Quick Survey

I'm going to pack my hospital and diaper bags this weekend so that they're ready whenever we need them. As I was thinking about what I needed to pack, I realized I didn't really know. Therefore, I would like some suggestions.

What things do you pack in your hospital/diaper bag(s)?
What things are provided by the hospital that I don't need to worry about?
What things can you not live without?
What things do you wish you would've packed, but didn't?

I'm very interested to hear your responses. Thanks in advance for the advice!

Less Than

In case anyone is wondering, there are:

less than 10 days until the New Moon premiere

less than 20 days until Thanksgiving

less than 30 working days for me at LDS Philanthropies

less than 40 days until Chris is done with this semester

less than 50 days until Christmas

and...

less than 60 days until the little man joins our family!

I can hardly wait!

Not Ready for Winter

Chris took this picture of campus the other day. He said it was a white-out on his way to school, and it continued to snow all day.

I'm not so sure I'm ready for a harsh Logan winter. Luckily, I'll have a sweet little baby to take care of, which means I can just hibernate in our apartment and wait for the snow to melt.

H1N1 is a BEAST!

Many of you know that Chris came down with the H1N1 flu a couple weeks ago. The poor guy was out of commission for two whole weeks. He suffered through a high fever, cough, body aches, nausea, vomitting, and dehydration. Then, he contracted an ear infection, which lead to vertigo--and that was only during the first week.

For the sake of my health and that of our unborn child, we were not able to be together. Chris had to quarantine himself in Logan, and I wasn't allowed to visit him. I was also prescribed Tamiflu by my OB/GYN because I had been exposed to the virus, and I received the H1N1 vaccine. Even though Chris tried his very best to care for himself, things went from bad to worse rather quickly.

While attending a university conference with our department, I received a text from Chris that simply stated, "911." I panicked because I knew that he was in trouble. I excused myself and called him, only to find out that he had collapsed in our apartment. Because we don't know very many people in Logan at this point, I wasn't left with much of a choice, other than to call the paramedics. I'm sure you can only imagine the emotions I experienced, considering I was two hours away, I was seven months pregnant, and I was completely helpless. I cried talking to my mom, I cried talking to his mom, and I cried talking to the 911 dispatcher. Needless to say, I was a mess.

Chris was taken to the ER and administered an IV to combat the dehydration. It was then that he was diagnosed with the ear infection and vertigo (which was the cause of his collapse), and given medication to treat both. Thankfully, Chris' parents were kind enough to drive to Logan and spend the weekend with him. They were able take him home, sanitize and disinfect our apartment, and make sure he received plenty of food and water. I will forever be grateful to them for their sacrifice on our behalf.

Fast forward two weeks, and Chris is doing much better. He was finally able to come home last weekend, and we were able to spend some much needed time together. Although the doctor gave him a clean bill of health last Friday, he is still suffering from the after-effects of the ear infection and is still quite tired. Given time, he'll back to normal.

So, there you have it...H1N1 is a BEAST!

Baby Crib

I went to Logan a few weekends ago so that Chris and I could take care of some things in the baby's nursery. I'm happy to say that the crib has been assembled and the bedding has been washed. All we need now is the little man!

28 Weeks

26 Weeks

24 Weeks

Dear Tums

Thank you from the bottom of my heartburn for giving me relief from the inferno that is always in my throat. Your quick action makes me a happier girl.

Sincerely,

Me

It's True

I already have my ticket to see the midnight movie and I'm totally excited about it! I just hope that being 8-months pregnant won't hinder my ability to stay awake for it :)

Baby Boy

We had our ultrasound on Monday and found out that we're having a little boy! To celebrate, we went shopping.

I'm afraid this could get out of hand before long :)

21 Weeks

Logan...here we come!

It's official: Chris was accepted to graduate school at Utah State University! He is going to start the Masters of Information Systems program in about two weeks, and we are so excited. For the time being, we are going to move from our apartment into my parents' basement, and Chris is going to "commute" to Logan during the week and come home on the weekends. In order to keep our health insurance, I need to continue working until I have the baby. Once the baby arrives, we'll officially move to Logan.

P.S. This in no way means that we are going to become Aggie fans. Our blood is Cougar blue, through and through (well, at least mine is).

Bump in the Night

About a week and a half ago, I started to feel little flutters in my stomach. I wasn't sure if it was the baby or not, so I decided to pay close attention to everything I felt, with the hopes that I could learn to decipher between the baby and other bodily movements.

Last night, I felt some more flutters, so I decided to put my hand on my stomach to see if I could feel the flutter on the outside of my body as well. Imagine my excitment when I could not only feel it inside, but I also felt the movement on the outside! I was so excited. So of course, I wanted Chris to feel it, too. Unfortunately, the baby realized what we were doing and decided to stop playing.

A few hours later, while we were laying in bed, I felt the baby move again. I grabbed Chris' hand and placed it on my stomach and told him to wait. A few seconds later, the baby moved and he totally felt it. The look on his face was priceless!

Here is the conversation that followed:

Me: "Did you feel that?"
Chris: "Yeah."
Me: "Isn't that so cool?"
Chris: "Are you sure you don't just have gas?"

Luckily, the baby moved a few more times while we sat there, so I was able to convince Chris that it was in fact the baby, and not my bowels.

It's a miracle!

I don't know how I did it, but I somehow restored all of my blog lists! I just want to jump for joy! And to top it off, the darling background you see was also saved somewhere in cyberspace, and just happened to show up on my blog. I simply couldn't be happier!

Now that my blog is back to normal (hopefully!), I will soon post pictures of our latest adventures. My sister, Carly, thinks I'm the biggest slacker when it comes to blogging, but it's mostly because I don't post any real pictures of us. But let's be honest--Chris and I don't have much to take pictures of...yet! However, we have a few to add from our adventures this summer, including the first, and certainly not last, baby bump pic! Stay tuned--you'll be glad you did!

Need Some Help

Since I lost all of my blog lists, I have to start from scratch. If you wouldn't mind, please leave me a comment with your blog address so that I can put it back on. Don't worry--I will moderate all the comments so you don't have to publish your blog address to the whole world. I'm sure I can track down most of blogs I had previously listed by visiting other blogs, but this may be a little easier.

Thanks for your help and your patience. I am still in the process of fixing my blog, but I hope to have it up and running again in no time :)

I hate technology!

I am officially upset! I tried to change my background by editing the html and it erased all of my blog lists. Is there anyway to recover them? And to top it off, I don't have the "Customize" option anymore, so I don't have any way of editing my page elements. What happened?!

It Feels Real

Chris and I were able to hear the baby's heartbeat this morning at my appointment. It was so crazy, surreal, and oh so exciting. When I asked Chris what he thought about it afterwards, he told me, "It sounded like a wind tunnel." I was hoping for something more along the lines of "It was music to my ears," but I'll take what I can get.

Seeking Advice

ATTENTION ALL MOMMIES: I am in need of some well-educated suggestions. Even though the little persona (as Chris affectionately calls our unborn child) isn't due for another six months, I am already feeling the need to start my preparations. Most of you know that I am somewhat of a control freak, so planning ahead isn't all that abnormal for me.

I've decided that we need to begin stocking up on essential items each time we go to the store, so as to prevent bankruptcy when the baby actually comes into the world. While some items seem pretty easy to pick, others actually baffle me. Take diapers, for example. Are they all the same? Are name brands better than store brands? Are there in-store or online coupons available? See my dilemma.

Please feel free to share your suggestions and opinions. I am willing to take any advice I can get. And stay tuned for more shameless pleas for help. I'm considering having an "Item of the Week" for which I can solicit your advice. Because honestly, I don't have a clue what I'm doing :)

Maybe He'll Listen Next Time

We have a lot of food storage boxes in our garage, and a few weeks ago, Chris decided to reorganize them. Instead of having 6 short stacks, he thought it would be better to have 3 tall stacks. After he finished, I expressed my concern that the stacks didn't look stable enough. He assured me it would be okay.

The pics are evidence of what I found when I went to the garage about a week later. Chris happened to be in Moab for the weekend, so I'm sure you can imagine how our phone conversation went when I talked to him the next day :)

My poor car was out of commission for 4 weeks, and guess who had the privilege of being my personal chauffeur?!







Insurance Deductible: $500

Total Repair Costs: $5,200

Being able to tell my husband "I told you so": PRICELESS

It's Official

We are so excited to announce that Baby Helmantoler is due December 28th! We are looking forward to sharing this incredible experience with our friends and family.

Stay tuned for future updates as Chris and I try to figure out what we've gotten ourselves into!

In Loving Memory

My cousin, Jason, passed away on Sunday from an accidental drug overdose. Jason was always fun to be around and could make everyone laugh. He had a beautiful smile that was completely infectious. We are going to miss his outgoing attitude and his goofy antics!

Even though his life was met with many trials, he was a good person with a good heart. I know that Heavenly Father loves him and that the power of the atonement is real. I find comfort in knowing that he is in a better place and is free from his suffering.

Jason Mark Strong
1980 - 2009

On Sunday, April 19th, 2009, we unexpectedly lost our awesome brother and wonderful son, Jason Mark Strong. Jason will be remembered as a fun loving charismatic young man that could light up any room. He was born in South Korea on March 20, 1980. At the age of five, we were blessed to have him join our family through adoption. He graduated from Pleasant Grove High School in 1998. His passion was sports and he loved to play golf. His favorite job was helping build and maintain Sleepy Ridge Golf Course in Orem. He was currently employed at Sun Mountain Doors. Jason was a great uncle and loved his nieces and nephews. Jason is loved and will be greatly missed.

Feeding the Addiction

As if my addiction to all things sweet wasn't bad enough, I decided to get a job at a bakery. Before you jump to conclusions, let me clearly state that I did not quit my job with LDS Philanthropies; rather, I found a fun hobby that I'll get paid to do.

My darling cousin, Ange, opened her own bakery a few months ago and has been running the business from her home. As of next Tuesday, she will be selling her delicious concoctions at the University Mall (just outside Nordstrom). And yours truly will be selling said concoctions.

Introducing: THE CHOCOLATE

Feel free to take a peek at the yummy treats. And if you feel so inclined, please stop by the kiosk and I'll be happy to help you find something to satisfy your sweet craving.

Faith Renewed

Elder Richard G. Scott presided at our Stake Conference last weekend and shared wonderful insight and inspiration. He was very personable and very candid. He was also very sweet and soft-spoken.

At the end of each of his talks (Saturday night and Sunday monring), he shared the same testimony. I don't think it was a coincidence that he ended his remarks both days with the same words. He reverently bore witness of the truthfulness of the Gospel and he expressed the great respect he has for the mantle which he holds. He admitted that he feels just like an ordinary man, but recognizes that a wonderful power has been bestowed upon him by our Heavenly Father--a power that enables him to stand as a witness of God.

He then said, "I know that Jesus Christ lives...I know that because I know Him." What greater witness can you have than to hear an apostle of the Lord bear testimony of the divinity of our Savior, Jesus Christ?! We were truly blessed by his words and his example.

I want one!

Chris called me the other day while I was at work and told me to check out a website. While watching the video on the homepage, I gasped and exclaimed, "I want one!"

After you watch this video, you'll want one, too. Can you even imagine having that much organized storage space for craft items?! It's a dream come true.

Mark my words...I WILL have one someday!

"Wishin, and hopin..."

This cabana is calling my name. I only wish I could go somewhere warm and exotic right now.

Instead, I'm stuck here. I'm sick of the cold weather, the spring snow storms, and dead grass.

This girl is in desperate need of a vacation.

Season 8

She drives me crazy!

I heart Danny!

One year down...eternity to go.

Chris and I celebrated our first wedding anniversary yesterday! We spent the weekend together in Midway and Park City. We shopped at the local antique stores, found great bargains at the outlets, ate delicious food, and watched several movies. And of course, we forgot the camera, so I don't have any new pics to share. Instead, I'll just share a few wedding pics from last year.






We were even able to enjoy our wedding cake that had been well preserved in my mom's freezer! Chris was a little leery about eating year-old food, but it was actually really good :)


As you can see from the pictures, we were blessed with an incredible winter day last year. This year, however, February 8th was cold, wet, and extremely gloomy. I am SO glad that we had beautiful weather on our wedding day. I would've cried had it been like yesterday!

I can't believe I did it!

Have you ever heard stories about people who wear different colored shoes without realizing it? Maybe you're even one of them. Well, my friends, I am one of those idiots!

I have no shame in admitting that I wore a black boot and a brown boot to work today. Not only are they completely different colors and styles, but I didn't just slip them on. I actually took the time to put them on and zip them up without noticing they were different. It took a trip to the restroom around 11:00 a.m. for me to notice. And to make matters worse, I'm wearing a skirt, so the boots are totally visible.

After laughing about it with my friends at work, I decided it would be best to stay in my cubicle with my legs hidden under my desk for the rest of the day.

Please Excuse the Delay

Don't worry...we're still alive! Since I've been absent from the blogging world for the past couple of months, I figured I would provide a quick update. I actually have a lot of pictures and stories to share, but our computer crashed a few weeks ago and our camera has been malfunctioning lately. I hope to have some pics uploaded from our camera soon, but until then, this will have to do.

Here's what we've been up to:
-Parties, parties, and more parties
-Cooking, baking, and eating
-Shopping
-Celebrating with our families
-Shoveling a lot of snow
-Staying up late playing Hand and Foot
-Laughing hysterically while playing Curses with our friends
-Decorating and un-decorating
-Enjoying our time off work
-Spending time in Salt Lake and Park City

We have thoroughly enjoyed this holiday season and we are very much looking forward to 2009!