Matt just brought me a page from an Onion calendar. I can't stop laughing.
It's pregnancy from a perspective we just don't hear enough of. . . can't we all imagine this is what the baby MUST be thinking?
Here's the whole Opinion Piece from theonion.com
It's still a boy.
Apparently a boy that weighs slightly more than expected and also has a really big head.
Oh, the joys of motherhood. I'm feeling it already.
Starting the chewing phase. . . there are 2 teeth in there
I bought this dress just in case I had a girl to put into it. . . I don't, but Natalie does, and Aubrey looks awfully cute in it.
With Tanner's squirt doll. 
Seriously, could you resist that face? No. You couldn't. I promise you that. Also, I think she has the prettiest eyes ever. A few pictures of the cuteness of the weekend. These boys generally make me less scared to have boys. . . although that "I'm so tough" face that Carter is making is a little bit scary. . . just a little.
Carter
Tanner
Ethan
My father has a thing for pennies. I'm not sure where it started, though my first memories of it are from Williamsburg when he traveled for work and would always stop at coin shops during his trips to gather rare coins. He had a bunch of those cardboard trifolds that you push the coins into so you know you have one from each year from each mint. . .
I get my type A personality from my father, and over the years I have discovered several odd obsessions that he harbors that remind me that we are truly related. He has, in his golf bag, the cards from every round of golf he's ever played. I have the movie ticket stubs from every movie I've seen at a theater since the age of 12 (he probably has ticket stubs too, I've just never seen them) So, when he developed his "thing" for pennies, it became a bit of an obsession. If you want to, you can trade my dad pennies for "real money". He would rather give you a quarter for your 25 pennies than see you drop a single one of them in a parking lot. He keeps as many as he can, in a wooden bowl in his top drawer, opting to use larger denominations so as to get the greatest number of pennies as change.
Truth be told, he may be one of the reasons the country is having a penny shortage.
There is a tradition in my father's house when his bowl fills with pennies. He gathers his grandchildren together, hoists the large fruit juice jug out of his closet, and sets about having the kids gather the pennies he dumps out on his bed and put them in the jug. One such evening happened Sunday night. I was brought in to document the event:
"This is your inheritance," he tells them. And that's probably true, to some extent. He's been collecting them for a long time, and by the time he finally dies, many years from now, the collection will be huge. I can't imagine the day his progeny has to lug those big fruit juice jugs to a Coinstar machine somewhere and cash them in. . . it will be a sight to behold.
Aubrey offers up an amen to that
Am I a little bit proud of myself that I only gained 1 lb in the last 2 weeks, and only another one the month before? Yes. A little bit.
Don't worry. . . I'm up 23 for the pregnancy, and I'm definitely not starving myself. In fact, with the number of cheese products I've ingested in the past 2 months, it's a small miracle I haven't gained 50 lbs. . .
But the kid needs calcium!!
Tomorrow is ultrasound day. YAY!!
Now that the youngest of the Webster clan is married, my mom decided it was time to stop devoting the backyard to wedding parties and time to start dedicating it to the grandkids. She found a great metal swingset and trampoline in the newspaper and promptly bought them. This is what the yard looked like to start with at 8 am.
First, the sod had to be cut up. Who knew that they made machines for just that purpose? I didn't. It basically cuts down into the grass in strips and across every couple of feet so that the sod can be rolled up and carted away. . . as you can see Jeremy and Ben doing in the following picture:
Once the sod had been pulled up, the debate was had as to what to do with it. Natalie called a lady in her neighborhood who was still needing to put a yard in, and it just so happened that she had people there working in the yard at that very moment. So, instead of throwing out all of that good grass, it filled this great woman's front yard. I think that part made everyone's day. . .
Once the sod was up, as you can see in the above shot, the sprinklers had to be dug up and moved.
The next step (and the last one for the day) was to start on the hole for the trampoline. In order to save the grandkids from broken limbs, it will sit in a big hole in the ground. Easier said than done. #1, it was really bloody hot on Monday. #2, it was about 3:30 pm before said hole was ready to be started and everyone was already exhausted. & #3, the soil in the yard was made mostly of heavy clay and gravel. Not a lot of fun to dig a shovel into. I would say the hole was about 1/3 dug when everyone finally gave up the ghost. The dirt from the hole was relocated to another neighbor's yard and everyone called it a day.
In my advanced state of pregnancy I wasn't allowed to help with any of this process, mind you. I was in charge of the wee ones instead. This was what I watched (along with Carter, and occasionally Aubrey) for a good part of the day while everyone else dug:
Truthfully, by the end of the day, I was as exhausted as everyone else, just in a different way. I was seriously reconsidering my choice to become a mother. Especially to boys. Not that i have a choice any more, and not that it was a rational thing to worry about at this point. . . but it was a very long day.
Much cuter pictures to come in the next post.
We spent our Labor day up in Syracuse helping to install the new playground in my parent's back yard. There was much manual labor by everyone else and much sitting around watching kids by me.
I took lots of pictures. However, I left the camera at home this morning in my haste to make it back up to work (after driving home early this morning). I will post them tomorrow.
I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend.
The third and final DVD I rented the other day was Broken English. I like Parker Posey. She's just quirky and odd enough to add some much needed laughter to a lot of great movies. (like the new Superman, for instance) This movie was touted as a romantic comedy, and I figured it would be light and fun. . . SO not the case.
As much as I hate to admit it, because I seldom do this, I didn't finish watching. About an hour in I realized that there was another half hour to go and I just couldn't bring myself to finish. It was so DEPRESSING. The writing was contrived and bland and the acting was mediocre. I was really really disappointed.
So, long story short, don't rent this movie. It's not romantic, nor is it a comedy. (at least that's true of the first hour, and I can't see the last half hour redeeming it)
As August comes to a close (how on earth did that happen?!) it occurs to me that I am an awful, horrible friend.
I know so many others that share my birth month that I completely, and with no excuse whatsoever, forgot to wish a Happy Year. Where was my brain? What happened to my calendar? Oh, that's right, I have about 5 of those, none of which I ever look at.
And so, in a very late and very pitiful way, I would like to wish a very belated happy birthday to Dallas Petersen (who actually has a birthday in July), Petre Biggs, and Jen Harman. I know there are a lot more than that, but truthfully, I'm still not looking at my calendar, so I can't come up with more than 3 off the top of my head.
I love you all. I hope you had wonderful birthdays. And please forgive my pregnant brain for overlooking your big days!!
It was appropriate that the DVD I watched last night was Driving Lessons.
I started the evening by finally attending Orem City traffic school, to clear my record of the wonderful little speeding ticket I got back in June. I can't imagine traffic school is ever meant to be fun. And it certainly wasn't as bad as it could have been. But seriously, I often wonder why people can't keep their mouths shut in situations like that. Don't they understand that the class will end more quickly if they will just STOP with their snarky comments and questions? NOT something a pregnant woman wants to sit through. EVER.
So I came home and settled in to bed with some popcorn and a movie. I have to say, this really wasn't what I expected. I'm not sure what I expected, actually, but it was quite a bit darker than the preview led me to believe. Laura Linney's accent was pretty atrocious, and I can't quite figure out why they cast her, when there are probably 30 big name British actresses that could easily have played the part.
I like Laura Linney, don't get me wrong, but I don't so much think she was the one for this movie.
Rupert Grint held his own surprisingly well against Julie Walters, and the relationship that they formed was quite sweet. . . The plot, once set up, was a little bit predictable, but I still enjoyed it. It could have done with some better writing, but it wasn't glaringly bad.
I'm determined to watch Broken English tonight, between loads of laundry. I'll let you know how that turns out.
About a week and a half ago I got a phone call from my bank. They were calling to alert me to the fact that there were some weird charges on my account and they wanted to know if I had authorized them or not.
I was impressed. The charges had not even shown up online yet. I had no idea anything weird was even going on. The woman who called me (twice. I didn't pick up the first time, but got a message to call them back) said she would cancel my debit card, that I should destroy it, and they would send me a new one. It would take 7-10 days to get it, so I should use checks or cash in the mean time.
I was a little bugged, but I've gotten through 10 days just fine. In fact, it has actually been pretty eye opening as to how quickly I spend money.
But then today, I noticed there was a new $400 charge on my account that I had never authorized. I was confused, obviously, as my debit card was no longer usable, so I called the bank.
It took my 35 minutes and 3 transfers of departments to even get to the right person. When I did, she told me that not only did the original girl not cancel my card, they had no record of that phone call at all.
SCARY!
Then she transferred me to ANOTHER department to dispute the charge, at which point the automated system basically kicked me out and said it was having technical problems.
SO I went to the bank so I could talk to a real person.
In the end, I basically have to cancel my checking account and start over, just in case. Which is BEYOND annoying.
But more than that, my faith in and happiness with Washington Mutual, is seriously in question. I can't believe how long they kept me on hold today!! WHAT HAPPENED TO CUSTOMER SERVICE?
That said, the guy in the AF branch was incredibly helpful. But their phone service. UGH!!! Also, PLEASE hire people to work on your phone lines that can speak coherently and have beyond a 4th grade education. . . I'm just saying.
We had a crazy week last week, and an equally crazy weekend. We somehow managed to get roped in to working box office/concessions up at the castle for Julius Caesar, despite our best intentions to not be involved at all this year. Also, Ben worked about 80 hours this past week, including a nice long day on Saturday, and I tagged along for a good portion of the after hours stuff.
Yesterday I decided to watch one of the movies I had rented in order to spend some quality couch time. The baby was making it known that he was NOT happy with all the time I'd spent running around and it was time to lay down for a while.
The movie of choice was Music and Lyrics. I had gathered some light movies at Hollywood video, knowing that I didn't want to watch anything heavy or depressing, and since I missed this one in the theater, I started with it.
I have to admit, I liked it. It wasn't Shakespeare, but it was clever. I liked the actors, I liked the script, mostly, and it was just downright fun. I'm an unabashed Hugh Grant fan, so I really got a kick out of him playing the silly 80's pop star.
The other 2 movies waiting for a viewing now are Broken English, starring Parker Posey, which I would have loved to see at Sundance, but it was sold out. And Driving Lessons, with Rupert Grint and Julie Walters. I'll let you know how they are when I get around to watching them.
As much because I was getting stressed out by having that particular picture at the top of my blog as anything else. . . a second post of the day.
I wanted to show off the joy of the fancy new camera. Keep in mind this is all without photoshop to color correct and on all automatic settings. Jeremy & Emily were nice enough to give me a great photography book that will hopefully teach me wonderful things about manual settings. . . since it's been about 15 years since I had a class on the subject.
But in the mean time. . . some beautiful moments:
Aubrey. I hope she keeps those gorgeous blue eyes. They're amazing.
The boys on our trip over to the park to play. They are such good sports. They pose for me whenever I ask.
Nick at the top of the mountain. We took the ski lift up to the top at Sundance. 
Ben and Trish pausing on the trail. 
Some pretty trees. . . because I was getting vertigo trying to shoot down at the valley, I turned the camera up the hill.While I turned 30 years old this weekend, the baby boy is 30 weeks old. . . and that made me realize it's been a very long time since I posted a belly picture. I think the last one was at 23 weeks. And believe me, a lot has changed. . . here's a little proof:
I'm not sure I'll ever get used to looking at pictures of myself pregnant. . . & I'm a little scared to see what the next 2 months are going to do. . . Ben keeps saying he's bucking to be an only child, and I'm inclined to agree. Even before he's born. Remind me of that in a couple of years, will you?
Turning 30 doesn't freak me out as much as I expected it to. . . maybe it's because I don't feel as far "behind" as I did when I turned 28 (which was the really hard one for me) or even 29. Life is accelerating rather more quickly than I can keep up with lately, so I feel like 30 is OK. I can't see myself having a nervous breakdown this weekend or anything like that.
That said, it is a milestone. And Ben, being the fabulous husband that he is, wanted to celebrate it in a big way. He considered trips. . . but I wear out so quickly these days that it's not very realistic for me to spend a week in high heat and humidity or walking the streets of NYC, let alone fly long distances. So he went another direction.
Last night, we picked out something I have been wanting for a very very long time.
I'm no photographer, in the professional sense. I work with photography day after day and I know what my pictures look like compared to the people who really know what they are doing. Having a good camera does not, in itself, make someone a good photographer.
But I'll tell you what. . the pictures I take look a lot better coming from this fancy new thing than my little point and shoot. . . and that's close enough for me.
Prepare yourselves. . . you thought I took a lot of pictures before? You ain't seen nothin' yet.
I would like to take a moment this morning to give a shout out to one of the things that has made the nausea of pregnancy just a little bit easier. I was ignorant to it's existence until our trip to San Diego, where Ben's sister Tiffany introduced us to it's joyful qualities. I wish I had known about it far earlier in my pregnancy.
The product of which I speak is called Metromint water. 
A lot of people swear by ginger to curb their nausea, but it never really helped me. What did seem to help, especially during the day, was a mint or a piece of gum. I would take handfuls of the free mints at the door of restaurants just so I had a stash in my purse. Peppermint just seemed to sooth my stomach.
One of the major issues of pregnancy (as those of you who have been pregnant can attest) is dehydration. If you don't drink enough water, especially in the summer, you start to have contractions. And believe me, whether or not they are actual labor, when you are only 6-7 months along, they're scary. So, as far as I'm concerned, anything that will serve the purpose of hydration while simultaneously making my stomach less sick is a perfect product.
It's tough to find in Utah, but totally worth the search. (you can buy it at the grocery store in California) We found it at Good Earth in Provo, but only in a small quantity. We found the biggest stash at Wild Oats in Salt Lake. And I'm not going to lie, we bought a lot. I found that the Spearamint flavor is just as good as the peppermint and I drink at least a bottle a day. Ben drinks just as much though. It's not just for the pregnant ladies.
Go get some and try it. I know it sounds a little odd, but believe me, it's so good. All natural, and a great way to avoid all of the sugar from those mints in your purse.
As a celebration of the time Chandy has been with our crazy little department (she's leaving for a British adventure), Matt decided some fun was in order. We had a nice lunch at Fuddruckers and then spent the afternoon at Boondocks.
Now, Boondocks is a place full of crazy fun things to do, but decidedly fewer fun things for a pregnant woman. I decided to play photographer of the adventure instead. Here are a couple of highlights:
Bumper Boats
And Go Karts
It was way to hot outside to stay out all afternoon, so after a game of putt putt we went inside to use up our tokens in the arcade. We decided to pool our tickets and redeem them for a team mascot. This is what we came up with:
His name is The Annoying Thing, and we are pretty proud to have him around.
The rest of the evening was spent up in Ogden celebrating Ben's parent's 40th wedding at Tony's pizza, a Hess family favorite. We had a nice big crowd of about 23 of us there, and though it was stiflingly hot in the restaurant, we had some great pizza, great conversation, and had an overall great time. 
Ben won't be thrilled that I posted that last picture of him with Isabella, but I thought it was funny :)
Tonight starts a straight week of back to back craziness. A big part of the craziness relates to Ben's parents visiting from AZ. But some of it is the result of us not getting stuff done earlier in the summer, and very little time left before Ben starts his many trainings, followed by school starting.
For instance, have we done ANYTHING to get the nursery ready for the baby? Oh no. Save painting a couple of squares of color on the wall to test the colors, we have yet to begin. That's one order of business for this weekend. We have a plan and some paint colors chosen. . . but we also picked a rather complicated stripe pattern, as well as a chair rail to execute, so we'll see how far we get.
Also serving to crowd our week, an activity at Heritage Halls tonight, an acting workshop for Ben on Sunday, a 40th anniversary party for Ben's parents, a cooking class at Sur La Table that I got Ben for our anniversary, and a visit (preceeded by a lot of house cleaning) from Ben's parents to our house. . . which they've yet to see. For those of you who know what my normal post-work routine consists of these days (basically a lot of time on the couch with my feet up) please say a little prayer for me.
I may just keel over, or go into labor, neither of which are good at this point. . .
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