What I (We) Wore Wednesday 9/21

So, this last weekend marked a family tradition; The Pendleton Round Up! Basically, it's a big rodeo in a town near where my dad grew up. Many generations of my (dad's) family and friends have been going to it over the years. (this was the 101st year of it) Actually, past family members used to BE in the rodeo itself.

Nelson and I have gone several times. One trip was actually when we got engaged, though not at the rodeo itself. We went last year for the 100th and this year we went because my brother and niece were in town. After this, we are taking a several year break. It's not the best/easiest place to have a toddler, and with 2 coming along, we'll probably start going again when our kids are in elementary school.

It's funny. We are SO not rodeo people, but we have a good time. I look past the sexism (sorry, but there aren't too many girl events), the potential cruelty animals (I don't actually think this is the case, but....) and the lack of diversity and such (referring to 'Indians' and there are a LOT of white people in one place that day....) and just enjoy the experience.

Of course, a rodeo requires certain clothing. My Wranglers just wouldn't work with the belly (I actually got them on AND buttoned, but wouldn't have been able to sit, drink or eat anything that day....), so I adapted a little bit. Everyone else is in gear too, I especially love all the kids outfits!!

My outfit:
Hat, Belt: Hamley's (western store in Pendleton)
Shirt and Boots: D&B Supply (same)

Tank: Forever 21

Mat Jeans: Motherhood
Buckle: street vendor

I am linking with That Kind of Mom.

Labor Day Camping Trip

For Labor Day weekend this year, we decided to go on our first camping trip since having Kalaya. Of course, we started planning this and made the reservations back in May, having no idea that this would happen days after closing on the house!! We decided to go anyway, partly because we weren't going to get the money back, but mainly because we knew we wanted time away from the chaos, just the three of us.

We headed out on Saturday and planned to stay 3 nights, as Nelson had taken of Tuesday. We camped at Beverly Beach, near Newport and planned to visit the aquarium during on of the days we were there. The drive went really well until about 10 miles before the campsite and then it took almost an hour! Kalaya did great though. We got to the site, set up, had dinner and just hung out until bedtime. She slept surprisingly well in the tent, I think co-sleeping was a big factor there!

Sunday she got up EARLY, because of all the light and noise in the campground, which we expected. I forgot how cold it is ALL THE TIME when camping in Oregon. I packed plenty of extra blankets, clothes, etc, but still. I wonder how much of a camping person I actually am....it may be the idea of camping that appeals to me more. A big factor was probably the fact that I was pregnant while camping....though our air mattress was actually pretty comfortable and I packed lots of extra pillows, etc.

We headed out the aquarium after breakfast, which was crowded (again, expected, because it was Labor Day weekend), but not too bad. She had a lot of fun looking at all the fish, sharks, sea lions, otters, etc, but especially talked about the octopus, which was weird kinda, because it hid in the corner of the tank the whole time and didn't move, but she liked it! We went down to the pier in Newport for lunch and walked around a little bit, especially to see the sea lions.

We headed back to the campsite, during which she took a short nap in the car. I made dinner when we got back and after that, things started going down hill. Nelson took Kalaya with him to get the firewood (which had gone just fine on Sat). She was pretty cranky at this point, due to getting up so early, big day and short nap. We planned to put her to bed after they got back. While walking back to the site, she was holding Nelson's hand and then decided to run toward the street, trying to let go. When he held on to keep her out of the street, he heard a loud pop and she started SCREAMING. He got her back to the site and she was inconsolable. (he, of course, felt absolutely terrible) She was so exhausted, she fell asleep almost immediately. We felt all over her arm, wrist, shoulder, etc, but didn't feel or see anything out of the ordinary. When we lifted it, same thing. However, if we twisted it in anyway, she screamed. So, I called our nurse advice line (by this time it was after dark), while she slept on Nelson. The nurse was very friendly and helpful and said it didn't sound broken, dislocated, etc, since there was no swelling or anything else. He said we could take her to urgent care if we wanted to, but since she was sleeping, that was a sign that she wasn't in TOO much pain.

We decided to just go to bed. The problem was that if she shifted in her sleep and moved it, she started screaming and it took a LONG time to calm her down. (God bless nursing, it was the only thing that worked) Around 11:30pm we decided it was too much and got in the car and drove to Newport to spend the night in a hotel. We got REALLY lucky, considering the date, and found a nice hotel on the 2nd try and for not too bad of a price. It was nice to be in a warm room that was quiet and she slept through the night after that.

We got up Monday, had breakfast at the hotel, showered and drove back to the site to pack up. She refused to use her arm, but as long as she didn't move it, she was acting pretty normal. We decided to head back home and stop at urgent care on the way. She did fine on the drive back.

At urgent care, as soon as the doctor on call heard her symptoms, she immediately knew what it was. Apparently, it's really common and called 'nursemaid's elbow'. Here is a link to more details. Basically, she dislocated a ligament in her elbow. OUCH! But, it's is apparently VERY, VERY common and it took the doctor literally 2 seconds to put it back in to place and Kalaya was using it normally in less than 10 minutes. It was crazy!!

So, our first camping trip was....a success? In that, she adapted well to being away from home, it just had to end a little earlier than planned. : / For obvious reasons, we only got a few pictures. And, we didn't even make it to the beach!!

Digging at the site, it's COLD in the morning!!

Exploring and learning at the aquarium

Ketchup

Wow oh WOW, has a lot been going on in our house! I don't even know where to begin! Let's see what I can remember:

*We are IN OUR NEW HOUSE!! It's messy and there are many, many projects still to be completed, but we're HERE! I'm trying to focus on the positive, we have a house and we're IN IT! Unfortunately, I tend to look at the boxes, messes, etc and focus on the stress of that instead. I'm trying to pace myself and only unpack a little at a time, because otherwise this pregnant mama gets tired! Our schedules are so off right now... It's okay. There's (obviously) no day that we HAVE to be completely moved in or packed by. (Okay, maybe by my due date...) But, I know that once the boxes are gone, I'll feel just a bit better.

*We were SO blessed by members of our church a couple of weeks back: A family (who happens to have 2 kids in our youth group) surprised us the night that we got the keys and told us she had arranged 2 afternoon work parties for our new house!!!! AMAZING!! God is so awesome. They got a TON accomplished and saved us a lot of time and money. The front yard is starting to look less like a jungle. The walls, ceilings and trim got painted. The hole in the living room got repaired. Plumbing stuff got done. It was GREAT!

*Labor Day weekend, we took a trip to the coast for a camping trip, just with the 3 of us. It started out fine, but ended up being a little more than we planned for. I need to do a whole blog about that, plus pictures. It was fun though!

*My brother has arrived home from Afghanistan for his mid-tour leave!! We are so grateful for all of the prayers these last 9 months and we're SO glad he's here safely. His daughter (Allie) is here to be with him, as well as my brother's girlfriend and her son. We're enjoying spending time all together, though I feel guilty, because I get torn between being with them and attempting to get this house in order. We've already had several get-togethers though and are going out of town together these next 2 weekends.

*Incase you didn't see my previous post, we're having a BOY!! I'm halfway through my pregnancy and feeling good! Read it, if you're more interested. : )

*It's been a crazy busy last couple of weeks, but it has been full of crazy busy blessings and fun!! It probably won't ever slow down again once this little guy arrives....but you know what? I wouldn't have it any other way!!

20 Weeks

This pregnancy is just FLYING by! I can't believe I'm already halfway through!! With the new house and everything else going on, I haven't had time to do anything extra, including blogging. But, that doesn't mean that this pregnancy isn't totally exciting and special!!

We found out yesterday that we're having a BOY!! We're thrilled! Though, we would have been 100% as equally thrilled with a girl. Two comments I'm already sick of: 1) "Oh, now you're done!" Excuse me, but that will be determined by when we feel our family is 'done', not what gender combination we have! 2) Gosh, Nelson must be sooo excited! Excuse me again, Nelson was just as excited for a girl as he is for a boy. Sheesh.

No names picked out yet, but we're definitely thinking. We don't plan to keep his name a secret, as we did with Kalaya, because we want Kalaya to get used to his name as much as possible. She was very interested in the ultrasound yesterday and keeps telling people how she 'watched baby brudder on the TV'. The ultrasound went great, he's very active (as I knew!) and all the parts were there! I have an appointment on Thursday with our midwife to follow up on the measurements, etc.

I am feeling great these days! I have to be careful, because I want so badly to get the house unpacked, but between keeping track of Kalaya, cleaning and arranging, I get tired really quickly. I make myself take breaks often, but I'm still pretty tired by the end of each day. My appetite has completely returned to normal and things are tasting the way they're supposed to, which is REALLY nice. My belly definitely is popping out, to the point that people in public are confident enough to comment on it. I'll post a pic soon! I just have to find the box with my camera in it first....

Our New House

Things that I love:
*Our mortgage, even with taxes and insurance, is less than rent for a decent apartment around here
*4 bedrooms (on the smaller side, but still 4)
*Living room PLUS fairly large separate family room
*Central heating and CENTRAL AIR!! (I have been turning on heat room to room since I started living on my own)
*All one level (one less stress with a toddler and future toddler!)
*HUGE corner lot, the back yard needs work, but is BIG
*Very quiet cul-de-sac
*Great elementary school
*Within walking distance of public pool, which offers inexpensive memberships and classes
*Very close to gym with same as above

Things I'll Accept:
*1 1/2 bath, with the 1/2 in the master. This will change within a few months to a full bath!
*Kitchen is on the smaller side and outdated. This is on our list over the next couple of years. It certainly will do the job, just needs some updating.
*Though the yard is HUGE, it needs some serious landscaping. Again, a project for the next year or more. We plan to weed, trim, etc. We also want to put in some raised beds to start a garden (this may wait a year, since I'll be busy with a new baby this spring...) and eventually a play structure for the kids.
*The crummy, small cement 'patio'. Again, in the next few years, we'd love a deck or something similar.
*Ugly, dirty family room carpet. Will be done in the next month.

Things That Need Attention ASAP:
*CLEANING. Seriously, I don't know what the sellers were thinking. They are so lucky we were able to see past their ungodly, hoarder-like housekeeping skills. Cleaners are arriving first thing Saturday morning!
*Removal of the 2 hornet nests in the crawlspace. (exterminator coming Tuesday)
*Furnace and ducts cleaned and serviced (Wednesday)
*All gutters replaced and roof cleaned (next week, hopefully)
*Painting the entire interior. Nelson and a couple of guys from church will start this weekend.
*Repair hole in living room wall (Saturday)
*Minor plumbing (will be done when we upgrade the bath, okay to wait that long)
*Minor electrical (within the next week; Nelson's dad is a certified electrician)
*Dishwasher needs replacing (within the next week)
*No window treatments. We are going to buy temporary blinds where necessary (this weekend) and I'll add curtains over the next couple of weeks.

So, all in all, things are looking GREAT! Hopefully we'll get a LOT done in the next few days and can move in ASAP. SOOOOOOO EXCITED!!!!

A Berry Nice Summer

Being our in the backyard this summer can be summed up with one word: Blueberries!! My parents have five blueberry bushes in their back yard and they produce PLENTY of berries during July and August. We have to compete with five dogs, who LOVE to eat berries right off of the bush, but since they are all low to the ground, there are plenty left for the humans!

Kalaya loves to pick them, especially with Oma, and when she was visiting, Ma Ma (great grandma). She goes out and says, 'cmon Oma, get bucket/bowl and pick booooobewwies!!!' If no one is around to assist, she grabs her sand bucket and helps herself. Or, she just picks them and feeds them to the doggies. The funny thing is, she doesn't really like to eat them plain. She prefers them baked into pancakes or muffins or mixed into smoothies, yogurt or oatmeal.

Enjoy the pics!

Helping Ma Ma



Helping Oma(note the doggies eagerly waiting)


Admiring the bounty!

Happy helpers, who gain about 3 pounds from the berries every summer...

Upcoming Events

Oh boy, oh boy, oh BOY!! BIG and exciting things happening to the Sigrah family in the upcoming weeks! I will probably have less time than ever to blog, because look as this schedule:

This week:
Tues: Trip to the beach with my mom
Wed: SIGNING FINAL DOCUMENTS FOR OUR HOUSE!!
Thurs: Shopping and finalizing HS reunion plans
Fri: CLOSING and getting the keys!! (hoping our realtor can get cleaners in to deep clean the whole house!!)
Sat: High school reunion BBQ, hoping to get some priming and possible painting done on the house, start taking loads over.
Sun: Nelson and some guys from our church will hopefully get a BIG chunk of painting done

Next week:
Mon-Thurs: Finishing all painting, visits from exterminators, plumbers, and roofing/gutter guys. Take loads over every day of our crap.
Fri: (after Nelson works a full day....) Pick up U-Haul and move remainder of stuff from my parents' house and storage unit. Mainly just to get furniture in house, unpack a couple of boxes.
Sat-Tues: Camping at the coast
Note: We made the reservations to do this in MAY. Long before we knew what would happen. Yes, we've considered cancelling, but don't want to lose the money and actually are really looking forward to the time away together just the 3 of us.

Following week:
(Labor Day) Mon: My niece Allie arrives from Texas
Wed-Fri: Watch my niece and Kalaya while attempting to unpack our house.
Sat: My brother's girlfriend and son arrive from Kentucky. Luckily, Allie, Holly and Archer will be staying at my parents' house from this point on.
Sun: My brother is scheduled to arrive for his mid-tour leave from Afghanistan!!

Following weekend: Pendleton Round Up

Again, all good, exciting things, but WHEW!! We are going to need a vacation from all of this!!!

What I Wore Wednesday 8/17

Confession: I still watch Kate Plus 8 every week, even though their family went a little crazy. She's about the go off the air soon, which I definitely think it's time for, but I still like watching the kids. I am forever connected to that show, because I discovered it at the end of my first pregnancy and while I was nursing a baby late at night. The early episodes were sweet and I miss it and it will always be in my heart. : )

What that has to do with fashion is this: on Monday's episode, she made a statement that literally made me say "AMEN!" and clap for her out loud. "Mother's get a window until their youngest child is 5, where they are allowed to look frumpy, wear old clothes, tshirts, etc, because they're changing their clothes from messes ten times a day anyway!!!" (or something like that) While I applaud women who dress cute every day, it isn't for me. Heck, it wasn't even for me at the time in my life when I felt the most pressure to dress a certain way; high school. I wore what I felt like a lot of the time and that often meant super comfy and casual. If we leave the house, I usually try to at least get out of sweats, but not always. Nelson jokes that we often look homeless at the grocery store together. : ) I love my husband.

The last few weeks have looked like the pics below pretty much every day. I have had some cute looks, but was too busy to grab the camera. The good news is, these clothes are evidence of two MAJOR things: CLEANING and PACKING!!! I have been working on getting things ready to take to our NEW HOUSE, so these types of outfits are a beautiful thing!

(not that you care, but...)
shirt: Youth Group Mission Trip Summer 2010
shorts: Westview (my high school) Football shorts, stolen from my brother (shhhh...)

And, there's a belly pic, just for fun. : ) 16 weeks

As always, I am linking with That Kind of Mom

Ketchup

Lots and lots going on lately (it's taken me about 4 days just to finish this post!!), not been motivated to post! Here's a run down:

*Had another midwife appointment yesterday and everything looked great! I got to hear the heartbeat and it was good and strong. I've gained 4 pounds total and am measuring right on schedule. Blood pressure was great as well. I'm about 15 1/2 weeks and am definitely showing. The first trimester symptoms seem to be fading away (knock on wood), so I'm feeling better. I definitely have more energy and my tummy has been feeling a lot better. Some foods are tasting normal again, but not all. We have our ultrasound to find out gender the 2nd week in September, very exciting!!

*Had a very, very up and down emotional last weekend. On the positive, went to a bridal shower and bachelorette party with college friends and had a really good time. However, it was soured by the stress I've been getting for the last week about my high school reunion. I AM SO SICK OF IT. Long story short, I was part of a committee last fall, they ALL bailed on me, I scrambled to plan something any way, with the help of one other person, came up with (what I thought) were 2 nice events, priced VERY reasonably, put down a large deposit, got negative feedback and not enough RSVPs, cancelled the evening reception because of it, kept the day time BBQ (this was about March-May) and have JUST NOW started getting people who 'wanted to come, but now all of this is too last minute'. ARE YOU FRICKIN KIDDING ME??? People have been posting really, really rude things on Facebook, which I'm trying to ignore, but it's been hard. Where these people were a year ago when we started planning.....I've kind of stopped caring. The good news is SO many people have said very nice things to me and been very grateful and understanding, so I feel much better.

* We are so, so close to getting the house!! Our offer was finally approved a couple of weeks ago and we are scheduled to close on the 26th, 2 weeks from today! It is not completely move in ready though. We will be hiring cleaners BIG TIME and then painting the inside. The family room carpet needs replacing too. The inspection turned out some minor repairs, including replacing the gutters, minor plumbing and electric and needing a new dishwasher, so we'll take care of those as well. Plus, there are some hornets nests to get rid of. Luckily, all of this is in our budget, which is thanks to how long we've been saving, living at my parents' house. The house is a 4 br, 1 1/2 bath, but we can probably to upgrade the 1/2 bath (in the Master br) right away, which is totally awesome! So, the house definitely qualifies in the 'fixer-upper' category, but I'm totally excited. We went to Home Depot on Saturday and it was the beginning of a whole new world for me!! I have always loathed, hated, DESPISED that store, but now? I could spend hours in there, looking for ideas and inspiration. More about plans as we get further along in the process. I'm trying to decide on paint colors currently and am completely overwhelmed!! The good news is that the house had a lot of the major things replaced 4 years ago (furnace, AC, yes, central air!!, all the windows, floors), so the 'bones' are in pretty good shape, which saves us a lot of money.

*At 2 years, 3 months, Miss Kalaya has been enjoying the sun and summer weather we've been having. On warm days, she has a her wading pool on back and we've taken several trips to local fountains to play. She will be starting swim lessons almost immediately after we get into the new house. (long story why we've waited, but the short story is that it's cheaper this way!!) One of the things I am most excited about for the new house is that potty training will kick into high gear. She is beyond more than ready, just a few days of the diaper-free method is going to finish this process up, I'm convinced. I've wanted to do this for longer than the last 6 months, but didn't for 2 main reasons. 1. My parents have carpet that is fairly new and 2. I have heard over and over again that you should wait until after a major change like a move.
Some other favorite things these days are coloring (she can finally make the crayons do what she wants them to do, more or less), being read to, longer and longer 'big kid' stories, take walks, run around and explore rocks and leaves in the back yard, practicing walking the dogs on their leashes, pretending to cook a wide variety of foods, but 'rice and grapes' seem to be the most popular (neither of which I make too often....), eating 'melon' (water melon was a big success on the 4th and cantaloupe is too), practicing letters and their sounds, dancing, singing LOTS of songs, kissing 'mommy's baby', going to the park, getting stickers at Trader Joe's and Target, riding in 'Oma's new car', 'talking on the compooter' with family and friends, visiting 'Elena's new house', playing night night with all her animals and toys, watching 'Pig' (aka, Word World) and practicing 'let's build a word!!' on Saturday mornings (she only gets to watch TV on Sat mornings and Word World and Elmo's World and VERY occasionally Mickey Mouse Clubhouse) and lots and lots and LOTS of other activities. She is a little sponge, learning and soaking up SO much new information every day!!

What I Wore Wed 8/3

Finally, I remembered to keep my camera near the mirror! It's been wonderful, perfect summer weather in the Northwest, so we've been outside a lot and enjoying the sun! I have realized I don't have a lot of summer maternity clothes (I didn't need them last pregnancy), so I have some mixes of maternity and non pieces this week. I'll mark those that are not. I'll also mark items purchased this year, incase someone out there just loves something! : )

Shirt: Motherhood (hand me down)
Shorts: Old Navy (hand me down)
Tank* and Bella Band* (not shown): Motherhood outlet

Shirt*, shorts*: Ross

This skirt is possibly the most comfortable piece of maternity clothing I've ever owned!! (my husband thinks it's hideous, but I don't care! : )

Shirt: Costco**
Skirt: Old Navy*

*Shirt**, *Dress**: Target
Shorts*: Ross

Shirt*: Old Navy
Tank*: Motherhood Outlet
*Shorts**: Old Navy
Necklace: Forever 21 accessory store

*Purchased this season
**Non-Maternity

The following outfit is proof of daily accomplishment. It means that I, as a pregnant mother of a toddler, was able to take a shower. It means my body, hair and teeth are cleaned. And THAT is beautiful every day!!!

One last thing that helps me feel better is a pedicure. I go very infrequently and it's the only pampering I really do for myself. (I am not exaggerating. I get my hair cut as Great Clips and only with a coupon!!) It always feels so nice afterwards!

I am linking up with That Kind of Mom.