story of my (current) life

the times i want to use my extra weight to inflict pain...



probably a daily occurrence in my home...we ran out of milk, i spilled a powerade, i just sat down and have to pee again...

i literally have this moment about once a week. with the same person...

aaaand my personal favorite...

i miss my wedding ring

i look at tiny little baby bellies and think "ohhhh just you wait" and then i think about how mine is gonna get even bigger in the next 8 weeks i have left. my only complaint at this point (other than feeling like a walking whale) is i just can't sleep at night. and i fully expect it. no sleep. he rolls and twists and turns and wakes me up at least once an hour and i suppose i should get used to it. so i try to enjoy the moments.

like yesterday! it was incredible, there was lots of pushing out, the poor thing has no room in there! and i put my hand right on the protruding lump at the right top part of my belly and could clearly, without a single doubt, tell that it was his little bum pushing out. and i cupped in right in my hand. i can't even stand how adorable that is.

at 32 week, i'm in love with naps, a really good fruity balsamic salad, chocolate, and cereal with cold milk. mostly chocolate cereal. i can't help it.

the night

it felt so weird to celebrate another valentines together, it feels good to have been with him this long. it's the first time that's ever happened to me, celebrating an entire year with someone i love.

i get off work an hour and a half before matt so i took advantage and surprised him when he got home. he's got this obsession with all chewy candy so i covered the bed with a million starbursts, his favorite chips (the man won't give them up and don't even THINK about taking one from him-even if he's eaten a whole bag in the hour), and a little gift he's been wanting. then i took probably an hour assembling this on our last empty bedroom wall:

but when he got home, i was the one surprised by my favorite chocolates and a vase of gorgeous roses! he had taken forever to get home and told me that the flower shop was packed and not to get upset with the amount of money he spent. i laughed and said "why didn't you just go to walmart?" and his adorable reply was "you are better than walmart!" i accept.

we had reservations at gloria's little italy and decided to make that trip a yearly tradition. even though last year was a bust because we didn't make reservations on time, but we count it anyway! because the desire was there, right??

that place is incredible. and having lived in italy, i'd say it's the most authentic italian i can find around here. other than their lack of lentil soup, but they got gelato so i'll manage. i just love the little man that goes around playing the accordion. i swear he knows every song there is.

i could eat at gloria's every meal if it wasn't so pricey. last night i discovered their caprese salad and i think my child needs more. now.

i always try to talk myself into expanding and trying more food, which i have before! but their rosata linguini is so incredible...and i always have to ask for some grilled asparagus with it because why not? it's amazing. matt always gets his regular shrimp pasta -or sorry- gamberi alla besciamella.

ok i may be drooling. stop that.

for better pictures of the place go HERE, my first gloria's experience before i moved to europe. i hope my next trip is soon.

the one with all the love

i've got to fall into the trap today and annoy everyone that actually chooses to read my blog, because it's the day to celebrate the love we have. and i chose to acknowledge that.

i am so blessed. and i know everyone thinks they've got the best, well unfortunately, not everyone. been there done that. but you CAN have the best. and i've paid my dues and truly believe the Lord has blessed me in full.

my husband is incredible. you think you know everything, then you get married. even if it's the second time. and you learn so much more. and it's a continual process. that's the point of this life right, progression? we have to change, we are always improving, it's how we become Christlike. nobody has taught me that more than my amazing husband.

of course we have our days, of course we have our struggles, but we learn from them, we gain strength from those trials, and we move on to something better. and that will be life. we are given trials to improve ourselves. and we come out even stronger for the next one that is headed our way. Neal A. Maxwell said "one's life cannot be both faith-filled and stress-free". 

i feel i went through a lot of stress and trial before i found my eternal companion. and as we struggle through this life on earth together, we learn more of ourselves. and we become something extraordinary. and i couldn't be everything i am meant to be without him. i will love him forever.

and now i end with this almost morbid piece of artwork that expresses exactly how i feel about my eternal marriage:

(pinterest)

being paid to be inspired

one of my favorite parts of this job of mine is the random optional meetings they have for us. today's topic was "becoming your best and loving your life in the process". it's so random but so smart that they do that here. what company wouldn't be more successful if they had more motivation, more inspiration?

this pregnancy has given me carpel tunnel but i couldn't stop taking notes. and what do i do with my note? stack them in a pile at home and never look at them again. but i should, if they motivated me at the time, why not go back the them later when i'm down? working on that...

i wanted to list my favorite points made. these things made me think harder. i left the meeting feeling like i can be everything i've always wanted. i can be everything i need and want to be because it's only up to me. i can be a better wife. i can be a good mother. i can grow my talents and become successful in something i love if i just decide to do it.

life, even at it's worst, has purpose. to many people live purposeless lives. when we have purpose we impact the world around us. and we have joy.

"it doesn't take any more energy to create a big dream than it does a little dream" -unknown

"always dream big. big dreams attract big people" -liniger

"the greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short; but in setting our aim too low and achieving our mark" -michelangelo

"go confidently in the direction of your dreams. live the life you've imagined." -thoreau

9 weeks to go

today i've been married for 7 months. which means that i've been pregnant right along that amount of time as well...the doctor pinned it down to somewhere in the first 4 days of our marriage, which i think is incredible. i'm past the shock of "how in the world" and completely onto fully excited. i don't even think that i have much denial in me anymore, that feels good!

only 9 weeks left to go in this pregnancy til we get to welcome our little boy into the world. in those 9 weeks we have so much left to do, but it doesn't seem to stress me out very much. which i am grateful for. what does stress me out is being told i'm not allowed to work out, being told i've got a crazy amount of water weight from my job, AND having only unhealthy cravings. i know this little babe will be worth it all.

9 weeks to prep myself to be the best mommy i can

9 weeks to have this boy's nursery ready, which will mostly come together after the baby showers of course. so grateful for showers.

9 weeks left as a family 2

9 weeks left for sleeping in when i get the chance and taking a nap whenever i choose

9 weeks til i get to have my momma and my little sister at my beckin call for a couple weeks

9 weeks of dates with my husband without paying a babysitter

i can't wait to see his face. i can't wait to take him home. i can't wait to see my sweet husband be a daddy.



the commercials are my favorite

it's so weird how fast time flies. can it really be an entire year since our first date? is this real life?

we went to a super bowl party last year and here it is again! and i'm so excited to be doing the exact same thing we did then. except that this year i'm lugging around a 7 month baby bump. which is soooo not what i would have thought was going to happen by the next super bowl! but i am sooooo ok with it.

i've hit 30 weeks and i feel like i'm ready to pop. but he's gotta keep cooking so i know i'm just going to expand even more.

sometimes the strength of his baby kicks blow my mind. i almost feel like it could jerk me forward if i was relaxed enough. i love it. and i love being able to see the movement. matt could never see it, so i decided to put a cup on top of my belly to show him how strong this baby really is. success.

i'm so excited to meet him! and to use all of this adorable baby stuff i just stare at all day long. and to lay on my tummy again. 2 months and 9 days. give or take. he has more control over that than i do so...