Banana Bites

What we do is slice up a banana, put peanut butter (or Reeses spread, Nutella, etc) in between 2 slices of the banana and make little banana bites with them! They are slickery little beasts so next time I am sticking a toothpick in each one so they don't slide apart! But they are nummy and semi-healthy (depending on the spread you choose). :)

A Good Sunday

This is my almost 15 week old belly :) Big milestone! I actually put on make up for the first time in 2 1/2 months! When I reach this stage every pregnancy, I know the sick period is over :)

Bo gave a wonderful talk on Family Prayer at church today! Good job babe :)

Rhycherd went ALL of church in underwear! Funny story: whenever Rhych has to go potty, he says "poddy" while taking off his pants and underwear... Yeah, there he was in Nursery stripping down! They found me ASAP! It was hilarious!

We are all doing great! Happy Sunday!

My First Midwife Appointment

I had my first baby appt with my midwife this past Tuesday. It was wonderful! Her office was a home basically. It had a kitchen, living room, bathroom, and office. So homey. We sat and talked for an hour! From how my pregnancy was going to how much she charges to hearing my sweet baby's heartbeat for the first time :) I did not feel rushed during this appointment. AND while I was having my appt, my kids were able to run in and out between the office and living room (where some awesome toys were) the whole time. It didn't bother me at all because the nurse kept an eye on them and we were the only family there :)

When we got to my favorite part, hearing my baby's heartbeat, she only used a doppler! I got to leave my bottoms on and just have my shirt raised to my ribs. Perfect little heartbeat by the way, 142 :)

She also did not perform a vaginal exam! She also told me she will not do so unless something seems wrong in the pregnancy or labor, or unless I request it! So happy to hear that!

She of coarse took my weight and checked my urine and I go in for my blood test this week at a lab.

I am loving the midwife experience so much so far!

Follow Me On My Journey With A Home Birth

Before eyebrows are raised, jokes come to mind, or horrifying stories come to you; stop them. You will need to keep an open mind when I write posts about getting ready for this next birth, which will be happening at home with my midwife.

First I feel I should address the reasons why I have chosen to have a home birth:
- I have gone into labor ON MY OWN both times, but when I got to the hospital they felt the need to augment my labors with either Cervidil or Pitocin (Shooting me into pain unimaginable)
- I will get to eat and drink if I feel I need to during labor! By the time I would reach a 10 and need to push, I would already be shaky from low blood sugar because I was NOT ALLOWED to eat in the hospital
- I will get to sit in a bath, walk around, bounce on the exercise ball, WHATEVER I need to do to get through the contractions
- I will NOT have an IV in my hand
- I will not be forced to give birth in the lithotomy position (on back with hips and knees flexed with thighs apart)
- It will be much more intimate, I will only have my hubby, midwife, and nurse there
- I am very much wanting a birth the way it has been done since the beginning of time
- It only costs $2700 for the whole thing, from prenatal appts to post partum

I will keep you all updated with appointments and eventually of course, the birth :)

Happy New Year

It's that time of year again. We reflect, we list, we promise, we try. There will be victories, there will be failures. I think we tend to focus and remember our failures more than we should. Yes, we should learn from our mistakes and try better but we should not always beat ourselves up about them. There are times where I make a same mistake over again and I just feel I will never be able to overcome certain challenges. But then I came across this simple but very profound quote by Richard G Scott that has helped me so much: "You are making better progress than you realize." I want you all to remember this quote throughout your lives as well :) Happy New Year!

Home Sweet Home

We have now been in Fort Wayne for 6 days now! We are SO glad to be here! Our home is BEAUTIFUL! New paint, new carpet, forced air for heat (We had been living with baseboard heaters-yuck), A/C for the summer, a water heater that works amazing, no smokers around us!, a dishwasher, washer and dryer, new cabinetry, assigned parking, and FANTASTIC staff and maintenance. We get all of this for $575/month!

We live on the outskirts of Fort Wayne so it is a quiet neighborhood :)

Our branch is just fantastic! I have NEVER been in one before, so when we walked into the chapel and I saw no pews just soft chairs, I was shocked! The building is sooo cute! Nursery consists of 3 including Rhychie. It looked like Primary had less than 20 kids in it. It is so awesome to experience church in a different way :) And the members are FANTASTIC! I think I met 75% of the branch yesterday! And a nice family and the only other ones under 35 :P had us over for fondu last night! Oh and we had AT LEAST 6 people show up to help us move in! When we left Laramie, NO ONE from the ward came and helped us pack up :(

Bo started work today! I am goona miss having my hubby around as often as I did while he was going to school but I am looking forward to those paychecks :) I am also very traditional, I have waited for this part of our lives! Hubby goes to work, I take care of the house and kids, and we have dinner as a family when he comes home :) Sounds silly I am sure, but I am excited!

Hope everyone has a Merry Christmas! :)

Laneah is 4

 Being a goof!

 Opening presents!

 She got A TON of Magiclip Disney Princess's!

She wanted Strawberry Shortcake decorations, a Barbie crown, My Little Pony candles, a Smurf cake, and Lalaloopsy ballons... Silly girl