Taco Bell, you know me too well

Nothing much to report from the Bogart household today, so I figured I'd just share a tiny bit of humor with you all compliments of Taco Bell... Enjoy!

With my overall general love of Mexican food and my increased craving for it with this pregnancy, we've been eating at Taco Bell more frequently as of late. And you know how they have those taco sauce packets there with the funny/clever little sayings on each of them? I love those! And it's pretty much the highlight of the trip for me picking out a handful to put on our food and reading which ones I get while we wait for our food. Well, somehow the past three (yes, three!) times we've been there, I've managed to get exactly one with this saying:

The first time it happened, Ryan and I both had a good chuckle. The second time, it was even more funny. By the time it happened a third time last week, Ryan insisted that I take a picture and post about it on the blog because he thought it was so funny. It might just dumb luck that I keep getting this message and it might be the employees strategically placing it on the top of the pile for me to grab as they watch me waddle up through the parking lot yet again... either way, it's still pretty funny.

I feel your pain, Mr. Hot, I really do.

Oh Christmas Tree! Oh Christmas Tree!

This Monday night, after a long weekend of Thanksgiving festivities in Walker, Ryan and I finally put up our Christmas tree. I know what you're probably thinking - "Finally? It's not even December yet, you're way ahead of the game!" And you would be right. It isn't December quite yet, and it is only the first week after Thanksgiving, but I have been itching to put up and decorate a tree since it hit November.. so for me it felt like I had waited about two lifetimes.

We decided to go with a fake tree this year despite my hesitation. It just makes sense for us with all the uncertainty of having a baby around the holidays because Lord only knows how long it will stay up past December 25th. I figure taking down Christmas decorations probably won't be my first priority with a brand new baby in the house and exhaustion to go with it. But it still does make me a little sad on the inside... it's just not the same! I miss that delicious pine tree smell! I just have to keep reminding myself about how much less maintenance it's going to require - no crawling under the branches and getting poked by the needles in order to keep it hydrated and no daily vacuuming to pick up those pokey needles either. My tired, pregnant body appreciates that part for sure.

To Ryan, it's not an issue. His family has had a fake tree for many years and so that's what he's used to anyways. Not me.  For this northern Minnesota girl with fond childhood memories of picking out a real tree every year with my family the day after Thanksgiving, it is slightly heartbreaking. But there's many more years of Christmas yet to come! And in anticipation of future years filled with great-smelling, pokey pine needles we got our tree on Black Friday for 50% off at Target. That way we won't have to feel guilty if it only gets used for a few years. :)

What's even more heartbreaking than not having a real Christmas tree this year, though, is not having a fireplace to hang stockings over. To a lot of people, I'm sure I must seem crazy. But being the daughter of a fireplace manufacturer, that's a pretty big deal! I was out buying Christmas decorations a couple weeks ago and I got all excited when I found these super cute stockings because we didn't have any and of course everyone needs stockings... and then I got home and realized - "We have nowhere to hang them!" But have no fear friends! Ryan helped me find a suitable place on the wall for them and they still look super cute.

Now if only we could get some snow to go with my stellar Christmas decorations, it would feel like it's almost December... Plus, rumor has it that low pressure systems can help induce labor. I don't know about you, but I could definitely go for this baby being born in time to enjoy our fake Christmas tree and a white Christmas. Just saying.

Happy Hump Day!

Remembering to Give Thanks

Recently, and this week in particular, I've found myself grumbling and complaining a lot. But, in my defense, it's hard not to when you're 9 months pregnant... I'm achy, I'm hormonal, and I'm SO ready to meet this baby! But I shouldn't make excuses for it... Really, it's a bad habit to complain all the time. So today I finally decided to stop and give myself a reality check. Tomorrow is Thanksgiving - a day devoted entirely to giving thanks for the all good things in your life that you may take for granted the rest of the year. I realized today that I should spend less time complaining and more time remembering the abundance of things I have to be thankful for. Especially this year. Because I have so many.

So I played this game today. It's called "What I Say vs. What I Mean". Basically, every time I had a complaint throughout my day, I stopped and thought of a good way to say the same thought so I seem more grateful for my multitude of blessings and less like a spoiled brat. It went something like this:

What I say: "Wow, my back hurts again this morning. Imagine that."
What I mean: "Back aches suck, but I'm so thankful that a few aches and pains are all I can complain about when it comes to being pregnant. It could be so much worse."

What I say: "Did these stretch marks grow more over night, or is it just me? Either way, my stomach sure does itch!"
What I mean: "I'm thankful that my son is still inside growing big and strong even if it means getting more "battle scars". I'm so thankful for whoever invented Palmer's Cocoa Butter. It's like heaven on itchy, stretched skin."

What I say: "I really wish Ryan didn't have to be gone all day, everyday with work and school. I get lonely all day at home alone."
What I mean: "I am beyond thankful that I married such a motivated, hard-working man. It's so great that he can go back to school for something he loves and get paid to do it.  It's only because he works so hard that we can afford for me to stay home with the baby after he's born and I'm really looking forward to that."

What I say: "How is it possible that our laundry has piled up so much? I really don't feel like washing, folding, and putting away clothes ALL DAY."
What I mean: "I'm so glad to have a closet full of clothes (even though half of it doesn't fit right now). It's awesome to wake up in the morning and not only have something to wear, but to have a choice about what I want to wear."

What I say: "Bills, bills, and more bills! I hate checking the mail and finding bills almost as much as I hate paying bills."
What I mean: "I live in a heated, lighted apartment that has internet and Netflix and I have enough money in our checking account to pay for all of these luxuries. I am one lucky girl."

What I say: "This child has SO. MUCH. STUFF. It's not even fair. He probably has more things than Ryan and I combined. I'll never have his nursery organized and cleaned before he's born at this rate."
What I mean: "We have been beyond blessed by our amazing friends and family with almost everything we could ever need or want for our baby boy. We'll never be able to fully show our gratitude for their extreme generosity and kindness even if we tried. Our son is already loved and he isn't even born yet. My heart is so full of love for him and our support system that it might burst at the seams right along with his dresser drawers."

You get the idea now? It's a great game. I felt a heck of a lot more upbeat and positive today than I have in a while when I just took a couple minutes to gather my thoughts and get a new perspective. And how could I not? When I just sit back and look at all the things I have to be thankful for this year, it makes me teary-eyed. Yeah, yeah, I know part of that is the hormones talking... but seriously!

Okay, enough with the mushy-gushy talk for one day! It's time for me to pack my bags and prepare for the trip to Walker tomorrow where I'll get to see my amazing family and friends and stuff my face with good food. Oh! I almost forgot! That's another thing that I am thankful for this year! I don't have to restrain myself when eating Thanksgiving dinner for fear of gaining a pound or two... I'm already "fat" and I'm allowed to get "fatter" for the next three weeks until this baby is born! God bless being pregnant over the holidays!

Thankfully Yours,
-Big Mama Bogart

The Week of The Baby

You know how the Chinese calendar has every year represented by an animal? Like "The Year of the Dragon"? Well, I feel like this week in the Bogart family is "The Week of The Baby". It all started last Saturday with another wonderful baby shower thrown at my mother in law's house by Ryan's aunt, Wendy, and my sister in law, Jen. There was delicious food, baby-themed games, and many more presents for little Baby Bogart. Seriously, this kid's stuff is going to overtake our apartment before he finally decides to make his grand entrance. No joke. Who knew such a little person could have so much stuff?!

After our busy weekend in Rogers, it was back up to Duluth for a week jam-packed with baby classes. Last night was the first class of the week: "Bonus Night" aka Infant CPR and Carseat Safety. The class was "free" if you signed up and are taking the Labor & Delivery courses at the hospital. It was super informative and slightly terrifying at the same time. Although I do feel much more informed and better prepared, I'm also terrified that I will be one of the 80% of parents to incorrectly use my car seat or that I will actually have to do CPR on my own child. What? I'm actually going to be responsible for this life that we've created? Holy. Crap.

And as if the class last night wasn't enough to make me sweat a little, this weekend Ryan and I will be taking the actual Labor & Delivery classes as well. It is going to be a long Friday night and all-day Saturday spent in good company with other soon-to-be-parents learning about all the "fun" we'll have sometime within the next month or so. I'm sure that these classes will also make me feel better prepared and more informed, and really I wouldn't want to not take them, but I guess I'm just a little terrified in general of the whole daunting task of delivering a baby. I hear that's normal though, right?

Really though - I guess I'm not even that worried about him actually being here and taking care of him as much as I am worried about me having to get him here. Sure, I'll be exhausted for a while and it will be a major adjustment for our family, but at least I have a little bit of experience with babies. The labor and delivery part? Yeah, not so much. I wish we could just skip that part. Wake me up when he's here, okay? :)

Thankfully, after the fear-instilling classes this weekend I have something else to look forward to. My nerdy and totally awesome chemical engineering friends are throwing a party in honor of Baby Bogart on Saturday night. I guess, technically, they are calling it a baby shower but it's more just an excuse for all of us to get together, eat some food, and play some games. I'm just impressed that they found the time and energy with their crazy school/work schedules to fit in anything besides more sleep this weekend. But I'm so thankful that they fit me into their busy lives because I never get to see them anymore since I'm not in school and that's where they practically live. I can't wait! Hopefully I can stay awake past 8 pm to enjoy it.

So there you have it, folks! The Week of the Baby! So much celebration and preparation for such a little person. Hopefully with all this excitement he'll get antsy and want to come out sooner rather than later to join in on the fun. We can only hope...

35/35 on 11/11/11

Today is a big day Blogger World! I am 35 weeks pregnant today! Which means I only have 35 days left to be pregnant! (35 weeks down / 35 days left! Woot woot!) How super duper exciting is that? Sooo exciting! Here I am this morning being very excited to only have approximately five weeks left before I can finally meet our little boy:

And in honor of me making it this far without any major difficulties (thank The Lord!) and also in honor of my new friends, Stretch and Marks, who decided to rear their ugly heads this week for the first time (bleh! I thought for sure that I would get lucky enough to squeak by without any!)... I wanted to share with you all this beautiful pin that I found on Pinterest:

Granted, my stomach isn't nearly as marked (yet) as the pictured one is. But even if it was it wouldn't matter to me anymore. The caption is so true and it brings tears to my eyes every time I read it. And that might just be the hormones, but it is very touching whether you're hormonal or not. There is something truly beautiful about a mother's marked stomach. But I didn't always feel that way... I used to be terrified of getting stretch marks because, well because, I'm still young and I'm selfish and I want to be able to confidently wear a bikini again darnit!  But if a few (or many) stretch marks is the price I have to pay for my baby to be born healthy then so be it!

Well, I'm off to lather on the coco butter! I'll take the stretch marks if I have to, but I won't go down without a fight!

TGIF!
-The Marked Mama

Christmas season controversy

Being that this is the second year of marriage for Ryan and I, and consequently the second holiday season we have spent under the same roof, it is also the second year that he and I have had a little "tiff" of sorts around this time of year. You see, as soon as it passes Halloween and hits November I sort of act like a department store - I immediately get the "Christmas itch" and have this burning desire to decorate my whole house, watch Christmas movies, and play Christmas music all. the. time. Ryan, on the other hand, would prefer to wait at least until after Thanksgiving to break out the Bing Crosby and "deck our halls"... and it causes some problems. (No, not the Kim Kardasian "irreconsilable differences", file for divorce after 72 days sort of problems... but problems none-the-less.)

Luckily for Ryan, this year I have restrained myself pretty well. I have yet to put up any decorations, I haven't watched a single Christmas movie, and I've only listened to Christmas music once. And it was even when he was gone at school! But it's not because I'm trying all that hard for his sake. Oh no, I haven't waved the white flag of defeat quite yet. It's just that the unseasonably warm weather (and lack of snow) has made it a little harder to get into the mood for Christmas. But have no fear boys and girls! The temperatures are dropping and there is snow in the forecast for later this week! I think my goal for next week will be to start hunting down some more inexpensive decorations, slowly start integrating  the good ol' clay-mation Christmas classics into my daily routine, and create a stellar Christmas playlist on Pandora. After all, it will be the third week of November! :)

Ho, Ho, Ho! Merry Thursday!

Working on The Range

Okay, does the title of this post make anyone else feel like singing the "I've been working on the railroad..." song? Because that's what inspired me and I'm pretty sure I will have that in my head the rest of the day... and it's my own darn fault... haha dangit. Anyways, enough of my scattered pregnancy brain thoughts! I did a post a couple weeks ago now about Ryan having an interview up at Hibbing Taconite for Cliff's Mining and how excited I was for him because this job opportunity had pursued him, not the other way around. Well, I'm happy to report that I have yet another reason to be excited for/proud of my husband this morning as he officially accepted their offer and will be interning there starting in mid-May. Yippe!

Like I had said before, the location for the internship isn't the most ideal because the mine is about an hour and a half away from our apartment and it will mean many long days for Ryan... but it's such an amazing opportunity and he's genuinely excited about working there. (Plus, it pays really well too!) In fact, on top of the generous hourly wage, they pay their interns who live 60+ miles away from the facility an extra $500/month to cover the expense of either driving every day or living up there.

We still haven't hashed out the specifics about whether Ryan will get a small studio apartment up there during the week and come home on weekends or if he'll drive there every day - but we'll figure it out. Ryan is leaning towards wanting to drive even if it means leaving for work at 5:30 am (because they start their days at 7:00) and not getting home until after 6:00 at night. Bless his heart, he's too worried about leaving me home alone with the baby and missing out on too many milestones in Brock's short-lived infant stage. Man, do I have a keeper or what? :)

And that's about all I know on this chilly November morning! All it takes is a little hard work and persistence and a whole lotta praying to get where you want to be in life. Even in this tough economy, and barely two years after getting turned town for every single summer job he applied for (including Walmart) the summer we got engaged, my husband is employed to a fantastic company six months before his job is even set to begin. We are so blessed. God is so good.

Happy Day!
-The Bogarts