Why, oh Why?!!

OK, so I have NO idea what is going on with my kids lately. It seems like every time I turn around, someone is in the toilet. Not using it for what it was created for, mind you. But using it in, how shall I say this, "non-traditional" ways. They're like flies gravitating towards a bright light. They can't seem to leave the toilets alone!! So, I've already talked about Evan's recent infatuation with splashing around in toilet water.

Then there's Aubrey. It seems like every 2 minutes, I am telling her to get out of the bathroom and play somewhere else. Last week, I saw her playing with the baby wipes in my diaper bag. She does it all the time so I didn't pay much attention until about 10 minutes later -- when I realized she was wiping the wipe all over her face and rubbing it on her lips, and the wipe was dripping wet. I walked over to her and said, "What are you doing Aubrey?" She got a big smile on her face and said, "I'm washing my face all clean." Then I walked into the bathroom and saw that the toilet seat was up and there was water all over the floor next to the toilet and damp toilet paper everywhere. Anyone up for a toilet water facial? Aubrey obviously thinks they're quite "cleansing."

Even Jacob has recently been pulling off all of the toilet seat covers and throwing them in the trash. I have NO idea what that's all about.

Switching gears completely now: So we had another little earthquake today. The epicenter of this one was EVEN CLOSER to our house than the one before. We've had more than 6 little earthquakes over the last 2 weeks. I'm starting to get a little paranoid.

Was I Dreaming?

I've decided that the last couple of months has been full of "firsts." Get diagnosed with a rare skin disease. Check. Almost get killed by a driver on the highway going the wrong way. Check. And most recently, we can add mini-earthquake to the list. Last Saturday night, I got up to feed my baby because he's been sick and waking up a lot. I had just finished putting him down and crawled into bed. When all of a sudden, I feel everything start shaking around me. I sat up in bed terrified and grabbed Dallin. At this point, he had felt it too and woke up and we were both trying to figure out what was going on. Fortunately, it only lasted a few seconds and it wasn't too strong. It kind of felt like someone had picked up our bed and started shaking it.

Of course, I couldn't sleep for like an hour after our little quake. I just kept wondering if there was a "big one" that was going to come later that day. At first, we weren't sure if we had just imagined it or not. Anyway, later that afternoon, I asked a few of my friends if they had felt it and most had not, except for 1. Then yesterday in the paper, there was an article that said there was a small earthquake recorded early Saturday morning and also one on Monday morning. (Apparantly we slept right through the second one). Anyway, the epicenter of these "mini earthquakes" is RIGHT BY OUR HOUSE. Scary!! I told Dallin that for our next FHE, we will be reviewing Earthquake safety. And of course, this experience has got me thinking a lot more about food storage.

For those of you in sunny California, these "mini earthquakes" are probably no big deal for you. But for those of us who've never really lived through them, it's kind of scary.

On a completely different topic, our computer broke about 2 weeks ago and we have been waiting for our new one to arrive. Thank you, Dell! Anyway, here's a quick recap on our kids' crazy antics. Recently, Evan has discovered the toilet. I know most of your parents have been through this, but I find it really disguisting after he's been splashing himself and the entire bathroom with toilet water. GROSS! Aubrey is our "wandering sleeper." Just about every night, I will wake up in the middle of the night to find her laying down on the rug in her room, the hallway, and once on the bathroom floor. Apparently, she prefers hard, cold surfaces to her nice, comfortable, and kind of expensive (I might add) mattress. And last, but not least, Jacob has started swimming lessons again. He is not the most adventuresome kid in the class. But he is getting more comfortable with the idea that if you want to swim, you actually have to get your head wet. Maybe one of these days, he'll actually put his entire head in the water.

Driving Head On

So, today I had a scary experience. I was driving this morning to my doctor's appointment on the highway. I was in the fast lane going about 70 mph. I was in the middle of a big turn in the highway when all of a sudden I see some of the cars in front of me start to swerve and lose control. I had no idea what was going on, until the car in front of me started to do the same thing. As the car in front of me swerved to the right, I see another car driving in my lane head on the WRONG WAY!! He had his hazards on and was not driving too fast, but was still going about 30 or so. I immediately slammed on my brakes, and layed on my horn. Instead of moving out of the way, the car swerved towards me. So at that point, I turned as hard as I could to the right (remember this is going at like 70 mph). I briefly lost control of my car and it took a second or two until I got a handle of it again. It's funny how all of this happened so fast, yet you still have time to think about things. And all I could think about was my two little ones (Aubrey and Evan) in the car and how injured they would be if we got hit.

Fortunately, we didn't get hit and I don't think anybody else did either. I pulled over to the slow lane and called the cops, who told me there were troopers on their way. As soon as I hung up, I saw 3 or 4 police cars speeding towards this guy. Even though nothing happened, I was shaking for like an hour after the incident.

When I got home, I jumped online to see if there was anything about this and below is the news report:

Wrong-way driver down I-80 this morning

A driver got on the Interstate 80 the wrong way Sparks on Wednesday morning and drove much of the way through Reno before getting stuck, the Nevada Highway Patrol reported.

Alcohol, drugs and medical issues were not to blame, the NHP said.

Richard Emory, 73, of Sparks went west up the Nugget Avenue off ramp and continued west in the eastbound lanes of Interstate 80 until pulling into the median west of Keystone Avenue near Stoker Avenue, the NHP said.

Emory realized his mistake soon after getting onto the freeway but did not know how to get out of traffic, the NHP reported. Emory turned on his emergency flashers and traveled slow, the NHP said.

The NHP said it cited Emory for driving the wrong way on Interstate 80 and also showed him where the “wrong way” signs were at on the Nugget Avenue off ramp.

“Any time you have a wrong-way driver on any roadway, the potential for a head-on collision is very likely,” NHP Trooper Chuck Allen said in a statement. “We were very fortunate this morning that we didn’t have something more serious to respond to.”

Fortunate is an understatement, I say!!! Thank goodness nothing happened!

Magic Carpet Ride

Last weekend, a friend of ours loaned us their condo at Squaw in Lake Tahoe, so we took advantage of the tons of snow there and got Jacob up on skis for the first time.

As soon as they got his boots on, he started marching up the mountain first. Then they put on his skis and scooted him over to the automated platform that moves him up the mountain, called the "magic carpet." At the top, his teacher told him to put his hands on his knees and keep his skis straight. And voila! Instant skier. He fell down a few times, but by the last "run" he pretty much went down without falling. When we got back to the condo, we watched the footage of his skiing on our video camera, and he just wanted to watch it over and over again. It was really cute!

We also were able to go sledding with the kids while we were there. I have to say -- I have NEVER seen that much snow in my entire life and it was coming down pretty hard while we were there. We decided to go sledding close to the condo, but had to walk up a ways in order to sled down. So we loaded up Evan in his car seat on top of the sled and I carried Aubrey in my arms, and we made Jacob walk. We passed some people on the way up and they shot us dirty looks as we trudged up the mountain with our 2 kids and baby in tow. I think they couldn't believe we were taking our kids up this deep section of snow while it was windy and snowing. But fortunately, they were layered up pretty good and we all had a great time going down on our sled.

We were only there through Sunday morning and made it home just in time for church. We had a blast and can't wait to go up again. Even though it was freezing up there, I am so grateful to be able to be outside with my kids playing. Because of my PRP diagnosis, I really thought 2008 was going to be a miserable year. But I am very blessed and no longer take my good health for granted.

Dallin is up at Heavenly this weekend with his buddies from the single's ward for his annual "boys ski trip." I'm sure they're having a great time!


Getting his last pointers before going down



Watch out Olympic skiers! Here he comes!



Hitching a ride on the magic carpet



The cutest snow bunny



Snuggling with Daddy for bedtime stories



Sledding fun

Slick Chick

OK, so I just had to write a quick blurb about this. Lately, my kids have been complaining of dry skin and lips. So we've been going through a lot of lotion and chapstick, and Aubrey has become obsessed with rubbing chapstick or vaseline all over her lips. Some days, she will throw a hissy fit if you try to take her chapstick away from her. This morning, at 5 a.m., I hear someone in my kids bathroom. I can hear the cabinets and drawers opening and closing. I step out of bed and see Aubrey peering into my room, and she says "I need chapstick." I go to pick her up to put her back to bed and realize that she's gotten our BIG tub of vaseline out and pretty much wiped it all over her face, hair, neck, chest, and it is all over her hands and pajamas. Not just a little bit, but thick, yellow GLOBS of vaseline everywhere. It was disguisting!! Have you ever tried washing that stuff off?!! It doesn't come off! I pretty much had to hose her down and scrub it all off with a towel.

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