Happiness & Changes

Before you ask... 

YES. I AM STILL PREGNANT. 

See? 

Phew, now that we've got that over with, let me let you guys all in on what's been going on in my life lately (you know, besides growing a human). I'm going to be a bubbly Betsy and share ten things in life that are making me happy.
1. Yesterday was my last day of working full-time. I can't really describe the feelings that have come from ending this chapter of my life - part of me is absolutely ecstatic that I've chosen to be a SAHM this summer to my sweet little girl, but part of me also feels guilty - guilty for leaving people and a job that I care about behind. Guilty for taking away our primary source of income. Guilty for taking away our health, dental, and vision insurance. Guilty for not working. After a lot of prayer and running the numbers, though, Mike and I know that this is the right choice for our family. This makes me happy.

2. In the fall, I will be going back to school. I am so, so excited to be going back to school for my master's! I'll be in a dual major master's program, getting master's degrees in teaching and German. 

3. I was offered a Graduate Teaching Assistantship position at UNL! This is a huge blessing, you guys. HUGE. As in, I was past the deadline to apply, but a professor approached me and basically offered me a position that wasn't even technically open. I will have my graduate tuition waived and will receive a monthly stipend (that just so happens to be enough to cover all of our bills). If ever you doubt that things will work out... just stop. Because things have a way of working out. Always. 

4. The weather has finally warmed up. Obviously I am ecstatic about this, considering the fact that there was snow on the ground a week and a half ago.

5. I got to spend the entire weekend with my husband. We were able to spend every waking moment together this weekend, and words cannot even begin to describe how happy that made me. I know that our time as a family of two is limited, and I will always cherish the simple, lovely weekend we just had where it was just the two of us.

6. I get to meet my little girl soon. I am so excited to be able to hold this precious babe in my arms and learn what it is to be a mother.

7. I'm about to rediscover my wardrobe. At least I hope I can get small enough to squeeze into some of my pre-pregnancy clothes. Regardless, I am happy that I'll be getting my normal clothes back soon!

8. I will finally have a little bit of time to blog! I have missed blogging so much while I've been working over the past 10 months. I don't know how people who work full time also manage to blog full-time. That was a balancing act that I just wasn't prepared for. I'm definitely excited to be able to blog again, though!

9. Husband got me a pedicure for Mother's Day. I'm happy that my husband is not only OK with me pampering myself on occasion, but that he encourages it! I'm such a lucky gal.

10. Tis the season for driving through town with the windows down and the sunroof open. All while blaring some feel-good jams. THAT is happiness all bottled up!

What is making you happy right now? 

Hey, Look! It's a Bird, It's a Plane, It's a DIY Project??

Yo, yo, yo homie g fries! 

It's a lovely Monday here in good ole Nebraska, and it JUST SO HAPPENS TO BE MY DUE DATE!!! No baby yet, but I don't feel like blogging, either. So while I'm off nesting, running marathons, and gettin' jiggy with it to get this baby out (TMI? sorry), I'd like you to get your crafty side on and check out this DIY (ummm talk about an awesome baby shower gift if you know anyone who is preggers... which you probably do, because there's something in the water).

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Hey there lovely friends of Alyx!! I am thrilled to be BABY sitting her space today while she's off welcoming her new BABY girl into the world! :) I know she said posts minus the BABY might be a good idea, but that's what's been going on in my world lately too, so I hope it's cool that I share a baby related craft with you today! ;) Real quick, my name is Kassi and I blog over at Truly Lovely. Hope you'll pop by sometime and say hello! Now onto the craftiness....

Ever since we announced that we are expecting and the gender of our little one, we've been receiving some of the cutest baby clothes from our friends as gifts. I'll be honest... there for awhile I had them all stuck in a box and stored in our bedroom. Then we got a changing table for baby's room so I moved the box in onto the changing table... That's the way things have stayed for months. Every time we get something new it just got added to the pile. Being that I'm now about 30 weeks into this pregnancy I decided it might be a good time to get baby's closet set up and organized. I have a friend that just had a baby boy a few months ago and she said she had trouble keeping track of what she had in what sizes... My solution was to google baby closet dividers. Sure you can buy them at Wal-Mart for a few bucks, but they lack personality... So... I made my own!

The materials needed for this craft include:

• Wooden door hangers
• Your choice of craft paper (I used some pretty rose scrapbook paper I found at Wal-Mart.)
• Mod Podge
• Brush
• Small paint brush and paint to match your scrapbook paper
• Baby clothes hangers

Step 1: Trace your wooden door hanger onto a sheet of the craft paper. Lesson learned here... those wooden hangers are not all cut exactly the same... Each one needs to be traced or you can end up with paper that doesn't fit your door hanger. Then just cut out your tracings with scissors.

Step 2: I painted the sides that wouldn't be covered with paper just to add a fun pop of color. You don't have to do this step... you can definitely leave it as just the wood grain. Another lesson learned here... Two paint bottles make a great drying 'rack'.

Step 3: Next decoupage the papers onto your wooden door hangers using a brush and Mod Podge.

Step 4: I designed sizes on my Silhouette SD software. NB for New Born, 0-3 for zero to three months and so on up to 18-24 months. I cut them out on white vinyl to make stickers for each divider. If you don't have a cutting tool you could just as easily cut out sizes and Mod Podge those on as well, or purchase number stickers from the craft store to use instead.

Step 5: Hang your new baby closet dividers in baby's closet then fill closet with adorable baby clothes organized by size!!! So at this point it looks like I need to stock up on NB to 3-6 months clothes... But 3-6 is looking pretty nice! ;)

Thanks so much for hanging out with me today while Alyx is away welcoming HER new baby girl! If you have any questions about this craft or just wanna chat I'd love to be friends! ;) You can find me here:

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I Hope I'm Just Like You

Dear Mom, 

The title of this post is for you. You're pretty much the best mom anyone could ask for, and someday I hope my little girl says the same thing about me - I hope I'm just like you. I love you! Thank you for loving me even when it was hard. Thank you for never giving up on me, thank you for teaching me, thank you for always being there. Thank you for being my mom - I'm so, so happy that my children will get to call you, "Grandma." 

Isn't she beautiful? 

All about the Panties.

Good morning and happy Friday!! What do you say we talk about that one time I dropped my underwear on a crowded bus? 

Once upon a time (you know it's gonna be good, because it starts like that), Alyx was in college. She lived in an apartment complex full of handsome young men with hot bods (I didn't know my husband yet, so it's okay to say that guys). 

psh, yeah... Channing Tatum lived there. Except not.

Alyx rode a shuttle bus to school most days because she was too cheap to pay $500 a semester for parking. Unfortunately for her, many of the hotties with bodies also rode said shuttle bus. Normally this was not a problem, but one morning it was. 

You see, Alyx had just finished her laundry and was running late. She threw her laptop and books into her backpack, and sprinted out the door. What she didn't know, however, is that a pair of pink, lacy, polka dot panties had also made their way out of the apartment. 

She made it to the bus in time, and, out of breath, took a seat behind Mr. Sexy Face. As she sat down, Mr. Sexy Face turned to her, held up the panties, and said, "Ummm. I think you dropped these." 

....At least they weren't granny panties?? 

Please note that this is my "most embarrassing moment" (at least the most embarrassing one that will find its way to the interwebs), and I'm linking up here (even though I've failed at this whole "blog every day in May" thing). 

In other news, the book for this month's Blogger Book Club is 1984 by George Orwell. Go out and get a copy from your local library and read along with us, why don't you? 

Sunday Confessions Link Up

Happy Sunday!!! 

You all know how it works. Grab a button, write some confessions, link up, and visit some other bloggers who have done the same.
  <center> <a href="http://itsalyx.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7148/6701442513_4c7153a301.jpg" width="200" height="200" /></a></center> 1. I'm to the point of trying to force this baby out. Seriously - I'm about to start chugging castor oil like it's nobody's business, because I'm sick of waddling to get from point a to point b. I realize that I could have as long as three weeks left (oh, please, no), but still.

2. I have a stack of thank you notes that haven't been mailed out. So... if you have given me something and have not received a "thank you," it's not because I'm rude - it's because I SUCK at mailing stuff.

3. I hate bras. Who invented these things?!?! Obviously someone who never had to wear one, because they are not comfortable. Not gonna lie, that's the first thing I lose when I walk through the door after a long day at work.

4. I had a total breakdown yesterday, and I couldn't even begin to tell you what it was about. I know there was something in there about picture frames, something about me being a hoarder, then something about "letting myself go" since hitting the third trimester, maybe something about eyebrows, and, of course, probably something about food. I am one hot mess, people.

5. Stretch marks from pregnancy don't only get your boobs and your tummy. I was in for a rude awakening when I looked in the mirror today and realized that, while my boobs and stomach are pretty much in the clear, my butt and the back of my legs right under my butt are definitely not. I have been moisturizing my stomach like crazy since I was super determined not to get any, but it was all in vain, because my legs and bootay more than made up for it. So... if you're pregnant or planning on getting pregnant, moisturize everywhere, not just your belly.

What do you have to confess? 

Feet, Wedgies, and PDA

Q: What do those things have in common? 

A: They all make me uncomfortable.

No, seriously. I'll go through my list (of three, not five... OCD Alyx is going insane right now) one by one.

1. Feet. Gross. Eww. Icky. Yuck. Disgusting. I. HATE. FEET! Nasty, smelly, icky, warty feet. I realize that some people have very... not nasty feet (because there is no such thing as a person having "nice" feet). You know what, though? Keep your not nasty feet to yourself, because if you start trying to play footsy with me, I am not responsible for the black eye that will result. Not only because feet make me uncomfortable, but because you and me playing footsy is just weird.

2. Wedgies. Ouch. Yuck. No fun. ... Is anyone looking at me now, because this is really uncomfortable. No? Great... ahh, so much better - oh, hi absolutely gorgeous man who just watched me pull my underwear out of my buttcrack! Am I the only one who has had multiple moments like this in my lifetime? I mean, not so much anymore, just because I've lost all shame, but when I was in high school and college, those wedgies were like a freaking curse. And they'd always happen at the most inconvenient time. It's like my undies knew when a perfect 10 was walking by. Anyway, they're uncomfortable - having them AND picking them. And we all know you can't have your wedgie and pick it, too. Bad joke? Absolutely. Moving on.

3. PDA. Blegh. Ugh. ICK! Guys. Call me old fashioned, but there are some things that are just meant to be private. Like making out. And shoving your tongues down each other's throats. When I was a lifeguard (long, long ago), I used to tell people, "I don't swim in your bed, so don't get all frisky in my pool!" For some reason they didn't really appreciate that, but, ya know, it worked. Mostly because I am really good at making people feel uncomfortable. Just like PDA makes me uncomfortable. BOOM.

So that's it.

What makes you uncomfortable? Green beans? Fish? Sunshine? Tell the whole world, and link up with Jenni!

Psh. You KNOW I Can't do THAT!

blog every day in May, that is. Obviously I've already failed since I didn't do May 1st's writing prompt. And we all know that this baby WILL be here any day, so that's an automatic fail, too.

Oh, hey... speaking of which, does anyone want to make my blog less boring by entertaining the few people who actually read this blog? As in, does anyone want to do a guest post while I'm going through labor? It doesn't have to be baby-related (actually, people will probably love you if it's not, since I'm, ya know, gonna go a little crazy with the baby-related ish here in about 2 weeks). Email me. 

Now for the actual purpose of my post:
That's right, the challenge that I won't actually complete (and have already failed). Day two's prompt is this:

Educate us on something you know a lot about or are good at. 

People, be prepared to be shocked and amazed - I am good at rambling. It's hard to believe, I know. I mean, you'd think you didn't just read that whole long spiel up there about guest posts. 

You should hear me on the phone - I have a gift, really, I do. 

Oh, you know what else I'm good at? Reading. I love to read. What's that? You do, too? Okay, well go ahead and vote for the book for Blogger Book Club during the month of May. Please and thank you. 

What classic should we read for the May book club pick?

The Great Gatsby

The Hound of the Baskervilles

Great Expectations

1984

www.poll-maker.com

Oh, and just an FYI, Amanda is going to be helping Kim, Kaylee, and me out with book club while I go take care of this little human I've been growing for the past nine months. She's a total life-saver. Word to your mother (and your brother, every other undercover tellin' you what to say...)