How to Succeed in a Relationship

There are many people that are fighting to keep their relationships going.  They may be close to divorce, or just close to breaking up in general.  When it comes to having children together and keeping them happy, relationship is key.  It has to be healthy and well-rounded, but how can we do that?  What are the tricks that slip our minds, but are so easy that they can turn a relationship around in a short period of time?  Here is what I’ve found that has saved my relationship.

1.       Communication

Many people may say, “Well, duh!”  The truth is that a lot of relationships do not have good communication.  This is something that may just be what’s driving your partner insane. 

Things like not making decisions together, keeping things from each other, or not explaining your feelings to one another are all part of bad communication.  No one can expect their significant other to read their minds.  Once someone has been together so long, it may seem like they can hear each other’s thoughts, but they still use communication.  Communication is what brought them to this stage in their relationship.  They couldn’t have learned so much about each other if they were silent all the time. 

Therefore, when there’s a big decision that has to be made, include the one you love in it.  Even if you believe it only affects your life, ask them about it.  They might have a different perspective that you hadn’t even thought of. 

Next, don’t keep secrets!  Secrets are like a brick wall between you and your spouse.  When you aren’t open with each other, then you don’t learn about each other.  Many people only want their loved one to know the good things about them, so they keep their bad habits a secret.  This is what ruins things when you move in together.  It is a lot more difficult to keep secrets when you’re living under the same roof.  Plus, they will definitely notice your bad habits that you tried to hide.  So be open with your loved one from the start, and tell them everything about you.  Once you break the ice, they will be more likely to open up to you and everything will go both ways.  Believe me, you won’t be the only one with extreme gas, or the only one that steals the covers at night. 

2.       Trust

Trust is earned, not given.  Once you break someone’s trust, it is harder to get it back than it was the first time.  This is a hard truth to learn.  Some people are easier to gain trust than others, and other people can’t trust at all.  This is something that you have to expect in a relationship. 

Signs of little or no trust is calling your significant other multiple times in the day to check on them, or accusing them of stuff that you believe they did even if they didn’t. 

Sometimes you have to take that leap in someone even if it means getting hurt in the end.  That leap is what makes your relationship.  When you are always walking on your tip toes, your relationship isn’t going to be enjoyable.  The key is to give your loved one a chance.  If you don’t give them that benefit of a doubt, then you may not get that in return.  It isn’t easy to live in a relationship that has no trust.  In that case, you need to do everything in your power to gain his/her trust and keep it. 

There are ways to do this; some I’ve already mentioned:

a.       Honesty: Always be honest about what’s going on, and don’t keep secrets.

b.      Loyalty: This includes not cheating on your loved one, and many other things that I’ll mention later.

c.       Communication: When you talk to your loved one about everything, they will gain more trust in you.

These are just a few of the ways that you can gain trust from your spouse.  Remember, once you make one mistake and lose that trust, it is harder to get it back.  So think before you do something.

3.       Loyalty

Ever heard that saying, “You can look, but you can’t touch.”?  Unfortunately, many people go by this.  They believe that they can look at a girl’s chest, or a guy’s butt and get away with it because they didn’t actually do anything.  What they don’t think about is how that makes their loved one feel. 

When you do this, you are disrespecting that person that you love.  Do you love that girl walking down the street, or that guy walking without a shirt on?  No, I’m sure you don’t because you don’t know them.  You don’t understand what makes them tick, or what they enjoy doing.  You only see what they look like, and people can look attractive on the outside, but be completely ugly on the inside. 

Plus, when you look at someone in that way, it tempts you.  You may think, “Oh, I would love to have her/him in my bedroom.”  Sadly, this is what causes people to cheat.  You may not think that you would follow through with those thoughts, but eventually you might.  Maybe you got in an argument, and you don’t feel good about your relationship right at that time.  So you go out and cheat on your significant other.  Then, you come home, and he/she has made dinner for you to make up for the fight. 

How would that make you feel?  Obviously, you would feel horrible for what you had just done, but would you tell them?  Many people wouldn’t because they wouldn’t want another fight, or they would be scared that this would end their relationship.  This makes a secret, and a big one at that.  Again, secrets are a brick wall.  And all secrets add to another secret which in turn adds to another brick wall.  Eventually you won’t be able to even reach your loved one because the brick wall is so thick and tall.  

Just think about it.  One brick wall falling doesn’t make that much of a mess, right?  But think about five falling.  That’s not too bad.  Now think about fifteen.  We’re getting pretty messy, huh?  What about fifty?  Now we’re talking about a serious clean-up. 

One secret may not be that bad, but one always leads to another, and another, and another.  One may not ruin a relationship, but more than one might.  Not only that, but you don’t normally get caught with one secret.  A lot of times what happens is once they find out one thing, the whole ball of secrets comes into play because they figured it out.  This is what makes the mess.  This is what ends relationships.

So be loyal, and don’t cheat on your significant other.  Keep your eyes on the one that you love because that’s where they belong, and show them that you only love them.  This will keep your relationship going strong.

4.       Respect

This involves being loyal, but many other things are included.  Respect is a big part in a relationship.  When all you do is put that person down, and treat them like a dog, then your relationship isn’t going to last.  Your loved one needs respect.  So how can you respect them? 

Well, in order to respect someone you have to put yourselves in their shoes.  You need to understand what they go through every day.  Once you learn to think of that, it will be easier to respect them.  This may include respecting that they work long hours, or that they are very close to their parents. 

Now how can we respect these things?  Well, if they work long hours, you should get things done before they get home.  You should not wait for them to get home and ask them to help you.  They have had a long day, and it is nice to come home to a clean house where they can relax for the rest of the day.  Also, if they are very close to their parents, even if you aren’t, you need to respect this.  Don’t make fun of them for calling their parents so often, or going to visit them a lot.  You may not feel the same way, but everyone is different. 

Respect also includes watching what you say.  Arguments happen in relationships, but it’s how you handle that argument.  Respect is not screaming at each other, or getting into each other’s faces. 

These are just a few ways that you can have an argument respectfully:

a.       Keep your voice down.  No one appreciates being yelled at.

b.      Listen.  It’s always better to listen then talk.  You learn more this way, and you often save yourself by not saying what comes to your mind first. 

c.       Don’t try and talk over each other.  The point is to listen, learn, and take turns talking.  You won’t get anywhere if you keep talking over each other.

d.      Understand.  Don’t just think it’s your way or no way.  You have to understand their side.

There is many ways to respect the one you love, but keep these in mind.  They have the ability to change your relationship for the better if you follow through. 

5.       Miscellaneous

Miscellaneous can include surprises, or just anything.  Most of the things I’ve stated above are kind of expected.  They are not the special things that sends your spouse head over heels, but they will definitely bring a huge difference.  But the miscellaneous things will be what makes your relationship the best you can make it.

Like I said, miscellaneous is like surprises.  It’s anything that you wouldn’t do normally.  Maybe buy your girl flowers and chocolates, or if you want to go all out, a piece of jewelry.  Girls, if you don’t make dinner for them already, surprise them with a nice dinner.  Guys you can do this too.  Don’t forget to go out on dates where you can have your much needed alone time. 

There is an infinite amount of things that you could do for your significant other to surprise them.  The key is for it to be something that you wouldn’t normally do, and something that they wouldn’t expect of you.  This will make it even more special. 

There you have it.  These are the five ways I’ve found that make a relationship as perfect as it can be.  Even if a relationship can’t be absolutely perfect, you can make it really close. 

This is all from my personal experience, and what has worked for us.  All of these things are a lifesaver, and we continue to use these every day.  It’s saved our relationship, and made it a healthier and happier engagement.  With the stress of life, you need that person to come home to that makes you the happiest person in the world. 

Keep in mind that this may not work for everyone.  Again, this is based on my personal experiences.  These five steps should bring a change to your relationship, and bring love back to life.

How we plan on taking care of our baby.

As I’m telling you this, I’d like you to keep in mind that this is what we’re doing.  What we do isn’t necessarily what you should do.  Our life circumstances are different, and our views may be different also.  Either way, I hope you can learn from this. 

First things first: where will we be living when Jason is born? 

Well, right now we have our application in at housing.  If you don’t know, housing is for people with lower incomes.  You are put on a waiting list until an apartment becomes available.  We could be waiting for six months before we get in.  For us this works out though.  We will not have the truck paid off for about two or three more months.  Therefore, we will not be able to afford an apartment until it is paid off.  This gives us time to save up our money. 

As we are waiting for a place to become available, we will be staying with my parents.  My mom has offered a room in the house for the nursery, and as long as we continue to pay rent, we are welcome here.  For the first few months, Jason will be in our room sleeping in a bassinet.  Then, once he has outgrown the bassinet, we will move him to the nursery in a crib. 

Who will be taking care of him?

Jason is due in the beginning of October.  I only say this because around Thanksgiving Mason will be laid off for the winter.  He will still have plowing to do if it snows, but during winter he will be collecting unemployment. 

In the first and possibly second month, I will be taking care of Jason during the day, but Mason will help in the afternoons.  I will also be taking care of him at night because Mason will have to get up early for work.  On the weekends he will help at night unless he has to work Saturday.  In the fall they have to work Saturday’s because they get busy again.  Therefore, he will probably only help me Saturday nights. 

To give you an idea, Mason leaves for work at 7:20am, and gets home any time after 3pm.  Some days he will work as late as 7pm.  During the fall months he will have very long hours and probably won’t get off until between 5 and 7pm. 

Once Mason is laid off for the winter, we will both be taking care of him during the day and at night.  On a side note: Mason will be looking for a job that will give him his CDL so he can start his trucking career.  We already have a few places in mind, but we have to wait until then to start applying due to unemployment and everything.

Babysitters

We will not really be in need of babysitters because I will be staying home with Jason.  But on the off chance that we do need one, we would go to our family friends or Mason’s dad first.  The reason we will not go to my parents first is because of their drinking habit.  Neither of us are comfortable with Jason being around alcohol, and we don’t want to risk it. 

Of course, we are going to give them a chance to prove that they can handle it, but once they ruin it it’s gone.  We want Jason to be able to spend time with his grandparents, but this is a touchy matter for us.  They have done a lot for us, but we don’t trust them.  That is a story all in its own, but that’s where we stand with my parents babysitting.

As for daycare or anything along those lines, we won’t be enrolling him in that.  For one, we don’t need to, and for two, it is expensive.  Lastly, I have problems trusting people I don’t know with my baby.  You may not agree, but this is just how we plan on raising him.  Again, what works for us may not work for you.

I believe that’s it.  If you have any other questions that I forgot, feel free to ask.  I will answer all of them in a separate post so that I can go into detail.  Thanks for reading, and have a great day!

7 months pregnant belly

This is actually the first picture Mason and I took of my baby belly which is sad because I'm already 7 months pregnant.  This is me at 28 weeks and four days pregnant.  I'm getting big and especially round.  My total weight gain so far is 11 pounds.  Thanks for reading and have a great day!

Life Update

The past two weeks have been extremely hectic, but there were great moments at the same time. 

First, as you know, Mason got ran over by the truck two weeks ago.  He is fine, and isn’t sore from it anymore.  All of his cuts are almost completely healed, and his bruises are gone. 

What you don’t know though is that on Thursday, Mason would say, “I got in a fight with a hedge trimmer.”  Mason was working on Thursday, and it was only 8:30 in the morning.  On that day he started at 7am.  He had picked up a hedge trimmer, and “got in a fight with it.”  As you’ve probably guessed, the hedge trimmer won. 

At first he thought that he only nicked himself with it, but I received a phone call at 8:45.  He told me that he cut his knee and had to go to the emergency room for stitches.  I was upset, but not too upset because he is prone to injuries.  He always ends up getting hurt somehow.  I learned later that he realized how bad it was when blood started seeping through his jeans. 

He told me that it hadn’t actually really hurt.  Mason even said that at the hospital he asked all the nurses and his doctor why it hurt less than what a paper cut does.  The nurses couldn’t give him an answer, but the doctor said that it was because some places have more nerves than others. 

According to Mason, the 6 numbing shots were a lot worse than what the three stitches were.  Luckily that was all he needed, and his tendon hadn’t been involved.  What the doctor didn’t realize was that Mason must have hit the bone a little bit. 

We figured this out because after the numbing medicine wore off, he was in a lot of pain.  By that night he could barely put weight on it, and he was in tears from the pain.  Keep in mind, Mason has ulcerative colitis and is really good with pain.  He RARELY reaches this point, but he did and I knew we needed to do something about it. 

So that night we went to the emergency room in town.  It wasn’t the same ER that he had went to for the stitches, but he wasn’t able to drive that far to that hospital. 

We spent almost four hours in the waiting room.  Once we got back to the room the nurse said that it sounded like bone pain.  Mason said yeah because he knew what incision pain felt like.  He’s had three surgeries, and seven stitches in that same knee.  The nurse says okay and that she’ll send the doctor in. 

We sat there for an hour waiting for the doctor.  I was exhausted seeing as it was running on 11pm.  Therefore, I was not in the best mood.  I was hungry because we had been there so long, and I had forgotten a snack and I just wanted to go home. 

Well, the doctor arrived and looked at his knee for about a minute.  Then he said that Mason shouldn’t be in that kind of pain.  Basically saying that he was lying.  After that, he repeated the instructions of the first doctor that put in the stitches and said to take Tylenol.  Mason told him that Tylenol wasn’t working, but he didn’t say anything.  The doctor was in there a total of five minutes, and then we were discharged. 

It is an understatement to say we were upset.  They did not do anything for him besides repeat what we already knew.  They didn’t recommend crutches or anything along those lines. 

So we left with Mason still in a lot of pain.  The next day I got my older brother’s old crutches out, and Mason used them.  This helped a lot and by Sunday he was able to walk on it again.  If only the doctor would have recommended crutches! 

Anyways, Mason’s back to work today, and his stitches are healing really well.  He’s able to bend his knee more, and he isn’t in nearly as much pain as he was.  We are very thankful that he is healing so fast.  He will be getting his stitches out on Thursday. 

On a higher note, yesterday Mason and I went to a restaurant.  You may be surprised to hear that Mason and I have never done anything like this.  Sure, we’ve been to fast food restaurants, but we never went to a restaurant where you get waited on.  We’d done this with our families, but never with each other. 

It turned out that the food was amazing, and the service was equally as good.  The buns that we received were hot and really soft; not including delicious!  We didn’t even finish our appetizers before we had our meals, and believe me, they were meals.  Neither of us could finish what was on our plates. 

This was so much fun, and we’ve decided that we’re going to do it more often.  We’re thinking that we want to do it once more before Jason gets here, and then do it every couple months after that.  Needless to say, I was a very happy pregnant lady after our dinner. 

Other than that, Mason and I are doing amazing.  Our relationship has only been getting better and stronger.  We are extremely happy together, and we can’t wait for Jason to get here.  He is always on our minds.  I can’t wait to be a family because I know it will be perfect.  I’m not in the fairy tale where I don’t think it will be hard.  I know it will be hard, and I know we will have our moments.  But this is normal, and I expect it and even welcome it.  Life can’t be easy.  If life were easy, how would we get stronger? 

Well, that’s our life update.  Thanks for reading, and have an amazing day!  Don’t forget to leave a comment!

Run over by a truck!

I ran over Mason with the truck!  This happened the week before last.  I know, I know, you’re probably thinking, “What the heck?”, but it was an accident.  You see, I don’t have my license or my permit.  Therefore I don’t really know a lot about driving yet.  Mason has been slowly teaching me and everything, but we haven’t had much time to get in practice or anything.  What you may think is common sense didn’t work that way for me. 

Let me explain.  Mason was working on his muffler again.  He had just finished it, and he asked me to hop in the truck and start it.  I’ve done this before, but he’s always reminded me to make sure it was in neutral (our truck is standard).  This time he didn't.  He was lying under the truck right at the drive tire, the back passenger tire. 

After I started it, I dropped the clutch.  Not quick enough to stall it, but fast enough that the truck moved forward pretty quick with plenty of momentum. 

This is where it gets hard for me to talk about.  I can’t talk about this to anyone without tearing up.  I am honestly scarred by this incident.  It was just yesterday that I started the truck again, and it took some persuasion from Mason to do so. 

Anyways, I heard Mason scream.  I’m not sure if he screamed my name or just screamed in general.  My first reaction was to push in the clutch because my foot was already there, and then I slammed on the brakes.  I had realized what I had done, but I didn’t want to believe it.  I mean, how can you run over the love of your life?  How stupid could I be? 

After that I froze for a second.  I didn’t know what to do, or what to expect.  I put on the emergency brake and ran out of the truck, screaming for Mason.  He didn’t answer.  This terrified me.  I had no idea what I was going to see. 

So, I reached him, and he had gotten out of the stone driveway and was lying in the grass.  He was awake, and he told me he was okay.  I automatically started crying.  What was weird was that I couldn’t shed tears at first.  I was just making the crying noise, but I couldn’t actually cry. 

It wasn’t until everything actually hit me that I started really crying, and I couldn’t stop.  Mason kept repeating that he was okay, but I didn’t want to believe it.  I mean I wanted to, but how could he be okay?  I had run him over.  How could I do something so horrible?  These were all the things running through my mind. 

Meanwhile, Mason was of course in pain, but he was completely alert.  Later on he told me that he thinks he may have blacked out because he didn’t hear me screaming for him at first.  I asked him if his stomach hurt because that had been where I had run him over, but he pushed on his stomach and said no.  He didn’t think he had anything wrong with him internally. 

That was a relief, and extremely surprising.  At this time, I was still crying and I could not hold it together.  Mason kept telling me that it was okay, and that it wasn’t my fault, but I couldn’t believe him. 

What you’re going to find completely surprising is that Mason was not seriously injured.  We did not need to take him to the hospital or anything.  The truck had run over his lower abdomen, and his hips.  His back was bruised and cut up pretty good from the stones under him, and his hips were bruised too.  He was really sore for about a week, but he is fine now.  The cuts are almost completely healed. 

When other people learned what had happened, they didn’t believe that he was okay.  Nor did they believe that he hadn’t gone to the hospital. 

I want to tell you that I believe this was a miracle.  Keep in mind that our truck is an extended cab 2000 Ford F150 with a 4.2 engine.  I pray every day that God watches over Mason and protects him from danger.  This was a blessing that he was not seriously injured.  I told Mason that God was with him, and that that had to be the reason why he didn’t sustain any bad injuries. 

I cried constantly practically the whole day.  I couldn’t forgive myself, and I couldn’t believe what I had done.  All I could do was keep berating myself, and cry.  I was completely bawling and shaking, and I just curled up in a ball in bed crying.  I could have seriously done damage, and I wouldn’t have been able to live with myself if I had. 

Mason seriously got angry with me because of how upset I was.  He believed that it was not my fault.  He told me that he should have reminded me to put it in neutral.  Of course my argument was that I should have known.  After the incident, I felt like it was all common sense.  First, make sure it’s in neutral.  Second, start the truck.  Third, slowly let out the clutch to make sure it isn’t going to go anywhere. 

I kept arguing with Mason that it was my fault and that I should have known, but he told me otherwise.  He kept repeating that he shouldn’t have been under the truck in the first place.  He told me that he actually hadn’t needed to be under the truck to check the muffler.  Mason also said that I shouldn’t be expected to know things like that because I wasn’t experienced in driving.  Therefore, stuff that would be common sense for him or you wasn’t for me. 

I still don’t know if I believe this or not.  I can’t believe what happened, or that I was the one that did it.  Nor do I ever want to believe it.  All I know is that I learned.  I will never start the truck without double checking that it’s in neutral, putting on the emergency brake, and slowly letting out the clutch.  Yesterday I didn’t have the emergency brake on because he wasn’t under the truck.  I still let out the clutch slow though.  Honestly, I didn’t even want to let it out.  I was terrified of moving forward. 

I have been a serious fanatic about the truck moving.  I always ask Mason when he’s working on the truck if he has the emergency brake on, and if it’s in gear.  I also repeatedly ask if the truck will move.  I am honestly terrified of that truck moving without Mason in it. 

The reason why I didn’t tell you this two weeks ago (I tried, but couldn’t finish writing it) was because I was afraid that you would think I did it on purpose.  Only a few people know what actually happened because I won’t let Mason tell the true story.  I know that some people may think that it is completely my fault, and that I was extremely stupid.  I would agree, but it doesn’t help to hear those words.  I’ve repeated them to myself many times. 

Anyways, I hope you understand.  That was the big incident that happened two weeks ago.  Our life is pretty hectic, but I know that we are extremely blessed.  Mason is still here in my life, and unbelievably, he was not hurt badly.  I am very grateful for this. 

Thanks for reading another small piece of our lives.  Have a great day.  Feel free to leave a comment, and remember to always make sure your vehicle is in neutral when you start it!

27/28 Week Pregnancy Update

Wow!  I am finally twenty-eight weeks pregnant.  It’s hard to believe that we only have twelve weeks left or sooner to see our little boy.  I hope it isn’t too soon because I want him to be perfectly healthy and not have to spend any time in the NICU. 

So we have reached the third trimester, and I am extremely excited.  I’m getting bigger every day, and I can feel him kick all the time.  He is getting extremely strong which is great. 

This past week has been really hectic.  I was feeling great in my 27^th week, but as soon as I hit my 28 week mark on Tuesday, everything went downhill.  I got extremely bad heartburn to the point where I couldn’t lay down in bed.  I also felt very sick to my stomach.  I was getting sick practically every day, sometimes three or four times a day. 

I was extremely miserable.  I couldn’t seem to get any sleep.  I was waking up every hour or so thinking I was going to get sick, and feeling horrible from heartburn.  I would take tums but it didn’t help. 

Thankfully by Saturday I felt a little bit better.  Mason and I were able to go to his dad’s, but it was very hot out which made it horrible because we were outside all day working on the truck.  Mason actually got heat exhaustion so I was up with him until three in the morning.  So I was running on hardly any sleep, and we went to his dad’s again on Sunday to finish the truck. 

I felt good until Monday then.  When I woke up Monday I felt very sick.  I couldn’t keep anything down until noon, and my doctor’s appointment was at 1:30pm.  Therefore at the doctor’s appointment I was dehydrated, but they weren’t worried because I had just started being able to eat and drink again. 

Otherwise my doctor’s appointment went great.  Jason’s heartbeat was in the high 140’s which she said was normal.  I also asked if he was breech or not, and she told me that he wasn’t because his heartbeat was low in my belly meaning he was head down.  I was very happy to hear this seeing as I was a breech baby with my mom. 

Also, my doctor has been regularly checking my growth, and she told me that I was 29 in.  I don’t know what I was before, but she didn’t say anything about whether it was good or bad, so I’m guessing it’s good. 

I lost 3 pounds since my last appointment, but they didn’t say anything about it because they knew that I had been really sick.  That makes my total weight gain 11 pounds so far, and I’m trying to gain more now to make up the difference.  It’s actually kind of weird having to try and gain weight instead of worrying about not gaining too much weight.  My glucose test came back normal which didn’t really surprise me.  Ever since I’ve started eating better and squeezing in more snacks I haven’t had any weird spells of lightheadedness.  So that’s pretty much it for my doctor’s appointment.  I’m extremely happy that everything is going so well. 

Now for the rest of my symptoms.  I’ve gotten over the sickness, but I’ve been feeling pretty achy lately.  I’ve taken advantage of Mason’s massaging skills again because of back pain.  He is absolutely amazing at giving massages and relaxing me.  Again, take advantage of any chance you get for a massage! 

It feels like Jason is always on my ribs which is not very comfortable.  Sometimes it can be painful, but I love it either way because it shows me that he’s okay. 

I have also had a couple times where I felt like my heartbeat was racing.  From what I’ve read, this is normal, but please let me know if this has also happened to you.  It is a very uncomfortable and scary feeling for me when it happens. 

Well, that’s about it for my 27/28 week update!  I’m sorry that it was so late.  This week has been pretty hectic.  I’m going to post an update today on how Mason and I’s relationship is going, and just how everyday life is.  Please check that out, and don’t forget to comment!  Thanks for reading, and have a great day!

I hate our truck!

I know that your first vehicle is never your best vehicle, and if it is then you're lucky, but this is getting ridiculous.  If anyone has been keeping track, we have been trying to get the muffler to stay on for over a month.  The stock tailpipe is rusted, and the clamps never want to hold right.  We can never find a good spot to put a hanger, and (ugh!) it's just a mess. 

Now, Mason and I were going for our usual drive.  We had been hearing the power steering making noise, and we thought the power steering fluid was getting low.  What do you know!  The power steering went two days ago.  It was just completely gone. 

So we go to the dollar store with the little money that we have to get power steering fluid.  Thankfully Mason decided to check if it was low or not.  Turns out it wasn't.  This means that the power steering pump actually went, and that isn't the cheapest fix.  Nor is it something that you can really go without. 

Luckily, Mason's younger brother decided to help us out and get us a power steering pump.  Little did I know that the easy part was getting it; the hard part was taking the old one off and putting the new one on. 

To give you an idea, yesterday we spent from noon to 10:30 pm attempting to fix the power steering.  Keep in mind, where we live it was 100 degrees out.  This weather does NOT agree with pregnancy.  Unfortunately we didn't get it fixed, and we drove home in his dad's other truck.  All in all, it was not a good day. 

Today, we spent half the day trying to finish it, and Mason and his brother thought they had it on right, but they thought that the pulley might need tinkered with a little bit more.  I told them to just get it done and over with, but they decided to run it and see.  To explain as best as I can (I'm not a motorhead), there is a serpentine belt that goes on the crankshaft pulley and another pulley.  The belt was not fitting perfectly, but they seemed to think it was going to be okay.  I was uncomfortable though because Mason told me that if the serpentine belt isn't on right, it will get eaten away and once it's gone, the truck won't run until you get a new one.  This was why I said to get it done and over with, but does anyone listen to a girl?  NO, of course not!

So as you probably know, we get back to his dad's after taking the truck to get gas which was also a test run, and they pop the hood.  Mason's brother goes uh oh, and I'm like NOOOOOO!  I just spent all day yesterday in the heat and half the day today in the heat.  Please don't tell me that it's not right.  Of course, it's not right, so next weekend we'll be fixing it again. 

You may think that's all though.  Nope!  We also just found out that the truck needs TWO O2 sensors.  This means that the truck is running lean which is really bad. 

I'm telling you, nothing goes right with this truck!  The only good thing is that we finally got new used tires that have decent tread. 

Our life is not pretty, and our first vehicle isn't either, but we fight through it.  Thanks for listening to me complain about this rotten thing.  I can't wait to get a car, but we have to pay this truck off first, and we'll probably end up keeping it until Mason gets a better job.  Anyways, thanks so much for reading and following our life.

Jason's still kicking like crazy, and I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow.  I'll have my 27/28 week update on Tuesday which will include how my appointment goes and all of my wonderful symptoms.  Thanks for reading and have a great day!

Fireworks

Mason and I enjoyed the amazing fireworks on the Fourth of July.  We were unbelievably close even though we weren't in the V.I.P. section.  We got to sit in the bed of the truck and cuddle for a good two hours before they started, and then the show began. 

The first firework blew us away.  We had no idea how close they would be, or how large, so we were very surprised.  These fireworks were both seemingly right in front of our face, and they lit up the whole sky.  Everything was choreographed to music which was an added bonus.  They had some pretty neat sections of fireworks that just took our breath away.  Mason and I weren't bored for one second during the whole thing. 

Plus, where we were parked, it was not crowded at all.  We only had about a total of four families sitting around us, and they weren't loud or rude.  This was an added bonus because we could see that the V.I.P. section was extremely crowded. 

So after a little over 40 minutes of outstanding fireworks and music, the finale came, and you couldn't miss it.  It was spectacular, and completely stood apart from everything else.  There wasn't a second break in between any one firework, and the colors clashed perfectly. 

This night turned out to be outstanding.  We couldn't have asked for anything better.  It was sweet, romantic, and a lot of fun.  We had the special privacy of the bed of our truck while still being able to see everything wonderfully. 

Oh and Jason just happened to be kicking like crazy the whole time.  Every time I would tell Mason to feel he would stop though.  I imagine it was very loud in my belly. 

So thanks for reading, and I hope your Fourth of July was just as amazing as ours.  Have a great day!