Missing Items Alert!

Anytime I would lose something my mom would ask, "When was the last time you remember seeing it?"  The last time I remember seeing them was about a week ago at church.  But today at church they were no where to be found.  It's official, my ankles are missing.  People tell me they'll be back after the baby comes.  Let's hope so!  I didn't realize I had any vanity about my ankles until now.  I guess this is good for me.

    

This past Monday I decided to strike out on my own and make a maternity skirt. I used a pattern and bought all the materials, found my size, cut out the pattern, sewed it up all by myself! Not a bit of help from anyone! I was so proud. Unfortunately, I measured my current waist size (this is a maternity skirt after all!) rather than my pre-pregnancy waist, which resulted in a skirt several times too big. I was laughing and laughing when I tried it on the first time because Walt and I could both have fit in it (though we didn't try). My sewing teacher showed me how to take it in, which wasn't so hard actually, and after subtracting about 4 inches on each side, it fits perfectly! I'm wearing it right now, and it's so fun to feel creative, even if I did follow a pattern. The maternity dress I'm making should be done this next week, and then I'll have three things to wear to church. Woohoo!

We started attending childbirth classes this week, taught by the doula my aunt used for her two boys. It is just a 4 week course, but already I've learned so much. At the end she showed us a video of multiple women doing natural childbirth, and I cried. It did NOT look fun. I was trying so hard to contain myself because no one else in the class was crying, and it was a small room with only 4 couples. I think I fought it back pretty well in the end, but it sure made me think twice about what I'm getting myself into. I'm feeling fine about it now, though, and I'm still committed to going natural. The more I learn the more prepared I feel and the calmer I get, even if hearing some of the stories can be kind of unsettling at first. I can take it! My body was made for this! Our doula also brought the fresh placenta from a birth she'd helped with that morning. "No one else wanted the placenta! Can you believe it?!" she said. I said, "Should I want my placenta?" It was very cool to see the one she brought, but I have no desire to keep my own. Although someone was just telling me that they saw a childbirth book from the 70's with a recipe for placenta casserole.....

Easter Formula

According to my survey, only one person knew how to calculate when Easter will be, and they didn't share it with me, so I looked it up! It's actually quite simple, though a calendar with lunar cycles is required. I personally don't memorize the cycles of the moon.

First, find the Spring Equinox (either the 20th or 21st of March, typically). Then find the first full moon after the Spring Equinox (this will be Passover). The following Sunday will be Easter.

EXAMPLE: This year, the Spring Equinox is March 20th. The next full moon falls on April 9th. So the following Sunday, April 11th, is Easter. Ah ha! Not so hard after all.

This week we attended our last required adoption seminar. That's one part of the process that is complete, and now we have several more steps to take which will include two more rounds of interviews and two home visits. I need to buy a carbon monoxide detector, so if anyone knows of a good one, please pass on the information!

At this week's prenatal appointment my doctor suggested that before I eat anything I should ask myself, "Would I feed this to a newborn baby?" Dang. So I've decided to limit myself to two dessert a day, one helping each. Pathetic, I know. The good thing is that for the first 4 months of my pregnancy I hardly ate any dessert - just didn't want it. That was then. This is now. Did anyone else get a mean sweet tooth when they were pregnant?

Nesting

In the past week we've given away my home organ and sold my car, Sam. Not to mention a trip to DI, giving away a file cabinet, sorting duplicate books out of our bookcases, cleaning out our sock and underwear drawers, organizing my cross-stitch floss, clearing off my night stand, trimming my plants......this nesting instinct has hit hard! I find myself constantly looking around and into cupboards and drawers for the next project. If this is a symptom of pregnancy, well I'm not complaining! It feels great.

As far as the Easter Sunday survey, after 31 Easters, I still have not taken the time to learn how to calculate when Easter Sunday will be. If you know, please tell me! It'd be more fun to find it out from you than to look it up!

How do you spell BYU?

We got to spend a lot of time with our nephews this week who were visiting from Phoenix. We took them to a BYU basketball game, and my 4 year-old nephew, Josh, said, "Julie! I know how to spell BYU! B.....uh....U...uh..wait,no...um...B.....hmmmm...Y........U! BYU! I did it!" Was so cute.

Today I substituted for our organist in sacrament meeting and our primary pianist in primary. I absolutely love playing the organ. It was fun to have a change of pace, though I missed sitting by Walt and being with my Young Women.

Walt and I went to our Stake's Valentine Dance last night, which was surprisingly well-attended. I felt like a wimp when my legs started aching after only an hour and a half, and my pregnancy heartburn (almost a daily occurrence now) was getting the best of me. Walt and I have never been dancing really, so it was fun to have a novel activity and to be close to him all night. I tried my hand at a homemade chocolate mousse recipe, which turned out really well, so we ate that up with fresh raspberries before going to bed. Oh contentness!

It's A.........

BOY!!!!!! Woohoo!! And boy are we excited. :) Everything looked normal, and he was a little squirmy, which was comforting since I haven't noticed movement yet. That gives us the green light to redecorate the baby room. Right now it has the cutest border of flowers and butterflies that the previous owners painted. I'm sure boys like flowers and butterflies too, but you know. Thanks for all your guesses on our poll. It was so fun to see what everyone thought.

Cold Hands and a Warm Heart

I can't remember where this comes from, but we joke about it all the time. "I may have cold hands, but I have a warm heart." Hee hee. Actually, I just have a cold. I just went to sacrament meeting Sunday, sat around and napped yesterday at home, intended to go to work late today until I lost my cookies mid-morning. But I think I've got the worst of it behind me, and tomorrow I should be back to my normal schedule. Sure makes you grateful for the times you feel normal. Normal feels sooo good. At least Walt and I could be sick together. That was kind of fun, actually.

This morning I called 911 to report a suspicious character wandering the neighborhood. I was making toast at the kitchen window, and he was walking through the street for several minutes looking at people's houses in a strange sort of way; then he went in my neighbor's backyard and walked around. I didn't recognize him, so I called the police, and they came and investigated. Sick pregnant woman making toast stops would-be thief in his tracks! I can see it now! He wasn't to be found by the time they got here, and he may have been totally harmless and innocent, but better safe than sorry!