The Wagon

I have a lot of things I want to catch on and blog about but don't have much time right now, so here is this instead. A Paleo update! I learned a lesson today for about the millionth time and wanted to share...

Lately I have fallen off the wagon a bit. Pregnancy has taken over, and I feel too tired to worry too much about what I am eating. It definitely hasn't been a free for all, I have tried to still be cautious with what I am eating, but there have been WAY too many cheats going on. Well I have also been feeling terrible lately. SO much heartburn, nausea, fatigue, and just plain blahness. I just attributed all of this to being towards the end of my pregnancy. Trust me, I am more than happy to do what needs to be done to get this baby here, but the end can be a challenge.

Well after an especially difficult night it hit me that maybe I was making things worse for myself by what I had been eating. I decided to recommit to eating the way I believe is the best for me and see if it made a difference. HOLY SMOKES! For the first time in weeks I went a full 24 hours (including overnight) without taking any Tums (I usually max out the dosage every day), I didn't throw up at all, and have felt so. much. better.

I have learned a thousand and five times that for me, eating habits are everything. I don't know why I consistently forget the difference it makes and give in to the things I know make me sick. I love a good cheat every now and then, and my body can totally handle that, but on a regular basis, I have to remember for ME, it just isn't worth it. Feeling that way is not worth it. So I am back on now, but will still be cheating occasionally.

It was just a good reminder that I need to take care of my body a little better. Looks or weight aside, I just need to feel good, and what I eat has the power to make or break that. So I fell off the wagon, luckily its always close enough to hop right back on!

Homestretch

I always consider hitting 30 weeks the homestretch of pregnancy. 10 (ish) weeks to go! It is crazy to me to be at this point. It honestly still hasn't quite sunk in we are actually having a BABY soon. We are getting really excited. So since this is a good milestone I thought it was time for a little pregnancy update. Here are some pics of the development...

I wear the same clothes several times a week...too cheap to buy many maternity clothes I suppose. I feel like at this point I can just tough it out right?

Things have been going great! The heartburn, swelling, back pain, and trouble sleeping have all arrived on cue but really it isn't bad at all. I am happy to do it, reminds me what I am working for! And if I make wise choices I can actually keep all symptoms to a minimum. No complaints here. I might take this back later, but I am happy to have 9 (ish) weeks to go! I am in no hurry...yet.

The best news is that I no longer have to go to school spring term! I was planning on going, and it was sort of stressing me out. The thought of having a baby one day, and trying to get back to class the next day made me not so excited. I know people do it, and I know I could have done it, but thanks to Ryan spending hours playing around with my remaining requirements we figured out it isn't really needed. SO grateful. It has made me so much more excited to actually have the baby...without the added stress of school.

We aren't sure Kyle totally gets what is going on. Though he talks to Baby X (no her name doesn't start with an X literally, just what I am referring to her as) regularly, and we talk about it a lot I still think he is in for a few surprises. I am sure he will make a fabulous big brother.

Besides being way more sick at the beginning this time than I was with Kyle, this pregnancy has been so much better. I feel so much better than I did with Kyle at this point. I am so grateful! We in no way have everything "ready" for her to come yet, but we will get there. I am excited to not be pregnant anymore, but I am also trying to enjoy and soak up everything I can about this pregnancy. It is such a gift, and I want to always treat it that way.

SO I have totally rambled with no point here. Basically we are healthy and happy over here, and hope to enjoy our last few weeks as a family of 3 getting ready to welcome Baby X!

Farm Boy

When we decided Ryan should get a PhD and delay moving for three years, I was a little crushed. I don't hate it here or anything, I just felt ready to move on to the next stage. Anyways, in a way to make myself happy to stay I made a Top 10 Reasons Here is Cool list. I didn't know it then, but seeing Kyle enjoy life on a farm should have been #1. (If you don't know, we rent what used to be my grandparents house that sits on 120 acres of land in Orem.)

Last summer Kyle definitely loved playing outside, but as time has gone on and he has gotten a little older, I am really seeing what a dream land this place is for a little boy. Not only does it have tractors and trucks to ride, it has pigs, llamas, horses, and a huge barn to explore all close by. Yesterday the weather felt amazing, so we took Kyle out to play for a while. He played basketball for a while and then asked to open the shed to get his car out. Little did he know, we had a much cooler car for him this year. Last year Ryan's Dad fixed up Ryan's old power wheel that he used to drive around. It had been in our shed waiting for Kyle, and it was received very well.

Kyle is OBSESSED with cars, trucks, planes, and tractors. Having one to drive all by himself was a dream come true. He drove it around all afternoon. Watching him was when I realized oh, most little boys don't have a whole farm to drive their truck around on. We won't live here forever, but it is sure fun watching him live it up while he can.

I am thinking the day we drive a away from here to a culdesac and normal sized yard might be a hard day for Kyle. So, here's to staying a few more years and letting Kyle enjoy being a farm boy.

On believing.

If you know me you know I love baseball, specifically the St. Louis Cardinals. I love the game, I love the venues, I love the seasons it is played in,I love the memories it creates,  but that is all for another day. I bring this up because I want to write a bit about a quote their recently retired manager, Tony La Russa, said when being asked about the miraculous game six the Cards ended up winning against all odds.

When being interviewed about his thoughts during the game he said he always believed they would win. When asked why, he said,

"Because it is more fun to believe"

 This simple statement struck me on so many levels. I am married to an eternal optimist. Ryan refuses to ever see anything but the bright side of things. While in the past I have believed this only sets you up for disappointment or heartache, watching Ryan for the past five years has taught me this isn't the case. He is happy, has peace all the time, and takes things in stride. When the outcome is bad despite his hopes, he shrugs it off with ease and never regrets the hope he had while going through the experience. Any sporting event we watch (which is A LOT), he has always asked me, "do you believe?". It is simple but complex question.

So Ryan and La Russa really had me thinking. This thought can really be applied to so many things. Isn't is more fun to believe? Isn't it more fun to imagine success rather than failure? Isn't it more fun to hope for the best outcome in any situation? Isn't it more fun to believe everything will always be ok one way or another? This blind faith and hope in things might be considered naive to some, but to me, it is an attitude I want to adopt fully in my life. It is more fun to believe, in yourself, in the people around you, in your goals, in the Lord, in surviving, and even in your favorite team's ability to win the World Series when it seems impossible.

I have always been bogged down with the "what ifs" that kill my hope and belief. I have thought it is just a young stupid mistake to always believe in the best without weighing all that could go wrong. But why? Why not choose hope, belief, and happiness? Sure, things won't always work out. Things will go wrong. We will be disappointed  Life will be hard. But if you aren't going to try and believe in yourself and in the things you want most, then who will? And when they do not turn out as planned, have you lost anything by spending the process being positive and hopeful? I don't think so. I understand this is a concept that can be argued, but for me, I think it is more fun to believe.

Also? Let's all get ready for another season of MLB! Go Cards!