Weeks 8 and 9: Having fun, Easter, and unbelievable blessings!

There's never a dull moment around here, that's for sure. For instance - some days we do things like:

Get free frosties from Wendy's,

Learn that Katelyn has an allergy to latex (took us 3 outbreaks to figure out what it was),

Or just spend an afternoon at the park (when the weather lets us).

Easter Weekend did not disappoint either. On Saturday, my sister in law Melissa and her three girls came over and the girls had their first Easter egg hunt of the year. Thanks again Easter Bunny (aka Aunt Melissa) for all the candy! We'll be on a sugar high 'til Christmas now ;)

Then, after church on Easter Sunday, The bunny visited AGAIN! (What?? MORE candy?! Oy.)

We had lots of family (and some friends) over to celebrate with an awesome dinner that consisted of both ham, london broil, all kinds of great side dishes, and I made my moms strawberry shortcake (by the way mom - everyone seemed to like it!)

After dinner, the girls went on an indoor Easter egg hunt with all of her cousins, only this year, the bunny left some super special eggs. Instead of candy, the eggs were filled with different items that taught the girls about Christ and the resurrection. I can happily say that Madison can officially tell me the REAL reason as to why we celebrate Easter. Katelyn is still young, but she'll catch on soon. I think this will be a new easter tradition!

The best part of the day was after the hunt was over. My mother in law sat on the floor with all of the kids, and let them pick an egg one by one. Then when they opened the egg, mom explained what the significance was of each piece inside (such as the crown of thorns, the white linens, nails, etc). When asked what they thought each piece represented, the girls had some hilarious answers! We were all cracking up. It was truly a great Easter Sunday!

The best part of our week came on the Monday after Easter. Nathan was supposed to start a new security job that day, but after a blessing from his dad and lots of time spent pondering and praying, he just couldn't shake the bad feeling he had about accepting the job. I personally thought he was crazy (and I think part of him did too) that he was seriously considering turning down a job after we have been so desperately searching for a year and a half. I told Nathan that I trusted him and knew he would do what was best for him and all of us and make the right decision. So that Monday, he did not go to work. I was so stressed with the "What are we going to do?" feeling that I was literally sick to my stomach over it. But low and behold - Nathan went down the street to the grocery store, and came home with a job! Not only another job - but a job better than the one we turned down! More pay, closer to home (literally walking distance), and more hours. What a blessing!! So I learned a very important lesson this week: when you receive a prompting from God, you do it. No matter how crazy and senseless it seems. He has a master plan for you and everything happens for a reason! One of these days I'll get pictures of Nate while he's working at his new job (since we seem to live at this grocery store.. haha).

And that's weeks 8 and 9 for ya. In case you haven't noticed, I'm getting bad about this weekly blogging thing. But, this weekend I should be back on track. A lot of things are going on this week, and for the rest of May so I'll have plenty to talk about.

Weeks 6 and 7: Kidney Stones, Pneumonia, and Collapsed Lungs - Oh my!

I wasn't able to sit at the computer long enough to blog last week, so this week I'll try to play catch up :) All was going pretty good here, just sitting around being lazy, or occasionally running an errand here or there. Nothing too exciting. Then the "fun" began....

It all started with Katelyn and a nasty cough/cold that didn't want to let up - finally one night it got so bad that we decided to take her in to Urgent Care. The verdict: Upper respiratory infection and double ear infection. This is at least ear infection number 4 for her now. Poor thing! I'm afraid she's going to end up needing tubes someday...

Katelyn modeling a doctors mask at Urgent Care. Her cough was terrible!

We thought everyone had finally gone through about all the sicknesses we possibly could at this point. I mean so far between the 4 of us we've had the flu, bronchitis, urinary tract infection, prostate infection, ear aches, and upper respiratory infections. That's enough for one family in a 6 week period, right? Apparently not...

Last Monday around 2 am, Nate started noticing blood in his urine (I know, gross right?), so he took himself to the ER because I had already taken my nightly sleep meds and was PASSED OUT. Around 7am he wakes me up to tell me I need to get up because I need to take him to his urologist. After a cat-scan the ER doctor found a 6mm kidney stone! (We were told an average kidney stone size is around 3mm so that gives you an idea of how major this was). The doctors were amazed that he wasn't passed out on the floor screaming in pain. So we spent the day hunting down the urologist and trying to get an appointment to have his surgery done to remove the stone. We finally got in, and scheduled the surgery for Wednesday morning. Little did we know we wouldn't make it that far.

Later that night his pain became unbearable and back to the ER we went. The ER doctor got in touch with Dr. Snyder (his urologist) and he came in immediately to do the procedure. The doctor said the stone was longer instead of round and extremely jagged. He was able to pull it out without blasting it, but Nate had so much blood that he was beginning to form blood clots so they put a stint in so that it would be easier to pass the clots while he recovered. Everything seemed to go well and I was with him in recovery again laughing with his nurse at his goofiness while he was doped up on major pain pills. All was finally going to be okay! Or so we thought....

Nathan in recovery after having an out patient procedure to remove his kidney stone.

So home we went with pain meds and hope that we would FINALLY be a healthy family again. Then the next day, Nate started having a really hard time breathing, fever, and a really high heart rate. Doctor recommendations: Go back to the ER! After waiting about 4 or 5 hours they could not get his oxygen and heart rate under control without the help of an oxygen tank, so they decided to admit him. The verdict this time? Post operative pneumonia with a partially collapsed lung! When it rains it pours, huh? So for the next 2 nights Nate stayed in the hospital doing breathing treatments and trying to rest. The nurses wanted him to get up and walk a lot but he was in a lot of pain from the stint that was still in. Unfortunately Nate doesn't seem to respond well to many medicines so they had to try a lot of different pain meds and antibiotics before they could finally find something he could keep down and not have a bad reaction to. He was finally released from the hospital on Thursday afternoon.

Nathan enjoying his steak dinner in the hospital. In recovery after surgery he kept saying he wanted steak. Probably not quite what he was wanting but he tried it anyway :)

Nathan doing one of his many breathing treatments to try to re-inflate his lung and get his oxygen under control.

The next day, Nathan began taking a new antibiotic that is a cousin to the Augmentin family, which he is allergic to. The doctors and the pharmacist convinced us that he should have no problem with this medication regardless of his allergy so we did what we were told and took the meds. Within 20 minutes Nathan was vomiting everything that came in and I was afraid we were going to end up back in the ER - Again! Luckily, we were able to get the vomiting under control at home and with rest and a few crackers, he seemed to be getting better.

Now, all is well again as he is recovering and his pain is almost gone from the surgery (stint is out too thankfully. Poor guy!) Regardless of all of this, we're still somehow in high spirits. Heavenly Father has a plan for everything - even when we just don't understand it! There was a reason all of this was supposed to happen. I hope I figure out why soon so I can feel better about it ;)

We had one or two uneventful days for the most part - just trying to recover from our crazy week. Then this morning we woke up late for church because the electricity went out, and when we looked at Katelyn we saw the rash. It started last night around 8pm but she wasn't bothered by it and it didn't look severe so we sent her to bed. This morning it had spread everywhere, including her face, and was much worse. So off to Urgent Care we went!! The doctor determined it was some kind of allergic reaction so she's now on a steroid and benadryl for the next 5 days. The steroid makes her NUTS! She's already a hilarious child - add a steroid to the mix, and I just don't even know what to do with her anymore.. ;)

Katy and her poor blotchy face from her rash. Luckily she never seemed bothered by it!

After everything that has gone on the past few weeks, I needed some positivity and good food, so me and my partner-in-crime (aka my sister in law Jennica) did what we do best - we made an interesting new snack to eat! (Thats our thing - we make weird and cute edible things for fun). This time it was cake balls! Maddie helped us dip some of them, but it was a really messy process. They turned out to be really good, but pretty rich. For my upcoming baby shower we're going to be making brownie balls shaped like owls :) I can't wait to do them!

Me and Jennica working on the cake balls

Maddie getting in on the cake ball action

Maddie enjoying the chocolate candy coating by the spoonful.

Now that we've seemed to get past all of this craziness, I hope that I can have some time to unwind and regain some sanity and much needed sleep. In the meantime, I am officially 32 weeks pregnant and our little Allyson Claire will be joining the madness soon! I now have a new OB doctor named Dr. Burgett and he is FABULOUS! I'll be getting another ultrasound done soon so we can check on Ally's growth, but I have no concerns in that area. She moves around like crazy and is definitely growing. I don't think I've ever been this big pregnant!

32 week belly shot.

Week 5: Birthday Fun and Thanksgiving in March

This week has been a little more eventful than the past few. My amazing hubby Nathan turned 33 for starters! Every time someone has a birthday we decorate the house, hang up signs, and have a special birthday dinner chosen by the birthday person to celebrate. Than's choices were London Broil followed by cheesecake! And I had to point out the "Chumlee is my homeboy" shirt I bought for him. We watch(ed) Pawn Stars religiously and Chum is our favorite. We saw someone on TV wearing this shirt once and talked about how we HAD to have it! So I found it and got it for him. He thought it was humorous :)

The girls helping daddy open his presents and blow out his candle.

Today (Sunday), we had a surprise Thanksgiving in March dinner at my brother in law and his families house. They are moving to Iowa in a couple of months so they wanted to have a Thanksgiving dinner with the family now since they wouldn't be around come November. We had some awesome Turkey, rice, fruit salad, plus some more goodies, and desert was to DIE for! Chocolately-peanut-buttery-awesomeness. I just wish I knew what it was called! Trust me - it was delish! Here are a couple pictures we snapped while there. I should have taken more - but my point-n-shoot is desperately needing to be replaced!

My niece Elizabeth and my brother in law Alex

Me and my sister in law, Jennica.

Me and my sisters in law Teresa and Jennica

As far as sicknesses go - I spent another evening in the emergency room after dealing with a fast heart rate and vomiting. After some fluids and an ultrasound to make sure I didn't have a blod clot in my leg, I went home feeling better. Since then I've discovered Nyquil/Dayquil and its been the only thing helping me feel alive during the day. It's even taking away the cough! So hopefully the next 10 weeks will be smooth sailing from here.

As of today - I am officially 30 weeks pregnant. And for those who are wanting a belly shot - here ya go. Just for the record - I'm half asleep because I'm currently in a Turkey-induced coma ;)

Week 4: Sickies - leave us alone!

Unfortunately, our week was another uninteresting/uneventful one full of the sickies. We did however get one "okay" day out - even for just a couple of hours, and even though it wasn't we originally had planned the girls still had a good time. That's all that matters, right?

On Thursday (St. Patricks Day) we were under the impression that a lot of the local attractions were having a "free day" where we could get in for free. So we decided we would take the girls to the local aquarium. Unfortunately, its not the coolest aquarium in the world (once you've seen Chicago's aquarium anything looks dull) but for free we figured we'd go check it out anyway. Unfortunately when we got there - we realized we were wrong and it wasn't a day of free admission. We weren't going to pay the outrageous admission fee's for all 4 of us, so instead we improvised - we took the girls to see the big fish in the tanks at Cabellas! I know I know, not quite the same at all - but my 4 year old and 2 year old didn't care as long as they were seeing fish - and Cabella's was free!

The girls eating lunch at Mc Donalds

Feeding the fish at Cabellas

Who care's that the animals weren't real and alive? They loved it regardless.

So easy to please at such a young age. Better take advantage while I can right?

Our Cabella's trip was cut short because I was feeling very sick that day and nearly stayed home in bed, but I didn't want to miss the excitement with the girls so I made myself go out. The next day - I woke up feeling like death so I ended up spending most of the afternoon in the emergency room. After having an x-ray of my lungs and a bag of fluid the verdict was in - I had tested positive for Influenza A (Flu) and Bronchitis. So I'm back to my lovely friend, the Z-Pack, once again. On top of it all - my heart rate is kind of high - higher than normal that is - so it makes me extremely tired and I have been laying around since I got home from the ER. I can tell the Z-Pack is working, just have to give it more time.

Not only am I sick, but Nathan is still having problems with his UTI, Katelyn has finally gotten over her runny nose, and Madison still has a nasty cough. Not to mention the rest of the family who is passing around the flu, and a sister in law with a kidney infection. Aren't we all just a basket full of fun?

I'm really hoping the sickies leave us alone FAST. Im starting to go a little stir crazy and I desperately need to get Katelyn fully potty trained. At this rate the poor child will be 10 and still wearing diapers!

But, to end this blog post on a happy note - check out this video of Katelyn dancing to the "Cowboy Song" (as she calls it) also known as "Viva las Vegas". She refuses to do the dance without sporting the cowboy hat.

Enjoy!

Week 3: So much for getting things done...

The past week has been uneventful yet eventful all at the same time, if that makes any sense at all? We're all battling some kind of illness - so running errands pretty much took the back seat.

It all started with Nathan having a sinus infection and his UTI came back. This resulted in 2 visits to the E.R. (We have to start out with a bang, right?) Then my cough came back full swing and has been super annoying. Now, Katelyn and Madison are getting the cough/cold going around and pretty much the entire household here has it. FUN! Not to mention for some reason my kids refuse to sleep at night - so me and Nate pretty much never sleep anymore.

Other than that, theres been a whole lot of nothing going on besides sitting around, a little unpacking, and visiting with family. The older girls have fully introduced my girls to one of those dancing games on the Wii so now they're always dancing. They love it!

I decided to teach myself some new crochet projects so I started a baby cloche hat for baby Allyson - after many unsuccessful tries, I've finally got the hang of it. I hope to finish it in the next day or two, whenever I can find enough quiet time to focus on counting stitches.

Also, my brother in law turned 19 this week! Happy Birthday Josh!! Somewhere my mother in law has pictures of the girls dancing and Josh's birthday so these pictures are hers. I was an awful photographer this week and my camera hasn't left my car (I've already kicked myself in the rear for that one).

I did however find my card reader finally! So I've updated last weeks post with the pictures finally, so make sure you back track to check those out.

This week my goal is to take more pictures of our week - I'm super slacking!

Week 2: Destination: Utah

(Finally updated to add photos, only a week late.)

The past week can only be described correctly using one word: insane. The first part of the week we spent nearly every waking hour preparing for our move and visiting with family and friends. Inbetween packing boxes and running errands, I tried to keep the kids on a semi-normal "routine" (whatever that is). Madison conquered writing yet another letter in the alphabet: a capital "B". She is so proud of her accomplishments! We have also mastered the capital and lowercase A, and the number 1. Katelyn is practicing her tracing because she has her colors and shapes mastered. So proud of my girls!

I had an ultrasound on Tuesday the 1st, and the doctor confirmed that I have a 2 valve umbilical cord (a normal one has 3 valves). Basically me and the baby are fine, but they want to watch her just in case it affects her growth. Other than that, mommy and baby are both still doing just fine!

Also on Tuesday I spent my last day as an editor and staffer on The Montage Student Newspaper. For the past 2 1/2 years I have worked as a photographer, photo editor, and online editor for the publication. I have gained a lot of new friends and even more experience. I've laughed and cried and have many memories from my time spent in the newsroom. My fellow editors sent me off with an awesome cookie cake and had really nice things to say about me. I hope they know how much I appreciated hearing them. I'm going to miss being a member of The Montage, but at the same time, I wont lie - it's kind of nice to have my Tuesdays back ;)

We left on our journey to Utah on Thursday the 3rd, and split the trip up into 3 days (2 nights) rather than the normal 2 days (1 night). The first night we drove to Topeka Kansas and stayed overnight in a Holiday Inn. The next morning we let the girls get in the pool for about 20 minutes while we washed and dryed clothes that a bottle of listerine spilled all over (They still smell cinnamon-y). Then the second night we stayed overnight in Cheyenne at a really nice Days Inn. The girls LOVED the swimming pool since there was one just for their size with a fun sprinkler, and mommy and daddy took full advantage of the hot tub. Maddie wanted to feel what it was like in the hot tub so she sat on the side with her toes in the water. Next thing I knew, she had fallen in! After having a heart attack I realized she was completely fine, and not even really that afraid (it was a miracle) so we finished up our swim and went to bed.

I am happy to say we are finally in Utah, staying with Nathan's parents and attempting to rebuild our lives from the bottom up. It's going to be rough, but I have faith that this will work. Nathan has a job interview on the 7th so we're praying it will be a good start in the right direction. The next week will consist of doctor hunting, job hunting, and taking care of other business. Wish us luck on this journey :)