What the weather?!

So I'm pretty sure it's December 31st.

But as Scott and I took a wonderful walk around our neighborhood this morning, we decided it might actually be late March or early April. I think it's like 65 degrees and humid. Pretty crazy!

We're also under a tornado watch. And most recently tornado warning. So far it's just cloudy. We'll see if it storms big and bad or not. (I do secretly wish we had a basement when big storms are predicted) I'm starting to hear a little thunder now...hmm :-)

In other news, well, there's not really any other news. Still waiting patiently for a sweet little baby! If anyone has any ideas of fun things to do to occupy our time, we'd love to hear them! We're starting to get a little bored and are tired of trying to think of new things to do.

Crazy crazy day and night

Yesterday was absolutely crazy!!

Readers Digest:

-Planned to go see a matinee of Tangled, sale at Gymboree and dinner at Macaroni Grill.

-Tickets were too expensive, so cancelled. Sale was disappointing. Mac Grill and Chili's both closed with about 6 fire trucks, 2 ambulances, and an assortment of police cars checking out an "electrical problem"

-Googled next closest restaurants. Found a road closed dead end with a non-existent Chili's after 12 miles of driving. Drove another 9 miles to get to the one we knew existed. Another 7 miles home.

-Before we even started the adventure I said to Scott "man, wouldn't it be the icing on the cake if we couldn't eat at Macaroni Grill for some reason?" ...I was having a bad day. And that statement came true.

Details (for those more invested):

We planned after lunch to go check out a clothes sale at Gymboree, then see a matinee of Tangled around 4:30, then head to Macaroni Grill to use a gift card we had for dinner. As we were getting ready, Scott checked movie prices and realized that since it's a "holiday period" it would cost $10 a ticket for a matinee! So we scratched that. Instead we decided to head over to DSW to check out some shoes and find me some cute new tennies. Which we did. On our way I said to Scott "man, wouldn't it be the icing on the cake if we couldn't eat at Macaroni Grill?" I was having a depressing day.

Then over to Sports Authority to kill time and see what they had. Then we drove to the mall to see if there was any cute baby clothes on sale at Gymboree. Of course we found nothing. It was a huge let down. So we walked around the mall for a while...thinking that it was pointless to shop for anything because I'll be changing sizes soon. Eventually we got hungry and decided to go to dinner.

As we were leaving, we heard tons of sirens and fire trucks getting closer and closer. We drove out of the parking lot and realized all those emergency vehicles were going to Macaroni Grill too! We decided to see what was up. Apparently they had some electrical problem so they were closed. But, we got $10 in gift certificates, so that was fine. So we decided to hop over to Chili's next door and eat there. Also closed.

So I looked up the nearest Mac Grill and nearest Chili's. MG seemed too far away (8 miles in the opposite direction) but there was a Chili's only a few miles from our house...but 12 miles from us. We decided to check it out. 20 minutes later, we got to a closed road with no Chili's in sight. At this point I was so tired, hungry, frustrated and depressed it was hard not to cry. Scott didn't want to give up though, so we drove another 9 miles out to another Chili's we knew existed. Finally, we got food.

After all that driving we realized it would've been faster to go to the Mac Grill that was 8 miles away. Or just go to the Chili's we knew existed. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry about the whole adventure, so I did both. Scott mostly laughed. It was crazy.

We joked about that if I went into labor later that night, our adventure would be a good recipe for natural induction! Stress, lots of walking, bending to try on shoes, more walking, bumpy roads, and spicy food. But of course, it didn't happen. Why it was SO difficult to enjoy a night out to eat using a gift card, I have no idea. Oh well, we still had fun.

How to Induce Labor

So I have been quite amused (and sometimes annoyed) at everything I hear and read that people swear by works to induce labor. I thought I would make a list and share those things I've heard up to this point. Some of them are just wacky. Enjoy. :-) And, if you have any to add, feel free!

1. Walking

2. Sex

3. Exercise

4. Nipple Stimulation

5. Acupressure

6. Acupuncture

7. Reflexology

8. Castor oil

9. Blue Cohosh

10. Black and Blue Cohosh

11. Primrose oil

12. Raspberry leaf tea

13. Spicy food

14. Pineapple

15. Oregano

16. Walking up and down flights of stairs

17. Walking one foot on and one foot off a curb

18. Squats

19. Jumping jacks

20. Cleaning your house

21. Praying

22. Pep talks to the baby

23. Don't think about it

24. Get in a fender bender

25. Swimming

26. Bouncing on a pilates ball

27. Strip membranes

28. Relax and be patient

29. Bumpy car rides

Other things I've seen/heard:

-When you get a big burst of energy, you'll probably go into labor within the next day!

-When you feel really miserable you're about to have the baby.

-When you feel really great you're about to have the baby.

-You might throw up or have diarrhea and then go into labor the next day.

-If you do acupressure, you'll go into labor in the next 12 hours.

-If you're really stressed out, the baby won't want to come into that atmosphere so he'll stay in longer.

-The baby releases hormones when his lungs are developed and those hormones cause labor to start.

-More women go into labor when there is a big weather event or storm because of the air pressure change. (we have thunderstorms forecasted for tomorrow, the 31st.)

And my top favorite that I have now heard twelve trillion times: "Don't worry. He'll come as soon as he's ready. Just be patient."

Yes, I believe it's true, and I trust you, but I'm the one with the huge bowling ball belly that I'm ready to have disappear! :-) Plus, I'm really terrible at being patient...

p.s. I have tried at least half the things on the list...but to no avail.

Christmas, baby, life

Perhaps I should record our wonderful Christmas together.

It was SO low stress and very relaxed! I absolutely loved it. Granted, I did miss being with family, but I really enjoyed just being with my hubby. On Christmas Eve we spent the day cleaning and organizing our apartment. It was actually really fun to work together and get it all spick and span. We also got everything 100% completely done for the baby. All the laundry is done, everything is cleaned, put away and ready for a baby. Later on we ate some dinner and watched "It's a Wonderful Life" on tv. I've never seen it before. I loved it!! Probably one of my new favorite Christmas movies. Afterward we had a nice spiritual discussion, sang some Christmas songs and went to bed.

Christmas morning we got up, made a delicious breakfast feast together and cleaned it up together. Then we opened our stockings first before the presents. Scott played the role of his dad from their house of handing out the gifts one at a time. Of course with just two of us it didn't last long. But we had a fun time. :-) One of our favorite gifts was from his parents...a beautiful, framed, large, picture of Christ with children gathered around. We only have a small picture of Christ, so it's nice to have something large for the wall!

Later on that afternoon we cooked some yummy rolls, sweet potatoes and a ham for Christmas lunch with the Williams and Missionaries. All of us were running late, but it turned out great anyway. It was fun to be with friends and Missionaries to eat a big feast. Then we called our families and chatted a bit before watching a movie. Then it was pretty much bed time. So not really exciting, but very chill which was perfect.

Also, it snowed. Like 4 inches. It was gorgeous!!

As for baby news, well there's not really much. I definitely haven't been feeling good this weekend at all. On Thursday we went to the mall, the loop and the Zoo to walk around and get moving. It was fun to be with the Reheisse's and get some exercise. Did it help the baby move? Who knows. But Friday late afternoon til now I have just been feeling icky. Super tired, a fair amount of contractions and crampiness, and just feeling nauseous and icky. We've also noticed that he seems to have dropped some. Maybe not a huge amount, but my belly looks different now than the pictures I took a week ago. It'd be nice to know when this baby is coming. I know he's due in 2 weeks, but I just want to have him this week! Like tomorrow would be fabulous.

Last week I told Scott I couldn't have a baby that week because I didn't feel ready and had so much to do. But that once I got everything done, he could come. I also have a doc appointment scheduled on the 27th. When we made the appointment I was thinking "Oh, that's the day I want to have the baby." Also, my mom said he could come anytime after 10 am on Sunday (today) before the 30th. Now that everything is done I have no stress and it's just a waiting game. It'd be interesting to see if any of those thoughts produce anything...

We got bored this afternoon so Scott suggested packing up whatever we could for the hospital. So now we really are completely ready. I can't think of anything we haven't done that we need to do. Maybe our child will get the idea and come soon! I've been looking up acupressure points and different things to do to induce labor naturally. But honestly, I don't think it really works unless the baby is coming. And how can anyone really directly correlate the use of pressure points with labor? There is no way to prove that that's what actually did it. But it's worth a shot and can't cause any harm, so we've tried a little bit. Not religiously though. Everyone keeps saying he'll come when he's ready. And I know that. It's just so hard to not get all excited and get my hopes up for sooner rather than later. Ideally he would come tomorrow or Tuesday so my sisters can see him before going off to BYU. If he waits, Danica won't get to see him until August!!! Which would be so sad...

So here's to praying for a Carrie & Jacob/Brouwer's experience. They had Elizabeth the day before the Brouwer's moved to Australia for the next few years. Danica and Jasmine leave on the 31st, so maybe we'll have a baby on the 29th or 30th? That'd be spectacular!!!

Anyway, enough about me blabbing on and on. I'm just tired of waiting and I'm so ready to hold our little guy and cuddle him up. I haven't stopped praying and haven't lost faith for an early baby. We'll see how the Big Guy upstairs decides to bless us.

Me at 37 weeks, When will he come??

Our gangsta monkey testing out the car seat and snuggle suit.

Front.

Wooo. Look at that belly!

Good thing I got only 3 weeks left! (or less)

So now that I'm so close, I'm interested to see if anyone has any predictions of when he is going to come and how big he'll be. I don't even know who reads this, so I'd love to see predictions and see who actually reads it. Anyways, here's some info to help with predictions...

At the ultrasound a couple days ago, she said he was about 7 lbs 8 oz. (give or take a pound)

Scott was born at about 9 lbs 8 oz (correct me if I'm wrong)

I was born at about 7 lb 6 oz.

The due date is Jan 9th

He has been measuring about 7-10 days early on both the 26 and 37 week ultrasounds (but of course it's not that accurate)

Scott goes back to school Jan 10th

I think he will come between Dec. 27th and Jan. 3rd.

WHAT DO YOU THINK??? When will he come? And how big will he be?

Christmas spirit

Sometimes I think Scott and I are too nice. Especially me.

It's the weekend. Scott's done with school for 3 weeks. We gotta get this baby out!

I finally slept SO good last night and could breathe the whole night. It was fantastic! I like being at the end of a cold. :-)

The past couple days we delivered Christmas goodies to a bunch of friends. It was one of the most rewarding things I've done in a long time! It was definitely alot of work to make 100 cake bites, 100 cookies, a pan of butterscotch rice krispys, and a bowl of muddy buddies, plate about 20 plates, cover them and deliver, but it was SO worth it!

It was such a wonderful experience to be able to see people in our ward outside of church. I also felt like I was inspired to include a couple additional families on our list. When we delivered to those families it was clearly evident why I felt we needed to include them. One of them said to us "you have no idea how much I needed a treat tonight." Another two families seemed thrilled at having us come. They were younger couples who seem like they need friends our age, just like we do. Another family we weren't sure what apartment they were in. Scott wanted to give up but I was very adamant about knocking doors until we found it if we had to. I knew how strong the impression was to give to them and I wasn't about to give up. We found them right away and it was perfect timing. And a great conversation and start of a friendship.

So, overall, despite the cold air, gas money and work it took, it was so worth it. Definitely one of my favorite parts of Christmas that we'll continue doing every year! I just wish I had all the money and means available to take things to everyone! Our ward is just so awesome it was hard to narrow it down...thus why we had 20 plates. :-)

Anyway, it was a really good experience for me and also for us as a couple. We had alot of fun and that awesome warm fuzzy feeling.

As for the baby? We give him pep talks everyday telling him much we want to see him and hold him and love him. We tell him it's much more fun outside of the belly and that we want to have him here soon! We feel pretty good about getting him here early. We're trying to stay really positive and use the power of The Secret (law of attraction) to get him out. Unfortunately, too many people keep telling us that most first babies are late, the longer they are in the better, don't expect to have him early, expect him a week late, etc. I've heard all that a billion times and I know it's more normal to have first babies late, but I also feel that with alot of prayers, pep talks and a positive attitude he'll come early. :-) I just have to make sure I am completely, 100% ready and then I think the pep talks will work even better. I still got to install the car seat, wash all his clothes and blankets, make some freezer meals, get a few last minute things, etc. I plan on him coming in about 2 weeks.

And don't you tell me I'm wrong!! :-) (just send positive early vibes for him)

And that is enough blabbing for today. Perhaps I'll go to the grocery store. Or library. Or somewhere. Scott is watching the BYU game with some buddies so I'm on my own for a bit. The end.

New baby pictures! 37 weeks

I know you're all dying to see more pictures of our sweet little babe. We were too. We had a fun ultrasound today, probably the last they will do, and got another look at this cute chubby face.

He made a grumpy face from being poked by the tech. He was sleeping and didn't want to open his eyes for us. Hehe I think it's adorable. :-)

He also kept putting his hand over his face so we couldn't get a great picture. Luckily, he decided to move it part way through for us. :-)

And here's the main one they printed all nice "in color" for us. We decided he has my nose and lips, but probably Scott's mouth shape. Though it's hard to tell. Cute isn't he?

Only 3 weeks left until the due date! We're working on reigning in the power of The Secret to get him here earlier. Think positive thoughts for us...like, how much he wants to come because we can't wait to hold him, and how he's getting to squished and there's plenty of room outside the belly, and how everyone wants to see his cute face, and how he wants to hang with dad before he has to go back to school. :-)

Oh, and as we all know, ultrasounds aren't too accurate, but they can vary by about a pound or so either way. Apparently now he's weighing around 7 lbs 9 oz. So we may or may not get a huge baby. (thanks alot Scott... ;-))

christmas goodies!

So we're in the middle of making Christmas goodies for some friends.

I think we got a little carried away and thought to double the cookie recipe...we now have 101 cookies.

...that's not including the cake bites, muddy buddies and butterscotch rice krispy treats that are still in the process...

Good thing Christmas is about giving! :-)

another baby dream :-)

I caught some kind of bug this weekend or last week and I'm miserable. :-( I think this is my 3rd cold since October.

I guess it's okay this week though because Scott is still so busy with finals that it's nice for me to lay in bed and do nothing. After tomorrow though, I hope I feel radically better so I can get some much needed things done!!

I cannot believe Christmas is next weekend. That is amazing. Wow.

I cannot believe our due date is so soon. Wow.

I cannot believe Scott is nearly done with his first trimester. 9 more to go. Wow.

I had a funny baby dream last night. This time, once again, he was trying to get out of my belly. At first he pressed the outline of his bum, legs and feet against my skin so you could see them, then he popped out his whole body out of my tummy...yet he was still connected to my skin on his back. But, in my dream I got to hold him and cradle him kinda, and Scott kinda did too. And I saw his face and he was gorgeous. Had the most perfect round face with the cutest nose and sweet little eyes and lips. However, he was also about 12 pounds! Huge! After we held him we pressed him against my tummy all curled up so he could magically slide back inside my belly through my skin. Weird huh. But it was mostly cute. I'm excited to see him and see if he looks anything like in my dream!

Now back to bed for me so I can get rid of this nastiness. :-(

date night, inception, etc

**If you haven't seen Inception, you may not want to read paragraph 5. Not too much of a spoiler, but a little. Just sayin...

This baby keeps getting bigger and bigger and bigger!

I feel like my tummy is suddenly getting huge!! (...and I thought I was big before...psh, I have a horribly distorted view of myself) We're at 36 weeks today and have an ultrasound this Thursday. A delivery in about 2 weeks would be just about perfect!! Keep prayin :-)

In other news, I made the most delicious meal last night. A friend of mine gave me a recipe for sweet n sour chicken, and I have been wanting delicious "fake chinese" take out, so I made it. I was not disappointed!!! I'll post the recipe at the end. It was very yummy.

And my dear, sweet, husband went to get a movie while I was cooking. He decided to just buy Inception since we've heard such good things and didn't see it in the theaters. Plus, buying a movie new is now cheaper than a movie theater date on a Friday night. He also came back with some movie treats. And, I don't know what's going on, but he is spectacular at reading my mind these days!!! I had seriously been craving hot tamales in the car a few hours earlier but never mentioned a thing about them to him. And guess what he came home with for me? A box of hot freakin tamales!!! I was pretty dang excited! What an awesome hubby. :-)

And I pretty much ate more than half the box because the movie was so intense and chewing seemed like a good way to combat that intensity. We really enjoyed it though! As for the controversial ending, I believe he woke up and was in reality. :-) And I will also not watch that movie before going to bed. I had some crazy weird dreams...not bad, just weird.

Anyways, I'll post the recipe below and next week I'll have a 37 week bump picture to share. Yikes! I cannot believe it is so dang close!! Wahoo! I can't wait to have a sweet little baby AND get my body back!!

Sweet n Sour Chicken

4-6 chicken breasts

one egg

flour

oil to cover bottom of skillet

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Cut chicken in small chunks. Dredge in egg then flour. Brown in skillet. Dump into a baking dish.

3/4 c. sugar

1/4 c. vinegar

4 TBL ketchup

1 TBL soy sauce

1/2 teas. garlic powder

Whisk and pour over chicken. Cook for 45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes to re-coat chicken. Serve with rice and sauteed bell pepper, onion and pineapple chunks.

**My adaptations

I used 1 1/2 chicken breasts and the same amount of sauce. If I did 4-6 chickens, I would double the sauce for sure!!! I also had no soy sauce, so I used teriyaki sauce and added some salt. I also only had red wine vinegar. I also did not measure the garlic powder. I also added a few shakes of Cayenne Pepper (my fave). I also cut the bell pepper and onion into short but thick chunks (like at Panda). I also dipped the chicken in the egg and then shook it in flour in a plastic bag. I also dumped the chicken and the sauce into a skillet with the veggies as soon as it came out of the oven.

Next time I will use less sugar. It was very very sweet and I like a little more tang. I will also use soy sauce. I will also saute the bell pepper first for a couple minutes, then add the onion and pineapple chunks. The onions got soft much quicker than the pepper.

Overall? Delicious!!!!

Thoughts on Christ(mas)

This Christmas season has been different for me. In a very spiritual way.

I think it has everything to do with being pregnant. With a boy. With our first son.

This year I feel kind of a connection with Mary. I feel like I can sympathize more with her and her experience in a way. I could not imagine riding a donkey through crowded streets 9 months pregnant searching for a place to stay. It's hard to sit in a cushioned seat in the car for longer than an hour, I can't imagine what a wobbly, hard, and unstable donkey's back would be like. Miserable.

And then the stable. I've been so concerned with making sure we have everything set and ready in the baby's room: crib, sheets, clothing, boppy pillow, soft blankets, diapers, wipes, a bouncy chair, a rocking chair, a diaper trash can, a car seat, storage bins, etc. All Mary had when she gave birth was the stable and a manger. She laid her baby, her first ever son, her child, her sweet, brand new babe in a manger. With hay. Around animals. That doesn't seem very sanitary to me. (I don't want to even think about where or how she actually gave birth) Then she simply wrapped him in swaddling clothes, or a cloth. No diapers. No wipes. No changing table. No soft crib. Just a simple babe in a manger of hay.

Humbling.

I've also reflected alot on how Heavenly Mother must've felt when Christ offered to come to earth and take on our sins. I am already so protective of my child. I would not want him to have to go somewhere and suffer intolerable pain and anguish. It would break my heart. And yet, she let Him. And so did Heavenly Father.

Humbling.

I believe that not only did Christ give us the ultimate gift with the Atonement, but Heavenly Father and Heavenly Mother also gave us a priceless gift by allowing their Son to suffer and to sacrifice for man.

I am so grateful for those precious gifts in my life. And I am so grateful for the precious gift I have been given to carry this child and soon have him bless our home. I am also grateful that I have had this opportunity to be pregnant during this wonderful holiday season. It has really opened my eyes and made me really reflect and ponder the true meaning of Christmas.

Mint Kiss Cookies and Earrings

I finally feel like I have found a niche and found a hobby. And I feel like I'm kind of good at it too. Which is a bonus. But most of all, I feel more fulfilled. Like when people ask "What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?" I can give a good answer! "I love making jewelry!" I've never felt like I had a good answer to that question...I like to dance, I like to cook, I like to...uh... Yeah. But now I feel more legitimate .

Anyway, here are the most recent earrings I've created. I must say, I thought the black/white/pink earrings were awesome, but I am absolutely in LOVE with these green/black/pearl beauties!

These are nice too. I whipped em out in about 15 minutes. I plan on giving them to one of the gals I visit teach.
And I will plug in there that I have not attended a jewelry making class. I have not searched online how to make jewelry. I have not read any books. I have only had the help of Angie (sis-in-law) once with my first bracelet, and Shayla (sis) over Thanksgiving who reminded me of things I had forgotten and showed me a couple new things (and who also helped me buy everything I needed to start). Also, I must give Angie double credit because she gave me a pair of earrings that I investigated thoroughly for inspiration for the b/w/p earrings.

Other than that, this is all me. And it feels great!

Now for a little recipe...
Magical Mint Kiss Cookies

1 c. butter

2/3 c. sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 c. flour

1/4 c. cocoa

48 Candy Cane kisses

powdered sugar

Beat butter, sugar and vanilla til creamy. Mix flour and cocoa in separate bowl. Gradually add to butter mixture. Beat til creamy. Mold scant tablespoon dough around kiss and shape into ball. Bake at 350 degrees on an ungreased cookie sheet for 8-10 minutes (7.5 is perfect for me). Let cool on the pan 1-2 minutes, then transfer to wire cooling rack. Cool for about 10 minutes then roll in powdered sugar. Yum!!

*real recipe says to cool completely before rolling in the powdered sugar...I disagree. I like it to melt just slightly into the cookie.

I think these are my favorite Christmas treat!!!

Pictures of Jewelry I've made

So here are pictures of all the jewelry I've made so far. Starting with the first set. I took full shots and detail shots so you can see more of what they look like.

What is your favorite??

 This necklace is my favorite. I love it. I designed it and measured it to fit and fall exactly where I want it to on myself. And I made it to go with any outfit. :-)

I'd love to hear what you have to think!!

a new love

Okay.

I really, really LOVE making jewelry!!

I can't wait to take some pictures of things I've made. Hopefully I'll get around to that today since it'll be a long, lonely day.

The only problem is that I just want to give away all the things I make! I feel selfish keeping it for myself. Except for a killer awesome necklace I made. That one's staying in my jewelry box :-)

Big Weekend

This weekend has been pretty big.

On Friday, a member of the Stake High Counsel came over and extended a new calling to Scott. He is now the new Executive Secretary for our ward. Basically, that means he's the secretary for the Bishop. He has to attend all the meetings, take notes and pretty much schedule anything and everything and everyone that has anything to do with the Bishop. It's a pretty dang huge calling! We're really excited about it, but of course a little nervous. He's mostly worried about finding a balance between everything that is happening in his life. School (which is very time consuming), this new calling and a new baby coming soon. I know he can do it and he will do an amazing job. It helps that his Dad has had this calling 4 different times!

On Saturday we had a fun, Christmasy evening. We drove out to St. Charles and walked down Main st. It's a cute, historic little street all decorated with Christmas. We forgot to stop somewhere to eat on the way, so we ended up at a little Cafe. It was way overpriced for what we got, but there wasn't much of a choice. Especially because as soon as we walked out of the Cafe, the parade of Las Posadas started. It's a parade they do every year to commemorate Mary and Joseph walking the streets looking for an Inn. It was pretty neat to see all the characters dressed up and follow them down the street. And it turned out to be great timing when we walked out of dinner because it was freezing outside, so we didn't have to stand out there very long. On our way back to the car we stopped and got some cheap hot chocolate and a cookie. I've never tasted a better $0.60 cookie! It was SO good! (I even had a dream about it that night...trying to figure out how to recreate it.)

On our way back we stopped at the Carols and Creches exhibit at one of the church buildings here. It was incredible! Hundreds of different nativity scenes were on display. It was absolutely gorgeous. Not to mention the Spirit there was amazing. It was so wonderful to be reminded of the true meaning of Christmas. Also to see the many ways people represent Christ and the holy family through various materials and designs. We really loved seeing the display and were grateful we took to time to do so. After we got home we snuggled up and watched the OU-Nebraska game. OU luckily pulled out a win.

On Sunday we had a great day at church and spent a very relaxing afternoon and evening just being together. It was really nice to just snuggle and cuddle and talk. Scott found an old journal of mine too, so we read that together for awhile. It was hilarious!! I seriously was obsessed with boys even before I was 10. Yikes. I'm glad we're not having a girl first! We had some good laughs though, and it was fun to remember things growing up.

Also, I made Broccoli Cheese Soup for dinner. This may seem dumb, but I was SO excited!!! I've made this soup many times, but last night was THE FIRST TIME I did NOT curdle it!!!! I realized you really do have to wait til the last second to add the cheese and then remove it from the heat as soon as it's melted. It finally turned out all creamy and smooth. And it tasted delicious!

Well, we only got 5 weeks left til the due date. It seems like forever away and like time suddenly has decided to slow waay down. Scott only has a week and a half left of school. So, during that time I'll probably be pretty lonely since he'll be studying so much.

Don't judge my practicality

When you look like this...

It's a good idea to buy these...
Because when you're 8 months pregnant and it's the middle of winter, 4 inch stilleto zebra heels are most definitely the best choice.

Also because it's obviously not enough to have 3 zebra shirts and a zebra purse. I must also have the shoes.

And since when have I ever been a practical person? Especially with shoes.

I can't wait to wear them out. :-)

just things

1. I know I'm a late starter, but I just finished Catching Fire (2nd book in Hunger Games). I hated it and loved it. I need to read Mockingjay now.

2. I've started making jewelry. I love it. I'm a perfectionist. I can't wait to post some pictures of the things I've made. Not yet though.

3. I can't wait to have this baby. I know I only have 5 weeks left, but it seems like an eternity. Especially with how much pain I've been having in my upper back and upper abdomen.

4. Hot chocolate with peppermint ice cream in it is about the most delicious drink ever. Especially because Scott read my mind and knew I wanted peppermint ice cream and got it without even asking me!

5. I want it to snow.

6. Scott keeps telling me he can't believe I'm 8 months pregnant with the level of energy I have and the way I keep running around doing things.

7. But really, I need to set an alarm to remind me to take a nap during the day. I'm exhausted by 6:00 pm. After dinner I usually always say something like "time for bed now" and I mean it, but don't ever go to sleep.

Baby Dream

So I decided I had to write about a baby dream I had over Thanksgiving because I don't want to forget it!!

So basically, in my dream the baby was kicking and moving. He pressed his foot against my stomach and I could see his little footprint. Of course I was excited so I showed my mom. Then he pressed his hand against my stomach. I showed Scott and told him about the foot. Next thing I knew, he had pressed his foot completely out of my stomach and his whole leg was coming out of the top of my tummy. I was shocked but excited so I started kissing his foot and thinking it was really cute. My mom was like "don't do that! He's not clean!" but he was, he wasn't covered in the belly goo.

So then, he decided to stick his other leg out too! So there I was, walking around with two baby legs dangling out of the top of my stomach. It was really crazy and weird! I woke up thinking about how weird it was and how I had to remember it so I could tell everyone. :-)

That dream, along with the one that Justin Bieber was my OBGYN, have been my only two weird/funny dreams so far. :-)

Thanksgiving week

So now we're back from Thanksgiving and the excitement has worn down. We had a great trip out to visit my parents and family. Jasmine surprised them by showing up with Shayla and Brian. I had a feeling she was going to come. They had told me a few months ago they were all driving out. Then Jasmine made up some stories and stuff to try and convince me otherwise. It worked. But I still had that little piece of me that hoped (and knew) she was coming.

We made lots of pies and way too much food! Of course everything was delicious. My favorite Thanksgiving food is sweet potatoes. You might think that's gross, but you haven't tried them! This particular recipe has lots of butter, sugar and cream mixed in the potatoes, and then they're topped with a pecan/brown sugar mixture. So delicious!! Check out karissaskitchen.blogspot.com for the recipe.

Highlights of the week included building my own jewelry making set, being the Designated Driver on Black Friday morning (3am), attaining an amazing cashmere/wool coat and sexy pair of boots, finding the pair of zebra pumps I've wanted forever and buying them for $16, making pies with my mom and sisters, hanging out with my family, cooking, relaxing, and best of all...

...hearing my dad shriek when he realized Kandi (Shayla's dog) had jumped on the table and had her face buried in one of the buttermilk pies on Wednesday night.

(and of course Scott turned to me and worriedly said "which pie?!") (he specifically requested a lemon meringue that I made and was hoping it was not that one)

So all in all it was a great week. We are so happy Shayla and Jasmine made it home safe. They had to drive back to Utah through very scary snow and ice packed roads all across Wyoming. A normal 15-16 hour drive took them 22 hours. Yikes!! Lots of prayers went up while they were driving.

I had a doctor's appointment today as well. 34 weeks! It's fun to see people's jaws drop when they hear I'm 6 weeks from delivery. Anyway, my doctor is awesome. He is so chill about everything and I'm under the impression that he is totally all about the woman. Whatever she needs or wants she gets. He won't intervene unless it is absolutely necessary. I'm very grateful for the recommendations I got for him and that we're able to have him as our doc. He's great. Next appointment will be an ultrasound! Wahoo! I can't believe we're this close.

Suddenly as excited as I am, I don't feel ready or prepared enough for the baby to come. Yikes! Good thing I have another month. :-)

The post you've all been waiting for...our new addition!

So here it is...finally after a week I'm getting around to posting a picture. This was our early Christmas present this year:

We love it and are very thankful to have another car!!! Wahoo! It's a 2003 Toyota Highlander. We bought it used at a dealership. One owner. Regularly serviced. Amazingly clean and beautiful on the inside. We love it.

Something else I'm really thankful for??....

See it. Love it. Want to sit in it.

My parents surprised us the weekend before Thanksgiving to bring this beauty into our home. It was our "your first baby" gift. I have never sat in a more comfortable chair. And I bet you haven't either. When you come to visit, I'll let you try it out. aMMMazing. :-)

And the things I'm MOST thankful for??...

My most amazing, incredible, hott, wonderful, loving, kind, and awesome husband. 

(and remember when I was hott and tan and had cute blonde hair? next summer that'll be back...)

Our sweet little baby boy that is coming in 6 weeks (or less). We are so excited and already love him tons and can't wait to have him here!! (especially so I can be more comfortable)

What are you thankful for?

wahoo

Kansas City here we come!!!

...in a few hours.

I'm pretty stoked.

And St. Louis is rated #1 most dangerous city in America.

Awesome.

Glad we live in the nice area outside of the city :-)

attitude of gratitude

I have not written because I need to take some pictures and I want to include the pictures with the post. So, this one is going to be completely unrelated to the early Christmas gift. More on that later. :-)

Last night we gave our fireside for the youth in our ward. It was really nerve-wracking to prepare at first! We had no idea what these kids needed to hear or what we should say. Gratitude is such a huge topic that you can go a million ways with, so we definitely did lots of praying. I think everything turned out really well.

We ended up talking about how you only need 4 basic things in life to be really happy: Christ, the gospel, family and prophets. From there we talked about what gratitude is. How to be grateful for people, family, trials, and things. Then we discussed what an attitude of gratitude is. From there we talked about how to cultivate that attitude of gratitude and why it is important. We used lots of quotes from President Monson's recent conference talk. The fireside went really well! We had lots of good comments and input from the youth and the leaders. There definitely was a very special spirit there.

We really enjoyed being with the youth. I want to be called to work in Young Women's so bad! I had a ton of fun interacting with them and talking to a group of girls afterward. It was a really great time. I am SO glad we had to opportunity to do the fireside! It was definitely worth the time and preparation we put into it. :-)

In other news, I can't wait to go home for Thanksgiving. I'm so dang excited to see my sisters, Shay and Jasmine, who have been in Utah. It seems like forever since I've seen them! Unfortunately, Landon decided to take off to Florida, so we still won't have the whole family together. Dang. Maybe someday we might get everyone together...who knows when. But, we're still excited. I LOVE Thanksgiving so much! I love the food, the smells, the cooking, the naps, the football, everything. It's gonna be awesome! Only thing this year is no Black Friday spending for us...we already spent our allotment of cash for the year ;-) I can't wait to post a picture!

And this baby keeps getting bigger everyday. Even Scott tells me often that my tummy is growing bigger and the baby is growing bigger. I seriously think the 3rd tri is the time of belly explosion! I have 7 weeks left til the due date, and it's just creeping along. The more I think about it, the longer it takes. Still doesn't feel like the Holiday season yet...it's still too warm!! We had a little cool weather, but today it's back up into the high 60's/low 70's and very humid. It's supposed to storm later today and drop 20 degrees for tomorrow. We'll see what really happens.

I'm praying for at least one good snow storm this year!! I actually really miss the snow...

Early Christmas

Christmas came early for us last night....

Something we've been wanting for awhile...

Something Scott completely shocked me with because I was NOT expecting it this soon...

Something to give us both more freedom (especially me)....

Something that is BIG...

Something that we hope will last us several years...

Something that will save us money (in one specific way)...

Something that is very helpful and useful in many ways...

Can you guess what it is? :-)

I'm SO dang excited!!!

new project?

It's a little blurry from my phone camera, but just imagine a baby in there. :-) love.

I'm feeling a need to start another project now that the baby's room is all complete. I'm not sure what I want to do yet. Something useful. Something valuable. Something on a budget. Something thrifty. Something fun. I have some ideas...

-Start making jewelry.

-Finish putting together the cookbook I'm working on

-Start preparing for the holidays by finding and saving ideas for decorations, activities, traditions, recipes, etc. (holiday planner)

-Make a creative advent calendar for December. Something with more than just days counting off. Something with activities, service projects, meals, etc.

Those are my ideas for now. I got the last two from this blog. I used to know her awhile back in my parents ward. I'm amazed at how creative she is and the cool things she does. Glad I stumbled across her blog!

I can't believe how fast time is flying. I got 8 weeks until our due date. 6 1/2 weeks until we want to have the baby. It's just surreal. Yesterday was a little weird though. I didn't feel great pretty much all day. Kinda on and off crampiness and stomach pains. Not sure if it was something normal, Braxton Hicks, or something to be concerned about. I'm glad we have a Doc appointment today!

And I thought of something last night... Being pregnant has given me a whole new respect and appreciation for my body. I definitely took my body for granted before I got pregnant. Now that it's harder to do things that used to be a breeze, I've realized I should be more grateful for what I have and not always be wanting to change. I'm very excited to have the baby and work hard to get my body back. I've enjoyed being pregnant, but I'm excited to be able to do everything I used to again. So, if you're married and thinking about kids, LOVE your body now! Because it changes alot in 9 months and it's alot harder than you think. Plus, I've heard your body is never the same.

Project Baby Room: Complete!

Here is our baby's room!!

Cost breakdown:

Paint (including blue, green and primer): $30

Supplies (tape, cloths, rollers, can opener, trays, sandpaper): $20

Green lamp shade: $8.50

Lamp stand: $0.50

Picture frames: $0.50

Large picture frame (cut): $1.50

Football sign and wood balls: $10.40

Sports photos: $0.25

Total: $74.00

Since I kept everything so under budget, Scott and I decided we could splurge on the storage shelves I've been dying for. They cost $50 plus tax, and another $25 plus tax for the drawers. Overall the entire project cost around: $150. Which is the original budget Scott gave me.

I absolutely love how it turned out! Not too "baby" or too overwhelming with sports, but really warm and comfortable. It really is perfect for us.

My secret? Shop at thrift stores! It's amazing what you can find for pennies. And use spray paint. That's how we got the frames black and the dresser knobs black, also the lamp stand.

Thoughts at 32 weeks

Here's a couple pictures at 31 weeks and 5 days.

I was trying to get my whole face in. Hard when it's a self portrait. :-)

The normal side view.

And I must include on of the bare belly. No stretch marks yet! And barely a tiny pregnancy line.

So I'm really almost 32 weeks. And it's easier to say the baby is coming in 8 weeks than that I'm 31 and a half weeks. Anyway...

I really want to make sure I have a good record of this pregnancy since it's my first, so I thought it was time to write more of my thoughts, feelings, trials and blessings these past few weeks. This will probably be another long post, but it's another one for me.

I've felt really good this week. Some weeks are really hard, some days suck, some days are absolutely wonderful, and some weeks are just eh. This week has been good. Remember that phase I went through awhile back feeling so huge, ugly, dysfunctional, unattractive, burdened, and just bad? Things have gotten better. Maybe it's because I prayed alot. Maybe it's because I have a great husband. Maybe it's because I have a great family. Maybe it's because I have a great friend who is just barely farther along than me. Maybe it's because I needed my heart softened. Maybe it's because I'm now big enough that I REALLY look pregnant and people talk to me all the time. I don't know what the reason is, but I'm glad I'm over that hill.

The past couple weeks have been really fun pregnant weeks. Yes, I'm getting bigger. No, it's not that fun to be so big. But, I have learned that it's better to look in the mirror, rub my belly and say "aww what a cute baby belly and baby inside!" than to think negatively. I've also realized that I feel much better about myself when I make the effort to dress cute and TRY to look good. Even if I'm not going anywhere. Then I don't feel so frumpy. Scott made a comment a few days ago. He said "maybe you should change clothes before we go..." (why?) "because I don't want you to be a frumpy pregnant girl." I didn't think it was rude at all. He said it in a very loving tone. And it made me realize I don't want to be that frumpy pregnant girl either!!!! It never hurt anyone to wear jeans, a cute shirt and some fun jewelry vs sweats. It also never hurt anyone to dress up a little more dressy than you're used to. It also helps that my prego friend has the CUTEST clothes and always looks awesome when we go play so it gives me motivation to look really cute. And guess what? I feel better about myself!!!!

I have absolutely loved the past couple weeks of baby movement too. I can tell things are getting pretty crowded in there, and I can feel more stretching/rolling actions than jabbing. It's very fun. Plus, I can often tell when he's poking his bum or foot out. I can also tell he's head down now because of the different motions he does. It is so awesome. I really love feeling him wiggle and move inside. I still have yet to experience painful rib kicking. Though, I know his feet are up there and he kicks...just not quite in my rib. I have had the wonderful opportunity to feel a lovely burning sensation in my rib. It feels like someone set my rib ligaments on fire. Or that I got a terrible sunburn on the inside and the sun is blazing down on it. Then oftentimes that pain radiates to my back and my back hurts bad in one spot. I'm going to talk with my chiropractor today and see if there's something she can do to help. It's been very painful and annoying this week. But definitely manageable. I think he may like lodging his foot up there and not kicking, but just pushing on my rib. I'm not sure.

Everything is suddenly getting so real. We have everything we need to bring a baby home at anytime now. The room is completely set up (minus some pictures on the walls), we have a car seat, we got lots of clothes, we have towels for baths, wipes, and tons of blankets. The only thing we need is newborn diapers. But if he came home this week, we would be ready. It's amazing to walk in his room and imagine a little baby filling up all the things we have. I'm so excited. Scott is so excited. I really just can't wait to have him here and take care of him. Don't get me wrong though, I'm definitely nervous too! It's a huge responsibility to take care of a baby. And I'm not really sure what to fully expect. I'm so glad my mom will be here so when we bring him home the first day I'm not totally clueless.

Sometimes being this pregnant and being so close to having a baby is euphoric. I get little bursts of happiness and excitement all the time. I'm nervous for the actual delivery though. I've definitely decided to go 100% natural and use the Bradley Method as a guide and a help. We have some friends in our ward that used the Bradley Method and they talked to us about their whole experience. I am nervous, excited, anxious, terrified, confident. Scott is SO supportive of my decision and he is going to be the best coach. I know he will take such good care of me and he will be so supportive while I'm in labor. I'm doing my best to prepare for it, especially mentally, because I want to be strong and not have to give in to meds. My friend told me someone told her "You would never run a marathon without training and preparing first. It's the same way with natural childbirth." I think it's really true and I think that's great advice. Plus, I'm so stubborn and strong-willed that when people tell me I can't do something I typically say "Oh yeah? Watch me."

So, to wrap up, I'm very excited for this little guy to come into our lives. I cannot believe I'm nearly 32 weeks. In just 4 weeks I'll be full term and he could come anytime after that. I keep praying he will come early for me and for Scott. I have faith that the Lord will bless us and things will happen as they're supposed to. But, that doesn't mean that I pray almost every night for the baby to be early. :-) 8 weeks doesn't seem like very far away!! Especially with Thanksgiving and Christmas just around the corner.

I feel like I have been very blessed this pregnancy. I am so grateful I haven't been sick and feeling miserable. I couldn't do it. My mom and Scott both pointed out that my body was made to be pregnant. I can't help but agree with them. I think it's a huge blessing because I'm so motherly, I love children, I love serving and I love "playing house." So it just seems right that my body would be made to have babies. Life is good. I'm happy.

go here now. yum!

Go here now.

www.karissaskitchen.blogspot.com

I made the most incredible baked potato soup tonight. Read it. Make it. Love it.

Weekends are oh so fun

I have a couple pictures I want to post, but they're on my phone so I have to hook it up to the computer first.

We had such a fun weekend this past one! On Friday Scott came home and volunteered to join me with some errands I had to run. One of which included buying the 9 cube shelf at Target that I've been dying for. While we were there we passed by a popcorn maker and he was like "you want it? I want it. Let's get it." So we did. I was a little taken aback at first because I've become such a cheapo and I won't buy things unless I've wanted them for several months or if it's a really amazing deal. So I was pleasantly surprised! Then we went home and he made dinner with me, then we put together our sweet shelf and made popcorn and watched a movie. It was perfect. And even more wonderful because he didn't ever mention about studying or needing to study.

Saturday I had a baby shower here. It was SO good! Kathryn put it all together and we invited pretty much my whole ward. I was surprised at how many people came and then how many more at church the next day apologized for missing it! I got some really fun things and had an awesome time chatting with everyone and enjoying it. I LOVE OUR WARD!!!!!!

Later that day at Costco a guy asked if I was having boy or girl. I said boy. He said "Cool. If it was a girl she would be absolutely adorable if she took after you." It was so sweet!

Then we had our good friends over for dinner. We had SO much fun talking and laughing and eating big pieces of chocolate cake. It was awesome. And even more great because we're both having baby boys within a couple weeks of each other! It's been so nice to hang out with her and chat and talk baby and get everything ready. Definitely helps to have a good friend who is experiencing the same things you are! Especially because our hubbies are both at Logan.

Sunday we had church, which is awesome. An amazing lesson in RS about gratitude. It was perfect. Then we went to a different friend's house for dinner. They had their 2nd baby natural using the Bradley Method so it was so good to talk to them about everything. I asked a bunch of questions and I feel even that much better about going natural. It was also great because Scott found a BYU football watching buddy. He's very excited to have a guy to watch football with on Saturdays now.

Last night topped everything off though. We went and got a car seat and a Baby bjorn after school. Scott was SO excited about the Bjorn. He learned how to put it on and got a stuffed animal and put him inside. Then he showed me how to put it on and use it. Then he put it back on himself with the monkey and kept it on. It was SO cute because he kept telling me how you have to be careful with the baby and you can't rip the baby out and the baby can cuddle against your chest. He was also giving the monkey kisses and snuggling it like a baby. While I was making dinner he dressed the monkey up in an outfit we have and came back out with it in the Bjorn. Seriously cutest thing ever.

I think someone is REALLY excited to be a daddy. :-) I can't wait. If he is anything like he was last night with our baby, he's gonna be amazing. I already know he's going to be an amazing dad. He loves our baby so much already. It's crazy cool.

So that was a really fun way to end the day.

This morning I had one of those dreams about an old crush/guy I kinda dated, and Scott was in the dream too. We were married expecting a baby and this other guy was being kinda stalkerish. I woke up thinking how grateful I was to have Scott in my life and to be married to him. I couldn't have asked for a better husband!!!

Best pregnancy comment so far

I don't want to forget this so I thought I'd post it quick. Walking out of the gym an older guy was behind me (50's probably)

"Man, what the heck did you eat last night? It doesn't look like it settled well in your stomach."

-I kinda was like "huh?"

"Was it some sort of Mexican? A burger? It just doesn't look good. What did you eat so I don't eat it?"

-I kinda started laughing cuz I figured out what he was talking about.

"Really, what the heck did you eat last night? Burgers? Fries? Pizza? A burrito? What kind of food does that to your stomach! What the heck was it cuz I don't want that happening to me!!"

"Haha, you know, I don't even know. I keep asking myself that."

And I died laughing. I thought it was clever and quite hilarious. I wish I would've caught on sooner so I could make a witty comeback.

p.s. this is also the edited version to be rated G.

baby realization

Last night as I was drifting off to sleep I had a sudden realization...

When our baby cries when someone else is holding him, guess who they're going to pass him back to?

Me.

AHH!

I guess they might pass him back to Scott, but the mother is usually the more likely candidate. Then I'm gonna have to try and figure out how to calm him down. Oh boy...

And what if I can't calm him down and he keeps screaming while everyone is looking at me expecting him to shush as soon as he's in my arms? Yikes.

I'm a little scurred.

Sometimes at night he moves and kicks and wiggles so much it makes me feel a little sick to my stomach. At least I know he's happy and healthy. :-) Lately he really seems to like stretching out and pushing against my tummy. I've now seen (and felt) a little foot poking out twice. That's fun.

Halloween Dinner

On Halloween night we went to the Dodds' for dinner. In reverse order these are the fun things we had.

Witch hat and Bat cupcakes.

Breadstick bones with marinara

This was a skeleton out of veggies. Note the heart. :-)

Hot dog mummies (really yummy!)

Jack-o-lantern oranges with fruit salad, mummy pizzas, and worms. You can see the edge of the bowl of frog eye salad.

The worms won the best food award. They were made out of jello but put into straws so they looked like worms. The color and texture were almost identical (not that I've ever eaten a worm) so they were pretty spectacular. It was quite a fun dinner!

KC weekend

This was from the ward trunk or treat. I was a speed bump. It's not a very flattering angle for me, and my hair was having a very hard night, but you get the idea.

Once upon a time I painted a room and a dresser.

They look freakin awesome.

Pictures will be coming soon. I promise this time.

This past weekend was another fun one! We went to Overland Park for a baby shower this time. It was very fun to see many people I haven't seen in awhile. I had a great time! And we got some fun little things for the kid.

Later that day mom and I browsed Babies R Us. It's so easy to get overwhelmed there! I didn't buy anything though. Maybe next time. Then we took the boys to Nebraska Furniture Mart. Oh goodness. It was amazing. Mom and I tested out all the rocking chairs and found one we LOVE! Too bad it's $500. :-( The boys tested out every massage chair. We tested a couple after the rocking chairs.

And, we found a rocket lift-off chair. Amazing. It's for elderly people I think, but it was really fun to try out. You basically barely have to bend your knees and put your butt on the seat, then you use a remote control to lower the seat. It goes flat, then all the way reclines, then back to normal then lifts you up and away. Pretty incredible. I must say I was laughing so hard I was crying.

Then we ate at Jose Peppers. My favorite Mexican place EVER. Such a FUN night!!!!

Now I have been working on my project this week. It's coming along amazingly. I love the paint colors we (Scott) picked out. I can't wait til everything is all cleaned, organized and finished! It'll take awhile longer, but that's okay.

break?

Two weeks ago we went to KC to visit my family. My mom bought a huge bag of peanut m&m's on Saturday afternoon, and by Sunday night they were all but nearly gone.

On the way home Scott said to me "I don't want to eat peanut m&m's for a long, long time."

Guess what he brought home yesterday?

Oh yeah. Peanut m&m's.

And don't you worry...it's a Costco size bag. :-)

He's the greatest. :-)

wishful thinking

Maybe I should start taking more pictures in my life...

Some people are excellent at having their camera attached to them and capturing every moment. I wish I was like that.

I'm not.

But, hopefully I will take before and after pictures of the baby room. Let me just say that shopping at thrift stores for crafty things is awesome. I got two frames for .50 each, a lamp stand also for .50 and a large wood frame I'm going to cut up for 1.50. Add a can of black spray paint for $3.50 and a sweet lampshade for 8.00 (target) and you got some sweet decorations! Amazing what spray paint can do...

I'm just so excited to paint the big wall and repaint the dresser (sorry Kim!). Everything is going to look awesome!! And I'm estimating the whole project will cost roughly $60. If I can keep it that low, hopefully I can talk Scott into letting us get this lovely at Target! (and some blue, green and tan drawers...)

Baby News:

So far so good! I can't believe how much more active he's getting! I find that the more I'm sitting and not moving, the more active he is. The more active I am, the quieter he is. I think he just likes sleeping when I'm moving. Also, he has yet to kick me in the ribs. I've thought from the beginning that he sits really low, and I think it's a blessing. :-) The weirdest thing? From my ribs being stretched out, I have this tingling, numb, burning sensation right below my bust/around where my diaphragm is. Supposedly it's normal. Just nerves getting stretched. Sure is annoying though.

And, I really want one of these:

Not because of the name brand. Because it has amazing outer fabric, a great array of pockets inside, a zipper-out changing pad, a shoulder strap and backpack straps. Too bad it's only $170.

In the past month or so of pregnancy, I have these 2 horrible knots in my upper back that kill so bad every day. I think it's because I hold my purse on my left side, so it weighs my shoulder down, but then when I take it off, my back over compensates for the missing weight. Also, doesn't help that my purse is getting heavier with water bottles and snacks all the time. Thus, I would love to have a backpack diaper bag so it can evenly distribute the weight and I can get rid of these knots (though, the chiropractor helps a ton!!). I don't want a backpack looking bag though, I don't like em that much. A convertible one suits me much better. Any suggestions on something that's similar but way less expensive?