adventures of the last 4(ish) weeks

These last couple weeks have been really great. I  felt great! The little one was moving a lot and I loved it! I was getting a ton of stuff done,  and then it hit...

I am not sure what to call it maybe a fluke but I have been  exhausted. Like take multiple naps and still go to bed at 10 or 11 and wake up at 8:30 or 9 kind of exhausted. I have not been sleeping well and it gets progressively worse. I am also getting more nervous about the delivery/labor because there are a whole basket full of unknowns. Especially with my "condition", "issue" whatever you want to call it there is not a this is how it may go it could go all sorts of different ways which terrify the type A planner aheader me.

Anyway I have had to relax a lot. Because I can get extremely worked up about that and everything else that you could possibly think of. Needless to say a lot of prayers at all hours of the day have been offered.
It Helps.
It brings me peace when I literally have none left.
It keeps me sane and clear headed.
Although I can't control anything...
(except for my apartment... let's just say organized and reorganized repeat over and over again)
prayer is my peace mechanism right now and I know that's all I can do.

So the next four weeks I'm praying and waiting and organizing and cleaning.
because in the end all I want is a healthy, strong baby who we already love a million times over.

adventures of the stackable boxes DIY

So I have had these acrylic/lucite/ I have no clue what they are made out of boxes since I was a sophmore in college (the first time ;) ).
They were kinda ugly and I used them as shelving in my dorm and shelving in my first apartment and you get the idea basically I used them as shelving.
My mom actually gave these boxes to me she got them at a sample sale when she worked at Limited Brands. They have been the best investment yet.
Anyway Troy kept wondering why we had them and kept asking if we could get rid of them.
I knew they had a purpose somewhere down the line and lucky I stuck to my guns (and lucky there was a large apathetic hurdle he had to get past) because they are perfect for Harvey's room.
So here we have ugly boxes need something to do with them and I don't want to spend one more cent on his room then I have to (just wait for the reveal I am pretty proud of his on the cheap but chic nursery if I do say so myself).
It took me forever to figure out what to do with them but they turned out so great!

Here is how it went down:
PS this project is so super easy and really cheap (if you already have boxes to paint).

2 jars of sample paint from home depot--- any color gloss whatever you can do whatever your heart desires.
Paint brushes from the thrift store like $2.00 max
boxes
And patience

All you do is paint. I painted only the outside and bottom of the boxes because I his things will be in these and I am experiencing large amounts of paranoia about toxins and the baby right now. I pray that will fade.

This project took a couple days because I had limited drying space so I could only paint 1 maybe 2 at a time.

Before:

And After:

They look so great and I can't wait to fill it with all the great baby stuff he'll need.

Adventures of Fabric Garland DIY

I found this great blog via brickyard buffalo called Little Miss Momma. Can I just say that she is fantastic. I love her style and her DIY are really easy and not super time consuming to do.
So I decided I wanted to make her fabric Garland.
They are super easy like took me a couple hours to do.
I made one big one using 6 different fabrics and ended up cutting it in half and putting half in Harvey's room and half in our room.
They look so great!
I can't even describe to you how much I absolutely love it!!
Follow her directions because that is all I did.
So easy for a quick pick me up for any room.

The only thing I wish I would have done differently is buy cheaper fabric.
The cost ended up being more than I wanted but I am so happy with the end product that I can't stay mad for long ;) )

adventures of the maternity shot

There are few things in life that make me feel more awkward that taking pictures of myself.
 But I would much rather do it than ask Troy because then I would still be taking that same shot I asked for two weeks ago.
He is rather a perfectionist when it comes to pictures.
Anyway I sent my sister an email with pictures of what I look like as a pregger. (She's in Taiwan on a mission so I wanted to make sure she saw the infinite lovely that is Rauchelle pregnant).
As I sent them to her I felt like an idiot.
I'm not sure why but I did.
again it goes back to my loathing of the so called "selfie"
But I figured if I sent them to her I should share them with all of you. (the three of you that read this ;) )
So here you go.

The pictures progress as follows: 22 weeks, 27 weeks, 29ish weeks.
As of tomorrow I am 31 weeks which means I have between 7-8 weeks left (because they are taking me early).
I get a little anxious when I think about it because its going so fast right now.
We are so excited to meet little Harvey James. He will most definitely be our favorite.

Adventures of Bedrest

No pictures yet again... someday I will get the hang of this.

As can be assumed from the title I was on bed rest last week and the week before. Although I am up now and allowed to be moving around I have been an emotional wreck and not in a good way.
My poor husband...
Before I got pregnant I knew that it wasn't sunshine and daisies, that your body changes drastically and your hormones  are literally a roller coaster of highs and lows. I knew this...really I did...but it doesn't make going through it any easier.
I have been frustrated with my body.
Like super frustrated
I believed that I would run through my pregnancy and workout so that I would be healthy and my baby, my dear sweet baby, would be healthy
But instead I have exercised a total of 15 times for the past 5 months was deathly ill for the first 2 and a half months and now after 2 weeks of feeling great I was put on bed rest.
I was mad at my body that it couldn't withstand the stress of pregnancy, that it wasn't strong enough.

Then in the midst of my anger and frustration the other day it came to me that I should be grateful for my body. This wonderful gift from my Father in Heaven and I have been cursing it. I realized that I would be ok. That if I was on bed rest for the rest of my pregnancy it would be ok, that my baby boy comes first.
So I repented and have tried to have a better attitude.
My belly is bigger and I love it. I love feeling the twitches of my little one
Although some mornings I wake up so frustrated because I hardly slept I am grateful that I am constantly up and down because hopefully this is preparing me for the many sleepless nights that lie ahead.
So at this point I am not on bed rest but I am ok with whatever happens next.

adventures of baby...stuff and guess what I have pictures

There are so many things that I could tell you about but life (gratefully) has been super low key lately and I totally love it. I have had the chance to clean my house (for the most part) and go grocery shopping (cue angels of healthy food and no more frozen preservative dinners!!!!). So I don't really want to tell you about the disaster of our second bedroom but I will once it's done. maybe. anyway onto  baby stuff. I have recently been following tons of baby thing makers on instagram. These people make beautiful things. I'm talking beautiful! and I keep having images of moccasins and leggings in my dreams and oh to afford these cute adorable items for my little one would be a dream!
In case I am sounding too greedy and whoa is me I want you all to know how grateful I am for the baby items I have gotten so far!

 My mom went a little BYU fan while we were in Provo two weeks ago (which I love, because I love BYU). And those blankets and burp cloth my dear mom made them while we were in OH.  (no the pink blanket doesn't mean a girl I just have no problem with all colors for both genders).
And let's talk about that carseat cover and nursing pillow. Mom took me shopping in UT at Motherhood Maternity and HELLO! I love that place they gave me tons of coupons (fastest way to my heart). I got these two items about 100$ retail value for 15$ because all I had to pay was shipping. It is amazing. They are both made of this chenile like fabric which is AMAHZING! seriously I can't wait.
And for those that are curious no we still have not bought a couch yet :( BBBUUTTT we found the one! I just couldn't pull the trigger seeing as how the most expensive thing we have ever bought was our rings and uh well that was a battle in and of itself. I may have some PTSD from that experience. We are getting closer which is going to be amazing once we have it.
And lest you think I am a saint I am coveting this rocking plane I found at a unfinished wood shop in Provo. Like want want!!

Adventures of weddings and random ramblings

We were just in UT or as I like to call it Mormonland. I love UT always have always will. I love the mountains, BYU, temple square, and that fact that there are temples and church's that literally dot the landscape.
 My dear cousin got married and it was beautiful, it was the first sealing that I attended since Troy and I have been married ( which has been three years this past Wednesday- mark it down its a momentous day). I don't know if my hormones were barking or what but I didn't cry until I hugged her and then I was like a complete idiot, rambling starting to blubber and then I walked away and it stopped. Pregnancy is not for the weak minded I tell you. But it made me think about how grateful I am for my family and that we are all sealed together forever. Literally. ( now in my weaker moments I'd like to take the chain and hit certain members of my family over the head with it but I digress :) ).  I also took zero pictures.... Yes I am fantastic at blogging.
In other news my belly is getting bigger but right now it looks like I ate too much at my last meal so I will spare you the picture. I do find myself being extra emotional and wanting to hug people ( I am not a big hugger which as a side note  marrying into the Richey family was the best thing to cure that ;) )
 I also rub my belly frequently and find my hands there quite often,  I found this weird that women would do this before I got pregnant and still find it just as weird that I do it. Sometimes I tell myself a genie will come out if I rub enough....no such luck although my wish that morning sickness aka lazy days would end did come true and I now only get sick occasionally. And on that glorious note I will leave you, as my house looks like a dumpster and I need a snack :)

Adventures of Weight

Weight... what a heavy word :)
Weight gain is such a popular topic in our society. Mainly because we (society not necessarily you) are getting fatter. It's the truth... no most people aren't big boned it's just that McDonald's is a heck of a lot easier than cooking. And let's be honest most people would rather have fries with that than green beans. Some people blame our society's weight obsession on the media. I'm calling baloney, it has nothing to do with the media. 90% of people in society aren't obsessed with their weight because the media has stick thin models who have been airbrushed down to a fragile concept of what they actually look like. No, it has to do with us. Women and men who compare themselves to those around them. If we were all 400lbs. no one would care.
Women, we compare ourselves to everyone, and if you are sitting at your computer talking about how you don't I got news for you... you're lying. We all do it. I do it, you do it, we all do. And here's why it's so stupid... if I learned anything from science and statistics, circumstances have to be EXACTLY THE SAME  for comparison to occur. no one in this world is exactly the same. If you are comparing yourself to a woman, you would have to live in the same exact place with the same exact husband, body, children, immune system, income, education etc. If you really want to compare then find someone that matches those features and boom compare away. But 100$ and a year's worth of diapers says you're never going to find someone like that. This brings me to weight gain.
In all these books they talk about exercise and weight gain and you know what every woman is different. SURPRISE! The average weight gain for pregnant women is 15-40 lbs. that's a lot of room for variation. Most women fall around the 30-40lb. mark. is that bad? no. Sometimes your body does what it has to, and sometimes you eat too many Twinkies (too soon hostess?). Either way women should not beat themselves up. You can't you're growing a human and that is dang hard. Why in the world would you want to stress about weight when in fact there are other more useful things to stress about. If you are really worried about it start going on walks for 30-60 min a day. That will do a lot for you and your weight gain.
After pregnancy is also an issue. Did you know it takes your body about 3-4 months to magically shrink your insides and come back to the homeostasis you knew before you were pregnant. yeah. so if you are 5-6 months out and the "baby weight" isn't gone. It's OK. If you are 5 years out it's still OK, just get healthy. Your body just did the greatest magic trick of all, creating and pushing out a human. A HUMAN. If you are stressed about it call me we'll talk about eating right and working out. But you gotta give yourself a break. A lot of you do hard things (work long hours, take care of your kids all day and you're a mom hello that's hard stuff city right there whether or not you're a SAHM or a working mom). 
*Now I know that some of you read this and think she isn't even "really" pregnant, she doesn't understand. I do actually, because I am a woman and I have been heavier than I wanted to be and I lost it through diet and exercise and it was hard and I hated it but I did it. I also studied this stuff for longer than I care to admit and so I have an idea about what the body does and what it doesn't do.
Moral: Please don't beat yourself up! That's what punks do and you ain't no punk. So check yourself before you wreck yourself!
Questions, Comments, Concerns? no? Class dismissed :)

adventures of traveling in the first trimester

Most of you  know that when I do, I do it big. I'm talking big. There is no such thing as waiting for a convenient time. No way, I'm talking full ice cream sundae with the cherry enough whipped cream to choke a small rodent and hot fudge that melts your ice cream way faster than anticipated big. Well according to tradition big was done again.
For the recap.
 Troy quits job, we move out of our apartment in with the in-laws (Troy's parents) and Troy goes to TX to start new job. (That was October/November). In May (last month) we were finally reunited. cue hallelujah chorus. Not only did we pack up the bedroom we were "renting" in his parents house but I graduated from college, his buddy from college came to visit, and we had a big ole beach bash. (ps this all happened in the time span of 4 days). Not to mention during this time I had the exhaustion (everyday mind you) that resembled someone who just ran a 100 miles and the dry heaves of well a pregnant woman. Like I said when we do big we do big.
This was all fine and good but looming ahead of us was a 3 day cross country drive to TX (with national park stops along the way) and a 5 day reunion in OH with a flight the day after arriving in TX.
For those that are thinking wow she's an idiot. Thank you I came to that same conclusion two days in. Don't get me wrong I love road trips and national parks and I love my family and I am super grateful I got to see them but stupid was the name of that game. I got more sick than you care to hear about and just for the record hilly OH roads and morning sickness go together about as well as Josh Groban and Girl Talk (the DJ) (the key here they don't mix).
Nevertheless we did it with numerous bathroom retching sessions and side of the road pull overs and made it to TX and back in the span of a week. Where I proceeded to get the cold from the devil himself and my morning sickness got progressively worse.
Moral to this story: please if you know someone who does big, tie them up and leave them in a room until they come to their senses.
Another side note morning sickness is not reserved for the glorious morning. yes a shocker to some of you I assure you it lasts ALL. DAY. LONG. the person who named this wonderful miracle was never sick or just has never met a pregnant woman who had this issue, or because that's the mood i'm in was probably a man who has never been close to a pregnancy.

adventures of starting and stopping

I have gone back and forth, to start a blog or to not start a blog (that is a question). Those of my friends who are readers from a past blog will know I get caught up and write a few posts and then the vacuum of life appears and the blog gets sucked into it. This is to be no more (at least I'd like to think so). Having moved to a new placing forcing me to keep those I love across all parts of the continent informed this seems like the easiest way. Who knows how many posts I will make but I know at least a little bit. This blog will be a public dumping ground. Count yourselves lucky because who knows what I will say. I have lost my filter (around the same time that I saw two little lines on a white pee stick). You're welcome for the warning.

I have way too many stories to share from the past 12 weeks because believe it or not I have gotten funnier (or not). Let me believe what I want for now especially since most of my day is spent trying not to yak (that's upchucking for the less informed). It really is the small victories right? yeah well anyway I gotta get this stories down somewhere and maybe the interweb isn't the best place but typing a document and sending it to everyone I know seems like a lot of work so for now a public blog will be my stomping ground.

I would also like to address the picture issue. I am terrible at taking pictures and getting my picture taken (please consult my husband or good friend Kate for confirmation of this fact). I don't like or nor do I do it well. Troy on the other hand kills the photog world mainly because he is so anal retentive about taking the perfect picture that he really does get the perfect pictures. So I am going to just have him be the photographer for this wonderful little blog.

I think that's about it for now but I'll leave you with a preview of things to come.

morning sickness worst time of a first pregnancy or best? more on that later
moving to a new state where the humidity shows resemblance to satan's sauna.
buying a new couch more like bartering with a gremlin.