My bags are packed!!!

I look so HUGE in this picture (37 weeks)!!!!


This is me (38 weeks and ready to go!!!) No sleep at nights, very uncomfortable, trying to get everything done and my house clean, my bags are packed and I'm ready to go...can you tell?!

Fun in the Sun!!!

My mom, Brady and I headed down the coast a ways and went strawberry picking and picked 20 lbs. each of which we froze some and made jam with the rest! That was exhausting and not very comfortable for a pregnant lady!!! Brady picked all of about 5 berries so he was much less help than what I thought he'd be!

From there we headed to one of my favorite beaches: Pine Point in Scarborough and enjoyed a few hours there walking in the water and finding little shells. My mom and Brady dug a big hole that let the waves in and also a sandcastle.

Here I am: 37 weeks pregnant with a sore tailbone and a nice waddle!!!


And the best part was that after a long long day of "whys" and craziness this little boy fell asleep on the way home! His head was in the funniest position and any mom can testify that this is truly a blessing after being "talked to death" all day long!!! Snore away Brady, snore away!!!

Please heed the call to "Prepare ALL things!!!"

I have been greatly aware lately of world struggles, natural disasters and the economy. I have felt a great need to concentrate on following the Prophet's counsel about getting our lives in order and preparing ourselves financially and with food and water storage! If you'd like to read what our First Presidency has currently put out regarding these matters visit: http://www.providentliving.org/

Family Home Storage:

"Our Heavenly Father created this beautiful earth, with all its abundance, for our benefit and use. His purpose is to provide for our needs as we walk in faith and obedience. He has lovingly commanded us to “prepare every needful thing” (see D&C 109:8) so that, should adversity come, we can care for ourselves and our neighbors and support bishops as they care for others.
"We encourage members world-wide to prepare for adversity in life by having a basic supply of food and water and some money in savings.

"We ask that you be wise as you store food and water and build your savings. Do not go to extremes; it is not prudent, for example, to go into debt to establish your food storage all at once. With careful planning, you can, over time, establish a home storage supply and a financial reserve."—The First Presidency, All Is Safely Gathered In: Family Home Storage, Feb. 2007, 1

These principles have been called out to us as members of the church for YEARS!!! and now the First Presidency has stated that they will no longer be focusing on these matters. The time for WARNING has passed and there are STILL so many of us UNPREPARED!!!

I hope that we can all begin (if we haven't already) to heed this VITAL counsel. Here's a news article about the flooding in the midwest that is affecting our nation's food supply. If you are of the mindset that you're not worried about natural disaster or other difficulties striking your area- please inform yourself that we ARE ALREADY IN THE STORM!!! There will be many more things to come!

The article:

"Record corn prices mean more expensive meat, dairy"

Jun 22, 4:05 PM (ET)By STEVENSON JACOBS
NEW YORK (AP) - Raging Midwest floodwaters that swallowed crops and sent corn and soybean prices soaring are about to give consumers more grief at the grocery store.
In the latest bout of food inflation, beef, pork, poultry and even eggs, cheese and milk are expected to get more expensive as livestock owners go out of business or are forced to slaughter more cattle, hogs, turkeys and chickens to cope with rocketing costs for corn-based animal feed.
The floods engulfed an estimated 2 million or more acres of corn and soybean fields in Iowa, Indiana, Illinois and other key growing states, sending world grain prices skyward on fears of a substantially smaller corn crop. The government will give a partial idea of how many corn acres were lost before the end of the month, but experts say the trickle-down effect could be more dramatic later this year, affecting everything from Thanksgiving turkeys to Christmas hams.
To read the rest of this article visit: http://apnews.myway.com//article/20080622/D91FB2PG0.html

If anyone would like help getting started (72 hour kit) then 3 month supply please email me with questions! I've been doing A LOT of research as I've been working on this and have found some great sites and have some good information regarding how to get started and what kinds of things to store!

Happy Father's Day!!!

We had a nice Father's day although any big plans of serving Chris a nice breakfast went out the window when it took both of us nearly an hour trying to get Brady to stop whining and crying when we were getting ready. I swear, this little boy can truly put on a good show and he is RELENTLESS!!! Any good parenting tips because I am fresh out! We've tried kindness, ignoring bad behavior/rewarding good behavior, stooped to yelling, time outs- NOTHING seems to work for this child!

Anyhow, back to Father' Day! Chris and I had gone out of town the previous weekend (earlier post) and he picked out a new Celtics t-shirt so that was his main gift! We also colored him some pictures, made him a card (thanks for the cute idea Natalie!) and gave him his favorite bag of candy!

He really does deserve a lot of Thanks and Love for all of the sacrifice that he makes for our family to provide for us and help whenever he can around the house! He is a good father and I know that little Olivia will soon have him wrapped around her little finger! WE LOVE YOU CHRIS!!! ("Daddy")

Portsmouth, New Hampshire

Chris' company, Enterprise Rent-a-car hosted a party on a steamship in the Portsmouth Harbor. It was a beuatiful night and we ate some BBQ chicken with salads and dessert and enjoyed the harbor through the sunrise! Our good friends, Jared and Tyneal Mulliner were also there (Jared is employed with them also). It was good company because we were the only four non-drinkers there and found some great entertainment watching some of the people get drunk (especially when we got out into the open water and they had a hard time standing/walking around!) Why do people "NEED" to drink to have a good time anyway?


Two lighthouses we passed as went down river into the harbor:

The four sober ones (and the only 2 pregnant ladies!) We got some looks!

Tyneal, Jared, Hannah & Chris

Enterprise put us up in a hotel so the next day we swam at the pool and soaked up some sun with Jared and Tyneal and the headed into downtown Portsmouth to walk a portion of the Harbor Trail and view the historic Strawberry Banke (a 10 acre museum of colonial houses). It was a beautiful day and we walked up a sweat!

This is a historic drawbridge that raises up in the middle when a tall ship needs to pass beneath it. It was neat for me to see this because my Great Grandpa Terrence used to work this bridge!!!

From there we parted ways and Chris and I headed north back up to Maine along the coastal route and saw a lighthouse there that I haven't been to since I was a small child.

Nubble Light, York, Maine

Some people really know how to live huh? This mansion was directly across from the lighthouse!

Memorial Day 2008

I know this post is WAY behind but my USB cord broke =(...anyhow- this is how we spent our WONDERFUL Memorial Day Honoring those who have fought in and for our country!!!

First we went to the beach for the first time with some friends. Unfortunately it was VERY windy and cold!!! Brady had a fun time with his little friends and got buried in the sand. They played Frsibee and Baseball with the Daddies and I was content sitting my bigt belly on my beach blanket the WHOLE time!

Next we headed to a little playground and had a picnic, which was followed by this small but fun parade!!!

Bagpipers- how cool! I loved the music!!! (and the kilts!!!)

The KORA Shriner's were a big part of the parade and all these old men were racing around in these little go-carts! It was hilarious- and they were pretty darn good!!!

I really liked this "Hot Rod!!!"

Stretch Hummer- How'd you like to drive that and FILL that with gas?!

Yeah- I thought this tractor was "sexy!!!"

These ladies were pretty darn cute!!! "When I grow old I will wear red and purple!!!"

NEXT STOP: Mini-golfing! This was probably the highlight of our day! Brady LOVES mini-golfing and just couldn't wait to go! He asks me EVERY day if we can play again!!! He started the game out with a bang- beating me and Chris!!! He even got a hole in one! But, at the end of it all his luck had worn off and Chris and I actually ended up tying!!!

PIRATE'S COVE: O.O.B., Maine

That's one happy little golfer!!!

After a crash course from Daddy he was set to go!!! "No more helping!" He would say!!!

ENTERING THE CAVE......

Inside the cave! Daddy had a hard time at this hole!!! (Mommy got it in 2 by the way....hehehe)

"Hey! Who took my ball?" Brady tries despertaely to retrieve his ball at the last hole!!!

All's well that end's well!!! (sorry, I couldn't resist the pun!) Brady was fine as soon as he understood that the last hole "takes everyone's ball" and that he could watch them fly out the pipe into the wishing well!!

Dinner by the sea: FIRST seafood of the year (and the last?!)

Okay, we enjoy a good basket of nice New England clams and shrimp every once and a while- but after emptying out pockets AND getting a gut ache and dry mouth I've decided that I can not only BUY but also MAKE much better seafood at home!!! It was fun while it lasted though- and brady even liked the clams and shrimp- a small miracle we ask?!

yummy GREASY onion ring! Yeah- not worth those calories!!!



And that was the end of our wonderful day!!! It was great to have chris home from work and spend some time as a family! When we got home we unloaded all of the beach stuff, coolers, etc. and headed in (thanks to a timely rain shower!) We spent the rest of the evening playing games and chillin' out. Oh, and we splurged a little later on some red hot dogs on the grill- definately shouldn't have eaten those!!!

8 months 3 weeks (34 weeks) !!!!!

Current Craving: I can't say that I am craving any one thing- I just really like to eat GOOD food! I must admit though that my craving for sweet things has returned BUT I am still doing GREAT with my green smoothies and healthy eating!!!!

Current Gripe: Definately hvaing to pee almost CONSTANTLY- like every 15-20 mins!!! I'm not even kidding! And waking up at night to pee is definately annoying but I guess it trains you for those middle of the night feedings!!!

Current Joy: I got a couple little outfits at a yard sale this past weekend and I'm sooooo excited to dress Olivia and put little bows and headbands in her hair! This is going to be a whole new experience for a mom with a little boy who is "all boy!" The cutest thing I get to do with him is stick a Red Sox hat on his head!!!

Current Weight Gain: I am up to 24 lbs. this week. I feel great though and have been very consistently gaining 2 lbs. per week like you're supposed to so I'm excited that I've been able to maintain healthy weight gain and hope that I will have an easier time losing the baby weight after this pregnancy than last time.

How your baby's growing: Your baby now weighs about 4 3/4 pounds (like your average cantaloupe) and is almost 18 inches long. Her fat layers — which will help regulate her body temperature once she's born — are filling her out, making her rounder. Her skin is also smoother than ever. Her central nervous system is maturing and her lungs are continuing to mature as well. If you've been nervous about preterm labor, you'll be happy to know that babies born between 34 and 37 weeks who have no other health problems generally do fine. They may need a short stay in the neonatal nursery and may have a few short-term health issues, but in the long run, they usually do as well as full-term babies.

How your life's changing: By this week, fatigue has probably set in again, though maybe not with the same coma-like intensity of your first trimester. Your tiredness is perfectly understandable, given the physical strain you're under and the restless nights of frequent pee breaks and tossing and turning, while trying to get comfortable. Now's the time to slow down and save up your energy for labor day (and beyond). If you've been sitting or lying down for a long time, don't jump up too quickly. Blood can pool in your feet and legs, causing a temporary drop in your blood pressure when you get up that can make you feel dizzy.