In Need of a Change...

I may be too big of a wimp but I am in need of a hairstyle change. I'm super bored with my hair! Not that I do it much these days, but it would be nice to have something shorter and more manageable, especially for when after baby comes. Here are a couple that I like... my favorite it probably the first picture, but I don't know if I love any of them and I lack the patience to browse images online for longer than 10 seconds. Also is it weird that they are all blonde?????

Half Baked

Maybe Spencer and I are the only ones who will find the title funny, but I don't care because I am halfway done with this pregnancy! I am very very excited about this if you couldn't tell... It has definitely been a super tough first half for me, but this week things started looking up. I convinced my doctor to remove my PICC line on Wednesday and it has been amazing!!!! And when I say convinced him, that is exactly what I did. I knew that emotionally I could not handle

that purple tube inside me any longer. I felt like I wasn't good enough or healthy enough to carry this baby. I felt weak and handicap. I had lots of spare time to think and question my ability to be pregnant and become a mom and I found myself becoming increasingly depressed. So I began to work harder and focus on drinking water (thank you Julie) and to eat anything I could to become more healthy and to prove my ability. Even though I hadn't gained as much weight as was hoped for and I still do not exhibit regular eating habits (still so sad about this) my doctor listened to my concerns and granted me my wish. I now have the ability to itch my arm, a chore that I have never found so glorious! I will never take that for granted ever again! I am able to get more comfortable at night and therefore, I get more sleep. Not much, but a noticeable

difference. I don't have to worry about all those medications and IV's anymore, and deal with the fear that I may accidentally push an air bubble into my heart. And, perhaps the best part ever, I can also take a shower!!!!! I would like to believe that Spencer appreciates my willingness to bathe multiple times during the day just because I can. The down side of this blessing is that I

have this hole in my arm that looks super nasty ( I considered adding a picture here but it's just too nasty and graphic) and because my arm was covered with tape and all that good stuff for so

long, I have this lovely rash covering my arm. Pretty much looks like I have leprosy. This is why

long sleeves were created. But I am so so grateful to my doctor for freeing me of that experience

after 2 months! It was crazy watching the nurse take the two foot long purple tube out of my arm (of course I watched). The blood didn't bother me but the feeling of that tube sliding out of my body was just bizarre! My arm is still super sore and healing but I already feel

so much happier!

(It was very very sunny)

Since learning that I am carrying a little girl, I have become focused on choosing nursery colors as well as becoming super crafty and making bows for her in every color.

Since I am still weak and frequently nauseous, it has been wonderful to have something to pass time instead of just watching Netflix. I decided to have a black and white nursery with splashes of red and turquoise. Both Spencer and I agreed that we don't want to define our daughter with the color pink, and since she will be well accessorized with flowers and bows and colorful leg warmers and tiny pierced ears (I get to do this because I didn't want to know the sex of the baby and Spencer did, so this was my bribe) I think I can put her in green and blue and gray and people will know she is a girl. Pretty sure I will sock the first person in the face who mistakes my child for a boy. The Internet is amazing (understatement) and I have found so many patterns and ideas for baby girl Ahlstrom that I plan on staying fairly busy up until July 15th, or sooner (fingers crossed for July 4th). I am becoming increasingly aware that watching every season of Private Practice on Netflix is probably not the best idea since it focuses on pregnancy and basically everything that could go wrong... But it is so hard to stop watching it when I am in the very last season with only a few episodes left.

I am beginning to realize what an amazing Dad Spencer will be. He has been searching for the

perfect stuffed animal for our daughter (weird) and yesterday he found this adorable and ridiculously soft pink elephant for her.

He constantly rubs my belly when she is overly excited to calm her down and allow me to relax. He has shown so much love and concern for me and our tiny human, and he never fails to tell me how beautiful I look every day even though I feel like I look like garbage all the time! He's pretty awesome and I'm sure his awesome hubandness will transfer into awesome fatherness.

I have lately been feeling the need to be more wifey and motherly, even though I am still sick. So I have started making more elaborate homemade dinners. It's takes me 3 times longer than the

regular person to cook and I always have to bring over a chair from our table to the counter to sit while I make dinner, but Spencer has been loving it. Pretty sure it's pretty pathetic to have to stop and rest while you are sitting down and making food, but at least I'm getting dinner made. I have made fajita enchiladas, lasagna, homemade mac and cheese, and pizza. Only one fire so far.

(Yes, that would be me taking pictures of the flames and not putting the fire out. Don't worry,

Spencer was behind me hustling to take care of it). About 5 minutes later he gave me a hard

time for humming "We didn't start the fire", but I just couldn't help but to think about The Office episode where Ryan starts the fire... Oh well. It made Spencer laugh anyway. We have learned that I can definitely NOT tolerate tuna... I have tried it several ways sushi (you can eat it when your pregnant.... well my body doesn't let me, but normal people can), tuna melts, and tuna helper. Every time we got a bad reaction, if you know what I mean... And yes I asked my doctor before I ate tuna. There are so many crazy rumors about what you can and can't eat when you're pregnant. It gets a little exhausting trying to figure it all out. Thank goodness for useless

apps, like the one I have that tells me what I can and can't eat.

I have been amazed by pregnancy and the effects it has on my body. So far... this is what I have learned...

• I love eating anything orange and cheesy. (This is my daily snack... I cannot get enough
  carrots)
  
  
  
  
  
• I crave healthy, which is weird and totally opposite of what was expected. But I suppose that is probably a good thing.
• I get crazy restless legs at night. Warm baths usually will cure this long enough for me to fall asleep.
• I have the most bizarre dreams ever! I reawaken my past every night! Plus they are so vivid and crazy it just blows my mind.
• I get tired to quickly! Yesterday, Spencer and I wanted to get out of the house and we went to the driving range with my family... 1 hour out of the house usually requires about 3 hours recovery time at home. We have to make plans way ahead of time so that I know
  that I need to rest in order to be able to go out.
  
  
  
• I am super itchy! My entire body itches all the time especially my legs! I have never used so much lotion in my life, but WOW! Super annoying, the itching.
• I have absolutely no bladder control!
• Heartburn is the worst! I had no idea what this was or what it felt like, but after 3 days I finally figured it out. It was so bad that I was having trouble breathing. My doctor told me to take Prilosec and it started working on the very first day! That stuff is AMAZING!!!
• I have to drink I glass of juice in order to eat breakfast. I never use to eat breakfast, but if I don't eat it everyday I get super sick and nauseous. My favorite juice of the week is grape
  juice. LOVE IT!!!
• LENT is hard to celebrate while pregnant. Is celebrate even the right word? I have participated in LENT for the past 3 years and have always gave up soda and fast food. Well, only 3 years into it this year fast food went out the window. I'm still holding strong on no soda so that is going to have to work this year.
• In order to sleep I must where a breathe right strip across my nose, since my nose gets so stuffy that it becomes impossible to breathe.

I have never loved my body, ever, so I find it weird that I am actually embracing my body as it

increases in size. I love the way my belly looks... never thought I would say that ever in my life, but I am as comfortable as you can be being pregnant in my body! Clothes, well mostly pants, are starting not to fit. And I find that I mostly just wear sweats and t-shirts when I am at home.

I love love love my sweats. I also love that my little girl gives me the reassurance that I crave and that I need by constantly moving. I have already made her mad several times by playing music (Les Miserables) on my belly to wake her up so that I can feel her move. It wakes her up every time, but she retaliates by keeping me up when I want to sleep. I'm sensing a wonderful mother/daughter relationship.

Tired of reading yet? Thinking it's time to wrap this up... I just want to say thank you to all those people who have been so supportive and so helpful during my pregnancy so far. I am hoping the second half is easier and that I don't have to have so much help. The prayers have definitely been heard and have been a blessing in our lives.

In other news... our offical moving date has been set for April 14th!!!! Rexburg, here we come!

Also we walked into the Old Navy at Jordan Landing and walked into this... Seriously? Who does this? Yes, Spencer and I laughed. We are children. But still. Not something you expect to see when you walk into a store.

Oscar Favorites!!!

I am in love with Penelope Cruz's dress... This seems this is the case year after year. It's so simple and the color is great! It's not all hookerish and blinged out either. Just GORGEOUS!

My favorite Oscar winner of the night was Mr. Bret Mckenzie. He is a member of Flight of the Conchords and I love that show so much and felt that he was always a little over shadowed by Jermaine, so I was just really happy to see him get his moment and win. Plus he is just so tiny...

Our BIG News!!!!

In case you haven't already heard.....

We are having a GIRL!!! Spencer and I have kind of always known it was a girl, but now it's a sure thing! We hadn't had an ultrasound at all yet and I was getting nervous especially since I have been so sick, so we decided to just go and get one so that I could emotionally remain sane. Seriously, having a PICC line in and being in bed most of the day has freaked me out and made

me a little crazy. So I feel very relieved to know that she is okay and has a good heartbeat and is actually there. She is super stubborn, which is not a surprise... My Dad says serves me right....

but she is also super active. We have had a lot of questions about names and what not, and we have decided that we are not going to name her before we see her because we want to get to know her a little before hand. Our favorite names are Ellyette and we would call her Elly and we also like Lyla... but you never know, we may come up with something else.

Uyiyuuuyyiyiyuu

I am super scared and super sad to not be around my family during the last months of my pregnancy, but my Mom will come up for when baby girl Ahlstrom decides to show up. I am also sad to end my coaching days at Copper Hills. Coaching has been a huge learning experience for me and it has also been a lot of fun. But Spencer and I know that going to Idaho is the right decision for our family right now.

Super exciting things happening in our world! Hope that everything in your world is just as awesome!

I Want to Sing Again...

I am a little annoyed that blogger doesn't allow you to upload sound clips.... Really? Remember when I recorded a song on my IPod last year and then my Dad used it to teach during one of his classes at BYU Idaho? I know the video is a little cheesy, and my recording starts at 50 seconds in to the video, but listening to this the other day really made me want to learn new songs and record again, but I do not have the energy. I found a song that I would love to sing and play but I am too exhausted to do it and when I sing lately it makes me gag. That makes me really sad.... hopefully someday soon. I know it's not the best recording, and it could've been better if I had used a real piano instead of a keyboard, but I think it's decent... Someday soon I will record something again... even if it's just on my IPod. For now my baby will continue to listen to and love Les Miserables. Have I mentioned how excited I am that my baby moves (dances) like crazy when I play any song, especially Little People, from Les Miserables? I LOVE it!!!! Not even my first intake of caffeine (Baja Blast from T.B. THE BEST) being pregnant on Taco Bell Day made the baby move that much! Hooray for music!

Happy Taco Bell Day!

I have never been a fan of Valentine's Day. Most Valentine's Day's growing up I had a special someone but something always felt a little off to me. 8 years ago when I got to college, even though I was in my first serious relationship, I decided to forgo the presents and flowers and ask if we could just go to Taco Bell instead. I spent 2 more Valentine's Day's with this boy and every year we did the same thing... Taco Bell. After we broke up I continued this delicious tradition

every year and Spencer and I enjoyed this tasty tradition last night for our first February 14th

together. In our house it's known as Taco Bell Day... not sure what I'm going to do when the kids get old enough to understand what's going on, but we'll just wait and see. But really, even though

the baby did not love it (someday it will!!! All of my children will) it was amazing and it's genius. We spent $12.50 exactly and got just as full and satisfied (well Spencer was satisfied... as was I for the first little while) as we would have gotten from spending $100 at some fancy place. I'm

glad that Spencer didn't question my weird tradition and was just as excited as I was to celebrate Taco Bell Day. He's a good man!!!!

Yes... this was taken before we ate... 18 weeks!!!

Please baby... start liking my favorite food ever!!! Please!!!!

Sweethearts

I was so lucky to be able to have Spencer accompany me to the Copper Hills Sweethearts dance this year. It's one of the biggest fundraisers for the cheerleaders and last year I had a blast! I just love seeing all my girls dressed up and gorgeous! Sorry the pictures are blurry... I only had my phone on me. This year I spent all day in bed sick and then took forever to get ready and sat in a chair most of the dance. Spencer and I did hit the floor for a slow song, which was amazing, but mostly we just people watched. And let me tell you, the people watching was GOOD! I have been pretty good about hiding the baby bump with my usual outfit of sweats and baggy t-shirts, so the cheerleaders went a little crazy when they were able to see the bump squeezed into my favorite dress that I probably stretched out too much now. My stomach looked HUGE!!!

I was even a little surprised! I also looked super cool accessorizing my outfit with my lovely PICC line... it's what everyone is wearing didn't you know?!?!

Other pregnancy updates... I will be 18 weeks tomorrow and am now craving anything orange. I love cheesy things and orange things! My baby moves like crazy and keeps me awake all the time. Other than that, nothing else is really going on. I am trying to drink more water so that by the time I go to Nationals at Disneyland next month I don't have to bring my IV with me. Thank you to everyone for your support and kind words during this trial. I know that it will end with a blessing and I cannot wait until then!

My Hero!

No sooner had I posted my last post when I got a text from my super awesome Aunt Julie letting me know that she had a large amount of hospital mugs and would be more than happy to share one with me. And it has been amazing! I absolutely love it! I definitely plan on seeing how many I can leave the hospital with when The Situation is born. My arm is still crazy sore... armpit included. But I have survived my IV's, which is good because I was super nervous I would get too much air in the tubing and then I would die, but it's been good, just not comfortable. It's nice to know though that people read my blogs and that some actually care about what's going on.

JULIE... YOU ARE MY HERO!!!

An Unexpected Hospital Visit...

I knew that I had a problem last night when my catheter started bleeding out every time I flushed it and that eventually I couldn't flush even flush it... this came after less than 48 hours of getting it put in, and this was my second one in a row that went bad after 2 days. These lines technically are suppose to last 7 days. Basically my veins and my body were done. After 4 weeks I don't blame them, but I'm still sick enough that I need to have the fluids and medications. So I called my doctor to find out what my options were, and the only option I was given was to have a PICC line put in. What is a PICC line you ask? At least I don't think many of you may know... I had no idea and I totally googled it and freaked myself out. The definition from the paper I was given at the hospital reads;

A peripherally inserted central catheter, often called a "PICC line", is a long, very thin, flexible tube that is usually placed into one of the large veins in

the arm, often just above or just below the elbow. This tube is threaded into a large vein above the right side of the heart.

I got pretty emotional and super overwhelmed when they didn't let Spencer come back to the x-ray room with me, but I was more emotional after it was over and I saw him waiting. I am a pretty big wuss and was scared in the first place, so to be completely alone, with super nice strangers of course, it was just all unfamiliar and scary. The thing that freaked me out the most was watching the x-ray machine and watching the tube be inserted into my arm and through my chest. It actually made me sick to my stomach and usually medical procedures don't bother me

so much.

My arm is super sore, so I'm hoping that will ease up in the next few days or by

tonight... either one. It basically feels like a migraine in my arm. Anything and everything kills when it has to do with my arm. Moving it, bumping it, you name it. My chest is super tight and feels a little uncomfortable, but I may just be imagining that, or it could just be anxiety. It's weird to think there's a tube inside my chest, right next to my heart, and I'm super freaked out that I am going to do something wrong when it comes to the medication and fluids... but hopefully that fear will ease after a few days and a lot of prayer. I'm so grateful that Spencer was able to be there with me, kind of, and that he has been so supportive. I know that my feelings of being overwhelmed and depressed about everything can be exhausting and tough for him, but he never falters. He's a good man. Hopefully I won't have to have the PICC line in very long, but whatever I need to do to have a healthy baby, I will do. This baby may have caused a lot of stress and worry thus far, but I would do anything for it. Even have a tube inside my body to make sure it's getting everything it needs to survive.

PS - St. Mark's Hospital has valet parking! Who knew???

Also, who knows how to get your hands on one of those big mugs from the hospital??? I really want one for water so that I can start drinking more and get off of these IV's. Need one of those big mugs ASAP.

It's Groundhog Day!!!

I am now into my 3rd day of being 26... heavy groan... no birthday post because I'm kind of over my birthday and I was sick so not the best day. I do have an amazing mother and sister who I spent lunch with and a fantastic husband who made sure I was comfortable. Don't you love how facebook replaces texts and texts replaces phone calls? I really don't. I got a ton of messages on facebook, a few texts (thank you) and no phone calls... I don't think I like that very much. And yes, I am guilty of just posting a quick post on facebook when I should've called. So to those of you who I have offended... I am sorry. Anyway, today is Groundhog Day so I will be spending the night in my bed with my awesome hubby watching this movie!

I love it and I watch it year round, but how can you even pass February 2nd without watching it? I also love Bill Murray! I
was bummed to read that little Mr. Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow, because I think that's BS. We haven't even had a winter here in Utah (and I am NOT complaining about this! I have loved the lack of snow) so how can we expect 6 more weeks of that? So I did some research and discovered that our little friend Phil has only been accurate 39% ever! So then why do we celebrate this furry little dude every year?

I will admit, it is on my to do list to go to Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania someday and bask in the events surrounding Groundhog Day, but I really think that Phil does nothing except add to the lack of credibility of the weather man. How great would that be? To have a job where people turn on the TV to watch you but then actually expect you to be wrong? No fault. My kind of job! Anyway Happy Groundhog Day!!!!

PS - Groundhog Day is my official February holiday, due to the fact that I do not celebrate or recognize Valentine's Day as a holiday.... I bet there are enough people out there who feel the same way and we should start a club or something...