Now it IS the big day!

So, here I sit in my dark kitchen at 4:45 am sipping a Sprite. I have been instructed to not eat after midnight and only to drink clear liquids up until 5 am. Not a huge fan of Sprite, (and yes, I've also had a bunch of water) but I have a feeling I'm in for a long day and wanted the calories to sustain me somewhat. I thought about fudging a bit on the recommendations- my sister got to eat on her way to the hospital when she was induced with her last baby- but memories of violent vomiting in previous deliveries quickly ended my rebellious thoughts.

This is really some rambling thoughts, but I need to thank everyone who has been so helpful to me and my family over the last 9 months. There is no way I could thank you each individually, partly because much of your service and prayers have been given anonymously. It has all been so appreciated! It is miraculous to me that I'm going to have a baby today. Miraculous that we decided (with some divine intervention) to have another baby at all and miraculous that I am still pregnant and healthy. The Lord has sustained us through this and has important work for this little one to accomplish somewhere!

I've already told you in previous ramblings that I am so thankful for the power of the priesthood and the blessings that have healed and comforted me. I am so eternally grateful for my wonderful husband who honors his priesthood and is ever ready to bless me. What a wonderful man! I love him more every day & am so blessed to have him in my life!

If this labor proceeds like my previous ones have, I will have most of the day to sit around and wait today. I will try to keep you posted when things happen. Anyone know of the wi-fi situation at Alta View? If nothing else, I'll ask my sisters to hack in here and post something. (I have the best sisters, too! And parents, and daughters. I'm so blessed!)

So, shoppers start your engines. Soon you will know the gender of this naked child. Then, head to the stores with his or her grandmas, who have been chomping at the bit to buy baby clothes!

Have a wonderful day and thanks again for all you've done for me!

PS I did proofread this, but make no guarantees. It's very early in the morning and I took half a Unisom before bed last night.

The big day...

As of this moment, I am scheduled to have my baby tomorrow. At my appointment this morning, we were able to a spot for an induction tomorrow!!!

In TMI news, I am dilated to a 2. For most women that would be a disappointment. For me, that's the furthest I've ever been outside of the hospital. Heck, it usually takes a few hours of pitocin to get to a 2. I'm feeling encouraged already!

Soon we will get to meet Baby X and let you know who won the boy/girl debate at our house!

What women need

Two things every pregnant woman needs:
A razor that requires no shaving cream and the least amount of bending possible- the Schick Intuition razor. These are great when you're not pregnant, but imperative when you are.

Glitter toes. This picture is awful, but so are my feet. The only good thing they have going for them is the awesome glitter toes. Why glitter toes? You don't have to paint your nails since it doesn't flake or chip. You just get them re-done when they grow out to the point that they bug you. It is basically fake nails on your toes, but doesn't look creepy. At 39 weeks pregnant, my cute toe nails are my best feature- hands down! I don't have to try acrobatics or unnatural contortions to reach my feet or rely on my 6 year old to paint my toe nails!

Call my cute cousin Jessi to get your toes done. 801-828-5499. She does them at a salon in Taylorsville and they are only $15! That is a much better price than I have seen anywhere else. Tell her Corrine sent you!

Don't it always seem to go...

Mind if I wax philosophical for a moment?

There is much great wisdom found in what I would call "Hippie" music. I grew up on the music my parents loved, which included John Denver, Carole King, the Mamas and the Papas, the Beatles, Joni Mitchell, Elton John, Gordon Lightfoot, the Beach Boys and on and on. I know they aren't all hippies.

Most life lessons and deep sentiments could be summed up in wisdom from these songs:

Let it Be.
You fill up my senses like a night in the forest.
I should have stayed on the farm- should have listened to my old man.
With lovers and friends I still can recall/ In my life, I've loved them all.
Take me home, country roads.
That's what you get for lovin' me.

And today's wisdom:
Don't it always seem to go that you don't know what you've got 'til it's gone. Thank you, Joni.

That might seem like a bad thing in some situations. Today we are looking on the bright side.
The thing I didn't realize I had until it was gone was the pressure of the AFLAC maternity waiting period. I know, I'm a deep thinker.

Tim told me last night that we don't have a waiting period because when we reinstated our policy, they backdated our policy so there is no waiting period to satisfy! Ahhh.... I have been worried about having the baby a few days early and missing out on the big bucks. Lame thing to worry about, all things considered.

So this morning, Tim called AFLAC- in my presence- and confirmed that we have no waiting period. And a great rejoicing went up among the people! Had I known this all along, I might have asked to have this baby on the 26th!

I didn't know I was that stressed about the waiting period until the waiting period was gone!

Today has been a great day. Surprisingly, just knowing that it doesn't matter when I have this baby (as far as AFLAC is concerned) has been a huge relief! I don't feel so much pressure not to contract- not that I will contract on my own. I immediately set to work cleaning & making the final preparations to put the baby in my room. I moved the bed & a heavy nightstand, vacuumed base boards and dust bunnies galore. Bring on the labor!

Anyone out there with the secret to starting labor, feel free to pass it along.

They paved paradise, put up a parking lot. That parking lot is next to a hospital and I hope to be there sooner than later.

Recipe for success

Do you ever make a dinner that every single person eats every single bit of? Me neither- until last night. Breakfast for dinner is usually a hit here, but last night there wasn't one bite of anything left- even on Lydia's plate.

We had German Pancakes (aka hootenannies), canned pears, sausage patties and homemade Orange Julius. There was not a vegetable in sight, but we had lots of fruit to make up for it.

I thought I'd share the recipes if anyone needs an easy summer dinner- or brunch- idea.

German Pancakes
6 eggs
1 c flour
1 c milk
dash of salt
6 Tbsp butter/margarine
powdered sugar (optional)

Preheat oven to 425. Mix eggs, flour milk, and salt together in a blender or bowl and set aside. Put butter in 9x13 pan. Put into hot oven. When butter is hot & bubbly, pour in egg mixture. Bake about 18 minutes. Sprinkle with powdered sugar if desired. (We like ours with syrup.)


Orange Julius
1 c milk
1 c water
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 c sugar
10 ice cubes
6 oz frozen orange juice concentrate
optional- banana

Combine all ingredients in blender for about 2 minutes. Yum!

Baby gear

I was actually going to register for a green Bumbo chair, but this looks like a more environmentally friendly alternative.

Any thoughts?

At the end of the tunnel...or my rope

So I have decided that one way or another, this pregnancy will be over in two weeks. If baby comes on his/her own sooner (hahahaha) then so be it. Otherwise, I'm going for my favorite pitocin experience on my due date. I was going to try and wait a few days after my due date to see if my body would take the hint the 4th time around. Then I found out my doctor is going camping for a few days 3 days after my due date. We discussed scheduling an induction for the Monday following my due date, but that is also Aubrey's bday. Not going to do that to either child. I thought about tempting fate and seeing if I could wait out Doc's camping trip, but I haven't been driving to the opposite end of the valley for 9 months to his office, only to have a stranger deliver this babe. Dr Smith knows me & my sisters and the weirdness that surrounds our deliveries. I don't want to have to convince another doctor that large amounts of blood will be forthcoming. Anyway...

I totally forgot where I was going with this post. There was something I was going to say...

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Oh yeah. I'm trying hard not to whine about every little thing. All pregnant ladies are uncomfortable by 38 weeks. (If you know ones that aren't, please don't tell me.) For some reason, symptoms of early pregnancy that had disappeared are once again paying a visit. One that is annoying, but rather harmless, is my super-human sense of smell. This adds to nausea, but is not fatal. I have found great comfort in my plight after stumbling upon the blog of some lady who is due the same time as me. Here's what she had to say about smells. I feel a bit more justified in my whining about the assault on my senses. Driving through rural Utah/ farming communities on Saturday was ridiculous.

I am also having to talk myself down from the freak-out ledge multiple times a day. As I desperately try to get the house ready for baby, I find my patience for my existing herd of mess makers is growing ever-thinner. I have to remind myself of age-appropriate expectations, blah blah blah, should have taught them better sooner, blah blah blah, not the end of the world, baby not staying in their rooms, blah blah blah... I still just about lose it every time I walk in Jenna & Aubrey's room. Today it's 'Why the bleep do I bother doing laundry if you're just going to shove clothes in every nook and cranny. I'm selling your dresser if you're not going to put anything in it." And my fav of the week, "I'm coming in here with a shovel and it's all going to the DI!"

I know I should pick my battles, be cool, calm and collected and all that crap. I don't even want to know what my blood pressure looked like yesterday. Whatever. Again, if you know pregnant ladies that aren't all up tight and ornery at this point, don't tell me. I might throw this pair of Aubrey's shoes at you that shouldn't be in my room anyway.

Back to that other pregnant lady's blog- she again made me feel a little better with this post. And she felt that way two weeks ago.

I am usually a rather agreeable person, so if you see me and I'm scowling, please take no offense. It's not you, it's me. I'm sure I'll feel much better (errr...different) in a few weeks. At least then I'll have something cute to hold when I'm up all night instead of being the only one awake. One always feels chipper when up all night with a crying baby, right?

If anyone is still reading after all that whining, I hope you feel better about yourself and how you are coping with daily life. I feel better just having gotten it out of my system. (Confession: I did stop mid-composition to get after my kids about the destruction they have already accomplished in their room this morning. Srsly- put it away right the first time, then you don't have to re-do it!!!! How many times do I say that!!)

Thanks for letting me vent.

New baby name poll

Ok, I think I fixed the name poll problem. We would love to hear what you think about the names we are pondering. If you have other suggestions, leave them in the comments.

Then we have to pick a middle name...

Baby name poll

Have you tried to vote in my baby name poll to the right? I'm not sure it's working. I try to vote- signed in and not signed in- and nothing changes. Try to vote, of you'd like, and let me know if it does not record your vote.

No point in having it there if it doesn't work...

Help Wanted: Dairy Queens

So, I know that being a mother of three with one on the way, I should theoretically have this motherhood thing all figured out. One part that has eluded me successful breast feeding. Here's where I'm looking for your help. I really want it to work this time around and am looking for your advice.

Here's what my experiences have been in the past:

Baby #1 Nursing took some time for both of us to adjust to. I never had tons of milk, even when I pumped and pumped, but I continued and even took my pump to work every day for about 9 months. Once she had opposing teeth, we moved to exclusive bottle feeding!

Baby #2 Nursing was going ok, but baby was puking up a storm and was allergic to my milk. Once we got her on soy formula, we were all much better off.

Baby #3 Long story short, my milk never came in. We tried the supplemental feeding system, nursed and nursed on demand, but nothing was happening. I would pump and pump and not a drop was found. I think the trauma surrounding delivery and the blood loss contributed to the lack of lac. We went on like this for weeks.

Ironically, the less milk I produced with each child, the less I experienced the baby blues. In my not-so-professional opinion, the hormones that produce milk (in me anyway) produce baby blues. Perhaps I'll have to research that, too...

This time around I REALLY want breast feeding to work! Now that my other kids are older and a bit more self-sufficient, I will have the time and possibly some peace and quiet to sit and hold this little babe. (Not having to buy so much formula would be nice, too.)

Here's where I need the dairy queens. Some of my friends and family members are pros at this. You know who you are. I want to know what tips you would give- specifically if you have something that helped boost your milk supply. Don't suggest beer, but other than that I'd like to hear your ideas. I asked my doctor yesterday and he mentioned a medication that he sometimes prescribes after a few weeks if there are problems, but he didn't seem very impressed with the results. I have read about herbs and supplements that people recommend, but hesitate to try things recommended by strangers. Please share your experiences! If you don't want to leave them in the comments, I would love an email.

Thanks for your help!

Some lessons have to be learned the hard way

Or should I say, sometimes I have to learn things the hard way. I don't always pay attention when the lessons come gently.


This pregnancy has taught me a few things that I should have already learned by now, but apparently haven't. I thought I'd better document them so when I forget again, I can re-read them instead of re-learning them again.


1. Just say "NO."

I am notorious in my family and neighborhood for my inability to say NO when asked to do something. It doesn't matter if I have the time, ability or goods to complete a task, I can be heard saying, "Sure, I can do that." Starting this pregnancy with bed rest and then 'light duty' (whatever that means) really made me take a few steps back and forced me to say NO to things I would have taken on previously. I also learned how to adapt and be able to say yes to modified things. When I couldn't help in Jenna's classroom, I was able to correct papers that the teacher sent home. That helped me not feel totally useless and out of touch with the school, but I could do it from my bed or rocking chair.


I have also had to turn away craft orders at times when I couldn't be sitting at my sewing machine. Turning away a hobby that earned me some spending money- ouch!


I know this is a lesson I will still have to work on. I did agree to be on next year's PTA board in the midst of all this. But I will keep trying. My health and family have to come first no matter what. My church calling as Gospel Doctrine teacher has helped me say NO more, compared to my former RS calling, but I know I will always struggle to find balance here.


2. Just say "YES."

As much as I try to help other people, I hate to have people do things for me that I can or think I can do for myself. I have had to learn to humble myself and accept help when it is offered- and occasionally call and ask for help. Gulp! This is so beyond my comfort zone. Showing signs of weakness is not something I do if I can help it. Can you say "control freak?"


I am surrounded by wonderful friends and family who have willingly picked up my slack on all sides. The first time my mom came and did my dishes I felt like a complete loser. My pride was wounded when my children had to take on more responsibilities. (I got over that quickly.) In the last few days I have heard myself accepting offers to come help get the house ready for the baby. I surprised myself when I readily accepted and I could tell the people offering were surprised that they didn't have to talk me into it. (Maybe they had hoped I wouldn't accept so quickly :) )


My sweet friend called yesterday to see if she could host a baby shower for me and told me that she wouldn't take NO for an answer. I wasn't going to say it! I am ready to admit that I could use a little help & will gratefully accept it! Without knowing the gender of the baby, I haven't amassed a wardrobe or other gender-specific items for the little one. (If you want an invite, let me know.) I will be eternally grateful for help!


3. Good enough is good enough.

You perfectionists out there are cringing right along with me on that one. I have had to learn to take things down a few notches & accept 'good enough' when that is all that is needed. Paper plates with dinner a few nights a week- hey, at least I fed the family. No centerpieces on the tables at the dinner after Jenna's baptism? The cute colorful plastic cups were fine and I doubt anyone cared/noticed besides me. Cupcakes instead of elaborately decorated birthday cakes for the parties? Six-year-olds can smear cupcakes everywhere just as easily as a fancy cake.


I wish I could say that the house work has had to be scaled back, but it has never been my strong suit anyway. I have learned to let the kids' best effort stand on tasks I've asked them to do- when they did their best. Sometimes the 8 yr old rushes and it looks like the 3 yr old did a job. She does get to re-do those.


I have come to realize that many of the things I spent so much time worrying about- as far as how other people perceived my effort- go relatively unnoticed by other people. No one else knows how I had envisioned XYZ to be carried out. They will never know if the decorations didn't turn out like I thought or if the game for the kindergarten class party was shorter than I thought.


I'm still uptight more than I need to be, but this will be a work in progress for years to come. 30- something years of a habit die hard.


4. You gotta have faith.

Logically I know this. From the previously mentioned items, you probably noticed a pattern of trying to do it all by myself. With the medical scare at the beginning of the pregnancy and other lingering issues, my faith has been put to the test. I knew going into this that everything would be ok. I don't know that my definition of ok and the Lord's definition of ok are the same, but I have faith that things will work out according to a greater plan. Everything that has had me worried over the last few months has turned out fine. Tim & my doctor have both told me repeatedly that I just need to have more faith. Men saying that to a nervous, hormonal pregnant lady are taking their lives in their hands, but they were right. I have had priesthood blessings of healing and comfort that have worked miracles for me. I have been the beneficiary of the prayers of many others. All of these have combined to increase my faith in the Lord & His promises. I know everything will be ok.

5. A little Prevacid goes a long way. (Same applies for Unisom)

This is not a philosophical realization, but a practical one. Last week I couldn't take the heart burn anymore. I was up all night after just having a small drink of luke-warm water. I have never had heartburn that Tums couldn't handle and I finally asked my doctor for something. This was hard for me, for some lame reason. I guess it goes back to admitting weakness. I hate taking medicine of any sort, so I had put this off as long as possible- suffering needlessly. Duh! A few days later I was late taking my dose and I could feel the heartburn starting and at the same time noticed my patience with my children crumbling. I realized that this same feeling happened every afternoon and I didn't connect it with the heartburn until the heartburn wasn't there for a few days. What a rotten mom- yelling at my kids because I was uncomfortable, something that I could have remedied easily. Sorry for making you suffer my wrath for longer than I realized. That was probably TMI. Don't be afraid to ask your doctor for whatever help you need. That's why they are overpaid.

I shouldn't have had to learn this lesson so late in life. My mom was always sympathetic when we had various ailments as children- unless we wouldn't take our medicine. I remember hearing many times, "If you're not going to do what you know will help, I don't want to hear about it." We could whine all we wanted about our braces hurting or knees aching as long as we had taken something for the pain. Why did I have to re-learn this decades later!?! Oh yeah, stubborn control freak...

Now that I have exposed a few more character flaws that you probably already recognized, I'm going to wrap this up. I am truly grateful that I am miraculously only 3 weeks away from my due date. That fateful night in December, I was sure I had miscarried. This little soul has an important purpose on Earth, even if only to teach his/her mother lessons that I wouldn't learn any other way. Can't wait to meet you, Little One!

Some Conner House babes

A few weekends ago, we got together with a few of my roommates from my first year at Snow. We never seem to be able to get everyone together at the same time, but we sure enjoy our visits.

(There were 10 of us, so it is nearly impossible to get everyone in the state at the same time, let alone coordinate schedules...)

Valerie opened her new home for the visit & we had a great time. We were on our way to a family party, so we didn't get to stay long, but it was so great to see those that came.

I absolutely loved my time at Snow, and I owe that to my awesome roommates. My first year of college was at Dixie and while I learned and grew a lot that year, my roommate situation wasn't ideal. One roommate asked me if I would be her roommate again the following year and I found myself telling her that I wasn't coming back, but transferring to Snow. What? Where did that come from? Divine intervention is all I can say!

Besides wonderful roommates, I had great friends and a wonderful ward. The whole experience was just what I needed. I was so happy there that I was looking for a reason to come back the following year. I had transferred my credits back to Dixie and graduated after that first year at Snow, so it was kind of...unconventional, but I felt compelled to be there. Toward the end of the quarter I saw a sign announcing a scholarship for a person who would be the Homecoming committee chairperson. I had a day to fill out the application & hustled to see if I could stretch out my time in Ephraim.

I ended up getting the position and came back the following year, presumably just for the first quarter where I would do Homecoming and then leave on my mission. During the first few weeks of the new school year, I met this guy named Tim. I actually met him moments after I got my mission papers from my bishop. That's another story for another time.

Long story short, thanks in part to these wonderful Conner House babes, I had so much fun my first year at Snow that I wanted to come back another year and thereby met my future husband. You girls really are the BEST!

Ready to hop?

Lydia just told my tummy in her little sing-song voice, "Baby, time to hop out now. It's past the birthdays."

Months ago, we told her the baby would be born after Jenna's birthday and before Aubrey's. Yesterday both girls had their friend bday parties- even though Aubrey's birthday isn't for a month. In three year old logic, it follows that baby should "hop out" today.

Baby better stay put since Jenna is getting baptized this afternoon.

If you could choose one way or another...

So, would you rather have a pregnancy that felt like 6 months or 12? Assuming both end with a healthy baby, I'd recommend the former.

You might remember that my last pregnancy ended in a dramatic, unappealing way - thankfully with a healthy teeny tiny baby. The nice thing about that pregnancy was the length. It seemed so short & went rather quickly. Having a 2 year old and 4 year old made my days too busy to watch the calendar, but the real reason it was so short was that I didn't find out I was pregnant until I was two months along and then delivered 3 weeks early. It had been a very busy summer and my sister and her family were here visiting from Connecticut, so I wasn't keeping track of things. I won't give you details about what made me realize I might be pregnant.

When I went for my first check up, I thought I was 8 weeks along. Turned out I was 12 weeks along. That was a nice surprise! Ironically, the day before I found out I was expecting, I had been telling a dear friend (as I was holding her brand new baby) that I thought my two girls might be plenty. As we know, someone else is in charge and knows better what we need!

Fast-forward to the summer of 2009. Since the evening of August 16, 2009, I have known beyond question that I was going to have another child. After Lydia, we were pretty sure we were done having kids. It was such a traumatic experience, and I don't really want to die young, so we both agreed that we were fine with our three girls. Again, someone else knows better what we need and knows the plan from start to finish. I later found out that, forsome time, Tim had been feeling like there was another baby that needed to come. He hadn't told me because he felt he couldn't ask me to put my life on the line again. He had been praying that I would come to the conclusion on my own. It came in a profound, undeniable way that is too sacred to share here.

With faith that the assurances I received meant everything would work out ok, Tim & I agreed that we would try for one more.

We reinstated our AFLAC policy, which has a great maternity benefit and figured out when the maternity waiting period would be satisfied, and then- you know.

We are very blessed that fertility has never been a struggle for us. You might say 'the first time was the charm' on this one. I have known basically from conception that I was pregnant. That was in November. Add the time of fear and anticipation from August, count ahead to my Aug 2 due date, do some fancy math, and there you have a 12 month (mentally) pregnancy.

If you get to pick, I would highly recommend the 6 month version.

Craft crap

Since I haven't been crafting much lately, I spend time looking at things other people make and pretending that their projects are gracing my walls, shelves and children.
Have I told you about Crap I've Made? I love this site! She makes fun things that I might actually make some day.

Some day soon I am going to use this technique/tutorial for a special project for a very special lady. I'm not sure if she reads my blog, so I won't give details until it has been delivered, but I am so excited!

Check out her fun ideas. She was even a guest on Good Things Utah a few weeks ago doing the bleach project.

Maybe it's her use of the word "crap" or her fondness for the dollar store as a source of inspiration, whatever it might be, I sure like this lady!

Eight is great!

I can hardly believe that my first born is eight years old today! The last eight years have gone by so quickly that I don't even want to think about the next eight- driver's license...shudder!

Anyway, Jenna is such a wonderful daughter and sister. We are so blessed to have her in our family. She definitely came first to teach us how to be parents. She is my pay-back child. My mom just laughs when I tell her about some of the things Jenna does- it hits a little too close to home!

It was a memorable week when Jenna was born- two days before her birth it was the hottest day ever recorded in Salt Lake- 114 degrees. We lived in Sandy in a little brick oven of an apartment with a tiny swamp cooler that did nothing for us in that heat. After Jenna was born, the AC in my hospital room was malfunctioning and it was FREEZING in our room. I was delirious on Lortab and had no idea it was so cold until a nurse came in and saw the thermostat on 55. It made sense why I couldn't get Jenna to stop crying- she was freezing! We got a letter of apology from the hospital and a gift certificate to eat out, but it was better than the heat!

Jenna is the oldest grandchild on my side of the family and the oldest grand-daughter on Tim's side. She is a born leader and a great help when we are with the cousins. She LOVES babies and can make any baby a laugh and smile. She is very excited to have a new baby sister or brother! (and I am looking forward to having her as my helper)

Jenna is very musical and is always singing. She sings in the shower, while she's swinging in the backyard, sometimes while she's arguing with Aubrey. Pretty much anytime, anywhere. She has a beautiful voice and learns music quickly. She is taking piano now and doing very well!

She is also eagerly awaiting her baptism next week. She has a sweet testimony and loves Heavenly Father and Jesus. She knows so much more about the gospel than I did at her age- and probably well into my teens. She has such great insights and is a deep thinker.

Another of her talents/hobbies is reading. She is a wonderful reader and devours books of all kinds. Some of her favorites right now include the Magic Treehouse series, Listening for Lions, Nancy Drew books, A-Z Mystery series, and she loves books by Jan Brett. She reads so smoothly and fluently- it is a pleasure to listen to her read!

Here are eight great things about Jenna:

1. Her favorite color is purple- it has been that way pretty much since birth!

2. She loves school & is a great student.

3. She loves to go to Primary.

4. She can hardly wait to start Activity Days.

5. She loves to swim and play in the sprinklers.

6. She is a total monkey on the playground.

7. She looks out for kids at school that don't have many friends.

8. She is very responsible and dependable.

There is so much more I could say, but we must go party!

Happy Birthday, Jenna Bug!

We are so blessed to have you in our family!