SICK

Ok, I promise not to dedicate my entire blog to "pregnancy complaints" for the next 6 or 7 months, but for now I just want to say...

I feel HORRIBLE and I don't know how I can possibly survive this pregnancy. I have a toddler to take care of! Help!! Ok, now that I have that off my chest...

Have you heard of the Duggar family? They just had their 18th child. Its one thing to dedicate your life to raising children... that's a big sacrifice. But now that I'm pregnant, I realize that this lady has dedicated the last 20 years or so to BEING PREGNANT almost non-stop. Wow. Can you imagine that? Maybe she has the easiest pregnancies in the world, but still!! The ages of her children are: 20, 18, 18, 17, 16, 14, 13, 12, 11, 9, 9, 8, 7, 6, 4, 3, 1, and a newborn. OH MY GOSH!! She is either completely insane, or completely selfless. I'm gonna go with insane... just to make myself feel better.

P.S. I really am happy to be having another baby! If I could just skip the next couple months of sickness that would be awesome. That was my Christmas wish, but I guess Santa was busy this year.

The never-ending snow storm

This is how it looked when we opened our garage door this morning.

Notice the giant snow monster hanging over our roof.

I was tagged...

by Melanie Lopez. Here are 7 random things about me:

1. I would eventually like to get my masters degree in School Counseling.

2. I'm obsessed with the color green. I pretty much choose green for everything.

3. I love to bake treats, and make salads, and fun appetizers, but I don't love to cook dinner.

4. I'm watching The Biggest Loser finale, and its awesome.

5. I've bought like 2 presents so far for Christmas.

6. My favorite stores are Pier 1 and Target.

7. I plan on giving birth "naturally" this time around. Wish me luck.

Belly pics, starting...now

So, I think I'm gonna start posting pictures every 4 weeks or so. This is me now, at about 6 weeks. (?) Ok, I'm basically guessing, but oh well. I'm somewhere around there. I'm really excited to watch my belly grow! Its so exciting. A little scary at the same time though, because when its all over, you're just left with loose, saggy skin. Ok, that was too visual. But I'm really excited nonetheless. I think I will try to wear this same outfit (pajamas) for all of my pictures. Hopefully they stretch. A lot.
The past couple days I've started to feel more nauseous. It hasn't been too bad though. How great would it be if I didn't throw up at all this pregnancy? I would be thrilled. But with Paige, the real sickness started at about 8 weeks, so who knows what will happen.

Details...

Its only a matter of time...

Thanks so much for all your sweet comments!!

Here's the story:

Ok, so my monthly visitor never returned after having Paige. Yeah, she was born almost 18 months ago!! So yesterday (monday) I called my OB/GYN and set up an appointment to get checked out. I thought something must really be wrong with me. Keep in mind, I have endometriosis, so I am always paranoid about infertility. I did breastfeed Paige until she was 15 months old, which can keep your period from returning, but 18 months? So, my appointment was set for Jan. 9th.

But yesterday I started noticing that I had to go to the bathroom quite often, so I decided to take a pregnancy test. I didn't really think I was pregnant, especially since my cycle had never regulated, but I figured I'd take the test just to be sure. I keep a stock of Dollar Tree pregnancy tests at all times (they are only $1!!) because I am crazy like that. So last night, I took the first test. It was negative. But I put it in my bathroom drawer so that I could double check it in the morning. So this morning, I had completely forgotten about it until I opened my drawer and saw 2 lines staring me in the face! Aaaahhh! What the heck?!! I ran downstairs to show Nate and he said, "you probably can't trust it after that long." And I realized that he was right. It was probably a mistake. But luckily I had 2 more tests on hand. They were both positive. I was really shocked. I still am.

Nate is pretty nervous about having two, but he's excited. I am completely thrilled. I thought it might take forever to get pregnant again, so this is a relief. I am so happy!!

So far, I am feeling a little more tired than usual, but fine other than that. The thing I am really nervous about is having bad "morning" sickness again, and trying to take care of hyper Paige at the same time. Yikes.

I'm pretty sure that I am due in August sometime, but I'm not positive. I have nothing to go on! But I really don't think I am more than 5 or 6 weeks pregnant. We will find out on Jan. 9th. I called my doctor's office and told them that I need to change my gyno appointment to an OB appointment. Yay!

PS. How funny that my last post was about trying to lose weight. I guess that's gonna be put on hold for a while. Ice cream- here I come!! (totally joking)

Aaaaaahhhh!!!!

I AM SO EXCITED!!

(And nervous...)

There's always room for...

I know what you're thinking... who blogs about Jello? Well, obviously I do. But that's not the point. I have just discovered something amazing...

If you are trying to lose weight, sugar-free Jello is your best friend. There are just 20 calories in a box, and if you put Lite Cool Whip on top its really good! Now you might be thinking, "But Ashley, I don't like Jello!" Well, in that case- I can't help you. But really, I could eat Jello (with Cool Whip) all day long and not have to feel guilty. Wow.

P.S. You know your blog is going downhill when you starting posting about Jello.

P.P.S. If you think "Jello" is an innocent thing to search for in Yahoo images... think again.

Oh, Christmas Tree...

Breakfast with Paige

She loves to wear underwear on her head.

To my fellow Twilight fans...

I know not everyone is a Twilight fan like me, (although it seems that way) but I just got back from seeing the movie, so that's what is on my mind.

NO SPOILERS... I PROMISE. However, if you haven't seen it yet, and plan to, maybe you shouldn't read my opinion because then it might influence your movie experience.

First of all, I loved it. I thought it was very well done. I loved the music! And Robert Pattinson was... mmmm. :) Second of all, I knew going into the movie, that it was not going to compare to the book. That's just impossible. However, I still felt like the relationship between Edward and Bella was just super rushed. I really wish they would have spent maybe 20-30 minutes more to show their courtship (is that a word?) and everything. Do you agree? The movie wasn't long, so they could have added lots more.

So that's what I thought. What about you?

P.S. Has anyone else noticed that its a little depressing each time you stop reading the books and come back to reality? You start to realize that your life isn't super action-packed and romantic. Its kinda sad. Maybe that's just me.

On November 21st...

I will be seeing this...
Anyone else?

It begins...

Today is a big day for me. I am beginning my journey into the world of Twilight Madness! I finally got the book from the library, and now... it begins. The obsession. I know I'm gonna love it because pretty much every girl in the world does, and I expect to have it read by tomorrow. Goodbye sanity.

p.s. I'm thinking of having a Twilight party when the movie comes out, and I haven't even read the book yet. Is that weird? Yes.

Guaranteed to make you happy...

I know its a little early, but I've been playing Christmas music ever since Halloween ended and it has really lifted my spirits (how many spirits do I have? hmm...). I'm getting so excited for the holidays! Have you heard of Pandora? If not, you should check it out. Its a free online "radio" that you totally customize to your music favorites. Its awesome, and they've got tons of great Christmas music.

Halloween!! (updated)

On Wednesday we went to a ward party.

This is Nate and his brother, Derek ("Ironman").

This was Halloween night. Nate was a prison escapee, if you can't tell. I tried to put a costume together at Goodwill and when I got home, I realized that it all smelled HORRIBLE. It was a combination of old lady smell and cigarette smoke. Lovely. I didn't realize it at the store because the whole place smelled weird. Anyway, I didn't dress up, so that was lame.

Paige liked trick-or-treating at first, and then she got really tired and sat in her stroller, sucking on a glow stick. In my defense, they were non-toxic glow sticks.

And poor Nate got a black eye during his time in prison.

Paige is so happy to be taking pictures.

Weaning

I officially weaned Paige from breastfeeding about 2 weeks ago, and I am now realizing that it has been harder on me than it has on her. For the first 3 or 4 days, I felt awful because she would come up to me and try to lift up my shirt, and I would say "all gone" and then she would start to cry. She had a look on her face like I had just betrayed her. After a week or so, she finally came to terms with it, and she has been fine ever since. But now I'm starting to really miss nursing her. I loved that time we had together when she would lay still and snuggle with me. I feel like it was the one thing that was holding her back from toddlerhood in my mind, and now its hard for me to let go of that baby stage. I can't believe how fast it all went. She is walking and talking-ish, now and its really different. I realize she's only 15 months old, but I just can't believe how much she has changed in the past few months. She is so much fun now though, and I love her more than ever.

This was taken at the hospital when she was 2 days old. I hadn't slept well in days, so don't judge. :)

A few new words

Paige has been saying a lot of new words lately, but I rarely get her to cooperate with the camera. This was the best I could do.
P.S. Let's pretend like my voice isn't super annoying. Thanks.

Fall in Washington

Problem Solved...

Back in September, I blogged about the fact that I couldn't find the motivation to work out regularly. I've always wanted to be super fit (who doesn't?) and I wanted to learn to LOVE exercise. Well, I think I'm getting there. I've been working out 5-6 days a week for the past month or so, and I really enjoy it. I have a membership at Anytime Fitness and I love that place. They have gyms all over the country and I can use any of their gyms at anytime. Its open 24 hours and there are no employees there from 7pm until like 9am or so. I usually go late at night and I'm oftentimes the only one there. I feel like its my own little escape. Its a little creepy being alone, but there are cameras everywhere, so if something bad happens to me, at least its on tape. (insert nervous laughter here) Anyway, I think one thing that has helped me a lot is buying some new workout clothes that I actually like. It sounds shallow, but feeling super frumpy at the gym is very demotivating. So now I'm more excited to get my fun clothes on and get moving. Plus, I oftentimes wear my athletic clothes around the house, so I dont have an excuse when it comes time to work out. I'm already ready to go! I hope I continue to enjoy working out. I'm on a roll here! Plus, I've lost 3 lbs and that is great motivation also. I look almost exactly like the girl in the photo above. Minus the flat tummy and toned arms. Oh, and my butt isn't quite as firm. Neither are my legs. But other than that, we could be twins. Ha ha.

I'm outta here!

IRELAND

MORE IRELAND...

Lately, I feel so disturbed by the crazy things that go on in our world. I try not to keep up on current events because it just makes me sad. I know that sounds ignorant, but I don't care. I hate watching the news because too much of it is depressing. Especially when it has to do with children. Whenever I hear about something awful happening to a child, I feel sick and I think about it for days. It is very traumatizing for me. So I've decided, since they aren't selling real estate on Mars (yet), I'm probably gonna just take my family and head somewhere isolated in Europe or Australia. I was thinking maybe Ireland... in the country. What do you think? Nate says there are terrorists in Ireland. I might need to do some research. Does anyone else feel like they want to protect their child(ren) from the evils of the world? I know I'm talkin' crazy, but that was just on my mind.

At the Pumpkin Patch

Paige and her cousin, Jace. They are 9 months apart.

This is the best time of year!

Tagged!!

My friend Matti from BYU-Hawaii tagged me and I'm glad because I haven't had much to say lately. So here are 7 random facts about me...

1. I accidentally hinted that I wanted to marry Nate only 2 weeks after meeting him. We weren't even dating officially yet. I think it freaked him out a little. I was really embarassed.

2. In high school I seriously ate ice cream every single day. Working at Baskin Robbins didn't help the situation either. Its no surprise that I was about 20 pounds overweight.

3. A couple months before I met Nate in Hawaii, I was living in SLC with my sister and dating a guy that I thought I really liked. One night I was watching the news and all of a sudden a mugshot photo of him came on the screen and the news lady said that he was wanted for attempted murder. Holy crap! I basically started screaming and running around frantically, searching for the phone. I called him and he was like "What are you talking about?" Turns out, there was another guy his age with his same name and they had pulled up the wrong photo. That's a BIG mistake. But that didn't explain why he had a criminal record/mugshot. Turns out he was a crazy liar and I had no idea.

4. I almost got hit by a taxi in New York City when I was crossing the street. I didn't know that normal pedestrian rules don't apply in that city. It was terrifying, and the driver yelled at me. I'm pretty sure I don't belong in big cities.

5. I used to be OBSESSED with Shakira. I drove from SLC to Las Vegas to see her in concert and I have to be honest, it was totally worth it.

6. I want 6-8 children. We'll see if Heavenly Father agrees with that. Ultimately, its His decision.

7. I was a super mean sister growing up. I feel really bad about it. Sorry siblings! Hopefully you will agree that I am nicer now. : )

I tag... Emily A., Melanie C., Stephanie C., Allison M., Cortnie P., Ashley H., and Julie T.

Joy in the Journey

Lately I've found myself complaining far too often about my mom/wife duties. Being a mother is obviously the most difficult job I will ever have in my life. Its exhausting and the work never ends. For some reason, I am always thinking that things will get easier in the future. Like maybe I will just get used to waking up early, doing dishes constantly, and cleaning up after Paige all day long. But somehow, I don't think its going to get easier. I really want a big family, so I will probably be doing these mundane tasks and many more for the next 20 years. (yikes!) So as I have realized lately that my complaining is useless, I've also realized that I have so much to be thankful for. In general conference, President Monson talked about living in the moment. He said:

"I believe that among the greatest lessons we are to learn in this short sojourn upon the earth are lessons that help us distinguish between what is important and what is not. I plead with you not to let those most important things pass you by as you plan for that illusive and non-existent future when you will have time to do all that you want to do. Instead, find joy in the journey—now."

I have always had a problem with constantly looking to the future...

"I will be so happy when I'm in college!"

"I will be so happy when Nate and I are done with school!"

"I will be so happy when I finally get pregnant!"

"I will be so happy when we have our own home!"

"I will be so happy when I finally take over the world!!"

And the list goes on and on...

I am challenging myself to remember everyday to enjoy my life... right now. Who cares if I have tons of laundry to put away? Who cares if the living room always looks like a play room?

And who cares if there are sticky fingerprints on every surface of my house? That stuff can wait. My responsibilities as a mother are too important for me to let those other things get in the way.

As difficult as motherhood is, it is also such a wonderful blessing. Paige brings so much joy to my life. I can't wait to have more children and fill my house with sticky fingerprints! :)