One more thing...

As I was cleaning this afternoon, I thought of one more pregnant necessity you have to try if you haven't already!

• Mr. Clean Magic Eraser. The "nesting" seems to have hit pretty early with this pregnancy and I was going nuts trying to get all the scuff marks off the walls from the move. I finally gave in and tried this and now I am totally addicted! The first time I tried it I completely trashed two of them in a few hours wiping down every surface of my house! Now I use them on everything...tile grout, tubs, finger prints on doors...everything! Seriously, you have to try it!

Pregnancy Necessities...

As I was laying awake last night waiting for our little girl to finish her 3:00am aerobics, I was thinking about how fast and easy this pregnancy has been so far. I know many of you with difficult pregnancies are cursing me out there...I'm sorry and I know I am very lucky! :) Don't get me wrong, pregnancy isn't all enjoyable, but I feel lucky that mine are really not too bad. Even the middle of the night kicking is a joy. Adam had his hand on my stomach the other night and was asking me how it feels. I couldn't explain it, but I do feel lucky to get to experience it. I love feeling a baby move and grow inside of me, even when it keeps me up. I know I will miss it one day! I was also thinking of a few things that I have loved and couldn't live without during this pregnancy, so I thought I would share.

• Motherhood Maternity - Belly Band. This is the greatest invention. It is basically a tube-top that you wear around your pregnant belly and over the top of your pants. You just undo the top button of your regular pants and this band holds them up. I think I have worn maternity pants once this pregnancy! It more than doubled my maternity wardrobe. I guess since I bought it they changed the name to "the tummy sleeve" - here is a picture. It comes in white, black, and nude.

• My jetted tub. I don't remember taking baths while pregnant with Cameron and now I take one every day! It makes such a difference. I have problems with my hips and my right leg and they are so much better after my bath. I swear some days I can't even walk until after I soak for a few minutes.

• A husband who spoils me. Adam is so great to rub my calves when I get charlie-horses (why do they call them that?), pick things up that I drop (since I am clumsy pregnant and it is getting harder to bend over), and he even ties my shoes sometimes (it gets harder when you can't see your feet :). Thanks babe! I love you!

WOW, I really look huge in this picture!! Hopefully the camera angle is partly to blame! :)

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone! We are just enjoying spending the day together as a little family and wanted to wish you all a wonderful day. We had our official thanksgiving feast this weekend with Adam's parents - our first in our own home. It was delicious and we have been enjoying the leftovers all week! Here is a picture of our feast, I was pretty proud as it was my first (well, Kathy helped a lot too! :) And, obviously we ate too much - as you are supposed to!

I was of course thinking this morning of all the things I am thankful for and it would take pages to list them all, but I wanted to share a few...

• I am thankful for my knowledge of the true gospel. Living outside of Utah gives you a whole new perspective on how lucky we are! What a blessing it is to know the truth, to have an eternal family, and to be able to turn to a loving Heavenly Father for help.
• I am thankful for wonderful family and friends. We miss all our family and friends back home, but it has also been such a great experience to get away as a small family and just rely on each other. I feel so lucky to have such an incredible husband, a perfect little boy, and to have a little girl joining our family soon. What more could a girl ask for?

I could go on and on, but I guess that is the stuff that really matters. All the other many blessings we enjoy are just added bonus! Thanks to each of you for being such a special part of our lives! Hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving day!!

Weekend Highlights

We had such a fun weekend with Adam's parents visiting! It was so great to show off all of the fun things Cameron has learned and how much he has grown, our home, and our city. Here are a few of the highlights.

Grandparents bring great gifts! They brought this horse to have us save and give Cameron for Christmas, but couldn't wait! :) He loves it! He pulls it all over the house and rides it while doing kissing noises, whipping the reigns, and kicking him to get him going!

Of course Adam had to show his parents his school and give them a quick eye exam. It was fun to see him show off his skills, and he even gave the Moosman traveling moose (Elmer) an exam. Everything checked out just fine. :)

We spent one day walking/driving around downtown. We saw the famous Peabody Hotel ducks (we also saw Kate Beckinsale in the lobby, she is here shooting a movie), we walked down Beale Street, and ate dinner at B.B. Kings. This may actually be our new favorite BBQ, it was so yummy!!

On Friday night we went to a ward bonfire at a members property out in the backwoods. We drove back the next day to see it in the daylight and it was so beautiful! It was fun to see a different part of Tennessee.

One afternoon we drove to Graceland to see where Elvis lived. People here are so obsessed with him! We didn't actually take a tour, but we got a few pictures from the road.

The best part was just getting to spend time together. Cameron absolutely adores his grandma and grandpa! He had so much fun playing with them. He has been walking around calling for them all day, poor little guy! Thanks for a great weekend Kathy and Barry! We can't wait to have you back in a few months when the baby comes. Maybe we can talk Aunt Holly and Sydney into coming too! :) Love and miss you guys!

A few finished projects...

We finally finished a few little projects around the house that I wanted to show off. Decorating is not easy for me so it is fun when we like the results. Now I just need to finish getting Cameron's room decorated and him moved into his "big bed" and the nursery decorated for our little girl! We are really loving our house!!

Adam and I saw a series of 3 paintings that looked almost exactly like this at a high-end furniture store for $400 and I decided to give it a try. These cost me $10 in stretched canvas from Michaels! They actually turned out pretty cool. I'll be taking orders at the discount price of only $200. :)

This is the kids/guest bathroom. One wall has the horizontal stripes and on the other I painted the two squares and hung pictures of Cameron in a bubble bath in the middle. I was going for a little kid feel without the disney characters. I'm not sure if it worked, but we like how it turned out.

In a few more months we will exchange one of the Cameron pictures for one of our baby girl in the tub!! I actually picked the blue thinking it would be a bathroom for my two little boys, but girls like blue too, right? :)

Well, I guess I had better get to work on my last two rooms! :) Hope you like these ones!

Shocked...

I was just getting the pizza crust going when Adam informed me that a few people have asked what Killer Bunnies is after my last entry. I am shocked and appalled!! :) Seriously though, it is one of the funnest card games ever! I randomly found it in a little game store in Logan and got it for Adam for his Birthday last year Now, everyone we have played it with is addicted! It is such a fun game to play with a group of friends. I can't really explain the whole game - mostly you kill other peoples bunny cards and try to get as many carrots as you can. Sounds crazy right? You just have to trust me and get it - you'll love it! It is a little tricky to learn at first, but not hard once to get the idea. If you buy it and need help - give me or Adam a call! :) Anyway, there is my plug for Killer Bunnies. Soon you'll all be thanking me for providing you with long, hilarious game nights! And, we would love to play with you all someday soon! :)

Quick Update...

I'm sure you have all been anxiously awaiting the results of my test today. Okay, not really, but I'll tell you anyway. It was about the most boring 3 hours of my life and everything turned out to be just fine. For those of you who haven't had the joy - you have to fast for 12 hours (doesn't sound too bad, except when you are pregnant) before you go in. First they prick your finger and test your blood sugar then make you drink a disgustingly sweet bottle of syrup. Then you have to sit in the waiting room for three hours - being tested again every hour. I thought I would enjoy the time to read, but I was so nauseous from drinking pure sugar on an empty stomach, it was hard to concentrate! Anyway, everything checked out just fine. Cameron had fun playing with the Henrickson kids and I'm glad it is over! I'm excited to have some friends over tonight for homemade pizza and Killer Bunnies - the day is looking up! :)

Baby Girl Update

I had another Dr. Appointment today to check up on our little girl and everything is going pretty well. She is growing right on schedule and kicking like crazy. Now that I am getting bigger I can tell that I am carrying her lower than I did Cameron, so I am enjoying not having her feet as close to my ribs as his were! :) I have been extremely tired lately, which I chalked up to not sleeping well at night because of the big belly, but found out today that I am a little bit anemic, which I'm sure has been part of it. My mom was not at all surprised because I guess she was anemic during all of her pregnancies. I'll take that from her, since I think the fact that pregnancy is so easy for me in general also came from her. :) Seriously, I can't really complain - for the most part I really enjoy being pregnant (crazy right?) The only bad news I got today was that my blood sugar was a little high. I had the glucose screening where you fast for 12 hours before and then have to spend an hour at the office for the tests. Well, she said it was just barely high enough that I have to go back in for more tests - yuck! This time I have to fast and then be in the office for 3 hours! The hardest part about this pregnancy has been finding babysitters. We are still new here so I hate imposing on all our new friends for all of these appointments. It really makes you miss grandparents! :) Anyway, hopefully the second screening comes out normal. One thing that really hit me today is how fast this pregnancy has gone! I am 29 weeks now and the Dr. said that if I haven't gone into labor already, he would start me a week early - which means this baby will be here in 10 weeks! Maybe that doesn't sound fast to you, but when I think of getting everything ready and preparing myself to be a mom of two - it seems very fast! And, of course, very exciting! Anyway, that is enough of a novel for today. It is 9:00 pm - way past my bedtime! :)

Just Thought I'd Share...

Tiff Moosman just called to ask for my homemade pizza recipe and I remembered what a good one it was! My sister gave it to me and it is always a hit, so I thought I would share. We have done quite a few game nights/family gatherings where we make the crust and have all the guests bring their favorite toppings. Hope you enjoy it as much as we have...

Rudd's Gourmet Pizza

4 1/2 tsp. yeast
2 Tbs. sugar
1 1/2 cups warm water
4 cups flour
1 tsp. salt
2 Tbs. cooking oil

Mix yeast, warm water and sugar. Let the yeast work for 5 or so minutes. Add flour, salt, and cooking oil. Knead for 6-8 minutes. Divide into two equal pieces. Press onto pizza stone (or baking sheet). Bake at 490 degrees for 5 minutes. Top crust with desired sauce, cheese, and toppings. Return to 490 degree oven for 5-7 minutes until cheese melts.

This recipe makes two crusts - when I make it for just our little family I will bake them both then do toppings on one and refrigerate/freeze the other. They keep well, so you can just add the sauce and toppings and bake again another day. Yummy!!

The Best Four Years

Today Adam and I have been married for four years!! I can't believe how fast time flies when you are having fun! It has been nine years since we started dating, can you believe it? Sometimes it still feels like we are teenagers playing house or something - we can't possibly be old enough to be married and be parents! I just had to get on quick and tell Adam how much I love being his wife! He is the greatest husband a girl could ask for and I feel so lucky to have him! To be honest, it hasn't been the best anniversary. Cameron and I both have colds. Plus his two ear infections, the flu shot he had on Thursday, and he is cutting two new teeth. He has been much better than he was on Thursday, but you can tell he doesn't feel good, and this cold has me feeling pretty yucky too. Poor Adam has had to deal with us both! I love you honey! Thanks for taking such good care of me!

My Sweet Boy & His Evil Twin

Cameron had the worst day EVER today! He has been a little off all week, but today my child was replaced by his evil twin!! Honestly, my sweet little angel cried/tantrumed from 6:30 am (two hours before he usually wakes up) until noon! By 9:00 I had called the doctor to get him seen ASAP. When she asked why I was in I actually asked her to please tell me he had an ear infection or something! :) Is it normal for a mom to wish for an ear infection? As it turns out - he has double ear infections! My poor baby, so sick and his mom threatening to throw him in the trash! :) Anyway, I had to get on and look at a few pictures to remind me how much I love him and thought I would share. He really is so great 99% of the time - I just hope he goes back to that Cameron tomorrow! :)

Hard to imagine this goofball as a terror right? :)