Cha-cha-change

Changes in my life caused by the little minion* currently residing in my uterus:

1. Eat immediately before going to bed or wake up at 3 or 4am VERY hungry. I now start and end my day with a bowl of cereal. No wonder we're going through milk faster! (Last night I also snuck in a taste of the cheesecake I made yesterday. Nothing like cereal and cheesecake for a midnight snack!)

2. Justin can no longer do the dishes after I go to bed or he'll wake me up. Pregnancy is making me a very light sleeper, between being uncomfortable, being hungry, and just plain having insomnia. Sadly, he pretty much only ever does the dishes after I go to bed, so it looks like I'll end up doing the dishes from now on :(

3. Limit ice cream intake or regret it later. I thought I was past this, because I've been able to eat small servings of ice cream without any problems. The blizzard yesterday, however, proved how wrong I was. Which is why I didn't eat right before going to bed. Apparently feeling icky at 10:00 does not mean I won't be starving at 4. I swear my world revolves around food right now...

4. Eat lunch twice or three times. Or four. I eat a lot right now, I think to make up for losing 10 lbs in the first trimester from morning sickness. Like I said, my world revolves around food.

5. Hug from the side. Yep, my belly is officially getting big enough to be in the way for things, like hugging Justin, or putting things into the grocery cart. It's kind of exciting, but also kind of scary knowing I will have to adjust how I do SO many things in the next few months.

6. Put lotion on growing areas every day in an attempt to keep the itchy dryness away. The belly, the area just to the north of the belly... ;-) It helps, but I don't think there's anything I can do to make it completely go away. I sure do regret the nights I forget (I put it on right before going to bed. After eating a bowl of cereal.).

Life is full of change right now, and it's very fun and exciting (and also sometimes uncomfortable or painful. But let's focus on the positive!). Each little change is just a reminder that, oh yeah, we really are growing a tiny person, and he's still sticking around! Sometimes it's hard to believe that I'm still pregnant. Not in a why-am-I-still-pregnant-get-this-kid-out-of-me way, but in a holy-cow-we're-still-pregnant-and-we'll-actually-have-a-child-of-our-own-in-a-few-months kind of way. I feel so lucky and blessed, and still pray every day that Jeremy will continue to grow strong and healthy.

*Minion is in no way a negative term. It's a term of endearment. You know, like when you call a small child a demon llama. Wait, that may just be a my-family thing... 

Jeremy's Stocking: Day 2

Here's the progress after day 2:

Today's progress won't be as impressive, since we're feeding the missionaries tonight, so I have to clean the house and make a dessert of some sort. I didn't end up making the cheesecake yesterday (I forgot to pull out  the cream cheese to soften until I wanted to start making it, and by then it was too late to let it soften AND have time to bake! D'oh!). I'll probably end up make symphony brownies. Easy, and always delicious. Cheesecake will have to wait for later in the week.

Photo Phail

So, I brought my camera with me on my trip back home, and left it in my bag the entire time. Oops! But I did have an absolute blast! It's always good to see family :)

To make up for the lack of photos there, I've tried taking lots of pictures of my projects since getting home.

Since getting back, it's been nice to relax and do things just because. Like making these cookies for Justin to take to work:

I don't know what inspired me to make them the intel logo, but it was really fun decorating them! 

I've also done some things not just for fun, but with an actual reason. One of Justin's coworkers had a close family member pass away, and Justin was asked if he was good at picking out cards. He said not really, because his wife usually makes cards when we need one. So, I was volunteered to make a card for her. It was actually kind of hard. I'm used to making cutesy cards, and cute isn't really appropriate for that situation. I'm pretty proud of how it turned out though: 

In other news, I finally took my first "belly photo". Mostly because I saw a picture on Ashley's blog of her at 18 weeks, and wanted to compare. Here's hers: 

And mine (taken yesterday at 18 weeks and 5 days): 

My analysis of the comparison: I think my belly is sticking out almost as far as hers was at that point, but I don't look quite as obviously pregnant, because of how long my torso is. 

Yesterday, Jeremy's stocking kit arrived, and I was very excited to get started! Here's my progress after day 1:

Okay, it doesn't look like much yet, but that's already several hours' work right there. Of course watching America Ninja Warrior slowed me down a bit, but hey, I got to see the first American to ever make it past the ultimate cliffhanger! 

In addition to working on the stocking, today I'll be making cheesecake! Next Monday is National Cheesecake Day (any slice 1/2 price at Cheesecake factory), and I decided to start celebrating early. I'll be making four little mini cheesecakes and freezing 3 of them. The 1 I leave unfrozen will be eaten when we feed the missionaries tomorrow night, and the rest will come out next week for the actual celebration of cheesecake. Hopefully I can keep myself from eating them for that long! 

That's all my updates for now. Justin is still doing great at work. One of his main buyers that he works with actually commented how helpful he always is, which was neat. It's great that his hard work is being recognized so much. He is really a great employee, and people keep noticing. I'm very proud of him!

Exciting News

Although I think most people who read my blog already know, for those who don't, Justin and I are expecting! 

Jeremy Wayne is due to arrive this December! 

Busy busy busy!

So, I've actually been pretty busy lately. Unfortunately, most of what I've been working on I can't show you yet, because it's for baby Henry. But I plan on taking pictures and posting them after Ashley's shower, because boy have I made some CUTE stuff for that little boy! Seriously, it's killing me not being able to show it off yet.
I also started tutoring a girl in my ward last week. She's going to start 4th grade soon, and in CA there's a big test in 4th grade. Her previous teachers have focused more on math and stuff, so her mom asked if I'd help her out with her writing. It's been fun planning lessons and working with her. She's a sweet girl, and it's nice to have a little extra income too :)
I spent a bit of time today making calendars for YW for the rest of the year. It was quite a project, but it's nice having them made for the entire year! Obviously we still need to plan all of our mutual activities, but now I'll just have to add them on as we plan, and BAM! That's it! I'm quite happy about that.
Tomorrow night I'll be feeding the missionaries. I decided, since I'm so happy having a bbq, to do some hamburgers and hot dogs. Plus, with fourth of July next week, it just seems fitting. Which probably means that's what they'll be having every night for the next week, but whatever. I'm sure they don't mind, especially since dessert will be peach cobbler with vanilla ice cream! Yum!
That's pretty much all I have to update on right now, but come back in July for lots of cute pictures of the projects I've been working on for Ashley's shower! Plus I'm sure you'll be inundated with pictures of the shower and my adorable nieces and nephews, since I can't help getting a little camera crazy when I go back home.
Thanks for reading!

Father's Day

I have a really good relationship with both of my parents. When Ashley got married, I kind of resented Zach, because Ashley had been my confidant in a lot of things, and I felt like he was taking her away from me (don't worry, I've moved past that, and now am VERY grateful Zach is part of the family. It gives Justin someone to talk sports with! [Plus you know, he's just an all-around good guy] ).
Once Ashley moved out though, I had the opportunity I wish everyone got at some point in their lives. I was essentially an only child. I would go grocery shopping with my mom, eat dinner on my parent's bed and watch tv with them, take silly online quizzes on Sunday evenings with them, and just enjoy being friends with them. When I think back to that time, I am so glad I had it. I have always loved my parents, but as a teenager, like most teens, I didn't always LIKE my parents. Sometimes I thought they were lame, sometimes I was mad at them for grounding me, basically I was a normal teenager.
But those three years I got to spend with them did more to develop my character and make me who I am today than probably any other time period in my life. I became best friends with my mom and dad, and was perfectly content to spend Friday nights watching NCIS with them, and Saturday mornings watching B Science fictions movies.
I really do love my father, so much. His crazy personality, his many bizarre quirks, are what make him the best dad I could ever have hoped for. His meatfests, his love of all things poop, and most importantly his love of me and my family are what make him my dad. Thank you dad, for everything you have done for me. Thanks for setting an example, for loving Mom, and for teaching me what to look for in a spouse. Because of your example, I think I've chosen a great dad for my own future children. Plus they'll have a freaking awesome grandpa. :)

I also want to give a shout-out to Justin. You may not be a dad yet, but any time I see you interacting with young children, especially our nieces and nephews, I know you'll be a truly incredible father. You are compassionate and gentle, and a great target for tackling (or so Jenny, Benjamin and Curtis would say, I'm sure!). You are my best friend, and I can't wait to see you become a dad.

I love you Daddy! I love you Justin!

P.S. I couldn't find a race car background, but I think trains are more fitting for our relationship anyway. Freight is great!

Memorial Day Meatfest

Finally I have something I can blog about! Woohoo!

For several weeks, Justin and I have been perusing craigslist for a bbq. Well, Saturday we finally bought one, and we broke it in yesterday by having our very own meatfest:

Meatfests are something of a tradition in the Maroney family. My dad really enjoys making a huge variety of meats on the bbq and calling it a meatfest, and since we couldn't go to THEIR meatfest for memorial day, we had our own!

Since there's only 2 of us, we only had 3 types of meat: bratwurst, pork shoulder rib, and steak. The steak was by far the best, and we're really excited that we only made one, so we can enjoy the others for our anniversary tomorrow! 

In addition to meat, we had grilled squash and zucchini, corn on the cob (for Justin, anyway), watermelon, and an assortment of chips. It was a very tasty meal, and made me feel like I was back home enjoying my parents' grilling. The only food that was missing was potato salad. Too bad Justin doesn't really care for it. :(

Tomorrow for our anniversary, we're planning on taking a day trip to Napa Valley, so hopefully I'll have more pictures to post soon! Maybe I can even get one that has people in it!