Q and A...

To simplify I am addressing the top questions I have had...

Are you sick?
No (BIG knock on wood). I know this means other women hate me, or that I will have the worst contractions in the world, or be cursed with a perma-colicky baby or some other miserable curse to balance the prenatal karma in the universe. I will keep you posted but as for now -- we are cruising without chucking.

Had any cravings?
I don't think you can count frozen yogurt...but I have been on this caesar salad kick (the kind you buy in a bag from the grocery store...and I do have a very specific kind from my youth that reminds me of when my parents were gone and we had a sitter). As my Dad has reminded me with a well-timed Dave Barry quote, "you are eating for two, but the baby is the size of a tangerine, not a Volkswagen."

Are you excited?
Duh. This falls into the same category of "here's your sign" questions as when people asked my brother-the-groom last week if we was excited to get married. Of course.

Is my Mom excited?
Also a no-brainer, but to give you some context, this is her first grandchild and when I told my parents I was pregnant my Dad stated, "They could drop a nuclear weapon in the Middle East today and she would still have a smile on her face." Yes she is excited. She would be nesting her nursery if she hadn't already done that....you know...about 4 years ago.

Are you going to find out what you are having?
Probably. Still harboring some fantasies that I could be patient enough to wait for the big surprise, but since I have a blossoming project list of baby things to make and have the time NOW...versus in November when I you know..technically still in law school, I am erring on the side of finding out.

My hunch is that its a boy. Don't ask how I know. I just feel boyishness.

So you are having a baby in November -- aren't you in law school? Are you insane?
Possibly. Jury is still out on science.

Yes, I am still in law school, BUT I am graduating in December, so really, we are only talking about one crazy month of newborn + studying for finals. I have a vision of me doing a night nursing with the baby and leafing through a law textbook with my highlighter (this will likely not happen)...but in my head it all works out.

Thanks for all of the congratulations! Yeah for babies. (speaking of...saw the documentary with my cousin Kelly, who is also preggers, and it was fabulous, of course this is also coming from two women who are very baby-crazy at the moment but still, it was cute, even if the white baby was the least exciting)

Happy Mother's Day.

Heaven and Hell -- Britt's version

Inspired by Lexy---

My heaven:

• Anthropologie without price tags
• Cake batter frozen yogurt
• Reading in a car warmed by the sun
• Perfectly organized/labeled iTunes
• kettle corn
• Sunday morning snuggles
  

My hell:

• cereal boxes that don't close anymore because someone impatiently ripped them open
• NPR jazz music
• weak lemonade...go big or go home...
  
• mom jeans
• carpet like this...
• ...frightening similar to the carpet in our own basement student apartment
• single socks

Mike's graduation

So I cajoled my husband into walking for graduation at the last minute, with photos here to prove it. Michael finished school in August, so it was a bit of a belated celebration. However, since our good friends Lexy and Jared were here graduating as well, we just had ourselves a whole bunch of commencement fun. They said their work phones, respectively, were the real markers of their "graduation" -- which is good considering Mike's ringtone is of an angry Irish man reciting a death-prayer.




Ok...fun might be a bit of a misstatement, because apparently the Marriott School is letting EVERYONE in these days and the convocation was bit long. However, Lex and I survived by playing on free rice and winning grains for the hungry with words like vallecula...don't get too excited...it means groove.

My end of the year was not as exciting (no cap and gown, or sweet-looking Jedi hood that I will be wearing next year), but instead included scary looking outlines like this:

And some super psyched study-group members. I tell myself we will laugh about these days later on, when the pain of finals and the 2-week hell of pre-final studying/stressing wears off...but I 'm not so sure....

Our inner tube water polo team did come quite close to winning the intramural championship, which at BYU is akin to the Superbowl. You don't understand how desperate zoobies are here for physical exertion and a chance to flirt in wholesome c0-ed recreation. Go Torts Illustrated!

St. Patrick's Day

We had a fun time celebrating over at our cousins' house with the Cooneys. And as you can see, little Lily had a fun time using Mike as a human jungle gym. While he wasn't as jazzed by the new birthday dress (thought it was a bit busty on him) - they do make a cute pair.

We finished off the night watching Gnome Mobile - a movie you would know only if you grew up in the Cooney family, where Shirley Temple and and the like were worshiped with an almost cult-like love. The boys weren't too happy about stopping their very traditional and celebratory-Call-of-Duty-death-game, but interest piqued up after the climax of the movie involved gnome wives in colored nightgowns chasing after eligible bachelors.

Happy Paddy's Day.

And that's why you always leave a note...

Some winter randomness. Our dryer has been broken for months (since Christmas and was finally replaced this week.) My handy husband successfully installed it, miner's lamp and all.

However there was considerable swearing involved with the procedure.

I went to Kansas City with my Mom to visit my oh-so-talented ballerina cousin perform in two different ballets. This is me at a considerable less elegant but delightful locale- Gates BBQ. This place was amazing, which was good considering we almost missed our flight home while basking in burnt ends and brisket. This picture is likely blurry because of the high speed at which I was devouring my meal.

Amidst our shopping and eating we also visited Liberty Jail, a church historic site with a rebuilt version of hte original jail that held Joseph Smith and friends for four cold months. (the sun was shining and that town still felt freezing, can't imagine chilling in a literal "ice house" for weeks on end).
Stopped by the house I was born in. That was my nursery through those bay windows. Mom had a great time reminiscing about the town and the memories of being a first-time mom in a new city. As a bonus, some old friends did a rendition of a Baptist tune I used to sing quite exuberantly to anyone who would listen, and maybe not even requiring that - gotta' love preschool.


Cousin Sophie and I. She was a hit in Kansas City -- its amazing how babies are appreciated outside of Utah.
The Cooney family at Mallory's dress rehearsal.
Mike and his brother Matt at Tucano's on his birthday.


Us at Snowbird.

I told her the cha-chang was the funnest part of a shotgun. You just can't help yourself. Let it be known that my husband has engaged in a general arms buildup akin to a military operation and likely has more firepower than some European countries.

More skiing/riding. As a friend pointed out - we should have cute kids because we both have "baby faces." Good to know our cheek fat will be useful for something...

Snow-heidi.

Valentines Day

This picture was posted on my new iphone..the sneaky present that my hubby surprised after enduring weeks of whining from his wife that she was the only female member of her family without one. (its true...through disappointing my persuasive tactics had to be so juvenile) He sabotaged my day by stealing my phone (have you ever tried to coordinate rides at a out-of-town conference without a phone..yeah..its no bueno), but I was more than happy when he put it into my hands. I have now gotten completely synched and updated and am pretty sure my phone could run our country better than some of the eejits in Washington (snow included...I have a weather app...). I am darn sure it could balance the budget...don't be fooled by the bubble wrap popping or ball physics games, this baby can p-r-o-c-e-s-s.

On Valentine's Day itself, we enjoyed a nice steak dinner. Although because of the lateness of Mike's meetings on Sunday he had to get a little creative with his grill-game (e.g. headlamp). The steaks were great, if not blasphemously-rare for any vegetarian, and we had a relaxing meal on our freshly cleaned table. (this is indeed a momentous occasion, we are more ottoman folk, and I don't mean we like the Turkish Empire).

I decided in lieu of the WWII movie we watched the night before to go all out with my dress for church. What-- you don't like to incorporate vintage-costume style wardrobing for church? Missing out.

And I gave Michael his present, a collection of Marine aviation books and a pistol-shaped egg fryer. Love you honey (despite the fact that he once again preempted my gifting by buying himself something, in this case a new weapon that rhymes with basalt trifle.)