Life..Love & Logic.

Well I missed last week but I am still determined to blog more often than I did. Life over the last couple weeks has settled a bit but not as much as I would like. I am not sure life with four children would ever calm down to my liking ;p.
Well Bubbo and Baby girl have been sick and they decided to be loving and share with me. Baby girl has been improving from the Serum sickness. I sure wish I had taken pictures it was pretty awful. They gave her a steroid which reduced the swelling almost immediately. The hives have taken a little longer to go away. However the Steroids have their own fun side affects... Like a two year old with Roid Rage! That was super fun. Her nap schedule was blown to smithereens and you would think she was Bi Polar. She wood swing from laughing to screaming to crying all in a mater of seconds. I am happy to say we survived and she is returning to a normal (As normal as two year olds can be) child. Now if we can just get past this cold that is kicking our cans to the curb.
I worry about Bubbo..every time he gets a cold he wins himself and ear infection. I am just holding my breath but I really think one is already started. The Mr. and I talked about it and decided if he got another one within a month he would need to have tubes and it looks like the writing is on the wall :( . It makes me super nervous. My concern is the amount of anti biotics we are pumping into his system in such a short time frame it is ridiculous. I also don't feel it is fair for him to be so miserable all the time. It is a tough decision and one that I have not come to lightly.
Well that has been Life...Now to the Love & the Logic. Two of my favorite words right now. I had the opportunity to attend a Seminar by Jim fay for Love and Logic. It has already had a huge impact on our family. I was so eager to find something that would work for our family. We have toddlers, middle aged child and a pre teen and the mix was not going well. My pre teen, Chica, has already been giving me grey hairs with a power struggle like no other. My three year old Bubba well, lets just say who ever coined the phrase Terrible Twos...had not yet discovered the Tyrannical Threes! Baby girl is rather mellow still but I have noticed her starting to pick up on the others and a need to hold her own. So I immediately put Love & Logic to work. It has only been a week and the Progress has been amazing. It has not been an easy week and I know I have messed up some but It will take some adjusting and a bit of a learning curve. The yelling in our household has almost come to a stop...For me and the Mr. It has stopped. The children are still working things out and testing the perimeters but are getting better. I think it will still take a lot of work and a lot of consistency but our children and our family will be better for it. I WISH I had taken this class years ago. I can't change the past but I can affect our future! I will have to share more of the Love and Logic stories and ideas as our family experiences them. All I can say is start looking into it now..It is truly wonderful.
As for my goals..I am forming more as I go and doing okay. I have been eating healthier, praying more often, reading my scriptures and working out more often. It seems to me life is easier to handle even the hard things seem a little easier. Now the trick is to keep it up. What do I do now???.... I heard a quote and I love it..."Stay calm and carry on"

Resolutions! 2012 came in a bit rocky.

Well now... I have really bombed at this blogging thing thus far. I know that my resolutions are a few days late for the new year but at least I am making them right? One of my number one resolutions this year is to be better at blogging...since this will probably be my form of a journal.. Did I ever mention I don't write in my journal often.? My hope ... MY GOAL...is to write once a week. I am hoping even more. But with four kiddos...well.....we'll see.

There is so much in the past to try and catch up on so for now I am going to start on This month and stay current. This month has enough happening already to take up a couple of blogs and that may be what it takes. The crazy thing is we are only half way in to the month.

It started something like this... Church starts at 9am (Wahoo..I know its going to be crazy fun with four kids) Chica and Boy had just gotten past the stomach flu , which was oh so fun. So with the kiddos being sick I got dressed and made it to 1 hour of church by myself. Which was actually pretty good considering I had been feeling dizzy. Low and behold Monday morning I wake up with what else??? The stinkin' rotten stomach bug. I was sicker than a dog and bowing to the porcelain throne the entire day. Which left the poor Mr. Trying to take care of the kiddos and me by himself. Unfortunately this was not one of the flu's that goes away after 12 hours..The next couple days I barely ate a thing. So finally starting to feel a little better by Tuesday evening I was trying to wrap my dizzy brain around the fact that The Mr. was going to be having surgery for his carpal Tunnel... On both wrists (Eyes bugging out of head at that point) So I was feeling icky and had the two youngest with colds but I said to myself " what the hey, I can do this" (yes I was crazy and should have been committed at this point.

So the next day (Wednesday) I drove the Mr. to his surgery and left the kids with their Uncle. This...well this is an entirely other story so I will save this for another detailed post. It was loads of fun..pretty much like having another "Big" baby (not that he was crying or anything, just needed me to dress him, make him food, pull out chairs, you know the hole nine yards since he didn't have the ability to use either hand)

Thursday baby girl started pulling her ears and saying they hurt. Bubbo was SUPER CRANK, which he usually becomes when he has an ear infection. So I decided it was time to take them to the Dr.s... hahaha...........Fun. Dressed my two small children and then my big boy (The Mr.) and got ready to go to the Dr. Sure enough It was ear infections for the both of them...(matching ears as well, must have been a collaboration) So it was anti-biotic for them and fun for me.

So over the next week we were slowly getting back to some sort of normal. The Mr. still has a lot of healing to do but was being able to function a little more on his own. So he decided to head back to work...it's bound to happen. In some ways it was nice because I didn't have to worry about taking care of him and the younger little ones. Then the latest round of crazy started....

We had gone over to Grandma and Grandpas house on Friday to help them pack and get off to their trip to California....Wanting to see them before they left..not sure it is much help to have four kiddos running around you house while you are trying to pack. Feeling a bit sad wishing we could go to already feeling emotional..which I sometimes can be (shocker right?) we packed up and headed home. Met the Mr. at home from work and started bathing babies (babies is a relative term since my youngest turns 2 this next week) to get them ready for bed. I noticed some red blotchy on baby girls skin...just the smallest little bit. I didn't think much of it and put them in the bath to play. (Chica and I made them bath paints and soap crayons for Christmas) By the time I pulled her out the rash had spread and turned into hives. So I called the Dr. on call (these things always happen on a weekend at night you know!) She said give her benydryl see if it helps and keep an eye on her. We were trying to put together what she might have gotten in to but couldn't figure anything out. I worried a little since we were over helping grandma and Grandpa pack that we weren't as vigilant with her as normal and worried she might have found some medication or something..but she was never really in a room by her self so didn't think it was likely. We finally put together that she has been on penicillin.
So we watched and then after an hour + on the antihistamine things were getting worse...I snatched her up and took her to the Insta-care. That wasn't very helpful. They said "Looks like an allergic reaction , but not likely the penicillin"..... Whew glad I paid a boat load of $$$ for you to tell me she was having a reaction to something and to go home and give her benydryl.. That was totally worth it. So I took her home still feeling that " Something is wrong feeling" the one you get in the pit of your stomach...most mothers know this feeling. Something just wasn't right. So I was changing her diaper and getting her set for bed while I was filling the Mr. in on all the glorious earth breaking information they had given me...when I noticed her knees were swollen, red and hot to the touch. The feeling in the pit of my stomach jumped a few notches. I told the Mr...this is something more. He tried to calm my fears and tell me things were fine, but I know my baby girl and I know she was hurting and something wasn't fine. So I told him how I felt...he told me if I wanted I could take her to the ER. Not wanting to over react I decided to watch and wait. Needless to say she slept...or not so much slept, more tossed and turned in our bed with us that night.
The next morning. it was worse...now her ankle , wrists and hands were swollen and there were more hives. The bad thing was the Mr. Had left for work and I had four kiddos to my self. So I tried to keep it together and called to get her into the Dr. 's office... There was a Dr. on call ..the one I had talked to the night before, that was seeing patients till noon on Saturday morning. So I packed the kiddos up and got them all to the Dr.s office while trying to hold myself together as the fear formed with that pit in my stomach.
So the Dr. looked at her and said she thought she had "Serum Sickness" caused by an elevated allergic reaction to the Amoxicillin, it is pretty unusual and they don't hardly ever see it so she had to "Read up on it" Well not knowing this Dr. very well and knowing she hadn't dealt with this before...didn't help me feel good about the diagnosis. So she said it would take a few days but to keep up on the benydryl and IB-profin to help with pain and hives and she should get better. She said they sometimes treat it with steroids but she wanted to wait it out and see what happened. So I took her home. Feeling a tad bit better but still not feeling right about the entire thing.
When we got home I took her shoes off and set her in her chair to eat. I heard her saying owie so I turned around to see what she why and she was pointing at her feet. I took her socks off and her feet were swollen..the top of her foot looked like it had a half of a golf ball sticking out and her tootsies were twice the normal size. Her hands and wrists had gotten worse as well. ...Then the neurotic mom syndrome kicked in. I was starting to really feel worried. I called the Dr.'s office back to tell her the swelling was getting worse. Then in talking to my mom she suggested calling our allergist...which made complete sense. So I called the Dr. on call for them and waited. In the mean time baby girl was getting worse she couldn't barely walk any more because her feet hurt so bad..she couldn't play with toys because her hands were swollen so she laid on the couch and watched TV..not a normal thing for her.
When the Allergist called me he confirmed he thought it was the Serum sickness but said that I should call the Dr. back and tell her she was getting worse...because he said "If she was compassionate she would start her on steroids" He also informed me that serum sickness can damage the liver but if she turns yellow then it's too late. Now the panic set in. He actually called in a steroid for her to take but I didn't feel good starting her on a steroid unless someone who knew what they were talking about saw her and said she needed to take the meds and that was for sure what was wrong. Not to mention I really wanted to make sure her liver and kidneys were okay. So after talking to my brother...okay sobbing to my brother..who is fantastic for being there for me since hubby was at work and parents were out of town. I called the hubby and told him what was going on and that I thought we should take her Primary Children's ...thankfully he agreed. Honestly I would have taken her any way but it helps to have some one level headed thinking the same thing.
Our incredible home teacher saw me post something on Facebook and contacted my hubby to offer baby girl a blessing.. Which was exactly what we needed but were to frantic to seek out just then. It was perfect. He rushed over just before we were ready to head out the door and blessed Baby girl which also relieved some of my fear and brought me peace. So now that Chica is getting older she has been watching the kiddos for brief periods of time. So we left her with Boy and Bubbo until Grandma could arrive and we whisked baby girl off to Primary's.
Primary Children's was great with her..she cried a lot...she doesn't like being touched, prodded poked, listened too even looked at but she was a champ. They did say the swelling was significant and that they did agree with the Serum sickness even though it is more rare. They also agreed that she should be on steroids. They checked her kidney and Liver functions along with a few other things and said she looked good. So there it was.
We got home and my Mother in Law and my beautiful daughter had surprised us by making dinner and straightening the house. I felt horrible since I had cried and I think scared them but was so grateful that baby girl was going to be okay.
So today (The ER happened yesterday) The swelling is almost gone, The hives are hugely improved and she has perked up a TON. Okay so the steroids might be making her a tad bit Hyper LOL. But she is doing much better and I am so glad they started her on the meds to help her feel better. YES I should win the medal for Neurotic mom of the week...but my baby is on her way to doing better so it is all worth it. :)

Where does the time go

Where does the time go? I woke one morning this June holding a little girl in my arms that was only a few months old. Then in walks my oldest daughter... She has turned 10 today. I look at the baby girl in my arms and my other baby girl standing there before me and for the life of me, I can not figure out how it happened. I blinked. And she is half way to being an adult. I fear I will have to pry my eyes open with toothpicks in fear of blinking again and having her be that grown up.
She is such an amazing girl I keep wanting to call her little but she is not. She is so grown up... and continues to do so.




We celebrated her birthday twice this year, once with family and the other with friends. It was fun. Her friends came and we made flower clips for each of them. It was a perfect easy going birthday party and lots of fun.

Her rock star micro phone cup cakes.

Who knew my child would like cooking? I hope she continues to do so... I missed the boat. I do love to bake but not cook. She already owns more cookbooks than I did when I got married.

It will be interesting to see what the next ten years bring for her.

Who knew it could be so entertaining?

What could be so entertaining you ask? What could bring all three children to this..???
(Okay so mom took advantage of the opportunity with the picture above... it was cute.)

Something that could make the husband do this?

It also made me a very happy person. I have waited a long time. Can you guess what it is?

A FAN in the living room! Yeah. We have had the fan sitting in a box taking up space for about six months. Finally after a long wait and some begging to the hubby on my part... Some warm weather on mothers natures part. He finally installed it. Our family room faces West and gets quite toasty in the summer in the evenings when the sun is getting ready to set. This fan is wonderful it feels so nice. And who knew it could be so entertaining for the kids.

Wonderfully Caotic weekend!

This weekend was as jam packed as they come... but it was wonderful. We had way to many things planned for one weekend, however we didn't have much of a choice. Since the hubby is a weekend warrior..one weekend of every month is taken up. Unfortunately the last few months had been the first weekend of the month.. which is also the weekend we would want to bless our sweet baby girl. This month it happened to be different so we this was the month to bless her. We also decided we wanted to have a garden and in order to do that have to get the garden boxes set up. We attempted last week to get that done but did not get anywhere close. So... this was the weekend for it all.

It started Saturday Morning ... We began with the garden... It just so happened that Joy from Joy in the Garden was at the Local Store near our home so we decided to go meet joy. The kidlets were very excited. Okay so Chica was really excited and the Boy was only somewhat excited. By the time we actually got to meet her Boy was on board too. She signed our books and gave the kids some small talk of encouragement and then we were off to gather the necessary items for a garden. The Mr. had already built the boxes but we needed the soil. Of course in the process of gathering the children came across the baby chics and decided that we needed to have them. We did end up buying chics... however it was not the same they had in mind... the chics we went home with were of the sugary marsh mellow type. Much easier to care for.
Then when we got home my sister , her girl and my mother came over to visit. My sister came to town with her daughter so they could be here for the baby blessing. The girls were all giggly delight. I helped them make some flower clips and they played while the adults talked and played as well. Grandma even made some flower clips and hair bows. It was fun. Oh yes I forgot to mention while all the girls were doing fun crafty things... The hubby was out slaving away putting together the garden and the boxes and building a fence to keep the neighbors two large dogs from messing on our property and prevent them from reaching the garden (which is right up against our house... annoying dogs).
As soon as that was done we were off to my in-laws home for a blessing celebration as well as a birthday celebration. It was nice to get together and spend time with everyone. Then off for home and to bath the kids and get them all ready for the baby blessing the next day. Needless to say I was exhausted.
It was a bit hectic but the blessing went well with out any major hitches. She didn't even cry during the blessing sweet little thing. This, unfortunately is the best we could come up with for a family photo. It is pretty difficult to get four children to cooperate for a photo op.


Her auntie made her the most amazingly beautiful blessing dress. I will post more in a little bit. It was gorgeous!! Thanks to Aunt Emma.
Then off to home when my parents, my sister and her daughter came for dinner and more fun. The girls all got into making more flower clips and hair bows and just had fun being together.
It was a very nice weekend. Not a moments rest but it was quite perfect. Nothing better than doing the things we love with the ones we love. Thanks to all who participated!

Perfection at any given moment....

I saw this posted on Facebook and really enjoyed it.
I have small children... If you come over unannounced there WILL be toys from one end of the house to the other, dishes in the sink, and hell, there might even be food crumbs on the floor...But we WILL be happy, and that's all that matters to us!.
To often (I believe it is even more amplified in LDS women) we get caught up in the desire for perfection. So much so that it causes many woman to go near insane in pursuit. We look at others and see only the side they show, in some cases it may seem perfect but I am almost sure that no one has obtained perfection. So while you may look at their home and see perfection and order where your own feels like ciaos they are experience ciaos in some other portion of their life where we may feel perfection.
We need to stop comparing ourselves and our situations to others and focus on what makes us happy. For me I want a clean house and I try... but I have four children and my idea of clean doesn't coincide with four children. So for now I have a cluttered but fairly clean home. Someday I may obtain my version of clean, however at that point I may wish for the cluttered home and the sound of little children playing happily with toys. So I have to look and say, I love my children their for I can deal with the mess. We are happy. I see as close to perfection at any given moment... it is just perfection in something different than what I may have been looking for.

The Facts Of Life...

At some point it is guaranteed if you have children they will do something that will cause you to go through a few stages of emotions with in a very short time frame.... 1st stage is shock, 2nd stage anger ( Very important to employ all calming skills known at this moment, even better if said child is not home) 3rd frustration, 4th confusion and 5th this one take a bit longer to get too... eventually you will find humor in the situation.
So on Halloween I was doing laundry and even being nice enough to put away my 7 year old boys laundry.... I went with his basket of folded clothing to put them in his dresser when what awaited my was quite shocking.... I reached for his drawer and looked down to see his name so neatly carved across the drawer front not once but multiple times. Lucky for the boy he was at a friends home playing because the anger stage came quite quickly..... I was sure he should be grounded for life. So I called my husband in and sent my daughter to retrieve him from his friends home. For my husband the shock stage lasted much longer than mine. Luckily for my boy by the time he entered the door way the anger stage was phasing to the frustration phase. So with my husband there to help me manage my anger stage we brought him in to talk to him. We started prying for information on what his tool of choice for carving had been... He started out with telling us it was a half of a plastic egg (Somehow mom and dad just didn't buy that and egg was quickly destroyed) Then the realization that mom and dad meant business kicked in and he began to tell his story. His story involved a needle found on the ground at school and brought home. You can imagine the concern I felt of him finding a needle of unknown origin and bringing it home. We pressed further for a description and location of the needle. He then informed us it was red and shaped like a black widow. (We finally figured out he meant like an hour glass) It was a thumb tack. So then The next stage of confusion kicked in... While I was angry and frustrated that he had perpetrated such an act, I was worried that he did not see the danger in picking up a needle or thumbtack and playing with it. Now we were faced with the dilema of how to teach him that he should never pick up sharp objects and never deface his furniture... what punishment fits that type of behavior. The thought of grounding him forever did cross my mind... as did making sure Santa did not bring him any toys this Christmas but give mommy and daddy money instead to replace and or repair the dresser also crossed my mind. When I explained to him that it would take an entire Christmas worth of toys to replace something like a dresser the boy crumpled in tears. So we told him that he would be helping daddy sand and re stain the dresser (Which in his mind is a bit fun so further punishment would be necessary) and that he would have to do things to help pay for the time it took daddy to complete such a project (I also added some time grounded from friends just to drive the point home).
So now that the anger phase is gone I still have a bit of the Frustration phase lingering but I am starting to see the final phase of humor. This is one of those things every parent must go through and one that I will tell stories of for the rest of my life and his.... Crazy boy. I really thought by 7 we would be past this phase... but not so. So perhaps if... no when a situation like this happens to you, remembering this five stage process will help you through... just remember every one with children must pass through this part of life process some mulitple times.