happy happenings and other ramblings

(just another name for a random-non-sensical post, which gives me the perfect opportunity to dump all the random-non-sensical photos i've collected on my phone the last few weeks)

hi it's me.
this is what i look like today.

 ...and i'm still growing.
(unnecessary side note: it is really hard to get a good pregnancy photo...let alone take one of yourself. but i think i have only taken like 2 actual belly shots this entire pregnancy. like i've mentioned before, poor poor 2nd pregnancy. gets totally overshadowed by the first.).

people are asking me now questions like this:
"so are you about 2 weeks away now?" i wish.
"how soon till that baby pops right out of you?" i hope that never happens. sounds like a balloon circus trick. one that would totally freak me out.
"please tell me you're close to the end??" how close is close?
"your due date is September...?" no. not till the middle of OCTOBER. though September is sounding mighty nice.

i know most people don't mean harm by such questions.
i probably have asked a potpourri of them to other pregos in my past. makes me wanna whack my pre-prego-Marci-version-of-myself over the head with a newspaper. hopefully they knew me well enough to know i didn't have a clue what i was talking about/asking.

but just a reminder of what i looked like the day before delivery:

i was huge.
so yes, i still have a ways to go.

anyway- things are going well lately.
i thought i'd tell you about some of our happy happenings...some relating to pregnancy (since it's pretty much invading all my space...including my mind..these days), and some not-so-much about pregnancy (because let's be honest, Ellie is pretty much my world...so i have to put the "i'm pregnant" card aside 99% of the time).

•  i'm contracting a ton, which freaks me out sometimes. like they come on so strong that i get all out of breath and actually have to sit down at the store (which i've noticed, there aren't lots of places to sit down in most stores. go figure). Ellie gets very concerned when i start breathing heavily. she'll always say, "are you ok, Mama?" "Mama, are you not feeling good?" she's so sweet, it kills me. anyway, even though the contracting freaks me out sometimes, it's also pretty exciting. this is really going to happen. i'm not going to be pregnant forever. we really will have another human around here (all thoughts that are constantly racing in my mind, and of which i am convincing myself of regularly).

• we plan to lay sod this weekend! which means we'll have grass in our backyard! poor M. he's been working back there so hard in all his free moments...which just have been way too few...especially with all the travel the last few months. but all our patience and his hard work will be paid off when we have some lush green grass to lay out a blanket on...or to put our kiddie pool on. i have to admit, i'm pretty stinkin' excited to graduate from being the super-ghetto-fly-mom who puts her kiddie pool on the front lawn for all the passerby's to see. i can't wait to have a backyard! (can you tell i'm just a little too excited about this??)

• i finally jumped on the "team cool" bandwagon and started Hunger Games! in fact, i can't believe i'm blogging right now instead of reading. it's always thrilling to have a new read-- and a good one at that.

• i finally bought my first item for baby girl. a little sleeper to bring her home in from the gap.

 it's just simple, but so sweet.
i knew as soon as i bought something, i'd have opened a can of worms...which has definitely happened. who could resist these teal little shoes? 

and this back + white alcatraz sweater? (picture to come momentarily).
seriously. baby clothes are the cutest. i've been having fun getting the old things out and oogling over everything again. though she'll be born/go through different seasons, baby sister will definitely get to wear some of my favorite Ellie things-- and that just makes me happy :). dressing up baby girls is the best.

• Halloween is only 2 months away! i love Halloween. so much (but i do find it slightly odd that two weeks ago, Costco already had it's Christmas decorations out...that's a little over-zealous, don't you think? i mean, it's 100 degrees outside here today. a little hard for me to think about Christmas lights and peppermint candycanes...(though it is secretly quite thrilling to see it all again, too!)). anyway, we finally decided on our family costume ensemble. (you know me and my crazy fetish with getting the whole family to dress up together...poor M. see here and here for previous costume ensembles....don't worry, i promised him since i made him wear tights last year, he'd be something FAR less embarrassing this year...and i'm keeping to my word (though it's been hard)). anyway, so now i've been looking for items to complete the ensemble for several days now...and i think it's going to be really cute + fun. though, it is on the border of cheesy + dorky. but i guess that's what you get with family ensembles.  anyway, i've been so excited about Halloween that i bought Ellie some new jammies that are pink with bones on them. 

she had them in black last year (and actually still fits in them...weirdest jammies ever- kind of like the pants in the sisterhood of the traveling pants that fit multiple sizes) and we have loved those to pieces, so i had to do a repeat buy. cool thing is, i bought some for baby sister too (back to my "opening the can of worms with buying one thing" dilemma.......shhh, don't tell M. they're "gifts..." :)). anyway, of course i had to put Ellie in them the other night....

and i admit, it looked a little silly to have her in long-sleeved jammies eating a popsicle because it was still so hot outside.

• we're going to Disneyland next week! seriously. we are so excited. we decided a few months ago that it would probably be good for Ellie to have one last trip with us before her world is foreverly shaken and rocked and twisted and turned (ie shared with another human). it was good timing, since M is in desperate need of a break from work...and i always love a reason to A) visit mi familia and B) party hard, Disney style/So Cal style. so here's a question for you: we haven't bought our tickets to Disneyland yet. any suggestions for getting cheap tickets? maybe you know someone trying to get rid of some? let me know. i'd be verrrry interested :)

• i'm kinda obsessed with doing new hairdo's on Ellie. luckily she is a trooper..and if i have sesame street on, she'll let me tug and pull as much as i want...most days. i love when Ellie's hair is all done up cute! i just can't wait for it to thicken up a bit. when does that happen, exactly? i feel like it shoulda happened by now...

• Ellie says lots and lots of funny things lately.i'm trying my best to write them down as they happen- but it's hard to keep up!
  
  earlier this week, when hearing the the guitar come on a song, she said, "the guitar, like Gammy plays the guitar!" wow, very perceptive, Ell!
  also, while trying to enjoy some relaxing, peaceful Yoga last week (at Young Womens), Ellie was amazed by all the tricks and flexibilty  of the girls. finally they did this move where they ended up in a back-bend and she yells, "Whoa! Crazy girls!" everyone laughed. (thank goodness, because i was sweatin' bullets trying to keep her quiet). later, when everyone was laying down, cooling down, she said, "All the girls go night night?" again, laughter. she's so observant...and loves to be a narrator.
  
  she also is very aware that we are going to Disneyland- and wakes up every morning asking, "Going to gammy's today? Going to Disneyland today?" No Ellie, not today. next week, sweetie. next week.
  
  finally, she is very enthralled with the temple...she loves it and always says that "Mama and Dada- princess and prince at the temple." So cute. Well, yesterday when the Disney Castle came up before a movie, she said, "Ellie's temple!" Well, kinda, sweetie. but, i just didn't have the heart to correct her and burst that bubble quite yet :)
  
  she definitely is a talker.
  but we've known that for a long, long time.

• i'm learning how to sew! my mother-in-law is ever so kindly taking the time, diligence, and patience (and tons of other stuff) to teach me. we've started by making bumper pads/a blanket for baby sister's room. here is a not so good photo of the fabrics i've bought for that project: 

i honestly love them. so different from Ellie's room (which is pink, black and white)-- but yet so so cute and feminine too.
some thoughts on sewing:
i am a terrible cutter.
really, i am.
luckily, Lynne doesn't let me get discouraged and says things like "that's ok, we'll just tuck that under the seam." makes me laugh thinking about it.
also, i don't think i'm meticulous enough for sewing...like, i'm the type of person that is super efficient and loves getting things done. sewing takes time. and patience. and more time. Marci + sewing = an interesting combination.
regardless, i'm not giving up-- and i can't wait to have some of my projects done.

• Ellie got to ride in a big firetruck this weekend at our Ward Activity. 

she thought it was the coolest thing. they let her touch tons of buttons and even get on the drivers seat by the steering wheel. she thinks cars and trucks and trains are pretty cool in fact, every time she sees BART, our public transportation train, go by, she squeals, "look at the train, mama!"

so, naturally, if there is ever a train to be ridden, we ride on it.

 (another unnecessary side note: i sure hope my teeth don't look that yellow in real life. i need a good whitening! whoa!)

• M and i went to John Mayer a few weeks ago. did i post about this already? maybe i did. but i'm still thinking about it. it was ammmmmmazzzinnng. seriously. we just laid on the lawn and listened to all these songs that basically felt like the soundtrack to our life (minus the whole "who says we can't get stoned" part...though i did feel a little woozy with all the smoke being puffed by us the whole time). it was wonderful to have a night together. it's always wonderful to have a night together.

• we've also enjoyed lots of company the last few weeks! of course i didnt' whip my camera out for a single snap of any of them (my dad, my sister Mimi, and my cousin's wife Dany)...but it's so fun to have family and friends come and visit. we love having familiar faces around. so come visit me! seriously. i love having my family + friends canteen filled. and ask Mimi + Dany- i make a wicked good breakfast (my dad only wanted Cheerios...party pooper).

• i think one of my favorite things to do with Ellie right now is to go to Costco or Sam's Club. she LOVES their hot-dogs and pizza! she especially loves that she gets her own drink.

and i love that it's so stinkin' cheap...and that i can get some essentials-shopping done while we're there. so if you ever wanna meet us for lunch...Sam's/Costco is where it's at!

• we also have been having lots of fun going to birthday parties and baby showers- Ellie has been such a trooper through it all. she gets really excited for the birthday parties...because she is recently obsessed with frosting. such a kid (but i'll admit, i like the frosting best too). i love my little best friend + companion Ellie.

and so we're trompin' along.
with a watermelon attached to me.
which isn't so bad, i guess.
most of the time :)

life is happy!
hope it is for you too.
(and now i will go turn the AC waaaayyy down, because i just worked so hard on this blog post and i'm sweatin' up a storm. happy wednesday!)

xoxo