It's Sunday and I want a new menu!

So it is Sunday, the Sabbath, the Day of Rest, a day to just recharge and get yourself spiritually and physically ready for another week. Jon has to work today but I am still feeling pretty confident in my ability to make myself and three children presentable and in a pew by 9am..ish. 9:03 rolls around and we are getting ready to load up in the van and even though we won't make the opening hymn I am feeling good about the morning's progress and looking forward to some much needed spiritual nourishment. Apparently the only dish on my spiritual menu today is PATIENCE. We are at the front door and I am trying to help Caden squeeze his very wide feet into his one and only pair of church shoes, which have magically gotten too small since last Sunday. Our only other options for foot wear are a muddy pair of tennis shoes or his "camping shoes" (black rubber shoes, you know the ones with the holes in them). I convince him that camping shoes will work great for church and being a boy, really doesn't get fussed about the whole thing. Problem solved, well done mom. So I scoop the baby up, take a quick visual sweep of the house and realize that I don't see or hear the dog. Come to think of it, I haven't seen him all morning and I realize that I took his shock collar off the night before, you know, the one that keeps him in his yard. Nothing to be done at this moment, I send a silent plea heaven ward that he will be on the front porch when we pull up after church and pop the baby in her car seat and announce that we are really leaving now. Ella looks up and says, "ewww, mommy you have pukey on you". Yup, while I was tearing around the house looking for the dog the baby threw up on me and all over herself. The sad thing is, it was kind of a lot and I didn't even notice. The clock is ticking and I have missed the opening hymn, the taking of the sacrament, and am now into the first speaker. So do I take a wipey to the sour milk all down the front of me and try to cover the stench with an extra spritz of perfume or do I dive into my closet for a complete outfit change? I am still deliberating as I wipe and sniff one of the only dresses that currently fits me and I hear a scream from the kitchen. Caden had spilled grape juice and it totally soiled Ella's dress and according to my little drama queen, "It's RUINED! My favorite dress! My very special dress! MY PURPLE DRESS!" How exactly did this morning go so wrong? In such a short amount of time I now have three people needing out fit changes, one person who is at least dressed but who looks like a fashion victim, a missing dog, a baby who wants nothing more than to take a nap, and I realize that in my haste to make it out the door, I haven't fed anyone breakfast. So we all traipse up stairs and I trade my nylons for my yoga pants, throw a sticky Ella in the tub, a sleepy baby in the crib, and any hope of spiritual nourishment out the window.

I'd like to chant that verse about serenity right about now but I can't seem to remember exactly how it goes. Maybe if I was at church right now, I would be learning it. Instead, I am full of pancakes, and sitting in bed with the kids and the children's illustrated bible reading about Samson (the kids picked the story based on the pictures and who wouldn't want to read stories about a guy who can wrestle a lion?? Although they don't think much of the fact that he has long hair like a girl)

When I put Danali to bed on Friday night I had clothes laid out just in case she needed to go to the ER. She was so passive. She wouldn't eat. She just wanted to snuggle and sleep. I laid in bed and poured my heart out to Heavenly Father. I begged him to help my daughter get better. I checked on her several times through out the night to make sure that she was breathing and kept trying to sneak a bottle in her mouth to keep her hydrated. When she woke up Saturday morning she was bright and smiley. She was also hungry. We gave her a 6oz bottle and waited for the vomiting to start. Jon and I laid in bed with her as she cooed and giggled at our silly faces and tickles. She never threw up. She didn't tire out for hours. It was the longest stretch in over a week that she was awake, and not just awake, happy and full of the life that had been missing for what seemed such a long time. She woke up again this Easter morning, with happy sounds and a sense of delight at waking up to her life. She isn't completely better but, she is getting there. I could sense her getting so close to this cliff of really seriously sick. I saw it in the dullness of her eyes. I felt it in the limpness of her body. I smelled it in the sickness of her breath. I know that we are moving further and further away from that cliff now. We still have tests to run, lost weight to make up, and a baby with constant diarrhea, but I feel us inching closer to the shelter of good health.

So this Easter, my soul is full of gratitude. Gratitude for a Savior who loves us so much that he provided a way for our salvation, for an eternal plan which allows us to be a family forever, but the thing that causes my heart to swell with absolute humbling gratitude is the smile, the squeal, the joy that exudes from my sweet daughter.

If this is life...I kind of give up!

This is Danali. She is the sweetest, the most joyful, the most loving adorable baby I've ever encountered. She is also very sick. We are currently struggling to keep her out of the hospital.

Danali has had diarrhea for 2 1/2 weeks and has been vomiting for 5 days. She gets more lethargic by the day and is basically just getting worn out from sick. I let the diarrhea go on too long. We recently introduced food and I thought that too many peas were the cause or it was a combo of sweet potatoes and banana's that upset her little tummy. So we went back to formula and waited a few days and her tummy didn't seem to get better. So I thought that maybe she was becoming lactose intolerant like her big brother so we switched her to soy formula and gave it a few days and there was no improvement. She seemed okay though. Other than explosive poos she was her happy self so I wasn't too concerned. I checked in with her doctor and they said that it sounded like a virus running its course. Then the fever and vomiting started. Now she has lost 1 1/2 pounds and isn't eating like she should and just seems miserable. And she isn't the only one. We have been trying to fill these vials with stool samples for the last 5 days.

Do you know how hard it is to collect liquid after it has been absorbed by a very absorbent Huggies? I do. Oh, boy, I DO. It is the most disgusting task that I have ever been called upon to fulfill as a mom, and as you know there are some pretty gross things that you deal with in mommy land. We have been to the doctors twice this week and they said they need these samples to run tests and figure out what is ailing my sweet little love. And I tell them, I AM TRYING. On Thursday's visit they said that we may need to admit her for IV fluids next week if we can't get her eating better and get the vomiting and diarrhea under control. I am doing everything. I slip a bottle laced with Pedialyte in her mouth every time she nods off (she is a HATER of the Pedialyte) and offer her a binkie then put a spoonful of rice cereal in her mouth when she opens it. I think we are making headway, I guess we will see when we go in next week. In the mean time, our lives are ruled by poo. Yup, this is currently our life. We have now resorted to attaching a bag to our child's very raw little bummy to do the job for us. YUCK and OUCH. I'm so sorry little Nali.

Smell something stinky?? Yeah so do we, it is the toxic yellow stuff that your body seems to have in abundance.

Oh, and just for kicks and giggles, Caden got his first concussion 30 mins before we were leaving for Nali's Thursday's appointment. He was standing on a bar stool trying to get something out of the cupboard and it flipped out from under him. He cracked his head on the butcher block counter and immediately got the biggest goose egg on the back of his head that I've ever felt. Good thing we were already heading to the doctors office or it would have been an ER visit to top off the already crazy week. So we are checking his eyes for symmetry every 3 hours, giving him lots of water, watching his behavior, and generally adding one more worry to the growing list. My mommy nerves are shot. Note to other moms: when your child's eyes look like this

he has

as a concussion.

Spring Breaks

Each year my mom and aunt's spring break lands one week before ours because they are on the collage schedule so my little ones have gotten two spring breaks the last two years. Enjoy it while you can little ones, because those days are numbered. Sunday my mom and aunt picked up Caden and Ella and wisked them away to the coastal town of Birch Bay (all the way up by the Canadian boarder) where they wiggled their toes in the sand while finding baby crabs under rocks, ate ice cream on the board walk, swam in the resort pool, and did craft projects which could only have been conceived of by my very creative aunt. In the mean time Jon and I were ripping out two of our three bathrooms and redoing flooring, vanities, hardware, mirrors, painting, ect... Hey, what else are you going to do with three practically kid free days? By mid week the house was totally torn apart (why is it that every project takes at least 3 hours longer than you anticipate?) and baby Danali and I headed up to the coast, along with amazing rain showers. When we got there we needed some good indoor activities so the group decided to explore the town and found the best little used book store with train tracks on both sides of it. After an hour of perusing the thousands of books lining every wall of this adorable sandalwood scented store, we lightened their load by 22 books and were on our way.

Next we put together a scavenger hunt that took the kids all over the resort. The funny thing is that while I was putting over 30 clues here and there and everywhere a small group of kids caught up to me with a handful of bright pink sticky notes really excited for the next clue. Needless to say I had to do some back tracking and became a much better hider with the clues.

The scavenger hunt ended with a play bowling set and a sling shot, which is now my son's favorite toy. In our rain induced need to find activities, we found that setting up the bowling pins all through out the room and running around shooting them down like an old fashioned shooting gallery was quite entertaining. The only problem was that the adults loved the game so much that Caden had to fight for his turn with his sling shot. Sorry dude. The week ended and it was time to take my kids home to start Spring Break part #2.

Uno, dos, tres...

Ella and I have an agreement regarding clothing; she is allowed to pick her own outfits on preschool days and I get to pick her outfits every other day. You see Ella has very...um...eclectic taste in clothing. It is either lots of layers and textures, hats, accessories, and MANY patterns, or princess garb. Her only restriction is that she can't wear church dresses to school. This way she gets to express her self three days a week and I get to take her in public the other days of the week. I have to give her credit because her fashion sense has really improved over the last year.

This is her the fall of 2008. I love that she paired the plaid dress with the pink pants and threw on the knit hat side ways for a bit of whimsy.
This is the Spring of 2009. You are not going to loose this child in a crowd with that green screaming at you. Oh, and of course this was the perfect choice of shoes for a day when the wind was howling and mom told you we were going to the waterfront after school warning that if you left the rain boots at home your feet were going to get wet and cold. Her response, "yeah, but the rain boots are BLUE mom, and I'm not wearing any blue". My bad.
This is December 0f 2009. She is loving these head bands because they are stretchy and drive me nuts. Her hair is always sticking up every which way when she wears them because she takes them off and puts them on again over and over through out the day. But who cares what your hair looks like when you are wearing your favorite Cinderella dress, am I right?
This is Feb 2010 and this is the face of a child trying to convince her mom that she will be warm enough because, although the thermostat reads 42 degrees, the sun is out.
And this my friends is Ella this morning.

I told her that her shirt was too small and she said that it was perfect. I said, "perfect for what?" and she said, "perfect

to look like Dora".

Thanks a lot Dora. After all the progress we've made in the last year she now thinks that shirts that are obviously too small, paired with shapeless shorts and bright yellow socks passes for style. Please stick to teaching her Spanish and leave the fashion tips to me. Thanks.

PS-Dora, you are obviously drawn by a man because no women would put you in white shoes

year round.

4 going on 14....

An Ella moment:

I opened the freezer to get out some ice and while the door was open Ella noticed a bag of frozen peas, "Mom, can I have some of those?". To which I responded, "Sure love" (anything that keeps her from asking for soda or candy-she has a bit of a sweets addition, I could insert something here about apples and trees, but I will refrain). I answer the front door and when I come back she is snacking on a hand full of frozen peas with the freezer door standing wide open. She looks at the door then looks at me and says, "mom, you should really close that door". I look at her and say, "um, you were the last one to get something out of the freezer so you should close the door". She contemplated it for a second then said, "hmmm, mom I'm thinking that you were the one who opened it so I think that you should close it". All I could do was laugh at the thoughtful look on her little face. She had it all figured out. So I closed the door, in acknowledgment of her infalible logic (hey she isn't even 4 yet so you have to ignore the holes in her reasoning) and said, "you are such a smart girl". I have such a lawyer in the making!

I'm BORED....

Caden, "Mom, I'm Bored".

Mom, "hi, Bored, nice to meet you. My name is mom".

Caden, "no Mom, I'm REALLY bored".

Mom, "whoa, Bored, I believed you the first time, no need

to get upset".

Caden, "Mom! Stop being a teaser, I'm bored".

Mom, "Look Bored, is there something I can do for you or are you just introducing yourself? "

Caden, "NEVERMIND, I'm just going to go play".

Painting rocks with the Andersons. My aunt came out and brought a bunch of rocks and patterns one Saturday and taught us how to paint fun little animals, houses, and even food. We loved it so much that I went out and bought my own supplies and for a week the all the kids painted every rock that could pass for a mouse, dinosaur, or flower. So if you see a hamburger sitting in my flower garden, don't eat it, it is just a painted rock.
The zoo. Caden got chosen to go up and be the trainers "special helper". He felt like an expert after that and insisted on holding the map of the zoo and directing us all to each of the exhibits.
This is his Valentine's Day cup cake. We made these heart shaped mini cakes and let the kids decorate them. This is what Caden came up with. He was very proud of his ability to use the most amount of sprinkles of anyone.
I love listening to the boys reading together at night. Caden read the first book and was delighted that he put Nali to sleep.
My little soccer champ...ish. He was more interested in just running around with all the boys then really paying attention to the game. When he did focus in on the whole team sport going on around him he was quite the little kicker! His soccer playing daddy is so proud and talks of big plans for our boy's future in sports.
Yeah, how do you survive such a BORING life???