Mother's Day

Guest post by Mom:

Mother's Day was great. I will admit I always envision just a little more relaxation for me than ever happens, but I'm not great at allowing Pete to just relax on Father's Day so it's only fair. Plus it is so close to my birthday.

This year, however, Pete NAILED the present. He surprised me with this:

That is a giant canvas print of photos I had never seen or even known were taken! It's stunning. I do remember the day that the kiddos got all dressed up. It was my birthday and my mom had bought matching outfits for everyone. She said she just went crazy at Target and even bought some for my sister's kids. I didn't think a thing about it. Angie even took the time to do my kids hair all cute after we had gone swimming. That was unusual either. I'm sure it drives my family crazy how haphazard my kids' hair can be. I even took a SLEW of photos myself because they looked so darn cute!

I should have known. He and his buddy, well now business partner, have started a printing company called Smashing Canvases. His buddy, Nate, is even the guy who has taken ALL our family photos for the last little bit. Including my parents! And yet, I was entirely surprised. It is so beautiful and I just stare at it.

The other "gift" was really from myself, but I let Pete take credit and give a present to each of his girls. I have a friend who sells Lulularoe clothing and I just couldn't help myself. I bought the Mommy and Me dresses.

Iva will be able to wear hers for probably TWO YEARS because I bought the size up and didn't realize I really shouldn't have. We love twirling in them together though.

I love Mother's Day also because I reflect on how much I love being a mom to each of my kids. And I really mean that I love being Siena's mom and I love being Cara's mom and Iva's mom and Sam's mom since they are all so unique.

Luckily all my kids are cuddlers, but Iva is still young enough that we spend lots of time snuggling. she loves to be silly with me and smile and sing and have a "dance party!"

Siena is really a dream. I love that she's getting old enough for me to discover who she REALLY is instead of me creating it. Her "All About Mom" stuff from school was awesome. I love that she tries everything and wants to do it all. She was even okay with not winning the district science fair although she was disappointed and had high hopes! She still went and was well behaved and knowledgeable and happy.

My Cara tends to remind me to feel things a little deeper and quieter. She breaks when I am mad and I learn to hold my tongue because of her. She also finds joy in just about everything and she does it in a way that's almost bigger yet quieter than me. Her little smile always has so much more behind it.

Then there is this guy. It's not different to have a boy yet. All my babies have been their own person so for me it's still that he's just a different baby (with some diaper issues being different!) He has got to be the quietest most observant little soul in our family. Only Cara can rival him and that is just because her voice is small. He loves to watch us and smiles with his WHOLE BODY when he catches the eye of his girls. He's still little and helping me soak up the baby time.

I know I am in the trenches of young motherhood. Sleep is not a given. People need me physically and emotionally 24/7. I'm trying to find ways to discipline and yet be better at loving and picking my battles, but I LOVE IT. I love it so much. In fact, if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go play with my kids.

Snapchat

So my mom finally downloaded the Snapchat app because her siblings have it. And because we love to play with selfie mode. I think we have mentioned it before.

Siena with Lebron James' face!

So much silliness.

Spring Weather

Spring time in St. George is funny. You can be so blasted hot that you are begging for an outdoor pool to dip in and then you can be so cold that you are sorry you packed up your winter clothes already. We have enjoyed our storms and truthfully we still need more.

For example, Mom snuck me out of school to swim on her birthday and while I'm in school other days she has played at the splash pad.

Then there are days in the same week that have rain and coats and chilly weather!

We even jacuzzied in the rain...that one was probably dumb. There was thunder, but it was kind of fun.

Grandpa and Grandma even took us big girls to hike in Zion and look at waterfalls during the rain.

The dogs have enjoyed snuggling with Cara when they are allowed inside during rain. This day that they snuck in, it was hailing!

We have run through sprinklers too!

Summer is definitely in the air is definitely getting warmer and the days are getting longer. It's mom's favorite time of year. School is almost out!

Mom's Birthday

Guest post by Mom:

So I turned 32 years old this year. It was pretty anticlimactic as most birthdays go for adults. I gave myself a present though! I gave myself shingles.

For real.

It started out on Friday, the 15th of April. I had noticed for the last couple of days that I thought I had burned myself on my arm. That is the best way to describe it. There were just some sensitive spots on my right arm and down on to the side of my hand. That Friday we had our spring carnival at school and I was quite busy all afternoon. I came home that night and noticed I had a couple of spot that went down my arm. I even took a picture for my sister. It almost felt fungal. They were raised and kind of bumpy like roundworm, but it was just bizarre.

Saturday I showed them to my mom and dad because there were a few more. They weren't particularly painful or itchy, but they were growing. Some looked blistery and both my sister, Angie, and I even said...I wonder if it's shingles. My dad didn't think it looked quite shingly enough.

Sunday came and we were over at my parents' house again celebrating my birthday and my dad's when it became pretty obvious that it was shingles. I had all the symptoms, but my dad said I should just ride it out and not try an antiviral. It would just run its course.

We both regret that decision a little because what we thought was the top of the hill wasn't. I ended up getting many more spots and it became painful. I took ibuprofen fairly regularly but it wasn't unbearable. I ended up putting a capzasin cream on the spots to try and help it heal quicker. It was most obnoxious because it was fairly wide spread all over my arm. Shingles normally stay in one "dermatome" and I was lucky enough to have gotten them on one of the largest dermatomes. I say that sarcastically. It was my right arm so I was constantly trying to carry my car seat and hold my baby with it and then it would be really annoying. Here is the progression in photos.

This was on birthday. The bracelet was a present from Pete. I love it.

These next ones were from April 20th. 

April 23rd:

And then on the 28th:

The last two were more scabs than anything. I didn't really have itchiness until after scabs started falling off. I actually consider myself lucky because I didn't have extreme pain with them. I couldn't wait for them to be gone, but it really was more of a nuisance. Teaching classes got funny because people would see the stuff by my armpit and ask me what happened and then I would rotate my arm and they would audibly gasp. Even today, you can still see where it is healing and I have spots but they don't bug me.

My husband and daughters were actually very good to me on my birthday and so was the rest of my family. My watch is one of my favorite parts of my birthday. It does this:

Also my favorite gift (besides my awesome Alex and Ani bracelet) was this:

They are 8 oz glass bottles with our names on them! It's true. I'm a Diet Coke Lover. They make me happy every time I look at them and they are prominently displayed in our house. I certainly had a birthday I won't forget.