Our Family: Week of 2/3-2/9

On Monday, I looked at our schedule and realized for the first time in months, we had no doctor appointments for the entire week.

What!

So, Mike made good on that Mexican lunch he had promised me (that was supposed to happen after my "last" doctor appointment before I had Sam), and we went out.

Josh, Mike and I had fun... but we still haven't found good Mexican food in Vegas.

That night for Family Home Evening, we put together Valentine-themed gingerbread houses, with the supplies my Mom left us (we didn't have time to make them with her while she was here).

Thanks, Mom!

Afterward, Mike hurried off to go sleep (he works nights Sundays and Mondays, along with his day job at D.I.), and I left to take care of Sam.

Grace made me the sweetest note ever:

Josh went ahead and decorated the cupboards with the leftover candy and frosting:

Later, I went to clean it off and he asked that I leave his "decorations" on until after Valentine's Day.

So, I am.

***

On Tuesday we went to Adam's (last... sad!) Blue & Gold Banquet + cake auction.

And my camera wouldn't work, darnit!

He made a delicious Texas Sheet cake to auction off... and we won this one:

(Camera worked the next day, of course).  ;)

***

On Wednesday we had cheer practice.

I tried timing it really well, so that Sam wouldn't need to nurse until after it was over.

It worked!

Grace and the other cheerleaders are perfecting a darling dance that they are performing at the art gala next Saturday.  It's super-cute!  (Hopefully, I can record it).

Mike had mutual that night.

Sam likes to crazy-eat from about 5:00 to bedtime, which makes dinnertime tricky.

So, I went ahead and did something horrible called: macaroni & cheese with frozen corn dogs for dinner.

The kids were thrilled.

I can't say the same for Mike.

;)

***

On Thursday my camera officially died.

Sad!

I got the kids to school, Mike to work, took care of Sam + Josh, and got back to school on time to pick up the kids.  They even all had jackets because it was raining.

I was pretty happy and feeling like a decent Mom, until Adam ran out and informed me it was his turn to take home the class pet, Cosmo the white tree frog.

Again.

And that he was out of food.

Again.

So I got to haul Sam and a large aquarium down the street, while threatening Grace and Josh to stay close to me while we walked.

It kinda sapped the good-Mom feelings from me.

***

On Friday, with the Olympics happening, I thought it would be fun to learn about Russia.

We are supposed to use Fridays for learning, projects, homework, etc.

I normally use them for park fun and grocery shopping.

But, I decided (with learning about China last week and all), we are going to have Foreign Friday from now on... because I'm nerdy like that.

We learned, and made beef stroganoff and blini (Russian crepes) for dinner.

We sat down excited to watch the Olympics, until we remembered that we don't get NBC.

(We don't watch TV at our house, apart from a little PBS for Josh and our Saturday movie night.  It works best for us.  I thought it would just take some antenna-moving, but apparently, we just can't get NBC).

Darnit!

And it's not even online, which is lame!

We had a fun night of Russian food anyways.

***

On Saturday, Mike had the day off, so we ran errands and cleaned and watched Grace cheer at a volleyball game.

That night, we watched Hercules (in honor of the Olympics) and had frozen pizza.

We headed to a park, because the kids have been dying to ride their bikes somewhere other than around our house and neighborhood, and the park has a nice walking/riding path. 

It was beautiful, and the perfect way to end our day.

[Hives update: Still itchy arms/back/stomach... rash on arms/back.  But, I decided to switch to Allegra (I was taking Zyrtech) and Zantac (which is a H2 antihistamine... in case you ever wondered).  And it seems to be helping the itch.  Wahoo!]

Our Family: Week of 1/27-2/2

When we were in the O.R. having Sam, Mike dropped the camera on accident.  Luckily, it still worked that day.  Since then, it's worked off/on... and now it's not working at all.  We have a service plan, so I'm sending it in to get fixed.  But, I was trying to pull pictures off of it, so sorry this is late (and for the lack of pictures this week and next).

***

On Monday morning, Grammy left.

And as she was getting ready to leave, I realized that no "thank you" in the world could begin to describe how much I appreciated her being here while I had (and recovered from having) Sam.  That I didn't worry for a second while I was at the hospital, knowing they were in her care.  That I knew that they were being loved and cared for... and spoiled with fruit snacks, while I got better.  :)  That my house stayed cleaned, my kids stayed fed, that everyone got to where they needed to go, and the laundry stayed done with all of her crazy-hard work.

That because of the sacrifice she made, I could take time to love on Sam and recover and go to the E.R. and feel good enough to take back over today.

So, even though it's not nearly enough: Thank you, Mom!

***

After she left, we got ready to take Sam to the doctor for his 2-week well check.

Baby boy is doing sooo good!  He weighed 9 pounds 14 ounces (got the birth weight back and then some).

He had his 2nd newborn screening, a Flash bandage on his heel that made Josh envious, and we headed off to run errands.  It was my first time leaving the house in a car in over a week, and I was excited!

Unfortunately, I forgot the part about breastfeeding where I spend 45 minutes of errand time, sitting in a car nursing, while Josh and Mike go grocery shopping.

His chunky cheeks are worth it.

***

On Tuesday, Adam's math teacher (Mr. G) tracked down Mike at drop-off.

He had told Adam (several times) that he wanted to talk to me, and I've made every effort to completely avoid him.

He introduced himself to Mike and told him how much he likes Adam.

You guys!

A teacher likes Adam!

(Tear)

Adam got bumped up from 5th grade math to Mr. G's 6th grade math class a few months ago.  And he adores Adam's love of knowledge.  He wants Adam in his reading class next year so he can push him to reading books that are out of his comfort zone.

(And I've looked at Mr. G's reading list this year... full of Dickens, Twain, Austen, etc.  The guy loves classics.  Which makes my heart pound).

When Adam got moved to this math class he told me that Mr. G. told him how smart he was and that he liked having him in his class... and it changed Adam.  I highly doubt that Adam talks to friends in Mr. G's class or would even think about debating him, because this teacher took the time to get Adam, and Adam respects him for it.

When Mr. G talked to Mike, and they came home that afternoon and told me about it, Adam was just glowing and was an absolute doll the rest of the day.  Not one complaint with chores, homework, or piano practice.

It's been making me think a lot about meaningful praise and trying to be better at really understanding my kids.

***

On Wednesday, Josh and I made some (more) play-dough.  We had made the green glitter while my mom was here.  We made yellow today (Josh has plans for red, blue, orange, and purple - for Grace).

I found the recipe here (it's my favorite of the play-dough recipes I've tried).  And, be warned, it's addicting.

That afternoon I went to the doctor to make sure things were looking okay with my c-section incision.  She told me I was okay to drive, but not to lift anything more than 10 pounds until 6 weeks.

I thought it was 2 weeks, darnit!

I need to stop lifting Josh pronto!

***

On Thursday, I took all of the kids to the store by myself.

A triumph!

***

A long time ago, before I was pregnant, I was a fun mom.

I tried to be fun once again on Friday by celebrating the Chinese New Year.

We made homemade fortune cookies, decorated with horses and Chinese lanterns, and made Chinese food for dinner.

I didn't factor in the time it takes to pick up Mike for work, or for nursing every 2 hours.

So, we ate dinner at 8:00 at night.

I was frustrated.

I think my next "fun Mom" idea needs to be a little more realistic... and simple.

Like, letting them have sugar-y cereal for breakfast.

;)

***

On Saturday, I felt super-brave and took all 4 kids out by myself to Henderson for Grace to cheer in the crazy-cold and wind at the soccer game.

Adam and Josh played on the playground.

Sam screamed the entire time (probably because I had him bundled up in multiple blankets head-to-toe to protect him from the afore-mentioned cold and wind).

Afterward, the kids played on the playground some more, while I nursed Sam (I thought it would be better for the kids to play in the cold for 45 minutes rather than be stuck in the van).

I mean, maybe not better for their health; but most definitely better for my mental health.

;)

I was covered while I nursed, but with the wind (and so many of Adam's school friends around for the game), Adam told me he was pretty nervous about the blanket flying off, which made me grin.

Because I also would have died of embarrassment had my friends witnessed my mom nursing when I was 10.

;)

We stayed covered and modest, though, so it was all good.

And, since we were out in Henderson for the game, we went to a place I've put off going to for almost a year:

The Scout office.

Adam's Cub Scout shirt has been progressively getting shorter and shorter and tighter and tighter for the past year.  I also had a number of patches and badges and arrow points I needed to sew on it.

Recently, I was reading his book and read that once a boy is a Webelo he can graduate to the "brown" Boy Scout shirt AND the only badge that was to be worn with the brown one was the circle Webelos badge (no arrow points or Bobcat/Wolf/Bear badges).

I was psyched... he needed a new shirt anyways (it would be silly to buy a new blue shirt for 5 months of wear before 11-year-old Scouts) AND if we went to the new one, I didn't have to sew on all of the badges in my pile!

(Don't judge me.  Please.)

We got it and I sewed on the patches/badges that DID go on the new uniform.

I even opened up the pile of belt loops that he has earned for the past year and put them on his belt.

(We aren't judging here, remember?)

He looks very Scout-ish.

And all ready for the Blue & Gold Banquet next Tuesday.

***

On Sunday Sam and I stayed home from church.

Drug Allergy Update: The hives are gone, but I still have a rash and am incredibly itchy all over.

I mean, that's not why we stayed home from church (I'm keeping him away from other humans with all of the sickness-es going around for as long as possible).

Just an update for ya.

;)


Afterward we (and by "we" I mean Mike) made snacks and we watched the Superbowl together, interspersed with rounds of Apples to Apples Jr. (Josh's new favorite game that he insists on playing daily, though he has no idea what he's really doing.  It's fun).

It was a fun family day filled with laughter, teasing (Grace and I were cheering for the Broncos), spiritual feeding, and Doritos.

And some napping, too.

February 2014 Scripture & Quote

February 2014 Scripture:
Colossians 3:12 "Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering;"

February 2014 Quote:
"No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted."  -Aesop

Our Family: Week of 1/20-1/26

On Monday, the kids had no school.

It was their 5th day of "no school" (they only go to school Monday-Thursday, and Thursday of the previous week was "staff development day", so they were off Thursday - Monday).

And, truthfully, they were kinda done with "no school."

Or, at least, they were tired of being stuck in a house with a itchy/tired/recovering-from-a-c-section Mama.

There was a lot of bickering and boredom and grumpies going around.

But, we still managed to have some fun with bike rides and outside play:  

Las Vegas weather is so gorgeous in January.

(I mean, not gorgeous enough that I think it's worth it to live here in August or anything, but I'll take it).

***

On Tuesday, Adam and Grace headed back-to-school and Josh realized the awesome-ness of having his Grammy all to himself.

They played games, went on bike rides, built legos, and argued about eating fruits and vegetables (Josh is against the idea).

Adam and Grace settled back into their school routine.

And we all fell in love with this guy even more:

***

Wednesday and Thursday played out the same way.

Except, on Thursday, my hives started to fade away.

Best.  Thing.  Ever!

***

On Friday, we walked down to the park!

There is an !exclamation! at the end of that sentence because it was soooo good to be feeling better and get out of the house.

Sam was not a fan of the sun:

It felt amazing to get some fresh air and watch Adam, Grace, and Josh run around and have fun.

We all do better when we get out of the house.

(No homebodies here).

***

On Saturday the kids played:

Grace cheered:

We picked our strawberry from our (confused) strawberry plant:

Payless donated a whole buncha shoes to D.I.  None in Adam or Josh's size, but Grace got some new shoes.  She's in love:

And we had pizza/ice cream/game night.

***

On Sunday, these guys all got ready for church.

If you ask Josh, he will tell you that he does NOT like Sam.

If you were to see how he behaves around that sweet baby, you'd know the real story:

That he is head-over-heels for the guy.

After church, I was holding a sleeping Sam, when Josh crawled into my lap, and fell asleep, too.

I adored that moment, with my arms full of sleeping baby boys, and my heart even fuller than that.

That night, Sam got his first bath.

He hated it at first, then was okay with it, and he hated it again toward the end.

The kids all insisted that he was stinky (and his cord fell off days ago), so we decided to scrub him up before his 2-week check tomorrow.

We'll keep working on his attitude toward bathing.

;)

Our Family: Week of 1/13 - 1/19

This week I planned on having a baby on Wednesday.

I had an extensive "to do" list of items on Monday and Tuesday.  Things that had to get done at the last minute (like grocery shopping and mopping my floor).

That all changed on Monday.

***

On Monday I was plowing through my "to do" list, after Adam and Grace went to school.

I had my last NST scheduled for 1:00, and the plan was to get through it, celebrate by going out to lunch, go shopping, pick up the kids, and then finish cleaning the house.

My NST didn't go so well.  Baby boy failed it again because of lack of accelerations.

I was kicking myself because I had only eaten 2 graham crackers the entire day, which probably made his blood sugar a little low, which made him too sleepy to move enough to get his accelerations.

I wanted to save room for some Mexican food, darnit!

Instead, my perinatologist told me to go straight to the hospital (no detours) to go have a baby.

I told him that I was picking my kids up from school first.

My appointment had taken so long that we realized we wouldn't make it to get the kids on time.  I called on my sweet friend Melanie to pick up my kids from school, another sweet friend, Jessica, to watch Josh, and then my awesome-fantastic-sweet sister, who (miraculously) had decided to head up to Vegas a day early, to ask her to watch the kiddos overnight until my mom could get here.

I also asked her to mop my floor.

And she also had to go out and buy milk and bread.

I am the worst sister ever.

She is the best.

The end.

We headed to the hospital, and on the way there I started have regular, painful contractions 5 minutes apart.

Baby really wanted to be born that day.

My surgery had been scheduled for 7:30.  I got prepped, we filled out paperwork, and in no time I was headed to the O.R.

The surgery took f-o-r-e-v-e-r.

Because baby boy was already headed for the birth canal and needed a vacuum to get him out the other way.  A lot of pushing and pressure and vacuuming, and he was born.

I cried.

I've never cried at a birth before, but hearing him cry and realizing that he and I had made it through the pregnancy overwhelmed me.

He was an absolutely perfect bundle of chub: 9 pounds 4 ounces and 21.25 inches long.

(I think my due date was off).

He (and I) were doing well, so I got him in my room about an hour later, and as I held his perfect little body, with his dark, wise eyes I decided something then and there:

That he was worth it.

Every pain, every uncomfortable night, every worry about finances, every single night that Mike worked extra and I cried from exhaustion, every single doctor appointment, everything was absolutely, positively worth it.

***

On Tuesday I recovered.

On Tuesday we went back-and-forth about baby boy's name.

On Tuesday I held, and fed, and rocked my baby boy.

On Tuesday my other kiddos and mom and sister came to visit me.

On Tuesday I loved when they crawled into the bed around me, sweetly kissed their new baby brother, and the wave of gratitude I felt at being a mom to four.

On Tuesday I started itching.

***

Wednesday, things were going so well that my doctor said I could go home.

Yay!

I was itching, in a ton of pain, miserable and convinced that being at home would be so much better.

I no likey the hospital.

We went ahead and decided on a name: Samuel Ethan Wilkins.

(Because I love Samuel the Lamanite, Nephi's brother Sam, and Samuel in the Bible.  His middle name is from my great-grandfather, Ethan, who died when I was 2.  I lived next door to him and we adored each other).

(But my brother, Ethan, can pretend it's after him).

;)

Kristi, Mike and Hayden came to visit.

I love having family in town!

We packed up our stuff.

Came home.

Felt overwhelmed at the thought of having 4 kiddos.

And I realized I had never been in so much pain from a c-section before, and Mike hurried out to fill my meds.

***

Thursday, I broke out in horrible hives.

They covered my arms, stomach, back, and legs.

Horrible, hot, crazy-itching hives with hard blisters everywhere.

I took some Benadryl, nursed every 2 hours, and let my mom and Mike take care of the kids.

Kayty took Grace to Disney on Ice that night.

She said it was "amazing" and "the best night ever."

Thanks, Aunt Kayty!

Mike took Adam to see Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2 at the dollar theatre that night.  They had fun "man time" together at the arcade afterward.

Thanks, Mike!

I stayed home and itched and nursed some more, and watched my mom "lose" at 2,436 games of "Go Fish" with Josh.

(Sweet Grammy allows him to cheat).

;)

***

On Friday Mike and I took Sam to the doctor, and Kayty headed home.

He lost a little bit of weight (but not too much), gained a 1/2 inch, and had no jaundice at all.

(My other 3 had jaundice, were sleepy and hard to feed... Sam has been soooo good so far).

I called my doctor about my hives, and she told me to go to the E.R. (because of the chance it was a bacterial infection or virus from the hospital).

I pumped, Mike bought some formula, we left all 4 kiddos in my mom's care, and headed to the E.R.

10 hours later (for reals) and lots of blood draws later, they established that I had a drug reaction to one of the drugs given to me during/after I had Sam.

And because they had no idea which drug it was, they suggested I go off my pain meds completely.

So I did.

Heavenly Father is so good to me.  I was in the most excruciating pain that I had ever had from a c-section... and I was able to completely stop my pain meds (not even Tylenol or ibuprofen... I wasn't taking chances) just a few days after a c-section and bear it.

I am so blessed.

After some Internet research that night, Mike told me that drug reaction hives can take 1 to 2 weeks to go away, that no treatment is available (other than oven mitts to prevent scratching and cold compresses), and that if it progressed I could be hospitalized for 2 to 6 weeks.

He's a charmer, yo!

***

On Saturday, everyone left to go cheer on Grace (who was cheerleading for the soccer team), to play at the park and have a picnic.

I stayed home and tried not to itch, while taking care of Sam.

I napped, too.

***

On Sunday everyone headed to church.

I stayed home and tried not to itch, while taking care of Sam.

I napped, too.

(Seeing a pattern here?)

The kids built this darling birdhouse from a kit my Dad made (with Grammy's help):

After church, two men in our ward came and brought me the sacrament, and helped Mike give me a blessing.

It was beautiful (like always), and I decided to stop complaining and have faith that I would be healed on the Lord's time.  I so wanted a miraculous, overnight recovery (because I'm miserable), but so many deal with so much worse.  And why make everyone around me miserable with whining, too?  I was blessed that I would recover, and I'm having faith in that blessing.

Because if Heavenly Father loves me enough to bless me with this:

Then He must love me enough to help me get through hives, too.