Persuasion

After a few phone calls and half a dozen emails,

I was able to show BYU the error in their ways.

They are letting me graduate after all.

The hold-up had to do with a professor

taking a month to grade my final exam.

Nice.

But look, it says I got a B.S. in April 2009.

My diploma is in the mail.

We went to Cracker Barrel to celebrate.

Yum.

Parenting Mistakes

I'm sure Chris and I will make numerous mistakes as parents.

I think its unavoidable.

I just didn't think it would start this early.

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This one was my bad.

We've had a number of great experiences with Ikea in the past, which is why I thought an Ikea crib was a superb idea. They were cute, well-priced, and full-sized yet petite. Sure, Ikea products take some assembly, but it hasn't ever been too bad in the past. Doesn't everything take a little assembly?

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Our first warning sign was the directions.

Wordless directions.

Drawings only.

But we gradually figured that one out and got the shell put together.Wednesday night Chris was set to work on the bottom.

I came home from Mutual to find this:

(sorry, I had to edit for his G's--classy, I know)

Apparently the holes meant for the plastic screws are the wrong size.

Its impossible to get them all the way in.

Then its impossible to get them back out.

This creates a very unstable base.

If Chris tries too hard, the plastic screws break.

Some of them he got in just fine.

One of those caused the wood to split.

Nice.

Its been a very upsetting process and Chris has been so good trying to get it to work. At this point, I'm loosing hope at trying to make it work. Ikea got two scathing emails from a very upset pregnant girl, complete with pictures. Whether or not they respond remains to be seen. Not sure what we will do about it at this point, as their return policy says we can't return any "assembled" or "damaged" items. And when exactly are we going to trek back to Ohio? What is especially frustrating is that for $20-30 more dollars we could have just gotten a nice Graco crib. In hindsight, it would have been worth it. Guess that's why they say hindsight is 20/20.

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On the good news front, the bookcase was put together with ease and is tres cute.

Too bad she can't sleep in that.

A Memorable Memorial Weekend

There is something shockingly refreshing about getting out of town on a long weekend.

This weekend was no exception.

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We headed to Cincinnati for a getaway. We stayed with the R family, who are good friend's of Chris's family from their years in Cincinnati. Chris mom and 2 sisters were there too and we had quite the party. (I was a horrible picture taker, so the ones on here are the best I had).

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Our time in Cincinnati was filled with:

Uno's gluten-free pizza

Night at the Museum 1 (ok) and 2 (no comment)

Ikea craziness

Burgers and brats

GF sugarsnaps . . . I mean snicker doodles

Skyline

Really hot sacrament meeting

Way too much food and the S house

Valkyrie

Family

Friends

Fun

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It went by way too quickly.

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Our trip to Ikea was, happily, a mighty success. Lil' got a crib, bookshelf, and table. The bookshelf was something I really loved, but online it was $90--a ways out of our price range. As we were walking into the store, there it was, on sale for 50% off thanks to Memorial Day weekend. So it came home with us after all.

Chris pushing our cart.

Me and THE ladybug. I saw this online too and thought it was so cute. It has a mirror on the bottom. Going into Ikea I told Chris: "Everything is negotiable, except the ladybug."

Becky watching over our crib and bookshelf.

It was truly remarkable that it all fit into our Honda Civic.

Jenny with a cart-full of grown-up stuff for her new college apartment.

We even saw the Mer. Our good friend Matt (who's from Cincinnati but I met him at BYU) called us and said "Hey, I'm in town!" Which town? We weren't sure considering he had mentioned driving through Knoxville. Turned out he was in Cincinnati and we were able to see him. Although we still didn't play kubb.
Sadly our time in Cincinnati ended and we headed home. Upon our arrival back home, however, we had a memorial day BBQ to attend with a few families from our ward. It was, once again, quite the party. Our friend, Nephi, had been smoking pork since 8 am Monday morning and by 5:45 it was like butter. As if I hadn't eaten enough all weekend, I stuffed myself at the BBQ. I also admired their almost 2 month old baby girl (from a distance--stupid cold) and once again became exhilarated/terrified/overwhelmed by the prospect of having one of those in our house.

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Monday night Chris had a make-up softball game that was originally canceled because of rain. Unfortunately, it was once again canceled due to rain. This, however, gave us the opportunity to open up our crib and take a look.

Chris's job today is to figure out how to put it together.

I can't wait to see it all set up.

(Thank you to the anonymous grandparental donors of both our crib and our crib bedding. We love them both are are so thankful for your generosity!)

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Our getaway was excellent.

The R's said we could come back any time we wanted to.

I'm not so sure they should have made that offer.

"Look at this. Look at what they make you give."

Name that movie.

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Ok, I'll tell you. It's Bourne Identity.

Its when one of Bourne's fellow spy-men is dying after being shot.

He's talking about how much the spy agency makes a spy-guy give of himself.

Its really quite touching.

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And really close to what graduate school must be like.

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This past week was humorously demanding for Chris.

He worked on research projects until the middle of the night 2 days in a row.

And his pregnant wife had a lot of fun picking him up at two in the morning.

Along the way we both got miserably sick and spent all day Thursday lying on our couches passing a roll of toilet paper back and forth to blow our noses.

We were quite the sight.

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On Monday Chris even received an implant:

He got it put in as part of a research project he's doing this summer. It measured his blood-sugar levels. It stayed in all week. I couldn't even look at it. But who got to take it out? That would be me. Ew.

On Wednesday morning we were both totally delirious after very little sleep and due to colds taking effect. Chris's back was bothering him thanks to his implant. He leaned over in the car and said, "Look at this . . . . Look at what they make you give." (He is hilarious, that boy).

Look at what the make you give, indeed.

Second Trimester Wrap-Up

Warning: Lots of pregnancy mumbo-jumbo. You're welcome to ignore this post if you'd like.
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Doesn't it feel like yesterday I was giving the 1st Trimester Wrap-Up? No. No, it doesn't. It feels like 10 years ago. But whatever . . .

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The nausea has not gone away. Granted, I only threw up twice this time around, which is an improvement, but I have yet to have a day without nausea. I'll take it, for sure. I'd be nauseous every day forever if it meant having Lil and any others that follow, but I was kind of hoping it would go away. Maybe my 3rd trimester will be better? I've made peace with the fact that it might not. I no longer wait for it to go away. Instead I've tried to find things that help. I now use watermelon children's toothpaste, because any other kind makes my sickness worse (this toothpaste is de-lish; seriously, I don't know how there isn't any sugar in it). I also chew on fruity gum as much as possible. But the thing that really helps? Food--in my mouth--at all times. Which leads us to a whole different set of problems.

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My weight gain has been pretty slow and steady--until this month. I had quite the little spike, enough for my doctor to say "Maybe we could not make this a habit?". Oops, my bad. It may have had something to do with my various love affairs with ice cream sundaes, sour cream and onion potato chips, and chocolate milk. I'm now working on healthier eating.

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Everything is measuring right on schedule--which I suppose is good. I keep hoping he will say "Wow, we were way off on your due date! Its really a month earlier than we thought!" A girl can dream. Lil's heartbeat is so slow now! I mean, its normal, but when she was a tiny clump of cells her heart rate was so fast, is sounded like a train. Now that she's all human-form it sounds almost like a normal heart beat. So strange she's getting that big. I would never believe it if it weren't for . . . .

My huge, back-aching, feet-destroying belly

A lil on Lil': I know she's not here yet, but I feel like I'm getting to know her a little already. One thing that makes me chuckle is she is totally shy (well, I think she is). She will be holding a little dance party in my tummy, but as soon as I lift my shirt to watch her move, she freezes. She does the same thing when I try to feel her or when Chris tries to feel her. I just have to leave my hand there and look away and pretend like I'm not paying attention. Its hilarious. I guess she prefers to "dance when no one is watching"--she's like her mommy in that way. Yesterday she stuck one of her limbs way out of my tummy and held it there of a few seconds, so I had a little knob sticking out. I remember my mommy telling me about elbows and bums sticking out of her tummy and I thought it was creepy. Turns out its not creepy at all. Turns out its miraculous.

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FAQ
Do you have a name picked out?
The official answer is "No, we're waiting until she comes to pick out a name for her." If its a long enough situation, I'll include that we have a few favorites but are keeping them a secret until we pick one. The honest answer? Pretty much. Over the past few months we (or really I--Chris has like one name the most the whole time) have brought a million names into the mix. Some stick around for a while, some fade pretty fast (Sloane lasted about 45 minutes for me, 45 seconds for Chris), but our favorite has been our favorite since the beginning. It is the favorite spoken of in my 1st Trimester Wrap-Up. And as she gets closer to coming, it feels more and more like that's her name. But, for the record, she won't have a name until she's born--no matter how often we call her by that name now. It will be interesting to see if she comes out and we say "Oh! There is our little Betsy!" or "Wow, she really isn't a Betsy after all." (You can rest assured the name is not Betsy).
Speaking of naming Lil', want to hear a funny story? Elder D. Todd Christofferson of The Quorum of the Twelve Apostles was at my graduation. Now, I blame my impressive faith in the men called of God, but sometimes I think weird things in the presence of an apostle. In this case, I knew I would get to shake his hand when I walked across the stage. In the midst of my naming angst, I thought Maybe he'll say "Congratulations. Your baby's name should be Ella" (Ella is not on our list either). Hey, the day of miracles has not ceased, so who knows, right? However, I walked across the stage, he shook my hand and looked me in the eyes and said "Congratulations." And that was it. Guess the Lord is leaving the naming of our child up to us. Chris was quite the devil's advocate when he said "But what if he had told you we were supposed to name the baby Dorothy?" Hmmmm . . . .

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Are you going to get an epidural?
Yes. Everyone has different opinions, and that is great, but I'm all about the epidural. Here's one thing though, and I want stories/opinions. It seems like every story I hear about being induced ends with a super-long labor and then a C-section. Its like inductions really just end in a mess. Because of this, I've started to feel like I'd rather be a week late than be induced if it was just a matter of convenience and not Lil's health. Does anyone have input on that one?

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Are you scared?
I get this a lot and am never sure how to answer. Of the birth? Not really. I figure she will come out one way or another. I don't pretend like I know what to expect. I'm realistic enough to know its a pain you cannot prepare for, but a pain that will be well worth it. Of having a kid? Not really. I don't think you can prepare for that either. I mean, you do your best to prepare physically, emotionally, spiritually, but I think the change is too great and too unreal. I think you learn as you go. Am a ready to be a mom? I don't know. Is anyone every really ready?
What I am afraid of? Something happening to Lil'. I worry about her too much. She takes a 10 minute break from wiggling and I'm take breaths to stay calm. Its totally psycho. I'm also afraid of Lil' growing up. I look at 12 month clothes and I can't believe she'll ever be that big. I want her to stay my little baby forever. Is that too much to ask?

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Anyway . . . that's how its going. The second trimester crawled and flew by simultaneously. Funny how time does that. Its so crazy--I'll have a picture of a pretty baby girl in my next "trimester wrap-up".

Welcome Home

Nothing like this to welcome you home after a long day at work.

Oh, no you didn't, BYU.

Sorry, but all of those so-called deficiencies do,

in fact, show up on my transcript.

Maybe you should double check before you send such a letter and

make a pregnant lady cry.

A Little About Us, Currently

A small review of the super-exciting goings-on of Our Family:

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I have a doctor's appointment this morning where I'll get my glucose test. I don't foresee any problems with gestational diabetes (knock on wood) so my main concern is throwing up when I drink the juice. We'll see how that goes. This will also be my first appointment without Chris. Sad. Chris and my doctor have a small bromance going on, and always discuss golfing, working out, VO2 Max (like I know what that is), and heart rates. Its hilarious. But I enjoy it because they always get going when we're listening to Lil's heart beat and the doctor gets distracted and I get to listen for that much longer. I've never loved going to the doctor as much as I do now. That's a good thing, I suppose, because I start going every other week from now on. Woo-hoo.

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My work started flex time last week. I work 4 10 hour days, and get Wednesdays off. I'm loving it. I love working 2, off 1, work 2, weekend. Its been awesome, even if being at work at 7 am is a little crazy. One perk is NO traffic that early in the morning. My commute has been cut in half. Also, I get a premium parking spot every day. And for me, really, being at work from 8-5 is pretty much all day anyway, so 7-5:30 isn't really any different--and now I get an extra day off.

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This past Wednesday Chris and I saw a matinee of Star Trek. He has been waiting patiently the whole 5 days its been released to go see it. He filled me in on who all the characters were. I've got to tell you, I've never watched one second of Star Trek in my life--and I loved this movie. The first 10 minutes I was bawling (if you see it, you may know why--blame Lil'), and the rest of the movie was very witty and entertaining. I didn't expect to enjoy it as much as I did. Chris and I never see movies in the theater ($7 for a matinee--really?) so it was a really nice treat. And I even splurged and got a Cherry Coke (whoops) but it was mostly to treat my headache and calm my ever-present nausea. Next up: Angels and Demons. Another splurge, but Chris picked Star Trek, so I pick Angels and Demons. I'm currently trying to finish the book again, because I insist on finishing before I see the movie. I'm thinking it may have been a mistake. The book is so good, the movie so soon afterwards may be a disappointment.

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Chris is out of school. His summer is going to be filled with teaching a swim class, possibly finding a part-time job, and lots of research. I think he'll be published twice by the end of the summer or beginning of fall. Not too shabby. Good things to get experience, especially as we look into PhD schools. He is also getting trained for his new fancy shmancy assistantship (he'll be in charge of the UT Center for Physical Activity and Health) that he starts in August (about exactly when Lil is set to arrive--did I ever mention his school starts 1 week after my due date?). He got straight A's this semester and is totally thriving. I'm so proud of him and so grateful for everything he does for our little family. Yesterday I came home to a repaired car (and a large bill---nice), a clean home, and corn chowder. He's my superhero.

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We are going to Cincinnati next weekend for Memorial Day. We'll be staying with family friends and meeting up with Chris's family. We cannot wait. We keep saying we're in serious need of a vacay, which is funny because I spent 8 days at home not even a month ago.

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While in Cincinnati we will be going to Ikea. Yesterday I somewhat drastically changed my plans for Lil's room, so I've gone from wanting to spend about $50 at Ikea to wanting to spend about $300. Wanting being the key word.

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Finally, tomorrow Chris and I have a "Day of Festivities" planned. Or should I say scheduled? We don't have anything planned, per se, but we're hoping for a fun-filled day of excitement. If it would stop raining for more than 12 hours, I would insist upon a trip to the pool. Alas, in Tennessee April showers only brought May thunderstorms. We'll see what we can come up with. Smoothie King may be involved.

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My little brother's baseball team is in the Idaho state tournament this weekend--Go Rams.

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I heart weekends.

I seriously live for them.

Enjoy yours.