Ceej and Em

MY DAUGHTER IS 9 MONTHS OLD - HOLY CRAP!

2011-12-29T08:57:00.000-06:00

I just cannot believe how fast this whole parenting thing goes. Whoa.

My NINE month old daughter is up to the following:

Tries to sit up from laying down. In actual sit-up style.
Crawls all over and loves exploring!
LOVES mommy & daddy ... quit saying "dadadadadada" generalized and says "mama" or "ma" with me or when looking for me somewhat consistency.
Squeals with delight when I return from an outing sans baby, hence melting my heart.
Has crawled up the bottom stair platform with standby assist and can crawl steps with moderate assist.
Can pull herself up from sitting position onto furniture.
GOT BIT IN THE EYE by a little demon at the mall.
Plays "peek a boo" and clearly thinks it's the bee's knees. However, she keeps eye contact with me most of the time as she peeks around the blanket.
Drinks from a sippy cup and bottle with set up and occasional min assist
Loves books! Especially those with touchy-feely things.
Has a real baby doll that laughs and Hazel stares at her and laughs right along with her like two little friends do. It's adorable.
Loves other kids! Especially boys. She stares and laughs at them at the mall. Or climbs on them. Oh no.
Is still working on the whole sleep thing. Talked to her pediatrician today and he recommended letting her cry for 5 minutes, comfort, cry for 10, comfort, cry for 15, comfort, and cry for 20, sleep. He said to do this for a few days, and she will be cured. Apparently it will help her establish good sleep habits for the rest of her life because she needs to learn how to put herself to sleep. Great. Welp - we've had 1 nap since then, and let's just say we're 0 for 1 in the following of that sweet little regimen.

We had a little "crafternoon" the other day with a friend and her two kiddos - thanks to Anna for the easy crafty idea! I had intended on doing this months ago but got discouraged when I didn't have an exacto knife and regular scissors would not suffice. To save time this time around, I just used the older picture. I'm so glad I did! I didn't realize the mohawk was so out of control. I miss it.

Christmas

2011-12-28T20:23:00.004-06:00

As with most families with large and chopped up extended families, we had a lot of rounds to make this year. I reckon this makes it fun as it gives me an excuse to truly rock out to the Christmas tunes for an extended period of time. As always, it ended up being a very wonderful love and family-filled month. Christmas began in St. Peter on the 10th and will end this Friday the 30th. We spent the Friday before Christmas Eve with my extended family in Stillwater, having a less traditional lasagna feed and gift exchange. Oh boy! This was even more splendid considering that little Haze has not reacted from me eating dairy in the past 2 weeks, and hence it has returned to my diet in full force. HELLO CHEESE! I can't believe I went 9 months without you. Apparently my body forgot how to digest it during this time, forcing me to reduce it to a minimal to moderate intake from here on out. Live and learn.

Christmas eve morning was brunch at my dad's - our traditional cheesy scrambled eggs, pancakes, hashbrowns, and mimosas, followed by a large pile of presents and smiling children. It ended, naturally, with tired, crying children of all ages. It never ceases to amaze me how this little family of my dad with 3 daughters has turned into a full fledged familial party. Rock on!

That night was another tradition for my other family - my mom, brother, and their significant others - dinner at the glorious Red Lobster on Christmas eve. This tradition began 21 years ago, believe it or not. This is where the dairy binge truly took off - clogging these ol' pipes RIGHT up. It did not disappoint at the time, but cheddar biscuits, blue cheese dressing on a salad, and crab Alfredo proved to be the perfect storm. I'm still not sure if I regret the decision.

At this point we had had 3 Christmases in 24 hours - and as wonderful as it is seeing family and having the opportunity to enjoy the holiday with them - I know we are SO blessed and would never complain about having a lot of people to love - we were flat out zonked by Saturday night. Christmas day was a day to recuperate and focus on the real meaning and how blessed we truly are. This was the first Christmas that I can remember not having a larger family celebration on the day. Hazel, C.J., and I slept in (Ha! Obviously that's a joke.), opened gifts from Santa, made a nice breakfast, and then went to church. After church Hazel took a long nap, and Ceej and I played a game of Scrabble and watched the Christmas Story. P.S. - Did you know this movie was on repeatedly for 24 hours on Christmas day? I mean, seriously, that is some fame. Anyway, it was a perfect day and I have zero complaints. Well, besides the fact that I did all the shopping this year which meant that C.J. didn't get me anything. NOT A THING - not even a card and ornament which we've done every year for the past 10 years - because he "ran out of time". I was over it by the night before and how I managed to refrain from being passive aggressive and crabby all day is beyond me.

Merry Christmas everyone! I hope you felt as blessed as you are!

The Holy Family

2011-12-21T11:00:00.002-06:00

Hazel had her first acting debut as the one and only Jesus Christ - big shoes to fill for a rookie. She did great and totally passed as our newborn male Savior. She was all smiles up there and enjoyed stealing the show at a local nursing home.

I on the other hand was upgraded from an Angel (back in 2008) to Mary! I could not be more happy. Hazel has changed my life in so many wonderful ways.

8 Months Old & Semi-Freak OUT by ME.

2011-12-03T08:51:00.012-06:00

My sweet girl is 8 months old! I just can't believe it. I have a little tendon issue in my wrist, so I won't be typing much (so sorry, faithful readers). A quick little update on her my beautiful daughter and very best friend:

Says "mama" occasionally!! YIPPYYYY!!! Mostly it's "ma" or "mm" or "boogwoohdblah", but I know what she means.
Crawls ... it began with a backward worm thing and now she will get into the plank position and creep forward. We're working on this one. She improves every day.
Has 2 cute little teeth.
Sucks at night lately (sleeping has been an issues lately).
Loves finger foods and enjoys feeding herself.
Laughs like CRAZY at her silly daddy.
Still loves baths and splashing and playing with (in the form of chomping on) her animals and letters.
Has stranger anxiety and is terrified of certain people ... like my dad. Poor guy barely gets a stare down before she starts bawling.

Now for the semi freak out part. If you are a true blog-stalker, you will have noticed that I blocked all readers for about 3 hours yesterday. This is because I all of a sudden got 7 emails about comments on posts from years back. I FREAKED OUT and thought I was being crazy-stalked, like almost murdered. You are now pleased to see that I have re opened my blog for your viewing pleasure. This is because I could not sleep because I was thinking about being murdered, and I came down to inspect a little further of my murderers, who turned out to be fellow graduate students. I see now that I am probably safe, and again trust the world. AMEN! If you haven't noticed my fan base under the "Graduate School Barbie" post from 2010, please explore it. I'm expecting an email from Matt Lauer inviting me to be a guest any day now. It's been fun reading all the posts from grad students and brings back fond memories of my grad school days. I mean, I've been officially done with all things studying for 14 days now, so I can barely remember what it was like.

I have been listening to The Help on my iPod - yes, months after the movie has been out, we do not move fast here, people - and I am in love. It's so wonderful. It has been a life saver as little Hazel becomes the HAZELMONSTER in the night. Mostly she wakes up and wants to be rocked, so I rock her for 30 min to 2 hours, whenever she falls asleep deep enough to stay asleep for more than 10 minutes. Not sure if it's teeth or Satan - but it's been going on for a bit. However, now that I have my beloved book to listen to, I bolt up with a smile when that little whine comes across the baby monitor and I can get back to snuggling my peanut and listening to my book. It's almost finished, but have no fears - I have reserved a Jodi Picoult book on CD (Sing You Home) to be picked up tomorrow.

Fall zipped by, but we sure enjoyed it! Haze loves anything that crunches, so the leaves were a hit. Now we have a layer of snow. I never minded the snow or winter, but trying to hold a round girl in a puffy coat while wearing gloves and a puffy coat is nearly impossible. Also, it is too cold to run or walk with the little one outside, and we haven't done so since the Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving with elementary cooking. I'm pretty much over this cold already and rip roaring ready for spring. Thank goodness we have the mall to power walk in.

Hazel loves the Children's Museum here in town. Here we are playing away:

We also have a Christmas tree! I wanted to begin a tradition of cutting down a tree with our little family, but C.J. talked me out of it. After all, walking out in the cold snow holding a slippery bundled baby, not to mention (observing) the whole chopping/dragging thing sounds more like torture than tradition. Maybe next year. Probably not.

Our Christmases began with a 3 day adventure in St. Peter with C.J. extended family. Tons of fun seeing everyone! Here is Hazel meeting Santa for the first time. She didn't even cry - I was so proud!

I'll conclude this excessively long post with some BIG NEWS - I have passed the NBCOT ... ANNNNDDDD (PAUSE FOR EFFECT) I HAVE A JOB!! Woohoo!!

2 months later ...

2011-10-24T11:12:00.009-05:00

Hi Friends! The past 2 months have flown by - and here we are again, updating about a million things. Hopefully I won't forget anything!

Let's start with the 6 (actually 6.75) month update: At 6.75 months, my little honey girl...
... splashes in the tub like it's nobody business, but she's dead serious when she's doing it.
... plays with her toys in tub.
... says "dadadadadada" all the time generalized, so not technically a "first word" yet. Just began "lalalalalala" and "papapapapapa".
... drinks from a sippy cup with 50% accuracy.
... likes drinking water and 50/50 juicewater.
... can bring her bottle to her mouth, but doesn't lift it up high enough when seated upright. She can drink from her own bottle when tilted back
... attempts to eat cheerios! She puts them in her mouth, but pushes them back out.
... "eats" baby food, but she's not a huge fan yet. I'll probably be nursing her until she goes off to college.
... sits up very well.
... no longer has a constant mohawk, simply because the poor honey has lost so much hair they can't stick straight up. The long hair on top of her head still sticks up in a random pattern/puff on most days.
... can roll from back to front and from sitting to on her belly.
... gets annoyed fast at tummy time.
... loves her thick wooden puzzles, soft dolls and princess toys, fridge magnets, and rattles she can hold and shake herself. Also loves her tupperware with cheerios in it - who knew that would be so fun?
... is a mommy's girl but loves being with her daddy too!
... is starting to get some stranger anxiety with adults, but LOVES other kids!
... has an advanced grasp - the fine pincer on occasion, and inferior pincer more consistently.
... has 1 little 1/2 tooth so far - and that was a beast coming in. I'm thinking we'll stop at that.
... has had her first kiss!! A little boy at church walked up to her sitting on the floor, knelt down, grabbed her face, and kissed her on the mouth. She was all smiles and in 7th heaven.

Other things we've been up to is going to my beautiful cousin's wedding! We had a great time in Pewaukee and stayed at the hotel two nights for a mini vacation. It was a wonderful weekend and so wonderful seeing family that we rarely see as well! Isn't just fun to be all dressed up?

My good friend Megan is expecting her first baby! Yippy! I'm so excited, although it's such a bummer she lives in Colorado. Here are 3 friends with their 3 little friends ... obviously Hazel is over getting her picture taken.

Here's a classic picture of Hazel with another baby (her boyfriend, Landon): She loves him. She reaches toward him and tries to hug and kiss him. She's all smiles and thinks he's just the coolest thing ever. Landon, on the other hand, is not as convinced of her amazingness.

Hazel, my mom, and I had a little girls' day last Friday. We went to the apple orchard and corn maze, the dollar store, out to lunch at Obsession Chocolates, and the Children's Museum. It was a very fun day!

FINALLY - sorry these posts get long when it's been 2 months - we had her 6 month pictures the other day by Forever Photography. Here's a little sneak peak! We are very happy with them:

Have a great week everyone!

4 months

2011-08-21T16:01:00.003-05:00

At 4 months, my big girl ...
Weighs 15 pounds, 2 ounces and is in the 75th percentile for weight.
Is 23.5 inches long and is in the 40th percentile for height.
Rolls over from back to tummy within 2 seconds of being on her back.
Has a newly discovered hatred of being on her tummy, so obviously her problem solving skills are lacking.
Can laugh like you wouldn't believe, especially at her daddy.
Likes to swim and gets excited for bath time.
Is very content and rarely cries unless she's starving or tired. Mostly it's tired (obviously - she's pretty well fed).
Is held all the time.
Loves playing with mommy's hair and face when nursing.
Loves touching new things and reaches out for different textures whenever she can.
Has been sleeping through the night (woohoo!).
Can say "Momma, I love you" with her eyes.
Loves cuddling.
Enjoys watching mommy and daddy cook or work in the kitchen from her highchair.
Loves to be read to and now actually pays attention to the words and looks at the pictures.
Reaches toward toys and pulls them toward her to play with.
Is a great traveler for short and long distances (a big milestone!).
Loves being outside.
Is just so sweet. I really love her. Seriously.

And for all you "crafty" bloggers, I've enjoyed seeing the pictures of the fruits of your labor and have promptly put them all on my to-do list. I'm also more than a little jealous that you have time and energy to put into little gadgets because they really do seem oh so fun and cute. Someday my time will come. However, this working momma has a new hobby, too - It may not be on the mantel but it IS in the freezer:

That's right, that right there is some good ol' fashioned pureed broccoli and green beans to be consumed by Haze after she's 6 months old. I'll be expanding her diet with more than just the green, but you have to start somewhere and that's where we're at. Bon appetit!

Wedding + Independence Day + Visit from Friends + Otter Creek + 3 Month Stats

2011-07-10T06:33:00.007-05:00

The crappy quality of some of these pictures are due to being from my mom's phone ... however, they are super cute and hence blogworthy. Last weekend we went to a friend's wedding in Rice Lake. We were not too sure how Hazel would do, but we were optimistic and it paid off. We were late to the wedding (obviously) and had to creep up to the balcony instead of walking in between members of the wedding party. This worked in our favor because we could stand with Hazel as she got squirmy. We then took the hour between the ceremony and reception to pump in the nursery instead of rush to start drinking and had to laugh at just how much life has changed (but of course in a wonderful way). It was a very fun night and beautiful wedding and Haze did wonderfully.

4th of July was so great this year. My sister, brother-in-law, and their 4 kidlets came to visit. We spent the early afternoon at the festivities in Carson Park and then hung out in our backyard playing beanbags and enjoying the beautiful day. After they headed home to Stillwater, the three of us went over to Ceej's aunt and uncles for dinner and fireworks. Well done, Altoona - you began before and ended after Eau Claire's fireworks (we could hear). Quite impressive.

One Saturday afternoon Ceej and I decided to take our honey to Otter Creek. We hiked through the woods to reach the pretty little creek and took a dip. Back in the days of dating and newlywed bliss we used to bike the path and swim. It was fun to reminisce about those sweet days and introduce Hazel to one of Altoona's little gems. She did surprisingly well and seemed to enjoy the feeling of sand in the water, despite the water being pretty darn chilly. We were slightly worried Child Protective Services would interrupt because it was so cold, but then we decided her first experience in the sand and water was worth a few days in jail. Thankfully they didn't arrive.

This is slightly out of order. I had 2 great friends visit from the cities. You know those people that are so wonderful that you don't even have to plan anything and you just have fun? That's them. We were friends and roommates from undergrad, and it always amazes me how close we are and lucky to have found one another. Truly genuine and good friendships are hard to find. We started with turkey burgers at our place and then made our way to the Livery followed by the Wigwam for karaoke, then back to the Livery. It was my first night out without Hazel or Ceej, and I was happy to be with these 2 girls (my other family).

Now for the 3 month stats: Hazel Leann Thurner is approximately 23 inches long & weighs approximately 13.5 pounds. Emphasis on "approximately" as this was not done at a hospital but rather on my 90 year old bathroom scale and paper "growth chart" on the wall. I wouldn't bet lunch on its accuracy. Anyway, she is practically out of size 1-2s and quickly fitting into size 2 diapers. She is now out of the expensive diapers with the lovable "wetness indicator" and soft fabric-like cover(Pampers) and into the more reasonable ones albeit equally effective ones (Luvs). She has 5 rolls in each arm. Her record in the stroller is 75 minutes. She has giggled exactly one time, on my Birthday (more on that day at a later post). Overall likes tummy time & sometimes gets mad enough that I think she's about to roll over ... but then I cave and pick her up. Has slept an 8 hour stretch, but last night decided to wake up at 2, 3, 4, and finally up for the day at 5. Now, at 6:45, after mommy has had her caffeine and is wide awake, she is sleeping blissfully on my arm. Not impressed, Haze. She loves touching her hair when she's nursing or sleeping. Likes her pacifier, but it pops out a lot still (we're working on those oral motor skills). She is happy, and so are we. I just love her so much.

Lately

2011-06-23T09:19:00.006-05:00

Oh, my sweet little honey girl ...

There is just too much to write about ... so I'll do a quickie "catch up" post so that I'm not as overwhelmed with posting next time.

As I sit here snuggling my little peanut, I can't believe how much she's grown! At her 8 week appointment she weighed 11 pounds, 11 ounces. Now at 11 weeks, she's a tank. The little honey went from 10th percentile for weight at birth to 70th. She's a wonderful cuddler and is becoming a wonderful sleeper as well, giving mommy a 7 hour stretch at night. Evenings can be rough, but ... she's improving and we'll just leave it at that.

Hazel spent her first weekend at my family's cabin in Balsam Lake. We have years and years of memories here (it's been in my family for generations), so I was quite excited to show her the ropes. We went for lots of walks & watched daddy fish & went to the flea market. What a fun, relaxing weekend!

We spent the past weekend in Hartford for my cousin's bridal shower. It was so great to see her and the rest of the family and spend some quality time with them. It's a long trip (4 hours!), and Hazel was a champ. Hazel met a lot of new people - here she is with her great papa Neil

That Sunday was Ceej's first Father's day. We brought him breakfast in bed (never mind that it was Triscuits with mozzarella balls) and spent time with gram before making the trek back home. We stopped in the Dells for lunch and a little shopping at the fabulous Tanger Outlets... ahh good bargain-finding memories... and after we got home went for dinner with Ceej's family. Hazel made her daddy a stepping stone with her little footprint in it for our dirt garden. This will be our tradition, I've decided (except hopefully we'll have flowers next year).

We took the little lady to Phoenix Park for our favorite summer event: Sounds Like Summer concert series. She loved the live music and fun atmosphere. She laid on this blanket in the grass for 2 hours. Awake & happy - 2 good things.

Hazel has a new boyfriend! Landon Robert is finally here. I can't believe how big/slightly obese Hazel looks next to him. Just 11 weeks ago she was a full pound smaller than this handsome little guy. I told her not to worry - she won't always be the larger one.

We've also begun house browsing! We are going to walk through 5 tonight ... oh boy! I say browsing because we aren't desperate, but we are ready if/when we find something perfect for us.

In other news, I start my second 3 month long fieldwork at a hospital July 11th. I am so sad to be leaving my baby. Although I have been blessed to be spending her first 14 weeks with her, it feels too soon. 1 year would be sufficient, I reckon. Or maybe 5. Okay, 18. I am only now starting to feel the sweet in the bittersweet and feeling some excitement in getting back on the track of becoming an occupational therapist (just a week ago I would start crying at the thought of not spending every day with her ... yes, I am one of those moms.). I never thought that after working so hard & so long for my education in a field that I adore I would feel so fulfilled staying home with my baby. I never looked down on anyone who chose to stay home, I just didn't think I would wish I could be one of them. I will press on and be a working mom, but it breaks my heart. I am so thankful to have my mother-in-law able to take care of Hazel every day, because I know she will always be with someone who adores her.

That's my life lately. Very happy. Very fulfilling. Very wonderful.

First Mother's Day

2011-05-23T12:37:00.004-05:00

Impressed by my speed at another post? Thought so. I was so looking forward to my very first Mother's Day. After spending 5 weeks completely devoted to my daughter, I realized that this day was more important to me than my Birthday or any other holiday. I don't dis anyone that doesn't really care about it, but I do.

The day started with a little extra sleep - Ceej got up with Hazel after her feeding from 6 to 7:30. We relaxed before church at 10:30 (the days of waking up at 10 and speeding out the door are long gone). My mom and his family were at Mass, and then my mom and brother came to our house for brunch. Ceej made eggs benedict with a family recipe (impressed, elementarycooking?), and it was superb. After brunch we headed to Irvine Park for a walk around the zoo. It was our first time going & we were both really happy with the free little zoo and park. It was a beautiful day & the park was full of families. Very cool.

We decided that since they were such a popular site, I should take a picture with Hazel in front of these steal animals. We thought it would be fun to have one of the first time she was there because we assume she will want pictures with them as she grows up (we came to this conclusion because I had to wait in a line of children to get the picture).

After the park we relaxed at home for a bit and then went to Ceej's parents' house for dinner. It was great to be able to spend the time as a family but also with both of our moms - not many people get to do that. Hazel got me a beautiful necklace with her birthstone in it - one that she will get someday when I die or just when I'm really super old, I haven't decided yet. Anyway, it was a very special day and definitely lived up to my high expectations :).

Hazel.

2011-05-19T21:22:00.004-05:00

Oh boy. The long awaited update has arrived! I know, it's been far too long, dear blogging friends - but in the past 7 weeks, when I haven't been holding/feeding/loving on my sweet (or crabbing) baby girl I have been speed cleaning my house, folding laundry (WHO KNEW that a family of 3 could have 6x the laundry loads than a family of 2?), or doing the other 100 things that need doing. The general update (for those who don't thrive on details): Hazel Leann Thurner arrived on 4/1/11 weighing in at 6 pounds 12 ounces and 19 inches long. She is now 7 weeks old with a beautiful smile and chubby thighs and bright eyes. We have spent the past 7 weeks discovering the she is lactose intolerant, has overall tummy issues/is colicky, benefits from chiropractic care, loves her musical lamb, loves baths, hates her car seat/stroller/not being held by mommy or daddy. We are crazy about her. Seriously.

Now for the details: Let's start with Thursday, March 31st. This is the day I reached the all time low point of pregnancy: I knowingly & willing peed my pants. You did not read that wrong. Here's the deal, I was on a 70 minute walk, I was going to be running late for an appointment, I had to pee desperately, and I was stinkin' tired. I was also contracting (but I had been for weeks, so this was not new). The closest bathroom was at Altoona Library, a whopping 2 blocks out of the way (okay, 1.25). During a tough contraction I squatted to get through the pain (this was not out of ordinary), and during this said squat, pee leaked out. I was 30 minutes from home, and I still had to go (the leak did not help). I weighed the odds, and I let it all flow out. Before you judge me, I was wearing black pants (you could NOT tell), and IF someone had the nerve to ask me about it, I decided that I would tell them that my water broke. Problem solved. I walked the rest of the way with soaked pants & wet socks. AS I SAID - low point. Anyway, after a quick *and needed* shower, I went to the chiropractor to get my back and fascia straightened out (I still do not know what this "fascia" is, even having participated in a full cadaver lab and 2 anatomy courses throughout my undergraduate and graduate careers - however she said it would help me dilate and progress through labor quickly, so I did not ask questions.). After the appointment we went for dinner at the Trachsels. I had a backache at this point, but I attributed it to being the size of a whale and/or getting cracked into place by the chiro. As the night progressed, my backache was getting worse, to the point that I could not sleep when I got into bed. I realized that the pain was no longer constant but spaced apart. I was not in denial that labor was starting, but after 3 weeks of contracting and backaches, I was not convinced. I rested until 2:30am, when it was too painful to lay there. I got up and took a bath to relax my muscles. After an hour I went downstairs to eat something, and by this point the contractions were more painful than anything I had ever experienced.

Here is the point I should tell you - I have what I considered to be a zero pain tolerance. I have literally passed out from the pain you get in your chest from swallowing wrong (twice) and from getting blood taken when the nurse couldn't find the vein. I have never broken a bone. My biggest pain prior to birth was the said swallowing wrong. Seriously. However, I was determined to have a 100% natural birth and did a lot to prepare myself physically and mentally to help me do so. This included researching about epidurals, staying active throughout pregnancy, chiropractic care, birthing class, and having married a wonderfully supportive man.

Okay, back to the birth story.

By this time, I was 90% sure I was in labor. Another hour went by and that percentage increased. I woke up Ceej (who had slept on the couch for the first time to give us both more sleep because by this point in pregnancy I was tossing and turning for several hours before finally falling asleep at night). At 4am we watched Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice On Demand and he helped me through contractions. They sucked. Even at this point. They were 7ish minutes apart & lasting about 45 seconds to one minute. We decided it would be a long day, so Ceej should sleep more and I should rest, so we spent about 2 hours doing so. I was having all the pain in my lower back, and Ceej was wonderful at pushing on it with a tennis ball very diligently. At 10am, after a terrible contraction on my big ball, I threw up all over the kitchen floor. This was followed by Ceej cleaning it up, running to the sink, and throwing up himself. He had to step outside because he kept throwing up "every time (he) thought about (my) puke". Wonderful. We are obviously champs at this labor thing. The contractions were about 1.5-2 minutes long but still 6 minutes apart. We were advised to stay home until the were 3-4 minutes apart, so we kept on truckin'. I took another bath. We ordered Erbs & Gerbs. We took a "walk" and contracted throughout. I threw up again. While walking the contractions increased to 3-4 minutes and we decided to go to the hospital because the pain was getting very intense and I had to know where I was at/how long this was going to be. My contractions returned to 6 minutes apart while driving, and Ceej did not want to bring in The Bags for fear we were going to be sent home. I made him do so. We got to the hospital at 2:30 to find out that I was 5 cm dilated and very much in labor.

Ceej helped me through each and every contraction. I could not have done it without him - and I'm not just saying that. He was so wonderful and attentive, and I was so thankful for him/to him for that. I was loving that tennis ball on my back and the pain stayed there the entire day. We spent time on the ball & in the tub & walking the halls. I threw up 2 more times. Labor actually progressed quickly for a first time momma - by 6pm I was 6 cm dilated, and by 8:20 I was pushing. Hazel was born a little over 2 hours later at 10:34pm - so beautiful and perfect. I honestly was blessed to have had a wonderful labor & delivery experience and actually think back about it often. I'm so proud and thankful for Ceej and I getting through it without medication or the epidural, and I am so thankful for and happy with my sweet baby girl.

It has been a crazy change of pace these past 7 weeks. I am more relaxed but more busy. I get less done and spend more time just sitting and cuddling. Life is more simple and yet 100 times more enriched. I am truly trying to enjoy each special moment with my beautiful daughter, and I love watching her grow and change every day. Time is going by so fast. Too fast. I am treasuring her as my tiny little peanut girl, but I'm also so thrilled to see her get stronger and bigger each day. I look forward to our future and am so thankful for the present. I have been so blessed, life is good, and we are happy.

"Enjoy your sleep while you can!"

2011-03-29T21:58:00.006-05:00

This. This is perhaps the most annoying comment you can give a woman who is past her due date (Or just late in pregnancy. Or just pregnant.). This is annoying because A.) You have no idea how she slept the night before (which probably sucked), and B.) You have no idea how wonderful or how poorly her infant will sleep. If you have said this to me at any point throughout my pregnancy, you may have seen a smile and shrug, but you missed me thinking "oh shut. your. mouth." That being said, it is much different for me now that my internship is done. This is because now "if" I don't sleep well, I can sleep in (note: by "if" I mean "when"). I am not exaggerating when I say that in the past week, I have spent most of my time in bed. For example, last night I went to bed with Ceej at 9pm. It takes 2-3 hours to fall asleep because the baby likes to head-butt my bladder causing me to get up every 20 minutes for those first few hours to use the bathroom (pretty sure my newborn will not be doing that). Then I woke up every hour to pee from 12-4:30am. Then I was awake 4:30-6:30, just chillin' in bed. In this time, I got up to cut up an apple for my husband to eat for breakfast (I bet you're expecting me to say "just kidding" - but this is actually true). After this I finally slept well and "only" woke up every 2 hours to pee from 6:30-12:00. Your math is correct in that I was in bed for a total of 15 hours. Am I enjoying being able to do this? Yes, I am. Do I remember what it was like to sleep through the night (with one pee break, obviously). No, I do not.

Here are some other things I have learned, being over-due and all:
1. Catcalls while power-walking/waddling still exist, but they seem even more pathetic.
2. Manners during phone calls no longer exist. For example, it is now acceptable for all individuals to answer my calls with "ARE YOU IN LABOR????" No, but thanks for the reminder.
3. That being said, my phone calls are answered more often and/or called back in a much more efficient manner than ever before.
4. I now know very intimate details of the births and pregnancies of many different women/strangers. Case in point: I was in the computer lab at an elementary school during my internship and a teacher whom I had never seen before started telling me about the black hair that covered her stomach and back during her pregnancy. Lovely.
5. I have been asked very intimate details about my body from strangers. Family, friends, and medical professionals are one thing - but if I do not know your first OR last name, I do not wish to discuss discharge, weight, or how far my cervix is dilated. Thank you.
6. There is such a thing as being too clean and organized.
7. Bones of the back, hips, and butt endure a sad life while hosting a growing fetus.
8. You never feel totally ready for baby, but there comes a point when there's just nothing else you can do to get ready for baby.

So there you have it. I am almost a week overdue, and thankfully still feeling well considering how long I've been pregnant. I've been walking every day, cleaning/organizing, meeting up with friends, cooking, playing games and doing fun dates with Ceej. Last Saturday we went swimming at Chaos water park and then out to dinner with my brother and his girlfriend. Swimming was not pretty to say the least - but my oh my! The glory of being free from the gravitational pull on my body was heavenly. I highly recommend it, although make sure you leave time for a nap afterward because your body forgets what it feels like to weigh a million pounds and does not remain light and free flowing. I'll leave it at that. I've been having semi-regular contractions (uncomfortable ones - not just the tightening of Braxton Hicks) for 2 and a half weeks now. They are less regular this week but more intense. Sometimes they cause me to drop to the floor in pain. My overall "readiness" is variable. 2 weeks ago I was pumped. Last week I was completely terrified with the thought of having a child. This week I'm excited to meet my baby and feel ready to quit prolonging the inevitable - life is going to change, and I'm ready for it to start. I keep thinking about holding him or her and watching him or her grow and change over the years - it's a pretty amazing & very exciting feeling.

I had an ultrasound last week just checking in, and our baby got 8/8 for health (yay!). They gave us a picture of its face, but I will not be posting it for fear you will think our baby looks like a pig. WHY they gave us the scary looking face shot rather than the cute profile of it sucking on its hand is beyond me. And no, they did not disclose the sex, and I could absolutely not tell what I was looking at enough to figure anything out. We still have the best surprise of our lives awaiting us.

39 weeks - I suck at posting regularly.

2011-03-16T18:22:00.003-05:00

It's been a great 5 weeks since my last post. Let's see if I can remember everything. Hmm. First, a belly update:
36 weeks:

37 weeks:

38 weeks:

Pregnancy has been going great. I'm finally at the uncomfortable point where I feel ready to have the baby. Literally up until 38 weeks I was happy just being pregnant and not bursting to get the baby out. Since then, I've been contracting a ton - there was a period of 24 hours where I had painful contractions every 10 minutes. The kind where I had to breathe through and just laid in bed all day to rest between them and pray I could fall asleep. That was fun and restful. Not. We actually thought it was the big day, but alas, I am still pregnant. Since then (Monday) I've been contracting consistently throughout the days. Yesterday it was once every 30 minutes, today it was about every 10, but they haven't been nearly as painful as Monday's little treats. According to my midwife (I'll spare you the details) I probably won't last a full week. I'm getting less terrified about birth/parenthood and more and more excited to meet the little peanut!

On a different note, work/school has been going so well. I am done on Friday and can't believe it's worked out so perfectly (as in, I'm still pregnant). I've loved my experience in the Eau Claire school district, and I've learned so much! It makes me excited for all that I'll learn over the course of my career. It's fun stuff to love your future career. Obviously the belly has become a little distraction to some of my kiddos. Not only my own - the students in the school in general. Today, while washing my hands in the bathroom a 2nd grade girl came up to me and grabbed my belly. "Are you having a baby (with her hands still groping my stomach)?" "Yes." "HOW COULD I TELL?!?!" I've also used the words, "Please don't stare at Miss. Emily's stomach - it is work time" on more than one occasion. Oh, the joys of children :).

For those of you who know, Ceej has been in a new position at his work some months ago, and it is going great as well. He really likes it! God sure has been wonderful in this department.

I've also had another baby shower - my 3rd and final one. This one was with some friends and immediate family. It was so fun to see everyone! It was hosted by my mom, MIL, and my friend Jess, and it took place at my friend Jess' house (who is also pregnant, and who is my walking buddy. Currently we both contract throughout our walks, so the once 1-2 hour walks are now 20-30 minutes WITH a pee break at least once. We've decided it'll be faster to just roll down the street from now on. Plus, it's easier.). Guests included some people from Eau Claire and ex-roommates in the cities, and my aunt and cousin traveled from Winona/Hartford. They actually ended up staying over night. It was nice to catch up and spend quality time with them! We went to a Mardi Gras dinner at St. Mary's (catered by Cancun) and then attempted to listen to live music but ended up back at our house to chat and they had wine. Lucky ducks. I completely know it's okay to have a glass of wine at this point in the pregnancy, I just can't bring myself to do it. I came close when Ceej and I went out to dinner the other night, but then we were talking about it so much that it lost it's appeal (Ceej: "are you sure you wouldn't feel guilty if something happened?" me: "yes because I know it's fine, the midwife told me it's totally okay, and plus the baby is fully developed." Ceej: "even if you went in labor tonight? Or if the baby has a disability? I just don't want you to have regrets." me: "oh screw it.").

Ceej and I have been enjoying our last weeks as just us - we go out on dates every weekend and enjoy down time to relax with one another. I've also been cleaning the ENTIRE house top to bottom every weekend, "just in case I have the baby this week."

OH, and how could I forget: Here is a list of things NOT to say to a pregnant person. Ever. As you might guess, these things have been said to me throughout my pregnancy. Do people NOT have manners? Seriously.
1. "You're wider from the back than you are forward!"
2. "You're poking out from every angle!"
3. "You got thick fast, so it's good you look more pregnant now."
4. "HEY FATTY!!! HOW'S MY FAT GIRL???" (Thank you, Grandma.)
5. "Have you gained a lot of weight since I last saw you (last week)?" NO.
6. "Yeah, I can definitely tell you're pregnant from the back."

That's all! Maybe the next time I post it'll be about our little baby's arrival!

34 weeks - a Shower and Valentines' Day Celebration

2011-02-13T10:38:00.004-06:00

Last weekend I had my second baby shower with my aunts, cousins, and grandparents from Hartford. I hadn't been there in a while, so it was great to see everyone and just be there! I have always loved going to visit, and it never happens enough. My grandparents are the best ever - I could not ask for a more sweet set! The shower was perfect - we had a yummy lunch, fun games, and very nice gifts. I was quite spoiled. It was especially fun that most of my family stuck around all afternoon until the evening, so we got to catch up thoroughly. The 4 hour drive got pretty long and my back was quite achy by the end, but it was well worth it. Next trip down will probably not be until June for my cousin's bridal shower, so lots of changes until then! Unfortunately my designated photographer forgot that I told her "half way down to focus, all the way down to take the picture," so the pictures did not turn out. Bummer! Below is a picture of the blanket that my gram knit for us. It has baby footprints knit right into the pattern on each square. She also knit a sweet little sweater and hat. The girl's got skills.

Ceej and I celebrated Valentines' day last night. We went to Fanny Hill for the dinner theater combination. Thank goodness we like each other and have fun together, because we were not impressed with the dinner or the show. In fact, we left at the intermission. It was 9 o'clock, and if we're going to stay up much past that, it's got to be good. We had a very fun night together, and spent a lot of time talking about all of our past Valentine's days (there's been TEN!). Oh how times have changed over the years ... from our very first spent eating dinner with his parents, the next one with no contact, the next one where I was in Australia, there were 4 in Madison where I was either home or he came to visit, our first married spent at Metropolis overnight and at a comedy show - I tell ya folks, it's been a wild and wonderful ride. It's fun to think that we'll always remember this year as our last one without kids, and it's so fun to think how this day will be spent in future years. I really could not have asked for a better Valentine/husband/life.

Pregnancy at 34 weeks feels great. I love love love feeling baby move and jump and poke and prod. I can now tell whether it's rolling or kicking or punching, what position he/she is in (especially when those hiccups are going, still at least once a day), and whether he/she is happy or sad. Okay, that last part is false. Baby is awake a lot during the day and only occasionally wakes up in the night when I get up to use the bathroom (which is on the DOT every 2 hours). At the moment I have a little booty poking by my right rib. I'm still working out and working fulling time at my internship. It's going great - exhausting, but good! I now have 10 kiddos on my caseload, and I continue to learn a lot daily from my supervisors. So all in all, life is going so well. We have been so blessed in all aspects and continue to just thank God for all he's done. Another side note, I have reached the point where I can no longer paint my own toenails due to belly engorgement. Thank goodness I have a sweet husband (and hence, cute painted toes!).

Side note: last night I had a dream that I was feeling baby's hand and could actually feel it's little fingers. Then I was chatting with friends from high school (CHELSEA BARNES TUNE IN) and had them feel it. All of a sudden, THE BABY'S HAND POKED OUT OF MY STOMACH. Full on, old cemetery movie style. Then the whole body slid out of the little hole. It's feet were green and webbed (alien baby?). Right away Chel said "let's go to the hospital - I'll drive you," and Ceej met us there. Good thinking, Chel. Well the doctors were doing a bunch of measurements and tests to determine if they should put it back in the hole or leave it out, and it was determined to leave it out. It was a girl with a full head of hair, and she weighed 2 pounds, 7 ounces. That was weird.

32 Weeks

2011-01-30T20:03:00.004-06:00

Here we are - 32 weeks along! I can't believe how fast it's going. I mean, one MONTH from today they would not stop labor if I went in. YIKES! I'm still at the "nervous and feeling good, so I'm not rushing this child out anytime soon if I can help it" phase. Thankfully, I have zero complaints about being pregnant - I've been so blessed to be healthy and comfortable throughout. Obviously I don't feel normal and there's always "something" new or different or even "less than optimal", but I've been overall very comfortable and even sleeping well with my 3-5 (last night 10) pee breaks.

What's new: As of lately I've started contracting during workouts. I'm actually doing a little experiment to test the waters, so to speak. I worked out 3/5 days of the week after working all day (I do walk and stand a lot during work) and then walked 30-70 minutes. I contracted during all of these, but I didn't realize they were contractions because it was just a constant "very tight tummy" and I forgot to pay attention to when it loosened back up (pregnancy brain, anyone?). My midwife confirmed it was indeed me contracting. Anyway, I skipped working out on Friday after the 3 days of contracting during workouts and then walked Saturday and Sunday for 45 minutes and felt fine. So at least I know I'm not out of the loop forever - I just have to be aware and have Ceej home when I go out walking (because, yes - my belly was so tight and uncomfortable on the third day that I squatted by Altoona Family Restaurant and had the dear boy come pick me up).

Fieldwork is going great - I love it! It is quite exhausting, which I don't really know if it's the learning all day in the professional setting OR being 2 months from birthing a human. All I know is that 2 nights last week I went to bed by 8pm and actually felt rested the next day. Either way, I'm tired. A lot.

In other events, Ceej and I had a very nice weekend! Friday we did nothing but relax and watch a movie. He made ravioli with sauteed shrimp and marinara for dinner and we went to bed early - sleeping for 11 hours (ahhh so wonderful). Saturday we went for a walk and I went grocery/stuff shopping. That night we went out for dinner with friends/sibling and out afterward. Sunday was church, a pancake breakfast at church, walking, dinner, and playing Scrabble. Hope you all were able to relax and enjoy the nice weather as well! Sunshine and non-bitter cold works for me.

Stillwater Shower

2011-01-17T19:30:00.003-06:00

30 weeks pregnant! Baby is still super active, and I love feeling him or her move and move. He or she also gets hiccups at least once per day. I like feeling the little steady pound of hiccups (it's just so cute picturing the little tyke hiccuping), but I feel bad for the poor dear. I mean - hiccups every day? How annoying!

Yesterday I had my first baby shower ever! It was in Stillwater with my paternal aunts and sisters. I had a really fun day - tacos and cookies and games and just hanging out and chatting with family. I also got some very cute gifts for my very cute baby. I came home and sprawled them all out to show Ceej and washed all the clothes so I can organize them in baby's room. Nesting mode? YUP.

This weekend I also felt very sick. Turns out I have bronchitis. Super. I barely slept last night and this morning had no voice. I went to Urgent Care because this "cold" has been getting progressively worse since last weekend. What a treat that was. I had to wear a mask because I was coughing. Normally that is not a problem, but for a woman who is 30 weeks pregnant (AKA out of breath already) and has bronchitis - welp, we've got a wheezer on our hands. I was GASPING for air to the extent that the mask was sucking in my mouth. Pretty. When I was finally in the back room with just the nurse I asked if I could take it off (I was bright red and sweating and gasping at this point). She said no, because we "didn't want to spread anything, now do we?" LISTEN LADY. I told her okay, but I might end up passing out because I cannot breathe through this lead mask. I didn't actually say "lead" but it might as well have been lead. Are you trying to kill me people?! She let me poke my little (plugged up) nose out if I "needed to". YES I NEED TO THANKYOUVERYMUCH. Real helpful. Jerk. Anyway I now am on antibiotics and hoping this little peach passes on by right quick.

Oh Hey Blogging Friends!

2011-01-15T14:03:00.006-06:00

I know - it's been a long time. Whoops! Here's a little recap of our life as of lately:

Finals week came and went. I went to Rochester 4 days early to focus and stay with some friends (other students) so we could plow through. It was a fun way to end and say goodbye. Because of that nasty snowfall, the 2 nights before my Neurorehabilitation final consisted of my friend and I shoveling out our cars (both covered to the windows). Night 1 = soft snow, took 1 hour for 2 cars. Night 2 = ice pile, took 2 hours with 3 people for 1 car. At least it was some heavy work to get us through finals... and a fun break! I passed, by the way :).

Graduation day was surreal. Met most of my family for breakfast and then a smaller group went to the cities for the Big Event. It still doesn't feel real, although I must admit I got used to not having to study all the time REAL quick.

Christmas - ahh the loveliness of it all! We had 6 Christmases in 8 days and they were splendid. Needless to say, my 2 weeks of break before starting fieldwork (my internship) went by very fast.

I met a group of my roommates from Madison in the Dells for a day of shopping and then staying at a hotel. It was so much fun to get to see everyone and catch up! I was extremely blessed to have been their roommates (7 girls living together and 0 fighting is a rare thing). They're wonderful women, and it's fun to see how different and changing all of our lives are now!

Bringin' in the New Year was a blast - Ceej and I agreed it was our favorite so far. We went to dinner with a group to Houligan's and then made our way to Playmaker's bar. We were there early so we had plenty of space. More friends came by and we ended up having a big group there. It's so exciting to think about what 2011 will bring! I don't really do "resolutions"... my goals for 2011 are to have a baby and get a job that I love.

Fieldwork is going well. I'm in my 2nd week in the Eau Claire school district and like it a lot so far! I am learning a ton, and it is much different than learning from reading books. To be honest, it's pretty exhausting, but I have great supervisors and know it's going to be a great experience. I feel like I've learned so much in just 2 weeks, and I am excited for all I'll learn after 3 months! I've started taking on kiddos (writing lesson plans/performing direct OT with them), and by the end I'll have the entire caseload! EEK! :)

For our nephew Alex's 3rd Birthday we took him to Blue's Clue's Live here in Eau Claire. It was super fun to see how in awe he was throughout the show! The world is so different through a child's eyes.

Pregnancy is also going well. I've gotten pretty big lately! 30 weeks have gone by too fast, and I cannot believe we could have a baby here in 10, 8, 6 weeks... YIKES! Ceej is getting really excited. I'm getting really SCARED (!!) plus really excited. Baby is moving up a storm, and I love love love feeling it roll and turn and punch and kick. It's amazing to actually know what it's doing in there and differentiating it's movements. Here I am at 28 weeks, but I think I look especially big because this was right after eating dinner at Tokyo. Ceej said I really look that big all the time, though ... hmm ... he's probably lying again.

At the moment I have a bad cold (thank you, week 1 of working with kiddos) and have broke down and taken meds to sleep (only those that are okay-ed for pregnancy ... but I still try to avoid them in general). I suck it up during the day, but before bed I steam my face to get the snot broken up and then take Tylenol and Mucinex. This was okay for the past week until last night when my sickness took a 180 in the nasty direction... leaving me up at 2 AM scrounging with our med box and looking up all of our medications online to see if I could take them. Turns out that of all of our nighttime meds, Benadryl was my only sanctuary. What a tease it was turning away from my Tylenol Cold PM, NyQuil, and like 3 others. They were like a Thanksgiving feast to a starving child. One little lick of that liquid gold was pretty tempting, but I resisted. Even though everything I took was okay-ed by my midwife, I still went to bed convinced I just gave my baby a Pervasive Developmental Disorder.

I have my first baby shower tomorrow with my aunts and sisters in Stillwater. I can't wait! Hopefully a lazy Friday night and Saturday day/night will get me healthy enough to get through it without passing out ;).

Awkward Pregnancy Photos

2010-12-19T19:11:00.002-06:00

Here's a post with a lot of extremely awkward pregnancy pictures that made me laugh so hard that I might have peed a little:

http://pregnantchicken.squarespace.com/pregnant-chicken-blog/2010/12/10/awkward-pregnancy-photos.html

Heeheeehooooooooooooooo.

2010-12-05T19:51:00.004-06:00

That's just me, you know, practicing for labor by trying to stay calm amidst the last TEN days of school. TEN. Ooofta that is nerve-wracking to even say. I mean, I have TEN fingers. I have TEN eggs in my fridge. I have TEN stretch marks on my boobs (TMI? Whatev. It's my blog.). Aside from the last comment, 10 is minuscule - minute - minimal. Final assignments, final exams, finishing up a year long research project and presenting it to the IRB... EEEK. Welp, guarantee you won't get another post before the big day, so here's a little lick to hold you over.

Pregnancy at 24 weeks = going very well. Thank goodness. If I was barfing and feeling horrible, I would probably have to drop out of school. Latest quirks (you're never really "normal" during pregnancy, are you?) equal me becoming extremely out of breath walking up stairs. We're talking huffing and puffing about to blow the house down here, people. Also, extra large boobs have come into the picture (2 sizes up thankyouverymuch). For the record, they are not as "fun" as one may think. And they are certainly not as cute. I have also started retaining noticeably more water. Last night I wore light socks that ended right below my calf for just a few hours, which obviously meant I then wore "skin-indentation-mark-socks" the rest of the night. Sweet. Sleeping is meh - okay. In honor of my fast approaching finals, let's do a quiz:

I wake up about 5 times a night because I am
A.) Sweating
B.) Freezing
C.) Have to pee
D.) A+C or B+C.

If you guessed D, you win!

I had SEVERE pain under my scapulas for a couple weeks that was horrible for sleeping/living. I'd be icing them throughout the day and would not sleep because they'd be throbbing. It was caused by me sleeping on my side with my shoulders elevated too much (like shrugging your shoulders). Thank goodness that has been completely eliminated by sleeping with a body pillow instead of 2 giant bed pillows. Seriously - weeks of pain gone (literally) overnight. Amen.

Baby is kicking and moving up a storm! It's awesome to feel and very frequent - which I wasn't really expecting for some reason. Pre-pregnancy I kind of figured it was a sharp jab once a day. Nope - it's a sweet little rolly polly feeling like your insides are bread dough being kneaded. We have a second ultrasound Wednesday night and I am REAL pumped - at least it's one thing to look forward to this week!

Back to homework! It's going to be a late night and disgustingly early morning.

Weird Dreams + Halfway Point

2010-11-07T15:44:00.008-06:00

Let's just talk about a couple of dreams I've been having, because I know I've already forgot a bunch and want to savor them.

1. I gave birth to triplet boys. Ceej decided their names were Adam, Brett, and Ben. He told everyone that those were their names. I was obviously livid because those were not names we had talked about. I yelled "If anything, you're naming one, I'm naming one, and we'll compromise on the third!" I just couldn't believe he'd went against our decided name possibilities.

2. The baby was basically a large mole on my stomach. We were "admiring" it (my skin was clear and thin over it, so we could see it clearly), when it popped out. Dangit! We liked holding him, but knew he was too small because his reflexes hadn't developed yet, and that would affect his motor development later on (Yes. That is truly what I was thinking about. Only an OT student would be thinking about that in her dreams). We took *him* to the doctor and were debating between biodegradable diapers and the material in liquid-stitches to use as diapers - then decided on the biodegradable ones - before the doctor sewed him back ONTO my stomach. Problem solved.

Dang - that's all that is coming to mind at the moment that are blog-appropriate.

On a different note, we've reached our halfway point! I'm officially halfway to meeting my baby! Here is my precious baby from the inside:

Call me biased, but I really just think it's the cutest baby I've ever seen :). It was the most amazing feeling watching it on the screen moving - s/he was flipping around and around and bending all his/her limbs and everything. I think it looks like me - the nose for sure, my mom said the long forehead (I guess that I had the same profile as a baby, but I don't really remember), even his/her little wide hand with the hitch-hiker's thumb and big toe spaced apart from the rest. None of those are Ceej-characteristics, so hopefully his blue eyes reign through at least! The ultrasound made it so much more real that I have a little person in my belly. It's really awesome to more accurately picture it moving when I feel it (which is multiple times per day, every day). Ceej still hasn't felt it, so I hope that happens soon. I just feel so thankful that we're growing this little person! I am super excited to get to know him/her and learn more about his/her little personality.

Pregnancy is going great - I have zero complaints and have been so blessed. If my first trimester was like this trimester, you may have seen my face on the reality show "I didn't know I was pregnant." I have been a little more tired than usual lately, but it's also the last month of school - so stress can take a toll as well. That's right, folks - I WILL GRADUATE IN 1 MONTH and 1 DAY!!! WOOHOOOO! I just can't believe it, and I really can't picture being done with all the stuff that's going on in the next month. It is very scary/exciting/overwhelming - EEK. I'm traveling more (lately it's been 3 days in Rochester every week), which has been taking it's toll on my energy level, too. To be honest, after 6 years of higher education, I'm just ready to be done. Anyway, for more pictures of the bump ... here's my babe from the outside:
At 19 weeks:

At 20 weeks:

17 weeks and going strong!

2010-10-15T09:38:00.004-05:00

So we've reached 17 weeks! At 4 months and 1 week I am feeling great pregnancy-wise. I'm not sick at all, pretty much fully recovered from an inflamed disc in my back (poor posture while doing homework + loosened joints due to relaxin being released = pain). My only aversion so far is gum (weird, I know; I used to chew CONSTANTLY - on a bad day, I'd chew a pack a day). I'm not sad about this aversion, especially because I can force myself to chew if my mouth tastes like butt or something. Anyway, I'm still impatient, but psycho-chick hasn't emerged for quite sometime. When I don't get enough sleep I'm crabby, but that's normal. I don't need naps or anything still. I pee a lot, but that's normal. Still working out 5 days a week with running, walking, etc. Haven't had any murder dreams in a while (thank goodness). So overall, baby-growing life is sweeeet.

At this 17th week, our tiny Thurner is the size of an onion! Baby's little skeleton is hardening, changing from rubbery cartilage to bone, and fat is finally accumulating around it (we know it's been accumulating around mommy for quite some time, thankyouverymuch). The umbilical cord is getting thicker and stronger, and those little fingers and toes are now topped by one-of-a-kind prints.

As far as school - HA. Well, let's just say I'll graduate with my Masters in Occupational Therapy in 1 month and 29 days. It'll will be a terrible 2 months, but I'll survive. I just had 2 days of fieldwork - one at Children's hospital in Minneapolis and one in a Rochester school district. I absolutely LOVED Children's and came to realize that my niche is really inpatient, acute care. Working with the kids and babies (and their families for that matter) was phenomenal - I felt like I learned so much, and it's an area where you'd continue to grow and learn no matter how long you're there. Also, you're doing things that only an OT can do - a big plus after working so hard to become one!

P.S. Sadly, I did not win the scarecrow contest. It must have been rigged.

Pumpkin Fairy

2010-09-30T19:22:00.005-05:00

St. Mary's Fall Fest is just around the corner, and what does that entail? A whole whopper of fun! One thing that I'm contributing this year is a scarecrow. I didn't have much for inspiration, so I "headed" to Savers for a lil' dose. The white foam head was 99 cents - can't go wrong there. Then I went to the Dollar Store and found orange wings. Hmm... how about a Pumpkin Fairy? Pumpkin Fairy it is! So off I went to work on my first ever scarecrow:

SUCCESS! Who could even try to beat that? Ceej thinks it's scary. I think she's beautiful. Hmm ... I wonder what I'll win?

Trachsel Wedding

2010-09-19T19:52:00.003-05:00

Ceej and I had the pleasure of attending Brock & Stacy Trachsel's wedding reception last night. It was great! My friend, Nikki, from my OT program came along as my brother's date. They're "texting friends" right now... and she hated me introducing her in that way to people at the wedding... but whatever. I stay with her and another student once or twice per week when I go to Rochester. My class is small - there's 17 of us in Rochester - so we've gotten pretty close over the past year. She came over to my house before the reception so we could get ready together like in the old days (I had 6 roommates at one point. I miss getting ready with girls.). The bride and groom looked wondeful and happy! It was a fun night and so great to see good friends and family :).

13 Weeks: How Peachy!

2010-09-17T15:10:00.008-05:00

We've made it to 13 weeks! All I can say is life has been peachy - which is fitting considering our tiny Thurner is the size of a peach this week. I am feeling 100x better, and it never even got THAT bad (or maybe I've just forgotten already). Really, since about 10 weeks it has been getting better and better. In summary, my first trimester consisted of mega fatigue, mega sweating, really hormonal, very significant nausea from weeks 7-9 (with only about 12 pukes - which is really NOT bad!), and being quite impatient with dumb people. NOW, at 13 weeks, I'm still more fatigued than non-pregnant me, but an 8-9 hour night of sleep is now sufficient enough to not require a nap. I have very little -if any- nausea, and only a few aversions (my beloved Polar Ice Gum being one of them - but I'm not complaining because I used to chew 1/2 to 1 pack per day. That can't be healthy. I also still have an aversion to dumb people who make dumb comments.). I'm still working out 5 days a week (running, weight lifting, same ol') and feeling very well overall! I know with pregnancy it can turn a corner at any point, so I'm just really thankful that I've had it so great so far. Oh, also new these days are horrible, scary nightmares. Last night I woke up TERRIFIED from a dream where I was at my cabin and people were coming at me so I was CHOPPING THEM UP WITH AN AX. Blood was flying everywhere and I kept chopping. WHAT?! Ooffta. Glad that one wasn't real.

So, all in all, very good news all around! PLUS we had an appointment with the midwife today and heard our little one's heartbeat! It was the most precious sound I've ever heard. Quite literally. I knew it would be really cool to hear - that was expected, I just really had no idea how amazing it would be to hear that little life in me. I cried hearing it and then I cried talking about it. Tears are no stranger to this girl these days; thankfully this time they were of joy. Oh, and a side note regarding our dumb maternity counselor from last appointment - even my midwife was not impressed by her skills. Going through the family history in chart, the counselor had keyed in a bunch of codes for past illnesses and diseases of our family and got 90% of it very wrong. The midwife went through and to C.J.: "So you and your father have diabetes?" Uh, no. To me: "So both your parents have had strokes?" Uh, no. To me: "Your grandma died of cancer?" NO. Thankfully I will never have to deal with her again - and my charts are now accurate.

And, finally, here's our ultrasound picture! Okay, okay - It's not OUR baby - we aren't allowed an ultrasound until 20 weeks. It is a 13 week old fetus, though - I just don't know who's - someone by the name of Google Image or something.

As a last little note before I sign off - here's a picture of the birthing suites currently being built at my hospital. God sure had this whole thing planned perfectly - they're due to arrive this winter, just in time for our little bundle.

Little Treasures

2010-09-09T21:30:00.004-05:00

I just got back from a few days in Rochester for school, doing anything but being productive. I decided to go through one dusty box from my childhood that's been gracing our garage for the past months. WHAT a treat, folks. I felt it was worth sharing.

First, the above picture is a license plate that I bought as a kid from Mall of America. I remember thinking "I'm totally gonna put this on the front of my car instead of a license plate when I turn 16." Good thing I forgot about that little aspiration.

Next, the picture above is of my "wall hanging box of treasures". These were like, the cream of the crop - my most special things. First - take a look at the whole - truly a treasure in itself. Next, I'll break it up for you.

The above includes my homemade whale tail, broken, yet still worthy of the treasure box. Then a few clay dogs and a skunk (I guess I used to like animals - I'm over that now). Clay cookies, a random crib, a Canadian 50 cent piece, a toy car.

Next, a wooden bunny that I colored, a girl made out of a clothes pin, a "1" girl that I probably got for my 1st Birthday & never got any other age in subsequent years, another large coin, a small troll, fake gold, a plastic donkey with a hat, a tiny plastic ornament, and a necklace charm of a girl kissing a boy my mom brought back from Mexico.

And finally, the last two items: a tiny dice next to a tiny dice that I made, and a bear that says "God is Love" - which is also a functioning pencil sharpener. Ah - the joys of childhood.

All I know is that if our child turns out kind of weird, s/he definitely got it from me.

Growing

2010-08-29T20:00:00.000-05:00

Welp - things are growing around here! First our lil' garden is below. Impressed? I am. Our little bunny (whom I guess Ceej did not kill that night on the way home from Rolly's) has continued to eat the lilies. Oh well - we're so over it.

The SECOND thing that we're growing is our very own little embryo! That's right - we are expecting the tiniest Thurner on March 24, 2011 - making me 10 weeks impregnated (which sounds way more cool than "pregnant"). Warning: this is a long post! I've got a lot to tell you, dear blogging friends. Both for your random knowledge and my own memories.

So, first off, how we found out: I was suspecting the ordeal and took a test one day from the Dollar Tree - I'd bought 5 for 5 bucks at my last trip - can't be too careful. So I took it and saw the tiniest, faintest line that I literally thought it was an evaporation line. So, just to be safe, I took another one. Same thing - didn't think it counted. It was LIGHT, folks. So went on my merry way. I know you always hear "any line counts", but the whole thought of pregnancy is not a new concept for us - I've literally taken at least 20 pregnancy tests in the past 14 months. I'm irregular, don't judge. So then a week later I took another one from my Dollar Tree stash:

Ceej was in the next room and I told him it was negative again and brought it downstairs to cook dinner. It was sitting on the counter and I was cooking away. Ceej came down and glanced at it and said he saw a light line and asked if that counted. Well, that threw me for a loop. I told him I didn't think it counted, so naturally finished making and eating dinner, going on our merry way. As the night went on, though, we kept giving one another weird looks - WHAT IF it counted? We broke down and he ran out to Walgreens to splurge on the digital test. I practically ran to the bathroom when he came in the door and ...

No denying that! We're parents! We were quite shell-shocked that first night - who wouldn't be? We're so pumped though! It's scary and exciting and nerve-wracking and thrilling - a whirlwind of emotions! I'm so excited to meet my son or daughter, and I think about him or her most moments of everyday. I've been feeling okay - which is slightly optimistic - but it IS improving, so I'm not gonna jinx myself. Here are some of my major symptoms from the last 2 1/2 months:

Month 1

Sweating: All. The. Time. I had to put ice packs on my neck while cooking. No joke. Thank the good Lord that I will not be pregnant over summer. He knows me too well.
Forgetfulness: I think of something to look up (almost always pregnancy related), click the browser, and -whoop!- the thought is vanished. This happened many times a day.
Fatigue: Before we found out we're expecting, I went out to mow the lawn and thought I was going to pass out pushing it up the huge hill (okay - moderate slope) in our back yard. It was extreme. This symptom goes hand-in-hand with the sweating. I've gone to some Body Pump classes & continued to workout because I am feeling well overall, but let me tell you - this child of mine is making me rain from the inside out. People stare. At least now I know to stop before the pass-out phase dawns in.
Month 2
Oh, hello ALL DAY sickness! Starting in week 7, we're talking ick ick ick upon waking (even before getting out of bed) until bedtime. No bueno! Thank the good Lord that this did not last more than 2 weeks! I'm still feeling fatigued (which is a humble word for exhausted beyond belief every waking moment), and I am loving my sleep. I'm on break still, so I feel zero guilt about sleeping 10 hours a night and let's just be honest - an occasional afternoon nap. I'm growing a person here! I'm still able to run and workout, although it feels kind of like a jiggle fest already. I have gained a few pounds already, even though they say you don't have to. Sorry folks - when you feel like death, anything that sounds good is going to go down. I hate when I tell people and they say, "oh, yeah, I lost a million pounds the first trimester!" Well to that I say, eff off - we are not the same! K so what - I'm obviously just jealous. I've already grown an entire cup size. Woohooo! Optimistic me went out and bought 2 brand new bras from Victoria's Secret, all excited to feel pretty. THEN I read online that they CONTINUE GROWING throughout pregnancy and EVEN MORE after. WHAT?! WHEN WILL THEY STOP?!?! My next bras will likely be from Saver's. Seriously.

So that's that for symptoms so far! Pretty mild, I know. I forgot to take a picture at 8 weeks, so you'll have to wait until 12 I suppose!

Okay, so I must tell this story, because 1. it is classic and 2. I do not want to forget. If you're bored, go ahead and skip it. I had my first "doctor's" appointment - which - surprise, surprise - turned out to be with a "maternity counselor" RN. First off, I was PUMPED for this appointment. We found out we were impregnated at about 5 weeks, and my appointment was at 9 3/4 weeks (yes, they were that specific). I had a bag packed full of my vitamins, extra supplements I was taking, tea boxes to confirm ingredients (I've read that some ingredients aren't safe for my embryo). So anyway, I go in and the first thing the lady asks is what I do. I proudly explain that I'm in school for OT and will graduate in December, then I have 6 months of fieldwork before taking the Boards. I explained that my professors are being super great and working with me about my placements to work around the birth and recovery time, and that the baby should really only postpone me being an OT by a few months. Her response? Was it "oh, good for you!" or "good luck - you'll be busy but you can do it if you want it badly enough."? Nope - it was a sassy "hope you finish." WHAT? Are you serious lady? So I explained a little more about my story, and her second statement? "well, I just see that a lot - people come in with a year left of school and then they just never go back. But I hope you finish." LISTEN LADY. NOT A CHOICE. I was pretty much fuming at her at this point. I further explained that, while some new moms may have a year left of school and not finish, I will have just 6 months of fieldwork and will finish. End of story. Needless to say, this peach was on my bad side real quick. NEXT - the crazy lady says, "don't mind my RASH - I have poison ivy all over my body. I think it's even spreading to the back of my head (ITCHES head)". WHHHAAAAATTTT? Who does this girl think she is? THEN I see in HORROR at what she is talking about - the girl has RED BUMPS and SCABS all over her arms and neck and face - she is covered. Literally. I laugh nervously and say, "oh, did you go camping or soemthing?" her non-comforting, casual response? "nope, I actually have no idea how I got it." My response, "OH - how do you know it's poison ivy?" The joker's response, "oh, I don't actually have any idea, but I know it's not contagious." REALLY!? HOW?! YOU CRAZY LADY GET THE BEEEEEEP OUTTA HERE!!!! I didn't actually say that, and instead just went on with the appointment. Later, when I got out all my supplies (obviously a first time mom here), I asked her about the tea and she's like, "Oh, I haven't heard of that - I have no idea." Sweet - thanks for your help. And as for my question about the quality of fish oil supplements vs. their mercury content (I've been doing lots of research about this, folks) - "oh, well, I'm not sure - you can ask your pharmacist that." LISTEN LADY - I'm here to ask YOU. So I left that appointment more dumb and confused than when I entered. Whatever - the next one (at 12 weeks) will entail an actual midwife NOT covered in a scabby rash and lacking all possible knowledge AND we'll get to hear the heartbeat. I may sound bitter - but that lady was about THE most unprofessional individual on this planet. If I get her again, I will ask for someone else. Seriously.

Anyway, on a happier note - Ceej and I are thrilled and feel blessed beyond belief to be parents! It's such a uniting and intimate experience to know that we've created a person - our own little buddy to drastically change our life and rock our world. We're going to wait to find out if it's a boy or a girl because a wise friend recently said that knowing the sex and name has made the last few months unbearably boring. No dissing anyone who found out - it's definitely an individual decision - but I'm pretty sure that I'm going to need that extra oomph at the end to get me through. So here's to parenthood! OH, and one more thing - since I'm on break and all I read "Belly Laughs" by Jenny McCarthy and it was a hoooot! I was laughing out loud throughout. She's very blunt and talks about her pregnancy in a very honest way (which I appreciate). I also bought "Sippy Cups are not for Chardonnay" and plan on completing that before school starts next week :).

Second Week of Heaven

2010-08-29T19:45:00.006-05:00

So just finished my second week of break - ahh the wonderfulness. I continued the relaxing, working, walking, over all thoroughly enjoying myself. Also, went golfing with Jess Hong, shampooed all of our carpets, and washed both of our cars (all this in one day. I woke up the next feeling like I'd been hit by a bus.). We went to the last live music in Phoenix Park for the summer with Mandrew (Mandy + Andrew), and I'm slightly devastated that it'll be gone until next summer. It's my favorite thing.

We also spent a weekend in Stillwater and a weekend in Hartford. First, Stillwater to visit my family! I love them. We had our classic family breakfast and then Ceej left for Brock's Bachelor party in the cities. Dad and I walked downtown, watched my sister Jenni's impressive building of a mini-version of her house for my niece, Elliana (a custom playhouse), and went to a car show in Hastings with Jamie & Tyler + 4 :). Oh my how those beautiful nieces & nephews of mine are growing! On Sunday dad and I walked downtown again, I went for a run, and then my ex-roomies came to Stillwater to visit (and, by the way, it still breaks my heart to include the "ex-", even though it's been a year and a half). Ceej came through as well, and Dana's boyfriend, Matt joined us for a big ol' family fun-filled time! The 5 of us went to lunch on the water, walked around downtown (obviously a trend), and got whopping ice cream cones at Nelson's. It was greeeaatt to see my family and then my psuedo-family closest girlfriends. WHY I have zero pictures from this experience is beyond me - as soon as someone else posts some on Facebook I'll steal them and put them here.

The following weekend Ceej and I went to Hartford, Wisconsin to visit my grandparents & aunts & uncles & cousins - it was quite fabulous as well. We woke up and Saturday and Gram took Ceej and I out for breakfast at Perc Place. Yummo! Came back and had visitors - my mom came from Eau Claire, my auntie Krista, my cousin Lindsay & her 16 month old son, Emmitt, and my cousin Katie and her 6 month old daughter, Ella. A fun, full house! We relaxed and talked and then had a scrumptious feast, as per Gram's usual. Ceej fished a ton (I don't blame him - there was a whole lot of estrogen going on). It was wonderful to see everyone - we hadn't even met Ella yet because we hadn't been to Hartford since Thanksgiving! Dang school makes the 4 hour drive an unrealistic destination for a typical weekend. Anyway, it was so great to see them. I love that my entire family - on all sides - has such a close relationship, but it makes me so sad that I can't be with all of them all the time. Just have to do the best we can in terms of visiting, and most importantly be thankful for the relationships and wonderful people that we have in our lives - both near and far!

3 Weeks of Bliss

2010-08-19T12:30:00.004-05:00

I'm finally on my between-semesters break, a 3-week-long glimpse of Heaven. So far, in the past week I've been working, relaxing, walking, running, napping, catching up on paper work/book ordering/class registering, working on my research, embracing the good ol' Oakwood Mall with 99% of Eau Claire's middle school population, and took a little weekend trip to Duluth with my mom, brother, and Ceej-meister. It was my first weekend of freedom after finals, so the relaxation and excuse to not do anything productive was excellent. We walked around a lot and hiked and ate. We stayed at the Hampton Inn, right on the water in Canal Park.

How did finals go, you ask? Well, I had 4 and did excellent on one and horrible on 3. The one I did excellent on was - no lie - a surprise group test. Kind of like a dream come true to go into an exam and have the professor say to pick your group. Apparently I wasn't the only one who did awful (and by awful, I mean failed - we're not being modest here.), because there was plenty of bonus questions to allow me to pass my classes. On to the last semester of school - I can't even believe how fast it's gone. I will actually graduate this December, have 6 months of fieldwork, take the boards, and be an occupational therapist. Wootwoot! Until then, I'm stuffing my face with highly buttered popcorn and watching the Bad Girls Club - professional, right?

Be Careful how you Lift!

2010-07-27T14:25:00.002-05:00

Just a word of the wise - if you want to remain back-injury-free, please lift carefully. Back injuries are long-lasting and no fun (not to mention expensive - chiropractor bills are crazy). Anyway, this is random but helpful. The picture shows the stress you put on your back with the different motions. Take note!

5 Year Reunion

2010-07-22T08:29:00.002-05:00

I've kind of jumped off the blogging wagon - sorry folks. So lately we've actually been doing more things despite school being more hectic for me. Burnt out lately? Yep. It only took almost 3 semesters, but I've finally figured out the secret to doing things + studying. This is the change: I have changed my schedule to match Ceej's work schedule, so I wake up at 5 with him, we eat breakfast together and have a little time in the morning, then I do homework all day, work out at some point when I feel like my eyes are going to pop out of my skull, then at 5 or 6 we eat dinner and then I'm usually so sick of homework we can do something - whether it be watch Bachelorette, play a game, or our latest joy: Music in Phoenix Park. Then of course, by 9:30 or 10, we're both so tired it's easy to go to bed early! It really is quite wonderful. The picture above is at Phoenix Park with my ex-step-sister Alex, whom we ran into (among a million of other people!) watching the music.

It's been a while since my last post, so I kind of had to browse through my albums to see what I missed. It was my Birthday - the big 2-3. On my actual Birthday I had a practical exam on Manual Muscle Testing (as horrid as it sounds). I came home from Rochester exhausted, so we went to Subway and picked out some new running shoes at Scheeles. You may not be impressed - but we had fun so there. We celebrated a little more formally with his parents & my ma at Tokyo for dinner, ending the night with drinks at his parents' house. Good times :).

Finally, Ceej and I went to my 5 year class reunion on Saturday. Oh what a night! We all went to the Fan Deck of the Eau Claire express game. It was fun to see everyone, but I will never go to the fan deck again. Seriously - $60 for the two of us to have 5 beers total, 2 hot dogs, a burger, and a hot beef. WHAT?! The all-you-can-eat-and-drink may be more worthwhile if you are a huge eater or drinker or are rich. BUT it was fun anyway! Everyone had a great time catching up. After the game we went to the Livery (my new favorite bar) and then ended the night at Happy Hollow. I was pretty much BUBBLING with excitement all day, and it did not disappoint!

Another joy - the Farmer's Market is open! My ma and brother and I have been going Saturdays, so fresh vegetables are not a rarity in this house. YUMMO!

Weekend Wonders

2010-06-28T14:37:00.004-05:00

My ex-step-sister has graduated, and I'm so proud of her! We didn't make it to the graduation (I stole this picture from Facebook), but Alex had her grad party Sunday and it was great - the sun was shining, the food was yummy, and she was lovely. It was a very nice afternoon!

The night before I had major cabin fever and decided to stop by a free concert at Acoustic with my mom. The band was from Australia (so of course I automatically loved them), and they were excellent & quite witty (all biases aside). It reminded me so much of the ol' aussie humor - AKA sweetly sarcastic. After the concert (Ceej had been fishing), we decided to have a few friends over for some wine/beer (because when I take a night off, I like to enjoy it!). It was a quickly planned, last-minute activity but ended up being a nice night with good friends.

Ceej was an absolute gem this weekend - helping my mom move and my brother move on Friday & Saturday, two very hot days. What a nice little steward.

That's our weekend in a nutshell! Sorry for the lack of pictures - although it's probably a good thing that I didn't take any because I wore the same outfit Saturday night and to Alex's graduation party. Ah - the good life :).

A Naughty Bunny, Special Date & Baptized Boy

2010-06-19T15:55:00.005-05:00

Friday night Ceej and I decided we needed a date. It had been a while, so we got the stuffed animals a sitter and headed out on the town (kidding). We started our evening with a drink in our backyard. This turned into an event in itself, as we got entranced by a fight going on between two fat ants. Ceej tried to separate them, but it was not happening. I don't know quite why I think you will find that interesting, but it was to us. Then we headed to Tokyo (the restaurant - we're not Brangelina here) for some scrumptious dinner and were in taste-bud heaven. Then we dead over to the Aqua Lounge @ Metropolis Resort and enjoyed a glass of wine before meeting up with Brock & Stacy for some mini-golf. It was a gorgeous night & we enjoyed the time together thoroughly.

On a less happy note, we have a garden-invasion. Our little flower garden was blooming beautifully UNTIL one day I saw a little stinker bunny in there. I chased him away, but that just obviously made him mad because the next day he ate the flowers AND leaves off of two of our flowers. The next day? Two more! Jerkface! I've been doing some research and sprinkled cayenne pepper and garlic powder around it and inside (I'm sure it's convincing our neighbor that I'm an excellent chef)... but the rain washed it away so the results are inconclusive. Next step: Human urine (not saying whose - I'll leave that for your imagination). Anyway, I'll let you know what works... until then, I'll hope for his death.

Our godson, Lucas Xavier has been baptized! After the baptism we went to my in-laws for lunch. There was a ton of family there, and it was wonderful to see everyone! Lucas is a very healthy lil' guy & growing bigger by the day. He's a very special boy, and it was a very special day!

Snug as a Bug

2010-06-03T09:35:00.005-05:00

Last night Ceej tucked me in "snug as a bug in a rug," and the HE grabbed the camera (a rare occurrence in this house) because of how cute (?) I looked. Note our still-separate blankets - as said a year ago, it's the secret to marital bliss. Also, don't mind the stuffed animals (from left: Noname, Ceej, and Ducky Doo). You have kids - I have them.

Special Events

2010-05-27T21:21:00.006-05:00

Been a while, eh? Well, blogging friends & blog-stalkers, that just goes to show how crazy school has been because I lack time to both write AND do something blog-worthy. A double whammy. Life has a way of going on, though, doesn't it? There have been some wonderful events in the Reich-Hogen-Thurner-Rosener-Park family. Wouldn't it be crazy if instead of taking one or hyphenating two names at marriage, everyone in your family had to take the additional name?! Just a random thought. They happen.

Okay - events - BIG ones. First, Clara and Evelyn were baptized! Oh the little beauties were just two lil' peaches on their special day. Trained well (haha). Ceej and I were happy happy happy to be able to see the baptism because fun time is slim around these parts, especially if it means hours in the car.

My neice, Elliana, turned 3 whopping years old yesterday! I wasn't there, but it deserved notification. She's the cutest lil' lady you'll ever see. Unless, of course, you have your own daughter - then you're biased.

Next, my sister-in-law, Jenny, was rescued from the hottest day of the year by our Godson! Lucas Xavier was born May 24th in the wee hours of the morning weighing 7 pounds, 15 ounces at 21 inches long. He decided that his mom's day off in their non-air-conditioned home was a good time to grace us all with his presence (allowing her to beat-the-heat in the air-conditioned hospital while not being 9 months pregnant). What a gentleman.

And, finally, Ceej and I have celebrated our first year of marriage. We woke up early and went to breakfast at Altoona Family Restaurant (where else?), attended the baptism of our nieces in Stillwater, and then headed to the cities for the Twins vs. Brewers game. The tickets were a surprise for him from me - he's a huge Twins fan! We decided to take turns planning an anniversary surprise for one another, and I have the odd years (no pun intended). SO, for numero uno we watched the game, and I kept the secret planning process zipped for a whole week! That sounds better than "I couldn't bare it any more and told him everything Friday night, when our anniversary was on Sunday." After the game (where we probably lost about 10 pounds each via perspiration), we had dinner at Cancun. Then we climbed the mountain where we got engaged, and Ceej played guitar in the moonlight and sang me a song he'd written. Okay, you caught me. I had an assignment due at midnight, so we sat next to one another on the couch and I completed it while he enjoyed every second of "Minute to Win it."

It was a great day and -better yet- a great year. We have been truly blessed to have one another and thoroughly enjoy our first year of marriage - looking forward to the wonders of our future. A little recap of our year: became roommates, honeymooned in Duluth, spent the summer livin' the dream with both of us working full-time and then coming home to spend time with one another, I started school (a story in itself), gained 2 nieces and a nephew/Godson, spent a week in Jamaica, a weekend getaway at Metropolis Resort, attended 4 weddings, grew a garden, killed some plants, learned how to cook guacamole, salsa, and a few other things, took lots of walks & bike rides & runs, spent a week with my family's at our cabin, got sick a few times, been in awe of one another, laughed (a lot), cried (me - a lot - regarding school - poor Ceej), and countless other milestones. It was better than anyone could have dreamed - simple & perfect. I can't believe how close we've come & how much we've grown as a couple, and I look forward to every minute of our life together.

So, that was the past week. I also took 2 exams in Rochester yesterday AND learned how to stretch my lumbricals. If you're interested in changing your life, do the following: First, your lumbricals are the muscles between the metacarpal bones in your hand - palm (or volar, if you will) side, which are innervated by the median nerve and are commonly affected by Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, because I'm sure you were wondering. Anyway, what you do is basically make a "claw" by hyperextending your hand with a pencil "rolled up" in your 4 fingers. I don't know if that makes sense, but you know you're doing it right if it feels like leather is being stretched across the inside of your palm and, for a brief moment, you know what Heaven will be life. Being a heavy-computer-user myself, this stretch has made my hands some happy campers. I do it often. Maybe excessively. If you're interested in seeing the lumbricals, to know what you're working with, they're the purple muscles in this simplified picture:

As a side note, I came home after 2 days in Rochester and 7 hours of sleep over 2 nights to finding out that my husband had planted us a beautiful garden! I just love him.

Jammin' in Jamaica

2010-05-05T20:49:00.012-05:00

Rats! I definitely intended to write more about our vacay in Jamaica, but you'll have to settle for the brief version because I have a module (like an online class with an additional 60 text book pages to read) due at midnight. First off, we LOVED it. It was an amazing time to spend together with (gasp!) no phones/TV/homework/distractions. Here is the view we saw outside our balcony each morning:

Don't get me wrong, this little all-inclusive-resort was by NO means a 5 star place... we realized this upon arriving as we had to hold the elevator button down until it reach our floor, which it falsely declared as the 4th (it was the 6th). Then, we found a little cockroach in the bathroom. No problem, mon! We were looking for a fun-filled vacation to be TOGETHER, experience a new country, and lounge on the beach/poolside for far too many hours soaking up enough sun so I wouldn't feel deprived this summer; that, my friends, is EXACTLY what we got.

Here is a general synopsis of our wonderful schedule: Wake up around 8:30, get in our suits & put on sunscreen, go to the yummy buffet, go sit poolside for a couple hours, participate in Aquacise (a 30 minute pool exercise program put on by one of the fun workers - way too entertaining), reapply sunscreen, lay by or swim around in the pool again, play in the warm ocean, decline about 5 offers to purchase paraphernalia and hair braiding, go have lunch & reapply sunscreen, go back to the ocean and/or pool to lay, go in the ocean and/or pool to swim and play, maybe ride on the fast sailboat or kayak, go lay down again, go back to our room and load on aloe to our sunburned bods, shower & get dressed up, go to one of the fancy restaurants for dinner (steak, shrimp, pasta, the works), have a couple drinks while watching the reggae band play, attend whatever activity was put on by the place (e.g., dancing, beach party, circus show, magician, & karaoke, to name a few).

Oh, MAN, I wish I was back there! Although I have been dreaming about it every night, so that's the next best thing. Our resort was very laid back and "more liberal than Sandals", according to one of the workers (whom we also declined paraphernalia from). The people that worked there were SO fun and outgoing and excellent dancers. Example: We were playing a game with some and I commented on their amazing dance skills... so they break out in a dance to whatever was playing... then literally start a "dance party" where even the lifeguards came to the area and started dancing to the music (which was always playing). This went on for about a half an hour and looked like a planned or choreographed event. Ahhhh the memories...

Our flight back included a 9 hour layover in Miami, so we checked our luggage and took a bus to "Miracle Mile" (a shopping/downtown area). We were QUITE tired, so we took an hour rest in a random (but nice) park. It was a beautiful day! After the delayed flight and drive home, we finally got in bed around 2 in the morning - a whopping 22 hour day of traveling. The only thing I would change about our time in Jamaica would be to extend it... it was glorious.

Now, sadly, I'm back in school. BARF. I was in tears today because I just want to hang out with my hubby and NOT be stuck in a room layered with too many fatty books entitled such things as "The Functional Anatomy of the Human Brain" and "A Function-Based Approach to Stroke Rehabilitation" listening to reggae music (true story - I'm slightly obsessed). Welcome to summer.

Note: Clearly I am not in the "school groove" yet, as this was not a short posting.

B R E A K

2010-04-23T14:22:00.008-05:00

Well, clearly I have been on break from school because I have yet to find a need to blog (AKA procrastinate). With a little trip to Jamaica right around the corner (3 days!!), I thought this was necessary. Finals week was a success (and by success, I mean I passed). Friday night I got wasted to celebrate a s t r e s s f u l week. Actually, I drove home, ate dinner, went for a 20 minute bike ride with my hubby, spent 2-3 hours grocery shopping, watched a movie from the Redbox, and played SkipBo. It was a glorious. I spent the week in Rochester and left poor Ceej with a near-empty fridge & freezer. It was bad. Poor guy ate chips and ground beef for dinner one night because we were out of cheese, salsa, and taco sauce... among many, many things... so he was slightly malnourished.

On Saturday I slept in for a total of 11.5 hours, and I did not feel guilty about it in the slightest. We relaxed all day and that night went out with George, Quinn, Mitch, and Laura to a comedy show, birthday party, & rolly's. George and I also went downtown for a bit before rolly's to break up the night and visit his boss/boss' friends. Overall it was a BLAST and completely stress-free. It was great to not be thinking about all the homework I had yet to do. We also ran into Brandon Jacobs et al (some Gaint's players) at Ramada Inn and spent the night throwing footballs with them (Note: the latter part of that sentence is slightly false).

One random night, Ceej and I decided to bring a little beer & wine to a spot he found fishing on the water for an adventure. We strapped the cooler to the bike because we had taken off my super sweet basket for a long ride a couple of weeks ago (mistake), and then we threw our chairs on our backs. We sat by the water relaxing for a couple of hours. Success!

I also did 24 hours of fieldwork at a hands clinic and loved it! Yes, the girl who literally failed the Kinesiology exam on hands. I'm always up for a pleasant surprise. I am currently registered for next semester's classes and just ordered all of my books off of eBay. I feel (almost) too productive right now.

Tonight is my sister-in-law, Rebekkah's, 9th Birthday party!! I can't believe she's grown so much. When Ceej and I started dating she was one year old! She was such a sweet baby and only slightly afraid of me. She would never say good-bye to me, no matter how much we tried (and we did). But now she likes me and hugs me good-bye. Ahh... the difference time makes.

Peace Out Debbie Downer

2010-04-11T19:46:00.004-05:00

In an effort to kick Debbie Downer to the curb, here is a list of things that I am happy about today (this may be corny, but just appreciate that I'm not expressing the stress I'm actually feeling... I wanted to spare you its ugliness):

1. Going to church with my husband
2. A nice conversation with my dear friends Jamie & Meg
3. The sun shining & weather being perfect
4. Walking outside (see point 3)
5. Eating dinner with my husband
6. Someone bidding on the Coogi Sweaters that I'm selling on eBay for my father-in-law (see picture above)
7. Knowing that this is my last weekend spent studying until May (Yes, I do know it's mid April... don't rain on my parade)
8. Ice cold water
9. Piping hot french vanilla coffee with too much sugar and cream (Ceej at my pile of sugar packets: "You better not be putting all of that in there. Completely unnecessary." That's what HE thinks.)
10. Not having an exam tomorrow
11. Having my double batch of banana bread turn out well (for the OT student bake sale, of course).

Okay, so 10 was a stretch. Whatev. Have a great night everyone! Back to the books for me.

Girlfriends and Easter Joys

2010-04-04T18:31:00.003-05:00

Oh joy! This week entailed some exciting events: The first was that two of my best girlfriends from high school came to town from their "homes" of Colorado & Texas (although I'm sure they'll always consider Altoona their real home... I mean, who wouldn't?). Therefore my closest group of high school girlfriends got together for breakfast. I gave the baked french toast another go (haven't felt up to it since it prompted the fire a few months back), and it was a success. A tad smokey as the butter/brown sugar topping overflowed in the oven, but I'm not complaining. Also tried a new recipe for a bacon, tator tot, cheese, and egg dish. Here is a random side note: I have been obsessed with cooking lately. In the past week I've made (from scratch, mind you): macaroni and cheese, chili, the two breakfast dishes described above, rolls, and stir fry (among "easier"/low prep items). You may not be impressed, but it feels like a lot. I think it's because with cooking there is immediate gratification. That is, you prep, you bake, it's done, you eat. Yum. That's it! Job well done. This is completely the opposite of school, which is more like, you prep/plan, you try, you fail to complete you plan, you come back to it and complete it, you move on to the next assignment, it takes you longer than planned, you finish that, you missed this, you spent too much time on that, and oh, surprise! There's an exam tomorrow. Not quite as satisfying. ANYWAY, back to the breakfast, it was super great! We're all still very close, and it's just fun being with people who know so much about you and you them, and you all love one another anyway. That was an excellent morning. AND we had a new one in the mix, little Miss. Brinnley Louise. Hopefully she won't ruin things (JUST KIDDING).

Oh Easter!! I love this day and the days preceding it. Ceej and I went to church on Good Friday and the candle lit Mass Saturday night. Sunday morning the Easter bunny brought Ceej breakfast in bed (lucky kid). I did some homework, we went for a little bike ride, and then we went to his parents for lunch. A lot of family came, so it was especially nice to see everyone, play bean bag toss, and just be outside! My mom also stopped by for a bit, so we covered a lot of bases. Now I'm studying (well, was and will be; RIGHT now I'm blogging), and Ceej went back to his parents to spend time with the family. It was a really nice day! Now I just need to get a million things done. I hate that feeling of leaving something special to go to something completely horrid. Oh, did I mention that my semester is done in 11 days and 17 hours? Well, it is.

Still Alive

2010-03-29T18:49:00.004-05:00

So, I took a little glance at the blog to see when my last post was. 20 days ago. Hmm. So then I took a little glance through my planner to see what I could post on. Nothing. Hmmm. Okay. Well then, here's the deal: I have 17 days left in the semester. In the two weeks following Easter I will have 7 exams (clearly the program is not familiar with my friend, Jesus, who died for our sins and deserves a day dedicated to him instead of studying). One of my exams entails walking into a room with 9 cadavers with 50 "items" (i.e., tendons, ligaments, muscles, arteries, or nerves) flagged, and we are to write down the item (spelled correctly, from memory, mind you). Nice. Anyway, homework and finals preparation will consume the next 17 days, then 3 days of fieldwork, then... (drum roll, please)... Ceej and I are going to Jamaica! Oh I am excited! It is what is keeping me trucking through this ish. I have 2 weeks off between-semesters (apparently grad students don't need a spring break...? News. to. me.) then back at it through the summer for more classes, research, fieldwork, and volunteering. BUT come 18 days, I'm halfway through the academic part of this program (there are 6 months of fieldwork next spring). This last point makes me quite happy.

Fortnight

2010-03-09T19:50:00.006-06:00

In Australia it's common to use the terminology "fortnight" for a period of 2 weeks, hence the name of this entry summarizing the past 2 weeks. The above and below pictures are from "Casino Night" last weekend. It was a lovely Saturday afternoon and the boys were trying to plan an activity for the evening. Some wanted to go to the actual casino, but then the idea to create our very own was brought up. Brilliant! They split up buying the table, card distributor, & 5 decks of cards. One person brought over the chips. Ceej made guacamole & I made brownies & meatballs. We pushed aside the coffee table and brought our kitchen table into the living room to play. It was a great night!! Some came out ahead, some behind. What a fun & random event!

The below picture is of my mom & I at Younkers for "Woman of the Year" through WWIB (a Christian radio station here in Eau Claire). I had nominated her and she was one of the 20 contestants. The Woman of the Year was actually just drawn out of a hat from the the 20 & won a $750 gift certificate to Younkers (a bonus for me because we can share clothes). Well, she didn't actually win, but we had a really nice morning. It started out with a long walk around Altoona, getting to the event at 10 and realizing that the drawing was at 11:45, so we drove to the Cap & Cork (wine store) to vote for her bottle label (she makes wine & labels for a hobby), and then to Aldi's for some groceries. I hadn't been to Aldi's for a while, so I forgot how CHEAP it is. I was quite excited and got a card full of great stuff. Some of you quality over quantity seekers may be shaking your head in disgust, but Aldi's suits us beautifully.

Below is a shot from yesterday. Ceej and I spent the day in Menomonie volunteering at a basketball tournament with Special Olympics. It was a ton of fun & a great experience! I can't wait to volunteer at more events (yes, I've already started looking into them), and Ceej enjoyed it, too! I was the announcer (can you imagine? it was great) and he kept score for one of the teams, so we were able to be together. I was amazed at how many people were there! There were 4 games going on at all times, and the parking lot was FULL of cars. The day was filled with magical moments; I would look around and just get tears in my eyes at the pure joy around me. Most of the teams had a few players who made most of the baskets. On one team, however, every single person had a made a basket with the exception of one boy. He was working hard and shooting, but all of them were slightly off. Finally, with 24.7 seconds left in the game he shot and made a 3 point basket! He threw his arms in the air and cheered. They won the game. It was amazing!

We received the shirts we're wearing in the picture at the event... and it suits me perfectly because I'm known for my value of "person-first language". It is something that is very important to me after my education about and work with individuals who have disabilities. We were at the basketball tournament from 1-6 PM and decided to make a night of our time in Menomonie. We went to a Mexican restaurant and then met Jesse & Quinn at a bar for an improv comedy show. It was lots of fun, but the last comic was very disrespectful and we ended up leaving (the comics had been on for 4 hours, so it was getting old). It was fun to get out and enjoy some quality time with friends and one another!

Off for a run... it's amazingly gorgeous outside!

Little Misses

2010-03-02T12:26:00.003-06:00

As noted before, I stopped by my sister's on the way home from school to see the new little ladies. I was also able to make it to see my dad, but 2 stops after 12 hours of sleep over the course of 3 days was all I could do, so unfortunately couldn't make it to visit Jen & Elliana this time. It was a ROUGH two weeks, and the time in Rochester and the Twin Cities were brutal with two intense exams. Thursday in particular was horrible. Here is how my day went: I went to bed at 11:30 and woke up at 3:30. Gross. Then I studied, took an exam at 9, most likely failed it, sat in class until 5pm, drove through rush hour, stopped in Stillwater, and then drove back to Eau Clare, getting home around 11pm. That night, Ceej actually thought I was drunk (and said he would have bet money had I not just drove an hour and a half). Looking back I can see why: I was so exhausted that I was stumbling around, had my eyes halfway open, and had a drowsy, slow response time. I slept over 11 hours that night, and it was glorious.

Anyway, big brother Rylan was so proud to show auntie Em his new sisters (big brother Mickeegan was at Boy Scouts). Evelyn is a little smaller, looks like Mickeegan, has lighter colored and thinner hair. Clara is slightly bigger, looks like Rylan, has darker and thicker hair. AKA Evelyn has Tyler's face and Jamie's teeny body, and Clara has Jamie's face and Tyler's long body. Either way, they are gorgeous and OH so sweet!

Liquid Gold

2010-02-22T00:49:00.003-06:00

I have a major addiction to Diet Mountain Dew. I'm addicted to the flavor, the sound of the can clicking open like tap-dancers on the floors of heaven, the cold liquid running down my throat like a fresh spring, the jolt of energy I get after it merely touches my lips. It's pretty amazing. However, I have decided to give it up for Lent. This is a big sacrifice, and it has been a long time coming at that. Recap: Lent during Freshman year: Gave it up with success. Sophomore, Junior, and Senior years: Fail. Call it stress, call it lack of will power. Whatev. We have an unhealthy relationship. I realize that. Anyway, I'm going strong so far. And the bonus? It solves the "lack of sleep" pattern, as described in a previous post. Apparently 6 cans throughout the day (yes, past roommates: it's gotten that bad) has put my body in overload, and it forgot how to wind down. Who knew? So while I'm missing my liquid gold, my sweet sleep is pretty great.

Evelyn Rose & Clara Mae

2010-02-21T13:05:00.002-06:00

Let's add another major event to this week: My nieces have arrived! Little Miss. Evelyn Rose was a whopping 4 pounds, 13 ounces, and Clara Mae was 5 pounds, 1 ounce. I am so excited to meet them!! Sadly, I have a few exams that are consuming my life this week, but I'll get to see them Thursday night on my way back from the cities. I'll post some pictures of their pretty little faces then! What a wonderful blessing!!

A Roller Coaster

2010-02-16T01:01:00.010-06:00

This past week was full of positive and negative events. A whirlwind of emotion, if you will. In other words, there were tears shed. Let's recap:

I was sicker than a dog on Saturday with the G.I. flu (not pretty- believe me), so I was practically passed out on the couch all day and night, in between trips to the bathroom. Thankfully, because Ceej had gone snowboarding before the drama started, my mom came over and spent the day with me. Candles. Lifetime movies. Face wiped with a damp cloth after vomiting. Toenails painted. There is hope here.

Because I was ridiculously ill on Saturday, the day that I had planned to complete a bunch of assignments due Sunday in order to spend the day with my Valentine, I actually had to do them on Sunday. Sadly, our first valentine's day was cut short. Not that I'm all about worshiping February 14th, but I was so looking forward to a day dedicated to my lover. We were able to go to church and pancake breakfast, and we watched a movie later at night. I am thankful for that. However, our day of Action City, Chaos Water Park, out for dinner, and to the theaters was not an option. I was crushed. Especially because it was forfeited for barfing up bile.

My dear friend Jess had a baby girl!! Brinnley Louise was born in the wee hours of February 16th weighing in at a whopping 5 pounds, 15 ounces. I was just visiting the teeny peanut, and she is gorgeous. I love her! Mom and babe are both happy and doing well.

Gia was sent home. Vienna stayed. What. the. heck.

I have an online exam, equal amount of homework as is normally assigned, and 2 exams next week. Does time increase on demand? Nope.

Someone got a hold of our debit card numbers and was on a little spending spree in Chicago. Sweet. Thankfully, my wonderful husband took on the duties of all of the identity theft & banking stuff. Also thankfully, we'll get the $400 back. What a jerk face!! We did get a laugh out of the experience, as my father-in-law happened to be taking a walk by our house when the police officer was coming in... you should have seen the look of panic as he was frantically questioning the police officer while walking up to our doorway. Poor guy!

I've been having mega trouble sleeping... and have a very inconsistent routine right now. I don't do well with that. An example, I was up until 2:30AM, awake at 9:30AM, then in bed at 11Pm, up at 4:30AM. My body is confused and mad at me. I don't like it.

Anyway, being that it's only Wednesday, I'm pretty much ready for this week to be done. F'real.

Hands Free is the Way to Be

2010-02-12T22:28:00.006-06:00

I love to share my small joys with you. Today is no exception. Over the course of the past few months, my neck has been feeling a little tight, although not painful at all. After a drive from Eau Claire to Rochester, Rochester to the cities, and the cities home, and being on the phone the entire time, my neck was especially sore. Perhaps it was because in the car, I sit like this:

I decided to go to the chiropractor, who adjusted my back and told me to sit and look like this:

(Okay, okay... not really look like her. Who is that seductive while sitting in an office chair? I guess I'm close when I'm wearing my Snuggie.)
So anyway, I've been really trying to stand more like this:

Although it's hard because I talk on the phone like this:

I decided I needed a hands-free device, although I lacked the extra funds necessary for such a contraption. Before my trip to Rochester I accompanied my husband to an automotive shop to buy new windshield wipers (Note: I am purposefully withholding the name of the automotive shop because I fear so many of you will go and swarm them with an overwhelming amount of customers). Anyway, while Ceej was taking care of the wiper business, I browsed the clearance rack (which is to be expected), and what did I find? A hands free device for any phone!! And how much was it?! $2.99!! YESSS. I was delighted. I took it up to the counter with a slightly-too-large smile on my face. He rung it out, I had my $5 bill ready and waiting. We made eye contact. "That'll be five cents, please." WHAT!?!?!?!??!? FIVE CENTS?!??!?! My smile drooped slightly in confusion, my eyes grew wide. I glanced at Ceej with a look that said "we better take it and run because this guy is crazy," gave the man a nickel, and scurried out of there before he changed his mind. I was on cloud nine the rest of the day. And it works wonderfully. SUCCESS.

I hate Mondays. SIKE! I love them!

2010-02-07T21:36:00.003-06:00

Mondays have become my favorite days. You may be wondering why I love the notoriously hated first weekday, and I will explain. I love Mondays because Ceej and I have developed the most wonderful routine that I wouldn't trade for the world. Every Monday I work out in the morning and then go to the good ol' Altoona Public Library to study until 6:40pm. Then, I eagerly drive home to something like this:

At 7pm Ceej and I enjoy a lovely dinner (pictured above: homemade french onion soup) while watching the Bachelor. We are hooked. And it is marvelous. Folks, we're not pretending to be fancy. We're just lovin' life.

Mini Vacay

2010-02-07T19:25:00.004-06:00

Oh happy day! Since school started, Ceej and I have been really missing spending quality time with one another. Therefore, we jumped at the chance to take a mini vacation to Eau Claire's very own Metropolis Resort. You may not be impressed, but we had the most fantastic time! There was a special going on for 2 tickets to the water park, 2 drink tickets, 2 dinners, 2 tickets to a comedy show, a room, and of course the breakfast buffet the next morning. I have been excited for it for weeks, and it definitely lived up to its expectations!

Here's how our day went: We checked into our hotel room around 1pm, went to the water park for some splish splash fun playing water basketball and riding down the slides, went back and got ready, met up with our friends Mitch and Laura for dinner and the comedy show, laughed our butts off, went to the Aqua Lounge (hotel bar) for a few hours, met 2 new friends named Paula and Dave whom we now love, saw a magician who was only a little creepy but really magical do some tricks, tried to go go-carting at Action City but let little kids go ahead of us at 10:50 and then got turned away because they closed at 11pm, went back to Aqua Lounge until... late/early (whatever way you want to look at it). We had so much fun! It was amazing (and very much-needed) for me to 1.not study 2.not feel guilty about it and 3.thoroughly enjoy spending quality time with my husband!

You may be wondering what the above and below pictures are representing. Well, apparently whenever you bought a drink at the comedy show you were given tickets to be put in a drawing. They forgot to give us them for a few drinks during the show, and being the winner-lovers that we are, we confronted the bartender about his lack of respect. He handed us a handful of them! YESSSS. Turns out, it was just us and our new friends Paula and Dave who were present for the drawings. They kept drawing, we kept winning! Our prizes throughout the evening: 6 passes to Chaos Water Park, a $30 gift certificate to Action City, 4 Miller Lite t-shirts (see below), extra free drink passes for everyone (regarding the go-cart incident), and I think that's it. Were we happy? OH YES, we were.

To sum up, we had a great time throwing our responsibilities aside for the day and night. I can't tell you how wonderful it was! Life gets busy. Time together gets more and more scarce. You can almost forget how much FUN you can have with your spouse because everyday obligations get in the way. I love Ceej so much, and I feel so blessed to be married to such a wonderful man. He is truly my best buddy, and I'm so thankful for the opportunity to spend the weekend with him in such a carefree, fun-loving environment!

Graduate School Barbie (TM)

2010-02-03T22:32:00.007-06:00

A new gift idea for your loved ones: Graduate School Barbie (TM).

Graduate School Barbie comes in two forms: Delusional Master's Barbie (TM) and Ph.D. Masochist Barbie (TM).

Every Graduate School Barbie comes with these fun filled features guaranteed to delight and entertain for hours: Grad School Barbie comes out of the box with a big grin on her face that turns into a frown after 2 weeks or her first advisor meeting (whichever comes first). She also has adorable black circles under her delightfully bloodshot eyes.

Comes with two outfits: a grubby pair of blue jeans and 5 year old gap T-shirt, and a floppy pair of gray sweatpants with a matching "I hate my life" T-shirt. Grad School Barbie talks! Just press the button on her left hand and hear her say such upbeat grad school phrases like, "Yes, Professor, It'll be done by tomorrow", "I'd love to rewrite" and "Why didn't I just get a job, I could have been making $40,000 a year by now if I had just started working with a Bachelor's. But noooooo, I chose to further my education, I wish somebody would drop a bomb on the school so that I'd have an excuse to stop working on my degree that's sucking every last drop of life force out of my withered and degraded excuse for a soul..." (9V lithium batteries sold separately)

Grad School Barbie is anatomically correct to teach kids about the exciting changes that come with pursuing a higher education. Removable panels on Barbie's head and torso allow you to watch as her cerebellum fries to a crispy brown, her heart race 150 beats per minute, and her stomach lining gradually dissolve into nothing. Deluxe Barbie comes with specially designed eye ducts. Just add a little water, and watch Grad School Barbie burst into tears at random intervals. Fun for the whole family!

Other accessories include:

Grad School Barbie's Fun Fridge (TM) Well stocked with microwave popcorn, Coca-Cola, Healthy Choice Bologna (99% fat free!),and a small bottle of Mattel Brand Rum (tm).

Grad School Barbie's Medicine Cabinet comes in Fabulous (pepto-bismal) pink and contains Barbie sized bottles of Advil, St. Johns Wort, Zantac, and your choice of three fun anti-anxiety drugs! (Barbie Medicine Cabinet not available without a prescription).

Grad School Barbie's Computer Workstation. Comes with miniature obsolete PC (in pink of course), rickety desk, and over a dozen miniature Mountain Dew cans to decorate your workstation with (Mountain Dew deposit not included in price. Tech support sold separately).

And Grad School Barbie is not alone! Order now and you'll get two of Barbie's great friends! GRADUATE ADVISOR KEN, Barbie's mentor and advisor in her quest for knowledge, higher education and decreased self esteem.

Grad Advisor Ken (tm) comes with a supply of red pens and a permanent frown. Press the button to hear Grad Advisor Ken deliver such wisdom to Barbie as "I need an update on your progress," "I don't think you're ready to defend yet", and "This is no where near ready for publication."

Buy 3 or more dolls, and you can have Barbie's Thesis Committee! (Palm Pilot and tenure sold separately.)

REAL JOB SKIPPER, When Barbie needs to talk, she knows that she can always count on her good friend Real Job Skipper (tm), who got a job after getting her bachelor degree. Press the button to hear Real Job Skipper say, "Sometimes I wish I went for my masters degree" and "Work is so hard! I had to work a half an hour of overtime!" Real Job Skipper's Work Wardrobe and Savings account sold separately.

WARNING: Do not place Grad Student Barbie and Real Job Skipper too close to each other, as there have been several cases of children leaving the room and coming back to find Barbie's hands mysteriously fused to Skipper's throat.

Okay, okay... this is both slightly dramatic and severely pessimistic, I know. We can't always be a ray of sunshine! Let me vent, people!

Note from 12/7/11: As I wrote in my comments from last February, I didn't make this up myself. I was procrastinating one day and Googled "grad school jokes" to humor myself. Life's simple pleasures. I loved that one so much that I had to share :). Thanks for the compliment of thinking I was capable of that, though. The Barbie is actually a 50th Anniversary edition of her, because all 50 year olds are very wrinkly and have gray hair (haha).I just searched "ugly Barbie," and that's what came up! I never meant to claim that I wrote this. I have attempted to find the original source but cannot as it is wide spread across the internet by hundreds of people who have not sourced it. I am sorry to the original author! I am only including this disclaimer because of some Negative Nancy's out there. I posted this for my friends and fellow graduate slaves, not you, Nancy. If you don't have anything nice to say, just don't say it. That's learned in Kindergarten and not grad school, though. Thank you to everyone else with the fun comments! I have just finished grad school officially and am about to enter the working world!! There is an end in sight, I promise!! Until then, good luck to you!

New Life, New Death

2010-01-22T19:52:00.006-06:00

There's been a miracle at the Thurner Residence. Our snowman has been brought back to life! This is no lie: The other day Ceej went outside and noticed that (miraculously) his head was back on (you may remember my sadness after it had fallen off a few posts back). I received the following text, "did you put the snowman's head back on?" After a moment of confusion, a ran outside with pure joy and was elated at his slightly shrunken albeit fully attached noggin. When I thought I was losing my mind in school, this reminded me that someday it will be replaced. Sometimes, God sends small miracles to remind us of these things. It was all I needed.

In the meantime, Ceej and I have realized that we are not quite ready for parenthood. Our plant (1 of 2, mind you) has died. I hate to even say it, but this was a very hearty plant. For its first few months in our family, it was only watered about 3 times. It was alive and well. Then, the watering increased and it became oddly water-logged (and by water-logged I mean that the top was dry and straight out while the bottom leaves were like seaweed drooped straight down). We actually got compliments on its uniqueness (when it was sickly and half drooping, half spiking). We were proud. Early next Friday morning (AKA garbage day) will be plant's funeral. No RSVP needed, come as you are.

Winter After Hours

2010-01-22T12:20:00.005-06:00

Oh what a great night! I have a couple exams next week, so this weekend is dedicated to finishing up other homework and studying. Therefore, Ceej and I decided to have a little date night on Thursday evening. We went to Cancun for dinner and then visited the new "Winter After Hours" at Boyd park. It was amazing! I was very impressed. There's a skating rink and snowshoe trail with snowshoe and skates available to rent. There's also snow sculptures being built, hot chocolate and fresh coffee, music, and a bonfire. It was a really fun way to enjoy Eau Claire! There were lots of people of all ages there, which just added to the atmosphere. The great part is that it's EVERY Thursday from 6-8pm. We left at 7:45 and there were still a ton of people there, so I'm sure it's hip and happenin' until even after 8.

Below is a sculpture that was being built... can you see the little "model" on the table? AMAZING!! Apparently they make a new one every week, so I'm excited for the whole park to be filled with them! How pretty!!

New Hobby

2010-01-20T18:31:00.005-06:00

We've started a new hobby! Ceej and I went out snowshoeing today and had a great time. I love it! It's a great way to get some fresh air (and exercise!). We went to Beaver Creek, and if you haven't been I highly, highly recommend it.

Pierced Ears

2010-01-19T11:15:00.000-06:00

I'm proud to announce that Natalie, my (almost) 7 year old sister-in-law, is now sporting some classy earrings! Ceej and I accompanied her to the big event. She was a bit nervous prior to the guns, but there were no tears! What a champ!!

Stage Seven

2010-01-19T11:00:00.000-06:00

1. SHOCK & DENIAL:
"I can't believe I'm starting my second semester in grad school. I'll have anatomy & neuro classes(science in general = not my best subject), I'll have research, I'll have fieldwork. Not to mention baby showers, baby births, Spring running (AKA loving the outside after being cooped up all winter). This can't be happening."

2. PAIN & GUILT:
"Oh my gosh, I am going to miss so much. It's my first year of marriage, and I'm studying so much. I feel like I'm missing out on life. I feel guilty because I have to study all the time and leave (poor) Ceej to watching football and spending lots of time playing hockey, playing poker, and spending time with his friends. What kind of wife am I? I can't even spend time with my own friends or family. I suck at life and am missing out on everything."

3. ANGER & BARGAINING:
"This is not fair. Everyone else is making money, enjoying free time, able to relax. THEY don't have to think about studying all time. Maybe if I study hard all day I won't have to worry about studying tonight. I hate that I have to be in grad school when everyone else is traveling or having fun."

4. "DEPRESSION", REFLECTION, LONELINESS:
"Because I'm in school, Ceej and I can't have our ideal first year of marriage. We can't play games all day on a Sunday, or lay in bed on a rainy day. On some weekend nights, he's going out with all of our friends and I have to stay home and study. No one understands what it's like having to balance this workload and be so isolated."

5. THE UPWARD TURN:
"Well, I did choose this path. Although we don't right now, we will have money someday. I do ENJOY what I'm learning and completely believe in it. I do see this as a perfect fit for me. And, after all, the more learning I do, the better therapist I will be. It has gone by pretty quickly so far."

6. RECONSTRUCTION & WORKING THROUGH:
"Looking at the entire semester/s is really overwhelming. I'm going to look at TODAY and ask myself what I need to do to be successful on this one day. Setting DAILY goals really helps me feel accomplished rather than stressed out and overwhelmed by what is to come. Also, Ceej and I really like being home together all day. It's nice to see one another whenever we want and take random breaks to play games or talk."

7. ACCEPTANCE & HOPE:
"Okay. I'm going to like my job. I'm going to be successful. I'm working toward a positive goal that is in the near future. Next Christmas I will be walking at graduation. Next summer I will be practicing. This is going to fly by. I really like having both Ceej and I home during the day. It's fun. Not everyone experiences that, and it's probably one of the only times in our young lives that we will. I enjoy learning and the "college experience"... although my home isn't exactly Madison, it's a new experience. I also enjoy challenging things that make me grow as a person. I can do it!"

What a corny way to start the day! But, when I'm feeling optimistic about this ordeal, I need to write it down because there are moments when I feel a wee bit less so. This post is mainly for myself to read whenever I'm feeling especially Debbie-Downer-ish.

A Night Out

2010-01-10T13:28:00.002-06:00

Since school has started I've been pretty isolated. I justify not having a life by the fact that 1.) it's only for the next year and a half, and 2.) I will love my job. So, if you think I'm ignoring you, it's just because I'm studying & stressed out. Anyway, Friday night Ceej and I ventured out...sickness and all. We went with my mom to the movie Invictus, which was excellent and very inspiring. Kind of like my life (just kidding). My mom had won a martini kit, so after the movie we came back and made peppermint martini's. I only drank about a fifth of it, but it was fun to dress up and get out of the house (yes, me in jeans is dressing up right now).

So, did the garlic experiment work?

2010-01-09T18:21:00.004-06:00

Well, no, actually. However, I quit early. After 2 1/2 consecutive days of consuming massive amounts of garlic (3-4 cloves a day crushed on crackers), I decided it was not in the best interest of my marriage to continue the experiment. I decided it was time to stop when Ceej stared at me and said he was in no way attracted to me at that moment. I'm not making this up people. Granted I reeked of garlic and felt like I was surrounded by a thick cloud of it, and I truly looked as sickly as I felt...with pale skin, huge circles under my eyes, consumed by my pink Snuggie, with my hair in a rat's nest. I'm neither condoning nor criticizing his comment, but it did put an end to my garlic consumption. So here I am, a week into the cold and still sounding/feeling BAD. Crap.

Garlic

2010-01-05T11:12:00.003-06:00

My entire house smells like garlic. I smell like garlic. Garlic is overtaking me. I have a cold, and yesterday I remembered an old home remedy that my friend told me a few years ago. That is, take a clove of garlic (crushed) and eat it plain on a cracker in the morning and at night. Last time I did it, I felt HORRIBLE the first morning after taking it at night, and then completely better by the third day. It seemed as though the garlic brought all the sickness to the surface and out of me more quickly. Well, here's to day two. I first took it last night and then again this morning. I must say, I woke up feeling like death. HOPEFULLY tomorrow will be brighter, especially because I have online classes/homework, and therefore I can't justify "staying in" and watching movies (although I so wish I could!).

Smoke & Sisters

2010-01-03T09:03:00.009-06:00

This is actually two posts in one. I couldn't really separate them, and you'll soon learn why.

My sister, Jamie, is expecting twins, and on Saturday was her babies' shower. I offered to bring baked french toast, a delicious treat one of my professor's had once made for our class. This french toast is a two day process, and I was careful to measure out exactly 1 lb of bread with my new digital cooking scale. I even doubled the recipe because I knew it would be THAT fantastic. In fact, I was so excited to make this dish that I measured/broke up the bread and measured out the liquid early Friday morning, pouring it over that night, so that I knew I would be making it out of joy rather than a last minute obligation. It was special.

Saturday morning rolls around and I am over the moon excited. I boiled the topping-brown sugar and butter- on the stove and then poured it over the bread/liquid mixture. While the 45 minute bake time occurred I showered and got ready. I went down and peeked in the oven-perfection was before my eyes. I pulled the 3 glass pans out and put them on top of the stove. I sampled one... oh, my. It was amazing. Perfectly browned and delicately crisp with that warm sweetness that only butter permits. I then smelled a little burning. Hmm. It doesn't look burnt. I stood puzzled as the scent increased. I sampled each of the corners of the large pan because it started boiling, and I figured it burnt underneath the perfect top layer. Nope. It started smoking from underneath as I finally glanced to the stove dials. I had left the largest burner on high, the one beneath the perfection-filled-pyrex. I quickly turned the dial off and reached for the hot pads to remove it when..... BANG. The dish SHATTERS. I'm talking shoots-across-the-room-like-a-gun-shatters, and then a flame bursts. Ceej was ice fishing, and I had no idea what to do. I ran outside in my slippers and yelled to a neighbor a few doors down, who happened to be outside, whom I had never met. In a panic, I yelled, "do you have a fire extinguisher!?" She must have known it was urgent (I wonder how), and she hurried inside to retrieve one and send her husband over to help. I ran back and blast it out. Ron, the husband of my new friend Cheryl, helped me remove the smoking pile of baked french toast and do the first round of sweeping up glass (more to follow. Believe me.). Had I thought to remove the other 2 pans before hitting the extinguisher, I may have saved some for the babies' shower. But, unfortunately, I was in panic mode. Also, had I thought to use salt or baking soda, Ceej and I may have saved 3 1/2 hours of HEAVY cleaning that night (we're talking wiping out every single cupboard, dishes, food, walls, floors, even living room furniture got hit with powder... the downstairs of our house is now as clean as it ever will be. It's absolutely pristine.) The picture below is of the shatter/destroyed larger dish carried out in the medium-sized dish to save my house from more smoke.

Anyway, back to right after it happened, Ron left and I stared at my poor kitchen and the thick, smokey air and my poor, unfortunate stove top. Burst into tears. I ran upstairs to shower and sobbed my way through it. Calmed down, got out, called my aunt who was hosting the party and cried again. I kept crying. I tried calling my fisherman but didn't get a response, not wanting to have him come home to the state of our home, I left the following note (posted for my aunt and sisters).

I had to hurry to get ready and get out the door... but I kept crying. It was recover of the adrenaline rush more than anything. I couldn't believe what had happened or what COULD have happened. Scary stuff for a brand new bride! On the hour and a half drive to Stillwater I talked to a couple people about it, as practice for the party. I kept crying about it, even though I know it happens to a lot of people throughout their lives. They just kept flowing. For those of you that are wondering, I did end up crying as I talked about it at the party. Oh, well. Live and learn.

After I stopped crying (which is a great way to begin any party), the event was great! We had a yummy breakfast and played games and ate cake. Jamie got some very cute things for two very lucky little girls.

Not that I'm proud of this, but after washing the billion towels and wash clothes used to scrub our downstairs I needed to do laundry and managed to mess that up, too. My coat smelled of smoke, so I threw that in. Took it out of the dryer and it was crinkled down a few sizes. Yep, it melted. Rats. I did that with my coat 3 years ago, too. Needless to say, this weekend was not my most impressive. Blame it on the stress of starting my second semester of grad school tomorrow, blame it on the blue moon. Whatever. I sucked.

The Recipe.

Baked French Toast
Whisk together:
2 c. milk
1.5 c. half & half
8 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
2 tbsp. cinnamon
Take one pound (stale) bread torn into pieces and put in greased 9x13 pan.
Pour liquid over bread, cover and refrigerate overnight.
Day 2: Boil 3/4 c. real butter and 1.5 c. brown sugar on the stove for 5 minutes (then, TURN OFF THE BURNER). Pour on top of bread mixture. Bake for 45 minutes at 350.

A Brand New Year

2010-01-01T14:11:00.008-06:00

We had a great time bringing in the New Year! We started with a late dinner at Fisher's with a group of 20 or so friends, and then we headed to Laura's annual New Year's bash. It was a very fun night! Today, we're thoroughly enjoying the first day of the year. I start school again on Monday, so I'm loving being in my Snuggie, getting random things done around the house, and (most importantly) not having to study. We were supposed to go sledding with the youth group, but it's NEGATIVE SIX degrees with the wind chill, so it was cancelled. Tonight it's enchiladas and a Red Box movie for the Thurners. Perfection.

A Million Days of Christmas

2009-12-27T22:48:00.025-06:00

We had nine Christmas celebrations this year, ten if you count my brothers birthday dinner (which is a holiday in itself). I'll describe each of them and include a few random pictures (sorry there weren't pictures at every party; we all know pictures are the best part of blog entries).

1. The first Christmas party was the Johnson side (C.J.'s mom's extended family). I was still finishing up school, so I had to spend a few hours at a local coffee shop to write a paper while Ceej enjoyed snowmobiling. I got to ride after my studies (such diligence, I know). It was so fun! Two surprises from the night: 1.) the power went out on the entire street and 2.) all the ladies got SNUGGIES. I was in heaven.

2. Second Christmas party was with the youth group that Ceej and I went to Convo with. We played Bananagrams and had tacos (my kind of night). We also exchanged white elephant gifts... one lucky kid got our wedding picture framed. He loved it.
3. Next "celebration" was my brother's Birthday dinner. We had pizza at Draganetti's. WONDERFUL. It was dreamy pizza and excellent wine. Great food and conversation as well! Happy Birthday big guy!
4. Third technical "Christmas" was the Thurner extended (C.J.'s dad's extended family) for the day at Chaos water park right here in Eau Claire. WHOA- the Eau C has really delivered on this one. It's quite the place! And, not to mention, the water is warm and there are 3 large water slides. Ceej and I were there for a few hours sliding and playing water basketball, but his family swam all day and night, staying at the Metropolis resort.
5. That same night we went to Andy & Mandy's first (annual?) Christmas party with our friends. We got all dressed up and had dinner with our close friends. It was a really lovely evening! We continued the night with a few games and a picture in Christmas Sweaters. It was really fun to be with these wonderful folks!

6. The next day was Thurner Extended Part II. The Thurners got together for the traditional meal and presents and games. We got to try out a new game like "Telephone" with drawing. It was great!
7. The eve of Christmas Eve was spent at Ceej's immediate family. We had yummy lobster and opened gifts. The kids got silly string and (obviously) enjoyed it! It was a nice, intimate time with close family.

8. Actual Christmas Eve was in Stillwater on a very snowy night. We drove there for dinner and gifts and then headed back in the rain/snow/beautiful yuck. After dinner we opened gifts and played Things. It was really fun, especially because 6 year old Mickeegan could play, too! My poor sister, Jenny, had the flu, so she couldn't make it. It was the first year my dad was to cook a turkey... I asked him how it was going and he said it was all done, just warming up. I peeked in the oven and saw the picture below. Yep, he had to get KFC because it was too frozen! A funny memory :).

9. Christmas day was spent at our house with my mom (my brother couldn't make it). We also invited our neighbor over who lives alone. We cooked pasta with herbs and olive oil, and shrimp, steak, pork, and chicken on a German grill that cooks on the table that we got from Ceej's parents as a gift. I'll totally chop the spelling, but it sounds kind of like "Grill-shine". It was a really nice night! We then had amazing vanilla bean cheesecake that Richard brought, played games, opened presents and chatted until late. A peaceful evening that was nice to not have to go anywhere for!
10. The day after Christmas was the Reich-Extended family Christmas back in Stillwater. We played games, ate, opened presents, and had some wine. Lots of laughs with all of the white elephant gifts!

As you can tell, the past couple weeks were wonderful but exhausting. We have literally slept in until 10 or 11 the past three days... which is way out of character for me. I think I have low iron, too, but that's beside the point. I love Christmas and it was so great to have so many wonderful family members to spend it with. I feel so blessed!

Ceej and I exchanged stockings on Christmas eve. We've been enjoying the winter wonderland and my time off of school by building a (beautiful) snowman the other day and sledding today. Unfortunately, our snowman's head was popped off today, cause unknown. It was a very sad moment for snowman.

Semester One: Check.

2009-12-19T13:32:00.006-06:00

That's it, folks! As of 11:30pm last night, I am officially done with my first semester of grad school. YESSSS. It only gets worse from here on out, but I am definitely enjoying the next two weeks of freedom. A friend of mine asked an OT student who is in her 4th semester (so me, this fall) how it was going. Her response? Tears. Yep. SHE CRIED.

Anyway, for my last trip to Rochester I stayed with my cousin, Courtney, in Winona between Monday and Tuesday face-to-face classes (remember, my program is mostly online). We had a Spa Night, which turned into wine, weird pictures, Lifetime, pedicures, and, clearly, facials. Enjoy the pictures. We were celebrating her graduation as well. In other words, this is how a graduate student and teacher act in their spare time:

Snow.

2009-12-19T13:29:00.001-06:00

Holy snow we have! This is a late, albeit necessary post. Last week we got a whole lot of snow. Thankfully, my husband is an exceptional shovel-er. Equally thankfully, our neighbor has a snow-blower and let him use it if he did his drive way as well. It was gorgeous. Now it's cold, but at least we'll have a white Christmas after all!

Superhero

2009-12-02T20:44:00.001-06:00

Well, what can I even say to that? The above was an answer to a journal question written by a little girl that I work with. I couldn't resist to post it, especially because my life is consumed by school lately, and I frankly just don't have much to share.

On that note, I actually did think I had superpowers at one point. I randomly thought of the following life-altering memory tonight and thought I'd share. I was just a little girl playing "Barbies in the Bathtub" (that was the title, not just the activity), lying on my belly in the tub. My mouth was underwater, my nose was above. We had a pool, so I knew that I was not supposed to be able to breathe underwater (I actually remember analyzing the situation in this way). My nose was above the water, so I was obviously breathing out of it... but I didn't realize it at the time. I remember thinking, "Wow... I can actually breathe underwater! I wonder if it'll work with my nose under, too." Well, I tried it, and let's just say it didn't. I guess I'm human after all.

Our First Christmas Tree

2009-11-29T12:41:00.005-06:00

Oh happy day! Ceej and I have our very own Christmas tree. This may not seem that amazing, but let me tell you: I have looked forward to this moment for the past 8 years. No joke. Since Ceej and I started dating we've given one another an ornament every year. A couple of years ago we also decided to get an ornament as a souvenir from every vacation. It was so great (and emotional!) to get out all of our stored away ornaments and reminisce. The one below is actually the first plastic ornament that Ceej ever gave me, and inside is a small flower he picked for me as we were walking up the mountain on our very first date!

T h a n k s g i v i n g

2009-11-29T12:24:00.004-06:00

Ceej and I spent Thanksgiving with my family in Hartford, Wisconsin. As usual, we had an excellent holiday and thoroughly enjoyed spending time with everyone that we rarely get to see. It's always hard to leave because there's always too much time in between our visits. We have so much to thankful for; our lives are so full of blessings. I'm happy we were able to spend Thanksgiving giving thanks, especially because the next morning I was pretty disappointed when Menards was SOLD OUT of the generic Snuggies for $2.99. Black Friday was truly black for me.

Hunting Season

2009-11-24T16:54:00.009-06:00

Oh what a season it has been! No deer have been shot thus far, but not for lack of trying (Ceej has been out at the crack of dawn every morning... and I mean CRACK. Like 3:30AM crack). To be honest, I was a little baffled as to the excitement in the whole ordeal, but I felt happy that he was enjoying it nonetheless. Today, my friends, I was given the experience. I have three words for you: I. am. hooked.

I needed a study break and Ceej needed an excuse to not go out hunting again this afternoon. We randomly decided to go out shooting at Big Falls. It was so much fun! I'm serious... you may be staring at a future hunter. I'm contemplating going to hunter's safety. Can you picture it? Deer will tremble when they hear my name!

Recent Happenings

2009-11-17T18:55:00.005-06:00

Here are some recent occurrences for the Thurners:

1. It was Ceej's 26th Birthday! We had a really fun, family-filled day. We had lunch with his little sisters at their school (it was pizza day), and then went to his parents for dinner with the whole family. We had dinner and then talked and hung out all night. I actually kind of dislike my own Birthday, so it was fun to celebrate his! I get all nostalgic and think about the snap shot of each Birthday for the rest of our lives. It makes me smile to think about being super old and looking back at our first Birthday being married. I'm such a dork, but I love it!

2. Ceej and I were leaders at Convo. Convo is a high school Christian weekend held in Wisconsin Dells at Chula Vista resort. For those of you who are familiar with Passion (a national conference for college students), it's basically that for teenagers. I went as a freshman in high school and loved it, so it was very cool to go as a leader. Overall the weekend was awesome! It had an awesome speaker who could really relate to the kids and adults, and Robbie Seay Band was there. Chula Vista was open JUST for Convo-goers from 10PM-12AM (can you imagine the raging hormones of hundred of teenagers all in their bathing suits? Whoa.). We loved being leaders at this event; what a great experience for both of us!

3. Our nephew, Alexander, has turned two!! He had a super fun Birthday party at Chaos water park in Eau Claire (didn't think the Eau C had a water park? Oh it does.). His Birthday-pizza was about 3 feet by 3 feet and tasted amazing, and he announced an extra-special event: he has a sibling coming! What a fun day!

Family Fun

2009-11-08T16:43:00.007-06:00

On Saturday morning we made the trip to Stillwater to visit my family. It was a short trip, but we had so much fun! The day started with my dad's best breakfasts... the usual cheesy scrambled eggs, pancakes, french toast, and bacon. Because it was so nice out, we all got out and played a game of football. As you can see, the game got pretty intense. Apparently in my non-athletic family (myself DEFINITELY included), we have a secret football star!

After football we all went bowling. Mickeegan had passed two spelling tests and earned it, and we all enjoyed it. It was Elliana's FIRST-ever bowling experience (sadly, no pictures were taken), and fortunately (for her) she really didn't do that much worse than I did.

On a side note, because my sister's family is growing rapidly (remember, 2 boys and twin girls on the way), they are upsizing their vehicle to a van. They've gotten rid of a few (including some beloved ones). One vehicle, below, is in need of a little work before selling. It's the one with all the smoke.

Two Perfect Days of Halloween!!

2009-11-08T16:11:00.005-06:00

As usual, Halloween lasted two wonderful days for Ceej and I. The first was in Madison with a bunch of friends. Below is a little picture-story of the night.

We stayed at Adam's house and felt VERY welcome. Adam was (obviously) a great host. We grilled out with everyone and then headed to State Street.

Ceej and I were the only ones of our group to dress up this night (we didnt' feel out of place as there were plenty of others on State, of course). After much thought and consideration, we decided on Peter the Pumpkin Eater and a pumpkin for this year's costume. It was easy, warm, and cheap, which are important considerations.

We started at the Irish Pub. Tyler and Timmy were visiting from Kentucky, so we were happy we got to see them as well!

Then we made our way to the Comedy Club where some others met up with us, including Alicia and her boyfriend, Stephen. I was so happy to see my ex-roomie! It had been awhile! We made our way throughout State Street for a long night of fun. It was an awesome night!

The next day Ceej, Mitch, and I drove home and got back around 5 (Mitch was selling his car until the afternoon). Ceej and I had planned to go to my dad's shop where he was hosting his first (annual?) Halloween bash. It sounded SO fun, but we were just exhausted and driving another 2 hours in one night would be brutal. Also, we figured a visit to Stillwater would be better if we could have more quality time with all of my family in a less-social, more-intimate setting. So ANYWAY, we stopped at his parents' for about an hour to visit and see his siblings' cute costumes before we headed home. That's right, we spent Saturday night getting caught up on our shows (grey's, private practice, project runway, runway models... we are losers...), ate too much of his mom's amazing caramel corn, and played Scrabble until about midnight. We passed up about 4 opportunities to go out again, and we loved it that way. No pictures were taken (although I'm sure we were sights to be seen). It was an awesome first Halloween married, and we wouldn't change a thing about it!

Spooky Season!

2009-10-25T15:34:00.002-05:00

Oh, how I love Halloween! If Christmas wasn't about Jesus' birth, Halloween would definitely be my favorite. Jesus always wins, so Christmas wins, too. Anyway, Ceej and I had an especially Halloween-y weekend. We carved pumpkins and went to a haunted house! It was wonderful. I may look super tough, but boy let me tell you, I was a screamer. For. sure. The haunted house here is ridiculously scary, and I love it that way! We still have to make it to an apple orchard. Then our traditions will be complete!

HELP! We need to figure out costumes!! Any suggestions?? We're spending Friday night in Madison and then heading to Stillwater for my dad's big Halloween bash! It will be so great; I'm just bursting with joy!

Not as Sad as I Should be

2009-10-21T15:06:00.003-05:00

I posted my wedding dress on eBay because, well, that's where I bought it from. The thought of "losing" my dress was not really a big deal to me. I thought that we would have enough memories in photographs, and we could make more memories with the money from it (like take a vacation, go on a Mission Trip, etc.). Besides, I was NOT going to be one of those brides that says, "my daughter will probably wear it one day." Let's just be honest- that never ends up happening. Anyway, my dress sold and I was still feeling fine. I wore it around the house a few times and shipped it out with only a bit of sadness in my heart. Well, turns out it had a super teeny hole that I didn't even notice, and the buyer decided to send it back to me (after dry cleaning it, which was a HUGE perk). So there it is, hanging in the closet again (except clean this time), and I keep peaking over at it. I love that dress. And even though my future daughter won't be wearing it down the aisle, I can definitely picture her prancing around the house in it someday. I bet we'll take turns doing so :).

A Visit from Danasaur!

2009-10-16T17:31:00.003-05:00

Last night my dear friend and ex-roommate from college, Dana, came to visit! Let me tell you- we had a great time! The two of us end up doing most things alone, and we always have so much fun that we love it that way. We spent a majority of the evening at Wigwam bar for Trivia Night. What a blast! We were the self-proclaimed "Wigwam Wuvers"... and we definitely did not win. After a great time at Wigwam we met Ceej down at Rolly's for a drink. This morning we enjoyed a nice long walk outside in the gorgeous FALL-like weather (since the silly snow melted), and then had lunch at Erbs and Gerbs before she headed back. What a perfect day!

Kickin' up our heels

2009-10-10T11:04:00.005-05:00

We've been loving the crisp, Fall weather! So much so that Ceej decided to play a game of football with his little brother and -whoops!- ends up breaking/straining his foot. The poor guy! This was last week (can you see how "miserable" he is?). He's still icing it and it is definitely discolored and very sore, but we don't really know if it's broken or not.

Since I've been a slave to the studies we decided to take a break Friday night and go out with some friends. We had so much fun! We all got together at Andy and Mandy's and played an intense game of Pictionary (Girls won. Again.) and Balderdash. Then headed over to Rolly's until bar close. It was GREAT to be with close friends and one another! Even though we're both home we don't actually "hang out" that much because I do homework pretty much constantly.

I got new glasses! My old right lens was not strong enough for my stinker right eye. Reading on the computer was giving me headaches, which is not okay in this profession of online student. I went to the eye doctor to renew my subscription and get the new guys and found out I have a virus in my eyes! Surprise! They were just a little sore so I thought nothing of it. They feel fine now, but I still have to lay off the contacts and put special drops in them for a few more days.

And last but certainly not least, we got our first snow fall! We woke up to these sweet little fluffs of love and couldn't resist taking a picture of the first snow on our first lawn! Oh how splendid!

We're Moving to Sweden!

2009-10-05T22:40:00.008-05:00

Okay, not really. But I am definitely tempted, as will you be. This entry is dedicated to all of my blog-stalkers who are/ever will be parents: YOU need to move to Sweden. No joke. I was writing a comparative analysis on institutions in Sweden and their affect on how people interact with one another and participate in occupations within the institutions (which include religion, politics, family, education, economy, etc.) when I came across the following websites:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2008/feb/18/children.parents

http://www.thelocal.se/18078/20090309/

So, here's the deal: In order to increase the amount of people having babies, the government pay parents about $1000! Just for havin' babes. I can't believe it. AND, the most amazing thing, when babies are born parents are allowed 6 weeks off, oh wait that's the U.S., FOUR HUNDRED AND NINETY DAYS OFF OF WORK. What!? AND 390 of those days you get PAID 80% of your working income. HOLY CRAP. Peace out, Wisco. I'm movin' to Sweden.

So I don't get sued or anything, references are below (we don't want to mess with plagerism).

Sundelin, J. (2008). Paradise for Families? Guardian News and Media Limited.
Landes, D. (2009). 'Baby bonus' would pay Swedish parents to have children. The Local.

Not such a bargain after all...

2009-09-28T20:26:00.002-05:00

A few weeks ago I was thrilled to find a brand new hot water bottle at one of those "late-in-the-summer-rare-to-find-a-treasure" garage sales. The fact that it was about 20 years old was beside the point- it was $1! Seriously! A bargain for such a exceptional find! Last night our room was ice cold, which was probably due to the open window and fan on. Random fact: I LOVE sleeping in the cold when I am cozy under -literally- 8 blankets, but the "warming up" process can be dreadful. Last night I couldn't bare to slip in those frozen excuses for sheets, so I got the bright idea to sleep with my "new" hot water bottle (Since, remember, my hubby isn't around to spoon). Oh what a delight! I was pretty much in heaven with that warm bundle of love settled on my belly. I was smiling and thinking to myself, "gosh what a great invention this was! Poor Ceej will have to get used to sleeping with this when he gets home because I've found another life partner."

Well, let's just say that joy was short lived.

I woke up in ice cold, wet sheets! What a backfire THAT was. At first I thought someone had played a rude joke, but then remembered I was alone, and then I remembered that traitor-hot water bottle! Darn you!! Anyway I'll put it in a large Ziploc bag until I can make it to the store to pick up a replacement- it truly is an amazing companion if it doesn't leak all over you.

Home Alone

2009-09-20T19:46:00.002-05:00

So that's me. Minus the creepsters in the background (well, hopefully). Ceej has gotten a GREAT opportunity to work two weeks straight 7pm to 7am two hours away. Although it's physically hard on him and emotionally hard on us to be so isolated from one another, we couldn't pass up the opportunity. He's been gone 2 days now, and I miss him like CRAZY! It's really lonely being all by myself! Especially since I have to be studying all the time and can't get out of the house to get my mind off of him. School has been going well, but I've been studying like a mad woman as it's EXTREMELY demanding. I've just given up the thought of having a social life for the next two years, although I really love what I'm learning. The more I learn about occupational therapy, the more I know it is definitely the only career I can imagine myself having. It's amazing stuff, I tell ya. I just have to work my booty off to get through this aspect of it. So in a sense this two week separation is good for me to 1. get some good study habits and 2. not feel guilty for studying all the time (I was feeling really bad for not being able to spend time with him, although of course he understands and appreciates me working hard). I just ache for him though! It's crazy to think about when I was going to school in Madison and having there be even greater lapses of time without being together. I was so much stronger and younger back then. I guess with age comes weakness (Just trickin').

Wait, there's two?!

2009-09-08T11:45:00.004-05:00

Congratulations to my sister Jamie and her beautiful family, as I recently found out that they are expecting TWINS in about 6 months. We are thrilled for all of them and can't wait to meet the new additions!

Our First Camping Trip

2009-09-07T14:51:00.003-05:00

This Labor day weekend Ceej and I had our very first camping trip, and we absolutely loved it!! We went to Chetek and went all out- we cooked everything over the fire, relaxed, played an intense game of Scrabble that ended with a 309 to 309 tie, went for a run, read, and fished. We had a really wonderful weekend together, so much so that we declined several invitations to join our "camping neighbors" for a boat ride and at their bonfire because we were having so much fun on our own! It was nice to get away and just enjoy life's simple blessings. What a perfect weekend!

Puffer Tent

2009-09-07T14:41:00.002-05:00

As a celebration for Ceej passing his test we had a very special date night. Ceej and I went out for a delicious dinner at Houligan's Steak House, stopped back at our house for ice cream and warmer clothes, and then we went miniature golfing at Action City. We had so much fun and were the only ones on the course (perhaps because it was so cold). That night we made a Puffer Tent to sleep in, which is pretty much the coolest thing ever. Take two large sheets and clothes-pin them together all the way around an air mattress (him mom sewed these sheets together). Put a fan at one end and then clothes-pin the sheets tightly around it and ta-da! An amazing Puffer Tent! It was a great evening to celebrate a great accomplishment.

The Secret to Marital Bliss

2009-08-27T08:52:00.003-05:00

We've been married a whopping 3 months (Ceej's response on our 3 month anniversary: "REALLY??? JUUUST 3 months?? It feels like it's been forever." haha). When an engaged friend asked for marriage advice (because I'm so experienced of course), this is what I said: If you are used to having your own bed and blankets for the past 2 decades, it might be a struggle to share for the next century (especially if you're like Ceej and swaddle yourself like a newborn infant). Our solution? Separate blankets! We have a "cover comforter" so it looks a little more appealing, but typically this is the state of our "his and hers" version of a Queen sized bed. It works for us, and it is the biggest secret to marital bliss I can think of! It's worked for us :).

Congratulations Journey Man!!

2009-08-27T08:47:00.002-05:00

You guessed it- my super smart husband has PASSED his test and is now, officially, a Journey Man (Ceej says it more like "journeymen", but I like to emphasize the two words. It sounds super cool.). He did VERY well, so "passed" is slightly belittling. Nonetheless, I am SO proud of him!!

Maybe Next Year

2009-08-27T08:42:00.003-05:00

It was my first year with having the desire to "garden", and lets just say it turned out to be more of a temporary hobby. Thank goodness they are all perennials! Maybe next year I'll be able to keep up with the watering a little better.

YESSSS.

2009-08-19T13:06:00.003-05:00

Random update of the recent happenings of the Thurners:

1. I went to Madison to help clean out our apartment and had an awesome weekend with Mia. We cleaned and organized a ton of stuff, went to the comedy club and out on State street, went to Blackhawk (my beloved church for the past 4 years), and I got to RUNNNN in Madison twice- which is definitely one of my favorite places to do so!

2. C.J. took his Journey Man's test. A biggie! We don't know the outcome yet, but we will find out at the end of this week! Note: this test has a 25% pass rate! Good luck Ceej!

3. Mickeegan and Rylan had their 6th and 1st Birthday parties, respectively. What a fun day! We ended up having a family game of baseball, too. It was a blast! Last summer my dad bought a box of 10 very old baseball gloves from my grandpa's old neighbor's house (i.e., my grandpa had most likely used them as a little guy), and now we are reaping the benefits!

4. I OFFICIALLY start the Master of Occupational Therapy program at the University of Minnesota on September 8th! What does that mean for you? More blog updates because I'll have the internet (and probably a whole lot more free time. Riiiiiiggghhhht.)!

Peace out!

Weekends with Weddings

2009-07-15T14:12:00.002-05:00

What fun we have had attending weddings these past two weekends! The first was Jamie and Sam's. Their "rehearsal day" entailed grilling out for lunch and boating/playing beach games all day. It was really fun! It was also nice to get to know the whole bridal party in the informal setting; this made the wedding day that much more great. Below is a picture of Jamie and Sam the day before their big day!

Jamie and her matron (and my maid and I) tubing. We didn't fall off!

The bridal party (minus Dana, who was flying in later).

They were married on the 4th of July, so we all got sparklers at the end of the night. It was ammmmaazzzinnng to watch fireworks from the Wilds Golf Course in Prior Lake. We could see about 10 different sites surrounding us. It was perfect!
The bride was beautiful! Here we all are at the end of the night (we left the day pics/non-greasy-face-pics to the pro).
Katie and Andrew were married on July 11th. Another beautiful bride and overall wedding! I tell ya- having just been married, I can really appreciate all the work that the bride and groom put into a wedding! It's fun to look around and notice all the details that you might not have before. They are a lot of work but SO worth it. Katie and Andrew's wedding was outdoors at the Eau Claire Country Club. It was a gorgeous day!

It's been a while, eh?

2009-06-18T17:33:00.011-05:00

What a busy past month we have had! Married life is better than could be expected; we are really enjoying it! It’s pretty dang fun having your best bud around all of the time. Below is a little picture summary of what the past month or so has looked like for the Thurner family! We were married on May 23^rd, and it was perfect. The whole day was just so special! We had a great time and our guests seemed to as well; everything went very smoothly.

We took it easy the next day by attending a grilled lunch at his parents’ and then spending our second night at our new apartment opening gifts as a couple and ordering subs (our options were pretty limited as we had yet to grocery shopping). Below is what our living room looked like mid-opening. Keep in mind there were still piles in the kitchen!

The next day we left for our lovely honeymoon! We spent the week in Duluth, MN at a family friend’s cabin for part of the week and then at the Larsmont Cottages. We had so much fun relaxing together, playing lots of Scrabble, cooking, taking walks, and fishing. We also hiked at Gooseberry Falls and toured the Glensheen Mansion. It was great to be able to take the first few days of our marriage enjoying one another instead of dealing with the name changing, bank account joining, new license, new Social Security Card, blah blah blah business that consumed the following week! The first picture is of my first-ever attempt at cooking bacon for my new husband (I had lost Scrabble and the loser had to cook breakfast... little did Ceej know that he would be cooking it afterall!).

On the way home from our honeymoon we stopped in Bloomington to attend Dana's goodbye party, as she is moving to Washington D.C. to be a camp counselor for the summer. We played bean bag toss with some friends from Madison and said our goodbyes to a good friend!

Our first “Cinder City Days” weekend as a married couple was the next weekend. Actually, it was at this little carnival that I first saw Ceej! I was walking with a friend and he passed by us. My friend gasped and grabbed my arm saying, “that’s C.J. Thurner! He is SO cute!” My 13 year old self turned around and replied, “Oh, really? Well, he’s got a nice butt!” Smart girl. J Cinder weekend was WET… it poured rain practically the whole time. But we had a great time! Ceej even made a new friend because they shared the same name (Chuck).

Ceej and I hosted our first dinner party! We had 11 family members over for some grilled turkey tenderloin and roasted vegetables. It was a fun time, and we enjoyed serving them! Below is Ceej with our lovely grill (a wedding present from my dad) and his turkey grilled to perfection.

Next event: I co-hosted Jamie’s bridal shower in Bloomington. It was so great to see her again… it’s weird going from seeing someone everyday to absolutely never! Ceej met me in Stillwater on the way home, and we stayed with my dad for the night. We took a family trip to Hastings for a car show and then (of course) had my dad’s famous breakfast in the morning with everyone! OUR nieces and nephews are growing up so fast! It’s hard being so far away.

Last weekend we went with my mom, step-dad, brother, and Mitch (Hommer) to our cabin in Balsam Lake. We stayed for the weekend but wished we could have stayed all week with them! We fished a ton, my mom and I went for lots of walks, and we grilled out every day. The weather was perfect, as was the overall weekend! It was so nice to get away and relax with family.

We have 3 weddings in July, so this was literally the last weekend that we didn’t have a set plan until August. We were planning on attending Country Fest but decided against it in order to save money and avoid having a plan. We had a GREAT one... we went to "My Sister's Keeper" in the theaters on Friday. For those of you who know me well, you know I am a big fan of Jodi Picoult, the author of this amazing book. I have read 8 of her novels and plan to complete all of them because she is so brilliant. I attended two of her book talks in Madison, and below is a picture of Chel, Andrea, and I 3 years ago as we were waiting for several hours at Barnes and Noble after her talk to get her autograph on some of her masterpieces. That is such a fun memory! We kept making up funny sayings about what we would do for her in relation to the main themes of her books. Hey- it was a few hours; we had to entertain ourselves! ANYWAY- back to the movie- SOB FEST. I typically do not cry at movies, but I was a complete mess. I was hysterical and literally gasping for air for a good portion of the show. I highly recommend it. After the movie we climbed the mountain... a fun little date! Saturday night we went out for dinner with my family and then had a few drinks at his parents' for the rest of the night. Sorry about the ridiculously long post. Good on ya' reader! Hopefully it won't be another month before I update again. Until then, enjoy your week!

Queen Bee

2009-05-21T09:39:00.006-05:00

Like most brides-to-be, I co-planned my maid-of-honor's bachelorette party 8 days before my wedding. It was so fun to be back in Madison and spending time with my girls! Here is a little picture story of Jamie's night as "Queen Bee."
We started the evening with gifts, appetizers, and wine at our apartment. Jamie's excited about her new lovelies! Below is a picture of one of the games we played. It was hilarious and actually more difficult than one would think! We had 3 teams and one partner had the broom and the other had the toilet paper between their legs, racing to get 3 rolls on. Below Mia and I are the winners!

We then walked downtown in our black and yellow attire, stopping for a few pictures along the way.

...and a shot at Wando's.Next stop was for dinner at the Great Dane. Below is Jamie's "Blow Job complimentary bachelorette shot" that we had to pay for (it didn't make sense to us, either). Jamie couldn't get her mouth around the glass, but it was so funny to watch her try, poor thing.
We walked around capital square to try different places for drinks, continuing a game of Truth or Dare and "pass the Bee wings to whoever says Jamie's name." Below is our LAST roomie picture... sad! Luckily I'll be getting another super cool roommate in 2 days.
We ended up going to Brocah's and LOVING it there! We had awesome shots and desserts, and spent part of the evening in this little lounge area. We played games and laughed a lot! The bartenders were great, too, and they showed us how to do the inch worm and played games with us, even wearing the wings!
Jamie is getting married on July 4th, and here are her bridesmaids (besides her sister, who couldn't make it to the party):
Next stop was the Ivory Room, a piano bar off of State Street. The singer serenaded Jamie very awkwardly, but she sang great and it was a very fun place to be! After the Ivory Room we went to Karaoke Kid and sang Sugarland "Settling". Such a fun way to end a night with great friends!

My Bachelorette Party!

2009-05-04T17:43:00.008-05:00

I had such a great time at my bachelorette party! Jamie and Dana planned it, and it began at Jamie's house in Bloomington. These pictures will tell the story of my very special night!

After meeting at Jamie's house for munchies and games we all went to Victoria's Secret in Mall of America. People pooled money together for me to get some really nice gifts there, and I had fun modeling different looks for them! The pictures are below (just kidding).

From Vikki's we went to have a shot a Hooters, and then we caught the metro to downtown Minneapolis. Throughout the night I had a spinner with different "dares" in it, and I completed them all! Some of the dares were altered a bit, which I got a kick out of. For example, instead of "Kiss the bartender" Jamie and Dana had written in "kiss the bartender on the hand," and instead of "Show your bra" they wrote in "show your boa." One of the dares on the train was to walk down the middle and yelled "I'm getting married!"
From there we went to dinner at Hard Rock Cafe. Although Chel really does love bunnies (and all animals, actually), she isn't just wearing those bunny ears for kicks. Every time someone said my name or Ceej's name they had to wear them! These ears definitely got passed throughout the entire group numerous times!After dinner we went to a few different bars and clubs for drinks and lots of dancing!
At one point we went to the Shout House, a really fun club where the piano players sing silly songs about people in the audience. Although the girls had prearranged this, I was shocked to be called on stage! I sat on the piano as the guys sang silly songs to me about marriage and being a bride. It was awesome!
After bar close we all went to Sex World, where I had to get a picture on top of the giant... you-know-what. We got a taxi home, ate yummy food, and then headed to bed. What a perfect night! Thanks for everything, Jaim and Danasaur!

"...then comes marriage..."

2009-04-29T00:08:00.002-05:00

Well, folks, our four wedding showers are officially done and that just leaves one thing... the wedding! This entry will be briefly describing the four showers, as they were all very different. The one above was this past weekend in Hartford, thrown by my aunt and gram. We had enchiladas and margaritas, two splendid things. The theme was to use a piece of lingerie as decoration in the wrapping process. How creative! And let's just be honest- it's fun to have cute new undies and outfits for my married life.
The pictures above and below are from Le Sueur, Minnesota, and this shower was put on by Becky's family. It was really nice to meet some of Ceej's more distant relatives at this St. Patrick's Day themed party. We played Pfeffer (I literally got the worst score of everyone) and ate Mexican food. We also got to spend lots of time with his aunts and uncles after the shower, which was a blast!
The next two pictures were from an evening shower in Stillwater thrown by my sister, Jenni. The first was an intense "hot bouquet" type of game (which my aunt Sue won). The second picture is me holding my ice cream cake, homemade by Jenni! It was fun to drink wine and spend time with my aunts and sisters in a non-holiday setting.

Not pictured (due to not having a camera there) was my shower in Eau Claire thrown by both of our moms. We played fun games and had a soup and sandwich buffet. This shower was lovely and had a lot of people from the area... a bonus for those unable to travel!

Showers can be overwhelming for some, but I really loved them! They were all so unique and wonderful. I feel so blessed to have such great family and friends (I know-I'm super corny). I can't believe we'll be married in 25 days... this amazing time has gone by so fast!

Easter Blessings

2009-04-14T10:07:00.003-05:00

Ceej and I had a fantastic Easter this year. It began the good ol' fashioned way- by dying eggs with his siblings. It was a great time and we made some very attractive little eggs!
Easter Sunday was spent going to church with my brother and then heading over to my aunt's for the annual egg hunt. Mickeegan and Elliana (above) were really excited to find their eggs! To do a little "Auntie Em bragging": Mickeegan is 6 and reading in our wedding! He actually MEMORIZED his reading, and it's so cute that I'm a little scared he's going to steal the show. Elliana is going to be 2 in May and already potty trained! Isn't that crazy?! Both these kids are just amazing and I'm very proud of them!
Rylan is getting so big! He already has a mouth full of teeny tiny teeth that resemble mustard seeds. I had to include the picture below, too, because his little smile is SO adorable. He is crazy about his bear and laughs histerically when it "dances" in front of him!

Bright and White

2009-04-14T09:50:00.002-05:00

You're probably thinking, "What in the HECK is going on in these revolting pictures?!" Actually, we are quite excited about them! My brother is great for two reasons: 1. He's really fun and 2. He's a dentist. For our wedding gift he offered to bleach our teeth, and these pictures represent the process. Did you notice how distressed Ceej looks and how thrilled I appear? Well that would have to do with the large object on my face administering laughing gas. George wasn't shy about crankin' that bad boy up, which explains the joyful look on my face. Afterward we were both really sore, but we are so happy with the outcome! Thanks for such an awesome job, George!

Wooohoooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!

2009-04-02T10:46:00.006-05:00

There are two reasons why I am currently celebrating:

1. It is finally spring, which means that bike riding season has begun for my daddy and me.

2. I have been accepted to the Masters of Occupational Therapy Program at the University of Minnesota to begin September 8th! It's a 2 1/2 year program taking place in Rochester. It is mostly online and increasingly becomes more face-to-face as the semesters progress. That is, the first semester is 2 consecutive days each month, the second semester is 2 consecutive days every two weeks, the third is 2 per week, and the fourth is 4 per week. For the first year my beloved cousin will be living in Winona, about 40 minutes from Rochester, so I'll be staying with her. We'll figure out the rest as it comes. We are very thankful for this opportunity, and I can't wait to start!

Our New Home!

2009-04-02T10:19:00.007-05:00

We have a new home! We are currently in the nesting stage and very excited to move in on May 24th! It's a sweet little duplex in Altoona and we are thrilled with it! There are 2 bedrooms and 3 levels. The basement is unfinished but that doesn't phase us- we bought a large piece of carpet and are in the process of setting up our pool table and a card table down there. It's been so fun to "prepare" our first home and move in slowly... enjoying every step of the way!

We got a new table as a wedding gift! Our dining area is pretty small, so we needed a tiny table to fill that space. It's the perfect size and really, really beautiful!
Our little kitchen... here is a picture of a night after one of the bridal showers... we unloaded all of our gifts, washed the dishes and cookware, and organized our cupboards! It was great because I especially love organizing.

Ceej with our first ever bag of garbage. I thought it was a monumental moment... but now it just sounds dorky.
I have been feeling so domestic! Above are some items that I spray-painted black to fit with our decor better. It's a really exciting new hobby, especially with garage sale season coming up! I will probably start thinking in all shades of color... seeing objects as blank slates that I can paint into masterpieces. So beware, I may start mismatching clothes. Below is the reminder that I am just a novice, as I forgot to wear gloves and still have black nails 3 days later.

I know it when I see it

2009-03-02T23:13:00.002-06:00

This seems to be the theme of my life, basically. I'm a girl who knows exactly what she wants, is not afraid to explore other options, but will ultimately follow her instinct. This has proved successful in many areas of my life, including choosing to go to Australia on exchange among many other countries upon hearing one person talk about it and loving every minute of it, knowing I would attend UW-Madison after one tour of the campus and having a fabulous college experience, and (this is a bold statement without knowing the outcome) only applying to one graduate school to earn my Masters of Occupational Therapy degree. This characteristic of mine has especially been apparent during the wedding planning process. I haven't talked too much about the planning experience, but I'll give you some examples of when my "intuition" was right: While searching for a wedding dress, I went to one bridal shop with my mom and didn't find anything, and then I looked on ebay and bought the dress of my dreams. I knew it was "the one" when I failed a Physiology exam because I kept thinking about it. I'll always remember being in the quiet area of the library with Jamie (my roommate and maid of honor) as the last few minutes of the bid went by: I was neck and neck with another bidder, but I got my dress! We were both sweating from excitement. It was a great moment! Another example occurred within the first week of our engagement when Ceej and I were discussing colors and flowers and said brown with fushia and lime green orchids, knowing it would most likely change with time. We went back and forth with a lot of different options, but ultimately our bridesmaid dresses are brown and we are having magenta flowers with a few lime green orchids. Pretty close! While shopping for wedding bands, I found one that is really beautiful and unique. It was at the first place we had looked, so we searched many other places over the course of a few months, but we went back to that initial jaw-dropper. My most recent example happened today, actually: I went to the mall to "browse" for wedding jewelery and bought the first and only pair of earrings that I tried on. Granted I did look at 6 other places before going back to purchase these, I knew the entire time that these were the ones. I absolutely love them! I tried them on and gasped-not to sound conceded, but my ears have never looked better. Not that earrings or flowers are life or death situations, but I've learned to follow these "intuitions" in regards to more important issues as well. I take them as God's clues to helping me make decisions. He knows us so much better than we know ourselves, so why not just listen and trust where he leads us?

It has truly been a joy to plan the details of the first day of our marriage with Ceej. He has been an amazing partner in this process, attending every consultation and making every decision with me, contributing ideas, labor, and insight. I am reminded every day of the most apparent example of trusting my first instincts: I fell in love at 14, let both of us have our time to develop into individuals, and here we stand just a few months away from our lives joining forever. I am just beside-myself-elated. As corny as it sounds, sometimes I just feel like I am illuminating with pure joy and bursting at the seams with happiness.

Snowman Season

2009-02-23T10:56:00.002-06:00

I've been working a lot at Lutheran Social Services (53 hours last week!) and mostly the 3-11pm shift. I like the shift just fine, especially since Ceej and I can hang out during the days, but when I come home I am exhausted. One recent snowy night I pulled into my driveway to see this little guy, wavin' away. So cute! Ceej is quite the snowman maker (and fiance).

Baby Becker's Shower

2009-02-16T00:39:00.006-06:00

This weekend my mom and I went to Hartford, Wisconsin for my cousin's baby shower. It was a lovely one! The shower was held at a great little coffee shop called Perc Place. Lindsay and Shane, the new parents, have been married for three years and are so excited about the arrival of their first little one. They'll be amazing parents!!
It was fun to spend time with my family this weekend! My maternal grandparents and aunts and uncles all live in Hartford, so I really don't get to see them very often.
I'm not a big cake-lover, but this one was to die for! Have you ever had a banana cake?! A M A Z I N G.
My mom and I stayed with my grandparents on Saturday night. Sunday morning, as I plopped down for breakfast about 3 minutes after rolling out of bed, my gramps (half) jokingly said, "Boy, you sure look rough in the mornings. Better shape up or you'll drive your husband away!" He's so adorable! Both of my grandparents are absolutely wonderful. I just love them so much!

Valentine's Day

2009-02-16T00:22:00.003-06:00

This year we celebrate Valentine's day pretty low key. I had copied down a recipe for Mexican Lasagna, intending to make it for him, but I was trying to finish up my application to the occupational therapy program at the University of Minnesota (which, but the way, I did!), so he ended up cooking it for me. It turned out great! I've been feeling so domestic lately, copying down different recipes that will suit both of our tastes. This one was definitely a keeper! After our yummy dinner we watched Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice online, played scrabble, and then met my mom and step-dad out for a few games of pool and drinks at Rolly's. It was a nice mix of events. Ceej was bummed because he wasn't doing well at pool as he is highly competetive. I was surprisingly doing great, which is typically not the case. Anyway, it was a fun, relaxing evening. It's really exciting to think about the next 50 Valentine's days and how they'll differ. I can't wait to spend them with this guy!