Insert Favorite Cliche' Here

It takes more muscles to frown than it does to smile.
This too shall pass.
When it rains it pours.

So this has been my week.

On Tuesday Cameron started to bark. I'm serious. It was the strangest thing I've heard coming from a 2 month old. I didn't really think it was him at first but then he barked while I was holding him. Oh great, here we go. His pediatrician wasn't in the office but I saw another doctor from the same practice. He confirmed that Cameron had Croup. He had to give him a shot of steroids to keep Cameron's throat open and to help him get better. Because I've never gone through this with my other kids, I didn't think to ask the critical question: What are the side effects??

Well, from Tuesday until today, Cameron has turned into somebody other than my sweet little baby. My patience has been tested for sure. Apparently steroids make you agitated and unable to sleep. Huh, that probably would have been good for me to know don't you think? Oh don't worry, I'm going to gently explain to this doctor that he needs to prepare the mother's of children who he turns into Frankenstein about what personality makeovers he is going to perform. If we didn't hold Cameron constantly he would scream like we had pinched him. I called Sam on Friday afternoon and said "I think I've reached my breaking point, when will you be home??" Late this afternoon he finally took his first nap since Tuesday. Of course, this was after Sam held him from about 8am to 2pm.

On Thursday, Sam stayed home with Cameron while the rest of us and my parents went to our Relief Society garden at This is the Place Heritage Park. I volunteered to be in charge of maintenance at the garden this summer. So we worked our tails off and it looks beautiful and ready for the summer planting.


Here's my dad and Parker looking all cute...more on Parker later and I'll give you a hint, he's not being so cute right now...


So, Friday night was looking promising. Sam came home from work and he was helping me with Frankenstein, er, I mean Cameron. It was a beautiful day outside and I had a hankering to go work in my flower beds. We were kind of disorganized for dinner (cut me some slack, remember, I was holding #3 all day long). Carson fed himself a corndog and then we told him to go outside. Sam said "go jump on the tramp and practice doing flips." Famous last words.

Unfortunately, our trampoline is on the side of our house and we can't see it from inside the house. About 15 minutes later Carson appears at the sliding glass door whimpering "moooooooommmmmmmm!" I looked towards the door and what I saw will probably haunt me until I die. Carson had blood across half of his face, dripping down his arm, and it was even in his eye so his eyeball was bright red. I've kind of always prided myself in remaining calm when my kids get freakishly hurt, but that was promptly forgotten as I stared in horror at Carson. I ran to the door and yelled "What happened????" Sam and I rushed him to the bathroom and started cleaning him up, trying to determine the source of the blood. We were so scared he had impaled his eyeball with something. Finally, we found the source, a nice cut on his eyelid. He said he was practicing flips (such an obedient child) and he overshot the landing and smacked his eye on the bar of the trampoline frame. So, my open Friday night was suddenly full. I gave him a rag to hold onto his eye and off to the InstaCare we went.

I was so sad because Carson kept asking me "why didn't you come outside to help me? I was screaming as loud as I could for a long time." Ouch, stab to the heart.
I took these pictures with my phone while we were at the clinic.
Carson was so funny because I think he was so nervous, he was giddy. Here he is with the numbing gel on the cut:


Here is what his eye looked like after they injected the numbing medication into the cut. He wasn't as giddy, but he was such a champ. He hardly moved at all!


Here he is after they stiched him up. It took 5 stitches under the surface of the skin and 4 stiches on the surface. It was really deep and really creepy.


He was so brave, all he asked was that I hold both his hands. Gotta love Carson! As you can see, he is just fine now. This was right after we got home.


He was even a sport and went back on the tramp to show me exactly what happened. Yes, I know, it's time to get pads for the trampoline. He'll have a nice shiner to show off to the kids at school on Monday!


Then...
Friday night from 10pm to 12am Macey's grocery store was having a special sale. One of the featured items was Strawberries, $1 per pound. Fern is an adventurous soul so she braved the crowds (not a single parking spot in the parking lot!) and scored me 2 flats of beautiful strawberries. It only cost me $16!

This is only half of them, aren't they purdy?


I already have tons of strawberry jam so I decided to make Strawberry Lemonade concentrate with my bargain berries. My neighbor made some last summer and gave me a jar. I instantly fell in love with it! It's better than any strawberry lemonade I've had at any restaurant. It is so good and so flavorful! I kind of got in over my head because 2 flats of strawberries made 42 jars of lemonade! Here it is, 12:27am and the last batch is finally processing in the steam canner. Oh well, if we ever have an emergency and have to survive off our food storage, we'll sure have enough to drink! My mom used to look at her counter tops full of home canned goods and she would say "aren't they pretty?" That's how I feel right now, aren't they pretty?


So, Cameron had Croup, Carson had stitches...Parker didn't want to feel left out. About an hour ago he woke up screaming and holding his hand over his ear. Looks like we have an ear infection folks. So we gave him Motrin and put some numbing drops in his ear and we'll see what tomorrow brings. Those InstaCare employees are going to roll their eyes at me if I come strolling in tomorrow with a different child. As Parker was crying so hard he couldn't catch his breath, Sam and I just looked at each other and I think we both aged about 10 years. I seriously thought to myself, "am I getting too old for this?" As I type this Sam is sleeping on the couch next to me. Plumb Tuckered is what we are.

And because my posting has been somewhat negative, here's something funny. What happens when you leave your BBQ grill outside all Spring without the cover on it?



Stupid birds. Oops, that was negative too.

A huge thanks to Fern for watching my kids tonight so Sam and I could have a much needed break. We saw Ironman with our friends, the Strong's and Gilmore's. It was a GREAT movie with GREAT company.

H-E-Double Hockey Sticks Week

Today alone has almost worn me down and out, let alone what has occurred this week. I'm going to do an update, hopefully tomorrow, so stay tuned!

Things to look forward to:
Snotty Croup
Strawberries
Stitches
Sunny day in the Garden

And who knows what tomorrow will bring....I'm actually frightened as to what else could happen.....

More Mother's Day & Cameron Update

I wanted to put more Mother's Day pictures on my blog last night but I was too wiped out...

I wanted to give a "shout out" to my Mom. She is the best Mom I could ever hope for. The older I get the more I appreciate her. Not only is she a great mom, she is a very impressive Grandma. She never acts frustrated when my kids want to play games with her. She happily stops whatever she is doing and takes the time to make memories with my kids...even when she is exhausted! Thanks Mom, I love you!

Here she is yesterday afternoon with Parker.


I'm also lucky enough to have a wonderful Mother-in-law. She joined us for dinner yesterday, which was the perfect blend of good food and good company!

I never noticed how much she and Sam looked alike until I saw this picture.


Here's a handsome shot of two of my guys...Thanks Sam for a great Mother's Day! You've come a long way since giving me a DVD of "stepmom" as my Mother's Day present when I was pregnant with Carson...and we didn't own a DVD player at the time! :)


Here is a Cameron update:

Today we had Cameron's 2 month doctor appointment. He weighs 12 lbs 2 oz now. He's doing great lately because he's been sleeping through the night for the past week. That's always an excellent milestone to reach! I just hope it lasts!

Unfortunately, he really favors the right side of his head when he sleeps so his head is kind of crazy right now. Looking straight at him you wouldn't notice, but if you look down on the top of his head like the noonday sun, you can see what's going on. I've never heard of this before, but my doctor described baby's heads like a box. If you put pressure on one corner of a box, the whole thing shifts one way or another. So, Cameron's forehead on the right side is bulging out more than the left. Also, his right ear is closer to the front of his face than the left ear. Completely bizarre-o. So, for the next 2 months, we have to wedge a blanket under the right side of his head so he sleeps on the left side of his head.

If the head doesn't reshape itself at his 4 month appointment he may need one of two things: a helmet, or a CAT scan to determine if it's his bone structure that is wacked. If his bone structure is the problem, then he'll need surgery on his skull later in life to fix. I don't think it's anything major, I just think I need to be diligent on keeping him off the right side of his head. It's weird because I remember Carson getting a flat spot on his head but it didn't mess with his forehead or ears. If anybody has heard about this before, feel free to share your experience with me because it's the first I've heard of it.

Oh yeah, Cameron has a confirmed clogged tear duct in his left eye. The doctor said to just massage it several times a day and it should work it's way out. If not, he'll need to have it surgically fixed when he's one year old.

He got his first round of vaccines today. One he drank, which was new for us, and three shots. He was a trooper!


Here's hoping he's a trooper through the night as well!

Happy Mother's Day To Me

Yep my back is sore.

The day started with the annual Mother's Day tradition of planting my mother-in-law's flower pots with Fern. It's always fun and Fontella appreciates it so much. Here is sass-a-frass Fern and myself getting started.


Cameron slept under a tree and Carson and Parker hung out on Grandma's swing. Check out Carson's white legs. He definitely takes after his mom. I seriously can hardly tell where his white socks end and his legs begin!


Fern didn't let Carson slack off for long, she put him to work with the old fashioned lawn mower. Surprisingly, he kept at it for a long time. Very funny!


After we were done, I came home and started planting my Mother's Day present: summer flowers. Here are the flowers I planted in my yard. It doesn't look like a lot, but it took a few hours to get them all in the ground. I also planted California Giant Zinnias seeds along my driveway. I plant them every year and I love them!!! They grow about 3 feet tall and they are beautiful until Fall. I highly recommend them!


About halfway through planting, I started to feel the familiar burning fatigue in my back, so Sam saved the day. It was part of the Mothers Day deal, I asked for flowers and the labor to plant them. Do you like all the cars in the background? There was a wedding taking place at one of the houses in our circle. Our street and circle looked like a used car lot all evening!


Pretty now, prettier later when they are full of color and are growing big!





Well, time to find a heating pad for my back...I think Sam is plumb tuckered as well...

Dirty Date Night

Get your mind out of the gutter!

So, every spring I get ancy about my flower beds. I feel like there is a VERY small window of opportunity to get all my flower beds cleaned out, new dirt/manure added, and flowers planted. It's lots of pressure I put on myself and I'm not sure why I do it. I think it's a good thing because I have a few crazy weeks and then I get to enjoy the fruits of my labor. For Sam, this means he gets to get on the crazy train with me and I'm so thankful he does!

A few nights ago we borrowed our friend's truck (thanks Ryan!!!) and bought 50, yes 50, bags of composted steer manure. Sam got to load all 50 into the truck, unload all 50 onto the side of our house, and the next day move all 50 around the yard and cut open the bags and pour all 50 into various flower beds. Crazy as it sounds, we still need about 20 more bags to finish filling up all the flower beds.

Here is a nice action shot of Sam throwing one of the 50 bags onto the side of our house.


My parents were so awesome because they helped us disperse the dirt and clean out the flower beds. Here is a nice picture that shows how much work we did. Check out my dad in the background...slacker! :)


If you see me wearing this green polo and ripped jeans, you know I mean business in the yard! It's my official "I-hope-my-thumb-is-green" gear!


Just chillin'


Sam is still smiling, even after hauling that dirt around and having my dad harass him. What a good sport!!


At least my kids are old enough to lend a helping hand in the clean up efforts. They complained until I told them they needed to be "very useful engines" and help me, Sir Topham Hat, clean up the yard. If you or your kids don't watch Thomas and Friends that last sentence will be useless...sorry....


Now that's real purdy:


Stay tuned for the next step....planting of the summer flowers. Can you feel my excitement? Can you feel the back pains I'll probably have tomorrow night? Good times.

Ran Dumb

I just have a few random things to share:

The other day I was out running errands with the boys. When I left, Sam was in the garage sawing some wood. When I came home, this is what I saw on the counter:


Oh this can't be good...I searched for blood and didn't see any. I called Sam's cell and he said "it's a good story, I'll call you back". Huh. So I waited patiently for the return call, and kept looking for blood. When he finally called me back, he was laughing at what I must have thought. Apparently one of our neighbors was using a saw and cut a nice chunk (gag) out of his finger. He came over for a blessing before he went to the hospital. Hey Sam, next time you do something like that and then leave, maybe clean up the evidence so I don't freak out. :)

Cameron sure does love his bottle! I'll be if I looked hard enough I could find a sleeping picture of me holding Peanut Butter M&M's! Yummers!


Yesterday I was working and Carson was standing behind me casually talking. I finally turned around because I could sense that he wanted me to look at him. He had found my glasses...


He said, in a really loud pre-puberty voice, "if I cross my eyes it's not so blurry!!!" Oh my gosh, that kid is so bizarre! I seriously love his front teeth, they are so funny! An orthodontist is going to have fun with those one day...

Best Weekend Ever!

****Warning: Grab a snack, this will be a long posting****

I had an excellent weekend, and thanks to Jed and Nalani for the two Mountain Dews this afternoon because I'm not even tired right now! So, here we go...

Saturday morning started out with the baptism of my nephew, Nick. After the baptism, Sam confirmed him. It was pretty special because Sam gave Nick his baby blessing as well, 8 years ago! My how time flies.... In fact, I was pregnant with Carson when Sam blessed Nick so he got to bless a baby before he was even a dad.
Here is a cute picture of the two:


After the baptism, we headed to James' house in Bluffdale for some grub and gab time. It was a good time had by all! Here are James and Parker standing on James' deck. I'm pretty sure James is telling Parker about all the life's lessons he needs to be aware of. Hopefully Parker was listening!


Here are Mel and Sydnee messing around with Cameron's head...literally. He looks like a wise man!


We left James' house and headed straight to Wheeler Farm to meet up with my parents and Darren and Susan's family. Darren and Susan came to Utah for Cameron and Cash's baby blessings. Let me just exclaim how happy I was that they made the dreaded Rexburg to Salt Lake drive for me! I know it's a pain but I'm so glad they came! Thank you so much you guys!!!
The weather cooperated very nicely this weekend so the kids had fun at Wheeler Farm. Here are Carson, Parker, and Ethan checking out the geese and their goslings.


Parker, Jacob, Kevin, Carson, and Ethan. So fun!!


I concur. Pigs are stinky! Can you see that HUGE house in the background? We were laughing because I'm pretty sure they get a whiff of the pig stench once in awhile. My house may be small, but at least it doesn't smell like pigs! Well, sometimes it doesn't smell like pigs...


Artsy picture of everyone walking


Jacob loved the rabbits!


After Wheeler Farm, we went to my parents house to prepare for a big ol' barbeque for the Clark/Oram clan. I had an EXCELLENT surprise right before dinner. My college buddies Sarah and Natalie surprised Nalani and I by coming to town for the blessings! I seriously couldn't believe it, especially since Natalie just had a baby 3 weeks ago! I love you guys!

Here is a picture of the baby boom: Nalani and Cash, Me and Cameron, Natalie and Tatem.


Cameron was being shy and wouldn't wake up and be social. We'll have to work on that!


Curtis and Shandy spent the night in West Jordan on Saturday night so they could attend Cameron's baby blessing on Sunday morning. Thank you so much you guys for making the effort! Curtis was supposed to work but finally convinced a co-worker to take his shift. It's amazing what a few CPK coupons can do for a guy!

This morning was Cameron's baby blessing. Here he is in his cute blessing outfit. My cousin Kami made this little tux for Carson when he was born. All three of my boys have been blessed in this same outfit. Yay for Kami and her domestic skills!!!



The blessing was awesome and Cameron only squawked once. Phew! After the blessing we chatted with friends and family until it was time to head to Cash's blessing. I don't think Cash made a peep during his blessing, what a good boy! We then headed to Nalani's house for some seriously tasty and grubbin' chow! Then we basically hung out until 7pm tonight and laughed and talked until my cheeks hurt from smiling so much. I love hanging out with friends and family!

Here is a shot of me, Sarah, Nalani, and Natalie. Sarah didn't get the "wear black" memo.


Nalani and Jed have a sweet in-ground trampoline. Here is Nalani trying to crack a bunch of rowdy eggs. She looks pretty successful at this endeavor!


Here she is saying "in yo' face sucka!" Ha Ha!


We seriously had so much fun, non stop this entire weekend. I have a feeling tomorrow is going to feel pretty mellow compared to the last few days. Thanks to everyone who made such an effort to be here with us. My only regret is that it didn't last longer. Let's face it, I don't usually run out of things to talk about!

Here's to a great week! Peace out!
I told you this posting would be long...