Pumpkin Time!

We carved our pumpkins today and had a really good time.

Scooping out the "gloop."

Isis loves raw pumpkin - blah!

Isis drawing her own pumpkin face. :)

Washing the seeds for baking.

Our finished jack-o-lanterns.

See more of our pumpkin carving fun (and other Isis pictures from this vast update) here.

Happenings Here

(These pictures did not load how I wanted so the next few posts are not sequential.)

I always wish I posted more but alas, I do what I can squeeze into my semi-conscious time. :) So here are a handful of events and thoughts I've been meaning to write about.

We tried potty training. Lots of juice and movies and still no success. I decided it is not worth it to push this (nor do I have the energy to do so), so I'm just going to wait until she's really ready.

In the last few months, and I'm not sure how it happened, our house has turned into princess central. Is this something little girls are born with? She has seen two princess movies- Sleeping Beauty and Enchanted. She sings and dances and dresses up. Prince Daddy often has to "wake" her with true love's kiss. She is a crack up giving Prince Daddy true love's kiss because it is always in slow motion and quite dramatic. So funny. I'll have to get a video sometime. These are some of Isis' princess dress up combos:

(Mommy's church shoes are always princess shoes)

Toddler at Play

It's been fun watching Isis develop her first friendships. This is Isis and her friend Kimball loving a water park.

Childhood requires some trips, bumps, and bruises. This time Isis caught her fall with her face. Poor girl.... and still look at that smile. :)


Earlier this week Isis had a friend from Nursery come over to play. I was upstairs for 5 minutes while the girls went and played downstairs. Soon I heard riotous giggles. When I came downstairs I found this: Two happy little girls standing in a HUGE puddle on the kitchen floor with ice cubes everywhere. That wasn't a big deal to clean up and it was fun hearing them laugh so much. Still, I'll remember to lock the water spout on the fridge next time. :)

Sleepy Time

We've had some sleeping issues with Isis since she started climbing out of her crib about two months ago. Sleeping issues as in she comes into our room 2 to 6 times a night between the hours of 1:30 and 6:00am. It might not be too big of a deal if I could get back to sleep but falling back to sleep has been ridiculously hard for me. So we are both left exhausted during the day. And she THINKS she's ready to stop taking naps - HA!!! Anyway, two or three times I have resorted locking her in her room during "nap" time. (This makes me feel extremely guilty, so I haven't done it for a while.) Any advice for helping a two year old 'remember' she wants (needs) to take a nap? :)

The first time she played for about an hour. When I woke up from my nap I peeked in on her and found her here: A few days later the same thing happened. Notice the bed that she is not sleeping in. Is the rocking chair that comfortable?
This time, however, there was evidence of her "playing."

Thrifty

Use it up. Wear it out. Make do or do without. (Isn't that how that goes?) That seems to have become our family motto. (And it's not a bad thing.)


Wishing I could give Isis everything on a whim, like a play kitchen, I just made one. Good thing I grew up playing with a lot of cardboard boxes. :)



Not being able to buy a new couch has enhanced my sewing skills. I've never patched couch cushions before. Sure it doesn't match but how much can you expect with scrap material? :) And they stay put!

Grandma and Grandpa Visit

On their way up to Utah my parents got to stop by. What better visitors than adoring grandparents? (Jeremy and I even got a date out of their stop!)

I love this picture of Isis and Grandma.

Climbing around with Grandpa.

Lake Mead

We took advantage of a 100 degree weekend in September and went to the lake.

Isis loved playing in the "sandbox." :)

and the "BIG swimming pool"... by the time we left she knew it was a lake. :)
Look at those cuties! :)

Oh No He Didn't

I have sufficiently cried over this so now I can write about it. (Though I'm still bothered by it so this will probably be long.)

On Tuesday I took Isis to the doctor. I could tell it was a busy day in the office. Both waiting rooms were packed. We were there 20 minutes early and waited an hour to be seen. Her doctor, because he was rushed, was a little rougher than usual in his routine check. Naturally that was a little upsetting to Isis but she was okay when it was over. He was in and out in 5 minutes. He requested a glucose check to make sure nothing else was causing the infection.
Before the nurse came in I told Isis what was going to happen. I don't think it's fair to surprise kids like that. She was definitely paying attention because she responded "poke finger, sleep!" (Sleeping Beauty... smart girl) and got teary-eyed. The nurse came in with his tray and she started crying. I took off her shoe and sock and among the kicking he got her toe cleaned and pricked. Now it actually hurt so Isis was really trying to pull away. I hugged her and held her leg as best I could while the nurse tried to get the blood onto his test stick. He managed to scoop some off and roughly tried to put on the band-aid. Looking at the little monitor he grumbled and sighed heavily. "It didn't work?" I asked the obvious. "No. I have to go get new stuff, " he replied obviously annoyed.
He left and I held and soothed Isis. When he came back Isis stared crying immediately. He rips off the band-aid and for the next 3 to 5 minutes proceeds in a very rough and forceful manner to squeeze her toe to coax new blood out. It would barely seep out and he'd wipe it off with a cotton swab. He did that three or four times. (WHAT WAS WRONG WITH THAT BLOOD???) He then commenced squeezing the heck out of her toe which is now extremely sore. And then he has the nerve to say in great agitation to my hysterical daughter, "If you'd just hold still this would go faster!" EXCUSE ME??? She is TWO and you are hurting her! Are you not working in a pediatric office?? I, the non-medical professional, said, "It looks like the blood has clotted. I think you need to stick her again and be done." Another gruff sigh, "Yeah, I do." And he left.
Now I was crying with my sobbing daughter as we rocked back and forth.
When he came back this time Isis went ballistic and was climbing all over me to try to get away and screaming. At this point there was no way she was going to be calmed or soothed. I said, "This needs to be quick." He rolled his eyes as I took off her other shoe. Somehow I held her just long enough to get the sample. I rocked her as I told her, "It's all done. It's over. You're okay."
Then the nurse tried putting a band-aid on the new prick. Isis could take no more. She screamed and jerked as violently as before. In frustration he shouted, "IT'S JUST A BAND-AID!"
That was beyond the last straw. Through my tears I shot back, "Give it to me! You are DONE." Judging by the way he tried to flick it off he would have thrown it at me had it not been stuck to his glove. I ripped it off his glove. He sat and watched as I tried to put it on but she wouldn't even let me do it. He gave a frustrated sigh again and I told him to go. I dabbed her toe with a Kleenex as she clutched the band-aid in her hand. Isis' entire body seemed to be convulsing; every limb and muscle was shaking. She was literally in shock. I was SO mad and very upset. Both of us just sat there rocking and crying for a bit. When I had calmed down and Isis was nearly asleep we left. No, I didn't say anything on the way out. I was too upset and distraught. (I have since found out this nurse's name and written a letter. I still can't get in touch with anyone by phone.)
I cried about this traumatic ordeal the entire day. I couldn't protect or soothe my baby. I didn't have the presence of mind at the time to use more forceful language (like, what are you doing? get the h--- away from my child; don't touch her again; are you an idiot? get me another nurse now; you need to leave, etc.). I didn't insist on a different nurse, and I didn't ask to speak to someone about this right away. That bothers me.
Even if you're tired or have had a hard day (it was only 11 am), the attitude and behavior of that nurse is absolutely unacceptable. Even being the mom, if his behavior and treatment upset me, an adult who knew what he was actually doing, how traumatic was it for my tender two year old? That treatment isn't tolerable for my or any other child. This was the worst experience I've ever had with medical "professionals."
Is this typical and have I previously been lucky? I hope no one else or their child has been or will be so poorly treated.

Randomness

It's been a while since posting. Some weeks/months are just better than others. I just have a bunch of random thoughts floating around my head so I'll just jot them down for now.

*Times like this a pensieve would really be useful. I could still have thoughts but not all crammed in my head at once.

*Speaking of a pensieve, I really love Harry Potter. I think J.K. Rowling is an phenomenal author. I love escaping to the incredible world of Harry Potter.

*Someday I'd love to publish a book. A children's book. Actually, I think I've written a good book... it's the revising and getting it published I'm still working on.

* I'm happy I keep a journal. I've kept a journal since I was 7. For the last 8 years I have written every day. (Except the week I had Isis.) I'm pretty proud of myself. Now if only I could be that persistent about other goals.

*I LOVE being able to keep up with friends' everyday life through blogs. I love being able to share our everyday happenings with friends and family with our blog. I only lament that my blog has replaced my more personalized communication with friends through emails or letters. I was a great letter writer. I hope to get back to that.

*First as a teacher and secondly as a mom, I am a HUGE advocate of teaching children (yes, infants) American Sign Language. If there is any question, yes you should do it. I am positive it decreases tantrums and screaming because your kid can actually communicate with you. It is fantastic in the classroom because it's a multi-sensory learning mode. I used it in my Kindergarten class for letters, numbers, colors, singing, and a handful of words. I loved it and so did the kids. Plus, it IS a second language. :)

*I miss teaching but I'm so happy I'm a mom who gets to stay home with my kids. I wouldn't trade it for anything.

*In that vein, I am thankful for a responsible, hard working, intelligent, supportive husband who has a job that gives me the opportunity to stay with our kids.

*I am SOOOOO not a dancer. But I would love to take a dance class (probably swing) with Jeremy.

*My greatest blessings are my family, my friends, and my testimony of the gospel.

*I wish I could invent a teleporter.

*I sure wish I would crave healthy things instead of snickers, french fries, chocolate chip cookie dough, and twice baked potatoes. But my cravings taste so good!

*I don't think dessert is dessert unless there's chocolate in it... wait... with the exception of pound cake (with strawberries & whip cream) or a pie. :)

*I like using the weather when I cook. In Utah and Colorado I could freeze things outside in the winter. Here I use the heat. Last week I set my rolls out on our patio table and the dough rose twice as fast as it does in the house! :) Awesome.

*My wow-I'm-a-real-mom moment last week was when I pulled wipes out of my purse (for the first time) to clean off Isis after she ate strawberries at the store.

*I don't know why but I hate purses. I hate carrying one but it seems to be necessary now. I also had to replace my old one (it had holes) and it's bigger - blah. However, now I can fit a diaper, wipes, a baby doll, calculator, regular purse stuff, and a lot more. I haven't decided if that's a good thing or a bad thing. :)

*I love musicals. My top five favorite now are #1. Wicked (everyone should see this), #2. Children of Eden, #3. Les Miserables, #4. Phantom of the Opera, #5. She Loves Me

*Life is just good.

Videos for family - but anyone can appreciate this cuteness

Showing off her princess dress.

Another princess dress and dancing and lots of running.

Princess Isis likes to dress up, dance, sing, and do kung fu. :) I keep asking her to sing the Sleeping Beauty song hoping to catch the cuteness... I got a little bit.

Playing with new toys from Guatemala from Grandma & Grandpa. (Thanks!) She has such a good imagination. (I love her singing while she plays.)

Self esteem Coach

Three weeks ago I was searching through my closet in mild exasperation trying to find something I could still wear (a.k.a. fit into) for church. I'd try something on, decide it didn't flatter the baby bump, and toss it back in the closet. While examining myself in one dress Isis came in an excitedly said, "Mommy, princess!" :) Yep, she's an angel. Nothing beats the love (or compliments) of your daughter.

Here is Princess Isis proudly modeling the new found princess dress. :)

If only we could always see ourselves from the eyes of a two year old. We'd be much kinder to ourselves and happier.

Summer Disaster in Las Vegas

On Wednesday afternoon our air conditioner broke. Being the frugal people we are it really would have been nice to say, "Eh, we'll fix it later." But when it is 111 - 115 degrees outside that is absolutely NOT an option... especially if one of the residents is pregnant. Wednesday night we decided just to sweat it out... literally because when we went to bed at 11pm it was 91 in the house. Fans were on all night and I employed the use of a spray bottle hourly - every time I woke up.
I knew Isis and I couldn't stay in the house all day on Thursday so we window shopped, went swimming, and hung out with my parents-in-law. Unfortunately the nice guy in our ward who came to fix our A/C couldn't get the part until Friday morning and fix it until the afternoon. So we spent the night with my in-laws (Thanks Mom & Dad!). Somehow Isis has gotten it ingrained in her mind that she CANNOT sleep anywhere but home. She did fine in our inferno house the night before but could not sleep in grandma and grandpa's comfortable house. So after waking up at 2:30am and trying for 2 hours to put her back to sleep, I finally put her in the car to drive around. That usually does the trick for tired kids, right? NOPE. I drove for an HOUR! We drove out to Red Rock in the pitch black -no lights, no cars to distract her. And still she's talking to me. I decided to drive back since by now the sky was becoming pink. One mile before getting back to the house she finally crashes. The little pill. Thankfully Jeremy was 'home' and I got to sleep in that morning... or take a nap... I'm not sure how that works. :) We went swimming again, the A/C repair had major problems and more delays but by 8:30 we finally got to go back home. PHEW!!!! Thank you a/c repair man Gary!!!
It sounds bad but it wasn't awful. I was just hot and tired. And it was an experience to help me reflect and put things into perspective. I was on an emotional roller coaster those three days (due largely to being pregnant and tired). But my mind and heart were in constant battle over this situation. I started teaching piano lessons to help us get a little ahead instead of just breaking even all the time. I saw the piano money going to our savings (which it did but I thought it might stay there), or to pay off school loans, or to pay for a class I need to keep my teaching license, or a little to all of those. In one fell swoop every cent I've earned in the last six months is gone - and not for anything we planned. (I know no one ever plans for that to happen.) I just felt sad and disappointed and like we'll never "get ahead."
On the other hand, though, I am VERY grateful for a loving Father in Heaven who inspired/motivated me to teach piano lessons and then provided students. Just enough and just long enough to cover this future expense. We didn't know it was coming but He did. And if I hadn't been teaching lessons we would have fallen into debt in a big way. So in thinking of it that way we actually DID come out "ahead." I'm just glad that, as long as we are trying our best, Heavenly Father does for us what we can't do for ourselves. I'm grateful He takes such good care of our family!
So that was our ordeal/drama/blessing for the week! Hope you have all been able to see how the Lord blesses your life... even if it doesn't seem like it all the time. :)

Baby news

We found out on July 10th that we are having another baby GIRL!!! Yea! We are super excited. I'm happy Isis will have a little sister to play and be best friends with. :) My favorite names right now are Eden, Elise, Evelyn, Madeline, or Sarah. What do you think?
Currently:
*I'm almost 20 weeks along
*I felt her move about 3 weeks ago - that's almost 3 weeks sooner than I felt Isis.
*I'm SO GLAD to be out of that first trimester - BLAH!
*I'm feeling GREAT!
*For no reason craving Snickers... mmm
*I'm worried about how in the world I will possibly be able to love this little girl as much as I love Isis.

... alright, that got me crying so I have to go now...

FIVE YEARS!!!!!!

Yes, today we celebrated the beginning of the happiest five years of my life! I can say without hesitation that I am married to my best friend. Jeremy truly makes it a joy being married, and for that I am overwhelmingly grateful. I feel so blessed and am so thankful Jeremy's my husband. Spending eternity with him will be AWESOME!! Happy Anniversary!!! :)

Whirl Wind Weekend part 2

I was so happy to see Isis even just after 36 hours. I'm kinda attached to her. :) We spent the next 3 days enjoying Idaho's 80 degrees and the grass (yeah, after this we decided we need to move :) ) and of course our family. It is just nice to take a break from the mundane everyday life. And I still love going to Grandma's house.

Isis making homemade rootbeer (a 4th of July family tradition)

She was super excited to climb in the apple trees watching the "daytime" fireworks

It's necissary to wear protective eye wear before handling sparklers. :)

On our "hike" across the fields

So much family! It's great!!

Isis LOVED the cats at her great-great-grandpa's farm

Watching the cows get milked was pretty cool. As Isis said they were "BIG cows."

(Yes, at 99 my great-grandpa is still milking cows - awesome.)

She tried to feed all the calves. This one was friendly.

FIVE GENERATIONS!!! Wow!! (Isis' 99 year old great-great grandpa looks pretty good huh?)

You are welcome to check out our many other Independence Day photos here.

We had a wonderful time and are thankful we were able to visit family (and that they made it possible). The 4th of July is one of my most favorite holidays. That may have to do with growing up in the military and I'm grateful for that. I'm thankful for men and women who serve our country faithfully and that God has blessed this land that we live in. We truly are blessed. I hope we're able to instil a graditude for our country in our children. Hope everyone had a wonderful Independence Day!

Whirl Wind Weekend - part 1

We had a crazy but happy 4th of July weekend.
We had planned a little trip up to Idaho to visit family over the 4th. Then Jeremy's brother, Chris, found the lovely Sarah and they decided to get married that weekend in California. So my mom came over from Tucson to watch Isis on Tuesday (THANK YOU!) and Jeremy and I drove to San Luis Obispo on Thrusday morning. We had about a two hour break, then the wedding dinner, then setting up for the wedding on the beach. Jeremy and I had a nice time being just the two of us driving in the car and an evening on the beach.

We made good use of our down time. :)

Sarah, (Sarah's dad, who married them), Chris

Wedding on Avila Beach (near San Luis Obispo)

Welcome to the family, Sarah!

We spent the night there then we got up Friday morning to drive back. (The rest of my family were driving up to Idaho with Isis as we made our way back.) We left an hour earlier to account for traffic or other hold ups. HA HA. An hour was not enough. However, there was a miracle in that we had 2 hours of delays (a detour and then traffic) but our six hour trip only increased to 7 hours. Hmm... how did that happen? We sure were being watched over. As soon as we pulled into our drive way our ride to the airport pulled up behind us. What timing!! Then we flew up to Idaho. Now see part 2 of our weekend. :)

The Zoo!

Well, kind of. Our good friends the Giani's invited us to go to the Bonnie Springs petting zoo two weeks ago. We had a great time!

Jeremy preferred showing Isis the caged animals.

Feeding the goat

Isis loved the ferrets.

Trying to get the peacock to call back to her. There were a lot wandering around.

The pig was a little too gross to let him eat right out of her hand.

"Uncle" Sal treated Isis to her first pony ride. (She doesn't look happy in this picture but she was really having a good time.) Thanks Sal!!

Ride 'em cowgirl.

I love this picture with Isis and her new best buddy, Little Sal. :)

climbing around

Sal insisted on holding Isis' hand and she didn't seem to mind this time.

Thanks for the invitation Sal and JoEllen! We had a lot of fun!!