The Scariest Day in My Life as a Mother

About a week and a half ago(July 2nd) we were preparing to go to Colorado.  I was talking to the kids about them each packing a little backpack with a few toys to take on the trip.  They were so excited(we haven't been to Colorado as a family since my dad's funeral) that they got their backpacks ready right then.  Rozzy put hers on and was ready to head out to the car.  "Rozz, you silly!  We're not going until tomorrow.  Are you just taking your backpack outside with you?"
"Yeah, I am," she says.
"Okay.  But just remember, we're leaving tomorrow not today.  Okay?"
"Otay, Mommy," she responds.  I assumed she understood what I was talking about.  Then all of the kids asked if they could go outside to play.  I told them they could and they all headed out the door, Rozzy following behind.
I was supposed to be doing laundry and packing, but I got side tracked by the computer, so I stayed downstairs for the next half hour or so.  A little while later the kids came in from playing outside, everyone but Rozzy.
"You guys?  Where's Rozz?" I said.
"I don't know.  She wasn't outside with us," Duncan says.
I normally don't freak out about these things.  Rozzy often wanders upstairs by herself without anyone noticing and we find her asleep in some bed or playing in the playroom.  "Gwenie go take a look upstairs for Rozzy."
"Okay, I will," she says.
She returns about a minute or two later, "She's not up there mommy."
"Boys, will you go and check all of the beds?"
"Yeah."
I started feeling this urgency.  I had a strong feeling I needed to check outside.  "You guys do that, I'm going to check outside."
I walked outside and called her name.  Then I heard something very faint.  I really don't know how I heard it. It sounded like a quiet whimper.  Sheer panic swept over me.  It was 90+ degrees out and she was in the car.
I tried opening her door but it was locked.  More panic.  We always keep our doors locked, especially in the summer.  Then I noticed that the front passenger side was unlocked.  That's how she got in and was able to close the door.  I knew she couldn't close the sliding car door on her own.
I open the door and unlock hers.  Then I open her door.  She seems half conscious.  She is bright red from head to toe. She is sopping wet with sweat and whimpering.  I immediately unbuckle her(she had buckled herself in, that's why she couldn't get out) and grab her and hold her and just cry into her hair.  "Oh my gosh Rozzy!  Oh my gosh!  I am so sorry!" I say as I cry.  I run her inside.
"My packpack," she says weakly.
"Gwenie grab her things, please."
I sit down with her and brush her hair from her face.  "Are you okay?"
"Yeah."
I hug her again, still crying.  I decide to lay her on the couch.  "Duncan, can you get a washcloth wet with cold water and bring it down, please?"
"Yeah," he says.  He runs to get it as I fill up a sippy with ice water.  Duncan comes back down and hands me the washcloth.  I place it on her forehead and hand her the sippy.  Aly then starts to cry so I pick him up.  As I pick him up a voice says to me, "GET KARL."(he is our next door neighbor and happens to be an EMT).  I am not one to argue with the Lord giving me a message.
"Kids, run and see if Karl is home."  Realizing that they might not get the message to Karl as clearly as I would, I leave Rozz and run out with the baby to talk to Ashley and Karl.
Gwenie says, "Rozzy got hurt."
Ashley leans down, "She got hurt?  What happened?"
I start shaking as I say, "Is Karl home?"  I see Karl come to the door.
"What's going on?" he says as he walks over to me.
I feel tears welling up again.  "She locked herself in the car for like a half an hour or more.  She's awake.  She said she was okay.  I gave her some ice water and stuff.  I wasn't sure what to do."
We're in the house.  He has Ashley get his bag for him.  He starts talking to her and checking on her.  He gets some ice packs and quickly puts them on her.  I decide to call Mark to see if he can come home from the mortuary.  I am crying again, "Mark, Rozzy locked herself in the car."
"Is she okay?" he says.
"I think so.  I thought she was playing with the kids.  I didn't even know the car was unlocked.  Karl is here.  Can you come home?"
"It's not your fault.  You couldn't have known.  It was just an accident.  I'm driving back from a service so I have to drop the car off at the mortuary and then I can come straight home."
"We should probably get her checked out," Karl says to me.
"Mark, Karl says we need to get her checked out.  So we're just going to take her now.  I'll talk to you later. I'm sorry."
"Okay.  I'll be there as soon as I can.  I love you."
"Love you.  Bye."
I run upstairs to get changed really quick.  As I am pulling my shirt on I hear Karl from downstairs, "Danielle! We need to go NOW!!"
I yank my shirt down, run downstairs, throw some shoes on and grab my purse and keys.  Karl is already out there with her.  We decide to take my car since I have the car seat.  Ashley agrees to stay with the kids.  I drive to the Urgent Care near our house.  On the way Karl sits backwards trying to keep Rozzy alert and awake.  I can't believe this is all happening.  It doesn't even seem real.  Karl keeps talking to Rozz, asking her questions.  She finally starts talking.
We get to the Urgent Care.  Karl carries Rozz in.  He explains what's going on with her to the man at the front desk.  I don't understand all the EMT lingo.  The he says that she was only responding to painful stimuli.  My heart drops.  That's why he shouted up the stairs, I thought to myself.  The man at the front desk goes to find out if they can take her or if she is too critical and we should just go to the ER.  He comes back a minute or two later.  "Yeah, you're going to have to take her to the ER."
Back into the car.  I decide to have Karl drive since I haven't been to the Payson ER since a month into my marriage at 2 am.  Rozzy still seems out of it.  Karl has me keep her awake.
We get to the ER and explain the situation again.  They have Karl take her back while I finish the paper work.   All of the nurses keep talking about how cute Rosaline is.  The nurses are so kind and tell me their scary parenting stories to comfort me.
I get to go back to see Rozz.  She seems to be doing well, but she looks exhausted and sleepy.  They are checking her blood pressure and her temperature.  They explain to me that she is looking good.  They want to hydrate her and watch her to be sure.  A moment later Mark walks in with tears in his eyes.  He gives me a hug and cries on my shoulder.
"I'm going to head to the waiting room," Karl says.
"Okay, thank you so much!" I tell him.
"Yeah, thanks so much man," Mark says and gives Karl a hug.
"No problem you guys.  I'm glad I could help."
Karl leaves and Mark and I look at Rozz and talk to her.  We talk about what happened.  How scared we both were.  How blessed we are that Karl was home and that I got her out of the car when I did.  Rozzy is eating popsicle after popsicle.  Even on the verge of death that girl wouldn't turn down an offering of food.  She starts perking up and talking to us finally.  We tell her how stinky her feet are and wipe them down with alcohol swabs.  She starts to get all giggly and cute.  After a while they tell us we can go home but to bring her back if she doesn't have a wet diaper by morning.
What a relief!  We take her home and she is inside for a few minutes before she goes outback to play.  Mark tells her that she needs to play inside today.  What a relief to know that she is alright.
I feel so grateful for the promptings I received that day.  I feel grateful for the amazing neighbors I have.  I feel grateful that I got sidetracked by the computer so I wasn't upstairs packing, not knowing she was not with the kids.  I am grateful that the Lord has blessed me with a sweet little girl who makes me laugh daily and smothers me with love nearly every moment of the day.

I have heard so many stories of a child being left or stuck in a car in the Summer and I have only heard a couple with happy endings.  This is one of those humbling experiences as a parent when you have to put your faith in the Lord.  I thank Him for allowing me my happy ending.

A Post Dedicated to All of the Braless Women Out There

I know that there have always been women out there who don't wear bras.  You've seen them and I've seen them.  Sometimes we don't notice, but most of the time we do.  Admit it, you've seen them.  You know who you are if you are going without.  And here's a new flash: We know you are going without too.  

Have you noticed that when you are out and about that you get a lot of stares, but people rarely approach you?  Is it hard to make friends at church?  Or anywhere else?  Think about it.  Do you bother to put a bra on to go to the store? the park? work? church?  the bank?  You wave to me and smile and I feel uncomfortable looking at you and waving back.  I wouldn't mind being your friend if you would put on a bra to go out in public.  I know it feels binding or uncomfortable at times.  I promise you can release the girls once you are in the privacy of your own home.  You may think it's not noticeable, but it is.  It's REALLY noticeable.  Yeah, I know it makes nursing a little easier, but it's awkward for the rest of us.  Doesn't it feel weird being so "free" in public?  Don't you feel that it's causing things to go a little south a little sooner?  You make think they need to breathe, but they don't have lungs.  They don't need to breathe.  I need to breathe.  I hold my breath when you come near to keep me from making a weird face at you.  At first I thought you just forgot to wear a bra to church or it was still wet from when you washed it so you couldn't wear it.  Then I saw you again.  Braless.  At church.  I thought maybe you just didn't have time to put one one.  Then I saw you at the park.  Braless.  Again.  I see you walk down the street, like nothing's wrong.  Something is wrong.  You don't have a bra on.  Please, for our sake and your own.  PUT ON A BRA.  As a wise woman once said, "It looks like two babies fighting under a blanket."

a real post about real life

I have been reading a lot of my older blog posts from when I first started blogging.  Dang I was entertaining!!  Oh come on, you know I was.  I did notice that I have gotten more impersonal and less funny over time.  I would like to remedy that.  Not that when we write blogs we should be really personal, but I think I gave more of a sense of who I am in my older posts.
Today is my birthday.  It is the wee hours of the morning and I am staying up too late.  I can't believe that I am turning 28 in a couple of hours.  I think I am going to look in the mirror and watch myself age.  I can't believe I am 28 with 5 kids!  My mom didn't even do that.  I think she had like 3 at my age.
This summer I have been spending so much time with my kids.  Just about every morning I load the 3 youngest into the double stroller(I promise this totally works safely, I will post a picture later) and the older two ride their bikes and we walk/ride to the park a little over a mile from our home.  It is a great path that goes along the Spanish Fork river.  It smells really bad, but it reminds me of my dearly missed Colorado with all the trees everywhere.  I let them play for a while and eat snacks, then we make the trek back home in time for lunch.  I have some wicked tan lines that I will have to take pictures of to show you all.  I will look so awesome in a swimsuit!  Did I mention that I walk wearing capris(only for this walking situation, this is not the type of attire I go out shopping in, except once) and running shoes?  Well, I do.  So my knees are white and my feet are white but my calves and shins are totally tan.  Cute right?
The first week we went I made sure we went everyday.  The forecast was supposed to be pretty good.  One day we went and there was only supposed to be a 20% chance of precipitation, which means pretty much no rain.  WRONG!!  Apparently that is secret weatherman lingo for massive thunderstorm and hail with your poor children in summer clothes shivering away.  Yeah, it totally started raining hard core on our way home!  Duncan was the first one to start whining and crying.  He's the oldest, isn't he supposed to be all tough and strong for the other kids?  Liam acted like it was a fun adventure(which was totally where I was trying to go with it).  I told the kids we have to go as fast as we could and that we couldn't shelter ourselves under the trees with the lighting.  Then it started hailing.  SERIOUSLY.  I wish I was joking, but I'm not.  I knew the hail was coming, being a Colorado girl and all(summer rain always came with hail) so I told the kids to get off of their bikes ASAP and get under a tree with me.  We huddled together and I had the boys stick their heads under the shades of the stroller and I hovered over them.  I was totally pelted with awesome hail stones, but it was for a good cause.  At that point Duncan was still crying and whining, Rozzy was whining and crying(being in the front of the stroller with me running in the rain is not fun), Liam no longer thought this was an adventure and was now crying and shivering and Aly was soaked and screaming his little baby head off.
I suggested we all stop and say a prayer together and ask that the rain will stop and that we would be able to get home quickly and safely.  Within about 3 minutes the rain completely stopped and the clouds started moving away revealing the glorious sun!  The kids were so happy and said that Heavenly Father and Jesus helped us.  Which they TOTALLY did!!  I think kids prayers work better than adult ones because they have such strong faith and belief.  We were so happy and thankful for the sun as we approached the last leg of our journey home.
I was concerned about my friend who left the park early and went home a different way because she was pregnant, had a dog with her, a broken bike, a double stroller with only one shade and two young kids.  I just kept thinking about her on my way home.  We were getting closer to home when I hear an SUV on the path behind us and then honking.  My kids shout, "It's Howie!"  Howie is the son of my friend who was at the park with us.  Kristen(Howie's mom) had called her husband to pick them up and then came to find us and give us a ride home!!  It was so sweet of her.  We were completely soaked and shivering so she was a welcomed sight.  Duncan said, "She is the BEST neighbor EVER!!"  I agree!  It was totally awesome of her.  I hope you all read this far and I hope you like my story!!

I am a jerk

So I spent so much time getting my shop set up and trying to get the word out there that I totally forgot to give my TOTALLY AWESOME PHOTOGRAPHER ASHLEY WEBB credit for all her hard work. She took all of the photos of my jewelry. She did a fabulous job and made my jewelry look better than I thought possible. She is the best neighbor ever and if any of you live in the area, you should totally have her do photos for you! I bet she would even do a destination wedding if everything was paid for!! Haha!! Thank you Ashley!! You are AMAZING!!

RosalineOlivia

It's time...
I just wanted to share with all of you that I have opened up my very own etsy shop! If you noticed by the title of this blog, RosalineOlivia is the name of my shop. I make jewelry of all kinds and it's pretty decently priced, I think. Come and stop by!!

Please send your prayers and donations

There is a family in our neighborhood whose little boy was playing on his train table, slipped on a car and fell out of the second story window onto the driveway. He was life flighted to Primary Children's Hospital in Salt Lake. He is currently in a drug-induced coma while they wait for the swelling in his brain to go down. He is a little boy who is Liam's age. I can't even imagine what this family must be going through. My heart goes out to them at this trying time in their lives. I know that many of you have children and must imagine the pain you would feel in this situation. Please take a look at this blog and leave any messages of encouragement and if possible, please donate to help the family with medical bills that they will surely be getting.

All About Me(Duncan)

My oldest is officially done with the 1st grade!! Is this for real? Well, he got to bring home all of the stuff he has made throughout the year. Duncan made an "All About Me" book for school. I just thought I would share(the last line is the best!!):

My Name is Duncan.

My birthday is June 29th. I am 6 years old.

I have blue eyes. I have red hair.

I have 7 people in my family.

My favorite subject is Science. My least favorite subject is Spelling(this is odd because he is stellar at spelling).

My school is Riverview Elementary. My teacher's name is Mrs. White.

My favorite color is yellow red green blue(apparently schooling has changed and they are now all one color).

My favorite thing to do is ride my bike because it is fun.

My favorite food is donuts because they are yummy(I don't even remember the last time we had some). My least favorite food is onions(He has no idea how often he eats onions without knowing it).

My favorite TV show is Spongebob Squarepants because it is funny. My favorite movie is Tangled because it is funny.

My favorite sport is fishing because it is fun.

My favorite place is Carl's Jr. because it is fun(we have been there once, haha).

My special things are my toys.

When I grow up I want to be famous. My favorite thing about me is being wild.

I AM SPECIAL BECAUSE I AM A GINGER.(Priceless right?!!! Hahahahahaha!!)

-I love my special ginger who is growing up so dang fast!!

An Easter Miracle!!! This is an actual blog post!

I figured it's about time to blog again since it's been like 5 months and all. I will back track and update for my own benefit when I feel like it, haha. You are free to read once those show up. I am trying not to allow myself to get Spring fever, since in Utah, Spring never ACTUALLY arrives. We pretty much go from winter to summer and then back again. However, I couldn't resist the urge to trick you all into thinking it's actually Spring. I took pictures of my lovely children. It was like a high of 45 or something, haha. My poor children.

Gwendolyn doesn't seem to be that good at "Make Believe." I tried to get her to just pretend it felt like Spring and well, her face says it all.

I just couldn't get enough pictures of this girl:













Here are some various combos of children:

Not the best picture of us, but I thought I would throw it in there just to show that we still exist. I should really relax my shoulders in pictures!! Ugh! Anywho, anyone want to do a better job of taking pictures of our fam? I am totally open to it!!