Hello again, I've missed you.

I've toyed with the idea of "coming back" to the blog. I have mixed feelings: while I don't want to lose out on precious time with my baby, there is some downtime now and then. And blogging has always been a great way to simultaneously record and share what is going on in my life. So we'll see how it goes. Hopefully I can find a good balance.

If you read my blog, you probably know we welcomed Tegan Danny Smith into the world on July 14th. I can't believe it's been a month! We were surprised by his early arrival (he came 4 weeks early), and then spent 2 agonizing weeks in the NICU (ugh).  He is now healthy and happy and we are overjoyed to have him at home.

Being a stay-at-home mom is turning out to be a lot like I hoped it would be. Lots of snuggle time with Teague; time to dress, change, re-dress, and re-change him over and over and over; more laundry than this house has ever seen in the time we've lived here; the promise of a shared afternoon nap time; the busy-ness of getting ready to go anywhere (even just around the block). I am really trying to cherish this time, which I know is fleeting and precious. His helplessness and little lamb's cry fill me with purpose as I complete the seemingly mundane tasks to keep him happy and comfortable. I am so grateful I get to do this. I've waited a long time to do this.

It's funny, really, how other things in my life have suddenly taken a back seat. My work, for example. I continue to see a handful of clients each week, and I love that I get to still do that. But an hour or two away from Teague each day feels like plenty.

I'm just really happy to be a mom. I love my little family.

What's Up Wednesday

We've been pretty busy around here between Chad's birthday, a doctor's appointment yesterday (hooray!), church stuff (I don't think I mentioned that Chad is now Young Men's President in our ward, meaning he's the head honcho of the 12-18 year old boys), and regular work/school stuff. 

My doctor's appointments are always fun. I love hearing that little boy's heartbeat, and I love learning about what is going on. You know, silly stuff like, "Now your uterus is a couple inches above your belly button in height--feel it, it just drops off like a little shelf," and cooler stuff like, "We actually want the baby's heart rate to be unstable, because it lets us know his heart is functioning properly in that it is accommodating to his level of activity at any given moment."

The only dark moment about my appointment was when my sweet doctor informed me I have gained almost 20 pounds thus far and need to watch it! TWENTY POUNDS! Sigh. And I'm pretty sure weight gain only accelerates as pregnancy progresses. They say 25-35 is ideal for the entire pregnancy, which totally overwhelms me, at this point.  I have been SO good about going to the gym almost every day for the past two weeks (I think I actually went 4 days a week, which I now realize is not quite the same things as "almost every day," but still. It felt like a lot and I was proud.). But apparently my efforts are not quite sufficient to ward off whatever is happening to my poor, changing body. So, I'm back on myfitnesspal--if you're on there, we should be friends. I think I have--let me see--TWO friends on there. Thanks, Suze! 

Anyway, I was a little baffled about my inability to gain weight at a normal, pregnant-lady pace (Chad said it was probably all muscle from all my lifting at the gym--bless him!), until I sat down to write this post and flipped through some of the pictures on my camera roll. Without really thinking about it, I managed to consume (and also photograph!) the following things all within the past week or so:

• delicious biscuits (I honestly meant to halve the recipe but my scatterbrained self forgot I was doing that halfway through, so don't worry, we shared most of an entire batch between the two of us)

• tacos at El Luchador (Yummm! Happy Birthday to Chad!)

•  pistachio pie (Also yum, Happy Birthday to Chad again!)

• pistachio cream puffs (We made these to eat with some friends while watching General Conference on Sunday. Don't worry, we were also met with queso and salsa, and cookie dough fruit dip at their house.)

It's a real challenge for me--someone who grew up with six younger siblings (SIX!) to suddenly share meals and treats with only one person. (What's this? You mean I don't have to tackle my housemate before he reaches for the last dinner roll?) There is just such an abundance of everything I ever make. I mean, that pie, for example. We had sooo much pie. I'm happy to say that mostly Chad had a lot of pie, because he LOOOOVES it and it was his birthday pie, so he ate it for most meals for the few days after his birthday. But in general, sharing an entire pie with only one other person is probably not a good idea. 

Anyway, this post has been a little long and rambly, but what are your thoughts? How did you stay healthy during pregnancy, if you have kids? Even if you don't have kids, what can you say about this topic? I'm sure you've got some words of wisdom. 

Ultrasounds and Birthday-weeks.

Yes! We're having a boy! The ultrasound was such a wonderful experience. I was getting a little worried because several people had told me, "you should start feeling the baby move around any time!" and I hadn't really felt anything. Or at least, nothing that was recognizably a baby kick or movement. I was ready to get back to the doctor's to at least hear a heartbeat for some reassurance, but seeing the images of our little baby boy was even better. He did kind of stay in a tucked-up position for most of the ultrasound (camera shy), but we saw him move around some. 

I don't know if you can tell, but he's got his knees all the way up to his chin. I'd like to see YOU be that flexible. 

The happiest part for me was that Chad ended up getting to be there. He wasn't sure he'd be able to leave the dental clinic for the ultrasound. Of course, once he talked to his supervisor about it, the guy was pretty emphatic about how much Chad "needed to be there"--at the ultrasound, that is. It's nice that people understand that it's kind of a big deal. 

I had asked Chad several times whether he wanted it to be a boy or a girl and he said he really didn't care either way. I had said I wanted a girl. But once you find out, that's it! We have a little baby boy and I wouldn't trade him in! He's already a part of our family. I'll be the lone woman around our house--and I guess I'm okay with that! I am already dreaming about signing him up for little league in a few years. 

In other news, Chad's birthday is this Wednesday. A while back he had mentioned he wanted a "nice outfit" to wear to a job interview or to work. Seemed like a pretty easy gift, until I said, "Yeah, but you'd have to come with me to the store to try stuff on." That was the end of that conversation--Chad is not a fan of shopping. So for his birthday, I created a personalized Chad-man boutique in my office. I did a bunch of shopping and bought lots and lots of shirts and pants that I thought would fit Chad, and offered to take back whatever didn't fit and/or find better sizes/colors if there was something he liked but needed changed up. I think he was pretty surprised, because I managed to set it all up without him noticing. We had a fun little fashion show and he tried on all the clothes. Of course, the idea is that I will be taking most of the clothes back (money don't grow on trees, people), but he did find a couple shirts and a pair of pants that were absolutely smashing on him. I think it was a win! 

Looking forward to more birthday-week celebrations with my main slice. And I'm SO happy winter is finally on its way out. Hope you and yours have a great week!

Strawberry Pie.

I am so happy with the warmer weather we've been having. It really does wonders for my mood (read: balances out my crazy pregnant-lady mood swings so they are tolererable for those around me).

The other day at the grocery store they were offering samples of fresh strawberries. I thought, "Why not?!" 2 packages of strawberries in hand and leaving the store, I was already stoked to get home and make my favorite treat--strawberry pie. It made me so happy and I thought maybe you could use a spring-ish dessert recipe, too.

Strawberry Pie

Graham crackers

6 tbsp butter

3 tbsp sugar

1 tub cool whip (we actually used 2 cups heavy whipping cream instead, prepared according to instructions)

2 8oz packages of cream cheese

1 tsp vanilla

1/4 cup powdered sugar

Fresh Strawberries

1 cup of semi sweet chocolate chips

First, prepare your crust by mixing graham cracker crumbs (about 10 full crackers' worth), the melted butter, and sugar in a pie plate. Press the crumb mixture into the plate. For the filling, mix your whipped cream, cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla until smooth. Pour that over the crust. Place the washed, hulled strawberries on top of the pie. Melt chocolate chips and drizzle over the strawberries. Allow to cool in the refrigerator so the chocolate can harden. Yum!

This was what I usually asked my Mom to make instead of a cake every year on my birthday, and it is so yummy. Enjoy!

Decisions, decisions

About a month ago, Chad had a brilliant idea. Spring Break was coming up, I was going PRN at work, and hello! We're having a baby in August. So let's go on a cruise, he said. Yes! I could not agree more. What better way to phase out of your last few months as a solitary couple than to lounge around on a cruise ship in the Bahamas? It was perfect.

But over the course of a few days, we managed to talk ourselves out of it. Too expensive. Too impulsive. Just too much. (We are already in the process of incurring some serious student loan debt,  after all.)

I've gotten a lot of advice from different people as we've waffled back and forth over the past month. "You should do it! Enjoy your LAST CHANCE to party without worrying about kids!" (That one really speaks to me, I must say.) Or, "You will have other opportunities, and you don't have to stop having fun just because you have a baby." (Mmm, I hope that's true.)

What do you think? What would you do? I don't think we are going to go, but I want to hear some perspective. How does life change after kids? Is it possible to still enjoy a vacation after kids?

Sincerely,

Homebound and Pregnant

Hi.

So, it's been a while. Sometimes when major, exciting things actually happen in my life, I think, "I can't trivialize it by writing about it on my blog--I'd never do it justice." I don't know what that's about.

Anyway, I'm pregnant! We found out in December, after I peed my pants driving home from a work meeting. Great story, maybe I'll have to share sometime! We are so, soooo excited about being parents for the first time. Being a mom is something I've always wanted to be, and I can't wait to meet our little one in August!

I'm hoping to ease back into blogging. I've reduced my hours a little at work and I'm feeling a little less frantic about my schedule, which means I may have time to pick some of my hobbies back up. :)

week 13ish?

week 15

week 17

Let's Talk Headbands.

Be prepared for a shameless sister plug.

You remember how cool my sister Elise is, right? Okay, good. 

Elise has a new etsy shop where she is selling these adorable headbands. Her motto: "making cute babies cuter, one headband at a time." Here is the evidence:

baby not included.

You all know I don't have a baby, but when I saw these, I immediately thought of several babies in my life who needed to have one of these headbands. One of my initial concerns was whether headbands are truly one-size-fits-all--I mean, I don't want my fellow large-headed folks to be hurting. Luckily, Elise has a range of sizes appropriate for different aged babies (obviously, you might want to measure your kiddo's head just to be sure you're getting the right size).

Elise shipped my headbands the same day I ordered them, which was awesome. She even enclosed a special note, at my request, in a shipment I had sent to a friend.    

Check her shop out on facebook or on etsy to view the full selection. And, dear reader, you can snag free shipping with the code shipfree13 until December 31st. Enjoy!