Gingerbread

I love the aroma of gingerbread cooking in the oven. A new tradition I am hoping to continue is to make and decorate gingerbread houses every year during the Christmas season. So, I baked and rolled and baked some more and invited two families over and we kept up the tradition. And, it was so much fun. This is my family's creation.

Puddles

Spencer has decided that it is time to use the toilet instead of diapers. Yes, I am a very excited mom. That in and of itself is funny to me. I'm amazed just how excited I am about pee and poop. Back to the real story here. For almost a week Spencer has consistently peed in the toilet. We have one, maybe two accidents a day, not too bad. He is still working on the pooping thing (why is pooping in the toilet so hard?) and has been successful twice. I am so pleased with Spencer.

This is a story I should not share, but one that will hopefully make me laugh in years to come. I'm still quite embarrassed. I was at Walgreens yesterday with my three children that are home with me during the day. Spencer had just gone potty before we left, so I figured he was good to go for the 10 minute errand. I needed some candy for decorating gingerbread houses later that night. Walgreens would be quick in and out, perfect. So, we are standing in the candy isle trying to figure out what candy I needed. Spencer comes over to me and I see that he has left a quite enormous puddle of . . . pee in the isle. His pants were a synthetic material so they did not absorb anything, thus the very large puddle. I looked at it for a moment trying to figure out a solution to the problem. At that very moment a very sophisticated looking sort of woman in her early forties came down the isle with a cart and pushed her cart right through the puddle, along with her beautiful sandles/flip flops. Yes, she stepped right in the puddle of pee and kept walking as the pee splashed up the back of her ankles. I was horrified. I didn't know what to do. I wasn't about to tell her what she had just splashed on herself, I didn't want to get punched. So, I did nothing. I grabbed my three kids and we walked out of the store leaving everything behind, including the pee. I really didn't know what to do so I did nothing.

And if you are that woman reading this blog, I truly am sorry. All I can say is . . . well, we are in the middle of potty-training and accidents happen. Sorry!

Spinach

I try to eat a lot of leafy greens. I've never really liked them. It wasn't until I was pregnant with Taneal that I even ate any kind of green salad. And then I had a weird craving and I actually wanted a salad. The craving never completely disappeared, although I can only eat them with Italian dressing. So, 8 years later I am much further down the green leafy road. I eat a green salad nearly every day and usually get my daily recommended amount of vegetables. Pretty good considering where I was 8 years ago. But, I kind of still have to force myself.

Spinach is one of those that i am fine to eat with Italian dressing. But I could always eat more. Through the latter part of Nathan's pregnancy and then over the last few months I have been the smoothie queen. Almost a great smoothie every day. At Thanksgiving my sister-in-law, Karen, was making a smoothie and of course I wanted to try it. She told me what was in it and I loved it! So, I've tried it a few times at home and my kiddos LOVE it!

Yes, the main ingredient is Spinach. I add a few strawberries and blue berries. Maybe a little orange juice concentrate and some water. Oh, and flax seed. Wha laaa! A healthy smoothie providing me with probably two to three servings of my vegetables and two servings of fruits all for breakfast. And, it is super yummy. You can't even taste the spinach in it. Really. My children love it! I have to double it because Danielle, Spencer, and Camie all want one. It's that good!

Gingerbread houses

We were invited to decorate graham cracker houses at a friends house on Saturday. This friend of mine is amazing. She has all the homemaking skills that I dream of having. I was lucky enough to see her as Taneal's Activity Day teacher for a while and see many of her talents. She always knows what do do for dinner, knows how to cook anything, can sew anything, and seems to take life in stride, stress free. And, she has twin 2-year-old boys. I could sure use some of her homemaking skills.

Anyways, back to the houses. She got small milk cartons and covered them with graham crackers and let each of the kiddos decorate their own house. Even Spencer was able to decorate his own. And the kids loved it. They were so proud of their creations and so eager to eat them when we got home. Thanks Cindy!

Winter Wonderland

Last week we went to a winter wonderland. They had real snow (okay, so they made the snow, but it was cold and wet like real snow), hay rides, Christmas characters, wassel, and games. The kiddos had a great time. It was so funny watching my kids touch the snow. Taneal is the only one that remembers snow and anything about it. Danielle and Spencer have never even been in snow, and Camie has very little recollection. Strange. But they got to feel the snow and realize that snow is cold. I guess snow doesn't look cold on tv.

Nathan is getting better

Thank you to all for your prayers and concerned phone calls. Nathan is doing so much better. Monday I took him into the doctor for a follow-up appointment. His oxygen levels were great, but his breathing was still very fast and his chest was sunken-in. The doctor told me that he would need breathing treatments three times a day minimum for at least two weeks but probably longer. He is back to his old self, laughing, smiling, and wiggling like crazy. And, he is sure enjoying having his dad home.

Nathan's sick

Monday Nathan started with a nasty cough, one that Taneal and Camie had. The fever started in and he completely lost his voice. He couldn't cry! He wasn't too miserable. Well, Thursday he still had the fever, and I thought about taking him into the doctor, he wasn't eating too well, but I didn't. He had his voice back so I thought he was getting better. Friday morning he hadn't eaten at all since Thursday morning, he had only one wet diaper, so I decided it was time to take him in. I had a mid morning appointment. I was just concerned that he wasn't eating. He had a double ear infection. The doctor listened to his lungs and decided to check his oxygen levels and give him a breathing treatment. She still didn't like the oxygen levels so she had him get another breathing treatment. They checked his oxygen levels again and the levels just kept dropping. She came in and calmly sat down and said that Nathan needed to go to the hospital. I said okay. She then said he needed to go by ambulance downtown to the children's hospital. I asked if I could just take him, was an ambulance really necessary? After all, I was just there because he wasn't eating. She said that it was very necessary, that the ambulance would be there in five minutes. Right then they brought in the oxygen and put the mask on Nathan. A few minutes later they strapped his car seat to the ambulance bed and we left the doctor's office in an ambulance.

So, what I then found out from the EMT was what the oxygen levels meant. 95-100 is normal, okay. 91-94 is not good, they need oxygen. Anything below 91 is very scary. Nathan was fluctuating between 81 and 92. No wonder we were in the ambulance heading to the children's hospital. I think we could have gone somewhere else, but with Nathan being only 3 months, that was where he needed to be. While on oxygen his levels were at 100. Very good. The EMT took the mask off Nathan to see what he would do and he immediately started dropping until at 88 she put the oxygen mask back on him.

As soon as we walked in the doors of the children's hospital, they took his temperature and gave him Tylenol. They walked us back to a room and started monitoring him. And everything was fine! They couldn't hear anything in his lungs, he finally ate (it had been over 24 hours), and he kept his oxygen levels at 94+ all on his own. I asked the doctor at the hospital what changed, and she said she didn't know. So, around 5pm we went home. Evan dropped the kids off at his brother's house and headed downtown to get us. Nathan slept until we got home and ate very well again.

The doctor at the hospital told me what to watch for, I was concerned that they hadn't done anything and that Nathan was suddenly better. I do believe in miracles, but I also wanted to be prepared just in case he started having a hard time breathing. What scared me then was that I hadn't even realized he was having a problem when I took him into the doctor. The emergency room doctor told me to watch his chest, if there was a sunken-in appearance at the bottom of his rib cage before his belly. Also, if his nostrils were flaring as he breathed and if his breathing was quick.

Yesterday around 2pm I had just given him a bath and was rubbing lotion on his chest when I realized his chest was sunken in. His breathing was fast and his nostrils were flaring. Yep, I took him back to the hospital, just a closer one. There was no waiting, I bypassed everyone in the waiting room. They checked his oxygen levels and immediately took us back and stared a breathing treatment. He was at 89 and 90. They did a chest x-ray, checked him for RSV and the flu (both negative) and then gave him some oral steroids, which he threw up. He has bronchialitis (not bronchitis, but similar). The problem being that he is so little. It caused his airways to swell and then covered with mucus wasn't allowing much air in. They gave him a shot of steroids since he threw up the oral ones, and sent us home.

Last night was a rough one. I had to give him several breathing treatments which seemed to help him breathe better. I had to keep him "sucked out" with the bulb syringe, which he HATED! He is upstairs sleeping right now. Hopefully the steroids work and keep him breathing well. Poor little guy. Hopefully we are in the up-hill to recovery.

Replay

I guess I should not have been bragging about the gas prices being so low. Yes, they are still low and dropping. Well, Evan works in the oil industry and dropping prices isn't such a good thing for us, employment speaking. It was the same week last year that Evan was working for Wachovia when he called me and said his company was doing lay-offs and they had let 300+ employees go with him included. A week later I found out I was expecting Nathan. We were out of a job until the end of July when Evan got a job, and a really good job, just one that would require him working away in the oil fields. He left a week before Nathan was born, came home for a few days during the delivery and then twice after that over the next four months. Oh how we missed him and he missed us. It was really tough having him gone and adjusting to a new baby and having five children all by myself. But, I felt blessed because we finally had a job, and a good job.

And then the same week as last year, only a few days ago, right after Thanksgiving, I got the same call. Evan's company was doing lay-offs. Evan was included. Here we go again. This darn economy!

Thanksgiving

Evan was working out-of-town through Thanksgiving, so I decided to head to my parent's house about five hours away. Four of my five brothers were going to be there along with both of my sisters. They flew in from Vegas, Idaho, Indiana, and my sister came from San Antonio. It was a house full, but so good to see everyone. My kiddos were so excited to see my brother, Charles. He loves to play with the kids and is so much fun. They also were glad to see and play with cousins.

I think there were somewhere around 35 people at my parent's house. My parents also have two sets of missionaries from their ward living with them. Hopefully Thanksgiving wasn't too overwhelming for them, it kinda was for me!

It was pretty hard having Evan gone for Thanksgiving. I really missed him. I was glad I was around family, but during the feast it really hit me hard just how bad I wanted him there. I have so many things to be thankful for, I have amazing children that are so well behaved and make me so happy. They make good choices and laugh often. I have a wonderful family and some of the greatest friends. But, I still missed Evan. He is such a good man and works so hard to provide for our family. I am so glad I married him and have been able to spend the last 13 years with him. I do have a lot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving.

Fossil Rim

This last week I spent at my parents house. Four of my bothers and both of my sisters were there along with their spouses and children. I think there were about 35 of us in total. The only ones missing were Evan and my brother who both work in the oil fields. Well, for one of the activities we went to Fossil Rim, a wildlife reserve. (Tonia, you were missed) You drive through the park and see different kinds of animals. It was a lot of fun. I actually got to feed a giraffe! I was scared to death! But, Camie had already done it and I figured if she was brave enough, I should be. I never did get Taneal to feed any of the animals. She is a scaredy cat like her mom. Spencer really liked riding on my dad's lap through the park and Danielle really enjoyed the animals, too. Nathan was on great behavior considering we were there at the park for about four hours just riding in our cars. I couldn't believe (actually I could) that Camie didn't want to stay in the confines of my van so she rode in the back of my brother's truck open to all the animals. She is such a brave girl. It was so much fun. I think my brother Eric got bit by a zebra (there are sign all over saying not to feed the zebras, they bite), didn't break the skin or cause any damage. One of these days I would like to go back and get videos of feeding the giraffes. I got pictures but didn't think to record it.

Check out this video of us feeding the ostrich!. We moved out of the way and put the food on the seat of the car.

Nathan's smiles

Nathan has been smiling and laughing for a while, but I finally managed to get my camera and get pictures of the smiles. He also talks while he smiles. He is also very ticklish. He squirms and almost any touch. When I change his shirt he squirms and laughs pretty hard because it tickles him so much. I will have to try to capture that on video, but

I haven't been too successful at that yet.

Fall Soccer is Over

We just finished up another season of soccer at the YMCA. This is Taneal's third season to play and she is getting quite good. She has the field mastered, she can pass very well, and she loves to play. This season she played on an all girl's team. Her aunt was the coach again and her cousin, Audrey was on the team along with three girls from church, Samantha, Kaylee, and Carissa.

This was Camie's first time to play soccer. She was so different from Taneal. During practices she was so distracted. She liked to play, but couldn't keep focused. She would stop and tie her shoes, get many drinks, somersault around on the grass during a scrimmage, and kept needing to use the bathroom. During games she was always opting to sit out. It was a little frustrating because her practices were on Wednesday nights at 7:30pm! crazy for a 6 year-old! And games were early Saturday mornings. It was a lot of effort for me to drag all five kids out and to have Camie goof off. after a while Camie started to realize that the game was fun. The last two games she actually got out and played and had a really good time. And, she was good at it. Maybe we will give Camie and soccer another try. If Camie wants to do well at anything, she does. She just has to WANT to do well. Once she decided she wanted to play soccer, she had fun and did well.

Raindrops falling

Taneal and Camie get off the bus each day and run to me to tell me about their day. I love to see their excitement and that they have had a great day. Well, this day as they got off the bus the skies were blue with one rain cloud right over us. Instead of saying hello, Camie laid down on the grass and opened her mouth to see if she could catch some of those rain drops. Danielle immediately followed. Spencer, not knowing what was going on only that something was going on, laid down on the ground to see if he could figure out why Camie and Danielle were on the grass. Taneal of course stood on the porch and giggled. It was one of those moments that I went running into the house to grab my camera. I love moments like these.

School pictures

Taneal and Camie brought home school pictures. Of course I had to take a picture of their picture (my scanner isn't working right now). They looked a little washed out on the computer, but the actual pictures look good.

I loved the responses I got from Taneal and Camie.

Taneal asked how I like her picture. I told her it was very nice. She said, "It is beautiful, isn't it?" I love that she can compliment herself that way.

Camie was mad. "Mom, why did you choose the brown background? It is so ugly!"

Danielle's drawing

Danielle drew me this picture last week. She spent a lot of time on it and was so happy to give it to me. I was so happy to receive it.

Sunday at church for sharing time the children had to draw pictures of themselves and their families. One of the pictures was left behind. I loved the picture. It was exactly like pictures I see so often at home as all my children learn to draw. It was a head and two arms and two legs, no torso. I love drawings by children. I want to remember this picture that Danielle colored and drew for me because it shows where she is in her development as a child. She is so sweet and precious and innocent. I know as my children grow, their pictures will be one thing I will miss.

Spencer learns to use the mouse

Sometimes the simplest things make us laugh. In this game that Spencer is playing, you move shapes to make pictures. When you move the mouse over the completed picture, it breaks the picture up and starts another one. This made Spencer laugh. One of the things I love about Spencer is how easy he laughs. And, when he laughs, he REALLY laughs. He has a great laugh. I have tried many times to get his laugh on video. This is the closest I have been able to capture. Watch the video to hear.

Camie's 7th birthday

Can you tell she's happy?

Evan wasn't able to be there, so as she opened her gifts from us we had Evan on the phone.

The day started with donuts. She wanted donuts for breakfast. Okay, not too hard, picked up a pack at Walmart the day before. She wanted a castle cake. Yah, that one took all day. I still have three at home with me, so I had to stop a lot. But Camie loved the cake, so it was time well spent. And, it was fun creating the cake. Of cours anyone that decorates cakes would cringe at the job I did, but Camie was very pleased which was my goal.

Came also wanted me to bring her McDonalds to school for lunch. She was so excited to see me. i was so glad I could go.

And, for supper she wanted lasagna. Thanks Stouffers!

That evening I invited a few families that have girls Camies age over. We had cake and ice cream and let the kiddos play. Camie was so excited to have people over. And, I didn't have to throw a party for a bunch of 7 -year- 0lds by myself with a baby. The "family" birthday party was fun and Camie was very happy, as you can tell from the pictures. Below is a video of us singing to Camie.I can't believe Camie is 7! Time sure flies!

Gasoline

So, last week I thought about posting that I filled up my van with gas that was only $1.89 a gallon! Yah, I knew it was worth bragging about because only two months ago I was paying nearly $4 a gallon. Well, I am glad I didn't brag because as I left Costco today I saw the new price on gas, and my tank is still full : $1.73 a gallon!

My first digital scrapbook pages

The mess and space of regular scrapbooking have really been on my mind lately. Maybe because I have five children and only four bedrooms. Also, because I haven't completed one scrapbook page in over a year and a half. Not that I don't absolutely love to scrapbooks. I LOVE to scrapbook. But, i have too many helpers and it is way too messy for the five minutes here and five minutes there that I have. If I could finish a page or layout in one setting, I would be scrapbooking all the time. Well, after putting my blog into a book, I really liked how 200 pages fit into about 3/4 inch book. That would have taken four scrapbook albums. I also liked how the last year and a half that i haven't scrapbooked was now in a book. So, I started looking and talking and looking some more, and finally decided that maybe digital scrapbooking was the way to go. I cleaned out my scrapbook room and moved a bed in there and slimmed down a lot of my supplies and the rest got moved to my closet. I know I will use a lot of the supplies that I already own, maybe even by my older girls. Anyways, so a few nights ago I finished these pages. i was pretty happy with them. Eventually I will get them published to a book, and I will have a fun time creating the pages -- mess free!

Photo tag!

The rules: Read after the last picture to see if you've been tagged....The rules are you have to take 10 pictures of the following things and you have to do it right away. No straightening, cleaning or wiping your child's nose (I mean it!). Then you tag six others.

I DID IT!!!

The picture from my fourth folder, fourth picture.

What the kids are doing right now:

My bathroom:

My dream vacation: snorkeling in Cozumel

self portrait:

My closet:

My laundry room:

My fridge:

My sink:

My favorite room:

My favorite shoes:

I tag: Gerb, Shannon, Julia, Kristi, Allie, and Nicole