35 Weeks

On Wednesday I hit my 35 Week mark. It felt so wonderful! I think that I felt this big weight lifted off of my shoulders. My contractions seemed to immediately lessen and I felt incredible. I know that I'm not "safe" yet and I'm not "officially" off of bed rest yet, but it's just another milestone.

This week I was reminded of an important life lesson over and over again. I had so many experiences that reminded me there are no guarantees in this life. We must live each day as if it were our last. We must learn how to enjoy "now." We can't live in the past. We can't live in the future. We must live in the present moment at all times. Truly, it's all that we have! This lesson is so important for me in my life now because it seems that all I have been doing the past few weeks was dwelling on the past and trying to get through each day in order to make it to the future. I realized that I needed to start enjoying each moment that I had right now. No more waiting until I was off bed rest or until I had a baby. I was able to look at my life and see how truly blessed I am right now...today! This lesson has made this past week so enjoyable for me. I'm so grateful for the many life lessons that we can learn from if we are willing to.

Here are my sweet boys. I've had so much fun spending time with them this week. I've actually taken the time to be with them, sit and eat lunch with them, play games, color, do puzzles or just watch tv with them. I've been able to appreciate the simple moments with them so much more lately.


One of the most exciting things of my week was when my new kitchen table arrived. I've been waiting for this table for 3 years now. Since we moved in here I've wanted a new kitchen table, but there were so many other priorities that it just got put at the bottom of the list...until now! Waiting so long has made me appreciate it even more.



I was actually feeling so good this week that I decided to be daring and take my boys to go do something fun. Myself and the boys have been cooped up in our house all week long, Payton's off track and I felt like we should celebrate how good I was feeling by doing something fun. I took the boys to Cabela's. We met our friends there and the boys had a great time checking out the animals, using the shooting range, looking at the Aquarium and eating lunch. It was a great afternoon and I was stunned at how great I felt. Is this what it feels like to have a normal pregnancy?! I'm feeling like I could go full term this pregnancy...only because I'm not planning on it! The contractions did catch up with me by the evening and I did pay for it a little bit, but I'm feeling great again today!

My Favorite Things About Payton

1. He is responsible and helpful. He is great about getting dressed by himself, making his own bed, brushing his teeth, cleaning up his toys, helping Parker get dressed and cleaning up Parker's messes. Last week I went to see what Payton was doing and he was making Parker's bed for me. I watched him as he did it and he was such a perfectionist. He straightened the blankets and pillows a few different times and stood back to make sure it looked just perfect. He didn't even come and tell me that he made the bed. Most kids would be so proud that they did something to surprise their Mom, but Payton is very humble (clearly, I'm not, as his Mother.) He does so many sweet things to help out around the house. I never have to nag him (too much) about doing things. When he knows what I expect of him, he just does it!

2. He is sensitive and compassionate. He is constantly worried about making everyone else around him happy. He's great about comforting Parker or sharing with him when he is sad. In fact, this picture is a great example of Payton's compassion. We had another Easter Egg Hunt at my Grandma's house on Sunday. Parker dropped his Easter basket and all of his eggs and candy fell out. All of my family yelled, "Hurry, Payton, go get his candy." (Of course they were teasing.) Payton ran over and began helping Parker pick up his candy. Nobody asked him to do it, in fact, they were telling him to do the opposite. This is one of the many examples of Payton's selflessness, sensitivity and compassion towards others.


3. He is spiritual and creative. Payton loves Family Home Evening. Every Monday he gets so excited that it is time for FHE. This past Monday he said he had a great idea for the lesson. He asked me what I had done with his picture he brought home from church on Sunday. I told him that I threw it away (oops!) He said that was okay he would just have to draw his own picture. He drew the same picture (an Angel) for each one of us in the family with our names on the top. He brought all the pictures and drawing supplies to the table. He said that we could color this picture. He explained that the picture was the Angel who came to tell everyone that Jesus was alive and had been resurrected. He told us that we were supposed to draw the tomb with the rock that had been pushed away. I love that Payton is so creative. He loves drawing. I also love that he is actually learning something in his Primary class. It was so neat that Payton was able to do a wonderful lesson for us and teach us something that he learned from church.


The next night he asked if we could have Family Home Evening again. How do you say no to that? So, we obliged. He said that he had a great idea for the lesson. He was going to draw pictures of Jesus, after he was alive again, and we could color those pictures. Tim started coloring the picture that Payton gave him. Tim thought that it was a picture of him playing Rock Band. Tim asked Payton why he gave him long hair? To which Payton responded, "That's not you, Dad, that's Jesus playing Rock Band." I love Payton's sweet innocence. At first, I was a little concerned and wanted to have an immediate lesson on the sacredness of Jesus, but Payton taught me a better lesson. Jesus really is in our every day lives. The things that we are doing in our lives (playing Rock band or whatever else) should be things that Jesus would do if he were here with us. I'm grateful to be learning from Payton every day!

My Favorite Things About Parker

1. He loves to copy EVERYTHING that Payton does. He is his little shadow. He will say the same things that Payton says and do the same things that Payton does down to the exact detail. For example, this morning Payton dropped his spoon on the floor while we were eating breakfast and he got down to pick it up. So...Parker dropped his spoon on the floor so that he could get down and pick it up. It does get a little annoying for everyone, but I know it won't last long so I will enjoy it while it lasts!

2. "Let's play I spy." Every time we get in the car these are the words we hear. We started playing this game with the boys a long time ago, but recently Parker has decided he loves it and wants to play it constantly! We are all so sick of playing this game with him, but it's so cute to hear him say, "I spy with my wittle eye somping that is green." Also, he doesn't really get how to play the game. We will guess grass, street light, sign, trees, etc. and he just says "Nope. Nope. Nope. Nope." We finally give up and ask him what it was and he says, "hmmm, wet me fink, hmmm, GRASS!" Yes, we already said that!

3. I love having conversations with Parker. He will actually engage in conversations with me (unlike Payton...how was school? fine!) Parker loves to tell me all about his day. For example:

Mom: What did you do at nursery today?
Parker: We sang songs, played with toys, ate snacks...and stuff!
Mom: What did you do at Grandma's house?
Parker: We played with toys, ate lunch, watched shows...and stuff!
Mom: What did you do at play school today?
Parker: We sang songs, played with toys, ate snacks...and stuff!

He follows up all of his conversations with "...and stuff." It's so cute! He usually doesn't leave any details out and just in case he does he is covering himself!

4. I love his cute little speech impediment. I know it won't be as cute if he is still doing it when he's 5, but for right now it's adorable! He came home from church on Sunday and said, "Wook, Mom, I got a Wizard." I said, "Oh, a wizard, that's awesome!" He replied, "No, Mom, a WIZARD." I then responded, "Oh sorry, a Lizard." He gets mad when we mispronounce the word. He knows what he's trying to say he just can't do it. I "wove" my "wittle" Parker's language.

5. I love his sweet smile and his crazy hair. We just can't quite figure out what to do with Parker's hair. It's so versatile that we are always changing it. We cut it short and have now decided to grow it back out. The poor kid has bad hair right now while we are growing it out, but somehow it fits his personality. (Payton has had the same exact haircut since he was 9 months old, which also fits his personality!)

Happy Easter!

I hope you all have a wonderful Easter Sunday. I sent my boys off to church and I'm at home by myself resting and pondering the life, death and resurrection of our Savior, Jesus Christ. What an incredible blessing it is that because Jesus Christ died for us and was resurrected, we can also be resurrected and live with him again someday. I'm so grateful for this knowledge that we have and the blessing it is in our lives. I'm grateful that we can enjoy celebrating this fun holiday with family and for the many traditions we have, but I'm more grateful today for my Savior, Jesus Christ! I've been listening to this song all morning and I think that the words are so beautiful and perfect on this Easter Sunday. (If you want to listen to the song you can click on the link. When you get there on the left hand side make sure you check "Music and Words" to hear the song.)

"I Know That My Redeemer Lives"

I know that my Redeemer lives.
What comfort this sweet sentence gives!
He lives, he lives who once was dead.
He lives, my ever living Head.
He lives to bless me with his love.
He lives to plead for me above.
He lives my hungry soul to feed.
He lives to bless in time of need.

He lives to grant me rich supply.
He lives to guide me with his eye.
He lives to comfort me when faint.
He lives to hear my soul's complaint.
He lives to silence all my fears.
He lives to wipe away my tears.
He lives to calm my troubled heart.
He lives all blessings to impart.

He lives, my kind, wise Heavenly Friend.
He lives and loves me to the end.
He lives, and while he lives, I'll sing.
He lives, my Prophet, Priest, and King.
He lives and grants me daily breath.
He lives, and I shall conquer death.
He lives my mansion to prepare.
He lives to bring me safely there.

He lives! All glory to his name!
He lives, my Savior, still the same.
Oh, Sweet the joy this sentence gives.
"I know that my Redeemer lives!"
He lives! All glory to his name!
He lives, my Savior, still the same.
Oh, sweet the joy this sentence gives:
"I know that my Redeemer lives!"

Easter Fun

We had such a fun day celebrating Easter. We took the kids to our local park for the Easter Egg Hunt. Growing up my Mom always took us to these ridiculously crazy events so I feel like I need to carry on the tradition. Needless to say, it was crazy. Tim dropped us off and went to park the car. I walked over with the boys to the 3-4 year old area where Parker should be. We were only about 10 minutes early. Tim came and found us and then left with Payton to go to the 5-6 year old area. As they were walking up the stairs to get to where they needed to go, a lady turned on the microphone and it made a really loud noise. Everyone thought this was the signal to go so the kids all started running and picking up eggs. It was about 5 minutes too early. All the lady was trying to do was make an announcement, but there was no turning back once the kids got started. Payton & Tim hurried over to Payton's area, but by the time they got there (30 seconds later) all the eggs were gone. Payton didn't get any easter eggs. I was so proud of him because he didn't seem to care. Tim was more mad than Payton was.

Parker got about 8 easter eggs and then came running back to me to show me how many eggs he got. He was so proud of himself! I'm so happy that my kids aren't totally greedy yet. I'm happy that they can still be excited about getting a few eggs instead of worrying about getting "the most." I'm sure that will change as they get older, but I hope that we can teach them well so that it doesn't change much. Parker gave half of his eggs to Payton since he didn't get any. Although, the Easter Egg Hunt was a total bust. I was so proud of my little boys for the way they handled the situation!

(Side Note: I hope that I don't ruin the mood of this post, but I just have to rant about parents for a minute. I could not believe how many parents ran out with their children and were throwing eggs in their baskets for them. Is this the point of an Easter Egg Hunt? NO!! It's supposed to be fun! These are the parents that are teaching their children to be greedy. These kids are 3 & 4 years old. I understand helping the younger ones that don't get it yet, but the 3 & 4 year olds are definitely capable of picking up eggs and putting them in their baskets by themselves. I was so disgusted with these parents. Tim said that there were parents doing the same thing in the 5 & 6 year old area. Give me a break!)

Okay, sorry about that rant, I just had to get that off my chest. Luckily, we had already planned to do our own Easter Egg Hunt in the backyard with Tim's family so the kids got to go to the store and pick out some candy to fill the Easter Eggs with. We went back to our house and all of Tim's family came over. We ate Cafe Rio for lunch....yummy! (Thanks Kent & Ann). Then we invited our neighbors over (they also didn't get anything at the Easter Egg Hunt) and the kids got to hunt for eggs in our backyard. They each got PLENTY of Easter eggs. It was such a nice day. The kids and adults had so much fun hanging out in the backyard and enjoying the cool, breezy, sunshiney day!

After they got bored outside, they came in and dyed Easter eggs, which is always a fun tradition...messy and complicated...but fun! It was a great afternoon hanging out at our house with Tim's family. I'm so grateful that everyone came over so that I could spend time with the family.

(Another Side Note: For those of you worried about me being on bed rest, I know it sounds like I did a lot, but I really just got to sit around and enjoy the day. I did go to the Easter Egg Hunt, but I just really needed some fresh air. It was only 20 minutes total that I was out of the house. Don't worry, the contractions are under control and I'm still feeling okay today. But, thanks in advance for your concern. I know that if I didn't mention this I was bound to get comments.)

Party Week with the Wright's

Andi, Jdub, Ashton & Brice were in town this past week. We always have so much fun when they come to visit. We always know it's going to be a week of partying. Payton had so much fun playing lots of Lego Star Wars with Ashton. Parker loved being able to push Brice around on the bike. They also loved going to see, "Horton Hears a Who" and have not stopped talking about "pooping butterfly's." We're glad we were able to celebrate Brice's birthday. Thanks for the fun birthday party at Jungle Jim's. Thanks for spending time with us this week and have a safe trip back home. We love you guys!

34 Weeks

I had another doctor's appointment today and it was good news. I am only dilated 1.5 cm, which is only a .5 difference from last time. I was so excited! I've never experienced this before with either one of my pregnancies so I'm in completely new territory. However, the bad news (which really isn't so bad) is that he said it shows that the bed rest is working. Dang! He said that I need to "take it easy" for the next 2 weeks. As soon as I get to 36 weeks he will let me resume normal activities. I feel like this is so easy compared to what I've had to do in the past. I can definitely do this! However, I don't know what I'll do if I have to go full term. How do you do 9 month pregnancies? I don't know!

Thanks again for all of the support. I have so many people willing to help and so many people who have helped me out over the past 2 weeks. I don't know what I would do without an amazing support system. It's so great just to receive simple e-mails or comments on my blog and phone calls. More than anything, the encouragement is all that I need. So, thank you all!

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Thanks, Grandma Patty, for the cute shirts!

Payton has had a lot of fun with St. Patrick's Day this year. On Friday at school they found Leprechaun tracks all around the room and some of their chairs were tipped over. His class set a trap to try and catch the Leprechaun today. He talked about it all weekend. Also, we started mysteriously finding 4-leaf clovers all over our house on Sunday morning plus some of our chairs were tipped over. We couldn't believe it! I thought it was cute that Payton did the same thing at our house. Later Sunday night, he told us that he really drew the 4-leaf clovers himself and that he tipped over the chair himself. I guess after church on Sunday, he felt too guilty "lying" to us. He is such a funny kid. I love his creativity and honesty!

Anticipation

The nursery is ready...


The car seat is waiting...


The diaper bag is packed!



All we need is our baby! I have so much anticipation right now. I am so looking forward to the birth of this baby, but at the same time I know that he needs to stay inside of me for a few more weeks. I feel like I have so much time, energy, excitement, fear and joy invested into this child and I'm just ready for the pay off. I can't wait to see, touch, hold and hear my sweet little baby boy. This pregnancy has been a challenge and I'm so ready for it to be over, but only at the right time. Can you sense how much my emotions are torn right now? Having been on bed rest for a week now (1 week down and 3 more to go) I feel like I have so much time to just think and wait. My mind is driving me crazy. I have so much anxious energy, but no way to get it out. It would really help if I could clean or organize right now, but instead I'm stuck reading or watching t.v. The first week went by really fast, but I'm starting to go a little stir crazy stuck in my house. Since I haven't blogged in over a week I thought this would be a great place to get my feelings out. Thanks for listening!

Besides all the anticipation that is building in my mind, things really are going very well. My contractions are definitely under control when I am lying around doing nothing. As soon as I try to get up and do ANYTHING they start up again. So, I'm down quite a bit during the day. I'm still able to putter around the house, make the bed, do a few dishes, fold laundry, with lots of lying down breaks in between. I have been so lucky and feel so blessed to have so much help from my ward, friends, neighbors and family. Actually, my family hasn't been able to help much because my ward, friends and neighbors have been doing so much. They keep commenting on how lucky I am to be surrounded by such wonderful people. I really have a hard time accepting help. I want to be able to do everything on my own and I feel like I can, but it's been so humbling for me to accept the help. It's truly amazing how willing people are to give of themselves. My kids have constantly had friends to play with and places to go. Not to mention the amazing meals that have been brought in. Also, the many calls of concern and care. I don't know what I'm going to do when I have to go back to normal life. I really feel spoiled and very grateful for all the help that we've had. I can't wait to be able to return the favor. It makes me anxious to be able to serve others again!

32 Weeks

I had another Dr. Appt today. I have still been having constant contractions. They haven't been getting more regular (when I'm laying down), but they have definitely been getting more painful. I have also felt like the baby has moved down quite a bit in the past week. I knew that things had been changing a bit so I was a little nervous for this appointment. Well...sure enough...my doctor verified that I have started dilating (1 cm) and thining out. This is still better than my previous pregnancies. I'm normally 2-3 cm & 90% effaced so I am feeling very lucky. However, he did a more thorough examination of the baby and said that
the baby is definitely down there. He was a little worried and decided to give me steroids to help the baby's lungs develop. He also told me that he knows how I feel about the term "bed rest" so he said that I should just go home and kick up my feet for the next 3 to 4 weeks. Essentially, I'm on "bed rest," but he said that I know my body well enough by now to know what I should and shouldn't be doing. They've already told me that I basically can't do anything except take it easy. So I'm going to try to keep this baby in here for at least another 4 weeks and just enjoy "kicking my feet up."

Simple Pleasures

The other day I was thinking about all the simple pleasures I have in my life. There are so many little things that happen or that I do each day that make life wonderful! Here are a few that I noticed this particular day as I walked around my house.

I love when Payton leaves me little notes. He made one for Tim & I. Please notice the difference. Mine says, "To Mommy" and Tim's says, "To Tim." Interesting?! Also, notice the size and quantity difference. Also, interesting?! I think it's so cute! Payton hid this note in about 10 different places before Tim got home from work. He just couldn't make up his mind. I love how much thought and effort he puts into these little notes.



Also, he is constantly making notes for Parker. I love the cute little misspelling of Parker's name. It's those little details that makes these notes so precious!



This is such a funny one, but it makes me so happy when my rugs are perfectly fluffed up. I love to throw them in the dryer for about 5 minutes just to fluff them up and make them look perfect. I love when I lay them back on the floor before anyone has stepped on them. It makes me so happy! I usually fluff them up a few times a week. (I know that I will get harassed for this one, but it really is a simple pleasure of mine!)



I love when my homemade rolls are done rising and ready to throw in the oven. All the hard work is done and they look beautiful. It's such a sense of accomplishment. My favorite roll recipe is the Lion House Rolls. Thank you, Dani, for introducing me to these rolls. I make them all the time!



I love my snack box! I put all of my kids snacks in this box for them to choose from. When they want a snack, they just ask me and then they can pick anything out of the snack box that they want. It saves me from having to haggle over what they can and can not have. Plus, they can get their snacks themselves. It's heavenly!

Office Organizing

One of my latest nesting projects, was my Office. I have this problem lately where everything that I touch needs to be reorganized. I know that it is a common problem in pregnancy. This term they refer to as, "nesting" is starting to drive me a little bit crazy. I'm starting to feel like it's taking over my life. As you can see from these pictures, it got a little bit out of control! It started with just one drawer. I opened the drawer and realized it needed to be reorganized, but pretty soon it turned into the entire office. My office wouldn't feel organized unless I had touched and reorganized every last little file in the entire room. So that is exactly what I did.

This was my "sorting" process. Can you believe this mess?




I was actually able to clean up that mess and now I have a newly organized office!




All of my files have been sorted through. I shredded 3 bags worth of paper. It feels so wonderful!

Card Jar

Since I have been in the process of organizing all of my files, one of my projects was organizing my memorabilia. I love to keep thank you cards, birthday cards, anniversary cards or any card that has a special message on it from a friend, neighbor or family member. However, I wasn't quite sure what to do with these cards. I feel like if you can't use something and if it's not serving a purpose in your life than you need to get rid of it. Up until this point in my life, all my cards have been sitting in files, for years, not serving any purpose or being useful.

I was expressing this concern to my friend, Lisa, who gave me a wonderful idea. She told me that she knew someone who had a card jar. She put all of her cards in a jar and called it her, "Happy Jar." She kept her jar where she could easily access the cards and read them when she needed help to be,"happy." I loved that idea! Truly, this simple idea made my whole day and made the organizing process so fun for me. I immediately went to Target and found a big glass jar that would be big enough to hold plenty of cards and give me plenty of room to grow into over the years. Here are some pictures of my card jar. I don't really love calling it my "Happy Jar," but I'm looking for another creative name instead of "card jar." I'd love your suggestions.

I put this jar in my office where I can easily toss cards into it and easily get cards out to read them often. I think it makes a pretty cute decoration also. Thank you, Lisa, for the wonderful idea!

Easy Layered Tomato Dip

This is one of my weekend favorites! I love to make this for a Saturday or Sunday afternoon when you just want to snack. I have been making this on Sunday mornings so that when we get home from church we have something to snack on while we're waiting for dinner. Yummy! This is also another recipe from Kraft Foods.



Prep Time:
10 min
Total Time:
3 hr 10 min
Makes:
3 cups dip or 24 servings, 2 Tbsp. dip and 16 crackers each
1 pkg. (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Neufchatel Cheese, 1/3 Less Fat than Cream Cheese, softened
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 small tomatoes, chopped (about 1-1/2 cups)
1/3 cup sliced green onions
1/4 cup KRAFT 2% Milk Shredded Reduced Fat Cheddar Cheese
WHEAT THINS Reduced Fat Baked Snack Crackers
MIX Neufchatel cheese and garlic until well blended.
SPREAD onto bottom of shallow serving bowl or 9-inch pie plate or onto serving plate; top with tomatoes, onions and Cheddar cheese. Cover and refrigerate several hours or until chilled.
SERVE as a dip with the crackers.

Instead of using garlic, I have tried mixing the cream cheese with 1/4 package of Ranch Dressing Mix. Also, I have used Taco Seasoning instead of the garlic. I like the Taco Seasoning the best. It tastes similar to 7-Layer Bean Dip, without the 7-layers and the beans!

Ham & Cheddar Loaf

I am finally posting this recipe per many of your requests. I love this recipe because it's so easy and I always have these ingredients on hand. Plus, it's something that my kids will actually eat! I got this recipe from the Kraft Foods website (and from Lisa). They have so many wonderful and EASY recipes.



Prep Time:
15 min
Total Time:
1 hr 5 min
Makes:
6 servings, one slice each
1 lb. frozen bread dough or frozen pizza dough, thawed
1 pkg. (9 oz.) OSCAR MAYER Shaved Smoked Ham
1 cup KRAFT Shredded Cheddar Cheese
1/4 cup MIRACLE WHIP Dressing
1 egg, beaten
1 Tbsp. KRAFT 100% Grated Parmesan Cheese
PREHEAT oven to 350°F. Place dough on lightly floured surface; flatten slightly with hands, then roll into 12x8-inch rectangle with rolling pin. (If dough is difficult to roll, cover with plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature for 30 min. before rolling out.)
TOP dough evenly with ham, overlapping slices slightly and leaving a 1/2-inch border around all sides.
MIX Cheddar cheese and dressing; spread evenly over ham.
MOISTEN edges of dough with water. Starting at one of the long sides of dough, fold one-third of the dough over filling, then repeat with other long side of dough. Firmly pinch ends of dough together to seal. Place, seam-side down, on lightly greased baking sheet.
CUT three diagonal slits in top of dough with kitchen shears. Brush evenly with egg; sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
BAKE 35 to 40 min. or until golden brown. Cool 10 min. before slicing to serve.

Can you believe this kid?

David Archuleta is AMAZING! If he does not win American Idol it will be a travesty. I thought this kid was amazing before I even knew he was from my hometown of Murray, UT! I have to admit that I liked him even better after I found that out, but I still wasn't convinced until I heard his most recent song on American Idol, "Imagine." You can check it out on my playlist if you haven't heard it. Also, I have to admit that we bought the song on Itunes. It's just that good! He makes me smile when I watch him. He is so humble and so sincere. When he is not singing he is so awkward, but charming at the same time. I love that he is so innocent, which is why I almost don't want him to do well. I hope that Hollywood won't taint his sweet spirit. If you haven't tuned into American Idol this season, David Archuleta is definitely a great reason watch!