back in the game

I feel like it has been FOREVER since I posted last. Oh yeah, it has.....my bad. I have taken on some new adventures and wanted an outlet for them. My first new adventure is preparing to be a mom of two. I am so scared and excited at the same time. Sometimes I wonder if I was temporarily insane to have another baby while my son goes through terrible twos, but I guess we will find out. I am due July 14 and am hoping not to have a repeat of the preemie drama we went through with Reese. Either way, I feel much more relaxed about this baby boy and will probably not cause myself near the stress this time.

My second new adventure is couponing. Judge if you want, but I am addicted. I have been researching a lot lately and have put my learnings to the test. So far I have saved up a hundred or two in just two weeks. And built up a year's supply of body wash, razors, toothpaste, toothbrushes, and lots of other stuff for up to 80% off what I would have paid full price. I have started watching TLC's extreme couponing (even Sean has gotten in on the fun) and although am not at that point yet, I give props to the women who are. It takes A LOT of time, planning, and patience. Not to mention some gumption to occasionally correct a cashier or politely ignore the line of people behind me. Sorry :) Reese is even my little coupon partner and holds them for me in the stores. I am gonna post some good deals I got from time to time just to make myself feel good if anything lol. Hope all is well with everyone. Jess

Green thumb

So I have ventured into the gardening world. I inherited my dad's love of gardening, but have yet to receive the patience it takes. Since our yard is sloped, Sean and my dad built some really great raised beds. Our soil is very heavy clay (not exactly the best for growing vegetables) so we mixed in plenty of peat, manure, and top soil. I decided to start from seeds to save money. I very carefully labeled all of my seed starters, watered them plenty, and watched my little seeds grow into plenty of seedlings. I thought, I'll show all those people who said I should just go buy seedlings! When they got big enough, I planted them in my awesome new beds. However, I failed to realize that you should always check the last frost date before planting seedlings, and you should also leave the seedlings outside for a few days before planting to harden up? Good to know right? Needles to say I have two of the maybe 20 seedlings that I planted that have survived. So, I broke down and bought some bedding plants. No biggie I guess. I thought I was in good shape then. I watered my garden plenty, put in pleny of fertilizer, and weeded it almost daily. I failed to realize all of the outside factors that can affect your garden. For instance, the caterpillars that eat my spinach, the fungus growing on my tomatoes, and the neighbor's cat that that daily uses what it thinks is a giant litter box. Seriously? My once organic garden now has been exposed to insecticide, fungicide, cat repellent, and moth balls. Funny how I thought growing more vegetables would help improve my diet. I might grow a third eye, but I will get my 4-5 servings.

Back in the game

Been awhile for sure. My bad. Now that life has fallen into some sort of routine (which I am sure will change as soon as I am dumb enough to write that), I feel I can venture into the blog world again. Just a few updates. Sean and I have bought our first house. Lovin the space. The maintenance? Not so much, but beats listening to rap music through your walls at 4am. We have some really nice neighbors and are looking forward to (hopefully) some missionary oppurtunities. Reese is 13 months now. Time has seriously flown by. He is developing quite the personality (nice way of saying he is very determined). Don't know where he got that from :) He has outgrown reflux completely (yea!), but is still having to do some therapy for a physical develpment delay (not so yea, but ok). I have to laugh at how different things are with Reese compared to what I pictured when I was pregnant. Or rather how different I am as a mother. I always said I wasn't going to be THAT mom. You know, the mom who says NO at the beginning of every sentence. The mom who yells at her child for yelling. That mom. I finally had a wake up call when I realized that weird sound Reese was making was his imitation of my exasperated sigh. Oops. It is a work in progress, but I enjoy it. I hope there is a special place in heaven for first born children. They are such guinea pigs.

Back from CA

This pic is current with me at 29 weeks. Officially in my third trimester!
Sean and I recently returned from spending Christmas in San Diego. We had a really great time and his family even threw me a surprise baby shower! We got a lot of great things and can't wait to visit again. We took it easy for a few days and have now started to prepare for baby. We finally got around to putting away our Christmas decorations and will be crib shopping tomorrow. I have made a huge list of all the things I want to get done before the baby arrives. Lets see how realistic that goal is :) I have a new OB, Dr. Taylor, she is really nice and I am relieved that I get to deliver on this side of the river now. I was having nightmares at getting stuck in rush hour traffic in Louisville while in labor! Sean and I start our baby classes on Monday. We are taking a six week course on preparing for the baby (I think it includes labor and delivery and basic child care), an infant CPR/first aid class (I need a refresher), and I will be taking a breast feeding class. I am also getting ready to host my sister's baby shower at the end of this month. Phew! I put in my two weeks notice at Logan's. The extra money was nice for Christmas, but I can honestly say I won't miss it too much. It was a nice break from nursing, but I am ready to get back into health care for sure. I forgot how frustrating serving can be sometimes. Well we hope all is well with our friends and family. Keep us updated! Love Jess

Into my six month

So according to my book I am now into my 6th month which is the last of my second trimester. I have been feeling the baby move a lot. I recently had to switch doctors due to insurance so Sean and I were kind of upset by that. The good news is we just switched to a different doctor in the same OB group who happened to take our insurance. It is the same doctor who delivered my cousin back in march and she really liked him. He specializes in high risk pregnancies (not that I am), but it is nice to now he knows how to handle those situations. Sean recently went on his first hunting trip with my dad. It rained all day, but he said it was still fun. He only saw one deer and it was too far away to shoot. He will be going again on Friday and my dad is really enjoying having someone to go with him. Sean keeps sneaking out before I can get a picture of him in his camo, so I will have to try again on Friday. We are looking forward to Thanksgiving on Thursday. We will be with all of my extended family at my aunt's house this year. Sean and I (well me mainly) are in charge of bringing a dessert. I think we are bringing brownie walnut pie. I made it several years ago and everyone really like it. We are looking forward to seeing everyone for Christmas. We will be in the Tuesday before and will stay until the following Monday. I can't wait to see how the McCollums do Christmas. Jess

Ultrasound pics

Here are some of the pictures from our US today. I have all of them on my facebook account or you can email Sean or I and we will send you them. We are very excited about having a boy and can't wait to meet him!!!! Love jess

Falling into routine

(This picture is current at 20 weeks. Halfway done!)

Life is finally getting some routine to it again. Sean is really having a good time working at Service Net and I am actually having a lot of fun waitressing at my old job. I have still been applying to nursing jobs different places, but am not really having luck. We have been starting to get the apartment "baby ready" by making space for all the stuff. We find out Monday what we are having so we will be sure to let everyone know. Now that I have some extra time I am looking forward to trying some things I have always wanted to do. Things like crocheting (I think I spelled that right) and meal planning. I have also been put in charge of the budget and bill paying which I actually like doing. It saddens me sometimes that I am not nursing. I really miss my patients, but my dream was always to be a mom. Nursing was not really my passion, although I loved doing it, and I am excited to start doing what I think will be my passion. I get really excited to think that I don't have to miss out on anything or come home really stressed about a hard day. I will always try to keep up with my nursing (I worked too hard to get that degree), but a this point in my life I am concentrating on what I think is most important. That being my family and home. Jess

Updates

So this is me at 18 weeks. I am in my fifth month now. Sean and I have been doing pretty well. I just got re-hired today at my old restaurant. I will be waitressing two nights a week just for some extra spending and Christmas money. After the baby is born I will be going back to nursing probably just PRN (which is two times a month). Sean and I have our 20 week ultrasound in four weeks to find out the sex of the baby. I have been feeling the baby move a lot lately. Sean is getting jealous though because he can't feel it from the outside yet. We have started looking at names and have a little list going. I think we will pick out two or three once we find out the sex and then wait until the baby is born to decide for sure. Well that's about it for us right now. Please keep us updated on all of your happenings. Love Jess

Updates

Just wanted to give everyone some updates on Sean and I. Sean started his new job at ACL today. He says he really likes it. The office is really nice and so are the people. They have a really nice gym upstairs so he can't give any more excuses on why his pants are getting tighter :) I had an OB appointment today. She found the heartbeat on the Doppler really easily. The heart rate was 138 so according to the old wives's tale, it is a boy. (The old wives's tale says that if the heart rate in utero is 120-140 it is a boy and if it is 140-160, it is a girl). My OB says it isn't really accurate but I guess it is about 50% accurate. My sister found out she is having a little boy this past week so that would be fun to have a little boy cousin for him. I felt the baby move for the first time this week too. I wasn't sure that was what it was at first. Just felt like a little tap. But then I felt it again in the same spot. Sean is excited that the baby is already showing an aptitude for soccer. My ultrasound to find out the sex is in four weeks so I guess we will just have to be patient. Miss all you guys! Jess

Belly pics

Sean and I decided that we will be posting baby belly pictures from time to time. Fun for Sean, a little embarrassing for me, but it will make a good scrapbook. This picture is from 14 weeks, so officially the first week of my second trimester. We didn't take any in my first trimester because you really couldn't see anything. I have been feeling much better and have started exercising more regularly again. Of course I had some nice motivation after I unpacked my scale. Jess

More pics

New apartment

Sean and I just wanted to put up some pics of our new apartment. Nothing is hung up on the walls yet and we still have some boxes out, but you will get the general idea. We have also been getting our 72 hour kits ready and have started our three month food storage. Sean and I have been enjoying our callings. I am Gospel Essentials teacher (for new members and investigators) and Sean is assistant priest adviser in the Young Men's. He will also be helping to start a mission prep program. Sean has been offered a job at a call center, but is waiting to here from another one before he accepts. I interviewed at a dermatologist office, but didn't get it. No one wants to hire a preggo! :) I have applied for several others and am waiting for a response. Love all, Jess

Updates

So Sean and I have been here in Hoosierland for about a month now. Sean has been interviewing a lot and hopefully will land a job as a recruiter with a company called Aerotek this week. He thinks he will really enjoy it. I will be interviewing with Humana probably this week as well. It is a large insurance company out here. I would be reviewing patient transplant records. Not exactly what I am used to, but it will have normal hours and I will be guaranteed a chance to sit down, eat, and use the restroom for a change. Pregnancy is going well so far. My OB's name is Dr. Bunch. I met with her the first week out here. She is very thorough and comes very highly recommended from several women in our ward. All my initial test results have come back normal. Morning sickness set in pretty good this week, but I can't complain. I have been going yard selling a lot. I have found several baby items (car seat, bath chair, bouncy chair, clothes, etc) in really good condition and for very cheap. Sean and I will hopefully only have to buy a few things new. Once Sean gets a job, we will be looking for a house or apartment. Haven't decided yet. In the meantime, my parent's have been very happy to have us here. We have been filling in as grocery shoppers, errand runners, and house cleaners. It is worth it for free rent. I see my OB this coming week and should hopefully be able to hear baby's heartbeat through the doppler. Still will be awhile before we know what were are having. I am not having any motherly intuition yet. He won't admit it, but I see Sean's face light up when we talk about having a boy :) I know he will be happy either way though. All I notice is my pants getting tighter.....Jess

Cookin' out

So far in our marriage we have noticed a large difference in vocabulary when it comes to some things. We have graciously learned how to translate what the other is saying even if we don't always agree on what is actually correct. So for the rest of you, we thought we would provide a comparison of SoCal vocab to Ohio Valley vocab. You can decide for yourselves which is right, or just have fun using some new slang.

Californian Hoosiern

"Sup dude" = "Hey Y'all"

"Late" = "See ya"

"BBQ" = "Cooking out"

"Vacuum" = "Sweeper"

"Wash" = "Warsh"

"Beanie" = "Toboggan"

"Soda" = "Pop" or "Coke"

"Joy Riding" = "Hill Hoppin"

"Carl's Jr." = "Hardee's"

Funny article

By Alison apRobertsNEW YORK TIMES NEWS SERVICE
March 20, 2005
SACRAMENTO – Dude, maybe you and that sequoia you've got your arms around should get a room. You could order in some caviar and olives. Or go wine-tasting or barbecue some papaya.
It would be awesome and, like, so totally Californian.



Maybe it's the result of too much sunshine or too many earthquakes, but whatever the reason, a majority of people who live in California actually fit some of those loopy-coast stereotypes – hugging trees, going wine-tasting, saying "Dude."
Maybe we should just call it "California Grown" weirdness, since a survey commissioned for the California Grown marketing campaign provides the proof. The survey's purpose was to test the truth of the stereotypes used to humorous effect in the campaign's ads. The findings were a bit unexpected to the academic who conducted the survey, Dennis Tootelian, a marketing professor at California State University, Sacramento.
"The lifestyles of Californians have been the subject of debate and ridicule over the years, but, surprisingly, we do a lot of those things," Tootelian says. "Maybe they're not as far off as they seem."
Tootelian says the survey put him in touch with his own inner Californian: "I've never hugged a tree, but I love to play with olives, and come to think of it, I've done most of the things (in the survey questions)."
The marketing campaign to encourage state residents to buy California products is run by the Buy California Marketing Agreement, a joint effort of agricultural industry groups and the California Department of Food and Agriculture.
Survey results, released last week, are based on 500 respondents. Here are some findings:
Surf's down: Only 24 percent of respondents report having gone surfing. Those who live in Fresno (17 percent) and in Los Angeles (18 percent) are least likely to have tried it. If you want to find surfers, your best bet is to head to San Diego, where 36 percent of residents have hung 10 (or tried, anyway).
Little mud-slinging: 21 percent of Californians have had a mud bath.
Pining away: 63 percent of Californians surveyed have hugged a tree. And they're not ashamed.
Udderly surprising: Nearly half (47 percent) of those surveyed said they had milked a cow. More than half – 53 percent – of those who live in Sacramento and Fresno had done so.
Let your fingers do the playing: Most Californians (57 percent) have put black olives on their fingers as kids, and 28 percent have done so as adults. Central Valley residents play the fingertip-olive game most: 71 percent of Sacramento respondents reported doing so as kids, 42 percent as adults.
All fired up: Nearly all – 99 percent – of residents have made or eaten barbecued meat or fish; 83 percent have barbecued or eaten barbecued fruit or vegetables.
Some beluga, baby? More than half of Californians – 57 percent – have tried caviar. San Francisco residents are most likely to have nibbled on it (78 percent) while Fresno residents are the least likely to have tried it (41 percent).
Pour it on: 70 percent of Californians have visited a winery. The whole state's gone "Sideways," it seems.
Talking points: 71 percent of respondents have used the word "awesome" to describe something they've eaten; 67 percent of respondents have called someone "dude" on at least one occasion.

Note from Jess: I think Sean accounts for about 10% of the "dude" saying. Just kidding!

Arches Trip

Sean and I recently took a trip down to good old Moab, UT to visit Arches national park. We had a great trip down and stopped in Price to visit Sean's old office. About fifteen minutes after arriving in Arches, while looking for a campsite, we ripped the muffler on Sean's car apart going over a speedbump. So we spent the first two hours of our vacation sitting outside a mechanic's shop in Moab. It definitely made an interesting start to our "relaxing" vacation. We spent the next two days touring Arches and camping. We even had a birthday camping dinner for Sean: cheese brats, chips, and dutch oven chocolate cake. After two days of hiking in dust, sand, and sweat, we decided to spend our last evening at the exclusive Roadway Inn in Moab. Sean picked it because of the water slide (see pic above). Sean also used his smooth talker skills and convinced the lady at the front desk to give us the "suite" at regular price. Which it turns out consisted of a couch separated from the bed by a large piece of wood. All in all, we had a really awesome time and saw some really beautiful landscape. I think next time we want relaxing, however, it will consist of air conditioning and a beachfront hotel. Jess and Sean

Blog in progess

Hello all and welcome to our new blog (compliments of the always helpful Jordan McCollum). Bear with us as this is a work in progress. Also, just a disclaimer, most of the stuff in this blog is just for laughs. We don't actually think of each other as a beach bum and a redneck. We also wanted to have a place to keep our far away families updated on our lives. Hope you all enjoy and keep a look out for more laughs and pics! Love Jess and Sean