We're going to have a baby and stuff...

A few people have been asking me to do a pregnancy FAQ post, and since I haven't blogged in 6+ months I figure that is an okay place to start.

What was the reaction when you found out? Well, it was *quite* surprising. We had been off birth control for a year and a half and during that time we had "tried" off and on, I tracked ovulations and such but to no avail. The few months before we got pregnant we even began having conversations like "maybe we're just not ready... maybe we should go back on birth control".  The timing was really not the best, I had just started school with 15 credits, working full time. But now that the surprise is out of the way, I am so grateful for the timing because it means I won't have to be pregnant in the St. George summer, and that is good for all parties involved. I will be completely honest and say that the first week+ after finding out was mostly shock, but I remember one morning looking in the mirror and thinking "I'm finally going to be a mom" and remembering all the times we had wanted it so badly. And of course I cried. I do that a lot nowadays.

Dominant emotions thus far? Like I mentioned - shock. Then bliss... relief that there is "nothing wrong" with my body... excitement. I still see couples out with their kids and think "holy crap, that is going to be us soon." So I'd say another dominant emotion is "holy crap".

Symptoms? I had no symptoms that I thought to be pregnancy before one of my friends finally said I should test, just to be sure.  It was not uncommon for me to be late - I even skipped a cycle all together a few months before. The first thing I noticed was my boobs got HUGE, swollen and even hot to the touch.  I had no nausea until about week 10, and that lasted for about 5 weeks. I still haven't thrown up, although sometimes I think it might have made me feel better.

Any cravings? The only one I can think of as a "craving" would be lime. I loved me some cherry limeaids from Sonic for a few weeks. Other than that it was either "honey, go to Wendy's right now because a baked potato sounds like the *only* thing I can eat!" or I would go to eat something and it tasted like the best. food. ever. Happened with a sandwich first. I kept asking Alex "is this not the best sandwich you have ever had?!" He thought I was a little crazy.

Weight gain? Actually down 5+ pounds since my first 8-week visit. Pregnancy diet is the best because you never ever want to eat. My belly looks a lot bigger to me, but I haven't gained any weight. I can't wait to pop because I feel like I just look fat right now.

Movement? None yet. But it's only 4" right now, today I am 16 weeks.

Boy or girl? I truly don't care, but Alex is really hoping for/convinced it is a boy. He says they are easier. However, we have WAY more girl names than boy names on our list, so if it is a boy we will be in trouble. We will find out in about a month.

How does Alex feel about all this? He couldn't be happier. He was made to be a dad, and he will be so amazing. He has taken such good care of me, I couldn't ask for a better person to accompany me on this journey.

Things I've enjoyed the most so far? There is a human being growing inside of me. I have felt that the baby's spirit does not dwell in the womb through the whole pregnancy, but I have definitely felt it when it has been there. The only way I can describe it is a glowing feeling. The first time I felt it was when we were watching Walking Dead (haha! Sorry, baby, for that to be the first thing you were exposed to, but let's face it: zombies are awesome. We will teach you.)

Things we are looking forward to? A peaceful, natural home birth. Big cheeks to kiss and sometimes pinch. Waiting to see if he/she has Alex's dimples (please, oh please!)

"Empire Records, Open Til Midnight..."

This last week flew by in a blur of crazy.
Monday night we went over to Alex's parents house to help out his dad who is working on a new album! Phil is an incredibly talented musician and I really can't wait to hear all the songs, because the few I did hear rocked my socks off. And the new album will be featuring a bit of yours truly and all the other kids. Just some back-up stuff, but still! I had a ton of fun and it was super nice of Phil to involve us in his pure awesomeness. I'll let you know when the album is done!

Tuesday we had a super yummy dinner with our groovy friends, the Telfords. We sure think they are great, and their little boy is adorable.

Wednesday I watched 4 episodes of Vampire Diaries. And I liked it.

Thursday I had girls night with my homies and then went and purchased flowers for my backyard.

Friday was about the epic-est night I've had in quite a while. I spent pretty much all week preparing and planning. It's what we like to call "Incest Fest", and I know you're jealous.
Every Friday before conference my family gets together and has what we used to call "Adult Night", seeing as how we leave all the kiddos at home and have some fun night with just the adults. Well, every time we said something like "I'm so excited for Adult Night!", it sounded creepily like we were going to be shooting a porno, so we just bagged it all and went with "Incest Fest". Much better.
Annnnnnyway... it was my turn to host and I am pretty sure it rocked. We had an awesome dinner of baked penne, pizza factory breadsticks, baked asparagus and brussel sprouts and a strawberry lassi drink.
Then we played a series of Minute To Win It games, and I think more than one person in my family peed their pants. I should have sent out an "I'm sorry we're going to be so loud tonight" note to all my neighbors before hand. It was an absolute blast.

Needless to say I was quite exhausted come this morning, as I just could not sleep last week (and it doesn't look like I'll be kicking that anytime soon since it's 12:15 and I'm wide awake). I was up until 1:30 and 2:00 every day last week. Yuck.
BUT - thank goodness I had made plans with my mother-in-law to come over - I was able to get my tush in my backyard and plant some flowers! Gosh, I hope they do well and I don't kill them. I'll post pictures later. They are not much to look at right now... hope they get bigger!

Here's hoping I can get some sleep tonight.

Spring is in the Air!

I looooooooove spring! And I am NOT the type of person who adds vowels to words unless she reaaaaaly means it.
The weather has been gorgeous here and I cannot get enough of all the blossoms on the trees and the freshly planted flowers. Daffodils are the cutest little "happy" flower.

On that note, I did work my freakin tush off on Saturday. I felt like a zombie by the end of the day. We worked for hours in the backyard (p.s. I HATE flag stone. If ever you are thinking "flag stone would look nice here" - you are wrong, mister. Dead wrong. It is impossible to keep looking nice). I think we are all ready to plant pretty flowers this Saturday and I am so excited for that.
We got our fire pit / thingy in! Hurrah!! We've been trying to do it for months. It was so easy, really didn't take much time at all.
Don't mind the ugly, un-cared for flagstone.

We are going to have s'mores this weekend! Pictures to come of my soon-to-be-planted flowers up in those terraced spots behind the fire thingy.

Also, we saw Hunger Games over the weekend. It rocked my flippin socks off. I really thought they did an amazing job with it and I loved all the characters - especially Caesar. I pretty much love Stanley Tucci always.

Last weekend Alex's parents took us and the rest of his family to Zion for a night and we had a blast. It was beautiful on Friday and we hiked Observation Point. I am blown away by that place's beauty every single time I go. We don't usually make pricey purchases, but there is an art gallery up there that we really adore and the owner is super nice. You can see his work here.
We fell in love with this gorgeous vase and had to take it home. It is probably the most expensive accessory I have in my whole house :D It is so unique and I don't regret one penny of it.


I love decorating for spring - it is my second favorite, next to Halloween. I still have a few things to put up, but here is what I have so far:



My living room is slowly coming along, and with the recent purchase of this rug I finally feel like the colors are coming together. I am in love with it.


Guess what? I didn't get a killer bruise. No bruise at all. I would say my life is a total waste, but I am currently eating swirly gummy bears, and that somehow makes it all better. Bless you, gummy bears. You are my reason for living.

Happenings

I feel like such a loser always doing "what's been happening lately" posts... do you hate reading them? I just don't know what else to blog about, and I'm feeling bloggy tonight. Maybe it's the menstruation that's got me in the pensive mood (tmi? I don't care, my few readers are most likely girly friends)... (also, side note... I literally had to Google pensive because I kept trying to spell it pensieve like from Harry Potter. Yikes. Thank you, spell check.)

Now... where was I? Yes, menstruating pensiveness.

I don't know what I'm being pensive about. I just know that is the mood I am in. So pretend that my voice is all pensive-y, and I will try to stop using the word pensive. I've always liked that word. Even before Harry Potter skewed it in my brain.

Today I was a ninja at work - in a skirt - and no one even saw. I saved four 10' glass lamps from falling over by performing a graceful leap that sent my right chin colliding in to the base of an 18" thick steel base. I chipped my bright pink toenail polish and I limped for three hours. I BETTER have an awesome bruise. Is that not the worst, when you get a killer wound and then there is this dinky bruise?! I hate that.

Midterms are over with and afterwards I immediately felt the lethargy and apathy kick in. Literally the next day. I am now grateful that I can't take any classes during the summer.

We got our puppy groomed for the first time yesterday. When I got home I was pretty sure we were going to have to change his name - Joey? Steven? Bob? He looks SO different. But SO cute. I love him. Milestone for today: he scratched on the door until I let him out so he could poop. I was giddy with excitement.

In a few weeks I will be awarded 3 weeks paid vacation time from work. What do I do??? I really want to do a trip back east - New York, Washington, D.C., maybe church history. But I feel this dread coming over me that it will all just be wasted on sick days and leaving early on Fridays. Blech.

The last several weeks have been frustrating as we have tried to finish project after project to no avail. Alex was sick last week so we couldn't get anything done over spring break. My kitchen is STILL not finished, and now we are trying to get the backyard done before it gets flippin hot. The failures of the last few weeks have fueled my stubborn determination: this Saturday I will work all. day. long. Who's with me!?!? (please?)

Extraordinary

Yesterday my boss handed me a questionnaire for me to fill out and the first question perplexed me. I skipped it and filled out the easy ones - favorite candy, favorite movie, etc. All throughout the day I kept coming back to the question in my mind, trying to answer it and coming up short.
It was this: "What is your greatest recognition moment?" Basically, "what is your most extraordinary moment?"
I kept thinking to myself, "well, I've never done anything that great. What do I have to be proud of? I've lived in little ol' St. George most my life, got married and settled down, work full time. I never even backpacked across Europe like I always dreamed of."
So I was driving around, zoning, like you do (missed my turn, like I do), and my brain all of a sudden was flooded with extraordinariness! Now, before you start thinking this is quite the vainglorious blog entry, let me express the reason for it. As I started to list my cool accomplishements I realized that I'm posititve everyone has this type of list, you just don't see it! My cool-things list has just become a part of my past, and I don't realize how flippin awesome each thing is! How extraordinary they each are!
So, since you may be thinking "chya right, Jaylyn. You're not even that cool.", here is my evidence:

I jumped out of plane.
I have performed in front of hundreds of people, singing and acting, including a performance in Carnegie Hall!
I hiked Havasupai, and came out alive.
I learned how to drive a motorcycle, and one time I tipped over while I was out cruising and I PICKED.UP.A.MOTORCYCLE. True story.
I have hiked Angel's Landing (this is one of those that did not seem cool to me at all, but how many people worldwide can say this!?)
I witnessed the miracle of birth.
I helped organize and participated in an event to feed hundreds of needy people in our community.
I have loved deeply and had my heart broken.
I repelled from mountains and jumped from 50-foot cliffs in to cold water.
I bought a house.
I left the only home and family I had ever known and moved across the world to a place where I didn't know one person or the language.

I regularly sing at the top of my lungs, dance like a total crazy person, and I love my friends and family fiercely.

I feel like this is just the beginning of a freakin rad list that I will continue to compile throughout my life. I would highly recommend that you 5 people (love ya, by the way) who read my blog do this. It makes you feel like a rock star. I'll end with my favorite quote, which I know I've shared before but I'm pretty sure it can't be over-shared.

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

You were BORN to be magnificent! And every one of you IS A ROCKSTAR!! The question is: do you see it?!

Lately...

Quick update on what is new with us:
-We are both going back to school, finally having pinned down which degrees we want to pursue. Alex is going for his bachelor's in psychology, and mine will be a computer technology degree with an emphasis in visual technology (basically graphic design).
-The holidays were wonderful - lots of time with family and friends. Alex participated in a Biggest Loser competition at my work so he did not enjoy any holiday food. I was awestruck at his restraint as he sat back and watched while we all gorged, and he happily sipped on his lemon/pepper water. Yuck. But he won the competition by losing 32 pounds. I am so proud! (P.S. who knew he had 30 lbs to lose?! When he told me that was his goal I was pretty sure he would have shrunk to mere bones by losing that much).
-We did get a new puppy. We are both sad and relieved to still think of Norman every day. In no way is Otis the "replacement", just a little brother. Having a brand new puppy is crazy and we find ourselves wanting to punch stuff sometimes, but then he looks up at us with his little teddy bear face and we melt. Until he pees on the floor...again.
-We still are teaching the 12-13 year olds at church, and they are so wonderful. We love being the cool teachers, and really all it takes is Alex making Yoda jokes and bringing treats every week. I wish it was that easy to make everyone in life like you.
-Work is great for both of us. Alex was awarded "Employee of the Month" for January at Rise, and it is no surprise. Everyone loves him at both of his jobs and he continues to excel in his line of work. I love the signage/marketing business and I think I will be in it for quite a while. I am excited to be pursuing a degree that can only help me advance at my current job, but also leave the opportunity to work from home, if possible, in the future.
-The house is slowly coming along, one room at a time. The kitchen is almost completed - the goal was this weekend, but that's not going to happen. It will be 80%, but I'm still excited about it. We'll get it to look how we want... by the time we are ready to buy a new house.
-Life is good, great, grand, and wonderful. We couldn't ask for better people in our lives, better jobs, or happier times together.

Until next time! Which will hopefully not be another 3 months...

Norman D. Theobald

On December 27th, 2011 we said goodbye to our furry bestie, Norman. We only had Norman for a short while, but he had become more a part of our family than I even thought possible. We adopted him from a family where he had obviously been abused and it took him a while to trust us, but that made us love him more. And I do believe it made him love us more when he did learn to trust us. He was the best dog ever. He was fun, snuggly, loyal, well-trained, unbelievably smart, and endearingly neurotic. We were constantly amazed at how intuitive he was and always grateful for his incredible behavior. We couldn't understand how anyone could ever even be angry with him.
Although my heart still aches for him, I am so glad that he got to be with a family who loved him unconditionally. We expressed our love and gratitude for him every day and I'm so glad for that.

We love you, Norman.

I'm Back

Recently I was scolded for not updating my blog, so here you go. I will not try to re-cap the last 3 months because... well, I have a really terrible memory and probably can't even remember most of it.
But pictures are always fun, so these are for you. The company I work for took all the employees AND their families on a cruise a few weeks ago. (Yes, you do work at the wrong place. I have the best job ever.) It was a blast and a fun little mini-vacation for Alex and me. I really am in love with vacations that just sneak up on me and require no planning on my part. And the love-odometer multiplies by a gajillion when it's free. In fact, I think we made money on the trip because I got paid for the week on top of it. (Yes, your bosses are nowhere close to as cool as mine.)

Catalina Island - of course we go to the playground.




Ensenada... the famous "blowhole". Really, it's not all that exciting, but kind of a cool phenomenon to witness (once). We were way more excited about the plateful of delectable tacos.



I am so grateful to work for awesome people who take care of their employees. And I know I said I wouldn't re-cap, but now that I'm writing I'm being flooded with things I'd like to tell you about. So I probably will.