"Did you see my hit?"

Scotty has been playing baseball this last month or so and really enjoying it. Recently Scott has been making an effort to play catch with him and we have taken several outing to the park so he can practice batting. Then we end the evening with a family kick ball game until someone is in tears and then we leave. Anyway, our friends the McInnes gave Scotty one of their son CJ's old bats. He was so excited and has practiced with it and was ready to make a big hit in his game last night. And big hit is what he made. His last at bat he wailed the ball out into center field. He was so sure it would be a home run, so he ran as fast as he could. He was so excited by the time he was nearing 3rd base he was passing his team mate who hit in front of him. It was so funny. The coaches hurried him back to second base. All I heard the rest of the night and all morning was... "DID YOU SEE MY HIT?" He must have reenacted that play a hundred times. He was super excited and so were we!

Homeless!!

Well, tonight (like all nights) was busy. I had visiting teaching appointments scheduled at 4:30. Scotty had to be at his game at 4:45. Scott and I passed on our street as I was leaving. He dropped Scotty off at his game and came home to get the girls ready to take to the game. When he was just about out the door I call and tell him someone had slashed my tire and it was totally flat. Thank goodness I took his truck and not my car. He comes to the condos I was at and changes the flat tire while I take the girls to watch Scotty's game. At this point I really needed a soda, so we stop at Fabulous Freddy's which is next to the ball fields. As I am getting the girls out Maddy informs me that she has no shoes. What does a good mom do.... she says oh well I guess you are going barefoot. As we pile out of the car I realize that I have chocolate on my shirt from making goodies for my ladies, I never did Madeline's or Marianne's hair because we didn't go anywhere, Madeline has no shoes and her clothes do not match. Oh... I tell Haley as we are walking into the store "we look like a homeless family." After we got our two big drinks we head to the counter to pay, and tell the clerk "I just have these two 32 ounce drinks." She looks at me, waves her hand and says its ok. A little shocked I said "are you sure?" She replies yes it ok and waves us out the door. When we get outside, Haley looks at me puzzled and asks, "she didn't make you pay?' I say "no, wasn't that nice?" Haleys responds, "She must have really thought we were HOMELESS!"

About three years ago, I would never have left the house looking the way we did. Now most the time I am in survival mode and am just grateful my kids are fully dressed.

The joys of motherhood!

OK... I don't know about all you moms out there, but when my children say, "YOU ARE THE MEANEST MOM EVER!" I take that as a compliment. I take that as I am doing my job of not spoiling my kids and helping them be responsible adults, by making them to hard things that they do not want to do. Well, tonight Scotty threw a curve ball at me and I am not sure what to think about it. After prodding and begging and pleading, I finally reached down deep and told him that he better stay in his room until it is completely clean, to my standards of course. And I added a little, "if you come out before it is completely clean you will have another chore!" So, he did good for a while, asked if he could come out to put something away. I was OK with that. Then he came out to tell me something, very unimportant and very unrelated to cleaning his bedroom. So I kindly listened and then let him know that he would have another chore of taking out the trash when he was done with his room. He stormed away very unhappy. When he came out again he marched into me and said, "Mom, when I get older and I am married and I have kids, I am never going to visit you!"

I am not sure how to take that one....

Saga of the Pinkwood Derby

Our stake does a really fun day camp for the activity day girls. They have classes from 4pm - 8pm on Friday night and then classes all day on Saturday. The last half hour of the event the parents come and watch the girls perform what they have learned. Haley signed up for all kinds of classes this year. She signed up for archery, power to be fit, a hip hop class, power to accessorize, a cooking class, a class on making balloon creatures, white board tiles, scrap booking, and THE PINKWOOD DERBY! She was so excited to make a car with her dad. Well, the weeks passed and soon we were at the week of the camp. On Tuesday the car was finally purchased at the scout office, because we could not find one at Michaels. Well, that night Scotty had a baseball game, Wednesday is young mens, Thursday I had enrichment and Scott was hosting dinner for the missionaries and a family in the ward that they are teaching (he was a single dad, so I could justify leaving). By Thursday night Scott was so exhausted and he decided he was going to have to stay home from work on Friday to make the car. Well, taking off work is particularly hard for Scott to do. So he had what he thought was a heart to heart with Haley that morning, and they decided that she would just go to another class and they would make the car next year. What Scott doesn't understand is that Haley, even though she is only 9 is still a woman and of course she did not say exactly what she felt. So about 5 minutes after her dad left for work she was in hysterics over not having a pinkwood derby car. I practically had to force her in the doors of the school. Luckily I was volunteering in her class, so I could take her in and make sure she made it to class. I was feeling really bad for her, it was not her fault that she did not have a car. So, as I am making copies in the hall at school I call my friend Kristen and plead for her help in attempting to make Haley a car. Long story short..... we made the cutest car in 3 1/2 hours (part of that time was spent at Michaels buying some supplies). I think that is a record. I knew that it would definitely not be the fastest car there, but I wanted to make sure it was the cutest. I think we did a pretty dang good job!!! Haley was elated when she came home from school. The look on her face brought tears to my eyes and made it all worth it. It really has been Haley's week!

Haley- Star Student of the Week!

Haley was picked to be the very first "Star Student of the Week" in her class. She came home and was not happy about being first. If you know Haley she does not enjoy being the center of attention. But there was not much she could do about it but do what was required. On Tuesday she had to bring a sack full of items that represented her and her favorite book to read to the class. Today, one of her parents had to write a letter to the class about Haley. I took the liberty to give this responsibility to her father. I knew he would do such a great job and that he did. Her teacher, Mrs. Watkins came up to me after school and told me how wonderful her letter was. She said it gave her chills when she read it. I think he described Haley perfectly in his poem. We love you Haley! The following is the poem that he wrote to Haley....

MY ODE TO HALEY

Written By Her Father, Scott Hendricks

Why is Haley so Special?

Because she puts the

H-the E- the N-the D- the R-the I- the C-the K-and the S

In HENDRICKS!

Without her, we couldn’t be, we wouldn’t be the Hendricks.

H

Haley puts the H for helpful in our family. Every Saturday morning, Haley can be found doing Saturday chores. She cleans the bathroom, sorts the laundry, cleans her room, and dusts all of the furniture.

E

Haley you might say is a little bit of a perfectionist, but I prefer to say, she is an “Excellentist”. Haley always try’s to do her best. Haley puts Excellence in the letter “E”.

N

You could say N is for Nanny, as sometimes Haley feels like a nanny to her 2 younger sisters and 1 younger brother. But I think the N stands for nurturing. She encourages, loves, and inspires her younger siblings.

D

When duty calls, Haley is there. She takes the roles of daughter, sister, and friend very seriously and we count ourselves lucky to have a daughter, sister, and friend we can count on.

R

Haley loves a good love story and ALWAYS hopes for a happy ending. The R you ask?- Why Haley is a true ROMANTIC!

I

Integrity is her middle name. She is honest, even when it appears that lying would giver her an advantage, or at least keep her out of trouble. Haley knows how to choose the right.

C

Careful and cautious, that is for certain. She will always test the water before jumping in. Safety first has always been her motto!

K

Kind in everyway- This is my favorite thing about Haley. She is quick to compliment, to befriend another and to love!

S

She is my SUPERHERO!

I wish I could be like her! Haley I LOVE YOU!

So remember Haley and that she is a HENDRICKS—

Helpful, Excellent, Nurturing, Dutiful, Romantic, Integrity, Careful, Kind, and a real live SUPERHERO!

She is a HENDRICKS!

1st day of school

I cannot believe that summer is over. I am looking forward to a schedule again, however I will miss having my kids home with me. They are getting to such a fun age. I miss them when they are gone all day. But I will not miss the extra fighting. I guess school just makes you appreciate your kids more!!

Haley's is in 4th grade this year. Her teacher is Mrs. Watkins. I think it will be a great year for her, she has several cute girlfriends in her class. I cannot believe she is growing up so fast! Marianne is not going to know what to do without Haley around all day!

Scotty is in 2nd grade. His teacher is Mrs. Ellison. She looks and sounds like she is about 12. Seems like a good lady. None of his friends are in his class this year, but I told him it is a good opportunity to make new friends and he seemed to be great with that. He is not shy and makes friends very easily. He was so funny. He walked into my bathroom and said, "look mom, don't I kind of look like a teenager?" I had to giggle. Indulge this kid in just a shirt and pair of shoes that he wanted and he is happy as a goat!

A Death in the Family!

Well, our story begins on Monday at Family Home Evening, or Hamily Fome Evening which Scotty called it for years and still does every once in a while. Scott and I thought it would be a good idea to set a family emergency preparedness plan. I had just had some training on our ward and stake emergency plan and realized that we do not have a family plan. Pretty simple and easy HUH? Well as we ask the kids where a good meeting place would be if our house ever caught fire, or where they should meet if their was an earthquake or other disaster while they were at school. Their little minds started going wild. Scotty was obsessed with "what would we do if someone tried to break into our house and they had hunting dogs?" I tried to explain to him that that would not likely ever happen (at least the hunting dogs part). Haley was just traumatized that we might all get hurt or lost or killed. She broke down in tears, which scared Madeline and soon we had two kids crying. We tried to explain to them that most likely nothing would ever happen, but we needed to be prepared just in case it did. Anyway, not sure how well that went over. Not sure they were ready for such a heavy topic. But we made some meeting spots, and wrote down our plan. And Madeline ended up sleeping with us!

Ok...getting back to the "death in the family." Haley got her first pet, which is a crayfish named circles. She got her from school and has taken good care of her all summer. Scott has also fallen in love with circles and claims that circles is his pet not Haley's. I think with all the talk of earthquakes and floods, circles got a little uneasy and decided to crawl out of her bowl. Somehow she dropped about 3 feet to the ground and made her way into Haley's closet. If any of you are savvy with crayfish, they can only be out of water for a short period of time. So, needless to say, Haley went to get her shoes Tuesday morning and found her crayfish lying right next to them stiff as a board. Oh, she was hysterical. It was really sad actually. It was sad to see her go through her first experience with death. All I could do was hold her and comfort her. She did better as the day went on. We had a little burial for Circles in our back yard, after many pictures were taken. I will post those later. So, best wishes to circles who is on the other side!

He Finally Lost a Tooth!!!

Scotty has waited a long time to lose a tooth. He was the only one in his 1st grade class that had not lost a tooth or even had a loose tooth. This really weighed on him. But, he finally lost one a few weeks ago. He was so excited he ran to the sink to wash the blood off his tooth and the tooth went down the drain with the blood. Not to worry, he was not too devastated. He just knew if he wrote a letter to the tooth fairy, explaining what happened he was sure she would still come. And the tooth fairy did not disappoint.

Faces of Summer!

These are the adorable faces found around our house this summer...

Who knew Marianne had a little homey in her. Isn't she the cutest gangster you have ever seen. (thanks Kyson for letting her wear your hat)

Missy is a little fish! She looks like this about every day!

Who knew Haley could fit into such small spaces? Have you seen how long her legs are?

Marianne and Scotty are my early risers. They are often awake for a couple hours by themselves, watching movies, eating breakfast and having fun!

Roasting Marshmallows and Night Swimming

In June, Scott got the itch to try out his dutch oven that he got for Christmas. So he lit the coals on the BBQ and let the kids roast marshmallows. They were in heaven! As he got the dutch oven going we realized that we would not be able to consume the whole cobbler our selves. And who likes left over cobbler? It is just not the same. So we decided to invite our friends the Craigs to eat cobbler with us and swim. By the time we called them it was already after 8pm, but they came and we had a wonderful time. By the time we finally dragged the kids out of the pool it was well after 11pm. I am sure our neighbors were not happy! I feel bad because I did not get any pictures of the Craigs. We had such a great time talking that the camera was forgotten. It is great to have good friends that will indulge in a spontaneous, late night of fun!

Roasting marshmallows is serious business. Look at that concentration!



Marianne loves the pool. She is constantly asking to put her "swim soup" on!

The kids love to play with the boogey boards in the pool. Scotty has gotten really good at surfing on them.

Summer Fun

At the beginning of the summer we ventured to the Mormon Fort, which is right downtown in Las Vegas. Not exactly the best part of town to be out and about alone with your 4 kids. But we went and had a great time. I told myself that I am going to do things this summer that we have not done the last 7 1/2 years we have lived here. We tend to stay in our little area and only venture out when company comes and makes us. So this was the beginning of our summer adventures. Despite the fact that it was in the 100's and most of it was outside the kids had a good time.

The kids humoring me for a picture! Aren't they adorable?

Scotty loved this old plow. I think he was meant to live in the old days where he could roam outside all the time and find lots of adventurous things.

Haley and Madeline of course loved looking at all the beautiful flowers.

They have a small museum that told the history of the Mormon fort. It was fun to learn about how they settled Las Vegas. The kids loved this soldier. They were trying hard to be stern and professional like him.

These two are just too cute for words!

Haley and Scotty decided to take a break in the soldiers quarters and play a hot and sweaty game of checkers. It was seriously hot and stuffy in the tiny quarters. I am not sure how they survived the summer with no air conditioning!

She's growing up!

Haley got braces a couple weeks ago. I almost broke down and cried in the orthodontist office when they were putting them on. Somehow I managed to keep the tears from flowing down my cheeks. Aren't braces a rite of passage for a teenager? I am not ready for her to grow up. Wow, time just goes by too fast.

The braces make her look so much older! I think she looks dang cute in them. She was in a lot of pain the first week, but is used to them now. She chose red, white and blue rubber bands, to celebrate the 4th of July!

Last Week of School

Yes, once again I am behind and we are a month into summer, but the kids did so much the last few weeks of school that I had to post it. I lost my camera for a few months, so Scott let me use his work camera occasionally and it took a while to figure out how to download the pictures on to my computer.

Haley... 3rd grade was a year of projects. Up until the last week of school we were still doing projects. They were fun to look back on, however they were hard, time consuming and emotionally draining for the whole family. This last project was a live wax museum. Haley chose to be Sacaguea . She read books about her, looked up info on line and spent hours making a beautiful scrapbook of her life, which she presented to her class. Then she dressed up as her and we got to come and enjoy looking at who all the kids chose to write about. I think she makes a great Indian. Thanks to our friend Jackie I did not have to make one ounce of her costume. Scott cut out the board for the papoose and we strapped one of Marianne's babies to her back!


Haley does exceptionally well in school. She got A honor roll all year and her teacher gave her an award for All Star Student. She is such a great girl! We are proud of you Haley! (this picture is definitely before bootcamp...ugh)

Haley has been lucky to have great teachers and this year was no different. Mrs. Kolar loved Haley and taught her well and kept her challenged all year.

Haley had a breakfast for the last day of school. I made cinnamon rolls and hung out with her in class most the morning.

Scotty's big project the last week of school was the Economics fair. The kids choose something to make and then put a price to it and sell it. They are able to earn, Besty Bucks the month prior to be able to buys things from their peers. I think it is a great concept and helps the kids learn the value of money and hard work. Scotty made balls out of balloons and beans. We had fun helping him, but I think I am still finding beans all over my house. He was very successful and was the first one to sell out in his class.

Scotty loved his teacher this year. He was so sweet to her. When he had an opportunity to buy from other kids he bought this flower clip and gave it to his teacher. I think he had a crush on her. He was always telling me things he was going to do to impress Mrs. Maurer. For example when he was student of the week they fill out a paper all about them. Well one of the sections asked what their favorite thing to do at home is. Scotty put... HOMEWORK! I had to fight with him most days to do his homework, so when I questioned him on his answer, he said I know mom but I want to impress Mrs. Maurer. I tried to explain to him that Mrs. Maurer would not be impressed with lies, but he didn't care. Funny Boy! He also did great this year and got on the A honor roll all year! We are proud of you Scotty!

The first grade classed did a darling performance for the parents. I was in tears on the first song when they were walking in. I cannot believe how big my kids are getting. It makes me sad, but I am so happy that they are turning into such wonderful people! Scotty did a great job. He loves to sing and he knew all the word and sang with a lot of enthusiasm. Isn't he a doll!

One of the last day's his class went to the water park next to the school. We were able to join in the fun. These are his best buddies. They are all great boys that come from great families. I hope they can stay friends and help each other through the tough times of middle school that is in the future! Cute Boys!


Madeline had her preschool graduation. No she is not going to kindergarten next year, but most of the kids in her class were so she got to join in on the celebration. She was so cute. We had a patriotic theme and Madeline new all the words to the songs and performed her parts so well. She is such a fun girl


Madeline loved preschool, she loves doing about anything. She is easy going for the most part. She would ask me at the end of every day..."where am I going when I wake up?" If she was not going somewhere she was not happy about it and would keep asking me until I gave her an answer she liked. She was however content to stay home when I told her we were all staying home together (meaning Scotty and Haley). I think she missed them when they were at school. What a funny girl!


Here is Marianne just being cute! She was pretty good this last week considering we dragged her back and forth from the school and I am sure she missed a few naps in the process!

Swimming and Pizza Every Night!?!?

We are so loving our swimming pool. How did we ever live in Las Vegas for 7 1/2 years without a pool. After a trip to the library and a full day of swimming with the friends the kids were ready to jump back in when Daddy came home. Since it was family home evening I ran and got some pizza and we swam and ate pizza. If only we could do this every night!!! (eat pizza that is LOL) Then we heated up the hot tub and had a family home evening lesson. It doesn't get any better than that!



Scotty was so excited to show Scott the book of Top 10 Predators that he got for him at the library today. Guess what the number 1 predator is??? Humans! Who would have thunk!

Congratulations are in order!

Scott's parents just recently got called as mission president to the Jamaica Kingston Mission. They were called by President Eyring and set apart by Elder Bednar. What an amazing experience to sit in council with prophets of God. They also had the opportunity to run into President Monson who took about 20 minutes to visit with them. How cool is that. They are wonderful parents and great examples of serving the Lord no matter what he asks them to do. They were given about 3 weeks from the time they were called to the time they had to be in Jamaica working. Whew!! Talk about stress. But they did it and they did it willingly.

The following is the announcement the church put in the Church News:

Thomas Scott Hendricks, 63, and Marian Olsen Hendricks, six children, Jamaica Kingston Mission; Amarillo 1st Ward, Amarillo Texas Stake. Brother Hendricks is a former temple president and counselor, stake president and counselor and bishop and counselor. Retired FBI Agent. Born in Logan, Utah, to Thomas Scott and Lois Lavon Muse Hendricks.

Sister Hendricks is a former temple matron and assistant to the temple matron, stake Primary president, counselor in a stake Young Women presidency and counselor in a ward Relief Society presidency. Born in Salt Lake City, Utah, to Dale Cameron Olsen and Beth Ballard Whitney.

(LDS Church News Online: http://www.ldschurchnews.com/articles/59317/New-mission-presidents.htm)

Happy Late Birthday Grandma Hendricks

Happy late Birthday Grandma Hendricks! We miss you and hope you had a great birthday in Jamaica!

Are You Boot Camp TOUGH?

I am not, HOWEVER I will be!!! I just survived my first week of Boot Camp Las Vegas! Yes I was one of those lucky ones that got a great deal on it through Groupons. So I said what the heck! Scott has been telling me I need to exercise, my moms been telling me I need to exercise and I KNOW I need to exercise. (don't take this the wrong way, the exercise is not for how I look, but so I don' t die at the age of 35 because my heart gives out and for emotional stability! LOL) Anyway, I made it through one whole week. My second day was a fitness test, so we had to run a 5K. The moment I found that out I knew I should have listened to Scott's advice. He told me I needed to start exercising and prepare myself for boot camp. Well, any one who knows me knows I HATE to run. But I did it. It took me 45 minutes but I finished and I probably ran 3/4th of the way. Pretty dang good for me I would say. The first day was upper body, this was killer because I cannot do one push up. Yes I am a skinny wimp with no muscle. Well today in between our running activities we did step ups and push ups. I was so excited I could actually do a couple completely!!! WOO HOO it is worth it, even though every muscle in my body hurts, even those muscles I never knew I had! But it feels so GOOD! I have more energy than I have had it a long time. I haven't needed my afternoon nap and I go to the 5AM class! yes that is not a typo....Jen Hendricks get's up at 4:40 to get to the 5 am class every day. Only because my AMAZING friend Jackie picks me up! Thanks Jackie! Here's to 3 more weeks of grueling exercise!!!!

The Innocence of a Child!

I just have to record a conversation we had in the car last week when my parents were in town. Scott has a word game on his phone that both Haley and Scotty love to play. We had gotten in the car to go to Costco and Scotty was playing this game....

Mom: "Scotty you should have Grandpa help you with that game, he is great with words.
Grandpa: "Yeah! Dirty words.
Scotty: after pondering for a minute he responds..."you mean like junk and garbage?"

Oh we laughed and laughed. I couldn't help but chuckle writing this. I am so grateful he still has a little innocence left. He has been coming home from school lately with all kinds of new knowledge. It kind of scares me. But as long as his dirty words consist of junk and garbage I will be OK!

Mishaps of a FRAZZLED mother of FOUR

OK, I am almost embarrassed to post this, however I need to for posterity's sake so that when my kids have kids and they get to a point where they think they are loosing their mind, they may be able to keep going knowing their mom went through the same thing.

I could not find my cell phone last night or this morning, but did not worry much about it because in the back of my mind I just knew it was buried in my large over crowded purse and I would hear in when it rang. After the fourth store I had been to I looked at the running boards as I was walking to the car and spotted my cell phone. Yes it had been on their since last night and luckily it stayed there. BLESSING! I needed to find it to rescue me from the next story.

So, today I dropped Madeline off at preschool and then made my way to walmart to buy a few last minute items for Haley's birthday, then to the dollar store to pick up some items I need for preschool next week, then into Smiths to see if they have any of the 99 cent scalloped potatoes that I can use my coupons with and get for free, (which they did not have of course so it was a wasted trip), then I ran home for a minute to get something before I headed back to pick up Madeline from preschool. Marianne did really well with all this shopping and in and out of her car seat, but was getting tired at this point. Well I had about ten minutes to kill, so as I am driving I see a neighborhood that still has model homes open that I have always wanted to look through, but their gate was always shut and I do not know the gate code. Well today it was open and it was calling my name. So I drive in, pull up to the house and take Marianne out of her seat. When we get to the door the sign say, "sorry I missed you". So I head back to the car and try to put Marianne back into her seat. She is not happy about it this time. She arches her back, arms flailing, screaming the whole bit. I quickly realize this is going to take both hands and a lot of strength. So I drop my keys on the console and after a little struggle get her in her seat, promptly shut the door and go to open my door and realize that when I dropped the keys they locked the doors. So..... My baby is locked in the car and I have no way of opening it. So I panic and call Kristen. (thank goodness I found my phone) Long story short. She drives to my house, thankfully I did not lock that door, and thankfully it is not 100 degrees yet, she brings me the other set of keys, I am late picking up Maddy and I have to tell the other moms I locked my kid in the car.

I will post later about my episode teaching preschool, my 911 call and trip to the fire station! That will be coming soon on my part two of Mishaps of a FRAZZLED mother of FOUR!

Happy Birthday Haley !

I cannot believe my little girl is 9 years old. It just seems like yesterday that she was getting baptized and now she is a year older. I think she had a great day today. Nothing makes a mom happier than seeing the excitement in her child eyes. We started the morning with breakfast in bed. Breakfast was a donut by request of Haley. My kids never get donuts so this was a huge treat. I don't think Haley ever had a donut until she was 4. Then she got to open one present which was a new outfit to wear to school. We took her favorite mint brownies to celebrate with her class. And she was so excited to tell me that the first thing her teacher said to her when she walked in the door was "Happy Birthday". Thank goodness for wonderful teachers that make such a good impact on our children. Geez they get to spend more waking hours with our kids than we do. Then we met Scott for dinner at her favorite restaurant Panda Express and then off to Baskin Robbins for her favorite ice cream, which was her cake! Then home to open presents before Scott and I had to both leave for church meetings. She got a Zhu Zhu pet and house, which was all she wanted and she was so excited and grateful. I wish I had pictures to show you but I cannot find my cameras battery charger and the pictures I took with Scott's work camera will stay on that camera until he brings home a cord to download them.

We love you Haley Bugs!

She's getting SOOOO Big!

Today was Marianne's first day in Nursery. She was so proud of the picture she colored! It was a bitter sweet day for me! Bitter because going into nursery means she is getting older and she is no longer my little baby, but is a toddler now. Sweet because she is a nightmare at church. She does not know how to be quiet and she is not content to just sit still and listen. LOL She had no problem walking into nursery and her teacher said she had a great time. Her teacher was actually surprised because there was no adjusting for her. This does not surprise me because she will let a near stranger hold her and then get mad when they hand her back to me. But at other times she is so clingy and won't go to anyone else but me. All I know is that Marianne has a very strong personality!! We love her to death she makes us laugh on a daily basis. One of her favorite games to play with her dad is to call out, "Daddy" and wait for him to respond with "Punkin." They do this over and over. The other thing she does to her Dad is she will not kiss him. Scott will ask her for a kiss and she shakes her head, "no, no, no." Then I ask for a kiss and she gives me one. Scott asks again for a kiss and she does the same thing, we do this three or four times until Scott finally grabs her face and steals a kiss, then she laughs and laughs. She knows right where her bottles are and she will periodically grab one and find me and say, "ba ba." Then I take it to the fridge and she giggles and gets all excited when I fill it up. Yes I still let her have a bottle every once in awhile. I was so strict with my other three, the day they turned one, no more bottle. I guess I am trying to keep her a baby! I love how excited she gets when she sees a snuggly (her blanket, or pretty much any fleece blanket). I also love that she says, "unts" and this means anything from, "hey I want that", "give it to me now", "look at me, " "listen", etc. That is her universal word she uses to get about anything she wants!!! What a fun girl!

HELLO March!

CAUTION: this is not for the weak, pictures may be a little graphic

Well.... Let's just say that March came in with a BANG! This is how the first day of the month started. I had a doctors appointment. They drew my blood to run some tests, and they cut off a huge mole I have had growing on my back for the last seven years. We went to Scotty's soccer practice after school and then to In-n-Out for some dinner and Family home evening! Marianne was a nightmare there. We come home the kids take showers, Scotty and Maddy together and Haley and Marianne together. Haley and Marianne manage to get out, we get them ready for bed, however Scotty and Maddy on the other hand are not quite so easy! Scott has told them several times to get out. The last and final time he is marching down the hall ready to let them know he is beyond serious and he hears a CRASH!! One of the glass sliding doors on the tub came crashing down. Apparently Scotty had them doing tricks, which I am sure loosened the door from its tracks, Maddy lost her balance put her whole weight on the door and down it came. Thank goodness it shattered and her hand was the only thing cut. She was covered in glass, and Scott new right away she was going to need stitches. But I had him call another agent who lives down the street to have his wife who is a nurse come and look at it for us. She sent us to the hospital and they stayed with our kids and put them to bed for us.
(the picture is a little blurry because I took it with my cell phone while we were waiting at the hospital)

To make a long story short, Scott was very angry at little Scotty for not listening and getting out sooner, he was mad at himself for not fixing a piece on the door that needed to be repaired, we made it to the emergency room at Centennial Hospital at 8:50 pm and Maddy and I did not leave until 4:30 am. Yes that was 8 HOURS!!!! Madeline was a trooper though. She slept the first hour we were there then she was awake and happy until they had to sedate her to put the stitches in. Scott left about midnight when we finally realized we were here for the long haul. Maddy and I then played eye spy for the next 4 and a half hours. We did not cry or complain at all unless someone wanted to take the wash cloth off her hand. She did not want to look at it. I don't blame her I did not want to look at it. The doctor said there was no way he would be able to keep her calm enough to numb her hand in three place and put in the amount of stitches that were needed. So they gave her a shot that sedated her. She was awake, but not responsive at all. It was freaky to see your 4 year old on drugs. That was the scariest part for me. But is made it so she did not feel a thing and it was not traumatic at all, which was a huge blessing. As they did x-rays of her hand they found that she had cut a tendon in her index finger, she we would have to see a hand surgeon to make sure nothing more needed to be done. We visited the hand surgeon 2 days later and she said it should heal up just fine. She gave Maddy this wrist cast to keep on to make her feel safe and to protect her hand some. She wore it from Thursday to Sunday. I finally convinced her on Sunday to take it off so her stitches could dry up. It was fun to watch her go from not using it at all to saying, "mom look I can hold a crayon with this hand." By the end of the day she was using it quite a bit. It is amazing how resilient children are. Then 10 days later Maddy got her stitches out and she is doing fabulous

This picture was taken at the doctors office as we were waiting to be seen. Maddy was so giggly and happy! She was not scared at all. I had told her in the morning that we were going back to the doctor to get her stitches out. She asked" Are they going to cut me with a real knife?" I assured her that they were not going to cut her, but that they were going to use scissors to cut the stitches. That eased her mind and she had no worries after that. She sat as still as could be while Dr. Fraser cut her 17 stitches off. Dr. Fraser said she was the best patient she has ever had and I think she meant it. I am always amazed at how strong Madeline is. She does not get freaked out very easy. In fact when Haley found out that Maddy did not cry at the hospital she told Maddy that if it were her she would have been screaming. Oh boy that was the truth!

Here is a picture of her hand tonight. It is already looking so much better. Dr. Fraser told me to put vitamin E oil, coconut oil, or what ever on the scars and to rub them daily. She said that the rubbing is what will loosen the scar tissue and make the scars less noticeable. I guess Madeline's hopes of being a hand model are out the window. Thank goodness her face is so dang cute, she still has opportunities!