Tori's 4th Birthday

While Tyler's 8 years seem to have flown by, Tori's 4 short years have been some of the most difficult of my life. Having 3 kids is so much more work than having just 2 of them! I cannot imagine my life without her. She has taught me so much about life and about myself. She gives me "lucky hugs" (which involve a running start and extra squeezing) that absolutely melt my heart. The "lucky kisses" are a bit more awkward. It's a very tight lipped, firm, eyes-wide-open kiss that lasts 30 seconds or more. But I love them. Happy Birthday, Victoria. I love you more than words can say.

Tori got to celebrate this year with a group of her friends. Aubrey, Lilia, and Scout from her group of church friends. Shaylene, Marissa, and Bella from her group of school friends. They had lot of fun at her "Jelly Bean" themed party. I know, it's a strange theme. All year she has been telling me that she is going to have a "Halloween" birthday. I thought that was a fun idea and I already have lots of decorations I could use. Then, a week before the big day, she tells me that she wants a jelly bean party. Lucky for me, Easter was just a week or two before her birthday and jelly beans are cheap and easy to find. They played pin-the-banana-on-the-monkey, had a butterfly shaped pinata (filled with little bags of jelly beans), decorated cupcakes, and played with her toys. 

We celebrated with the family a few days earlier. She didn't want a cake. She asked me to make Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies instead. (see recipe at the bottom of this post) She also had a party at school. By the time all of the parties were over, she thought she had turned a new age with each one. We had a little talk about how she's not actually 6 just because she has had that many parties. She is such a sweet girl!

Tyler's 8th Birthday

My little boy is 8 years old! How is that possible? I can't believe he is already old enough to be baptized. I know it sounds cliche, but it seems like yesterday I was holding him in my arms at the hospital in Grand Junction, Colorado. He was such a beautiful baby and now is such a handsome young man. Here are pictures of Tyler on each of his 8 birthdays:

Day One

One Year Old

Two Years Old

Three Years Old

Four Years Old

Five Years Old

Six Years Old

Seven Years Old

Eight Years Old

Happy Birthday, Tyler. You are the greatest son that any mother could ever hope to have. I love you.

Headaches Stink

Well, I still have a headache. It is April 6th and I have a hard time remembering what it's like to wake up feeling good. I saw the doctor and after a lot of tests and talking, he determined that I have a headache caused by stress. I have too much adrenaline in my system. My eyes are dilated all the time. When the lights were off and he shined a little flashlight in my eyes, my pupils only contracted a tiny bit. (It's symmetrical, so that's good, otherwise I would have a serious problem.) My heart rate was 98 beats per minute and my blood pressure was high. He says I need to deal with whatever is stressing me out and take any unnecessary stress out of my life. Things like dieting, pressure to exercise every day, making sure the house is spotless, hair and makeup looks perfect 24/7 (yeah right), and things like that. Obviously I still need to take care of my home and family, but if we have waffles for dinner (from a mix) instead of beef stroganoff with homemade noodles, we will survive. In the meantime, he gave me a prescription pain killer to deal with life until I'm calmed down a little.

I got a massage. I have been to the acupuncturist... twice. I have done breathing exercises. I have put more responsibilities on my husband. I have eaten more chocolate. None of it seems to be helping.

In the next 2 weeks I have 2 birthdays to plan, a baptism, company coming into town, Easter, Ben's gone for a week, and I haven't done anything for it yet. I think some of my stress stems from this. So, while I'm at the beach this weekend, I'm going to get some planning done. Maybe that will help.

For now, I almost wish that I looked as miserable as I feel. If my head LOOKED like it's about to explode, maybe people would be nicer to me. Maybe they wouldn't be all judgy and mean. Maybe I could park in the handicapped parking spaces. Maybe people wouldn't think I was faking it/exaggerating/making excuses and they would just help me or get out of my way.