Service

This was one of my favorite parts of the holiday season! Every year our family and friends get together to serve some of the less fortunate in the community. We collect as much clothes and toys as possible and head down to Mound Fort Middle School to sort all the goodies and give them to the needy. Days like this make me fortunate for how much we really have.

Isn't he the cutest?

Highly emotional pregnant moment #753...and #754

#753 - I’m not quite sure when I cried harder, at dinner or after. The crying started when my aunt Meri asked me how work was and before I could even attempt an answer the tears were streaming. I guess she didn’t need an explanation at that point anyway. Dramatic, I know. I couldn’t hide the river flowing over my cheeks as my mind filled with all the things on my to-do list and the hours of correcting I had before parent teacher conferences the next day. Teaching English is overwhelming, so I just cried.

At this point most people would have responded with a simple, “that sucks Mitzi” and maybe even felt bad for me for a minute and went on their way, but that’s not my family. Instead, they all jumped up and started helping out.

After I got home that night I was thinking about my sister, husband, and aunt sitting there on the front room floor with their red pens in hand and I was so overwhelmed with gratitude. The tears started streaming once more and just the thought of my family's love for me brought me to my highly emotional pregnant moment #754.

What happened to me?

Meet my picture-less blog. The funny thing is that I love pictures. When did I become one of those crappy bloggers that never posts any pictures? Well, here goes a little catching up. Let's take it all the way back to our amazing trip to Hawaii in October with Lisa, Brian, Dax, and Kami...

Halloween

Thanksgiving

and just a few random ones for fun, well not necessarily that much fun for me. Want to know ackward? Try taking a picture of only you just standing there. Anyway, here is my fat progression.

Go ahead, laugh it up. I know your just jealous you aren't getting fatter everyday too!

Necklaces!

A little while ago Kami and I decided we were going to make these necklaces for ourselves. Maybe it was just her ravishing neckline, but when Kami wore hers people asked where they could buy one. So we thought to ourselves, “why not sell them?” So that is exactly what we are doing.

$30.00

We could do almost any name or saying that you'd want, as long as it fits. If you don't want names or a tree, here are a few short sayings you could use that are kind of cute:
· Life is beautiful
· Carpe diem (or "seize the day")
· Love, dream, hope
· Cherish the journey
· Be true to yourself
· Blessed beyond measure
· Love with your whole heart

We could do other shapes like this too, but it might take a couple weeks to order the metal and finish them. We have little stamps now that would probably fit a name on the small tag.

This one is available, but out of stock for a few weeks! It will be $35 when it get's back in!

If you want one (or five) let us know early so we can make them before Christmas comes around. You can e-mail me at mitziray@yahoo.com or kami at kami_nels@hotmail.com or just give us a call.

The birthday bash ends

Birthdays are awesome. Birthdays are even more awesome when they are stretched out over a week and filled with parties.

It seems like every year I get spoiled on my birthday. This year was no exception. My husband is actually a pretty good shopper and got me an outfit complete with a purse, shoes, and everything. The fam gave me some money (that I plan to splurge on fat clothes) a bunch of baby stuff, a hat, a bracelet, a pedicure gift certificate, and Chris’ family even made me the coveted Udarbe slush for Sunday dinner. I’ll give you the recipe as long as you promise to bring me some whenever you make it.

Slush

1 46 oz can pineapple juice

6 oz frozen lemonade concentrate

6 oz frozen orange juice concentrate

5 large bananas, mashed

6 C water

3C sugar

apple juice or 7-up

In a large saucepan, cook water & sugar together until sugar is melted. Add juices & fruit; stir to blend; freeze in containers (not too deep) at least a day before serving. To serve, remove from freezer & let thaw slightly. Combine with equal parts of apple juice or 7-up.

One of the things I look forward to the most is birthday time at my aunt Meri’s. I love just being at her house. Last night I walked in and the smell of delicious food hit me before we even got through the front door. I love the noise of all the family gathered in her kitchen. I feel like it’s my other other home. You know, it’s the place you miss if you don’t visit often. It’s the place that holds so many of our family memories.

My aunt Meri always goes above and beyond at birthday time. This year I got made-from-scratch cinnamon rolls that were to die for. She even sent a pan of them home with me that is just waiting for me to devour. It's always a burden choosing what I want for my birthday dinner, but this year Meri outdid herself with the best ham dinner ever. My dad made gravy that seriously tastes like candy.

I can’t even tell you how loved I have felt this last week. Thanks everyone for being so thoughtful!

Kicking

To a professional NFL punter, it means his career. To a toddler, it means a timeout. To me, it means life.

That’s right, I think I can officially say I finally felt a little kicker in there.

Anytime that I thought I could feel our little baby fluttering around this last week, I’d quickly talk myself out of it. It’s easy to blame the very little movement that I was feeling on my imagination or just my lunch digesting. I wanted to feel him so bad, but the hardest was Tuesday when I could actually see him doing flips on the ultrasound machine and couldn’t feel a dang thing.

But then it happened.

So there I was sitting at my desk before school started and just like that I felt a little flick in my lower abdomen. Could it really have been him? I sat there waiting for any other sign to tell me it wasn’t a fluke. The flutters continued to come and go sporadically, so yep, I think it's safe to say I felt him kick, or at least wiggle really hard.

I was already pretty excited at this point, but that obviously wasn't enough for our little over achiever. After our dodgeball game (tear, I’m going to miss it for a while) I could have sworn he was holding a little powwow in there. He was probably pissed I had been shaking him around to run after little rubber balls (don’t worry, it sounds ridiculous to me too) and this was his chance to get me back. Little does he know that I loved every second of his dance dance revolution and I’ve actually been contemplating trying cartwheels to get him to do it again.

Week 19- already a worried mom

With every doctor’s appointment that comes, you can pretty much bet the same routine will happen time and time again. Days or even weeks before the appointment, I start to get nervous and worried that we might get bad news. I make myself sick thinking about all the possibilities that could go wrong. Without fail, I promise Chris that I’ll be less worried after the next appointment and Chris always reassures me that everything is fine. I swore to him that I’d feel better after the first appointment, then it changed to three months, then it moved to four, now it’s lengthened to "after the big ultrasound” and when the baby could possibly be able to survive by himself.

Who am I trying to kid? Nothing is ever going to change. I know I’ll worry about him even after he is born when I’m snuggling him in my arms. I’ll worry after leaving him with someone else or when I watch him walk into school for the first time. I’ll worry as he grows, makes friends, and faces trials. That's what moms do, they worry. I'm just getting a good start.

So when the hospital called and offered me a free ultrasound this Thursday just for letting them probe me and look at the size of my cervix, of course I agreed. I know it is silly because I get ultrasounds every 4 weeks, but I can't pass up another chance to see my little guy and feel a little more relieved he’s okay. Plus, how many people get the opportunity to measure their cervix? You know you're jealous.

We have three appointments in the next five weeks, so hopefully we can get at least one good picture that we can actually tell what we are looking at.

Thanks Katie!

Did anyone read that comment? Katie is going to give all of us 20% off any purchase at Puj until April. She found my soft spot, a discount. I want one of their slings too!

Okay, I'll cooperate

For those of you guys who gave me a little tag.
8 THINGS...

8 TV SHOWS I LIKE TO WATCH
This is way too easy for me!

1. Grey's Anatomy
2. Private Practice
3. The Bachelor (ette)
4. Desperate Housewives
5. Survivor
6. Big Brother
7. Lost
8. Gossip Girl

8 FAVORITE RESTAURANTS
1. Olive Garden
2. Outback
3. Chilli’s – have you ever had their molten chocolate cake?
4. My aunt Meri’s. Well, she should have a restaurant!
5. Sizzler
6. The Timbermine

I can only think of 6, so can I choose some of my least favorite to balance it out?
1. Wingers. I swear they hate me at all Wingers because I always get a crappy meal that looks like leftover remenents from a few days ago.

2. TGI Fridays
3. Subway

4. Quizno’s

8 THINGS THAT HAPPENED YESTERDAY
1. I actually slept in past 5:30!

2. I had lunch with Chris. I can't remember the last time we did this.
3. I played with Navie and Ridge all day long, I just love them!
4. Kami took pictures of my cousins and second cousins, so I tagged along.
5. I also went to the fabric store with Kam to find little boy fabric, no such luck.
6. After the fabric store we met Chris and Dax at Cafe Rio for dinner.

7. I bought a diaper bag off of E-bay.

8. We talked a while in bed before finally falling asleep.

8 THINGS I LOOK FORWARD TO
1. Having a healthy baby boy (and our next appointment on Tuesday).

2. Being organized.
3. Making things for the baby. Even though this isn’t real fabric, maybe I could find something funky like this.

4. Actually having a real house one day (then I could have a nursery that looks like this).

5. The day Chris can finally tell his boss he quits!
6. My birthday, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.

7. Making Chris finish reading Breaking Dawn with me.

8. Did I say a healthy baby yet?

8 THINGS ON MY WISH LIST
I wish…
1. For my principal to let me go part time (he didn’t sound like it was going to happen). I don’t want to find another part time position somewhere else! I'd have a crappy “first year lesson planning” experience again and I'd really miss all my friends at my job.
2. For this puj tub for our baby. Our condo really is pretty nice for us, but the thought of bathing a new baby in a 30+ year old bathtub makes me shiver! I’ll never buy it though, it’s pricey, but it's foam that folds up into a little sheet and can fit in any sink snuggly around little junior. You can read more about it here.

3. For clothes and cute shoes that I can wear with socks.
4. For a crib, car seat, stroller, nursery stuff, etc.
5. For Chris to finish Biochemistry and burn his textbook.
6. To feel the baby move.
7. For a fully decorated house. I got some funky frames from Hobby Lobby a while ago to arrange on my wall and still haven’t done it.
8. I have so many things. I guess I wish for a lot. Can I add them all on the eighth line and count it as one? I wish I didn’t have to stop playing dodgeball. I wish I had more time to scrapbook, craft, and make jewelry. I wish I could get my lesson plans organized in my binders again and ready for a long term sub. I wish I could actually make dinner every night…

.

Who else wants to do this tag? Please do!

Week 17

I stood in the shower yesterday unable to look away from my ever-so-protruding bump. My eyes tricked me into thinking I could see my belly growing with every breath I’d take in and out. It’s like I just woke up and wah-lah, a small cargo where my stomach used to be. Just like that, there’s no easing into it. I’ll either have to buy new pants or not complain when my “lack of circulation line” leaves a perma red tattoo around my muffin top. I stare in awe and can’t stop wondering how there could actually be life in my newly found bump.

Kami bought the baby the cutest little shoes the other day. They are brown plaid and so cute that I plan on leaving them on my side table until the day he arrives. Chris’ family also bought our little man something too. It’s a tiny red sox bat with a little note that said, “It’s never too early to be a Red Sox fan." These guys are so thoughtful. I haven’t even got him anything yet. Shopping is normally my thing too. I should be all over it, but I guess my mind has been elsewhere lately. Sometimes when people ask me about being pregnant it takes me a second to remember he’s really in there.

Work has been engulfing every last brain cell I have available. I only slept an hour last night because I had to submit grades today. Normally I would blame my procrastination, but this time it just took so freaking long to read all the papers. I’ve probably got a good 35 hours of correcting in this last week myself, plus Chris and Kami’s help. If you were ever considering being an English teacher, join the circus or wash toilets instead. Besides a few minor breakdowns, I survived and it’s all just a bad dream now.

I did tell my kids at school the news though. Since my classes are 90% boys, I got some interesting remarks back. “What happens in Hawaii doesn’t stay in Hawaii, does it Mrs. Torgersen?” a short boy in the front row chuckled. “Mrs. T, you’re p…the p word?” I heard another boy ask in a very serious tone as if I just told him I had cancer or something. A lot of the kids were surprisingly mad that I kept this secret from them for these last few months. I think my favorite though was a fairly shy kid who I could see squirming with delight as he said, “So, we actually get to watch you get fat…cool!” Oh boys!

I love these...

I keep saving these pictures over and over in my google reader account. I can't let them go. I look at them and I just get happy. Yesterday Kami asked me what blogs I look at, so I think I'll share some of them so you can love them too.

This picture reminds me of my childhood. My dad would make us ebelkivers and suzies on weekend mornings. My mouth waters just looking at them. This picture came from A Little Sussy . She is a photographer and chef!
When she posted these cute crafts, I put them on my "if I only had time, I would make these" list.

Whenever I get a post from Tangle and True, my adrenaline picks up a little. They alway have the cutest kids stuff. I guess I can be into that now without it being wierd. They also do a bunch of awesome randomness. A mobile, family tree picture, robot cupcakes, and homemade samoas all on the same blog! Love them!

Here are some good ones from Design Mom.

On to photography. Julie Parker's blog is one of my sister and my favorites to look at. She also takes the pictures for one of our favorite baby stores ever, Little Cherry Blossoms on 25th street.

This picture gets me excited for a little boy!

Now I shared all my favorites, let me know what blogs you like.

I got the best deal ever!

Before we left for Hawaii I took some pictures of Breklyn's kids, Ivie and Zander. It really wasn't a big deal at all, in fact it was pretty fun. In return, Brek said she would make me a rug. She actually looms them herself and they are incredible! She just finished one for her sister that I seriously wanted to steal. If I picked what colors to use, it'd be so cute in the baby's room.

The funny part is that when she offered, she hadn't even seen the pictures yet. Maybe when she sees them she'll change her mind and offer a washcloth instead. I definitely got the better end of this trade because the rugs take forever to make and her kids are adorable!