Monday, July 28, 2014

bruises, beach, bikes, and blackberries

OHHH, the beach!

Our favorite place to be in the summer. The warm sand, salty breeze, wave sounds, and taking the hour-long scenic drive to the coast and back home again...we are obsessed!

This weekend was the perfect time for a beach trip. Except for two things. One- it was just a little cooler than we would have liked, and two- I was recovering from an ankle injury a few days prior...

the story: While J was at work, I slipped in the garage and twisted my ankle, landing on a box of glass jars (which didn't break, thankfully). It was agony...I had to crawl back into the house and could barely move for the rest of the day. Talmage was a huge help, and J even got off early to come help me. I felt so grateful and so very loved :)



My left arm was sore from trying to catch myself falling, and my ankle got bruised pretty bad as well as the knee that I landed on. It was very painful for the next two days... I could barely put my foot down on the ground.


However, I didn't want to let the temperatures or my stupid foot get in the way of us having a beach day- sooo we went anyways :)

Saturday morning Jonathan helped some friends move into their house while I watched their son. I'm not sure why I agreed to it since I couldn't walk well, but it worked out. After that was done we headed straight to the Oregon Coast! Jonathan was pretty sore from the moving, and I was pretty tired from the babysitting...but we were determined. We went to Lincoln City- one of our favorite towns that just happens to be the closest to us. There is a stretch of beach there that I'm IN LOVE with because it has a tiny shallow river running through it to the ocean. I took the kids here in May and it was awesome then, too. The river is warm and perfect for kids to play in without getting swept up by waves!

When we arrived at our spot the tots played in the sand for a while...



...but it wasn't long before they were ready to jump into that water! The weather was actually really nice. Sunny and warm and pretty breezy. Wet clothes + wind= cold. So yeah, sometimes I'd see our children's teeth chattering and hands trembling. Still, they didn't want out of that water!



Jonathan helped the kids make a sand castle, which wasn't the prettiest- but they loved building it!




 Talmage ran back and forth constantly through the river. He had a total blast!

Charlotte was mostly intent on picking up every rock she could find and showing me her treasures :)


 She also loved the sand. Who could blame her? It's my favorite, too.






At one point we took the kids closer to the shore to see the waves. They laid in the warm surf for a while and watched the ocean. I'm pretty sure they could have stayed like that forever.


Charlotte was cold, so she held onto daddy pretty tightly :)


I was glad that my foot was getting some relief. The soft sand felt great to walk through, but the hard wet sand was another story. I just walked really slowly and really carefully, and there was minimal pain.



After a few hours we packed up our stuff, changed the kids into some clean clothes, and went out for dinner at a cute cafe downtown. We ate hot dogs, clam chowder, and fries but the best part was definitely the ice-cream waffle cones. YUM. Like seriously one of the best cones I've ever had. We also picked up some saltwater taffy as per tradition :)



At the end of the day we headed home, exhausted and full of sand and sunburned (just Jonathan...he got it BAD), but so happy about how wonderfully the day went. Every time we leave the beach we're tempted to go back the next day- like honestly go right back and skip church. haha.

We actually had to stay home from church because Jonathan had the most awful burn on his back and I...well...I twisted my ankle again that night as I checked on Talmage to see if he was asleep. It happened out of nowhere- just one side step and I was down. This time I couldn't help but sob from frustration and the return feeling of pain. To have your ankle roll under you like that...its the worst...Jonathan came and picked me up and carried me to bed. And I felt so bad because he was in pain, too. We're just a bunch of cripples, haha...we laid in bed that night completely sore and stiff. Still- it really was a GREAT day!!! And we all slept like champs.

So on Sunday we stayed home, slept in, had a gigantic breakfast of fruit and crepes, and took it easy. It's SO nice to just relax at home together...but on the weekends I have this sense of urgency...like we NEED to do stuff because it's the only time we have! I mentioned to Jonathan that we go on a bike ride (somewhere flat so it would be an easy ride). We rested up with naps and I stabilized my foot in some good, supportive shoes. I know, I'm crazy. I don't need to be reminded...

Everything was going great for the first three miles. It was hot (nearly 90 degrees) but overcast and the breeze felt good as we rode on the smooth trail. We passed tons of blackberry bushes and stopped for a while to pick some. We rode alongside a river and beautiful countryside.




And THEN. We came to a pretty big hill, and since we are both so out-of-shape we decided to de-mount the bikes and walk them up. I was off my bike and took one step forward and BAM- down I went as my other ankle rolled inwards. One step is all it takes. It was excruciating and words cannot even describe the pain I was in...this "twist" felt worse than the two on my other ankle. I knew right away it was something more. My left knee was bloody but I didn't realize it was even hurt. There was a dog park about 1/4 mile away from us, so I VERY slowly and carefully walked my bike up the hill (this was pure torture) and then rode the rest of the way to the park. I found a big rock to sit on and propped up my foot while Jonathan speedily pedaled to the parking lot where our van was. He came back about 20 minutes later to rescue me and help me into the van. I had to use my sock and water bottle to clean up my knee because there was so much dirt in it.

I kept thinking "Why is this happening? Three foot injuiries in one weekend?!" And it didn't matter how careful or active I was...this was happening as I took normal steps. My ankles couldn't hold me up anymore. It's instilled a fear within me that I'll fall anytime I walk around...my anxiety was already bad, and this wasn't helping..


When we got to the house, Jonathan had to...clean out..the knee wound. I couldn't hold back my emotions any longer and I screamed aloud in pain and sobs as he applied the antiseptic spray and wrapped my ankle in bandages. Which made the kids cry...the whole scene was madness. I yelled at Jonathan to remove the kids from the room so I could suffer without any witnesses. My entire foot hurt all the way from my toes to my upper calf. I literally could NOT move it...it must have been adrenaline that allowed me to pedal that last quarter mile. Or a miracle.

I called the on-call doctor around 11 pm because the pain was so bad. She asked me some questions and said I needed to come in first thing the next day and get an x-ray. I couldn't put any weight on my foot or have it in the downward position. To get to the bathroom or bedroom I sat on an ottoman and scooted with my "good" foot while keeping my bad foot up. Jonathan couldn't help me get around much...anything he tried to do just made it hurt more. This was one reason that I knew this injury was worse than the previous ones.

Jonathan took the next morning off so he could get me to the doctor. It was also the first day of swim lessons so I needed him to help me get the kids there (and keep them under control). The x-ray showed a severe sprain with some torn ligaments. But no fractures/breaks, much to my relief. The dr. gave me newer and nicer bandages, a support cast (that I can take on and off as needed), and an rx for crutches (we found some at Goodwill, though...much cheaper). She said my sprain was one of the worst she'd ever seen, as the swelling went around my whole foot. That didn't surprise me.

When I called my mom to complain she said that because of pregnancy, my ligaments are all more loose and unstable. I replied that this never happened during my other two pregnancies..and she said it only happened for one of her four pregnancies as well. I already have bad ankles...all my life I've twisted them now and then...but to have this many in such a short amount of time...the only reason I can come up with is that being pregnant has somehow distorted my ankle support and made me more prone to accidents. And I'm only six months along...I shudder to think what the next three months will bring. When I brought this up with the doctor, she agreed that this is the most likely explanation and mentioned that I will probably need physical therapy after baby so that I won't have permanent damage.

So anyway, now I'm trying to imagine how on earth I'll manage getting the kids to the pool every day for the next two weeks, keeping on top of house chores, and managing the children while my feet recover. My left ankle (the one that twisted twice) is still swollen and bruised, too. My feet are both pretty much useless, and both of my knees are banged up and sore. My arms- that are supposed to be supporting me on the crutches- are sunburned and bruised. Haha. It's AWESOME.


I'm just glad we were able to have our trip to the beach and family bike ride despite my injuries. Truly those memories are the diamonds in the dust. :)

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

summer checklist

It seems like I ALWAYS have a mental checklist of things I want to get done/do. Like always. Often I write these lists down to give my brain a break :) I've got checklists hanging around everywhere...on the fridge, laptop & desktop, phone, Microsoft Word...so this one is going on my blog for a change.

SUMMER 2014 CHECKLIST!

What we've done:
Beach day with friends (more like late spring..)
First time to the Enchanted Forest.
Pond fishing.
Backyard BBQs/camping.
Zoo day with friends.
Run through sprinklers in the back yard.
Splash pad at park.
Drive-in movie with friends.
Lots of family walks. We like those :)
Gone on vacation, saw tons of family, and swam in quite a few hotel pools.
Celebrated fourth of July with lots of firework shows!
Picked strawberries, raspberries, cherries, blueberries~ and hoarded them into the freezer.
Dollar movie day with the kids. (I wanna do a few more of those)
Art festival/ face painting.

Amazing what happens in just a few months! Especially because it feels like most of the time we just sit around at home... making lists like this help myself feel a little bit better about the massive amounts of television/movie watching that goes on... I guess we aren't totally lazy after all :)

Here's some pics of the aforementioned activities!

blueberry picking

Art Festival- first time getting faces painted!


blackberries from the field behind our house.





Weekends are so precious...they're the only times we have to be together. I try my best to fill them up with as much family time goodness as possible while staying within our budget. It would be an understatement to say that this is hard...but there are so many awesome FREE activities out there! And the ones that aren't free- we just have to be really careful and sometimes LET GO of the cost because you can't put a price tag on memories together :) Still, it's the struggle of the summertime season. At least during the holidays you can price out how much presents will cost, but going out and doing stuff together is tricky to budget! (And it seems like we all get hungrier when we're in the car with no snacks...heh).

Anyway, here's the rest of my list.

What we still have left to do:
Swimming lessons at the pool.
Library carnival (for participating in the summer reading program).
Go camping & go on a hike.
Family bike ride with kids in bike trailer.
Go to the beach as a family- hopefully a few times!
Pick more wild blackberries.
Do some legit fishing and actually catch some fishies to eat.

To quote our family's favorite snowman...

"Winter's a good time to stay in and cuddle. But put me in summer and I'll be a - happy HOUSEWIFE!"

That's basically how I interpret it.

I can't wait to make some more summertime memories as a family!

Friday, July 18, 2014

24 weeks



I wanted to document just a few things about this pregnancy at 24 weeks. Honestly not much has changed from four weeks ago...I had an appointment a few days ago and my main concern that I discussed with my midwife was pain in my hips- more specifically pain in my right hip. Whenever I get up from sitting on the couch for a while or from laying in bed, I have to get up very slowly or else I'll collapse. For some reason my hips become completely useless about 60% of the time and I have to hold onto things to walk. It's strange because my belly isn't even that big yet, but I feel like I'm three times the size that I am. I'm sure if anyone saw me try to walk after sitting they would roll their eyes and think I'm being overly dramatic...it's pretty ridiculous looking. haha.

My midwife assured me that the pain is normal and because of uterus position, it's not uncommon to have hip pain on the right side. She suggested physical therapy as an option but I think I'll wait to see how the next few weeks go. Stretching has helped and I'm sure I could drink more water, too. It's not fun but I think I can bear through it for another 4 months :)

She also said I'm measuring two weeks ahead, but this changes all the time so I think baby just had a growth spurt. I feel little miss's movement constantly- and FINALLY so can Jonathan and the kids! We like to sit and watch my stomach move up, left, and right... haha. It's such a bizarre yet amazing thing.


And the most exciting part of this whole post- We have a name for baby! I always feel strange announcing the name early on because of unwarranted opinions from some people... so I think I'll hold off for a while- but this is the backstory:

A few weeks after Charlotte was born, I came upon a girls name that I fell completely in love with. As much as I couldn't even fathom having *another* baby at that point, I could not get it out of my head. I had dreams about having two girls with the names Charlotte and _ ... the two fit together so perfectly. For the last 2 1/2 years, I have felt the same way about this name. I'm kinda obsessed with it, actually.

When we found out we were having a girl, I told Jonathan I'd be open to bringing a list of names to the hospital to see which one would "fit." But...in the last few weeks, all those other names slowly got weeded out and we both feel that the name I wanted in the first place is THE one :) We've started replacing "baby" with this name and it feels so natural and fitting already! I can't wait to meet her so we can put this name to a face!

In other news, Jonathan's parents came to see us a few days ago and with them came a piano!


This piano is old- really old. I'm not even sure how old. J's parents bought it an at auction for his grandmother shortly after they were married some 30 something years ago. It's been in the care of his beloved grammy ever since. When she passed away last year, it stayed at his uncle's house where she lived. They asked us if we were interested in inheriting it, and since Jonathan loves to play and has such fond memories of it as a child, we were thrilled! It took many months to find the right time and way of getting it down from Garden Valley, Idaho to Salem, Oregon- but this week his parents surprised us and made the trip out here! 

It wasn't easy getting it through our narrow back door... because it is an "upright grand" it's a very large, very heavy piano. I felt helpless from the sidelines as I watched Jonathan and his dad use all their strength while sweating from head to toe. But they got it inside safely, and the kids LOVE it. 



Jonathan is a wonderful piano player... me, not so much. I can't read music or play anything more complex than "Chopsticks" (with the exception of a few VERY simple hymns I can "sight read"). I have always told J that if we ever had a piano I would want him to teach me how to play- and I'm seriously excited to learn! Mostly, though...I'm excited for CHRISTMAS music being played in our home! I love the scene from Little Women when the family is gathered around their new piano and singing Christmas melodies. It brings tears to my eyes just thinking about it. :) I am aware that Christmas is 6 months away, but I don't care. I freaking love Christmas music! 

And just because this Christmas we'll have a brand new baby to love on, I'm sure it will be even more magical :) Ahh... come on and get here already, holiday season!

Enough Christmas talk. We're soaking up the summer as best we can with our crazy schedules. Painting furniture in the garage on the less hot days, picking berries, making plans to go the beach, staying up way past our bedtimes, and running through sprinklers in the back yard! (that last one is just Talmage, actually...)



As our last summer of four, I hope we can live it up! 

Wednesday, July 16, 2014

soccer boy!

I should have posted about this a long time ago, but it slipped away from me. Oops.


Last fall we put Talmage in soccer for the first time. He enjoyed it so much that we decided to go for round two this spring! He LOVED it. Not every minute...not when he was learning teamwork or how to be a good sport...sometimes not in the rain...but for the most part he was grinning from ear to ear!


He always has to have his gatorade...haha. Probably the ONLY time I would let him drink the stuff. It keeps him motivated :D



The "team" for the 3-5 year olds is Mighty Mites. We'll probably do one more season of that before he moves onto the bigger stuff- if he's still interested in it by that point :)


Our favorite coach talking to the little soccer players. This guy is from Jamaica and Talmage loves him.


Talmage is kinda short compared to the rest of the kids that play soccer here. He can't run as fast and he tries really hard to catch up, but then he stumbles and falls. He falls a lot. It breaks my heart every time and yes, I've shed some tears from the sidelines. Sometimes it really gets to him and he needs a moment, but most of the time he bounces right back up and keeps at it! He gets genuinely disappointed when the other team scores a goal, but he's learned to say "good job" with a smile. If playing soccer didn't make him so happy I don't know that we'd keep him in it... but as long as he enjoys it, we'll keep trying! At this age you can't expect much anyway...at least that's what I keep telling myself :) 

Having T in soccer has taught me patience...and how to back off from being that overly protective mom all the time. Injuries and boo-boos happen in sports...this I know...it's hard to accept that he will get pushed around and shoved and smacked in the face every now and then. (Though I often wish that some of the kids would just GET over themselves. haha...)

For those few but precious times he HAS scored a goal, those were the best mornings ever and he wouldn't stop talking about it- play by play. Often we'd go to Home Depot afterwards and "celebrate" by doing the kid's workshop. Even if we had nothing to celebrate we would go! Good times at the Home Depot.

And some videos for your viewing pleasure :)



We love our little soccer player and we are SO proud of him!!!