Everything Happens for a Reason.

This is a concept that I live by. It helps me deal with everything that has ever happened to me. I feel like life is kind of puzzle and every moment/issue/tragedy/triumph is a piece to the puzzle and has its reason of happening.

It's just weird to sit back and think about the path that has led me to where I am in my life. If you would've told me 10 years ago, I'd be where I am, a stay at home mom, with 3 kids, living in Ellensburg, I would've told you, you were crazy! I don't know exactly what I had imagined my life to be, but this, is definately far from it.

Here is a little story of how I got to be where I am at:

After high school, I was going to go to WSU, be in a sorority and that would be my life. I had been there 2.5 years and then woke up one day and decided I was going to transfer to CWU. I did it immediately. I didn't even tell my parents before I did. Looking back, I believe I did that because if I wouldn't have, I would've never met Travis.

After my transfer to CWU, I met Travis about 5 months later. It wasn't anything, no sparks, just a casual meeting on the front lawn of my friends house. It wasn't until about 6 months later we started to become friends. Just friends. He'd come over, watch "Tempatation Island" with some friends, we'd cook dinner, and just hang out. Still nothing. At the time, I was dating someone else and so was he. We were still just friends.

Then Spring came along. I met Alison. Alison and I immediately were unseperable. We clicked. I had been at CWU about a year and I had met friends, but none that I would consider to be a "best" friend and I didn't really care. I just kinda went about my business. Our friendship was the beginning to one of the most fun times in my life. We had fun. Too much fun. We were crazy and it was the BEST! She was and still is, one of the most important people in my life.

Then, it wasn't until that October, we were out one night and it just clicked with Travis. That was it. I loved him. We started dating about a month later in November and I loved him immediately. We were never apart unless we were in class. The best part to this story, was that Alison, whom I lived with and was my BFF, starting dating Travis's BFF and roomate Brian. It was one of the best times. We had so much fun. I actually don't think Travis and I went out on a date alone for months, we were always with Brian and Alison. I loved it. I was the brave one and actually told Travis that I loved him first. Crazy...I know, but I knew it. So, that is how we started dating. Oh, and I remember telling my friend that I would NEVER date a Ellensburg local (because she was) and look at me now....I AM a Ellensburg local and on top of it...I am a Gibson. The epitomy of Ellensburg local.

October 2, 2004 we got married. It was a perfect day for a wedding and the wedding, to me, was perfect. We lived in Woodinville and I figured we'd live there forever and that would be our life. Then in 2006, Travis got a really random job opportunity to work for a custom home builder in Cle Elum building homes in Suncadia. We didn't really hesitate and immediately decided to move back to Ellensburg. I got a job working from home and we bought a house and we moved.

Travis and I talked about having kids, but it's a whole different story of when you start talking about kids, to actually having kids. October of 2006, I had a miscarriage. We weren't trying to get pregnant, so it came to us as a surprise. We had a trip planned to Rome that December and looking back, everything happens for a reason and there was a reason why that pregnancy didn't happen. Because that June, is when I got pregnant with the twins. How crazy is that? To suffer a miscarriage and then to get pregnant again with twins? We were blessed. I had such a easy pregnancy and both kids are so perfect and healthy.

It was always planned that I would stay at home. Travis wanted me to be at home and paying for newborn childcare x2, is expensive. So, while I was pregnant with twins and planning on not working, Travis thought it'd be a great idea to quit his job and start his own company while we are on the brink of a recession. Smart thinking, right? Well, it was the best idea ever, because now he has his own company and has been amazingly successful, even during the darkest economy. I am so proud of him. I am proud of our family. We've had some bumps and bruises along the way, but reflecting back, everything happens for a reason. If my life had been altered in the smallest way, I don't know if I'd be where I am at. I am grateful. I am happy. I also feel like a fat cow and I want this baby out!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I know....long post. Life story.

A Change of Plans.

I got a phone call today from my Dr......c-section has changed to Thursday. Wahooo! One day earlier. 5-6-10. I am so excited, only 1 week to go!

On a side note, it's 5pm and I've yet to shower or get out of my pajamas. However, I was making banana nut muffins (from scratch) at 7am and I have had dinner in the crock pot since noon. Does that make up for my laziness? Also, Ellensburg is experiencing 50 mile per hour winds and we've been couped up inside.

Being a mom....

"Before you were conceived, I wanted you. Before you were born, I loved you. Before you were here an hour, I would die for you. This is the miracle of life."

-Maureen Hawkins

I've never really loved until I became a mother. I can't really explain it. It's the best feeling in the entire world. Being a mother is what I was supposed to do. 10 days can't come any sooner....

37.5 Weeks.

Almost there. We've been sick this week. Me, with a terrible cold. Presley, with a fever and a rash. Cash, still getting over a cold. Weather was cold and windy. Needless to say, we spent a lot of time indoors. Watched "Cars" a million times. My mom came on Thursday and I got to get my hair and toes done.

Today, we have Daddy home, so we spent the morning doing yardwork and cleaning the garage. Maybe all this housework will make me go into labor? Seriously....12 more days.

5-7-2010...Little Gibby #3

That will be baby #3's official birthday! I am excited to have a May birthday in the family. Travis's is in October, the Twin's is in Feb, and mine is in March. It'll be perfect. The appointment for the c-section is officially on the books and I check in at 8am! It's so much more real now! Only 2 weeks 3 days.

I had my appointment this morning. I am dialated to 1cm. My belly has reduced size down to 34 and I am 37 weeks, but the dr. said this is because the baby's head is really low. So, now I can officially breath, sit and eat! Yea! It's so much more comfortable now that the baby has dropped. No weight gain...yea!

I have the worst head cold right now....i hate it. I want some drugs. I can't taste or smell anything. That is a good/bad thing. Good thing bc changing dirty diapers is like nothing, bad because what's the point of eating? Blizzards are buy 1 get 1 for .25. So, with DQ right down the road, I'll be hitting that up as soon as my taste returns! I gotta indulge for the next 2 weeks before I have to start eating and exercising again......

The weather has been beautiful lately. In the 70's for the past 4 days. It's been wonderful. We made a trip down to toys r us yesterday and I picked up a big new sandbox, lots of bubble toys, sand toys, and a fun new pool with a slide. I have to make the back yard as fun as possible bc the twinnies will need some stuff to keep them occupied as I don't think we'll be making as many trips to the park or children's museum when the baby arrives. Our backyard is starting to look like our playroom. Speaking of playroom....i must go and tackle that job, it's a nightmare right now and I have been putting it off........

Brothers.

I watched this movie last night. Wow, it was intense. I bawled and bawled and bawled. I don't know if it's the pregnancy hormones flowing or what? It makes me thankful for what I have, for the country I live in and the brave (very brave) soldiers who I believe are the guts-iest (word sp??) people EVER! If you haven't seen it, wash your face first. It took me a while to fall asleep after because I couldn't breath bc of all the snot running down my face (TMI, i know!).

via

2 weeks 6 days left.

Not that I am counting.....

Being pregnant with 2 toddlers is exhuasting. Absolutely exhausting. Everyone asks, "How is being pregnant with 1 baby different than 2?" Well, entirely different....the baby has more room to move, so it moves all the time, especially at 3am. My belly is measuring at how many weeks, where as with the twins, I was always 10 weeks ahead. Not as much weight gain. But, those are the pros.

Being pregant when you have toddlers is similar to being tortured. It's hard for me to sit up because the baby's butt is right in my ribs, but sitting down or laying down is basically impossible except at naptime, which you can find me entangled in my body pillow catching up dvr'd shows. Peeing every 5 minutes, I actually comtemplated on getting some Depends...(joking). We've always been pretty busy with activities, park, open gym, play dates, errands, etc..but i haven't left the house since Wednesday. We played outside yesterday bc it was so nice out and I even was crazy enough to do yard work!! Crazy, but it was exhausting. My hips hurt. I can't lift Cash up into his crib, so I just lift and drop him in....he likes it. My back hurts. I finally did find new cleaning ladies that are amazing....it's been difficult to find ones I like. It's such a treat to have a clean house every 2 weeks. I can keep up with laundry, picking up and cleaning the kitchen. It's been such a relief. I love it.

Cash is getting his molars and has a cold, so sleeping at night hasn't happend for the past few nights. Poor Cashy is such a trooper and it's so much easier when your child can tell what he/she wants. Like he'll say, "mouth hurts", or "I'm sick", and the best part that just melts my heart....after I give him his medicine, (he takes a wheezing medicine bc when he gets sick, it's hard for him to breath), he'll say "Thank you Mom." So cute. He woke up with a puddle of bloody drool on his pillow last night, so sad. He had a fever of 102, but he was a champ. He didn't even cry, he was just up talking loudly, so Travis took him on the couch and then Presley wanted to get up. This happened the night before also. Ahhh...i might as well get used to the sleepless nights.

So, in the next few weeks, there might be a lot of Nick Jr. playing and movie watching in my bed with the twinnies....I feel guilty, but I just don't have the energy. Plus, Travis is busy coaching baseball and he's starting a bunch of houses right now, so he's busy and not getting home until late.

I know...long post, no pics. Boring.

On a side note: Is dinner time with toddlers always the most annoying part of the day? Seriously. They don't eat and throw their food. I think I might loose it! I miss the days when all they had was a bottle....this new baby is going to be a breeze (I hope)!

Recipe Websites.

Cooking for 2 toddlers, who most of the time have totally different tastes, then cooking for myself, who likes to eat healthy, is a very hard task. I try not to cook 2 different meals, however I find myself on many occasions doing so, which is very annoying. Cooking dinner has become quite a daunting task. I ask Travis for suggestions and he doesn't quite get it why it's such a big deal...well, when your a stay at home mom, this is a huge decision to make! (pathetic, i know) So, if I don't want to eat chicken speghetti (Cash's favorite) or chicken tacos (Travis's favorite) every night, I am constantly on the hunt for new dishes to make. Luckily, my blog obsession has brought me to some very helpful websites that I've gotten some great ideas from. I thought I'd share in case anyone else has this problem.....

http://picky-palate.com/ and http://annies-eats.com/

Happy Cooking!

Sweet Presley.

She picked this outfit out herself. She's becoming quite the fashionista. This is her favorite hat. It's mine and she likes to wear it backwards. Whatever works?

Time to get my tan on....

I try to stay out of the sun as I've already seen the affects on my skin. This time of year I begin to be a slave to my self-tanner and my spray tanning sessions. I can't remember the last time I went into a tanning bed and the only time I lay out in the sun is when I am on vacation and I load up on the spf....you still get a tan with spf 50. I still have nightmares of my last day in Cancun (Carrie...probably remembers this...) I left looking like a lobster...blisters and all. The last day of vacation, Carrie and I had facials, then I thought it'd be fun to lay out. Holy f*&%ing sh*&...was I in pain. Not only was I in pain, I was so embarrassed. It was awful. Anyways, I have lots of favorite lotions I use. My most favorite are always from Clarins and luckily I have a BFF that gives me lots (& lots) of free goodies, so recently I got this.....

via Nordstrom

...and it's fabulous! I love it. I put it over my moisturizer and you can apply every other day to maintain a nice little bronze. I also use it on my face and I love it. It doesn't have a bad fragrence and it dries super fast!

Thanks Bichon!

Easter Weekend.

We had a fun filled weekend this Easter. We visited the Easter Bunny at Suncadia on Saturday. Got dressed up.

Tried to get them pose together...which is impossible!

Practicing before the bunny arrived. Presley HATED the bunny, so once again, like the Santa pic, I am in the picture. I think we got a good one.

We had Travis's family over on Saturday for food and egg coloring. The twins stayed up till 10pm playing with cousins. They had so much fun!

Presley, Taylor, Cash and Samarra.

Easter baskets Sunday Morning. We spent the morning with just us. I made a big breakfast and we played and watched movies.

This is the outfit Presley wanted to wear on Easter Sunday. She threw a HUGE tantrum for at least 30 minutes when I changed her into her dress. It was fun!

Quite the fashionista.

Then we went to Travis's parents house for the egg hunt and dinner.

It was so windy and cold, but they loved every minute. This year the twins really got into it.

The little ones after the hunt.

Presley was telling us that the horses were taking a nap. We had to be quiet.

It was so cold.

This is at 6:30pm. After we got home, cleaned them up, they layed in bed to watch the rest of the baseball game with Travis. They were passed out in 5 minutes. This is what happens with no nap. They slept until 7:30am. Easter was exhausting!

After Dinner Fun.

Cash is OBSESSED with baseball. I mean seriously OBSESSED. He plays all day. We had just gotten back from the EHS game and it was faaaaareeezzzzzzzing....hence his poor little wind-chapped cheeks. He takes watching baseball very seriously. He even sets down his cheese stick or licorice to clap. It's the cutest thing ever. Everytime a someone hits, he says, "Hey, he hit. Did you see that?" "He hit far." "He run fast." It's hilarious. Can't wait to take him to Mariner games. He doesn't even need the T-stand to hit. Travis pitches the ball and Cash just smacks it. Hopefully it'll pan out, we've got 3 kids that will be in college at the same time...we need some scholarships.

Naked, a straw hat, a book and a chainsaw....interesting combination w/ a little speghetti on her face.

Presley isn't particularily into sports, she's more of a dancer/singer. As Cash plays baseball, she stands and claps and says, "Go Cashy!" It's so cute how she cheers for him. I love it. Just like her momma. She's super smart, so she'll definately get a academic scholarship!

Dancy Pants.

Presley and Cash love music. Presley sings all the time. Her new favorite....Justin Bieber's, "Baby." She just rocks out to it. I love it.

Almost 35 weeks.

4 weeks....until the baby comes! The belly has gotten a bit bigger in the past few weeks. I seriously don't know how I had twins bc I can't stop complaining and I hardly complained with the twins. I am annoying myself I complain so much.