will cover the entire thing, and they will pay for Ben to travel to Las Vegas if he has to- for a trial or whatever. But Ben does NOT have the time for this at ALL right now! And what type of person files suit for such a STUPID accident TWO years later? My guess is she's down on her gambling luck and needs the extra cash. I hope a judge will see it that way and not give her any money. Even though we aren't the ones who have to pay for it--it just seems SO unjust to grant such a person money for this ridiculous accident! According to Ben she didn't come across as a very normal human being...so it doesn't come as a HUGE surprise.

Can someone please tell me WHY we have to deal with such morons in this world? Why are there people out there just living life to make HELL for others? Why do annoying things even happen? If Ben had figured out how to get out of that airport the first time he'd have never met this woman. If I had gone to pick him up this time it wouldn't have happened. If a lot of things...so WHY? What was the point of this happening? Why do people pull out in front of us when we are in a hurry and cause us to miss the next 3 stoplights? If they had waited 4 more seconds we could have been at our destination 3 minutes earlier! I know sometimes these things can keep bigger worse things from happening. But from my small perspective...all I can do is ask WHY?!

Happy Birthday to Ben!

Today is Ben's 28th Birthday! It's the third birthday I've been able to spend with Ben, and I think they've gotten better every year! He got WAY spoiled this year and had a whole birthday weekend in St. George! I drove down Friday with Ashlee, while Ben worked on his huge load of homework, then he came down on Saturday and met us at Olive Garden for lunch! My dad was rabbit hunting so it was just me, Ben, my mom, Ashlee and Jeremy. Jeremy and Ben share the same birthday, so it's always been fun to celebrate together! It was a WAY yummy lunch and we had lots of fun!

We spent the afternoon relaxing and then the boys went to Priesthood meeting that night, and us girls went to Deseret Book for Ladies Night! My mom and I have ALWAYS gone early and stood in line and gotten our names in for the drawing...well this year we didn't go early, and BARELY got our names in for a drawing and we BOTH won something! ha ha...go figure! We met the boys after that for some frozen yogurt at KRAVE...the new self serve place. SO yummy I've eaten there 4 times already! We went to the movie theaters and got some movie popcorn after that...and they gave us a big bag for our "free refill" cuz they knew we weren't staying for a movie! We got some more treats and came home and just visited with our spoils. After a couple hours we were all hungry and realized we hadn't eaten dinner- just junk food! So we spontaneously all packed up and went to Denny's at 11:30! It was SO much fun and I love that we are all old enough to stay up that late now! :-) We had great waiters at both restaurants that day..which made it so fun.

The next day we watched some conference, had some home made cinnamon rolls and let Jeremy and Ben open their birthday presents early since Ashlee had to go back to BYU last night, and Ben has a full busy day today! He got pretty spoiled...a new Wii game, Flannel Sheets (he's been wanting for a LONG time), a curly fry maker (yard sale item! ha ha),How I Met Your Mother Season 4, and some Hawaiian chocolate covered macadamia nuts!

Today I got up a couple hours after him..ha ha..and made him some birthday breakfast! Leftover cinnamon rolls..(I'm pregnant...) and scrambled cheesy eggs, and OJ!

Ben is such a wonderful man and lately I have just realized how lucky I am to have him for a husband. I never knew I could love someone so much and that even when the "honeymoon" phase wore off that love could deepen into something so sweet and amazing. He takes such good care of me, and I can't tell him enough throughout the day how much I love him! He is SO smart and I'm constantly amazed by what he's able to accomplish. I love hearing how well he's doing in school and with his assistanship. And I love that he is so talented and will be able to pass on his musical passion to our children! He was selected to sing two solos with the Southern Utah Symphony in December for their performance of Handel's Messiah! I'm so thrilled for him, but hope this baby boy is here to listen to his daddy as well, since his performance dates are the 13th and 14th! :-)

Ben is the love of my life and I would go through what I did to find him a million times if it meant having him as my companion for eternity! I love you Ben! Thank you for being such a WONDERFUL husband! Happy Birthday!!!

Yay for our new camera!

So I realized I hadn't posted a picture of me with my $500 Visa, so here it is! I was SO excited when the Fed Ex man came! I thought it was UPS bringing my baby crib set stuff, but when it was Fed Ex I was confused. As soon as I saw what it was I screamed! Hopefully the Fed Ex man didn't hear me from right outside...

After only about 10 days of diligence, I got this awesome $500 Visa! I was waiting to have it in my hands to believe it wasn't too good to be true!

We had decided we'd buy a really nice camera with our prize, so that we could start learning to take some great pictures for when the baby comes! Lauren recommended me to this camera:
It's a Canon EOS Rebel XS SLR Digital Camera Kit with 18-55mm IS Lens, and we LOVE it! We are still learning how to use it, and definitely need a LOT more practice, but so far we have gotten some really fun, beautiful shots! The best part? This camera sells for around $600 full price. Lauren found it online for $525, Best Buy ad matched it, then I had a 10% off coupon! So I got this bad boy for $450--or free if you calculate in the GIFT CARD we bought it with! We still have $55 more dollars left on my gift card! I'm proud of my savings

Here are some pics we took yesterday on Cedar Mountain...

I was being goofy, but the picture turned out sorta pretty with the lighting and the leaf colors!

Yesterday we had the primary program in our ward and for those of you who didn't read my Facebook status...I had the most embarrassing moment of my life to date! I opened the program with a paragraph about what this year has been like in primary (not sure why they made ME the one to do this- as I've only been in there for 3 weeks!) After my "line" I was walking back to my seat. I had to step down a couple steps, then up a couple steps to go sit by the organ. WELL with all the little kids in their chairs I sorta ran outta room, and my heel (I have not worn heels in over a month thanks to swollen feet) caught on the step, and I plummeted on top of one of the ladies in the primary! She caught me, but my arm also caught me, on the sacrament table, where I slid everything down quite a bit. I was MORTIFIED. I have NEVER been so humiliated!!! But at the same time I was laughing before I even got back up! I could just imagine what it had looked like. Even as I write this now I'm laughing to myself again! I had to sit BEHIND the organ so I could get my laughs out. Ben, who was playing piano for the program could only laugh with me for a moment as he had to start playing. I think he was pretty mortified FOR me!

Onto happier moments...I wanted to write about how special the END of the program was for me. The last song the kids sang was "Families Can Be Together Forever" and all the parents of the kids came up on the stand, stood by their kids and sang with us. It may sound like a lot of people, but we have a ward made up mostly of old people. I tried singing with them, but due to my latest bout of laryngitis, I was struggling. Then I looked around at all the little families and the Spirit kicked in making it impossible for me to sing along. I realized right then how lucky I am to be sealed to my husband forever, and now that I am having a baby, it was the first time it hit me how AMAZING it is that I am sealed to this baby and the rest of my babies FOREVER. It really hit me hard and made me SO thankful for the blessings I enjoy being a member of the church! I can't wait to be holding my children in my arms, singing that beautiful song with them.

Pregnancy has been SO much fun, and while it's starting to get uncomfortable, I know I'm going to miss it! I can't wait to meet Baby Connor! Thank GOODNESS fall is here finally! The summer DRAGGED on, and now I only have a couple more months before he's here!

New savings blog!

Hey everyone...I know a lot of you have been reading my status on Facebook and other places about all the great deals I've been finding and free money I've had come my way! If you are interested in saving money, check out the new blog I started today... www.treasureofsavings.blogspot.com. I'm SO excited to share all my great finds! :-)

$avings!

So I know I just posted yesterday, but today was such a fun day full of money savings and earnings I had to post! It all started when my mom and I went to Big Lots here in Cedar. My mom happened to be up for the morning while my dad did a job in Cedar, so we went to Big Lots. My mom likes it a lot more than the one in St. George. So we were just browsing for the second time in a week, and the manager said hi to us and asked if we needed help with anything! My mom, being the deal finder she is said "Well how about that over there?" She was talking about this piece of furniture she had seen last time that was selling for $99.99. I can't say what it was (surprise for someone) but she asked if they'd mark it down for her! The guy said YES! He gave it to her for $80! So then she asked "Well while you're in a bargaining mood, how about that?...and she pointed to a piece of furniture I had seen and thought would be great for the nursery...instead of a dresser I wanted this...

I'm going to put baskets in some of the cubbies for his clothes or diapers or whatnot, and then use some to store his books and toys in! It'll be really cute when it's all set up and in use! ANYWAY instead of the $99.99 price, they let me buy it for $80 as well! 20% off...never hurts to ask I guess! I'm so glad my mom has guts...it was so fun to get such a deal!

Next I thought I'd report that I changed my mind on the baby's room. I got really overwhelmed trying to find and piece together Dr. Seuss stuff...so I am going with a store bought set for now, and maybe when he's older I'll do Seuss...as more of a little tyke room :-) I just really wanted something soft and sweet for a newborn and we had already painted the walls blue and green...so when I saw this set I wanted it SO bad! I bought it on Target.com and it happened to be on sale last week! I looked today and it's already back up to the regular price! Yay me! I got everything that goes with the set...valence, hamper, diaper holder, decor..it'll be adorable!
And last but certainly not least... I heeded Robyn's advice a few months ago to go to THIS blog and found that you can actually GET those free offers you always see in your spam! I did the required stuff and found out today my $500 Visa is in the mail! I can't wait to get it, and I'll post more about it when I do, but Robyn got hers this week and I'm SO stoked! Check it out if you have time!

I love LOVE saving money!