Playing Catch Up

Okay, it’s been way too long since I last blogged but I haven’t had a spare moment in weeks. And if I did have a spare moment, I probably fell asleep. It’s been about 3 1/2 weeks since we moved  to Washington. Here’s what’s been going on:

The Move

Our move landed right in the middle of my worst morning sickness, but Ryan was kind enough to let Nathan ride in the “Big Truck” with him so I could drive by myself. We’ve made the drive from Springfield to Puyallup many times and it usually takes us about 4-5 hours. This time it took us nearly 8 hours. It was horrible. But, what can I say? Pregnant Heather has to pee a lot.

Who am I kidding?! Normal Heather has to pee a lot. Pregnant Heather has to pee A LOT.

We spent Friday night in Puyallup, then moved into our new house on Saturday. We got a ton of  help from our new ward and from my family. Unfortunately, the house was really not ready for us. When we showed up that morning, the previous renter was still moving out and he hadn’t cleaned ANYTHING! Gross. I told the owner and she kindly cleaned the kitchen top to bottom for me while we unpacked. We’re really excited about this house, but let me tell you about a few of the things that have gone wrong since we moved in:

-The house smells like cigarettes. The last guy smoked. It was advertised as a nonsmoking property, but does it really matter if you smoke inside or outside? No, it does not. The garage is the worst, and unfortunately my washer and dryer are out there. So is the furnace, so we are using space heaters right now. To make matters worse, I’ve got the typical pregnancy super sniffer and I can smell things REALLY WELL.

-Then, our washing machine leaked and flooded the garage. Now the washing machine is doing the opposite and the water won’t leave.

-Then, we had fleas. Yes, FLEAS. Apparently, Mister smokey no clean man had a cat. We’ve taken care of that problem but someone might still die.

Also, did I mention that Ryan went to work the Monday after we moved in? We’ve been feeling a little chaotic, to say the least.

On the bright side, we love our new neighborhood and our new ward and  I am finding that we’re the perfect distance from friends and family. I got to see Alex right after she had her baby, and Nathan gets to see Nana and Papa all the time. There are 3 other member families on our street, including the nursery leader, and the bishop.

We’re happy to be here and, even with all the stinkyness, I’m so glad we’re not moving again for a long time.

And I will post cute pictures of the inside of the house some day when all the boxes are unpacked and everything is clean. Maybe some time next year?

We’re Still Alive . . . I Think . . .

Just wanted to quickly update everyone, since we’ve been so so busy lately. We are getting settled in Washington and dealing with unpacking and the ups and downs of a new home. Ryan has been busy at his new job. We’re looking forward to a 3 day weekend together! It’s a huge adjustment having him gone all day after almost 7 months of having him home all the time. I’m having good days and bad days but looking forward to the end of morning sickness and the start of the fun part of pregnancy. Nathan says he likes our new house but keeps telling me he wants to go home. Poor kid. Hopefully things will be better when all the boxes are unpacked and the house feels like a home. I’m shooting for Christmas at this point. More to come!

We’re moving to Washington!!

This is Ryan writing.  A lot has happened in the last couple of weeks.  Over the course of the last few I had two job offers.  One at Umpqua Bank in Eugene, OR and another at Washington Federal Savings in Seattle, WA.  Salary-wise they were pretty comparable.  Other than that, every other factor was clearly better at Washington Federal Savings.  This afternoon I officially accepted the offer from Washington Federal and declined the one at Umpqua.  Here is some information about Washington Federal Savings and my position.  I’ll be putting more info on my blog later. http://ryanandhisbike.weebly.com/biking-eugenespringfield.html

I will be working at the corporate headquarters in Seattle.  Specifically I will be a Fair Lending/CRA analyst within the Legal and Compliance department.  I will be performing statistical analysis of the loan decisions to ensure compliance with fair lending laws.  I will also be conducting other statistical analysis that is needed by the bank.  This means I will be working with the CFO doing some financial analysis, the Treasurer doing some risk analysis, as well as some other departments as needed.  This means I will essentially have 4 or 5 managers.

In the summer of 2007  I worked as a finance intern in their accounting department.  I worked with the CFO that summer and through that connection I found this job.

This is a newly created position.  My skill set will be unique within the bank.  As such I think there are great opportunities for me to take my career wherever I would like.

Washington Federal has branches in WA, OR, ID, NV, UT, AZ, NM, and TX.  Currently they have over 13 billion in deposits.

We are sad to be leaving Oregon but are excited to finally move to Washington and settle down.

A Multitude of Blessings

I was going to keep things quiet and close to my heart for a while this time around, but I don't think I can keep it in any longer.

We're having a baby!

I'm incredibly happy but ridiculously sick. Which is why I decided to fess up and tell you all. I don't think my excuse of "I just wasn't feeling good" is going to last much longer. Plus my mom is telling people willy-nilly. When I was pregnant with Nathan, I gained weight right away and last time I was hardly sick (I know now this was a sign that things weren't going well). This time I've already lost nearly 5 pounds and I'm only 7 weeks along.

I'm not telling you this to complain or appear ungrateful. I just want you all to know that I need your help and your prayers right now. I'm so grateful to know I have all of you wonderful sister-friends, and sister-cousins, and moms, and aunts, and everyone!

More blessings to come: the job search is going GOOO-OOD.

I just wanted to point out that spell check didn't like "willy-nilly" and kindly offered these suggestions instead: willy-billy, willy-silly, willy-dilly, willy-hilly, and willy-filly.

Mom and Leslie Came to Visit

A few weeks ago, my Mom and my sister Leslie came down from Washington for a visit.

We headed over to Florence on Friday to enjoy a day at the beach.

Ryan was nice enough (foolish enough?) to let Leslie bury him in the sand.

Here she is drawing a mermaid bra on him. Nice.

It was a lovely day and the sand was warm (and the water was freezing) and we all got a little sun.

Nathan, of course found the biggest stick he could carry. I think we all stayed out of his way for a while.

That night, we stopped at our favorite self-serve frozen Yogurt place.  It can get dangerous there.

On Saturday, Mom, Leslie and I went shopping together while Nathan napped and Ryan job hunted. I’m incapable of picking out my own clothes, so it was nice to get a little advice.

That night, Ryan and I got to go on a date while Nathan spent the evening with Nana and Leslie. He’s really into “Blues Clues” right now so Nana made some clues and put them all around the house.

“A CLUE! A CLUE!”

He even used his magnifying glass to find them.

Unfortunately, he found one that didn’t get colored and decided to take matters into his own hands.

We love it when they come to visit!

I’ll Take What I Can Get.

Tonight Nathan was in a time out for hitting me and I was going through the whole spiel about not hitting and such. I told him he needed to say “Sorry Mommy” before he could come downstairs. I usually don’t get a verbal response, just a hug and a pat on the head, which I’ll take, so when he looked at me so sweetly and sincerely and opened his mouth to speak I thought, “A breakthrough!” But instead of saying “sorry”, Nathan looked right at me and said, “Bless you, Mommy.”

Yes, someone please bless me! I’m gonna need it to get through potty training and my own personal hell called “sacrament meeting with a 2 year old.”

I should probably mention that he has GREASE smeared across his face. It was all over his hands too.

2 Year Old Pictures

We had kind of a crazy Spring so we were a little late getting Nathan’s 2 year old pictures done, but here are a few I love!

My friend Christy was kind enough to take these for us, even though Nathan is a very unwilling subject.

I just love those eyes!

A reward at the end!