Splash Pad Holiday

We've never been big Memorial Day planners. If something interesting comes up, we'll attend. Otherwise, we enjoy Luke's day off of work quietly, but we're learning that kids make most everything more fun and they give us an excuse to enjoy things like splash pads.

We called up my sister and her hubby, picked up sandwiches, and headed out to Leander for some splash pad fun with Avery. She's been pool-shy this season, so we thought this would be more enjoyable for her (and it doesn't require a swimsuit for this preggo mama). It took her a few laps around the edge of the pad to become comfortable with the other kids and the water shooting up everywhere, but she eventually ventured in, tested the water with her toes, and then sat underneath one of the spray pipes. 

always finding something to climb on

milk and grilled cheese break

The men stayed in the shade, but the gals joined Avery for a bit, avoiding all major splash pipes and buckets. 

me looking quite a bit rounder than my sister - 25 weeks

Avery then caught sight of swings in the distance, so a quick change later, we headed over to the playground. 

We all crashed for a nap at my sister's in the afternoon before parting ways to get Avery fed and bathed and down for the night. Thanks for being spontaneous Nick and Shell!

Avery-isms

Avery is cracking us up these days with the things she says. Some are funny, some we're working on teaching her how to respond appropriately instead.

"No, MINE bouncy ball!" (Said as she's staring into the oven door so she can see what she looks like when she says it)

"How about...?" For instance, the other day I told her no, she couldn't watch a movie, and she responded with "How about Caillou?" and a grin

"Good job, Mommy!" when I opened her string cheese packet

"Kick it so high!" - the big exercise ball

"Yeah, mmm-hmmm."

"More tickle, all done tickle"

"Let's go!" when we're off to do something that excites her. Today it was going to brush her teeth with her toothpaste.

"Flush?!" She gets SO mad if I flush the toilet and fail to let her do it for me. She'll run into the bathroom and stand there just bouncing with excitement at the prospect of flushing. Thankfully she understands that we only need to flush once, at the appropriate time, so that I'm not catching her flushing all day just for fun. Phew!

Nesting and Other Symptoms

Last time I was pregnant, I was working full-time and rarely home, or when at home - I slept, non-stop, because of the hours and type of work I was doing (on my feet, all day, lifting, bending, carrying). The nesting instinct didn't seem to kick in like I thought it would. This time around I'm home with Avery, and I can finally see what nesting is really like. I have to say, it makes me do some very ODD things.

For instance, this weekend I tackled lots of items with a toothbrush. I sat down and scrubbed the one spot that is hard to clean in our shower. Luke is normally the one who takes over bathroom-cleaning duties when I'm pg, but he just misses some things, like the weird spot in the shower, or the dusty baseboards...things that drive me crazy to look at day in and day out.

I also pulled out the toothbrush to get rid of the spots on the (not-so) awesome rental carpet we're sporting these days. Now they're a weird bleached color thanks to the oxi-clean in the carpet cleaner, but it's better than before. I might need to negotiate a professional cleaning from the apartment office before the baby comes.

I organized the books on our shelf by color.

I sew like a madwoman some days.

I recruited my mom to help me move furniture in the kids' room, and our room is next in the line-up for reorganization.

I sit and stare at a spot for up to 10 minutes, trying to decide what (if anything) needs to be done to it. Nothing is safe.

I also find that projects are left half-done...I get the one thing most critical done, and then my energy peters out. Avery's room is reorganized, but her closet needs some maintenance, plus I have to make room for the baby clothes in her dresser. The spot in the shower is clean, but the rest of the shower missed this week's scheduled cleaning. I have half-finished sewing projects, with new ones being added. We cleared out a desk, but everything is sitting in a paper bag waiting for a new home. Dishes made it through the dishwasher, but anything hand-washed was left. Laundry was washed, but didn't make it to the dryer.

And, my brain function, it's slowing WAY down. I almost put a bag of tortilla chips in the fridge today. Avery wears fur-lined crocs in the 100 degree heat and I think it's a good idea, because they're quick to put on. I have a package to mail to someone, and it's 3 weeks late - I walk by it daily and the thought doesn't cross my mind to actually take it to the post office. I failed to notice that my shirt was completely see-through last week and went all day like that. I don't think I've brushed my hair in a week - it gets washed, it air dries, I leave it.

Let's hope that I get my act together sometime before the baby comes to finish things, and that I find my brain again for the safety of all my children.

Transformation

Today marked the first day of summer Bible study, and we opened up with an icebreaker on how we are the same and different from our high school selves. I thought about it after, on the way home, and realized I've come pretty far from my original goal of wanting to be a doctor (this was the long-standing dream from childhood). I had ALWAYS wanted to be a pediatrician, and started at Baylor pre-med. I think I switched to the pre-PA (physician's assistant) track with a major in Nutrition during my first semester. I knew I wanted to have kids eventually, years down the road, so I knew med school didn't fit that dream well enough. But PA - that I could do! And then I hit organic chemistry, and opted to just focus on nutrition - I was going to be a dietitian, still helping people, still in the medical field, and I could still focus on pediatrics. And then I had a crisis after college graduation because of a snafu with placement in the dietetic internships, and somehow I eventually ended up at culinary school.

In summary, the process:

Doctor (help kids, lots of money, prestige) --> PA (sort-of a doctor, help kids, decent money, prestige) --> Dietitian (at least still in the medical field, worked REALLY hard at this route taking on extra work in summers for experience in the field, help kids, some money, some prestige) --> Pastry Chef (make kids fatter, not in the medical field at all, it's a novelty to people, I'm in a ton of school debt) --> Mom (left the job to raise the kids, negative money, poop and puke, but I'm also: in the medical field, I'm helping kids, Avery thinks I'm awesome).

How did I get here?!

So, I kid, really, because I see where God has worked in my life and it's been such an encouragement to me to see his hand guiding me and shaping me to be the best version of my self (still a long continual process because I am way off mark even yet). He's taken the initial interests and tweaked them, some a lot, some just a little. The money was never a deciding factor for me, it was just interesting to see the downward spiral of my potential income. He could have led me down any number of paths, but this is the one I'm on, and I'm thoroughly enjoying the ride. It was a slow process in changing my mindset, dealing with the "why" and "what went wrong", and changing it into joy in the moment, a calling to be a mom and a godly example to my children and to enjoy it. He took the decision out of my control and blessed us with Avery a few years into the marriage (as a surprise). And looking back on this, and looking at where I am now, I've never felt more at peace with who I am and where I am.

Though, if we're talking seriously...God, a bigger home would be nice, preferably one where I don't share walls with a neighbor! :)