Acupuncture

Well, the arthritis has reached an all time bad. I NEED to do something about it, so I decided to initially explore an alternative route. My mom helped me a find a couple of great options. So, today was my first attempt - a chinese medicine doctor. She is an MD, but practices herbal medicine and acupuncture. So I experienced about 12 needles poked around my body today (including my forehead - sorry I forgot the camera!) and I have to say it wasn't too bad! She also mixed me up my own special batch of dry herbs which I am supposed to boil down and drink for the next week. Yummm. It's worth a try, right? It's a slight bit out of my natural comfort zone, but I want to explore ALL options for my health and my body. By the way, I'd love to hear anyone's experiences or encouragement in this specific area!

My Three Girls

Aren't they cute?

Blessing

Typically in our church, babies are blessed within the first few months of life, and it's done on Sunday during church. But we've decided to do it a little different this time around. We decided to wait until a weekend that Tucker's family could fly in from out of state, which ended up being next weekend, March 17th. We also have decided to bless Pey at home on Saturday. We want it to be a calm, relaxing day filled with lots of family and lots of good food! We're so excited to have family come visit and to have a full house of the ones we love. Here's a pic of her blessing dress I bought on ebay!

edited to add: i can't use the dress i used for the other girls because pey out-grew it during her first month!! ha ha

Baby Stats

Peyton had her 4 month check-up today. I always hate shot day. She got three shots, and they have a new oral vaccine for the Rota virus - which Peyton HATES anything that is not milk in her mouth, and gags like crazy. Anyway, here are her stats:

*21 lbs 4 oz

*25.5 inches

*Ready to start on rice cereal, fruits and veggies!

To give contrast to her size...at 4 months Lexi was 16 lbs and 22 inches. So Pey is definitely off the charts! The doctor was like "what does she eat?" and I said "mostly breastmilk, but I supplement with formula". He seemed a little horrified and said, "you don't NEED to give her formula in ADDITION to breastmilk, she seems like she's getting plenty!". I was like "well I give her formula in PLACE of breastmilk sometimes...". I mean, its not like I'm shoving food down her throat when she's not hungry JUST to see how chubby she can get! I feed the babe when she's hungry, for goodness sakes! There's nothing wrong with a chubby baby to me!

Grassy Field

We live by a big grassy park and the girls love to go run and kick balls there! Tonight we walked down and played for a bit before Tucker headed off to scouts.

$37 Richer

Tonight I ran to the Dollar Tree...for no other reason but to have an hour alone. I was pleasantly surprised at some of the cute Easter stuff they had, so I started throwing Easter basket supplies in my cart, among lots of other "necessities". My total rang up to $37, which gets you a lot at the Dollar Tree! Then comes the part I hate. This doesn't happen often, but to my dissapointment I opened my wallet to find NO credit or debit card! Ugh. The line was backed up behind me and the girl may as well have been a 1st grader with how inexperienced she was. It was embarrassing and annoying. So, I went home empty handed - and $37 dollars richer!

Happy 4 Months!

Happy 4 months birthday, Pey! We sure love having you around! Your happy personality, huge smiles, and loveable nature has made our family feel so much more complete! I love your bright eyes, rosy lips and open-mouth baby kisses! It is so fun watching you change almost by the minute. I look forward to morning time because I'm greeted by your warm grin and wild kicks of delight. How blessed I feel to have three beautiful daughters! I love you so much! - Mommy

Saturday Fun

Today was one of those "fun" Saturdays where Tucker was gone with the scouts ALL day (snow skiing/snow boarding - poor him, huh?). I tend to dread these types of Saturdays, this one in particular because we were all feeling under-the-weather. To break up the long day, the girls and I went out to lunch at Pizza Hut. I've been seeing the Cheesey Bites Pizza commercials and wanted to try it (by the way, to me it wasn't 'all that'). We survived, but it was definitely not one of those days that will go down in history, by any means!

Bows, Bows and More Bows

My girls are thrilled with my mom's latest project...hair bows! Here is just a small sampling of her hair creations. She's definitely on a mission to find and create a variety of fun hair decor for all these girls!




I'm trying to "let go" when it comes to what my kids wear. I'm learning to allow them to express their taste and style because they love to get themselves dressed. This picture is a great example of what they pick out. The outfits don't look BAD, per say, because they SORT OF match - but just not QUITE in the way I'd want them too. (notice they're sporting the "Hair Glam by Pam"!)

The Sun'll Come Out...

We've had some beautiful days lately. Nice enough for the girls to have lunch out back. I love March through May here. Beautiful 60's and 70's weather - which is how I love it!

Our Palm Tree

We planted this beautiful palm tree in our front yard about two years ago. It's grown quite rapidly and we always get compliments on it. Sadly, we had to say goodbye to it. We had a guy come prune our trees and he said those types of palms are not good for yards; they get way too huge before they get tall, and the needles can poke through skin....he said with kids he would never want that around. It could take out an eye or somthing worse. So we agreed and had them remove it. Maybe we can find a more kid-friendly palm to replace it!

My Feelings for Today

OK, I don't usually post these sorts of feelings because they're a little more personal, but I'm going to today. I feel frustrated right now. I've awakened the past couple mornings to a stiff and arthritic body. You see, it came back full force after I had the baby, so I had a steroid shot in December, January and then again in the beginning of February. This was all in attempt to stave it off so I can continue to breastfeed a little longer. But I think, deep down, it was not JUST for that reason, but also because it scares me to start on, and commit to, weekly injections (which will stop the progression and joint damage). It seems like such a clear cut choice: Be crippled and in pain OR take the weekly injections and stop the arthritis. Obvious choice, right? But there are side effects to the medication that scare me - like it will supress my immune system which means I am susceptible to many other illnesses. So, anyway, I really can't get any more steroid shots...they're not good for you. And now that it's coming back, I need to make a decision. I wish there was a proven homeopathic route to try. But let's just say it took me 6+ months of experimenting with different herbs to figure out something that helped...and in the mean time I wouldn't be able to hold my baby, walk well or function properly. Doesn't seem possible.

I guess I am expressing these feelings today because when I feel it coming back like I do, it feels like I was hit by a truck in my sleep and I'm sore all over and very fatigued. So it makes it more of a reality. If you got this far, thanks for listening to my jumbled complaints! I know I'll figure it out.

The positive note for the day? Peyton has started sleeping (usually) from 9 pm to 7 am, which is SOOOOOOOOOOOOO wonderful! Thanks Peyton!

It Actually Happened...

The verdict is in!! Lindy and Mike are having a boy!! I am still in shock. So, the 6th grandchild for our family will be the first boy. Congratulations you guys!

I'm In Love

Have I mentioned how much I am in love with this baby? Don't get me wrong, I'm equally in love with my other girls, but Peyton's growing and changing so much more rapidly than they are, so it's fun to try and savor the moments as they pass by. She's just such a cuddly bundle of joy in our family. We sure love our girls!

Alyson Turns 6!

We had some great family time this weekend. Birthday's are a good excuse to get together, hang out, and eat! Alyson is turning 6 this week, so she and Carly came up and we had a birthday party/family gathering to celebrate.

Trolley Square

The news from Monday of the shootings in Trolley Square (click here) make me sad on many levels. The obvious is to think "what is this world coming to?". But it also feels a little closer to home because Trolley Square is where Tucker and I met, during which time I lived across the street and spent lots of time there. Just a sad, sad thing.

Red Heads

I was browsing through some pictures of Jordyn when she was Peyton's age and hadn't realized the resemblence they shared. In this picture, Jordyn was pretty much exactly the same age as Peyton, about 3 1/2 months (corrected age from being a preemie, not chronological age).

Time Goes By...

I love the ideas that Katie and Debbie have of "Memory Monday" and "Flashback Friday". What great journaling ideas! I think I may copy them...

On that note, I found these pictures and I realized how strange a thing TIME is. You don't realize how much and how quickly things change until you look back, especially at a picture. All of the sudden it's the past, it's history! It's hard to remember as we are going that each moment is weaving the fabric of your life - your story. These pics are my mom with me (1977).....and then me with Jordyn about the same age (a few months old - 2002).

Don't You?

Don't you just want to kiss those cute baby lips?

Stackers

I hesitate to share this idea in case I want to claim it as my own creativity someday (ha ha, just kidding). My great friend Katie made this for Peyton. They're called stackers, she painted the wood blocks and then ordered the vinyl lettering (from my favorite website in the post below). It's such a cute baby gift and looks perfect on a shelf in Peyton's room. Thanks Katie! I love it!

Re-Decorating

We've been in our home for nearly three years, so I think that's why the re-decorating bug is biting me. There is a photo-collage wall that's been bugging me for a while, so I finally got around to re-doing it. Just new frames, new words and new photos. I think I'm happy with it. The before pic is a bad one, don't know if it really shows what it WAS like. I also have to reiterate how much I love the website iasign.com for the vinyl lettering. Love it!

Mom Shirl

On our trip, we also were able to visit with my Grandma on my dad's side - although it's strange to refer to her as 'Grandma' because call her Mom Shirl, and always have. She is the cutest and sweetest lady. As life goes on and gets more full, it seems that visits like these are few and too far between.

It was so great to see her and fun to hear she and my dad reminisce about old times. I have such an appreciation for the strong woman she is. I look at this picture of her as a beautiful young girl, and still see that same beauty in her now at almost 81 years old, but with an amazing amount of wisdom in her eyes. I'm so glad Peyton also got to meet her Great-Mom Shirl!

Family Visit

I was able to go to So Cal this past weekend to see my cousin, Anthony, get married on Laguna Beach. I don't get to see my extended family much, so it's great when I do. Kristy, my dad, me and Peyton went down for a quick trip. Here are a few pics from our trip...

Diana, me and Kelly

Jessica and Anthony - their first dance

My dad with his sisters, Deane and Toni and their husbands

Ray Ray and Michael - loco en la cabeza cousins!

Isn't this the coolest wedding cake you've ever seen? They had a hawaiian theme and this was the best part!!!

Dancer Legs?

My mom found this cute ballerina outfit for Peyton. Will she love to dance like her older sisters? Hopefully so, because those are the cutest and chubbiest dancer legs I've ever seen!

Once Again...

...I was downloading pics off my camera, and got a good chuckle when I saw this surprise photo of Lexi! Apparently, Jordyn instructs her on how to pose and then snaps the picture! Notice a little smile underneath the scowl!