40 weeks

How far along? 40 weeks
Total weight gain: 37 lbs
Maternity clothes? most definitely.
Stretch marks? a couple small ones :(
Sleep: terrible lately. I'm ready to be done.
Miss anything? I really want to go get sushi
Movement? yes,but smaller movements. I think she is getting very cramped.
Cravings?:  sushi!
Anything making you queasy or sick?: No
Gender: Girl
Labor Signs: cramping. The Dr. stripped my membranes today to hopefully speed things along.
Symptoms: heartburn!
Belly Button in or out? In still!
Wedding rings on or off? Off for almost two months now :(
Looking forward to: Not being pregnant anymore and getting her here!

36 weeks

How far along? 36 weeks
Total weight gain: 32 lbs
Maternity clothes? oh yeah-just bought a cute maxi dress that I will be living in for now :)
Stretch marks? I can't tell if this mark on my tummy is a stretch mark...it might be :(
Sleep: I sleep well most of the time. Falling asleep is hard at times.
Miss anything? I can't wait to sleep on my stomach again!
Movement? Yes, a lot!
Food cravings: Not any in particular that I can think of...everything!
Anything making you queasy or sick: No
Gender: Girl
Labor Signs: none
Symptoms: heartburn and a rash. Hopefully the rash disappears.
Belly Button in or out? In still. Ben says it will pop when our little turkey is done. lol.
Wedding rings on or off? Off for a few weeks now. I didn't want the possibility of it having to be cut off, so I took it off when it started to feel tight.
Looking forward to: meeting our little girl! I can't believe it's less than a month now!

AF Canyon

We went up the canyon with the fam recently. No one else had their cameras so I will be posting a lot of pictures...

It was a little cold still so we had to wear jackets.

 We took 3 munchkins in our car and got to listen to lovely renditions of "Call Me Maybe".

 Miss Marisa by the fire

 Kelsey and Dylan climbing a huge rock

 Self taken photos are the best

 Making smores and other delicious desserts

 Camryn climbed to the top of the rock all by herself!....ok, Grandpa is holding her up there.

Matt and Kelli brought sling shots

 Marisa thought the trail could use a good sweeping

Some of the crew by the fire.

We had awesome tinfoil dinners and smores. I definitely prefer day trips up to the canyon over camping (no showers etc). We're lucky to have AF canyon about 15 minutes from our house and I can't wait to do it again sometime soon!

30 weeks

Time is seriously flying by! Only 10 weeks to go! I found a cute blog that had some memories associated with each week, so I thought I'd do my own.

How far along? 30 weeks
Total weight gain: not sure, but I have a dr's appointment in 2 days
Maternity clothes? oh yeah
Stretch marks? none so far
Sleep: mostly I sleep well. I LOVE the body pillow I recently bought.
Miss anything? SUSHI!!
Movement? lots of major movements this week! It feels like popcorn popping sometimes.
Food cravings: Fruit always sounds so good! especially grapes.
Anything making you queasy or sick: not that I can think of.
Gender: Girl
Labor Signs: nope
Symptoms: lots of heartburn=lots of TUMS for mom
Belly Button in or out? In (I can't imagine having an outie but we'll see...)
Wedding rings on or off? On
Looking forward to: getting the nursery painted and setting up the crib and glider this week

25 weeks

Where did the last month go? I meant to take a picture on week 24 but oh well! My bump definitely popped out this last month! I can't believe how big it looks in this picture. I do think this shirt is a bit deceiving... but she's definitely in there!

The first half of my pregnancy went SO easily! I feel so lucky because I had no nausea at all! This half has been a bit more challenging-I've had a rash, a lot of leg and foot swelling and a bruised feeling in my low abdomen from my bones/ligaments stretching--I guess. I'm sure she'll be worth all of that!

The fun part of this half is how much she moves! She kicks a lot! Ben finally got to feel her move and that was pretty fun. I'm also starting to make stuff for her nursery. Currently in progress is her quilt and her mobile. (I'll share pics when I'm finished)

I'm almost to the third trimester! I can't believe how quickly this is going!

Pregancy Milestones

Some of these haven't happened yet but I will come back and fill them out when they do.

found out I was pregnant: just less than 4 weeks along!

bought our first baby item: 4 weeks (to announce to our family)

first saw the baby via ultrasound: 12 weeks

heard her heartbeat for the first time: 12 weeks

threw up: never (knock on wood)

first felt the baby move: 16 weeks

first craving: beans and rice-seriously, anything mexican

found my first stretch mark:

hit the halfway point!: 20 weeks

found out her gender: 20 weeks

felt her hiccups: I think I felt them at 28 weeks

wore maternity clothes for the first time: 21 weeks

gained ten pounds: 20 weeks

had a stranger touch my belly: (ugh, I hope never)

had my first contraction/braxton hick: at 28 weeks I thought I was going into labor but it turns out I was having cramping from an infection

gained twenty pounds: probably around 28 weeks ( I didn't have an appointment that week)

went to the hospital:

delivered the baby!:

ps- we're having a baby!

We were so excited when we found out on our 4th anniversary that we are expecting our first baby! We can't wait to be parents. I decided I would take a "belly shot" once a month to document my bump and how fast it grows!

This is the first glimpse of a bump and a realization that there is really something in there!

Our friend Kate did an ultrasound conference weekend so we could check the gender early! She got some good baby shots and said it was definitely a girl! We had our regular ultrasound with my doctor today and they confirmed what we already knew. We're really excited to start buying girly stuff and putting glitter on everything! ;)

Craftinessess

These are my next projects

This last one is the toilet paper rolls. Not even kidding. I'm collecting rolls if you want to save them :) (this part I actually am kidding about)

New House!

Wow I am really really terrible at blogging. I always look at other people's blogs and am excited to read updates, but never update my own. I've been a little busy... working 2 jobs but being employed 3 places ha, moving into a new house etc Anyway...more on that later!

We bought a house the last week of February and we love being homeowners! Our house is in Lehi and I for one adore it. (pictures to follow) It's a 3 bedroom 2 1/2 bath townhome on the west side of Lehi. We actually live about 8 blocks from my brother Matt (they haven't even seen our house yet!). I have been getting a bit of a craft itch. Right now I am making this:

only my lamp base is yellow! I've also redone another lamp, a side table, and plenty of picture frames and pillows.

We've had to buy a bunch of furniture including: a new bed, "desk", sectional, 2 chairs, a tv stand, kitchen table and chairs. And there is still a bunch more we need to buy. Filling a house takes way more furniture than filling a 2 bedroom apartment.

My next project is toilet paper roll art...seriously.

Lots of pictures to come soon...I promise!

Friends and Family Discount

Give and Get is Here!: "Enjoy 30% off from August 26-29 at Gap, Banana Republic and Old Navy and we'll donate 5% of what you spend to a non-profit."

Ooh, updates...

A lot has been happening in our wee little lives...let's see--I graduated from cosmetology school at the beginning of February! I also took my written and practical state board exams and passed both. I accepted a job at Supercuts in Cottonwood Heights and so far I really like it. Not only do I do fabulous cuts, but color and waxing as well. Ben has been attending Salt Lake Community College and is taking computer classes as well as generals. He is studying to go into Computer Networking and we are still undecided on where to go to school for his second 2 years. We are possibly in the market for a new apartment in the Salt Lake/Murray area but don't know exactly when we are moving yet. I feel like there is a lot more that has been happening but I can't think right now. I really wish I had some new pictures to post but alas, this pic is from Canada last summer.

Hey Julie, SYTYCD?

My hair school bff Julie and I got to see SYTYCD LIVE! It was awesome, mostly because I won the tickets on the radio. Since I won the tickets, I figured they would be semi-bad seats-I was totally wrong! Our seats were awesome! Thanks to 97.1, Julie and I sat in the lower bowl pretty dang close to the stage. As is tradition with events at the e-center, we went to Costa Vida for dinner prior to the show (and fought with 800 other women in line while they forced their "friends" to reserve a table for them. Yeah, we thought it was weird too). The show was awesome, I love watching dance routines live. The routines are way cool on tv but so much better in person. Oops, gotta go listen to the radio for a chance to win tickets to something else!

Haircuts

Unlike the rest of my schooling, on Wednesday the 11th and the 18th, I receive the proceeds from the haircuts I perform. These proceeds will go directly toward funding me to go to the ISSE hair show in California in January. Call 801.763.0324 to schedule an appointment with me and make sure to ask for Stacy Hughes. Thank you!

TMNT

Julie and I were Leonardo and Donatello for our school costume contest. If you can believe it, we didn't win anything. If there had been a people's choice award, we would have definitely taken the title. Shout out to Marianne for allowing me to borrow the costume.
Cowabunga!

MATC

As you all know, I attend hair school and love every second of it! My hair school BFF recently blogged about an issue that is especially affecting us right now. I hope Julie is ok with me quoting her blog. I feel 100% the things she puts so perfectly into words.



"So it was no secret I wanted to attend hair school since I was really little. I got distracted from this desire and after 3 years at BYU I was reminded just how badly I wanted hair school. Its my "passion" if you will. Well when I started to look seriously into fulfilling my dream I was shocked and discouraged. The cheapest school I could find was over $10,000. There was no way I could justify that debt to get my dream education. So I kept searching and hoping I could find a way. MATC was that way. At less than half the cost of the cheapest school, hair school became a dream within reach. It sounds cheesey but without it I could have never been able to do it. Well now I have been attending since January and I absolutely love everything about it. The program is fantastic. My instructors are simply incredible. I get the attention I need, the training I need, and most of all I love going every day. When I first saw how cheap tuition was I thought there had to be a catch. I was wrong. It is really an incredible school and I feel like I am as well trained (if not better) as any other hair school student out there.
Why this MATC tangent you may ask? Well all the private hair schools have banded together and hired a lobbyist to try and shut my school down. They claim we are too much competition and some other things. I don't really understand the specifics. I do understand that this is a serious issue. Excuse the cliche phrase but MATC really does make dreams come true for people like me who felt their dream was out of reach. It is a great program and needs to continue."



When I first heard about these private schools wanting to shut our school down, I was afraid for myself. What was I going to do? Where would I go to finish my hours? How would I afford to pay more tuition? Then after I thought for a while, I started realizing how much it would affect everyone that is involved in any way with MATC. Where would my instructors find a new job? Where would all the students go to finish their hours? How would any of us afford more tuition? What about the students who want to go to a great cosmetology school in the future and can't afford upwards of $10,000?



I don't know why these schools think it's fair to take this education and this dream away from over 50 students. If there is a message that I can tell you from this, it's that I love MATC. It's a great school. The private schools are coming to tour our school tomorrow with their lobbyist, I hope they see what an amazing program our school offers and that we have dedicated, talented instructors that would do anything for any of us. I hope the outcome of this is

Paramore/No Doubt Concert

On May 25, Julie and I went to the Paramore and No Doubt concert at the E-center...without our hubbies! We had a blast and of course took tons of pictures. I warned you about the tons of pictures so here it goes-

get excited...we're in the parking lot!

After the opening band, Paramore was first.

The lead singer Hayley is super adorable.

We made a random guy take this picture of us!

Here is No Doubt--including the famous Gwen Stefani.

They were awesome.

Best part of the night...a couple not much older than us asked what time

we thought No Doubt would be coming on. Obviously we didn't know the exact time but

said we expected it would be about 9:30 and they said "oh, well we're old so we just wanted to know." Then at about 10:15 when No Doubt hadn't been performing for very long, they snuck past us and didn't come back...

Moral of the story is: If you pay for a concert, you should stay for the whole thing. Also, don't call yourself old when you're talking to people no more than 5 years younger than you.

Easy PB Cookies

I learned a new trick today! It's called supercook.com. On this ultra cool website, you can type in ingredients you have in your kitchen and it will come up with recipes you can already make! (Great for Sundays when you haven't grocery shopped in advance). I wanted a cookie recipe that didn't include chocolate chips-since I didn't have any- so I typed in typical dessert/cookie ingredients I already have (eggs, flour, sugar, brown sugar, peanut butter, etc.). Super Cook came up with this:

1 cup peanut butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg

Cook in 1'' balls at 350* until golden brown.

Easy, right? And I think they're pretty good! I'll have to wait until Ben gets home to get the final consensus. Happy Cooking!

Thank you 107.9 !!!

So I get into my car with my friend Julie and the radio comes on and I hear the 107.9 Touci Touci bird...which may not mean anything to some of you, but I knew if you hear the bird, you are supposed to call and be #10. So I am reaching around for my purse in the back seat for my phone and I figure I'm taking too long and the tickets are already gone, but I decided to call anyway. It was ringing! It never rings when I try to call radio stations! So a guy picks up and says "Mix 107.9, can you hold for a second?" and I say "Umm...Yeah!". Then Julie and I start freaking out...seriously, I was shaking! Julie keeps saying "What's going on? What did he say?". I told her what he said and both of us sounded like two 13 year old girls "shut up, oh my gosh, shut up!". So he comes back on the phone and says "Thanks for holding, you won tickets!" and since I only heard the touci bird and not what it was for I said "Umm, thanks. What were those tickets for again? I forgot." "Oh, you won tickets to see the new X-men movie." So he took down all my info and I just have to pick the tickets up within the next 30 days. Ok so X-men tickets aren't as cool as No Doubt and Paramore tickets, but I was still pretty stoked that I won anything at all! So thanks, I love 107.9 the Mix!

Is it time to get your hair done?

I am now taking appointments at my hair school! I am available Tuesday, Thursday and Friday mornings starting at 9:30 and Saturday from 9-3. You can call 801-763-0324 to make an appointment with me. I hope to see you soon!

Rex Lee Run

On Saturday, March 14th, I ran my 1st 5k! This is a post-race picture of the 4 of us who ran. L to R: Mare, Julie, Kelsey, Me. I don't know my exact time, but I'm pretty sure it was around 32 minutes. When we first got down to BYU campus, it was a frigid 28 degrees! I literally thought my toes would fall off, but once the sun came up, the weather wasn't too bad. I am pretty proud of myself for finishing the race without much training and this summer I am going to run a 10k!