Week 13

So I know I don't look like it in the picture, but I feel like a balloon!!! I'm currently 13 weeks pregnant and according to parenthood.com  my baby is "About the size of a peach, your baby's body starts to catch up to the head. Eyes, which start out on the side of the face, move toward the center and the ears move toward the side of the head. The genitalia is developed enough to easily tell whether you have a boy or girl."

 Yesterday we went to another OB appointment and got to hear the baby's heart beat (150-147). My OB said that if he had to guess the gender based off of the heartbeat, he'd say it's a girl. So adding that to the list of people who have told us we're having a girl it now totals 5 (not counting all the random people from work who tell me it's a girl because of this that and the other that doesn't even make sense to me). 

So, since I won't be able to find out for sure until Feb, Matt and I still betting on it being a girl. But only the ultrasound in Feb will tell!! 

Other then that this month has gone by so fast for us! For me just because I 'm finally over the morning sickness (YAY!!!!!!!!)!! Matt because of school and work that just keep coming and coming. So far he's doing good in his classes, a little frustrated with one due to confusion between the teacher and the bookstore, but that should hopefully end soon. (The first day of class the teacher asked if anyone had their text books and they all said no... that it wasn't on the book list, and there were none in the bookstore. Long story short Matt ordered his online that day so he wouldn't have to buy a new one and is now trying to figure out how to do the homework with no book to reference. Hopefully he'll be able to make it to some of the office hours and get some help!!)

Other then that I've just been working on getting the nursery cleaned out and set up, and getting what few things we can get without knowing the gender, ie dresser, changing pad, sheets, bath tub and a few other odds and ends. I've been doing a lot of research and comparing on the expensive baby items so that I don't over pay and so that I can spread out the big expenses as much as possible. So far I've been able to save quite a bit by getting most of the furniture from Ikea and being given the crib from my wonderful Mom! So far the hardest part about planning the nursery is trying to make everything fit and still having the storage space that we need. Thankfully Matt was able to clean out the storage space above the downstairs door and we were able to store quite a bit of it up there, and out in the garage (which looks so much bigger now that most of his equipment is stored in the trailer). Matt has been a huge help with the cleaning part (even if he doesn't really think so)!! 

Let's see other then that I've just been trying to  keep busy and on top of housework and studying (granted I'm getting to the point where even opening that book is putting me to sleep.... ugh...)

But that's about all for now!! 

~Melanie 

Merry Christmas!!!

Merry Christmas!                               

It seems like Christmas comes and goes so quickly each year.  We can’t believe it’s been over a year since we were married!  It’s been a wonderful year.

The biggest news we have this year is that Melanie is pregnant!  She is currently 9 weeks pregnant and is due July 22nd.  The picture contained in this letter is the baby at 8 weeks.  We still have a ways to go, but we’re already getting the nursery ready and Melanie has been working on blankets, booties and clothes for our newest family member.  This will be grandchild #25 for Melanie’s parents, and grandchild #1 for Matt’s parents (great-grandchild #1 for Matt’s grandparents).

Melanie has finished up her schooling at Provo College and is preparing to that the NCLEX-RN.  She is also looking for a job as a nurse, but in the mean time is still working at Heindselman’s (knitting store) and is working a holiday job at a shipping company. 

Matt spent the summer in Oklahoma attending Basic Training for the Army.  He was gone the entire summer, leaving Melanie all alone at home.  It was tough for both of us, but we survived and it has brought us even closer.  Matt is currently serving with a Field Artillery Battery in the Utah National Guard. He spends one weekend a month and two weeks a year drilling with his unit.  He is also actively involved in the ROTC program at BYU where he is being trained to be an officer.  Matt still has a year and a half of school left before he graduates in Mechanical Engineering.

Bray’Tac, our Himalayan Lynx Point Siamese cat,  already suspects that he is going to be replaced as the baby of the family.  As of late, he has been very needy for attention whenever we’re around.  He’s a lot of fun.  He loves to play but also loves to cuddle.  He’s currently about a year and a half old.  (The name Bray’Tac comes from our favorite TV show Stargate.)

We hope everyone travels safely and look forward to seeing everyone this upcoming year!



Love,

Matt & Melanie Long

Preceptor down, 5 tests and 3 clinicals left

       Well this week has been exciting, I finally finished all my preceptor shifts up at Alta View hospital. I was surprised by the mixed feelings. I don't miss the drive but I do miss all the nurses. It was so much fun to be up there. At times it was hard and I just wanted to quit and be done, but now that it's over I miss it. I was told by 5 of the nurses up there to talk to the nurse manager to see about getting a job there when I finish with school. And honestly I would love it. because then I would actually be getting paid for my work and I'd be able to keep working with all the amazing nurses up there. My preceptor was awesome and all the nurses were willing to let me do anything I could to help and learn. It was so nice to see that the nurses there were all willing to teach. Some of the clinicals I've been on before this semester have been retarded. because the nurses were so frustrated for what ever reason that there were even students there that I hated going to them. I hope that if I ever get the chance to work with students that I will be like the nurses at Alta view and be willing to teach and  help anyway that I can.

       But now that that is all done all I have left is 5 tests (two of them finals) and 3 clinicals left at the state hospital. Personally I would be just fine skipping all of those and just moving forward and trying to get everything together to take the NCLEX-RN, but without those I'm not eligible so I'll just do it and get it over with. :)

      As far as Matt goes, he's doing great! He's teaching the other cadets how to do the homework and tutoring them in everything as well. Because of that he did really good on his pre-test yesterday and he got 97% on his test today. He said that he should've gotten 100% but he made two stupid mistakes and he's upset about it. But he's doing really good. Oh and his fever is finally gone!!! YAY!!!! (Can I just tell you how much I hate not being able to take care of my husband when he's sick?? Drives me freaking crazy!!) But he's doing great now so that's all that matters! His knees are finally doing better now, so depending on how his PT went this morning I might be getting a similar pair of orthodics, granted it wouldn't be for a while but hey as long as it works and it's cheaper then the alternatives I'm all for it.

       But it's back to the homework for me so I'll write again later (probably after finals...)

Little update and questions!

       Matt and I are currently attending a Married-Student ward (BYU 139th) and we both enjoy it...for the most part. Matt likes it and is really enjoying it. I however lost a lot of my social-butterfly-ness in the last two years (slightly depressing). So any idea how to get a little of it back? I've thought about going to talk to the Relief Society president and asking her if I could be put in charge of some type of enrichment night thing (like teach basic sewing/knitting or something) so that I would be forced to talk/interact with the ladies in my ward...but I'm not really sure how that would go over with her (don't want to step on toes and whatnot...)

       Umm lets see what else is new... so far nothing really. Matt's still working on the panels for the Space Center. Last night when we were talking about them he found out that he needs to drill some more holes in order to mount it. So he's going to be getting that done sometime in the near future, and once that's done, we are going to be building the panels together. He has two that are exactly the same, just mirror-images of each other, so I'll do one and he'll do one. Mostly just to give me an excuse to spend time with him, but also to help lighten out his load. I'm also going to be building the boxes they will be mounted to as well as a drawer/hidden panel for the Galileo. Hopefully I can get it to work/look how I'm picturing it...but we'll see!

       OH! PS. Don't EVER stain outside in the sunlight. BAD BAD BAD idea. I, for some reason unknown to me, did this and now I get the lovely chance to sand the entire thing down and re-stain. Thankfully I only stained one of the pieces of furniture and not both. But if nothing else, it'll give me some more to do while Matt's doing all his homework/work. :)

       We finally figured out most of the Christmas presents for this year, and yes I'm making all but one of the ones that we've decided on right now...now we just need to figure out what to get for our nephews...currently I'm starting to think that a card with money sounds good... or else a gift card to somewhere... any ideas? They are 15 (?) and 9 (?).

Thanks!!