Fun Stuff from Natalee

I have two things to share from Natalee, neither of which were actually created this year.  The first one is probably from 2009, and the second one is probably from 2010.  But I don't want to miss anything cute.

First:

Natalee checked a book out from the library about how to draw horses.  One Sunday, she made this during Sacrament meeting for one of her sisters.

Second:

In case you can't quite make out the words, this is what it says (you can see why I couldn't leave this one out!):
I Love you mom, your with me when I'm sad, and help me feel better, You love me a lot, you keep me safe, take care of me when I'm sick.  Your the Best mom, I Love you!

Magnetix

     Adding a little boy to our family has provided us with so many firsts.  Nathan is definitely wired differently than his sisters.  This year is the first year we really had to toddler-proof the tree.  We used to make sure no glass or breakable ornaments were down low when the girls were little.   Now we can't have ANY ornaments down low because Nathan was destroying them or just constantly yanking them off and I was getting really tired of putting them back on.
     Wednesday night we were introduced to another 'first.'  Nathan swallowed a metal ball from the magnetix toys.  We have always been pretty vigilant with the magnetix because we know how dangerous they can be.  We actually had them in the garage for a few months because the kids hadn't put them away and we found Nathan playing in them with some balls in his mouth.  We just pulled them out a few days ago and the kids were playing with them.  They didn't put them away so I called them to the bedroom and told them to clean them up.  Later that evening, Nathan apparently went into the room, OPENED the magnetix tool box case, and put a metal ball in his mouth.  Haylee said she tried to get it out of his mouth but before she knew it, he had swallowed it.
     I stayed up for quite awhile researching online to make sure we didn't need to take him to the ER.  There were lots of similar stories and it seems that we just need to keep an eye on him.  We need to make sure it comes out in his diaper and if not, take him in so they can do an x-ray and make sure it's not lodged somewhere.  We also have to watch for vomiting, drooling, not eating, or signs of blockage in his wind pipe like wheezing or other breathing trouble.  I slept in the spare bed in his room just to be close in case he started showing one of these symptoms.  I think Nathan is definitely going to give me more gray hairs than all four girls combined!
     Oh,speaking of gray hairs, today is my 36th birthday.  36 sounds so old for some reason.  Yikes!  Daren and I are so close to middle-aged.  It doesn't feel like it since we still have little ones.  But our big kids are sure getting big.  My mom and dad are going to watch the kids while Daren and I go on a date tonight and I'm so excited!  I've got Bernadino's taco salad on my mind.  And then we'll probably do something super exciting that old people do like go to Home Depot to look at flooring and light fixtures. :)  We actually both really want to do that without our kids!
     Nathan still hasn't had a poopy diaper yet today so I'm hoping for his birthday gift to me he will poop out a marble!

P.S.  Click here for a fun read I found during my online search.

At Least I'm Not the Worst Mommy in the World

     Tonight was Kelsey's Joy School Christmas party!  It was a potluck dinner/FHE for the whole family.  The Joy School kids acted out the story of the Nativity and sang a couple of Christmas songs.  This time Kelsey played the part of the innkeeper and got to say, "No room" a few times.  She did great!
     To prepare for this wonderful event, I thought it would be a great idea to bathe our kids.  Natalee and Haylee don't really need my help with this but I plopped the 3 youngest in the bathtub together and began scrubbing.  Since I had some other things to do still to get ready, I didn't really want to hang out in the bathroom watching the little ones in the tub.  So once they were washed I told them it was time to get out.  Mackenzie was not very happy about this.  She really wanted some time to hang out in the bathtub without the other two kids.  I said there wasn't any time and she needed to get out.  I had already started letting the water out and was getting Nathan and Kelsey wrapped in their towels.  Finally I said, "I'm going to go to the kitchen and get a glass of cold water and when I get back I'm going to dump it into the bathtub so you better get out while I'm gone."
     Mackenzie started screaming that she didn't have her towel because she wanted her Tinkerbell towel.  I left the bathroom to get her the Tinkerbell towel and she assumed I was headed to the kitchen and started screaming bloody murder.  I walked back in, tossed her the towel, and told her she had her towel so now I was headed to the kitchen to get the water.  By this time the tub was completely empty and she was just hanging out naked in it.
     As I headed to the kitchen, I could hear her screaming all about how she hated me.  The first time one of my children told me this horrible thing I was really upset.  But I'm getting immune to it knowing that I will be loved again very soon.  I brought back an empty cup and Mackenzie STILL wouldn't get out of the tub.  She finally hopped out to attack me but then hopped back in.  So I pulled her out and sent her to her room with the promise that if she didn't knock it off and get dressed immediately I would be finding a babysitter for her so she couldn't come with us to the Christmas party.  She headed to her room after that but continued to scream in the hall that she hated me and I was the worst mommy in the whole world.
     "I bet the worst mommy in the whole world hits her kids," I said.  "Do you want me to be the worst mommy in the whole world?"
     "You already are!" I was told.
     "Well I don't hit you, and I don't lock you up in a closet, and I don't ever burn you.  Did you know there are mommies that do those things?  Don't you think those might be the worst mommies in the world?"
     Mackenzie's expression softened for just a moment as I imagine she was feeling sadness for the kids who have to go through those terrible things.  Then she looked up at me with a frown and said, "Well, you are the worst mommy in California."

P.S.  At the Joy School party tonight the kids wrote on cards that said, "My gift to Jesus is..."  Mackenzie finished hers with "Love" and then wrote "I love you" on the inside of the card and gave it to me.  I asked her if this meant she didn't think I was the worst mommy in California anymore.  She told me I was the best mommy in the world and she loved me.  Then she gave me a big hug and kiss.  I knew it!

The Magical Fruit/Gummy

     A few weeks ago, I went to Lancaster with my mom and grandma just for a fun day of shopping.  We went to the mall, Target, Petsmart, Trader Joe's, Costco, Winco, AND Toys R Us.  We were just about finished up at Costco when I walked past one of the taster tables.  The product being sampled was called "Fiber Gummies."  They were gummy squares that taste a lot like gummy bears but have 5 grams of fiber and only 10 calories.  I was thinking that they would be perfect for my kids.  One in particular seems to have a little trouble and the pediatrician actually suggested getting some fiber for her.  So this seemed a lot better than the other types of adult fibers you can buy.
     The fiber gummies were definitely a hit!  The kids are always asking, "Can I have my fiber gummy?"  It's such a treat to take their fiber.  I have been joking that our family has been a little more musical ever since we introduced the fiber gummies.  Whenever one of the kids seems to be tooting a little extra, I say, "It's those fiber gummies."
     A few days ago, Mackenzie and I were in the living room.  In walked Kelsey, who at that very moment let out a hearty toot.  Mackenzie immediately looked at me and asked, "Can I have my fiber gummy?"

Family Pictures

     I am SO weak!  Daren was at Kmart a few weeks ago and a guy was selling coupons for portrait packages.  Daren told him that he couldn't talk us into buying one so he said he'd throw in a 16x20 for an extra $5.  I really wanted a big family picture so I agreed.  Well, of course they can't just take the picture for the portrait package.  They have to take a bunch of other poses.  And of course the other poses just had to be adorable.  We didn't buy any other pictures, but we did purchase the CD and copyright so I could add the beautiful pictures to my blog book.  These pictures were taken 2 days before Thanksgiving.

The Mouth of Babes

     I love listening to the things my children pray for.  It's like a window into their hearts and minds.  I learn what is important to them and what they have been thinking about.  I find out what is worrying them or what they are hoping for.  Sometimes they say something that is completely hilarious, and other times they say things that are so sweet and touching.  I especially love it when they pray for each other.
     Kelsey had a gem of a prayer a few nights ago.  She rattled off quite the list of things she was praying for, and somewhere in the middle, I was sure I heard her say, "...and help us all to be dead."  When the prayer ended, Haylee and I looked at each other.  We were smiling and Haylee chuckled and said that Kelsey had prayed for us to be dead.  Daren said that that wasn't what she had said and started to list off some of the other things she had prayed for.  I told him that I had thought I heard her say it too.  So Daren asked her if she had prayed for us all to be dead.  Kelsey nodded her head and said, "Uh huh, because then we could all live with Jesus."
     Kelsey has been thinking about Jesus a lot lately and I am very glad about that.  Unfortunately, we all said "amen" at the end of her prayer. :)

Family News

     We have decided to try and sell our house and move into town.  We would still love to have a nice large yard, but we don't need as much space as we have out here if we aren't going to have animals.  We sold the goats a month or so ago.  Chickens are allowed to live in town so for now we plan on keeping them.  We also found a new home for our dog Shelby.
     I feel like finding a new home for Shelby and the goats was an important step to moving into town and it all just seemed to fall into place.
     A few days ago, we walked through a house that we fell in love with.  Then last night, we showed our house to a family who might be interested in it.  They are coming back to look on Saturday morning so they can get a better look at the yard.  If they didn't like it they wouldn't be coming back Saturday. :)  So now I have very high hopes that we can sell our house and buy the dream house.  We'll see what happens.  I'd feel a lot better if we could just sell monster van too.
     My favorite things about the dream house:  5 bedrooms!!!!, a gorgeous kitchen, a huge laundry room, a covered patio that goes the whole length of the back of the house, a large yard, a huge wooden playset that I imagine will be staying but they didn't say, and attic access to a giant part of the attic (over the garage) with wood flooring so you could actually store quite a bit in the attic.  Oh, and of course, it's in town so we would be so close to everything!

P.S.  We didn't buy the dream house.  We put an offer but they said they were pretty sure a family was going to give them a full price offer in a few weeks and we just weren't willing to pay full price.  They were right though and they sold it for their asking price.  So I guess it just wasn't the right house for us after all.  And actually, I'm glad we made the choice not to spend so much money.