Family Traditions

I've always thought about family traditions for as long as I can remember. There are some I love, and others not as much.  I've also always thought about how I'd want to do things with my own family one day.  Well, that day is almost upon us :)  I've seen a few ideas on FB over the last few months as well that I've really loved, and I wonder how I'll remember them when the time comes.  So I've decided to make mention of them here, and then at least I've written them down somewhere :)

The first idea I saw earlier this year was for Easter.  I think the post on FB called them Jesus baskets.  And I thought, what a great idea!  Too many things are turned so worldly now-a-days, all about how much stuff you get, who gets the most expensive items, etc. How do we teach our kids (and really all those around us) that there is so much more to a holiday meaning than toys and candy?  Well, I think we have to start young. Like, from when they are babies.  This idea for Jesus baskets changed what you would give your child on Easter.  Instead of tons of candy, toys, and it seems now clothes are popular, their Easter basket would be filled with items reminding and teach of Christ. Some ideas could be books, DVD's, wall hangings (pictures of Christ, etc), and other items that would help to teach and remind your child depending on their age.  Now, I won't want my kids to miss out on Easter traditions that I loved growing up, like searching everywhere for where the Easter bunny hid our baskets.  I'll still want to do that.  I just think the items inside the basket will differ a bit.

Birthdays. Another tradition I think I want to change with my own kids.  I got this idea years ago from a dear family who I lived next to.  Birthdays for me growing up meant the entire family getting together (aunts, grandparents, etc) and each family would usually give the birthday person a present.  It was always a huge deal, and quite fun.  This tradition still remains in my family even to this day, but recently we've had changes because our family is growing so much.  Now we still get together once a month, but we only give presents to those under the age of 18. For the rest of us it is just family time.  And I think that works great.  For Alan's family, I'm not quite sure how it was growing up for him.  But I know today nobody in their family gives birthday gifts.  Unless it's to the younger kids.  When it's someone's birthday, they will sometimes get together for a family dinner, but that's about it.  For our kids, I don't want birthday's to be all about how many presents they get; in fact, I think that spoils them. The idea I got from my neighbors was one present on their birthday and that was that.  And ya know what?  The kids were completely happy with that, because that is what they always knew!  They didn't need 10 presents to make it a good day, they were happy with just one. I'd love to start this tradition with my kids.  On their birthday they get one gift from mom and dad, and that's that.  I don't want to have a huge party where people feel expected to bring gifts.  That can be hard financially. I think on the day of their birthday I'll have cake and ice cream available that evening around 7:00 and if family members want to stop by, they can.  To visit, say happy birthday, have some cake, and that's all.   One present and family time should be more than sufficient if that's all they know and expect.  (Note: I haven't talked to Alan about this, we'll see if he agrees! lol)

And my last idea for family traditions for today is about Christmas.  This one is a hard one.  Christmas is a big time for family.  There are Christmas traditions that haven't changed in a long time for my family, but at some point they will have to.  Right now with my family we get together on Christmas Eve for games, Just Dance, and lots of treats.  Then Christmas morning we get together for breakfast.  But when I have our little baby, I want to do my own traditions.  Yes, we will still have family time, but some time needs to be just our little family, and our own traditions.  I haven't decided how to make those changes yet, but I know I will.  Also, growing up we always got to open a present on Christmas Eve; it was always pajamas.   It was nice and fun.  I think I want to continue the tradition of a present on Christmas Eve, but maybe something to remember the religious aspect of the holiday.  Use that time to remember the meaning, and then allow Christmas day to be filled with the toys, etc.

Anyway, just a few thoughts.  I guess after the first year or two of having our own little baby we'll figure out what works best for us and start to establish our own traditions and memories :)

Pregnancy Week 10

Week 10

Ok, so it’s really week 11 as I get to updating for week 10, but that’s ok.  Last week was a busy one!  We chose then to let all our family and friends know of our exciting news.  It didn’t work out quite as well as we had planned, and we had to make some last minute adjustments, but everyone found out in the end.

Thursday night (a few days before I was officially 10 weeks) we ended up telling my brother Greg and his fiancé Andrea.  They were going to be unable to make it to the family event Friday night, so we told them then.  We told them by showing them the “early birthday present” we were giving my dad the next night.  When they caught on, they were stunned and so happy for us!  It was such a wonderful and truly happy moment for us, they were so happy for us.   The next night on Friday, we had told my other two brothers that I had an early birthday present for dad and wanted them to be there when I gave it to him too.  So Friday night Zac, CJ, Trevor, me, and Alan all showed up at dad’s house. He had no idea why. Haha.  Then I told him I had an early present for him and went out to the car to get it.  I came back in and handed it to him.  It was a wall hanging that said “Grandkids make life grand” with small clothes pins attached to the bottom for pictures to be held with.  I had included pictures of all his grandkids, with the last picture being our ultrasound pic that said “Baby Hubbs – May 2015”.  It didn’t take him long at all to catch on!!!  He jumped out of his chair yelling “Really?!” and hugging me as he continue to celebrate, yelling things like “Wahoo!”.   He was so excited, it was awesome.  My brothers had all figured it out by this time too, and came to hug both me and Alan and tell us congrats.  Alan and I discussed it later, and by the reactions of one brother, we think they may be trying to get prego too, and I think the news was somewhat harder to hear.  We think, anyway. 

The next night on Saturday we told Alan’s brother and sister.  Shana ended up coming over to our house early for our game night (set up so we could tell them), and walked upstairs to surprise Alan.  Well, I hadn’t expected people upstairs, and the ultrasound was lying out.  She saw it, and by the time I made it home, she already knew.  She was also very excited and it was fun to talk to her about it all night.  Jon ended up being much later than expected to game night, but when he got there, we had Alan wearing his shirt that said “This guy is going to be a daddy”.  Jon only took a few minutes to read the shirt, and then yelled at Alan for lying to him the previous week. Lol!  Jon had asked Alan on their way to school one day, but Alan lied as we weren’t quite ready to tell people yet.  He was also very happy for us. We then had our nieces Aubrey and Brinlee call their mom (Liz) at work to tell her.  We put Liz on speaker phone and Aubrey said to her “Guess what mom?  I’m going to have a baby cousin!”  It was awesome.  Liz was so excited for us.  She came over later that night after work and gave us big hugs.

The next day was Sunday, the day I was officially 10 weeks.  We called Alan’s parents as we were driving up to Salt Lake for my family dinner.  We texted them a picture of Alan wearing his shirt, and asked them to check their texts.  Alan’s dad saw the text, but couldn’t read the shirt without his glasses on, so he asked Janet to read it for him.  So we got to hear her read it out loud and hear their reaction as it was happening. It was awesome.   We then got to chat with them for a little bit as we drove, and his sister Susan and her family also heard the news.  They were full of questions and very supportive!  As soon as we ended that call we called Alan’s sister Cathy.  We just went ahead and told her on the phone, and she too was very excited.  She has read my blog where I’ve shared my feelings on wanting to be a mom, and us trying, so she truly felt how excited we were for this.  She was sincerely happy for us at this time.  We hung up with her and headed in to my family dinner.

We had Alan wearing his shirt again, but a jacket on over it.  We walked in, chatted, and sat down to play games along with everyone else, who was already there.  They were just about to start charades, so it was perfect when they told Alan to go first.  He said he had to “go get a prop” and walked in to the other room.  Really, he was just taking his jacket off.  He walked back in, and my cousin Alyssa immediately read his shirt out loud, not really sure what she was reading.  Everyone then looked at him, read his shirt, and started yelling things like “What?! Really?!”  I was then rushed by family members yelling, excited, and wanting to hug us! It was awesome!  My Aunt Jenny was soooo happy, as I knew she would be.  It was so much fun to tell our families in the way we did.  After we had left dinner, we had 2 family members left to tell.  We attempted to call my Aunt Marva who couldn’t make dinner, but got voicemail.  So we called Alan’s other brother Rob.  We got him and his wife Ami on the phone and told them both at the same time.   They too were truly happy for us and this amazing moment in our lives.  We chatted for a bit with them and then hung up.   By the time we got home we had Aunt Marva on the phone, and I got to tell her.  She cried and was so happy for me.  Aunt Marva and Aunt Jenny are two of the few people who know how long I’ve wanted a baby and knew how truly exciting it was for us.

So there we go….all the family told, and all very excited for us.  The rest of week 10 consisted of posting our news on FaceBook.  Me still feeling sick and starting to throw up again, and beginning to feel a bit dizzy at times.  We also continue to be SUPER behind with housework like dishes, cleaning bathrooms, etc.   I managed to make another home-made meal thanks to a new, easy enchilada recipe from my friend.  And Alan, seeing how behind we were with housework, came up with an idea to pay our sister-in-law Liz to come help clean a few times a week.  She currently goes and helps Ami with a few things a week, and who doesn’t need extra money, right?  So Alan and Jon talked and worked it out, and Liz agreed.  Then, Liz and I talked and actually worked it all out afterwards. Lol!  At first I said no to the help, as it made me feel lazy and like I wasn’t doing what I should.  But let’s be honest, I’m sick, and exhausted right now.  Even making dinner is an accomplishment for me.  So we settled on her coming twice a week right now to help with dishes, sweeping, mopping, vacuuming, and cleaning bathrooms.  She came one time this week, and it was amazing.   Week 10 held much excitement for us!

Pregnancy Week 9

Week 9

This week began much better than last!  The medicine for nausea the doctor gave me is definitely helping.  My stomach still feels ‘uneasy’ all the time, but at least I’m not wanting to throw up all day long.  And seriously…..the burping. Have I mentioned this unflattering new occurrence yet?  Well if I haven’t, it started from about day 1.  I honestly have to burp all the time.  I mean All. The. Time.  I was never like this before, and it’s irritating!  My hope is that this too shall pass after the first trimester.

I finally made a home cooked dinner this week again too.  Starting at about week 6 I just got so sick I couldn’t stomach the thought of standing at a stove with food. So we’ve got about 3 weeks of eating out or microwave cooked meals.  But yesterday Alan was craving spaghetti, and given how amazing he has been helping out with cleaning and laundry with me not feeling well, I did my best to satisfy.  I managed to get the meal made, and it tasted pretty good too.

Alan.  Let’s talk about this wonderful man of mine.  He has been so amazing.  Once he understood how miserable I was feeling every day, he really stepped up.  And let me tell you, it means a lot.  He is crazy busy with work right now, and has school on top of that. When he first started school I was still feeling ok, and had no issues doing the dishes, cleaning, laundry, etc by myself.  But again, come week 6, I was just down and out.  This last week he has helped out so much at the house it has made a huge difference.  And he’s patient with my food aversions/cravings, crazy burping, and all the other weird side effects that come along with your first trimester.  I got me a good one folks. 

And finally, this week we prepare to tell our families we are expecting.  We have fun little ways we plan to tell people and Saturday night will be our first announcement.  We plan by the end of the day on Sunday to have told our immediate families, and then next week we can figure out telling our friends, etc.  Planning all of these announcements is definitely fun, but it scares me at the same time.  I’ll be 10 weeks by the time we tell people, but there are still so many things that could go wrong after then.  I worry about miscarriages, and it seems so many people I know lately are having stillborn babies, it scares me.  I just hope and pray all turns out well and this little one inside of me stays safe and healthy up to delivery day.

Pregnancy Week 8

Week 8

Well this week started off horrible!  I got up Monday morning for work, threw up twice before work, and it was so bad it gave me a horrible headache from all the pressure.  I ended up coming in 30 minutes late to work as I needed some time to pull myself together. (Thank goodness I told my boss last week I was prego so he’d understand why I was struggling in the mornings!)  I made it a whole 90 minutes before I couldn’t take it any longer and went home.  My intentions were to go home, sleep the headache and nausea off, then come back to work in 2 hours (ish).  I got home, immediately fell on the couch, pulled a blanket over my eyes, and went to sleep.  Starting then for the next 3 ½ hours I just slept on the couch.  I woke briefly when Alan came home to make lunch, and he gave me a cold rag for my head, then back to sleep I went.  By the time I woke up, the headache was manageable, but I still felt horrible and couldn’t get any food down.  I opted to stay home from work the rest of the day.

Then came Tuesday.  Our first doctor appointment!!  Still feeling very nauseous, but able to keep down some food, I went in to work as normal.  Alan and I left for a late lunch and headed off to the appointment.  First stop in the appointment was to do the ultrasound!!!  I am not far enough along to do the belly ultrasound yet, so they did a vaginal one.  It was AMAZING!  We saw our little baby!  We got to hear the little heartbeat and see it beating on the screen!  They took some pictures and checked a few things, and we were done.  Alan and I were both so happy to see that little heartbeat!  Words cannot describe.  The next stop was to see the doctor. (Ok, there was a urine sample in there too, but, eww.) Alan I went in and got to talk to the doctor and ask all of our questions.  Alan also met my doctor for the first time, and good news, he likes him too.  The doctor did a quick exam and a PAP and sent us on our way.  We then got to get a “new baby” bag with all sorts of goodies I haven’t yet looked through, they gave us a book about pregnancy (how nice!) and then they took my blood for all the standard tests.  We set up our next appointment and we were on our way.  What an amazing experience.  Our little one is confirmed.  There is a heartbeat.  Baby is just a little tiny dot in my stomach right now, and if you ask Alan, looks like a frog on the ultrasound.   Oh, and good news, I got a prescription for some nausea medicine!  Wahoo!

Pregnancy Week 7

Week 7

Yep, the nausea is in full swing.  My daily routine this week is getting up, peeing, laying back down in bed to fight nausea, get back up and throw up.  Shower.  Start to get ready.  Throw up again.  Every. Single. Day.

Having a harder time eating this week as well.  It’s not often something sounds good to me to eat, so when something does I try to jump on it.  I admit to taking the easy way out when I went grocery shopping this week.  I bought “no effort” food.  Corn dogs, frozen burritos, frozen pizza, etc.  Poor Alan has been having to fend for himself for every single meal last week and this. Generally the smell of food makes me more nauseous, so the thought of cooking something I just can’t seem to stomach.

Next week is our first doctor appointment, and I can’t wait. I need some nausea relief!  I’m trying everything I can find online………peppermint and ginger teas, peppermint or lemon candies, Sprite, saltine crackers, sipping juice before I get out of bed, smaller meals more frequently, etc.  Sometimes some of the items provide some relief, but I just feel miserable all of the time right now.  Here’s to hoping I find some relief soon.