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#3

Remember when I used to update my blog all the time? And then Christmas came and other stuff happened and now all of a sudden its March?

You see, we found out that we were expecting our third right after Christmas. And we had about two minutes to be excited/ nervous before the all day long sickness came and made itself right at home. With this pregnancy I have discovered that there at two very different types of morning sickness. The first, and more preferable in my opinion, is when you feel sick but there are things that make you feel better. And it's okay when you throw up because that will typically make you feel better as well. This is the kind of sickness that I had with the first two pregnancies. The second is when you feel sick ALL DAY LONG. It doesn't matter what you do, what you eat, where you breathe- it all makes you sick. The only relief you experience is when you are sleeping and the first 30 seconds when you are awake before it kicks in again. This is what I have had this time around.

So needless to say, January was a hard month for our family. And I say our family because we were all affected. I would sleep any chance I got. My poor girls probably wondered why their mom was always laying on the couch and why we never did anything fun anymore. And Kyle, dear Kyle, quickly realized that he was now responsible for at least half, if not more of any and all household duties. On the good days, I was one of those horrible moms at the grocery store whose cart was filled with unhealthy processed food. We went out to eat a lot. And then there was the day when McKayla asked me if I would please buy her some sweats to match mine. But all of this was okay, because we all knew that if we could just make it through January then February would be a lot better.

February finally came around and we were so excited. This would be the month where I would start feeling better and we could get back to normal. And sure enough, around the middle of February I started feeling like a person again. That lasted for two days. Then some things started happening and we knew that something was seriously wrong. So, Kyle came home from work and we had an emergency doctors visit.  We had a very high tech ultrasound done to try to find out what was causing the complications I was experiencing. Thankfully, it didn't take long to figure out what was going on. On one hand, it felt relieving to know what was going on. But on the other hand it was very very stressful. I was basically put on a "walking bedrest", and given many restrictions of things that I could no longer do. Then, at the end of the conversation I was told that there was a 50% chance things would get better or a 50% chance that we would lose the baby. We would know in the next 3-4 weeks. At this point I was 12 weeks into the pregnancy.

I had gone into the appointment prepared for the worst. So we felt so blessed that we were at least about to see the baby move and have it confirmed in our minds that at least to this point, we still had a baby. But on the way home the weight of our new situation settled in and became very overwhelming. Until further notice, I could no longer lift more than 10 pounds. How was I supposed to care for my children, especially my youngest if I couldn't even lift them. Going anywhere during the day was now out of the question. Avery's eating chair would now have a permanent place on the floor. I would need to find someone to help me get her in and out of bed during naptime. Giving the girls baths without Kyle here was out of the question. I was supposed to avoid any and all stressful situations if possible. Anything that might have the possibility of putting strain on my body should not happen. And then there was the total and complete lack of energy that I felt, which were a result of the complications.

The next three and a half weeks were very difficult. That's all I'm going to say. However, the more I followed the restrictions that I was given the better things started to look. We felt so much love and support from those who knew about our situation and I realized that there are a lot of people out there who care about me and my family. That was truly a sliver lining.

We went back to the doctor earlier this week and were the recipients of a miracle. Our baby is doing great. The complications are completely gone. I can slowly start working myself back into the routine that I used to be in. To say that we feel humbled and so blessed would be an understatement. Our pleadings that have been sent heavenwards were answered. I know that our Father in Heaven has been very mindful of us during these last couple of months and there is no doubt in my mind about his love for me and my family. We have felt it and have felt the true Christlike love of those who have followed his promptings. We just feel very grateful and very blessed.

Advent continued...

 On the 5th we watched this movie. If you are looking for a good Christmas movie for kids this is it. It is like 25 minutes, the story is really cute and it is seriously hilarious. Kyle and I loved it so much that we even ordered the second one, which I didn't think was as good as the first, but we still liked it.

If I were more on the ball, I would have had all the great Christmas books reserved for me so I could use them for the Christmas holiday. But I wasn't. However, thankfully my sister was and she let me borrow some of the ones that they weren't using yet. She is doing the whole, buy and wrap up a Christmas book and then let your kids open one up every night kind of thing. Which is an awesome idea. Anyway for the 6th, we read the stories she let us borrow.

On the 7th we dipped ourselves some pretzels. Easy peasy and very kid friendly. And is it just me, or do sprinkles really make everything better?

The activity for the 8th was our ward Christmas party. An awesome activity that I didn't have to plan, and we got dinner. 

And then last night, the 9th. We made these cookies. And can I just say, I'm not really a big cookie fan, but these easily made it to my top three list. They were that good. I looked at a lot of recipes but ended up doing a simple cake mix recipe. You take a cake mix, add two eggs a half cup of oil and 2 T flour. Bake at 350 for 9 minutes, then take them out and put the kiss on top. The kisses were peppermint flavored and I found them at Walmart. I only bought one bag but next time I go shopping I am going to buy a couple more bags. You know, to last me until next Christmas. Seriously, try them. They were so good.

A lot of the time I think I am a pretty boring mom. Granted we do have some really awesome and exciting days around here. But most of the time is it pretty hum-drum. So, to add some excitement for me and the kids during the Christmas season, I hurried and whipped up a Christmas advent calendar with a fun activity for us to do each of the 24 days before Christmas. And when I say whipped up I am being totally serious; this was all put together on the night of Nov. 30th.

On Dec 1st we painted our fingers and toes to help us get into the holiday spirit.

This took forever to do. Getting a three year old to hold still while we become festive is pretty tricky. Luckily I got a picture right after I finished because she had all the green dots picked off about 5 minutes later.

On Dec 2nd we made a fun treat - Amish rainbow popcorn- and watched a favorite Christmas movie.

The seeds were rainbow colors but the popcorn was not.

Do you know that movie this is?

On Dec. 3rd we cut out paper snowflakes. This was a hit to McKayla, who has recently discovered scissors.

And today, Dec 4th, we made reindeer cookies. This was so kid friendly, not very messy and not labor intensive. Makes me think we should do things like this more often. McKayla LOVED it.

And we're BACK!

Yes, it's true! We are in our new house. Things are unpacked (mostly) and we are so happy to be settled again.

Can I just say how much I hate moving? This will make our 9th move in 6 years. Is that crazy? And lets make one thing very clear. I am NOT the one who gets the itchy feet. That being said, there are two things that both Kyle and I have commented on basically every move. Things that would have made SUCH a difference to us, and I would know- I'm an expert.

1. When somebody you know is moving, don't offer to help them unless you really mean it. And that doesn't only mean moving things in and out of the house. Every time we have moved, one or both of us has said how nice it would be it someone would just bring us dinner or something. And I know that doesn't sound the way I want it too; but when everything is in boxes, all the food is gone and you are working like crazy just trying to get things done, not having to stop and thing about what you are going to fix for dinner would be awesome.

2. When people move in by you, go introduce yourself and welcome them to the neighborhood. Even if you have already met them, you could say that you are glad they are there. Bring them some cookies or something. It's makes all the difference in the world. In one of our moves, we had been there for 3 weeks and still nobody had come over to even say hi. And without trying to be dramatic, I can honestly say that it was a little bit devastating. We felt like we had moved into the most unfriendly place possible.

Anyway, that's what I think.


Here is where we lived over the summer

I should have made the title of this post LEAVING THE PLACE I HATED THE MOST, because I really did hate it the most.

 Avery slept in this closet. The crib fit in perfectly and the curtains made it dark all the time.

 McKaylas' bed was over in this corner. Notice the slanting ceiling. Kyle could walk halfway into the room before his head was scraping the top.

This is where our bed was. Sitting as close to the window AC as possible.

The bathroom. It ties for first place as the part of the apartment that I hated the most. Our shower curtain hung from the circle thing on the top of the shower. It was falling down half of the time and when it was up it gave you a very limited circle that you could bathe in. Insert claustrophobic feelings here.

 You couldn't open the door all the way because it hit the toilet. And while on the toilet, the toilet paper was pretty much on your lap. The space was very cramped for me. Now imagine how it was for Kyle. Insert laughing here. Oh, and the toilet seat was a perfect size for McKayla.

The kitchen is the other room that tied for first place for the most hated rooms. You can't completely tell here but the space was very small and very awkward.

Here is the other side of the kitchen- very L shaped. The white box on the counter is a portable dishwasher. It didn't work. The power went out at least once a day. If you used the microwave while the window AC was on it would trip the power. There would be nights where we would waking up sweating and it would be because the power went out, causing the AC to go off.

And here is the sink. The place that I spent may hours sweating away as I hand washed all the dishes. Also, the water coming out of the above picture is how much came out when it was on full blast.

The door in the kitchen led to these dirty steep stairs.

And then you turned and went down these dirty stairs. And if you were Kyle you would be bending so you wouldn't hit your head.

Turn another corner and you have made it to the washer and dryer that we shared with 4 other apartments. The washer leaked so the floor was soaking wet 90% of the time. And it was coin laundry, which I had never done every before. All I can say is coin laundry sucks.

This is the front room...

and the dining room and the piano room. Nice and cozy


So there it is. The place we lived during the summer. I realize that maybe this isn't that bad to some people, or maybe I am just spoiled. But when you add all of this to the summer heat, it was pretty miserable. So glad to be out of there!!

Illinois Bound- Part 2

 After leaving Nauvoo, we headed 5 hours north and hit up Chicago.

Luckily our next door neighbors just moved from there so they were able to tell us the best places to go.

This pizza place came highly recommended.

I am kicking myself for not getting a picture, just think "the best deep dish I could ever eat in my entire life" 

and you will know what we experienced.

 The next morning we hit up the Navy Pier.

We went before everything opened - so we could get cheaper parking-

and it was neat to basically have the entire pier to ourselves.

 Proof that Avery was there too.

 The anchor that they have at the end of the pier

 A lighthouse and Gary Indiana.

A little side note.

We were planning on making a little side trip to see Gary Indiana.

You know, because of the Music Man?

Well, before we left we found out that The Music Man wasn't even filmed in Indiana.

And, the nickname for Gary Indiana is Scary Gary.

Apparently they have tons of gangs and murders around there.

Needless to say, we cancelled the Indiana detour.

 Chicago right next to the lake.

So pretty!

Facing the other direction with the Navy Pier in the background.

After doing the Pier we went to the Childrens Museum, which also can highly recommended.

When we were done at the Museum, we jumped back in our car and headed to see some of our very best friends from college.

Not only was it one of the highlights of our trip, but we were also fed some of the best food of our trip.

But Keith and Aubrey always feed us good food in the past so we weren't really surprised.

And if you want the recipe for the worlds best potato salad, let me know.

I got the recipe.

After dinner we went for a walk a saw this very climbable bridge.

And we just couldn't resist.

The next day we all went to see some Amish Country.

And yes, we were the tacky tourists who took pictures of the wagons from our car window.

All I can say is that Kyle made me.

At and Amish furniture store.

Once we were done there we headed back to Springfield, where we were going to fly out of the next day.

This is the birthplace of the corndog.

It wasn't my favorite ever.

But it was fun to see.

This is at the Lincoln Museum.

This was honestly probably the coolest museum I have ever been too.

Apparently the Forbes Magazine rated it #1 for Presidential Museums.

I told McKayla to give the little boy next to her a hug.

And then we got reprimanded by the museum people.

The only picture of most of us together.

Aubrey, why didn't we take more pictures?

Kid containment.

The next day we made the long trip home.

It was such a good trip, but I think we were all happy to get back.