Birthday

My birthday was on a Sunday, so Saturday Eric and I spent the whole day together and enjoyed ourselves. Then at night we went to dinner with friends and their kidlets.

Tried a new restaurant called BJ's. (New to us, that is.) It was VERY GOOD. Everyone was really impressed with their meal. I'll definitely go back. It's right next to the Krispy Kreme so while we were waiting for our table we went for free birthday donuts and he didn't even ask for an ID, just handed us a box. Yum. Dessert before dinner.

On Sunday the Primary kids sang to me (twice) and we went to my parents house for dinner. I requested meat loaf for birthday dinner and Mom and Celeste made a great meal for everyone. Celeste even made me a birthday cake, I was totally surprised. Lemon. So good. No candles though, they said it would be too big of a bonfire. Hahaha.

It was a great weekend and I enjoyed everything.

Followed by Christmas weekend which was also awesome. It's too bad there is work again tomorrow. (Only for 5 more weeks though, Wow.)

Finally Feeling Close

I am now 33 Weeks!

I was really excited to make it to single digits of weeks left till the due date. I've been telling Eric for a few months that I just wanted the holiday season to get here because I knew that would make it feel like time goes by so fast and it will suddenly be january, then I need to get the bedroom finished and then it will be Baby time.

I was more right than I knew. Not only did October go by quickly and November even faster, but all of December so far has FLOWN by. I don't even have half of my Christmas shopping done, no wrapping yet, and my tree isn't quite finished and there are a few decorating things I didn't do yet.

Oh my goodness! All that with one week until Christmas.

The bedroom is coming along. Celeste has been SO MUCH HELP. I told her she has done more work on it than me. She kept telling me, "you go sit down, I don't want to see you standing on that chair again." I have been taking progress pictures and I'll put them up when I have the walls done. Then again when it's decorated. (At least this is my plan.)

Noelle at 32 weeks.

She is definitely growing. She recently discovered my rib cage and very frequently kicks at it, but only on the right side. She is always a big bulge on my left side (I figure it's either her head or her booty) so she seems to be laying horizontally in there still--since I started showing I've been told she is laying sideways.

My feet aren't really swollen now, but my ankles totally make up for it. Especially at night. My feet now get achy (mostly in my heels which I find odd) and Eric will rub them for me when I ask. What a guy. He frequently tells me to be more spoiled and have him do things for me. I guess it usually doesn't occur to me to ask--except with picking things up. If something falls on the floor I try to avoid going all the way down to get it. If he's around he always offers. My legs have also started to feel achy (if that's the right word) below the knees. Especially after walking a little distance, and if there is an incline--oh please don't make me go. The heel pain in my feet is worse though. After walking the malls my feet always hurt alot.

I told Eric I want to start a walking regiment in January. Just around our neighborhood most likely, unless we feel like going to a mall. And always wearing my sneakers, which I wear most of the time already because of work.

Blessings

Early in the month I participated in a free download by Kiki Creates. To get the image, all you had to do was leave a comment by the deadline listing what you are grateful for this year.

I did; the print is way cute. It says "In everything give thanks, D&C 98:1"

But I was grateful for the reflection moment, since I wrote that I have thought many times about how glad I am for this same thing, so I thought I would share.

You already know we are expecting our first child in early 2011.

When I was younger--before I knew quite how soon I would be married--I always planned to have about one year of just-us-newlywed-time and that I would start a family soon after that. Once I was married I still figured that, but I do not think Eric and I ever set a planned time period. Before we had been married a full year, the housing market dropped so low that Eric thought if we looked really hard we might be able to find a house in our price range. That is to say, cheap. We started in February and looked at SO MANY houses, I know that we bid on at least 13 houses. There was one that we almost bought, but backed out close to the end deciding we couldn't afford all of the fix-up it desperately needed. (Plus, one of the main reasons it was so cheap is because it's backyard is on Southern. I was not a fan of that.)

We later found the house we're in now. It is wonderful for our needs and one of the cheapest I've heard of in Mesa, especially for it's size. We are truly lucky. We also enjoy our ward. It is true that there are things in this house that aren't perfect, but it is definitely sufficient for our needs and then some.

We closed on this house one month after our first anniversary. In my head that was the time we should be getting on the baby train. My best friend Rachael and my sister-in-law Celeste were both pregnant. Hello. But having just purchased and spent a month fixing up a house, our funds were tight. It was not time yet. I kept telling myself it was okay. I will be pregnant before the babies come. I've still got a few months. No worries.

In November, Rachael had Wyatt. No worries Noelle, Celeste is still pregnant. It will be your turn soon.

In late January Celeste had Adria. She invited me to the birth. I had never seen a baby be born before. It was such an amazing experience and I'm really happy that Celeste let me share it with them.

Eric and I were discussing the baby thing at least weekly by now. I was starting to get a little sad. But he assured me that it would be my turn soon enough. We had to wait a little longer.

All the waiting left me thinking feverishly about some of my girlhood fears. (ps. this is the part that started my whole consideration for this post.) I have alot of babies in my family. Being the youngest I watched my brothers and my cousins do the young family thing. I also had Young Women leaders having babies left and right.

I have seen alot of women have miscarriages. Multiple miscarriages. I've seen a few women flat out not be able to conceive. I am terrified of this happening to me. It's a worry I carried around everywhere.

Once Eric and I did decide we could start trying I kept telling myself not to think about that. It would only cause me stress and that can lead to miscarriage. I think I did a pretty good job. I just went on with my daily schedule and spent as much time as Eric's homework would allow together. Until my heart sunk the first time I used a home pregnancy test and it was negative. I even threw up that day. (It was totally the tiny plane's engine's fault. I was sitting right next to it and it was loud and bumpy. I was SO embarrassed.) That weekend was Eric's brother Justin's wedding. It was busy and we had a good time and I didn't really think too much about the negative test. That was a tender mercy I am sure.

The next month it was positive. Eric and I were elated. I am so grateful to have this chance at motherhood. I love my little girl whom I haven't met yet. Eric tells her he loves her too. He tells me how glad he is that our daughter will be part me. I feel movement and I smile every time. She is growing at a steady pace and getting stronger. I am so happy for the blessing that she is in our life, and for the easy time that I have had getting her here.

I did not have to deal with the heartbreak of lost pregnancies or none at all. (I know that this does not make me exempt in the future, but I do not have to worry about these things again for a long time.)

I love that Eric and I are sealed in the Temple and that we have a forever family and this child and others will be ours for eternity.

Fall Centerpiece

I did this the first week of November and kept telling myself to post it. I am just lazy.

I also wanted to take the photo during the day with better light, but that didn't happen, sorry.

These mini pumpkins are actually called tiger pumpkins, how cool is that?

This only cost me $3 because I already had the candlestick (which was an AWESOME DI find months ago).

I love how it looks, especially with a clean table. =) But I can't take credit for the idea, I got from Leann at Organize and Decorate Everything when she featured her table centerpiece.

Also:

Today I am 30 Weeks! Woohoo. 3/4 of the way there.

I linked up with The Shabby Nest's Frugal Friday.

Beginning of the Third Trimester

I am now 27 weeks! There are less than 3 months left to wait. Woohoo!

A lot more people notice my belly now. I don't wear any of my regular clothes--unless you count my socks. I've also recently been asked how old I am really frequently. Almost once a day. People have always told me I look young, but I think the pregnant thing makes them concerned these days, until I tell them I'm almost 22. They're always shocked.

I mentioned my swollen feet, I've also been crazy itchy, had some allergies--stronger than I've ever had in the past--but it has lightened up considerably the past 2 weeks, I get a charlie horse in the night a lot and sometimes my feet seize up too, and I've had some heartburn (oddly, in my throat). My doctor told me this week to get some Tums for the heart burn. We'll see if that makes a big difference.

She moves all the time. It's so exciting

Also my hair has been the best red recently. I've gotten a lot of compliments and questions of what am I doing differently.

Eric is getting more and more excited. He tells me almost everyday something else that he is really excited to watch her do. He wants to teach her things and is anxious to watch her learn. I cannot wait to see him as a Daddy. He is so great with kids. I really can't wait to watch him with ours. So sweet. He frequently talks to my belly and tells her that he loves her and wants to meet her.

Noelle at 26 1/2 weeks

It Happened to Me

I suppose I deserve this. I didn't have so many of the typical bad symptoms of pregnancy that I guess I just needed a reminder about how lucky I have been.

At 22 weeks I noticed my feet, but I thought I was being silly and just dismissed it.

A week later I put on flats to go to a reception and it was confirmed.

My feet and ankles are swollen, I only have a few shoes I can still wear--most of them flip flops.

My ankles are so puffy you can't even see the bone that usually sticks out on the inside.

If I am this swollen now, I really worry about what I will look like at 8 months. Probably a balloon.

...Or a bundle of balloons :-/

Do you like my tan line? =)

First Annual Lawlor Girls Weekend

We should have started this years ago!

(Although this is the first year Shelley could have come anyway, so it was a great time to start.)

We went September 24, 25, and 26 2010 to our cabin, just the adult girls (and Adria).

We all had a great time chatting and reading and staying up late and crafting. On Saturday we went to the Relief Society Broadcast. The whole thing was a blast and it went really well.

These are most of our creations, I took this Sunday morning so there was still lots of craft time to be had and more flowers to be made. It was great to sit around the table and just talk and "work" and help each other make color decisions. (If you can call hair-flower making work...)

We chatted so much the camera never even came out.

Celeste, Adria, Jill, Noelle, Mom, Cindy, Shelley, Sarah

We took this right before leaving for home because I wasn't going to let it slide. (I had meant to take it before Relief Society when we were all dressed up, but oh well. I got the shot. That is what counts.)

Sarah is a champ--she married Josh only 2 weeks before our girls weekend and still came. We are all so glad she did. And grateful Josh could part with her.

I am excited to do this again next year. It was a huge success.

Labor Day 2010

We spent Labor Day Weekend with the Lawlor family at our cabin in Northern Arizona.

It was much cooler up there and we had some great rain.

Grace, Ben, and Ember playing while the men did yard and house work. Lucky them ;>

This was a beautiful sky about 20 minutes before it rained really heavy.

The storm clouds rolling in--only 15 minutes later, on the next street over from the blue sky photo.

Adria pulled herself up from sitting to standing for the first time with the aid of this perfect height table. She has the most surprised look on her face. I love it. She is just over 7 months here.

Right after this she cried because she couldn't figure out how to get back down. haha.

Half Way There Already!

That's right. Today I am 20 weeks which the Dr's count as half of a full term pregnancy.

Everyone is amazed when I say how far along I am because I look so small to them, but come on people. It's my first pregnancy AND I'm fairly tall. Of course I don't stick out a ton.

The real amazing thing about this half way mark is how easy it has been. Most people have done alot more work by now to get a baby here than I have. I was never really sick. I know I lucked out. Eric thanks our baby every day for being so nice to me.

Now after all that talk about being small it IS there. I can certainly tell a difference.

None of my regular pants fit anymore and I only have one comfortable skirt. I can wear alot of my shirts though. I do have the maternity ones, but I haven't been wearing them as much because then it will be all loose and I will look even LESS pregnant to a stranger. (Trying too hard? Maybe. But I am ready to at least look real pregnant.)

This was candid. Which is why my face isn't serious, but it is still good.

Eric really likes this one.

Are you ready for the announcement?

(most everyone knows already...but)

It's a Girl!

and no she isn't named yet.

Savings

I am behind, but hey, at least I'm getting it up here.

*disclaimer: I am also going to be lazy, I should take a picture, but it is dark out and I don't feel like the extra effort to take a few, load them, edit them AND post them here. So I am just going to tell you. Believe me because you should. ;>

On Monday last week--August 16, 2010--Eric and I went to Fry's grocery store. We had been gifted by our home teacher with coupons for various already sale items, plus the info on Fry's current offer of you buy 8 items from the sale list (any 8, it does not have to be all the same) and you get $4 off. He also told us that right now they are taking all manufacture's coupons at $1 even if it only says $.39 off or $.75, or whatever is written, all at least $1 off.

We spent over an hour at the first grocery store (that's right we went to 2 different fry's, but the second we only bought one set of 8 things that the first didn't have in stock). It was the fullest cart Eric and I have ever had in our two years of marriage. I can remember shopping with my mom and having full carts like that--but my mom was shopping for 9 people, not two! We only bought 3 items that weren't on the "8 set" list, one of which we had a coupon to use.

Totals:

purchased items: 79

subtotal: $176.10

coupon savings: $8

8 item set savings: $85.07

purchase total: $83.03

percent savings: 53%

purchased items: 8

subtotal: $20.12

coupon savings: $3

8 item set savings: $11.08

purchase total: $5.04

percent savings: 74%

Total Savings: $108.15

Average percent savings: 64%

The moral of the story:

We bought $196.22 worth of groceries, and only spent $88.07--less than half. That is awesome. We are proud.

Entered the Second Trimester

I am progressing very smoothly.

You still can't tell from the front that I'm pregnant--at least not in pictures--but believe me, it is in there. I've heard the heartbeat twice now.

My ultrasound is scheduled, so we are very excited find out soon whether we have a boy or girl.

Noelle at 16 weeks.

But from the side you can definitely tell. Don't anybody deny it. It is small, but larger than before. Most of my pants are hard to button and I'm at that point where I look like I've gained some chub and not baby weight.

Changes since I've been pregnant:

• Expanded waist by over 2 inches
• 4 pound weight gain (which is typical for a first trimester)
• I'm frequently hungry but I don't want anything. It all sounds awful. I will eat most carbs or fruit though, but for nutrients I really need more than bread, dangit
• My hair is growing faster and looks pretty shiny
• Once i hit 13 weeks I stopped needing to get up for the bathroom in the night (this will change later though)
• I also stopped feeling exhausted after 12 weeks
• My belly is already getting in my way when I need to bend forward

I'm sure I'm forgetting a few things...can i blame that on being pregnant?

Also I have not been sick at all. The worst I've dealt with is that when I brush my teeth I have a severe gag reflex, sometimes to the point of pain. It usually stops hurting after 2 or 3 minutes, but is still annoying and slows me down getting ready for work in the mornings.

Finally a Place to Sleep

We've had Lexi for a year now.

The day we brought her home Eric set out a blanket at the end of our bed to be her bed. She would go to it when we told her bed time, but every morning I found her on the carpet in front of it, and twice I found her chewing on it and ripping the material. The second time I caught her I said alright, if you prefer the floor anyway, have it, and I put away the blanket.

One morning in December (so she had lived with us for over 3 months) I woke up to find her in this box:

At the time the blanket was not in it and one of my sweatshirts apparently was. Also, it was not ripped, that came from use.

I thought her choosing that box was really funny and if she wanted it that was fine by me, so we put the chewed-corner blanket in and this was her official adopted bed. Really not quite big enough for her but it was free and she didn't mind--so why not?

Until this weekend. We finally bought her a real doggy bed. (On clearance, at Ross, and black to match our room--sweet)

It had silly zebra print so we turned it inside out, swapped it for the box with her in a different room and then I came and told Lexi, "go to your bed."

She went straight for it because she is smart like that. She spent a few minutes sniffing it all over and then sat very contentedly on it.

This is just the right size, she can actually spread out on it--unlike her box. Also, some genius decided it didn't need a front side so it works even better than expected.

What a happy puppy. =)

And cute. Oh yes.

For Real

Okay. Official Announcement:

I am most definitely pregnant!

Eric and I are really excited to announce Baby Lara coming in February of 2011.

Noelle at 11 weeks. There is barely something there.

This is going to be grandbaby number one for Laras and number 17 for Lawlors.

Flat Surfaces---updated*

Flat Surface=Shelf for All Junk

Kitchen table? Oh yes. Almost the worst one.

The floor? Definitely a shelf in disguise. Right?

The desk however, is worse by far than the kitchen table. What lands there rarely moves. How sad.

Does anyone else have this problem?

*updated to include:

I don't have a picture with enough lighting--I just want to say that after posting this (and being nagged by Eric alot) I seriously cleaned the desk. It is very pretty and clean right now. Happy.

Fresh Flowers

I recently purchased these vase/jars and wanted to display them with flowers for their photo shoot. (They aren't for me, they are to sell.) So I went to Trader Joe's and got some sunflowers and big gerber daisies. It was fun to have flowers in the house for a week.

The sunflowers got moved to my living room entry table and the gerber daisies stayed on the kitchen table as a center piece.

We had family over for dinner on Sunday and it was nice to have a fresh center piece for the table. Although it got taken off when we were eating cough*casey*cough, but what do you do? There wasn't really room for it.

Isn't that the coolest triangle shape?!! When I first put the flowers in it I thought I would have a hard time parting with this vase.

Justin and Desiree

On April 24, 2010 Eric's brother Justin got married in Washington.

The whole family:

Kaylee, Elise, Mom, Desiree, Justin, Dad, Eric and Me

Justin and Desiree for Time and All Eternity.

Dancing at the reception.

Eric and Kaylee.

They are a cute couple.

For more photos (bigger ones) go to my photo website.

Adria Photography

Disclaimer: This is a shameless promotion of my photography business.

These are some of my most favorite work EVER now. They are both very lovely.

...and so sweet.

Go here to see more of this lovely little lady.

Married Life

I truly love being married.

This is an actual quote by Eric from last night:

me: [rolling over to snuggle better]

Eric: "Noelle, our marriage is epic."

Hahaha. I love him. And yes. I think so too.

DIY Shelves

Do-It-Yourself is a relative term I guess, because my dad did all the hard work. I only held while he cut or nailed it together. I did do the filling of nail holes with wood filler.

I bought all of my supplies at Home Depot. Pre cut corbels, 8 inch wide wood for the main shelf, and some moulding.

"Measure twice, cut once." Direct quote of my dad, MANY times.

The space in the kitchen is 34 inches wide, so we made my shelves 31 inches, with the knowledge it would be more like 32 when the trim went on.

That piece of wood there is on it's way to becoming a kitchen lovely. =)

Here is my trim, We used this huge miter saw to make the 45 degree angles. Sadly, when I bought all of this I didn't do the math quite right in my head for the extra space these angles would take up in length. So I was 2 inches short for my last piece and had to run to Home Depot for 10 more inches of it. Sad.

Also, the shape I chose is very pretty and I like it. But those little lines were very hard to get the paint into. Time consuming.

Sorry I didn't do a shot of it when it was still wood color. But you can pretend. In this picture the shiny one on the left has paint on the top and the one on the right is only primed. I used a spray paint primer and painted the real white with a brush.

...be patient while it dries Noelle...

Install Day. Yes!

Sorry I don't have a before of my ugly blank kitchen wall, but you can guess from this shot. My kitchen just had a hole in it. When I saw these shelves on Thrifty Decor Chick and Just For Rachel I knew I could do it and that they would be PERFECT. (Again, "I" meaning "we" because Dad did all the hard work.)

Do you like our spiffy measuring system of hold-this-up-because-Noelle-is-too-wimpy-to-do-it-without-help scrap boards?

The corbels came with the little button pieces that cover the screws. Here it is before I painted them. Those little buggers were HARD to get in. Even with the hammer.

Close up of my paint job. =)

I'm still behind. I got these up December 16. And here it is decorated for Christmas. do you see little Santa? It was pretty naked for those first few weeks, I had to collect slowly. The red blocks in the next shot were there in time for Christmas. That helped it look a lot less empty on the top.

And here it is today. I heart these shelves. They make my kitchen SO much better.

The square jar holds cocoa and the round one with the glass stopper holds vanilla. The tall skinny one will probably get olive oil. How cool is that? Decorative shelves in my kitchen not only fabulous looking, but holding food stuff that I actually use!

I got this crackle-y glass jar at Hobby Lobby on clearance for 10 bucks. I think there used to be a lid to come with it that must have broken, fine by me. I didn't pay 50 for it like someone else must have....

And this little guy. I really love him. So cute. I even paid full price for him at Michael's. GUess how much? 2 dollars! Score!

Break down:

all wood supplies: $80

paint: already had

spray primer: $5

So for just the shelves it cost $85. For the Ballard design this is after, shelves this size are $90 each! Woohoo. But wait, there is more.

I got all of that for FREE. That's right. F-R-E-E. Because I had a gift card. Sweet.

I'm linking to Frugal Friday at The Shabby Nest