Crock-pot Chicken Teriyaki

Half Way Baked!

Today marks the halfway point in my pregnancy!  Yay!  I know I still have a long way to go, and I cannot WAIT to meet our little baby - but I keep reminding myself that I only experience being pregnant for the first time once.  So for the first time in my life, I am kicking back and just enjoying the ride.

We all know what the "halfway" point of any pregnancy means - WE GET TO FIND OUT THE GENDER!  Yesterday Thomas and I practically ran to the hospital to see the ultrasound and find out the gender of our baby.  I think I was running because this appointment was better than Christmas morning for me - the surprise of all surprises! The gender of our baby, it doesn't get better folks!  However I think Thomas was running to the hospital in a mix of anxiety and excitement.  He loves our little baby so much, and after each appointment he sighs a huge relief knowing everything is well and normal (only to have the anxiety start building up again for the next appointment). 

It was a miracle to see all the organs and tissues of our baby already functioning.  I am so honored to have the opportunity to grow a little human inside of me.  The Ultrasound Tech. walked us through the check-up showing us a little heart, little stomach, two kidneys, the skeletal structure - it was all so breathtaking.

Many people refer to the beauty of the earth (myself included) as evidence that God really exists.  However, it wasn't until my pregnancy that I realized that the formation and development of a child is even greater evidence of our loving Heavenly Father.  Human life would not be possible without Him.  I am so grateful to Him for preparing this perfect little body for our little Angel, and I am grateful for the gift that Thomas and I have been given to eventually raise this child.

Needless to say, this last ultrasound was amazing.  One of the last things the Ultrasound Tech. checked for was the GENDER!  And despite how much I loved seeing all that I mentioned above, a little part of me was just DYING to get to the gender.

So without further ado - Thomas and I are going to be proud parents of a
 BABY GIRL!!   

And I know it is not as exciting for you to see as it was for us - but I just had to share my favorite 2 ultrasound pictures:

Little Foot!  This might be my favorite part - there is something just so cute about little feetsies!

Love me some "clay" baby! :)

And then there were three...

Thomas and I are ecstatic to announce that we are having a little baby in December!  We could not be happier!   

We had a fantastic Monday as we celebrated our 2 year anniversary by going to our first Dr. appointment for the baby!  We got to see an ultrasound, hear a little heartbeat and even see our baby flailing around!  It was one of the neatest things we had ever seen.  I think I can safely speak for both Thomas and myself when I say that we have been surprised by how quickly this little one has stolen our hearts.  We are so blessed to have the opportunity to be parents.

It won't be until the end of June/early July before we get to find out the gender - but we will keep you all posted!  

 

Dilemma

So... before I tell this fantastic story, first you must understand the way our bathroom is set up.  When you walk in our bathroom, on your immediate left squished in a corner, is our washer (weird I know).  About 2 inches further into the bathroom is our sink, 2 more inches = the toilet, and another 2 inches further is our fabulous tub/shower. 

Thanks for taking a tour with me!  So now that you understand - this picture below may make a tiny bit of sense...

Explanation?  We had a load of laundry going last night when we were getting ready for bed.  The washing machine was making a lot of noise so we shut the bathroom door and though nothing of it... that is - until I woke up this morning to do what everyone has to do as soon as they wake up!

I wish I had a picture for the next part - but it was a 2 person job so neither of us could take pictures!  So the washer must have moved during the spin cycle just enough to make getting in impossible! 
Tom decided that there was no other way to move the washer from this side of the door because the washer was smashed between our door and our sink by this point.  So Tom backed up and gestured to the door as if to say "Be my guest!".  So I hiked one foot up between the door and on top of the washing machine and Tom hoisted my other foot.  At one point I heard him say that if I could just get my head through we would be set!  My head was the least of my worries! 

After much pushing, whining, and shimmying - I finally got in!!

  Just a typical day in the life of Tom and Megan :)!

The UnBELIZEable Cruise

 Before Tom and I were even married, we decided that we would go on a fun vacation as each of us graduated.

I am pleased to announce that THOMAS SCHMIDT has GRADUATED from USU with a bachelors in Management of Information Systems.  YAY! 

We decided a Caribbean cruise would be a fantastic way to celebrate and live up to our fun vacation deal.  

Jan 1, 2012 - Jan 8, 2012 

Welcome to the Norwegian Star!  

I have never been on a cruise before but it didn't take me too long to realize that I loved everything about cruising! 

From fantastic weather and relaxing ...

 ...a night on the town...

...dancing and playing cards to the Melodic Trio (and yes, I have a not-so-secret love for these 3 and their magical musical abilities)...

...fantastic nightly entertainment...

... to all you can eat CHOCOLATE buffets!  

Let me just reiterate this again ... I loved everything about cruising!

First stop: Roatan Honduras- SCUBA DIVING!

Tom's parents paid for us to get scuba certified for Christmas!  I was not so sure I would like scuba diving much as I am not always the most adventurous person... but Tom really wanted to go -

so we were certified. 

Tom is OKAY!:)

I can't tell you how cool it was to look up and see this.  It literally is breathtaking down there!

These pictures can only give you a tiny glimpse of just how fantastic scuba diving is - but let me say this: I have never in my WHOLE life done anything as fun as scuba diving.  It was the most amazing thing and I am glad we were both certified so young - we have our whole life ahead of us for more amazing scuba trips.
  

Honestly, this is a must-do everyone.  

Go. Get. Certified.  

You will never regret it!

2nd Stop: Belize City, Belize - "LDS" Tours

We were super excited to go tour some ruins through an LDS tour we found online.  But when we got there we quickly realized that there was nothing LDS about our tour.  We still had a great time, but have no idea where we got the LDS part :)

The boat ride to and from Lamanai, there were no roads leading to these ruins

 The Gang - my brother and sister-in-law, Mark and Jenn

Next stop: Costa Maya, Mexico

Tom and Mark went scuba diving (Jenn couldn't go diving because she is PREGNANT! YAY!) while Jenn and I left for a beach get-a-way with an open bar! (That's right - we got all the virgin pina coladas and daiquiris a girl could ever want!)

Scuba

While the girls enjoyed their drinks the men went diving. The cruise taxied us out to an awesome dive shop right on a white sand beach in Costa Maya (see above). We had a really friendly Mexican scuba master(bald guy with the beard on the left of the pic above) who was our guide. To start out, I told him jokingly that all I wanted to see was a turtle and I would be satisfied with the dive. The first dive we did not see any, but we did see spectacular coral formations, like the one below! In between our dives I bugged our instructor once more, telling him we needed to see a turtle and to make it happen. Sure enough, about half way through the dive the instructor suddenly turned around and pointed. A turtle! Mark had already seen it and was busy snapping photos!  There really aren't many words to say how amazing scuba diving is!

This coral picture above and the coral and lobster pictures below almost do scuba justice! Awesome pictures Mark (had to show em off)

 The beach getaway was beautiful!  We had a great and very relaxing day!  (Jenn and I also loved seeing all the reasons why we don't drink! )

I joined in Congo dancing with a bunch of drunk people - and I may be the only one who remembers :) 

Last stop: Cozumel, Mexico
Tom and I went on (surprise!) one last dive while we were in Cozumel - and we were glad to find a place that let Mark and Jenn snorkel above us so we could all stick together.  Here are a few of our favorite pictures from Cozumel:

Love you Jenn! :)  I just have to laugh every time I see this picture!

We don't know how, but our dive master suddenly started digging in the sand, and out popped a sand dollar!

Angel Fish

 

Yes - we saw a pregnant seahorse!  It almost made up for the fact that I missed seeing the turtle...

Yes folks - this is a fish!

Just for the record - it took us about 2 weeks to get over our cruise withdrawals!   

Chocolate Oil-Free Bran Muffins

This recipe is fabulous for boosting your fiber!  For this reason, I recommend limiting yourself to one muffin per day at first :).  These muffins are tasty, delicious, healthy, and I haven't yet met someone who has not liked them! 

Enjoy!!!

Zesty Italian Tomatoes