two

the last summer brouhaha-at-the-cabin gang
spencer's baptism {lovin' spencer's 2 thumbs up}
ida & c.j. dipping tootsies
ida & i at the lake

wow. 2:57 am.

can. not. sleep.

this week we discovered that ida has a tooth coming through on the bottom. today i looked and she actually has broken 2 tiny, sharp teeth. oh, idy.

in the morning {which is fast approaching} eli will begin grade 2. this summer has felt very short and kind of weird. tonight he asked me if people were nice on the first day of school. i made him look at his new indoor shoes really hard so that he would remember which ones were his. i even wrote his name in big, bold letters inside, just in case he forgot. i sure hope he can get that button on his stiff, new jeans open when he needs to hit the bathroom. his size in jeans these days doesn't come with an easy open clasp. i was hard pressed to find velcro shoes in his size as well.

the dude is too big for his age.

i finished quilt #2 yesterday. it was my quilt-along quilt. it sat around here for awhile and yesterday i finally bound it. the binding made ALL the difference in the world. it was blah and untamed, but now with that little black finished edge, it looks framed and brought together. isn't that how things are sometimes. the tiniest thing changes everything.

tomorrow i change the way i will eat for 60 days. i will report my findings at the end of that period. cheer me on please.

3:39.... i'm out.

check

swam in the lake today.  the smell of that lake water reminds me so much of younger years.

i really love windermere/invermere.  hopefully we will always be able to come here and spend time. especially in the summer.  

thanks mum and dad for providing a place for all of us to make lovely memories with the kids.

last kick at the cat

we are going to my mum & dads cabin this weekend. it is always a nice excursion. it will be the first time we have been there all summer as we have been busy with other "stuff" {see past posts}.

eli starts grade 2 next week and that is very exciting to me.

this time of year always feels like january to me. like a new beginning. i like getting in a routine again. it is fun to see eli take off to school. it makes me want to get organized, file stuff, work on unfinished projects {sewing/quilts}. i need to catch up writing in my personal journal {which i do keep quite regular}. i need to weed out clothes that ida has outgrown?!?! she is growing up so fast, right under my nose. i love her so.

i need to buy a house.

i watched a documentary on annie leibovitz and it made me want to take really good pictures. i saw julie & julia and it made me want to cook, cook, cook.

at the cabin i want to swim in the lake and relax/cleanse in the hot springs. i think it will help me begin this new school year and "in-between" phase of our life.

i'm back in the game larry

zee chamberlains {whenever there is a goodbye, we always take a group shot. the group is going to be 1 more strong in about 3 weeks. wo-hoo!}
eating crab
eli & dahl

yes, they are standing on a hovercraft
finished up!

transition area for the race
newport temple
carter, audrey & eli
the kids and the temple
the day before the race
swimming gang
chicken fight
dave & lisa {13 years of marriage and the big 3 5 for lisa}
holy crap, she is wearing a disney princess crown

i'm back.

back in action. yes, we are home from california. i think i was there 23 days.

it was a hot, busy, stressful, fun time. we looked at, give or take, 57,000 houses, ate out 99.9% of the time, filled the rental car up a few dozen times, nursed ida every other minute, slept when we could and had fun with family and friends.

the last half of the trip was a 180 degree turn from the first half.

main reason: we were all healthy and we started looking in a new area for homes.

while we were there we celebrated lisa's birthday and dave and lisa's anniversary. we got to cheer on all the guys who ran the triathlon at Camp Pendleton {very, very exciting}. we ate at a crab shack {mmmmmm}. we put a few offers on homes. we visited the newport temple. eli swam several times.

we have decided to look exclusively in ladera ranch for homes. it is a suburb of mission viejo and about 10 miles from laguna beach. it will be really good there. we are waiting to hear back on a few houses, so the next few weeks will be interesting.

back to reality. the last few days i have paid bills, finished a quilt, started another, worked on immigration paperwork, took ida to the ER where they diagnosed her with FPIES. {right before we moved i introduced rice cereal to ida. she ate it, seemed fine, took a nap and then began to violently vomit milk and mucus. it was so out of the ordinary that i actually called 911. they came and checked her out and after a few hours she seemed to be fine. i haven't fed her rice cereal since then, being a bit gun shy after her reaction the last time, but since it was a month and a half a go i thought that we'd give it another try. so, tuesday night when we got home from california i gave her some cereal (about 1 tsp in all), she nursed and then went down for the night. about 2 hours later from out of her sleep she started projectile vomiting. the same reaction as the time before. this went on for about an hour. she was pale and lethargic so my mum and i took her down to the childrens for them to check her out. bottom line: she has food protein induced enterocolitis syndrome. we are getting in with an allergy specialist and see what we will be dealing with over the next 3 years as they say they typically grow out of it by then {crossed fingers}. until then we will have to be psycho nazi about everything she puts in her mouth because the result is so, so terrible and quite dangerous}.

would like to thank all those who put us up, fed us, played with us and showed us some california hospitality - you know who you are. i noticed our goodbyes weren't as sad this time {i usually shed a few tears}. i guess it was because we knew we would see all of you again sooner than later. thanks again.

hey! i am still in california?!

just before c.j. flew away...
air force one @ the ronald reagan presidential library and museum in simi valley


with the help of uncle dave, eli braved the big bucket and survived

here we are!

we took a look at the calendar the day before we were supposed to fly home and realized c.j. was coming back down here the middle of august. well, why not stay, do some home searching in orange county and fly back with c.j.? oh, alright...

the kids and i have relocated down to dave and lisas neck of the woods: ladera ranch. it is pretty fly.

not taking many pictures for some reason. more business than pleasure i guess. focus. focus.

where the wild things are

we have been staying at a hotel the last few days/nights. it is located in monrovia and sits practically ON the 210 freeway. we figured we would move to a hotel to get out of stacey and aarons hair {and hopefully not get them sick} and to get a good nights sleep, as the aerobed we were using was on its last inflatable leg {poor thing, we spent a couple of nights doing surgery with all kinds of tape to save her}.

i am afraid to report our move to a different location was for not.

cars. whizzing by. ALL NIGHT.

stacey informed me that her kids appear to be sick. {WE ARE SO SORRY YOU GUYS}

shoot.

**********************************************************************************

a few days ago we were driving somewhere. i turned around to talk to eli, he had his head cocked to the left and his mouth cracked open when i looked at him. "eli, where did your tooth go?!?!" he looked back stunned and we both suddenly realized that his little nubby tooth next door to his 2 front teeth was gone! gone! gone! we laughed and laughed. dude must have eaten it with one big mouth-fulls of food. hilarious.

ida has started to wiggle her tummy back and forth to music. it is this funny, jerky motion. she does it anywhere. sitting up, in her car seat, while i am nursing her. i love it.

c.j. may shave today.

we have a channel here at the hotel that is live feed from NASA. it shows the shuttle orbiting the earth, feed from mission control room, outer space. it is so amazing and calming. we had it on all night, no sound just space.

this is going to be amazing.

on the 210

we are at a hotel.

taking things nice and easy.

indecision '09

we are in a pickle.

3 out of 4 of us are sick and when i say sick that means: ida is croupy, c.j. has head/chest cold = sleeping all day and eli continues to cough and cough and cough...

do we fly home tomorrow or do we wait it out? do we go get a hotel room for the rest of the stay so we don't get stacey/aaron family sick {could be too late}? do we move to california? do we like this house or this house or this house? do we like this neighbourhood? what are the schools like? we can't afford that... what do you want for lunch? do i take a shower? should i prop her up while she is sleeping? i can't hold her vertical all night...

i knew this was going to happen. the day we left, eli came down with a cold {surprise, surprise}. we rolled the dice {as we always do = retarded} and decided to go ahead with the trip since we felt pressure to get down here and get looking since we are technically homeless.

it has been extremely stressful the past few days. the nasty heat, the driving, the looking, the sickness, the sleeplessness, the decision making, etc, etc, etc...

so, as i type, {it's 2:37 in the afternoon} ida is sleeping propped up, c.j. is on the floor passed out and eli is watching a movie, trying to relax and get better. and time, is, ticking.

sweat'n

holy crap its hot here.

yesterday we drove by every home we had flagged online {about 30 homes}. that process eliminated a few. it was a really good exercise, but a long day of driving. eli read us jokes and ida napped.

today we are looking at homes in the glendale area which we are really liking right now. specifically this one and this one and this one... with a few more sprinkled in.

will see how it goes.

quilted

"those were sure good times when those hollywood people were doing cartoons..."

-eli's comment after watching some oldie goldie Loonie Tunes.

i have been a bit disjointed lately. i haven't checked my email or my messages on my phone. i have not slept the last few nights, worrying/checking on eli and searching for homes online. now that our house has sold, we are in a position to really, go anywhere. nothing is holding us back and everywhere is being considered. it is kind of a crazy situation to be in. it is like someone handing you a million dollars and asking "now, what are you going to do with it?" there are so many things to consider, choices to make, needs/wants to be met. it is a true mind game. just ask yourself, if all your crap was packed, no debt, you could work anywhere - where would you go? would you stay put?

oh dear.

so, yeah, i am a bit disconnected.

i should probably do some internet banking, look at my calendar and jump back into life.

being so out of it, i looked at my phone today and realized i had 2 voicemails. one of the calls was from the quilter that is working on my quilts. she said the quilts were done and i could come and get them. ALL RIGHT! i buzzed down south and picked them up today. i think they look great. i need to bind them and give them a good wash and they will be done.

eli is still suffering from stomach cramps, ETC. today was the first day we saw some firming up of things... hopefully he is on the upswing of this funny bug.

ok, got to go make some choices, choices, choices.

NOTE: the million dollar question is rhetorical. no, i don't have a million dollars in the bank... just in case you were wondering :)

fluuuuuuuu or not?

eli is sick as a dog.  

we have been up all night with him.  terrible stomach cramping every 10 minutes.  we have chucked 2 pairs of underwear, some pj bottoms and a couple socks.  they were unsavable.  at least he isn't puking.  c.j. is in town right now getting some flu supplies...  kind of can't tell if he has food poisoning or the flu.  i know they are different, but produce the same result?  

so tired.  hope ida doesn't get it.  blah.

moved

yesterday the house got moved. 2 trucks and 4 dudes came and like busy bees loaded it up and took it away.

today was our day to finish the cleaning and get the last bit of junk out of there. in the afternoon, eli began telling me that his stomach was hurting. it kind of has been coming in waves all day. no other symptoms, just stomach cramping. poor dude. at one point this evening we went to the house to try to help c.j. clean and eli was miserable. on the way home he said, "when we get home can we "google" it and figure out why i am sick?" unfortunately little man, sometimes we just get sick, and no amount of "googling" will figure it out...

{as i sit next to him on the floor typing this (he is sleeping on an aerobed) he keeps waking out of his sleep with stomach pain. this may be a long night.}

i feel bad because we couldn't help c.j. tonight and because we all didn't really get a official "later skater" with the house. a bit rushed, a bit sick and a bit tired. it will be nice when it is all over tomorrow afternoon. hopefully eli feels better, we will have the check from the lawyer and it will be the weekend and we can have a big fat let down. it will all be done.

hello out there invisible readership!

this is it. the last day in our unpacked house
this lady is SPUNKY to the MAX




the hair right on the top of her head won't stay down, just curls right over like alfalfa


crazy sunset @ about 11:00 pm on one of the last nights in our house. it was like fire in the sky

so, um, we have moved out of our house?!

we have been living a bit of a blur lately. it has been a whirlwind of house cleaning/organizing/weeding-out/packing/moving/unloading/decision making/chucking/eating, eating, eating/more organizing... we finally got to the point on saturday where most of our belongings {clothes, toiletries} had been moved to my parents.

we have been there ever since.

all the work we have done at the house over the last few weeks has paid off. the "packers" come today and eli and i watched them stealthily pack the joint to perfection. at one point in time, one of the packers came up from the basement {which was the most disjointed level of our house} and had me a screw the size of a large grain of rice wondering "what that went to down there since he had packed everything else". who knows dude, but thanks for noticing.

they started at 9:15 am and left at 6:00 pm. done like dinner. after they left i walked through the house and choked back tears. i can't believe we are moving. anyho.....

the "movers" are coming tomorrow morning to throwing everything in the moving van and deliver it to c.j.'s studio for storage until the time comes to move it to the states. next step in this little adventure: find a house. but not just a house. a house in a good school district and a good ward and a good neighborhood and a good place to be.

start wishing us luck.

on the immigration side of things, all of my paperwork is IN. when we went last week everything flowed smoothly, no crowds, no frustrations. we had pictures taken, fingerprints done, payments made. it was kind of freaky how smooth and easy the process was. the kids were with us, of course, ida was great, eli was there so they could see him and get his US passport going. we just shook our heads in the elevator and couldn't believe it.

it. was. done.

now we will just wait.

{i just looked down and caught sight of the tires of blubber orbiting around my waist. i am going to blame it on this move. i have discovered i am an emotional eater and am eating my way through this thing. donuts, have mercy on my soul...}

UPDATE: rats, i didn't win the janome 6600 that i thought i was going to win in the quilt along i was participating in. bummer. {the quilt however, is almost done being quilted. should be back july 15th, can't wait to see it}

whole lotta stuff going on

fathers day morning
eli thinks his dad is the greatest because "he reads to me.  he lays with me. and takes me to get ice cream."  the certificate says so!

finished baby quilt top
classic, eli + ida in the tub photo

yes, 36

sneak peak of fabric selection for a new quilt.  yes, it will be colorful.
eli on his last day of grade one
very excited to finish up school
this is how ida's hair dries sometimes, er, most of the time.  it is awesome.

we have been very busy lately.  home moving stuff, immigration stuff, lawyer stuff, signing stuff, packing stuff, birthday stuff, sewing stuff, fathers day stuff.  our house is officially sold and we have to be out by the 10th of july which gives us about 2 weeks to get the heck out of here.  immigration "stuff" will probably keep us here another 4-6 months give or take.  it is going to be a bit of a gong show from here on out, but it will all work out in the end.

on the 16th i turned 36.  c.j. brought home the hugest balloons i have ever seen, along with a dozen crave cupcakes and a couple of fancy cards.  nice.  but not nice on my waist-line.

fathers day occurred.  happiest of fathers days dads i know!

i finished a baby quilt top and made a selection of fabric for another quilt along.  i love the quilt design on this one.  working on this quilt will give me some instruction/experience sewing curves.  i cut out 48 12" x 12" squares this weekend to get started. yee-haw!

eli finished grade one.  he was very excited the morning of the last day of school.  you can see from the pictures he was bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.  he had a successful year, good grades, made some friends and had a really great teacher.  you can't ask for more than that.

ida is growing, growing.  she is in 6-12 month clothes, sits up without assistance for short periods of time, and is an all-round trooper.  i feel like she is older than she really is sometimes.  oh, also, she is growing up about twice the speed eli did. {tear}  

can i move to a desert island and stop time please?  kids are growing too fast, life is flying by, we are getting older.  time is not being kind right now.  with this whole moving expedition we are undertaking, i just keep thinking that i want to streamline everything in our lives.  what we own, how we think, how our family runs... things need to be simpler, easier, better, worthier.  i don't know how i am going to accomplish this, but that thought process is going to be behind every decision and action from here on out.  it may just help us slow down the hands of time enough to enjoy ourselves and what is going on around us. basically being more mindful. 

on tap for tomorrow:  a date with the US Consulate again... more immigration paperwork for the family... almost done.