So close!

Took my ring off about 3 months ago.  Good thing.

37 weeks tomorrow!  Three weeks left, what?  Insane.  This pregnancy has really gone by so fast (to me).  BUT I think I'm ready....  Physically.  Mentally...well, getting closer.. :)  Nine months ago, I was BABY HUNGRY.  Fast forward a few months--Scared.  But, I realize this is just me.  Decisions or HUGE changes, just scare me.  But, with fears, come a million more reasons to be excited.  And we are so excited.
    
At my 35 week appointment I was dilated to a one.  Doctor told me I was ahead of the game...but, I've heard enough, "Doctor says I'm going to have this baby this weekend" (and then no baby for another week) stories, that I didn't get caught up in his comment.  If anything it made me more nervous.  36 week appointment--still at a one.  All looks good. 

I have been a crazy mix of emotions.  Better this week.  Last week I told Cade, "Today, I just want to sleep and cry!"  Such a pregnant moment.

We have almost everything (besides a few toys) washed and put away in the right spot.  Baby's room is ready!  Yay!

Room is ready!

Now, Cade and I are just enjoying the idea of being parents.  Cade has found quite a bit of scriptures that talk about parenthood and teaching your children.  And I've found a couple quotes that I like about parenthood from Teachings of Thomas S. Monson. 

"In a Latter-day Saint home, children are not simply tolerated, but welcomed; not commanded, but encouraged; not driven, but guided; not neglected, but loved."

&

 

"I would say to each mother, each father—be a good listener. Communication is so vital today in our fast-paced world. Take time to listen. And to you children, talk to your mother and to your father. It may be difficult to realize, but your parents have lived through many of the same challenges which you face today. Often they see the big picture more clearly than you can. They pray for you each day and are entitled to the inspiration of our Heavenly Father in providing you counsel and advice.

Mothers, share household duties. It is often easier to do everything yourself than to persuade your children to help, but it is so essential for them to learn the importance of doing their share.

Fathers, I would counsel you to demonstrate love and kindness to your wife. Be patient with your children. Don’t indulge them to excess, for they must learn to make their own way in the world.

I would encourage you to be available to your children. I have heard it said that no man, as death approaches, has ever declared that he wished he had spent more time at the office."

I'll just find her in this chair sometimes

Welcome to the World, Ryder!

Grandma Koyle with two of her Grandsons, Landon and Ryder

Riley breaking his brother in with some spit :)

My sister, Kami and her husband Roger, had their third baby boy last week, Ryder Stanford Seamons.  He's SO cute.  I loved holding him this past weekend.  It was even better that my parents were able to come into town and hang out for a couple days.  It was a good weekend.  Ryder is going to have so much fun with his two crazy big brothers!
As we were leaving Kami and Rogers house my Dad wanted to throw the football around a little bit.  Riley threw the football into the flower bed and Landon goes, "Ugh!  Riley!  Now what are we going to do?"  My Dad steps into the flowers and says, "We're just going to step in and get the football".  Landon throws out his arms and goes, "YOU JUST STEPPED ON MY FLOWERS!"  Dad- "You are more worried about the flowers than the football?  We've got problems kid".  It was cute.  Fun times.

A Fun Morning

This picture is deceiving...Owen didn't care too much about baking

When I post this, the pictures are all going to be out of the order I put them in.  I think I hate blogs sometimes.  I don't care to take more time figuring out why they aren't cooperating.  Just go with it :)  

I got to play with Cade's (and my) niece and nephew the other morning and this is what we did!

-A little bit of cartoon watching

-Baking with my Easy Bake Oven! (Thanks to Cade and Christmas 2010 :))  Owen actually really didn't want anything to do with it, he wouldn't even eat a cookie...I don't think he trusts us.  

-Played some foosball

-And watched "Tangled"

To be honest, they actually got kind of bored, I'm not that cool of an Aunt...but I had fun!   

I learned that when the recipe calls for only 3/4 teaspooon of water, they know what they are talking about.  I kind of really overdid it on the water and we had to pull out some flour to fix my gooey mistake.

Cleaning up a big flour mess

Putting the cookies into the oven

Can't tell too well, but dog wanted to sit under us while we baked...she has flour all over her head.  Probably not the best place to make cookies, in the living room.  Just some vacuuming needed and it's all good.

Waiting...

This is what we did while waiting

Eliza eating the finished product.

The Move

34 weeks-day of move

 Our apartment is great.  Compared to the last apartment it's a lot less creepy and ghetto.  Less smokers just hanging outside looking for a conversation.  Huge plus in my book.  (But those two ladies were actually really nice...)  This apartment smells a little funnier than the last though...I don't have that figured out.  I'm hoping my air freshners are doing some good, but maybe it just smells like sweet pea mold.  I don't know.  The people above us I don't think have ever lived below someone before.  Someone is running marathons from room to room I just know it.  Oh well?

It's good!

We are happy to be doing our own thing again and so far the place feels safe and friendly.  I feel good about bringing baby home here.  I'm pretty happy.

I don't recommend moving at 34 weeks pregnant though.  That was not fun.  It's so nice to see our wal-mart trips become less and less though or our late stops to get something we forgot about at the grocery store.  My pregnant feet hate me. 

Sad story- Missing camera still missing.

All boxes unpacked and still no camera.  

Thought for sure we would find it....bummed out.

 

Aw, my baby blanket!  Had to pull this out....and maybe I slept with it a few nights, whatever..

Cade setting up the crib before the room is even close to being organized and ready for a crib:)

This was my obstacle course into the kitchen for quite a while.  My huge belly managed to make it through but it was tight.  So happy to have this kitchen organized.

My decorative and organizing skills need some work...but right now, this is it!

The Past Six Months

It feels really good to be in our own place again.  But I do feel like I need to explain our six month stay...  I really don't.  It shouldn't matter what other people think and don't understand.  Even if I explain it I don't know that it would be clarifying anything.  Or if I would in someone elses place justify it either.  And maybe no one cares, but I still feel like it should be said.

Staying with Cade's parents was meant to be a transition place.  We had heard so much about "right time to buy" and figured that's what we needed to do, buy a house.  It wouldn't make sense to rent while looking because we didn't think we would be there that long. We said we just needed about 3-4 months.  Six would only happen if we started in a short sale process and it took longer than 4 months, and hopefully it wouldn't take that long.

Things looked good financially...we didn't think it would turn in to what it did.  We did want to pay off our credit cards, but we figured that would only take maybe 3 or 4 weeks.  But for the first 5-6 weeks Cade wasn't working hardly at all, there was just not a lot of work for him available.  Let me remind you we made a move knowing he had a job to go to (he works for his Dad).  I on the other hand, quit my job a couple weeks before moving with plans to focus on Health Coaching...believing Cade would be making enough for me to focus on just health coaching.  (Boy did I have numbers in my head way off).  We found out that I was pregnant just a couple weeks before making the move and right after I quit my job.
In Boise, as time went on and Cade wasn't getting work, I was getting more stressed.  Cade is the exact opposite of lazy, he is a hard worker to the definition.  I hated how my stress made him stressed.  It was a lot at a very bad time.  I put a lot on him and expected a lot from him when he was just as unsure and stressed as I was and trying to figure out how to make things work.

I applied to one job that I really wanted...should have done more, I know.  Had my second interview with them when I was 16 weeks pregnant.  I was bummed not to hear back after that.  I thought my interview went pretty well...(despite the seriously bored look on my interviewers face).
By this time in my pregnancy I felt really nervous people could tell and even if they couldn't tell then, soon after they did hire me, it would show and I didn't want to be like, "Surprise!  You just hired a pregnant lady and I might be quiting in about four months!"
Cade applied for a few jobs.  It wouldn't have worked if he had gotten one...he couldn't have worked a second job and then gone to Utah when his Dad had a project that needed to be done there.  And little did we know that that summer would be one of the busiest for projects to be done in Utah.  If he had obligations to a second job he wouldn't have received the overtime from a better paying job by working that second job.  The balance wouldn't have worked, we tried to make it happen anyways.  We couldn't figure it out.

Finally Cade did start receiving more hours and things really picked up.  It was a relief but we now realized we needed a down payment on a house if we still planned on buying and we did plan on it.  We got our credit cards paid off three months after moving in with his parents.  Now it was time to save up for a down payment, we sold our other car, I picked up a few clients through TSFL and Cade started working overtime.  We were really blessed!  I'm still so thankful for the turn around we had when Summer came.

As we got more serious about buying we realized how incredibly competitive the market was.  We wanted to stay hopeful but finally when we had a down payment saved up, a short-sale looked like the only option.  Discouraging.  We thought to hold on a little longer and maybe an opportunity would present itself.  We gave ourselves until September.  And we did come by (my) "perfect" house, but it obviously wasn't meant to be and didn't work out.  If we would have realized buying a house wasn't going to work out we probably would have been out a month earlier at least.

I hated feeling like we didn't do our part.  That we didn't try hard enough and that I didn't try harder to get a job.  Feeling like we bummed off of Cade's parents and didn't take more responsibility.  I think I'll always be a little disappointed in myself for the way things went the past six months.  In a way I wish we would have moved from Utah to another apartment in Boise and both tried harder to get work and pushed through.  I would have had no option but to swallow my pride and get behind a register.  (Then again, an $8 an hour job probably wouldn't have paid rent, and so we were blessed we had a place to stay while Cade didn't have work).
We just didn't know that buying a house wasn't going to happen and that was the whole point of our transition move in with Cade's parents.  I am so grateful for Cade's parents and all the ways that they did help us.  They didn't have to.  I feel regretful that I didn't do more to help out here and there and be a better guest.  But I'll always feel so appreciative and in debt to them for their kindness and help.  We sure do love them.