Let me explain...

I think my last post came across wrong.  I didn't mean to sound like I was complaining, just that I had a crazy day-crazy enough to write about it.  It wasn't bad and I would hate for anyone (especially Rachel) to think that I was unhappy.  Truth be told I actually like days where I am challenged.  I like to think of myself as a strong, independent, capable person.  And if there is a chance to stretch myself in that way then I rise to the challenge!  I could have called someone to watch the Hubbards but I knew I could handle it.  I could have assigned out more jobs but I chose to take them on (I will change that next time-that was foolish of me).  The only parts made it harder was me being sick the night before and getting pulled over.  But really, I am the type of person that if someone says I can't do it then I will DO IT!!!  So, my day wasn't horrible, just crazy.  And I liked it.  Now I feel empowered because I survived!  It was stressful but we made it.  We even laughed along the way (Jeffrey cracks me up!)

I had to post this picture from the ward party.  We had a Halloween treat contest and someone brought this pan of "kitty litter".  So funny.  My favorite part was that we actually scooped it out with a pooper-scopper.  And below is Daisy's first "fell asleep in the high chair" picture. 

(A few more thoughts about that day...)

I feel like I have a very blessed life.  I have not been required to sacrifice much for the Lord.  I have not had to walk across the country, darn stockings, grind wheat, bury a child, leave behind family possessions, cut off a frost bitten toe, or anything close to that.  I haven't even had many modern day sacrifices like losing a child, battling cancer, anxiously waiting years for to have children, having children with behavioral problems, struggling through a bad marriage, miscarrying a baby, being abused physically/sexually/emotionally, etc.  I have had a blessed life.  I also feel that there is not much service that I am able to give through out the day.  But I am able to babysit (and I don't even have to leave the comfort of my own home for that service.)  So, if Heavenly Father wants to make me work for my blessings by throwing in a sick day and a speeding ticket then I will take it!  One stressful day is very little to ask and I am willing to go through it.  And even though Heidi was crying in a corner I think she secretly likes the "damsel in distress" role.  She has a dramatic side to her.  She probably  thought that a prince would find her, carry her off on his horse into the sunset and they would live happily ever after.  Ever since watching Enchanted she has been climbing trees hoping to fall into a prince's arms.

OK, I'm done talking.

Happy Halloween!!

This is a long post.

I had my first ward activity-the trunk or treat.  It was a headache from the start.  I didn't realize how hard the activities person had to work to keep people happy.  From picking the date to cleaning up this was a interesting first activity.  The drama all started the night before when I became super sick.  It wouldn't have been too bad but I didn't get the rest I was hoping for since I had an activity and was babysitting for a friend.  I was going to have two extra kids and wanted to be a little more rested.  Didn't happen.  I spent the day of getting things ready, searching and searching for my church keys (which are still missing), walking slowly so my stomach wouldn't erupt again, and then getting myself out of a ticket (I was going 38 in a 40 but I didn't know that it was a school zone making the speed limit 15!!)  It was just crazy.

I didn't even have time to take many pictures.  And poor Ben got sucked into working for me as well.  He's in the background running the pumpkin bowling.  Daisy probably had it the worst though.  We got to the church at 4, I fed her, and then she laid on the stage, cried herself to sleep and when she woke there was no mom to take care of her.  Katie ended up holding her all night and she didn't get fed until after the activity was over.  Thanks to Katie for taking over for me!
She was Daisy Duck-Cute!  Her head is a little too big for the hat.  Thanks to Jana for the outfit and for coming rescue me during the set up.  I was not going to be ready in time.  With all five kids that day I got there at 4, fed the baby, took a potty break for the kids (which meant undoing all the costumes), then had a poopy diaper, followed by another bathroom break for Heidi going #2 (and undoing all the costumes again).  Luckily Jana was able to come at my beckon call!  

Here were the kids suffering through while I ignored them.  I didn't even take time to get a good picture of my girls this time.  

Here is Jana's little girl.  She didn't like the wings but she was so cute. 

We were so busy yesterday that the kids didn't get dinner.  When Heidi started eating the spilled sprinkles I didn't even stop her.  The caramel apples were a hit but I owe Nikki big time for helping me.  She stood there all night pouring sprinkles for me.

This is my favorite picture.  I look up from stirring the caramel and there is Heidi, all alone, crying in the corner.  Ben and I were so busy doing other things that our kids just roamed around on their own.  Her bouncy ball had broken in two.  It's not a good picture but I had to take it from far away because I couldn't leave the apple table.  Last night when Heidi went to bed she "Hey, Mom.  I did not have a fun time at the church tonight."  All that hard work and Heidi didn't even have fun.

Well the fun wasn't over yet.   I got a call before 8 the next morning saying that I needed to get the hay cleaned up.  There had been a few hay piles on the ground and it was my job to clean them.  So I bundled up all five kids and headed out to clean the parking lot.  I love that Kaylee wears my old jacket.  

All we had to sweep it up with was a kitchen broom.  There was a trail of hay through the entire parking lot of the stake center.  I was going to have the kids pick it up while I swept but that was counter productive.  They were good sports, though.  They played while I cleaned.  

And then once again poor Daisy just sat in the van while I worked.  She took a two hour nap while I swept the parking lot.  The whole time I swept I wondered if on Sunday anyone would notice how clean the parking lot looked-but no, they won't because they will just park on the parking lot and go into the building!!  Was that a waste of my time?  Maybe not because I did clean up a lot of hay.  But they are also having another halloween party there tomorrow night and if they have hay then yes, it was a waste of my time!

It was a busy day but it was also fun.  From being sick and not having time for dinner I was able to meet my pre-pregnancy weight.  I was able laugh when Jeffrey shook his head and said "You shouldn't have been driving so fast" when I got pulled over.  I do feel bad for the Hubbard kids.  I was not being a great babysitter.  Christina brought me her diaper and the baby wipes when I hadn't noticed that she needed a diaper change.  And I felt for Daisy-who, at one point, I thought had rolled off the bed, died, and Heidi had dragged her body off to bury it (that is another long story).  All in all it was crazy and I am glad the activity is OVER!  Next time I will need to be better prepared, make more assignments, and get things a little more organized.  It  was a good learning experience.

No videos yet

Well I still can't figure out the video thing.  I need to take the time to go to the apple store  and get a tutorial about how this thing works. But at least I have some cute pictures of Daisy.   

I love her round face and big googly eyes.
The video was of her trying to reach that panda.  She can't grab it but she sure was trying to push herself over to it.  Maybe that will be my job for next week.  This week is much too busy but I might be able to squeeze it in next week.  

We are Officially a Family Now.

We carved pumpkins tonight and I felt like we were a real family now.  The type of family that does fun stuff together and makes things for the holidays.  It was a nice feeling.  

The 2nd pumpkin was Kaylee's-she wanted it to have five teeth and crazy eyes.  Heidi's is the last pumpkin and she wanted it to have a scary mouth and square eyes.  

Kaylee was the only one into it.  Heidi didn't want to get dirty.
Ben is so cute with the girls.  He was showing Kaylee how gross it was.
And then there is the cutest pumpkin of all.  

Family Friday

As requested we took some family photos today. Daisy was asleep while we played with the photo booth.  The girls really do like seeing all the different background and distortions the computer can make. 

We were holding our breath.  
Kaylee has decided that is she could go to the moon she would leave her mark there by leaving behind a booger.

Ben won't like that this is on but I love that he plays with the girls like this.  They have so much fun with him.  He is so cute.  

Thankful Thursday

I decided to start a theme day.  I want to have a thankful day.  There are always so many things that I am thankful for but I don't ever express them.  And there are also things I need to appreciate more so this might help.  OK, here goes.  I am thankful for:

1. Rainy days-I love being in the house with a steady rain outside.  I like to keep the house a little cool so that I can snuggle in a blanket.  There is nothing better than snuggling in a blanket.

2. Daisy's smile-She is so quick to smile.  She also has cute chubby cheeks to go along with it.

3. Amazing Friends-Lately I have been very grateful for the friends I have.  I have been incredibly blessed to have wonderful friends.  

4. ITunes-I love it!  I love that if I want a CD I can just get on the computer and get it.  Ben is pretty cool with me downloading a song or two...he has a soft spot for Itunes as well.

5. Blogging-I have to say that I am not as into it as I was before, BUT, I really do love it.  I am grateful for the connections you can make through it.  There are people who I care about but don't know what it going on with them  (you know, the friends that you wonder about but aren't close enough to call all the time).  Well thanks to blogging I get to see what they are up to.  I even get ideas from their blogs and good advice.  Here is another blessing that comes from blogging-it helps to keep families in touch.  I haven't seen or talked to my Aunt Ann for years but now that there is blogging I get the chance to be in contact with her and my cousins.  I always love her advice on my blog.  Having a blog really has been a great blessing.

4 months

Daisy is now 4 months.  She isn't anywhere close to rolling over but she is definitely on the move.  Here are some pictures from last night.  In the first picture she started where her socks are but pushed herself back to book shelf.

On this one she started with her feet at the blue case but then scooted back and around.  It took about two minutes for her to move that far.  I love when babies can start getting places by themselves.  There are only two problems with this though.  1-She can't be put on the bed alone anymore. 2-With scooting around on her back she will REALLY have a bald spot on her head.  But, oh well.  
This is just a cute picture of the girls while doing some "school work"  Heidi loves to play on starfall.com.  Her and Kaylee sit there learning about letters together.  They really like it and I recommend it.  They are so cute sitting there together!

When I can figure out putting videos on I will put one of the girls singing Saturday's Warrior.  

Daisy Pictures

This is a weird picture.

It has been a while since I put any new pictures on of Daisy.  Her Aunt Kaylee was nice enough to send her some new outfits.  I love these pants.
I love this brown onesie.  She looks really cute in it. I had been eyeing it at Target for a while and just decided to get it since she has now moved up to the next clothing size.  I am so glad I bought it!

Photo Booth

The computer has a photo booth thing were it will take pictures of you from the computer.  You can do all sorts of funny effects with the camera.  Here are just a few.

Ben was trying to get Daisy to look like Syndrome from the Incredibles. 


Heidi just looks creepy here.  She reminds me of Frankenstein.  

This one was cute.

Activities Advice

It is the time of year when I need to start planning out my church activities for 2009.  Our ward is used to doing a ward activity every month so I have a lot to schedule and prepare.  I have trying to think of new activities that we could do but I don't have many ideas.  So I am asking for your ideas.  What are some things your ward does?  Or was there an activity that you just loved?  I am looking for ideas so let me have them!  (Sorry again for no pictures...I have only taken one picture this week and haven't loaded it on the computer yet.  But at least it is a new post!)

Have you ever used a Mac?

Our laptop has slowly been dying.  It just keeps getting slower and slower.  It got to the point where it was so slow that I couldn't tell if it was processing or if I just hadn't pressed the button and then ten minutes later I would realize it was just processing things.  It was really frustrating.  

We got a new computer this weekend.  It is a Mac and I have no clue how to do anything on it.  It is the kind where the hard drive is just inside the monitor.  I really like the HD screen but I feel a little behind when I am trying too work things.  

First off, you go to the left side to close things.  There is no 'right click' option...at least I haven't found it yet.  I can't find the "home" and "end" buttons on the keyboard.  I don't know where to go to look for files (like my photos-they are in the iphoto but I tried to find them through something else and I couldn't).  I guess I just feel lost.  But I do love the new screen!  (OK, I just found my photos-they are in the media section, not the documents.  I never would have guessed that because they are with the document area on my PC!)

Anyway, we spent the weekend playing with the computer and trying to figure things out.  I don't have any new pictures (sorry, Mom).  This computer is fun though.  I love that we got it.  My brother says that I have been sucked into the Mac culture (or something like that) but I don't care.  I like how pretty it all looks.  Love it.   Looks like Christmas came early at the Taylor house.

PS-the coolest part is that when you turn it on/off you can't even tell.  There is no noise at all.  Weird.

Picture Tag

Kaylee was Tinkerbell last year for Halloween. I wish it had been a different picture because Kaylee and Heidi will be Tinkerbell for Halloween again this year. You will be seeing another picture like this in just a few weeks! I love Halloween but I hate the dressing up part. I am not creative enough to think of an original idea, not crafty enough to make something myself and not wasteful enough to spend money on new costumes when the old ones still fit. My poor kids.

I will tag Micaela, Jana, Erica and Peggy. You just go to your 4th picture file and post your 4th picture in that file. It's pretty easy and interesting to see what it is.

Here is a cute video of Daisy when she was talking last night. You will have to excuse the background music. My girls were watching Saturday's Warrior while I video taped this. I know my brother will laugh at this but that is Heidi's favorite movie now. We started a rule of only watching church movies on Sunday and this is the only one we have. She has gone from watching it on Sundays to watching it every day as her one movie for the day. The cutest part is when Kaylee sings "Jimmy, oh Jimmy don't listen to them!" I love it. I know my kids are nerds but they are so cute about it I don't even care. Heidi even wears a princess skirt over her pajama leggings so that she will be like the dancers in the pre-existence. Or she will pretend that her princess squeaky toys and buzz squeaky toy are Julie and Todd singing The Circle of Our Love. It cracks me up.

Heidi is a Trooper!!

We went grocery shopping yesterday and it was our BIG shopping day. Normally I have Ben with me but this time I went solo and relied on Heidi to help. She was the best helper!!! I can't believe how good she was about helping and not complaining. We started with two carts, one held Kaylee and Daisy in it, and Heidi was in charge of pushing one. Well, by the end of the trip Both carts were as loaded with groceries as they could be. I was pushing the heaviest and Heidi would grab onto my pants and her cart at the same time and then use my momentum to pull the other cart. She was exhausted after pushing a huge, heavy shopping cart. I know it doesn't look like that much food but it was a ton (plus, Heidi is standing right in front of all the food). She was great!
I bought so much food because we are building up our food storage. We aren't buying 5 gallon buckets of dried onions but I am just buying extra of the stuff we usually get. Look at that food storage! I am so proud!! (That is a lot of food storage for us)
Ben took these pictures of Daisy Balooga this morning. She was just really tired.
So cute. The video is Daisy doing her tummy time. I hate tummy time because my kids always just cry during it. It's no fun for them and I feel bad whenever I put her on her stomach. But, they have to learn so oh well!

Nothing much

This is just a post so I won't have to hear my mom complain about not putting up any pictures.This was Heidi during conference. When I told her it was conference weekend she just rolled her eyes and said that conference was boring.
This is the girls this morning. We have to go grocery shopping and Kaylee is excited because she wants to get some Raisin Bran. They are currently watching ET while I do this. Heidi is scared of it and Kaylee likes to do anything that makes Heidi scared. Kaylee will pick ET on purpose to make Heidi cry. Heidi doesn't like skeletons either so Kaylee will find Ben's anatomy books and chase Heidi with them through the house. Kaylee also loves the Halloween displays at Target and will tease Heidi about going to Target and looking at them. She says, in a teasing, sing-song voice, "Heidi...we are going to go see Mr. Bones at Target!" Ben and I just laugh about how funny it is. Kaylee is scared of thunder though. Last night we had a thunder storm roll in and Kaylee came running in to sleep with us.

Get Ready for Conference

I am treating Daisy as if she had reflux. After I feed her I keep her sitting up for at least a half an hour. I bought her a Bumbo and I am so happy I did. She was a little wobbly in it the first night but she is a pro now.

She is cute in her little seat. I have also cut out dairy from my diet. We'll see if that works. If nothing improves then I will have to cut out chocolate...let's hope it doesn't come to that!But she was much better even yesterday. She only spit up little amounts and only a few times. The girls got into my makeup yesterday. I thought the grandparents might like to see how Heidi and Kaylee play with Daisy. I put up a lot of pictures and videos because I won't be doing anything this weekend. It is Conference!! I really do enjoy conference but am a little worried how I am going to handle it alone with three girls. Ben and I listen to conference wondering what message we can take from it. Last year at this time I had told Ben we needed to have another baby. I knew it was time but he didn't believe me. However, thanks to Julie B. Beck's talk about Mother Who Know Ben finally gave in. I wonder what message we will get out of conference this weekend...maybe another baby will be on the way!

Why does she spit up?

I have a question. Daisy spits up all the time. Much more than my other two and I am started to think there might be something wrong. It's not just spitting up after she eats either. She spits up whenever! She also spits far. If she is lying on her back and spits it will fly an inch above her mouth/face and then fall to the side. It is like watching a fountain spray up and then fall. What is wrong? Is it my diet? Does she just eat too much? Is there anything I can do to fix this? Please give me any advice you think might help.