Seriously?! $1.00?

This year was the first time I ever went to the post office at the very last minute to turn in my taxes.  We went through a lot of financial changes so it was pretty intense for me to try to figure out all of the paperwork this year.  We definitely had to pay taxes and we were not expecting a return.  But evidently we overpaid and they so kindly sent us a check back for the extra amount.  $1.00.  That is ONE dollar.  Not one hundred dollars.  Just one dollar.  Uno.  Wow!  Maybe if we were living a hundred years ago I would have cared about getting a dollar back but what can I do with a dollar now?  I can't even buy a gallon of gas or a pack of gum (at most stores.)  I think they should have done the post office a favor and not sent the check at all considering that was probably just one more piece of mail that the USPS had to deliver but didn't get paid for.  No wonder they are in so much debt! 

I think I could go on and on with snide remarks about the IRS sending us back a check for one dollar, but I don't think I will.  The truth is, this is actually the second time we've received a check from the government for $1.  I don't remember what happened to the first one but this time Ken and I have decided not to cash the check.  Maybe we will frame it someday. Have you ever had a ridiculous encounter with a government agency?

Ants in Your Pants or...?

I was recently telling a male (will keep his name anonymous but no it wasn't Ken) that I could feel the baby moving a lot.  He said he couldn't relate and asked if it was like having ants in your pants?  I said no, it's more like having nasty gas that you actually feel moving through your system, only it never comes out and it doesn't stink.  He responded, now that I can relate to!

It's fun feeling the baby move.  Even though baby is very active in the evenings, fortunately it doesn't keep me awake, yet.

Shhhh. Don't tell!

Just a reminder... if you know the gender of our baby, PLEASE DO NOT MENTION IT ON THIS BLOG!  My dad REALLY likes to be surprised!  Thanks!

I Feel Pretty

21 Weeks

I don't have much to complain about as far as a pregnancy goes.  I have had virtually zero morning sickness, no food aversions, and no crazy food cravings.  I feel like my emotions are pretty stable (but you should double-check on that one with Ken) and I don't think I am mean (which some people told me I would be.)  I do sleep 9 hours at night and take a 1-2 hour nap most days, but I like sleeping so it's only rarely an inconvenience for me (like today when the dinner was 45 minutes late for the sister missionaries because I HAD to take a nap.)  Yet, despite the seemingly easy pregnancy, I have to admit that I am really not in love with being pregnant.  Most days I just feel fat.  (Yes, I know that to most people I still look thin but to me I feel bigger than normal, therefore, I feel fat.)  Today was the first day in a long time that I looked in the mirror and thought, "I look pretty today" so I decided it was probably a good day to finally start taking pictures of my baby bump and start this blog that my dad requested several months ago. (P.S. Sally, if you are reading this, no, I didn't not feel ugly because of the haircut.  I do like it and I've received more compliments about it than any other haircut in my life.)

17 or 18 weeks with Tomas after a Civil War reenactment

 So, just a quick funny story to get things rolling.  Last weekend Ken and I were at a Johnson-Baird family reunion.  (It was just Rob and Laurie and their kids, but that was still 17 adults and 10 kids!)  After lunch one day Ken and I were sitting away from the group and our 3-year old nephew, Nathaniel, came over and asked Ken if he could sit on his lap.  After they poked each others bellies and said they were fat for a few minutes the following conversation ensued.

Ken: "Did you know that Aunt Krista has a baby in her belly?"

Nathaniel: "No she doesn't"

Ken: "Yes she really does."

Me: "Yes I do.  See, it's only a little bit squishy" (poking my belly in reference to them poking their "fat")

Nathaniel: "Well how did it get in there?"

A very short birds and the bees convo followed, which I will spare you, but Ken did a nice job comparing a seed that makes a tree to a seed that makes a baby.

Nathaniel (looking at me): "Are there two babies in there?

Me: "No, just one."

Nathaniel: "Then how come there are two bumps above the hill?"

Aaaah.  Innocence.  (And yes, I told him the truth about what those are used for.)

So no guarantees on the frequency of updating this blog.  I do really enjoy reading other people's blogs so I will try to return the favor.  Unfortunately, I don't use my camera much and the battery charger has mysteriously disappeared.  I may have to resort to camera phone pictures.

p.s. One other funny kid story. I was babysitting a 6 and a 10-year old for a few days this week.  I had this conversation with the 6-year old, Marc.

Me: Marc, did you know that I am going to have a baby?

Marc: No you aren't.

Me: Yes I am.  See.  Look at my belly.  There is a baby in there.

Marc: No there isn't!  You just eat too much food.

He totally called me out!  (Later he retracted his statements and said he was just kidding.  I don't think he was.)

p.p.s. Since creating the title for this post I now have the song "I Feel Pretty" from Westside Story stuck in my head.  I bet you will too now.