4th of July Weekend

This year I had such a great 4th of July. I just love the fireworks and grilling out and every thing that has to do with the 4th.

This year we had our friends over Friday night with their adorable little girl Ellisen. She is 4 months and I know her and our little guy will always be great friends. Justin has spent the last 8 years camping with them on the 4th and obviously we could not do that this year, so they stopped here and we had a BBQ before they went camping. Saturday we ran errands, watched a movie and napped. It was a great day. Then we packed a picnic dinner and snacks and headed to the Mosinee fireworks. Mosinee is a little town about ten minutes away. They had the most amazing fireworks show I have EVER seen. It was gorgeous and we had perfect seats. It was so great! Sunday we headed over to Justin's parents and had a family BBQ. The weather was beautiful and Justin did a great job grilling boneless ribs. They were so delicious. Overall it was just a great weekend. I can't wait til next year to get to see our little boys reaction to the fireworks =) This is the only picture I have right now. The other ones (that are much better) are on Justin's moms camera.

Counting Down!!!

So I am now letting the countdown begin. It is crazy when you get to that point in your pregnancy where you have way less time til you have the baby then you do to not. So as of today I am 30 weeks =) I have 10 to go, or 70 days. Obviously, I really take this counting down seriously.

I am feeling pretty good. I have not thrown up in probably a month and a half, which is wonderful! I finally have a little energy! We moved into a really nice condo style apartment. It is 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms and has an attached garage which will be so wonderful in the winter.

I feel pretty prepared for him to come. We have our crib and changing table all set up. Our swing, stroller, carrier and bassinet is as well. All we need is for him to be here =) Not sure that I am ready mentally, but we are prepared.

I had a really nice baby shower here a few weeks ago. We are so blessed to have so many great friends and family who came to support us. Here are a few pics...

More to come soon =)

Terrible Blogger

So, I am really do not mean to be such a horrible blogger. I have every intention about blogging often and then time just flies and before you know it it is 2 1/2 months since the last time that I blogged.

So many wonderful things have happened in those months. We found out that we are having a little boy. I am not for sure on the name yet, but soon we will make a decision and name him. Calling him "he" all the time just does not seem right.

I am in California right now and was so fortunate to have two baby showers while I was here. I got so many wonderful gifts and got to see so many people. (I promise I will post pictures once I get them from my sister).

I really do not have too many pictures. Here is one of Justin's family at Easter. They are SO wonderful and I feel so blessed to have them iin my life. So, I am really going to try to be a better blogger and post many more pictures.

I am SO excited for summer and ready to meet this little guy that made me so terribly ill =) June 1st we are moving to our own place and I am really looking forward to that. I cannot wait to get unpacked, settled and the babies room ready!

Update

Well... it has been a few months since I last blogged and boy have things changed in my world. I have been dealing with a lot and thinking a lot and stressing a lot and now I am starting to be more positive and realize every thing does happen for a reason.

I had a great Christmas with my Wisconsin side of the family. My mom has 9 brothers and sisters and I have tons of cousins so needless to say holidays can be chaotic, but fun. I had not been here for Christmas in quite a while so it was nice to be gathered around family. I did miss my immediate family a lot, but it was nice to still be around family.

Christmas day Justin and I just relaxed. He spoiled me rotten and pampered me all day. It was great. He made me food all day and we napped and watched movies. It was the most relaxing Christmas I have ever had.

So, for the biggest update....I am pregnant!!!! I am 11 weeks this week. I have had a really tough pregnancy so far and have had so many mixed emotions about it. I never imagined being pregnant and not being married and stable in life. I have been really stressed and overwhelmed and worst of all SICK! I throw up anywhere between 5 to 15 times a day and it has been absolutely awful. I know on the one hand it is good because the baby is healthy, but it has been so debilitating. I am so tired and really crummy all the time. I am happy to report that it has been two days since I've been sick and I am finally getting a little bit of energy back. I am hoping the worst is over and things will be getting better. I am trying to focus on the positives more than negatives and seeing that baby at my ultrasound last week totally changed my perspective on things. I cannot believe what a miracle this baby is. Seeing it moving and its heart beating was remarkable. I am lucky that Justin has handled this so well and been there for me. I think there are several times I would have lost it without him. He takes such wonderful care of me and I know that he will be such an amazing father to our baby. So I am due August 28th and dreading being huge all summer...but in the end it will all be worth it. Here is a pic of my 10 week ultrasound. It is kind of hard to see because I had to take a picture of a picture.

Giving Thanks

With Thanksgiving being this week I decided I need to post about all the amazing things I have to be thankful for. Sometimes it is easy to forget the little things in life we are so blessed to have. I am thankful for...

1.) My sister- Even though she is younger than me I look up to her so much. She is so beautiful both on the inside and outside. She is caring and sweet. She handles so much and never breaks under the pressure. She ALWAYS speaks her mind and never changes who she is to please other people. She is so strong and her life is on this constant path. I wish I was more like her in so many ways. She is the best younger sister I could ever ask for and living far away makes me miss her so much. I guess I took for granted the fact that she only lived 3 hours away before.

2.) My parents- I know they are not always happy about choices I make in life, but eventually they accept them and support me. They are always there for me and give advice (whether I want it or not). They have provided me with such a good life and so many wonderful things. I am very grateful for them.

3.) My Grandma- As most of you know, losing my Grandparents this past year four months apart was one of the hardest things I had to endure. I am SO grateful for my Grandma Jenny and the fact that I only live a few minutes away. I do not see her as much as I should and I really need to find more time to spend with her. She has so many amazing stories and such a warm heart. I love her to pieces.

4.) My Cell Phone- I know this sounds so silly, but I do not know what I would do without text messaging on a daily basis. I look forward to reading every text I get. It is seriously my life line. What did we do without them?

5.) My Computer and the Internet- I find myself excited to come home and log on to all my e-mails, facebook, myspace, blogging. It is my connection to those I do not get to talk to on a regular basis and I absolutely love it.

6.) My Friends- Especially lately I realize just how lucky I am to have so many different groups of friends in different states. I am SO fortunate to know the people I know and each of them keep me grounded in different ways. I look up to so many of my friends and value their opinions so much. I am so lucky.

7.) Baking & Cooking- this is my new found thing. I have been cooking and baking every single night and I LOVE it. I have allrecipes.com as my homepage and every day look on there for new ideas. I have found that baking makes me calm and relaxed. Not to mention it makes home so much homier.

8.) Wisconsin- I am so happy my mom is from here and I was introduced to life here. It is just amazing. People are sweet and compassionate and live every day being grateful. Life is slow and in a weird way graceful. For those of you who have never been here, the 4 seasons are spectacular. Each is defined and beautiful.

9.) Pjs- With working all the time I really value the time I can sit and wear pjs. I absolutely love comfortable clothes. It makes me so warm and relaxed.

10.) Books- Reading is something I forgot I loved. I just started to pick it up again due to my bargain shopping at goodwill (7 books for $3.62) and have found I actually prefer a book over television. Maybe because it is nice to get lost in someone elses life and not worry about my own.

These are just a few of the things that came to mind. Lately I have been so stressed about money and relationships and friendships that it is very nice to be able to reflect on the good in my life.

P.S. I Love You

I just finished watching P.S. I Love You for the second time and I am thinking I maybe cried more this time than last. I actually still have tears in my eyes. If you have not seen this movie you should most definitely rent it. It is amazing.

Lately I have been feeling kind of down because I feel like for my age I am no where near where I thought I would be. I am not graduated from college and I am not married. I am not even in a serious relationship at this time. I know it seems kind of ridiculous, but I just envisioned things so different. Anyways, this movie made me realize that settling for anything less than the unconditional love these two share is pointless. Unfortunately, we all deal with loss at some point and it is something we all hope to avoid, but being afraid of loss is not a reason to turn away from love. They say it is better to have love and lost than never loved at all and I could not agree more. I yearn for a love that moves me in ways I never imagine.

For now, I am focusing on me and achieving my fitness, educational and career goals. I think in achieving these, every thing else will fall into place. At least I hope!

Working Out

So, lets just say it has been quite a while since I worked out.... basically I have not worked out 1 time since I moved here and it shows. I feel so blah and seriously disgusting. Thank goodness for tanning or I would be feeling even worse about myself. So, one of my friends has been working out and making good life choices and inspired me to join the gym as well.

I forgot what a good feeling working out provides. I have been so stressed lately with working so many jobs and trying to find just one full time job. But when I get to the gym it is like I am in this whole new world pushing myself and my limits.

Unfortunately, I seem to forget that it has been so many months since I've worked out and I am not quite ready to do my work outs I used to do. I am so sore today I can barely walk. I thought about taking the day off, but actually as I wrote this blog it reminded me how good I felt the last two days. So now, I will be going to the gym later today!

I've also been really trying to improve my eating habits so if anyone has any good recipes I would LOVE to try them out. Especially for sweets. I have had such a sweet tooth lately.

I miss every one and hope all is well with you guys!