Coupons

I was at the grocery store the other day, getting a few things we need specifically for dinner and restocking a few things we were out of. Typical mid-size shopping trip. As I was checking out, the woman in front of me had a stack of coupons I was watching her ring up. As the checkout lady scanned coupon after coupon, her total came down.... and down.... and down.... until she walked away with a final bill of about $25. [insert shock and awe here] I proceeded to check-out after her. My final bill for a similarly sized cart of groceries? $75. It's almost enough to make me start couponing. My hesitation doesn't really come from the time and effort involved- although, I suppose that is a factor- but the idea of spending money (on a Sunday paper) in order to save a few dollars at a time on the grocery bill. But the idea has definitely been planted.

Love

It's amazing how fast your attitude can change completely. When I found out I was having a boy, I admit, I was a little disappointed. I looked longingly at all the sweet baby girl clothes I wouldn't be getting. Now, just a few days later, I can hardly believe I even felt like that. I find myself looking at little boys everywhere, thinking of how cute he's going to be, and anxious to meet him.

How is it possible to love an alien-looking fetus I've never met this much? The feeling is completely overwhelming. I love him. I love feeling his kicks and wiggles, knowing when he wakes up and when he goes back to sleep... I can't wait to see him and kiss him and teach him everything he needs to know. To watch his personality develop into a little real person. Is it really possible to love him more after he's born? REALLY?? Because I don't think it is.

I love being pregnant so much, but at the same time, I'm starting to get anxious (way too early!) to be done and meet my little man. But this is definitely my favorite part of the experience, and at the same time, I never want it to stop. One of the nurses I was working with last night told me I was glowing. I can believe it. I'm so happy I feel like I might just explode.

More on Yesterday

As you have probably inferred, yesterday was the Big Ultrasound Day. I was so excited and anxious about it, I almost gave myself a stress headache waiting through the morning and then on the way there. He was super wiggly all day, and I was a little worried that he'd poop out and fall asleep for the ultrasound, but we were in luck! He wasn't doing flips or anything, but he was definitely awake. We even saw him yawn.

There was a nursing student there for the ultrasound, and I've decided I like having students around for these types of things. I think the ultrasound tech would probably have been great anyway, but in general, I think having students there make the professionals explain more things more clearly. So we got great detailed explanations about everything she was doing. I also decided I really wouldn't mind having a student around when I deliver. For a lot of nurses, especially at a big hospital like this one, labor & delivery becomes "just another job," and "just another woman giving birth." Not really a special experience anymore. Having a student there makes it all special again, forces them to subconsciously see it through new eyes and explain things like the ultrasound tech did. And I want my delivery to be the most special delivery in the whole world, dangit, even if it's the ten millionth baby the nurse has delivered.

Anyway, that was a tangent. I'm trying not to ramble too much. After the ultrasound, we went to Babies R Us, where I finished registering (just for fun) and bought some little boy things to get me excited. I sighed a little over the tutus and bows and cute dresses I wouldn't be buying, but found a few stinkin' adorable things that I can't wait to stuff him in. Like a onesie with a frog on the butt!!! How cute is that? Very. Trust me.

After spending too much money at Babies R Us (the first of many, I'm sure), we went out to a late lunch at Carraba's, which is one of our favorite splurge restaurants. Or probably THE favorite. It was predictably delicious. I might have had a foodgasm. I could have sirloin marsala every day and be perfectly content.

Again, with the tangents.

So, basically, it was a great day. One of the things we bought was a GIGANTIC baby name book. A rather overwhelming baby name book, actually. But we're pretty stuck on boy names. We don't have any definite ideas yet, but we have some thoughts. Let me show them to you.

Some of my favorites are Jacob, Kade, Jayden, Alexander, and Tyler. Brit hasn't picked out any personal favorites yet, but some we've both discussed and liked are Seth, Shawn, and Corbin. And we tossed around the idea of a Corbin Seth Christensen. But those are all just thoughts, and based on our dog-naming process, this is going to take a long time, a lot of revisions, and a lot of new and completely different lists. Opinions on those names are welcome... Personal bad experiences with someone you knew once are NOT. Firstly, we don't care, and secondly.... well, we just don't care. But if you just think it sounds weird, then go ahead and say so.

Hmmm. We're having a boy. A little Brit. ...Now THAT is a scary thought.

Picture Update

This is me:

This is my baby:

This is my baby exposing himself:

Let me be shallow for a minute.

Well, ok, maybe not a minute. Maybe this entire blog has become the shallow ramblings of my pregnancy. But let's break it up and talk about something ELSE that makes me a silly girl I probably wouldn't want to know: Dinner.

Last night I made my mom's chicken enchilada recipe. It tasted just like my mom's, and there was mexican rice and shredded lettuce and fresh tomatoes to accompany the goodness. And I loved it. And Brit loved it (!). And it was just one more in a string- a STRING, I tell you!- of actual dinner-like dinners that I thought up and cooked myself. You probably don't understand the significance of this. Let me relate a typical night at the Christensen household: "What do you want for dinner?" "I dunno, what do you want?" "I dunno..." [an hour or so later] "Macaroni and cheese?" "Yeah sure." Our typical diet consists of mac & cheese, hamburgers, pancakes, and sometimes tortellini if we're feeling really crazy. So this is special, and it makes me feel a little more grown-up. Watch out for a cute picture of me in a sassy apron coming up! (Just kidding. I don't wear aprons. And I don't own a sassy one anyway.) (Am I a bad person if I kinda want to, now?)

Christmas in January!

Now that Christmas is thoroughly over and you've stopped seeing so many Christmas updates.... Here's another one! I'll keep it brief. I just wanted to post some of my favorite pictures, and some highlights of the week:

• Just being with my awesome in-laws
• Learning how to play the dice game
• Chess making a new best friend in my father-in-law
• Going to the dog park
• Setting up for an open house with my mother-in-law and sisters-in-law
• Watching Brit and his brothers struggle to put a marble tower together
• ... and then watching the kids destroy it in about 5 minutes Christmas morning
• Walking around the Broadmoor
• Watching little Matthew learn what happens to his food when he drops it off the highchair with the dog around
• Brit and his brothers learning how to fly the toy helicopters we got for Christmas
• Getting a baby toy and layettes as part of my Christmas presents
• Hiking at Garden of the Gods

I love my family! Enjoy the picture collages.

Random Memories

You ever have a random childhood memory that is probably completely insignificant but you remember in startling detail and comes to mind at random times?

I'm sure you do.

There's one that's been sticking in my mind lately for some reason. It does that every so often. When I was maybe 8 or so, I thought I had a Super Awesome Super Cool And Original Talent. I could rotate my elbow 180 degrees while my hand/wrist remained stationary. Grossed out everyone in my 2nd grade class. Aren't I special? The thing I really remember, though, is our primary lesson on talents. Our teacher asked what our talent was. I proudly demonstrated the powers of my radius. And my teacher proceeded to tell me that that was no talent at all, anybody could do that, and tried to show me through his long-sleeve shirt. (That didn't work very well... you can't see through a long-sleeve shirt. So I didn't really believe him. But it hurt a little. And I stopped telling people I could do it.)

I don't know why this keeps coming to mind. It's so silly. But I wanted to share. I do have talents, darn it. Good ones. I just need to figure out what they are...

My Lovely Baby Bump

These past two weeks, my belly has just exploded. I went from feeling rather pudgy as we left for Colorado, to feeling totally pregnant by the time we came back. Observe:

Me looking rather chubby with my sisters-in-law before Christmas:

Me looking rather pregnant today:

I'm pretty proud of my silly little bump. I walk around mentally shouting "Look at me! I'm with child!" The one damper in my high is realizing that every other woman in Utah has a similar bump. Especially going to a Utah family ward in a new development. Holy cow. I swear almost every woman I saw in the 2 hours I was at church Sunday was pregnant. That's what I get for having a due date in the popular month of June.

The baby is kicking much more regularly lately, and when he does it's obvious that it's the baby. Still anxiously awaiting the day when Brit can feel it, too. I still want to say it aloud every time I feel kicking..... but I'm pretty sure nobody else cares. Good thing I can still tell Brit. Like right now. There he goes.

Despite my prevalent use of the male pronoun, we still don't know the sex. I made the ultrasound appointment today. It made me REALLY mad, though.... my fabulous midwife tried to write the prescription to get the ultrasound in one week (I would be 19 weeks), but I have to go to the hospital to have it done because they don't have ultrasound equipment in the clinic. And the hospital is VERY strict about doing the appointment before 20 weeks EXACTLY. So now I have to wait almost three weeks (since I'm working so much that week) to find out what I'm having on January 22. Argh. I cried like a crazy pregnant lady. I got so hopeful that it would be done next week. I know, I know, it's not THAT far away, but trust me, it feels like forever. Every week feels like a lifetime lately. I'm really tempted to pay the money and have it done early, but Brit is putting his foot down and saying we can't afford it right now.

Sorry. That was a very long, probably very boring story.

In other completely unrelated news, Sadie is no longer part of our family. I don't really want to talk about it. It was a terrible, sucky decision, and I don't want to rehash any part of it.

Eventually I may recap Christmas, at least in pictures. I have a bazillion pictures. It was a lot of fun and a lot of chaos. I love my in-laws. We spent almost two weeks there, and I could have stayed longer.