We Did It. HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!

Well folks....we did it. We survived the last four weeks! My stress level is back to normal (with the exception of multiple dirty laundry piles still waiting to be done), and I am LOVING the holiday break with my husband HOME.

Jeff and I successfully applied for TWELVE (12) Ph.D. program around the country, and now we just wait to hear back. 'We,' meaning Jeff is the applicant and Jen did all the data entry, applied for programs in North Carolina, New York, Texas, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Iowa, Virginia, Washington, Georgia, and Arkansas. Of the twelve places.... I only want to live in like 3 of them, but we'll go wherever 'we' are accepted. (Somewhere...please accept us!)

I have all of my Christmas shopping done, with the exception of snow boots for Carson, and it's all wrapped and ready to go. Our Rockin' Christmas Music Video for the family Christmas Eve Party is all prepared and I sure hope it's funny!!!

Although I can't post our actual Rockin' Christmas Music Video, with Jeff and I singing, because it would be TOO embarrassing, I can show excerpts from the filming of it. Only family gets to see the real thing. Sorry guys. Be grateful for what you do get to see. lol


I am terribly excited for Christmas day and can hardly wait to see a certain reaction to a certain present that will be opened on Christmas day. It's always SO hard for me to keep secrets like these.

Anyway, tonight is the first night in weeks where I can just sit back, take a deep breath, and enjoy some much needed R&R. I caught up on my facebook, my gmail, and my blog reading.... and it has been an exceptional evening.

A special thanks to all who supported me through this crazy time, let me ignore our friendships for the last two months and listened to me complain.

Side note: The last few weeks of stress actually suppressed my appetite and I lost 5lbs since Thanksgiving. Guess I'll have to gain it back during Christmas and start again in the New Year!


Happy Holidays!!!

Insanity

My baby is finally sleeping. It was a very long night! My husband sought solace on a bed of sleeping bags, which he made on the living room floor, but I am wide awake.

I wish you all could see me now. It’s 4:46 am. I’m sitting on the floor of our bathroom, writing this blog on a laptop. The shower mat is surprisingly comfortable and the bathtub makes a great back rest. If I’d only taken the stinky, overflowing garbage can out yesterday….this wouldn’t be a half bad space.

I’ve had a lot of restless nights lately, so forgive me if this doesn't make sense. I don’t even know where to begin. For the first time- in a long time- I’m feeling incredibly overwhelmed by life. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE my life, but SO much is going on! Honestly, I am so grateful for the gift of agency, but I am getting seriously frustrated with some of life’s important decisions & SO much responsibility!

Decision 1- Where to get a Phd??? Our wonderful world of limbo

Jeff has always wanted to be a university/research professor, but the road to a PhD is a long one. There are hundreds of schools around the world that offer his PhD program and the time is here for “us” to apply.

Jeff has been busy with school and has asked me to ‘take care’ of it. I have spent countless hours researching these programs, the requirements, the areas, etc. It has been a nightmare! This choice will determine our future---where we will live for the next five years, the environment I will raise my children in, the place where our children start school and set the foundation for Jeff’s future career. Talk about a decision!!!!!!!

Gratefully, the decision will be made in the next 3 weeks. I just hope my sweet children and home can take a little more neglect, because once we’re done… we’re done. 10 schools, 10 applications….and then we wait to see what happens. Jeff has a 5 -15 % chance of being accepted into a program. Everyone cross your fingers!

Decision 2- Family Planning

I think that I’m not typical, but I want “a lot” of children. So trying to time a 3rd child, while living in this time of uncertainty, has really been traumatic. Do we start??? Do we wait??? Do we prevent??? Do we try??? I never would have guessed that these decisions would be so painful.

Decision 3- Weight Loss

Jeff and I know we need to live healthier lives and weight loss is part of that goal. We’ve started working out at 5am. We’re eating a “fat burning” diet. But these changes are making me ill. I’m sick, I’m tired, I’m sore and I have a semi-permanent headache. Am I doing something wrong or is this just part of my transition? My children are sick and their sleep is irregular. Can I make this commitment to 5am and low-carbs… when I can’t seem to get enough sleep?

In conclusion--- I’m tired, I’m stressed, my house is a mess, my children are sick, the finances are tight, and it’s a crazy time of year …. I just don’t know how to cope. I like to think a ‘vacation’ would help, but I know that would only make things worse… and just add more clothes to my laundry pile.

Am I crazy for thinking life is hard right now?

Kissing Casanova

Even as an infant, I could have sworn that Carson was a flirt. As early at 3 months old, he could bat his lengthy eyelashes and smile at "pretty" girls. These techniques have gotten him free cookies at the grocery store, candy and compliments. For his birthday I bought him a shirt that says "Flirt in Training." I'm not sure where he gets it, because I know it didn't come from his father, but Carson is quite the charmer.

I went to pick-up Carson up from the church nursery on Sunday. When I entered the room one of the nursery teachers announced, "Carson's Mom is here," and then she started to giggle.

"There's something we should tell you," she said, as she continued to laugh. "Carson had his first kiss today, and we thought that you should know."

Apparently, the Nursery teachers watched as Carson and little Addie, a girl in his class, lovingly embraced. Within a few seconds, it seems that Carson innocently gave her a his kiss...RIGHT ON THE LIPS, which made all the teachers laugh.

"It was very cute," she said, "but we didn't see it coming."

I shook my head, rolled my eyes and thought..." Oh great, my kid is the kissing kid." I laughed out loud and recounted stories about my little Casanova and apologized to to Addie's Dad, who didn't think it was THAT funny.

I still laugh when I think about it. Carson, the kissing kid. Yep, that's my kid. When I later asked him, "Did you kiss Addie today?" He responded with, "Eva."

"Eva, Who's Eva? I though that you liked Addie!"

Has Carson already set his sights on someone else or has he forgotten Addie's name? Poor Addie. I hope she doesn't take it personally.

Blah, Blah, Blah....Blog

So, it's been awhile since my last post because I was basically without a computer. Allow me to explain. We moved the computer into our bedroom a few months ago, because I couldn't stand the hideous desk it sat on to be in the living room any more. It was always covered in bills, clothes, and paper. It took up way too much space, and was definitely an eyesore. We didn't have a strong connection to the internet in our bedroom, and alas... I could not blog.

Then we moved the computer into Carson's room when Maylee was born. Bad idea. Mom's are supposed to blog when kids are sleeping, but how do you do that when the computer is in the room they are sleeping in?

Thankfully, my parents gave Jeff a beautiful, black computer desk, which is too small to pile with crap, for his birthday, because I asked them to, and it fits nicely in our living room!!!!

I can blog again! (And read yours again too)!
-------------------------------------------------------
What you've missed in the past couple of months............................................. Not much! My brain is no longer in blog mode. I've forgotten how to blog. But at least I can now, right?

Goodbye Eyesore----

Help... I need you opinion!

On Friday night, Jeff and I were feeling silly and decided to dye our hair.

I used to color my hair all the time in high school, but my hair NEVER became the color that the box of dye promised me. I was hoping that 'do-it-yourself ' hair color had improved in that 10 years, but I'm not sure it has.

Here is what happened.
Box of Dye #1: Dark Blond. My hair turned a dark red. So I tried to fix it.
Box of Dye #2: Ultra Blond. My hair turned golden ORANGE. So I tried to fix it.
Box of Dye #3: Light Ash Brown. My hair turned Strawberry Blond. I decided I'd better STOP! If I'm going to fix this....I'll need some professional help!

So here's my question--- PLEASE BE BRUTALLY HONEST! My brother is getting married in 6 days, and I'm going to be in the pictures. Do I need to get a professional to try to fix my hair??? Can they fix my hair? I don't want to look or feel stupid. Pictures last forever and these ones get hung up on walls.... Please leave your comments.

Here's the hair---

Thanks,

Jen

Maylee's Birth Story- The extended version

When I was pregnant with Carson, I was afraid of going into labor and not knowing it. You see, I’d heard the horror story of my own birth, told by my Mother, where the labor went so quickly that she didn’t even realize she was in labor and didn’t make it to the hospital in time for an epidural--- It was a vaginal birth o’natural. Her second child birth experience with my brother, Tyler, was planned, induced and medicated. She highly recommended the latter!

Because of my fears, I requested an induction 6 days before my due date with Carson, but ended up needing an emergency induction 9 days before he was due. (For information on Carson’s birth story, please visit blog archives, November 2008)

Upon learning the due date of our second child, April 10, 2010, we realized that it was the Saturday before Jeff’s Spring Semester finals, and he couldn’t afford to miss a lot of school. This was cause for another induction. Jeff consulted his Spring Semester syllabi and decided that Tuesday, April 6th was the best day for the birth of our child. (Jeff also liked its religious significance, but that wasn’t our top priority.)

We made all the arrangements for April 6th. We scheduled the hospital, lined up family members to take care of Carson, and Jeff was working hard to get his final assignments done early. It was the perfect plan. But as my pregnancy progressed, I started to feel cheated! I wanted the experience of my body going into labor on its own and to let my baby choose her birthday. I wanted to time contractions, feel the rush of racing to hospital and not know when my baby would arrive.

I shared my feelings with Jeff, and he wanted to experience it too! All the while, people kept saying things like, “You know, things never go according to plan. That baby is definitely coming early,” or “child birth isn’t meant to be convenient.” And we believed them. Carson’s birth was planned and he came early, so we started to hope for a spontaneous child birth and my body inducing labor.

At thirty-seven weeks, we began praying for our baby to come as soon as she was ready. We told the Lord we wanted her to be healthy, and we also wanted to ‘experience labor’ before the scheduled induction. We then did our part…. We tried EVERY natural induction method possible, with the exception of castor oil, to try to induce my labor. We walked and walked for miles, we had all the ‘marital relations’ we could handle, and even stripped my membranes twice- but to no avail. After many sleepless nights, spent reading up on the signs and stages of labor, we decided it was hopeless cause.

It was on Monday, April 5th, however, that we recognized the Lord’s sense of humor. I awoke that morning around 1am. I couldn’t sleep! I had a horrible, sharp pain in my back. “A contraction,” I thought, “That was a real contraction!” I got out of bed and started pacing the living room floor, in hopes of getting things moving. I waited and waited for another one… it was at least an hour before the next one came. However, I did have one positive sign, forgive me for sharing, diarrhea- a sign of early stage labor. Thirty or so minutes later… I had another sharp pain in my back. “Wow,” I thought, “They are getting closer together.” Please remember, as my internal dialoged makes me sound like an idiot in this story, that I was paranoid about not making it to the hospital in time for an epidural, and I wasn’t about to miss ANY sign that might be related to labor.

By 3:30am, I thought it was time to wake up Jeff. I was sure we’d need to go to the hospital before the sun came up. We watched a movie together and waited for more contractions. They came very slowly and were not even close to consistent. I felt silly about waking him up.

By 9:00am, Jeff prepared for school. I cried as he closed the door. I didn’t want him to go. My husband, sweet as can be, was a sleep deprived zombie… on his way to school, and I was a sobbing mess!

By 10:00am, he walked back through the door, “I couldn’t focus,” he said. “I had to come home.” I was SO excited to see him, BUT every time he asked, “Have you had any more contractions?” I wanted to punch him in the face! The back pains were still coming, but they weren’t close enough to count.

To ease the tension and distract ourselves, we decided to go to Walmart. Walking was a nice distraction, but what I really wanted was to know if these back pains were really contractions. I had heard of a thing called ‘back labor,’ but I knew it could last for days. So I made an appointment at my OB’s office to see if my cervix was actually changing.

At 11:30am, when the nurse, Denise, checked my cervix, I was a 2+, a slight improvement from the previous Friday. Denise, however, was concerned with the baby’s heart rate and made an appointment for an NST and sonogram at the hospital. “They might even induce you while you’re there. Here’s hoping,” she said as I walked away. I left the OB’s office in tears, tears of nervousness for my baby’s wellbeing and tears of hope that the waiting would be over.
The tests at the hospital showed that the baby was fine, but that she was posterior, with her nose facing my spine, and this was causing the back pains.
During the ultra sound the technician said, “You’re having a contraction, do you feel the pain in your back?”
“I do.”
She then felt my belly and had a puzzled look on her face. “That’s weird,” she said, “I don’t feel it on the outside. Your belly should be hard. It says you’re having a contraction.”
That was precisely my problem! I was having these horrible back pains, but I didn’t know if they were contractions. My belly never got ‘hard.’

The hospital sent me home, and the technician said that I probably wouldn’t see much progress before my induction the following day. That meant I could go home and ‘experience labor’ for at least 18 more hours.

By 2:00pm, my Mom wanted to ease my burden and took Carson to her house. I cried as I said goodbye to my ‘only child’ for the last time, because his sister would be here by morning. “Don’t wait too late to go to hospital,” were my mother’s parting words of wisdom.

The shooting back pains continued, and nothing eased the pain. But I’d convinced myself that I would have to wait ‘til morning.

Jeff and I went to dinner and the pain seemed to be getting worse. Out of curiosity, Jeff wanted to time the pains. They were consistently 14 minutes apart. “Maybe I am in labor,” I thought.
Jeff asked me to describe the pain. I used phrases like, “it’s like someone is jabbing a knife in my spine and twisting it,” and “I can only assume this is what it would be like to be shot in the back by a cannon at close range.”

While at dinner, I called a friend, who is a labor and delivery nurse, and explained the situation- the shooting back pain without a contracting stomach, and she said, “That can last for days. You’re not in labor. You need to feel the contractions in your stomach. This could just be the start.”
“Okay, so I’m not in labor,” I decided.

Jeff and I then decided to walk around some local stores. The phone rang. Jeff answered and heard, “Hi, Jeff. It’s Mom. We’ve decided to spend the night at your house. There’s a big snow storm coming, and we don’t want to drive the point of the mountain in the morning. We’ll be there in an hour.”

Jeff and I quickly raced home to vacuum and pick up the house.

Who was coming? You ask. Well, after watching Carson’s birth, I was amazed by the miracle of child birth. Jeff’s mother had 8 c-sections and had never witnessed a vaginal delivery, so I invited her to mine. And If my mother-in-law was coming, then my sister-in-law, Jenny, wanted to come too, and if Jenny got to come… then Jeff’s other two sisters, Sarah and Rachel, wanted to see it as well.

The four of them were on their way to our house, and they were going to spend the night. That was an interesting surprise. Their arrival was greatly appreciated though. Having more people to talk to and entertain helped me forget the pain. I told them the events of the day, and my mother-in-law said, “You’re in labor! You don’t have to feel it in your stomach to have contractions. My mother had 5 babies and they were all back labor. We should really start timing these things.” So we did.

By 9:30pm, they were seven minutes apart. We started discussing the trip to the hospital, “I’m not going to the hospital. I’m not in labor. I’m going to get sent home,” I said.
My mother-in-law’s response was, “If you get sent away… you get sent away. It’s no big deal. I’m sure they see it all the time.”

By 10:30pm, my contractions were 5 minutes apart. Jeff said it was time to go to the hospital. I didn’t know what to think. We all packed up and walked out to our cars. It was snowing outside and Jeff was scraping the windshield. I quickly discovered that my cell phone wasn’t in my purse. “I can’t forget my cell phone,” I thought, “I’ve got to call everyone after I have the baby.”
“Jeff,” I yelled. “I forgot the phone!”
“I’ll go get it when I’m done scraping the windshield,” he said.
“No. It’s okay. I’ll go get it.” As I jogged towards our apartment, with a contraction and in the snow, I didn’t see the pothole. My foot hit the side of the hole, my ankle rolled right under me and I lost my footing . BAM! I was lying on the asphalt, in the middle of our parking lot. I starred at the dark night sky and snow fell on my face.
“Did that really just happen?” I thought. “Did I really just fall down?” The moment was very surreal. I wasn’t thinking about the baby. I wasn’t thinking about my back pain. I was simply laying in the roa-not thinking. Finally, I thought to yell. “Jeff!”

Jeff looked over and quickly rushed to help me up. “Are you okay?” He asked.
“I think so,” was all that I could say. “I need to go change my clothes.” My pants were wet and black, from the rocks and snow on the asphalt. As I walked inside, my ankle throbbed. The fear of the hospital was gone. The fall made me stop and breath. I didn’t cry. I wasn’t upset. I just focused on changing my clothes. It wasn’t until I went to take off my pants that I felt it…my cell phone. It had been in my pocket the entire time. The irony made me laugh out loud. I fell down on my way to the house to grab the phone that was in my pocket.

On the way to the hospital, my foot hurt as bad as the contractions. I made it to labor and delivery and said, “I think that I’m in labor.” I then told then I was scheduled to be induced in 6 or 7 hours.
“We probably won’ sent you home then,” was basically all they said.
I was pleasantly surprised when my nurse was Denise, the same nurse who checked my cervix that morning. When she checked me at mid-night, I had progressed to a 4. “When do I get my epidural?” I asked.
She looked at me blankly and said, “First, I have to check with your doctor and make sure that you can stay. I’m sure he won’t object. You were going to have the baby today anyway. Then we’ll talk about that epidural.” She also checked my ankle and said, “I don’t examine a lot of ankles as a labor and delivery nurse,” and everyone got a good laugh.

By 1:30am, We had the ‘okay’ to get an epidural and start pitocin. After 24 hours of pain--- it was a welcome relief.

I had fun cracking jokes with Denise, Jeff and my audience of 4, and I truly enjoyed the experience. I was glad Jeff’s family decided to come down early or they might have missed the experience.

By 2:30am, my water broke, and I was ready to push. “Don’t bare down,” I remember Denise saying. “Try not to push yet. Your doctor is on his way.”
I felt the baby coming and it was hard to deny my desire to push. I didn’t experience this feeling with Carson, because my epidural was too strong, but I was happy to feel the pressure.

The doctor arrived… just in time! In less than 5 pushes, the baby was out. I didn’t hear a cry, but I wasn’t really worried. I watched the stone-cold faces of my mother-in-law and husband as Dr. Jacobs arms seemed to fly through the air. My baby was quickly rushed to the warming table and let out a cat-like cry. It was a few minutes later that my mother-in-law explained what happened. The umbilical cord was not only wrapped around the baby’s neck, but it was wrapped around both of her arms as well. The Doctor was anxiously pulling and tugging the cord to unravel her as she seemed to gasp for air.

I’m just glad I didn’t have to see that part. I might have freaked out.

Born at 3:03am on April 6th, the day I was scheduled to be induced, our baby was 6lbs 2oz and 18 inches long. As they cleaned her off, my mother-in-law informed me that she had 3 stork marks in the same exact places as her brother, Carson, which I could hardly believe.

We named her Maylee Elizabeth Wall. Maylee (Mei Li) means ‘beautiful’ in Mandarin, and we think the name is fitting of our beautiful baby girl.

Her birth was a wonderful experience and Jeff’s mother & sisters still thank me for letting them witness it.

I’m happy to have my family of four, and Maylee is just perfect!

Busy Week

Well, I finally have things to blog about, but don't have the energy or motivation to actually do it. I'm sure many of you are DYING to hear my little Maylee's birth story (please note the sarcasm), and I will write it soon, but until then--- this will suffice.

We are all doing well and are so grateful for the help we've received this week. Our precious baby girl was born on Tuesday, April 6, 2010 at 3:03am. Her name is Maylee Elizabeth Wall. She was 6lbs 2oz & 18 inches long, which is only one ounce smaller than Carson was and was the same height. She also has the EXACT same birth marks as Carson did in ALL THE SAME PLACES! Pretty crazy stuff. Who knows why I make such cute, tiny babies with birth marks?

Carson loves to hug her and kiss her, and he also like to hit her and throw things at her. It's a great adventure at our house! We had to start 'time-out' with him today for hitting her, because we know HE KNOWS better, and it's terrifying when we don't stop him in time. (Sucks to be the second child.) But don't worry, I have watched enough Super Nanny to know what I'm in for. However, enforcing 'time-out' as postpartum Mommy isn't very fun. I cry when he cries, and he's the one in trouble!?! We bought him a 'baby doll' to take care of this week, and he cuddles it and kisses it...then he drags it by the foot and chucks it. We're teaching him to cultivate the kindness and avoid the aggressiveness.

We also made the "Wall Family House Rules" today-
Rule 1- Listen and Obey Mommy & Daddy
Rule 2- Be Gentle & Kind
Rule 3- Put things back where they go
Rule 4- Be Polite
Rule 5- Help Each Other

Each rule has a few sub-rules to help us govern the discipline (for all of us), which include: only eating in the kitchen, no yelling, no throwing food, no hitting, etc. We're using time-out to enforce broken rules, as taught by Super Nanny, and any one of us are subject to time-out if we don't heed a warning. This should be interesting.

Jeff already enforced a rule today by taking away an orange that I was enjoying on the living room couch. He gave me the option to eat it in the kitchen or have it thrown away. I stuffed as much of the orange as I could in my mouth, then gave him the rest to throw away. He then jokingly replied, "No wonder Carson is a little sh**!" (That's not allowed in out house anymore either.) I guess we'll see how it goes.I might even loose some weight with these new rules. I hate eating in the kitchen! Plus, I have to chase Carson down over-and-over again to get him into 'time-out corner.'

Anywho, our family unit is fabulous. I'm digging the family of four feeling. Please enjoy some pics from the hospital. I'll get around to the birth story later... and it's a good one! (She says, trying to keep the suspense alive)

Carson... The Actor

I think this video is pretty funny. You MUST enjoy it with your sound on.

Carson has some raw, natural talent. He just came this way, and I'm glad he did!



What do you think?

What did you say?

I always love the funny stories I hear about toddlers learning new words, which sound remarkably similar to other inappropriate words. You know, words like- "fork" & "truck." When Carson learned to say "sit," I almost died. I couldn't figure out what on earth he was saying, and if it was the word I thought I heard... I'd have to moniter my own vocabulary for sure. Luckily, I quickly figured out that when I said, "Carson, sit down," he would respond with "sit." It all made sense, and I 'could 'sit' back, relax and silently chuckle each time I heard it.

Well, Carson's has a new word, which has become slightly embarrasing for Jeff and I. You see, we've been trying to teach Carson the words for different body parts. And no, this isn't what you're thinking, I'm talking about words like 'eyes,' 'ears,' ' mouth,' and 'nose.' And since I am pregnant, I will talk about my belly and show Carson my belly button.

I tried to teach him the word, "Belly Button" the other day, and he picked it up quickly. He started out by calling it a "Belly Butt." Then he dropped the word "belly" and started calling it a "butt." Then in got worse! He started pointing at Jeff's nose and would repeat the word "butt... butt....butt"over and over again. It seems he thinks that the word "belly button" means "hole." So, anything that has a hole... he calls a butt. When we are in public, like the docotor's office for example, he will point at strangers faces and say, "butt."
And I say, " No. That's a nose, not a belly button," in an attempt to clear up any confusion by him pointing at their face and calling them a "butt."

My second favorite experience in the waiting room yesterday, was Carson pointing at pictures of Jesus and repeating the word "hot." Not an adjective usually used to descibe pictures of the Savior.

Needless to say, it's always an interesting experience to hear what Carson has to say now, especially in public. I'm sure people wonder what we're teaching him.

Hey, at least we're teaching him, right?

True Love

Jeff called his mom on Wednesday to ask if she'd watch Carson on Saturday afternoon, so that we could celebrate Valentines Day. She agreed. Then she told Jeff... to tell me... that their Stake was having a Valentines Dance that evening, and we should go.

"Okay. I'll tell her," were his words as he hung up the phone. Then he went back to studying. I looked at him for a moment, waiting for a message to be relayed, and he said nothing.
"What did she say?" I asked.
"Oh. She said that was fine," he said with his eyes glued to his laptop.
"Great. What did she want you to tell me?"
Not looking up he said, "There is a Stake dance that night and she said we are welcome to come."

I got really excited and responded with, "Ooooooo.... we're going!!!!" (There may have been some clapping on my part) "Do you want me to get the swing dance video from the library so we can practice?"
"Um, no." Jeff responded.

You see, Jeff is great to humor me at home. So, when I bring home "Learn How to Swing," an instructional DVD from the library, he'll dance with me. And he'll dance with me in the kitchen,and other rooms of the house, but NEVER in public. In fact, we've only danced together...in public...ONCE! It was our Wedding Day.

Jeff is a crack-up at home, but somewhat reserved in public. He wouldn't choose to embarrass or humiliate himself without just cause. I, on the other hand, would volunteer for it.

So, in honor of Valentines Day... I invite you see how much my husband TRULY LOVES me, by showing never before seen footage of our First (and only) Dance in public. (P.S. Even I'm embarrassed to watch it)




I love you, sweetheart!

P.S. He's probably going to make me delete this post. SO watch it quick!

The 411 on Baby #2- and other math problems

A dear friend called me yesterday to congratulate me on being pregnant. It seems she had no idea that I was expecting, but saw the baby ticker on our blog.

Jeff met with a member of the bishopric on Sunday to renew his temple recommend, and the counselor confessed that he was curious about whether or not I was pregnant, but he was afraid to ask... in case he was mistaken.

Sometimes even my own bother sees me at Sunday dinner and says, "Oh yeah, you're pregnant."

If this is the first you've heard of my pregnancy, then you are probably not alone. I've been meaning to write this post forever, and it is solely dedicated to answering the most common questions that Jeff and I get about this pregnancy.

Question #1- You're pregnant/ Was it planned?
Short Answer: Yes. No accidents here.

Long Answer:
I, like many of my dear friends, had no idea how long it would take to get pregnant. After Jeff and I were married, we prevented pregnancy for 2 months, but both felt strongly prompted that we weren't supposed to postpone having children. I was 25, Jeff and I had good jobs and Bachelors Degrees. What were we waiting for?

I had had ovulation problems in the past, and wasn't sure if it would be an easy road... but it was. Two weeks later- I was pregnant with Carson. I had a perfectly healthy pregnancy, BUT... I wasn't the easiest pregnant woman to deal with, because--- Jen + Hormones = Mood Swings.

Once Carson was born, I wanted my body back! I wanted to remember who I was without hormones. So, Jeff and I made the conscience decision to say "no" to birth control. We decided to let the Lord help us with our family planning, and were more than happy to accept the consequences. Our hope was to have children that were 18 months apart. (Apparently, you really do forget how horrible pregnancy is after the baby is born, because all we saw was our precious baby boy!)

Again, we didn't know how long it would take for us to get pregnant. We thought, "Maybe Carson was supposed to come that quickly and we would struggle to have #2." That wasn't the case.

It was early August, and I was feeding Carson Gerber Green Beans for breakfast. I opened the jar and started to gag. Later that morning, as I was rinsing the dishes, the smell made me want to throw up. Then the realization hit, "I'm pregnant!" I walked to the dollar store, bought 3 pregnancy tests, and confirmed my suspicions.

We were shocked, because I was nursing and not menstruating, and elated, because we were bringing another child into our family.

Question #2: How far apart will your children be?
Answer: 16 1/2 months

Question #3: Why don't you talk about it?
Short Answer: We do, especially to the people that we see on a regular basis, but we waited for a few months to tell everyone else.

Long Answer:
We waited for a couple of reasons; One, we wanted to make sure my body was ready to carry another baby. Two, I wanted Carson to be a little older, so we didn't look completely crazy. Three, I was hoping to avoid comments like, "You do know what causes that, right?" Four, I hate when people only talk to me about my pregnancy and I become known as a "pregnant lady." Five, it helped me avoid complaining about feeling sick and uncomfortable all the time.

Jeff and I posted the gender of the baby on Facebook back in November, and have made a few comments since then, but it hasn't been well 'publicized.' I will say this though, a discrete pregnancy is a quick pregnancy. When people don't remind you that you're pregnant all the time... it's a lot easier to forget.

Question #4: When are you due? Is it a boy or a girl?
Answer: April 10th; It's a girl.

Question # 5: Are you excited?
Short Answer: Yes, and scared, and confused, and anxious, and happy, and tired, and emotional, and fat.

Long Answer: I am very excited! We'll have a boy and girl, and they will be close in age and lifelong friends. However, as almost any mother will tell you--- it doesn't seem real until you're holding your baby in your arms. So, I don't believe she's really coming!!! And in those rare moments when I do believe it, I feel the weight of the world on my shoulders. [2 children under 18 months = A lot of diapers/ patience & persevering. ]

Question #6: How are you doing?
Short Answer: We're good.

Long Answer:
Carson is happy and healthy. He's a silly little boy who's very active, curious, and highly dramatic. The kid is hilarious and keeps us smiling! We're very thankful that he meets milestones early and is becoming more and more independent each day. Plus, he gives great hugs to his highly emotional, tired Mommy.

Mommy, that's me, is doing well. This pregnancy has been very similar to the last, except I haven't gained as much weight, because I'm always chasing a toddler around, and I can still eat meat. I don't sleep well, which can lead to emotional breakdowns, but I am coping well.

Daddy, that's Jeff, is good. He's in his second semester of Graduate School at BYU, and has had a pregnant wife throughout all of his graduate studies. He's dealing incredibly well. It hasn't been easy for him, because he's had to deal with morning sickness in the First trimester, and Mood Swings in the Second. He's also going to school full-time, working 20 hours a week as a computer programmer, and has a toddler who misses him at home. To top it all off, the baby is due 6 days before his finals are scheduled to start. I guess you could say that he's feeling some pressure too.

So, overall.... we're good.
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Those are most common questions that we get when people find out that I'm pregnant. I don't really have any pictures of my pregnancy, but I'll have to take one soon (Or else I won't be pregnant in it), and will post it for all to see.

Now you know!

Fun with Scissors

Carson likes getting his haircut, and we finally got it on video. Enjoy!

What's That Smell? A TRUE STORY

The Home Teachers were coming over yesterday, and although I usually deep clean for visitors... I didn't have the time. I was running errands most of the day, and I was in and out of the house. The problem was, each time I would return home and open the front door..."WHAM!" a disgusting smell would hit me like a brick wall! "What is that smell?" I thought.

Between my many errands, I took out all the garbage bags, sprayed Lysol in all the cans, lit a sweet smelling candle in the kitchen and sprayed some air freshener around the house. That was sure to work.

I went to visit a friend and her new baby later that day, and Carson took her toddler son some cookies. We arrived home with moments to spare before the Home Teachers arrived. My husband opened the door for me, and "WHAM!" There was that smell again!

"Jeff, It stinks in here and the Home Teachers are going to be here any minute," I mutter.
"It does stink in here. What is it?" He asks.
"I have no idea," then it hits me "DIAPERS!" I run into Carson's room and take ALL the diapers out to the garbage can. I ask Jeff to spray some more air freshener, which is totally tacky right before people come over, but it was going to be better than that smell.

While I'm walking back to the house, I see the Home Teacher waiting outside for his companion. "I hope that did it," I thought. I open the front door.... the smell is a musty mix between stench and air fresher. It's too late now. They are going to walk into that potent wall of nastiness.

I didn't apologize for the smell. I just pretend it isn't there. After they leave, we sit down for a late dinner. Jeff is done first and starts washing his dinner plate. "Oh. Did you know you clogged the toilet last night?" he says.
"Was it Carson? Was there a toy in it?" I asked.
"No, it was just a lot of toilet paper. It overflowed with urine though. I had to clean it up with a bathroom towel."
"That's disgusting, " I reply, "what did you do with the bathroom towel?"
"I left it on the bathroom floor."
"YOU WHAT?!?" I snapped.
"I left it on the bathroom floor. It was 11 o'clock at night. I was tired. So I left it there."
"You left a urine soaked towel on the bathroom floor? Are you kidding me?"
"Yeah, where is it now?" He innocently asked.

I then remembered picking up a very wet towel off the bathroom floor that morning and putting in the hamper in our bedroom. "I'll have to wash that pile later," I thought as I set it in the hamper, "Can't leave a wet towel in the there" I didn't get around to doing a load of wash that day, but to my defense... I had no idea it was soaked with URINE!!!!

"It's in our clothes hamper!!!!" I said. "I can't believe you left that on the floor! Why didn't you put it in the washer?"

"I was tired. I didn't think about it!"

"The smell!!!! That's the smell! Our house smells like a urine soaked towel, sitting in the clothes hamper."

Jeff quickly retrieved the towel from the hamper and put it in the washer. "Yep. That was it. Our bedroom wreaks."

The mystery was solved! It's a disgusting story, but nonetheless... it is true. And the best part, all I can think about is bleaching the bathroom floor now!!!

Carson's Sledding Adventure

We went sledding on New Years Day, and we had so much fun! Carson has always been a little adventure seeker. When he was 8 months old, I took him down 2 water slides, and even though he liked the slower one... he LOVED the fast one. He doesn't seem to be scared of anything, which is odd-- because Jeff and I are afraid of almost everything.

This is my first attempt at editing a video and uploading it. It may be a little rough, but
I think it's still fun!

My Blog's Face-lift

I received over 12,000 hits to out little family blog after posting "My Beef with Blogging" five months ago. It was a little unnerving, but I'm over it now.

My original purpose in starting a blog in 2008, was to update friends and family on my pregnancy with Carson and to post pictures and stories for them to see. It must be pregnancy related or something, but I have a new desire to start blogging again. In an attempt to do better... I have given our blog a "face-lift" and deleted the previous counter (I'm pretending only friends and family know that I blog now).

If anyone has any questions about our family- let me know, and I'll write a blog about it!

Thanks,

Jen