33 weeks :)

Well it's official we are all signed up for a birthing class! We were originally going to try hypnobirthing, but I didn't get signed up for the class in time at it was over $200! That seemed way to much to me for a 7 week class.  So after much praying that I would find something we certainly did.  And just in time! The class is called The Birth Day Childbirth class and runs out of Idaho Falls.  The lady Kathy that teaches it was so nice when I talked to her on the phone! I told her that my due date was December 18th and she was like oh we will definitely be moving the class schedule around then so you can be at all of the classes before your due date.  She also moved the first class for me because I was scheduled for my last day at work during the time.  She is so accommodating and nice! And there is another couple in Rexburg that is taking the class so I told her to feel free to give them our information if they are interested in carpooling.  Anything to save money for diapers right?! ;)  This birthing class looks pretty fun too, and has a ton of good reviews.  I guess a lot of people don't take birthing classes here, but for me I just wanted to feel as prepared as possible and feel like I understand what is going on.  It's a personal choice and I'm feeling really relieved that I was able to sign up.  My midwives are pretty happy as well!

This week we finally set up her dresser (which took forever!).  I don't know how Ben did it, but thankfully it is really good quality and seems really sturdy, were happy with our choice. I washed all of her 0-3 months clothes.  And next week we are getting our changing table so that will be really nice to have everything all set up.  That was a pretty big concern for me, I just didn't want to feel like I was rushing at the last minute and slacking off in school and getting overwhelmed.  I've pretty much always been like this.  I like to be as prepared as possible. 

I have another doctors appointment next week.  It's weird to start going every two weeks.  It definitely means the BIG DAY is getting closer! 

I have one more day at work and than I'm done.  My blood pressure is thanking me right now :)

2 months left

Well I just had my 32 week appointment.  It went great everything is looking good, Sadie is moving a ton and has finally flipped.  I never would have thought she was though because I still can't take a deep breath!

Ben- Working so hard, has applied for a couple of different jobs one is a manager-training-position at a sporting goods store (crossing our fingers for that!)  He's doing really well in school.

Brittany- Studying my butt off! Seriously, everybody has told me that going to school when your pregnant is really hard, believe me they were right.  But surprisingly I've seriously never had better grades! As of right now I have 5 A's and 1 B.  I put my 2 weeks notice in at work because 1) I was getting really stressed out and neurotic, 2) we got our pell grants in FINALLY...so we are riding on that cushion right now, 3) We've got everything that we need for the baby (except a billion diapers ;) we only have a few boxes as of right now, and 4) It's surprisingly painful to stand on my feet for 7 hours and when I get home at midnight I still have homework to do.

It's one of these weird bittersweet things.  I'm going to miss all the people I work with! But I will definitely be in to say HI and since I was like 16 I only ever not had a job my first year here...so just thinking about not working is almost uncomfortable.  But I'm also really excited to spend the next 8 weeks just enjoying pregnancy, school, CLEANING, making some yummy food, and just preparing for Sadie's big arrival.

On another good note...I'm an aunt again! Grace Marie Fischer was born on October 19 we haven't gotten to meet her yet and won't for a while because she's in Minnesota with everyone else, but she looks absolutely adorable in all the pictures and I can't wait till she meets her little cousin who will be just a couple of months younger than her!

Internship, Pregnancy, and Nursery

Well summer has officially come to a close and I'm not going to lie but I am so happy!! I miss school so I'm going to try really hard this semester to get the best grades, stay healthy and active, and just try to have a good rest of the pregnancy. Ben had his first day at his internship at the Behavioral Health Center down in Idaho Falls. He can back pretty excited because they will get to shadow counselors and psychiatrists around. There is an adolescent wing and also a wing that has people with severe mental illnesses such a Schizophrenia. He said that it really isn't anything like the movies portray and most of the people are relatively normal (no straight jackets). He's also Ben working really hard at Freedom and has kicked some major butt in the sales department, bringin home the BACON! He'll cut his hours back a lot because now he usually works 50 hours a week so that's going to drop to like 25. I'm also cutting my hours down to 20 and I'm only working 3 days a week so it isn't bad at all. 


School starts on Monday! We went on campus to fill out the last of his internship papers and for Ben to get his TB test and it was like a zoo, and since everything has moved we had NO idea were anything was so we looked like total newbies. It was kind of fun!  We are really excited to get back to going to school every day, the only thing that I'm not looking forward too....Waddling up that giant hill, it's still so stinking hot out and my back really hurts. 

I'm in my last week of my second trimester! 26 weeks! My weight is completely on track and I'm been exercising a lot. I usually do Cardio ever other day and weights every day. I feel really good whenever I exercise and it's making me think more about what I eat. I haven't completely cut out the bad food ;) I doubt I ever will! Life is short, but I definitely eat in moderation meaning Taco Bell once a week. My midwife told me that I should cut out some carbs and eat more protein (story of my life). I eat eggs with bell peppers almost every day with a small cup of all natural yogurt with grapes, blueberries, and raspberries. It's delicious! So I've gotten used to having to plan out my morning so I have time to eat a good breakfast, then I usually have and apple or banana as a snack. Then either a salad or sandwich with some vegetables. Then usually more vegetables before dinner. And dinner is some form of chicken with either brown rice or whole grain pasta and more vegetables. I eat a lot of vegetables throughout the day haha. But I give myself some leeway because I really do enjoy food. My back pain has been getting a little bit better, but I still wake up every night around 3am to go to the bathroom. It is driving me nuts! 

The nursery is coming along really great! I've really enjoyed getting everything ready for when Sadie arrives, it just makes me so excited to go into her room. We've got a ton of stuff for her and I still have a few more months. Ben's awesome parents got our crib for us as a baby shower gift and we are completely in love with it! It's so nice and sturdy but still really easy to move. 

Tons of DIY nursery decor

Well since deciding on a color scheme for the nursery. I have been putting together a list of DIY projects that I would really like to get done this summer before school starts.  Since I know that a lot of people who read our blog our expecting or already have children I thought that I would share these.

Embroidery Hoop Wall Art

http://elegantpaws.blogspot.com/2011/02/embroidery-hoop-wall-art-tutorial.html

Reasons why I want to try:
1.  I LOVE PATTERNS! Yes, they brighten up rooms and add variety to some very plan walls.  I already have a few fabrics picked out...take a look
2. SUPER CHEAP! Well kind of the embroidery hooks cost at most $2 for the larger ones and I don't need more then a yard of each fabric, and I will have leftovers so I use them to make headbands :)

Chevron Rug

http://www.thehouseofsmiths.com/2011/04/chevron-painted-rug-from-ikea.html

Reasons why I want to try:
1. Already have the rug all I need is the paint!

Lamp Shade Cover

http://www.azcentral.com/style/hfe/decor/articles/2010/09/03/20100903DIY-easy-home-decor-projects.html?page=2

Nursery Ideas

I  LOVE looking at nursery ideas,

I can't wait till we start putting together Sadies room, sadly it won't be for another few months.  So right now I am trying to just keep everything organized by putting things in cardboard boxes and labeling them.  It really is a lot better then the system that we had before...which was NONE! I'm completely in love with this bedding, and it's on sale!

I'm really leaning more towards the top one because I love bright colors, and they actually stimulate the babies eyesight.  See babies can't see pastel colors at all for a while.  And I just like that it has hints of turquoise in it. We want the color scheme to be pinks and reds with turquoise We wouldn't get the sheets though just the bumper and skirt and do a turquoise crib sheet. I found an awesome pair of turquoise curtains at....Wal-Mart! Who would have thought!

 
I got these awesome white lamp bases and shades too! I'm actually going to get some fabric and cover the shade with a pattern and I might keep the base white or paint it.

We really lucked out with our family, because they want to help us with some of the big purchases like a crib, changing table, a small dresser, and a glider. We're kind of weird so we actually have all our furniture picked out that we would like to get!

I still haven't sold Ben on this so we probably won't be getting it haha but a girl can dream right!

And it's even practical, look at the hooks! 

 and we will definitely be getting some of these in pink and turquoise! We have to have some color with all these white walls!

I'm one of those people who love having sayings on the wall, Yes I know typical Mormon. And I absolutely love  this in a matted frame

and this 

http://www.etsy.com/listing/70963699/you-are-my-sunshine-5x7-inch-print-by

and I have already made up my mind that when she is born we will be ordering this announcement to frame in her room.  How cute!

http://www.etsy.com/listing/61864580/star-is-born-baby-birth-announcement

We're Having A..........

GIRL! 

Sadie Theresa Stanly

So after a very long time of waiting we are officially going to be the proud parents of a little girl! The doctors appointment was AMAZING! I'm pretty sure this was so far the second best day of my life (1st being marrying Ben).  When we got there I was getting so excited and anxious that I was pretty much giddy. My mid wife is seriously amazing and was so sweet when we we're checking the baby out it blew my mind how big she had gotten since the last time we saw her.

8 week ultrasound

20 week ultrasound

It was awesome hearing her heart beat as well. It was at 160 and she's a pretty active baby! It was so cool seeing her kick me to and move her arms! I think seeing her and how much she has developed as made me even more excited! She was a little on the small side but my mid wife said it's really nothing to worry about at this point and that she measured everything and it's all in proportion to her body. It doesn't really surprise me either because both me and Ben aren't very big people.  

I am so HAPPY that we are having a girl! She is going to be so cute, and my niece has decided that she is naming her Sass-a-frass.  Which will probably fit her perfectly if she is anything like her mother, she will definitely have some sass to her! 

We have already started gathering a lot of baby items including a bassinet, monitor, a few packages of diaper, enough baby lotion and shampoo to last us for a few months (I love buying bulk haha), nursing cream, diaper cream, and plenty of clothes.  I feel so prepared! I had a a dream the other week that she came early and our apartment was a construction site! And we couldn't find any of the things we've already had.  Let's just say that I was very stressed when I woke up.  I told Ben my dream and he just started laughing saying that the only thing a baby needs is love, diapers, and a boob.  If it was up to Ben we probably wouldn't have all this stuff already. But I can't help it! I'M A PLANNER! It all works out in the end though as long as she is happy.

Tasty Planner and Baby Names

We had a wonderful 4th of July we spent it with some of Ben's family that came up from Utah and had a yummy dinner and watched the fireworks.  Last weekend we went down to Idaho Falls to deliver some of Ben's 4G devices he sold people.  Work has Ben insane for him! But it's nice to have a little extra cash in the paychecks coming up :) One night he worked from about 1pm to 12am...in addition to getting paid hourly he made a commission of over $200 in one night!! WOWOO Way to go Ben! you just bought us a crib :) We actually have a list of things we will need to buy and a timeline so we don't get overwhelmed with everything.  My work has been good, busy, but stressful. My morning sickness is virtually gone so that has been very pleasant!

Because my morning sickness is gone I have really decided that we needed to start planning out our meals for the week.  We were spending so much money on groceries but I felt like we didn't have anything to show for it.  Thankfully we finally listened to the BILLION of people that told us we needed to go down to WinCo in Idaho Falls for grocery shopping.  I was very skeptical but I am completely converted.  WinCo is amazing! We literally got our groceries for two weeks for less then the cost of one week if we would have gotten them here in Rexburg.  It is definitely worth the 30 minute drive down there! So a little over a week ago I made a goal that I was going to plan out all of our meals for the week and make sure I make every one.  I am happy to say I DID IT!! Yes, Ben has been very well fed once again.  But it's seriously all thanks to Tasty Planner  I kept all my recipes there, they have a handy little planner so you can see your week, and get this once you add a recipe to the planner it automatically adds it to a grocery list for you.  So all I had to do edit it to take out the things that we already had.
Weekly Menu w/ links to all the recipes:
Saturday:  Chicken Supreme
Sunday:  Italian Chicken and Potatoes and Cookies and Cream Parfaits
Monday:  French Toast with bacon, eggs, and hash browns
Tuesday:  Penne all'arrabbiata and Garlic Bread
Thursday:  BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwiches and pasta salad

T MINUS 2 weeks and 3 days till we head on over to the Dr's and find out if we are going to be parents to a hilarious little boy or a cute baby girl! We have a list of 20 names, yea I know we are crazy.  But picking out a name is the funnest part.  I'm going to be keeping them a secret though until we are completely decided on one so ya'll are going to have to wait till we find out! :)