Thursday rambling

Baby #2 Updates:

• I am 28 weeks, 5 days now. 
• My next OB appointment is June 6.  I hoped and planned to go with my friend Britt since we are both going to the same OB (80 mile drive) and our schedules have been off until now since she is on her weekly appointments.  But, she is already having some contractions and making progress, so I'm doubting she will still be pregnant by then even though her due date is June 15.
• My physical therapy has really been helping my hip pain and they cut me back to one session per week.  I am also sleeping with a pillow under my bump now for support which helps immensely.
• Still no name, still working on it!
• My friend Jess is planning a shower for me tentatively the weekend of June 16/17.
• I ordered some fun new summer maternity tops last night.  Motherhood Maternity was having a sale, that for clearance items it was BOGO and other tops were buy 3, get the 4th free, so I ordered 6 new tops. 

Austin Updates:

• Austin is 3 years, 4 months now. 
• He is still full of energy and always keeping us on our toes.
• He has been extremely stubborn and opinionated lately, gee I wonder where he gets that from? Some days he drives me crazy!
• At the same time sometimes he can be mild and well behaved, I can never predict how he will be though, it's anyone's guess.
• He still has certain words/terms for things even if we tell him the right way to say something.  Like my Mom is always "Papa" which she is okay with since I think she finds in endearing in light that my Dad passed away so she is Grandma and Papa.  He can totally say the word Grandma, and we always tell him that she is Grandma, but he calls her Papa.  For candy he says something between "can-can" and "tin-tin", and suckers are "Popsicles" which I think he associated with the word lollipop. 
• He loves pretend play right now.  He is always pretending to be a doggy.  Sometimes he will be a kitty, bird or froggy, but mostly sticks with doggy- my poor deprived pet-less boy!
• He loves to play games and is really into Candyland now.  He also loves Mario Kart Wii, and is really getting very good at it now, like scary good for a 3 year old. 
• His transition to big boy bed went way better than we ever anticipated.  He loves it and sleeps well in it.  He seems to not grasp that he can get up on his own because when he wakes up he always calls for us to come and get him.  I'm okay with that though because I don't have to worry about him wandering the house alone, or trying to come in our room and get into bed with us.  The only down side is he wakes me up to take him to the bathroom, but it's really not that big of a deal to me. 

Other life updates:

• We missed out on another job.  This time it was a BLM job in Buffalo, WY.  Dustin interviewed for it, but it was kind of advertised funny, so we wondered if they already had a person in mind for it. 
• We are still looking forward to applying for the Fort Collins Forest Service job, and are now kind of hoping the announcement is delayed a couple more weeks so he wouldn't have to start until after the baby is born in case he gets it.  They actually posted the call for applications, but then pulled it back down as they said there was some problem with how they did it.  We still haven't seen the revised announcement.
• The nice thing about knowing about the Buffalo job is now I can move forward with preparing for the arrival of the baby.  I have been in a little bit of limbo since packing to move and packing up a room for storage means different strategies.  We will be in our current location until at least after she is born so I can proceed with readying our office room for Austin and transforming his current room back into a nursery.
• I am about half way through my current book club book A Prayer for Owen Meany.  I read it back in high school, but it's fun to reread it. 

Kreative Blogger Award

My new A-Z Challenge friend Jen at we're living a full life was kind enough to bestow an award upon me.  I have been so lazy about posting this month after a busy April with the A-Z Challenge, so I thought this was a good way to get my blog writing going again.

Now I have to tell you ten facts about myself that you might not already know.

1. When I was a kid I loved to play with Barbies and played with them well beyond the typical age range.  When I was old enough the play turned more into creativity as I would sew or crochet my own clothes for my dolls.  I remember my childhood best friend teasing me for still playing with them in fifth grade, so I became a closet Barbie player.
2. I have been invited to be in wedding parties three times.  I was the flower girl for my brother Doug's wedding, a bridesmaid in my brother George's wedding, and a bridesmaid for my best friend Amanda. 
3. My first rock concert was in 2003 to see Stone Sour at the Fillmore Auditorium in Denver with Powerman 5000, Ra, and Systematic.  Dustin's cousin is Joel Ekman, the original drummer for Stone Sour and he hooked us up with free tickets and back stage passes, not too shabby for that first experience!  I mostly remember a whole lot of noise, the "f" bomb more than I ever care to here again and Corey Taylor talking about how he thought certain people should kill themselves (like Avril Levigne and all the band members of Good Charlotte)...I was terrified of going back stage, but in reality the guys were just a bunch of good ole Iowa farm boys.
4. I once dyed my hair purple while in high school. Well, not all purple, but got "eggplant" streaks.  My Mom and I went to visit my brother Doug in Portland, Oregon and he saw an add for it and talked me into having it done since we worked at a bank and could not. 
5. When I was in college I was in a professional society called ASAE- The American Society for Agricultural Engineering.  It changed it's name at that time to The American Society for Agricultural, Food, and Biological Engineering.  Now it's called ASABE- The Society for Agricultural and Biological Engineers.  I was a local student chapter officer and one year was elected as a National Officer (Secretary) of the Preprofessional Council. 
6. If I could have gone to college anywhere I would have went to Notre Dame.  I visited the campus in Indiana during the summer between my freshman and sophomore year with a program that I was in to encourage first generation kids to go to college.  I LOVED the campus and so would have loved to have gone there.  My ACT score was one point less then the recommended range for admittance, so I chickened out on even applying. 
7. I sewed my own senior prom dress.  It was a 4-H sewing project so I also showed it at fair and I was mad because the way they displayed it it was accessible to the public and everyone wanted to touch the silky fabric.  After the county fair it was covered in finger oils and I wasn't allowed to have it cleaned before it went to the state contest. 
8. I have no desire to ever go to any of my high school class reunions.  I didn't really have "true" friends in high school and am only loosely in contact with some through Facebook. 
9. My first year of college I went to University of Northern Colorado and was majoring in Kinesiology.  I wanted to become an Athletic Trainer, but realized I was wasting my potential so after a year I transfered to Colorado State.
10. I collect cow things.  I have cow tea cups with saucers, cream and sugar holders, a cookie jar, pillows, stuffed animals, and figurines. 

Now I'm bestowing this award on seven of my bloggy friends:

1. Sandy at Pardon My Dust
2. Brandi at Life of a New Mommy of Two
3. Briana at Sweet Carolina Grace
4. kbreints at A Little Crazy and a Lot of Love
5. Lisa at Our Janidlo Clan
6. Dot at Musings from Dot
7. coltonsmommy at The Colton Chronicles

Solar Eclipse

I live in far north Arizona so we were right in the band that was treated to the full solar eclipse this evening.  I didn’t plan ahead and get any of the cool glasses, or special filters for my camera, but I was able to capture it with my camera by looking at the LCD.

We also projected the eclipse through a pin hole on the side of our house.

OB appointment

I had an OB appointment today and everything is still looking great.  Baby girl's heart rate was 155 BPM.  My blood pressure was low, but I gained 6 pounds since my last appointment 4 weeks ago.  The doctor didn't say anything about that, but it just surprised me!

After the appointment I ran some errands before returning to work.  It was fun to go shopping, but it was super hot there today, I'm sure over 95 degrees F.

When I got back to work my boss came in to talk to me about a couple of things.  She asked about the water spots on our floor.  This morning I popped into my office for about 15 minutes before I left for the big city because I had to prep the coolers and ship the water samples I collected yesterday to send them to the laboratory.  I packed them with bagged ice cubes the day before to keep them cold over night and some of the ice melted and pooled in the bottom of the coolers.  Each site has 6 different bottles and they are all together in a plastic bag.  Some of the bags collected the melted ice water, and I spilled some of it on the floor as I was moving around bottles to prep the coolers.  I explained to her what caused the water spots and she gave my co-worker who I share an office with a funny look and he grinned.  He then told me that he told her that my water broke this morning causing the water spots and that I had to rush to St. George to deliver the baby.  I thought that was pretty clever and hillarious!

Happy Mother’s Day

I was impressed by how many of the people who I follow already wrote Mother’s Day recap posts on Mother’s Day.  I took the day off and enjoyed my special time with my boys and girl.  They pampered me and took good care of Mommy!
First we went to Zion National Park.  When we got there it was packed.  The parking area was full and the sign said to drive into Springdale to park then catch the shuttle, but we thought that was too much effort so we decided to find something else to do.  Luckily the day before at the ninja party I was talking to one of my friends and she told me about an unmarked trail in Zion that is in an area you can drive to.  When we drove by it there was a parking place so we decided to give it a try.  Even though it's not advertised it was a great, well mainained trail that followed a little creek.  She said if you go all the way it ends in a pool fed by a waterfall, but we didn't quite make it that far.  We found a nice shady area that had little tadpoles in the water.  We played there for a while wading in the water and checking out nature.
















Checking out a tadpole

Then we went to lunch at the Zion Mountain Resort at their restaurant called the Buffalo Bistro.  It overlooks a pasture for a buffalo herd and right outside the restaurant they have a farm type area with gardens and animals. They offered that while we were waiting on our food we could take Austin out to pet the colts.  He of course loved it!
  







This is the restaurant with the huge windows facing the buffalo pasture.  The food there is really great, very gormet.  They even try to raise much of the produce that they serve.  I had a CABLT-crab, avocado, bacon, lettuce and tomato on a roll with a balsamic sauce, it was so good!  Then we got a chocolate fondant dessert that was so delish!

Here is my card and gift from Austin:

Ninja Party

On Saturday we took Austin to his buddies 3rd birthday party that had a “Ninja” theme.   It was a beautiful day and everyone had a lot of fun.  I was in a picture taking mood and ended up with 109 by the time I got home.  I edited it down to 60 that I shared on Facebook and picked some of my favorites from the party to share here.

The birthday boy relaxing in the pool

The Ninja training course

The three amigos in the pool

Chopstick practice

The girls' turn in the pool while they munch on candy sushi- she made rice krispie treat rolls and put a gummy fish with it and wrapped it in a fruit roll up

More ninja training before the pinata

Instead of hitting it with a stick they did ninja punches and kicks to break it open

Take that pinata! 
It was actually the same pinata we got for Austin's birthday, the thing was tough as nails and barely had a little hole in it after Austin's party, so they patched the little hole and it still held up through a beating!

27 weeks

My bump has really been expanding lately and I am really feeling pregnant now.  Baby girl is very active and I feel her the most on my right side.  These could really be a long 3 months, but hopefully it won't be too hot and miserable.

Here I am at 14 weeks and here I am at 21 weeks.

My physical therapy session have been going good and have been really helping.  I haven't had the intense stabbing pain that I had before.  It still will get stiff and sore if I sit too long, but it's definitely manageable now.

5QF

Ahhh, TGIF.  Happy Mother's Day to all the Mommies, and Grandmas out there!

   1. What advice would you give a couple getting married?

Marriage takes work, you can't just sit back and expect happiness to be a given. If you are unhappy you need to communicate that with your spouse and figure out how together to work on the issues.  You also need to be really receptive if your spouse is unhappy and be willing to work towards mutual happiness.

2. If you could tell your 16 year old self ONE thing, what would it be?

Hang in there, life is about to get really great.  College will open new opportunities and you will find a great happiness that you hoped would be possible.  And at the end of college you will meet your best friend and fall deeply in love, a love from which your family will grow. 

3. What do you do to keep cool in the summer? (AC, windows, fans, swimming, etc.)

Since I live in Arizona AC is an absolute must. We also love to go swimming to beat the heat.  Unfortunately the best pool in the area is going to be closed this summer as there are some structural problems and they are pursuing legal action against the contractor who built it.  That means the other pool will be packed, so we need to figure out another swimming location.

4. What did you (or your wife) crave most while pregnant?

With Austin I craved tomato things like salsa and marinara.  I could not get enough tomato based food.  With this pregnancy I haven't really had true cravings.  For a while I really wanted creamy soup, but I think it was more of a comfort thing since it was winter time. 

5. Who is your favorite TV mom? Why?

It's a blast from the past, but I like Clare Huxtable from the Cosby Show.  She was so inspiring as she was a Mother of five, supportive wife, and rocked her career as a Lawyer.  She was strong, intelligent, beautiful and witty.  All that on top of having an immaculate home and preparing healthy, balanced meals for her family.

Wordless Wednesday (Sort of)

From (the photo of our house that is currently on our MLS listing):

To this (the new photo I am sending our Realtor):

I did it! A-Z Challenge

I was two days late on letter Y, but other than that I completed the challenge every other day on time!

This was the second blog challenge that I participated in.  I also did one called the 21 days of summer challenge last year.  There were about 20 participants in that one, so this was a much different experience.

The major thing that I found with this challenge was how overwhelming the participant list was.  I tried visiting many of the other blogs and left a comment no matter what the subject was.  I found some of them very unrelatable, and yet others I loved and am still following.  If I could change one thing about the challenge I would have people include a few descriptive words in their registration to help people find the types of blogs they relate to.  At one point I did a search for all blog titles with the word "mom" or "mommy" since I relate to those the most.  But even using that criteria, my blog title does not include it, so mine would not have been found using that criteria. 

If I could change my registration it would say "Sarann Rap: Mom, life, crafts" since those are the main themes that my blog is about. 

Words that would work for some of the other blogs I visited might include:cooking/recipes, book review, author, poetry, religion, reflections, retirement.

It was fun and I enjoyed meeting some new bloggy friends and looking forward to continue reading your stories.

Guardian Angel Prayer

I have always said a bedtime prayer for/with Austin.  When he was little I would just pray over him, then since he has been talking I ask him who he wants to bless and we go through a whole list of relatives and friends.  Recently I decided to teach him the bedtime prayer my Mom taught me to say, the Guardian Angel Prayer.  I can't believe how quickly he learned to recite it all on his own!

Angel of God

My Guardian Dear

To Whom God's Love

Commits Me Here

Ever This Night (Day)

Be At My Side

To Light, To Guard

To Rule, To Guide

Amen

Survivor Tribal Council

I don't talk about it a whole lot here, but my favorite TV show is Survivor.  I missed the whole first season, but happened to be at one of my older brother's house when they were watching the finale and it intrigued me.  I watched the second season in Australia and enjoyed it.  From Season 3-5 though I thought the casting and locations were dull, so lost touch with it until Season 6 when it was Amazon men vs. ladies.  From then on I have watched every season and they are now on Season 24 Survivor One World where it again started with the premise of men vs. ladies, but this time they started out on one beach instead of separate camps like every other season.

In case you don't watch the basic premise is they take a cast of contestants out to a remote, foreign location and dump them off into tribes.  Most of the time there are two tribes, but at least once they started with three.  The tribes compete against each other and the losing tribe has to vote someone out.  At some point when they get the numbers dwindled down they merge the tribes and it becomes an individual contest for the remaining contestants.  While they do have to rough it (some cases you could barely call it that) in the outdoors, the game is very little about basic outdoor survival, and more about social dynamics and strategy.  Every season they throw in little tweaks and twists to keep it interesting.  When it comes to the final two or three they have a final Tribal Council where a jury of the last 7-9 players to be voted out decide the winner of $1,000,000.

So I have seen a lot of Survivor now and definitely have my favorite moments, have had seasons I loved and hated, and have my favorite cast members. 

The Tribal Council last night was priceless, and was one of my favorite Tribal Councils ever, definitely top 3.  I love it when they shake things up and blindside one of the players.

So basically like I said this season they did a men vs. women format to begin with.  At first the ladies were pretty sad and pathetic and the men took control of the game and seemed to be in charge.  The women however hung in and by the merge began to cease control of the game.  Since the merge happened the women have been picking off the guys, so the whole jury so far is men and there is only one guy left in the game itself. 

As of last night the contestants included:

• Greg "Tarzan"- an old man, formerly a Plastic Surgeon, who has snuck in by allowing his vote to be used by the ladies.
• Kim, a Bridal Shop Owner, the mastermind who is poised to win the game.
• Chelsea, in Medical Sales, who is also strong and may be a final contender.
• Alicia, a Special Ed Teacher, who is blunt and rude and surprisingly full of herself.  (Let me tell you, if I had a kid in her class, I would have them removed after seeing her play this game!)
• Kat, a Time Share Rep, who is naive and boasts way too much, she wears her heart on her sleeve, er, make that shoulder since they are always bikini clad.
• Sabrina, a High School Teacher, who they elude to as being a contender, but don't actually show her maneuvering or trying to strategize very much.
• Christina, a Career Consultant, who is riding coattails and has done very little to actually help herself make it as far as she has.

All the women left are aged 20 somethings, and all of them are in great shape and very attractive.

Last night the episode was all about Kat.  Last week she was all intent that if she or Kim won the reward challenge that they would take each other.  When Kim pulled of the victory she bailed on Kat, who seemed so devastated at the time.  However this week Kat won and her first pick to accompany her was Kim.  She went on and on about her win and how she couldn't wait to go and get drunk with her buddies Kim and Alicia.  Meanwhile at camp of course the rest of the contestants were fuming and hashed out the plan to ouster Kat.  When the rewardees returned Kim wanted to go for Sabrina, but Chelsea convinced her to go with Kat since the other four were voting that way. 

At Tribal Council host Jeff Probst interviews the contestants to get their thoughts about happenings in the game before they vote.  Pretty much through the whole interview they were all bagging on Kat, but she was still oblivious to the fact that they were going to gun her down since she thought she was in tight with Kim and that they were voting out Sabrina.  Her final words were this:

"If it is going to be a blindside, it's going to be pretty funny and, like, exciting," she giggled,  "Blindsides are always fun and exciting!"

So was she still giggling after Jeff snuffed her torch seeing how her blindside was funny and exciting?  No of course not, she actually walked off bawling like a baby, it was classic!