Tag I'm It!

Recently, I was tagged in a get-to-know you more challenge from my friend Leane.  Thought it would be fun to see how many people actually read my blog and want to get to know me better and how many people I tag actually do it :)

1. each person must write 11 things about themselves that readers may not know.

2. answer the 11 questions the tagger asked, and then ask the people YOU nominate and tag to answer 11 questions.

3. choose 11 other blogs and link them in this post.

4. go to their page and tell them.

5. no tag backs!

So...Let's do this!

11 things you may not know about me:

1. I love the water, any kind a bath, a pool, the lake you name it.  I have loved to swim since I was a little girl and was on a swim team my entire Jr. High/High school experiences. My favorite was the 200medley relay. 

2. I use way to much hairspray and am probably hurting the O-Zone. And I am embarrassed that my hairspray costs 20$ a bottle.   One time when my last favorite hairspray was being discontinued I bought an entire box of them.   And everyone who knows me knows if I became poor tomorrow I would still need my good hairspray and my good lip gloss.  I can survive on Ramen but not bad hair. 

3. I got my dog Maggie on a whim 10.5 years ago.  I was looking for a small dog but grew up with German Shepherds.  I saw a ad in the paper for Shepherd puppies out in Pahrump (which is about 45 minutes away from Vegas)  I picked up my friend Jaime and out there we went.  We went to this farm,  I picked her up and it was instant love.   I got her for $150.00 and took her home that day.  She is the BEST dog and I will be in hibernation for a week at least when she passes.

4. I'm not a big ice cream fan (which makes my husband sad he loves ice cream) but I love frozen yogurt.  All the fruit flavors,  no cake batter that's gross.

5. I love that I am still friends with some of my friends from high school.   I picked some good peeps to hang out with!

6. I was scared to death to get married.  I had went 30 years being a working independent woman and didn't know if I wanted to share with anyone.   And now I can't remember what my life was like without Ryan.  Marriage is the best thing I have ever done.  And somehow with all commitment phobes I dated before I snagged myself a great guy!

7. I ran into my Chemistry teacher  a few years ago at Ricardo's with my parents.   He recognized me immediately and knew me by name.  Yup that is how much I talked in his class and ended up sitting next to him most of the year.  What can I say, I'm social :)

8. I have a clothing addiction....bad!  I cannot help myself I buy clothes for me, Ryan and Holden way to often.  Before I was married I probably bought something new every week.  Now it's just every month so at least I'm getting better.

9. I am so grateful to my parents for taking us on "real vacations" growing up.   Looking forward every year to family vacation and experiencing all different places, parks and memories is something very important to me now that I am starting my own family.   I already have planned in my head our first vacation to San Diego to the Zoo, I am trying to hold off until he is 1, but it will probably be sooner.

10. Okay I also have a purse addiction.   I own way to many and switch them out depending on outfits...

11. I love to entertain and have parties.   I am so excited for summer coming up and all the pool parties we will have with our friends and family this year!

On to the 11 questions at hand:

1. What was your first job (taxable through the government) and how old were you when you started?
     Goldenswirl (now Goldenspoon) worked there when I was a junior in high school.  I gave away so much ice cream to my friends who would stop by after practice and I would take some home at night.  Man I was a bad employee!

2. What movie do you watch and you still laugh at it every time?
I love the Adam Sandler movie Just Go With It.  I watch it every time it's on and it cracks me up.
 

3. What do you think is the most attractive personality characteristic of the opposite sex?
Sense of humor....but good teeth and a nice butt don't hurt either!

4. How do you turn a frown upside down for someone else?
Give them chocolate,  if it's a girl it almost always works!

5. Describe your first car?
A 1986 gold Toyota Corolla hatchback with orange and beige striped interior.  Yeah it was everything you envision.  My dad bought it from my Uncle who made my cousin use it for a year before getting a new car,   My dad had the same idea, get all my knicks and scratches out in a beater before getting a new car.   Man I hated that car.

6. What was your favorite childhood story book and why?
The monster at the end of this book with Grover.   I LOVE that book and have already bought it for Holden.   The best part was how my mom read it to us.  She was so dramatic and would exaggerate everything.  I loved it so much and hope she and I both read it that way to Holden so it becomes his favorite book too.

7. What is the one phrase you were told over and over by your parents as a teenager?
When it was my mom's turn to drive carpool from seminary to school every morning she would drop us off and as I got out she would say "Remember who you are and that you are my greatest treasure"

8. What is on the walls (decoration) of your bedroom?
A shadow box my mom made with stuff from our wedding (invitations, table number cards, direction cards and some pictures) I LOVE IT!  And pictures of Ryan and I.

9. Without naming the season, how would you describe your favorite time of year?
Pool Time!

10. If you could eliminate one sport from being shown on ESPN forever, which would it be and why?
Golf it bores me and when it's on I get stuck watching it

11. Who do you aspire to be most like in your life? Why?
My mom.   She is an amazing mom and I am scared to death I won't be half the mom she is.

Okay now 11 questions for people I tag.

1.What was your favorite thing about growing up in the town you did?
2. When you were 15 and thought about where you would be in 10 years,  how close or how far away did you come from what you thought then?
3. Favorite Cereal?
4. Who is the person who has influenced your life the most, and how?
5.What is something you are good at but no one knows because you are afraid or embarrassed?
6. What is your ideal date?
7.  What color of clothing do you find your self wearing the most?
8. If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would it be and why?
9. What was the first placed you lived after moving out of your parents house?
10. What is your favorite book and why?
11. Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

I tag:

Stephanie Smith - The Bloom Diary
Darci Buhl - Simple, Lovely Life
Rachel - Me and the Boys
Suzann Davies - The Davies Family
Whitney Walker - The Walkers
Jen Sheilds - Shields Stories
Stephanie Heaton - The Heaton's
 

Alright Ladies - Get to blogging!

 

50 days....

50 days until my official due date!   It seems so far away, yet so close at the same time. 

 

I am getting so excited,  our really good friends Walt and Lexie are scheduled to have their baby girl this Thursday and I am only 6 weeks behind her so I know it's going to come right around the corner!  I want it to be me that has him on Thursday,  but at the same time I am not ready.  I walk into his room and see the basket's that are not hung.  The mirror I haven't finished painting yet, his photo wall behind his crib not done so I know I still have ton's to do!

 

I am also getting so excited for my baby shower's!!!  When I was trying to have a baby it seemed like all my friends were getting pregnant.  I threw or had a part in throwing at least 4-5 baby showers during that time.   I LOVE to throw parties and I loved each one of those ladies so I was happy to help them celebrate their little bundles of joy, but in the back of my mind I was always thinking...is it ever going to be my turn?   WELL NOW IT IS :)   My first baby shower is coming up this Thursday and is being thrown by two of my friends from my ward Kristen and Melissa.   I love these ladies!!  We served together in the Primary Presidency and as soon as they found out I was pregnant they asked if they could throw me a shower. :)  They are so fun and thoughtful and I am excited for a night to hang out with all the ladies from my ward.   My second baby shower is on Saturday, April 6th and is being thrown by my friends Stacey and Nycole.  I threw both of them baby showers so they are returning the favor, plus we all love each other :)   This one is the big one,  I think I gave them a list of like 60 names to invite which most are out of town and will not come but I wanted all the Grandma's, Aunts and cousins to be invited.  Ryan and I have been pretty good about purchasing our bigger items during the course of my pregnancy so at this point I don't really care what I get.  I know for sure I am getting my packnplay, and a crib mattress so whatever else I get diapers, bottles, clothes will all be a bonus!

 

This last week we had Standard's Night for the Young Women and Young Men.   It was so fun.  Everyone filled out a form and circled where they stood in regards to Standards"  this determined what type of plate, cups and eating utensils you received for the dinner.   They didn't know what answer's went with what but the differences in the products were funny.   The plate choices were a nice size 3 portion plate, a medium size Styrofoam plate and a small appetizer plate.  The cups ranged from a nice size cup to a small taster cup like at the dentist.  The eating utensils were plastic nice silverware,  a spork and chopsticks.  It was funny watching the kids.   I ended up leaving early because I battled strep throat all last week but I wanted to put on my blog a picture of all the centerpieces I made.   I begged, borrowed and stole all sorts of "Value Menu" themed items from fast food restaurants to make centerpieces and I am very happy with how they turned out.

 

I haven't talked much lately about my church calling.   I am loving being in Young Womens!  I am so sad I am not going to be able to go to camp this year it happens to be when my baby will only be 6 weeks old.  I am planning on going up for one afternoon/night if I am pumping and he is bottle feeding good to get to spend time with the girls.  But camp was one of my FAVORITE things every year when I was in Young Women's and I know I would have a blast with all these girls if I was able to go.  The church changed curriculum this year and it's taken me until now to get into the swing of things with my lessons.   It's more a discussion every class.   I am so lucky I have a huge class of about 15 girls so my lessons and class are never dull and I am starting to feel like the girls are really getting it now.  They just called another Beehive Advisor to help me out since I do have so many,  so she teaches at least once a month and will take over for me while I am out a few weeks after Holden is born.   The girls are already fighting over who gets to babysit him and hold him during church.  :)

 

 

And to end this post I have to shout from the rooftops how much I love this man!

Between me being sick and tired and pregnant,  his homemade meals are few and far between right now.  He is just so good to me.  So the other night,  he looked up a recipe and made homemade meatballs and spaghetti for us for dinner.   I walked him and could have cried.   I just love all the little things he does.  A foot rub here, a homemade meal there, me opening the dishwasher and seeing he unloaded it or he put away the basket of clothing that's been in my room for a week waiting for me to fold it.  I know he is tired of his wife being this sleeping zombie and he wants my meal planning list's back up on the fridge,  laundry to be done more regularly and a house that is cleaned weekly.  But he is a trooper right now and I am so lucky to have him.



 

Looking Back

I have been reading a friend's blog who is going through IVF right now.   It is so surreal to read her words and instantly know exactly what she is feeling.  She is a beautiful writer and is able to really express and get you to see and feel what she is going through.  I have been where she has been in a closet crying because you don't understand why.  Or throwing a baby shower when I don't know if I can have my own child ever.  It's a hard painful road and I am glad she decided to share her journey because I know talking about it and blogging about it helped me.  I was able to give her our extra medicine we had left over and I hope it is working it's magic on them!  

 

She had her retrieval today and it automatically took me back to this day

 

I can't remember if this was my 1st retrieval or 2nd but you can tell I am thrilled.

 

It seems like just yesterday and yet so long ago.  I remember what the needles felt like but I can't remember what days I took what medicines,  I can remember being so scared and praying and crying but I can't remember how much I had to pay for everything(even though that was my biggest stress),  I can remember the exact date of my transfer (August 20th) and the date I found out I was going to be a mom (August 25th) but I can't remember the dates of every blood draw and ultrasound before or after.

 

I can remember what it felt like hear the word's I lost one of my babies and how my heart ached so bad,  but I have a hard time being anything but happy now for this little miracle I get to welcome into this world in just 9 short weeks.

 

I do not take for granted this gift I have been given AT ALL and the love that my Heavenly Father has shown me by helping me become a mom.  I was able to see him again this morning and see his feet, hands, perfect heart, lungs and brain.  I even saw the hair on his head and I had tears the entire time because of how amazing it is.

 

 I know I might have to do IVF again someday to be able to have another child and if I do I will get wrapped up again in the world of shots, retrievals and transfers.   But for now, I am just so happy and blessed beyond words to be able to bring my healthy baby boy into this family and into my arms.