Stress, it's a killer

Last week was a stressful week.  It started as all weeks do; the kids constantly crying, fighting, or whining about various things.  There's usually at least one of Franklin irrational, emotional episodes every Sunday.  Then Stephen asks on Sunday night, "What are you going to do from Tuesday to Wednesday while I'm out of town?"  That's right.  I forgot he had a seminar for work.  So I say, "Going to my moms." 

As much as I love to get out of town, especially to go to Sierra Vista and see my family, it wasn't exactly helpful for my stress.  We left town hours later than I had wanted to, the kids fought way more than usual in the car and I didn't sleep well the night before so I'm fighting my eye lids.  I tell the kids that we're going to stop for potty and ice cream.  Lisette has been crying a lot at the words potty, pee pee and so forth lately, but I keep reminding her about the ice cream.  Of course Franklin is upset that he can't go in the boys potty because he's a boy and can't go in the girls. 

We get past that fit, but then while in line to buy our ice cream Lisette decides, like she does multiple times everyday, to hit Franklin in the head.  A very nice man immediately had something to say to them that was reprimanding, but very kind and said in a somewhat humorous way to me.  If nothing else, what he said stopped Franklin from going into one of his emotional fits.  To make a long (and not very fun) story short, after receiving less sleep than the night before due to Lisette, who also woke up Franklin a few times, I decided it really wasn't such a great idea to leave home.  I did have an enjoyable lunch with my sister Heidi, her two kids with my kids all at Grandma April's classroom before starting my trek back home.  I beat Stephen home by a few hours but it wasn't all that horrible of a wait.

Of course this story is leading up to my next blog.  I don't like long blogs.  They are sometimes hard to sit through and sometimes information gets lost.  I normally don't like to talk about my stress and though I don't want to fool anyone into thinking my life is perfect, or horrify them with the bad things that go on, this is leading somewhere...

October Slideshow

Enjoy the pictures! (photos of our home to come as soon as we have gotten rid of all boxes; you can see some in the background of some of these pictures)

Summer is over?

Though summer is ending, it does and doesn't feel like it here.  It doesn't because the temperatures still threaten to go into the 3 digits and sometimes succeeds.  It does because Franklin is now in Preschool and he LOVES it.  Lisette is always sad to see him go.  She calls him "Wahwah" and though I'm not sure why because she can say words (not all of them understandable) it is very endearing.  I've had to talk to Franklin about her name for him and that he needs to respond because she gets desperate for his attention.

Franklin absolutely loves school.  He's learning so much and every time I pick him up he always says, "I'm having fun today!"  He makes friends so easily and he's just such a happy kid.  He wishes he had school everyday, but alas, he only has school on Tuesdays and Thursdays from noon - 2:00.  I also wish he had school more often.  It's amazing the transformation Lisette goes through when Franklin isn't around.  Don't get me wrong; she absolutely adores him, but she becomes a very calm and happy girl when she's without him.

Stephen's work has been up and down, over and over for the last few weeks.  We had a few, very late, monsoon rains and it got very cool.  But then some people noticed they had leaks and so he'd have more work.  Then the rains were gone and the temperatures were still pleasant for a few days and no one called.  Low and behold, the temperatures have risen again and the few that thought they could just wait it out realized that summer just won't end.

I've been very busy staying ahead with my church calling to have music ready, keeping up with my shop, trying to stay on top of gardening and the lawn, trying even harder to keep up with the messes the kids make and trying to find time to unwind when I can.  Lisette is still prone to her fits and we've been working very hard with her to control her dramatic tendencies.  Franklin has definitely been showing a more emotional side to him; but it could be that he's napping less because of the time he has school.

We did get to have a very fun camping trip the weekend after Labor Day with the Lewis family (my sister Heidi, her hubby Sam and their 2 kids that are the same ages as mine).  We had pouring rain that Friday night and we had not been prepared for how cold it would get.  It didn't help that I forgot anything long-sleeved for the kids.  Franklin was happy to wear daddy's flannel shirt that had to be rolled, tied and finagled to fit him, but Lisette refused to wear my sweater.  She only agreed to wear a spare coat her cousin Tanyth had because she had been wearing one too.  The next morning was clear, beautiful and warm.  We all had fun hanging out, watching the kids play and just being together.

Now for the big announcement!  We are moving... a mile away.  Last September up until this last February we had been keeping our eyes open for another place to live; an upgrade from the home (trailer) we are currently living in but still within our budget and we were very picky about where to look since we wanted to stay in Thatcher 4th ward.  Nothing came up, so we signed another lease and convinced ourselves that we wouldn't look again for another year or more.

However, a woman from 2nd ward visited my mother-in-law and told her that she wanted Stephen and our family to live in her home.  For a few weeks she had asked her what we thought of it, but we hadn't heard.  Life got busy for everyone and just last Monday, while we were picking up the kids from grandma's, this woman calls Sheila to ask a few details about our current rental.  We went to see their home and though it is very beautiful we decided no; it wasn't in our budget and it wasn't in 4th ward, so saying no was easy.  All the while, the homeowner was telling us that she's known for weeks now that we are supposed to be the ones to live in her home.

Stephen had forgotten to call them to let them know and on Wednesday, while we got to have a very special lunch out with daddy (which hardly ever happens) we get a call that they will come down in rent to an amount we could accept.  I still said no; it wasn't in 4th ward.  So we agreed to pray about it and because I had been feeling sick I had asked for a plain and simple answer that I wouldn't confuse with how I had been feeling at the time.  Of course the answer was yes and I cannot refuse for fear I might get struck by lightening because I did get a clear answer.

We will begin moving to the new home on Stadium Avenue in the second week of October.  We have begun packing up things that don't need to be out for a while so we can start cleaning the home we are in now.  We want this place to be able to have someone move in the day after we move out.  The home is literally 1 house away from still being in 4th ward, so naturally I'm pleading that they'll let us stay; I've already begun working on the Christmas program and I will finish it for 4th ward even if they kick us out.

I have loved my calling as ward choir director and this year I have made so many friends and don't like the thought of not seeing most of them anymore just because I live one house away.  I have no animosity towards 2nd ward, I just don't want to start as the new family again and it doesn't help me be convinced to switch when I know that part of the street had once been in 4th ward years ago.  There is another plus though: plants can actually grow with a little less effort at the other home so I am letting my gardens die and hopefully the bugs that have been destroying my flowers will not follow us.

We are also trying to sell my wonderful car.  There is nothing wrong with it and I'm a little sad to be giving it up, but we've been talking about being a one car family and should get something that's between my SUV and the truck.  We are also very excited to go on the work retreat that Stephen's boss has arranged for everyone in the company this weekend.  Last years was so fun and sure helped us feel like we did have somewhat of a summer vacation since it's the busiest season and it's hard to get time off.

Sorry, I know this was long so thank you for staying tuned.  I cannot promise that I will update more regularly but I will try so long entries can be avoided.

Half a year sum up.

It’s nearly July!  That means Stephen and Lisette are both a year older and Stephen and I celebrated our 7^th wedding anniversary.  That also means a lot occurred this month.  But I’ll give a summary of everything leading to this point…

January = a haze.  Honestly I don’t remember much about that month.  February: I (Lisl) began having a lot of pain in my hand (remember the story of spraining my finger back in August?) and it was causing pain in my left arm.  We battled with Lisette getting sick on and off again; her canines were cutting through all at once and it took over 2 months for them all to FINALLY poke through.  Franklin got an ear infection in March and he still talks about Daddy taking him to the doctor.

I had to finally address the issue with my arm and hand very seriously in March.  My visit to the Orthopedics office reunited me with a familiar face.  My very first roommates’ husband; Cole Bryce, who is now Dr. Cole Bryce!  

Dr. Bryce gave me a very painful, but happily accepted shot in the arm that helped with the pain while waiting 2 weeks for surgery on her sprained finger.  Surgery was quick and the anesthesia was just right.  Grandma April came for a few days to help and after she had to return to work our amazing ward jumped in to help me through the next month.  April felt long and slow and the constant wind didn’t/hasn’t helped.  Isn’t it March that’s supposed to be windy? 

Easter was very enjoyable and fun for the kids.  Our ward had a major egg hunt at the ball fields next to the Temple.  Then we had a huge (and very rewarding for the kids) hunt in our own backyard.  Earlier this Spring we decided to expand the fence for our back yard; so we more than doubled our yard from last year and had many places to put lots of candy-filled eggs.

May began with birthdays.  We tried our best to celebrate Stephen’s birthday as work had gotten busier for him.  We also took on a project for Lisette’s birthday which included building a back porch.  Stephen did just about all the work and the Elder’s came to help put the deck together.  I was very grateful since I’m not allowed to use my left hand as much.  

June has been crazy busy.  The heat came, and the wind still insisted on battling our mood.  The second weekend we went to Gilbert for a family gathering with the Randy Quinn clan.  Their youngest son, Trevor, was baptized.  Back in Christmas they had given us tickets to see Les Miserables that very same weekend.  So we left the kids still swimming in the pool (they were being watched, don’t worry) and went to see the most amazing show!  We’ve had Les Mis stuck (very happily) in our heads for weeks.

The next weekend was supposed to be Lisl’s 10 year high school reunion and the celebration of 7 years of marriage.  Alas, Stephen was on-call and because of many different factors coming to play, we decided not to go.  I was planning on seeing some old friends still, but a fire had been threatening the area.  

My parents’ neighborhood went on Pre-evacuation and just as we decided it was time to get out of the pool to pack, another fire began just west of us.  We were surrounded by smoke on 3 sides of us, with the helicopters and airplanes practically on top of us.  Officials were so busy with battling both fires that not a lot of communication was going on and we all felt the urge to evacuate immediately.  

So I never saw my friends, and as quickly as we could manage, we all got out of there; I took two of my mom’s cats to stay with us for a week.  My parents did go on mandatory evacuation 2 days later and a few days after that they were allowed to go back home.  

The following weekend (last weekend) my high school Show Band was having a reunion.  Coach (our director, we always called him Coach) had reached 40 years of directing Show Band.  So as many who could make it got together for reminiscing and putting together a concert.  I had no intention of playing, just singing.  I actually started crying when I found out I would get to sing I was so excited.  However, at the dinner on Friday night I was told that I should play and represent my years (I was a part of Show Band from fall of ’98 to spring of ’01) and ended up playing for both decades; the 90’s band and the 00’s band. 

It was so much fun and such a blast that I never wanted it to end.  Sorry to all my fellow Buena ’01 classmates that I ditched out on.  I hope you can forgive me and I hope to see you at our 20 year reunion and I truly hope it’ll be during something like Homecoming and nowhere near my anniversary.

p.s. Stephen and I didn’t get to celebrate much, so we are hoping to get a short vacation with just the two of us in the fall when Stephen isn’t so insanely busy.  And I’ll have to get back to you about how work is all going when it’s behind us and not at our throats.

The 2010 year Newsletter

We've been desperate to get newer, up-to-date pictures on the wall.  So as I was uploading pictures I got to review 2010 in photographs, looking back on the year.

2010 was a time for change and lots of growth.  The year began for us in Lehi, Utah.  It was cold and white; just how winter should be (not without the white part).  We knew our time in Utah was coming to an end and we didn't even need to pray about where our lives should go next.  Instead, Lisl fought, argued and cried for 2 weeks, the end of January into February, about how she didn't want to move back to Thatcher, Arizona.  Half way through Feb. we made a visit to Arizona to find a place to live in Thatcher.  Our search was only 3 days but felt very long, tiring and we were afraid we'd end up in the wrong home.

On our last day of searching we gave one of the homes on our list a second glance.  With the promise of a few improvements before moving in, we signed a lease.  We hurried back to Utah with just a few days to pack up everything including the two kids and two cats and began our journey to our new home.  Just as March began we settled into a new home, a familiar ward (it was Stephen's home ward growing up and Lisl knew a few from college) and Stephen began a great new job.

April was full of family and friends, between Easter (including a horrific sunburn from being out in the hills and forgetting that Lisl actually burns in Arizona: she still has a tan line from that burn - at least we were concerned enough for Lisette since she inherited her mother's fair skin and kept her shaded) and the Gila Valley Temple Open House.  We also began to do a LOT of work around here. 

There was zero landscaping on our propery.  We had a few early rains to get an idea of what was in store for us for monsoon season with all the mud. 2 different gardens were planted; flowers and vegetables, rocks were laid for a place to park our vehicles and to walk to the door, and we tried our best to make a back lawn with lots of grass.  We then discovered the gopher problem as well.  (We know exactly what to do about all the many obstacles for this coming Spring, that's for sure)

The Open House ran on through half of May so we managed to visit twice.  All the landscaping and growing various things continued into May.  At the start of the month we celebrated Stephen's birthday and at the end of the month, our little girl turned 1! 

In June we celebrated our 6th anniversary and got in a short get away before the busy season with Stephen's job took over for the rest of the summer.  July was hectic and crazy with work for Stephen.  August became even more so, but we still managed to celebrate Franklin's 3rd birthday!  We began the potty training process with him 2 weeks before his birthday.  There were many awful accidents over the next few months and lots of back and forth with progress.

In September, Stephen's employer sent everyone on a weekend getaway to the Arizona Grand Resort and fun at the Oasis park.  It was lots of fun and very much needed since we hadn't been able to do much as a family for a few months.  Lisl had been called as the ward choir director over the summer but didn't begin practices till Sept.  At first it seemed too overwhelming and seemed as if she was in over her head, but the first performance in October went very well. 

October was still incredibly hot during the day, but the nights were just right.  We decorated our home for the season and Lisl began listening to Christmas music, for her calling (She discovered at that point that she was in charge of the entire program for the Sunday before Christmas).  Stephen was gone for half of the month, on and off.  He had testing, classes, all for work, then at the end of the month he went on a hunting trip with all of the men from the Quinn family; Stephens dad and all 4 of his brothers (first and maybe even the last time that will happen, so we are all so glad he got to go).  Halloween was a bit last minute for Lisl and the kids.  We were so happy that "Mom's mom" (that is what Franklin calls Grandma Reed) got to come and spend it with us.

November was surprisingly (and truth be told a bit disappointingly) hot.  Lisl had been asked to sing for the Jazz clinics performing for some of the World of Music classes at the college.  It was so much fun and it brought back lots of memories; almost as if we never left.  The next week was Lisl's birthday followed by Thanksgiving in Sierra Vista with Heidi Lewis (Lisl's sister) and her family.  We seriously enjoy doing things with family since that didn't happen much while we lived in Utah.

As December began the pressure was on for Lisl to complete the Christmas program.  We decorated our house and tried very hard to make it feel like Christmas since the weather was still too warm for us.  It was also during this time that Franklin seemed to fully and completely grasp the concept of, and the necessity of potty training.  We haven't rewarded him for going #1 in a while but we began giving fun size candy bars for #2.

The weekend before Christmas was very busy and went very fast.  That Saturday Lisl sang with a Jazz Combo at her cousins wedding reception.  That was definitely a treat for all and an amazing opportunity for Lisl.  The very next day was Lisl's Christmas program which went very well.  She had already began ideas for next years program.

Christmas was exciting.  The Fellers (Lisl's sister Inga and her family) came over from San Diego and Stephen got a last-second day off for Christmas Eve.  We headed to Sierra Vista a day earlier than planned and really enjoyed all that time with family, especially for all the little cousins.  On Christmas day we traveled back to Thatcher to spend the afternoon with everyone on the Quinn side.  It was so much fun to spend the holiday with so much family!  That was what made it a wonderful Christmas for us.

Happy New Year everyone!  We know that this year will be even more exciting and hopefully we will see more family, more often.

Terrible two better not last 2 whole years

So much going on and so many stories to share. I realize that I am failing horribly on the writing blogs multiple times a week thing. And since there is so much, I'm going to shorten as much as I can so that you all can keep up and not get overloaded.

We started painting in the kitchen. Mostly just the cabinets but its a huge improvement. And, no, we're not done. Stephen was gone a lot during October. He had NATE classes and testing, a 4 day long Comfort Adviser training and workshop, and the hunt. He enjoyed all of it, apart from stressing out about his test and we will know the results of it soon. All that time of course left me at home with the kids and Franklin is DEEP into his "terrible twos" now. Two words for you: NOT fun.

I've opened up a new shop on Artfire. I'm very excited about this new shop, there are fewer fees and it takes far less time to upload and create on it. I've also been working hard on updating new photos for everything. Its been a lot of work, but we are serious about my business and enjoy it very much. We hope to get an LLC this coming spring!

Now on to the good stuff everyone wants to hear.

Lisette has been very fun, funny and oh so daring. That girl can get running, without really wanting to. She turns 18 months this month but has been going to nursery already. She can push back when pushed and is an eating machine. We went to Casa when my parents visited me (on Stephen's hunting trip) and my mom was feeding her beans. She wasn't being fed fast enough, so she got her own fork, turned it around and used the handle part to scoop up the beans and feed herself.

My favorite thing Lisette does is putting herself to bed. I was rearranging Franklin's room while he was playing at Grandma's. Lisette was refusing to nap until she was so tired she couldn't fight it anymore. I gave her her giraffe blanket and she climbed onto Franklin's bed and instantly fell asleep. Ever since, at night when she's "put down" to bed, we don't let her out. She plays in her room till she's ready to sleep. She'll fall asleep in the just-crawled-into-bed position. Very funny! I LOVE that she's great with her toddler bed. I made a few adjustments to it myself. Its working out great, looks better and is completely safe.

Franklin has been getting into so much; and most of that is trouble. A wise woman once told me, when Franklin was starting his terrible twos before he was 2, that, "Its not called Terrible Two's because it starts at age 2. No. Its called that because it lasts for 2 years." It has almost been 2 years since that wonderful, angelic, can-do-no-wrong little Franklin disappeared and the wrath of Franklin began. It has been tolerable until now. He throws the most dramatic, emotional fits over something as little as not wearing the right colored bib, or putting on the wrong pajamas, to him calling our home "Grandpa Reeds house" and me correcting him saying, "No, this is our house".

He has been a HUGE bully to Lisette. Good thing she pushes back. He will hit her just because she was in arms reach. He'll forcibly take something from her, or push her off of things. Remember those two words? Not fun! There's been a LOT of crying here. But don't worry, there are a few funny stories of Franklin to share, as well as some good.

I had Franklin screened at Brighter Day Preschool. His non-sense way of talking has caused problems at home with his highly emotional state. Though most of you love and adore Franklinese, I don't, at least not as much as I used to. His screening went well. He ranks average for his age with speech on single words. They did tell me that when Franklin uses sentences he gets ahead of his thinking. That's why he understands me, but I don't understand him. He is very smart though, knows his ABC's very well, and can count to 15 (working on higher numbers) without trouble, though he likes to get ahead of himself counting sometimes too.

Franklin has been a sneaky devil to top it all off. A week before Halloween we made sugar cookies with some friends. It was fun, but I forgot to put those cookies away. Franklin gets up before me, all quiet like, and helped himself to all the ones that were frosted and a few of the not frosted ones. 2 mornings later he saw bags of candy on the table. Tried opening one bag; no success, but lots of evidence that he tried. The other bag had been opened, and wrappers from half of the candy was strewn about the floor.

3 mornings later he rummaged through my junk drawer in the kitchen where I had Smarties hidden for when he did good deeds and hid in the corner of the dinning room to eat them. Would have gone unnoticed if I didn't catch stupid Rizzo trying to eat the plastic wrappers. Nearly a week later he gets banana bread off the counter, pulls the plastic wrapping back and tore off chunks to eat. That last one I thought was his dad being in a hurry to get out the door but Stephen let me know he had nothing to do with it. Needless to say, all the Halloween candy they collected at Trunk or Treat on Saturday is hidden in my closet and daily the child-proof gate is put up in our bedroom doorway. No way is he helping himself to all that with his track record. And because I never saw him actually do any of it, he never got in trouble for it, but I know it was him.

Here's a few pictures of the past month. Enjoy and sorry that this still ended up being long but thanks for sticking with me!

Wake up September

Its nearly over, and as I look back at the month, not only do I not know where the time went, all I can think of is how sleepy I've been.  As of yesterday I have stopped taking zolpidem (ambien knock off) after I looked up its side effects and realized that I'd rather battle insomnia than what I've been battling all month with this stuff.

On Monday Stephen had a second Saturday.  With on-call they get the Monday before they begin (begins on a Tuesday) off.  Stephen pretty much does two jobs with the same employer; he was hired on as a service technician and had begun doing sales during the summer.  That means that he didn't have the full day off, but we did get a lot done. 

I've managed to bring back the elliptical.  Its back in its original spot, so Franklin shouldn't be falling onto it again.  Lisette does love to climb on it though.  We also took down the crib and put up the toddler bed for her.  She loves climbing into it, but she still hasn't figured out how to get down.  The kids both love to play on her bed.  This happens every morning, and after some naps. 

We also drove over to Great Grandma Reeds' house.  The kids had so much fun, and we got our exercise running after Lisette, putting things back where they go, and moving things out of her reach.  I did take lots of pictures, and some videos.  The videos are a bit dark, but they are keepsakes.  I might make a post on the Reed Family blog about that visit soon.

Where's the fire!

Lisette is walking like she trusts everything, and like there's a fire.  She's fast, more so than Franklin was at her age.  He didn't fully let go of things till he was a few weeks older than she is currently.  Surprisingly this doesn't mean that she's topples, and falls all the time, either.  Its cute, and makes us smile.  I am having to pay far more attention to what she has her sights set on; in case its the completely the wrong thing. 

I also have to make sure Franklin steers clear.  He likes to push her away/over if he thinks she's going to take or destroy what he's playing with.  Not that its completely unjustified.  He's having far too much trouble with sharing.  Not fun.  I just don't get it.  He's such a sweetie, but it seems that ever since we were called out of nursery back in Lehi he has had learned so many bad things and stopped being able to share, period.  It doesn't help that Lisette really can be a menace.

I have reached 200 sales 2 months earlier than my original goal.  I'm so excited.  Stephen has also been having a lot of success in the sales world with HVAC.  Stephen getting this job with Advanced Air Systems has really been the best decision we've made; probably ever. 

*My next blog will be about a poop story, so don't open in if you don't want to know