Update

Abby and I spent Memorial Weekend just where I wanted to be-at the pool. It was busy but fun was still had by us. Adam came with on Monday which was nice because I had a raging headache. Then we went to a BBQ at the Steers for what felt like just a moment because Adam wanted to get home and study for the MCAT, plus there was school the next day for young children.
So yep Adam took the MCAT on Tuesday. I'm really glad its over. So far he has only spent a little bit of Wednesday night at home and he just told me that he has to work tomorrow since he had Monday and Tuesday off. The other nights he spent at church. But it feels good that I can anticipate him to be home a little more often. Maybe. Or at least be a little less stressed. Maybe. He gets his scores in a month.
Abby is still wild. I've tried a lot of things to try and calm her down. Soothing music, telling her good things about her self, rewards for good behavior. Its come down to time out and losing privileges though. Time out has ended up being me holding her in time out. Every time. I just want the ear piercing screams at random to stop. If I could anticipate it that would be nice. It just seems like she is constantly destroying. I don't like it. Life is better when we are all happy and nice.
This week I hit 20 weeks. This pregnancy has been a lot different than with Abby. I had to buy maternity clothes this week. And wear them. I realized that I hate maternity clothes. I have a list of reasons why. 1)I can never tell if they fit or if they will continue to fit 2)Theoretically I will not be wearing them enough to justify spending enough money to buy the cuter nicer more expensive clothes that I like 3)They all make me look pregnant 4)They all come down to far in the front forcing me to wear 2 shirts when I am already hot plus its summer so I am even hotter 5)Everything is based on a tent, and it reminded me that I will be as big as the tent that I am wearing. There is more but you get the idea. I am still exercising. It is a solace but getting a little harder. I use a belly band when I run and that helps. For the last week my legs have been really sore even though I haven't increased my running or weights. I realized yesterday that it was because of the weight that I have gained. So I'll just stick it out. My goal is to workout 60 more times before I have the baby. We'll see how that goes. I have read a lot of stuff that says that it is worse to stop working out while you are pregnant than to never work out at all. Especially to stop working out toward the middle to end part or your pregnancy. So I feel pretty committed.
This little boy isn't nearly as active as Abigail was. Sometimes I am a little concerned because Abby constantly moved. I think also I don't have the same amount of time as I did with Abby to sit down and really concentrate or be still. I just feel like he is more mellow in general. I could be wrong or maybe just hopeful but I think that he will be more mild than Abby.

You will just have to read the post

WE

ARE

HAVING

A

BOY!!!

Church Bully

There's this person in my ward that I really do not like. I feel like they are always demeaning or defensive, and quite frankly rude. However, I'm sure it just boils down to personality differences. Anyway I happen to see this person more often than what I like. They turn up at play group and ofcourse they are active so I see them at church and other places. I always have the urge to just leave when they come. Today we just left. I tried to be nice but it was recieved harshly. It was close enough to the time that Abby and I had to come home anyway so we just left. This person is not a quiet person, so when they come around it feels like the demand attention from everyone. It's not like I could have a conversation with anyone else that does not include them. Because they are that kind of person. I don't know, it just bothered me today. I really tried to be nice and like I said they were not nice in return. This person has personally offended me before. However she seems to be nice to other people. It's like I have my own personal church bully. Yay.

Boy or Girl?

Tomorrow I find out if I am having a boy or a girl. For the record, because there is a small wager, I think that it might be a boy and Adam thinks that it may be a girl. Anybody else want to guess?

Well SInce you Asked...

On Sariah's blog William solicited help with an overactive Mary. Well since you asked...Abby is an active child as well. One thing has helped Abigail with any behavior issues and it's good for me too. Usually before she goes to sleep (either a nap or nighttime) I lay down and hold her and tell her of the things that she does well. I'm very specific. Like "You buckle your Sunday shoes so well, you really worked at it and now you can do it all by yourself!" or "You are so nice to your friends in Nursery, I saw you sharing a toy with Ethan." It's important to be specific I think. Also I keep going until she is asleep. I think that this gives her confidence and lets her know that I think she does a good job at a lot of things and that I know that she can do hard things. Like be good all the way through Sacrament meeting. It also reminds me of all of the amazing and wonderful things that she does. This helps me treat her like she is a good girl, becuase really she is, somedays I just need to say it out loud to recognize it.
Also for sacrament meeting I don't bring food or drinks at all anymore. I only bring the worlds most washable markers, a coloring book, and one reading book. When she is bored I try to have her sit on my lap and I try to explain to her what the speaker is saying. She's not perfect but she's getting a lot better.

Blab

Nothing terribly interesting has been going on in my life. Adam studies all of the time unless he is doing church stuff. One week and one day until the MCAT. We're all paid up and ready to go. So keep us in your prayers...I'm excited. Pressing shift five times in a row activates stick keys.
I read New Moon by Stephanie Meyer a few weeks ago. I severely neglected Adam and Abby. Ofcourse they were in on another's company. It was a fast and fun read. At the end of this book her writing style seemed repititive but I am still anxious to follow the story line. How, when and who will make Isabell a vampire? Will she decide she would rather be with Jacob? It took about a day to read it. Last year I had to put a limit on the number of books I could read in a year because I tend to stop doing anything else but read. So I decided on two, three if I really need it. This was my first book of the year. I am waiting for the end of my pregnancy to read the second one. Any suggestions?
Last month I didn't record what my new food was. I'm pretty sure that I tried one but I am not sure what it was. I still haven't made the Gnocci. I need to do that.

Garbage Men

Today is trash day. Coincidentally it is supposed to rain and not just a little bit. Our trashmen always throw the lids of our trash cans in our lawn so I stopped putting them on our trashcans when I put them out. So on days like today I feel kind of bad for trashmen. I can't think of a worse Texas day to pick trash up. The can is full of water and the trash is hot and decomposing and it must just be inevitable that you would get some of the icky trash water splashed or even poured onto you. What if some of it landed on your face or worse yet in your mouth? Not to mention how heavy it would be with water in it. I would be quite grouchy at the end of my day. And extra extra smelly.

comments

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So What is he up to these days?

I realized that there is a lot of back blogging regarding Adam. Squadam. I'm kind of grouchy so this probably isn't the best time to write this blog but I can't think of any other time to do it. Some of you know that Adam had a job at HSBC last April, as a loan lender. Fortunately he knew that it was not right for him and kept job hunting. He quit the last week of July and began working for Texas Oncology at a hospital in Arlington. His job title is cancer registrar. It includes a lot of stuff but he's not a secretary (that's what his job title makes it sound like). He helps stage cancer after it has been diagnosed, leads cancer conference meetings every week, abstracts, runs a clinical trial program... on and on and on. He does a lot of stuff. Just stuff. And a lot of it is boring to him. That's what he does during the day. About a month ago we were sitting in the doctor's office for my check up and he said "So I have a second job". That's how it went. He'd had it for about a week but this was the first time he had time to tell me. His second job is working for a doctor at the medical school he wants to go to assisting in research studies. Right now he is going through charts and trying to find different correlations regarding cancer (this patient and this patient both used birth control etc). Anyway this job is leading him to meet some of the bigwigs at the school giving him an inside edge when he applies to this medical school. He got this second job just a few weeks before the April MCAT was held and decided it would be best to hold of until May (Tuesday after memorial day) to take the MCAT. More schmoozing time, more studying time. Also he is still the executive secretary and spends Tuesday evenings and ALL of SUNDAY at church. So right now he goes to work, stops working but stays there and studies for 1-2 hours, comes home does some work. Watching tv on the internet and then goes to sleep and does it again. Saturdays he studies and does stuff for the Bishop. He has a pretty hectic schedule. Last weekend was our Anniversary. Adam got home from Minnesota on Friday but had agreed to volunteer as the Team Captain for Relay for Life. Funny thing how they didn't mention what all was involved. So he spent Friday - Saturday (the idea is that Cancer never sleeps) in arlington trying fund raise for the American Cancer Society. Yep. Got off the plane, repacked for the night, left. He got home around 5:30 am. Abby and I did the Mayfest so that he could sleep. He got up just in time to go to the priesthood session of Stake Conference. And then we were doing Stake Conference. It feels like things are piled up on each other. This weekend is Mothers Day, Josiah decided to come for a visit (this is an entirely different blog), Adam has the MCAT in 2 weeks...It's crazy. I'm a single mom with a paycheck.

Interesting Article

I recently found a website called www.babyfit.com and found this interesting article about weight-training http://babyfit.sparkpeople.com/articles.asp?id=708 It just talks about the benefits of weight training. I have had a hard time feeling motivated about weight training for the last year and a half or two. I used it to lose a lot of the initial weight after Abigail, until it became comfortable to run again. Then I always promised myself that I would be committed to it again. I do a few machines everytime I go to the gym and have a few hand weights and resistance bands at home but I have not been very consistent. Anyway this was a good article for me stumble on.

6 Things Everyone Should Accomplish By the Time They Are 18

My friend Alyssa tagged me months ago, like March. I think that this hit me kind of at a busy time. Also I reflected a lot about what I didn't know or had not accomplished by the time I was 18 and therefore also what I have not yet accomplished. I also thought of Abby and what I want her to accomplish by then. Here's my best shot at it, in no particular order.

#1 Everyone should know how to fill out basic forms. Fortunately this is one that I did know how to do but found working with the general public that most people struggle with. You should know how to fill out medical forms, including all of the information pertinent to yourself. You should be able to fill out a job application. You should be able to fill out a college application. You should be able to fill out a basic tax form.

#2 Everyone should understand basic finance ideas by this time. This one I did not know. But I was not alone. I remember, as may Alyssa, asking why I was paying extra for utilities. I didn't sign up for that I said. Ha ha. I had no idea what they were. I am not sure if this was because I received the information and filed it in the not pertinent to me right now file or if I never received the information. I also had no idea how to communicate with my bank or how to keep records of my finances. Another big doosie: I had no idea how interest in my credit card worked, non the less fees.

#3 Everyone should have a religious experience by 18. It's hard for me to say that everyone should be attending a decided upon religion or practicing a decided religion by 18. I do think that everyone should have an idea of what religion is and why it is so important to people. With this idea I guess that I want people to be respectful and tolerant of mainstream religions (I say mainstream because I don't think we should be tolerant of abusive sects ie David Koresh or the current FLDS crisis). By 18 you should know to be observant of others deeply held beliefs and show respect. I also think that by this age it is important for people to have started exploring what their own beliefs are.

#4 Everyone should have succesfully participated on a team or group striving for the same goal. This could be a sports team, student council, a youth group doing a service project. I'm not talking about an assigned school project that takes 1-2 meetings. I am talking about something more long term where the individual is invested in the results. These experiences are important to learn how to operate in a group. It also exploits our strenghts and weaknesses. Admittedley I hated group projects, it never seemed fair that my grade depended on others. However, I do think it has real world application. As much as I might dislike that the success of the project depended on other people this is true in work settings and community settings.

#5 Everyone should have engaged in an activity that increased their confidence, something hard that taught them how to cope with hard things and that they can do hard things. Also this activity should inspire them to continue working towards a goal. For me this was cross country. I made a goal at the beginning of my senior year that I would never miss a day of cross country. I succeeded with benefits that are still lasting today. I know that I can do hard things. I know how I cope with the ups and downs of adversity. I also made goals after the season was over to always be able to run a mile in 10 minutes. This has been true for most of the 10 years since I made that goal. It is true right now.

#6 Everyone should have participated in some form of community service/program that supports the community. This hopefully will become a lifetime pursuit. For me I really like to live in communities that have a strong community center. Orem, UT had a really good community, both rec center and library. Bountiful had also had really strong programs. The one that I have been most involved in however is Hurst. I truly have a strong love of Hurst because of the community programs. I also love to support the different local causes through running 5k's that support the community. I think that there are a variety of ways to support local community and that individuals should be aware not only of what some of them are but seek out the ways that they will enjoy and continue.

Politics

A few months ago Becca and I were talking about how something like this http://politics.nytimes.com/election-guide/2008/issues/economy.html would be helpful. Anyway I glanced over it and it seemed helpful.

Hypermiling

Since I am a stay at home mom and can schedule most of my activities at my leisure I have started practicing hypermiling. A big part of this is driving slowly. Once I looked at this as a challenge it became easier. I really pay attention to how often I push the gas pedal and how far up my rpm goes (hopefully never over a 2). Also as soon as I park I turn the engine off and never start it before I am completely ready to go. But accelerating slowly and not using anymore gas at a red light or going 25 mph or slower down the hill to mom and dad's house (I can make it about a mile from either direction without gas to home) really makes people mad. I drive as far on the right as I can in case anyone wants to try and pass me. Anyway I read this article http://amasci.com/amateur/traffic/trafexp.html about driving in traffic. I do almost no highway driving so I don't know how well this works but I will try it next time. Also here is a website that give a basic understanding of hypermiling http://www.hypermiling.com/.

Too Long

It has been a long time since I last posted a blog, and not because there hasn't been anything to blog about. On Tuesday Rebecca and I had the opportunity to leave our babies behind and go to the temple. It was really nice. It was the only peace I think that I have felt all week. Also while we were in the session I think that I felt the baby kick. Pretty cool. My friend Aaron and Katherine had their baby early Wednesday morning. Aaron had flown back to Washington with his army unit to wait for their call to go to Afghanistan. Five minutes after he got off the plane Katherine called and said that she was in labor. Luckily Aaron's commander was compassionate and told him to go back home until Thursday night. So he was able to greet his little daughter before he goes. Adam is out of town on a business trip for job #1. I have a race on Saturday. I should clarify what racing consists of at this point. It doesn't consist of putting the baby in danger, like a lot of people think, it does consist of staying motivated and excited about working out. It really helps me want to keep working out. And you get free stuff too. Okay not free stuff but you get some cool stuff. Abby is obsessed with Ni Hao Kai Lan. Loves it. A lot. I'm glad. That's how I was able to write this blog.