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.

End of Summer fling

 

Stephen's employer sent everyone and their families to the Arizona Grand Resort, and Oasis Park.  The above pictures were taken at the end of our time at the water park.  My favorite, and the kids favorite part was the river.  It was nice and relaxing to just drift along.  Franklin didn't want to sit in the water, he wanted to sit on the tube.  Lisette however had to be in the water the whole time.  She got impatient when she wasn't in the water.  Don't get me wrong, Franklin thoroughly enjoyed the water.  We would have stayed longer for him if Lisette wasn't getting so sleepy.  Afterward they both slept for 3 hours.

During that time I went to the spa and enjoyed a 50 minute massage.  I wish I had known more about the spa, when my appointment was and such, before hand.  I would have gotten there sooner and enjoyed the whirlpool or sauna.  Very relaxing though.  If we had more time before dinner I would have taken a nap myself afterward.

Dinner was fun!  It was at the Rustler's Rooste, with a live country band, and a live bull out front.  Inside they had a one story slide.  The kids loved it.  Franklin got to go down several times with some of the other wives.  Lisette would probably have liked to go more and I wish I had taken her.  She did grab Stephens steak knife several times while he wasn't paying too much attention (no blood shed) and dumped Franklins juice all over her giraffe blanket that i can't get her to part with.  Luckily Franklin never knew he had it so he didn't miss it.

We returned home on Sunday, a little sad that it was all over so quickly.  We did enjoy ourselves, and it was relaxing and fun.  We had to get back so I could be at ward choir, I'm the choir director.  Its actually been a lot of fun.  I was nervous at first about it because I'm more into instrumental music than choral, but I am enjoying it a lot.

Lisette is cutting her molars, so we're having late, or early, nights again.  Franklin took to drawing, all over himself.  The two pictures were taken about 2 hours apart.  I did take away the pen the second time.  Notice his facial expression changes.

Oh the Irony!

Ok, ok, so I know I said, more blogs that are shorter, and its been, what... 3 weeks?  Sorry. 

So Lisette is on a mission nearly every time she walks, no, runs.  She's fast, she even leans forwards as she goes, gaining momentum.  Surprisingly she doesn't seem to be getting thinner in any area, except maybe her face as she's getting older.  I've still have to dress, now 15 months old, her in size 24 month pants to fit around her very curvy figure.


Franklin is very comical, and is very aware of how to make a joke.  They aren't that funny if it was anyone older than 3 telling it, but he thinks he's very clever.  I had a pillow on the floor, a towel nearby, so he lays down on the pillow, pulls the towel over and says "Mommy, I take a nap!" and closes his eyes.  See, not that funny, but he thinks it is.  His dancing, however, is becoming even more comical.  I do laugh the hardest at him when he and his friend Curtis (Janiel's little boy who is a year older) play sword fight on Wii.  Curtis will twist, and get into it so hard, sweating a lot, while Franklin just barely makes short, controlled "hits" and will win 99% of the time.

We are so VERY happy to report that we have found babysitters.  I told some of you that I wanted college students just in case an emergency ever arose, and they are legal adults who can keep their cool, and drive (even if its our other car they have to use).  There are 2 college students, in fact, who are roommates.  We happened to make our first night (ever having an at home, paid sitter) Tuesday, August 31st, and as I'm driving Sarah home after 3 1/2 hours (pure bliss and kidless fun) she tells me the cops show up due to a domestic call.  It was for the neighbors, but people tend to show up at our place first if they don't know who the Romero's are.

The ONE night we FINALLY get a sitter, and the cops tell her to step outside.  Oh the irony; especially since we've wondered ever since we moved in when the cops would have to show up next door.  Luckily the kids were being great for Sarah, or so she tells me, and they moved on eventually.  Now I'm going to have numbers by the door the next time she comes, and our neighbors info so that she can tell the cops where they need to go and leave her alone.  I'm so glad she wasn't frightened by them.  She told me how great my kids are; Lisette was an angel, and Franklin was polite and sweet.  I so hope she's willing to come back, but no cops next time!

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

Happy Birthday Franklin

My special guy is 3, and it seems like overnight he literally did grow up.  We started potty training last Monday.  By Wednesday afternoon he had gotten it down, and been accident free ever since.  After two days of frustration and I don't know how many underwear changes, he had proved to me that he was fully potty trained.  Makes me feel like super-mom (emphasis on "feel" I know I am not).  He has so much more to say in English now; seemed like with the potty training, he was ready to grow up, so he knew that meant speaking less Franklinese.  Don't worry, he'll talk your ear off in Franklinese.  He knows you all still love it.

We had a Reed-side bowling party for Franklin on July 31st.  He LOVED bowling, I already have a blog about that.  This is just part of the cakes from that party.  He loves anything Toy Story, and hopefully we'll be taking him the newest movie today for FHE.  We had intended to take him on our last trip to SV but it was gone.

On his birthday we had Danny and his family, Travis and his family, and Guy and his family come over for pizza and cake.  I had meant to make that cake look even more awesome since it wasn't cup cakes, but ran out of time.  Besides I used awesome recipes so they tasted great and didn't need frosting.  Franklin had so much fun, talking, and being the center of attention.  Believe it or not, Lisette was asleep through the whole thing. 

We had a long weekend; Lisette didn't sleep well at all, if any, Friday night.  We traveled to Sierra Vista to attend a funeral for Saturday; yes on Franklin's birthday.  It was beautiful and I'm so glad we went.  Clayton is an amazing person, and you know he's doing great things beyond this world.  He has such an amazing family too.  That whole family had been close to the Reeds long before I was born.  Our dad's went to med school together.  Their dad was the man that delivered Franklin 3 years ago.

Bittersweet

One thing I have learned from the movies "Julie & Julia" and "Motherhood" is that a blog doesn't have to be long, not even more than a paragraph, to make an entry.  Now having said that I will tell you that this blog won't be just one paragraph, but I'll try to shorten it.  Besides, shorter blogs might mean more entries.

Franklin will be turning 3 on Saturday!  I can't believe the time has gone by that quickly.  I remember, after pushing for 2 hours, the first thing he did was pee on my doctor.  When they handed him to me I was so tired, and so frustrated that it took so long that I didn't want to hold him; not till I had a breather.  Last Saturday we had a small party going bowling with Papa Reed, Heidi, Sam, Reyn and Tanyth.  Franklin LOVED bowling.  He caught on pretty quick that we all had a turn, and he was pretty good at waiting for his; most of the time.  He did not want to leave the bowling alley, but at least after 2 hours of being there, and with Grandpa Reed, he was able to leave with less crying than the day before when I went to reserve.

He's definitely becoming more his age.  Lots more English comes out of his mouth.  Just this morning, after putting Lisette down for a nap, he picks up a cat toy.  "Kitty's turn!  Kitty, where are you?  Where'd that kitty go?  Come here kitty!"  Of course Rizzo is the cat he's looking for, and his favorite place to nap is under Lisette's crib.  He's also potty training.  We are on official day 2 and he has told me 3 times now, before he has wet himself, that he needs to go.  I'm so thrilled, and I know that this isn't just a coincidence.  However, I'm not sure he's (aka: I'm) ready to tackle this when we're out and about.

You say: How can she know that he's got it?  Simple, Franklin has some obsessive compulsive behavior and has a particular way about things.  Doing routines with him is so easy and this would be one of them.  We've gone through several isolated mornings over the past 3 months that I tried and gave up.  I always had an excuse; running errands was the most common. 

Monsoons are over, pretty much.  I'm very sad about that.  I love rain and seems I can never have enough.  However, now that things are drying up, and the rain is no longer coming down, the "lakes" out front are drying up.  That mean no more screaming frogs!  I've had 3 nights of silence, and it has been bliss.  I realize that I took silence for granted.  I should say silence at night, when the kids are already sleeping.  I haven't taken silence for granted overall.  I'm a mom; lets be realistic.

I better set the story straight before it gets lost in translation

Franklin fell off our bed while playing and goofing off.  He cut his head on my elliptical and it bled pretty good for a few minutes.  He was hysterical, and he had every right to be.  We got him to calm down by playing some Wii, so we were able to asses that it was wide enough that we should take him to the ER.  The only way to could brake his need to play Wii is we brought Monsters vs. Aliens (a new-to-our-collection film that he's now obsessed with) on the portable dvd player.  If you don't have one, and you have small children, get one.  You never know when you'll need it for an unusual situation.

I hate waiting, not a fun game when its already after 9:00 that you get to the hospital.  We weren't home till 11:30.  Franklin was so tired, and emotional.  They put 2 staples in his head (sounds odd) and he didn't need a hair cut, thank goodness.  The bandage was to hold the anesthetic to the wound so they could put the staples in.  Upon leaving they told me that we have to wake him every 2 hours just to make sure he's not unconscious. 

We had him sleep in our room, and that booger hogged the whole bed.  We went to sleep after 12:30, and woke up for the day before 6.  The elliptical is on its way to storage till we can put it in a secure place, and Franklin acts as if nothing is different.  Oddly enough he's less emotional today than he has been all week; go figure.  He's also back to bossing Lisette and driving my nuts with it, but I am enjoying the less emotional about everything part.  The staples can come out Thursday.  Now we just need a doctor to take them out so we don't have to go back to the ER.

When did that happen?!

(WARNING: since it’s been a month since my last post, this one is going to be long. Now you can’t say I didn’t warn you.)

We’ve had so much fun this last month, and there was so much going on! Stephen has definitely been busier than ever. We’ve been experiencing 100 degree heat and higher and summer has only just begun. On top of that his company is now down to 2 technicians instead of 4. One guy has a bad back, and too many injuries have caused him to finally stop doing this line of work. The other guy was let go suddenly, so that day was very interesting for Stephen and the other remaining employee who has only just begun taking calls on his own 3 months ago. So they’ve got Stephen and a newbie. All I can say is over-time, and it makes me believe I can learn to be more patient about his job.

One of my old roommates got married at the start of this month and we were invited to the sealing!! It was so great to be there, and my mom overnight babysat for us which made it all worry-free, kid-free for us. It also made me realize I need to do that more often, having overnight sitters. Natalie is so beautiful, and her dress!! You just have to see the pictures, she’s just so stunning, words can’t describe! I ran into her mom after, while she was waiting for Natalie to come back to the bride’s room. She thanked me for coming and I told her that I owe Natalie; after all she was my only roommate who was cheering me on from the start to go for Stephen.

I also have reached 100 sales with my on-line store, and it’s only been picking up faster since. I’ve recently added more styles to my inventory, and in celebration of reaching 100 sales I am giving away a “Bright Blue Tie” that I personally love. The way to win it is fan me on my facebook fan page and comment on my picture of the tie. On Friday at midnight I won’t be taking anymore entries and will announce a winner on Saturday (this is for any of you who may read this and haven’t been on my facebook page and want to enter). We’ve also changed things around a little at home to make my work station more organized and easier to see what I have made and ready to go.

Franklin has been so funny. Just on Monday I heard him say “Oh Man” and I couldn’t help but giggle. He’s definitely been paying attention to things we say, though he hasn’t been repeating it; yet. I’ve begun the whole “if you’re a good boy, and obedient, then you get a treat”. An almost sound like I’m training a dog, but since I started it there has been far less whining, and that was my goal. I have to keep snacks with me at all times now so I can stop the whining before it gets out of hand. Trips to the store, getting into his seat, opening his scriptures, putting a game or toy away, etc. has been far more pleasant. Threats just weren’t working anymore, and now I know that I can make a positive situation work with rewards.

Lisette is miss attitude already. What am I going to do when she reaches the phase that Franklin is at?! (Rhetorical question) At least she’s been letting us put her to bed when Franklin goes to bed, no more of this 10 p.m. or later nonsense. She definitely loves her brother to the point that she’s annoying him already. Because of that annoyance he’s been having episodes of not being very nice to her. She’s also very quick. Sometimes I just can’t keep up with her. I get distracted by Franklin or the cats doing something they shouldn’t and all of a sudden she’s practically falling into the bath tub (empty of course) reaching for the knobs, under a bed, in a closet, or if I left the gate down, on her way to the cat box.

She still stares down people she doesn’t know but she can sure smile, laugh, and play it all up around people she’s close and comfortable with. She’s a ham too, she knows when people are watching her, thinking she’s cute, and plays it up; little miss center of attention, what kind of monster are we creating?!

Lisette also LOVES the water. It’s another one of those bravery things. I’ve got to start her on swimming lessons as soon as humanly possible for her. Franklin I need to because he’s afraid of not having something under his feet, so he sat on the steps the whole time, but still in the water. Lisette was too funny, I’ll need to keep the camera close by next time, but she was leaning back in her floater thing, and kicking her feet so she started to travel. She thought it was so great! That’s my girl! She doesn’t like the feel of grass on her knees though, changing subjects.

My baby is 1!! However, unlike most parents, I was ready for her to be 1, and move to the next stage; walking! She's a brave little girl, oh my goodness. She loves to jump, and almost achieves air. Mostly she jumps on her bed while holding onto the rail, or similar situations. She still has yet to completely let go of things to stand on her own, but you can tell that she wants it very much. She's also starting to cut teeth again. Finally!! Back to her big day…

To tell the truth we had to big days if that makes sense. We had a party with the Reed’s in Sierra Vista the weekend before her birthday, and one the day before her birthday with the Quinn’s. Sierra Vista was busy, but so much fun. That Saturday morning we went to a little ranch with Heidi, Sam and their kids, of someone Sam works with. They have alpacas, goats, horses, chickens, dogs, and donkeys. Franklin really enjoyed himself there!! Oh boy did he throw a fit when it was time to go. That night we had a little picnic on my parents’ porch since it was too windy to go to the park. Lisette got a wagon for her birthday, and because Reyn (7 months older than Franklin) and Tanyth (6 weeks older than Lisette), Heidi and Sam’s kids, have one too, we all went for a walk after the party to take the kids for a ride. They loved it!! Franklin and Reyn rode in the green one while Tanyth and Lisette rode in her red one.

Then for the Quinn party we went to the local park to do a joint birthday party for Lisette and Bridger (Travis and Jamie’s little boy that is 2 days older than her). So much fun! I was allowed to make the cakes and I tell you it was an ALL day event. I used 8 cake mix boxes!! What was I thinking?! Well, it was worth it when I saw some people’s reactions to my fancier cakes. After all I do like to entertain and cook/bake. We stayed till it was getting a little too dark to stay any longer, but it was so much fun. Stephen could only be there for an hour and a half before he had to get back to work (on-call that week) but some friends came to our place afterward and we had an after party, I guess, till Stephen got home.

Whoa, this is a novel so I better end my stories here. Just know that it’s been an exciting month, and we’ve been so busy, and very happy. Enjoy the slide show!!!!

What a gal

So Lisette has taught me a few things, lately. She's amazingly good at taking things easily; go figure for an almost-one year old. However I must add that its not always true. She's still such a girl and can take her dramatics over the top sometimes. She’s a little bit of a daredevil and I love it. She likes slides, swings, being thrown around and she’s trying to stand up on her own (can definitely pull herself up but now she’s trying to let go of things) and I think she’s wanting to walk already. I’m ready for that. But what I’m talking about is the other day I was in my room and heard Lisette getting mad; not crying, just grunting. I come into the living room to see Franklin laying on top of her. Too funny. He thinks he’s doing the same thing we do, hovering over her to give her raspberries and tickling. I wonder what’s next; Body slamming?

Franklin is helpful sometimes, but I have to remember he’s also a 2 year old. He’s still a charmer, and wins people over. Everyone enjoys his language and I’m glad they do; doesn’t mean I have to. I’m working on my patience as I’m trying to get him to say things that I understand. I know he understands everything I tell him, so at least I have that in my favor. I’ve been wondering if the reason he still speaks his language is because everyone encourages him to. He also can finally pick what show he wants to watch, and we've got enough of a variety. He loves "Toys" (Toy Story 1 and 2, he likes 2 because there is red on the disc) and calls Woody "boody". Too funny, but hey, at least thats one we can all understand.

Stephen and I are coming with plans for our place. I’ve been talking about finding somewhere else to live but honestly we’re both tired of moving, and we’re free to do things to this place. Our sprouts are getting bigger, and so are the sunflower sprouts. We’re going to grow a garden and I’m really looking forward to that. I never once thought I’d grow anything, especially a garden.

We have a kiddie pool (thank you Grandma Reed) and a sand box (thank you Grandma Quinn) for the kids and they are both having fun. We’ve put the end of a slide into the pool, and Lisette loves it, so does Franklin. We’d do more out there if the wind would just go away. For all of you with kiddos, bring their swimmies and sandals to let the kids go out back and have fun. Jessica Tilton came over on Saturday with her boys. Though Dallin slept the whole time, and Corey and Bryson didn’t really want to play outside, they did want to help Stephen shovel out all the mulch that Grandpa Reed brought over for our garden. Thanks boys, I didn’t have to do it and Stephen had tons of help!

Stephen has been very busy with work. When we moved down here they said that it was the slow season, and yet he still worked a full 8 hour day. Now he’s making, at the very least, 2 ½ hour overtime daily. Yep, I’m finally able to sacrifice Stephen for work; they are definitely making it worth it for me, or for him, which ever. We’re not even into the hottest part of the year yet, just a few months away still. The residential calls are starting to build up, and now he is back into his realm.

As for me, Stephen has been encouraging me to build up my inventory. I go through spurts of struggling with loss of patience/interest? The ties have been my vice. We’ll see, once I finish the first 24 I’ve been trying to get done for 2 weeks now, maybe longer. I will conquer! We’ve been trying to get some ready for sale in a local shop, the one I mentioned weeks ago, but we discovered that we don’t have enough snaps and clips to supply both the local store and my shop. We hope to have the resolved very soon, and never to get too close to being out ever again!

What a busy Spring

Unfortunately we have all become sick over the past few weeks. I’m finally getting over a sinus infection, and both the kids are back to good health. Lucky Stephen wasn't even phased by his momentary turn of being sick. Things are heating up, but that’s nothing new about Arizona, or even interesting. That does mean that business is picking up for Stephen. My business is picking up as well. 82 sales in the last 6 months of actually selling (the last 20 in the past couple of weeks alone). Sheila will be opening a space in her home to sell her jammies (culottes) and my pacifashions. She also has gotten us a spot in a shop in Pima. I’m super excited to see what that holds in store for my product!! Thank you Sheila!

Franklin slowly prefers English over Franklinese. I’m very happy about that since we are struggling with communication. He’s very sweet, and somewhat patient. He’s also extremely eager; finally!! I haven’t pushed him to learn everything since he didn’t have patience, or interest. Now it’s a steady flow of information, and he’s soaking it all in. He’s so much fun, but he’s Franklin, he’s always been so great!

Lisette is dead-body crawling, at least that’s what I’m calling it, in correspondence with her whole “rigor” thing. She uses her toes and her arms and propels herself forward; it’s very funny to watch. I honestly was beginning to think she’d skip this stage, she’s been so proud of her rolling abilities. Her other new trick is putting herself in the sitting position. Don’t worry if you thought she could do it all along, just about everyone else did too. After all she is 10 months old. I can’t tell you how elated I am that she can FINALLY sit herself up. No more yelling and crying at me to put her in a more comfortable position. I just about cried when I saw her do it the first time I was so very happy. Stephen likes to tease her with the laser. There is a video I am uploading of this very thing, and why not get some laughs about her new tricks!

This will probably be useless information to most of you, but I am very thrilled about this; we have discovered what breed of cat Rizzo is. Now I never really needed to know, or care much about cat breeds. Granted I grew up with Persians, the very beautiful, “Fancy Feast” type Persian (no squished faces) and I cared very much about that breed. Now that is a beautiful breed of cat. However Rizzo is a VERY odd cat. He doesn’t entirely act like a cat, nor does he have much of the same temperament of our fat lazy Osgood. Thanks to Animal Planets series Cats 101 we have discovered that Rizzo is an Egyptian Mau (Mau actually means cat in Egyptian). It truly is an amazing breed, and very beautiful, too bad they are so rare. Rizzo is definitely the perfect cat for me, I wish all cat lovers could have a cat like him. It’s almost a shame that we had him fixed; almost, but not quite.

We are also making an attempt at growing flowers. We have two beds of watered seeds, at the current time, in front, and we planted a long row of sunflower seeds along the century-old wood fence along the road. It’ll look awesome, if we actually can get it all to grow. Let’s hope.

Ok, Easter! On Saturday we went out to Cedar Hills and had fun with the Quinn clan. Nearly everyone was there, and though our family didn’t camp out (due to illnesses) we stayed for several hours that morning. I also forgot that the Arizona sun burns me very quickly. I got used to being in Utah and hardly ever got sunburn. It was worth it. Franklin LOVED being out there with his cousins, Aunts, Uncles, and Grandparents. He learned about playing in the dirt from Brooklyn, and Caylee (yes, the girls had to show him) who are his age. His uncle Danny helped him color an egg, which he loved. Later, after lunch, we went for a drive in Brent’s awesome 4-wheeler. Franklin could sit between us. I didn’t think we had been gone that long, but Franklin started to fall asleep. We headed home after that to let the kids sleep.

My parents joined us Saturday night for the festivities the next morning. Franklin got to be 100% center of attention between conference sessions as he did the egg hunt. There are some videos of that as well; one is long, I must warn you, but it was just cute to hear Franklin say egg a million times. When his basket was getting too full he’d put his eggs in Lisette’s. I wish she was old enough to appreciate that since I really don’t see that happening ever again in the coming years. However, Franklin does always surprise us. After a very filling, and delicious ham dinner, my dad returned to Sierra Vista, and my mom stayed behind to hang out with me for the rest of the day. I had to go to Sierra Vista the next morning anyway to finally get Franklin’s birth certificate, so my mom rode with me, and Franklin loved having her there.

Enjoy the video below of Lisette's version of crawling!

The promised pictures

I'm glad I was able to get right to it this time, instead of waiting several weeks. I didn't take as many pictures as I had liked, but here are a few, and I hope you enjoy them. Also make sure that you go to the bottom of our blog page to see the new videos. I'm still working on adding a few more. I've discovered with our new internet that I can't download several things at once; it takes way too long for my patience. Enjoy the slide show, and videos!!

Baby Got Back

We're back in Arizona, and it feels just like home. Not that Utah wasn't but we are happy to be so much closer to family, and able to visit/see family members far more often than we have in the last 2 1/2 years. The kids are liking it just fine, and probably more since there's so many more willing/wanting hands to hold Lisette, and Franklin has double the amount of playmates, just with cousins around. Jaycee, and Ashley seem to favor him very much. He has that affect on little girls; they want to play with him, tote him around, and get him to do things with them (which he is more than happy to do, and this started back in Utah at McD's play places). Just the other day at the park he somehow got a little girl to do everything with him/for him. What a little stud!

Lisette is 9 months, and weighs 24 1/2 pounds. I thought she was less, just because of her age, but her bulk doesn't lie. That baby does "got back". She has major rolley thighs, and a very round bum. Yep, at 9 months old, that girl has ghetto booty. There I said it. I'm not sure if it makes her more irresistible or not. She has been amazing! Sorry Greta that wasn't as easy, and content before we moved away, for you. I'm not sure why the sudden change, but I LOVE handing her off to adoring arms.

I love my daughter, but my kids have turned me into mommy-playground, and even though I probably deserve it for what I did to my mom at their age, I'm not willing to always allow it. In Sacrament meeting she was perfectly fine while Stephen held her, but once Franklin was getting to silly being with me, we traded and then she took over Franklins' duties. She had to be grabbing and pulling something, and if I didn't let her torture me she'd turn to pull Franklin's hair, shirt, colored pencil, etc. Finally I handed her off to the Knights behind us, and she calmed right back down; thank goodness.

The cats are loving it here. They have many more windows, and different views from all around the place to look out. Birds are of plenty here, and they are constantly on a frenzied attack (all play) with each other. Franklin loves to birds too. You can sometimes hear the train faintly, and he enjoys that. 3 Firetrucks drove by yesterday morning, and Franklin was very excited about that. (don't ask what they were up to, I never found out but did see a very small black cloud an hour later that only hovered, and no source)

We love having a yard, and Sheila has let us borrow some playground equipment. Franklin love that too. We spent all afternoon out there with the kids. They played while we cleaned. For some odd reason the last tenants had a HUGE spread out pile of chilies, all dried up, and some had been burned in a small fire. I could tell you lots of thing we're discovering about the last tenants. Lets say that this house is very happy, and lucky to have us. I do, however, hate the wind here, and that was the only thing I've never liked about the desert. There has been some rain, and I've been thrilled about it. That is until we need to go somewhere, and there's way too much mud out there.

Stephen is so far liking his job. I'm loving it, and I have yet to meet anyone he works with. This job has definitely been an answer to our prayers, and been very good to Stephen (so far, I have to add that). He's been happy to work, and I'm please that thus far everyone there has been very welcoming, treating him like he's an important part of the team, and boosting his self esteem. They sound like they treat everyone like they are important, and that is truly how a business should work. (Unless there is an employee that is bringing everyone else down, than that guy isn't as important)

I'm happy here, and Stephen says that's the most important part of the whole change. He's right. If mom isn't happy than the whole house tends to fall apart since she's the one keeping a clean home, raising the kids, and feeding daddy. Stephen will tell you, it might be his home, but I rule it. In truth we do it together, but don't cross me. Since we've moved back I've been feeling, and seeing my old self return. Its been a while since the real me has been around, and I got to say it feels dang good, and ABOUT time!! Sheesh, its been too long.

We've moved back to a place where we both know a lot of people; Stephen from growing up here, and me from attending college. There are quite a few old college friends that have also returned to the valley. Everyone is hugely welcoming, and friendly. Yep, we definitely feel like we are home at last.

Don't worry, pictures will come soon.

Stress, Snow, and Kidney Stone

I'm sure the word has leaked out now that we are moving. Stephen hasn't had work for 3 weeks; a serious lack of snow has put all technicians on hold. Stephen did take one of those weeks for vacation so we could go down to Arizona. He had been planning on installing some heat pumps at my parents home. However, we took a detour to Thatcher, and began a house search.

Stephen had been offered a job with Altech Heating and Cooling of Thatcher, Arizona the same time he was offered a job up in Utah to work for One Hour Air. Arizona requires 2 years of training before you can be paid to do what Stephen has been doing for the past 2 1/2 years. Utah doesn't have that same requirement, so we obviously took the smarter option at the time. Now that Stephen has had his training, and years of work behind him, that job in Thatcher made him a new offer. This offer was stated more than a month ago, but we weren't sure if that was the direction we wanted to take. We love Utah, but Stephen has hardly been working at all, and then all the snow melted with none to take its place.

We took an earlier-than-planned vacation when we got our tax refund, and decided to search out all our options. This job in Thatcher was an amazing offer, but we still were undecided. When we made the choice to go to Arizona things fell into place too beautifully. We decided to house hunt, and after 2 1/2 days we made our decision. We feel extremely good about our move. If you know Thatcher, our place will be off of Reay Lane, before you get to the river.

We will be packing for the next 4 days, and on the 5th (Thursday) we load up the rental truck, drive away from Lehi, and arrive at our home in Thatcher on the 6th day (Friday). With 2 kids, and 2 cats we will definitely be making a half-way stop and split the trip in 2 days.

Our trip has been long, and insane. High levels of stress were our constant companions. The kids got colds while we were still there, and my cold has appeared now that we're home. We're going to keep our fingers crossed tightly that Stephen doesn't get it too. On our return trip home we hoped to make the trip in one day. It could have worked, but driving through the canyon between Panguitch and Beaver, we hit a huge snow storm.

My dad researched the weather report on the internet for us, but by the time we could see Beaver (and we almost couldn't see it due to extreme fog on top of the snow storm) we decided to stay the night. The kids needed it more than we did. Not long after we got our room Stephen heard a trucker who had been coming down from the north said that just before the exit we took there were already 6 accidents.

So we woke up to a winter wonder land. At least 4 inches fell during then night, and was still falling in the morning, but more gently. You'd assume with all that snow we drove through that we would return home to the same scenery. Nope, still no snow!!

Lisette didn't have a good night, and neither did we. Tonight is already following the same pattern; poor girl is so sick. We are happy to be home, even if its for a few days, and filled with cleaning and packing. Our cats were happy to see us, and our wonderful neighbor, Arnie, has been taking such very good care of them.

So about the kidney stone part, yes, I had another stone, just over 6 years since my last. If you knew me during that time, I was in pain for 2 weeks, then it went dormant for 4 1/2 months, then it hurt for 3 days till it passed. I don't know when I got this one because VERY fortunately it didn't hurt during the first stage. However I did get a gosh awful bladder infection, only find out (my own diagnosis, but since I didn't see a doctor about it I didn't tell anyone, except Stephen, I had it) I had a kidney stone, and it makes perfect sense that my infection was so horrible.

I didn't hurt me all the time, but riding in the car, between stops, it would remind me it was there. Our first stop on our return trip the nasty little booger came out and I then knew I was right all along. It made our return trip more pleasant than our trip going down, for me at least. So that's the past few weeks in a nut shell.

What we've been up to

I realized that the post I started was all about my shop, and its corresponding blog. I figured it'd be better to leave that as its own post since it was pretty lengthy already, and write a separate one about us.

Franklin is sweet and polite. People keep getting surprised when they'd hear him say thank you for any little thing, and of course they'd say how wonderful it is that he says it on his own. Yep, we didn't teach him to say thank you as often as he does. We're still working on communicating better. We're sick and tired of "Uh, uh" and the pointing. We try to get him to repeat what we say, and his only response is "Yeah!" Yep, we're frustrated.

He likes to help me make cookies, so I tell him the name of each ingredient we put in. My favorite is flour. You have to hear him say it, its so adorable! That and butter. Sugar I'm not sure if he's saying his own version or actually trying to say it. He loves his books, and very proudly announces the names to things he knows in english. Most of the other words he'll still tell me his name for it. I'm still not good with Franklinese.

Lisette is getting better about letting others hold her. She still prefers if there are other children around; Franklin and Chloe are her favorites. I've been called to be the Relief Society pianist (I'm glad to be playing again, but I've been years out of practice) and someone else has to hold her while I play. This past Sunday the chorister held her, even while she directed, and Lisette didn't fuss much after the first few minutes. I didn't have to hold her at all during Relief Society. She claws at my face so much, mostly to get my glasses. She can draw blood on me, and many times a week.

She's eager to move, though she isn't crawling yet. She's pretty smug on herself that she can sit up all on her own. Our neighbors across the way have 2 children; a little girl who is 2 months older than Franklin, and a little boy who is 2 days younger than Lisette. We invited them over Sunday night for some conversation and cookies. Franklin and Serenity played (mostly throw) and Lisette and Trayson oogled each other and even got grips on each other when they were close enough. It was funny, cute, and we all had some fun. Its great to be getting to know more people. Stephen and I are eager for friends, and even more eager for Franklin to have friends.

Stephen's work has been at an all new slow. Its record breaking, and we hate it. The weather has been way too warm up here, and that is rotten for business. He took a few vacation days last week, and we did some family activities. Franklin has LOVED having Daddy around so much. Lisette is also getting spoiled. Its also the reason we've been able to get some much done, and started with our business, because he has been home.

We've had some sickness in our home, but happy to report that for the most part everyone is getting healthy again. I've had an infection for a while and am finally getting rid of it. It came in handy to have Stephen home when the infection got to its worst. I'm almost all better, though I already feel better. So that's us in a short novel. I promise I'll be better about updating once a week since I'll have to update my other blog 4 times a week.

p.s. If you read my other blog, and have something you'd like to see posted you can always write me. Use q-luv-it@hotmail.com for posts to my PaciFashions blog.