Road Tripping while Pregnant (Third Trimester)

Photo I took as we drove through Star Valley, Wy. Isn't it beautiful there?

I was a teensy bit nervous about doing our road trip while pregnant, but figured that since it was at the beginning of the third trimester, rather than the end, it shouldn't be too bad.

For the most part, that was true :)

There were several things I did that made the hours and hours of sitting less uncomfortable than they could have been.


   - We stopped at least every 2 hours- I'd stretch, walk around, use the bathroom, etc. This was actually the one that worried me the most- we had long distances to travel each day, and I knew extra stops would make each day even longer. Usually our stops were combined with gas fill-ups, so we didn't end up adding that much extra time to each day's driving schedule.
   - I drank water, though I was not as good at this as I could have been due to a reluctance to have more potty stops. Because we were heading west, where it's a lot drier than we're used to, I also drank electrolyte drinks as well. By paying attention to my body, I could tell plain water just wasn't enough for me.
   - We ate regularly. You need proper nutrition even if you're just sitting in the car all day. We also had snacks in the car in case we went a little longer between meals and needed something to tide us over. We don't generally eat a lot of snacks, so it was a nice change of pace.
   - I brought an extra pillow to place behind my back when things did start getting uncomfortable, and I had a gel cushion to sit on as well.
   - In the evenings I would use my foam roller on the tight muscles I'd accumulated during the day. This was very helpful in keeping my hips and glutes from giving me too many problems.
   - I changed positions often- both feet up, one foot up, the other foot up, sitting cross-legged, etc.

The result:
No swelling in my feet, and overall I felt pretty good. The only real problem I had was that somewhere along the line I pinched a nerve in my back. This caused knots to form along the lower right side of my ribcage on my back, and the longer I sat the worse the pain would be. What helped?

   - Our truck has heaters in the seats and backs of the front seats, so I would turn my seat back heater on, kind of like a heating pad. That helped the pain somewhat.
   - Laying down helped as well, so every time we stopped for gas I'd go lay down on our bed in the trailer while Mr M pumped gas.

Since returning home the pinched nerve has continued to be an issue, with the pain extending around to the front of my ribcage, but at my last chiropractor visit I got an adjustment that has helped a lot. I can now stand and sit for much longer periods of time without having to stop what I'm doing and go lay down while my back calms down. It still gives me problems, but is much more manageable.

Would I recommend doing a road trip later in pregnancy? Only if you're properly prepared, and ready to take what comes and go with the flow. Knowing from the start that I probably wouldn't be super comfortable on the trip helped so much- low expectations are easy to exceed :)

Have you roadtripped while pregnant? What did you find helpful?

Sofa Table Kreg Jig Project

I won't say I'm in the nesting stage yet, but I am definitely in the "I need to get certain projects finished quick before the baby's born and who knows when I'll have time to actually finish them" stage. Which means I have several pieces of furniture I'm building right now. I'm not worrying about painting or staining them just yet, since that will be fairly easy to do later, but I want to get the noisy parts done. I really don't want to interrupt nap time with the air compressor or mitre saw- especially when the little guy is still tiny.

The first piece I finished is a table that goes behind our new couch. You can't actually see it that well, but it helps fill in space in a long, narrowish room and makes the room feel a little more square. And I finally have a place to put the pair of lamps I found at TJMaxx 4 or 5 months ago. The only other light in the room is the one on the ceiling fan and it's nice to finally have another option.

I folded up the throw blankets and have them on the shelves for now. I had the worst time getting good lighting for these pics, so they didn't turn out the best.

You can actually see the lamps now!

Looking down at the couch and table.

I found the plans for the Rustic X Console Table on Ana-White.com and only tweaked it a little. I didn't do the Xs on the ends because I wanted the ends to be open since that's the side that would show, and I didn't add the extra hardware details since I wanted it to look a little more polished and a little less rustic. And instead of planking the top I used a piece of 3/4" oak plywood for a nicer look.

I also only had the middle shelf extend half way down the table so that it would be open on the other half of the table. I'll show you why in a minute.

The plans were pretty easy to follow, and using the Kreg Jig really made the whole process quick and easy. After cutting all my pieces to size I drilled all the holes using the jig, then broke out the wood glue and screwed all the pieces together. I trimmed out the plywood top with screen trim, and it was done!

I love how it turned out, and it makes that end of the room look so much more finished, even if the table isn't actually finished. I'm waffling between light to medium gray or a pop of blue gray on the legs, and deciding whether to paint or stain the top.

And that open spot? Remember the extra cushion for the couch? Now it's nicely hidden away, yet easy to reach.

We still need to hang curtains- I have the curtains and the rods, but just haven't quite managed to have the time and energy that coincided with Mr M being home to help (it's not a one-person job since we need to figure out how high/low/etc the rods will be). Once we get the curtains up I'll also have to rearrange the stuff that's hanging on the walls.

I have 4 or 5 more pieces of furniture to finish, with 2 of them currently in the works. Hopefully I can continue to make good progress :)

The Ingalls Homestead, De Smet, South Dakota

After Mt Rushmore, we continued across South Dakota and stopped in De Smet, where a good portion of the Little House books took place. There's a pretty fun museum and hands-on exploring area at the old homestead site.

LMS liked the old covered wagon in the museum. And she insisted on wearing the bonnet she got when we stopped in Mansfield, MO at the beginning of our road trip.

The Ingalls family lived in a dugout along the banks of Plum Creek, Minnesota. So this wasn't their dugout, but it was cool to see just how tiny those things are. And I've got to say- the constant dirt would drive me nuts.

The Little Miss had fun pumping water out of the well.

One of the hands-on activities was laundry.

Rubbing soap on the fabric

Rubbing the fabric on the washboard

Agitating and rinsing the clothes

Turning the handle on the roller to squeeze all the water out

Hanging the clothes out to dry

There was a little roping station.

And she got him (kinda)!

There were stables, too.

LMS was ecstatic about getting to ride the pony

And then she got to drive the little cart

And pet the giant horses

LMS was in heaven- she's asked for a horse for awhile now (what little girl doesn't?), and this was like a dream come true.

There's an old one room school across the field from the claim shanty, and we rode in a wagon out there to learn about school back in the day.

That white cupboard in the corner was the packing box that the organ came in- it was re-purposed after the organ was unpacked. Recycling's been around a long time :)

They had little pinafores for the girls to wear and vests for the boys. Isn't LMS cute?

On the way back, LMS got to "drive" the horses pulling the wagon. Bliss :)

This house is built after the specs that Pa filed for his claim, describing his claim shanty. It was built in 3 parts, added to over time, with the result looking like this. Of course, the original isn't still around, so the preservation group built a replica.

We had fun visiting the Ingalls Homestead and seeing how things were done back in the day. It definitely helps you appreciate how much we have :)

Sunday Funny

While Mr M was taking care of National Guard stuff back in July, LMS and I drove around Provo, looking at the places I lived before getting married and the ones Mr M and I lived after we got married.

One was the apartment I lived in before I left on my mission. I mentioned that Opa (my dad) lived there when he was in college, back when the apartment complex was brand new.

Me: "It was a long time ago."

LMS: "How long ago? Ten hundred years ago?"

Me: "Umm, I don't think Opa would appreciate you thinking he's that old."

For some reason, "ten hundred" is her favorite number and she uses it all the time. 

Beau Jo's Gluten Free Pizza

After we went to Mt Rushmore, we headed down the mountain and drove to Rapid City. South Dakota doesn't have a lot of good gluten free dining options, but we did find one in Rapid City: Beau Jo's Pizza. Most of their locations are in Colorado, but they have one (kind of randomly) in Rapid City. I've heard good things about their gluten free pizza, so we gave it a try.

We weren't sure how big the pizza would be, so LMS and I shared a gluten free Pacific Plantation pizza and Mr M got the buffet. We could have saved some money and all shared the pizza, though, as it was quite large. As it was, we had leftovers for another meal and a snack. 

I haven't eaten pizza in a restaurant since going gluten free more than 4 years ago, so it was a nice treat to be able to do so. And it tasted way better than a tiny frozen gluten free pizza purchased from the grocery store and then heated up in the oven at home.

The pizza was a bit pricey (which is to be expected when ordering gluten free), but quite yummy, and worth doing again. Next time we're out west we'll be sure to stop in for more gluten free pizza. 

Have you eat at Beau Jo's?

Mt Rushmore

I mentioned yesterday that we were heading to Mt Rushmore when we came upon Martin's Cove. After leaving Martin's Cove, we continued on our way to Mt Rushmore. Because of the unplanned detour we ended up arriving a lot later than we had planned, so the lighting ended up being rather crummy, but we still had time to explore.

Driving up the mountain we came across a mama mountain goat and her baby, munching grass on the side of the road, oblivious to passing traffic.

We took the time to explore the exhibits and help LMS fill out the Junior Ranger booklet, which earned her another Junior Ranger pin. Learning the history of Mt Rushmore was quite interesting.

After LMS finished her Junior Ranger booklet we headed back outside for a few pictures. If we'd had the time, we could have stayed a few more hours- they were going to light up the mountain that night, which I'm sure looks really cool. Unfortunately, we had a schedule to keep and had to get back down the mountain and drive a bit further.

Have you been to Mt Rushmore?

Martin's Cove

On our road trip this summer we did lots of fun stuff, which I will eventually get all posted :) Here's another installment.

After Mr M finished his drill duties, we headed home. We usually end up just driving straight through on our road trips, as quickly as possible, but on this trip we made time for a couple detours.

The plan was to drive north-eastish up to Mt Rushmore, but as we were traveling the endless roads of Wyoming, we saw a sign for Martin's Cove. Neither of us had realized it was right on our way, but knowing we wouldn't be back that way for quite awhile, we pulled over to see what there was to see.

We took the tour through the Visitor's Center, which was quite interesting. We have an ancestor who traveled with the Willie Handcart Company on his way home from a mission in England. He'd made the trip before and counseled them against leaving so late in the season, but accompanied them when they insisted on going anyway. There were several quotes of his in the narrative pieces on the walls.  That was pretty cool to see. I grew up hearing the story, but wasn't really aware of how well known it was. A pretty interesting movie about some of the experiences he had was made a few years ago.

LMS outside the visitor's center

They had a corral with carts of various sizes that you could try out.

LMS found one her size.

Groups of youth from various wards and stakes come out every summer and make the trek, using handcarts. Right about when I graduated from high school was when going on "pioneer treks" for youth conference started gaining popularity, and I never got to do one, which is unfortunate. I think it's a great opportunity though, and hopefully our kiddos will get the chance to participate in one. 

This is the trail that leads to the cove, which is actually about a mile and a half away. The location of the visitor's center was a small fort (I think, the details are getting a little fuzzy now), but there was no space or food for the handcart companies, so they went a mile and half further to a sheltered area. We didn't make the trek out there because we didn't have time (the schedule just wouldn't allow that long of an unscheduled stop), and my hips weren't up to it (sitting in the truck all day doesn't make pregnant hips feel great). We'd love to go back sometime though, and make the trek out there and back.

Once we got on the road again, we passed Independence Rock a bit further up the road. Apparently it was so called because if you reached it by Independence Day, you could make it to Salt Lake without any problems (winter weather and such).

It was definitely worth our time to stop and explore a little- if you're ever in the area, I definitely recommend it. On the other hand, since we'd just driven from the Salt Lake area, we definitely had a greater appreciation of the distance traveled by the rescuers, as well as how far the pioneers still had to go. It was further than I'd thought, and they made the trip without the benefit of paved roads. We're definitely blessed!

Have you been to Martin's Cove?

Second Grade

some friends recently hosted a "store party" where the kids bought and sold items using leaves (idea found here). LMS had a blast and is already planning what she'll make to bring next year

We started second grade the day after we got home from our road trip. With the little guy on his way sometime in September we didn't have time to lose. I want to make sure we have as much down time as we need, so that meant no dawdling around when it came time to start the school year. I love the flexibility of our year-round schedule!

As I've mentioned before, we're using the curriculum suggestions from A Well-Trained Mind. There's not a lot of changes from first to second grade, so we're pretty much covering the same subjects as last year:

Reading, writing, spelling, grammar, math, science, history/geography, music, art, Japanese, and religion.

Extra-curricular activities include weekly park outings, violin lessons (though they've been on hold for the summer because LMS' teacher moved out of state and I'm looking for another one), soccer in the fall and spring, the Irish sampler class she did last year, and two new ones: Irish dance and a weekly nature class in the fall.

LMS may or may not do ice skating and/or skiing this winter- it really depends on how we all settle in with the baby. She might do a nature class in the spring as well, but the spring location isn't as convenient as the fall location, so we'll have to wait and see on that one.

The local schools start this week. When do/did your kids start school?

Sunday Funny

Nanny is "steering" while LMS takes care of the pedals

LMS: "I'm too old for quiet time."

Me (tired of dealing with a cranky little girl): "Not when you act like this."

LMS: "You think I'm not, but I am."

Grand Teton National Park

After we went to Yellowstone, we stopped by Grand Teton National Park. I went to college in eastern Idaho for a couple years and could see the Tetons off in the distance, but I never made it out to the park.

LMS really liked the moose statue outside one of the visitor's centers

She had to stop and make sure its hoof was ok

Little Junior Rangers, waiting for the Ranger's presentation to start. 

This was at the site of the first ferry over the river.

There's a bike path running along the highway from Jackson, WY to about halfway up the park. 

If we'd had time, it would have been a great bike ride!

This apparently is the most photographed barn in the valley- people like to get shots of it with the mountains behind. We were there in the late afternoon so the sun was not in the right spot for good photos, but these turned out ok.

LMS was able to add another pin to her Junior Ranger vest, and we had fun exploring and learning about the history of the Grand Teton area. I will say, though, our camp site was terrible. The roads were  very narrow and twisty, and the site itself was tiny- we have an 18' trailer (aka tiny) and it barely fit in the site. We had to unhook the truck and squeeze it in (with barely enough space to open doors on one side) next to the trailer because it was mostly definitely NOT a pull-through site. It was just a terrible set up. Don't think we'll stay there again- guess I should see if I can find the name of the campground so we can avoid it :)

Have you been to Grand Teton National Park?