New Floor

Two years ago, Nick tiled the floor in our kitchen.

It ended up costing us around $600.

Imagine my dismay, when shortly after we had the floors installed, the grout started coming up, and the tiles started cracking.

The best we can figure is that the cement compound under the tiles was a bad batch.

Over time, my floors went from looking nice, to looking like garbage.

At first, I bought a rug to hide the trouble spots.

Then I bought a second, bigger rug.

But eventually, there was no hiding it.  The floors were crap.

The final straw was when Reagan cut her hand on a broken piece of tile she picked up.

I did a lot of research on different types of flooring.  I needed something budget-friendly, and something that DIY novices could handle.

Lumber liquidators had a product that fit the bill.  So, I purchased it, and we got to work.

Nick did most of the demo work.

The existing tile came up with very little effort.

The hardest part was getting the backer-board out.  Nick spent a lot of time on that.

Then, I set about removing the paste from the sub floor, leftover from the 1980's vinyl flooring that had initially been in the kitchen.

The sub-floor was finally prepped, and ready.
Over the next 3 days I spent about 8 hours installing the floor in our 100 square foot kitchen.  The most time-consuming part was cutting the planks to fit in the nooks and crannies around the kitchen, and in the pantry.

But I felt such a sense of accomplishment when it was finally done!

Sure, it's a bamboo pattern, that's directly next to the real wood flooring in my dining room.  Clash!

It didn't do anything to boost the attractive factor of my kitchen.  I'm still living with Formica countertops, and the orange oak cabinets.  But it is a definite improvement.

And at .49 cents/square foot, I'm not going to cry if it only lasts 5 years.  All told, I put new flooring in my kitchen for less than $75.

And I did it myself.

The Biggest Parenting Mistake I've Made, To Date.

I broke Elsa and Cohen of their binky habits, at the same time, over the summer.

I threw some away.  But, every time I've stumbled across one in the house, when I'm cleaning; I've put it in the cabinet above the stove.  Pretty soon, there was quite a collection.  Cohen hid pacifiers all over the house!

In December, one of Nick's workweeks when he worked all nights, Cohen and I ended up getting sick.
One night, I was so tired, and Cohen wouldn't sleep.  So, I went to the kitchen, and got a binky.

Stupid, Stupid, Stupid.

I got sleep that night.
But I found out that breaking Cohen of the binky the second-time around would be far worse!
Now, he knew where the binky's were hidden.  He'd stand underneath the cupboard, and cry.  OK, actually, HE'D scream, for a binky.  He can speak a lot better now.  And he would hound me for a binky.

For an entire month, he was back on the binky.

It took a lot more work this time, to get him "off" the binky.
A lot more crying at nap, and bedtime.
But I finally managed it.  Again.

And then....  Two days after Cohen had "forgotten" about the binky he got a cold.
Nick was at home.  And Cohen wasn't sleeping.
So, Nick gave him.  Yes.   A binky.

I took that sucker out of Cohens mouth so fast, the next morning!
I'm not going through this a 3rd time.

Gender Reveal Party

Everyone is so excited that my brother, Brian, and his wife, Jenny, will be welcoming a new little bundle this spring!  They've been married for 6 years.
They've been the "fun" Aunt and Uncle for a long time.

I can't wait to teach their child all of the antics, that Brian has passed along to my kids (think, wet-willy's).

Seriously though, welcoming a new baby is always a reason to celebrate.

Jenny put together a gender-reveal party.
At the beginning of the party she had all of the guests pick out a baby rattle in either: blue, or pink.  Depending on which gender they thought the baby was.

I picked a blue rattle.  I was the only female of the group that did.

Then, a pinata was set up.
The kids got to take turns hitting the pinata.

Everyone took a turn.  Except Elsa.  She didn't want to hit the pinata.
Reagan, on the other hand, got REALLY in to it!

Toward the end, Jenny took a turn, and a single piece of blue taffy came flying out of the pinata.
It's a Boy!

The kids kept-at hitting the pinata, and they all went home with a large haul of blue taffy and chocolate coins.

Staycation.

When we went on vacation to Seattle, in October, we earned enough stays at Marriott Hotels to be "Elite".  Since that happened, I've been getting promotions to earn free nights, and we earn bonus Marriott points.  It's kind of nice.
The winter promotion was: stay two nights, get one night free.  You could earn up to 2 free nights.
We needed one more stay, to earn a second "free" night.
So, I used Nick's corporate discount to get a cheap-o rate at the Fairfield Inn, in Layton.  We decided to have a stay-cation.

Reagan kept insisting that she wanted to eat at Red Lobster.  I didn't fight it, because Brian and Jenny gave us a Red Lobster gift card for Christmas, so dinner would be free.
It's where we ended up going for dinner to start off our staycation.
There was a 15 minute wait, to be seated.  The kids loved watching the lobsters, in the tank.  And everyone ate what they ordered.  So, I'd deem it a success.

Then, we drove over to the hotel.  It's the first time I've ever stayed at the Fairfield Inn brand, of Marriott hotels.  And it'll probably be the last...
I knew it was "low man on the totem pole", of all the Marriott brands.  But, I just didn't realize the difference in quality would be so drastic compared to, say, a Courtyard.

The kids were happy, and that's what matters most.
Any time they get to go swimming, they are happy.
We swam, a lot, while we were there.

 

When we first got to the hotel, it was deserted.  We had the pool all to ourselves.
Then, a bus unloaded a large group of high-school wrestlers.
They headed straight to the pool, too.  And things got very rowdy, very quickly.

We packed up our kids, and headed for the room, round about the time swim trunks started coming off, and were flying through the air.

I requested a room on a high floor.  They put us on the top floor.
I thought that all of the wrestlers were assigned rooms on the 1st floor.  So, I thought we wouldn't see them for the rest of the night.
Oh boy, was I wrong.
After the kids had bathed, I left the room to get some bottled water at the vending machine.

I opened the door to our room, and right there, on the floor was a pair of boxers....
I stepped out in to the hall, and out of the corner of my eye, saw two naked teenage boys streaking down the hall.

Whatever.  I was a teenager once too.  I was trying not to be too uptight.  But seriously?!
I mentioned it to the front desk.  I wasn't the only one.  Another Mom was speaking to the desk clerk, because the wrestlers were mooning each other, in front of her 6 year old daughter.  That Mom asked to be moved to a floor that was "wrestler-free".  Apparently, there were so many high-schoolers staying at the hotel, that they needed more rooms than just the ones on the first floor.  Lucky us.

The next morning, I told Nick that we needed to get to breakfast early, before those boys hit the buffet like a swarm of locust.
We did eat early.  But fortunately, the boys had weigh-in that morning, so they weren't going to eat until after the stood on the scales.  So, the food shortage didn't start until later in the AM.

The thing that killed me, was that I didn't see a single adult chaperon, for those boys!
The coach made an appearance the next morning.  I saw him speaking to the hotel manager.  And she was really brown-nosing that guy.  At first I was annoyed.  But when I thought about it, I realized that the hotel probably made a boatload of money off of that wrestling team.
Lesson learned.
If the rate is super-cheap, the hotel will attract deal-seekers.

I just got the spring promotion, from Marriott.  And again, we'll need to stay somewhere cheap for a night, to earn a free night.  I can tell you right now, that we won't be going back to the Layton Fairfield Inn :)
I'm open to suggestions about other affordable Marriott properties.

I snapped this picture of my handsome boy sitting under the sink at the hotel:

He has learned to squeeze in to a small space, when he get possession of an electronic device.  If the girls can't find him, or squeeze in next to him, they won't be able to take the phone, or ipad away from him.  What a smartie!

2014.

Here goes.  I've committed to another year of  blogging.

On New Year's Day, I took Reagan and Elsa to see Frozen.  Again.  Elsa is OBSESSED with that movie.  And I have no problem indulging her.  Elsa's character, in Frozen is probably my most favorite Disney character now.

I've had to laugh.  Since the movie came out, there have been several times when I've been in public with Elsa, and if I say her name loud enough for other people to hear, inevitably, I get a comment about my Elsa having the same name as the Frozen character.  Mostly, the comments come from other little girls.  It's obvious they wish their name was Elsa.  It's great.

So, the second time we saw it, Reagan's friend Evia came with us.  They didn't want me to take their picture near the Frozen poster.

Later in the week, I took Elsa shopping with me.  She is getting to be my favorite shopping buddy.  I thank God every day, for sending me such an easygoing, happy child. Most of the time.  The other day, I told my Mom that Elsa is either my easiest child, or my most difficult child, BY A LARGE MARGIN.

Anyway, on our shopping day, she was her usual angel self.
We went to a lot of stores.
By the time we made it to the mall, she had zonked out.

I really hit a home-run with Elsa's "big" Christmas present.  Cuddles the monkey has been her new best friend.  She takes that ape everywhere.

She's also started a music class, with some of the other girls from our neighborhood, and she's still going to pre-school.  She loves being social.
One evening she was walking around the house talking to no-one.  Or, so I thought.  She walked in to the room where I was sitting and introduced me to her two "invisible friends" Brunella, and Bubbles.  Oh boy.  I need to set up some play-dates with real, live playmates.  Too bad, there aren't many children in our neighborhood, her age.
I'm really going to have to do better by my blonde-haired baby.  Especially this summer, when she doesn't have preschool, or music class!

Happy New Year?

On 12/30 we took the kids down to the elementary school and we went sledding.  I didn't take my camera, but I wish I would have.  We had so much fun!

Elsa shocked Nick and me.  That girl was a sledding maniac!  We were there for two hours.  Cohen went down the hill a handful of times, but was more content to wander around at the top of the hill.  Toward the end of our time there, Reagan had a meltdown.  She wanted to go really fast over some of the "jumps", but she wasn't being successful at it.

It was obvious that it was time to leave.  I told Elsa that she could go down the hill one more time, and then we were going to head home.  She was OK with this.  You can reason with Elsa, and to some extent: Cohen too.

But most of the time, there's no reasoning with Reagan.

Nick ended up carrying a crying/screaming Reagan home.  I brought up the rear with Cohen, Elsa and all our gear.

For as tough as things sometimes are, we still have fun as a family.  And if it snows again soon, I'd happily take the kids sledding again.

So, New Year's Eve.  I'm mostly doing this post so that my posts for 2013 number: 58.  I did 58 blog posts in both 2012, and 2013.  I'm anal like that.

New Year's Eve Day, my Mom came over in the morning, and Nick and I went out and ran some errands.  When we got home, we took the kids to Chick-Fil-A for lunch.

Nick left for work around 2PM.

I had a mountain of laundry to conquer.  No better time to start, than the present.

At one point, Kelli texted me to see if we wanted to meet up, and do something to ring in the New Year with her and Josh?  It bummed me out to have to tell her that Nick was working, so I was hanging out at home.  Raincheck.

Shortly in to folding my second batch of laundry, Reagan ran in to the room and told me that Elsa and Cohen were at it again!  Coloring on walls: 

I hustled those two kids out of the room, that was now COVERED in pen.  Elsa tried to tell me that she hadn't colored on the walls.  But last time I checked Cohen couldn't write letter E's, X's, and O's.  And nearly half of the scribbles on the wall(s) were made up of those letters.  Sorry, Elsa.  I KNOW you were a culprit.
I gave them my iPhone to play with, in hopes that it'd buy me some time to do some more folding.
I went back to laundry.
And the two devils went back to being naughty.
Next, I caught them in the guest-room.  They had emptied the linen chest, and were playing under the covers in the bed.

While I put that room back together (for the second time that day), those two insisted on trying my patience, and testing whether I'd let them live to see 2014.

I heard them turn on the water in the downstairs guest bathroom.  I assumed they were playing in the sink.
Well, we all know what happens when you ass-u-me...
They were playing in the shower.  Fully clothed.
Apparently, Cohen has taught Elsa some of his tricks:

I figured that would count as their evening bath.  I put them in PJ's and sent them to bed.

After this, I realized that my iPhone was missing.  I tried to use the iPad to locate it, but the battery on my phone was dead, so I was going to have to hunt for it without help.

I spent the next 2 hours searching high and low, in my house, for that darn phone.

It turned up underneath the bed in the guest room.  Under box that was stored beneath the bed.  My guess? That Elsa dropped the phone on the floor when the battery died, and then Cohen kicked it under the bed.

I fell asleep around 10:30PM, and that's probably the closest to midnight, that I've made it in quite a while.

2013 has been like any other year.  Lots of ups and downs.

My family may frustrate me sometimes.  But there's no one else I'd rather spend the next year with.

Nick, Reagan, Elsa, &; Cohen: you are the best things that ever happened to me.  I am so lucky to have you.

On to 2014!

De Ja Vu: San Francisco.

Back in 2009, Nick, Reagan, Nick's parents, and I took off for San Francisco on December 26th.  In my blog post about that trip, I told myself never to do that again!  Because, travelling the day after Christmas was hectic.

Precisely, 4 years later I disregarded my own advice.

BYU was invited to play in the Kraft/Fight Hunger Bowl in San Francisco.  Nick and I talked a little bit about going...  But when it was announced that the University of Washington would be BYU's opponent, the discussion was over.  We were San Francisco bound.

And we left, of course, the day after Christmas!

Nick's little brother, Nate, came with us.
Nick had to work until 2PM on 12/26, so we hit the road around 3PM.  We ate at, Luciano's, a decent Italian restaurant in Elko, NV.  We rolled in to Reno around 10PM, and stayed at a Courtyard hotel for the night.

In the morning, I met up with my long-time friend, Tierney.  We had breakfast at Peg's Glorified Ham N' Eggs.
Our visit was enjoyable.  That girl still cracks me up.  And her little boy is so handsome!

After bfast, we finished our drive to San Francisco.  We arrived around 2PM, and I called our hotel to see if we could get an early check-in?  They said, No.
It always makes me wonder if being Marriott Elite is really worth anything?  I don't really think it is.  But it is nice to earn Marriott points, and get free night stays.  And I never have to worry about staying in a Marriott hotel, because they are all smoke-free, and fairly high-quality.

So, we decided to mill around the city for a few hours, before gametime.

When we vacationed in San Francisco in 2009, I was newly pregnant with Elsa, and was nauseated the entire trip.  There were a couple restaurants I had been eagerly anticipating dining at, that we never made it to.

This time I was determined!  I was dying to eat at Mama's, and The Stinking Rose.
Our first stop, in the city was Mama's.  I had heard that toward the end of their business day, they weren't very busy.  So, we got there at 2:15PM.  Mama's closes at 3PM.  And the infamous long line to get one of their 7 tables was firmly intact.  I stood in line there, while Nick and Nate headed down the street to see what the wait was at Tony's Pizza Napoletana.  After 30 minutes it was abundantly clear to me, that I wasn't going to be eating at Mama's.
Nick texted me that the wait time at Tony's was 90 minutes.

I was crushed.

My consolation was that: the Stinking Rose didn't look too busy.  But then Nate veto'ed it.  Apparently, he doesn't like garlic.

So, we ended up wandering around Chinatown.  We were all starving.  We found a hole-in-the-wall restaurant called: Yummy Yummy.  Nate put his Chinese to use, and ordered us lunch.  He said the food was pretty authentic (Nate served an LDS mission in Hong Kong).
Everywhere we went, seemed to accept "Cash Only" as payment, and this restaurant was no exception.

I purchased some souvenirs, and then we started to walk back to where we had parked our car in Little Italy.

Along the way, we ducked in to one of the (many) bakeries in the area.  Mara's.  Cash only.  And $35 for 4 pastries.  I wouldn't go back.

We started our drive to the stadium for the game.
It was a good thing that Nate came with us.  He did all of the city driving, and I truly think it saved our marriage.
Nick loathes driving in big cities.  He gets uncharacteristically ornery when he has to drive in traffic-filled metropolis'.
That evening, it took us close to an hour to drive a few miles downtown.

The football game was at AT&T park, where the SF Giants play.
It's a great baseball venue.  But football?  Not so much.
I far prefer the intimacy that football stadiums provide. At AT&T park all of the fans were spread out.  We couldn't hear the band.  And we couldn't see the cheerleaders.

But the views were fantastic!

Nick cheered for the Huskies.  And Nate and I cheered for the Cougars.  Well, kind-of cheered for the Cougars.  At the end of the game, I told Nick that I was glad there was a 9 month break from BYU football, because if I saw Anae call one more draw play, I was going to loose my mind!

By the 3rd quarter I was begging to leave.  BYU's special team's performance was dismal.  It was frustrating to watch.  Plus, I was exhausted (I woke up early that morning, and ran on the hotel treadmill).  Nick and Nate wanted to stay.  So, I pulled on the fleece-lined BYU poncho that Nick's Mom bought me for Christmas, snuggled up next to Nick, and pretty much napped for the final quarter.

I'm not sad that we went.  And Nate bought the tickets to the football game, so I can't complain about paying for tickets to a football game that ended up being a bust.
It was nice to spend time with this guy:

And I am always game to travel.

I had wanted my Mom to watch my kids while we were gone.  But my Dad ended up needing to have surgery to fix arteries/veins in his legs on Dec. 26th; and having 3 little ones running around their house was NOT what the doctor ordered.

Not enough time has passed, since March, when Nick and I left the kids with Heather and went to Seattle.  That weekend all of the kids ended up with the throw-ups at Heather's house.  Heather hasn't forgotten it.  Yet...  She wasn't keen on re-living the experience.  And I can't say I blame her.

So, Nick's Mom was ridiculously gracious; and cared for my children the three days that we were gone.  I was very grateful.

Oh, and one last picture.  You know, it's right here; since blogger is a P.O.S. and won't let me arrange pictures in the order that I'd like.
On the way to San Francisco, I asked Nick to pull over, so that I could  take a picture under this sign:

There's a town in Nevada, called Imlay.  Imlay is my maiden name, and my pioneer ancestors settled this tiny place.  It used to have a post office.  But I think it closed a few years ago.

If the past is any indication, I won't heed my own advice.  But these are my suggestions, if we ever do a similar trip:
#1- Take a fuel efficient vehicle.  We took my SUV, just in case we ran in to any bad weather around Donner Pass.  We made many a stop at gas stations, to fill up.  And taking my car was totally unnecessary.  We should have used Nate's Sedan, or Nick's Mini Cooper.  They would have been better choices to drive around San Francisco too.
#2- Pay the extra and stay at a hotel in the city.  We stayed at a Courtyard out by the San Francisco airport.  The rooms were noisy, and it added drive-time on to our schedule.

We did the drive home in one-shot.  I didn't mind 10 hours in the car.  But I don't mind road trips, in general.
I'd do it again.  But I'd probably take my kids, next time.  It's so hard to be away from them.  When I got home, I picked up Cohen, and he started sobbing.  He put his head on my shoulder, and had a death-grip on me.  I shed a tear or two, as well.
As much as I love to vacation.  I love the three little faces of my children more.

Christmas 2013

Christmas is so much more fun with kids!  I spent hours wrapping presents.  While I wrapped, Elsa sat with me and we watched movies on the Disney channel.

December 23 was a great day for Reagan.  She was a delight, the entire day!  Christmas Eve Day was another story.  Reagan had a BAD day.

We ended up sending her to bed at 6PM on Christmas Eve.

Elsa and Cohen posed for me in their Christmas PJ's.  And then we all went to bed.

The next morning Reagan woke up bright and early.  I don't think she remembered that it was Christmas, which is shocking, because that girl has a mind like a steel trap!  I steered her from her bedroom, to my bedroom, and she contentedly played with the iPad for an hour.  Oblivious, to the Christmas gifts in the living room.
Around 7:45AM, we went in to wake up Cohen & Elsa:

Then, the fun started!  We opened stockings, and presents.  Everyone was happy.
Santa brought Reagan, Toothless, the dragon that was supposed to shoot steam and a blue light out of it's mouth.  The only problem was that the dragon leaked water; and the day after Christmas the tail broke clean off.  It ended up going back to Toys R Us.
Santa brought Elsa a Cuddles the Monkey.  She is in LOVE with that toy.  She sleeps with it every night.

Cohen is lucky that Sants didn't bring him a piece of coal.

That boy's handsome face, and mischievous grin melt Santa's heart.  So, Santa brought Cohen one of those giant Imaginex dinosaurs.  It's actually pretty cool.

We had a leisurely morning of eating glazed donuts, and playing with toys.  Then, we headed to my Mom's house for lunch, and more present-opening.
In this picture, my Mom is holding cuddles.  Because Elsa insisted that someone "babysit" Cuddles, when she wasn't busy playing with that monkey. Also pictured is the gift that I gave Lance for Christmas.  For his birthday, Lance got a University of Utah jersey, from his paternal grandpa.  He would wear it all of the time.  His UofU jersey was generic.  So, I had a specialized BYU jersey made for him.  It has his last name on the back, and I asked them to put the #14 on it.  I was thrilled when Lance immediately put the Jersey on, over his clothes.

Cohen and Braedon are turning in to the bash brothers.  The messes these two make are epic. Double-Trouble.

Nick surprised me with an amazing Christmas gift.  He was so sneaky.  He went to Morgan jewelers and purchased some diamond earrings for me:

I never saw it coming!  What an amazing husband!

We left my Mom's house; and headed home to get dinner ready for Nick's family that was coming over.  As always, Cohen was directly behind me undoing all of the cleaning/set-up I did:

 He's such a cute little booger.

We finished off the evening opening even more presents.  Nick's Mom managed to find maxi skirts for Reagan.  Thank goodness.  They are the clothing choice that Reagan wants to wear every day.

We were having spaghetti for dinner.  #1-because it is easy to unthaw a batch of my grandma's spaghetti sauce.  #2- because nothing beats my grandma's recipe for spaghetti sauce.  That stuff is delicious!

I wanted to set a nice table for the occasion.  In addition to a table cloth, and centerpiece.  I also pulled out my Grandma's wedding china, and my Mom's wedding crystal.

It was one of the best Christmas' I can remember.

Mom and Dad CAN Wait for School to Start Again.

It is beginning to look a lot like Christmas.  And it is looking this way, everywhere I go.  But one line from that great song isn't resonating with me: the one that says. "And Mom and Dad can hardly wait for school to start again!".  Yeah, we're not them.

I have been revelling in the time I have to spend with my kids while school's out.  It has reminded me that Reagan does have good days.

And when I look at her, sometimes I don't see a five-and-half-year-old.  I still see this little one:

18 months old.



The last day of school before Christmas break, Nick and I met with the principal, and Reagan's teacher.  All I can do is shake my head in frustration.  I feel like the school doesn't want to do anything to give Reagan special accommodations.

The first meeting we had scheduled, the principal canceled an hour before it was supposed to happen!  So, we had to wait another full week before we met with her.

I was really upset one day, before that meeting when I got a text from a Mom that was volunteering at the school; and she told me she witnessed the Principal dragging a crying Reagan down the hall.

I was in shock!  And I was already angry.  So, this made me angrier.

The principal said that she took Reagan out of class to observe her.

I don't want to re-hash it entirely; because thinking about it makes me even more pissed off.  But why couldn't the Principal observe Reagan in her classroom?

When I realized that Reagan didn't get two full weeks off of school, and that I have to send her back the day after New Year's, I inwardly groaned.  I truly don't want to send her back to school.  And can you blame me?

The analogy that the psychologist made was this:

Imagine being unbelievably averse to a particular smell.  This smell makes you sicker than anything (for those ladies who have been pregnant, I am sure this isn't a stretch for you :)

Now, imagine being sent, every day, to the factory where that smell is made!

That's what it is like for Reagan, when she goes to school.  P.E. is the worst for Reagan.

Before our meeting with the principal, I did a lot of prep work.

I even wrote up my own IEP/504 (Individual Education Plan).  I wrote goals for Reagan.  ie- less emotional outbursts, improved fine motor skills, etc...

And then I wrote the accommodations she would need in order to achieve those goals.  NO group PE was the #1 item on the list.  A classroom aide to help Reagan was #2 (they just added another child to her class.  Bringing the total to 27).  The Principal immediately shot down my request for an Aide.

I walked away from the meeting not feeling too angsty.  But the more I thought about it, after the fact, the more I realized that nothing had been formally put in to place to help Reagan.

The Principal said that the adaptive PE teacher needed to observe Reagan on 1/6; and that the school's OT was going to observe her on 1/7.  So, we're meeting again 1/10.  And hopefully, we'll make some progress.

Because I CANNOT continue this way.  I have been having nightmares about sending Reagan to school.  The apprehension I feel is seeping it's way in to my subconscious.  I can't even escape it when I'm sleeping.

Best case scenario would be for Reagan to get in to Spectrum Academy.  I think?  It's the charter school for kids on the Autism Spectrum.  But when I look at their test scores, and reviews...  It makes me wonder if that is the answer either.  Their ranking, by the state is really low.  I don't know if that is because they have a higher-than-normal concentration of children with learning disabilities?

And a lot of the parent reviews, that I've found online, haven't been too flattering.  But then, there have been glowing reviews as well...

To date, I have not had a positive opinion of Charter schools (in UT).  So, when I found out that Spectrum Academy was a charter school I wasn't thrilled.

But what other options do I have?

I don't think home schooling Reagan would be a good idea.  Her area of struggle is in social settings.  I know I could get her the academics she needs.  But keeping her out of public would be detrimental.

Lately, Nick and I have noticed that Reagan has really been pulling away from doing things in public.  She doesn't want to go to the movies.  Or on play-dates.

She has told us that she just wants to stay home.

Part of me really wants to let her.

Compounding my frustration is the fact that I don't see any clear answer for her.

I hate forcing her to go to a place that makes her miserable (school).

I am trying to steel myself toward sending her back to school.  And I'll continue educating myself, and wracking my brain trying to find solutions; about ways to help make my little girl's life enjoyable.

Happy December!

I've been doing my best to bring the Christmas Spirit in to our house.  Nick's a Grinch.  But he hasn't complained too much.  My kids have appreciated Christmas music as much as do!

One evening, my Mom and Dad had our kids over for a few hours, and they helped my kids make a gingerbread house.

Another night, we had dinner with our friend's, the Lee's.  They recently relocated to Davis county (because, Davis county is where it's at!).  It was so nice to see their new, gorgeous house.  And to eat Indian food.  And to have their boys be so accommodating of my kids!  After dinner, we went to Layton park and drove through the light display.  It was a great night!

At a later date, we met up with Nate, and went to Temple Square to see the lights.  This was the only picture I got:

But what is better than little kids in puffy hats?  Nothing.

I signed up to help out at Reagan's school Christmas party.  After I had already volunteered, I found out that Reagan's party was the same day, and time, as Elsa's Pre-School program!

The weekend before the party & program, Elsa and I both came down with the 24 hour barf bug, that had plagued Cohen the week prior.
Again, I ask....  Why?!  Why, is it always throw-up?

Anyway, the events were scheduled to happen on Thursday.  Wednesday night, Reagan woke up at 11PM, and threw up on the bathroom floor.  I cleaned it up, and put her in my bed, with a bowl.
Nick slept in the guest room.  I was hoping that if I kept him away from the germs, he wouldn't get it.  Knock on wood, I think he managed to avoid it.
So, about every 45 minutes, for the next 6 hours; Reagan would vomit.  Poor girl.  But at least she got it in the bowl every time, after the first incident.

She finally fell asleep at 5AM, and spent most of the rest of the day napping.
Needless to say, she didn't go to her Kindergarten party.

I asked a favor of a neighbor, and she took the game I had prepared to Reagan's class, so that I didn't have to go either.
My brother came over and babysat Cohen and Reagan; so that Nick and I could both go to Elsa's Preschool program.

Elsa did very well!  She knew all of the words to the songs, and she said her line in the skit perfectly!  My heart was swelling with pride, and I was so grateful that I was able to see her perform, in person.

In other Christmastime news:

Brian and Jenny will be welcoming a little Imlay in to the world!  Jenny is due June 3rd, 2014.  And everyone is thrilled!  I was especially excited, because it meant that I was able to "gift" them with all of the baby gear that had been taking up space in my basement storage room.

We went to the Imlay family Christmas party.  As always, it was a good time.  The food is always phenomenal, my aunts are some darn good cooks!  And there was a slide show, that involved showing baby pictures of all othe Imlay kids, and grandkids.  It was a riot!

One Saturday, when Nick was working: I packed up the kids and took them to get haircuts, and then to the trampoline park.  Reagan had such a fantastic day, it's definitely worth noting.

I was without my Acura for a week, at the beginning of the month.  It sustained damage from our most-recent wind storm.  I took it to the body shop, and they fixed everything!  Literally, it looks like a new car!  And I thought, "I could totally drive this car for quite a while longer!  Now that it doesn't look so worn-down".  It's a good thing I had a change of heart, because it really does look like I'll be driving it for a while.  While my car was being repaired, I had to drive the Mini Cooper.  I would have preferred to drive the truck, but the weather was so crummy, that Nick needed the truck to get to, and from work.
Driving the Mini Cooper is not my favorite thing.  It's a manual transmission, and that just does not jive with transporting children around and trying to keep the peace in the car at the same time.  Not to mention, that the Mini only has 4 seatbelts, and there are 5 of us.  It's just not a practical car for us.
I never thought the day would come, but Nick has finally agreed to get a different vehicle.  This may have something to do with the fact that Nate and Nick's Dad both just purchased Acura TL's.
So, I will happily be devoting time to scouring KSLclassifieds, in search of a new sedan for Nick!  I am sure Nick will be sad to see the Mini go.  I will be less-so.

It's Christmas Eve, and Nick has to work from 9AM-5PM.  There are worse things.  Like in 2009, when he had to work on Christmas day.
I'm going to spend the day cleaning the house.  When Nick gets home we'll get the festivities started!  I can't wait to watch: A Muppet Christmas Carol!

Elf On A Shelf? Not In Our House.

Surprisingly, I have had a few people ask me, this month, whether we did Elf On a Shelf, at our house?  When I reply in the negative, all of them have made comments along the lines of: "Good.  Don't do it.  It's too time consuming".

Honestly, I think that if that little Elf were to enter our place, it wouldn't be too long before he ran screaming from our house.

My kids have been so mischievous, and borderline naughty this season!

Our 3rd two-year-old is currently terrorizing all who cross his path.  And I find myself saying, several times a day; "I don't know if I'll survive having another two-year-old!".

Earlier this week, BOTH Cohen and Elsa used pens to color on walls in several rooms in our basement.  It took me an entire hour, and more than a few magic erasers to clean it all up.

Then, on 12/23/13, I was trying to get everyone ready to venture out of the house.  I bathed and dressed Cohen first.  Then, I put Elsa in the tub.  While I was getting her dressed, I heard Cohen saying: "Swim, Swim".  I walked in to the bathroom was greeted by this sight:

 A fully dressed (shoes included) Cohen.  Swimming.

I pulled him out.  Put Reagan in.  And changed his clothes.
When Reagan was done, I let the water out of the bathtub, and walked out of the bathroom.  I started brushing Reagan's hair, and I heard a SPLASH.

I made it to the bathroom in time to see Cohen splashing in the remaining water that hadn't yet made it down the drain!

Fool me twice, I suppose.
You can't really tell from the picture, but he was soaked.
As if I didn't already have enough laundry to do...

Last week, as an early Christmas present, Nick kept the kids out of my hair for an entire day, so that I could organize, and de-junk the basement.  You know, just in time for us to acquire more junk, in the form of Christmas gifts :)  Kidding.  OK, only partially kidding.
I was able to take a load to the DI, and I got rid of nearly all of my baby stuff.
When my house is clean, I just feel better.
Thank you, Nick, for letting me be crazy and clean.

Family Pictures 2013

Forgive me, Korie, for I have sinned....

And I paid the price: literally, and figuratively.

A "wannabe" Fotofly studio opened up in Roy, UT.  They were supposedly running a "special", in an attempt to drum up business.

It is a studio called: FlashPhoto.  And trying to get an appointment was nearly impossible.  They never returned any of the messages I left.  I shouldn't have pursued it any further.  I should have just tried to see if Korie could have fit us in.

But I soldiered on, and found a way to book an appointment through their website.

I spent hours, beforehand primping and preening everyone in the family.

When all was said and done, I didn't love any of the pictures.  But I'll have to make do, considering that I need to get Christmas cards sent out.

Some of them aren't awful.  And that's the most positive thing I can say about them.

However, I have nothing positive to say about FlashPhoto studios.

Their website states that they edit the pictures, and have the CD to you in 2 hours.

Yeah.  Try 1 week.

And after the session, I paid for the pictures.  I wasn't paying too much attention, because I was so hung up on the fact that I was going to have to wait a week to get the CD.  When I got home, and looked at the receipt that had been emailed to me, my eyes bugged out!  They charged me $20 more than what they should have!

When I called them about it, they said it was because the promotion I saw was only for a single-person shoot.  Not for a family.

Funny.  The flier didn't specify that?

You'd think, that with a week to do photo editing, I would have received some awesome pictures.  Wrong.  No attention to detail was paid. There are blurry pictures.  Pictures where multiple family members have their eyes closed. And pictures that make me crazy, because Cohen's shirt is untucked, and Nick's collar is turned up.

Stay away from FlashPhoto.  Far away.

Let the Rookie Win.

The other day my neighbor, Karen, told me that she thought Reagan was a perfectly lovely child :)  That Reagan usually appears completely normal.

I think many people view Reagan this way.  And that's not a bad thing.

Reagan has moments of Zen.  Because of her SPD, and the desire to touch, and be touched; Reagan is very cuddly/lovey.

But when she has an emotional outburst....  Life gets difficult.

The day before Thanksgiving, I met my Heather, Jeff, and my nephews at Boondocks.  I bought wristbands for the kids to play in the play area. 

Reagan explored for 15 minutes, and then started trying to leave the enclosure to check out the video games.  It was an uphill battle from there.

Before I even suggested going there, I KNEW it wouldn't be a great place to take Reagan.  But for me, the hard part is depriving Elsa and Cohen of fun activities, because they'll be too hard for Reagan.

So, we went.  And it was no surprise to me that Reagan had a meltdown.

She ran away from me.

When I managed to catch her, she bit my hand.

I picked her up, and she bit my face.

I fire-man carried my screaming ball of fury to the glass doors, and she grabbed a door handle, nearly knocked me to the ground; and broke free.

I caught her again, and we made it to the car.

You could hear her crying a mile away.

Once she got her sippy cup, filled with milk, she calmed down.  This is very common situation.

A few days later, I took Reagan and Elsa to see Frozen. Reagan did pretty well during the movie.

At the end of the movie she ran down the stairs, and climbed up on the stage, in front of the screen.  She liked seeing her shadow on the screen.

I had to climb up after her, and bring her down.

The entire walk back to the car, Reagan kept cocking her arm back, and punching me.

The difficult moments are wearing on me.

Reagan has only been violent with Nick and me.  Thank goodness!

The Psychologist said that it's because when Reagan is at school, and  in public she really is trying to "hold it together".  And that when she gets home, she can release everything that is pent-up inside of her.

I understand this 100%, but it doesn't make dealing with it any easier.

Don't get me wrong, things aren't like that every waking minute.  Reagan loves to be held.  We calmly read books together a lot.
We had a near perfect restaurant experience earlier this week when we took the kids to Chili's.  Reagan is crazy about their blue slushee drinks, and the corn on the cob.  When we go to places that are "Reagan friendly", life is blissful.

Since the psychologist mentioned SPD, at Reagan's evaluation; I've been reading a lot about it.

I found myself constantly saying: "yes", "oh my, yes!, that is Reagan to a "T""; when I was reading about the symptoms, and about other parent's stories concerning their own child's experience with SPD.

But all of the medical articles, and parenting resources made it abundantly clear that SPD was not a medically recognized stand-alone diagnosis.  It was a symptom of a larger disorder.  Most commonly: ADHD, or Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Even knowing that, I still wasn't prepared to hear the diagnosis from Dr. Teel, when Nick and I met with her on Dec. 5th.

We met with Dr. Teel, Reagan's Psychologist, for an hour, and she went over her report on Reagan.  She is so thorough.

She said that if Asperger's still existed in the Medical world, she could have easily given Reagan that diagnosis.  But it's gone.

So, she diagnosed Reagan with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

You could have knocked me over with a feather.  When Nick and I got to the car, I asked him if he was shocked, because I certainly was.  I had been under the impression that an Autism diagnosis was "off the table".

Nick explained to me that Reagan is NOT Autistic.  That instead, her symptoms fall under the Autism Spectrum Disorder umbrella.

So, Sensor Processing Disorder is her main "demon", but for medical purposes she is classified as Autism Spectrum Disorder.

When I went to bed, the day we received Reagan's diagnosis; I cried.  I ache for my baby girl.  I feel so badly that she has this major hurdle in her life.
I just want her to be able to have all of the same experiences that her friends do.
And I don't know why that can't possibly happen?  I will certainly do everything in my power to help her.

The psychologist gave us a lot of information/resources.  And she gave me hope.  She said that she sees no reason why Reagan wouldn't be able to go to college.  That Reagan is free from learning disabilities.

I've already been putting a game plan together.

Reagan started Occupational Therapy last week at one of Primary Children's Medical Center's rehab offices, to help improve her fine motor skills.

I put Reagan's name on the waiting list for the lottery for the 2014-2015 school year at Spectrum Academy (a school for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder).  And I am going to hope for a miracle, that I can get her in to that school ASAP!  I'd love it if Reagan could finish up her Kindergarten year there.

I've written up my own 504/IEP for Reagan.  And I started the ball rolling to get the public school on board with this as well, in case Reagan doesn't get in to Spectrum Academy.  Go figure?!  This is where I am getting the most push-back.
Not from Reagan's teacher, of course.
Her Kindergarten teacher is divine.
But I feel like I already have a battle on my hands, with the administration.
This is one time when my mean streak & confrontationalism will be good things.  Ha Ha.

I've been speaking with the "resources" that I have in my neighborhood.  Reagan's teacher at church is a counselor at a nearby elementary school, and she has a daughter with Asperger's.
The first person I called, after Nick and I spoke to Dr. Teel, was another neighbor.  Also a school teacher, and also a parent to a child with Autism.  She has a wealth of knowledge, and has given me so much good advice.
She also told me, that their family motto is: "Let the Rookie Win!".  In other words, put the child with special needs first; in everything.  I am totally going to adopt that saying.

I have had an incredibly difficult time coming to terms with the fact that Reagan's problems aren't behaviorally based.  My parenting style has always been tough-love.
I had thought that I'd just need to learn a new disciplinary style, to use on Reagan.
But that's not the answer.
Reagan doesn't posses the ability to see things from other people's perspective.
She doesn't act the way she does, because she wants to be naughty.  She just doesn't have the same controls that most of us do.
I am going to have to learn a very compassionate form of parenting, when it comes to Reagan.  I think I can do it?  I hope I can do it.  It's what she needs.

I do not intend to make Reagan's diagnosis public knowledge.  I think most people will automatically think that Reagan is Autistic.  She is not.  And I don't want her to be labeled as such.
I wish I could just have everyone I know read my blog, so that they could understand that Reagan's main problem is SPD.

But since I cannot....  Sigh.

I'll just ask all of my blog readers to give my precious, eldest child a hug- when they see her.  She loves hugs.
And be understanding if you ever see this frazzled Mom trying to parent her (occasionally) unruly blessing of a daughter.

Thanksgiving, and Beyond.

The Monday before Thanksgiving Nick and I went to see the Doctor Who 50th anniversary special: Day of the Doctor in the theater.  Just like bowtie's: it was cool.  Super cool.

I was giddy about seeing David Tennant reprise his Dr. Who role!  The 10th doctor is MY doctor.

Two days later (Wednesday), my cousins: Blair, and Chelsea came to my house to spend the night.  We went to dinner, and then went to the movies and saw: Catching Fire. 

The next day I woke up early, and went to 7-11 to pick up a newspaper, for the black Friday ads.

Then, I put on my running shoes, and ran the Turkey Leg 5K in Farmington with Jeff, Heather, and Blair:

It was literally: up-hill BOTH ways.  I know it doesn't sound possible, but it's the truth.  The entire course was made up of hills.
I didn't set lofty goals for this race.  Since I was still trying to recover from my hip pain, I decided that I would be happy if: #1- I didn't let anyone pushing a stroller finish before me, and #2- if I finished in under 30 minutes.  I met both of my goals.
And then, I went home and started cooking.
My contributions for Thanksgiving dinner this year were: Mashed Potatoes (Nick made his swoon-worthy ones), crescent rolls, Ina Garten's Cranberry Compote, a Pumpkin Pie, and a sour-cream strawberry rhubarb pie.

Earlier in the week I had written up my "Christmas gift plan of attack".  It turns out that I didn't even need to purchase the newspaper for the Black Friday ads, because I already knew where I was shopping, and what I was shopping for.  But it's still fun to look.

So, I wasn't crazy this year.  I didn't go to any store on Thanksgiving Day, itself.  I didn't do any online shopping, Thursday, either.
On Friday morning, I had a babysitter come over at 9:30AM, and went out shopping.  There were four stores that I wanted to visit.  But after 3 hours, I had only made it to 3 of them: Kohls, Toys R' Us, and Carter's.
I called it a day.
And finished up the rest of my shopping: online, and mostly at Amazon, on Saturday.

Friday, when Nick got home from work, I took Reagan and Elsa to see Frozen. Elsa LOVED it!

The queen, in Frozen is also named: Elsa.   My Elsa, truly thought she was in the movie.  She kept saying. "There I am!", and asking, "Where did I go?"; when Queen Elsa wasn't onscreen.  It was cute.

The week after Thanksgiving has been jam-packed, and it's only going to get worse with Christmas coming up fast!  I told Nick that I feel like I am constantly trying to run up, a down escalator.

I'm not sure why I am smiling in this picture?!:

I hate the cold ^ nth degree!  And this week it has been freeze-your-knees cold!  On Wednesday, I went jogging, and the temperature was 9 degrees F.  On Thursday, it was 3 degrees F, I opted to stay inside that day; and did Yoga on the XBOX Kinect.  On Friday morning, it was 7 degrees F.  And I went outside, and jogged my usual 3.5 miles.  I took that "selfie" when I got home.  I looked like Jack Frost's sister.  My eyelashes were covered in frost, and when I would blink, they'd stick together.  Surprisingly, I haven't minded running in the cold- if I get my heart-rate up fast enough it's all good.  And I get to come home to a steaming hot shower.

After I finished working out on Friday, I started getting ready for the day.  Cohen had slept like a newborn the night before, ie-up crying several times in the night.  Turns out, he was sick.  Reagan said she was sick too.  I let her stay home from school.
I wanted to do a little more shopping, I had Kohl's cash to spend, and a gift card to Victoria's Secret, etc...  Nick didn't have to work until 2PM, so I took Elsa and we spent a few hours running errands.
I made it home, just in time to turn around, and head back out to do the 3 Visiting Teaching appointments that I had set up.

I walked back in the door with seconds to spare before Nick had to go to work.
I was looking forward to chillin' with the kids for the rest of the night.  But this one, had other plans:

He woke up from a 45 minute nap, screaming bloody murder.

I made an appointment with the pediatrician, and hustled the three kids and me in to SLC to see Dr. Swensen.

He said that Cohen had a double-ear infection.  And a virus, on top of it.

I then drove from downtown SLC, to the Walgreen's in South Ogden, so that Nick could fill the antibiotic RX for Cohen.

I stopped at Wendy's and picked up dinner for everyone.  Cohen had 6 chicken nuggets, the value-size fry, and a chocolate frosty.

We pulled in to the garage at bedtime.  I bathed the kids, and put PJ's on.  Then, I gave Cohen a dose of his medicine.

10 minutes later, he threw up in his bed.

I stripped sheets.  Put Cohen back in the bath,  Re-dressed him.  And gave him more RX.

10 minutes later, he threw up on the floor in his room.

I put Cohen in the bathtub again.  Put on the 3rd pair of PJ's.  Put a towel under Cohen, and put him on my bed.  Then, I whipped out the carpet cleaner, and cleaned the carpet.

It was well past the kids' bedtime, by this point.

I was rocking Cohen, and trying to get him to go to sleep.  He threw up on me.

I changed my clothes.  His clothes.

And finally, put the girls in bed.

I grabbed a bowl, from the kitchen, covered the rocker/recliner in towels; and sacked out with Cohen.

The poor guy fell asleep almost instantaneously.

But he woke up to vomit one more time.  This time, I got it all in the bowl.

It was a rough night.

And this morning, I had been planning to go to Festival of Trees.  Every year, for the past 6 years, I have purchased personalized ornaments for my kids from Festival of Trees. 

It's not going to happen this year.  And that makes me sad.

I suppose I should be glad that my kids aren't sick on a Holiday.  But, Man Alive!  I hate puke.  Regardless of what day it happens on.