Pretty In Pink... Again

Does it ever seem that being super busy comes in waves? Well, for me it does. I'll have a couple of days of calmness and peacefulness, and then a week or so of complete madness followed by a day or two of laziness, followed by more chaos. Well, this past week has been super busy! It started last Wednedsday when I was at playgroup... Ava fell of the monkey arms and broke her elbow. Yes, the same elbow she broke 2 years ago. I didn't see it happen because I was in the bathroom helping Halle (who is finally potty trained!) when my friend, Jessica, came in and said I'd better hurry because Ava had a pretty bad fall. I knew it had to be pretty serious for Jess to come get me... sure enough, I saw some swelling and she couldn't straighten out her arm and kept holding her arm close to her. Oddly enough, she wasn't really crying or anything... she screams more when I comb her hair than she does when she breaks a bone! I decided to give it a couple of hours to see if she really was hurt or if she was just being wildly dramatic.

When we got home, I let Halle nap for an hour or so, and decided to call the advice nurse to see if they wanted us to come in. Sure enough, they wanted us to come in and get it checked out. Ava was really good while they x-rayed her. While she was in the x-ray room, Halle started limping and whining that her leg was broken... of course it was a ploy to get some sympathy and stickers. :)

After the doc saw the x-rays, it was confirmed that Ava had broken her elbow. They put a little ace bandage around Ava's arm, put her in a sling, and sent us on our way with an appointment to get a cast put on.

So on Friday, we went and got a pretty pink cast on. Ava had talked about getting a silver cast, but I knew that she would end up getting pink.

She has to have her little cast on for about a month... we get it off the Tuesday after we get back from Utah. Last time I thought it was hard to have a cast on during the winter because it was hard to get her clothes on, but the rest of the summer is going to be a doozy for Ava because she can't go swimming or play on the playground... which is what we do 80% of the time. But she's handling it like a champ.:)

I'm So Crafty, I Make People!

     As of today, I am officially on the downhill side of this pregnancy. Translation? I'm 20 weeks.... 20 weeks down, and 20 more to go. When I was about 7 or 8 weeks in, I thought I would never see this day! I'm sure you all know the feeling... when every hour drags on because you're so stinking sick from the morning/night/all day sickness that goes along with the 1st trimester... not to mention how every single minute drags on because you're so freaking tired.... yeah, I remember those days. :) But they are far behind me... ah, sweet relief!
     At my doctor's visit, everything looks great! My cervix is nice and closed (TMI? I don't care...) my blood pressure is great (117/74) and I've only gained 6.5 lbs! I know that may not seem like a lot, but since I was a little larger before I got preggers, I don't want to gain as much as a normal weight person should... so I'm right on track!
     I have started to feel this little baby move. And man, is she on the move! I just love laying down and feeling her go crazy! And I love waking up to those little kicks and punches, and I try to envision what she's doing. I can't wait for her to get big enough so I can start seeing my tummy move. Honestly, I think it's the coolest thing in the world to see my stomach move because of the baby.
     So, you know if you repeat a word long enough, it starts to sound funny to you? For example, sometimes I'll say my name over and over and over again, and pretty soon, it sounds so weird to me... well I did that with this baby the other night. No, I didn't say her name over and over and over again (she is still nameless at this point...) but I thought about being pregnant over and over and over again. Pretty soon, I was completely psyched out that I have a baby in my body. Here was my thought process...

Man, I can't believe I'm pregnant for the third time. When did this happen?
That's weird... I have a baby in my stomach.
My body is capable of actually GROWING a human being.
Wow.
No wonder I'm exhausted and ornery most of the time.
I have good reason to be.
I'm makin' a HUMAN... 24/7!!!
AAAAHHHHH!!!!

     Needless to say, I was wigged out for a few minutes.  Now and again, it does strike me as just beautiful as to how women's bodies are designed to house babies. I've been reading a lot about the birthing process (I know, this will be my 3rd delivery, you'd think I know what the heck I'm doing) because I want a natural birth this time. No epidural for me! (IF YOU HAVE ANY ADVICE ON HOW TO GO ALL NATUR-AL, PLEASE FEEL FREE TO COMMENT!!!!) so, like I was saying... the birthing process.... I've been reading about it and just how amazing it is that my body has been made to grow a baby, and it's even more amazing how a woman's body is able to give birth. It may be weird to you, but it really is just beautiful!

     And speaking of beautiful, that's what Nate called me the other day... He usually tells me how hot I am, but one day, he just stopped me and told me how beautiful I am. Awww.... how sweet! I love that he loves me just how I am. Pregnant or not pregnant, pre-stretch marks and now post-stretch marks, I am beautiful to him.

:)

     

Even More Pink

     It seems that we will have even more pink around our house.... yep, Baby Cash #3 is a girl! I was literally in shock when I saw the little girly parts on the ultra sound. I was 99% sure this baby was a boy! We are beyond excited to be adding another little girl to our family. I remember looking up into Nate's face and he gave me the biggest grin, I don't think I will ever forget it.
     One person once asked me if Nate would be sad if he never got a boy, and I went home and asked Nate if he would be sad to not ever raise a little boy, and do you know what his response was? "Nope. I don't even care. If I'm surrounded by princesses, I will love every single one of them." So when we found out this little one was a girl, I knew he was happy. We aren't disappointed at all... we are so grateful to have a healthy little girl on her way! After all the junk that happened with Halle, I have just been praying for a good pregnancy and especially a good delivery with this baby. I don't care if we have all girls... it's so important to have a healthy baby. And you know what? Even if it isn't a healthy baby and she has health problems, we will love her and cherish her.
     In a million years, I never pictured myself the mother of 3 girls.It seems absolutely surreal and I am on cloud 9. However, I am not a big drama person, and I've been having a hard time handling Ava since she's so dramatic and sensitive.... so it's going to be interesting when our girls are teenagers... I'll be on my knees praying constantly. :) I am excited that my girls will have the chance to have sisters and to have sister chats and share each others clothes, and all that fun stuff. I never had that growing up, so it's going to be fun to watch my girls grow up with each other.
     I am so grateful to Heavenly Father for giving us 3 beautiful girls. They are all so special and unique, and they each have qualities that I admire. It's an honor and a privilege to be able to teach them that they are daughters of God and that they posses divine qualities and will one day have the chance to literally become queens. What a great responsibility Nate and I have to teach them the gospel and to help them gain confidence and to help them recognize their talents. Every day I tell Ava and Halle that they are beautiful, because I don't want them to ever forget that.

     Words just can't express how happy Nate and I are to have another little girl. :) Let the shopping begin!

4th of July

We had a great 4th of July this year. Last year, we just kind of sat around because we didn't know what do to or where to go... needless to say, I really wanted to have fun this year! We started off by going to the Hillsboro parade. I guess it's one of the few parades around here that throw candy out. We had Krispy Kreme donuts in the morning and the girls drew with sidewalk chalk while waiting for the parade to start.

During the parade, I was kind of sad because there weren't any floats. :( But, we did see Lightning McQueen and Mator from "Cars"!

It was so fun to watch all the girls jump up and down and wave at everyone to get candy. They would also get super excited anytime a horse would come by.

I thought the Royal Rosarians were pretty cool. It was a bunch of older ladies and gentlemen dressed up in fancy schmancy white suites and they had awesome hats!

Elmo also came to the parade, and I dared Ava to give him a hug.... and she did! I was so shocked!

After the parade, we headed home and got ready for our BBQ. Since nobody has a place big enough to host a BBQ, we went to a park. But not just any park.... it was a park right by a fire station, which was pretty cool. I made red, white, and blue cupcakes...

red, white, and blue strawberries...

and a delicious salad! (Thanks Diane, for the recipe!)

There was so much food leftover, that we decided to take some to the firemen. I know what it's like to work on the 4th of July (um... hello, I worked at KFC for a loooong time. Working the 4th of July was mandatory!) and I'm sure firemen are extra busy on this holiday, so we thought they might like a special treat. They were so appreciative, and they ended up giving all the kids a little bag full of coloring books, fire hats, crayons, and a bunch of cool stuff!  

They even let all the kids sit in the firetruck!

Being at the firestation was awesome. The firemen were so friendly and they made sure the kids knew all about fire safety!

After the BBQ, we headed over to a neighborhood called Oak Hills. They have an awesome fireworks show, and I love that it's in a neighborhood!

I don't know if I can ever say it enough, but I love the difference in personalities between my two girls... and these pictures say it all. Ava is so sweet, and loves to pose for pictures, and Halle is very fun loving and spunky. They had a lot of fun playing with their friends before the fireworks started.

Halle especially enjoyed eating all her candy that she got at the parade. She sat in this chair forever and unwrapped candy after candy... it was so cute to watch!

After the firework celebration,we headed home. I absolutely love the 4th of July! Not only do I love all the festivities that go one, but I love what the holiday represents. We live in such a wonderful country, and I am so grateful to enjoy all the freedoms and opportunities we have here. 

   

The Grilled Cheese Bus

     As you know, Portland is known for it's weirdness... not only does that include the Naked Bike Ride (yes, people actually get together, and ride bikes naked.... yikes!) but it also includes some of the awesome, but strange places to eat. One of those places is The Grilled Cheese Bus.

     Yes, it is a giant double-decker bus that has been turned into a little food cart. Can't get any classier than that... The funny thing is, you order at another bus just a few feet away from this bus...

     On the bottom level, there are cute little booths that you practically have to squeeze in... but who wants to eat on the bottom, when you can experience some amazing grilled cheese sandwiches from the top?

     So, that's where we ate... on the top of the bus. It was a little scary because it felt like you could tip over at any given moment... but the kids absolutely loved it!

     They could all reach the top!!! Amazing, isn't it? We went out with a couple of our friends, and we all have 2 girls each... and 2 of them were being potty trained, which made for an exciting adventure. (Yes, Halle is one of those girls. I'm happy to announce that she's potty trained! Wahoo!) The Grilled Cheese Bus doesn't have a restroom onsite, so we had to book it a couple of times to a Mexican restaurant down the street. Each time we would go in the Mexican restaurant, they would ask, "Seating for 4?" and we just had to tell them we were there to use their restrooms. :)

     I ordered The Northsider which was provolone,  basil pesto, and fresh tomato on sourdough bread. I really wanted to eat The Moondog which had provolone, hard salami and pepperoni, chopped olives and peppers on sourdough, but you're not supposed to eat lunch meat when you're preggo. I eat lunch meat at home, because I know that it's coming right out of the fridge, but I didn't know how long that salami and pepperoni had been sitting out, so I decided to play it safe.

     Nate the Great ordered The Stickles which had Tillamook pepperjack cheese, avocado, red onion, and roasted red peppers on whole grain bread. It was soooooo delicious! I also tried a sample of The BABS which had bacon, sliced Braeburn apples, and crumbled bleu cheese and Swiss on marble rye bread. I will definitely be trying that one at home one of these days!

     After eating at The Grilled Cheese Bus, we headed on over to VooDoo Donuts. If you visit Portland, you must go here!!

     Nate got a peach fritter which was absolutely gigantic! Halfway through eating it, he was full!

     And this time, I got the ODB (Old Dirty Bastard) which had crushed up Oreos and melted peanut butter on top of it. Mmmm.mmmmmm....mmmmmm!!! Of course, the girls got their usual Bubble Gum donut!

     I have always loved going to new places, and especially to places that are different and unique. I am excited to discover more of Portland's hidden treasures!

This Week

     This week has been one of ups and downs. Mostly ups, with a couple of downs.... One of the best ups... watching my girls swim! It was a little hot on Wednesday (around 80ish) and my friends invited us to go swimming. We had a blast! It was so fun to watch Ava learn to go under water, and to watch Halle fearlessly jump in the pool! My girls are little fishes, let me tell you. The next day, Ava asked if we could go swimming again. It was a little cold and overcast, and there was a good chance of rain, so I told her I didn't think we could go. About 10 minutes later, she came back and asked me again, and I gave her the same exact answer, but then she said to me, "But I prayed to Heavenly Father that He would change the weather!" I couldn't help but smile at her simple faith. To know that Ava knows she can pray to her Heavenly Father any time, about anything, was a very rewarding moment for me. But there was also a great teaching opportunity to teach her that Heavenly Father doesn't always answer our prayers the way we want Him to. And if things don't turn out the way you thought, it doesn't mean He's not listening, it just means that there is a different answer.
     This is something I learned on a much larger scale the next day. You see, Nate and I have been searching for another place to live (we withdrew the offer on our house awhile ago) before this baby gets here. Nothing was coming up in our price range. Finally, a family in our ward informed us that they had put an offer on a house and it had been accepted, and they wanted to know if we would like to rent their townhome. Because they know us, we would put down a low deposit (only $600 instead the usual $1200) and they told us what the rent would be. Well, it was a little high for us, and we told them we wish we could, but our budget just isn't going to allow it. The price they were asking was the asking rate, so it's not like they were asking a for a ridiculous amount... it was just a little higher than we can afford right now.
     They told us they were willing to negotiate the rent price because if we didn't rent the home, then they would go through a rental agency that would take at least 10% of the monthly rent, so they offered us a price that was within our budget, but it would be a stretch. Because I am so desperate to get out of this apartment, we took the offer.
     I am not going to lie, it worried me a little to accept that offer, because there would be no room for going out, or anything to go wrong with our finances. If we needed to go to the doctor's, or the car needed to be fixed, we wouldn't have the money... but like I said, I really don't want to raise 3 kids in this 2 bedroom apartment.
     But just as Ava learned that sometimes Heavenly Father has different plans for the weather, He also has a different plan for me. The other family called this week and said their offer fell through, and we won't be able to rent the townhome. Secretly, I was relieved. Sure, we have a 2 bedroom apartment, but there is wiggle room in our budget. We still have a small amount in savings that can be used for a rainy day, and not for a deposit on some place. We will have money to pay for this baby, and to make sure we have everything we need, since we got rid of all our baby stuff before moving up here.
      I've really been humbled... I never thought I'd have 3 kids in a little apartment. I always thought that after Nate graduates that we would be able to get a house, and that we wouldn't have to worry about watching every single penny that goes in and out of our little bank account. I'm not going to lie, I look around at all my friends who have homes and nice cars and fancy phones and have their kids in all sorts of classes, and it's really hard not to want those things. But the reality is we have to live within our means, and right now, our means don't allow for some things.
     So, as much as I pressed to buy a house (which fell through) and to rent a bigger home (which also fell through), I have accepted the fact that we have what we have, and I'm gonna make do. Friday, I spent the day cleaning and weeding out all the junk we've collected over the year, and reorganizing the girls room to make room for baby stuff... If I can't change things, I might as well work with what I've got.
     I don't know what's in store for us... I know we've decided to not move until Nate gets a raise, whenever that will be. Yeah, that's been another lesson for me to learn... patience. Grrr! You see, at Nate's work, they don't give annual reviews or raises... You just get a raise when you get one. You also don't ask for a raise... they frown on that. We were just told that we will be well taken care of, and that money isn't an object. So, we are just sitting tight until then...
     Please don't think that I'm ungrateful, or completely wordly... I'm just simply struggling. It's hard when things go differently than you expected, and to realize that I'm not in control.  I do recognize the many blessings in my life, and all that I have been given, and when I look back over the past 6 years, I know the Lord has provided for my family daily. Having our children, and being able for Nate to get a graduate degree, and now Nate having a job, has all been possible because the Lord is mindful of our needs. I know that one day I'll look back and think of all that I've learned, and be grateful. But for right now, Ava and I have the same prayer... to make the rain and clouds go away, and to have the sunshine come out again.