Phoenix at Warp Speed

We just got back last night from a WONDERFUL trip to Phoenix. Dallin had a conference to attend there, so the kids and I went along for the ride and stayed with my brother and his family. Since it's been freezing and snowy here for the last few months, I decided that I was going to jam pack our days there with lots of outdoor activities so we could soak up the nice sunny weather. So we spent our days at the zoo, the children's museum, a train park and another local community park while we were there. And since Dallin didn't have any free time, it was basically me carting my 3 kids around in the stroller at all these places. It was a little exhausting but well worth the effort. We had a ball at all of these places and we especially loved the 65+ degree, sunny weather there. The only downside of the trip was coming home to a snow covered & windy Reno!

While at my brother's house, we were introduced to the wonderful world of WII. Dallin and I cracked ourselves up playing tennis, bowling and boxing. Who knew I had a deadly "uppercut" that could knock down any defendant??!!! Well, not ANY defendant, just one. But I had fun anyway and have proclaimed myself the boxing champion of the universe after playing just 3 rounds!



Jacob enjoying some one on one time with Grandma and Grandpa D

Who knew it would take 2 grown men with medical degrees to put together one child's toy? :)

Jacob and Aubrey by Dumbo's stomping grounds

Evan taking in all the sights from his stroller

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Visits from Grandma and Grandpa DeMordaunt

We had Grandma and Grandpa D come and visit for a few days this month. Like all good grandparents, they came baring gifts! My kids had so much fun dressing up in all the fun accessories Grandma picked out for them. It was so great to have them here in our home.

 

 

 

We spent most of the time relaxing here at home with an occasional outing during the day. One of the more memorable parts of their trip was when Grandpa D and Dallin decided they would put up a shelf in our guest bathroom downstairs. I had put it together and just needed them to hang it up on the wall. Well, after several trips to Home Depot, more than an hour in the bathroom, and one REALLY BIG hole in the wall, the shelf went up -- crooked. I (lovingly, of course) pointed out to Dallin that the shelf was crooked, and he (lovingly, of course) pointed out that it would have to stay that way. I won't even get into details about how long it took Grandpa D and Dallin to put together my son's toy car garage/ramp. :)

And on an entirely different note, yesterday, after changing a very dirty diaper early in the morning, I went outside to dump it in the trash and saw my first coyote just 2 houses down about to cross the street! We've heard them howling at night before, but I hadn't actually seen one in person until now. I've seen them on the discovery channel and to be honest, they looked kind of cute. But in real life, not so. They have really long tails and it was much bigger than I expected.

I ran up the stairs and pulled open my bedroom blinds so that Dallin could see it. Of course, he couldn't. And I was all worried because there was a jogger heading in the coyote's direction and I wasn't sure what would happen when the two of them met. Much to my surprise, there were no growling sounds or calls for help. I was expecting to hear the man screaming and was ready to dial 911. (Funny, I know -- but I was born and raised in a big city. and am not used to seeing coyotes on the street!)

Lastly, we've been reading these science books with Jacob that talk about animals and plants. And he's in the "Why-questions" phase of life. Last night before tucking him into bed, my head was spinning trying to answer questions like: 'Why do frog's tails fall off?', 'Why do crocodiles have longer teeth than alligators?', and 'Do our knees have skeletons?' The last question was a particularly CONFUSING (but hilarious) conversation between he and I. I love the inquisitive mind of my 4-year old!

A New Year -- 2008

Yesterday, I got a phone call from the specialist I saw in Utah over the holidays. He said my biopsies had come back and that I for sure have PRP. They had examined 3 biopsies and he said they all showed that I have this particular skin disorder. He said that he has never seen anyone have such a mild case of it and wasn't sure why it was manifesting itself so lightly in me. Then he asked me how I'd been doing over the last week or so.

As of 2-3 days ago, I swear this thing is going away. Parts of it have gone away completely and the other parts of my body are improving QUICKLY. My fingertips are MUCH less sensitive (I can even open jars again and button clothing!), and I told the doctor I honestly thought my body was beginning to clear up. He then said, "Consider yourself a very lucky woman. Keep your fingers crossed." He said he had never really heard of a case like mine where the PRP was so mild and cleared up so quickly.

Even though my body still hasn't gotten rid of this completely and I'm not out of the woods yet, I am SOOOOO relieved and happy. A big thank you to everyone who has kept me in their prayers!!

On another happy note, we got a TON of snow last night and are due for some more today. As soon as the highway reopened this morning, Dallin went off to the slopes with some friends and the kids and I bundled up for some sledding. It was very windy last night, which created awesome snow drifts in our backyard. Anyway, Jacob thoroughly loved being in the snow. In fact, he had so much fun I'm wondering if we should try to get him in some ski lessons this year (along with his mommy who is in DESPERATE need of ski lessons). Aubrey didn't like being shoulder deep in snow and didn't like the wind blowing snow in her face -- and in general didn't like the experience much. She just kept screaming and saying "Ow-eeee, snow!" So we put her inside and let her watch instead.

Here are some cute pictures of the kids enjoying the white stuff:

The Many Uses of Coal

So, here's a quick recap on our christmas this year:

Unfortunately, our kids were beginning to get sick so we had a very low-key christmas eve. After dinner, we sang some carols with the kids and then tried re-enacting the nativity. It was hilarious! At one point, I think all three of our kids were crying -- hysterically. Evan was the busiest baby Jesus I've ever seen, Aubrey who was supposed to be Mary, didn't want ANYTHING to do with it, so I stepped in in her place. And Joseph (played by Jacob) had just finished throwing a whopper of a tantrum about his dinner and kept wanting to kick the original Mary (aka Aubrey) out of the manger. Ahhh, isn't this what Christmas is all about?!!

After the kids were tucked safely into bed, Dallin and I cooked a GREAT dinner and ate it in peace. We had grilled lobster tails (I think we've decided to make this a yearly tradition), Guatemalan tamales, stuffed mushrooms, spinach and artichoke dip, and shrimp cocktail. Everything was awesome!

As expected, Santa visited our home this year. He brought all kinds of goodies to our kids (who were "nice" most of the year), but also left a piece of coal in Jacob's stocking (just to remind him to be nice to his sister and throw less tantrums throughout the year) with a letter explaining his reasoning behind the coal. Jacob's reaction was pretty funny. He didn't seem too surprised that he had a piece of coal in his stocking, but he was pretty determined to "make lemonade out of lemons." After reading his note from Santa, he began talking about why he was actually happy he had gotten coal. Because you can use it for keeping your face cool (said while rubbing it up against his cheeks) and putting it on top of stuff (kind of like a paperweight). Not exactly the reaction we were hoping for with this whole coal-gifting incident, but I would expect nothing less from my Jacob! :)

Aubrey's vocabulary has really taken off the last 4-6 months. We can understand almost everything she says, although we still have to play charades every now and then. My favorite phrase of hers is "this is pun." Obviously, she means fun, but she says it with such enthusiasm and sincerity, it just makes your heart melt. She is becoming more and more of a daddy's girl every day. We just got over the stomach flu and in the evenings when she'd wake up crying, I'd go to her room to console her, and she would say in a very loud voice, "No, Mommy!" -- which means, "I don't want you, I want daddy." So then I'd gladly crawl back to bed (remember this is like 3 a.m.) and send in daddy to save the day.

And Evan is starting to pull himself up on furniture. He can say "da da" and we swear, he can say "ticket." THat's a long story about how he learned to say that. But still no "mama."

Lastly, I just got back from getting a second opinion on my possible PRP diagnosis. The doctor there was great but was "genuinely baffled" by my condition. He said he THINKS it looks like PRP but did two more biopsies to rule out other things. I'll keep you posted...

Be sure to scroll to the bottom of this posting for a cute little slideshow of our christmas adventures here at home! As you'll see, my little video gets cut off a little on the side. But being the technological genius that I am, I had to leave it as is.


CHRISTMAST 2007

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

The Best Christmas Program Ever

So, last weekend, we attended Jacob's christmas program at his preschool and it was awesome. For those of you who don't know, Jacob goes to a preschool at a local bible church. It's a great preschool and they teach them all kinds of christian songs. They're a little different than what we're used to in our Mormon world (a lot more 'praise the Lord'-type music, but it was so great!) Jacob did great and sang all of the songs loudly and recited the bible versus they had memorized. We stayed for a few minutes after his 'performance' and attended their service. They had a full band, complete with guitar and the keyboard "drums" you hear a lot in 80's songs. It really was awesome! :) I'll post pictures later on this week when I get a chance.

Here's the update on my journey into the PRP world: Every night I notice changes that show me my rash is evolving. I'll spare you the gory details. I have set up some doctor's appointments with some specialists to confirm diagnosis. I've also been in contact with some PRP patients to learn more about what lies ahead, treatment options, is it really as bad as I think? And unfortunately, it sounds like the answer is "yes." But these people seem wonderful and compassionate, and are giving me all of their tips and advice to ride this storm that awaits me. I'm scared, but ready. I figure the sooner we get into this, the sooner we'll get out (hopefully!)

Say WHAT?!!!

At this point, some of my family is aware of our newest trial in life. Right before Halloween, I caught a BAD cold. It persisted for about a month or longer, and I developed a rash on my face and body. I've seen several doctors here in Reno, have gotten numerous blood tests done and a biopsy. I went to the dermatologist yesterday to get my stitch removed (from the biopsy), and I knew something was wrong when I arrived. All the nurses were whispering my name and pulling up charts. And when they took me back to the exam room, the nurse told me that the doctor wanted to see me in person to discuss the lab results. I've watched "many-a-episode" of ER and Grey's anatomy, and I've learned that when a doctor wants to see you in person, that is NEVER good.

That is how I learned that I may have a rare skin disease called Pityriasis Rubra Pilaris. Say WHAT? THat was exactly MY response. It's called PRP for short. It's very rare... not much research has been done on it. So we still don't know a lot about how it's caused, its symptoms and there doesn't seem to be a cure for it. It is a chronic, long-lasting skin disorder that basically makes you look like "grumpy smurf" -- red all over. It can last for up to 3 years (on the good side) to up to 20 years (yuck!) Even though it's not life threatening, I am not happy about it and spent most of yesterday bawling my eyes out as I looked at countless pictures of PRP patients. Not a good idea!

Today I feel much better. It is amazing what a good cry can do! I'm anxious to learn more about this and see specialists who can confirm my diagnosis or disagree completely with it. I'm hoping for the latter. Anyway, to all my friends and family, it is NOT contagious. And please keep us in your thoughts and prayers.

The Injustices of Motherhood

Lately, I've come to learn that life just isn't fair. My pregnancies aren't the greatest. I'm nauseous and sick for the entire first trimester, I get migraines, my face gets numb, I salivate like crazy, I gain about 40 lbs, and I have major back pain which leads to what seems like endless insomnia. Then after 9 months of enduring all this, I go through the labor. And well, I won't go into details about THAT! It seems only fair that Moms get a little credit.

So it is with great displeasure that I announce Evan's first word: Dada.

Now I'm only joking about being unhappy about it. Dallin is thrilled about it, and so am I, really. But I can't believe that NONE of my kids has said "mama" first. It seems like an easier word to say. I mean, you don't have to use your tongue to say it, like you do with "dada". You BARELY have to open your lips to say "mama." AND, I have to admit I have spent countless moments repeating "mama" to all of my kids to get them geared up "their first word." Life just isn't fair! :)

It really is cute hearing Evan say it. He says it all day long, sometimes even screaming it. He said it for the first time on November 26th. He is 8 months old.

I also have to report that we had a great Thanksgiving here in Reno. We hosted it and had my brother Juan and his family come out and my sister Becky and her husband Garrett. The kids had a great time playing with their cousins, and I have to say their Uncle Garrett was a big hit. In fact, Aubrey is still talking about Garrett. On the day, he and Becky went back to CA, I caught her singing the "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" tune, but replacing ALL the words with "Garrett." She also spent the entire time tracking him down so she could dance with him and show him her "pretty shoes." I think she's had her first crush! :)

We ate a TON of food and went out 1 night to watch a magic show. Dallin and Juan got called out of the audience to participate in the show, which made it even more fun. We also spent one day and drove to Lake Tahoe and roasted smores at one of the local resorts around Tahoe. We also did some shopping and watched movies. All in all, we had a great time. We'll have to have another "west coast" Lorenzana reunion again soon. Disney cruise, anyone?!!



Breaking bread at the first Reno Thanksgiving



Playing in the snow at Squaw Valley

The Graffiti Artist

Yesterday, our Aubrey turned 2 years old! We decided to celebrate her birthday today however because we knew Dallin had to work late yesterday. Let's just say that Aubrey has been in her "two's" for the last 3 months or so. She's not full blown terrible two's yet, but she knews how to pout, whine, and scream like the rest of them. To her credit, she's got the most amazingly effective pout you've EVER seen. As soon as she puckers her lips (my mom calls them 'Angelina Jolie lips') and opens up those big brown eyes of hers, our hearts melt. I know how to stand my ground with her though. Her daddy, on the other hand, doesn't stand a fighting chance. Aubrey is definitely "daddy's little girl."

Our big girl has had some changes in her life lately. We bought her a big girl bed, which she's learning to sleep in at night, but we have still been using her old crib for naps during the day. Today, after I finished reading her some stories and snuggling with her for a minute, I put her down into her crib. She only had her doll and a blanket with her when I left. Somehow (don't ask me HOW), she smuggled in a piece of white chalk. After about an hour, I went to peak in her room. She was sitting up in her crib, with the guiltiest expression on her face, saying "no, no, no" in the voice we use with her when she does something naughty like pulling on the curtains, or poking her fingers underneath the bathroom door when Jacob is going potty (it drives him CRAZY!!), or throwing her food on the floor.

Then I looked at her crib, and the bars had been scribbled on with white chalk. It actually kind of looked like one of those old movies where prisoners keep track of their jail time by writing on the walls! It looked like she had put a line for every minute she had been sitting in her crib. Maybe it's her way of telling me she's all done with her crib.

We celebrated her birthday tonight with some cake and ice cream, presents (which included princess dress up clothes, a big purple boa and necklace, princess stickers, and a princess cartridge for her LeapPad). Are you getting the theme here? Yes, we are in full princess mode and I absolutely love it! We then went to Boomtown, a little amusement area for kids close to our home. We rode on some rides and then came home and put them to bed. I'm including some pictures below of our little graffiti artist and some other fun pictures from her birthday! Caught, red-handed! A closer look at the evidence. Aubrey, overjoyed at seeing her Princess stickers!! Posing by her princess birthday cake.

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The Truth Hurts

Well, in true form, I seem to have a caught a cold. Not any old cold... but a BAD one. I've lost my voice, which I seem to do at least twice a year, and my kids actually seem quite amused by it all. In fact, a few days ago when I woke up with barely any voice left, Jacob came over with a confused look on his face and this was our conversation:

Jacob: Mommy, why are you talking so quiet?
Me: [said in a barely audible whisper] I lost my voice
Jacob: You lost your voice? [looking more confused than ever!]
Me: Yes, I lost my voice.
Jacob: Is it because you're sick?
Me: [nodding yes in agreement]
Jacob: Mommy, it's good you lost your voice.
Me: Really? Why?
Jacob: Because you can't yell at us when we're naughty if you've lost your voice

OUCH! Truth hurts, doesn't it?!!

On a much BETTER note, my youngest Evan cut his first tooth last week. I'm not sure why but I feel such pride in the fact that he's cut his tooth. It's not like it takes any skill (I'm fully aware of that), but I feel like he's crossed that first big milestone. Next he'll be sitting up and before you know it he'll be crawling all over the house. His little smile gives me such joy. In my mind, I've nicknamed him the one-toothed wonder! :)

I'm including pictures from Halloween last week. We had a blast with the kids. We had the Little Einsteins Rocket (Jacob), a cute little chinese girl (Aubrey), and a frog (Evan). We went to our ward's trunk or treat party and then came home so that the kids could trick or treat a little here on our street. Aubrey was terrified of everyone in a costume. In fact, she wanted to be held all night. Can't blame her really. To a 2 year old, seeing Frankenstein and all other kinds of spooky goblins barrelling towards you can be pretty scary... even if they have big smiles on their faces. Dallin and I dressed up like Hawaiians complete with a grass skirt and a coconut bra, although I didn't wear the bra to the ward party. I just don't think I could have faced the bishopric with a coconut bra on. I don't know... maybe it's just me. But nonetheless, we did manage to get some good pictures anyway. I'm trying out this new slideshow on my blog. It has a bunch of pictures from all of our Halloween adventures this year. Enjoy!!

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Needing a Vacation from the "vacation"

For us Nevadans, we get a freebie holiday thrown into October called Nevada Day. So we decided to head over to Apple Hills in CA and beat the crowds (since we had the day off and Californians didn't). Apple Hills is a beautiful area full of apple orchard farms that set up pumpkin patches, spooky nature trails for kids, and bake shops loaded with the best pies, apple crisps, and donuts you've EVER had! So, we threw the kids into the minivan and cruised on over. We stopped at several of the apple orchards and gorged ourselves with apple pie, apple cider, and all kinds of other apple desserts. The kids had a blast playing in the leaves and (of course) eating dessert morning, noon and night.

After spending all day at Apple Hill, we drove to our friend's furniture store outside of Sacramento and did a little shopping, then headed back to the hotel to swim, eat dinner, and put the kids to bed (finally!)

On Saturday, we went to the UC Davis/South Dakota football game. Dallin's cousin's husband (you still with me?!) is one of the coaches for the S.D. team, so we went out to watch the game and support him. We had seats in the bleachers but after about 5 minutes of trying to deal with our 3 kids there, I decided it would be better for "everyone" (aka ME) if we just sat over in the grassy area where the kids could run around and enjoy themselves. So that's what we did.

We grabbed some dinner and headed back to Reno, which was about a 2.5 hour drive. It doesn't sound like a lot, but it was a couple of busy days. Even though we had a great time, we came back EXHAUSTED. I'm ready to begin my next vacation... without the kids, this time :)

Us "non-techies" join the tech world

Okay, it's 2007 and we don't have cable TV, a DVD burner, nor do we own an iPod (or know what it really DOES)! Heck, we just got REAL cellphones about 2 years ago. So I figured we better start throwing ourselves into the tech world whether we like it or not, hence this blog. I titled it The Reno 5 for several reasons: obviously, there are five of us. Five a.m. is the time Evan seems to be waking up these days, 5 is usually the number of different meals I seem to prepare for dinner daily, and five is the number of days I will be leaving my family for this weekend to visit friends in DC. Okay, it's really only 4, but I thought I needed one more "five" item to really sell this whole "The Reno 5" deal!

Having a blog might not be so bad, I figure. I can rant nonsensically (I have a feeling that is NOT a word) to an inattentive cyberworld about my bad days, and pretend I have an eager audience waiting to hear about my good days. On that note, this past weekend was one of those good couple of days. We decided to hire a photographer to take our family picture b/c we never seem to have any lucky doing it ourselves or asking a friend to take the picture. THe main reason is because of our eldest, Jacob, who can't seem to sit still for one second (literally). But this year, I had a plan. I hired a photographer with the fastest trigger finger in the west and planned on bribing my children unabashedly with M&M's after each picture. And to my surprise, my plan worked. Not only did we get a great photo of the ENTIRE family looking at the camera at the SAME TIME, but the fall colors were changing this weekend, so we even got a pretty background as well! Ah, miracles really do happen.

Then, we had stake conference on Sunday. I have to admit, I had to talk myself into going b/c having my kids sit on those hard chairs for two hours is next to impossible. But again, much to my surprise, they did great. Of course, I had to load them up with all kinds of sugary goodies whenever they got loud. C'mon, you know what I'm talking about: "Oh Aubrey, please don't cry. Okay, okay, here eat some M&M's" (leftover from the photo shoot from the previous day, of course). Or , "Jacob, if you scream one more time, I'm gonna... okay, fine, here have another fruit roll up!" So, they came out of stake conference with the best sugar high they've ever had, and Dallin and I came out patting ourselves on our backs like we had just scaled Mt. Everest.

On that note, I'm throwing in some pictures to make my first blog official looking and complete. Until next time...

Aubrey and Evan with bedhead!

Aubrey and Jacob at 4th of July parade