And We Come to You LIVE From the Hospital Bed...

(Wow, that last post was quite the segue into this one.) It's true, I am in REAL labor! The "Too-Excited-to-Sleep-Even-Though-It's-6:30am" kind of labor. I woke up around 3:10 this morning (exactly one week from the False Alarm,) and had to really time out my contractions before we called my mom to come up from Salem to watch the sleeping girls. Luckily, I was a little more sure of the type of pain I was experiencing--not 100% by any means, but more inclined to think so-- and we made preparations again for the hospital stay.

It has come down to a mere matter of hours now.

Eeeeek! I'm so excited!

Funny Story About Monday

Last Monday was supposed to be an ordinary day. It ended like an ordinary day, but it started much differently.

I woke up at 4:04 am with contractions. I had been having them on and off for a few days, but this time they were accompanied by back pain and were more frequent. I lay there for about 30 minutes before I alerted Juan to the possibility that I was going into labor. This is precisely what happened when I went into labor with Qiana, so we did what was natural and took our sweet time getting ready while I decided if it was legit or not. I showered, straightened my hair, gussied myself up, and started mopping the kitchen floor. Juan got ready and started cleaning out the crisper drawer of the refrigerator. (We're super-cool for "nesting", right?!)

When Juan's parents got there, we took off for the hospital. We got there a little after 7 am and checked in with the nurses at Emergency OB. After they hooked me up to monitors and checked the baby, we all started playing the waiting game. I still needed to dilate one more centimeter to be admitted into Labor and Delivery. None of us thought it would take long because I had dilated and effaced so fast since the contractions started. Boy oh, boy, were we in for a wait. After a hour, they checked and I hadn't progressed at all. They decided to hook me up to the IV anyway for antibiotics, and let me wait a little longer.

And a little longer.

And yet, longer.

...nothing.

So after a bout of tears and an unsuccessful attempt to convince the doctors to induce me that moment, we left the hospital. Still dilated to 4 cm and 90% effaced, I am writing this four days later.

Yeah, it's been a LONG week. Once you start going into labor, your mind first goes to thinking "Yay! Baby is on his way!" Then, after an hour or two in the hospital you think, "Okay, this will probably be official in a few hours, so I'll get my mass text ready to send." After a few more hours have passed, you start thinking a little more rationally and ease your mind by thinking, "Well, even if he doesn't come right now, it won't be long. Maybe by tonight? But certainly, since labor has already started it shouldn't be long now." Once you get the news that they want you to go back home and wait until the contractions get a little more intense, you hyperventilate and search every corner of your mind for a way you can hurry up the process. "I can take things in my own hands!," you foolishly think. After a relatively good night's rest, you settle down, apathetically accepting that the baby is not coming anytime soon; then you try (TRY, TRY, TRY) to go along your daily business as if nothing happened in the first place. It does get easier, but there are always the thoughts in the back of your mind, "What just happened?!," and "Will today be the day?".

The best thing that works to keep your spirits high is to have a lot of diversions throughout the day. Luckily, there were many things that kept me relatively distracted this week. The very next day was my birthday and my sister and cousins threw me a baby shower. I had all morning to clean the house, which was the closest feeling of "in control" that I'd felt since the trip to the hospital. Then on Wednesday, I was part of a performance for the Spanish branch in which we depicted the parable of the ten virgins. I was part of the "gringa choir" and sang a solo (scariest thing I've done in a long time!,) two duets and a few more group numbers. It was something we had been working on since January, so In retrospect, I'm really glad I was there for that. Thursday I took the girls out to the park for a picnic, and the rest of the day flew by. Siena had a little dance performance that night as a culminating experience for her time in community pre-ballet and tumbling. So cute! If I can get my act together, I'll try to post the video we took. She's quite the little diva *sigh*.

Today has been a long day, but not too overwhelming. Tonight we went out to eat with Juan's parents and let loose with a little karaoke. Yes, ladies and gentlemen... our very own Juan even joined me at the mic. He is quite the crooner, despite his attempts to hide it.

Now my thoughts are turned back to the coming of the baby. When will he finally get here? I know that my impatience is what is keeping labor at bay. It wasn't until tonight that I realized that there are only so many things you can do, only so much power you have and assuming you can take over nature is like claiming you are God. Luckily, I had an "Aha!" moment; I now realize that My Heavenly Father knows how disappointed we were last Monday and He knows how uncomfortable and sometimes painful it has been lately to maneuver my body. Until I confessed His hand and His timing, I wasn't happy. My situation hasn't changed since Monday, but (finally!) my attitude has and I've been able to handle it much better remembering that there is a grander scheme. Sometimes the ONLY thing to help you is the reassurance of God's particular love for you and His constant presence in your life, though it sometimes seems as if you are the only one who really feels your grief.

In Like a Lion

March has been a fast month and it's going to be over before we know it!

First, Juan interviewed in Coeur d'Alene, ID for a job last week. After a lot of research, the visit and countless prayers we've decided NOT to take the job and are starting a new search in the great state of Texas. Luckily, we have a few months before his residency is up. He's interviewing in Denver next week for Comfort Dental, a dental chain where job opportunities in Texas are overflowing. It also looks as if he's going to fly out to Dallas sometime in April. Who knows, Bebe and I might tag along.

Speaking of Baby, we've broken bad habits and have pretty much decided on a name before the last day at the hospital. We're pretty sure we'll call him Ezra Aksel Chavez. The girls are already calling him by name when they speak to my tummy. I've been having a lot of symptoms of early labor these last couple of weeks, but who knows when he'll actually make his debut. Personally, I was hoping he'd wait clear up until his due date to come because I'm still kind-of freaking out that I'm going to be in charge of three children... 3! However, Siena and Qiana have both been hit really hard with the coming realization that a new person is going to take up most of my attention. Siena has demonstrated this with an increase in whining, crying and freaking out at the slightest upset while Qiana has reverted back to pre-potty trained behavior. Add a sleep-deprived, impatient mother into the mix (ahh, the endless nights of back pain will not be missed...) and you've got a recipe for disaster. So, in short, all of these things have pushed me into thinking that it might not be so bad for Ezra to come sooner. I really, really, really could use a couple days in bed where people wait on me and bring me red jello.

Don't get me wrong, I'm ecstatic for this little boy to come to our family. These are just little tidbits that I'm thinking of at this moment. I know the frustration will pass, as it always has. We really are blessed with so many moments of happiness that I have no room to complain.

Celebrating Dr. Seuss' Birthday!

For fun, we had a Dr. Seuss Day today in honor of what would be his 108th birthday. It was a last-minute thing, but the girls enjoyed every second. We first watched a couple of "Cat In The Hat" episodes on PBS during their C.i.t.H. Marathon, then dashed off to the library to read some of his books. Upon returning home, we played some online Dr. Seuss games (like "Hop on Pop" and "Help the Cat in the Hat Clean up a Mess!") Finally, we read "Green Eggs and Ham" for the first time and they really got into it. For lunch, we cooked up a ham steak and green eggs. It was too funny to watch their faces as they saw green eggs dished onto their plates. They were confused, but you could see the lightbulb turn on and the puzzlement turned to beaming smiles. After naptime, I think we'll make some white and red striped hats or something of the sort....

Being a mom can be really, really fun.

(Warning: Bragging Away)

I was looking through the pages of Siena's notebook she's been drawing in and found this. I am in awe of her intelligence. There's no question where she gets her smarts--Papi. She only missed two letters and the girl is only 4 years old, people!

Pardon the Post

This is going to be quick and boring, but I feel like I should post. We're in Limbo. Again. Still looking for jobs, but at least Juan has a couple interviews next month. He's looking at Coeur d'Alene, ID and Dallas, TX right now. We'll see what ends up happening.

*Something a little disturbing happened today. Okay, I lied. It's VERY disturbing. Juan got stuck with a needle today. Now, this is not so great because the patient could have any number of diseases (HIV, Hepatitis, etc. come to mind.) I'm kind-of freaking out but Juan is staying pretty calm about it. We'll see what happens when the blood-test results come back....

Hmmmm, what else can I write about?

It's been a long time since I shared a great recipe. We've been loving this one lately because our local market has had tilapia fillets on sale the last couple of weeks. You know it's good when you make it TWICE within 8 days.

One Pan Tilapia Fish Tacos with 5 Minute Mole

So there you go. Eat fish this week.

*UPDATE: Thankfully, the test results did come back Negative. Breath of relief!

More Tidbits to Remember

When Siena gets mad at me, she tells me that "Papi is [her] favorite!" Now, Qiana has picked up on it and yesterday while I was away, she told Juan that "Mami is [her] favorite" because he got upset with her.

Also something funny that Qiana says:

"Mami, can I kick the baby?" (This translates to, "Mommy, can I feel the baby kick?")

...and she calls Family Home Evening, Noche de Jugar. This is only funny if you understand Spanish. It's really called Noche de Hogar, but she switches the words and says "play" instead of "home". What a sweetie pie.

V-day of Ultimate Cheese

Valentine's Day started and ended so well this year. Besides a little fall down the stairs the off-balanced pregnant lady had, it couldn't have gone better. (I'll spare you pictures of the massively bruised leg... sympathy please!) ;) The day started with a visit from GRANDMA! My mom came up with bags full of goodies. She and the girls made cute little heart cakes and cupcakes, which they later frosted and decorated. The girls were in sugary, Valentine's Day heaven! What a fun morning we all had together!

(Siena's prized heart cake)

Juan and I discussed our plans for Valentine's Day this year, but decided to just keep it simple, super cheap and time-efficient since it fell on a Tuesday. (We had watched an episode of The Middle, that made us laugh because it was SO how we were feeling this year.) Well, it was decided that each would plan a small gesture to pay homage to LOVE and the holiday so drenched in it. So we did; but rather than being disappointed or even slightly annoyed by the end of the day with our obligatory gift-giving, we found ourselves more than surprised and pleased with each other's offerings.

Let me introduce the eventual theme Juan decided on: THE ULTIMATE V-DAY CLICHE. He sent me texts with clues throughout the day on where to find my Valentine's Day gifts. These included all of the typical V-day gifts you hear of: a rose, box of chocolates, stuffed animal with candy, a mix tape, and jewelry (a plastic princess crown and wand set.) I'm pretty sure he found all of them at the Dollar Tree, which is right on track with this year's theme. I loved it because now I can check off that I've received all of those items on Valentine's Day. :)

The theme I decided on was: BABY, I'M HOT FOR YOU. (Don't worry, it's not scandalous.) And, as fate would have it... I also sent him on a silly scavenger hunt. His first clue was inside a box of Hot Tamales, which read:

The library is where you could take a look,

or instead just find 1 book.

It's not too high, and not too low,

just look where you cook,

low and slow.

This led him to the crock-pot where he found a book. When he opened to page 202, he found most of the words blacked out with a Sharpie, leaving a... ummm... profound love poem. It was totally hilarious because I only had so much to work with given the words I had before me on those pages. We laughed together as he attempted to read it aloud. The next clue was on the book marker, and it read:

Olives + juice wouldn't make a nice treat,

but an edible SMACKAROO would taste really sweet.

To find this snack, you should aspire

to look in a HOT PLACE, where else?

The _ _ _ _ _!

It took him a while to get this one, but once he finally realized it was the DRYER, he found his next gift-- a big Hershey's Kiss out of Rice Krispies. Lame, I know, but it was the perfect vessel for his next clue:

You can't heat a house with just desire.

In days of old they had places for fire.

Today is different, in terms of HOW;

we keep our house warm with THIS now.

He figured out it was the furnace almost instantly, and when he got there, he saw a little frame with a Valentine's Day card inside from me and the girls. Again, lame... but it was something silly for him to laugh at and I knew he didn't have high expectations. It was of our thumb prints, drawn into little people with the saying, "3 little {thumb} bodies love you!" (Thank you, Pinterest... and by the way, he did laugh.)

I made him an Italian dinner, going along with our "cheesy" theme. Lasagna Rolls, Spinach and Artichoke-stuffed Portobellos, crusty bread, and Virgin Apple-Cranberry Bellinis. Instead of having to make dessert, I relied on the little heart cakes my mom made with the girls. It was perfect!

After dinner, Juan played the "mix tape" he made and the girls put on an impromptu Valentine's Day ball (to which Juan and I were invited as special guests.) They had already changed into dress-up clothes to match the new crowns and princess jewels I bequeathed upon them, and requested that we change into our formal attire as well. Siena even went as far as to tell Juan exactly which suit, shirt and tie she wanted him to wear. Then she asked me if I had any flowers left over from a wedding I did a few days ago. Why? Well, Juan needed a boutonniere, of course! Once his flower was pinned in place, the dance started and we were all whisked away to the girls' fantasy land of princes and princesses. It was such a big deal to those little girls, that Juan and I couldn't help but play along. THAT is a memory I want to keep forever.

News, Projects and Quotes

News:

Well, the end of January finally came and went and we now have an answer on Oral Surgery Residencies. Unfortunately (or fortunately, however you want to take it,) Juan was not accepted into a program. There are two open positions left in the country waiting to be filled and he's applied for them, but since odds are not in our favor we are looking for jobs now. It's kind-of exciting! As to where we are looking, it's pretty much anywhere in the West so we can be closer to family.

On to projects:

I've officially decided on the direction we are going to go with the baby boy's room... classic nautical. Colors are brick red, navy, off-white, light blue and yellow accents. It is fun coming up with ideas. These are the quilts I've come up with for the room, so there's a start.

Throw quilt for the rocking chair (my project):

Quilt that my amazing mother is making for his crib:

I haven't been feeling very crafty most of my pregnancy, until a few days ago. That's when the project bug hit. I think it's because we got the Residency MATCH results that day and I had nothing else to keep my mind in a frenzy anymore. So the projects I've completed so far are:

• traveling baby changing pad
• 3 bibs
• pacifier holder
• taggie toy (for a friend and her baby)

It's not much, but it has been quite therapeutic making things out of scraps of fabric. The girls have been very interested in sewing lately, too. They just love it when I pull out the fabric squares for a quilt I may never make because each square is a different fabric pattern and none really go together. They make patterns and "quilts" out of each bundle. I hope their love of crafts sticks....

Quotable:

When I asked Qiana yesterday what name she wanted for the baby, she said "Sandy". Our neighbor, Sandee, is one of Qiana's best friends so that's probably where she got it. I just think it's sweet and funny of her to want to bestow that name on her brother. I also asked her what she was going to teach her brother when he grows up. She said without hesitation, "Jumping Jacks, and futbol, and basketball." So excited to see them all become little friends!

What They're Saying

I was reminded again today that I NEED to write down the funny things the girls say. So here goes:

Siena is always telling me that if we eat too much candy or cake, we'll get "tummy eggs".

Qiana is very ritualistic. Whenever we're sitting there waiting for her to go to the potty, she says, "Beso grande, si?" Then she'll pull my head towards hers and plant a wet kiss on my nose, wipe it off, plant another one on my cheek and will wipe that off too.

Another thing Qiana says in a matter-of-fact way is "No decimos 'What da heck!' No, no, no. Sol'mente decimos 'What da'!"

Siena started offering things (toys, food... just about anything) to Qiana, just to turn around and reject her by saying apologetically, "Perdon." Now, it's something Qiana does back to her.

The Best Post-Christmas Activity

By FAR the best thing we did after Christmas was go through my parents' basement to collect all our random boxes that we didn't want to haul from house to house. In them we found keepsakes, yearbooks, a lot of useless junk we used to treasure and one very dingy shoebox overflowing with letters. This box was from my college years in Idaho and most of the letters were written from my family and missionary friends (including Juan.) As I've been reading each one, I've been transported back a decade to when little ol' freshman Stacia had worries of different kinds and a lot of unnecessary drama. It's hilarious to imagine what I wrote my family to provoke such, um, interesting replies. Reading these letters has also given me a glimpse into the lives of each person at that time, and although I can see a huge difference in maturation, each person still has the same "quirks" they had back then. It really makes me laugh.

For example, in a letter from Chad to me, it reads:

"Dear Stacia, I just talked to Colton He asked what I wanted for Cristmas. Harper was teasing Mom just barly. Today was State Confrens. I went camping Friday. I saw a bull elk." (sic)

An excerpt from a letter from Sierra: (picture really cutsie handwriting, as that was "her thing")

"On friday I got to watch Monster's Inc. during school. Lucky me! Love, Sierra

p.s. do you like my new "E"s and "a"s?

p.p.s. I love you (followed by a drawing of an eye, a heart, and a smiley face)

p.p.p.s. I name all the people I draw.

p.p.p.p.s lots of p.s's huh?"

From a letter from Tristan:

"Today was Juan's farewell. His parents spoke and his sisters did a musical number. He also had time to say a few words and bear his testimony. He is a great young man. I sound so grownup when I say that, but it is so true."

Harper, classic Harper:

"Today is Fast Sunday and Mom is making us write you letters before we can eat dinner. I'm starving!"

The parents' letters were mostly filled with advice to their college girl and the rest of the family's schedule for the week. While nothing is really immature in their letters, I will say that I've decided we were a pretty RANDOM family. :) Being random was definitely something that we all found pretty humorous back then. I can't believe I saved all those letters, but I'm sure glad I did.

Last night Juan and I stayed up pretty late laughing at the comments in his high school yearbook. Some things people wrote are totally quotable:

"I hope to see your name on the doctors lists when I look one up!"

"Seriously, if I ever get into an accident, you would be the one I would want to put me into the ambulance."

"You are the freakin' man. I am glad I got to be good friends with you this year. We need to chill this summer and make c.d's at Brady's house. Call me a ton this summer and we'll cruise around."

"You are a definite hottie! FOR REAL! No, really, but you are totally awesome!"

"(in cute, girlie handwriting) Someday when we are both brain surgeons we should work [on] each other. That'd be cool. We are best friends. Don't forget. (heart)"

My, oh my. Jackpot of laughs.

Tatum's Baby Shower

It's about time I posted about a party..... Ha.

Okay, okay, I admit. There is a lot partying going on. Too much? Probably. But how can you stop with cute babies about to be born + the holidays?

Tatum, the cutest mom-to-be, is a cousin I feel proud to call my own. If her little girlie turns out to be anything like her, she'll be full of spunk and laughter, will sincerely care about others and will show it. It was so fun to get to throw her a baby shower with our other cuz, Nicole, a.k.a. World's Best Cupcake Queen.

I'm kicking myself for not getting a decent picture of Tatum. Oh, how I wish my camera could go back in time....

Thanksgiving 2011

Time for a pictorial catch-up:
THANKSGIVING DAY with CHAVEZ FAMILY





(This was taken a bit later, but still begs to be added to the blog.) Gracias to our little tripod for taking this pic. Can you believe it?!








































DAY AFTER THANKSGIVING- TREE HUNTING with CAMPS