Ready....Set.....

Well things are coming together pretty well. I think I have everything that I have wanted to get for Riley and the Nursery. I am sure there is something I am forgetting...but I don't know what it is.

I have really been wanting to get a better stroller that will work for me better. Chuck had convinced me to get the Jeep stroller, and he wanted the Baby Trend car seat carrier (I liked Britax). I like it, but didn't want it because it had a fixed wheel. We also thought that we would be able to find a way to make the carrier snap into the stroller. But after a lot of fiddling with it....the carrier will just not attach to the stroller. Also it has a fixed wheel, and it will make it hard for me to take the stroller into stores in the mall, or shopping in town. The Jeep stroller is great for evening walks, and when Chuck wants to P.T. But I just feel it isn't what I need. So after Lot's of begging and pleading and probably to much whining......I got a new stroller that is the same make as the car seat. Chuck had told me that we couldn't afford to waste money on another stroller. So I went through our DVD collection and have now whittled it down from 700 to about 500. We took all the DVDs to Rasputin's music and DVDs and sold the movies. We got enough to buy the stroller I wanted. The Baby Trend stroller was listed at $149. And we had a good coupon for it as well. So late last night we went in and as we were headed back to the stroller isle....and passed the clearance section. I stopped as I saw a Baby Trend stroller combo that I liked. It didn't have a price on it, and so we took it to the front and asked. It turned out that the $220 stroller set was an extra display they needed to get rid of. It was brand new and was only $148!!! So I said why not. I know we already had the car seat, but basically we were getting another one for free. And we have two cars, so the extra base thrown in is a good deal. So now I have a stroller that will work perfectly for me, one that will work great for family evening walks. Also we have a base for each car so we don't have to keep taking the one out each time we want to drive something else, and won't run the risk of forgetting to remove it and then be stranded because we don't have the base.

Also today we ran around and found some last minute things I wanted to get to be prepared for baby. I also got a few things to stuff in my go bag for the hospital. So I really do feel prepared now for Riley. There are a few wants left on the list.....but nothing that is necessary for us to function I think.

Now all that needs to happen is some major cleaning in the house and some picture hanging. I have Riley's go bag done, mine is almost packed and done. And I have things set out in a way I think will be good for us. I am sure things will change a little as we find what our routine is. But I really do feel happy about how things are.

I am really ancy about being done with this pregnancy and starting to be a mommy. I have waited for so long for this and I just can't wait. I know that Riley really needs to incubate longer but I am just itching to meet him. lol I have noticed that I talk to him a lot now. When he wakes up in the morning I talk to him, and when he really starts kicking me.....I talk to him. lol I am really excited for this next step in our lives. ;0)

Well that is all for now. And this is my last post for 2010! It has been a life changing year, full of ups and downs, and a lot of growth and learning. Thanks all for reading my blog, and being a part of my life.

XoXo-Andrea Carla

Movies Review

So I thought I would do a combo movie review of things I have seen lately instead of doing each one individually.


Sorcerers Apprentice
This movie was great, and a lot better than I had originally thought it would be. It is funny and entertaining. You are rooting for the apprentice the whole movie and you aren't sure if he will be able to handle this huge responsibility he is given. It has a fun little romance in it, and you are cheering for that as well. I am not a major fan of Nicolas Cage movies, but he has managed to have a few good ones...this being one of them. I would recommend it as a good family movie. I give it 3 1/2 out of 5 stars. Make sure you watch this one.....It even gives a shout out to the Mickey Mouse version.



The A-Team

I was completely convinced that this was going to be the biggest guy movie ever. I figured it would be all about checking out the ladies, burping, farting, and flicking boogers. Oh yah and I figured there might be a little action in there as well. I apologize now for making those assumptions. This was actually a really funny movie. It had a lot of comedy, some good action....and surprisingly none of the booger flipping stuff. It really was a decent movie. I laughed a lot and was really impressed. I would leave the younger kiddos out of this one, But think it's fine for the older teens. I also suggest you make it a fun date night movie instead. I give it a 3 out of 5 stars. If you want something light and funny.....go for this one.




Inception
This movie really had me wondering. I know a lot of you have been disappointed in the movie industry lately with movies looking amazing or good and then you end up with a talking goat (Drag me to Hell reference) in the middle of your movie and it just ruins the whole thing. This movie looked just like that. It had the structure of being really good and having Lot's of potential.....but looked like it was more than likely going to be a flop.
Chuck really wanted nothing to do with this movie and after over a week of begging him to watch it with me he caved. ;0) This movie lived up to it's preview. It had you completely guessing the entire time. I am even a little confused at how the ending was. I liked it a lot and would actually like to see it again. I don't think I want to add it to our family collection, but it really is worth watching. It is full of action and keeps you on your toes. You really have to pay attention to everything in the film. I again would leave the younger kiddos out of this one but think it's just fine for the teens. I give it a 3 out of 5 stars.


Easy A
This movie had a great trailer. It had some funny lines and looked like it was going to be great. I am a fan of actress Amanda Bynes and there is some other great talent in the movie as well. I really wanted to see this movie. Chuck got to see it before me and thought it was funny and said I would like it. Once it came to PPV we thought hey why not rent it for the night.
Well it was funny, but not a wow type of movie. It is just a real modern version of the scarlet letter. It was cute and funny but I do not feel like I have gained or lost anything by watching it. I felt it was a real blah type of movie. Good but not wow. I give this movie a 2 1/2 out of 5 stars. If it's free and you have some free time go ahead and watch it without the kids. But you aren't missing that much.


Prince of Persia
Again this movie trailer looked like it had the potential to be really good. It had a lot of action and what appeared to be maybe a little romance. I am not a huge fan of Jake Gyllenhaal but thought the film was worth a try. Chuck and I really wanted to see this movie, but opted to wait until it was released on video. This was a very fun date night movie, but think it is appropriate for teens as well. I think kids might find some of the scenes a little scary so would not suggest the youngsters watch it. I give this movie a good 4 out of 5 stars. It had great action, adventure, and tasteful romance.



Salt
This movie I figured was going to be another good Angi movie. I am a big fan of Angelina Jolie's acting and she usually puts out good movies. I heard a lot of mixed reviews on this one, so Chuck and I were really waiting on this one. We decided to watch it for our New Years eve movie to end 2010.
This movie keeps you guessing and on your toes the entire time. You want to have faith in her character and you start rooting for her. But as the movie keeps going and the more you learn about her past.....you aren't so sure if she is the good guy anymore and you start to lose a little faith in her. You really need to pay attention during this film and keep up. I really liked this movie, although I am unsure of what her full intentions were in the end. Again this is a great date night or older teen movie. It has action, tasteful romance, and mystery. Some great bad guys, and some great good guys. Which team are you really rooting for? I give this movie 4 out of 5 stars. I found it very fun.

My Year in Review

As the year seems to be ending I have been thinking back on all the events that have happened to my friends and I. Things that have happened to others that I have heard about or read in the news. Some people I know some I don't. But the thing that really dawned on me.....is that even though I have felt like I had a pretty tough year and have been really sick for most of it. It really hasn't been bad.

I wanted to show a list of the things I have felt my family and I were blessed with this year.

1-I was able to attend the Temple whenever I wanted....sometimes daily. I was also able to attend multiple sessions.

2-Chuck and I decided to start a family and I became pregnant right away.

3-Chuck was able to go to Norway for work and had a great time.

4-Chuck and I were able to go home during the summer for the 1st time in 10 years together.

5- We have a roof over our heads and Chuck has a steady and consistent job. Like some families we felt on some days like we might be sinking, but we still managed to swim.

6-We have an amazing ward that we are a part of.

7-Even though our car got stolen, it was recovered and it gave us the opportunity to purchase a newer safer car for the family.

8-We made some amazing friends with the Sister missionaries.

9-Chuck's lifelong dream to own a Harley Davidson motorcycle came true and he is now the proud owner of a FatBoy Lo

10-I have been able to get to know one of my Aunt's a lot better.

11-I have been able to almost buy everything I have wanted or needed for our Son when he is born.

12-Chuck and I reached our 10 year anniversary even though people thought we wouldn't make it.....we did! That was a majorly huge milestone for us.

13-A friend of mine finally got approved for a surgery she has needed for some time.

14-I have reconnected with long lost friends on facebook. Even though I laugh at that statement.....It has been amazing to be able to talk to people again whom I haven't seen or talked to in years. And it has been amazing to find some of my girlfriends who I love and have always wondered what happened to them.

15-I have become better friends with people on facebook than I ever was with them in my younger days. It is really great to be able to cast off the immaturity of adolescence and really get to know someone and truly see how amazing they really are.

16-Some days I thought I was really and truly miserable and sick. Some days I thought I had it pretty bad and felt very depressed. But I have had a lot of blessings in my life and in Chuck's. And to be able to look back on that and see all the good things instead of the bad is truly amazing.

17-I know I complained a lot while I had morning sickness....and just plain pregnancy sickness, but the truth is....I was able to get pregnant, I may have felt bad, but I have a baby that is growing very well in my tummy. He seems to be doing well and is healthy. We won't know for sure until he is born. But it's a lot to be thankful for regardless.

18-Chuck and I are thankful that even though we were young and immature when we got married.....we have stuck through it together and have not given up. Granted we have our days where we question our sanity.....but I don't know of anyone who doesn't have challenging days with each other.

For those who know me, I have always suffered from seeing things as the glass is half empty. But this year has really been a turn around for me. Chuck and I seem to reach new milestones every year, and I love how this year has really changed us and how we have grown together, and become a better couple. This year has been a huge year for us.

I am also really looking forward to the things that are to come for 2011. Granted I am scared of our upcoming new orders and PCSing.....but it will be a new adventure. And you know as much as I whine about it....it always seems to be a fun adventure. I am however UBER excited to become a mommy. I have waited for this for so long and as the clock is ticking closer.......I am getting more and more excited about it.
Well.....Here is to the closing of a good year. And to the start of something new. ;0)

XoXo-Andrea Carla

Shop Christmas Party

So this year Chuck's work had the annual Christmas party that we always attend. But instead we only held the party for the active staff. No reserves this year. And you know even though it was a much smaller crowd....I thought the party turned out a lot nicer than it has in years past. Normally the gift exchange is one of the of those things that ends up who gets the best bottle of alcohol. And then when it is your turn to choose your gift....you can either steal someone Else's, or just pick a new one. This year instead the staff chose names and bought a gift that way. And you know it turned out really nice. Gifts were chosen that meant something to the person instead of just all being bottles and bottles of alcohol. I got some good pictures of everything and we ended up having a really good time. The party was more personal that it usually is. Here are a few of the pics I got.











XoXo-Andrea Carla

Our last little Christmas

So this year marked our last little family Christmas Chuck and I will ever have. We didn't to anything yesterday. We were both so happy to be able to just vege out and be complete couch potatoes all day. Chuck and I had agreed that we would not spend anything on each other for Christmas. We thought that it would be best to save the money instead for things we will need for our little Riley bug.

Chuck bought a great Christmas tree, but we lacked the time, energy, and ability to get to our Christmas decorations. So we used what we had to decorate. Yah I know it looks a little pathetic. But it is better than our Ivy plant tree we had a few years ago. lol It is the best we could do at this time. Since my craft room got packed up and made into our Riley bugs nursery.....all my craft stuff went into boxes and filled the rest of the garage. Well that made it impossible to get to things like Christmas decorations. But you know it is probably for the best. That way we can get things cleaned up and out of the way so that I can really get working on making the house look nice.

So since we weren't doing anything for Christmas this year, Chuck let me sleep in a little. I was so happy to be able to get some more sleep than I have been as of late. I woke up about 8 a.m. and stumbled to the kitchen to make some chow. Then I came back into the living room with Chuck, and we talked a little while I ate my breakfast. Then we opened the gifts sent from my family and in the middle of it I noticed something on our Christmas tree. I turned to look at it and noticed a Tiffany's bag hanging from the branches of the tree. I wasn't sure what to think or say. I mean we had agreed not to spend money on each other. It was killing me that I wasn't getting something for Chuck, but I was really thinking I can make up for it for his birthday. A thousand things were running through my mind. Did he just grab one of the old Triffany bags that I had kept? Is it really Tiffany's? Should I be excited? I wasn't really sure what to do or how to react. I was just looking at Chuck for some guidance on what to do. He got up and went to get it for me. Mainly because my jumping off of the couch days are gone for now. I really have a hard time getting off of the couch. He brought over the bag and I looked inside Sure enough it was that pretty blue box with a red ribbon on it this time. ;0) I couldn't believe it!!! I kind of gave a little squeal. ha ha I mean how did he do this? When did he do this? Nothing had shown up on the bank account so how did he pull this off? Well apparently he is very sneaky!!! So I opened it all up and thought it was pretty awesome what he got. It is a beautiful pendant that can be attached to my Tiffany charm bracelett, or I can use it as a necklace. It says Mom on the front, and then he bought engraving so I can have Riley written on the back. ;0)
What Chuck did is so sweet and loving. He didn't want anything for Christmas so he convinced me that it was best if we didn't go all out for Christmas. lol So that gave him the opportunity to do something all sneaky and sweet!! I still felt horrible that I didn't get him anything. And I wish I could just pull something out and give it to him. He can do things sometimes that completely catches me off guard. I really wasn't expecting a gift from him....let alone something from Tiffany's!!!! He can really surprise me when he wants to. lol And to top it all off......he just hid it by placing it on his workbench in the garage. lol Since I am so large and pregnant.....I don't fit well in the narrow little isle in the garage anymore. So he was literally able to put it in plain view, and I would never have found it. lol Sneaky guy!!!

The rest of the day was literally spend being as lazy as possible. I mean we really didn't do anything. My amazing man husband made the entire Christmas dinner. My body has really been aching the last few days and so Chuck let me take a small nap and relax. He got the turkey in the cooker, cooked and mashed up the potatoes, and made the stuffing and corn. He opened up the can of olives, and made everything perfect!! He is so sweet. Normally I am the one really pushing for Holiday spirit, and the one to get things going. I thought it was very sweet and amazing for him to really make things happen where I did not have the energy or motivation to do it this year. I am really thankful that he did this for me. He is such a great an amazing man!!

So this is our last year to have a Christmas with just the two of us. For 10 Christmases I have struggled a little to be able to make Christmas feel like it did when I was a kid. But next year I will really be able to start some of those big traditions that I had growing up. Our little Riley bug will be 11 months or so by then and so he will be at a good age to get that he is getting a gift. Granted he won't understand thw whole Santa thing yet......but the year after that he will be at the perfect age to understand it more. I am so excited to make a big deal out of Santa and his reindeer next year. And to start those fun traditions of opening one gift on Christmas Eve and such. It is really going to be fun.

Well that is all for now. I hope everyone had an amazing holiday with their family and friends.

XoXo-Andrea Carla

Just call me Scrooge!!

I have not been feeling the holiday spirit this year. I wish I was, but for Thanksgiving I wasn't in the mood for the whole dinner thing. My sweet Husband really came through, and he cooked the entire Thanksgiving dinner all by his onesies!! ;0)

And unfortunately this year for Christmas I am just not feeling the spirit. Sure I want to buy my husband tons of gifts, and such. But the desire to decorate the tree and have to clean it up after, and even thinking of making a huge Christmas dinner for the two of us just seems a little overwhelming. I am just not feeling it. So we have a HUGE wonderful smelling Christmas tree right now with one ornament on it, and one strand of Tinsel. lol Yah we are pretty festive here. ha ha ha ha

Chuck and I decided to not do the whole presents thing this year. We wanted to catch up on Bills, and just get last minute things for our Riley bug. ;0) I hate that I won't be able to give Chuck a huge Christmas, but we don't need to really spend a lot of money on junk we don't need. ha ha ha

This year we have received more family Christmas cards than we have in the last 10 years!! It has been so fun to get all of these cards. I only wish we had been able to get a card made this year. But next year we will really have a cute card as Riley will almost be a year old.

Well that is all for now. I really hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas, a Happy Holidays, and a Wonderful New Year!!!!

XoXo-Andrea Carla

"She held the baby on her head."

I stumbled upon this article on a blog and found it interesting.


I've been reading the story of last month's arrival of the new baby gorilla to gorilla mom Kiki at Boston's Franklin Park Zoo in the Boston Globe magazine. I've been learning about species survival plans and the ethics of breeding endangered animals in captivity.

This new baby is Kiki's third, and she's now a pro at nursing. But the article described what happened with her first baby, born eleven years ago:

"Eleven years ago, when Kiki was pregnant with Kira, things weren’t nearly so relaxed. One concern was that Kiki had been hand-reared at the Bronx Zoo and later the Philadelphia Zoo. This wasn’t unusual in the early ’80s, but zoos now operate on the principle that gorillas learn best from other gorillas. So the zoo staff was frantic that Kiki wouldn’t know what to do with the newborn. One zoo staffer’s wife had just given birth, and they brought her in twice a week for a month to breast-feed in front of Kiki, just to show her how it was done. Keepers camped out at night next to the gorilla holding area in case the baby came in the middle of the night.

They were right to be afraid. Kira arrived healthy, but Kiki didn’t know how to nurse. “It was painful,” Jackle says. “She was a good mom, she held it, but she didn’t know what to do with it. She’d never held a baby before, so she held it on her head, she held it everywhere she could put it, but not on her breast. And then finally 36 hours later the milk came and somehow she got the baby in the right position by accident.”

Wiessinger offered this story: A female gorilla, born and raised in the zoo, gave birth to an infant. In an attempt to nurse it, the mother held the infant incorrectly, with the back of the baby's head toward the nipple. The keepers feared for the infant's life and took the baby away. During the gorilla's next pregnancy, the keepers tried an experiment. They lined up a group of breastfeeding humans outside the cage and allowed the mother gorilla to observe. When her next infant was born, the mother gorilla, too, turned the baby toward her breast and everything went fine.

I love how this shows that feeding is a social act, learned at least in part by watching others. For more stories of how other mammals feed their babies, check out this podcast - one of my favorites.