Thursday, April 30, 2009

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

birth book nerd

On shelfari I saw the term "birth book nerd." I am one.

When I was pregnant in 2006 I enjoyed, and I recommend, and . As I mentioned before, I read this recently. Then I bought and started reading this and plan on reading this after that. I wish more women knew their options. I wish they could be told all about the risks, not just the benefit, of an epidural.

My list of blogs I've found {probably as I google-searched VBAC} relating to childbirth includes these. Check them out by clicking on the links below.
It is so nice to watch a video of a calm birth like this one (fyi, she is nude at the end) -- instead of one that involves a screaming, lying-in-bed mom. I have very little experience with this and I don't know everything. I haven't pushed out a baby; I ended up with a c-section. Yes, there are complications and true emergencies when it comes to birth. However, I believe that 'Your body knew how to grow the baby, your body knows how to get the baby out.' [from Giving Birth: A Journey into the World of Mothers and Midwives by Catherine Taylor] I also think that the U.S. should learn some things from other countries that have better outcomes for mothers and babies. There are better ways to do things! Anyway, that's enough for today. . .

Sunday, April 26, 2009

Scripture Sunday

I couldn't decide between two different topics today, so I am sharing both.

1) "be content"

Last week I learned some things in our Sunday School lesson on the law of consecration. One verse we read was Doctrine and Covenants 42:32.
And it shall come to pass, that after they are laid before the bishop of my church, and after that he has received these testimonies concerning the consecration of the properties of my church, that they cannot be taken from the church, agreeable to my commandments, every man shall be made accountable unto me, a steward over his own property, or that which he has received by consecration, as much as is sufficient for himself and family.

This verse, Hebrews 13:5 , wasn't in the lesson but I found it afterward:
Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.

During the lesson the Spirit taught me to beware of pride. The purpose of this law and of our lives it to love and serve others. Consecrating helps us be humble instead of prideful. Pride is self-centered; "these are my things." Humility is a recognition that all things come from God and we are accountable to Him. It is sharing, looking outside of ourselves and just our own families, and doing what we can to help those who are less fortunate. Everybody can choose to be content with what they have right now. We're so blessed.

* * * * * * *
2) "for the joy"

A member of the Seventy spoke to our stake this morning and had wonderful things to say. The Spirit was there. The speaker said, "God did not send us here to start living the gospel; He sent us here to keep living the gospel." To paraphrase, he talked about life as a race that we have not finished yet. We each need to ask ourselves (and ask Heavenly Father) whether we are doing the right thing with our life. I looked up the verse he quoted part of, and I like the verse after it also. I recognized the second verse but didn't remember the "for the joy" part of it. Beautiful.

Hebrews 12:1-2
Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,
Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Thursday, April 23, 2009

reading (next) to Baby Lily

On a day this month when she really wanted to keep her jammies on instead of wearing clothes (now she often chooses a dress):




*******
P.S. two things:
1) I'm working on {as in, going to start soon ;)} the homemade gifts for you 4 who commented.
2) Please vote in my poll -- the more votes, the better.

Thursday, April 16, 2009

3/4 done

*Vote in my poll if you haven't yet! It's on the side bar to the right*

23.5 weeks:


25 weeks:


28 weeks:



29 weeks:



30 weeks, self-portrait:


I am uncomfortable or tired or have lower back pain more often now, so I'm glad the end is drawing near (although I do like feeling all of the baby's movements). Plus, when the pregnancy is over we can hold and get to know this little person! So far I have gained about 16 pounds, and our son or daughter is currently the size of a squash. {This is from a website called the bump, but I copied the idea from Becky L.'s blog.}

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Easter

Last Thursday we had lunch at Chick-fil-A with my sister, her friend, and our former Young Women leaders. The place was packed, and the kids' play area was fun. We went to my sister's to meet her new kitty. That night we went to Grandpa and Grandma S's where Shboogoo's two oldest cousins were also visiting.







The night before Easter the little girls (and their moms) dyed 17 eggs. I created the polka-dot one by sticking scrapbooking dimensionals on the egg and then removing them after I dyed it green.





Easter morning festivities:




(Mommy and Daddy gave her this book.)




After church our girl's pigtail still looked adorable (thanks for teaching me how to do this, Grandma Noni):

Two more family members and three friends joined us to eat the dinner my husband's parents made. Noni's deviled eggs are the best. We also ate steak, green bean casserole, and mashed potatoes, with banana cream pudding for dessert.




Grandma Nene, this video is for you (there is more I can show you later). Shboogoo loved the gifts from Nana and Grandma/Grandpa S, too.



Sunday, April 12, 2009

we're even more than four and a half . . .

we're five! (Click on the word "five" if you don't know what song I just paraphrased. That part comes at about 1:20.)


Last week my husband and I celebrated five years of marriage! We were in California without our two-year-old from April 3rd through 5th; then his unit had to go back and I flew home. The two of us had a really good Korean dinner that Saturday night. It was so nice to be together, and it was fun to meet new people and hang out with the other wives. I gave him the card I made him (the picture above shows part of the inside).

front:

back:

Us, still in love.
Several couples took pictures in this spot outside the hotel on the last day. It was warm and sunny.

Friday, April 3, 2009

Singing the Alphabet Song and I Am a Child of God

{This Flip and its software sure are easy to use!}


i am

failing to grab the lemon pepper
and questioned by a six year old . . .
jumping for the olive oil . . .
opening the step stool again . . .
about seven inches below him . . .
short.


{poem by manda, april 2, 2009}

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

April Fooled!

In the past I have wanted to do April Fool's pranks but couldn't think of anything. And I'm not very good at lying. Well, last night I heard this great idea from a neighbor, decided to do it, and had a lot of fun! I make dinner for everyone (my in-laws, their two daughters, my daughter and me) every Wednesday night anyway, so this was perfect. I had them stay away from the kitchen because dinner was going to be a surprise. I made meatloaf with ground turkey, baked it in a metal cupcake pan, and made instant mashed potatoes. Before serving the "cupcakes" (meatloaf) I put the mashed potatoes into bowls and added food coloring so we had what looked like pink frosting and blue frosting. When we were ready to eat I said, "Because it's April Fool's Day we're having dessert first. Take a bite and tell me what kind of cupcake you think this is." Nobody tried to guess, but it was obvious they were eating real food and I could tell they liked it. I said, "April Fool's!" and told them what the meal was. Since I doubled the recipe we ended up with leftovers; it made about 20 cupcakes. (Our side dishes were thawed mixed berries and romaine lettuce with snap peas.)

Then I called my mom. Before telling her about the funny dinner I fooled her; she was completely convinced. :) I said I was calling about this weekend, which is when she is going to watch Shboogoo while I get to go see my husband for three days. (The Army is paying for both the soldiers and their spouses to fly to another state. Part of the time we have to listen to deployment info that we probably already know, but the rest of the time will be fun.) She had a question about when I was going to be leaving, and I said -- trying to sound sad -- that actually the Army cancelled the whole thing. I said I didn't really understand it, but they needed the time for their unit's training. My mom said something like, "That's terrible!" I let her go on feeling sorry for us for a minute, and then told her, "April Fool's!"