Ten Years Ago, We Got Engaged

Written 4/11/2007

What I'm sure you are all dying to know is how'd he do it?

Let me back up to Friday. Friday we went down to Houston to celebrate Good Friday at Cirque du Soleil's Corteo with my parents. It was fantastic, by the way.  We bought tickets for that months and months ago, acknowledging that the following day would mark a year and a half since our first date, but we didn't really care. I didn't think it'd make any difference whether we spent it in Houston or Austin. But, as the date got closer, I kept asking Henry what he wanted to do for our semi-anniversary and he said he'd like to do something in Austin. That made it easier on me because I was scheduled to work and driving back on Saturday would mean I wouldn't have to find someone to take my shift.

So, that's what we did. We drove back to Austin on Saturday morning, and I went to work at 1. After I got off work at 6 we were both hungry and I was craving Madam Mam's fried rice, so we went there and got some. Now that I think about it, he kept trying to persuade me to cook something at my apartment instead of going out, and I wonder if I messed up part of his surprise...hmm. I'll have to ask. Anyway, it was getting close to 8 o'clock by the time we left the restaurant and here I was still in my work clothes. I began to wonder if we were really going to do anything special at all, or if we'd just go watch a movie or something.

Then we got back to my apartment and he told me to wait in the living room while he did something in my bedroom. A few minutes passed and he told me to go look. There sitting on my desk were purple hydrangeas and a card. The card was sooo sweet! It said all of these mushy things that I'll spare you on and then at the very end it said, "Put something nice on I want to take you somewhere special...."

So after some hemming and hawing over what to wear, because believe it or not it was like 34° F outside and really rainy! he took me down to the car and blindfolded me (my idea because I wanted to add to the surprise as much as possible) and took me to the secret location. It was so funny because even after multiple turns somehow I still figured out that we were on Congress, so then he tried to mix me up by driving in circles through parking lots and through neighborhoods. Even after all this, I still guessed that we were on Congress and I was right!

Anyway, once we arrived at the place and got out of the car I tried to walk along with my blindfold on, but because I was afraid of tripping over something, I was walking at tortoise speed. Henry picked me up and carried me on his back to the place and when we got up there he put me down and told me I could open my eyes. I did and I saw a park bench and not much else because I was blind! Henry had forgotten my glasses in the car!

So he said, "Be right back," and ran back to the car. Then of course when he tried to put them on me he missed and put the arms in my ears. It was so cute.

Once I could see again I was still a little disoriented and I think I asked him where we were. Then I turned around and I could see the buildings of St. Edward's University, the place where we had our first date. We were at the top of a hill that had a great view of downtown Austin. It was pretty. I just couldn't enjoy it too much because it was so dang cold!

I think we were standing there for all of 30 seconds when he dropped down on one knee (onto the wet ground! what a trooper!) and asked if I'd marry him. I said yes, he asked which finger he was supposed to put the ring on, we hugged and then I ran back to the car. haha. Now he likes to tell people that I ran away with his ring when they ask if I said yes.

It was sweet and simple and definitely memorable! Henry was kind of upset about the weather and things not going quite like he'd planned. He asked me, "what does that say about our relationship?" My reply:  "It can weather any storm."  

E's Birth - Part Two

Originally written on October 9, 2014. 

Our E boy is 2 weeks old today, so I think it's definitely time to finish up his birth story. Is it just me or is it long?! I have been working on it for over a week. Everything seems to be moving in slow motion...

They took me back to the L&D room, I changed into a hospital gown, and they hooked me up to the monitors. Not much else happened before Henry arrived. It seemed to me like he got there really fast considering it was late in the afternoon. I was surprised and thankful he arrived so quickly. He caught me up on Elle's whereabouts; we were taking dinner to some of our friends that night and they offered to keep Elle until Henry's mom could come from San Antonio. She also arrived much quicker than I expected. Tender mercies.

The nurse did all of the fun stuff they do to get you set up at the hospital: insert an IV (took 2 tries because my first vein blew), ask a bunch of medical hx questions, initial your life away, etc. Shortly after 6 PM, Dr. Loar came in and introduced herself while we were midway through this process. She seemed eager to get the show on the road. She asked me if I had a birth plan. Ha! I'd jotted down some wishes in my planner minutes before: primarily, I wanted to do it without an epidural, and I wanted to let the cord finish pulsing before clamping. 

At 6:25 she did an internal check and broke my water. I couldn't believe it when she said I was 8 cm dilated and 100% effaced! I'd progressed 3 cm since my doctor's appointment 3 hrs earlier! I asked Dr. Loar about the baby's station, and she told me he was super low. She said I should be fine without the epidural and could probably push the baby out in "two pushes" (wrong, but that's ok).

There was lots and lots of amniotic fluid. Every time I'd shift in the bed, more would gush out. I stayed on the bed for a little while without much else happening. In fact, the nurse was still rushing to complete the intake paperwork after my water was broken, and I was still comfortably answering her litany of questions. But almost as soon as she left the room to gather whatever instruments they round up for delivery, my contractions got REAL. They were INTENSE, but also shorter than I remember them being when I was on pitocin with Elle. 30-40 secs in duration with a rest in between. I was so, so grateful they weren't any longer.

So at this point laboring becomes a blur. Details get fuzzy when you feel like your bottom is going to fall out. But... I labored in the bathroom. I labored in a chair. I labored with a Breathe Right strip strapped to my face because I went into this party congested. I labored with a ladybug massager vibrating on my lower back and Henry at my side. He did a good job again of helping me keep my breathing as steady and as calm as it could be given the circumstances.

I also had "Hypnosis for Birth-Empowering Yourself" blasting in my earbuds. This is something I wanted to try this go round, and my friend gave me the CD at my baby shower. Let me tell you, I was NOT hypnotized during his birth, but the woman on the CD had a soothing voice and maybe the affirmations helped me stay somewhat calm? I used the affirmations of "surrender," "once a contraction is over it'll never come again," "every contraction brings me closer to meeting my baby," and "my body is doing the work it needs to do." More power to you if this really, really works for you, but I'm not 100% sold. 

One other new thing I tried this labor was having Henry sway my thighs from side to side during the contraction. It's also difficult to say if this was super helpful, but I think in the beginning it felt like a way to counteract the pressure.

Around 7:50 I climbed up on the bed between contractions because I felt like I might be transitioning (read: I was having crazy painful contractions and starting to feel like I couldn't take many more). Basically, I wanted the doctor or nurse to check me and tell me I was ready to push. Dr. Loar came in with surprising speed and said I was 9 3/4 with the slightest lip on the cervix. She then said words that killed me: "You'll probably be ready to push in 15-20 minutes." Nooo! I did not want to endure those contractions for another 15-20 minutes; I wanted a way to fight back right then! 

Luckily for me, it didn't take that long. Ten minutes later I had the urge to push, and it was STRONG. I don't remember feeling that way with Elle. With her birth, I just got to the transition stage where I felt like maybe I really, really needed that epidural after all, and then the nurse told me I was fully dilated and could push. This time they told me I could push with the contraction or between contractions if I felt the urge. 

Dr. Loar returned. She told me to take a deep breath and hold it in while I pushed. It took a couple tries because holy pain! But eventually I calmed down enough to coordinate my breathing and my pushing. Within 20 minutes, what felt like several rings of fire, an estimated 8-10 pushes (really I have no idea how many times I pushed because I just did what needed to be done to get.him.OUT), and screeching from me, our little E was born at 8:18 pm. He weighed 7 lbs 7 oz, a full pound and 3 oz more than his sister. 

E didn't cry right away. He also had an EKG on our last day in the hospital because his resting heart rate was low. I'd say he's a pretty mellow little guy. Thankfully he has checked out to be healthy in every way. It just takes a little effort to get a rise out of him. ;) 

After they got some good cries out of him, I was able to hold him skin-to-skin and breastfeed him. It wasn't exactly a butterflies and rainbows bonding moment for me because...stitches (ouch). After that was done though, then the real bonding could begin. My first thoughts about E were that he looked like Elle did at a week old but with no eyelashes or eyebrows! (Upon later inspection, they're just very blonde. He does have hair.) and his nose might be bigger. He is a handsome little guy with the softest skin. I forgot how deliciously soft baby skin is. I could rub his head all day, but I probably shouldn't. 

Henry cut the cord this time. We didn't talk about if he'd do it or not, but he said he felt pressured by the hospital staff. I have no recollection of that whatsoever. Must've been distracted...it probably didn't help that I felt super shaky after the delivery. I felt so shaky for so long after the delivery that I was worried something was wrong, but no one seemed concerned. Adrenaline I guess? 

Right after E was born, I wrote, "I forgot how crazy that whole 'birth without pain meds' thing is. Wow, our bodies are amazing. I also can't believe I have a SON! And he's on the outside now. Phew! Not gonna lie, I was pretty uncomfortable the last week or two. Glad the pregnancy is done." 

And just like that, our lives are changed forever. We love our little boy so much.

E's Birth - Part One

So. It's been awhile. I had a baby 2 1/2 months ago. He's a precious, snuggly baby boy. I'll be ordering a printed copy of my pregnancy journal soon, so tonight I sat down to finally edit the birth story I pieced together in the middle of the night in those early weeks at home. I love reading birth stories, so I thought I'd share. First draft completed on October 6th.

Henry and I both had our suspicions that we'd have the baby before the end of the week (September 27th). Henry actually told his supervisor he needed to have his performance appraisal completed by Thursday (the day E was born) because he felt so strongly that he wouldn't be at work on Friday. It had been 10 days since my last appointment when they'd declared me still 3 cm dilated, and judging by a couple successions of good, steady contractions, I was pretty sure I was more dilated. My guess was that I was probably at a 5 based on how I progressed with Elle.

Normally I have free time on Thursday mornings because my SIL watches Elle for a few hours, but on the Thursday E was born, she and her kids were sick with a stomach bug. We decided we definitely didn't want to risk catching that, so Elle stayed with me that day.

On Wednesday night I'd been disappointed that I wouldn't have the chance to get a pedicure before my doctor's appointment (my feet were really gross and I wanted some R&R!), but things turned out for the best because I got something better: one last morning running errands with my girl as an only child. Looking back, I wouldn't trade that experience. We went to Ulta where she unzipped kits and caboodles and eyed the nail polish colors, and I quickly picked up more foundation. Then we walked around JCPenney just to get Shopkick points. She enjoyed seeing all the mannequins, touching some of the kiddo-sized ones. She made more than one salesperson smile by loudly and excitedly declaring "they're naked!" as we walked by the mannequins in bras and panties. She thought it was so cool that their underwear matched. And she loved looking at all of the character costumes in their children's department. 

We went to Target after. She was perfectly well-behaved even when we had to cut our walk down the toy aisle short, and I wouldn't bend down to pick up large toys from lower shelves. She charmed me that morning, and since I've felt a bit disconnected from her following E's birth, I'm relying on that memory to let me know that things will be ok again.

My OB appt was scheduled for 3 o'clock that afternoon, and Henry planned to come home at 2 o'clock to watch Elle. Elle and I had lunch at home and passed the time until Henry arrived by reading books and doing some low energy (for me) activities. I remember parking myself on the floor of her room, feeling like a beached whale, as she made "lily pads" by spreading blankets, lots and lots of blankets, around her room. Whatever to keep her occupied at that point.

I tried to catch 10 mins of shut eye before leaving for my appointment, but I wouldn't exactly call it "beneficial rest." Off I went, grabbing my hospital bags as I headed out the door, just at the off chance of induction.

My doctor came in to examine me around 3:30 PM. She said I was 5 cm dilated and asked if I was having contractions. I said yes, that I'd just started tracking them for the last 35 minutes, but they seemed to be 5-10 minutes apart. She asked if the contractions were painful. I said no, but they were just uncomfortable enough to make me take notice. At that point we must've discussed the option of going to the hospital for observation. At first she left it open to me, but then what I clearly remember her saying next is "where do you live?" "South Austin." "Ok, I do care. I don't want you going home. From how comfortable you are, I don't think you're in active labor now, but I think you'd likely go into labor tonight." She then explained that she'd call over to the hospital to arrange for my arrival. She gave me the choice of 1. being observed overnight to see what my body would do on its own & being induced the next morning if I wasn't progressing or 2. getting induced that evening. You will note that both options involved going straight to the hospital.

I told Dr. M that I didn't like the idea of just hanging out at the hospital overnight because I was afraid of a terrible night's sleep and food deprivation wherein nothing would happen and the next morning I'd be starving and exhausted at the start of induction. I will always say no to that, so option 2 it was! She explained that she was about to go off her hospital shift, so Dr. Loar would be the one to deliver our baby. She asked where Henry was and then said that nothing had to be done until he got there; I was just to go over to the hospital when I was ready. She then asked if I was ready to have the baby, and I think I said "I guess so!" I felt very anxious about the whole thing. This time I didn't have the luxury of leaving and going about my business with a day to prepare and mull it over. I worried I was making the wrong decision. 

Dr. Meritt told me she'd see me and baby the next morning and left me in the exam room. I immediately texted and then called Henry. He asked me to call two friends from church to see if either of them could watch Elle. (Like I mentioned before, Henry's sister's family was sick, so we really wanted to find someone else to take her if we could.) After getting no answer from either friend nor my parents, I started to freak out. I called Henry back, crying. He said not to worry, that he'd figure something out, and he suggested I get something to eat before checking in at the hospital. Wise man. With everything running through my mind at that moment I wouldn't have thought to do that. I was just going to have the granola bar I packed in my hospital bag, but getting an actual meal seemed like a much better plan. I went through the drive-thru at PTerry's and ordered a cheeseburger and a cup of ice water, which I ate in the women's center parking lot.  

Sitting there eating in the quiet helped me calm down and make peace with what was about to happen. I gave myself permission to dilate, and the contractions came. They weren't terribly strong, just slightly uncomfortable still, but they consistently came for that hour or so that I sat in my car. I called and left a voicemail for Henry letting him know I felt a lot better after eating and having time to process, and then I finally reached my dad. He said he'd call the main number at my mom's office to fill her in. I started to feel at peace. I remember even being a little amused at the thought of eating my "last meal" in the parking lot, having a nice conversation on the phone with my dad during contractions.

If I remember correctly, it was around 5 o'clock when I finally went into the hospital, calmly carrying in all of my bags. I thought I must look a little odd walking into labor and delivery by myself. It did feel odd walking up to three different desks and announcing that my doctor had sent me over to be induced. I finally got back far enough to meet my nurse, Leah, who said, "So you're the one who's 5cm?!" Yep, that's me.

Mighty Fine

It seems like almost every time we visit Mighty Fine Burgers and Fries something interesting happens. When we lived near the North Austin location, we'd randomly see church friends there all the time. Now that we're patrons of the South Austin location, we haven't seen any church friends there, but...one of the first times we ate there an old lady told us that we were good parents (so nice!), and the last time we ate there a middle-aged woman gave us five dollars for our "angel girl." Henry and I joked that we were finally capitalizing on Elle's cuteness.

Tonight there was a group of 12 year old boys that stood in line in front of us and then sat at the table in front of ours. I'm pretty sure the birthday boy took a picture of me with his cell phone (and then played it off by saying he was trying to get a selfie of his friends when I said, "did you just take a picture of me??") because later he turned and yelled "you're a hottie!" in our general direction. I can only guess that the message was intended for me and not my toddler or husband, so thanks, kid. I was feeling particularly bulbous and unattractive today. Mama's still got it at 4 months pregnant.

The cherry on top: I'd be willing to bet that the birthday boy goes to the same church as us (different congregation, same building or a different congregation in our stake). My Mormon-dar immediately went off when I saw the parents, while chatting in line the mom told me they have six kids, and Henry overheard a friend of the parents talking about the Barton Creek ward. That'd be fun to cross paths in the hall.

Because of Him

Hi there. I felt obligated to come out of blog hiding to write what has now become my 5th annual Easter post. This year has been no different from recent Easters past in that it has awakened my spirit.

But this year, unlike previous years, one thing helped me along. My church launched an Easter website, which included a video and the hashtag #BecauseofHim (that's probably redundant to write out hashtag and then put a hashtag, but oh well). All week long I have seen friends sharing it on social media, and I have been blessed because of this campaign. Scrolling through facebook and instagram today, I've felt immense gratitude for Jesus Christ, and I've spent a little more time than usual thinking about the things that are possible because of Him.

I love my Savior. I am so thankful for the knowledge and the accompanying feelings I have deep within that he died for my sins so that I may have eternal life. I am so thankful to know that when I feel alone in my struggles that He knows my pain. His sacrifice was not only to save me from my sins but also to strengthen and sanctify me. He stands with an outstretched arm ever-ready to extend grace when I feel worthy of none. Because of Him, all things are possible. Because of Him, there is no end. Because of Him, there is everlasting joy.

Watch the #BecauseofHim video here.

Banana Oat Pancakes

I love cold cereal and milk. I think I could eat some variation of cereal + milk everyday for breakfast for the rest of my life and be happy, but sometimes special occasions call for special breakfast. This past weekend the special occasion was General Conference, and the special breakfast was these banana oat pancakes. Delicious. The perfect combination of soft and chewy.

Banana Oat Pancakes

*Adapted from Dropping Acid: The Reflux Cookbook and Cure

Ingredients

2 Tbsp brown sugar

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup whole wheat flour (or another 1/4 C all-purpose)

1/2 cup steel cut oats

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/8 tsp nutmeg

2 large eggs

2 bananas, mashed

2 Tbsp plain Greek yogurt or non-fat sour cream

1/4 cup milk (add more if your batter seems too thick)

1 Tbsp butter for griddle

Directions

1. Mix brown sugar, flours, oats, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg in a bowl.

2. Whisk in the eggs, bananas, and yogurt/sour cream.

3. Add in milk incrementally until the batter moves in the bowl but isn't runny.

4. Preheat a non-stick pan or griddle and grease with butter.

5. Using a ladle, pour some batter onto the pan/griddle.

6. Flip pancake when the underside is golden brown.
7. Cook opposite side until golden brown and no longer wet on edges.

8. Serve warm.

Top with fruit, syrup, or eat them plain like we did. Even Elle devoured these, and she's been rather picky lately. We might need to have these for breakfast again soon.

Car Activities for a One-Year Old

(Alternately titled: How to Not Go Completely Insane on a Twelve Hour Roadtrip with a Baby)

My first piece of advice would be to leave close to bedtime and drive through the night.

That wasn't an option with this trip, and even though my baby took several good naps (more than she would at home), being in the car alllll day was (surprise!) not all that fun.

A few days before we left I decided I'd get started on the busy box I picked for the Pinterest challenge, but then I quickly realized that I didn't have the time or materials to make most of the things on that particular list before our trip... I did have pipe cleaners and a puffs container though, so I put them together for "Pipe Cleaners in a Bottle."

If Elle could give an award for best roadtrip "toy" I'm sure she'd pick the pipe cleaners, hands down. She liked pulling them out, putting them back in, and bending them. She loved handing them to me so that I could hang them off of my glasses/nose/ears and would giggle up a storm while grabbing them back.

So I give an A+ to "Pipe Cleaners in a Bottle." Cheap, very low effort, virtually indestructible, and my brother's cats thoroughly enjoyed batting them around. The only cons I can think of are the sharp ends (I twisted those over and didn't have any problems), and once we took them out of the car, our pipe cleaners seemed to spread to every corner of the house.

I also made a texture book to bring along in the car. This requires considerably more effort than "Pipe Cleaners in a Bottle," but if you have some supplies on hand it's not difficult to throw together.


Step 1. Gather up materials with different textures.

I already had all of these things at home, but the possibilities are endless as far as what you put on the pages.


Step 2. Cut pages out of old cereal/snack boxes.

I used my Cricut machine to get the scalloped edges and then glued scrapbook paper on the fronts.

Step 3. Glue your objects on to the pages. Use the strongest glue possible if you have a destructo baby like mine.

Step 4. Hole punch the top of the pages.

Step 5. Tie together with string. Voila!

You may have guessed from the note in Step 3 that my baby girl set out to destroy this texture book. She made quick work of ripping off the fuzzy pompoms, the bubble wrap, and even a couple of the shiny hearts. I hot glued everything except for the foam stickers, and the only page that is still completely intact is the one with the fabric flowers. Maybe superglue would've been better. At the time, I was just happy that it held her interest for more than 5 minutes. 

Other tried and true activities:

*Stuffed animals

*Blocks

*Books

*Food, glorious food
*My wallet
*And when things got a little ugly that last hour and she couldn't be consoled, I gave her my glasses...even though I can't see without them. She went from screaming to asleep within a few minute's time. Worth it. ;)

Pinterest Challenge Wrap-Up

Confession: I just finished the Pinterest Challenge moments ago...but I started a few days after everyone else, so it's totally okay. Honestly, I forgot about my last task, which was adding a "Pin It" button to my blog.

I wrote about the Grilled Malibu Chicken and gave a glimpse of the tab-top curtain and busy box here. I'm still planning to write separately about the busy box and our roadtrip, but realistically, I'm never going to write about the curtains, so here are some pictures of that. ;)

Definitely my most successful sewing project to date, and it was super simple thanks to my friend Audrei and her amazing "sewing computer."

That leaves the scarf headband and the truffle squares. 

I tried the criss-cross headband with scarves/fabric belts that I already had. The material was too slippery and the criss-cross protruded from my head more than I wanted. I think this would've worked better with something with more stretch that would lay flatter.

This story has a happy ending though because while enjoying a cold Spring Break in Arkansas with my family, I happened upon a fabric headband I liked in a little boutique. And it was a handmade, fair trade item benefiting an Indonesian woman. Win-win? I think so.

I made the truffle squares on Good Friday, and they were yummy. I was sad to go into the kitchen this morning and see that Henry ate the last one. If you like chocolate and nuts, I'd recommend this dessert.

I made a few changes (as I'm inclined to do). For one, I only used chopped almonds for my "dough" because I didn't have any pecans. For two, I used agave nectar instead of honey/syrup. For three, I added a layer of melted peanut butter between the nut mixture and the top layer of chocolate. This was a great decision because it held the nutty mixture together better, and it made the bars taste a lot more like Reese's peanut butter cups.

Now that this challenge is over, I'm thinking about what I can work on next. I want to make a wreath for spring...not sure what else yet. What will you work on?

You Are My Sunshine 1st Birthday Party

 

Happy April, friends! March pretty much tried to kill me with various ailments (tonsillitis, food poisoning, allergies, aches and pains), so I'm happy to be moving on to a fresh month. And look what I finally have to show you! I had way, way too much fun planning this party. I'm excited to share some of the pictures with you.

 

I told my husband I wanted the frosting to look like clouds, and well, my husband is awesome. He definitely delivered.

Tissue Paper Tassel Garland

Suns from the "Create a Critter" Cricut cartridge

Banner from the "Something to Celebrate" Cricut cartridge

Party Hat Template

Now I'll give a little run-down of the party. We sang "Happy Birthday" and let Elle have at her smash cake, of course. I loved how she daintily picked off slices of mango before tasting the icing. She is definitely my girl. She needed a little assistance to actually break into the cake.

 

We kept our guest list small to cut down on the cost for food and party supplies, so we had mostly family and a few close friends in attendance. The result was an intimate gathering of people who have been in Elle's life since she was just a few days old. Since the birthday girl couldn't quite make a wish of her own, I asked everyone to record a birthday wish for her in a journal. I hope to make a tradition of filling this book with birthday wishes each year. 

Another fun thing we did was ask the guests to bring an object to represent an occupation Elle might choose in the future. We got this idea from some friends in our old ward. Apparently it's a Bulgarian tradition to sit your one year old in the middle of a circle of objects and predict their future based on what they choose. Sounded fun to me!

Based on the objects, her choices were veterinarian, paleontologist, dentist, engineer, starlet, teacher, chef, artist, or ophthalmologist. The outcome was clear: she went straight for the calculator (representative of engineering). We did the test a second time to see what her second choice would be, and she went for the protractor (Dad had sneaked in two objects for engineering). Only time will tell if the test is right...

The next day I realized that I'd forgotten to put the party hat on Elle even once during the party, so naturally I had to remedy that ASAP. I put her in the brand new dress she received for her birthday, fed her cake, which worked out perfectly because we had A LOT of leftover cake to eat up, and played with the confetti. I'm pretty sure it was one of the most exciting weekends of her life. ;)

If anyone's interested, I created a Pinterest board to keep track of many of my online supply purchases and recipes (without a visual of what I'd purchased, my head would start spinning). I did what I consider to be extensive comparison shopping when it came to things like striped paper straws, baking cups, etc. and I found The TomKat Studio to have the best prices. My order also arrived super quick! Can't beat that.

Happy Easter!

It's become something of a tradition for me to post on Good Friday, so here I am. =) As a kid, my brother, sixteen years my senior, had the day off from work, and I had the day off from school. Good Friday meant a free day to run around Six Flags AstroWorld with him and thousands of Christian music-loving teenagers. We weren't there for the concerts. Easter was totally about the Easter Bunny bringing goodies, dying eggs, and hunting for them in the yard (or as adults, in the house...elbowing siblings and spouses out of the way to get to those money-filled plastic eggs).

I still love those traditions, but now Easter has a much deeper spiritual impact on me. It's amazing to me how I can be going along ho-hum in my faith or even feeling distant from God, and Easter comes along and renews my spirit. Just like that, I remember the reason I do the things I do. I remember how deeply grateful I am for my Savior. His Atonement and Resurrection are what matter. They are the gospel, and the gospel is exciting.

This week I've had the opportunity to learn (well, I guess I should say I'm still learning) the ASL translation to some of my favorite Easter hymns (Christ the Lord is Risen Today, He is Risen, and I Know That My Redeemer Lives). Their lyrics convey the joy I feel at Easter.

I hope all of you enjoy your Easter weekend! I think I'll take some time away from my reading in Psalms to read about the empty tomb. I also have plans to decorate a few eggs, make the dessert from my Pinterest Challenge, and take my girl to her first Easter egg hunt/petting zoo. I'm so excited about that last one!

Pinterest Challenge Update

I'm happy to report that I will complete all six of my Pinterest Challenge projects by April. I've been working away on each of them. Here's my progress so far.

1. Grilled Malibu Chicken. We made it and LOVED it. Everything I hoped for and more. This recipe will definitely be added to our menu board rotation.

The only modification we made was pureeing pineapple for the sauce instead of using pineapple juice. Yum, yum, yum. We also used fancy Stubb's hickory smoked BBQ sauce. That certainly didn't hurt.

2. Tab-Top Curtain. I think I'll do an individual post about this project, but here's a sneak peek.

I'm so happy with the way they turned out.

3. One Year Old Busy Box. This one is still a work in progress, and it'll get it's own post too (especially since my baby just woke up from her nap...), but here's what I've made so far:

Pinterest Challenge

I don't know about you, but I love me some Pinterest. I think it's one of the greatest inventions of our time* and only wish it were around in my wedding planning days. That's okay though. Now I get to use it to visualize fun things like baby birthday parties and dream home decor. And I use it all of the time for cooking and baking. All of the time.

Sometimes I get on Pinterest though and pin things that look appealing to make or do "someday" and that day never rolls around because I forget about the idea. That's part of the reason I've decided to participate in the Sisters Share It All Pinterest Challenge.

If you want to participate, it's simple: choose six things on Pinterest that you want to try between now and April, create a blog post, and link up by clicking the button above.

Here's what I plan to work on:
1. A one year old's busy box. Keeping my baby occupied for three hours at church is kind of rough these days. I'm hoping this will give her little hands something to do. She'll also be going on her first out of state road trip soon, so I need things we can play with in the car for twelve freakin' hours.
2. Nutty Cinnamon Chocolate Truffle Squares. I've tried several main dishes from Perry's Plate that I've loved, but never a dessert. This one sounds yummy.
3. DIY headbands. I've been wanting a scarf-like head wrap for awhile, and I just recently came across this. Looks very simple, and it doesn't require sewing, which is perfect for me.
4. Add a "Pin It" button to blog pictures.
5. Tab-Top Curtain Tutorial. We really need a better curtain for our master bath, and this looks like the perfect tutorial to walk me through how to make my own.
6. Grilled Malibu Chicken. It seems like this might be a BYU thing? I don't know since I didn't go to college there; I do know that I love chicken and pineapple.

*The only thing better than Pinterest is a collection of Pinterest Fails. And by better I mean funnier.

The Arrival of Our Little Love

In just a few days my baby girl will turn ONE. I cannot even wrap my brain around how fast this last year went by, but I guess that's what happens when you have kids. At least that's what people tell me.

Since tomorrow is Valentine's Day and we're rapidly approaching the momentous first birthday, I thought I'd share the story of her birth, which I wrote around a week postpartum.

Be warned: labor and delivery was the most intensely natural thing I have ever done, and I didn't spare any details. If you get squeamish at the mention of bodily fluids, you may not want to read. I'm in favor of keeping it real.

Now, let's continue.

It all started with my 39 week OB appointment on Wednesday the 15th. I went in that morning by myself, and Dr. Meritt did an internal exam. I was 7 cm dilated that morning, but I still wasn't having any labor signs. I was continuing to lose quite a bit of my mucous plug, but that'd been happening for weeks. I wasn't having contractions nor had my water broken, though I was so worried it might happen at any moment and I wouldn't be ready! Dr. Meritt said her comfort level with me walking around so dilated was quickly diminishing. She asked if I'd be willing to be induced later that afternoon or on Thursday. I asked if we could wait until Friday (I don't really know what difference I thought another day would make, except maybe I thought I'd be able to get my free continuing education hours at work that day??). She said she wouldn't be at the hospital on Friday, so I consented to inducing on Thursday morning.

I wrote this email to Cristy after my appointment:

Hi Cristy,

I had a doctor's appointment this morning and I'm 7 cm now...my doctor wants to induce me tomorrow morning! She said she's concerned about an ascending infection since so much of my amniotic sac is exposed, so I'm going to do it. I'm nervous...but it's good to know this is my last day at work so that I can tie up loose ends.

She said unless I object, they'll give me a small dose of pitocin and then she'll come to check on me and break my water. What do you think about that?

Did I mention I'm nervous?? haha

Love,

alli

Cristy responded saying personally she'd wait until fully dilated to have her water broken because she perceives less risk of c-section that way. When I talked to her later, she said she hoped that her email hadn't scared me; she wished she had just said, basically, "trust your doctor," which is what I did. =)

I went to work at Overton after my doctor's appointment, but didn't see students. Instead I spent the day sending A LOT of emails and making phone calls to cancel my drop-in therapy session for the next morning. I visited the PPCD room and told Sarah, the PPCD teacher, about my appointment, and I also said goodbye to two of my first graders. I hadn't intended to do so, but one of the first grader's teachers stopped by my office and told me his father passed away over the weekend. I wanted to stop by and give him a hug and let him know I was going to have my baby the next morning, so I did. I filled out an SSI questionnaire for a student to potentially receive disability payments. I entered ARD paperwork for this week's ARDs and talked to Alia, the Sp.Ed. resource teacher, about a transfer student. I got two new students the week that I left that I never even met. I wonder how different my caseload will be when I return from maternity leave! Alia and Ms. Hart, the bilingual PPCD teacher, chatted with me about baby stuff and Sp.Ed. stuff, and they also gave me a few presents (clothes and some crocheted hats/blankets). We have gotten SO many handmade hats, shoes, and blankets. It's amazing! I left work around 4 o'clock that afternoon knowing I wouldn't be returning for nine weeks.

I was really nervous about the induction as I left Dr. Meritt's office, but as the day went on, I felt more at peace with it. It was a relief to no longer be playing the waiting game. I knew exactly when my maternity leave would start and had a full day to calmly prepare to really leave. I no longer had to run through hypothetical scenarios in my head (i.e., "if I go into labor on Tuesday or Thursday, call the drop-in student's mom to cancel, call the bus dispatcher to cancel pick-up, etc."). Henry and I had time to go back through our hospital bags, to reconsider what we were taking and organize them better. I was able to go into the hospital well rested and fed, two things that were really important to me. I'm glad things went the way they did. Looking back it's actually a little difficult to remember what I was so nervous about. I think it was letting go of my wish for things to happen naturally and the unknown of how I'd handle labor & delivery.

That night I showered and posted news of the induction on facebook: "Looks like tomorrow will be baby's birthday. I'm going to be induced in the morning! Prayers are appreciated." So many friends responded wishing us well and letting us know they were praying for a safe delivery. That meant so much to me. Feeling that love and support brought me to tears that night, and I'm actually tearing up now thinking about it.

I dried my hair, and then we drove the Baker kids to the church for mutual. I felt tired, and on the way I had some uncomfortable contractions that didn't last. I stopped by Activity Days once we got to the church and gave Hilary her thank you note. Reagan, one of the Primary kids, said my baby bump looked so big. haha. I hadn't stayed for Primary since the end of January, so I guess it'd been a while since she'd seen me. Henry and I went by Madam Mam's on the way home, and I ate chicken fried rice for my last pregnancy dinner. =) We spent the remainder of the evening in bed reading through the Childbirth Prep booklet we got from our class. We practiced the breathing and relaxation techniques together. I read a few more things in the Ina May's Guide to Childbirth book just as a review and to psych myself up. I'm so glad we practiced because we really hadn't before that night. Henry said afterwards that he'd recommend that all husbands go over that with their wives before the big day. Henry really surprised me with how great of a coach he turned out to be. He gave me a blessing of comfort, and then we went to bed.

We were supposed to get to the hospital by 6:30 the next morning, so we got up around 5:45. Even with all of our preparation the night before, we were still running late. I got dressed and put my hair up. I'm trying to remember if I put on any makeup that morning...haha. I think I just moisturized and put on some powder. Henry made me a flax waffle with apple butter on top, and then I drank part of a fruit smoothie. Henry was distracted, probably because of nerves, and I actually had to tell him it was time to leave for the hospital. Thankfully we live right around the corner, so even though we left our apartment at 6:30, we were still only about five minutes late.

We sat down in the registration waiting room for only a minute or two before a nice woman named Mary came to check us in. We presented our IDs and insurance cards and initialed away on consent forms. Mary commented that we seemed really calm, and I did feel calm. I wasn't thinking too much about what was about to happen.

Another hospital worker came and escorted us up to Labor and Delivery. Things were busy, busy at the nurses' station as they were about to change shifts. The nurse who took us back to our room said I looked familiar. I told her that we'd been there last Thursday/Friday with our false alarm. She said she thought she'd seen me at her child's school, and I told her I do work for the school district. At that point I was starting to get nervous though so I didn't continue that conversation.

We had an RN and an RN in training (or maybe just a new hire), Danette and Amber, tending to us in our L&D room. I loved Danette. She was an awesome nurse, which I'd guess is why she was training someone else. Things took a little longer than I expected to get started because she'd explain everything to Amber, but that was okay. Henry and I were just chilling in the room while they quietly talked to one another. We actually had time to look over the breastfeeding powerpoint notes before things got started, which I was really happy about. Henry got the music on my iPhone set up. Amber placed my IV on the first try, and they ran some sugar water (at least I think that's what it was). They also monitored baby's heart rate and my contractions for awhile. I was having fairly strong contractions on my own--some I felt, some I didn't--about 10 minutes apart. They checked me and I was still about 7 cm dilated.

A little before 8 AM they started the pitocin. I'm not sure what the numbers meant, but I think they told me they started at 2 with the pitocin. The contractions picked up, but were manageable to breathe through just with the deep inhale/exhale. Shortly thereafter, Dr. Meritt arrived to break my water, so it's hard to say how much of my labor contractions were due to the pitocin or if it was really the breaking of waters that did it. I guess that's neither here nor there. I expected it to hurt or at least be uncomfortable when she broke my water, but it didn't. I barely felt the puncture; I just felt lots of warm, gushing fluid afterward.

The nurses left the room, and the contractions picked up quickly both in intensity and frequency. I told Henry I didn't want to continue to lie on the hospital bed. My butt was getting sore, and I wanted to try some of the different laboring positions. I didn't end up moving around too much because the contractions were so strong. I got in the rocking chair and did much of my laboring sitting upright. I also tried to stand up with Henry's support, but I quickly returned to sitting because I didn't feel safe when the contractions came. Henry was right there close to me the whole time. I had my headphones in with my relaxation music playing (mostly Mormon Tabernacle Choir, Paul Cardall piano, Primary lullaby songs, and Enya) the whole time, but Henry would turn the volume down when I wasn't having a contraction so that I could hear him. They came about three minutes apart, and it took all of my focus to get through them without freaking out. Henry made sure I was looking him in the eyes, I held his hand tightly, my music was turned up loud, and we did the breathing hee-hee-hee-who's together. My lower back hurt with the contractions so he also massaged me there. Despite his superb coaching I still started to freak out a time or two. I think at some point the nurses came in and increased the pitocin to 4, but that's the highest it got. The contractions rushed over my entire body. It was really intense, but thankfully they did not last for more than a minute.

I started to think with each contraction that I wasn't sure how many more times I could stand to breathe through the pain, and I voiced this to Henry. The next time Danette came in he asked her about the possibility of an epidural, and she suggested she check my dilation. I got back on the bed when I wasn't having a contraction. She said I was fully dilated at that point, so I could start pushing with the contraction. I think I started feeling the urge to push while in the chair. It felt like really low pressure, like I needed to have a BM. Danette told me that it would feel much better to be able to push with each contraction and that could not have been more true. The contractions continued to be intense, but now I felt like I had a way to fight through them. I really have no idea how long I was in this transition/pushing stage or laboring for that matter; I just know I felt such relief to actually be able to do something. Danette called Dr. Meritt's office and told her she needed to come over to the hospital (her office is right across the street). A little while later she came into the room with the surgical tech person. It took a few tries to coordinate my breathing with the pushing, but I got it down and started pushing with all my might with each contraction. I imagined the top of my uterus pushing the baby farther down each time, and between contractions, I said positive affirmations like, "I can do this!
I am doing it!" I tried to keep telling myself positive things throughout the entire process, and I think it helped.

Pretty soon Dr. Meritt told me she could see Elle's head . She and the surgical tech were pouring on lots of olive oil, and Dr. M was supporting my perineum. It felt like she was stretching it out. With each push I let out a low, guttural sound.  I remember feeling the burning sensation when the baby was crowning, and I think that's when Dr. M told me to stop pushing. I was able to pause--I think Henry had me do candle blows--but somehow I ended up with a second degree tear anyway. I don't know when that happened, and the truth is, I don't really care. I would've done anything at that point to get Miss Elle out! And just moments later, I pushed and of course she did come out!

She was placed on my stomach immediately (sometime during the pushing stage, Henry did a great job of reminding the staff of my wishes for skin-to-skin contact and to let the cord pulsate before clamping). The umbilical cord was shorter than I expected, so she couldn't reach all the way up to my chest. Holding my daughter for the first time was amazing. She let out a good cry. She was a perfectly healthy, slippery little thing with her arms flailing around. I don't remember, but Henry said the first words from my mouth were, "She's beautiful!" Then I remember thinking, "Oh my gosh, she's a real baby!" Until I actually saw her it was difficult to imagine her as a real, living, breathing tiny human, but the moment I did, reality hit me. She was beautiful. Is beautiful. She will be forever and always. Henry and I are in love.