Friday, Friday

More random musings . . .

Still addicted to Facebook Scrabble and Pinterest, which is not a good thing if you are trying to spend less time on the computer.

I'm in the middle of re-reading the Little House series. So far, my favorite is still Little House in the Big Woods. It makes it seem like there is something magical about living in that time period. Although really I am so so so so so so (infinitely) thankful that I don't have to butcher my own meat, sow my own wheat, make my own clothes, only get one piece of candy twice a year, sit still without saying a word on Sundays, and live in that sexist of a culture altogether (a woman's work just never ended, I swear).

In Knoxville, there is a train track around every corner. You can't escape them. Needless to say, our house is less than half a mile from one (if that). I definitely don't notice the train whistles as much as I used to, but good grief, the one that goes by at 11:15 every night sounds like a haunted train. It makes me shudder every time I hear it thanks to this Stephen King movie that I've been traumatized by since Andrea and I accidentally watched it when we were 12.

Elder Eyring's conference talk gave me the rejuvination to get more on the ball with my reading of the Book of Mormon. Lately, I haven't been as good as I used to be and I have no excuse. Last night I started completely over, including reading the testimonies of the witnesses, etc.

I'm going home to Utah for Thanksgiving (just bought my ticket today). It will be the first time I've been home for Thanksgiving in nine years and the first time my entire family will be together in almost a year and a half. I'm mostly excited to get to know my darling nephew better and to watch he and James play together. I'm jealous every time a family member goes to Sweden and comes back sharing the cutest stories in the world of him.

I'm almost 17 weeks. I feel so much better these days. In fact, sometimes an entire day will go by where I forget I'm pregnant. I'm still wearing my regular clothes and I don't think I've entirely "popped" just yet. In fact, sometimes I swear I was bigger a few weeks ago. Am I shrinking? Is that even possible?

I don't know what it is, but the second I found out I was pregnant I started sleeping horribly. I can't fall asleep as easy and I wake up several times a night to go to the bathroom. I don't remember having to go this much this early on with James, but it just plain stinks. I also can't get through the day unless I try and have a little nap when James does. I'm a horrible napper, so most of the time this doesn't work, but at least laying down with my eyes closed for a few minutes helps.

We keep asking James if he's going to have a brother or a sister. This is his usual response: "I don't want a brother. I don't want a sister! Sisters make me angry." Okay then, what do you want? "I want a dog!" Reminds me of my brother . . . 

For the first time ever, I attempted to do some grocery shopping without putting James in the cart. He was in total heaven. I thought he'd be a little rascal and run off and I'd end up putting him in the cart kicking and screaming anyway, but he didn't do half bad. He got distracted a few times with a display of giant stuffed animals, and aside from walking along the cart with a huge smile on his face throwing random things in while saying "We need this and we need this and we need THIS!" I had to be sneaky and take those random items (like Powerade, salad dressings, a 2 lb bag of cheese, etc.) out while he wasn't looking. Otherwise he'd act confused/offended/annoyed, go back to the exact same items and put them back in the cart again.

I helped co-host a party for a bunch of ladies in my neighborhood last night. I've been nervous about it for weeks. I don't know the ladies in my neighborhood well, aside from the 70 +-year-old women who live next door to me, they're all fairly well-off and in our current tight-wad state it's kind of intimidating. Plus, I know people around here think Mormons are evil. So, I was nervous about going. Of course, I always overreact. I had a really good time and hopefully made some new friends. Yesterday, while pulling together some last minute things, the other girl hosting asked if she thought we had enough wine for the party. I told her I had no idea and for a second I thought she was going to ask me to stop by the liquor store (to which I would have then had to explain to her that I don't drink and I really wouldn't even know what to get, etc.), which made me realize that in my 30-year existence I have never, not once, been asked to drink or asked to buy it, etc. Is that weird? That makes me sound so sheltered, but I guess I've just been really conscious about staying out of those situations altogether or at least friends/co-workers have just known not to ask. I'm okay with that.

Earlier this week, along with a few other women, I spoke to our Relief Society about ways to save money. I kind of felt like a hypocrite. Since mid-summer when my hormones shifted drastically, I have barely even looked at a coupon. I was so averse to so many foods that just looking at a coupon or reading the grocery ads made me gag. Seriously. It was the weirdest thing. Even now, I have a sort of hard time looking at them. Needless to say, I haven't been saving as much money as I used to, at least not at the grocery store. I need to get back in gear though because I hate spending more money than I need to.

Thanks to Pinterest, I discovered a cleaning schedule I think will work for me, as well as a "40-days to decluttering your home" type list that I have already started. Once a day you're given a different drawer or closet to go through. So far, I've decluttered the front of our fridge and the laundry room. Today I am going to tackle our gift wrapping closet (yes, we have one of those--it's an oddly shaped closet that nothing else will fit in). I know that's only a few places, but it feels good to even get a little bit done.

Most little boys James' age love Thomas the Train. I hate Thomas the Train. The first time I watched the show I thought "Wow, that train is so obnoxious." Then I watched it once more and it was even worse. So, as mean as it is, we do not watch Thomas at our house. Ever. Because I cannot handle it. However, we went to TJMaxx to pick up a baby present today and there had to be a whole display of Thomas toys that James couldn't get enough of. He proudly exclaimed "Look, mommy, Thomas!!!" (Like it was a long lost friend.) Then I felt like a bad mom. So now I'm trying to convince myself that it's for his own good. Same with Barney. I just can't do it.

I love fall. Everyone says that this time of year, I know. But I really do love it more than any other time of year. Yesterday I bought two pie pumpkins to experiment cooking with. We have 2 cans of pumpkin sitting in our food storage but I just couldn't help myself.

Thanks to Pinterest, I've started doing some craft projects. I still refuse to call myself a crafter because I feel so silly and out of place doing projects like that. Plus, I don't own a sewing machine or a hot glue gun, so I think that disqualifies me on the spot for being referred to as an official "crafter." But, it's kind of fun to make something out of nothing. It made me realize that even though I never thought I would become one of those so not me Mormon moms who craft and stay at home with the kids all day, sometimes things just change. Although every time I watch Fox News I feel a twinge of homesickness, I wouldn't trade Jamers for anything. I used to hate grassroots campaigning, walking door to door, handing out flyers, etc., but since I've been away from it long enough, it kind of sounds fun now and as soon as someone from a certain campaign emails me back on whether there is an office in Knoxville yet, I am going to start volunteering. I wonder how James will feel about coming with me.