Small miracles

After what seemed like a plague of bad fortune, it seems Heavenly Father has finally decided we had had enough and he has poured down some blessings on us.

First, we're pretty healthy (well, until Kiersa came down sick yesterday, but it isn't too serious)

Second, after a year and a half of keeping my eyes out for a bargain on some kind of ground-cover for the kids' play area in the yard, we stumbled upon 5 trailer loads of rubber mulch from an old playground. They gave it to us for free!!! We just had to scoop it and transport it. Now the swingset and trampoline have soft, rubber mulch under them. I guess it's recycled tires or something, but it's really clean and soft. Kiersa fell off the swing and didn't even cry.

Third, the same day that we got all the free rubber mulch, I found out from the hospital that they were going to clear our bills to them. My cousin, Angi, told me that most hospitals have programs where they will pay part or all of your debt to them if you apply, so I called up the hospital, filled out the application, wrote a letter of explanation, then waited. They decided to pay for 100% of our bill, aside from a $375 copay that will be $20/month payments with no interest. I couldn't believe it! It was something close to $7,000 that we owed them (after the insurance companies had paid), and now the bill is $375. Talk about a load off our backs!! I never even knew these kind of programs existed! Thanks, Ang!

Fourth, business is picking up now. The weather is nice and people are relaxing a little bit about the economy, so that's helping our business. Now we have to play catch up for all the slow months and Hyrum is swamped waaaay over his head with far more than one designer can do. If you know of any trained kitchen designers, send them our way!

It feels so good to be able to breathe a little, though we do have the stress of a desperate need for a trained designer.

My yard is coming along. Sorry I can't post pictures. My garden is getting big and beautiful, and the landscaping is taking shape. I can't go to a gym, so I get up at 6 each morning and work in the yard until around 7:30. I can't tell you how great a shovel is for getting a person in shape. It's my new best friend it seems. Between shoveling tons of dirt to new areas in the yard, building recycled concrete walls, moving mountains of rubber mulch (that is recycled from a playground, and made of recycled rubber), making recycled concrete pathways and recycled brick pathways and grass edging, I've lost 10 pounds and I'm finally starting to get toned, AND...I'm doing something good for the environment by using all these recycled materials. Can you tell I'm from Oregon? Actually, the truth is, I have zero yard budget, and walking wasn't getting me anywhere in the weight loss department, so I decided to work on my yard each morning, and I could only work with materials that I already had lying around...plants I brought from my Coquille house when I moved and ferns from the shop, the concrete from the sidewalks and driveway that we tore up around the house, dirt from the excavation of the crawlspace, and brick from my fireplace that we tore apart (though we left the chimney intact).

I'm so glad summer is here, and I'm loving the yardwork, though my carpal tunnel is REALLY mad at me and is screaming at me to stop, though I won't since it's my only workout in a day. I think once my yard is done, I'll have to volunteer my shoveling abilities around the neighborhood or something in order to continue my workout. And though it's difficult to drag myself out of bed each morning, I LOVE the calm, quiet, windless morning hours. They feel almost magical.

The only problem is, I have an audience each morning, and it makes me a little self-conscious to be watched. If you remember me mentioning the nosey neighbors we have across the street that would watch the front of our house like a hawk while they sat on their front porch to smoke...well, they moved, but only 2 houses down. Now they can watch my front yard AND back yard, until I get a fence. Too bad I don't have enough wood lying around to build one. Anyway, they get up early to have their smoke breaks, so they sit out front and watch me work in the yard. They comment to me every now and then about how I'm out so early and how their amazed I'm doing all this on my own, but mostly they just stare. I feel like a one-man circus since I seem to give them so much entertainment. Thankfully, they don't stay out the whole time. Oh, I wore out my poor, trusty, mega-sized wheelbarrow, so now it only has one handle. Maybe they just like watching me maneuver a one-handled, two-wheeled wheelbarrow around my yard. I guess that would be kind of entertaining to watch.

Anyway, hopefully pictures will be up and running again soon.

I did it!

I shaved Paisli's head! I took before and after pictures, but I can't upload them because I've reached my maximum uploads on blogger. I have to turn my blog into a book on blurb.com so I can continue blogging with pictures. Until then, my posts will be mostly on hold.

Anyway, Paisli looks just like my other kids did after their buzzes. I LOVE it! I kind of wish I'd done it sooner now.

I've used Burt's Bees baby lotion on all of my kids, so any time I smell it, I'm instantly flooded with flashes of memories of my kids as infants when they wore it. Seeing Paisli bald is just like that. I've always shaved my kids' heads around 2-3 months old, but I waited until 4 months with Paisli. I was just curious to see what she would look like if I kept her baby hair. It was getting bad. I couldn't stand her mullet any longer, or her thinning hair as the old fell out and the new grew in. So last night, I pulled out the clippers. She actually fell asleep during it! Instantly, she looked like one of my kids. She always had looked a bit different than the others had, but now when we look at her, she looks like one of ours. I love the little buzzed look. It's sooooo much better than the wispy, balding, patchy look that they have before. I wish I could post a picture!

To those of you whose babies have nice, even hair, count your blessings. Mine aren't that lucky. Shaving is a necessity. I wish everyone could see Paisli's adorable, round head! Hopefully I'll have the upload problem fixed soon.

Confession

Some people have an aversion to fat, or pasty, white skin, or certain hair colors, or bad nails, or accents, or bad breath, or certain hair lengths. I have an aversion to bad teeth. I really LOVE nice, white teeth. I've had insecurity issues with my teeth ever since I broke my 2 front teeth at age 10 on a water slide. I've been to so many dentists, yet after all the work I've had on them to repair the damage (bonding, root canals, infection removal, crowns,...), my front teeth still bother me. At the gumline of my front teeth, my gums are kind of greyish instead of nice and pink (from the trauma and the methods of repair), and I can't whiten my teeth because my front crowns can't be whitened (my other teeth would be white and my front two would be darker). I could get new crowns that are whiter, but I can't justify the expense since they cost a ton and the existing ones are actually fine (for the average non-tooth-obsessed person). Until I got my crowns, my teeth REALLY bothered me. They still do, but not as bad, but because of the issues I've had with them over a lifetime, I'm self-conscious about my teeth (the front two mainly), and thus have developed a teeth-obsession.

Also...I got braces in middle school, but the orthodontist wouldn't give me a regular retainer. He gave me a thing to wear at night (like what football players or boxers put in their mouth during games), but when I lay down, I can't breathe out of my nose, so the stupid retainer thing only stayed on my top teeth (since my mouth is open all night) and my teeth are now a bit crooked again and my jaw has shifted back a little to a minor overbite again. Arrgghh! This only exacerbated my obsession.

At the risk of subjecting myself to ridicule and people thinking I'm rude, I'm going to confess my most ridiculous, petty, embarrassing pet peeve. I don't notice people's eye color. I notice their teeth (and their nose, since I don't like my bulbous nose). I have a hard time with bad teeth (discolored, broken/missing, snaggly, etc). No offense to anyone. I can't help it. It's my pet peeve. I told Hyrum that if he didn't have the nice, straight teeth he has, I would have required that he got braces before we got married. Aren't I ridiculous? I know I am. It's just that I can't help it! I couldn't have tolerated looking at him with crooked or discolored teeth everyday for the rest of forever. It would have grated on me like sandpaper until it became a matter of marital contention. I'm just being honest here! Luckily, he has good teeth. Actually, there were a couple of things about his teeth I didn't like, but they were very minor, and not near as bad as my dark gums (or the discolored bonding I had when I met him), so I got over it. I still wish he'd bleach them a little, but he hates the taste and texture of the Crest white strips, so I'm bearing with it. I know what you're thinking. I sound ridiculous and shallow, but honestly, I can't help it! I don't shun people or dislike them if they have bad teeth. I imagine in my head how their teeth could look if they whitened them, or got braces. Someday, I'll find a dentist who can fix my gums problem. Until them...I'm still searching.

If I could have picked a profession for Hyrum, and if he would have liked it, I would have chosen for him to be a dentist. Then I'd get all the dental care I wanted for my family at cost. I'd have had him help my extended family for cost too, so that they could all enjoy the benefits of nice teeth. Sadly, Hyrum's hands aren't steady enough for dental work, AND I wouldn't want to stare into nasty mouths all day, so I can't imagine he'd love that either. I could never be a dentist. I would be grossed out.

I'm determined that my kids will have good teeth. They WILL get braces if needed. They WILL be trained to brush morning and night...always. Johnson teeth break all the time, so I have to battle those genes my kids inherited (plus the crooked teeth gene that runs in the Cluff line). Kiersa already thinks it's the greatest thing ever to brush. Let's hope it stays that way.

El Chunko, the sequel

Paisli has broken Kiersa's chunky record! At 4 months, Kiersa was 15 pounds, 5 ounces. Paisli, on the other hand, at her 4 month check up yesterday was 15 pounds, 12 ounces! If those numbers don't mean anything to you, she's in the 90th percentile and has mega thighs with more rolls than a bag of Rhodes. And the cellulite...well, we won't go there. I'm sure that with the quantity she has, it's bound to be a sensitive subject. It's funny how my first two started out pretty skinny, and my second two have been "so plump-eh, and oh so chunk-eh" (that's Madagascar 2 if you're confused). I have to say that even though it was fun having skinny babies (you could carry them in one arm for hours without getting tired), it's more fun to squish my chubby babies' plump little legs and smooshy cheeks. It makes them so cuddly!

The Skinny 2: (note the lack of arm chub)

Talea at 2 months


Hyatt at 3 months


The Chubby 2: (note the rolls)

Kiersa at 1 month (this chub is strictly from breastmilk...no formula introduced yet)...


...and Kiersa at 8 months


Paisli at 3 months


How they are so different is a mystery to me.

You know how with your first baby you have all the time in the world to coo and play with it and watch for/encourage each new milestone since you have no other kids distracting you? Well, with Paisli, being my 4th, I've forgotten to do that. At her appointment, the doctor asked me if she rolls over yet. Hmmmm. Does she? Honestly, I didn't know. I didn't remember ever seeing her roll over, but when I really thought about it, she has never once been laid on the floor to have the chance to try. Since our floors at home and at work are both hard laminate and tile, the floor is too cold and drafty to put her on, especially since she's been so sick in her life. She spends her time in my arms, her swing, Daddy's or Grandpa's arms, her carseat, or her bed (strictly to sleep). And in her bed, she sleeps on her tummy (I know, I know, SIDS risk, but my kids will only sleep well on their tummies), with a heavyish blanket on her that makes it too difficult to roll.

Anyway, when I got back to work, I decided to test it out. I have a play mat for her that someone gave me, so I put her on her tummy and let her play (near a space heater so she'd be warm enough). I had to leave my office for a bit, then I heard her crying, so I went back in and found her on her back. Yep, she rolls over. Next, I decided to see if she'd grab her toys hanging over her head. Yep, she does that too. I have no idea how long she's been able to do these things! Sorry, Paisli. It's the curse of the 4th child...Mom's too distracted to focus all her attention on you. I love you tons though, and I already knew you had skills even if I hadn't tested them out.

Oh! She's almost ready to sit up too! I was out in the yard shoveling my new bark (that's a story for a different post), but Paisli was impatient, so I fed her, then I sat her on the grass, and to my surprise, she holds herself up really well for several seconds before leaning to the side. She'll sit up when surrounded by her boppy too. Kiersa's chub made it hard for her to sit up well until 6 months, so we'll see what happens with Paisli.

Camping!!!

We LOVE camping! Especially with a trailer, so our noise and mess can be contained in one place.

This time we tried a new spot from our Camping Oregon book. It's called Daphne Grove, next to the river, over by Powers.

We got there late on Friday since we had the whole trauma with Kiersa's face right before we left, and we didn't even pack up or shop until after work. We had dinner on our way out of town, got to our camping spot, built a fire, and had snacks. Talea wanted ghost stories, so I dug through my memory looking for some, editing them to make them only slightly scary, which disappointed Talea. She LOVES scary stories, movies and places, even though they freak her out. She takes after me.

Hyatt on the other hand, was terrified. All we had to say was "Once upon a time, in the deep, dark wood, there was a clicking sound..." and Hyatt would immediately pull his hood over his head and then pull up the front of his jacket so only a slit of his face was showing, if that. If he wasn't wearing a hooded jacket at the time of the story, he'd race to the trailer for cover.

The next morning, we left the trailer at camp and drove into Powers for their annual city-wide garage sale. It was fun! We scored some cute kids clothes and a bike for Tilly since she's outgrown her Dora one. No training wheels either! I'm determined to make her learn to ride without them! We also found an aquarium for her so she can collect bugs and snakes and keep them in there.

On our way back to camp, we stopped at the marshmallow factory.


We've seen these giant marshmallows in the fields after the grass is cut, and we've been dying to drive to some in order to touch them...


and taste them.


The kids finally got their chance! They even got to try to roast one.


Next, we drove off into the hills exploring logging roads. We stopped at "Big Tree" for some pictures.




And we found some really cool waterfalls and rock formations.


Back at camp, we went down to the river and found all kinds of creatures. We took a container and made a river environment so we could collect our creatures.


Talea caught a pretty big frog all by herself...


and wasn't surprised to find that it didn't turn into a prince once kissed.


That night, chopping wood was the highlight, though with Kiersa's scabby face reminding me of the threat of injury, I was a little nervous about their wild swings. (We found out later that they provided free firewood at this campground, so we went through the sweat for nothing...but the exercise.)



Kiersa has learned to kiss things better, so here she is smacking Hyrum' s arm, then kissing it better. It's very endearing.




The next day, Hyrum thought he'd teach the kids how to hit a ball, so they played around for a bit. Hyrum was pitcher, Tilly and Hyatt were hitters, Paisli and I were the catcher, and Kiersa was short stop.




After that, we decided to explore more logging roads. We found a free campground by a lake that used to be called Squaw Lake, until the government decided it was rude to the Indians to call it that, so they renamed it Sru Lake. It's more of a pond really, but it has a trail around it and it was a perfect little hike for tiny legs to walk.



We found a MASSIVE slug...


Talea showed off her fearlessness by walking across a fallen log far above the ground...


And we had a race at the fork in the trail to see who was faster: the big kids or the little girls. The trails didn't come back together, so no winner was declared.


Kiersa didn't find the forest floor litter sticking to her hands when she'd fall a very amusing thing...


But her "Who" hair was pretty funny!


Even though it was a fairly easy stroll, Hyatt pulled out his handy dandy binoculars to keep us from getting lost.


Paisli kept an eye out too.


Daphne Grove was a fun place to camp, even with the mosquitos (Paisli is modeling her first bite...by her eyebrow),


and we can't wait to camp at Sru Lake next time.

More road rash

One 16 month old + one pile of cardboard boxes on a gravel parking lot = one nasty case of road rash

Same day as accident (I was ready to run her to the hospital for stitches since I can't handle blood)...


One day later (she'll be okay)...



We planned to go camping on Friday after work...but we didn't figure in The Jinx. Why do we even bother "planning" anymore?

Talea and Hyatt were playing on a stack of cardboard at the back of the shop, and when Kiersa came out, Talea (being the kind-hearted sister she is) helped Kiersa up on the stack to join them in the fun and dancing. The problem is, a 5 year-old doesn't realize that a 16 month-old isn't steady on her feet while atop a wobbly stack of large, broken-down cardboard boxes. The stack was probably at least 4 feet high since the recycle guy hasn't come in a while, and though we'd warned the kids to stay off it, the temptation was apparently too great.

This is Talea's version of what happened: "I wanted to play on the cardboard, and Hyatt came out with his broom singing "Violin", so I lifted him up, then Kiersa came around the corner and I lifted her up too, then I climbed up. We were dancing and singing "Violin" then Kiersa was gone. I heard her crying, so I climbed down and I saw her mouth and her cheek was bleeding, so I ran to get help."

I was in my office when I heard Talea's cry for help, but Hyrum was already running out since he could hear Kiersa crying. Thank goodness Hyrum was there because I was ready to pass out with all the blood everywhere, and all I could do was wring my hands and try not to panic. Hyrum, on the other hand, was very calm and collected and inspected her all over and got the bleeding under control.

In the end, the worst cut wasn't bad enough for stitches, and thankfully her chubby cheeks had padded her fall so she didn't crack her skull or something. The poor girl is a magnet for injuries right now. I guess this is the exact reason why my brother-in-laws want my sisters to watch their kids so carefully. This probably wouldn't have happened to them. Hy and I just let our kids run loose to play, and hope for the best, since that's how we were raised.

We did go camping that night anyway. Kiersa was smiling and happy again within about 20 minutes after the accident.

The best gift a mother can get...

when her children are small...is sleep.

Paisli is my little sweetheart. She has been sleeping through the night since 2 months old! At almost 4 months old now, she sleeps from around 8 or 9 pm to anywhere from 7:30 to 9 am. 12 hours straight is not uncommon for her. She NEVER wakes up at night anymore. Well, occassionally she'll stir and fuss for a few seconds, but I don't even budge anymore because I know she'll be asleep again in a matter of seconds. We usually have to wake her up in the mornings to put her in the shower with me so we can go to work.

Hyatt also slept through the night starting at 2 months, and so far, Paisli looks and acts the most like Hyatt. I've discovered that it may be the fact that I moved Hyatt and Paisli out of my room at 2 months old that they started sleeping through the night so young (though Paisli moved back in after a few weeks). I didn't do that with Tilly and Kiersa, and neither of them slept through the night until 9 months old or older.

She's beginning to try to hold her own bottle.


Hmmm. Is she embarrassed of us, concentrating extremely hard, or just dead tired?


Look at her chub! I don't know how much she weighs (I'll find out on the 18th), but she's got the horrible inner thigh curse that Kiersa has, which was passed down from me. Sorry girls.

Snoozin'

Talea and Hyatt are the best of friends. The other day Hyrum took Talea to work so she could go to preschool while I stayed home with the others to get caught up around the house. Both Tilly and Hyatt were a bit lost without each other. Hyatt almost burst into tears when he woke up and discovered she'd left, but I managed to distract him.
Talea wandered around the shop, and without Hyatt to play with, she must have gotten a little bored. Hyrum found her asleep in the grass by a customer's car, much to the customer's shock and slight horror (she was afraid Talea was dead or something).



At least she wasn't in stinkbug position like Kiersa likes to do.

You had to see it!

My baby is growing up. Talea cracks me up, and continually shocks me with how old she's getting by what she says. My favorite quote today...

"I was about to fall asleep..I didn't want to fall asleep, but I kept trying to fall asleep, then I looked over and saw Hyatt and he was asleep, and I didn't know he was asleep, so my brain said, 'What the heck?' It was so funny. You had to see it."

I love the bit on the end. She pays attention to what we say when we don't even realize it.

I constantly find that she's nabbed my camera and taken pictures. Here are some of her latest that she's taken at work.