To pee or not to pee? That is the question.

Ok, I'm going to sacrifice my good name and self respect for a funny blog post. It's been quite a while and I think my readers deserve at least that much. :)

Fact: I'm 8 months pregnant.
Fact: I've had about every single pregnancy symptom you read about in all the books. Wait, lemme think....yep. Every one.

Story:

So my doctors fortunately alleviated the whole bed-rest requirement and put me on better medicine (not so many crazy, shaky side-affects) and told me to hang in there (essentially).

Anyway, the other day (yesterday) I'm sitting outside, enjoying the beautiful weather and fun company when I see my 2-year-old son sprinting straight for our backyard pond. I yell for him to stop, but being the 2-year-old that he is, he just speeds up. So I take my achy-breaky back and big belly out of my chair and run full-speed (yes, full-speed) to save his life. When I finally reach him and give him my mother-schpeel about disobeying me I realize my pants are totally wet. Like, more than a few drips here, people. We're talking through the undies, through the pants and creeping up the sides. This totally freaks me out since I didn't even feel like I had to pee and I've never had a water-breaking experience before (they broke my water for my first babe). Knowing that I'm at the exact same point in my pregnancy that I was with #1 when I delivered him, I call my doctor and consequently head to the hospital to get checked out. By this time I'm not totally sure it was my water since I'm not leaking or anything. Anyway, after about an hour and a half of hospital tests (and calling my whole fam to warn them I might be going into labor soon) I find out that I just peed in my pants. No amniotic fluid. Sweet. And thank you very much.

I already told my husband he can make fun of me for the rest of my life for my genious-ness. It's ok, I deserve it.

So from now on there will be mandatory potty breaks every 30 minutes, whether I'm feeling the urge or not. Either that or adult diapers, and I'm opting for the former.

Advice, anyone?

Just when I was starting to really enjoy this pregnancy (no puking, lots of eating) the third trimester reared its ugly head and threatened to destroy my happiness. Ok, so maybe that's a little extreme, but still. Let's just say that after two trips to the ER and lots of drugs later, I'm back at home with the baby still in my belly (thank goodness! I'm only 32 weeks!). BUT, here's the catch, I've been advised by several doctors to "take it easy" and keep off my feet as much as possible. Not that I don't occasionally (ok, often) welcome a good excuse to be lazy, it's just really hard to feel productive when I'm sitting or laying down all the time. My body is sore from doing NOTHING. How weird is that?!?! Yuck. So if any of you have 1) been through this yourself, or 2) can at least empathize/sympathize with my situation, then I welcome your advice on how to stay active without being active. Hmmm.... yeah. So come one, come all with your fabulous suggestions!!

Crazy kid

How my son feels about oral hygiene

Cleaning and the Twos

Honestly, I like cleaning. It's true. (I promise, family!) I'm definitley my mother's daughter and that's just one place where it totally shows. I was house-sitting for a friend last week and I was excited to clean her house. I've been living in a place where people clean for me and I was excited to do it myself! Weird, I know. But for some reason, I find a WAY greater joy in cleaning someone else's house or cleaning for company than I do just cleaning for the day to day. I mean, does my 2-year-old son REALLY care if there is a little sticky yogurt on his bib from that morning? No. Will it get sticky again? Yes. Is it worth it to clean 5 times a day? You be the judge. But if I'm cleaning for someone else, I'm totally a perfectionist (well, as perfectionist as I get). The smallest speck totally bugs me. When we were leaving our last house I got all crazy over a few specks of dirt we left on the rug. Hmmm... and I always thought my husband was the OCD one...

On another note, the terrible twos have reared their ugly head. My son makes me so happy and I love to kiss his soft, plump cheeks, but sometimes there is nothing that annoys me more than his little sweet face!!! AH! He's learning how to be independent and defy his parents' orders, the stinker. I'm totally becoming "that mom" with the kid in church who doesn't leave or even flinch when her son screams cause she's become so accustomed to the sound. Ah....kids these days... What d'ya do?

The boy acting all sweet and innocent with his cute little girly friend

Dad teaching him how to chew and spit sunflower seeds. An essential male skill. 

It's in the good stuff

Hi. Ok, I'm a genious. I just figured out how to post from my phone. Sweet. My blog has seen better days cause my computer and Internet are without my reach for a while. Don't ask. My life is crazier than you're thinking.

So I'm pretty positive the movie, Girls Just Want to Have Fun, was my all time favorite growing up. It even beat out the likes of Newsies and Indiana Jones (although they were very strong competitors). There was just something about the dancing, the young love, and the rebellion that put a fire in my blood. I couldn't help but make up my own dance routines and sweet outfits during the closing credits. Even now when I hear Cindy Lauper's shrill voice singing that familiar song I can't help but get psyched up and ready to face the world!

Its crazy how music and memories do that to us. Kind of the same way country music always makes me want to open my windows and do a little spring cleaning. Oh where would my home be without a little bit of that lovin'?!

Everything from long runs to lonely nights to spring dance parties got a good kick from life's little gems. All I can say is thank goodness for the good stuff like that!

Life of late has been pretty crazy. I've found that sleep is often more restless and non-relaxing than vegging in front of the TV because of everything on my mind. I guess that's life though, right? 

I've decided to dedicate this post to one of my followers who inspires me. In fact, I think I'll be doing this quite often, so if you're following this blog it could be YOU! 

The person who inspires me to be a better person and be proactive is my sister Tracie! Tracie's birthday was yesterday so I've been thinking about what an amazing person she is. She basically has the patience of Job and is the best peacemaker I've ever met. I honestly don't ever remember fighting with her in my entire life (and believe me, that's got nothing to do with me!). She always remembers birthdays, anniversaries or anything else special in someone's life. She has made several baby blankets for family members, which is an arduous feat given that she can sometimes be quite the perfectionist. She is always looking on the positive side of any situation and very very rarely gets discouraged. She is not afraid to try new things and she doesn't judge by what's on the outside. She doesn't compare herself to other people - only to herself and in how she can become better. All of these things (plus about a million more) are reasons why my sister Tracie inspires me. 

Thanks for everything, Tra! I can't wait to play this summer! 

Do it.

I wanted to make this post really interesting cause I haven't posted in a while. I knew I'd need some good photos to entertain those weary of reading big blobs of words. After doing a quick search of my old photos, this is what I found:


Yes, this is me on the right while serving a mission for the LDS church in Brazil sometime in 2005 (I think...). And that is a chicken foot about to enter my mouth. It entered, I chewed, swallowed, and vowed to never do it again. :)

Moral of the story and a lesson taught me by my dear friend, Holly, "If nothing else, do it for the memory!"

Amen, Holly. Amen.

30 by 30

I turned 27 today. I think I'm getting used to this old thing. I thought 26 was hard cause it was edging a little too far into the "late twenties" for my taste. It also doesn't help that my husband is younger than I. But, I think I'm beginning to finally accept the inevitable and just move on. 

So in honor of my birthday and accepting oldness, I've created a list of 30 things I will do before I'm 30. Here goes (not order specific):

1. Compete in at least one triathlon a year

2. Take a photography class

3. Master Photoshop

4. Become a professional photographer

5. Buy a house

6. Grow a garden

7. Get a six-pack (abs)

8. Successfully endure my husband's deployment

9. Home school (? - still up for debate)

10. Start a business (possibly, but not necessarily, related to #4)

11. Be a good church-goer (always have a temple recommend)

12. Master the art of entertaining (with no stress)

13. Read more (join a local book club)

14. Take fun family vacations

15. Go horseback riding (I love it and never do it)

16. Pick up a new hobby

17. Sew something for my baby girl (this is a challenge, friends)

18. Learn some home decorating skills

19. Build up a significant food storage (more than just MREs)

20. Go to the temple monthly

21. Family Home Evening weekly

22. Scripture study daily

23. Remember family and friend's birthdays

24. Send b-day cards (now THAT'S getting my act together!)

25. Start writing in a journal at least monthly (gotta start slow, here)

26. Keep up my blogs!!

27. Learn to love laundry and dishes (hmmm...)

28. Start cutting coupons (I love saving money)

29. Remember not to prioritize myself out of the picture

30. Have fun!

OK, that's a good start! Here's to being young! 

It's getting HOT in here!

From some of the comments made on my earlier posts, I felt a need to really clarify why I'm here and what this blog is all about. Maybe I'm taking a different angle since the blog's birth, but I'd like to think this is what I intended all along. 

First of all, girls don't sweat. Don't you hate it when people (MEN) actually think that? Or even some girls themselves claim they don't really sweat? But that's when you need to examine the REALLY in the sentence and determine its worth. So, girls don't sweat, except when we do. A lot. That's the truth, am I wrong? I think not. 

Continuing...  What makes us sweat? Me? Running. Biking. My two-year-old. Cooking. Standing with my pregnant body. Etc. A LOT of things make me sweat. What makes you sweat? Biking? Gardening? Baking? Writing? Whatever it is, it's exciting and it means you are OUT there being happy and productive (I'm pretty sure those two words go hand in hand for me). 

So this blog is dedicated to motivating you (and ME) not to be afraid of a little sweat. I happen to love running and biking. But there's certainly NOTHING wrong with you if you don't. Just cause your big thing is baking a MEAN chocolate chip cookie doesn't make you unwelcome to this site. No, ma'am. Welcome one, welcome all. (And you can bet I'd be more than happy to eat that mean chocolate chip cookie any day.)

So, girls (and a few straggling boys out there), let's get motivated together! Let's do something and get down and get dirty. Don't be afraid to sweat in your nice clothes. It's worth it. What's a little sweat stain got on you? 

Cause c'mon, everyone knows girls don't sweat, except when we do. A lot.  

The Unveiling

Keep your pants on. I'm not going to let all that anticipation go for naught! My post last night had to be short and sweet cause I have a life and it keeps me busy. :) (Even if that life does entail watching 2 hours of HGTV every night...)

So here is the illustrious and much coveted prize won by the lucky Jacque:

These stay-put headbands have yet to do me wrong. Thank you, Bonnie, for first introducing me to the wonders of a headband with built-in traction. Who knew my head was so slippery (or pointy, but I prefer to think of it as slippery)? And what better a prize than one to keep hair out of your sweat? Very appropriate, if I dare say. 

So enjoy, Jacque! And continue coveting, the rest of you (you can buy them for a couple bucks at Wal-Mart if you're really diggin' it). 

And the winner is....

Jacque!!! 

Congratulations, Jacque, on your cheap running accessory! I will have it in the mail by tomorrow! Good luck on your upcoming 5k! I think it's awesome that you are so active and healthy even as a grandma! What a great example to the rest of us! Have fun and enjoy your prize! 

Holy cow, I'm back!

So, let's just call that a L O N G hiatus. I know, totally lame and NOT motivating at all. Fortunately, I have the best excuse I could think of (and it's actually true!). 

I'm PREGO! That's right, folks, there's a bun in the oven. Right now I am about 6 months along and doing just fine. But believe me, it was a rough road I traveled to get here. Uncharacteristic of my first pregnancy, this pregnancy left me bed-ridden and crying for aid (or a bowl of Cheerios since that was about the only thing I could stomach for a good 10 weeks). I was even hospitalized once after an extremely difficult encounter with the stomach bug. Needless to say, the going got tough but the tough got going -  ie. I'm still here. Just to prove it, here's photographic evidence:

So now that I'm FINALLY back to what feels much like myself, I'm ready to get this baby rollin'! (Not the literal baby, the blog baby, that is). 

As an incentive to get people to actually read what I'm writing, to get ME to make frequent updates and just to be cool like all the other bloggers out there, I'm going to have a drawing to win a prize. The prize will be something beautiful - ie. a very cheap running accessory (I already know what it is and I use it all the time). 

Here are the rules to enter this awesome drawing: 

1. You MUST follow my blog. (see that little box on the sidebar that says, Follow? Well, follow.)

2. You MUST make a comment on this post. I love comments. They make me happy. So go ahead, make me happy. 

Then once I have all the comments and followers in, I will randomly draw a name and send them a cheap running accessory! I know you're excited. 

Good luck! 

(By the way, deadline is Thursday, April 30th at 9:00 p.m. EST)