Haylee and Copper

I still haven't taken pictures of Haylee and her new bunny, Copper. But luckily Natalee has so I stole these pictures from her camera. Copper looks huge in Haylee's arms but she's actually a pretty small bunny. Do you like how Haylee is pretending to be a bunny with her front teeth out?

P.S.

I just wanted to let everyone know that Daren overcame his fears yesterday and dropped Kelsey and Nathan off at the Ballard's house on his way to work. I was so proud of him. It was like watching someone with coulrophobia go to the circus, or someone with ophidiophobia visit the reptile house at the zoo. It looks like I'll have to learn how to cook a traditional chinese dinner for Daren's birthday this year. I hope he doesn't ask for anything too exotic!

(Daren loves to tell the girls about eating crickets while on his mission in Taiwan)

My Hilarious and Entertaining Life

I just thought I'd share a couple of entertaining things in my life right now as long as I'm up late with a cute little 9 month old.

1.  The girls have discovered the following joke:

Person 1: What are you eating under there?
Person 2: Under where?
Person 1: Ha ha, you're eating underwear!

Hilarious.  I know.  I've heard it SO many times the last couple days and, believe me, it gets funnier every time.  Actually, they got Grandma Poetschlag to say it tonight and it really was hilarious.  Grandma was a great sport about it and that made the girls laugh even harder. She then proceded to share any similar jokes that she knew that I'm sure I will be hearing over and over again throughout this next week.  Thanks Grandma!

2.  Daren bought Haylee a bunny.  I never should have let him go off alone with her.  How could I not have known what they would do?  Haylee is so stinkin' happy about it that he is forgiven.  It was sort of the plan.  But I just didn't know it was going to happen right when it did.  I will post pictures of Haylee with the bunny (she named her Copper).  Surprisingly we haven't taken any yet.

3.  I did a horrible thing this evening.  Let me give some background information first so you'll understand why I did such a thing.  First of all, my mom has been out of town a lot lately.  And as soon as she left, all these things came up and I had to ask other people to babysit my kids for me.  It wouldn't be so bad except that I've had to take kids to doctor appointments, and I've still been trying to help in the classroom once a week.  Well, tomorrow is Monday and I'm supposed to help in the classroom again.  Then Tuesday I need to find someone to watch the kids so I can go visiting teaching.  I felt bad asking Alyssa to watch them 2 days in a row (I still haven't asked about Tuesday but she has been helping me so much lately).  I always feel bad asking Ronelle during the day when ALL of her kids are in school and she should have lovely free time (I have asked her though, and didn't want to do it again so soon).  Well, my sweet visiting teaching companion offered to watch my kids for me tomorrow so I could help in the classroom.  However, she lives in Ridgecrest, which would mean driving all the way to the school to drop of the kids, then to town to drop off Kelsey and Nathan, then back to school.  It just seemed like too much effort until I had a brilliant idea.  (Here it comes!)  Why not have Daren take Kelsey and Nathan to the Ballard's house on his way to work?  A stroke of genius really.  Well, it turns out that Daren is afraid of the Ballards.  I can see why, really.  If only I had a picture to show you how really terrifying they are.  I assured him that if he did this for me this time, then it would be so much easier the next time I arrange for him to drop off the kids at a different scary ward member's home.
     I am going to compose the following email to the teachers in the morning:

Dear Teachers,
    I am sorry that I am unable to help in the classroom again.  My mother is still out of town and unfortunately my husband is afraid of the family that I have asked to babysit my other children, and therefore unable to drop them off at their house.
Mrs. Hardy

     At least now when Daren asks me to do something really hard (like make exotic chinese meals for his birthday dinner) I can say no and remind him of when I didn't make him do this incredibly hard favor.  Okay, okay, I've already said no to the chinese meals I've never heard of and have no clue how to make or where to buy the strange ingredients that go in them.  So I guess Daren can say, "You said no to my birthday dinner requests so I can say no to this!"

A Regular Friday

This was such a relaxing day! I didn't have to go anywhere except to drop off and pick the kids up from school, and then Haylee's soccer game after school. My visiting teachers came over this morning so I spent the first part of the morning frantically straightening up the living room. We had a nice visit and I spent the rest of the morning entertaining the kids, working on cleaning up the kitchen, baking a loaf of bread (in the breadmaker), and addressing Haylee's baptism announcements. Don't feel bad if you don't get one! It's not like Christmas cards or anything. I made them for her to give to a few people in town and thought I'd better send them to immediate family too so they know about it. :) After school we went to the post office and mailed the invitations, and hand delivered a couple of close ones. She made a cute little bunny mask at school today and she kept wearing it everywhere we went. To the post office and to her friends' houses. Then we got ready for soccer! Haylee is having so much fun playing soccer this year. And we are having fun watching her. The kids enjoy the soccer fields SO much more than the basketball bleachers. Natalee took full advantage of the beautiful spring day by sitting under a shade tree playing her DS.

Right after we set up our chairs on the sidelines another family came and sat by us. At first I wondered why the girl who had set her chair closest to mine was sitting back a little from the other chairs. Then I realized the answer. She was using me for shade!! At first I felt a little horrified that I was so tall I was used as 'shade.' But it quickly became amusing instead. Especially when the sun moved and she scoot her chair up to get back into my shade.

Haylee played a great game and even got to play goalie for a quarter. I think she really liked the goalie position. I told her that blocking a goal from the other team was just as good as scoring a goal for your own team so she could expect the same reward for blocking a goal as she would get for scoring a goal. This reward is usually a scoop of ice cream or a dollar. She was so disappointed that during her quarter there was not one goal kicked at her net. She complained that the defenders wouldn't let the other team take any shots.

P.S. I actually wrote the majority of this post on Friday. It took me two days to publish it because blogger is giving me headaches about uploading pictures again. I keep getting 'server rejected' messages and so I have to switch to the old editor to post anything. I don't like the old editor as well as the new one, but it's fine as long as I don't have lots of pictures to post.

Allergy Testing

     Poor Mackenzie had her allergy testing today.  She was such a brave girl.  She was tested for 80 different allergens, none of them foods.  They were all things in the air, like dog and cat dander, different plants, and such.  She did have a few very small reactions, but nothing extreme.  The allergist thinks it's unlikely that allergies are the cause of her hearing troubles but he gave us a nasal spray sample for her to try while we wait for her follow up appointment with Dr. Vadapalli.  If there is any improvement in her ears after using the nasal spray, then maybe she still won't have to get the surgery to remove her adenoids.  But if not, then the next step is most likely the surgery.  Mackenzie is very nervous about having surgery.  I just can't wait for her to be out of pain and hearing normally again.
     After Mackenzie suffered through being poked in the back 80 different times, we had to wait 15-20 minutes for the girl to come back in and read the results of her test.  She told me to make sure Mackenzie didn't scratch her back and not to scratch it for her because it could ruin the test results.  I told Mackenzie that if she scratched they might have to start all over again.  She was SO good about not scratching even though she told me that she itched.  At one point while we were waiting I saw this white thing on her back just below her shoulder blades.  I could see that it was far from the test area so I started to pick at it to get it off of her.  Mackenzie panicked.  "She said not to scratch it!"  Poor thing thought I was going to make her have to get the testing done all over again.  I assured her that I hadn't touched the testing spots but I stopped picking at the white thing so she would feel better.  The worst thing was that after they finished the tests, they cleaned the whole area off with cotton swabs soaked in alcohol!  That was almost as bad as the pokes!  Poor kiddo.  Of course I bought her a donut after we left.

Not to Keep Bringing This Up...

My Little Hoop Star

Yesterday morning I was getting Kelsey and Nathan ready to go to the park for park day. (Kelsey LOVES park day!) Kelsey picked out a shirt for Nathan to wear and handed it to me. I was putting it on him just as she left the room to go get her shoes. Because I get a lot of clothes from Tami Hill I wasn't familiar with this shirt and I read it as I put it on him. It says Hoop Star on it so as I put it on him I said, "You're a hoop star!" Kelsey heard me in the hallway and repeated, "Yeah, he's a poop star!" It cracked me up! He had two blowouts the day before and another non-blowout-but completely full diaper! So he's a hoop star AND a poop star!

Feelings (such a scary word)

     I decided this morning that I hadn't really expressed all of my feelings about Nathan's tubes in my blog post last night.  When I first woke up, Nate was still sound asleep next to me.  I looked at my sweet little boy and thought about him laying on an operating table and the doctors putting him under general anesthesia.  I realize that everything would probably be fine.  But just knowing that there is the tiniest possibility that something could go wrong terrifies me.  I love my little guy so much.  I had to shed a tiny tear for what he might be going through soon.
     After Daren and I talked about it last night and decided that going straight to the tubes was the right thing to do, we prayed for a confirmation.  After the prayer, he asked me how I felt.  I still feel afraid to put him through this.  I was hoping to feel peace.  I don't know if my fear is an answer to our prayer or if it's just a lack of faith on my part.  I know the Lord can give us peace, but maybe I'm just not allowing Him to do that for me.
     My other thought is that I shouldn't be so whiney about all of this.  It's just tubes, for crying out loud!  I think about Jon and Jamie and all they have gone through with little Tyler.  How hard it must be to send him into surgery for something so complicated as his heart.  And here I am freaking out about a 5 minute procedure to place tubes in his ears.  I think general anesthesia is always a little scary.  But really we are so blessed that this is all he needs done.
     Okay, that's the end of my feelings for now.  I just thought I should write them down while they were still fresh.

Medical Update

     Yesterday Daren and I took Mackenzie and Nathan to an ENT (Ear, Nose, Throat dr.) in Valencia.  He's the same ENT Cindy goes to for Jacob and she highly recommended him.  Several months ago Mackenzie failed her hearing test at school.  They retested her a couple of months later to make sure that it wasn't just a cold or something stuffing up her ears.  She failed again.  So they sent us to an audiologist.  By the time we got the letter and made the appointment it had been another couple of months.  We finally got in to see the audiologist in March.  She said there was definitely fluid or a vacuum going on behind her earsdrums.  We went to the pediatrician and she said it was beyond her abilities so we needed to go to the ENT.  I scheduled the appointment with Dr. Vadapalli for April 11. 
     In the meantime, Nate's ear started draining again for the 4th time this year!  The first 3 times were in January.  So back we went to see Dr. Kitty.  It was funny because the last time his ear drained it happened on a Saturday night.  I waited until Monday morning to go in because I wanted to see Dr. Kitty about it since it was the 3rd time that month.  By the time we got in there she said there was no sign of infection whatsoever.  I told her I was sure it was pus that came out so she gave me a swab to take a sample of it the next time it happened.  When it finally happened a couple of weeks ago, I had Mackenzie hold him while I got out the swab to take the sample.  Just as I was about to swipe up the pus, Mackenzie sneezed!  There was no way I could be sure her sneeze hadn't contaminated the sample.  I told Dr. Kitty about it but she just laughed and said she didn't need it because he had plenty of goop left for her to see.  She said he need to see the ENT as well so I called again and they still had the appointment right after Mackenzie's available.
     So back to yesterday.  Daren got permission to take the day off work.  He took Natalee and Haylee to school while I finished getting the little ones and myself ready to go and then off we went to Valencia.  We made great time!  We came out of San Fransisquito Canyon at about 10:15, only about an hour and 50 minutes after we left.  So we dropped by and visited Cindy and Jacob.  I was hoping to get to visit them a little and I knew we would probably have to leave right after the appointment so I was glad we got to see them.  It also gave me a chance to nurse Nathan.  Our appointments were at 11:00.  When we got there we just had to fill out a little more paperwork and before long at all we were back with the doctor.
     Mackenzie went first and sure enough, there was fluid behind her eardrums.  He said he wanted to take an x-ray of her adenoids to see how big they were but he also was thinking she might need allergy testing to make sure that wasn't the problem plugging her ears.  Next he looked in Nathan's ears.  Nathan did not have a perforated ear drum like Dr. Kitty suspected. (She thought he might because he never fussed before his ear started draining.)  He also had fluid behind the eardrum.  Because of his age, having fluid behind his eardrum is actually pretty common.  He said Nate was like the poster child for tubes in your ears.  The other possibility was to keep doing antibiotics until the fluid is absorbed into the body so that he doesn't develop another infection.  Then we'll hope that he doesn't get more fluid until his body outgrows the problem.  We're leaning toward just getting the tubes.  I'm planning on calling tomorrow.
     After we finished with Nathan's appointment, we took Mackenzie to get her x-ray.  Because of her age, it's very uncommon to have the fluid in her ears so the doctor is trying to find the root of the problem.  She got her x-ray taken and we headed home.  Of course we first had to stop for lunch at a McDonald's with probably the nicest play area I have ever seen.  It was also probably the nicest doctor's office I have ever seen.  All the buildings in Valencia are pretty.  The kids had fun playing on the playground for a bit and then we headed back home.
     Later that evening, Dr. Vadapalli called to give me the results of Mackenzie's x-ray.  He said her adenoids are larger than they should be, which very well could be the problem.  However, before doing surgery to remove them, he wants her to get allergy testing so that allergies can be ruled out.  Basically, he doesn't want to do surgery only to find out the adenoids weren't actually the problem after all.  I called the allergist in town today and we were blessed to be able to get an appointment only 2 days away!  (Thank you to the guy who cancelled his appointment.)
     All we can do from this point is schedule Nathan to get tubes in his ears, and wait to see the results of Mackenzie's allergy testing.  If she doesn't have allergies, she will most likely be having surgery as well.  Two at once!  When it rains, it pours.  But really, compared to what so many others go through, it's still just sprinkling.
     Now, about my feelings for all of this....
Actually, I do have some strong feelings.  Sometimes, when we're so busy taking care of the many things we're responsible for each day-cleaning, work, callings, PTO, helping kids with homework, making sure they brush their teeth, etc.-you don't always stop and think just how much you love these little guys.  I mean, I think about it.  But when they're about to go through something that may or will cause them pain, my heart is just breaking for them.  I hate to see them go through any of this and I can just feel how much I love them and want to protect them from going through all of this.  I am so grateful for these 5 sweet babies I've been blessed with.  And I'm so grateful for my wonderful husband who helped me make them- even though he had the easy part of the job! :).  I am really grateful to Daren for taking off work to be with me during the appointments.  It helped so much to have his support, emotionally and taking care of restless children.
     I'll keep you posted on Nathan's surgery date and Mackenzie's allergy tests.  And thank you Dad for picking up Natalee and Haylee from school yesterday! :)

My Journal

     My blog is my journal.  I haven't written this much in a journal since I was a teenager! (Not including my mission which is really not the greatest example of a mission journal.)
     Today in church we had some wonderful speakers talk about the temple and family history work.  Celeste Eggleston was speaking about doing our family history and she also talked about writing in our journal.  She told a story that President Henry B. Eyring shared in the October 2007 General Conference.  This was the story:

     When our children were very small, I started to write down a few things about what happened every day. Let me tell you how that got started. I came home late from a Church assignment. It was after dark. My father-in-law, who lived near us, surprised me as I walked toward the front door of my house. He was carrying a load of pipes over his shoulder, walking very fast and dressed in his work clothes. I knew that he had been building a system to pump water from a stream below us up to our property.
     He smiled, spoke softly, and then rushed past me into the darkness to go on with his work. I took a few steps toward the house, thinking of what he was doing for us, and just as I got to the door, I heard in my mind—not in my own voice—these words: “I’m not giving you these experiences for yourself. Write them down.”
     I went inside. I didn’t go to bed. Although I was tired, I took out some paper and began to write. And as I did, I understood the message I had heard in my mind. I was supposed to record for my children to read, someday in the future, how I had seen the hand of God blessing our family. Grandpa didn’t have to do what he was doing for us. He could have had someone else do it or not have done it at all. But he was serving us, his family, in the way covenant disciples of Jesus Christ always do. I knew that was true. And so I wrote it down, so that my children could have the memory someday when they would need it.
     I wrote down a few lines every day for years. I never missed a day no matter how tired I was or how early I would have to start the next day. Before I would write, I would ponder this question: “Have I seen the hand of God reaching out to touch us or our children or our family today?” As I kept at it, something began to happen. As I would cast my mind over the day, I would see evidence of what God had done for one of us that I had not recognized in the busy moments of the day. As that happened, and it happened often, I realized that trying to remember had allowed God to show me what He had done.
     More than gratitude began to grow in my heart. Testimony grew. I became ever more certain that our Heavenly Father hears and answers prayers. I felt more gratitude for the softening and refining that come because of the Atonement of the Savior Jesus Christ. And I grew more confident that the Holy Ghost can bring all things to our remembrance—even things we did not notice or pay attention to when they happened.
     The years have gone by. My boys are grown men. And now and then one of them will surprise me by saying, “Dad, I was reading in my copy of the journal about when …” and then he will tell me about how reading of what happened long ago helped him notice something God had done in his day.

     Sister Eggleston talked about how when we write in our journals we should share how we felt about our experiences, not just share the facts of what has happened.  By sharing our feelings about our experiences, they can serve to inspire our children, grandchildren, and future generations.  She shared examples of relatives that have inspired her and her husband.
     I know that I haven't been sharing anything too personal because of the nature of this blog-other people read it!  I am a very private person.  I have recently been thinking about how hard it is for me to stand up and bear my testimony during fast and testimony meetings at church.  When I was a missionary, sharing my testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ was second nature to me.  I have begun to fear that the Spirit no longer prompts me to bear my testimony because of the many times that I have ignored those promptings.  Or perhaps I just can no longer feel them.  To try to change this, I got brave and stood and bore my testimony last fast and testimony meeting for the first time in who knows how many years.
     Now it is time to change the way I write my journal.  I will try to include some of my deeper feelings about the experiences our family has.  I may have to start a written journal to record my more sacred spiritual experiences that are too sacred to me to be shared.

     As I listened in church today, I thought of some recent happenings in our home that I normally wouldn't have blogged about.  But I felt like they weren't too personal to be recorded and could potentially help our family in the future.  So I would like to share this experience.  However, this post is getting very long and I may have to start a new one!
     Thank you Sister Eggleston and Sister Hawkins for the wonderful talks today.

Haylee's New Year's Resolutions

     A few weeks ago, I walked out into the hallway to find that Haylee had decorated the wall right outside her bedroom door.  At first I was annoyed that she had used FOUR push pins to hang this thing up.  But as I got closer I could see that it was cut and so that's why she'd needed all four.  She and Natalee had been cleaning up their room and I assume she found this in her school stuff.  I thought it was so entertaining, both her resolutions and the pictures she drew to go with them.

     Above is a picture of the whole thing, and below I took close-ups of each individual picture and the goal that goes with it so you could really see it well.

 In 2011, I resolve to get better at memorizing subtraction facts.  I will do this by practicing my flash cards.

      In 2011, I resolve to read more books.  I will do this by reaching my AR goal.

      In 2011, I resolve to not be mean to my sisters.  I will do this by not arguing with them.
(That was my favorite goal of course.  The picture that goes with this one makes me laugh though. A picture of Natalee labeled 'Starter Natalee'-obviously Haylee believes Natalee starts ALL of their fights- and a short conversation that goes like this: Starter Natalee, "No I don't have to give you some of my birthday candy." Haylee said, "Yes you do."  I think this one really makes me chuckle because I don't see how that picture and conversation relate to 'not arguing!')

     In 2011, I resolve to help my classmates.  I will do this by helping them understand.

What great resolutions Haylee!!

After the Photo Shoot

     Just some more cute pictures from today.  Nate was being adorable in his "cage" and it's nice to get a picture of him showing off all 6 teeth!  He's only 9 months old.  Natalee didn't even have one tooth yet when she was his age.
     Kelsey doesn't think she needs naps anymore.  I disagree.  We were eating lunch today and I stepped out of the kitchen for a minute and came back to this.

Photo Shoot

     A few days ago I got a phone call from the Olan Mills studio that my favorite photographer was back.  She was giving all her old customers a free portrait package to get their business back.  I wasn't feeling the need for any portraits because my mom did some great ones at the LA temple that I haven't posted yet.  But I said sure and scheduled an appointment.  Then I had a brilliant idea-pictures of Haylee in her new baptism dress!  Well, we went to the appointment this morning and the pictures turned out BEAUTIFUL!  Of course, I was only able to get the first pose for the free ones and all the ones after that were way cuter poses.  But I was strong!  (Easier to be strong when you've spent all your money on an Odyssey.)  To make myself feel better, I set up my mini-studio at home and we had our own photo shoot in the living room.  Natalee got her camera out too and took some pretty pictures as well.  We asked Daren to pick his favorite and he picked one of Natalee's.  She was extra proud because I made a comment earlier about my camera being a better camera.  I still think my camera is better but I will concede that she may have more talent as a photographer or photograph-er, as Natalee likes to call it. :)
The best of Natalee's pictures (starting with the winner):

My best pictures:

A few other kids wanted to get in on this photo shoot:

And a few pictures in the dunking dress I made when Natalee got baptized:

     Haylee's actual baptism day will be April 30, 2011.  The pretty white bow she is wearing was a gift from Grandma Bobbi.  She was so excited to get some white hair things to go with her dress.  As I was putting the final curls in her hair before we left for Olan Mills, she asked me, "Mom, do I look like an Angel?"  Of course I told her that she did.  She really does look right from Heaven in her beautiful white dress.  I'm so proud of her for her desires to follow the Savior and be baptized.

Cute Kelsey

     So, not to make a habit of blogging about poop or anything, but Kelsey just says the funniest things sometimes.  A month or so ago Nate blew out his diaper while sitting in his high chair.  That kid has had more blow outs than all the other kids combined!  I have my theories about it....Anyway, I got him all cleaned up but I had forgotten about cleaning the high chair.  It's hard to remember now but I think I finished up a chore and said, "There, I'm all done!" and Kelsey said, "No you're not. There's poop in the high chair!"  Something along those lines.  Well, this afternoon he was eating a cracker in his high chair when I heard the sound.  I said, "Oops, Nate pooped.  Better go change him."  I picked him up out of the high chair and Kelsey looked at his seat and said, "No he didn't poop."  I know she meant, "If there isn't poop all over the place then Nathan must not have pooped!"  It just goes to show that even Kelsey has noticed that Nathan blows out all the time.

     I must share my Odyssey drama too.  Well, maybe not 'must' but I want to. :)
     About a month ago I was looking at the swap sheet to see what kinds of yard sales there were.  Natalee was about to do a horse show and I wanted to find some nice, used, cowgirl boots for her.  I didn't see anything and it was getting pretty late.  Daren wanted to get to bed so I said I'd just look and see if there was an Odyssey in the Auto section really quickly and then turn off the light.  I turned the page and BAM!  There was an '03 Odyssey with only 73,000 miles on it for just $8200.  I got so excited!  And when Daren actually agreed that we could go back to an Odyssey and get rid of the big van, which I didn't think he would ever agree too, I was even MORE excited.  But I couldn't sleep because I was so worried that someone already got to it or would get to it before me.  I called the next morning as early as I thought was polite and was crushed to hear that it had been sold.  But since Daren had agreed to the idea, I started looking all over the internet for a similar deal.  Craigslist mostly but I looked at the used inventories of dealerships too.
     Much to my surprise, when looking at the Bud Eyre Toyota dealership website, I found out that there was an '03 Odyssey with 73,000 miles that they had just gotten.  I couldn't believe it!  I was so mad that they had bought my car.  I wasn't mad to lose it to a person, but to a dealership!  I was livid.  Just for funsies I decided to see how much they wanted for it.  $12,995!!!  They came down to $10,800 for me but I just couldn't do it.  So I passed on it.
     I don't completely hate the monster van, it's just so hard for me to get the little kids in and out of it.  I kept looking and looking for a deal on an Odyssey or a Sienna.  I looked mostly on craigslist but even looked at ksl.com.  Anyway, the great news is that on Tuesday, April 5 I got my deal!!  I found it on Craigslist.  It was in Glendale, CA, 2 1/2 hours away.  But it was an '03 Odyssey with 76,000 miles for only $7700.  Daren and I picked up the kids at 2:30 and headed straight to Glendale.  They said they'd wait for us and they did.  It's beautiful!  They kept it very clean and my goal is to not destroy this one!  I love that it's silver.  It has both sets of keys (I accidentally drove over one of the keyless remote controls on the last car).  And it has a roof rack.  We always talked about getting one of those for our old van but we never did it.  Basically it's the exact same car (year and model) that we had before but it's a better color and not ruined. :)  I am so happy to be back to a minivan.  The stressful part is now selling monster van.