On the Homestretch!

View from the belly

37 week belly - its getting big!

Tai Grant got a picture of me carrying two watermelons!! (35 weeks pregnant)

Well today i went in for my Baby Dr. appt and found out i'm sitting at 3 cm dilated! with my dr gone next week i even got my membranes stripped today (which was an unexpectedly painful/not fun experience…) I've had a ton of contractions, but nothing consistent. Ive checked my hospital bag a hundred times, cleaned the kitchen, and put the kids to bed. And now???…well i'm not really sure what to do with myself. I'll spend a portion of tonight finishing the Book of Mormon - i only have 15 pages left. which is neat. And a lot more time just sitting on the couch self-reflecting. I always get this way right before a baby - it really brings life's priorities into perspective for me. Will the baby care that i cleaned out the garage? washed the baseboards? finished a quilt? obviously no. But they are all things i *thought* were so important to accomplish before she got here. Today i stopped everything to help Jones finish a puzzle that was much to difficult for him, but he always tries because of all the trains on the picture. It was so fun to cheer him on and see the joy it gave him to place every piece ever-so-carefully. Thats why i've decided to step back and basically quit Peony and Plum, my little headband business with my friend Taylor. I feel like its just getting in the way of the small things? and letting me truly enjoy every second with my littles. Jones decided to start talking so much this week and i was shocked to see how much it changed him from baby to toddler. I can't believe Lane and I are on our third child, that we finally get a girl, and somehow our other "babies" are in primary, and making decisions, and learning how to be all around independent. I'm guilty of thinking sometimes that i'll enjoy them once the house is clean, or i've made a dozen headbands, or something else equally trivial. I need to be here for them. NOW. with no distractions. Which is hard for me, i like to be creative and a lot of times that is done when i'm alone, making something i think is beautiful and different. but i think i've finally realized that that part of my life needs to be shelved and i need to find other ways to bring that creativity out. I want my kids to learn to be creative!! i feel like its been such a blessing in my life, and a really neat way of expressing myself positively. So that is my new focus, my kids! even though i should've realized it a little earlier. My mom said that is the one thing she regrets most, is putting her creative interests above her children - and i'm trying really hard not to have regrets raising Locke and Jones. I'm so far from perfect its laughable, but that little bit of extra time needs to be spent with my family, not holed up in my craft room while the kids and lane play without me. So with some new goals and resolve to become a better mother i'm heading to bed. And hopefully waking up with painful contractions…wish me luck!

Last Relief Society activities

Our activities are now quarterly so we only have to plan 4 activities a year. The RS birthday dinner was  2 months ago and we went with a bright sunny look with a covenant theme. On each table we had a mason jar with conversation starters that were covenant-related and after eating and mingling we had our Relief Society president introduce the theme for this year, The power, love, and joy of covenant keeping. It was a simple program and made the night flow really nicely. Sometimes i always think i need to have a complicated, amazing program so this year was really nice to simplify!

For dinner we had a "pasta bar" with homemade alfredo and spagetti sauce, rolls, veggies, and cake. It turned really yummy! and worked really well. I was worried about the pasta sticking but a bit of olive oil fixed that! 

We even set the tables all fancy! ha i love making and effort and having the ladies feel special - they love it!

We got new tablecloths which were SO NICE! but i forgot to wash and iron them before the activity - spray bottles to the rescue! the chair ties are tiny black and white polka fabric from walmart on sale. They worked perfect! 

These were the cute favors for each girl to take home, i got the containers at the dollar store (12 for a dollar!) and everything else was from my craft room. The twine represented the actual covenant we make with heavenly father, and inside were little chocolates we made with a Vernal Temple mold we found online.

The centerpieces were all leftovers from Kennedy's wedding! so that came in handy! 

I made the wreath from dollar store flowers, and everything else i already had. 

With the leftover dollar store flowers and some scrapbook paper i made this quick banner for the stage. It was easy, fast, and looked really cute! 

The night was a big success, our dinners always have a nice turnout. 

Last week we had another activity I didn't take any pictures of! but we invited the young women to come enjoy an Ice Cream Social with us. At first we played a fun get-to-know-you game, then split into teams and played a ton of minute-to-win-it games! The ladies had SO much fun with this, the funniest part of the night was when little old 90 year old Wilma won out of everyone getting a cookie from her forehead to her mouth the fastest! i died laughing, she was shockingly fast! Then we enjoyed ice cream with a million toppings. It was a perfect summer activity! This fall we are planning on another preparedness workshop, so that will take a bit of work, but i'll post pictures and let you know how it went!