Staycation...

My wonderful and smart husband Clarke graduated from the BYU Marriott school of Business last Friday. He's so excited to be done and I'm so proud of him. He starts his job working as an operations consultant for IHC hospitals on May 14. We'll be moving up to the south Salt Lake area sometime before that. But in the meantime...neither of us have school or work or any kind of schedule really...so we're having a STAYCATION! We decided not to spend money on a trip somewhere, but that doesn't mean we can't have tons of fun right here at home! So we have 3 weeks to pack, move, get a lot of stuff done, but also to play! We have lots of stuff we want to do so we're trying to do one fun activity a day. On Monday after selling our textbooks we played some tennis! It's been forever since we've played and it was so much fun! This summer weather is great! I just hope it can last. Then on Tuesday we went for a little hike up Pleasant Grove canyon to a pretty waterfall. We both cooled off in the freezing water and enjoyed nature and being together. Wednesday was more chill. We spent most of the day cleaning at home, but we had a movie night later which was fun and relaxing. I also got to have a girls night with my wonderful, beautiful friends Alishia, Amy, Jess, Michelle, and Mckell! Girls nights are good for the soul. I need them every once in a while. Thanks girls! Anyway, we're enjoying our little break before Clarke starts work. On the agenda before then is: the zoo or aquarium with our cute nephews, fishing, more hikes, a camping trip up Provo canyon, and Tucahnos. Mmmmm...also whatever else Clarke has up his sleeve for my birthday tomorrow. Yay! Anyway, I need to go get Clarke up. Today's schedule includes a picnic, more tennis, and maybe even a little bike ride. We better enjoy this free time while we can! Here are some pictures from our beautiful hike... <3

Enjoying the warm day!

All wet!

Soooo cold!

<3

I love waterfalls. This one didn't really "fall" it more "spewed". The water shot out and you could see every individual drop of water. It looked and sounded way cool.

The view...

Week 27

Week 24

Week 20

Week 18

Week 17

Week 16

Week 15

Placenta, Cord, Hypnosis, Oh My!

The title indicates that the topics discussed in this post are often thought of as "weird" or even "scary" ideas about birthing. Yes I'm actually considering eating my placenta. Ok. Swallowing a pill that has ground up placenta in it. That's not gross right? :) Well at first I thought so, but the more I research it and think about it the more I feel that nothing could be more natural. It's full of everything you need to have healthy hormone balance after birth. If I possibly may benefit from it, then why not? I just have to find a placental encapsulation specialist that will do it all for me so I don't have to see it til it's in un-gross little capsule form.
Also I found a really cool article about delayed cord cutting that I thought I'd share.
http://www.nurturingheartsbirthservices.com/blog/?p=1542
It's amazing how much blood, oxygen, and nutrients the baby can get by waiting to cut the umbilical cord until it's done pulsing. It seems silly to deny the baby those benefits! I mean why not?
Third thing I've been working on in preparation of baby boy's arrival is relaxation and visualization techniques. We're taking a hypnobirthing class from an awesome instructor, Fiona Judd. It's such a great way for dads to get involved and excited about birth and their role in the birthing process. Clarke's been amazingly supportive and we're both excited about practicing and using the techniques we're learning to achieve a great birth experience. I want to write a lot more but have run out of time.
I think I'll chronicle my birth preparation experiences in future posts. Stay tuned. :)