Great Week

This past week has been the perfect amount of stress. I know that sounds silly, but when I don't have enough to do, I get bored and tend to eat a lot of junk food and feel sorry for myself. If I have too much to do, that isn't so great either. This week was neither of those things, so that's why it was great. I got everything done that I wanted to in the time that I wanted to. Examples follow.

1. Ultrasound. The lady at the hospital said I came in too early for the ultrasound because I was only 17 weeks, but then I measured at 18 weeks, so she was able to do it and my due date has supposedly moved up 6 days. I'll believe it when I see it. I'm sticking to my original due date, plus 3 days, so I won't be disappointed when this baby is also late. We are having a little boy! So far he seems healthy. It's funny how cute ultrasounds look even though they are black and white and somewhat alien. The kids and James went with me, and they thought the U/S was cool. Joseph and Katie really wanted another sister, but they have warmed up to the idea of another brother. I made a cake in the shape of a mustache for our FHE treat.

2. School schedule. I'm used to getting Joseph off to school before 8 now. It's not terrible at all. Since he is gone during the day, we started reading together before school. It is the perfect amount of time to allow for a good breakfast and getting ready - even brushing everyone's teeth, which is something I have been terrible at remembering before now. Oops. I've also been able to find things to fill my time when James is gone at his second job. One such thing was cleaning out a couple of neglected closets (Katie's, the boys'). I got a whole bunch of stuff for D.I. 90% of what I give to D.I. was given to me in the first place. I have generous neighbors and family, so I always end with more than I can use and have to pass some on. It always feels good to organize something.

3. Sleep. I slept very poorly for about 10 days, but after Monday, I have been able to sleep well again. I'm not sure what it was, maybe anxiety about the ultrasound? Maybe because I can't sleep on my belly anymore, which is my favorite position. I don't know.

4. Produce. My garden is a failure, as I said, but I received more produce from neighbors. I feel loved. I sure do love a big bowl of summer squash with salt and pepper.

5. Piano. I was worried that my finger being bent would affect my playing, but it hasn't. I can play again! I have really missed it. I bet I will get to sub in Primary again soon.

6. RS meeting. I always love going since I don't attend actual Relief Society. There is a meeting tonight!

7. Good books. I just finished reading the Lunar Chronicles (series of 4) and loved it. It's been a while since I read something so enjoyable.

I hope that coming weeks can be just as great.

News

As I had hoped, this past week was somewhat uneventful.

1. Still recovering from the sunburn I got in NC, but it's dong a lot better. I've gone from extreme pain and swelling to just itchiness and peeling, not to mention a really terrible tan line.

2. Pulled out the garden. There was no point in watering a bunch of weeds, so I spent this week hoeing and raking them out. Our harvest this year was pathetic: a handful each of peas, hot pepper, potatoes, and tomatoes. Most of the things I planted never grew in the first place. I covered everything up with landscape fabric and just left the tomatoes. Hopefully I will get enough for one batch of salsa. A couple neighbors have already shared produce with us, so I am getting my squash fix.

3. James got a summer job! I think I mentioned already that he finished his geography endorsement. A couple of his friends work in mosquito abatement, and one of them hooked him up, basically. It's the perfect job because it's seasonal, pays pretty well, and is flexible when school is in session. It goes from April to October, so I think with training there will be a lot of days that I don't see James until 7 p.m.

4. James and Joseph started school! It was a little sad to send Joseph off this morning, but not as sad as Kindergarten. Katie really wanted to get on the bus, but I told her she has a few years (like 3) before that happens.

It's going to take some getting used to having the guys gone, but I think Katie and Kenny will end up getting along better. I also can't take naps anymore, so I really need to find some good books to read to fill my time. (I had just gotten comfortable with the idea of napping, and now I can't do it anymore. So lame!) Other than that, I have been feeling really good. Second trimester really is the best. Sometimes I even forget I'm pregnant. We find out the gender on Monday. So excited!

NC Pt. 2

Friday was a pretty good day. I got all the documents filled out to give Christian the green Corolla. I also went with the girls to Kohl's to look for shirts. I didn't end up  getting one, but it was still fun to look around.

 The reception went well. We all got there early, even though the boys had set up everything earlier in the day. There was a beautiful, delicious cake and lots of other goodies. I think we all ate way too much. It was fun to see lots of people that I haven't seen in  several years. Everyone pretty much just hung out and talked. I like having such an informal event. My kids even behaved really well. The only mishap was Katie spilling punch on the floor. We took home lots of leftovers, but they are already gone, except for the cake in the freezer.

 Friday was a relaxing day. I did laundry while the boys went to a gun show. Uncle Claude came over and brought Papa John's pizza for lunch. I always forget how much I love that pizza until I eat it again. We do not have one in Vernal. I took a nap after lunch  and woke up in time to get ready for the Eagle Court of honor. We were a little frazzled getting out the door for that, but we all made it within 10 minutes of each other. Nash and Lars are now officially Eagles. We had even more cake to celebrate. Then we went home and ate a real dinner of reception leftovers. It was fun to have everyone together. We just hung out for the rest of the evening while the boys cleaned the guns.

 Sunday, my kids were very grumpy when we were getting them ready for church. Thankfully, James put a movie on for them so they would behave. I went downstairs and planned out the rest of my busy week and read scriptures. After church, we ate and relaxed.

 Monday was specially awesome. We went to Wrightsville Beach near Wilmington. We left in the morning and returned at almost 8 PM. It was a lot of fun. The kids didn't complain even once because they were too caught up building sand castles and playing in the waves.  I fell asleep at one point and got badly sunburned on my legs. They are still swollen and hurt a lot to walk on. Overall though, it was a really great day at the beach. Mara, Colbey, and Carmel all went with us.

 Tuesday, we met Brinson and Ceci at the children's museum in Raleigh. The kids also had a blast there. It was a huge museum with tons of fun activities and things to explore and play with. Afterward, we went to Cookout for lunch. It is a really cheap but good local place to eat. James especially loves their hush puppies. That's one thing you don't see a lot of in Utah, unfortunately.  It was all I could do to walk around on my sore legs, but I made it.  We went to Brinson and Ceci's for dinner that night. Ceci made an excellent soup and tortas. We also watched a movie and said goodbye to Christian and Rachel, who came over to the apartment.

 Wednesday came to the real trial. We got up very early and caught our flight from Raleigh to Denver. We then finally got to our car and drove home. We got home around 5:30 PM, and I went directly to the grocery store because our house is empty. I could barely focus on what I was doing because of how tired I  was. I think I had gotten two hours of sleep in the previous 24. After getting home, I still had to unpack everything. James did an excellent job cleaning the car, though, so I was really grateful. I crashed when I finally went to bed.

 Today, I was lucky enough to drive to Salt Lake and back for an appointment with a hand surgeon. My mind has finally been put to rest about my hand. I got a clean bill of health. In one month, I can pick up heavy things too, but for right now my hand is still considered completely healed. That means no more appointments or occupational therapy. It also  means no more hand exercises. I couldn't be more glad, because it has taken up a lot of time and energy this summer. The drive home was long, but when I arrived, James had made dinner. It is so great to be home finally. We really did have a wonderful trip. I am also grateful to have this finger  working properly, or mostly. The top knuckle does not bend, but it does not impair my ability to do things.

 Tomorrow will be a busy day too, but in a different way. I have to register Joseph for school and get supplies. He starts one week from today, and I am completely unprepared. James starts on Tuesday. I am very glad to be back to my normal routine, or at least getting there. Hopefully the next post will be shorter because everything will be somewhat routine. Who knows? Maybe I will even have time for some projects during the rest of the year since we won't be traveling again until October. At least I am crossing my fingers.

NC Pt. 1

Packing for the trip wasn't too bad. James and I both gave talks on Sunday. I think they went really well. One lady even called to tell me she thought I did a great job. That made my day.

We woke up early Monday morning and headed to Denver. It was a long drive, but we stopped at a dam for lunch and then went to see my old roommate Katey for the afternoon and dinner. It was absolutely wonderful to get a break from the car. It was my first time seeing her in probably 6 years, so I had never met her girls. The kids all played together pretty well. We had a yummy dinner and then headed to the Denver airport. Amazingly, we had no trouble with traffic or finding the shuttle parking. We got on the plan finally around 12:15 am. It was delayed about 30 minutes.

The actual flight was okay, but I got no sleep. The seats were really hard and didn't recline at all. The tray table was too small to put my head on either. It was a really long flight due to that, but we made it to RDU and to Apex around 7:30 am. We all crashed. I woke up by 11:30, but everyone else was out until 1 pm. It was great to finally get some sleep.

Tuesday, I ran some errands to print pictures and make copies of the big pedigree chart at Walmart and Office Max. Mara and Carmel went with me. I updated the scrapbook I made for my family a few years ago. We all went to the pool while dinner was cooking and then ate. After the kids went to bed, we watched part of a movie. I couldn't stay awake past midnight, so I went to bed. I did catch up on sleep though. I got a full 8 hours!

Wednesday, I woke up by 8 and worked on Christian's scrapbook for his wedding present. Then I showered and cleaned the fridge, then made fried rice for lunch and started tomato sauce and squash casserole. James joked that I must have been feeling sad about my lame garden, and he's totally right. Haha. I tried to take a nap, but no luck, so I relaxed as well as I could and then finished the casserole for dinner. We went to Costco after dinner to pick up a few things. Grandma arrived at about 12:30 am, so all but the kids were awake to greet her.

During the day, the kids have had tons of fun playing on the trampoline and with the different, fun toys that Grandma has in the living room. They love all their aunts and uncles and follow them around. I think the feeling is mutual.

I made some breakfast this morning and have just been hanging out so far. Today I plan to make bread. There are a lot of miacellaneous things to do before the reception tomorrow. We are all going to the temple tonight for sealings, so that should be fun. It's been very relaxing to be here so far, especially because we've all stayed on mountain time. It works really well for my night owl family.