House Hunting

Downtown Windsor

Our new home!

Jody's new home (golf course)

This is a candy store in downtown Windsor. A billionaire owns it and wanted to make it like Charlie in the Chocolate Factory. It has every kind of candy you could think of in it. Ammon was a little overwhelmed.

We just returned from Santa Rosa. Jody's company set us up with a "rental agent" who "would know the area" and be able to set up appointments for us to find a house to rent. We won't be buying anytime soon because a 3/2 is in the 500's. Well the rental agent was a very nice woman, who got Jody lost a number of times and showed us homes we had already seen on the internet but we weren't interested in them.

To make long story short we got back to our hotel Monday night very frustrated and irritated (which isn't good when you are traveling with young children, because you tend to take it out on them). I started looking around on the internet and found a home that I wanted to go see in Windsor. The minute we drove into the neighborhood we knew we would love the home. So we found the home and tried to look inside through the windows, it was beautiful but a little above a comfortable price range for us, $2000 a month. But we were seriously starting to consider it because we had seen junkers all day and there wasn't much on the market. Luckily my outgoing husband saw a women, Rendy, getting out of her car that lived next to the home for rent. He started asking her questions about it and she was a very nice lady. We found out that she is a pharmaceutical rep too and has three kids. Right as he was leaving she told him about a home her in-laws own only a few streets away that they would be renting out June 1st. Jody made such a good impression on her that she called her in-laws right away and got the ball rolling.

Okay so I am not making this very short. We ended up talking to Rendy and her husband Christian outside of their house for two hours! They are super nice people. Christian grew up in Eureka and new of my famous baseball family and of Kalie's family (sister in-law). The next night we were able to see the home and then we went out to pizza with our new friends and were able to meet our future landlords.

The best part of this is that it is a wonderful neighborhood with tons of families, right next to a golf course, in a great ward and we already have friends. Like I said our new friends have three kids, ages 10, 7, and 5. The older two are girls who took care of Cohen both nights and the younger is a boy who Ammon had a blast with. There is also a beautiful park a few streets away that we can walk to. I know this is very cliche', but Jody and I just feel so blessed and like it was meant to be (mom and Alex I put that in for you).

Oh and in case you were wondering, we will rent an apartment that leases month to month until the house is vacant.

My Weakness

I don't know when this obsession started but as long as I can remember I have had cravings for Cadbury mini eggs. Each year I can't wait for Valentine's Day to be over because mini eggs come out the very next day! I always have a bag or two of them laying around. A few times grocery stores have ran out of them before Easter has arrived, those have been very bad years for me. In an attempt to find more I have driven to almost every store from here to Eureka.

If you haven't tried them you must.

Oh and there is a right way to eat them. Put two in your mouth and let them get warm so that the candy shell pulls off easily and the warm chocolate melts into your mouth. There is nothing like it. Enjoy!

Twilight

I came across this book on my trip. My grandma bought it for my cousins wife who loved it and is not a reader. So then my grandma felt like she had to buy it for me, because she knows I love to read. The author, Stephenie Meyer, is a BYU grad and the book is nothing like I would have expected it to be. It's strangely intriguing. It was a New York Times Bestseller and it is the first book she has ever written. Last week I was telling Jody about it and actually ended up reading an hour of it to him because he too wanted to find out what was going to happen. When I finished it I got the sequel to it and spent the last three days reading it. Now I can't wait for the third edition to come out this summer. I am warning it is different, only eight dollars, worth every cent, and you won't be able to put it down!

Yes, I am still alive

I am a poor excuse for a blogger but I promise to do better. We got back from our trip to Georgia a week from Monday. While we were there we caught a horrible bug that made the trip a little less fun for Jody, Ammon and I. When we got home on Monday I felt worse than I had before so it took me a good week to start feeling like myself again. Poor little Ammon slept for about three days straight and lost a little weight but he is doing much better now.

Jody starts his job March 19th. He starts with home training and then will do a little bit of traveling. So we aren't planning on moving until the end of April. Right now we are just enjoying spending time together because we know he will be very busy once he gets started.

I thought this was going to be a relaxing week for me until we were asked to speak at church on Sunday. I dread getting up in front of people. But I have already started preparing my talk, on service, so I should be prepared which usually minimizes the nervousness. Kasey recently spoke in her ward on Charity so she emailed me her talk to get me started.

We had a great time with Jody's family in Georgia even though we were sick. The kids loved playing with their cousins. Cohen especially fell in love with his Aunt Jen. I hardly took any pictures because we were sick and didn't do much.

Me at 25 weeks. I am feeling great and the baby is moving like crazy! I can't believe how use you can get to a little alien moving around in your body.

The best grandma in the world! She spoiled us like crazy when we visited her and grandpa in Knoxville. Bailee is my cousin Isaac's adorable and hilarious little girl.

I wish I could freeze Ammon at this age. He is the sweetest little boy ever. He started going to Sunbeams in January and LOVES primary. He is a little angel when he is there and I seriously get teary eyed every time he walks into sharing time with his little arms folded. They gave him his own Book of Mormon with his name on it and he couldn't be more proud.

The Verdict.....

I have been dieing to blog but I have not had access to a computer for the last few days. We found out Monday morning that Jody got the job! I am so happy for him. He worked really hard to get it and lost a lot of sleep over it. So we will be moving in a month or so. It all depends on his training and everything.

We are having a great time in Georgia. I got to see my grandparents Sunday and Monday and then we went to Pigeon Forge Monday evening and stayed in a 14 bedroom 12 bathroom cabin. We are here until Sunday so I will post pictures soon.

Congrats to Stephanie who gave birth to Dillon, her fourth baby on Valentines Day! You guys have got to read this article about the birth.

Yuck!

Me at 22 weeks. Not the best picture but when I promise I deliver. I will post more when I get to Georgia.

Busy!

Sorry for slacking people. I do have pictures, vidoeo and events to post about but I don't have time! We got home late Monday night from San Francisco and I took Tuesday off from cleaning, unpacking, blogging, etc. because I was exhausted! Since Tuesday I have been on the go nonstop. I am working from 8-5:30 today and tomorrow. My dad's secretary is out of town and I am filling in for her as much as I can for some extra cash.

Meanwhile... Jody got a call back yesterday from AstraZeneca and the manager told him that he is being considered for the job but that he needs to submit a 30-60-90 day plan of what he would do once he got the job. Luckily my mom is off work this week and is helping out with the kids. Remember we are leaving for Georgia Saturday so Jody will submit his plan before we leave and then we will find out next week. I have cleaning, packing, haircutting, and errands to run but have no time! It will be nice to finally get to Georgia and take a breath.

I will post pictures of the belly before I leave. I am officially in maternity clothes now. Not so much fun. Hope you all had a great Valentines Day!

Events

For the last month we have anxiously been waiting for a call from the manager of a pharmaceutical company to schedule a second interview with Jody. Just when I was about to give up he got a call.

We are back down in the Bay area this weekend. His interview is Monday afternoon but we drove down here Saturday and have spent the weekend with Tasha and Craig. Makynna is doing great. If everything continues to go smoothly they will be home at the end of March. We have missed them so much! Ammon is having a blast with his girlfriend Lex and best friend Jake (of course the best friend thing is one sided, Jake is 6 and Ammon is 3 1/2). Ammon just idolizes him.

We will be back Monday night and then head to Georgia on Saturday. Wish Jody luck!

Ammon and Lex are obviously faking it!

Pictures

We have had beautiful weather the last few days. I think if I woke up to sunshine and blue skies every morning I would have energy to get more done. I love the way good weather uplifts and motivates me. I need to move to Hawaii or something.

Confirmation

When I found out we were having a girl I was beyond excited. But over the weeks I have begun to question the ultrasound. Lots of people find out they are having one sex only to deliver the opposite. Luckily for me we have an ultrasound tech in our ward. On Sunday I showed her my ultrasound picture and she told me to just come in and get an ultrasound from her today.

So we did and she confirmed that we are having a girl. Okay so maybe now I can finally start to buy some girl clothes!

Think you can tell the difference between a boy or girl? Try this quiz.

relief and reflection

If you've never heard of AFP screening before, it is a screening that is done for pregnant women to detect abnormalities in the fetus. Between 15 and 20 weeks of pregnancy a woman can elect to have a simple blood test taken to determine whether the baby could have certain birth defects such as, Down syndrome, trisomy18, neural tube defects and a few others. I have always elected not to have the test because whether there was a problem or not I knew I would not abort the baby. This test is also known for false-positive results. Leading expectant mother to worry for absolutely no reason. When a mother gets a positive result a follow up test will almost always come out negative. So why do it? I chose to have the test taken this time because my doctor urged me to. He said that because we live in such a remote area it would be best to give birth to a child with birth defects at a better hospital. I also chose to do it because if my child did have an abnormality it would be nice to prepare myself for it.

I had the test taken two weeks ago and thought on and off about it over the last few weeks. Today I called my doctor's office and was relieved to hear the nurse say that the test came out clear. Then I got to thinking what if it hadn't? How do women handle these types of situations when they are already exhausted and hormonal because they are carrying a child who could possibly have a birth defect? I have always felt that if I had a child like this that it would be a special child sent to enrich and better our lives. But if these thoughts became reality would I truly feel like that? Mothers or future mothers what do you think?

After watching a great episode of Grey's last night I walked upstairs to go to bed and stopped in the boys room to watch them sleep. I was filled with an overwhelming sense of gratitude to be a mother of these sweet little boys. I stopped and looked at each one and for the millionth time in my life thought how amazing it was that these our my children, that I have been blessed to be their mother. What a wonderful gift I have been given. Now as I reflect upon the things I have just written I realize that no matter what the outcome I would love any of my children just the same and the urgency I feel to protect them and take care of them would be just a strong.

Scary

This poor man was attacked by a mountain lion last week while hiking with his wife in the Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park. I first heard about the attack when I received an email from our homeowners association president (no, we aren't homeowners but own land in the community). Apparently the couple have a home in the same neighborhood.

I have walked this area numerous times. My mom had actually planned on taking her sister, who is visiting, through the same area. After the attack game wardens closed the park and sent dogs out to search for the lion. They were able to kill two lions in the park. One ended up being the lion that attacked this man. Moral of the story, never hike alone and if you think like me, always bring a weapon.

Random

I have been meaning to update my blog but am having trouble uploading pictures. I updated my Kodak Easy Share gallery and now it won't let me upload my pictures. It's so annoying!

Have you ever tried frozen grapes? They are very addicting. I buy a big plastic container of grapes at Costco and then break them up into bundles to fit in sandwich size bags. Then I put them in the freezer and eat them for a snack. I love them.

Ammon has been Superman for the last few weeks. He watches Superman Returns everyday and acts out each scene. I will post a video of it when I get my computer back in sync with my camera. The other day I was making orange juice and he came in the kitchen right as the concentrate fell out of the can and said, "That was amazing!" I let him stir the orange juice and when he was done he said, "Can I have a dollar now?" I asked him why he wanted a dollar and he told me, "Because I made the orange juice." I asked him if someone else had paid him money for doing something and he said, "Lindsey gave me a dollar when I helped her with Isobel." I love this age. He is starting to catch on to how the world works. I really didn't know how to respond so I said, "Well are you going to give me a dollar for making you dinner?" then he said, "No I don't have that."

My stomach is growing, Jody is still waiting to hear back about the job and he is addicted to The Office.

Why do I even bother?

Back when Lindsey was here we watched Oprah one night. The show that night was about how often use should get new pillows, wash your sheets, and basically keep your home clean and free of dust mites and bacteria that can make you sick. One lady on the show had 6,000 more times harmful bacteria in and around her sink than she did in her toilet. Gross! I don't know about Lindsey but I have been doing a lot more cleaning and washing lately. Today I got out the ammonia and scrubbed my sink, counters and table really good. I also swept and mopped my floor. Only 10 minutes later Cohen threw his left over lunch on the floor. Then Ammon put on his shoes to get ready for school, walked across the floor and covered it in dirt! I ended up sweeping three times before 12:00 just to keep it clean for a few hours. UR!

Yesterday Jody watched the boys while I took in Dreamgirls at the movie theater. I don't understand why it took so long to come to our theater. I really enjoyed the movie and especially thought Jennifer Hudson was amazing in it. She has the most unbelievable voice and is a wonderful actress. I look forward to seeing her in more flicks. Beyonce looked beautiful and the music was amazing. Go see it.

Cravings

This is the part of my pregnancy when I start gaining weight and really begin looking pregnant. Interesting that I began having intense cravings this weekend for sweets. While we were in Medford this past weekend I got the best sugar cookie I have ever had at a store in the mall called the Cookie Connection. I took one bite and quickly returned to buy another. Now I am kicking myself for not buying every sugar cookie in the entire bakery. What was I thinking? I had saved half of one to eat today. When I woke up from my nap I suddenly remembered the cookie and frantically began searching our place for it. Some how it disappeared. I blamed Jody for eating it and then Ammon but no one fessed up. I believe Jody because he knows not to mess with my food. So here I am remembering the perfect taste of that sugar cookie with the most perfect frosting and amount of sprinkles on it. I hate the drive to Medford but today I could be coaxed into driving right back to that mall just to buy those cookies. Jody asked me why I don't just make some but that's my other problem right now, laziness! How much do you love me mom?

Gone Again

Tomorrow we are leaving again to go to the temple in Medford. We are staying in a hotel so at least we won't have to drive up and back in one day. My new job is going great. Time goes by pretty quickly and it's nice to get out and have something to do.

Jody had an interview last week in Santa Rosa and now he is waiting to hear back for a second interview. He has also talked to a guy from a medical sales company in southern California and is suppose to hear from him again soon. So we are crossing our fingers that he will get hired. He is getting a little restless with not much to do at work and hanging out with the kids twice a week.

We are also heading to Georgia next month. Luckily we were able to get tickets out of McKinleyville. I can't wait to see everyone and I am excited to get my hair done by my sister in law because it's disgusting right now!

Does anyone know how long American Idol is going to have auditions? I am getting sick of these horrible singers.

Growing

Pregnancy is so weird. First you are excited to be pregnant and to start being able to wear maternity clothes, then by the time you do you feel disgusting! I started feeling the baby move about a week ago and each day I feel her more and more. Now my body is changing. Things are getting bigger, especially the parts that Jody likes. My belly is starting to poke and I have been unbuttoning my pants in the car and when I am at home. I refuse to wear maternity clothes until it is absolutely necessary because after twenty weeks I get really sick of them. I am so white that I look sick in this picture but I feel better than I look.


I think I have had the same name for our first girl before I even married Jody. When both of my sisters were pregnant with girls last year both of their husbands, I think, joked about using it. We are naming our baby girl Rylee Alexandra. We still aren't sure about the spelling so any suggestions would be much appreciated.

I went shopping for girl clothes for the first time yesterday. Yahoo! I just had to get that out there. I found this onesie and HAD to get it.

Some pics we took before we said farewell to Lindsey and Izzy. I look hideous!

It's a .............

Girl, Girl, GIRL!!! I seriously can't believe it! Words can't describe how excited I am. Yesterday we drove to San Francisco to reluctantly drop Lindsey and Iz off at the airport. After we left we drove to Palo Alto to spend the evening and today with Tasha. Janelle, Tasha's sister in-law and a family friend is also pregnant and a couple weeks ahead of me. They had made appointments for both of us to go to a ultrasound place to find out what we were both having. I let Janelle go first because I was too nervous. She found out she is having a boy. Then it was my turn. I put Jody on speaker phone and within 10 seconds the tech stopped the ultrasound and asked if I wanted to know what I was having. I was so nervous and thought he would say boy because he knew so quickly. When he said you are having a girl my mom and I both screamed and started crying. I feel so blessed to have two little boys that will take care of their baby sister. Life couldn't get any better.

p.s. This isn't my baby just a picture I downloaded off the website.

Birthday Present?

I have always been interested in getting this makeup but never wanted to order it before I tried it. Today my mom, Lindsey, Izzy and I went to a salon and got bare minerals makeovers. I loved feeling like I didn't have makeup on my face but seeing that my face looked fresh and my skin tones were more unified. Since I won't be buying any clothes anytime soon I have decided that this is what I want for my birthday in March.

I am heading back to the bay area today. Lindsey is flying home to London on Tuesday. I am leaving Ammon here and taking Cohen (I wish it were the other way around because Ammon is much easier than Cohen). We will stay in Vacaville two nights and then in Stanford the last night when we go to visit Tasha and Makynna.

One more thing. A guy in our ward who is a podiatrist asked me to work in his office two afternoons a week from 1:30 to 5:00. Jody says that he can watch the kids while I'm there. I want to do it for some extra money but I hate the thought of being tied down twice a week. I am also nervous about being tired because I get really exhausted in the afternoons. It sounds pretty low key. So any advice on the matter would be much appreciated!

Loved It

If you like romantic comedies and you think Jude Law is hot then you must see this movie! Me, mom, Kasey and Alex went last week and thoroughly enjoyed it. I am not always a fan of Cameron Diaz but I liked her in this movie and though they could have picked a better person for Jack Black's part he didn't ruin it for me.

Happy New Year!

We have had a very busy week. Christmas came and went and it all seems to be a blur now. So I will skip through the details and post lots of pictures! We already miss Kasey, Matt and their kids who left today. My parents three bedroom, two bathroom rental was a little cramped for all of us but it was worth it. I know I've said this before but the best part of getting all of us together is seeing the kids play together. Each one of them is just so adorable and unique from any of the other kids.