Writer's Workshop:...And Then I Panicked

This story is crazy and unbelievable even, but I swear to you that it really happened. As a Senior in high school, I was a big time Drama Geek (I guess that covers all my years in high school). Anyway, I was helping with our school’s production of Les Miserables and had many friends in the lower grades that were in the show. I was actually dating my future husband at the time and Prom was coming up. He didn’t have the money to take me and so I’d resigned myself to not being able to attend. Then the crazy thing happened and even after all these years I still have a hard time believing it really happened.

Closing night of the show finally arrived and everyone was feeling elated, because it had been an amazing run and we were all grateful to have been apart of it. One of my Sophomore buddies snagged me right after curtain call and dragged me literally into the Guys dressing room. I thought it was a little weird and I was confused on what was exactly going on. He sat me down on a chair in the very front of the room and made his way over to a boom box on the floor. Now I was really starting to wonder what was going on.

Suddenly, the song “I’m to Sexy” started to play and he stood in front of me, beginning to take off his tux jacket….and then I panicked. He made sure to draw out how long this was taking and I was getting more & more nervous about what he was doing. Next came the vest. Then the tie. When he started on the shirt buttons, I just about ran out of the room, but my legs were stuck and I wasn’t going anywhere. I kept thinking “Andrew, you have got to stop. What are you doing?” Of course I said nothing. (Chicken!)
As the last of his buttons were undone and I was about undone, he yanked his shirt open to reveal this: WILL YOU GO TO PROM WITH ME? I think I about died when I read that! I still was in shock over this crazy way to ask a girl to a dance. Of course I said yes. Who could say no after something like that? The sad irony was the very next day Christopher’s dad gave him the money to take me to Prom! Let’s just say no one particularly enjoyed that Prom.

Pregnancy Survey 13 Weeks

How far along? 13 weeks and 1 day (9/30)
Total weight gain/loss: about four lbs



Maternity clothes? Of course, such is the life of a pregnant woman, at least they're comfortable

Stretch marks? No new ones



Sleep: Sleep is still something much desired, but since I bought my Boppy body pillow sleeping as been much easier!



Best moment this week:Seeing my baby bounce like a jumping bean on the U/S



Movement:Sometimes


Food cravings: Cheese, pretzels, Swiss Rolls


Gender: I'm hoping to find out in October instead of November

Labor Signs: No



Belly Button in or out? Still an innie



Wedding rings on or off? Off, my fingers keep swelling


What I miss: Not being exhausted all the time!


What I am looking forward to: Finding out if the U/S can determine if there are two babies or not!


Weekly Wisdom: Get the rest while you can, because you won't get it afterwards


Milestones: I'm into the second trimester, things are supposed to get better during this time frame! I hope!

I know, I know. I've been really slacking on writing actually posts these days, but can I just say bedrest makes life boring! I don't get to spend more than an hour or two with my kids each day since they bounce around the homes of Church members. I feel like I'm missing out on so much, my kids are growing up in someone else's home. But there is little I can do for them until I'm off bedrest. I can't pick them up, stand for long periods of time and its very difficult to get off the floor. I miss being a mommy!

I spend most of my day in bed, sleeping, to be honest. I sleep 14+ hours a day. (Thanks to the butt load of meds I'm taking). I watch TV and movies, because I have no concentration what's so ever that lasts long enough for me to pick up a book. I hate not being able to read, its a very important part of my life and I can't even do that. Blogging even takes effort, because I can't sit still, my legs get restless and its just a miserable experience. This pregnancy has been so different from my last two and it just amazes me. I always heard that each pregnancy is different, but after a relatively easy pregnancy last time I was sort of expecting this one to be that way too. Ya, I was wrong.

I'm thinking of planning a girl's night sometime soon and get some friends to come scrapbook or watch chic flicks one night. I don't know how well it will turn out, but I guess it won't hurt to try. I need some female companionship at the moment and I'm not really getting any. All of my friends live at least an hour & a half away.

There has been a possible new development in my pregnancy, which is, quite frankly, a little stressful. I had an U/S two weeks ago that showed something unusual in the left horn of my bicorniate (heart shaped) uterus. I was then asked if I had been told if I could get pregnant on the other side and I told her that no one had said I could, but they hadn't said I couldn't either. She never answered my questions about if it was a baby or not. So, I had to wait until my 12 week appt last week (a whole week later). I was told that it is a sac, but the Dr wasn't sure if it was growing or not. And its been left as a wait and see kind of thing. If it is growing then it could very well mean that it is weeks behind the first baby and was conceived after I was already pregnant. Crazy, huh? My big U/S is in November and they will be looking to see if there are any changes in that sac or if its been reabsorbed. I'm actually hoping that its a healthy baby, because then I could know for sure that this would be my last pregnancy and could plan on a hysterectomy. So, that's my crazy news for the day!

I hope all of your weeks having been going well! Talk to you all soon!

Wordless Wednesday

Terrible Twos and His Sister

Oi, so my son has finally hit that stage and I wonder which of us will survive: Him, me or his sister? It seems he went from sweetheart to monster overnight. He hits and pushes, mostly its poor Aislynn who gets the brunt of his cruelty, but he has even hit Mommy and Daddy. He even back talks, which amazes me for a two year old.

To make matters worse, sister seems to be right there with him. She hits, scratches, pinches, and lets off a shriek that is supersonic. She just turned one! My question is why? I thought Aidan would be out growing the phase when she'd be hitting it, not both being "terrible 2" at the exact same time!

Hugs have even become a dangerous thing at our house. Aidan has been punished for 'hugging' sister's neck. This morning her face was turning purple thanks to this not so cool big brother hug. Who knew hugs could be lethal, especially between a one year old and a two year old.

We are working on time out with Aidan, but he really doesn't understand and there's no way Aislynn would understand. Any suggestions? "No" and "We don't..." just doesn't seem to work either. When my hubby came back from drill a few weekends ago I was at my wits end thanks to my 'wonderful' kids being snots! Oh well I guess kids will be kids. I do love my kids, but they sure have a way of trying this SAHM's patience! ;)

Wordless Wednesday

Pregnancy Survey 12 Weeks

How far along? 12 weeks to the day (9/22)
Total weight gain/loss: I'm not sure, I'll updated tomorrow after my appt.



Maternity clothes? Oh yes and to try to wear regular pants is horrifically uncomfortable


Stretch marks? No new ones



Sleep: My back is constantly hurting, making sleep next to impossible day or night. If anyone has any suggestions I'll gladly try anything.



Best moment this week: Seeing my baby moving around and being all over the place



Movement: The occasional flutter here and there


Food cravings: Cheese, spaghetti with lots of cheese, strawberries particularly chocolate covered strawberries


Gender: I'm hoping to find out in October instead of November

Labor Signs: No way



Belly Button in or out? A wide shallow innie



Wedding rings on or off? Off, my fingers keep swelling


What I miss: Eating sans vomit


What I am looking forward to: This appt this week and get a lot of questions answered


Weekly Wisdom: Sleep helps sometimes with pregnancy induced anxiety


Milestones: Another great looking ultrasound, although there may be some interesting turns of event

MilSpouse Friday Fill-In #13

Join in on the Fill-In mania over at Wife of a Sailor.

Better late than never!

1.  How do you spend your deployment money, do you save, pay off bills or enjoy the extra money while it is there to buy the things you do not normally have? (from Troop Petrie) 
I was horrible with money while my husband was deployed. Saving was far from my mind and so I bought all kinds of fun things for me and for him. Sending him loads of stuff in care packages, now of course I kick myself at what kind of money we could have saved during that time. Oh, well, there's always the next deployment!

2.  If you could relive one occasion or moment, what would it be? (from Currently On Land)
My wedding day. It was very small and intimate, and the best day of my life. And over far too quickly.

3.  What’s the worst job you ever had and if it was so bad why did you take it? (from Faith and Deploying)
Walmart! I had bad supervisors and older women who hated that I wanted to move up in the company, and they made sure that I didn't.

4.  If you could play any character on TV, who would you be?  (from Many Waters)
Not really a character, but I'd love to do a show on archaeology!

5.  If you could become the world’s expert in something, what would it be? (from Army of Two)
Archaeology and history, because I love it so much!

Thoughtful Thursday

Pregnancy Survey 11 Weeks

Today at 11 weeks

How far along? 11 weeks to the day (9/15)
Total weight gain/loss: Still weighing about 165, as far as I know



Maternity clothes? Yes and I have bought more clothes just waiting for it to get here.


Stretch marks? Still old ones, no new ones



Sleep: Still not getting enough sleep and I tend to sleep during the day to make up for it.


Best moment this week: Just feeling the baby move every so often, its nice to know the baby is ok


Movement: Yup, still feel occasional flutters


Food cravings: Mint ice cream, fish, cheese

Gender: Not until November

Labor Signs: Nope


Belly Button in or out? A much smaller innie, but still an innie


Wedding rings on or off?Off, my fingers keep swelling



What I miss: Eating, without fear of vomiting

What I am looking forward to: The end, when I can hold my baby


Weekly Wisdom:Eat lots of little meals, it helps somewhat with the Morning sickness


Milestones: Hit 11 weeks and still going strong!

Wordless Wednesday

Talented Tuesday: Let Us Say ‘See You Later, Not Goodbye’

I know things weren’t great towards the end, that I was far from easy to live with.
I’m telling you now, although I know you’re hurting and you feel all alone
I’m still there with you, with you and with our kids, I never really left.
I hope you know as I whisper this to you in your dreams, that I never meant for it to be this way.
That I never meant to cause so much pain to you or our babies.
How I was in the end is not how I wanted to say goodbye, to end our time on Earth.
How I love you, my Love, and how I miss you already.
When you feel alone, know that the gentle breeze ruffling your hair is really me,
The gentle patter of rain on the window is really me trying to tell you I’m here.
I’ll never really leave you and so,
Let us say ‘See You Later and Not Goodbye.’
Never goodbye, my Love.
I’ll see you in our dreams

Dedicated to Nate Day April 28, 1979-September 5, 2010
and to his wife, Jolene Day

Its really sad story, because he was really sick and due to that he got really mean in the end. So mean that she moved back to Utah and they were going through a separation at the time of his death. She got the news over the phone that he had died in his sleep. It makes me so very sad. They have two little girls, like 6 and 2. Keep her in your thoughts and prayers.

Hungry Harperteen Giveaway!

One of my favorite book blogs The Undercover Book Lover (Not Really) is hosting another really great book giveaway! She's giving away twelve books divided into four different book groupings; Awesome pack, Paranormal pack, Coolio pack and finally, the Contemporary pack. If you love reading as much as I do, then you definitely need to check out this great blog and if you like winning then definitely give this giveaway a chance!

This my life!

I’ve been feeling guilty for my lack of real posting the last couple of weeks, you would think that while I’m on bed rest I’d have plenty of time to do so and even have interesting stories to tell. But not really! I feel my life has gotten boring and I spend a lot of time sleeping these days. The most excitement I’ve had was I went to stay with my parents over the weekend with the kids while my Hubby was at a very long drill. I needed the help with my kids, so it seemed like a logical thing to do. I got to attend a local Bridal Show with my Mom & sister. I got to be silly and help my sister win prizes for her wedding, by going through as a bride myself! I wish in some ways I could really afford to do a big wedding get together to make up for not having a anything fancy when we first got married, but we can’t afford it. So, I won my sister a free tossing bouquet! I did have lots of fun pretending to be a bride and when I’d get asked when we were getting married I’d say ‘Oh sometime after my baby is born.’ I had lots of fun with my sister talking wedding stuff and seeing what kinds of things she wanted or liked or didn’t like while we were there.

Not too terribly exciting beyond that. I bought some sweet munchies that I was craving at this great bakery while I was in town. I’ve been craving donuts for weeks now and they tasted fabulous. And I let my son eat a cupcake for breakfast that last morning there. Aren’t I so nice? That’s been my life as of late!

MilSpouse Friday Fill-In #11 & 12

Sorry that it took me so long to post this, I was without internet all weekend! So here it is, belated and all! ;)

What is a weird/funny superstition that you have? (from A{muse}ing Mommy on a Pink Park Bench)

What are your hopes and dreams for the years AFTER the military? After all, we aren’t in it forever! (from Stetsons, Spurs and Stilettos)
I want to move somewhere beautiful and far away from Utah! Live in a big beautiful house, travel to all kinds of places with my hubby!

Since [this] month is National Apple Month (no really!), I’d probably ask: What is your yummiest apple recipe? (from NH Girl Displaced)
I honestly have never cooked or done and foods that have apples. I guess I'm weird. I do love apples!

How long have you gone as a military spouse without talking to your husband/wife during service? (from A Navy Princess and Her Little Sailors)
Three weeks while he was deployed in Iraq, which surprised me that I got to talk to him as often as I did.

I occasionally watch When I was 17… on MTV. So, what was something that was significant about your 17th year of life? (from Ashley Amazing)
I started dating my husband when we were 17. ;)

 Do you set goals for yourself during deployment?  What are some of them? (from Military Mommy)
The goal was to survive the deployment and all that it comes with!

What would you say to someone dating a military guy or gal? (from Mothering Off the Cuff)
Its not always easy, but if they are important to you or if you love them than its worth it!

If you have children, how do you prepare them to move to a new place? (from The Random Ramblings of A Household 6)
There still little enough I don't have to worry about that yet!
 Soon though!

Name one hobby that gets you through alone time.  (from My Sailor’s Mistress)
Scrapbooking & reading!

What’s the one food you don’t ever get tired of? (from That Army Wife Life)
mashed potatoes & gravy!

Pregnancy Humor

It seems everybody's worried about finding ways to have a specific gender, but what happens when it goes too extreme? This comic made me laugh and I just had to share! Have a Fabulous Night!

I Feel....

I honestly do know what to say about how I feel these days. I know that my pregnancy is talking when I say I'm tired beyond belief and the all-day sickness is getting old. I really don't remember feeling this awful with either of my other pregnancies, but I'm sure I thought this way with each of them and I didn't have two toddlers last time. Bed rest has been quite the experience and I can't really say I'm enjoying it. Because I'm not allowed to carry anything heavier than a gallon of milk I can't exactly pick up my kids and I think its hitting all of us a little hard. I miss picking up and cuddling my babies! We've had so much help from the members of our LDS Ward and I can't even begin to give enough thanks for everything they've done. And they always want to do more for us. I hate asking for help and so I've just kept it to helping with my kids. Like I said they've offered to bring in meals and even help with our housework (I just can't bring myself to ask that much) I guess I have a lot of pride still.

My bed rest consists of lots of sleeping, watching TV & movies, internet browsing and reading books. Though I will admit, I'd love to have some companionship! I miss talking to other women! Or just talking to someone at all. I'd even go for having a girl's day at my house and doing some scrapbooking, but I don't know who to ask. Most of my friends are my blogger buddies and none of you live close to me! Hopefully, the bleed will go away on its own soon and I can start being more active again! Thanks for listening to my little vent, I just needed to get it off my chest! If any of you have suggestions on things to do while in bed, I'm all ears!

Pregnancy Survey 10 Weeks

How far along? 10 weeks and 1 days (9/8)
Total weight gain/loss:I weighed in at my first appt at 168, so at that point I'd gained five lbs, but this last week I lost 3 lbs.


Maternity clothes? Definitely and I need to buy some more Maternity clothes

Stretch marks? Just the ones from previous pregnancies


Sleep: Still tossing and turning, get more sleep during the day while my kids are with members of our Church than I do at night, but its still pretty interrupted

Best moment this week: Last week I got to see every inch of my baby and it was amazing.

Movement: I felt the baby move for the first time on Saturday, the little tiny flutterings! I'm so excited

Food cravings:Spaghetti (not that I can actually eat it), ice cream, swiss rolls, sugar!


Gender: Not until November

Labor Signs:Thank heavens no


Belly Button in or out? A much smaller innie, but still an innie


Wedding rings on or off?I had to take them off on Monday, they were cutting off my circulation


What I miss: Eating, without fear of vomiting

What I am looking forward to: Finding out what we're having. I feel strongly its going to be a boy! I guess we'll see.

Weekly Wisdom: Eat lots of little snacks and it will help keep nutrients of some kind in you and your baby

Milestones:Feeling first movements!

I'll post up a pic of my belly tomorrow after I get my Hubby to take one for me!

Wordless Wednesday

I Have Returned

Hey Everybody, I'm back. We got back from a family vacation on Sunday and boy, am I exhausted from vacation. I did have tons of fun. We went camping and explored at the Fort Bridger, Wyoming Mountain Men Rendevouz. Its a tradition every year that we go with Christopher's family and we all get dressed up in pre-1840 attire. This year proved to be somewhat of a let down, though and that makes me sad. My Brother-in-law did the planning this year and we all chipped in to pay for the campsite & meals. I think after this experience we ALL will be helping to plan, it was just insane. We didn't get a say in what was cooked (although he asked for suggestions, he was a little crazy about everything being pre-1840), they refused to help with the cooking & clean up when everybody actually showed up 'saying that they had done all the cooking & cleaning before' (which was like three meals, while it was two extra people outside of them & their kids) and I hated all the arguing that went on due to that. Next year more say!

I could hardly eat any of the food due to all-day sickness, luckily we came prepared with yogurt & instant mashed potatoes (which is about all I could eat.) The other thing that made this trip not as fun, was it was incredibly hot during the day and reached freezing at night. We spent two nights dealing with screaming kids all night long and with all that we decided to go home early. My body wasn't handling any of it very well and I'm supposed to be on bedrest.

That's right *smacking hand to forehead* I haven't told you about my ER visit last Monday. I was having some crazy bad pain in my left side and I thought I was passing a kidney stone (I have a history of them during pregnancy). So, Christopher left work early and we headed the hour & a half into town to go the hospital. I got meds, which was a so amazingly helpful! What they found wasn't so helpful! They think there might have been a stone that caused a slight back up of fluid in my kidney, but their was no sign of the stone. And here's the kicker, I have a bleed under my placenta. Its kind of stressful, since I learned it can cause a miscarriage and can cause me to die if it becomes placenta abrupto. Now, I'm on bedrest and I'm still relying on the generosity of the members of my Church to take care of my kids, while I can't.

So that's what new at the Southworth Household!