Pregnancy Week 9: What No One Ever Told You

Warning: If you don't want to know what being pregnant is really like, don't read this.

You know when you're watching a movie and some lady in it is pregnant and she looks so happy? Her skin is glowing, her hair looks amazing, she feels a little sick, but is still able to function during her daily life? It's a lie.

Reminder: Every pregnancy is different.

I had heard of morning sickness. Heck, I can remember my 5th grade teacher bolting out of the room because she needed to stick her head in the trash can for awhile. I knew about that part of pregnancy. But do you know what parts I didn't know about? Bloating. Gas. Constipation. Inability to eat. Crying at everything. I mean everything. For example, last night my mom called me a pregnant lady as an explanation to why I was already upset at something my sister did. So, what did I do? I bawled. At the dinner table. Then I cried some more because I was embarrassed that I was crying. A few weeks ago I went to get a yogurt out of the fridge for breakfast and there was none. Someone ate my yogurt. So, what did I do? Cry uncontrollably. It doesn't even make sense.
Then there's the fact that my body is now fat. I'm not big enough to look like I have a baby bump...I just look like I put on a few pounds. For a girl who has been skinny her whole life this is not a fun realization, so of course, I cried about it.
Oh, and let's talk about exhaustion. Most days I don't make it out of bed until 7:30 and I have to leave for work at 8. Go ahead, ask me how many days I'm late. While we are on the subject, goodbye sleep. No position is comfortable. Caleb and I are cuddlers but sometimes I feel so gross I don't want him to touch me, which then makes it harder to sleep because I'm so used to sleeping cuddled up with him. I have to get up and pee in the middle of the night...twice. Even when I sleep well I still wake up feeling like I didn't sleep at all.
Let's get back to the bloating, gas and constipation. Ladies, you know when it's that time of the month and you are so bloated you feel awful? Yep, got that going on 24/7. The gas? It hurts. I have never dealt with gas pains before and now I have them to the max! I tried taking gas-x...didn't help. They seriously cripple me. Constipation...I won't go into details. I'll leave it at this. When I actually go number 2 I'm so excited that I tell my poor husband.
Smells. At times I can't even walk into my own house because it smells so bad. Once it smelled like vanilla and the smell was so strong it made me nauseous and I secluded myself in my office for the entire day. Working in a severe special needs classroom where some kids wear diapers and none of them have good hygiene...it's tough.
Migraines. Holy cow! Those things are bad. I had one so bad that Caleb found me on the floor in the bathroom in the fetal position. Sleep didn't help. Cold compresses didn't help. Dark rooms didn't help. It was terrible.

Everyone says that it will get better in the second trimester. I hope they are right, otherwise this will probably be our only baby!

All of this being said. I know that these crazy things happening to my body are worth it and that I am going to love my little baby like crazy! It will all be worth it when I see my angel's face. Caleb and I are so excited to be given this opportunity to become parents and to learn a little more about Christ-like love. It will be tough, but worth it...just like pregnancy.

As I have been going through this struggle for the past few weeks I have developed a sense of awe for women who go through this alone, for all the various reasons. Kudos to you! I don't know how in the world you do it! I couldn't get through this if it wasn't for my husband who calms me when I'm crying for no reason and doesn't make me feel silly. This man caters to my every need. He goes to the store if I need something to eat, he watches Disney with me when I'm not feeling up to par, he constantly reminds me that I am beautiful and that what I'm doing is something he will be forever grateful for. I am grateful to have him to lean on and ladies who have ever done this without that support...you deserve a medal.

Week 9

Hair Growth and Other Things

I have to say I did really good with my February goal of drinking water. I learned to love water and actually crave it. My body missed water if I didn't drink it enough. That was a weird feeling since before I drank maybe one glass of water a day.
My coworkers even started to join in with me and we all helped one another get enough water in throughout the day. Then I came home and Caleb helped me to remember to drink my last few glasses. Setting goals and achieving them is so much easier when you have people to support you.

January 2014

This month I am going to wash my face every morning and night. I'm pretty good at washing my face at least once a day, but I really want to get in a better habit of washing it before I put my makeup on and before I go to bed. A makeup artist once told me that washing your face in the morning before you put on makeup helps it to stay the same shade all day long. I'm excited to start this chapter of my goal. 

It doesn't really look like my hair is growing at all. I think I want to start doing things to make it grow faster. Does anyone have any ideas on vitamins you can take or other "myths" that make your hair grow faster? Let me know!

February 2014

March 2014

Our Perfect Valentine

Caleb and I celebrated our first Valentines Day together! It was perfect. Caleb did a much better job than I did! I gave my hubby a snack everyday starting on February 1st until the 14th. They each had a cute little note on them, like on the Swedish Fish I put "You o'FISH'ally have my heart" get it? It was pretty simple, but he seemed to like it.

My Sweetheart did some extraordinary things for me. He gave me a new purse and a beautiful necklace. The purse was full of tons of goodies, including the necklace and candy and princess valentines. I love my thoughtful man! Aren't they perfect?

We ate dinner outside by the fire. Caleb made me steak wrapped in bacon, asparagus and mashed potatoes. It was so delicious. He's an amazing chef, but he's never made anything before that was this wonderful. For dessert we had strawberries dipped in chocolate and s'mores. We definitely overindulged and it was so worth it.

After dinner we exchanged gifts, cause the purse and necklace weren't enough right? When I walked in our bedroom there were rose petals on the bed and a shadow box with my wedding box and my favorite wedding picture. I have been wanting one of those since we got married. I started to cry when I saw it. I am so lucky to have married my best friend who remembers the little things I tell him.

 I gave him his last gift, which was super cheesy. We had been joking around about how cliche it was to give each other stuffed animals, so what did I do? I gave him a frog with a rose. I can't help my silliness. 

To end the night we watched P.S. I Love You, word of advice, don't watch it! Neither of us had seen it before and I honestly bawled the entire time. It's so sad! The beginning reminded me of me and Caleb and then the husband dies and I absolutely lost it. I have decided that this is a once in a lifetime movie. You can only watch it once in your life...Caleb wants to watch it every year...heck no!                                                            Oh, Caleb also just randomly handed me single long stemmed rose throughout the day. How romantic is that? To say I married a good man is an understatement. What makes him the best though is that he treats me this way every single day.                                                                           I definitely have to step up my game next year. 

New Year Resolution: Month Two

I have officially made it past one month of my new year resolution! That means that I have officially kept this resolution longer than any I've ever made! Yay me!
So, this past month was a struggle! I will admit that I did have soda a couple of times and I even had two pieces of chocolate. I know, bad me! I had some pretty good reasons though.
Reason number one of why I drank soda, I was sick, really sick.
Reason number two of why I drank soda, we moved to a new house and the water filter hasn't been changed in who knows how long! Caleb got a glass of water and there was dust floating through the whole cup and a nice little film of yucky on the bottom of the glass. GROSS! So, soda was it for a few days and then we bought some water bottles :)
Reason number one of why I ate chocolate, because I wanted it. That's all.

Now on to February! I am going to continue with the no soda and chocolate thing (leaving out Valentine's Day...a girl's gotta eat chocolate on Valentine's Day! It's mandatory!)
I am also going to drink 80 oz of water every day! According to Doc. Oz that's how much I'm supposed to drink. Yikes! I am going to be going potty all the stinking time!
My hair will continue to grow. I got it trimmed for the first time in a long time this past month so in the picture it doesn't really look like it's grown for a month. Pooey.


Okay, now here's to you my readers (however few you may be).
What are your tips to getting all your water in?
What are your tips for growing out your hair and not DYING of boredom in the process?
Thanks in advance.

:)

Challenge 2014

It is the end of a great year. So many amazing things happened to me this year. I found a job that I love, despite it's difficulties. I married my Prince Charming in my castle. I have become a happier person. Now it is time for the new year which means new resolutions that no one really intends to keep. Right? I decided to do something a little different this year, in the hope that it will help me to actually achieve a New Year's goal. This year I want to become healthier and I want long hair...pretty silly, but a life-long dream. 

Anyone who knows me knows that I do not have a very strong will when it comes to two things, delicious food and not cutting my hair. I am addicted to both. I eat when I'm bored and I cut my hair when I'm bored (never too drastic). This year I am going to try a month at a time. 

When it comes to food, each month I will choose something unhealthy from my life and delete it. So, for the month of January I am going to stop drinking soda and eating candy. Notice that I said candy...not sweets. I will, however, limit the amounts of sweet I eat for January. Each month I will add on, or, if I'm struggling with what I have already taken out, just work on that a little bit more. Maybe in the process of all this I will even lose a little bit of weight. To document I will share my weight with you each month...that's pretty brave of me I think. 

My hair will probably be the hardest part and I am depending on my friends and family to keep my strong. I will not be cutting my hair for the entire year of 2014. I will get trims to keep it healthy, but that's it. To document this process I will take a picture each month to compare my hair lengths. 

This is probably of no interest to you, but I am excited to take on this project and see how I change from month to month.

Without further ado...the documentation...

Weight: 120.6 lbs 

Hair: 

Then Comes Marriage

There's really not much I can say about our wedding day...what do you say about the best day of your life?

Looking across the altar in the temple at the man of my dreams, knowing that we were going to have forever with each other...I couldn't help but smile. Caleb was crying and I was giggling, not out of irreverence, but because I couldn't contain my joy, I was so happy that giggles escaped my mouth...the same way they did when I prayed to know if he was the one the Lord had asked me to wait for. I was overfilled with joy.

Knowing that not only are Caleb and I married on this earth but that we are also sealed for all eternity and that even the bonds of death cannot break our marriage...that's something special. As Caleb and I sat in the temple together afterwards I thought about other religious marriage ceremonies and how they say 'till death do you part' and how terribly sad that is. My love for Caleb is bigger than this world and thinking that one day after I die he may not be there, well that's no heaven I want to know. 

I am grateful for the choices that Caleb and I made in our lives to marry in the temple. I am grateful for the people who stood by our side getting us to that point. A temple marriage is so worth it. When you love someone with a pure heart; a lifetime isn't enough.

The only thing left for me to say is this; girls, it's worth it. Wait for your prince and marry him in the Lord's castle. There is no other joy like it, I promise. 

Across the Country in 33 Hours

We are married! It was a crazy couple of months but we are (sorta) settling in and so excited for our eternity together. So, first off. Here are some pictures from our month long adventure to Southern Indiana, Northern Indiana, Ohio and then North Carolina.

On our way to S. Indiana

We started our car ride in St. George, Utah and drove straight through to Bloomfield, Indiana...about 33 hours in the car including short stops for food and bathroom. My Dad drove pretty much the entire way, with a little help from my me and my Mom. It was a LOOOONG drive and it helped my parents get to know Caleb a little better and gave Caleb a better picture of what he was getting into.

A short stop in Colorado

When we FINALLY made it to Bloomfield we got to spend some time with my Uncle John, Aunt Nancy, my cousin Camille and her two children. It was pretty cramped, but a lot of fun showing Caleb the town my Mom grew up in and getting to visit my Grandma McKean's grave. I always cry when I go visit her...poor Caleb got more tears than he bargained for...I just miss her so much and was really wishing she was around to meet my sweetheart. We also got to see our dear friends Emily and Teresa. They drove up from Jeffersonville to see us and meet Caleb. I was so happy to see them, but was missing the rest of the Smith clan. 

Vandalizing some train tracks

During a power outage Caleb sat around and played cards with all the ladies.

My great grandpa used to hide moonshine in this rock

My aunt and uncle and their plethora of hummingbird feeders.

Our travels then took us to Fort Wayne, Indiana.
I didn't really take any pictures of this part of the trip, but we got to spend a lot of time with family. Caleb met my Grandpa McKean and his wife, Grammy and her husband, aunts, uncles, cousins and family friends who are basically family. It is amazing to me that after meeting all these crazy family members he still wanted to marry me.

My City

My favorite part of the trip was taking Caleb to Perry, Ohio. I was so excited pulling into Cleveland. It was a little pathetic...there may have been some tears. What can I say, I love that place! In Ohio Caleb met my best friend Abby and they quickly formed a bond and became really good friends. He also met so many other people who impacted my life, there are way too many to name. It was so fun showing Caleb around the place that I consider home.

My Abigail <3

Pretty convincing right? 

I'm still trying to convince him that we should move there and raise our family...I'll keep you updated on what happens. Abby threw me a bachelorette party while we were in Ohio :) She's the best. While she was getting a white ink tattoo, we tried convincing my family that I was actually getting the tattoo, so we set up this picture. That's Abby's hand in front of my body and we put my ring on her. Looks good, right? Anyone who wants a white ink tattoo and is in the Chardon, Ohio area should go to Chris Klee, he's awesome and he REALLY loves doing white ink tattoo's. :)

Took Caleb to Historic Kirtland

Kirtland Temple

On the plane :)

After Ohio we flew to Newport, North Carolina where I met his Mom, sister, brother-in-law, nephew and many other people who influenced him for the better and made him the man he is now. North Carolina is not my favorite place and I don't think we will be going back there to live...100% humidity!!! No thank you! However, it was wonderful to get to see where Caleb has spent his whole life and to get to know those closest to him. We got to go to the beach, which was a little scary for me, I had forgotten what real waves felt like! Sad, I know. We got to celebrate Caleb's birthday with his family. Since Caleb and I don't really have money to be spending on gifts I just got him a few of his favorite things...Oreo's, GingerAle (yes...that's his favorite soda) and Reese's and a coupon book. 

Caleb's Birthday

I got to meet the Rolling family who basically adopted Caleb as their own. They were so kind to us and completely welcomed both of us into their home whenever we wanted to hang out. We had an engagement party in his hometown and were so blessed by the amazing women in that ward who put together the entire thing. It was beautiful and so generous of them.

Meeting Poseidon 

 That ends our trip. We left North Carolina more in love than when we started our trip and with only 10 days before our wedding! I will post another update about our wedding fun :)