Lucky Dog

I gave Jack an empty jar of peanut butter the other day.  It kept him busy for quite a while.

I think he liked it.

18 Weeks

I'm 18 weeks along today.  Everything is still going well, and it's about time for a belly picture.  At my last prenatal appointment I was measuring a little high and a little big.  We'll see if the trend continues at my next appointment.

In case you were wondering, those are maternity jeans I'm wearing.  That's right folks!  Spencer and I took a trip up to Park City last Saturday to do some shopping, and he convinced me to go into the Motherhood Maternity store to try a few things on.  Mostly because I couldn't button up any of my pants anymore.

Okay, so I know I am pregnant.  But I am still experiencing these little moments where I don't really believe it's happening.  Maybe because I didn't think it ever would happen.  Anyway, I think because of that I have not been wanting to try on any maternity clothes.  I have passed by those stores for years now, and it has never been a relevant place for me to shop.  So why should now be any different?  Plus, I'm really not that far along yet.  Would anything even fit me?

We walked into the store and I just looked around, all dazed and confused.  Where do I even start?  What do I do?  Luckily there was a very kind sales associate ready to help.  Apparently the maternity jeans are labeled according to your pre-pregnancy jean size.  So if you've always been a size 2, then you try on the size 2 maternity jeans.  Fabulous!!!  And the way they're made, I can wear them now even though I'm not that big yet, and they will stretch throughout the pregnancy.  They are pretty comfortable too.  Much better than using an elastic to hold together the top button of my old jeans!

I ended up with a pair of jeans, a pair of dress slacks, and a long sleeve white shirt.  And another great moment validating the fact that I am really, truly pregnant.

Timeline

Early spring 2004  Spencer and I meet in our Ogden singles ward.  Sparks fly immediately.

June 4, 2004  Spencer proposes at Snowbird resort at the top of the tram.

August 6, 2004  Spencer and I are married for time and all eternity in the Mt. Timpanogos Temple.  We move to Murray, Utah.

February 2005 Spencer gets an associate position in Idaho Falls and moves up to begin work.  I stay in Utah to finish the school year at Cottonwood Elementary in Holladay.  We visit every weekend and decide to never live apart again.

May/June 2005  We buy our first house, in Ammon, Idaho, and I move up to join Spencer.

Late summer/early fall 2005  We decide to go off birth control.  I start teaching at Falls Valley Elementary in Idaho Falls.

2006  Take several pregnancy tests over several months, always negative.  I transfer to Rimrock Elementary in Ammon for the 2006-07 school year.

2007  Worry about ability to get pregnant.  Try different natural supplements that are supposed to help with fertility.

January/February 2007  Spencer finds a partner position in Salt Lake City and moves down to work.  I stay in Idaho Falls to finish the school year and try to sell our house.  We visit every weekend.  I thought we weren't going to live apart ever again??

June 2007  I move down to Salt Lake with Spencer.  House has not sold.

August 2007  I start teaching at Edgemont Elementary in Sandy, Utah.

Early spring 2008  House finally sells!  We move to a condo in Cottonwood Heights, Spencer opens his own office after the previous partnership dissolves.

Summer 2008  Doctor appointments.  Little to no help in coming up with a diagnosis for our infertility.  Eventually do three rounds of Clomid, a drug which aids in ovulation.  No luck.

2008  I accept the fact that I may never be pregnant.

Late summer/fall 2009  We take the foster care course, hoping to become foster parents with the chance of adopting.  We finish the course, and then Spencer's work status changes again.  With my income still necessary, foster care is put on hold until I can stay at home.

Early 2010  Spencer starts working as an associate again, this time in Sandy.  We are living in the Suncrest area of Draper.

Fall 2010  Spencer starts his own business in Orem.  It takes off right away and continues to grow steadily.  Finally!!

Spring 2011  We start looking for homes to buy, and find one in Pleasant Grove.  The contract is signed in April and we move in.  I am teaching in Sandy, so my commute just lengthened considerably.  Spencer's business continues to thrive, and I decide not to return to teaching after this school year.

June 2011  My final days teaching at Edgemont Elementary in Sandy.

July 2011  More doctor appointments, this time at a different clinic.  Doctors are more willing to help and are proactive in reaching a diagnosis.  Results:  I finally find out that I have PCOS (polycystic ovary syndrome).  Blood tests also show that I am anemic.  A treatment plan is put in place.

September 7, 2011  I take a home pregnancy test after Spencer leaves for work.  I then drive to the clinic and get another test taken.

lunchtime, September 7, 2011  I call Spencer to see if he wants to go to lunch.  After meeting him at the office, we get in the car to go to lunch and I show him the results of the test from the clinic--I am pregnant!!!  (This lunch meeting was preceded and followed by many tears of joy.)

September 13, 2011  First intake appointment at the clinic.  Blood work is taken, which comes back normal except for a slight anemia, which has improved since my last blood test.  After the appointment we drive past a birthing center and get information about a more natural birth setting.

September 19, 2011  Meet with a midwife from the birthing center to discuss treatment options.

September 2011  I read magazines and books about pregnancy, natural birthing, fetal development, etc.  Lots of books, lots of information to process, lots of excitement.

September 30 - October 2, 2011  We decide to take a trip while we still can, just the two of us.  We fly in to Portland, Oregon and drive down to Bend for the weekend.  The drive back to Portland on Sunday is my first and only bout of "morning sickness."  I throw up on the side of the road.  Spencer takes a picture.

October 17, 2011  First prenatal appointment with my midwife.  I get to hear the heartbeat briefly.  I finally feel like I really am pregnant, and the doubts disappear.  I really love that sound.

September 7 - November 24, 2011  Spencer and I keep our exciting pregnancy secret to ourselves.  The first couple of weeks are easy and fun.  It's nice to have such a great secret that only the two of us know.  But by the end of October and through most of November, it's tougher for me not to say anything to family and friends.  Spencer and I make a deal that if I spill the beans before Thanksgiving, he gets to buy a motorcycle.  My lips are sealed!

November 16, 2011  Second prenatal appointment.  Spencer got to hear the heartbeat for the first time.  Everything looks good, I am measuring a little high and a little big.

November 24, 2011  Thanksgiving dinner with Spencer's family.  The family did a new game where we all wrote down something we were thankful for on a piece of paper and then rolled them up into crescent rolls, like a fortune cookie.  During the meal we all opened our rolls and read the random paper we received.  The first note that was read was what Spencer had written: "I am thankful that Celeste is 16 weeks pregnant."  The news was out!  We all cheered, some of us cried, and I got a lot of hugs.  It was wonderful!  It did sort of ruin the rest of the note-reading, but oh well, right?

November 25, 2011  Thanksgiving dinner with my family.  Every year we play a family flag football game before the meal.  It was not easy backing out of the game without looking suspicious.  My excuses??  Well, I had to put the ham in the oven, fix the sweet potatoes, my rib hurt, and I wanted to check out my new Black Friday purchase (that will be its own post).  Plus, somebody needed to take pictures of the game.  I showed up late to the field with my  camera, snapped a few pictures, and managed to get out of playing.  So no football for me this year.

I wanted to break the news during our usual tradition of going around the table to tell what we are thankful for.  However, this year nobody seemed to be in the mood for that.  We were all sitting at the table starting to eat and I suggested we say what we're thankful for.  That was met with groans and complaints.  I did NOT want to wait until after dinner for the announcement, so I just bullied my way into doing it anyway, and volunteered Spencer to go first.  Of course, he was thankful that I was 16 weeks pregnant, everyone celebrated, and we got to end the thankful game.  Now both families knew, and it was time to tell the world via Facebook.

Overall my first trimester was really easy.  I was really tired all the time and had to take a nap every day, but the nausea was pretty limited and I didn't have any weird cravings (except for a couple of days when all I wanted was a big warm pretzel with cheese sauce).  I was usually bloated in the evenings, but it was not too bad.  It's just so nice to have this experience after thinking that it would never happen!  I am appreciating each little part of being pregnant.  I love the little bump that is showing up now and am so glad I don't have to try hiding it anymore.  I've improved my eating habits and am eating more whole grains and fruits and veggies.  I'm limiting sugar more than before.  I need to exercise more than I do, especially since the initial fatigue is starting to wear off.  And I will soon be shopping for pants that I can button up without having to suck in my belly.  We will have an ultrasound on December 22nd to find out if we are having a little boy or girl.  We have a little girl's name that we both like, but haven't really thought of a boy's name yet.  There is just so much to look forward to!

I really feel so blessed to be able to have this experience.  It has been a long journey, but the Lord knows what is best for us and I feel like this journey was all part of the plan for us.  Getting pregnant right now is absolutely perfect timing.  We are in a house that we love, Spencer's business is doing so well, and I get to stay home and relax without all the stress of teaching.  As hard as it was during those first six years of trying to get pregnant, looking back now I know that it was worth the wait.

So the next big milestone in our timeline will be December 22nd when we get our ultrasound.  Boy or girl???  We shall see!

Today I learned...

The weather was pretty good today, so I went out to the backyard to rake the leaves that have been calling my name for the past week or so.  Halfway through the job, I stopped to take a break and realized we really had A LOT of trees in our backyard.  In fact, today I learned that we have exactly 24 trees back there.  That makes for A LOT of leaves!  So my workout for the day was leaf-raking.  I may have broken a sweat.

Today I learned that Spencer is a genius.  Okay, maybe I knew that already, but he proved it yet again today.  This morning the car's check engine light came on just as we were driving to the office (I help out there on Tuesday mornings).  We turned around and switched the car for the 4Runner to be safe and headed to work.  During lunch Spencer looked the car over, checked a few websites, drove down to a parts store and picked up a new ignition coil for about $50, installed it, and in less than an hour the problem was solved.  Genius!

We've had this little problem with our chickens where they keep kicking leaves and other junk into their water container.  I've seen other chicken owners hang their waterers a few inches off the ground to prevent this, so today I decided to give it a try.  Today I learned that our chicken waterer leaks when it is hung above the ground.  I'm probably just doing something wrong, but every time I lifted it to attach it to the chain I bought, water poured over the edges without stopping or slowing down.  Since Spencer is the fix-it genius of the family, I gave up and just put the waterer on top of an old oil pan.  It lifts the water about 3-4 inches off the ground, so it should work until Spencer can get out there and do it properly.

So what did you learn today?  Besides the fact that two of the most notable moments of my day involved raking leaves and messing with the chickens' water (exciting life, I know).

Green Thumb

In the past month, I have planted ...

10 perennial lilies

3 lady ferns

20 Alpine rosy bells

10 early stardrifts

10 King Edward tulips

3 bleeding hearts

6 lily of the valleys

12 iris

15 Spanish bluebells

10 mixed tulips

20 grape hyacinths

8 giant daffodils

And I still have 3 widow's tears to plant, as soon as I find a place for them.

Oh man, I can't WAIT for spring!!!

Seize the Day!

My Grandma donated her old box of Halloween costumes to me last year.  I was rifling through it the other day trying to come up with costumes for Spencer and me to wear to our neigbors' Halloween party.  The homemade brown pants kept sticking out to me, and then inspiration hit me!  A trip to K-Mart for suspenders and hats, followed by a search through Savers for a vest, and we had the perfect costumes.

Newsies!

I sort of threw the outfits together last minute (the party was Friday evening and I bought the hats, suspenders, and vest Friday morning) so we ended up not having any newspapers to carry to the party.  Lucky for us, there were two newspapers on the porch of the neighbors who hosted the party, so we "borrowed" them for the evening.  I even downloaded "King of New York" onto my phone so we could have our own theme music!  

Thanks Spencer for being such a good sport and letting me dress you up once a year!

The Narrows

I live in an awesome ward.  There is a group of ladies in the ward who get together once a year for a big women's adventure.  In the past they have hiked Mt. Timpanogos and done the Rim to Rim hike at the Grand Canyon.  This year the ladies planned a trip to hike the Narrows in Zion National Park, and I was invited to come along!

So the plan was to hike from the top of the Narrows down to the bottom, a 16 mile hike through the river which required a back country permit.  Average hiking time:  13 hours.  However, a few days before our scheduled adventure the temperatures plummeted and the area got a downpour of rain.  This meant rising water levels and dropping temperatures in the canyon.  But we hoped for the best and drove down to Zion Friday evening to get our gear and prepare for the day ahead.  

Side note:  The ladies make shirts every year to wear on the adventure.  Here is the shirt for this year.

So cute, right?

I was feeling a little nervous already, mostly because the water temps were supposed to be in the 40's and air temps in the canyon in the 50's.  Brrr.  But as we drove down, I started to learn a bit more about the women I would be hiking with and my nervousness greatly increased.  Most had run marathons or half marathons, a few even qualifying and competing in the Boston Marathon.  How was I supposed to keep up with these women?!?

Saturday morning we left our hotel bright and early to catch the 6:30 am shuttle bus that would take us to the top of the Narrows.  It's about an hour and a half drive, with the last half hour on dirt roads.  Because of the rain earlier in the week, the dirt road was too muddy for us to drive through, so we had to turn around and come back.  Time for Plan B.  We would start at the bottom of the Narrows and hike up as far as we could, and then turn around and come back.

Because of the cold temperatures we all rented dry suits, which ended up being a life saver (though not the most attractive outfit)!  

Yes, two of these people are men.  A couple of husbands tagged along.  It was comforting to have a little priesthood authority, just in case.

We started up the river around 9 am, and hiked/swam/floated our way up through the river as far as we could go.  It was amazing.  I really had to push myself to fight against the current, and I got really tired as we began making our way back down, but I did it!  And I had fun!  And I didn't slow anybody down!  We ended up finishing in 3 different groups.  Two ladies turned around a little early, followed by the group I was in, and a few die hards followed about an hour later.  My group got out of the river around 6 pm.  I was exhausted!  Luckily we planned to stay one more night in the hotel, so we just showered, ate dinner, and crashed.  Sunday morning we drove back home.  I wasn't even sore the next day!    Probably because of the cold water I was in for the majority of the hike.

All in all, it was an excellent trip.  I got to know some amazing women, and was able to really challenge myself and feel empowered for succeeding.  Next year I will have to take Spencer, but we'll plan to go in August instead of October.  

Oregon Day 1

Spencer and I haven't taken a vacation for a while.  Unless you count little camping trips within driving distance, which I do not.  So we figured now was the perfect time to go.  If you've ever used Groupon, you might have seen their vacation deals.  Spencer and I sat down one evening and searched through all their vacation destinations.  They had a couple of different offerings in Oregon.  Spencer went there for chiropractic college and loved it.  He has always wanted to take me up there.

We settled on a mountain resort in Bend, Oregon.  Then we had to figure out flights.  We could have flown in to Portland and then taken a connecting flight to Redmond, which would put us just a short drive from Bend.  Or we could fly into Portland and drive three and a half hours to get to Bend.  But it wouldn't be like driving down the I-15 corridor, with nothing but sage brush and junipers.  This was Oregon, after all!  So we decided on a shorter flight and longer drive.  And I am glad we did.  

Friday.  Our flight left SLC at 8:30 am, and because of the time zone difference, we arrived in Oregon just after 9 am.  We had the whole day ahead of us!  First stop - checking out where Spencer lived during school.

Spencer had a pretty sweet set-up for housing during school.  He lived in an apartment above the Multnomah County Medical Examiner's Office (aka the morgue) free of rent.  All he had to do was answer phone calls after hours.  How cool to say you've lived in a morgue!

Here is Spencer outside the old morgue building.  It has actually been converted into a dermatology clinic now.  The windows at the top are part of the apartment where he used to live.

From there we drove out to see the college(no pictures, sorry!) and then headed towards Multnomah Falls.  We took the scenic byway to get there, and it was amazing!  Along the way we stopped at the Vista House.  It is a small dome-shaped building that was constructed in the early 1900's to be used as a resting place for travelers.

Here's a view of the inside.

It's hard to tell, but all the windows were stained glass.  It looked very much like a cathedral.

The views around the Vista House were pretty spectacular.

I think that's the Columbia River.  Pretty sure.

Now to Multnomah Falls.  I will let the pictures speak for themselves.

This picture reminds me of Star Wars when Luke Skywalker meets Yoda in the swamp.

view looking down from the top of the Falls

The hike up to the top of the falls was pretty steep, but not much more than a mile in distance.  There were signs along the way telling what number switchback we were on.  There were eleven total.

We left the Falls and headed toward Bend.  We stopped off at Smith Rock for a minute along the way.  It's an incredible area for rock climbing.  There are tall sheer cliff faces all along the perimeter of the 'Rock.'  If we could have checked luggage at the airport without paying such a ridiculous fee, we would have brought our climbing gear and gone climbing.  Oh well, maybe another time!

After arriving in Bend, we found our resort and checked in.  You may notice the complimentary bottle of wine on the counter.  How thoughtful of them.  We left it for the cleaning ladies the day we checked out.

Since our room came complete with a kitchen and everything, we decided to run to the grocery store to pick up some food.  Finding a grocery store in Bend was ... tricky.  I don't know why.  But it was.  We finally found one after driving in circles for an eternity.  Then it was back to the resort to relax and rest up for tomorrow.

Oregon Day 2

Saturday.  I have a total of two pictures taken of today.  Not because we didn't do anything though!  In the morning we took a little walk along some nature trails at the resort.  The trails twisted and turned and split off into little offshoots.  And they were well used by the locals!  Every few minutes a group of runners or bikers would pass by, always with a friendly hello.

We took the trail right from the back door of our room and down around a small lake.

Once past the lake we saw some lava formations before heading back through the trees.

After lunch we drove over to the Old Mill District, which is a quaint shopping center along the river.  Most of our afternoon was spent walking around all the shops.  We also drove through downtown Bend.

Then it was back to the resort.

We ate dinner at the resort's bar and grill.  Then we tried out their three different hot tubs and pools.  It was around 9 pm when we went to the pools, and the air was COLD!  So I stuck mostly to the hot tubs.  But I did try one of the pools for a few minutes.  Those hot tubs were a nice way to end the day.

Oregon Day 3

Sunday.  We slept in, listened to the morning session of General Conference online, and then checked out of the resort.  It was time to begin the drive back to Portland.  We stopped along the way now and then at scenic overlooks.  Most of the drive was so green and lush, but of course I didn't take pictures!  

Spencer managed to take a picture at one of the (less stunning) scenic overlooks. 

 This area must have had a fire burn out many of the trees not too long ago.  But it was still pretty, and we saw a nice little lake in the distance.

Our flight was not until 6:30, so we had a little bit of time to spend in Portland.  First stop - the Portland Temple.

I loved how it was just tucked away right in the middle of a forest of trees.

After walking around the temple grounds, I asked Spencer if we could pick some blackberries.  There are wild blackberry bushes growing EVERYWHERE in Oregon!  It was near the end of berry season, but we still managed to find some good ones.

The berries were a tasty appetizer, and it was time to head to downtown Portland for a bite to eat.  After some soup and sandwiches at a sidewalk cafe, and with just a few extra minutes to spare before needing to head to the airport, Spencer remembered the Rose Gardens and wanted to take me there.  Oh man, I could have spent all day at this place!  But as luck would have it, we had about 5 minutes to look before we needed to speed off to the airport.  I did manage a few snapshots before we left.

It was sprinkling a little, so all the flowers were covered in perfect little water droplets..

We parked right next to the public restroom.  I just HAD to get a picture.

That has got to be the cutest little bathroom building ever!

Now all we had to do was fill the rental car with gas and get to the airport.  This proved to be a little complicated however.  We could not find a gas station anywhere near the airport!  We were a bit frantic for a few minutes as we drove aimlessly down various streets.  Would we miss our flight???

Finally we spotted a Costco gas station!  Did you know that you cannot pump your own gas in Oregon?  It has to be pumped by an attendant.  Spencer said that's so people will have jobs.  Interesting.

We ended up making it to the airport with time to spare before boarding our plane for the flight back home.  An hour and twenty minutes after take off, we were in Salt Lake City.  Home again, home again, jiggity jig.

Chickens and stuff

These little chicks are growing every day, and today I decided they were big enough to move from our garage to their outside chicken run and coop.  They love to scratch around for tasty tidbits.

We are slowly coming up with names for our cheery chickens.

Cleopatra

Oprah

??? (any suggestions?)

Umm..., I forget.  But she does have a name... 

Spencer will be thrilled to have the chicks out of the garage.

In other news, I have been baking up a storm lately!  In the last week, I have made about 90 red velvet cupcakes (one practice batch followed by two more batches for a wedding open house), a mini red velvet heart cake, zucchini bread, and banana bread -- all from scratch.

 I've also done two batches of fresh salsa.

Here's one batch of salsa and the red velvet cake with homemade cream cheese frosting.

Yesterday I picked a box of peaches (courtesy of a lady in my grandma's ward).

They should be ready for canning in a day or two.  I have never canned anything by myself, but it sounds like peaches are fairly easy to do.  We'll see.

There is NO WAY I could have done all this if I had been teaching right now.  I even have time to play spider solitaire and update my blog!