How to share the news....first wave.

This past weekend, my birthday weekend, we decided to tell the Grandparents that they were going to be grandparents. It's wonderful to know that no matter what happens, you have a group of support that is willing to share in your celebrations and also ward off the worries. I didn't want to do it all obvious or silly, like the bun in the oven thing. 

My parents: After birthday dinner, we casually began a conversation about what other people call their grandparents (grandma, nana, poppa) and then informed them that they'd have to let us know what they'd prefer. Then we listened to the minutes of silence. My mother was the first to talk and ask if we were telling them news....it was fun to share and tell them what we'd been going through and what we knew up to this point. 

Matt's parents: Now this one we knew we'd have to do a bit different and it worked perfect to wrap it in a present for her to open. That would give us the best surprise reaction. I'll admit, we both were surprised there was no fist pumps and for the most part they were relatively quiet. We did get it on video.

There were some similarities between the two reactions...first both were happy, which isn't a shock. Both came forward with an immediate hug, which isn't a shock either. Both fathers were fairly quiet. But surprisingly, both mothers stated that either they knew or had a feeling. Maybe someday I'll get that mother's intuition.

Name of the week: James
Cravings: Milk
Pregnancy symptoms: Occasional headaches, occasional tiredness, and observation of weight gain

ALR: How'd you think they went.
MJR: Mine or yours?
ALR: Both.
MJR: Good, it felt really good to tell them.
ALR: Yeah, I wish it wasn't so early still.
MJR: I know.
Slight pause.
MJR: Show me my mom's face again.

**This post was post-dated and released at a later date for reasons determined by ALR/MJR

How to turn 32, all quiet like....

It's official, I'm moving towards my mid-thirties.
This past weekend it was my birthday week and I did it the best way I knew how to...relaxing with family. I started it off right with my parents at the farm. They made my favorite comfort food including potato soup with frybread and peach cake for dessert. The gifts that they picked hit major interests in my life...mums with a cow planter, a fancy cutting board with storage, gourds for fall decorating, and a cut and color! Was so nice to spend some time out there and talk. We also checked out the baby kittens that have got some spunk and personality!

On Saturday, we headed up north to Lansford to celebrate multiple birthdays! Matt's, Mine, and Michele's, We opened gits and again felt the love. Matt got a few shirts that he really liked the color but his favorite was his leaf sweeper. I got a food mill that I'm excited about and some great shirts that I'll wear in the office. We wrapped Michele's up pretty well and glad that we could make her excited! I'm not sure what my favorite present was tho....if it was the food mill/attachment OR the spinach dip that I special asked for! When you combine that with Randy's pizza and Michele's banana cake, it was a another day of overeating! I hurt so bad on the way home from being stuffed!

We also decided it was time to bring Nike home! She spent another summer at "Grandma's house" in Lansford. She rode home pretty well for the most part aside from panting and sweating but I did get a little time sitting in my lap. There's some readjustment with TD and Lola but so far so good! We realize they might not be best buds but we'll take civil.

On Sunday, we didn't really keep a schedule. After getting my gift of my planner with accessories(I'll order it in October), we worked in the yard cleaning up plants and pots. We still have a couple of tomato plants that are producing in the beds so we'll let those go and I still have hopes for my cabbage heads. But we let the cats out in the yard. Nike is pretty good outside. TonyDanza did a little hunting and we shoved Lola in her cube and she pushed it around the yard.

After lunch at JL's, we did some parade of homes touring, and for supper we had the Walrus with Dairy Queen for dessert, We ended the day watching the solar eclipse of the blood moon. All in all, I have no complaints for the day or the weekend, especially with the beautiful day. It was all pretty wonderful.

Best meal: I can't pick...I had a favorite meal each day...potato soup, pizza, calzone/burgers....I refuse to have that internal battle...all I know is I overate and could probably be safe for a couple days!

MJR: Who would you know in Dickinson that's connected to the new airport manager's wife?
ALR: I have not clue, I don't even know her name,
MJR: Well, I just got a text from him that "Is Amanda's birthday on 9/27?" How would he know that.
ALR: Woah, that's weird, 
MJR: I know, that's what I thought.
ALR: I don't know.
Both continue thinking.
ALR: Uh, I know.

Flashback over three years ago.
While waiting as patiently as possible, ALM sits at MJR's desk decides to input a special reminder and note on his calendar.

Back in modern time.
MJR: Well what did it say?
ALR: I can't remember...it was years ago, you had to have seen it.
MJR: I'm going to text him.

10 minutes later
MJR: uh oh.
ALR: WHAT!!
MJR: He said that years ago he had a girlfriend that had a birthday on 9-27 too and his wife was going through his phone and saw, "My beautiful girlfriend's birthday" and she got very upset. He noticed it was from the airport calendar and wondered if it was my wife and now his wife does not find the humor in the situation.
ALR dies of laughter, can't hold it together, can barely breath.
MJR: you could have broken up a marriage.
ALR laughter continues.

How to grow from a blurry mess

Week 7...baby is as big as a blueberry.
We had our second ultrasound today. Still TEENY Tiny. The heart is going at 133 beats per minute...just rocketing. This may be our last utrasound for a couple weeks so it will be interesting to compare the blurry mess to this to the next one. Matt is a bit frustrated, he wants to see more and I agree that I want to be further along. We are both excited and nervous and anxious. I'm ready for week 13 to be here.

Name of the week: Harriet
Cravings: Spicy food like anything buffalo flavored
Pregnancy symptoms: emotional overload. Avoiding ASPCA commercials like the plague.

Before ultrasound
MJR standing at ALR's knee: I'm going to stand right here this time and watch what she does.
ALR: That's fine.

After ultrasound
ALR: What did you think this time?
MJR: Our baby looks like a rabbit.
ALR: Well, that's progress, last time you said it was a blurry mess.
MJR: In a lima bean.

**This post was post-dated and released at a later date for reasons determined by ALR/MJR

How to creep into your mid-thirties...

It's been a crazy week, not sure if it's the continuation of the summer or a sign of the fall. We started off the weekend at the Community Bowl with Fern and Kim and watched Robert with the Dickinson Midgets beat the Bismarck Demons. I'll be the first to admit I struggle with sports, especially football, but it was fun to watch the team, the plays, and Kim get excited as the game got close and they beat them. The big things at play include that the Demons were #1 and Dickinson hadn't beat them since 2000. Was a perfect night for it. Afterwards, we went for burgers at Ground Round!

On Saturday, Matt ended up having to work at the Zoo to showcase the airport to the community. I continued our rummage sale-ing, which I started on Thursday night...where according to Matt, all the best sales happen. We ended up getting a gun cabinet, a crock, a fishing poll, a small water pitcher, and teeny angel food cake pans. Not such a bad go!

Card from the Cats

On Sunday, it was Matt's birthday. We started the day off at the Bismarck Aero Fly-in before a few presents. I got him a garden soil tester, to check the PH, temp, sun, and water levels. We have some work to do on our soil. We also went out and bought his gun that he'd been talking about for months.

We got it home, unpacked it, and headed to the range for some test runs. Matt also had to train me to throw clay pigeons. The first three were a bit tough and I eventually got the hang of it. I'm sure it was not a graceful sight but they got into the air. He was pretty happy with his pick!

Supper was his choice and since I'm rarely in the mood for Chinese, we went to the China Garden. Matt had moo shu pork with hot and sour soup. I went with orange chicken with veggis delight and egg drop soup!

For dessert, we went out to the farm, Mom had made a chocolate pie!

All in all it was a great day!

ALR: How does it feel to be old?
MJR: You tell me in two weeks.

The rest of the week has flown by...I was in Fargo for a couple days as I helped to organize the Governor's Workforce and HR Conference. We had close to 500 attendees if you count vendors, speakers, and conference goers. I went to bed three nights in a row exhausted! I was so glad to be home on Thursday and so were my cats, they stuck pretty close for the next couple days.

The weekend came just in time. Matt and I took off for Dickinson on Friday for some warranty work for my ring and we went to El Sombrero, which I've had cravings for for the past couple months. They make the best Mexican.

He spent the weekend in the red truck hauling silage while I did laundry and some much needed cleaning. Overall, it's been a good weekend.

Best meal: Chicken Chimi with no pico, and a side of queso with chips and salsa. Yum.

Dear Matt-
I'm sorry I couldn't be there for your birthday. I've made numerous attempts to travel in your direction but these were all thwarted by Grandma. Between her and Grandpa, I'm beginning to worry about them and I think they are on to me. They lock me in the front entry, they change out the door I use to this fancy thing? It's not all fun and games, like last summer. I got busted on the kitchen table and Grandma pitched a fit.
Come get me.
Love your best friend in the whole world, 
Nike

How to get a first glimpse...

Okay... I'm at 6 weeks today. We had an ultrasound today. Matt and I went in very excited but it was hard to remember that the baby is the size of a lentil. I did choke up a few times especially when I saw the heartbeat, which lessens our chance for a miscarriage which is still weighing on my mind.

We'll have another ultrasound and check up next week to verify how things are progressing but after talking with the doctor, it feels good to hear her say that everything is looking good. It's been a huge weight that I've had for such a long time! In the meantime, I'm still plotting and planning how we want to tell our parents.

Name of the week: Evan
Cravings: Refried Bean Burritos
Pregnancy symptoms: Mood swings with extreme irritability and sudden intense hunger.

After ultrasound tech leaves the room
MJR holds picture in hand.
MJR: Our baby is a messy squiggle.
ALR: Yes, looks just like you.

**This post was post-dated and released at a later date for reasons determined by ALR/MJR

How to be like a poppy seed...

1 month

Okay...so baby is the size of a poppy seed. Teeny Tiny.

It's the best secret that we want to let out but are still scared. We have tentatively decided to keep everything in until we have to...meaning until it's a bit too obvious!

We've started talking about plans...plans on when we want to tell and people we want to tell and how we to tell said people. P.s. by the time they read this, they'll know so it's not like we are letting it out of the bag, but at least now they'll now how it's all came to be.

We did take a trip up to the nursery and lay out the potential schematic. We've agreed to hold off buying or planning or looking past that. After all with the planners that we are, we'll just talk everything to death before we jump right in.

Baby name of the week: Ava
Cravings: Mac n Cheese
Pregnancy symptoms: Super powered smell (overwhelmed by shaving cream)

ALR: My numbers are at 660 today.
MJR: Hmmm, okay, that's what I figured. Well, actually 640 is what I had written down.
ALR: Written down? You have notes on me?
MJR: Well, it's a sticky here in my office. I did the math and came up with that number.
ALR: I didn't know you were keeping track of that.
MJR: It's alarming how much you think I don't care.
ALR Speechless with laughter, finally after some time: Well, I guess you got me there. 

**This post was post-dated and released at a later date for reasons determined by ALR/MJR

How to have an anniversary...

This past weekend was our second anniversary... and we took it slow! We did celebrate with a few people. My parents came out...we celebrated their anniversary as well since we hadn't had them over for their 35th in May. I blame planting and traveling...this is a 50:50 share. They got us the cutest gift, two little Dutch cement kissers. I've had my eye on them for a while but now I can't wait to put them out in the yard next spring!

We also celebrated with Todd, Fern, and Kim, who were involved in our wedding. It was fun to talk memories and have them remind us what a good time they also had. It's pretty easy to say that my wedding was the best day ever but when people agree, it warms my heart. (They may not make that extreme of a statement, but I do, and that's all that matters.)

On the specific day, we went golfing...which we also did last year but we chose a different course. It did downpour a bit, but if Phil plays in the rain, so can we. Afterall, it's not the first time it's rained on September 7th.

We also started shopping for a king bed, maybe it's going to be next year's gift...but it is such a nice idea! We have some ideas of what we want but now it's just the finding and paying for it that's the tricky thing!

Best meal: Harvest....we decided to treat ourselves to Harvest Brazillian Grille....we weren't disappointed. Matt even splurged for two desserts.

Getting ready in the morning....
MJR: I had the weirdest dream last night. I dreamed the cats were puking.
ALR: (turns to stare): That wasn't a dream. TonyDanza started puking at 5:55 this morning on the bed.
MJR: On the bed? I didn't see or feel puke?
ALR: That's because I shot out of bed and rushed him into the bathroom.
MJR: Did he puke?
ALR: Twice.
MJR: Oh.

Two days later, before shutting the life off, while laying in bed...
MJR: I hope I sleep better tonight than last night.
ALR: Oh?
MJR: Yeah, I dreamed that my alarm was going off.
ALR: (Hits him) THAT'S BECAUSE IT WAS GOING OFF
MJR: What?
ALR: At midnight...and you kept hitting snooze until I got pissed at 1:15 and told you to shut the effer off!
MJR: Are you sure?
ALR: AHHH! YES! I'm beginning to worry about "your dreams"

How to captain the Love Boat

To my husband on our second anniversary -

The traditional gift over the second year is cotton. I guess we blew past that with the paddle boat, aka love boat. There isn't an once of cotton from the canopy to the little cooler. But the more I think about it the more I realize that it was a gift that has fit our second year of marriage. Sometimes we took on water, sometimes the sailing was smooth, sometimes a bit more ruff than we'd planned, or more weeds than we wanted. Sometimes the right side didn't pull her weight but sometimes it paddled for both. We both took our turns steer and plotting our course but the best part is whenever we went out...we did it together.

I have a feeling year 2 is going to be colorful and different as we continue to settle into our marriage and lives. I have a feeling we'll continue to push and pull each other along. There will be meals, talks, cats, trips, decisions, and disagreements. I'm looking forward to them all.

On our wedding day I said, I love you for who you are and who I am when I'm with you.
On our first anniversary I said, I still choose you.
This year I say that I love that no matter what happens, we are in it together.

Love, Wifey

How to get news you've been waiting for....

This day has been a long time coming. Actually, we weren't even sure if today would even come.

We found out today.

Today, everything changed.
Today, we got the phone call.
Today, we made plans and got giddy.
Today, our hopes soared.

I don't know what to expect in the next 8 and some months, let alone the next 18+ years.
Matt, in true Matt-fashion, needed to go out to purchase a book for expectant fathers. We also bought our first children's book. What people don't know either is that we had taken some of our wedding gift cards, shortly after we got married to purchase "What to Expect When You Are Expecting."

Best Meal: For supper, we went out to celebrate at Texas Roadhouse.

8:00am
MJR: Have you gotten a call? (to confirm we are pregnant)
ALR: No. Not yet.
MJR: When will you get it?
ALR: I don't know, when they call.
MJR: Okay, well I'm going to be in a lot of meeting today so I want you to email me. Just send me either "pizza" or "go out for dinner." I'll know what you mean by those phrases.
ALR: That is NOT how I'm going to tell you.
MJR: ahhhhh.

**This post was post-dated and released at a later date for reasons determined by ALR/MJR

How to take it easy in 100 degrees....

Another quiet week. It went by very quick so when the weekend came, we stayed low-key and took it easy.

We did a few big things in the garden, including the beginning of cleaning. We hauled out the beans and the cucumbers that had gotten a bit dried out from the 100 degree weather. We picked tomatoes, we examined peppers, we admitted that we were close to be done for the season. I learned I'm a terrible pumpkin grower because I'm down to one potential pumpkin. I say potential and cross my fingers. We pulled up an onion to see how we were coming along. We planted these from seed and don't expect much. I'll honestly say they were bigger than I anticipated!

Michele did come down this past Wednesday so it was good to see her out and having a great day! Was fun to have supper with her, show her the garden, catch up a bit.

Matt got into baking on Sunday, before we headed over to the neighborhood meeting and potluck. He made pretzels! For a first attempt, they were very good. I know he wants to perfect some more and I'm afraid my carb free diet attempts are going right out the window!

On a side note, I think I hate taking pics of people with my camera on my phone. I get mad because it can't focus. But I don't realize it until I look at them after the fact. Grrrr.

Best meal: We had a few good ones this week. The one that really hit the spot and hit my craving was MacNCheese from Old Chicago. You build your own with sauce, meat, and toppings. mmmmmmm

ALR goes to sit with MJR, who is at the counter working.
ALR leans into him.
ALR: I love you.
MJR: I love you.
ALR: This time say it with more feeling.
MJR: I love you.
ALR: You said it the exact same way.