Chuck's room

First off... I rode a bike today for about 45 minutes, walked to and back from a park that was 4 blocks away and attempted to play soccer at work today (that makes my job sound so much fun and it was) and I am exhausted! I didn't think I would make it back to the building but somehow I did. My energy was completely gone and I found it hard to walk... either I'm really out of shape or pregnancy is making me really out of shape. It was cute though, because two guys I work with (meaning they are also employed) were very concerned for the safety of my baby and didn't want me to play goalie for fear of a ball hitting my stomach... I'll miss those two. Now my back hurts and my legs are so sore and I still have to get up tomorrow.

Second... This past weekend I had a girl's retreat with the Altom side of the family. We went to Park City and shopped till we dropped... literally. With three of us pregnant and one ready to go into active labor, we seriously dropped:). We had a great time though and I almost forgot how tired my feet and legs were with all the amazing shopping I was able to get done. I now have no money but I have clothes to get me through the summer. I'm going to miss hanging out with my family, I'll miss those girls.

Third... I've been day dreaming about Chuck's bedroom (I fear his name might actually be Chuck with how often we call him that). Since last summer I have wanted to do an orange and brown boy's room. What with the fact I am having a boy, I think I will do just that. Here is the bedding I found Feburaryish and totally fell in love with it...

I think we are going to do white furniture but I love the bedding. If we buy a house, I (by "I" I mean Todd) hope to paint the walls a dark chocolate brown with white trim and then have the white furniture to break up the darkness of the walls. If not, long brown curtains will do just fine. I also have a slight obsession with giraffes and elephants and want to add those to the room without going to crazy. When I graduated, my mom gave me a tall, fun looking giraffe statue that will fit perfectly in the room. I also want to put some framed decals above the crib (or have my mom paint her interpretations) of a giraffe and elephant. I found these this morning...

I also found this cute pillow that I need to find someone to make for me:)...

I'm also thinking of using circle, orange rugs to put on the floor just to add some more playfulness. The bedding has a little sage green in it, so to break up the orange, brown and white, I'll need to add some green somewhere here and there. A toy chest will do just fine in storing toys. I want to buy three picture ledges like the one below (except in white) to display my already large collection of children's books. I think it'll add a lot of color and fun without taking up any room.

I had nothing to do so I decided to post my thoughts. I'm sure no one else cares about my child's room, but I am so excited to get started with this project. I really think this is the first room I'll really finish when we move; who cares about the rest of the house? Sorry for the boring post...

Wow, I tell you what, wow!

I think it is about time I updated this blog. A lot has been happing in our little family. I’m sure this will turn into yet another long blog… maybe I should update a little more often…

Chuck (aka baby Altom)- From the last blog post, you might have guessed that Todd and I are expecting a little baby in October. We feel like it is truly a miracle and a blessing that this is happening to us. It has taken some time and some heartache but we couldn’t be more excited to add this little person to our family. Chuck (our Unidentified Fetal Object, UFO) is expected to arrive sometime around October 12. So far everything seems to be going good. We have heard and seen the heartbeat and Chuck always waves to us when we sneak a peak at him or her. I’m currently 15ish weeks and it has been a loooonnnggg 15ish weeks; time has not flown by.  I have tried to control my excitement but now I can’t help looking at everything baby and planning everything baby. We can’t wait to find out what we are having (mostly me because I just have to buy things) and see this, hopefully, healthy and beautiful baby come October.

p.s. pregnancy is an interesting ride…

Chuck at 10 weeks

Graduation- Todd made it to graduation. It was so exciting to see him graduate and I couldn’t be prouder of him. It was so nice to have Mark and Debbie come up and have my family here to celebrate.  We had a great time at all the long festivities ;) and had a very delicious lunch on Saturday. Here are some pictures of the weekend.

Todd at the new BYUI Center

Job/Moving- I was reading the second to last blog and it made me laugh. I mentioned that we thought we would know about Wal-Mart before Todd’s birthday, that so didn’t happen, haha. Todd finally got a call from Wal-Mart the day of his graduation. I was once again was so amazed and proud of my hubby. Out of 1000 people, he was 1 out of the 4 they selected (and he wasn’t black or a woman… inside joke). We had to hold our breath for quite sometime but it was very nice that Todd was able to go to his graduation saying he got the job. Todd also got another job offer, but this one was in Utah… and that’s where it got complicated. As much as I knew this Wal-Mart job was a great opportunity, I definitely was rooting for the SLC job. Living in Utah where family and friends were close and might I add, NOT HUMID, would be so wonderful. Even though we would both love to live in SLC, at the end of the day, we decided that Arkansas is where we need to be… :(… I’m still a little heartbroken even though I know this is best for our family. We will be moving to Bentonville, Arkansas sometime in the middle of June. We are always up for a new adventure and as long as we have each other (all four of us) we will be fine, we might melt away but we will do it together.

Gus’ Birthday- Yes, our baby boy is 1 or 7 or whateverJ. This past Saturday we held a little celebration in his honor. I made Gus, puppy approved cupcakes and he shared them with his uncle’s Otis and Suni (my parent’s dogs). We even went as far as to put the poor dogs in birthday hats. We had a great time; I think Gus kind of did. This sounds extremely cheesy, but Gus has brought so much happiness to our lives and we couldn’t picture our lives without him. He is our first-born… I’m even thinking of getting him a shirt that says, “I’m a big brother”…. Yeah, we are now crazy dog people.

Doesn't he just look so thrilled?

Virginia- Sadly, Todd has left for a month to once again sell alarm systems. We figured it would be cheaper and I could actually make money if I stayed here. He flew out yesterday and I already miss him like crazy. I don’t know if it is because I’m so in love him or my pregnancy hormones, but I am one big river of tears. We are both so glad this will be his last time selling and it is only for a month. I wish it was the middle of May though. 

Sigh... I got exhausted writing this dang thing. Good job if you completed all of it. Well that is it for the Altom's in Idaho... soon to be the Altom's of Arkansas. Ok, I need to go take a nap now... or go to bed, Nighty, Night.

News

Updates!

Let's see... where to begin... Gus got a haircut yesterday:). He has had four haircuts during his short life and yesterdays was his best yet. The lady did exactly what we wanted with no shaved baboon bum and no shaved nose; he looks like his cute puppy self.

As most of you know, Todd is heading down to Arkansas for a final interview with Wal-Mart. He leaves on the 10th and we should hopefully know before his birthday if he gets the job. It's hard to believe that after a couple months waiting, we will find out if we will be in Arkansas in about two weeks; what a relief. If this job is not meant to be, we once again are back to the drawing board. Family and friends might be happy to hear that our other options are much closer to home, Utah, Colorado and California. I know Todd really wants this job but if we have to go to the other three, I wouldn't mind; closer to home and not humid!!!

About a week ago, maybe more, Todd won some tickets to "Disney on Ice" on the radio. His 31 minute drive to Rexburg has payed off. We get to go on March 12 and hopefully Todd is back by that evening but I'm going with or without him. But with that being said, Todd and I will be in Utah that weekend. It feels like forever since we made that trip from Idaho to Utah... more like 7ish months.

Todd is getting close to the end of the line with this whole college thing. I joked with him last night that it's not that big of deal, I already beat him to it. But it is a big deal and we couldn't be more excited to be getting done with this college thing (although I miss it). Todd has about a month and a week left, which hopefully this month goes fast because January and February have not. I'm sure Todd will miss the college scene, he really likes his teachers. Oh, can I just say, Rexburg has changed so much. Besides the whole new building, there's like stop lights and new apartments being built; it's crazy madness up there.

This blog is mostly about Todd, because I got nothing. Still working, still wishing I wasn't, haha. My job is pretty relaxed and everyone seems happy with me but I need a change of pace when it comes to work. I also have been fighting off a cold for the last week and a half and I think it is finally on the down slope. I've also gained weight, but I'm bound and determined to lose it. My client at work keeps telling me I eat to much and it's bound to catch up with me... it has:(. Oh well, working out will give me something to do.

Oh, the whole BYU basketball stuff has been big in our house this week. The game on Saturday was great, the game on Wednesday, not so great. It's weird because I asked Todd on Saturday if he thought the coaching staff would kick someone off the team at this point, for not following the honor code. He didn't know and said their is a difference in what people should do and what they actually do. As sad as it was to hear about a team member leaving, it is great to know that when push comes to shove, BYU holds strong to it's beliefs. The team may or may not have an amazing end to the season, but we believe all this publicity will do some good.

Well, that's all we got. Still living, still laughing and still loving.