Todays Updates....

I myself am feeling MUCH better. Tomorrow should be back to normal. Poor Payton is doing worse....she's on nap number 2 today on the floor right next to me-we'll see if she goes to bed tonight!

It was a good day to feel better to make the following not so great news easier to take! I had my OB appt. today and my blood pressure was still high. It's been high up and down my entire pregnancy. They've tested my thyroid, my liver, toxemia, you name it. And so far, we haven't found a "reason". But today he decided it was time to get me on some blood pressure medication. I didn't fully understand everything he told me, but it has to do with the effect my blood pressure has on the placenta. SO, a pill three times a day-not so bad. It will however make me weak and drowsy for 2-3 days until my body gets used to it. (there goes driving to CA this weekend) But my least favorite part is that along with the meds, I have to do a weekly non-stress test. I know I've heard of this before, but can't think of anyone who's had them done to ask what all it entails?? He told me to plan on the hospital visit(yeah, I have to go to the triage unit) every week to last about an hour and a half. That's on TOP of my 45+mins I need to spend at my normal visit each week. In the end, it didn't sound like anything I need to worry about (I could be naive thinking that?!?) It just seems more preventative. SO, don't worry-I'm sure everything will be fine. If anything, maybe it'll give him a reason to induce me a week early!

Little Cutie...

Well Brian was sick most of the past week, and Monday morning it had passed onto Payton and I. Payton got the high fever mostly, and I got the cold and painful body/headaches.... She is a cute little sick kid. I walked in when she was eating breakfast on Tuesday and she was just laying on the counter all relaxed. She didn't want to eat, so Dad gave her a popcicle and she was then in Heaven.

We both seem like we're at the end of it...which is good considering Brian has had it 5 days longer than us, and seems like he's just now getting over it also!

Also, when putting these pictures on my computer I had to make an April file! Which means they are the first pics I've taken in April!! And it's the 23! This month has flown by faster than any other month for me this year! And I bet May will go even faster and this baby will be here before we know it! 6 weeks from today-but cross your fingers for me that my Doctor will turn it into 5 weeks!

Kids got Tagged by their cousins....

Tanner
1) Tanner loves to read, and he is also very good at it.
2) Tanner loves to ride his bike and play outside.
3) Tanner loves to play the computer, and his favorite is the mind benders in a game called Chuzzle.
4) Tanner has always been a huge lover of chocolate milk
5) Tanner loves the color blue (begs to always eat on blue plate, with blue cup, etc...)

Kamryn
1) Kamryn loves to be with or by mom at all times.
2) Kamryn loves food. She wants something different for breakfast and lunch everyday. (unlike my other two creatures of habit who eat the same cereal day after day for weeks-and pb & J daily!)
3) Kamryn loves to have her back scratched, legs/arms rubbed....you name it!
4) Kamryn loves to sing, and loves to watch teenie bopper shows on Disney (she never was a TV watcher when it came to any sort of cartoon)
5) Kamryn loves attention. If you want a happy Kammy (as we call it), you better make her feel special somehow!

Payton
1) Payton LOVES her DAD! She calls him "best friend". This is new to us and we are loving it!
2) Payton also loves her sister so much. She'll copy her every move and calls her, "my sissy"
3) Payton loves being a big girl. She seems beyond her years mentally and loves any opportunity to do what the big kids can do.
4) Payton also loves Uncle George. He's been gone in Utah for months, and she still asks for him every other day. He got home from his mission as a stranger and she went right to him.
5) Payton loves Marshmallow Mateys. I'm not sure what she would eat for breakfast if we ever ran out!

Update:

Window is fixed and driveway is back to normal! I finished sewing the baby's bedding (95%) yesterday. I decided to take a week off and finish it another time! I know-no surprise. No really, I messed up on the bumper in at least FIVE different spots and so it took me the whole day yesterday to get it done, so I need a vacation from it. Besides that, we're laying low and enjoying the slow life with only three kids while it lasts!

It got a little windy today!

We still have not determined the cause of this, but the new window should be here tomorrow! It wasn't overall windy today but we had a huge gust go by, the backyard was covered by flying dirt, and then POP. Lasted an entire 48 hours though! We taped the inside up so the glass would end up outside-so far, that's working....

Easter Sunday

I had the kids all bathed and everything ready to let the kids sleep in on Sunday (we usually have to force them out of bed before 7 am). Mom was tired from being woke up repeatedly the night before, so she slept in an extra 20 mins also. Wait, let me back up a second and talk about that night:

(beware-long detailed story, but it's a good one to write down and remember!)

I woke up at 4 am to see my bathroom light on (the toilet area one). I called out, "who's in the bathroom??" To hear Payton call back-"I goin potty!" So, I close my eyes and I'm back out instantly. (litterally instantly-I never heard her again. Also keep in mind, climbing OUT of bed when prego is always a last resort!) She woke me up 20 mins later to help get her pants back on. I did, then told her to go to bed. I laid there and thought, 20 mins?? What has she......I was asleep before the thought finished. About 4:45 I woke up again and saw my vanity bathroom light on and said, "Who's in my bathroom??" Payton then says, "I gettin sunscreen" I replied-"GO to bed!" Once again falling back asleep before finishing the thought.....what the??? Well, at 5:15 (WELL OVER AN HOUR LATER) I woke up to her just roaming around my room. This time mom was smart enough to wake up DAD. "I nudged him and said-she's been up an awful long time, can you go make sure she makes it to bed?" He did.

That morning: I wake up and turn the shower on. Notice all my cupboards open, but don't see ANYTHING out of place. Odd.....as I shower I start to remember what details I was awake enough to hear that night and I'm dying to go check on Payton. Brian gets up and checks on her and comes back to say, " I found a bottle of sunscreen (clear gel kind) in her room, but didn't see anything else?!?" Could it be? An hour and 15 mins and NOTHING?? While doing my hair, Payton comes in and you should see her hair-ALL greased up . She reeked of sunscreen. I saw the bottle on the counter where Brian had put it, and went to see how MUCH was left in it. Keep in mind it was brand new......EMPTY. I went in her room and didn't see any sort of mess anywhere! Searched around...nothing! I had forgotten that it was clear gel, and duh- my carpet is amazing and really does "hide everything!" It wasn't until I stepped in between the twin beds that I could tell it was sopping wet. Like a 2 foot by 4 foot spot. I head to the kitchen and then notice her doll in the sink, and I see little greasy footprints all over the island. Her doll was soaking wet. Apparently she lathered her up, then decided to rinse her off.

SO, all and all, I'd say we lucked out. All of this is not too bad! It's just the thought that it was at 4 am!! And we had NO clue it was going on. A little on the bad parenting side of things, but hey-at least I'll catch on quicker (or wake up dad faster) next time she's wide awake at night!

Here's what the doll looked like once dry. The clear gel dries with a nasty white residue. Payton had to be scrubbed repeatedly before church and her legs still looked like this dolls head.....

It was a good thing the Easter Bunny decided to come later that day, because we had no time for baskets etc-obviously. I also had little time left over to do the girls hair and no pics got taken before we headed off to church! We still got some once home, but I wasn't too thrilled with the outcome.
(Looks like Tanner put on his OLD pants and not his newer ones....oh well, least of my worries that day!)
We had a WONDERFUL rest of the day and the kids had lots of fun with cousins and hanging out at Grandma's for the afternoon.

And I thought a cement truck sinking in my driveway was bad luck!

I ran to the bus stop, and came home to THIS?????!!! Yeah, I'm as lost as you are...I'll let you know if we ever find out HOW in the world this window decided to SHATTER! Even though it appears to all be in tact, there are teany tiny little pieces of glass everywhere!


And if you're wondering..... yes, we DID have Easter over here....give me a few more days and I should have it posted!

Spring Break in review....

Here's a summary of last week....

Hanging at the car wash:


SWIMMING!:



ZOO:



First Football Game:



And this week so far??:
Pretty much NOTHING! and LOVING IT! We may hit a park tomorrow and swimming again on Friday, but I have loved my empty week so far and the kids have been playing great together!

Whoops!

Doesn't look too bad right?? But check out the other views!



Brian "thought" they'd just pump the concrete back....I guess no one told the driver that pavers and heavy cement trucks don't work well together!
UPDATE:
So, it's hard to tell, but as they tried pulling it out, it would sink a little more with each pull. I even ran inside and didn't want to watch because I was 90% sure the thing was about to tip over!



In the end, THEY got it out! The damage to the driveway is hardly noticeable-you think?
MEANWHILE, the concrete guys had called in another truck and were still able to pour in the backyard via our neighbors unlandscaped side yard (of course, by pumping it in this time!)....

Tanner's fun-filled day!

Well, it's spring break down here, and we're having fun so far doing nothing! Until today that is...seems like everything fell on the same day for Tanner. He has had football practice on Wednesday nights getting ready for their first game on Saturday. And then we signed him up for a fun 2 hour basketball camp this morning, and to top off the busy day, he had his make-up day at gymnastics! I'm glad gymnastics is ending just in time for football to start, because I'm not a fan of TOO much-that's for sure!

He LOVED playing basketball for the first time and was excited to see some of his friends there!


Gymnastics has been his ALL-time favorite thing to do...so I'm sad that he only has one class left. If football wasn't taking up two days a week, then we'd for sure keep him in-but we'll be back!!!


He has enjoyed learning the game of football more than I would have ever imagined!! I'm SO anxious to see how this game of 5/6 yr olds plays out this weekend...it should be pretty fun/funny to watch! Check out the kids with mouth guards even! Tanner reminds me daily that we've "Gotta" get him one by Saturday morning...

The hand off.....

Running through the crowd.....

Made it past them!!!! (TOO bad he was totally out of bounds by then!!!)

Needless to say-he's already zonked for the night and hopefully he'll be able to wake up before noon tomorrow! (4.5 total hours of sports in one day!! What a trooper! At least we spaced it out over an 8 hour span....)

A person to remember....

Brian and I took a quick trip back home to Palm Desert to attend a funeral on Monday morning. Even though we left at 1 on Sunday and were back just in town by 6 on Monday-it was well worth our time. It was a great service for a truly great person. She battled breast cancer for 13 or so years and her time had come. I just wanted to always remember something that was put into words so well by some of the speakers at the funeral. I hope I can say it as good as they did! She was someone everyone loved and looked up to. I hadn't realized this until the funeral, but now I know what part of her made her as wonderful as she was. She had the ability to make everyone she knew feel like they were special to her. You knew that you had a place in her heart, and everyone seemed to claim her as "theirs." So many people looked at her as their second mom and thought THEY were her favorite. I know that's not making as much since as the way I heard it, but it hit me as SO true!! I just hope to be able to try harder over the years to build stronger friendships with those around me and to show half as much love and acceptance as she did to every life she touched.

Happy Birthday Mom!

Well, like most of my posts....this happened last week! We got to celebrate and took her to dinner Saturday night. Heidi and Dave came too and we had a fun time! Oh, and Sandra also found time to squeeze us in on her busy weekend.


And thank goodness for a patient babysitter! 6 kids (five girls) with Tanner being the oldest. It was crazy, but at least it was only 2 hours of ciaos for her.
The three older kids(4 and 5yr olds):

The three younger ones (1 and 2 yr olds):

(Hey, give us 4 more months and we'll add two infants to the mix and there will be 8 between the two of us!!)

This week:

Wow, this week flew by over here! I was able to fly up to Utah for a day...(just a quick "mom" break!) Besides getting to see Shannon's new house all finished and visit with the kids, we took time to go find some fabric for the baby bedding! I saw stuff I liked at the first store, and decided to go with that to avoid finding more and not being able to decide!!! Now I need to find some time to sit down and see if I remember how to sew because I'm going to try and do most of it myself. I did however decide that I don't want to sew the bumper this time, so I'll have someone else do that part for me....Here's what I came up with:

(give me a few months and I'll take a final product picture once it's all done)

I wanted to take lots of pictures to come home and show my kids, but this one of Lucy sleeping was all I ended up with!!