Lesson In Patience, Love, Kindness, & Strength

After an Amazing 5 week vacation with Pops, Yamma, Aunts, Uncles, & Cousins we made it back home only to get sick. We have been very healthy since moving to Colorado with only an occasional cold unlike in Utah when it seemed like one of our kids was always sick, many times really sick. I really do feel blessed for our health but this last week really got to me. 

Things started out with Chloe not feeling well and coughing through the night. As a mom I am always listening during the night but even more so when I know my kids are not feeling well. The sleep deprivation begins. Next Zander starts the cough. During the day their coughs are not as bad but once night comes I am doing all I can to try and keep them comfortable. At this point I have been trying Vick's, the nebulizer, steamy bathrooms, patting their backs, & sitting up with them during the night to lesson the coughs. Six days into it I had posted on Face book for any other ideas that might help. One of my Sweet friends brought over some essential oils to try along with a diffuser, at this point I was willing to try anything because I was getting really tired. 

Day  9 came and Parker started throwing up, Chloe was feeling a bit better, Zander was getting worse but I didn't have that feeling of needing to go to the doctor. The night before Tyson was complaining of his ear hurting so I put a compress on and hoped it would feel better. When he woke up he said it did. After he had been playing outside he came in saying his eye hurt and as soon as I saw him I just knew it was pink eye, ughhhhhhhh. Luckily we still had the eye drops needed and I started them right away. I needed to get out of the house and since Chloe was feeling better we went on a bike ride and it was definitely needed. Side note, Chloe rode her bike 3 miles and was AMAZING! 

As day 10 came Chloe was feeling much better and I only remember her coughing once during the night. Tyson and Zander on the other hand coughing all night long each with their own specific cough. I remember going in to their rooms several times to put more oils on and with Zander I continued to hold him upright much of the night. As I was talking on the phone about the situation feeling completely wiped out and delirious I figured out I had really only had 12 hours of sleep during the last 10 days. Yes I had drifted off while holding zander on the couch or next to me on the bed but I would not say I was really sleeping. 

As I went to bed Friday night, day 10, I laid in bed listening to my boys coughing and wanting to cry but not being able to because of how tired I was. I started really getting down on myself for the situation I was in. I kept thinking why me and a little pity party in my brain began. I kept thinking to myself that I had done & am currently doing everything that I know how to do besides going to the doctor which I still didn't feel like it was needed. After about 10 minutes of this inner voice I realized that yes my kids were sick, yes I was extremely tired, yes I was quickly loosing patience with my kids and myself but in the long run this is just a short period of time. I then asked my Heavenly Father for help and I instantly started remembering my blessings. I wish I would have written this that night but I will do my best to put down all that came to mind.

I am grateful to not have children with chronic health conditions. We have a home, 2 cars, bikes if we needed to use them for transportation & tubes for our bikes if needed. Steve has a great job that provides for our family and allows me to stay home with our wonderful kids. I have a husband that is also putting in several hours every day going to school to better our family. We have everything that we need plus sometimes a little extra. We have great friends which is so important when living away from family. We have amazing family to rely on. Most of all I have a strong testiomony of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Having faith in my Heavenly Father and his son Jesus Christ has helped me through so many situations in life and will continue to help me as long as I ask. 

As I am typing, it is early morning day 13 and I have stopped 3 times to take care of my sweet kids I just keep thinking that this is my calling in life right now & I am lucky to have it. I am here to take care of my children in any way that I can. If I need extra strength I can rely on my Heavenly Father and He will give it to me. I am so grateful to have 4 wonderful sweet kids that are true gifts from God. I am blessed to have prayers answered when I need them, answered prayers are such sweet mercies and I'm not sure what I would do without them

I Love being a mom and would not trade it for all the lost sleep in the world. As I go about the next days while my kids are getting better I pray for patience, love, kindness, & strength to continue do what is needed for them. 
. 

My Amazing Faithful Boy

I am so blessed to have such amazing kids and tonight I was shown that again. Tyson woke up not feeling well this morning having pain in a certain area. After a few hours of the pain not going away I decided to take him to Primary Children's. Once there the doctors came to examine him which caused a lot of pain. It is so hard to see my kids in pain and yet I am so glad that I can be with them to try and lessen it the best I can. After they had finished the exam it was determined he would need an ultrasound which got him very scared and upset.

As we were waiting to have him taken to ultrasound Tyson asked me to say a prayer, so I humbly did as my sweet son asked. Tyson cried the entire way to ultrasound and then became combative and crying out of control because he was so scared and did not want to be touched again. The nurse had to give him medication to calm him down so that the procedure could be complete.

 

Once we were back at the room Tyson was pretty loopy and a commercial came on about hero's. After the commercial was over he said "mom, do you know who my hero is?" I said no and that is when he pointed up. I waited for a minute and he said, "Heavenly Father is my hero." He then went on to tell me that he helped take the pain away without

needing to have surgery. Before I could say anything he folded his arms and said the sweetest little prayer. He thanked his Heavenly Father for taking the pain away and said

that he hoped he didn't have to come here again but if he did he

 knew that his pain would be taken away again.

 

I am simply amazed at the strength my 7-year-old boy can have and also that he knows

Heavenly Father is there for him whenever he needs him.

Tyson is such a great example to me and I am so grateful that I am his mother. 

Mommy Moment

This morning I was apparently really tired when Tyson came in to my room because this was our conversation.

I remember Tyson saying mom and touching my shoulder like he does every morning, but usually around 6am. I immediately thought to myself Steve should have left for work 15 minutes ago, I looked at Tyson in a panic saying why haven't you left for work? I went on to say you are going to be late & I believe I apologized to him (Tyson) for not hearing his alarm. At that point I noticed Tyson Just staring at me like I was some crazy person, which I have to admit, I was. I then realized it was Tyson and he just started to laugh which then made me laugh. Tyson goes on to say, "mom, I think you are really tired."

I love being a mom but it can be a bit exhausting some days!

Blessings

Yesterday I was on my way to a doctor appointment alone which, as a mom doesn’t happen very often. As I was driving in silence a wonderful thought was brought to mind and I feel very strongly that I needed to write this down for my kids and anyone else that it might help.

During the course of starting a family Steve and I have lost 6 babies. We lost 2 before having Tyson, 2 before Parker, & 2 before Chloe. All but 1 of these miscarriages and 1 demise were during the second trimester up to 20 weeks. I of course had my struggles with the fact that my body was not able to carry these babies full term but I was always given the strength from my Heavenly Father that I would be okay and that I would be reunited with these precious children again.

All of our kids have been delivered by c-section and after Chloe was born my doctor felt that my body would still be strong enough to carry another child without bringing harm to myself or the baby. Well when Steve and I decided to add to our family again we just had planned on having 2 miscarriages because that seemed to be the pattern. When I found out I was pregnant Steve and I kept it to ourselves and then told family so they could keep us in their prayers. I had been praying during the first part of that pregnancy that I would not start showing until we could find out what we were having. I felt that I would be more comfortable letting people know that we were pregnant after that 20 week mark. My prayers were answered, It was time to go to the ultrasound and we gave the kids quite the surprise, they were having a baby brother. That ultrasound was on December 20th 2011, by Christmas I had gone from not showing to full on pregnant.

The day after Christmas Steve and I were in a car accident that totaled our car. I was admitted to the hospital overnight to monitor the baby and again we were blessed with a continued healthy pregnancy.

I did have a few minor day stays and 1 other overnight stay in the hospital for monitoring and then on April 24th Zander came into our lives. After he had been delivered my doctor let me know that she felt it was in my best interest to have my tubes tied because my uterus was so thin. I had been praying for several months that if that was the feeling of my doctor that I would be able to feel comforted that it was the right decision. I was so grateful to feel, again, the love of my Heavenly Father in that moment of decision that it was okay and it needed to be done to keep me safe and healthy for myself and my family.

Now for the thought that came to mind yesterday. I strongly feel that if I was to have had 1 or 2 more miscarriages that it could have thinned out my uterus which could have been very detrimental with the birth of Zander. I know that Heavenly Father is watching over us every minute of every day and I feel so blessed to have 4 beautiful kids here on earth and 6 more waiting in Heaven. I am so thankful to be a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and that I have a testimony of eternal life and forever families.

One Crazy Day!

Most of our days are crazy but for some reason today just seemed more so than normal. It started with waking up around a normal  time for us which is 5:30 AM and me telling Tyson to turn on cartoons while I am still passed out on the recliner with Chloe, who decided she didn’t want to sleep very much last night. Then Parker comes up and climbs on the chair with us to cuddle for a bit.

6:00 AM – I want to ride my bike, me too, me too!

6:30 AM—(Boys almost in unison) Mom we want breakfast, (Me) I am not moving until Chloe wakes up (I will admit that was more for me than Chloe because lets face it I was still super tired.) I jinxed myself because guess who woke up 5 minutes later……yep, Chloe.

Pancakes for breakfast, but not just any pancakes, Pixy Stix Pancakes. This is a concoction created by Tyson this morning. So I poured the pancake mix on the griddle and the boys chose the flavor they wanted and then sprinkled it on the batter before flipping it over. The pancakes looked really fun and festive and I wish I would have taken a picture, but, I didn’t. They were a hit!

Push Parker on the swing.

Next on the list, never-ending laundry. I don’t believe there will ever be a time when the laundry is completely done, if there is a secret to completing laundry I would love to know it. Chloe is all over the place and has now figured out that she can pull folded laundry off the couch. As I am heading up to the kitchen I see Parker with the Syrup bottle, cap off, at his mouth with a look of, what Mom. Yes Parker had taken the bottle of SYRUP that was on the table from breakfast and was DRINKING it. The first thought that came to me was from the movie ELF.

“Do you like syrup”

“Is there sugar in Syrup?”

“Yes”

“Well then YEEEEES”

The bottle after breakfast was still at the top of the label and now, well just take a look.

At least it is light. This was not the end of the syrup for the day. A little later the boys decided to get the syrup out of the cupboard and pour it on the rice crispy treats that were on the counter and then sprinkle Pixy Stix on top of that. Tyson comes down so proud of his “recipe” telling me all about his 3 ingredients; Rice Crispy Treats, Syrup, & Sprinkles. Not something I wanted to try, and talk about a STICKY MESS!

Throw away poopy underwear…YUUUUUUUUUUCK...Love potty training. I guess he was to involved in the Syrup Concoction.

Push Parker on his Swing. I love to do this and really should do it more often because he will just talk to me about his day and it is wonderful.

11:30 Lunch Time—Mac-n-Cheese with hotdogs today. As I am preparing this gourmet meal I am constantly asking, then telling, then raising my voice telling Parker to stop stuffing cheerios in Chloe’s mouth. Lunch, done.

Change Laundry

12:15 Kindergarten Assessment—Tyson was so excited to go to his new school and tell the Teacher everything that he knows. It is so crazy to think that our little guy is going to Kindergarten in the Fall. We are definitely headed into a new chapter of life and I am really excited to see what lies ahead. When we get to the school he wanted to have his picture taken and then Parker had to have a picture with his brother like always.

It was so fun to see Tyson sitting in the hallway with a huge smile on his face just waiting for the teacher to come out and call his name. When he came back he had a present from the 6th graders, which included an ABC book that was written by a 6th grader and a kindergartner along with another book about crayons. He did great and just has a few letters to work on. He was also really excited to find out the school mascot is a Rattlesnake.

Change Laundry

Put Chloe down for a nap, cuddle with Parker for a few minutes before Chloe wakes up 15 minutes later (queen of cat naps lately.)

3:00 --- Practice T-Ball with Tyson, then little brother wants to hit the balls as well, move Chloe away from the flowers because she loves to eat dirt. continue to play with the boys and pick Chloe up again from the flower box. I think she has consumed more dirt in the last few days then both of my boys combined.

Change Laundry

Push Parker on the Swing.

4:30 -- Feed Chloe and head out to the Ball Fields. The boys wanted to go early today so that they could play before his game at 6:00. Tyson is loving T-Ball and was so excited to be able to play tonight. Due to all the rain this year his little team has had more rain-outs than games played. All day long Tyson kept hoping that the rain would stay away so that he could play his game, his wish came true. Tyson Loves his sunglasses!

During the game Parker had to go pee twice so we made the mad dash to the bushes that are about a football field away. The bathrooms are much further so, yes I am the mom that lets her kids go pee outside if needed (to a certain age of course.)After the game the kids get a ticket that they can take to the snack shack. This is what the snack shack looks like after every game. Tyson #4 was at the back of the pack today.

After the game the kids play for a little bit longer at the playground,Chloe was done.

Once we got home it was time to call Dad on the computer (SKYPE.) This has been a great tool for us to use while Steve has been working in Denver for the past 5 weeks. Almost every night we have been able to get on the computer to tell him about our day.

8:15 PM – Bedtime for us can sometimes be easy and used to mean kids were in bed by 7:30 sometimes 8:00. Lately with it being light so late I am having lots of complaining about going to bed and usually end up getting down to beds between 8:30 & 9:00 not good.

Tonight we read books and then headed down to read scriptures. Happy to say we are currently in 1st Nephi chapter 13 verse 7. This is after reading almost every night since Christmas, we are rocking and should be done with the Book Of Mormon in the next few years!!!! We read 2-3 verses a night before the boys are done.

I then tuck the boys in and sit next to the bottom bunk to feed Chloe. Tyson remembers after getting in bed that he needs to go to the bathroom. As I am sitting in their room I hear the toilet seat slam down and then Tyson whimpering, then crying. As he walks in the room I ask him what happened and the answer he gave me is not what I was expecting. I hurt my head. How did you hurt your head? The seat fell on it. As I try not to laugh I ask how the toilet seat hit his head. “Well Mom(still crying), I have to have my head looking down to make sure my pee is in the toilet.” What was I thinking. After holding him next to me for a minute he gets in bed.

As I was holding Chloe in the glider I was able to hold Parker’s hand as he fell asleep. Tyson was up on his bed having a conversation between iron man and blue bear until all of sudden the conversation stopped and he had fallen asleep. I normally would have quickly left the room, but tonight decided to just sit and enjoy the quiet with my 3 beautiful children. I love them so much and as I have said many time before feel so blessed to have them in my life.

GOODNIGHT!

Humbling Mommy Moment

I have decided that after my trip to the grocery store today with the kids, I will try very hard not to load up my kids during a snow storm to go shopping. As I think back,that is what probably got the shopping experience off to a bad start to begin with, Note To Self!

As we start into the store it is snowing and of course my boys think it is Awesome! Parker doesn’t want to hold Tyson’s hand and that makes Tyson upset. I am carrying Chloe trying to keep her covered and wishing I would have made her a car seat cover (I think that every time I am wanting her covered, but I probably still won’t get around to it.) Puddles galore in the Wal-mart parking lot that need an almost 3-year-old to splash in, which in turn gets me wet. And it gets better from here!

Now we have entered the store……………………………… “Parker please stop, Parker please come back here, Parker hold onto the cart and don’t let go(notice no please).” Every once in awhile it would be, “Tyson please come back here.” As we are going along I needed to have a picture of Parkers head for the Birthday Cake I am making for him. As we are standing at the picture kiosk I had just started and Parker says he needs to go pee, “I need you to wait, can you do that?” “Yes mom,” he replies. I am almost finished and all of a sudden I hear, in a really loud voice, “I need to POO!” Yes people did turn and look it was that loud. Instead of stopping what I was doing I finished up and about 3 minutes later took him to the bathroom. While sitting on the toilet Parker says, “See mom, I told you I had to poo. That was a close one.” It would have served me right if he would have had an accident.

Next we are off to get the rest of the groceries and I was constantly going back and forth on the isles because I was so concentrated on getting after my kids that kept running off that I would forget something. By the time we were in line it had taken about 45 minutes longer than it should have, but that’s how it goes sometimes. As The very nice Lady continues to ring up my stuff I look up and see my boys at the ATM pulling out all the envelopes and trying to put them into the machine. I think the sweet Grandma could see my frustration because she said, “you sure have some cute kids, just remember tomorrow is another day. I am sure they are just restless with the weather and want to be playing outside.” “Thanks, I’m sure you’re right.”

Here comes the humbling part. Now as I am trying to get them all loaded into the van it is still snowing and puddles are being splashed in again because, lets face it, puddles are fun to splash. I can feel myself just getting so frustrated wanting to be out of the snow. I take Parker out of the drivers seat because he wouldn't move on his own, put him in his seat and while buckling him I said, “I am not a happy momma right now!” As I look up I see Tyson with such a sad face, and right then knew that I should have held my tongue. Now I should have apologized right then but I didn’t. I finished loading the van with all the groceries, got in, buckled up and just sat for a minute. I looked back at both of my boys and said, “I should not have said that I am not a happy mom. I am a really Happy Mom and I love you so so much, you kids make me so happy everyday!!!” The change in Tyson’s face was the only thing that mattered at that moment. Then he says, “It’s ok mom, I’m sorry too. You are the bestest mom that I ever have had, I love you all the way around my back and the whole world.”

I know that it’s ok to have what I call “humbling mommy moments” because I always learn from them and that is what we are on this earth to do, Learn & Grow. Elder Lynn G. Robbins gave a wonderful Talk in the Sunday Afternoon Session of Conference and I keep thinking of the 2 specific points below.

“We will never have a greater opportunity to teach and show Christlike attributes to our children than in the way we discipline them. Discipline comes from the same root word as disciple and implies patience and teaching on our part. It should not be done in anger. We can and should discipline the way that Doctrine and Covenants 121 teaches us: “by persuasion, by long-suffering, by gentleness and meekness, and by love unfeigned; by kindness and pure knowledge” (verses 41–42). These are all Christlike be’s that should be a part of who we, as parents and disciples of Christ, are.

A sweet and obedient child will enroll a father or mother only in Parenting 101. If you are blessed with a child who tests your patience to the nth degree, you will be enrolled in Parenting 505. Rather than wonder what you might have done wrong in the premortal life to be so deserving, you might consider the more challenging child a blessing and opportunity to become more godlike yourself. With which child will your patience, long-suffering, and other Christlike virtues most likely be tested, developed, and refined? Could it be possible that you need this child as much as this child needs you?”

The other talk that really caught me (while wrestling happy, loud, laughing kids) was by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland. I loved what he said here.

“So if you are trying to do the best you can—if, for example, you keep trying to hold family home evening in spite of the bedlam that sometimes reigns in a houseful of little bedlamites—then give yourself high marks and, when we come to that subject, listen for another which addresses a topic where you may be lacking. If we teach by the Spirit and you listen by the Spirit, some one of us will touch on your circumstance, sending a personal prophetic epistle just to you.”

I love the gospel and I am grateful for all of my Humbling Mommy Moments that help me become a better person and closer to my Heavenly Father.

These are some of my Favorite Pictures!

Little Pink Tights

As I was folding laundry tonight I came across some little pink tights and it made me stop and think about how blessed we are to have this amazing little girl! When I went in for the ultrasound Steve and I were first told we would be having a boy. After the technician continued we were then told girl then boy and it continued back and forth. We were finally given an 80% chance after 2 techs took a look that we were having a boy. I was pretty sure that we would be seeing a little guy in a few months but, just incase, I made bedding for a little girl and had a little outfit ready. Needless to say we were happily surprised when the Doctor told us that we now have a little girl! Chloe is a Joy that is always putting a smile on my face and everyone around her.
During this last pregnancy people would always say. “are you hoping for a girl?” My reply was always the same, “I just want a healthy baby.” Steve and I have had some trials when it comes to bringing these amazing little babies into the world. We have had 5 miscarriages and 1 fetal demise. Out of those pregnancies we know that 3 of our kids waiting for us with Heavenly Father are little boys, and it wouldn’t surprise us in the least if the other 3 were boys as well.  I have learned so much from each of these experiences and have grown that much closer to my Father in Heaven. I have been asked in the past how I am able to recover mentally & spiritually after losing a child and my answer is this, I feel that Heavenly Father knows who I am and knows what I can handle as a person and as his daughter. I know that he will not give me trials that I am not able to handle. I think this answer shocks people but it really is true. Even though losing a child is extremely heart breaking and does take so much out of me, I have come to the conclusion that these little babies are so spiritually strong that they just needed to come to this earth even for just the short few months I carried them. I look forward to the day I will get to hold them and love them as they are, a part of my Eternal Family.
The opportunity to be an Eternal Family is such an amazing gift from our Father in Heaven. I am so grateful to be a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and to have knowledge of The Plan of Salvation. I love my family so much and am excited for all the adventures we have ahead of us.

Sunday Nap..........Not Gonna Happen

Sometimes, all I really would like is a nice Sunday Nap. Today is one of those days and it is not happening.
It is not to often that my oldest takes a nap but today he is. One would think this is the perfect senario for a good nap, right, wrong.

While Tyson is sound asleep Parker will not stop coming up the stairs, which in turn keeps waking up Chloe. I have even tried having him lay with me, not working like it should. As it is, if the kids are not asleep, mommy can not be asleep.

Maybe next Sunday will be the day! Conference Sunday right, just kidding (kind of)

Three GREAT reasons worth not having a Sunday Nap.

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Secret Passageway

I just love my 2 MISCHIEVIOUS Boys!!!

The other day I was in the house folding the never ending pile of laundry while my boys were playing out in the FENCED backyard. The doorbell rings and as I am getting closer I hear lots of giggling that sounds all to familiar. When I open the door, I find 2 little boys with huge smiles on their faces and hear a big, “Hi Mom!” “How did you get to the front door,” I asked.

“Through the SECRET PASSAGEWAY,” Tyson says.

When He said that, I thought he meant the pet door in the garage, so I asked him to show me. They were both super excited to show me, “The Secret Passageway,” laughing as they run through the house to the back yard.

As I watch them run to the back side of our yard I notice the fence slats looking crooked and then it happens, both boys start to climb through the fence. I pulled out my phone and got a pretty good picture of them going through, “The Secret Passageway.”

I don’t know about anyone else, but I was unaware that the slats could be pulled out like that, apparently I am a little naive when it comes to fences. Sometimes my guys are a little to smart for their own good. I still am trying to figure out how the thought of, I wonder if we can move the fence apart, even crossed their little minds.

Needless to say, they think their discovery is just the greatest thing ever and still had not stopped laughing. I was trying to keep a straight face while explaining to them why it is important not to use, “The Secret Passageway,”again. I think I got through to them but only time will tell.

FYI ----- The fence slats do go right back into place.

I think I will blame my DAD for their Mischievousness!!!! Love you Dad!

Patience Truly is a VIRTUE

I have always thought of myself as a patient person in all aspects of my life, but I am truly grateful when Heavenly Father takes the time to humble me when I am not remembering how important patience is, especially, as a Mom.

This situation has come up on other occasions when I guess you might say that I get consumed in other things and last night it was getting the kitchen clean. We were going through our regular routine at bedtime, PJ’s, reading, scriptures, prayer and then off to bed. Tyson fell asleep really fast and Parker was told to stay in his bed. I believe Parker came up 3 times because he needed to “go the the bathroom.” The first time was legit but the next two he was forcing himself to go. So I preceded to tuck him in again and said “Parker you need to stay in bed or I will have to take a token away for tomorrow.” “Otay, mom,” he tells me.

As I start cleaning the kitchen again I hear little footsteps, “Mom I need you to hold me.” I dry my hands pick him and carry him down stairs, rock him for a few minutes, tuck him in and tell him that I will come back down to check on him. Again I hear, “otay mommy.”

I once again preceded to clean the kitchen, (irritated because it is taking so long) and after about 20 min I remembered that I was going to check on Parker. Now, I should have gone down right then but I took about 5 more minutes to finish what I was dong. When I went down to his room expecting him to be asleep I find my sweet little Parker laying in bed like I told him to, wide eyed but looking so sad. I asked him why he was not able to go to sleep and this is his reply,

“I just want you to hold me Mom.” My heart pretty much sunk, as thought to myself how many times he has already asked me to hold him. I apologized to him for not taking time to hold him and he of course said “it’s otay mommy, I love you.”

After holding him in the rocking chair he asked if I would lay by him. I laid down next to him and stroked his hair and he fell soundly asleep.

Wow, I felt like an awful mother at that moment but at the same time I am so grateful for humility and that I have the opportunity to learn and grow everyday. I hope that I will remember next time that whatever it is I might be doing or trying to get done, it is not nearly as important as my precious children that I have been entrusted with or my wonderful husband who I love so much.

My Sweet Parker

Spilt Milk

So I am sure many moms will relate to this, SPILT MILK.

As a nursing mom I love knowing that I am providing my babies with so many nutrients and antibodies that will help them for the rest of their lives. I am grateful that my body is able to produce the nourishment that my babies need and feel that it is a great blessing.

Tonight I was needing to pump because I was working and my sweet brother and sister-in-law took the kids because Steve was working also. I finished pumping and had to clock back into work before I could take the bag of milk to the freezer. Once I was able to take it downstairs I noticed that the bag my milk was in had a hole and I had lost about 2 oz! To me that is so frustrating but it brought back to mind a funny story, now, but when it happened I was so upset, sad, frustrated, and felt like a bad mother. So here is my first story of being a nursing mom.

Tyson was just over a week old and was home but he had to stay in a suitcase of lights because his bilirubin was off balance. Now, keep in mind that while needing to be under the lights the only time we were supposed to take him out was to feed him and change his diaper.
That night there was a big storm and our power went out, which means, we could not have him under his lights. We drive to my Sister-in-laws home so that we can plug the lights back in. During this time I was also really sick and Tyson was not nursing well. I had become so full, I was crying, along with not being at home, worrying about my baby because he was not under the lights for about 30 minutes(which really wouldn't have made a difference in hind sight), basically I was having a meltdown of sorts. Steve does not remember any of this by the way(blocked from memory).
My Sister-in-law remembers that she had kept a manual pump, so I remember trying for what seemed like forever to pump and all I remember getting was about 2 oz. Even with that I did feel some relief. As I stand up to go into the kitchen I knocked over the bottle of my precious milk and it was all over the floor. At that point I just started to cry. I am not sure what Steve was thinking, but he headed to Wal-mart to buy an electric pump, and probably to escape his crazy wife that was crying because 2 oz of milk spilled, and thinking that I was hurting Tyson because he has been shorted a few ounces of milk (I put it to being a new mom, not crazy). Once I was able to hook up to my brand new electric double pump, I felt so much better, although I felt like a cow that was being milked. I have decided that sometimes dignity goes right out the window when you are a Mom.

Now that it is almost 6 years later I am happy to say that Tyson is a healthy, active boy that doesn't seem to be affected by the few ounces that were missed that Crazy, Stormy Night!!

I love being a Mom, and I am glad that I have the ability to look back on events that have
happened and can laugh and enjoy the journey that I am on!

Being Mom

As I am rocking my baby to sleep tonight I look down at my pants to find, boogers, I think food of some kind, and throw up from cleaning up my little guy less than an hour ago. As I take time to think of all the crazy things that go on during a 24 hour period all I can do is smile and giggle a bit. There have been many times I have wanted to cry, scream, lock myself in a room, or SLEEP ( I have done these on occasion ) but overall I would never want to change anything about being a Mom.

Being a mother is the greatest Blessing and Calling that we can receive from our Father in Heaven. I feel so honored that I have been entrusted with teaching, guiding, and loving these three precious kids of mine.

I am grateful for the gospel in my life and for the opportunity to be an eternal family.

I Love being a MOM!!

Love This Quote

This is a wonderful portion of a quote that I feel represents me and I am guessing (hoping) other moms as well, if not Kudos to you.

I am just a regular girl.
A wife who loves her husband, but doesn’t always show it.
A mom who adores her babies, but runs out of patience.
A woman that starts projects then doesn't have the time to finish them.
A person so energized by being creative, but not without dry spells.
I am a homemaker who would rather rearrange furniture than dust it.
A mom that loves to cook, but has a hard time planing out meals.

I changed parts of it so it pertained to my thoughts as a mom and wife more.

Chloe's Blessing

Our sweet Chloe was blessed on November 7th 2010.

I am so grateful that Steve was able to perform her blessing. We love our family
so much and are grateful they were able to take part in Her special day. I am so blessed to be a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. It is a great feeling
to know that if I continue to keep the commandments and strive to be the best wife and
mother that I can be, I will be able to spend eternity with my beautiful Family. I am grateful for the opportunity I was given to grow up in a great family with wonderful parents that taught me the importance of the gospel.

I am grateful for the opportunities that I have already had with my children and
look forward to all of the wonderful times ahead.

I love you Steve, Tyson, Parker, & Chloe

Oh The Pain

The day after arriving home from the hospital I realized how important it is to continue with pain pills when a DOCTOR has prescribed them for you.

I had already been having more pain than what I remembered with my last 2 c-sections and was being told over and over by hospital staff that it is normal because the recovery does get harder each c-section. Well, I am sure that is true but I just kept thinking to myself that something is wrong. Normally before leaving the hospital the staples will be taken out but I was told they couldn't because I was quite swollen and that would risk having the incision open up. When I asked the doctor if that is normal He(not my doctor) said that it is very normal to have some swelling and to just have my Dr. remove them on Tuesday. What do you say but, OK. My blood pressure was also quite high but not over 140 so it wasn't a concern at the time.

When I left the hospital my maternity clothes were so tight that i had marks in my skin, very uncomfortable. I decided to weigh myself and found myself weighing 7 pounds more than when I went into the hospital to have Chloe. If you do the math, like I did, I should have at least weighed 7-12 pounds less after the c-section.

We arrived home and after resting for awhile I decided to take a walk around our circle which, with my past c-sections I was already doing a lot of walking so I figured I would be fine. Then our neighbors bought ice cream for the kids in our cult-a-sac so we walked across the road and visited with them for awhile as well. By now I was really tired and walked back home to rest.
Before going to bed I took my prescribed pain pills and then thinking I should start weening myself from them (only 3 days later) took my next one 8 hours later when I was told to take them every 4 hours. I was in a major amount of pain so much that Steve called our neighbor over that is a nurse to take a look at me. It took both of them to get me on to the couch and even then it felt like my insides were tearing apart. I was basically told to rest and make sure I take my pain medication every 4 hours WITHOUT exception. Then our sweet neighbor took both of our boys to her home so that I could try and relax and get some rest. I was also told that I am trying to do to much and to basically Knock It Off! Hard for me to do but I promised I would relax.

My sweet husband keeps telling me that I am a Super Mom but I don't have to be Invincible Mom.

10 Days To Go & Pink Eye Hits

I have decided that the hardest part of being a mom is seeing your kids sick. My poor boys have had a rough go at it this past year it seems like. We have had so many colds, fevers, and other sicknesses in our house I just don't get it. The current situation is Pink Eye, which of course is super contagious. Tyson currently has it and I am guessing Parker is not far behind. I am really hoping that it does not hit Steve or myself since, in 10 days we have our little mystery baby arriving.

After getting the medicine for Tyson we started home and we were talking about how he needed to be good and let me put the drops in his eyes so that he could get better. A few minutes later Tyson says to me, "Mom, when we get home I need to bless Jesus to help me to be brave and have my medicine." It makes me so happy to know that my little Tyson understands that he can ask for help from Heavenly Father when he needs it. I love listening to his prayers because he does what we all should be doing and that is just talking with Heavenly Father about everything he has done during the day, as well as thanking him, what a great example he is to me.

Big Brother

Tonight Tyson did the sweetest big brother act I have ever seen him do. For the longest time the boys and I have had a bedtime routine of reading upstairs, going down to bed, reading scriptures, saying prayers, and then I would lay next to Parker on the bottom bunk and with Tyson up on the top I would sing songs until they would fall asleep. Now sometimes it would take 10 minutes but other times up to 45 minutes. With our new addition coming soon Steve and I have decided that the boys need to be able to fall asleep on their own. Now, we still have our same routine except that I am only singing about 5 songs and then leave the room. Steve figured out that they fall asleep better if we leave the light on and I must say it is getting better every night.

Tonight when I left the room I could hear Parker making all kinds of noises and then Tyson crying really hard. I go into the room and Tyson says to me, "Parker is going to turn off the light." Parker and I have a chat and I leave the room, again I continue to listen and watch through the cracked door. Tyson tells Parker that he needs to stay on his bed and be quiet but of course Parker being Parker keeps it up. I see Tyson climb down, lay next to Parker and say, "OK Parker now you can go to sleep because I am sleeping by you."

That was just the sweetest thing that I have ever seen Tyson do as a big brother and it made me so proud to be his mom! I am so grateful for my beautiful family and thank my Heavenly Father every day for giving me such wonderful gifts.

Thanks Mom

While unpacking from an overnight at Yamma's (my moms) I found a quote that she had placed with my things and I love it so much that I would like to share it with you.

"You need never be discouraged or afraid. The way through difficulties has always been prepared for you and you will find it if you exercise faith."

Henry B. Eyring