Chocolate Cravings & Post-its.

I have been so absent minded since my 3rd trimester started...and these two things are my saving grace right now. Also, I don't know how people survived life before post-its..especially at work! I use many...because why would you want to remember things when instead you could use 1,000 post-it notes? 

Also...Baby is due in 2 weeks! (Eek!) How in the world did time fly by so fast?!

...this meme is still very accurate...

Pregnancy Updates:

How far in: 38 weeks.

Baby is the size of a/an: bunch of celery! (almost 20 inches long, and between 6.5-7 lbs!)

Feeling: Round, a little swollen, and very scatter-brained! (thank goodness for my reminder app & sticky notes!)

Weight Gain: It feels like I've gained a pound or two since last week...

Wearing: Flats, which seem to help with the slight swelling in my ankles.

Sleep: Getting as much as possible.

Missing: Not feeling winded all the time.


Movement: I usually notice him moving the most when I'm driving home. (Probably because I've been cranking up my Journey CD as of late...1)because they're JOURNEY for gosh sakes, and 2)to see if he'll respond to the music)

Food cravings: Chocolate! (like death by chocolate status stuff)

Looking forward to: my baby shower! ...and going to sleep tonight... (ha)



Missionary Updates:


"Howdy from Texas!

Well to start off with great news, Vic was baptized and confirmed on Saturday and Sunday, and he came up and gave an amazing testimony that he KNEW that he was on the right path and that Joseph Smith is a prophet and this is God's church! I never thought I would be in the area long enough to hear those words. It was an amazing experience and a convert was truly baptized! In other news, we have another investigator with a baptismal date. Her name is Tedra, she is an older
lady with a very loud personality! She loves to share what she has been watching on tv including the OJ Simpson trial and anything Oprah says. She is very funny and not afraid to say what is on her mind. We have her set with a date at the end of march and we hope that she will be prepared for that time. Elder Baker also ripped his pants during district meeting, tore them right open along the bottom. I would be lying if I said I did not laugh so hard I cried. Another interesting part of the week was when we blew a tire right in front of an investigators home. His daughter said he was asleep so we were getting ready to go home when our front right tire exploded. I went and got the spare tire out and replaced it while Elder Baker called the Vehicle coordinator (needless to say I changed the tire alone). While I was finishing tightening the last bolt on the tire, Jose (our investigator) came out and asked if we needed help with anything. I took the opportunity to ask if I could use his bathroom and wash my hands. He let us in and we had about a 20 minute lesson about the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ and how it can bless his family. He says he would like his family around good people like us and wants to come to church. Miracles come in many forms, some more expensive than others!

The message I wanted to share today is based off of a three part video series by Elder David A Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.

https://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2012-01-012-patterns-of-light-spirit-of-revelation?lang=eng&_r=1

Prayer is a way for us to communicate to our heavenly father, and revelation is the way that he talks back to us. God has given us a way to receive answers with him and he has also given us scripture and Prophets to let us know what he desires of us. As we act in faith and move forward into the fog, we will have more blessings and answers revealed unto us.

Much love,

Elder Arciniaga"

Aww. This guy is too cute!

Recap:

• Little Miss & her "special friend" came over and helped paint the last little bits of the nursery. 
• We had dinner/game night with my in-laws.
• I slept a lot. It was great.

Weekly Obsessions:

• the song "Tongue-Tied" by GroupLove...it makes me want to go to an epic party and wear sunglasses at night and ride in a shopping cart at 1am. (but only in theory because that's way past my bedtime)
• Memes about letting go of the past.

Gossip Girl...

This unicorn/princess mural I saw while driving...

This meme.

President Hinckley's (and his cute wife's) quotes about life and love are so down to earth! I love them so much! 

...and this meme...

It reminds me of that newer Cinderella movie- "have courage and be kind"...so precious.

Thankful Thursday: lovely people that uplift and encourage me, visiting teachers/teachees, soft pillows, clean water, being surrounded by kind people with the best of intentions, the gospel of Jesus Christ, our CTR 6 class, hot showers, the simple life.

XOXO,

Full Term Awesomeness.

You. Guys. I am officially "full term" this week! I honestly can't even believe that I'm here...I could potentially have this sweet, little baby any day now. O_O (Hopefully he holds out for a few more weeks though!)

Updates:

How far in: 37 weeks.

Baby is the size of a(n): Leek! (which is apparently 19 inches long, and he's about 6.5 lbs...about the size of a small watermelon!)

Feeling: Large.

Wearing: Leggings every chance I get.

Sleep: Loving it! 

Miss anything: Being able to sit up without feeling like a turtle on it's back. Ha.

Movement: He moves so much!

Weight Gain: I gained 3 pounds since my appointment last week!

Food cravings: Sugar!

Labor signs: None yet, thankfully!

Next OBGYN appointment: Next week. 

Looking forward to: Decorating the nursery, putting Adam's cradle together, packing my hospital bag...I have so much to do!

Recap:

Tricia & I celebrated Galentines by having brunch and going shopping. It was so fun! 

 I made this card for Ryan for Valentines. Hehe.

...and he made me a very yummy steak dinner. We had a really nice, relaxing V-Day. It was bliss. 

Bubsie was in need of a new computer chair, and Office Depot was having a sale, so we went shopping!  

Today I was a creeper and photobombed Sydnie's selfie.  

Weekly Obsessions:

• that "reckless behavior" song by Zayn Melik
• the brownie things I've been hoarding from the snack drawer at work!
• Gossip Girl

This meme.

This is so true to life, I can't even begin to explain. Live and learn. 

(Fun fact: every week I am totally stumped as to what I'm obsessed with. Ryan always has to help me come up with my list. If that isn't love, I don't know what is.)

Thankful Thursday: my Ryan, financial responsibility, cookies from friends! health, ample opportunities to grow, coworkers that make work oh so fun, sugary sweets, inside jokes, hot water, all the mint scented things!

XOXO,

Playing housewife.

Recap: 

This week I was lucky enough to have pink eye and be sick all at the same time. It was a total bummer. All week I played housewife, since my doctor told me it would be best if I didn't go to work. On the upside, I am feeling so much better, thanks to my sweet Ryan, lots of sleep and plenty of down time! Not gonna lie, playing housewife isn't too bad, but it made me wish Adam was here already! We're super jazzed to meet our little guy!

This week I:

• Tried coupon-ing. It's awesome!
• Started meal planning and cooking again.
• Found some goodies at Target and Goodwill. (I love finding a good deal!)
• Watched like a zillion episodes of Gossip Girl. (So much so that the characters have frequented my dreams)
• Drafted my birth plan. (That really took some pressure off, especially being so close to Go Time...)

Update: 

How far in: 36 weeks. (Almost full term! Eeek!)


Baby is the size of a/an: Coconut. According to my app, he's almost 19 inches long and weighs just under 6 pounds. Woa.


Feeling: Winded. 


Weight Gain: Normal.


Wearing: Leggings, tee shirts and comfy shoes.


Sleep: Sleeping so well, it's unheard of.



Next doctor's appointment: Next week. I've graduated to weekly appointments. 


Movement: He's become an early bird.


Food cravings: Oranges and yogurt...and Reese's minis.

Looking forward to: Getting the nursery put together!



Weekly Obsessions:

• Gossip Girl! (I must have watched at least 15 episodes this week so far)
• Reasons why I love it:
• Dorota is basically a sass.
• Blair is living a real-life fairy tale like a boss.
• Dan & Blair have a good dynamic.
• Lily Van Der Woodsen/Bass/Humphrey has really grown on me, even though she has done some really messed up stuff.

• Mama Bee's Belly Butter. (this stuff is my saving grace)
• Reese's Peanut Butter cup minis. (SO GOOD!)
• Target clearance & sales. (Today I saved $28 by using Cartwheel, texty coupons and like a billion manufacturer's coupons)...also The Dollar Spot.
• The fresh paint in Baby's room! (Repainted "chilled mint". I am so in love with it! Everyday I find excuses to go into his room, just so I can look at it.)

Missionary Updates:

"Greetings world!

This week has gone by tremendously quick! There is a lot of things that happened! First of all, we got Vic with a baptismal date! He will be baptized on February 20th! He has been having discussions with missionaries for many years and both Elder Baker and I and he feels like he is ready! We will continue working with him and updates will come! Next, I found out that Elder Baker knows some of my relatives! Apparently my cousins live in Queen Creek and they knew each other from school and church! So this is a pretty fun coincidence! Both Elder Baker and I have been working hard knocking doors and asking for referrals and have gotten two new investigators this week and 9 referrals! Hopefully baptismal dates to come from those as we continue to follow up. There has been many blessings from working hard and keeping the purpose of a missionary in mind! The Lord has blessed us with an area that is ready to be prosperous! We have gotten the opportunity to spend more time with the four missionaries that live in the apartment across from us. We get up at 6 every morning and lift weights, run, condition for the day in the parking lot (since there is no gym). So we got to become very good friends with Elders Cochran, Hyde, Godwin, and Dailey. They are excellent missionaries and really live up to the call. There will be more updates to come. Also we got to have dinner at a members house and there were literally like 30 deer right on their property! They just come out there and hang out! I was able to get a picture close to the action!

The message I wanted to share today is based on a video for the youth called Dare to Stand Alone.

Click here to watch.

We will all encounter times in our lives where we must stand for what we believe. Just like President Monson, we too must stand for what we believe and support will be there even when you didn't think there was.

Don't mess with Texas,
Elder Arciniaga
Alexander.arciniaga@myldsmail.net"

Thankful Thursday: down time, sleep, tons of resources via the internet, steady income, our little family, creativity, friends, running water, modern conveniences, our home.

XOXO,

35 Weeks Updates.

Baby Adam is getting so big! I can't even handle how excited I am to meet him!

Pregnancy Updates:

How far in: 35 weeks. Time flies!

Baby is the size of a/an: Honeydew!

Feeling: I have a surprising amount of energy and focus as of late. I love it!

Total weight gain: Overall: 21ish pounds.

Wearing: I'm shying away from my maternity leggings and trying to look more professional at work. 

Sleep: Touch and go, but it could be worse.

Missing: 

Not Missing: My period. ;)

Next doctor's appointment: Next week. Excited to see my sweet little guy! (via ultrasound)

Movement: Somersaults every day. Lots of kicking.

Food cravings: Frosted Flakes.

Labor signs: Braxton hicks here and there. No real contractions, thankfully.

Looking forward to: My baby shower!

Missionary Updates:

"Howdy Y'all

We have been focusing this week on finding more people to teach. We
have been going through our huge list of potential investigators and
tracting quite a bit. We have two progressing investigators and we
hope to bring that number up to 6 by this next week. Today is
transfers, but Elder Baker and I will remain in this area for another 7 weeks. We have been having a good time being companions! We found out that there are batting cages in the area so we will probably be going out today to go find out more. We have slowly but surely been getting to know the area better and better and the members here are really great and continue to offer help in any way that they can. As I have continued to study the missionary handbook (the white bible) I have come to further understand my purpose for coming out on a mission. Although it is rather frustrating to see people not keeping commitments, I recognize that it is not my purpose to make them. Service seems to be one of the most effective ways to get in the door with people here. We are on the lookout for apartment complexes, trailer parks, and mobile homes because they are perfect places to find those that need an uplifting message. The work is continuing to progress as it continues to get warmer each day!

The message I wanted today is actually from the addiction recovery
program through the church.

The reason that I really like this video is because it takes people's
experiences from the lowest point in their life and teaches them to be accountable to themselves and to God. These are very important lessons that all of us to come to understand and I would recommend that you all look through the ARP packet. The video us based on the fourth out of the twelve steps to recovery, truth. How often are we being real with ourselves and understanding our downfalls to make a change. We must be consistently taking a moral inventory and remembering the reason that we are on the Earth. The gospel blesses all of us and without it, we would all be lost.

I love you all and hope that you have a wonderful rest of your week!

Sincerely, 

Elder Arciniaga

Please write when you can
Alexander.arciniaga@myldsmail.net "

Recap:

 Ryan replaced our leaky kitchen faucet! Before...

 ...during...

 ...and after! We love it!

I bought this kiddo a new shirt! He loves it.

Weekly Obsessions:

• Gossip Girl (seeing Blair & Serena's summer adventures in Paris is killing me. I love it so much! It's every girl's dream!) 

These memes!

Thankful Thursday: my sweet Ryan, Baby Adam, our cute little home, hot chocolate, body pillows, hot water, ambient music, people that have a calming presence, opportunities to branch out, maternity tee shirts, impromptu dates, milk shakes.

Happy Thursday, everyone!

XOXO,