4th of July Photos

...Or lack there of!

This was taken the 4th, which would have made me 33 weeks.

Not the best of pictures, but it'll have to do! :)

I apparently was too involved in the food to even remember to take very many pictures. I didn't even get any with my husband, other than this gem...

He's so happy with his photo bomb! 

And then there is this precious moment I caught of Scott taking a nap in the middle of my dads yard...

If I remember correctly, I think he was in a food coma! And it was so stifling and humid that day in American Falls, we were all miserable and trying to stay cool. Dad even set up the sprinklers for the dogs so they could play. So Scott was laying in the mist while he napped :) 

Sneak

We had Uptown Photography do some maternity pictures for us this last weekend. At the HWB 2013 I won a gift certificate for her and thought this would be a great time to use them. Jessamyn is so great! Very professional and so good at what she does, here's the link if you're interested: http://www.uptownphotographystudio.com/#

Here is just a single sneak from our session! I can't wait to see the rest!

6 Weeks and counting

I've been slacking about taking photos... But, as the title says - We've got 6 weeks until this baby boy makes his big entrance into the world!!

We started our Birthing classes last night. It's a little surreal; you spend all this time preparing for them, anticipating the individual they will be, worrying that everything will go right, and then... they are here. I found myself getting a little overwhelmed in the middle of the class as we were discussing the signs of labor, the counting, the pain (even though that was a freaking given... I mean, come on!), and then, again, the arrival of this fully- dependent on you human. I will say I am glad Scott and I signed up for these classes - I'll be honest, I don't know much about this whole baby thing and Scott was 8 when his little sister was born. So we are both kind of clueless.

We are in a class with 5 'couples' total, and we've got the only son of the bunch. The other 4 are little girls. Including us there are 3 married couples, and the other 2 gals appear to be 20ish single mothers who brought their mothers along with them. I've already found the class helpful. You show up and they gave us this big goodie bag full of information and free stuff, booklets, and reading material. Scott was pretty in depth into one of the books, reading up on something I'm not too sure of. After we were done, he kept quizzing me on the length of contractions and how many in a hour before we start needing to pay attention. I'm grateful he is so involved. Back to the 2 unmarried girls in our class for a second, I felt bad they didn't have someone to seriously connect with. Yes, it's their mother, you're biggest fan in life no matter what, but from what I can tell, this whole child birthing process is a very strong, emotional, intimate time in a couples life. I've found it hard at times just dealing with all the changes and emotions and I'm grateful I have Scott to moan and groan about them with. He's watched me change and he's changed himself in someways. I really hope these 2 gals in my class have a fulfilling life at some point in time, not only for themselves but for their baby's as well.  Anyway, moving along... The classes last a month, so we have 3 more and we're both excited to see what we learn and what information we can gather to help prepare us for this life changing event.

Ryk and I had an appointment Tuesday and he's doing fantastic. I only have one more '2 week' check up before I start going weekly. Pretty unreal. I can tell he's getting ready for the end just because of where I feel him. Sleep is getting less and less common at night. I toss and turn and cannot get comfortable or I'm up using the bathroom like a maniac... It's never ending. I think I may be resorting to the couch soon. But even then it's hard to get comfy there too. My edema seems to be getting better, those few HOT HOT days we had nearly killed me. It's so awful when you are sitting in the AC, doing nothing, and still sweating. I won't lie, I have a hard time not seriously complaining about the heat, but I just can't. This pregnancy has been easy, and I mean easy. If I have to deal with this the last few weeks, okay fine. I will :) I am lucky I have such a well air conditioned office and that our home has AC too. Scott keeps telling me if I need to bump down the temp to stay cool I can, even when the poor kid is wrapped in a blanket.

I didn't bring my camera with me today to upload 4th of July pictures, but Scott and I were invited to my dad's house for a BBQ and a little birthday celebration for him wife. Dad invited my mom over and my Grandma Honey was there too. It was nice. We just sat around on the back porch and visited and ate. Too much. The dogs played in the sprinklers and enjoyed a change of scenery. We made it home at a decent hour and had thrown around the idea of going to Jensen's Grove to watch the fireworks, but we decided not too. So around 10, Scott was passed out and I was fading in and out of sleep but the dogs started barking and I could see colors from the glass in our front door. I thought maybe it was some of the neighbors lighting off fireworks, so I got up to let them out so they could check it out. Well, come to find out, we didn't need to go to to the Grove after all. We live on the opposite side of the interstate from there and we had the most perfect view of the show from our front yard! We just sat on our bench and watched them - no crowds. It was great! I was trying to think why we didn't know that from last year, but we were in the mountains camping for the 4th last year, so that's why. Blackfoot didn't put on a half bad show either. I know Pocatello had to postpone theirs a little while because of the winds, but we never had a problem with that.

Well, I don't have too much to report on this week. Scott and I are getting some maternity photos done Saturday by Uptown Photography. I'm excited to see how they turn out. Next Saturday is my baby shower. I'm excited for that too. Hopefully there will be some faces there I haven't seen since my wedding.

Hope everyone is doing well and enjoying their summer!

Until next time,

-M

Scott the Builder

Scott finished the front yard this weekend! We may transplant the two long needle pines in the front, but for now, they are just going to stay put. I really feel fortunate that Scott is so savvy with his design ideas and knows how to put them in motion. Lets be honest, not all men are as handy as him - and I'm well aware of that. He has worked his already skinny little behind off while I've just done the minimum! I'm grateful for all his hard work and I'm loving the way the house looks! Here's a bunch of pictures documenting the journey since last time...

Plant placing

All the perennials and shrubs in!

Adding the rock, this part I actually helped with! Raking including!

This is the ramp I was talking about Scott having to run up!

Finished!

Our center island. I did help with shoveling and moving the dirt in here..
Awful!

Taking a break in the shade with these sweeties <3 td="">

Fixing my work. Ha!

They LOVE Red Vines

Scott's mom and sister were nice enough to come help Scott this weekend while
he finished up the last two big projects. With the projected heat in to the 100s, Scott did
not want me outside. So he put me in charge of hydration and supplies :)

This is the 12 foot section at the front of the property. I think it looks so awesome, basically a sea of river rock!

Sooo beyond grateful for all their help!

The three of them busted their hump in the 100 degree heat!

This is before the chair was added to the posts...

Finished finished!! 

Here's a wide view of the property

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Considering we are getting down to the wire before the little man gets here, I decided I'd get a weekend of pampering. Here I am getting the works done while Scott and the family slave drive in the heat : / Friday I got my hair cut and colored and Saturday I went to a quaint little day spa in Blackfoot called The Hidden Retreat. It's in an old carriage house that they've redone and turned it into a spa. I was treated to a fabulous pedi, brow shape, and a lash tinting. It's amazing what a little pampering can do for a girl. Scott and I were getting ready for bed Saturday night and I had just finished brushing my teeth, I looked at him and said - this is the first time I've felt pretty in a while! I'm glad I was able to take a couple days and just relax. We've got maternity pictures coming up, a baby shower, and just overall preparing for our son.

Speaking of him, this is from a week ago...

Pre-Pampering. I'll have to get a new one with my new do :)

So that means we've got 7 weeks left as of yesterday! I seriously can feel myself getting bigger every week. My poor lower half, feet and ankles, are feeling the brunt of it too, 100+ degree weather and a big 'ol pregnant belly are not friends in any way, shape, or form! I told Scott the other night if they turned green they'd belong on Shrek! The old adage about keeping them propped up and drink LOTS of water are crap. Neither of those things have helped me at all. Some days I'm lucky if the swelling goes down at night. But I still feel like my pregnancy has been a total breeze thus far and I can't complain too much about it, even though I really want too!

We go to the doc to check on him next week and then we also start our birthing classes too. I'm excited to see what we learn. We have a lot of questions/concerns, but I feel like attending these classes will better prepare Scott and I for what we have to look forward to in give or take 53 days...

Well I hope everyone is staying as cool as can be!

Until next time,

-M

Getting Closer

On more than one thing actually... 

Sunday was the 8 week mark until our son gets here. Where has the time gone?! I feel like now that things have finally settled down, time is just dragging. We want him here, now. My cousin just had her baby last week and seeing him makes me ready for my turn. All in good time I suppose. Things are still continuing to go really well. He is a mover and a shaker that's for sure. The other day I was at work and it really felt like he was rocking himself back and forth, accompanied by his little knees being dragged back and forth across my belly. I don't actually know what he was doing, but it was cheap entertainment for a few minutes :) The heartburn is still killing me slowly, but as long as I stay up on my Pepcid, I'm usually fine. Sleeping is also becoming a thing of the past. I am tired all the time, and I mean exhausted tired. I've never been one to fall asleep in the car, until now. We went and had dinner at a Mexican restaurant in town, probably 5-6 miles from our house, needless to say I was asleep before we even got halfway home. Granted we had been doing yard work all day, and by 'we' I mainly mean Scott. He hit the brakes to turn and apparently my head bobbed forward, he looked over at me and said, were you sleeping?! Uh, I guess so! Ridiculous!

Speaking of yard work, we had a weekend full of it. Saturday we made 3 trips to Pocatello to haul rock and dirt to the house. Thursday we had a truck and pup load of rock delivered out to the house and we also had our sprinklers installed last week. Which, happy for me to report, means Scott is almost finished with the front yard! Saturday he worked his tail off, and he even asked me if he had to do anything else because he was done (meaning, any more yard projects). He hauled at least 2.5 tons (1 ton = 2,000 lbs x 2.5 = 5,000 lbs) of rock in a wheel barrow 100 feet or better up a little ramp and on to our mound. Obviously there would be no help from me with this project, so I stayed on top of the mound and raked the piles around to where they needed to be. And I had the nerve to complain about me being tired! I was hardly doing a thing! Then Sunday, because he is a freaking animal I swear, he was up at 6:30am washing my car (I have no idea why) and let me sleeping in. He came in around 7:30 to check on me, he usually does, and I decided I'd better get up. He decided he was going to haul the dirt into our center island and get that over and done with. I drug myself out of bed and got ready so I could help him with this project. Again, I did help, but very little. Dirt is heavy FYI, dirt with rocks mixed in is even heavier... Ugh, I tried my best but Scott noticed a time or two when I was 'straining' to dump the dirt so he told me to get underneath the pop up tent with the dogs. I did do some raking and fixing the dirt because I felt bad. One time Scott was taking a break in the shade so I got up and was raking, Scott just started laughing so I asked what was so funny (thinking the dogs had done something), he looks at me square in the eye and says "That rake is making you look like a bitch!" Now some of you may think that's mean, but he meant it humorously! I was kind of flopping it around pretending I knew what I was doing, when in reality I was probably messing it up to the point where Scott had to fix my crap to make it work. Needless to say, we both had a good laugh over it!

Pup load

Truck load. Total = 30 ton.... Uh, that's a lot of rock!
These will actually fill that 12 foot area I mentioned last time. 

We added a variety of perennials and srurbs

Another view

Here is the finished product!

Once Scott and I get our center island planted and covered with rock I'll take a picture of that! I'm excited to see how it comes together. We've got some ideas for the plants/shrubs we want to put it, hopefully it comes together as nicely as everything else has. Scott said he should start a landscaping side business... I think he's on drugs!

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I got a wild hair a couple weeks ago and decided I wanted to do some 4th of July projects while I had a little energy to spare, so of course I hit up Pinterest and got some ideas. Here's what I decided to do....

Yarn wreath. Never again by the way. This took forever and changing colors
did not help matters. I was over it by the time I hit the first white section!
But it turned out great! HA!

I made the little fabric pendant banner for the patio, Scott assisted me hanging it.
If you look on the bench, I also made the pillow sitting on it.
Complete with my red, white, and blue flowers in my planters!

Hope everyone is doing well and you're enjoying your summer time!

Until next time,

-M

Mom Update

Saturday the 8th marked the one month mark since my moms accident. I actually went back and read the post about everything that had happened. I couldn't help but cry as I relived the emotions and the roller coaster of those first few days.

I am through the roof excited to report that mom is doing so awesome! She was on a walker for about two weeks before they transitioned her to her cane. I was so nervous about that, especially about her getting up and down the stairs. But she man handled the crap out of it! She was on the cane for just under two weeks before they told her just use it for when she's tired or feels like she needs a little extra support. Which also made me incredibly nervous! She knows to take it slow and also knows her limits. She is still not able to bend more than a 90 degree angle, which again is basically everything we do. Don't believe me, watch the degree of bend in your hip for an hour... It's ridiculous! She was told she could drive, but due to a lower sitting car - that won't be happening. But it's not like she really has any place to go :)

She has been off 4 of her 6 medications for a while now and basically sticks to her pain meds right now. She is weaning off of those little by little. Days that her PT/OT women come in really do a number on her. They come in a few times a week and exercise her for over an hour each time. They even put some shoes on her and got her out of the house to walk up and down the street. I refer to it as taking my mom for a walk, which I find hilarious - her, not as much! 

I have moved back to Blackfoot, per moms wish. She practically told me to leave! I was a stress case the entire night and weekend, even though I did make a couple special trip to her house just to check on her. It was the first time she'd been alone in two weeks, but she insisted she would like to try it out and see how everything went. She did great, which I knew she would. It's still just an adjustment to the 'no bending' rule. We have had to rearrange the kitchen, bathrooms, etc.. For example, everything she uses daily is on the top shelf, every other day or so is on the middle and things we doesn't use too often are on the bottom. We've have to move pots and pans from the cupboards and put them on the stovetop... Just things like that. It's been such a learning experience, for mom and for me. 

I really am grateful for the experience as trying and difficult as it was. It's taught me patience and it's taught me to be much more understanding and mellow. I am grateful for those who still check in on us and stop by just to check on her. My mother-in-law has been a lifesaver. She doesn't come during the day anymore, but she does pop in on the weekends if she knows Scott and I will be busy with something. I am so lucky we have the people in our lives that we do. They've been a shoulder to cry on when we needed it and have been an extended hand when we needed that too. 

Home Improvements

We are always doing something to the house/yard. That's the joys of being a homeowner... also kind of a nightmare, lets be honest! Last summer Scott dug a 12 foot area out from the road, and left it. It has made me absolutely crazy looking at this random mound of dirt in the corner of our property and a long, wide hole of nothing. Finally,  Scott came through and started working on it this last weekend! He said the goal is to have the front yard done for my baby shower (July 20)! 

I am about worthless, for obvious reasons, so Scott's mom and dad came to assist while I supervised and sat in the shade. Much too hot for this pregnant girl. Here is a look at the beginning process...

Finished product! Now I need to get some flowers/plants/bushes in.
Scott is also filling the dirt at the bottom of the mound with 4-6 inch river rocks. That's for another weekend! 

These are a few pictures of some other improvements we've made to the property this year!

New curbing to cover the well head and faucet.
This will have dirt added and we'll be planting some trees, bushes, and roses.

Scott's family had this made for us for Christmas. Scott made this sign for us at the top of our driveway!
I love it, I think it turned out so awesome. The top says "Est. 2012"

This is a view into the back of the property. Scott dug a trench for our sprinkler system that's going in this week.
We planted 2 plum trees (not the fruit bearing kind) a few weeks ago and the blue spruce in front is a tree we planted for Ryker from Scott's mom and dad.

And these two crazies... They haven't been getting much blog attention because of the little man. So here is a picture dedicated to them. They were all tangled up in each others legs playing. I love them!