Halloween

So we had a great time trick or treating this year, but true to my luck everything cannot just go smoothly. Of course Lorenzo didn't want to dress up. At first he absolutely refused. I don't know what his deal was. I finally talked him into it by telling him he wouldn't get any candy if he didn't put his costume on (I am a mean mom). Once he figured out he got candy he

was all for it. Although right when we finished getting candy off came the costume. Then Esperanza changed her mind about what she was going to be three times. First she wanted to be Cinderella, then she wanted to be an elephant and finally she ended up wanting to be a witch the night before Halloween. Good thing I could take back the Cinderella costume. Spencer told me to just make her be Cinderella, but she absolutely refused. As I write this I am starting to see a common trend with my kids. I don't know where they get their stubbornness from :) It couldn't be me. We did have a good time though. We went with Maresa's kids then of course we made the rounds to all the grandmas and grandpas. We sure missed Spencer though.

Arizona

we enjoyed a trip to the zoo while we were in Arizona

This is one of the most informative zoo train rides I have ever been on. Interesting fact did you know rhino horns are made out of hair. I thought that was cool.

Well, my kids and I took a little trip to Arizona for the weekend. We drove down there for Abraham's baptism. And I will tell you what it was a much needed trip. Although I swear my kids always get sick just when we are going to go on a trip. The day before we were supposed to leave Lorenzo started vomiting then breaks out in a rash so I knew right away he had strep throat. So he was not the happiest on the trip but we did survive his crying. Poor thing. We took Zane with us and Esperanza and Zane enjoyed playing with their cousins. On the way down there we stopped at my Grandma's house in Hurricane and then we got up early in the morning and left for Arizona and as we are leaving Esperanza just started crying so hard and I was like what is the matter kind of surprised and she said I didn't get to play at grandma Heaton's house. I thought that was cute. She just loves grandma heaton. Zane was really good the whole trip, but as we were on our way home we stopped at grandma's again and he says when are we going to be home and I said in awhile and his eye well up with tears and he says because I really really miss my mom and he started to cry. It was so cute it just like hit him all of the sudden. Anyways we always love to visit Matt and Patty and their cute kids.

Essy and Afton in the kangaroo pouch We even got to enjoy Addie's birthday with her

Byu

Of course I forgot Spencer has not let my kids forget that he is a BYU fan and that they also should be BYU fans, but on a more positve note BYU did drop in the rankings and Lorenzo started nursery!!!!!!!!!!!!

Summer recap

Well, I thought I would give a recap of our summer since it is only almost Halloween and I think Fall is officially starting. The weather has been so nice, but I guess it is finally going to cool down. We had a very fun summer hanging around the pool. I think my kids grew gills by the end of the summer. Anyways, the Calls have not kicked us out yet surprisingly but I do think Esperanza and Lorenzo have managed to break all of Iris's knick-knacks wait that is slightly exaggerating it maybe only half. We had a couple of fun trips we went to Yellowstone which was so beautiful. Of course I don't have pictures because my camera was packed the majority of the summer. We went to southern Utah and spent some time with my grandparents. I guess that is about it but it was a nice summer. Esperanza did have a wonderful third birthday. She is so big. It was so funny she was so excited for her party all week and she was singing happy birthday to herself all week, so when the party finally came she was singing happy birthday the very loudest. I love it! All of her cousins were there and she felt like the princess for a day. It was really fun. She had a princess cake we did some great crafts and finally at Spencer's request we had a pinata

These pictures are of the pinata and Essy singing

Yum yum candy!
I just love my little girl and the spirit and joy that she brings to our family what would we do without her wonderful personality

Memories

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you have of either Spencer, Katrina or our family. It doesn't matter how well you know us, anything you remember will be fun!
2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you.

Slacker

Since we have moved to Utah I have not taken one picture. Oops. We have been having a good summer though. Spending lots of our evenings at the pool. I really want to get some pool pictures. My kids love the water. Esperanza does pretty good with floaties, and Lorenzo is happy as can be kicking around in the little tube we have for him. I am going to take some pictures and post them because they look so funny swimming around since they are so little. So, I am going to add take pictures to my ever growing list of things I want to do, but obviously am putting off. Right now I feel like I am like the cat in the cat in the hat who is balancing all of those objects, and pretty soon they are all going to come tumbling down:)

"I need to"

Esperanza's new thing is to say she needs to do something. She had a pen and started to write on the wall and I told her to stop writing on the walls and she said, but mom I need to write on the wall. I know I shouldn't laugh because it only encourages her, but I couldn't help it. So now everytime I tell her not to do something. She says, but mom I need to.

I thought this was cute

Working woman

Well, I am officially a working woman. I am working as a case manager for a home health agency, and I am really liking it. It feels weird to be back in the work field, but this job does give me quite a bit of flexibility so I can work a little from home and still be able to spend time with my kids. I do miss them though. It is nice to be back in Utah near our family. Spencer is enjoying his job, and the kids love all of their cousins and friends. It doesn't even phase them that I go to work because there are so many kids to play with. So for now our life is starting to calm down, but knowing us it probably won't stay calm for too long. That would be too easy :)

Settling in

So we are starting to get settled in here in Utah. Everything has kind of been a whirlwind. We got here last Wed. Then Lorenzo and I flew to Arizona Friday morning so that I could get some dental work done. I am so grateful my brother was kind enough to work on my teeth on his day off:) Of course we had everything planned to go on Friday and Lorenzo got so sick. I ended up still going and I feel so bad because I got my brother's family sick. We flew back to Utah on Monday and I start my job this coming Monday. Good thing kids are resiliant. They have been thrown around with no real home, but I guess change is good. Everyone has been so supportive and that makes all of the change that much easier. Anyways, I think we are finally getting a grip on everything.

Pictures

I took my kids to get pictures for Lorenzo's one year birthday. It seems like one is the magic number for my kids. I remember that is when Esperanza started hating picture time, and the same thing happened with Lorenzo. Although I did get some pretty good pictures of Essy. I am going to try again with Lorenzo. I hope we have better luck!


He did not want to smile. He is still pretty cute though.

It is OFFICIAL!

We are moving back to Utah. I can't believe it. The kids and I leave in two weeks. That is fast to wrap everything up here. The weird thing is that I actually feel really nervous about it. I thought I would be all for it, but Spencer had to convince me. We are going to live with Spencer's parents for awhile and try to save some money. We are thankful to them because that is a lot to ask! Hopefully they will survive us :) I also start working again in a couple of weeks. I am really nervous about that too. I hope I remember everything. I am sure going to miss my kids. Anyways, we are excited to see all of our family and friends. We are also excited to see all the new cousins that have been born since we left. Rebecca and Brandon just had their baby for pictures go to http://thejensenblogger.blogspot.com

Worst Mom Award!

I think that I get a worst mom award for the day. We were at the library and I had a bunch of books in one hand and was trying to help Lorenzo stand up with the other hand. So I pulled on his hand, and all of the sudden he just started screaming. He wouldn't use his arm and every time I touched it he would cry. I was freaking out thinking I hurt my son and he is screaming in the library. I thought I had dislocated his shoulder or something. Anyways, I called my doctor and they got him right in. I think I might have over reacted a little bit. It ended up that I dislocated his elbow. I felt so bad!

Easter, Birthday, Etc.

Life has been a little bit crazy lately. Spencer has been gone more than normal because he has had a competition at school and then we had Easter and Lorenzo's birthday and I have had three job interviews. Whoo! It has been fun though. So to start off Easter we had a Easter egg hunt and party at the Church on the wed. before Easter, which Esperanza loved and then on Saturday I decided to be brave and let my kids dye eggs. I really am brave to let a one and two year old go at it. They actually had a great time and did pretty good. I finally ended it when Lorenzo dumped a cup of dye all over the place. Luckily nothing got stained I stripped them done first (smart thinking:)!
Their hands and arms and legs were quite a site after! Esperanza was dictating what eggs go where. I was going to just let them use raw eggs so they didn't go to waste since I am the only one who likes boiled eggs. I am glad I thought that one out first. Although I might have a better story to tell:)

Sunday Morning we hid the kids baskets and had a mini egg hunt around our apartment. I was so proud of Esperanza she would find one egg for her and one egg for Lorenzo. She was sweet! I said to Spencer on Saturday that we should hide the baskets and do all the Easter bunny stuff on Saturday and try to focus on the spiritual part of Easter on Sunday. He shot me right down saying your family or my family didn't do that growing up and we are not going to start now. He is so funny. I love him.

Here is my little Easter bunny! Isn't he cute. I think my mom made this little hat. It had a bunny outfit that went with it at some point, but we only ended up with the hat I guess after cleaning out my mom's house. I think that all of us kids were once that bunny (for Halloween not Easter).

Then the day after Easter was Lorenzo's first birthday! I can't believe he is one. Where did the year go. He is becoming such a "big boy", now every time he takes a few steps Esperanza claps her hands and says mom yea, he's a big boy. But he is still not walking very far. He gets really nervous. It is funny to watch.

We had a little family party for Lorenzo for his birthday. It was a busy day. I had a job interview and it was Esperanza's first day of swimming lessons, and Spencer had school so we had to fit his party in, in the hour that we were all together that day, but Lorenzo certainly enjoyed his cupcake. I think that was his favorite part.

He even got to open one present all by himself. He had a lot of help with the rest of the presents.

Finally they got to try out his new tricycle. I am sure glad that it fits two. Good thing my kids are small. I just can't believe how fast my little guy is growing up. He cracks me up. I think he has a lot of Spencer in him. He teases Esperanza all the time, and he jumps on her. He loves to wrestle, and he is just so good. He is always laughing and smiling. He is such a little mommas boy. I love it! He is so sweet. I am so thankful we have him.

Like Mother:Like Daughter

Esperanza fell asleep reading her book; isn't she cute. She likes to read in bed in order to fall asleep and that is just like me. I will stay up all night reading and finally fall asleep on the couch. Spencer always makes fun of me because I will say I'll come to bed in 10 minutes I just got to get to the end of the chapter and then I end up falling asleep on the couch.

Spring Fever!

Snow, snow, and more snow. I am so ready for spring. I am starting to feel cooped up. I actually like the snow, but the winters here are very long. I feel like they start in November and go until May. The sun doesn't shine very often in the winter, and the wind is very cold. So I am ready for warm weather. It has been a fun winter to play in the snow. Esperanza loves it because she likes to get messy. She loves to jump in puddles, go sledding and build snowmen. Lorenzo is also a trooper in the snow. He will sit in it and play in it. He is so funny to watch. This is a picture of Esperanza and Spencer trying to shovel a little path to our porch, so our landlord didn't have to. We live in a duplex and our landlord lives downstairs. He is around 80 and just the sweetest guy. I feel a little bad because we are not the quietest upstairs neighbors. We are always running around or banging something or someone is crying. He is always very nice about it, and says he likes the little ones so not to worry about it. This is our lovely misshaped snowman. Every time we walk to the car Essy says hi noman, bye noman.

Basketball

We went to a University of Toledo basketball game last night because it was family night and only five dollars for the whole family. We all got to sit in the student section since it was spring break and wasn't very full so we were practically sitting on the floor. It was fun and the kids loved it! Sometimes the games are a little bit reminiscent of high school games to me. The University doesn't have a very good basketball or football team and so they don't have many fans, but it is fun to go, and of course for Spencer it doesn't matter what sporting event it is. He loves them all. I think that the kids are going to be brain-washed into loving sports. I think I am going to have to start putting a little more influence in different directions so they will be a little bit more well-rounded. Don't get me wrong I love sports, but I can't quite feel the passion that Spencer does. For instance when deciding where to apply for jobs he considers the sporting events in the area. Like when we made the decision to come to school here, the area called his name because within a 90 minute radius of Toledo there is Michigan, Ohio state, Notre Dame, the Cavs, Pistons, Lions, Browns, Tigers, and Indians, not to mention Chicago is only 4 hours away! What do I say to that AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! There goes all of our very small income, or in other words we had to take out extra student loans to accomadate his sports addiction (just kidding about the loans). But he does want to get a final four ticket valued at $500 for next year in Detroit. He is claiming he wants it to be his birthday, father's day and Christmas present combined. What do I say, not going to happen! Good thing I love him sports addiction and all.

Spring Break!

Hooray! Spencer started spring break on Friday. I love when school is out. Although I never seem to get anything done when Spencer is around. I think I get into my own routine and then when Spence is home all day then I don't get a thing done. It is fun though and the kids love it. At night I tell Essy good night and I love you and she always says I love my daddy. She is such a daddy's girl. Jared came to stay at our house Friday night and Saturday morning because he had been in Detroit for work and since it is only an hour a way he came to visit before he went home. It was fun to have him. I love having visitors. Sometimes I feel like we are out here in the middle of no where without our families, so it is fun to see someone from home. Anyways, Jared got here on Friday after the kids were asleep so when Esperanza woke up on Saturday morning we told her to go and see who was on the couch. So she ran out there and I guess she stood looking at him closely and he said hi and then she came running and crying back saying there's a guy, there's a guy. It was so funny. It only took her a little bit to warm up to him and then he was her best friend. I think she must miss the family too.

cool guy

Lorenzo, Lorenzo, what am I going to do with this kid. He is getting so feisty. For example we went to the grocery store today and he wouldn't sit in the cart. so I was attempting to carry him and he kept arching his back so I would have to put him down and then he would crawl away. So of course I pick him up and this continues. It is a cycle. Pick him up, arches back etc. I think it is disgusting to have him on his hands and knees in the store. I am sure people think I am one of those moms that can't handle their kids:) Ha ha. Good thing he is also very sweet most of the time.

Growing up

I don't know if any of you ever feel like this, but I feel like maybe 90% of my day is following my children around picking up the mess they have made. Esperanza always has "projects" and she feels like they are of the up most importance. So this is her, singing a tune of course, and getting out bowls and burp rags, etc. I think I finally put a stop to it when she started running into the bathroom filling up the bowls with water.

Well, I think Esperanza is officially potty-trained. Hooray!!! She hasn't had an accident since Sunday. I am so excited. We have even ventured out into public. I can't believe it. It makes me feel like she is growing up. The funny thing is she just decided she was going to go and that was it. I let her run around naked for awhile and I was thinking she is never going to get this. Then she just started going on her own. Amazing. She is funny. She has also started to become a little soloist. At night when she is supposed to be going to sleep she has started singing at the top of her lungs. It is hilariously to hear. She makes up her own songs. They even have a chorus. Last night it was like this. I am going to school. I am going to scoo lowenzo. oooo, oooo. And on and on. So I wanted to post some underwear pictures of Esperanza, but I didn't know if that was appropriate so I got the next best thing and that is Mowgli. Spencer started calling her that because he said she looks just like mowgli with her wild hair, running around in her underwear. It is funny because I can see the resemblance too.

I was trying on a dress that Spencer gave me for my birthday to see if it fit or if I needed to take it back, and Esperanza came up to me and looked at me with her big brown eyes and her chubby cheeks and she said "mommy, you're so piddy. It was so sweet. I think she did it so I wouldn't get mad at her for stealing the cookies that I was going to take to our young women's activity :) She surprises me all the time with the things she says. It is amazing how much she listens. Sometimes I am embarrassed because she sounds just like me. For example I couldn't find something I was looking for a I said crap, crap, crap and then I hear her saying cap, cap, cap just like mom. Oops.

Aren't they sweet!

It's POTTY time

So I am going to hit potty-training full force this week with Esperanza. Does anyone have any words of wisdom for me? I am a little nervous because I feel like we are going to be home bound for awhile and sometimes I get restless, but it is for the sake of no more diapers. I can't wait! One more thing I can't wait for is when Esperanza and Lorenzo don't have to share a room :) Ususally it is fine, but nap time lately is a pain. They play, play, play Esperanza climbs into Lorenzo crib and I usually just end up spending an hour yelling at them and then finally giving up. I shouldn't complain, but I wanted a rest today and they were not cooperating.

kisses

Lorenzo is a kissing fool. Everytime we tell him to give me a beso, it is like your first kiss all over again:) Wide open mouth with lots of slobber, and he even comes in slow with a big smile on his face. It is cute to watch, but watch out when you are getting the beso. Especially since I think he is going to get his first tooth very soon he is even more slobbery. Oh so much fun! I want to get a picture of this with Spencer of course.

I hope I am not the only one who has done this!

It is so cold here! Today was one of those days that you can't go outside with just a coat. You have to have gloves, hat, scarf, etc. Your face hurts just going outside because of the wind chill factor, but we braved the cold and went to wal-mart. On our way out of wal-mart, I put my kids in their car-seats without buckling them because it was so cold and started the car. Then I got out to buckle them up. Somehow when I got out I locked the doors. I was so scared. My car was running and I couldn't get Esperanza to unlock the door. I didn't have a cell phone and we don't have a spare key. I didn't know what to do. Luckily there are nice people in this world. Some lady stopped and called triple A for me. Lorenzo rolled out of his car seat and onto the floor so he was screaming. I felt so bad. This guy also stopped and called the police for me since triple A said they would be 45 minutes. Well, triple A and the police arrived at the same time and helped. Oh man I am so glad those people helped me. I don't know what I would have done.

Nursery

My wild child

The funniest thing happened today, well I at least think it was funny Esperanza's nursery teacher probably doesn't. I better first explain that Esperanza has a heart of gold she loves kids and she loves to play, but she also is a little firecracker. You will always know she is around. She definately is not quiet and submissive. During Priesthood Spencer got a visit from Esperanza's nursery leader and Esperanza. They kicked her out of nursery. The teacher said she is being a terror she keeps throwing crayons and I told her if she kept throwing them then I would take her to her dad. Well, of course she threw more. Like she cares if they take her to her dad. I guess Spencer finally took her back, but I thought it was funny. It kind of reminds me of her cousin Elyssia who had to go to the principals office on her first week of preschool. I am sure they could make a lot of trouble together.

Pictures of Cleveland

Cleveland

This has kind of been a busy week for us. On Monday Spencer had the day off for Martin Luther King day so we decided to take advantage and go to Cleveland. We decided to go to a children's museum for the kids. We kind of got a late start so by the time we got there Esperanza was very tired and ready for a nap, but we decided to press on. We actually drove around the block a couple of time looking for the museum thinking it would be pretty big since this was Cleveland. So when we finally found it, it was tiny and crowded. There were so many kids! Chaos. It was kind of funny because Toledo had a huge children's museum until about a month ago. So we were a little disappointed. I don't think the kids cared one way or the other they had a good time. Then we went to an art gallery and Spencer showed me the Brown's stadium (of course he has already been to a game). While we were at the Brown's stadium we saw where we should have spent the day. There is a huge science museum right on the shore of Lake Erie. I guess we will have to go there next time. It was a fun day though. It was fun to get to spend time with our whole family.

I was tagged by Timani to post 7 little known facts about me.

1. I am addicted to hostess cupcakes. I absolutely love them. I know they aren't even real food, but if I buy a box I could literally eat it all in one day. So we very seldom have them in my house.

2. I am been in 3 bike accidents in my life. The first one was when I was learning to ride a bike. My brother was teaching me and when he let go I looked back and ended up flipping over the handle bars and I got two black eyes and a huge goose egg on my forehead. The second was in elementary school and a car almost hit me so I swerved and fell. The ambulance had to come and get me and I spent the night in the hospital. The third was in high school. Spencer rode a bike down to my house to see me. We decided he would give me a pump on the handle bars. He started going really fast and didn't see a speed bump on the road because it was kind of dark and I flipped off of the bike and he ran over me. I wasn't seriously hurt, but I did have tire mark ingrained in my leg for awhile.

3. I absolutely hate to wash the silverware. This isn't too much of a problem if you have a dishwasher, but in the apartment we live in there is no dishwasher (it is like the dark ages). I hate how the metal scraps on the metal. Gross!!!

4. Spencer can always tell when I have a book that I am absorbed in because the house falls into absolute chaos! So I guess I have a single tracked mind. I will literally read the book and do nothing else. My poor kids :)

5. I have a lotion fetish. If I wash my hands I must have lotion on them after otherwise I have a hard time touching anything. (Rebecca I know you can relate to this).

6. I enjoy cooking. I really like to try new recipes. I think it is exciting to try new and different types of food, but I wish I didn't have to be on clean up duty ever.

7. I enjoy going hunting with my brothers (although I no longer get invited now that I have kids) I mostly enjoy it for the hiking, but I know that is weird.

One of Esperanza and Lorenzo's favorite games is pushing each other around in the doll stroller. If is so funny to watch especially when Lorenzo pushes Esperanza. So today I looked so silly. I went to the post office and I had three really big boxes that I had to mail. So I have my two kids and these three boxes. I am trying to figure out how on earth I am going to carry my kids and these things inside. So I decide to get the stroller, brilliant, right? No, These boxes are so big that only one will fit on the stroller and I am trying to stack all of them on top of each other and they just keep falling off and Lorenzo is screaming in his car seat because he wants out and Essy is running all over. So by this time 3-4 people have stopped and asked if I need help and I say no then one man who asked if he could help me comes back after watching me for like ten minutes and insisted on helping. Thank goodness. I really should have swallowed my pride in the beginning, or better yet not gone to the post office with my two kids and three enormous boxes. I am sure it was funny for all the spectators though. Spencer started ping pong intermerals tonight. His first game is at 11:00pm, and he is so excited. It is funny. I am surprised he is playing again since the last time he did ping pong intermerals he got beat by a girl twice (the same girl).

Moving

So I have decided that we are moving into our pediatrician's office. We have literally been living there. It feels like we just get over our sickness and then it starts all over again. Lorenzo is just finishing his 3rd kind of antibiotics for an ear infection. It is crazy and Esperanza keeps having problems with her lungs. It is out of control. And of course getting them to take their medicine is like holding down an elephant. I don't know where all of their strength comes from. But on a more positive note. They have been quite pleasant for being sick for so long.