Random Thoughts

- It's really sad how into the iPhone 5 people are. It's sad we will camp outside overnight to get a spot in line or stay up late to order it at midnight. I can't image the same frenzy going on for things like: a chance to hear the Prophet speak, the opportunity to feed the homeless, the chance to teach someone how to read, etc.

- I don't get the hipster thing or mustache thing?

- I live my life in 4 hour increments. It's awesome and maddening at the same time.

- Grey's Anatomy is horrible, but I'll still keep watching it.

- I should spend less time on Pinterest and more time doing the things I pinned.

- Sometimes I look at Mary Ann and think, wait you're still here. Where's your mom?

- I finally checked off a big to-do from my list https://www.etsy.com/listing/111258659/diy-crewel-embroidery-kit-come-thou#

- I'm over Facebook. All I look at are the photos and those can be found on Instagram.

- I'm really into politics these days. I'm almost done with season 2 of The West Wing and am dying to see if President Bartlett runs for re-election.

- Mary Ann and I go for walks most days. When we walk Greenlake, I feel judged by all the other mommy exercise groups because I'm not in the "mom club."

- Some days I LOVE not working. Other day's I go crazy (and when I say crazy, I mean I'm lazy and might or might not ever get out of bed) and don't know how women do it all day every day.

- Mary Ann keeps getting packages of stuff we registered for. Each day is like Christmas for her. I wonder if people would catch on if we added a new stove and refrigerator to her registry?

Our Little Birdy

I figured Mary Ann's parents had better post something about her so she does not look back at this and think only her Uncle Jared was excited she was here. Here's how it all went down. It's long and detailed, but it sure does have a great ending!

I was due Thursday, August 23rd but that day came and went. I had been having small random contractions and at my doctors appointment that week he said it was looking like I would have her within the next couple of days. Friday night we went to bed and I woke up around 12:30 from a contraction that was pretty strong. 40 minutes later the same thing happened. I woke up Patrick and we were up all night as my contractions were growing stronger, longer, and closer together. Um...ladies...how come no one warned me that throwing up is common during contractions? That was a special little surprise.

Around 7:30 am on August 25th we headed to the hospital as my contractions were about 5 minutes apart. I have to admit, this part of labor was not as bad as I expected it to be. Don't get me wrong, it's not a treat, but it did not hurt as much as I was expecting it to. We checked in and I was about 4 centimeters dilated so they did not send me home which was a relief as both Patrick and I were worried they might since I had made it through this part so easily.

Fast forward to 9:30 am and welcome the sweet sweet epidural. I was probably most worried about getting this. Have you ever You Tubed someone getting one...DON'T. It's a giant needle they stick in your spine. Luckily it went smoothly and 30 minutes later both Patrick and I were asleep.

Around 11:30 Angela, my labor and delivery nurse, woke me up and said, "The room's about to get very crowed. I'm here, just do what we ask." Before I could really process what this might mean, I was being tipped backwards, given an oxygen mask, flipped to my other side and about 5 nurses were all around my bed. I could see out of the corner of my eye poor Patrick who woke up to a room full of nurses and his wife on oxygen with a panicked look on his face. Mary Ann's heart beat was very week and they were trying to get it back to normal. After about 90 of the longest seconds ever, she came back around and started beating at a normal rhythm. Apparently I had 4 contractions all in a row without a break in between so Mary Ann did not have a chance to recover as with each contraction she get's squeezed. Since this only happened the one time, we carried on as planned.

Fast forward to 4:00 pm. I was dilated to 9 centimeters and while I was not in pain, I could feel SO MUCH pressure and it took everything in me not to push. This was honestly the hardest part of the entire process. I could feel more and more pressure with each contraction and I wanted that little girl out!

My doctor came in around 5:00 pm and said I was fully dilated and ready to push and man did it feel good to push. I can't even describe what this "pushing" was like. It really is the most crazy, intense, out of body experience I've ever had. I pushed with all my strength and before I knew it the doctor asked if I wanted to feel her head. My response, "No, I just want to keep pushing." I really wanted her out :) I don't really remember much expect hearing Angela call for another nurse as I was about to deliver. 17 minutes of pushing and then I felt instant gratification and could hear the sweetest little cry. Mary Ann was here.

I can't describe the feelings that came over me, but what I remember most is holding Mary Ann on my chest while staring at Patrick. We both just started at each other in shock and love and I'll never forget the feelings I had. Neither of us spoke, but just keep our eyes locked on each other and I knew at that very moment no matter what happened and what life throws at our family, we were going to be okay. It's a moment I know I will draw strength and faith from over the coming years.

Once everyone was cleaned up, our doctor came and sang us all a few songs. He sang For Emily Where Ever I May Find Her, Annie's Song, Wedding Song, Hallelujah, and I'm A Child Of God. It was actually very sweet to watch Patrick hold his little girl for the first time while such sweet songs were sung to us all.

Our sweet little Mary Ann was 8.3 lbs, 19 inches long and had a fairly round head since she came out so fast. We feel so lucky as she really is such a good baby. She does not really cry, took right to nursing and overall is very sweet and calm. She makes cute little birdy noises and sleeps well most nights. My favorite thing is that she loves to stretch and scrunches up her forehead when she does. I can't wait to watch her personality grow and experience life with her as part of our family. We've felt so loved by all of our friends and family through all of this. Thanks to each of you for the love and support. We are lucky to have such a loving and large support group and hope to be able to return the same kind of love and support.

30 Days

Tomorrow I'm 30 days from my due date and the reality is starting to set in. I'm so excited to meet little Mary Ann and nervous all at the same time. I can't pass this one off to her mom when she cries because I'm the mom. However this weekend some friends from church threw me a great baby shower and it made me realize it's all going to be ok. I'm surrounded my amazing women and with their help I'll make it through. I know I'll make a lot of mistakes, but I also know they are all there to pick me up. I've realized this was a lot of what I've been struggling with lately. I would never go back on getting married, but it's been a big challenge as I feel I lost all my friends along the way. I'm not blaming them, but as life changes so do friendships and change is hard no matter what. I'm excited to hold my little girl. I'm excited for her to kick Patrick and not just me. I'm excited for 3 months off of work. I'm excited to sleep on my stomach again. I'm excited to take really hot baths and eat sushi, but mostly I'm excited to share Mary Ann with all the great people in my life and see what amazing things she's going to do in this big world.

Projects

We've been busy working on project around that house and for little Mary Ann lately. I just wish I could craft all day long. Patrick's even started to join in though his projects are much more manly and always require power tools. :)

What have you all been up to lately? 

Patrick has been doing a few tile jobs on the side and as always his OCD makes for some beautiful tile work.

Found this owl at TJ Max and knew my husband had the power tools and skills make make it into something more.

And the finished product.

Patrick also built custom valances for our front window's and Mary Ann's room.

I've been busy sewing things for Mary Ann.  Here are a few bibs I made for her.

And a bed skirt I made for the crib.  George loves to sleep under in now.

This is a crewel pattern I made and am going to try and sell online.  Mama needs a new kitchen.

And of course George has been doing his part as well.

She Works Hard For the Money

I've been in Pennsylvanian for the past week working at one of our shipping facilities. It feels a bit like living in an episode of "How's It Made." It's fascinating to learn how the back end of Amazon.com works and let's just say it's one crazy, huge, complex machine with a lot of dedicated people working everyday to make sure the customer always has an optimal experience. I've learned that working 8 hours on a cement floor is hard work and even a little harder 5 month pregnant. I've learned 6 days away from home is a long time. I've learned that even though I'm the only girl on the team working with this project, I can handle my own with the boys. I've learned (once again) that I'm bossy. And I've learned that me and this East Cost time zone are NOT friends.

Take my breath away

My little girl has been kicking me for a couple of weeks, but today she found my ribs. It was the craziest feeling. Every time she would kick me, it took my breath away a little bit. So nuts. Can't wait for her to get here partly because I want to meet her and partly so I don't have to be pregnant :)

Rub-a-dub

My husband told me I needed to start blogging and again and I said fine as long as he was aware he might be the topic of discussion some of the time. So here goes.

School started up again for Patrick and he was worn out from a long day of class and homework. As I was starting a load of laundry he said he was going to take a bath. He went into the bathroom and I started to work on dinner. As I worked at the kitchen sink I noticed the water pressure was SUPER low and not very hot. Knowing he was taking a bath, I turned off the water and started on something else. I could hear him complaining from the bathroom about the crappy water pressure and lack of hot water. This went on for a good 10 minutes. I tried to tell him, “Don’t get in until the tub’s full,” to which he replied, “that would take years.” He whined and complained and as I went in to try and help, I found him lying in the bath tub WITHOUT any water. I started crying from laughing so hard. Who sits in the tub without water? I asked what happened and like a little boy he said, “it was not working” and continued pouting as I left him in the bathroom.

Always a good time.

The Little Couch That Could

Between Patrick and I we owned 6 couches. Of course we were going to keep my 3 couches and get rid of Patrick’s. I’m no dummy. I’m the original owner of all my couches. I know their history. Patrick’s couches were like a giant science project and I wanted nothing to do with them.

Patrick agreed to get rid of one before we got married, but he really “liked” the other two. He knew they were ugly but did not care. They were “comfortable.” Now let me tell you a little something about these couches. Sure they matched and were in fairly decent shape, but they were the ugliest print ever and he bought them off of craig’s list years ago so who knows what’s living in them. I decided to take one for the team and agreed to keep them as long as I could reupholster them.

So there we are, driving down the freeway at top speeds, moving the couches into our new house when Patrick turns into a sailor and words start flying. I’m completely puzzled as he’s pulling over to the right hand lane. Apparently one of the couch cushions had flown out of the truck and went bouncing off cars down the freeway. Patrick was ticked, but I saw it as an answer to prayer. Now I was only stuck with one ugly couch because it was a seat cushion we lost.

I was so happy. Nature did not even want these couches in my house and it was all going to be fine. Later that day we looped back down the freeway and what do you know, that little cushion had made it to the bushes. The cover was torn to shreds, but there it was. I got a pretty good laugh watching Patrick run down the side of the freeway to fetch the dang thing.



Fast forward to 3 months later and you have one couch complete with one more to go. (I should mention the color in this images sucks. I took it on my phone, but you get the idea)