12.28.2016

Christmas in a nutshell

Christmas with kids is so magical. I think it's the combination of everything- twinkly lights everywhere, unlimited hot chocolate, unwavering belief, family traditions- it makes my heart skip a beat. 

Some things I want to remember about December:

 One of the traditions we've carried on and sort of tweaked from my childhood is December 1st! Where we make cookies and get new Christmas jammies. It's both delicious and cozy. Last year I found a book called The Pajama Elves that we read and then their new jammies are "mysteriously" delivered! Jillian was especially impressed that her jammies were made with some gold thread- it was magic thread in her opinion.
 
 
The first real snow! Olivia's face says it all...those girls couldn't wait to get suited up that day and roll around in it all! I happily watched from indoors wrapped in a blanket with a mug of cocoa.
  

There is still work to be done in the snowman department...to their credit, it's not like I grew up building these, so I'm not entirely sure of the best method either! But it didn't matter- they were proud nevertheless.


Normally I try to pack in as much Christmas related hooplah as I can in December to make it last just a little longer, but this year I didn't have that kind of energy (thanks fetus). Though I almost didn't mind at all because we got to pick a few of our favorite things to go do and savor all of the little things about Christmas and really enjoy our outings. One such outing was seeing the lights on Temple Square! It was packed (always) and freezing (of course), but the display there is always beautiful. It also helped that we got some hot, delicious mini donuts afterward from the Art City Donuts food truck! 

 Decorating gingerbread houses at one of our family Christmas parties was Jillian's favorite! She is such a crafter and was so meticulous and detailed about every single piece of candy that went on her house. By the time she was done, every square inch of that board was covered! It was one of those things that we had to leave on the counter and admire for days and that I had to throw away after she went to bed then hope she didn't notice the next morning...you know those kinds of projects.
Olivia was just really happy to see at a table full of unwrapped candy!

 On Christmas Eve, the girls and I started the day by cleaning (my new favorite parenting trick ever is to say "Santa won't deliver new toys if..." pretty much the whole month of December- it made clean-ups a breeze). So we had to prep the house for Santa. ;-) Then we decorated sugar cookies and arranged them on a plate with carrots for Santa and his reindeer. That night we went to Grandma & Dave's house for dinner and presents! One of my favorite things was that Olivia got some animal figurines and one of them was a kangaroo, but she didn't know what it was called so she just referred to it as a "boing"! 

The whole ride home from Grandma's, Jillian was using an app on my phone that can call or text Santa, to make sure he had everything that was on her list. She was very worried that she never actually mailed her letter, so she needed something "express". 

And of course, Christmas morning! We put the stockings in our girls room before we go to bed (a tip I picked up from my parents), that way when they wake up it keeps them entertained and in their rooms for a little bit so we, the parents, get to sleep for a few more minutes! Plus it's really fun to gradually wake up and hear their "ooos and aaahs" coming from the next room.  

 This was the first year we didn't have our usual big Christmas brunch, the way I always did it growing up, because our church starts at 11! But we embraced Christmas dinner instead and I think it turned out just fine! I put together a little video of our day:



All in all it was a wonderful month- as always! Though to be completely selfish I AM glad it's over, because as the weeks went by I finally started feeling human again (thanks to finally getting to that second trimester)- plus we have some really fun things to look forward to in 2017! All good things...all good things.
Merry Christmas! 
 




12.01.2016

tacos, fetus, & puking: an update

A few disclaimers before reading:
1. Don't read this if you are easily grossed out by bodily functions. Sorry. I grew up with endless stories from the ER and lots and lots of potty humor (blame Dr. Dad)- it runs deep in my veins. I am phased by nothing and farts are always funny.
2. Just because I complain a lot these days doesn't in anyway shape or form mean I am not super excited and extremely grateful to be bringing another life into the world! Because I am- both- very complainy and very grateful. Don't tell me I can't be both. ;-)
 
Okay. Moving on. 

 Baby number thrreeeeeee! I still can't wrap my head around that. I've heard the transition from 2 to 3 is the hardest- and then after that it's kinda like "Meh, what's one more?" Haha! I guess time will tell. Jillian is beyond excited to have another baby in the family. She's already decided it's a boy and that his name will be Arnold or Wes. (..Arnold?) I'm currently almost 14 weeks so we'll find out the gender in another couple of weeks! Then I guess we can debate that Arnold thing a little more if needed...
She also asks me at least once a day if it's time for the baby to come out yet. This is going to feel like one reaaallllyyy long car ride if she keeps that up. ("Are we there yet?!").

 
It's the getting there part that's the hardest though. I'm not one of those happy, glowing pregnant people. Well...unless you count the glow from the porcelain toilet reflecting off of my pale face as I heave into it. Then I gots it glowin' on. I would rather deliver 5 times than be pregnant for 9 months, truthfully. This time around has been especially rough- the worst one yet by far. For example: one time I threw up and peed my pants at the same time. Another time I threw up so much in one night my throat started bleeding. Some days I literally haven't gotten off the couch. One day I had Taco Bell for lunch AND dinner (God bless the inventors of the Dorito taco- I mean seriously). You can judge me- it's fine. I'm just a pretty gross person at the moment. But- I AM CREATING HUMAN LIFE FROM FREAKING SCRATCH so BAM.

Needless to say I'm REALLY hoping the second trimester comes with all the promised renewed energy and less sickness it's supposed to. Overall, I can tell I have been getting better week to week- just at a snail's pace. 

It's funny though with #3 how much faster everything happens- like the pee stick turned positive and my body was instantly like, "IT'S TIME TA' GROW!" I've been living in leggings the past couple of weeks out of comfort mostly, and today I thought maybe I could wear my biggest pair of jeans- wrong. I can't. 
I already had to loosen my bra hook by one rung. I mean SHEESH. 
(Doritooo taacccooooo. SHH. Shut up.)

Speaking of tacos...Some people have asked how the eating well/weight watchers/workouts have been going. I HAVE been trying to keep up with at least exercising regularly this pregnancy- something I definitely didn't do the first two times. Instead of an intense hour workout 6 days a week it's more like 45 minutes of low impact/4 times a week, but hey, it's SOME thing! I totally plan to be that pregnant lady at the gym in class where everyone is thinking, "For the love, please don't jump again- it might COME OUT."
I haven't been following Weight Watchers since the sickness started- we were in survival mode for a solid 8 weeks- which meant mostly dry, plain carbs and sometimes days without a fruit or vegetable. When I first found out I was pregnant, I psyched myself up so much mentally about the food aversions I knew would come- telling myself "it was just mental" and I could totally still eat the way I was- lots of fruits and veggies- which I genuinely love. But then week 6 hit and I was reminded just how NOT MENTAL it is. It's oh so real. Get that corn outta' my face. I couldn't even look at my other Weight Watchers specific instagram account without wanting to hurl! I silently cursed anyone who would share a recipe video on facebook that would trigger my gag reflex when I was just tryin' to scroll through. I'm slowly starting to get over a lot of those food aversions though, so I plan to make healthy choices when I feel like I can stomach it! Green smoothies have been my saving grace, but I'm not quite ready to sit down to a big plate of salad just yet. 

But overall I'm not stressing one bit about the inevitable weight gain. 'Tis part of the process, no way around it. I lost it before- I'll lose it again. Huzzah. In the meantime, we'll do the best we can, fetus and I. 

 Soooo to sum it up- it's been rough. But we're happy! And excited. And nauseous. 

And if you ever want to hit up Taco Bell with company, I'm your girl. ;-)