Maybe Baby?

I think I felt the baby last night. I was already awake around 2 a.m. and suddenly felt a tapping to the right of my belly button. It didn't feel like any normal feeling, and I even made sure it wasn't my pulse. I put my hand on my tummy for a couple minutes, trying hard to focus on the small kicks. Finally convinced, I woke up Justin, but the baby stopped moving, so he didn't feel anything. I haven't felt it again yet.

How did you know when you felt your baby's movements for the first time?

Guess What the Easter Bunny Brought Me?

My family! My dad drove them up Friday night. Saturday we watched General Conference on the laptop. In between sessions we went to the park for a ward brunch and after Conference we had a small birthday party with another family for my little sister. She is thirteen! I can't believe it. Makes me feel old.

Sunday was more Conference and then Easter dinner--fish, since I never get to make it because Justin doesn't like it. During dinner we felt the 7.2 earthquake from Mexico. It was the rolling kind; it felt like we were rocking on a boat. My dad freaked out and Justin was scared because it was his first earthquake. I kept eating dinner and laughing at them. I did feel dizzy afterward, though. After dinner, Dad left for home.

During the week, my mom and sister helped me clean the house. It needed it badly: it hadn't been cleaned since before I was pregnant. Yeah, gross. But the odors (both from food and cleaning products) bothered me, so it only got worse. It didn't end up being as bad as I thought though. Plus, my mom works wonders!

We didn't go out much, as we did last year when they visited, since Justin had the car. We did go thrift-store shopping, of course, and I found a way cute pair of polka dot heels. We saw The Princess and the Frog at the dollar theater and went to the farmer's market down the street. And we used our table (the one Justin's grandparents gave us with the griddle in the middle) for the first time for a special dinner. Friday night my mom and sister left.

That whole week I enjoyed Mom's healthy, yummy cooking and slept greater than I ever have since I got pregnant. Justin and I are still enjoying leftovers and lots of produce. But ever since they left, I have been sleeping terribly like before. I miss my mommy!

Woman at the Well

I am on a spiritual high from drinking from the gospel well:

• General Conference: Amazing! I love Conference so much for the Spirit and motivation it brings.
• Personal scripture study: I've gotten back into the habit almost daily and am learning a lot from the wars in Alma about fighting spiritual enemies.
• Family scripture study: While my family was here, we sang a hymn and had a spiritual thought every night.
• Family Home Evening: My little sister gave an excellent lesson on the Holy Ghost and truth.
• Priesthood blessing: My husband gave me a blessing of comfort. Read about it on my Mormon Light blog.
• Music: Whenever I work on my Mormon Light blog (which is a lot right now due to my spiritual high and my family being gone), I listen to my playlist of MoTab, hymns, Primary songs, and instrumental arrangements. Beautiful music brings the Spirit to my heart and home.
• Patriarchal blessing: I reread my blessing today and was dismayed that I had forgotten so much of the counsel and promises found in it. I need to read it more often.

This past week has reminded me of how important it is to do the small and simple things to keep up my spirituality. It isn't always sin that gets in the way; my recent time-wasting has diminished my enthusiasm for the gospel. I want it back, as I had my freshman year at BYU because of the constant spiritual opportunities and surroundings. I want to be the woman at the well again!

Hmmm, I'm sensing another post for my Mormon Light blog!

Pregnancy Progress

Today I am halfway done with my pregnancy! Woohoo! Nine months is a long time, so I'm a little surprised the first half went by quickly. (Ok, so it didn't feel like it when I was puking my guts out every day.) Next thing you know, I'll be holding a cute little baby in my arms! We find out if it's a boy or girl on the 19th.

At my last appointment we heard the heartbeat again and I felt my uterus. I'm showing, but not distinctly--meaning I look more fat than pregnant. My inner thighs are packing and I'm soft everywhere since I have not exercised in months. I'm going to start walking in the mornings (maybe evenings because it's cooler and quieter) and building up my arm muscles again.

Morning sickness is completely gone; it lasted for four months. For a while I woke up with bad headaches every morning, but that has since subsided as well. Now I'm just tired 24/7 and I can't sleep at night or nap during the day.

Food is not so bad anymore and my appetite has increased. I recently moved on to instant mashed potatoes and peas, scrambled eggs and toast, ramen, and canned pears. I still don't like to cook, obviously, but if something is put in front of me, I'll eat it.

This past week my mom has been here and has cooked for me, so things have changed a bit. I've been eating a lot and enjoying it. I think what I eat makes a difference in how I sleep as well. I have been sleeping great ever since my mom got here (minus when they arrived the first night at 2 a.m.), even with Justin's snoring. I'm going to eat healthier now and still drink more water!

"Let's Go to the Movies!"

Can anyone name that movie? (Hint: They're the lyrics to one of the songs.) I love watching movies. But I am very picky. Here's a list of movies I hate that everyone else seems to love:

• Zoolander: Heard about this for years. Finally watched it a couple years ago and regretted it. I don't like those comedians. The only Ben Stiller movie I like is Night at the Museum, and the only Will Ferrell movie I like is Elf.



• Ferris Bueller's Day Off: Saw it at a class party sophomore year and thought it was dumb. I pretty much don't like any 80s movie I've seen, including The Karate Kid (I liked it as a kid) and The Princess Bride.



• The Wedding Singer: My two least favorite actors, set in the 80s. Need I say more? And I don't like movies where people get jilted or change their minds about who they're marrying. In fact, I used to hate Sweet Home Alabama, until seeing it on TV almost every week made it grow on me (though I still don't like that she hurts the nice guy).



• Batman Begins: I thought the villain was too scary and the movie too dark. I didn't even bother seeing The Dark Knight. On the other hand, I remember thinking the story line was really good.



• Napoleon Dynamite: Some funny parts, but overall really pointless and annoying. I do like Nacho Libre, though.



• A Christmas Story: I cannot stand this movie! I gave in and bought it for Justin for Christmas a couple years ago, but I will never watch it.



• The Notebook: Saw it only once, but I remember not liking any of it except the ending. I haven't seen (or read) any other Nicholas Sparks books except A Walk to Remember, which I absolutely adore.



• Finding Neverland: Way overrated and kind of boring. I was pretty disappointed.
  

Because of my mom's strict rules, there are a lot of popular movies I wasn't allowed to see growing up. Once I was old enough to, I never bothered seeing them. I have seen parts of some (marked with an asterisk), and I don't feel like I missed out on anything. Even now there are popular movies I do not wish to see.

• Rush Hour: Not my type of humor. Justin and my brother James love those movies.



• Monty Python and the Holy Grail*: Again, not my type of humor.



• Dumb and Dumber: Ditto. And I don't like Jim Carrey. Ever. Well, The Truman Show was ok, but not because of him.



• Forrest Gump*: I know enough about the movie and quotes to get me through life.



• Titanic*: Someday I might watch the whole thing on TV just to say I watched it. I really like the music.



• The Sixth Sense: Ok, I admit I actually want to see this one. But I'm in no hurry. I've only seen a few other M. Night Shyamalan movies, my favorite being The Village.
  


• Lord of the Rings: I read The Hobbit and disliked it, so I never went any further. And I'm not into medieval-like fantasy, except The Chronicles of Narnia. [Random trivia: Did you know J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis were friends and in the same writers' group? Lewis liked Tolkien's LOTR series, but Tolkien didn't like the Narnia series.]



• Star Wars (the new ones): I was young when I watched the originals and haven't seen them since, so to this day I don't really know the plot. Not interested in the new ones. I don't like Sci-Fi.



• Avatar: One of the biggest reasons why I'm picky about movies is bad language, which is prevalent in this movie (to me, anyway--you might not have found it offensive). Even so, again, Sci-Fi is not my thing. Or not-so-hidden political messages.

[I hope I did not offend you or your taste in movies. And the movie trivia answer is Annie. Photo from Stock.xchng.]