Let's Get Things Settled...

We finally have some big questions answered...

#1 - It's a boy!! And so far he looks healthy! He's measuring about a week ahead of schedule which is still considered "normal." I will do him a favor and spare the images that prove his manhood. These should suffice.

5/12/12

5/20/12

A month ago I looked like this...

And now I feel like this...

 Maybe not quite there, but enough for this worker at Subway to flat out ask me if I was having a boy or girl. I told him he is brave to ask, but it's a boy.

In other great news, we got the keys to our first home last night! After a long drawn-out battle and process, we are happy to be done with the dealings and on to the fixings. That means a lot of work ahead for Adam so we can move in by mid-July. That will give us three months to settle in before baby boy gets here! I can't believe it's going by so fast. Before I know it I'll be huge and having to hold my belly up wherever I go. I already feel so much slower just getting in and out of the car. Fortunately, I'm still doing CrossFit three times a week. I'm really hoping that it helps my energy, delivery, and recovery. I've got to fight the pregnancy-induced hypertension that plagued my mother and sister. That means more rest, less sodium, and maintain good protein and calcium intake. Right now he's moving a lot again...he's pretty active right around bedtime. I'm enjoying every single minute of it!

 

Heartfelt Circle of Life

Wow. I really cannot believe it's been that long since my last post. We have been very busy, but a lot of things have happened! Here's an update I promise you want to read to the end:

January

Adam is still busy with work, his MBA, and officiating. He takes any games they offer him and is doing really well this season. We make time to attend the Pepperdine v. BYU game in Malibu which happens to be Alumni Night! So fun! 

Then, after eight months of preschool teaching without getting sick, the train hits me. Strep throat goes around and I am the second teacher to get it. That same weekend, my beautiful grandmother Jeana passes away just hours after I tell her my last "I love you" over the phone. She was happy in her last weeks and ready to be relieved of all the pain.

February

As I finish the penicillin to defeat strep throat, I develop an infection from the antibiotics. Just in time for the Grammys! I demand the doctor make time to diagnose me and give me medicine before I have to suffer through a long weekend on the red carpet. Success and relief. Then, Adam has class on Valentine's Day, so we decide to celebrate the day before...until Adam decides we are going to start Mission CrossFit which we do that night. I return on Valentine's Day while Adam is in class and we both really like CrossFit. Jessica and Ashton visit just before my birthday and we have a wonderful time. I head back to LA to prepare for the Oscars and get hit with a respiratory infection this time. Fortunately, I found a great clinic right by the red carpet and they set me up for recovery. The Oscars are great - every year we think it's our last, but nonetheless, my sixth Academy Awards were a huge success. They were on my birthday this year. 

There was something bothering me all of February though, aside from all of the infections, that had me calling my doctor. She sends me for a blood test and schedules me to come in March 7th.

March

My February issue had the doctor thinking I may have had a miscarriage, not realizing I was even pregnant. The appointment is set up to evaluate using an ultrasound. Sure enough, there is a baby in there. The baby, however, is healthy with a strong heart beat. I knew I wasn't crazy!! Despite my negative at-home pregnancy tests, I KNEW all of February that I was pregnant anyway. Yet with others doubting, I began to pray I wasn't crazy. The following week, I go in for my first regular appointment on Adam's and my 2nd wedding anniversary and I get this beautiful sonogram of our first little munchkin. He/she already is taking form and I am already 9 weeks along at this point. (I turned the picture so the baby looks like it's sitting up)

Because of my February issue, they are still keeping an eye on me, but it is so hard not to share the good news! This Tuesday will be 10 weeks. In other news, the teacher I work with is on maternity leave beginning Monday and I am in charge of the class for 2 months while she is gone. I better make sure I regulate my sleeping schedule well!! Please pray for us and the well-being and health of this baby! We are so thrilled! I think the best part was talking to Adam's little sisters about it. They are hilarious and very excited as well. Fortunately, I've had no morning sickness, just a lot of tiredness and some headaches. I haven't gained any weight yet, but I can definitely see my middle section thickening. We're maintaining our exercises though and keeping up the healthy eating habits. So far, so great!! A few more weeks and I'm on to the second trimester!

Christmas Greetings

Adam isn't much of a Christmas card guy and I can't quite justify the expense this year, so I made a little end-of-the-year newsletter. I don't know a good way to change it from word to a format that would work on here, so the quality isn't perfect, but neither are we. :-)
Merry Christmas!

Unintentional Sarcasm

So, this happened a while ago, but I just thought of it again and it made me laugh. On Fridays we have movie day for the extended care children during the last hour of day care. On this particular day, the teachers were running around trying to get into ratio before other teachers had to leave for the weekend. In the scramble, I take my kids to join the kids in another classroom that stores the TV. They had just finished coloring and cutting projects and left paper all over the floor. To my frustration, however, I didn't know who had been in the art area and having already started the movie, I asked the one little three year old girl who was still over there to be a big helping and clean up her friends' mess along with her own. 


This little girl agreed, but I felt bad because the mess was large so I offered to help her out. She tried to use the small "floor sweeper" to sweep up the paper clippings from off the carpet which to no surprise of mine was not working. I told her she needed to pick those pieces up with her hands. Knowing she really wanted to use the floor sweeper, I suggested she sweep up the pieces on the wood flooring and then help me with the carpet mess. When I was nearly done picking up the pieces on the carpet, I got a little frustrated again because the mess on the wood flooring was much less and I expected her to be able to sweep those pieces and help me with the larger mess on the carpet. As if to suggest she was taking too long and she should hurry up instead of dallying, I turned to her and gently said, "Look at all the pieces I picked up already; I'm almost done."


Though it sounded perfectly sarcastic to me, she replied with love and sincerity, "Good job, Ms. Ashleigh," as she smiled and nodded with approval.


It took everything to fight the explosion of laughter within me and to just simply say, "Thank you."


My frustration was instantly gone and when she was done cleaning her part, I just gave her a hug and reminded her that I love her.

Anniversary of Getting Burned

Day 1

One year ago yesterday, my body went into shock when I suffered 2nd degree burns on my hands. I am pleased to report that though I can still where my skin color differs, nobody else notices unless I point it out. The cold weather is coming soon, so it'll be interesting to see if that part of my hand still turns purple when I get really cold. 

Day 3

1 Week

1 1/2 Weeks

1 Year Later

In other news, Adam is 1/12 of the way done with his MBA and his team won stake basketball this season! 
In even better news, Rachael had her baby and I CAN   NOT   WAIT to meet baby Annika in December!
Finally, I realized in September that I could finish reading the Book of Mormon by the end of the year if I read 1.75 chapters per day, so I'm doing it! BTW - Ammon is pretty awesome. This will be the 2nd time that I have read the whole way through from start to finish. A few weeks ago, actually, someone at church mentioned a site called ReadTheScriptures.com and it is awesome. It emails me my "reading assignments" every day as I have assigned myself to read by the end of the year. There is a phone app for it too which would make it even MORE convenient, but I'm not ready to pay for internet on my phone just yet. Not while "the process" still continues...or even probably for a while after "the process" has ended.

Busily Back at School

"Back to School" night seems like it should be "Still at School" night. I like my job, that's not it...I just never left, so I'm not returning. The thing that has returned though is the busy, busy schedule. Last week I had something going on every single night of the week. And the weekend. I always like having a busy schedule in high school. The difference now is that I don't get done with school at 3:30 and have the rest of the night to have fun playing sports and doing theater. I really do miss those things. Soccer is still happening on Friday nights, but it seems like I'm too busy to even fit that in. My responsibilities are not burdensome and I am not complaining, I'm just making note of the fact that there is a HUGE difference between the summer months and the school year as far as commitments go.

Tonight we celebrated Erin's birthday...I love that girl. I think it's so special to have had a friend since birth that is still around and the friendship is still maintained. We've seen each other grow and know each other a little differently than anyone else could know either one of us. She is very special to me and so here is a big HAPPY BIRTHDAY, I LOVE YOU to Erin...