Quick Visit

We got to see my parents and Emily on their way to Logan and their way back from Logan. They went up to see Kristen at Utah State for a family weekend. It sounds like they had a good time seeing all the things Kristen was doing at school. They even got to see the satellite she is working on and eat Aggie ice cream. Hailee was thrilled to see them Saturday morning and Sunday afternoon. Saturday my mom took her to the bookstore to look at books. My mom is addicted to Barnes and Noble, she is counting down the days until they have one in St. George (only a month left now).

Sunday morning we woke up to snow. Hailee was in heaven. All the way to church she was telling me where there was snow. "Mom look it's on that bus." " Mom it's all over the fence...mom it's all over the church!" She was so worried it was going to melt before she could play in it on Monday. Lucky for here it's still here, sad for me. I was really looking forward to spring. (My family being from St. George were not expecting the snow...my mom was wearing capri's all weekend. I'm sure people in Logan thought she was a little nuts.)

Sunday afternoon Hailee took advantage of my parents visit. They played tea party (everyone had to have a necklace on that is why there is a green one around my dad's head), she set up a store, and they read books together. Hailee had such a good time.

My mom said next time she wasn't going to bring my dad since they had to share the attention. Hailee loves seeing her grandparents.

Mexican Food

I have always loved Mexican food, and now that I've learned how to make it low in sodium I am even more of a fan. It's so yummy and doesn't taste low sodium at all. All you need is a can of no-sodium tomato sauce and Herdez Salsa Casera (you can find it the Mexican section of the grocery store). So if anyone is interested here are my recipes.

S P A N I S H . R I C E

1/2 cube (1/4 cup) unsalted butter
1 small onion
1 cup rice

Saute the rice and onion in the butter until the rice is browned and the onion is cooked. Then add 1 can (8-oz.) no sodium tomato sauce, 1 can water, and about 1/4 can Herdez Salsa. Bring to a boil then turn down very low and put on a lid until all the water is gone. If for some reason it's not done add more water and keep cooking. You can also stretch it and put in 1 1/2 cups rice, just add an extra can of water.

R E F R I E D . B E A N S

Cook your favorite type of beans (I like black) in plenty of water in a crock pot over night. Once they are cooked put them in a frying pan and mash them with a potato masher and add Oaxaca cheese (or other type of cheese) and Herdez Salsa to taste.

Once you get these starters you can make so many things. Last night we experimented with Chimichangas. I had some shredded roast beef, so I just layered beans, roast beef, a little salsa, and Oaxaca cheese. Then you fold it all up and spray a pan with a little oil and "fry" then on all sides. It doesn't take very much oil to give it a nice crispy outside. Then I served with lettuce, tomato, sour cream, avocado, and extra salsa. So many yummy things, shredded beef tacos, stacked enchiladas....the list is endless. My other favorite discovery is that the fresh corn tortillas from the Mexican store are very low in sodium and the lowest sodium flour tortillas are the ones that you cook yourself. So tasty and good for you as well

In other food news Hailee has gotten quite adventurous in getting her own food. She just goes to the fridge and finds what looks good. Some of the things she finds crack me up. This evening after dinner she found some Oaxaca cheese and a yogurt drink that looked good to her. She is always really good at asking, and I love that she is getting so independent.

Todd had a dinner with Intel tonight and they were meeting at PF Changs. Luckily I was able to call ahead and find some low sodium options. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that he doesn't get too sick. I have modified some of our favorite Korean dishes to be low sodium, but there weren't a lot of low sodium options at PF Changs.

Shopping

Hailee has just discovered that our end table (with it's small drawer filled with coins) makes the perfect cash register for playing store. She came up with it all on her own. She uses the remote to add up the purchases and then puts the money in the small drawer. Yesterday I was in my room and she told me that her store was ready. I went out to discover all her little toys, books, and princesses on top of the end table. I got some really cute video that I'll need to post. It was so much fun.

Today as I was getting dressed I picked out a long sleeve shirt to wear. Hailee came in and discovered what I was doing she said, "Mom not a long one, you need a short one." I couldn't really figure out what she was wanting me to do until she clarified. "Mom if you wear a long one I can't rub your arm, you need to wear a short one." She was talking about long sleeve vs. short sleeve. Since Hailee was born she always loved rubbing the back of my arm. She does this when she is tired and without really realizing she is doing it. It's really quite sweet, but I hope that it's something she'll out grow eventually. I don't think roommates will like her rubbing their arms when she gets tired!

Happy Easter

On Friday we were driving over to Lisa's house to dye eggs with her girls when I asked Hailee why we celebrated easter. To which she replied "So we can color eggs with our friends." Great, I have failed as a parent. I told her it was because we are celebrating when Jesus was resurrected. (We have an Easter book that talks about the Atonement and Resurrection, but she didn't put it together with Easter.) She was excited about that, but then wondered why we were coloring eggs because Jesus was resurrected...I have no idea. Hailee had the great idea that Jesus would probably like the colored eggs. I guess that is as good explanation as any. I need to look up how that tradition got started.

Any way back to Easter. We had fun coloring eggs with Lisa and her girls on Friday.

Saturday and Kristy came over and we had fun coloring eggs, hiding/finding them, and then eating dinner together. Hailee was a little concerned when I was talking to Ruthann on the phone and I mentioned we were going to dye easter eggs. She thought I meant "die" easter eggs, it didn't sound to appealing to her.

My mom gave Hailee some easter egg kits that she was so excited to use. One was a glitter egg kit. She colored the eggs then we added the glitter. She loved it, she thought they looked like Princess eggs. Perfect for my little princess.

Kristy hid the eggs outside then Hailee went and found them. She had such a great time, even though she got a little cold. Kristy brought her this cute little summer outfit. It was nice weather, but not quite warm enough for shorts, there was no convincing her to change out of them.

Kristy also brought these yummy easter cookies. Hailee was in heaven.

Ruthann, Hailee and Kristy. Hailee had such a fun time with her aunts. She loves being spoiled by all the attention. Ruthann stayed a little later to work on her tax stuff and as I was putting Hailee to bed she wanted to know why Ruthann could stay up late.

Easter bag

Easter egg pancakes for breakfast.

One Sad Little Girl

In my excitement of Todd getting healthier and getting back to school I failed to remember a little girl that wouldn't be super excited. Not only do they look quite a bit alike and act quite a like, they also have a really sweet relationship. One good thing about Todd being sick is they have gotten to spend a lot of time together.

Friday morning she asked for Todd after she woke up, but then we went to a friends house to play. Monday Todd was home again, the Tuesday he didn't go to school until noon. That evening I had Enrichment at church so she got one on one time with Todd again. Wednesday morning we got Todd to school by seven, but I didn't have time to make him a lunch. At 12:30 I was driving back to campus because he had a quick lunch break. Hailee's favorite thing to do when we are picking up Todd is to call him when we are getting close. Well the first time she tried it went to voice mail. She was sad that her daddy wasn't talking to her. The second time I think she put in the wrong numbers. She started to get a little emotional and I quickly said we should try again, after hearing that she got excited again and wondered why there was water in her eyes. When the third time she tired and it just went to voice mail she just lost it. It was so sad. She was crying and saying "My daddy won't talk to me" then she would say on the phone "Daddy, daddy." I'm in the middle of driving and tying to console my little girl at the same time. Luckily as I w as trying to explain to her that it was just a message and not her daddy ignoring her, Todd called back. Todd had a long enough break that we got to have lunch together and then when he said he had to go back she just lost it again. Poor little girl. I'm sure she will adjust, but she just misses the time with her dad. After dropping Todd off we had some errands to run, but it took her a little while to be happy about things again. A little retail therapy is always good when your sad. We were at Target and she wanted to try on some new shoes...ah a girl after my own heart.

Low Sodium Food

When Todd was first diagnosed with Meniere's Disease, the end of September 2006, the first course of action was a diuretic and a low sodium diet. After about a week of reading labels and eating horrible food I got a little desperate. I ordered the "No Salt, Lowest-Sodium Cookbook." It was heaven sent. I got really good at making all our food from scratch and found lots of new recipes that we really enjoy. Unfortunately the lower sodium diet didn't totally cure Todd (it cut down his episodes from 6-7 times a week lasting 8 hours or more to 5 times a week and episodes were shorter, so it helped a little.) I've kept our sodium levels low, but haven't been as good as I should have been. I've still kept it under 1500 which is what the American Heart Association recommends, but no where near the under 500 milligrams I was doing before. I've decided that we need to be a little more careful with the sodium levels (going out to eat is just so easy sometimes).

So now I love trying to make our favorites recipes (not from the book) and cutting the sodium as low as possible. I learned lots of good tricks from my low-sodium cookbooks. Some of my favorite tricks are instead of using salt I use other seasonings like garlic, onion, green pepper, lemon juice, salsa, and cheese. Salsa and cheese do have sodium, but not nearly as much as salt and a little goes a long way when it comes to flavor. The key is taking out the salt that is not needed (like food preservatives) and use flavorful things with the sodium or less sodium then adding salt.

This past week I made mini hamburgers. I made the rolls and added onion to the dough for flavor. The hamburger has Mrs. Dash steak flavoring, and onion. Then some low sodium pickels we found, tomato, and mayo and mustard. They were so yummy and I loved the little size. Just perfect. I love making fun and tasty meals that are healthy for Todd, I think the new low-sodium diet is helping Todd. He was able to go to school on Friday and today as well. (We went out for Meixcan on Saturday and I think that is what caused the problems for Sunday and Monday.) Now we know and I think things will get better. It's a lot more cooking for me, but I've even found some tricks around that. I'm getting great at freezing food and leftovers are always a welcome thing for me.

Tagged by Shannon

So I am supposed to come up with five random things that people might not necessarily know about me....

1. I am half Mexican. My mom was born and raised in Mexico. She was born in the Mormon Colonies in Chihuahua and grew up in Mexico City. My mom didn't get her citizenship until after she was married to my dad (she got it through her mother who was born in Arizona before meeting my grandpa in Mexico). I lived in Mexico for almost five years when I was growing up. I went to kindergarten and first grade there.

2. I am a day dreamer. I will find myself just sitting and day dreaming without even realizing it. It doesn't happen as often now that I have a child, but I used to do it all the time. In first grade I didn't like my Spanish teacher so I just sat and daydreamed and waited for school to end. Since I hadn't gotten any work done, my mom would have to come after school and help me finish. I loved the extra attention from my mom...I think my older sister was embarrassed that I had to stay after school so much.

3. I love international food. I guess it comes from being from Mexico, serving a mission in Portugal, and being married to Todd. My favorites are Mexican (real Mexican not American-Mexican- if it has ground beef it's completely out), Korean, Indian, Portuguese, and really any other kind of yummy food. I am always looking to try out new food. I especially love learning how to make it at home.

4. I love watching big sporting events. March Madness, College Football bowl games, the Olympics, NBA Finals, the World Cup. You name it I love it. Right after Hailee was born I felt like I was just feeding, changing, putting to bed, and starting the process all over again way too soon. She was too young to go out so I got addicted to the Tour de France and Wimbledon; two sports I hadn't previously watched (since they are typically on during the day) but I got completely wrapped up in them. It made me want to take up tennis and never get on a bike again. I met Todd because my roommate and I were looking for a place to watch the NBA finals (Boston vs New Jersey) and he let us pick up his key so we could go to his apartment. None of his other roommates were home and he was busy with his church calling on campus. About a week later we went on our first date.

5. I don't believe in anything sugar-free, fat-free or low-fat. I think food should be enjoyed. I loved in Portugal they actually advertise how much fat is in the yogurt. It is their mentality that the more fat is has, the better it tastes. It really is true. If any one wants to try some European type yogurt, try the Dannon La Creme. It is the exact kind I ate on my mission, and it is so creamy. (I guess the one exception to this I have is milk, Hailee still drinks whole and Todd and I drink 1%.)

People I tag: My sisters (Stacie you really need to get a blog) and Megan.

Helping Each Other

So when my mom was up on Tuesday she brought Hailee some books. She sat down with her for about 15 minutes and Hailee was reading level three books. It's amazing to see how each time we read she is getting it more and more. One of her favorite books is "Helping Each Other" It's her favorite because it's about a little girl and her dog. The story starts out with Michelle (the little girl in the book) helping her dog with food, water, bath and playing. Then you find out that Michelle is blind and her dog helps her see, cross the street and go to school. After she read it she asked why Michelle couldn't see, she wanted to know if the sun was in her eyes. (The book never said she was blind, it just said she couldn't see.) I explained to her that it was because she was blind and then explained what that meant. Thinking I had done a good job the next time we read it for Todd (which was about 1 hour later) she informed him that Michelle couldn't see because she was blond. A few days before this we were explaining that people with "yellow" hair were called blonds. I guess she got them confused. So Todd was trying to explain the difference and she ended up thinking that if you are blond you can't see and if you are blind you have yellow hair. No amount of convincing would convince her other wise.

The other funny story from yesterday is as we were making dinner I told her that after we ate she was going to stay with her dad and I was going to go to basketball. (All of you who really know me I'm sure are shocked, but I'm doing it as a favor for my friend in the ward. They needed some more women on the team, and it's good exercise.) As we were cooking she said "Mom you like basketball don't you." "Sure I guess so." "I'm into soccer like my dad." Yes she is her father's daughter. It's so cute to see them together.

Thankful

Hailee and Todd watching basketball together.

So much has been going on and I've been writing blog posts in my head, I just haven't gotten around to sitting down and blogging about it. Last week we had Bonnie D. Parkin come and visit our Stake Relief Society dinner. It was a great talk and she talked about how women need to help each other. She quoted Sister Hinckley when she said "Oh how we need each other." So this post is dedicated to all the amazing women in my life.

• First and foremost is my little Hailee. I remember the day (January 6, 2004) we found out our little baby was going to be a girl. I have to say I was a little relieved. Growing up in a family of all sisters, a little girl was a lot more familiar to me than a boy. (I'm sure I will love a little boy if one comes, but like I said this is just dedicated to the girls in my life). Anyway I don't think Todd and I could have asked for a sweeter girl than Miss Hailee. She is so sweet and loving. Saturday she went out to the front room and turned on the TV. She came running back and said "Oh dad I found your favorite show. Do you want to come watch it with me." She had found a basketball game. So the two of them sat down and watched BYU vs. TCU basketball game. And one time when I was feeling sad she just cuddled up next to me then after a while she started telling me jokes to make me laugh. Just such a sweet little girl. I have to say I won't be sad at all if we end up having all girls, as long as they are sweet like Hailee. She has kept Todd and I laughing through all of this.
  
• I consider myself extremely lucky to have grown up with four sisters. Growing up there was always someone to play with, to talk to, and clothes to borrow. This week Deneille and Emily sent me a fun package with all kinds of things that I just loved. I've talked to Stacie for hours on end (thank goodness for Sprint to Sprint minutes). And Kristen has finally started updating her blog...the busy little coed that she is. So much fun. Even though none of my sisters are living by me, I still feel like we are still close. I love the technology that keeps us together.
• My mom has to be next. She surprised me this week and drove up on Tuesday, just to spend the day with Hailee and I. We had so much fun. Hailee was in heaven because grandma let her have ice cream before we ate lunch. It was so nice to see her for the day. Mom's are just great because they always know what you need.
  
• Although my sisters don't live close I do have two amazing sister-in-laws that do. They both came and got Hailee on different nights to go play with her. Hailee of course was in heaven. Ruthann took her to dinner and played with her at her house. Kristy took her to paint ceramics and to the bookstore. Hailee is still talking about it. She loves spending time with her aunts and they are so good to her. It is so nice they are so close.
• Many other women in my life have touched my life this week. Grandma's and other friends. I am just so blessed. I love all the men in my life as well (without your support I would be lost as well.) I love you all.
  

Catching up...

I still feel like I am catching up from being sick. Here are some pictures (I finally found my camera and got them downloaded. Since Hailee has become a budding photographer I find my camera in the oddest locations, like Hailee's play kitchen or under her bed.) So here's what we've been up to the last few days.

We discovered that the paper roll from IKEA is the perfect size to make outlines of Hailee. She loved getting outlined and then filling the rest. Once she made one she insisted that we make another one and once we got them both on the wall she exclaimed "Oh look mom, they are friends, both of the Hailee's are friends." She has since changed their expressions to be happy and sad. I asked her why and she said because 'glad' and 'sad' rhyme mom. Okay.


This is just because I love sleeping baby pictures. Hailee hasn't really taken a nap for about a year so it's been a while since I've gotten any sleeping pictures. (I have hundreds from when she was younger). Well after a couple of late nights and early mornings I decided to 'make' her take a nap. We cuddled up and she slept for 3 hours, only problem was she didn't want to go to bed until 11:00 that night. No more naps for her. Thankfully we are mostly back on schedule.


Friday the weather was so amazing that we were able to go to the park with some friends. The only reason she has her coat on was because it was 5:30, during the day we were just wearing light sweaters. Unfortunately the warm weather didn't last as long as I would have liked. Saturday a cold front blew in and now it's cold again. I am really ready for spring. The picture is of Hailee and Lexi on top of the big slide. By the end Hailee was flying down head first and having a great time. It doesn't matter how long we spend at the park, it could be 2 minutes or 2 hours, Hailee never wants to leave to come home.

Saturday we also went and saw the movie Enchanted for the first time. We loved it. Hailee has been singing the songs from the movie (at least as best she can remember) all weekend. Last night she went to bed singing "How does she know that you love her..." When I asked her what her favorite part was she said "when the princess, what's her name again mom." "Giselle" "oh yeah, when Giselle fought with that mean dragon" Yes that is my little princess. Last night when she was going to bed she came in and told Todd that there were monsters in her closet and that she was scared. Todd and Hailee decided to go fight with the monsters. Hailee had such a great time fighting with the monsters in her closet, that as soon as she was done with the monsters in her closet she had to come and fight with the monsters in our closet. I think we owe that to Todd's bedtime stories. They are always about Princess Hailee, but Princess Hailee is always tricking mean dragons, or off on some other grand adventure with her horse Skittles.


Speaking of Todd, he is doing okay. The double dose of the diuretic (a diuretic drains you body of any fluid) is doing a number on him. He is always wanting something to drink. When I go to the store and ask what he wants, it's always some kind of drink. Well because of this, he's gotten quite good at mixing drinks. Right now we have pomegranate juice, grape juice, V-8 Strawberry banana, sprite, and guarana. He has gotten quite creative, so far the winner is the 2 parts V-8 Strawberry banana, one part pomegranate, and one part guarana.

Heather, to answer your questions, the next surgery for Todd is where they go and cut the nerve to the ear with Meneire's Disease. He will have a week in the hospital and 6 weeks learning how to walk again. They typically don't like to do that kind of surgery especially with how young he is, but when medicine doesn't work they isn't much else to do. And Starfall is an online reading game site. It has all different levels, starting with letter sounds all the way to reading stories. Hailee has loved playing with it and she has learned so much. They just came out with a board game and we got that for Christmas for her. The internet games are great because she likes the independence of doing it on her own, but it's nice to play as a family as well.

Valentine Pictures

Valentine's day Hailee and I went over to Lisa's house to make cookies. I forgot my camera but Lisa took some and just sent them to me. I thought they would be fun to post. The girls had such a great time. Averi, Hailee, and Alicia rolling out the dough.



The girls each decorated some cookies. Hailee made four especially for her dad. She was so excited to give them to him when he got home from school. It was so cute to see them all have so much fun.