Charlotte's First Dip and Other Beach Tales...

***I've come to the decision that getting the stories down are the most important thing to me.  I can go back later and fix the pictures, but I can't go back later and remember the details.  So pardon the fact that from here on out most of my pictures will be unedited and uncropped***

Friday night Russ and I commented to Lily and Allie that they needed to clean up.  Both girls ignored us and continued on playing.  We warned them that the beach trip the next day was in jeopardy if they did not clean up at least ONE toy.  They didn't clean up, so guess what they did  all Saturday?!  With that lesson learned the girls kept the house fairly clean the rest of the weekend with the promise that Monday would bring a trip to the beach.

Early morning today was spent collecting toys, preparing snacks, finding lost water shoes, and slathering on EXTRA layers of sunscreen.  We hit the road a bit later than planned but we were on our way.  Arriving at the beach we had to drive quite a bit further onto than normal since it was so busy.  But we found a fairly nice spot and set to work getting our stuff set up.  Getting out of the car we were assaulted by wind.  The little play tent that we borrowed for Charlotte could barely stand up against it.  

After the initial set up was done Russ took Lily out into the ocean while I stayed behind with Charlotte and Allie.  Russ did all kinds of fun things with Lily.  I couldn't see for sure what they were doing, but he took her out pretty deep.  We were talking about it later and excitedly told me that Lily has no fear.  At one point she was up to her neck in the water and instead of turning back she was yelling, "Hey dad wait for me!"  We always have to keep a good eye on her since she IS so fearless.

While they were enjoying the ocean Allie was enjoying herself playing with the new sand toys, and Charlotte was chilling in her tent.  I was so surprised that Charlotte didn't fuss even though a bit of sand was blowing in on her.  Awhile went by and I got bored after making the 153 sea shell sand shape for Allie.  So I grabbed Allie and Charlotte and walked down to the beach.  Allie was struggling the whole way there and trying to get away.  Poor thing doesn't like the water.

I handed Charlotte off to Russ who had come in by then and forced Allie out into the water.  She shivered from fear even though I was holding on to her.  I know I sound mean, but I've discovered with her that if I repeatedly make her do things that she is afraid, she eventually gets over being afraid of it and enjoys herself.  We sat down on the sand and let the waves crash over our stomachs.  I love that feeling!  I let Allie loose about 10 minutes later and she scampered off back to the car.  She had the grumpiest face on her, and glared at me from afar. 

We decided then it was Charlotte's turn to have her first dip in the ocean.  She reacted about the same way she reacts to everything.  No expression.  She didn't  smile, she didn't frown, she didn't pull her feet away from the sand or the water, she just sat there and stared at us with the expression of "what are you crazy people doing with me now?"  We did get a few cute pictures with her though.

Russ and I came back to the car to see Lily and Allie playing nicely together.  They were working on a sandcastle.

Our sand mover toy didn't work but that didn't stop Allie from sticking sand in odd places on it.

Lily worked and worked to try and get the sand out of the bucket her and Allie had filled up.  What she didn't realize is that if you put too much water in with the sand it makes it almost impossible to get it back out.  She was a quite disappointed when Dad had to take it down and wash the sand out.

At one point in time Allie wanted some water in a bottle that she had found.  Not sure what she wanted it for but she did.  She carefully picked her way down to the waters edge to fill it up when she saw a teeny tiny wave coming at her toes.  She instantly turned tail and ran back up to the car.  I didn't get to see this but Russ apparently got a good laugh out of it.

Later on as we were getting ready to leave we mentioned we needed to get everyone/everything rinsed off.  Russ and I gathered all the toys up and took them down to the water to rinse off.  We turned around and got a HUGE laugh.  Allie apparently did not want to washed off so she climbed in the trunk of the van and was sitting there glaring at us.  It was the cutest thing ever!

We wrapped up our beach trip around 1:00 and headed out for lunch.  We treated the girls to MD's and then headed home.  Russ decided that since he was in his swim suit he would take the opportunity to give our cars a much needed bath.  Lily decided she wanted to help and Russ put her to work doing what he said was "his and Wesley's job" as a kid.  I was a bit nervous about his idea but Lily had blast!  She was a great roof scrubber girl!

Dinner was served later and we rounded out the evening with a fun game of UnoMoo.   I'm glad that we were able to have this fun filled family day.  However, at this time of the year my thoughts are always a bit sad.  Today was the day that my extended family gets together for a party to celebrate my grandpa's birthday.  Yes grandpa has passed away but they still have it.  I missed not being able to be there and see my family.  Which led my thoughts to missing grandpa.  He was great man.  I hope everyone had a moment today to enjoy time with their family and also took time to remember those that are special to them that have passed on.

Just like daddy?!

***Long post about Lily being ill....skip it if you choose!***

Heredity has been a bit of a scary thing to me.  My family has some very scary track records as far as health goes.  Some of those things can be avoided by living a healthy lifestyle which I haven't been, but I'm working on now.  Upon marrying Russell I knew our kids were doomed to have some kind of heredity item passed on to them.  His family has quite the health history as well.  

One particular part of Russ's health history that has always been a worry is that quite a few of his family {him included} have kidney issues.  I've always worried about whether any of the girls have these problems, but our doctor has taken the stance that "if nothing is wrong don't bother it".  In other words he won't do any tests to see if their are problems until something manifests itself. 

Well, something manifested itself in Lily.  It started with Lily going to bed Wednesday night and instantly falling asleep.  It didn't occur to me then that something was wrong but it should have.  Lily usually stays up for quite some time after going to bed.  When Lily gets sick she sleeps.  Later that night around 1:00am Lily came in complaining that her back hurt.  I was groggy and just checked for knots in her back.  I didn't feel anything so I sent her back to bed and said I would look at it more in the morning.  After she left and I was drifting to sleep I remember thinking "hmmm...I wonder if something is wrong with her kidneys" and then I was asleep.  

About an hour later Lily came in and said,"Mommy I had an accident and couldn't make it to the potty"  I remember sighing and telling her to just get new undies on and go to bed.  Lily trooped off to bed and I didn't hear from her again.  I slept blissfully until 7:00 and then freaked out realizing I had slept in.  Lily tends to be my alarm since she gets up at 6:15 or so.  I walked in to her room and she was still sleeping.  I reached up and shook her awake and upon touching her I knew she had a fever.  It wasn't a high fever, but any fever means no school.  Lily insisted that she needed to go to the bathroom so I sent her in there while starting to get Allie dressed.  Lily then whimpered from the bathroom.  I asked if it hurt to go the bathroom and she nodded miserably.  Everything then clicked in my brain....she had a UTI and/or a kidney infection, I just knew it!

I got Lily settled on the couch with some blankets since she was shivering now. I waited 1.5 hours until the doctors office opened.  Surprisingly we were able to get in 40 mins later.  I ran around frantically making sure I had everything needed to haul all three girls to the doctors and then headed out the door.  When we arrived at the office Lily announced she was going to be sick, luckily after I sat her down for awhile she didn't.  But the poor thing was getting worse by the minute....shivering with fever, chalky white face, doubled over in pain, and unfocused eyes that seemed to cause dizziness as well.

Quickly we got called back to a room and Lily fell asleep sitting in the chair next to me almost immediately.  While sitting there they took Lily's temperature....99.7.  We saw the PA whom I adore...she really knows her stuff.  She started asking questions and determined that Lily needed give them a "sample".  This freaked Lily out and I had to do a lot of calm talking to her in order to get it all taken care.  I never want to have to do that again!  Our doctors office doesn't have a full lab but they can tell from samples if they need to be further tested.  Lily's of course came back needing the testing.  The PA explained to me that they were 99% that Lily had a UTI and most likely a kidney infection too.  I audibly let out a sigh....and not one of relief.

It was then my turn to explain Russ's kidney issues.  Upon hearing this the PA said Lily needed to get some testing done to rule out the possibility that she had the same issues as Russ.  She wrapped up her visit with us listing out the actions we needed to take to get Lily over her current infection. 

Since Lily is allergic to amoxicillian and the infection had already reached her kidneys they wanted to get some strong antibiotics in her quickly so they opted for the shot method.  Normally Lily doesn't mind shots but this one she did!  The needle was huge and she bled quite profusely after getting it.  To make sure she wasn't allergic to this antibiotic we had to wait in the room for 15 minutes.  Allie and Charlotte were getting restless and I was wanting out of there. Finally the nurse came in and took Lily's temperature again and it had spiked to 103.7 in just thirty minutes!  With that we were not allowed to leave.  Lily had to get stripped down to her undies and given a dose of medicine to see if we could get it to come down....and we had to wait another 15 minutes.  Luckily the fever went down and we were allowed to go, but of course our adventure wasn't over there!

I first had to go order Lily's 2nd antibiotic regime, and then go take her sample to the lab so it could get tested.  After dropping it off I gave Lily some children's Advil per instructions of the nurse to help continue to bring her fever down.  She took, sat down, and gave me a funny look.  I asked her what was wrong and she said her breath was stuck in her throat.  What?!  The nurse had told me to watch for unusual breathing because that would mean allergic reaction.  I was about ready to rush to the ER when Lily grabbed her mouth.  I dove at her with her jacket in my hands just in time for her to get sick in it. Washing an article of clothing is soooo much easier than washing the van's floor. After that Lily said she felt fine so we headed home.

After a few hours of rest Lily started to look and feel better.  That super antibiotic sure works fast!  Friday she was forced to sit on the couch most of the day even though she was feeling better.  By Saturday you wouldn't have even known that she had been horribly ill two days earlier.

We followed our pediatricians advice and have scheduled an appointment with a urologist.  That will happen next month.  We are hoping this was just a fluke infection, instead of finding out that Lily is just like her daddy.  When we do go I will try and keep everyone informed on what we find. 

Sneak Peek of Field Day

 I have very fond memories of participating in Field Days at my elementary school.  So, I was super excited to find out that Lily's school does a Field Day.  I decided to sneak down to the school and take some pictures of her today while she participated in some of the games.  I have a lot of pictures to share, but it is bed time so I just share two tonight and tomorrow share the rest.

Lily and her classmates paid special attention to the rules for this game because....

they got to do THIS to their teacher!

Get Well Allie!

 Allie's nursery leader is quite an amazing lady.  Allie adores Sister Pam and cries huge tears when she isn't there.  Well, since Allie had hand foot mouth we kept her home from church.  She was sooooo sad that she didn't get to go see Sister Pam and her "fwends"

Russ let Pam know why Allie wasn't there when asked.  On the way out of church Pam caught Lily and gave her a card for Allie.  Pam and all Allie's nursery friends made her a get well card!  Allie has loved this card to death since getting it.  We put it up on the fridge and repeatedly throughout the day she will go read it and look at it.  It has made a bleak circumstance a bit more bearable.

Front

Inside

Back

Sweet Angel and a Kids Bop World

Lily has worked super hard on her dances this year.  She had them memorized months ago, but spent the following months fine tuning it and getting the timing right.  She is still in the stage where she wants to be done first....that doesn't work so well with ballet. 

Somehow I managed to delete or possibly not even take a video of her tap routine.  I was super sad about this because I didn't really get to "see" the routine.  I was too busy making sure that I kept her in the shot.  Anyway she did a very energetic tap routine called...Kid Bop World.

Lily also did a ballet routine called Sweet. Angel.  I did get this videoed but it is out of focus {our camera is dying a slow death}.

In between numbers I was able to get a picture of Lily with the rest of her dance class.  She really enjoyed seeing these girls each week.

I also got this sweet picture of Lily in between numbers.

Russ took Allie to Krogers before the dance recital and let her pick out a balloon and flowers for Lily.  Lily was super excited to get these.  We even let Allie take them up to her!

After the recital Lily insisted that she get a picture with Ms. Daniel again this year.

***On a side note, Allie was super cute throughout the whole recital. She sat on Russ's lap but would bounce and move her arms to the music.  Also whenever Lily came out to dance she was very quick to clap for her.  She was super proud and excited for her big sister.  If only we all could have such big hearts like her!***

Still here...

So many things to write about,

but at the same time nothing to write about.

No time to write about them.

No desire to write about them.

Fingers crossed that motivation will come back soon. 

We're still here though...

and surviving!

4 month checkup

I was really nervous going into today's appointment for Charlotte.  I've really been stressing about the amount of food she eats and how skinny she is.  She also is ALWAYS sleeping. Not just the "newborn sleeping" but she only wakes up to eat and then she is instantly asleep.

Upon arriving the nurse took her stats and gave them to me:

Height: 25.5 in - 95%

Weight: 13 lbs 4 oz - 50%

Head: 40 cm {not sure}

They had to measure Charlotte's head a couple of times.  They kept coming up with something like 43 cm.  Then the last time they came up with the 40 cm and were happy with that.  The whole thing was weird.

Our doctor came in and it was one of those days that he is in rush.  I HATE those days because he will just totally brush off anything I have to say.  So I got answers to my questions, but who knows if he was really answering about Charlotte or just giving me the typical pat answers?  What he did say was that she is growing {Really her weight percentage dropped?!} and that some babies just want to eat and sleep and that is it.

After waking Charlotte up for the exam {see she was asleep again!} she was a super happy!  The doctor kept tickling her ribs and she let out the biggest grins.  I guess this was another reason why the doctor felt she was fine, because she was so responsive.  Apparently babies who aren't thriving won't give much response to people.  

The doctor also said that if we wanted we could start Charlotte on solids.  I was a bit surprised to hear this considering how much info has been put out lately about waiting to start solids until six months.  I'm unsure whether we will start them or not.  Charlotte just seems content breast feeding.  She doesn't seem overly hungry, so I don't see a real reason to start that yet.

The appointment wrapped up with shots.  I really got a good laugh watching Charlotte get her oral vacation.  Every time the nurse gave her a bit of it Charlotte would store it in her cheeks turn her head and the spit it out on the table!  The nurse ended up squeezing her cheeks to try and get her to swallow some of it.  Apparently thought Charlotte's cheeks are so massive that she could still find room to store it in them. She still kept spitting it out!  By the end of it the nurse was laughing too.  She said that part of the reason why babies get multiple doses of this vaccine is because they don't always swallow it.  The other two shots went well too.  Charlotte jumped pretty hard at the first one but didn't mind the second one.  The nurse was surprised since the second shot is the more painful one.  

We haven't had any fevers from the shots so overall the appointment wasn't too bad!

Row, row, row your boat!

Lily and Allie have been watching a new cartoon on Disney Junior lately.  It is called Jake and the Neverland pirates.  It is a pretty cute show about three little pirates, Captain Hook, and Smee.  They've been playing pirates a lot because of it.  I don't mind this in any way because their imagination has been getting a work out.  I wasn't in the least bit surprised to look over tonight and see that Allie had created a rowboat just like Captain Hook's.

Lily wanted to try it out too.  The "rowboat" isn't quite as comfortable for her....LOL!

Dentist Trip

Allie had been doing better with her fear of doctors because of how often she went with me to see the OB/GYN.  Because of that I thought her dentist trip would be a breeze.  This morning I started to get the hint that it wasn't going to go well when she crossed her arms and said,"I not go to the dentist.  Not ever ever!!!"  

An hour later we arrived at the dentist and had to bring Molly Monkey in with us for moral support.  Once in there Allie instantly balked at the guy dental hygenist who tried to be friendly with her.  The dentist entered about this time and talked to Allie but she just buried her head deeper in Molly's fur.  But then the hygenist whipped out their secret weapon....a tiara and a wand!  Allie's eyes lit up and she wore it for the visit.  She still wasn't very happy about the visit, but she did open her mouth just enough for the dentist to get the toothbrush in there.

Allie's teeth are doing well, but she is starting down the slippery slope that Lily is on.....calcification.  After a discussion with dentist about eating and drinking habits, she advised us to cut back on the milk.  She thinks that the milk is settling on their gums.  Since they drink so much milk it is just instensifying the problem.  This is going to be a huge fight considering Allie LOVES her milk.

Walking out to the parking lot Allie requested I take a picture of her with her crown and tiara.  I of course obliged to taking a picture of my little princess.

A new trick....

 I've mentioned multiple times about Charlotte and her active tongue.  I finally got a picture of how long it is and how she licks everything.  I know licking a toy isn't a big deal, but I SWEAR she licks anything she can get her tongue on.  Check it out...

Wait you can't see it?  Okay how about this?

And just for fun look how surprised Charlotte was that I was taking her photo.

Try It Tuesday

I can't even remember when the last time I posted a recipe on here.  I've been trying plenty of recipes and liking tons of them, but I just have never posted them.  Tonight though I found a winner and want to share it.  I found this recipe on Our Best Bites...definitely check out this website for some yummy recipes.

Smoked Turkey and Artichoke Panini
by Our Best Bites

One loaf rustic sourdough bread
One jar marinated artichoke hearts
Garlic-Herb sandwich spread
SmokedTurkey
Swiss cheese
Tomato, sliced
Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Spread garlic-herb mayo on each slice of bread, then layer cheese slices on each. Pile generous amounts of turkey slices on one side of each sandwich, followed by tomato slices and artichoke hearts.

Brush both outer sides of sandwiches with olive oil and grill until golden brown.

Russ devoured this and instantly declared that he wanted it again.  The girls sandwiches were altered in the fact that I didn't put any artichokes on theirs.  They like artichokes but I just wasn't sure if they would like it in their sandwiches.  They ate theirs all gone too.   

Do you have a yummy recipe you want to share for Try It Tuesday? Let me know so I can check it out! 

2011: One Little Word Take 2

After Charlotte was born all routine's went out the window.  In fact I'm still struggling to find a routine that works for us.  I'm floundering around in life without this routine.  Just ask Russ, my life must be planned out or I start to twitch....okay maybe I don't twitch but I get fairly irritable.  With that I've decided to reaffirm some convictions I made at the beginning of the year that were "routine" based.  Maybe if I can get these routine's down maybe I will find a routine for the rest of the day?  Good plan eh?  So here is to "committing" myself to these goals!

April

Read Scriptures, Relief Society Manual, and the Ensign 

--28 verses a day {my age} in scriptures…this is a challenge we gave all the primary children in our ward and I really wanted to do it with them. 

-- RS manual on Sundays 

-- Ensign before bed

Blog Daily 

-- funny story 

-- recipe 

-- P365 picture {Totally going to be my lifesaver on this!}

P365

This one can’t be broken down anymore than it is so wish me luck on it!

Sleep 8 hours a night

-- Turn off computer by 9:30 or 10:00

Spend 1 hour a day playing with Lily, Allie, and Charlotte

 

Since it is 10:00 I must be off to bed...toodles!

Down in the trenches

I found myself in the pick up lane at Lily's school with tears streaming down my face today.  I just couldn't stop the tears as hard as I tried.  Allie kept asking,"Momma you sad?" in her worried little voice.  Later on Lily would ask the same thing except for adding the why?  Charlotte even was concerned sticking out her little lip when she saw me crying. It was one of those days where nothing really bad happened, but nothing good happened either....or did it?

•  I played trains with Allie
• Charlotte held multiple conversations with me, which she hasn't done in awhile.
• Ballet was canceled allowing me to get a bit of a breather
• Russ finished work early and was able to come home early
• Lily was obedient before and after school, normally our two roughest times of the day.
• Charlotte smiled her gorgeous smile at me many times today
• Made dinner even when I didn't think I could

I wish when I'm in the thick of having a bad day I could see all the good things that happened too.  I mean I just made a list of seven wonderful things that happened today but I was blind to all of that. I hate days like this when I feel hopelessly lost when so many wonderful things are going on around me. I guess I can only hope for a better day tomorrow where I will more fully see my blessings.