My Big...

Because the great day is almost upon us....here are a few photos of my bump that I've been slacking getting up. :)

Still counting....

Its just me, avoiding housework again. Today I've decided that exhaustion is entirely subjective. I managed to put in 11 miles running last week, but today after 3 trips up the stairs (for laundry) and I'm a little tired (and a lot bored). How does that work?
We have 11 weeks left and can hardly wait. I'm ready to start the next task at hand (Start feeling better rather than progressively getting larger!) reality is really starting to sink in at this point, I sure hope we're ready! I asked Kelly today "Are we even responsible enough to be parents?" His response "No, not really. But it will good." :) He always makes me laugh, and I know he is definitely going to be an amazing father. I'm glad to have his help, we all know I'm going to need it!

Fly On The Wall

This post is just a peek inside the things that go on in our world. You'll either understand why I love our life, or just think we are weird. Our life is perfect for me because its weird. :) Every time Kelly makes me laugh I fall even more in love with him.

This is what a Hot Dog stuffed with a Corn Dog looks like. :) Am I the only one laughing? Seriously, he was stuffed. Ted spent his first night in a "classy" hotel last night. We ended up in SLC needing a hotel room, but what do you do with the little guy? I couldn't leave him in the car all night. So we stuffed him in one of those reusable granola cruncher grocery snacks, threw a blanket in on top of him and tried our damdest to non-chalantly stroll into the Marriott. Even with a pillow in the other hand I could not seem to keep him hidden very well. He was always peeking his head around to see what was going on. He totally doesn't get the idea of incognito. I was laughing so hard I probably gave us away. But he was a good dog and managed to stay quiet so we could manage not to get evicted.

Kelly bought a bigger bed because when you have to sleep next to me in the pillow fortress AND a Ted dog (Don't let his size fool you...he takes up a lot of space) there's not much room remaining for comfort. So we brought home a king (Side note: our house was not made for a bed this large. It took some serious shoving to get it up there). We set it up, and hopped on the see if it would be satisfactory. After a second look at it Kelly said, "Looks like a bigger bed didn't solve my problem." Yes, that's my pillow on your left...partially on top of his. What can I say...I like to snuggle him. :)

Letters

Dear Sciatic Nerve,
I know we aren't on the best of terms right now, certainly not best friends. Is there any way we can at least come to an agreement on a less painful way to co-exist? The lack of sleep is making me mean and I am beginning to despise you more and more each day. 91 more days is an insufferable amount of time to keep this up, let's come to an understanding.
Sincerely,
Ash

Dear Bibs,
I would like to teach you your first real important lesson about life. Punctuality. Being on time is not only important, its just good manners. We should always use our best manners. Another note about punctuality: Being early is on time, being on time is late. Keep that in mind as we approach your due date. I would really hate to have to ground you the day you are born. :) Love you, can't wait to see your darling face.
Love,
The Mom

Dear Sugar,
I despise you and your cunning ways. You are nothing but a seductress in the form of baked goods that does nothing but lure me in and cause me heartburn all night long. Shame on you sugar. I'm breaking up with you.
Best regards,
Ash

I Can't Wait Until....

The other morning we are lying there in bed, watching the sunshine creep through the blinds and just enjoying being close to one another when I said, "I can't wait until I'm 50." Kelly, who I'm sure is really curious where this is going because I've been quiet long enough to have an incredibly wild train of thought going on, says, "Oh yeah? Why is that?" And here is why....it suddenly dawned on me. I'm about to spend the remainder of my 20's pregnant and changing diapers. And when you put it that way...50 sounds pretty dang awesome. It will be all about ME time again. Don't get me wrong, I'm entirely excited for kids and going to love every minute of it...but I'm a realist...when 50 hits its going to feel epic!

Lately

I haven't posted much lately...mostly for the reason that nothing overly exciting has happened. When you are waiting for the arrival of a baby this point in time seems pretty monotonous. We count down the days and occupy our time with things that are simultaneously easy, and a pain in the ass. For example...the 2nd Trimester. Its pretty easy I have to admit...but I wouldn't say its convenient by any means. Also there are those things that need taken care of....like assembling the new crib. In theory, it's an easy project, but the application is nothing shy of a great test of patience. Then there are my sewing projects that are only hard because I absolutely refuse to pin anything. Despite my whining things are great. We've picked up just about all of the major necessities that we'll need this May and I'm in love with my stroller/carseat. Now I just have a few wishlist items to take care of and we are totally set. I think I'll wait out the remaining 14 weeks in a nice hot bath.

I can't get enough of my wonderful husband. I'm irreversibly in love with him. And yes, I do mean irreversible. No matter where life takes us I know that my heart will always belong to him. It practically resides in his chest rather than my own. When he's gone every piece of me is dying to see him again and when he's here I have the need to be constantly in his presence. He's so good to me, I really couldn't dream up a more perfect match for me. He's my exact kind of ridiculous and I can't wait to have a family with him.

Ego Check

Today my ego is huge...overwhelmingly so. I got to come home from school and brag a little bit because I got asked out in my English class. Makes a 6 month pregnant woman feel pretty damn good. Lets face it...when you have to work hard just to bend over, squeeze your thighs into those jeans for at least one more day and grunt just to get yourself up off the couch a little compliment goes a long way. But then I have to ask myself, did I get asked out becasue I look good...or because its aparent that I put out? Regardless, I'm going to hang onto this story for years to come I'm sure.

Being Cliche

I guess the New Year is time for resolutions. I didn't make any, I usually don't only for the fact that every week of my life I have some new wild ambition or goal, but when I didn't make one I almost felt guilty...like it was me saying "I don't need to change anything" HA! Couldn't be farther from the truth. So I thought about it....weight loss or exercise goals, well...that's out of the window until JUNE! So in June I will start making my running goals, I really do want to run a marathon in my near future but now is not the best time to train. :) So I dug a little deeper and decided maybe now is a good time to work on a few of my character flaws seeing how I now need to be a good example for my children. So my new resolution is to CHILL OUT and just be happy. If i can't be happy about it then it doesn't matter. I'm going to try my best to not get bent out of shape or offended over stupid things, to give others the benefit of the doubt, and to let go of any issues I've have from my past and start fresh. So hold me to it everyone! I'm in a drama free/gossip free zone! And I'm doing my best to stay there! I have a tendency to get absorbed in trivial matters that don't really involve me or the big picture, life is too short to do anything but celebrate the good. 2011 is my year to laugh about things and to smile, it's going to be an exciting year for us and I can't wait to enjoy it to its full potential!

Cali-an-fornia

We are Loving 2011 so far! (Who wouldn't when one of their last nights of 2010 was stuck sleeping in the car in a snowstorm!) We made a quick and wonderful trip to see our Heiner fam in Vista and had a blast. Hung around Old Town San Diego, went to the beach, played an intense game of Mad Gab (that we sadly lost at...by a point!) and smothered little Hannah Bear until she had enough of Aunt Ashley. (Had to get my baby fix! And who can get enough of the cutest little wild thing you ever laid eyes on?) We miss our Cali family so much and enjoyed spending some good time with them but now we are almost having withdrawls. Love you 3! Hope to see you again soon!

Magic 20

Today is officially the halfway mark! 20 Weeks! Assuming we deliver on time...I'm really hoping I cook this little one more like my steak and not my garlic bread. So I'm going to do a halfway post...not because everyone wants to hear MORE about me and baby (I know everyone has to be exhausted with it by now) but because it will postpone attacking my to do list that includes dishes and laundry. Those types of chores are really bad for pregnant women right? I'm sure my doctor mentioned that. 20 Weeks feels great though...I'm only sick when I lack food or sleep and I actually have energy again. (Still working on finding ambition) I can still run quite a bit, although my speed is considerably slower and I go less often it still feels good. Kelly told me the other day, while pinching my latest growth of love handles, "I like your pregnancy hips" I'm thinking he was lucky to catch me in a stable mood. He informed me that he's allowed to say that. Ok love...as long as you found it in the rule book I'll let it slide. I'm convinced that I'm not like most women who carry their babies "high" or "low"...I'm carrying mine on my thighs. Definitely. That said, I'm graduating to maternity clothes....spandex waist never sounded so appealing. I've sworn I will never make fun of stretch pants again! I've also discovered that I have a tendency to buy clothes with horizontal stripes...as you can imagine...this isn't the greatest fashion statement for a person in this condition. So I drug Kelly to the maternity store and I wishlisted a nice variety of clothes to buy- Minus the stripes, plus the spandex.
I'm absolutely dying inside with my impatience to meet this little guy. Every day I just want to hold him and squeeze him. (Poor Ted's eyes are about the pop out! No wonder he can never wait for Kelly to get home.) I sat in the closet the other day and just looked at the things we've bought for him so far, carseat pads, burp rags, the cutest little stuffed elephant you ever saw, and I was about to cry, it's like I miss him not being able to hold him. So I just feel him move any chance I get. I never get sick of it. I'm sure I'll be redacting that statement once I can't get feet out of my ribs and a fist off my bladder, but for now it amazes me every time.

Going Blue

And its a noise with dirt on it!! We're having a boy!

He's a pretty shy guy, we couldn't get him to even peek at us long enough to get a good smile. So we went with the ab crunch. :) We can't wait to meet you little guy!

The Poll:

Ok, we are taking a poll. The other day one of those humane society commercials came on...you all know them. When the adorable teeny kitten showed up on the screen I said to Kelly. Do you realize that one day you will probably have a little girl that talks you into letting her have a kitten? He swears up and down that it will never happen. That he can "condition" our kids to hate cats so that they never ask for one. I say that when his little girl (who we know will have him wrapped right around her finger) looks up at him with her bambi eyes and asks if she can take home the little fuzzy, that probably will already have a name, he's going to cave and say yes. So here's our poll: will he have the kids "conditioned" or will they "condition" him? This is also my way of documenting this conversation as proof when someday I get to say "Told ya so" :) We all know he's a softy...afterall, we were NEVER going to have a dog and it took one cute picture to change that opinion. :)

The Bean Update

Our little bibs said hello yesterday in the form of a karate kick. :) We now litterally sit around waiting for playtime so we can feel. I would have to say we have a lot to learn as parents. At midnight I did some jumping jacks, ran up and down the stairs, and did some football dodging moves then lied down in bed to feel it move around...ya, we woke our baby up in the middle of the night to say hello. I doubt we'll be doing that in 6 months. :)
So now we wait...8 more days until we can FINALLY find out if we are having sugar and spice an everything nice or snips and snails and puppy dog tails. AHHHHHRRRRGGGGHHH....the suspense is KILLING ME! I have so much sewing decorating I want to get started on.

Fa La La La La

Its that time again! And I have Christmas on the brain, so here are the products of my last 24hours and we're just getting started. All homemade and cost me less than $30 to create ALL of it. :) Take a deep breath...that smell of fresh boughs is like the smell of magic!

Pumpkin Carving

We carved pumpkins last night. And more importantly, roasted up some pumpkin seeds! My favorite snack! I'm sick because I've been eating them like popcorn. Ted likes them quite a bit too. I hate to admit that Kelly out skilled me by far in the carving contest. I love his pumpkin! He's such a man, I just giggled as he broke out the jig saw to do his carving rather than doing it with a boring old knife. :)

BABY!

We had our 11 week ultra sound today and I have to say it is by far the neatest experience I've had in my entire life. The water works were in full motion! I went in for one at 7 weeks and it was neat, but that was for an emergency and I was so busy being relieved that my little blob in there was ok that I didn't experience the sense of wonder that this one was. I don't think anything could have prepared me for it. To see our little baby in there moving around, stretching out those arms and legs and that tiny little face.....there just aren't words. Of course all of you mom's know exactly what I'm talking about, its so amazing. I find myself anxious to go back in 4 weeks to check on my little baby bean again. This past month and a half of suffering suddenly feels entirely worth it. I can't believe how much my attachment has grown from this experience alone.
7 Weeks

11 Weeks 3 Days

Thanks Mom

I don't care how old or independent you are, sometimes in life you just need your mommy. The way you can be entirely ok with a situation and just one look at your mom's all understanding face or hearing that loving voice just makes you break down in tears. I need my mom. I've decided our moms are made for us, for these specific instances where you just need someone to cry unreasonably to and they will make you feel like its absolutely ok to cry. Thank you mom, for being made for me, and for drivng all the way from Blackfoot to take care of me. Puking in my purse seemed far less traumatic with you there. :) I love you.

A Quick Thank You Note:

Lately I have gained an appreciation for all of the strong and amazing women in my world. I'm blessed to have every single one of you a part of my life, to help me along and to encourage me. All of you mothers are nothing short of an incredible Greek Goddess in my eyes. How you can suffer so much and yet still be so entirely selfless is beyond me. Thank you to all of the mothers in my life I love and appreciate each and every one of you.

The Dirty Dash

Today was about bringing out your inner child. We, the Fighting Amish, summoned up as much energy as we could muster and found ourselves running around the ski hill at Soldiers Hollow wallowing mud, going over and and trough obsticles and wallowing in bogs and mud pits. We are proud to say that we are DIRTY DASHERS!

We hope you join us next year! Its worth every muddy minute of it!

A New Look

Take a good look at this blog and be impressed....it only took my technologically impaired self ages to get the font changed all cute. Thanks for the help Steph! I think I may have the urge to do some blogging again!
We've been crazy the past bit. With school mostly, wow has this semester worn me out! I've spent two weeks teaching 4th grade field trips and observing kindergarten classes. Its been a blast but I'm going to be glad to take a breather.
Kelly and I are about to become some seriously dirty dashers this weekend. I can't wait to post pictures for you. Its going to be a hog of a good time. If you are curious about what we've gotten ourselves into check out thedirtydash.com you'll be entirely jealous.
But I'm off for now to accomplish something worth blogging about!