The Peterson Family

The Peterson Family

Monday, November 25, 2013

Really, seriously, I mean come on!

First some unknown person tries to get into my house last week, which led to mass trauma for me and my children, then the same night someone calls the cops on my dog, then we get told Tyson won't be getting the raise he was promised, and today he got his hours cut from 20 a week to "as necessary, and nothing more" at least till after the holiday's and who the heck knows when after that, and that was supposed to be the secure job! That's pretty much losing 800 bucks a month out of the 1600-1800 or so we average. Can I just quit? Really, this same type of thing has happened every holiday season for the last 3 years. We barely make it as it is, most of the holiday hiring has already been done, and now we are screwed. We have very little savings (hard to build up a savings account when you are living on next to nothing) and I was so proud of how little debt we gained this year and pretty sure that just went right out the window. I mean seriously what is the freaking point? When will my husband ever catch a break. Seriously the guy apologizes to me weekly if not more often for his horrible luck, and I don't know what to tell him. My older brother is on an all expenses paid trip basically to Singapore with his wife for her birthday and I haven't a clue how I'm even going to make my house payment next month. I'm getting so freaking sick of this! I don't know what to do.

Sunday, November 17, 2013

Having a baby does not mean you have to stay locked up for months!

To preface, I'm in a twin mom group and I swear I do things different than about 90% or more of them and I swear my life is easier and less frustrating for it, that or my kids are unlike any other children, anywhere, ever!

Now, I like church, more than that I NEED church. I thoroughly believe that I would be insane without it and so many of these women seem to believe that having a baby (or 2 babies) means they don't need church for anywhere from 3 months to a year! I call bs! The thing is so many of these women that believe they are, and I quote, "Having the hardest time of my life!" To which I think to myself, gee, maybe it's because you need the support of the Lord! I believe that he makes things easier and if I'm not doing my part by being there, doing as he asks, and renewing my covenants he is no longer obligated to do his part, making my burden light, etc.

Today I was told I was extremely lucky that my kids haven't gotten sick when I've taken them to church as infants, I 100% disagree, I think I've been blessed for being where I'm supposed to be and also for not being a complete idiot. It's very possible to take your kids to church and keep them covered or not allow other people to touch them. I also nurse and that has proven benefits to help with immunity. I know there are guidelines such as not taking them out in a crowd, this I also think is ridiculous request, tell me where you can go that there isn't a crowd please. I still have to go to the store, if my kids are in school, well I've made the baby just as susceptible if I've allowed a sibling to go to school where there is illness. I mean really unless you are going to lock yourself and your entire family up for a year (husband included, he could get sick at work) or however long you deem necessary, you have no excuse to not be at church! Women have been having babies forever, and very few of them ever had the ability to lock themselves up for a year, and yet we are still here.

Addendum: I have a husband who works at least every other Sunday, I have taken 2 or 3 (ages 3 and under) kids, since birth, by myself more often than not, to church, I don't see the lack of help as an excuse for me to skip church (unless sickness is running rampant in my household, which fyi, happens very rarely, I immunize, and I don't have a great fear of germs, I want my kids to build up immunity), so to borrow a phrase that's pissing women off lately, what's your excuse? If you have 8 or more kids you are exempt from explaining yourself, that's a lot to do on your own, and if you do, more power to you!

Addendum 2: If you refuse to immunize your children please keep them away from mine, I will not knowing allow my children to be around yours. This goes along with me not being an idiot.

Tuesday, September 24, 2013

AHHH I'm a SAHM

Ok, in reality I've been one off and on for 3 years, but this is the first year I've really started to feel about it the way I wanted to. I finally canned my own peaches this year, first time since we've lived her, my mil did them every other year, first year we were in the midst of getting married, then the next year we had brand new baby twins, the next year our house was under major construction, last year I had to go back to work part time and it just didn't happen, this year I did it! I canned all my own peaches and made a bunch of jam, raspberry peach and strawberry peach, it's fabulous. I've even made fresh bread a few times. This week I've done grape juice and I'm dehydrating plums as we speak.

I'm also learning how to quilt, I took a sewing class in 8th grade and I've been capable of some small projects. This year I'm pushing it and making blankets for Christmas for my kids and I'm learning to quilt in the process, for Charlotte's at least, I've always wanted to do it and it's finally happening, I'm so excited.

I'm doing a homeschool preschool for my boys, nothing all that fancy, it's based on a letter of the week, we are having fun and the boys look forward to it. We've made animal letters and projects that have to do with the letter, and usually have some sort of snack with the letter of the week, today's was Eclairs, (that's what happens when mommy's a chef).

Lastly I've recently learned how to index names for newfamilysearch.org. I'm averaging 100 names a day and I've already done over 1000, it's kind of addicting and I figure it's a better use of my time than being on facebook all day.

Now if Tyson could get a full time, good job we'd be fabulous, but I'm good now and I really am loving getting to spend my days with my kids.

Thursday, July 25, 2013

So it's been a while...

I was doing so good at updating and then life with a newborn happened. I forgot how fast it all goes, so here's the update.

Tyson- Graduated from UVU with a BS in Communications with an Emphasis in Journalism. He's working part time at UVU in their Career Development Center and as an Assistant Manager at Famous Footwear. We are praying the UVU one turns into something full time, but are still avidly trying to find something fulltime somewhere.

Me-Busy being a stay at home mommy of 3. We almost donated some of my already frozen eggs only to have tests done and find out it's amazing I'm not experiencing symptoms of menopause at 28 years old and I'll probably need those eggs, also we'll probably be trying for #4 a lot sooner than planned.

Jackson-Doing well and is irrationally afraid of splash pads, but every time we leave he tells me he had so much fun, so I guess that is a plus. We have an appointment in July to see his feet specialist and are hoping to be done, Shriner's we love you, but also can't wait to not have to see you anymore.

Jameson- Loves water and loves Charlotte like there is no tomorrow. Is healthy and growing and just loving life. Loves to make messes with his brother and incessantly wants to wash his hand, but won't give up playing in the dirt.

Charlotte- She's huge! at least to me. Nurses great, loves her big brothers and sleeps very well. I just wish she'd take a bottle, I feel far more trapped with my single baby than I ever did with my twins. I wouldn't give it up for anything its just odd to literally have her with me everywhere, except the temple that is.

Apparently, I wrote this one too and forgot about it, so double post, and I'm sure there is some redundancy, but oh well.

So I had a baby, and turned into a slacker

So here is the rundown...
- We blessed Charlotte May 5, it was wonderful and we were so lucky to have so many people come out to support us. We did a waffle bar for the "party" afterwards and it was a big hit.
- My 28th birthday was in June and Tyson got me a patio set, that I'm in love with. We also had a big bbq with lots of friends and family and we did a s'mores bar, I LOVE s'mores and it was fun to have so many different kinds. Tyson also took me to the Drive-in movies, we've been trying to go to one since we started dating and he finally pulled it off, he also arranged for us to stay at my friends house that night and then we got to go to the Bountiful temple the next day, and we went on a tour of Mrs. Cavanaugh's Chocolates. He spoiled me good!
-We visited 7 peaks a few times and several parks and splash pads, Jackson is still terrified of any body of water that isn't his bathtub, but every time we leave he tells me he had so much fun swimming, whatever you say Jack!
- I was asked to be an egg donor (I already had the eggs harvested, they are on ice, so to speak), and we had every intention of doing it (there were a lot of prayers and blessings involved in coming to that decision) until we got some test results back that were pretty crappy, needless to say we didn't do it and we'll probably be trying for another baby as soon as Charlotte is 6-9 months old, I really don't have a lot of time.
- July brought my boys 3rd birthday. It was so fun, we had a carnival, with all the fun foods (Cotton Candy, popcorn, peanuts, corndogs, and funnel cakes), and games for the kids. The boys got tricycles and a sandbox. I took some toy dinosaurs and covered them in a dirt/flour combo so they looked like rocks. The boys had so much fun breaking open their rocks and finding their dinosaurs.
- We have to leave Jackson's shoes on until he's 4, or refuses to wear them anymore, I cried my eyes out, at first they told us it was more like 3, but the recurrence rate for stopping at 3 scares me to much to quit now. If it does come back he's likely have to have surgery and I'd feel like crap if I could have stopped him through going through that and I didn't. It's much more involved that the first one he had.
I think that covers pretty much everything...

Tuesday, April 2, 2013

Update!

We had our little girl on March 11, 2013. I did end up having a C-section, but it's totally fine and I really think it was for the best. My body just refused to do anything it was supposed to, i.e. dilate, efface, etc. It seems to do just fine when it comes to nursing though.

We went to the doctor the morning of the 11th and I was no closer to having the baby than I was 5 weeks earlier. I was devastated. The doc told me he was on call that night and if we changed our mind about the C-section or if something happened to give him a call. We drove home and all I could think was that I was putting off the inevitable and torturing myself to it. I really thought I would hate myself if I didn't at least give my body a chance to labor and I'd miss out on this experience of childbirth that I so wanted to have. I had Tyson give me a blessing after which I really thought we were headed for a C-section, but I wanted to talk to my mom and do some praying myself. I called my mom and I told her how I was feeling and that I was going to miss out on childbirth. She gave me a good long talking to about how that wasn't so. I cried a lot, again, but it really did make me feel better. After talking to her I went and prayed, it really started out as "Please just tell me what to do and I'll do it," to "I think I'm supposed to do this, and if I'm not you really lead to let me know, because otherwise I'm going to do it." After that I had Tyson call the doctor to see if they could still get me in and they could.

Charlotte LaVerne Peterson was born at 7:02 pm, weighing it at 7lbs 7 oz and 19 inches long. I can't tell you how different the experience was from the first time around. It was still a little rushed considering we decided to do it that morning, but I was able to put myself together, pack our bag, and my mother in law came to get the boys. We walked into the hospital and actually went to a L&D room (which did not happen last time). I got ready and put on a monitor and just hung out until they were ready for me. I did have one more blessing that my dad and Tyson gave me, and this time I did get told that I'd made the right decision. That was also reaffirmed when we found out my uterus was thin and probably couldn't handle the baby getting much bigger, I doubt the rest of my pregnancies will go so long. The other plus was I wasn't drugged out of my mind this time around and the spinal block wore off much more quickly this time. They did have a little trouble getting my temperature back up after the surgery, but nothing to worry about and I did get to see my baby so much sooner than last time, she was able to be in our room and I just couldn't (still can't) get enough of her. She's such a good baby, very calm, sleeps well (usually), and nurses great (this is a huge thing for me, it took the boys a month to get that one down). Her brother's adore her especially Jameson, he just wants to kiss, hug, and hold her all the time.

Anyways, that's pretty much how things are/went, we are now all home and adjusting to life as a family of 5 and I don't think I could be happier (well maybe if I had better picture taking skills :))

Thursday, February 28, 2013

38 weeks and counting...

I've officially been pregnant a month longer than last time and I swear it's never going to end. Actually I do have a C-section scheduled for March 18th, but it's totally cancelable. I think I'd be madder at myself if I didn't at least try for the VBAC, anyways we shall see. Right now I feel like I'm just sitting in a waiting pattern and my baby is too darn comfy to do anything about it. In the meantime I'm trying to come up with projects to occupy my mind (it's hard to do that when you have very little cash, but I've got a lot of fabric and I've got to do something) right now I'm making ties for my little guys for easter, and we got most of the stuff we'll need for Easter, still have to get the swing set though (thank you tax refund). I'm trying to get as ready as I can, the last thing I want to do is have baby and then be insanely busy trying to catch up on things I should have done to prepare. I still need to go get an exta box of diapers for the boys, and maybe an extra one for Charlotte too.

Tyson is also working a lot right now, which I totally appreciate, but I miss him too. I'm so bored out of my mind waiting for this kid, or the weather to warm up that all I want to do is cuddle up with my hubby.

On the sadder side of things, my Grandpa (for which Charlotte is named) passed away last week. I so wanted him to meet my little girl, but he's definitely better off, he was 92 years old and his body was just giving out. My grandpa was an amazing person, his nickname was "Cheerful Charlie" and he exemplified that everyday. Whenever asked how he was his answer was always the same, "Good and getting better every day." He was an amazing musician and I loved to just sit and listen to him play one of his many instruments or sing for us. I'll miss you grandpa! On the plus side, my brother and his family were able to come up for the funeral and I got to spend some time with them and my boys just loved seeing their cousins and playing with them. It was great to spend time with all my family.

Saturday, February 9, 2013

4.5 weeks to go.

I'm 35 and a half weeks pregnant. A week longer than we made it last time and it feels like freaking forever! I know 2 people that are due within 2 days of me on either direction, but they are planning C-sections, so they already know when their little girls are going to be here, unless they show up early. It just feels SO unfair! That said, I'm really hoping my little one is head down and we are good for a VBAC. I'm silly, but I really want to experience birth the way it is in my head, or at least partially the way it is in my head, meaning no emergency C section and actually getting to hold my baby after she's born. Not having to wait a day and have her hooked up to a million machines.

I've also finally gotten a little crafty, today I made a carseat cover (and it's totally purple, because I'm a purple kind of gal) and I made a little purple and white tutu for her to wear for pictures. I'm still planning on making a blanket for her, nothing fancy, flannel, purple with little stars and then my mom's going to help me make a slip to put under her blessing dress. The dress was mine and my Grandma had crochetted it for me, I'm so excited to put it on my little girl and have a whole generational thing going on. I'm a sucker for tradition. We also finally got the nursery put together. (Well as much of it's that's going to happen anyways. I had this desire to paint all the furniture so it matched, totally didn't happen I'm blaming the snow and winter related illnesses rather than my laziness.) Anyways, now it's just a waiting game.

Oh, and on the Tyson side of things, he's still working his behind off, we've heard somethings in job related areas, but I want to see what comes of that before I say to much, he's still looking for something, but we've at least heard some things now. He's also been approved for graduation, I can't begin to tell you how happy that makes me. Lastly the boys are good, been sick on and off, but good, happy and I think they are excited to meet their sister, as much as they understand it anyways. :)

Thursday, January 3, 2013

The Holidays

The holidays were very good. We were blessed on many, many levels. Our ward was so incredibly kind and generous to our family and I will never forget it. We also had a few other suprises that allowed us to do more for our family than we ever thought we would be able to. I've just been praying for months that we would make it to tax season and then things would get a little easier at least until Tyson graduates, then here's praying he can find a good/decent job that makes him happy and takes care of our family.

We also had my brother and sis-in-law from Arizona up to visit our family. It was so much fun to see them and spend time with them. I can't believe how big all their kids have gotten. It's also been fun to hang with my pregnant sil. She's about 2 months behind me and I am at least twice her size (though as of my last dr. appointment I've only put on 3 lbs this pregnancy, it was 5, but I actually lost 2, pretty proud of that!)

Other than that I've been taking lots of naps, I hit 28 weeks and I've just been so tired. I've still managed to keep up the laundry and make some dinners here and there, but Tyson has been great in picking up my slack even with all the insane work he's been doing, we are very much so looking forward to things slowing down after December. I've also managed to pretty much move our boys downstairs in preparation for the new baby and they are warming up to the idea. I still have a little bit left and then I'm looking forward to setting up my nursery. I really want to paint all the furniture so it matches, we'll see how that goes. The room is still predominately blue, and I'm not sure I can change that, I'd like to make it a little more neutral, but not sure I can afford the carpet right now. Lastly, I really can't believe I have around 10 weeks to go, this point last time I only had 4 and I'm frequently wondering how I survived it, which totally makes me feel like a baby right now! :)