Hicks Family

The Good, the Bad and the Tired

2012-02-10T06:53:00.000-08:00

George and I have a new routine. We used to go downstairs about ten and he would go outside for an hour or so and then lunch. Then we go back upstairs and watch a movie and I pray he falls asleep. But I decided I need to start exercising again. So, after lunch, I put him in his stroller and we walk for an hour. Usually he wants to get out of the stroller after about ten minutes so I have to take lots of snacks and things to distract him. After about 25 minutes, he is usually out cold and sleeps for two to three hours. This has been awesome! I get to work out and he takes a nap!

However, it's not all sunshine and rainbows. Because he is taking a nap, he thinks he can wake up earlier. The naps started Monday and Tuesday morning he was up at six, Wednesday it was 5:30 and Thursday it was 4:45. On Thursday I decided I wasn't going to get up that early so I told him to go back to sleep and after much coaxing he finally did. This morning he was up at six again. Six is okay because that is when my alarm is set anyway so I can go downstairs and have breakfast and read scriptures with Glen, clean the kitchen and shower before work starts at seven. However, he was sleeping until anywhere between 6:30 and eight last week. I have to decide if I want the quality work time while he takes a nap or if I want the extra sleep and get-ready-without-George time in the morning. So far I choose work time and sleepiness.

Maybe I'll wake him up from his nap early but that usually means angry crying for twenty minutes and a bad mood for much longer. I could also put him to bed later but that means less alone time with Glen before we both pass out at ten. We cherish that time sitting on the couch without the boy. And what happens when I have a newborn getting up at 3 am and then George at 5:30? I'm glad Glen will be almost out of school by the time the new one comes. And I am taking the full maternity leave. Last time I only took about a week off. It's hard not to work when you work from home but I will do my best this time. I will need lots of naps.

New Month, New Post

2012-02-02T16:10:00.000-08:00

There isn't much to say about the past couple of weeks. Work has been slow so I've been working on my courses. I am just about finished with my degree! I can almost taste it! George has been learning every day. He knows all of the letters of the alphabet and will point them out every where we go. He does the same with numbers 1-11. Eleven is my favorite because it sounds like "lelele"which is very close to what violin sounds like but with emphasis on the second syllable instead of the third. We just figured out that George has been removing the bricks from the brick border we paid $700 to be put in. You'd think after paying that much the mortar would hold the bricks enough to not allow a two year-old to remove them. He has a pretty fun imagination already. He builds train tracks out of his letter/number blocks and takes his train across them. His train tracks double as a walkway for his Buzz. He has given up naps. This is no bueno. He has done this before but usually it is just once or twice and then he takes a nap the third day but we are going on four days. And the days he does take a nap they are really late in the afternoon, like five. We take daily "walks" which usually consist of him riding his bike for five minutes and then leaving it in the middle of the sidewalk and then I take it back to the house and we walk around the neighborhood VERY slowly as he looks at every rock and closes every garbage can. But at least we are out of the house. I almost wish he would ride in the stroller so he would take a nap but I do like that he is an active kid and not lazy.

One Down, Eight to Go!

2012-01-15T19:13:00.000-08:00

I finished one of my 2012 goals. I got the rest of my fabric last week and finished up baby #2's quilt:It's very simple and I have almost mastered this type of quilt so I might try something more complex with the next kid. It took me about 8 hours total to make. This is the first quilt I started and finished completely on my own. Last time I needed my mom to help finish it and the first time I had to be taught every step. So, third time's the charm! I hope he likes it!

A Note to My Pregnant Friends...

2012-01-12T11:35:00.000-08:00

...who are expecting boys:

While it may be expected in our society, you are not required to circumcise your little boy. I suggest before making the decision to do so or not to do so you do some serious research as this is not something you can go back on... And that is all I have to say about that.

Obligatory New Year Post

2012-01-05T07:14:00.000-08:00

I am not one to celebrate New Year's. I don't get it. It's just another day. However, I did decide to set a few goals for myself that I would like to accomplish this year. New Year's Eve was pretty uneventful at the Hicks' home. We ordered Chinese food and put the baby to bed at his regular time. We both fell asleep on the couch watching the incredibly boring New Year's programs. I work up at 12:01 am and woke Glen up and we went to bed. Good times.

Okay, so on to my goals:

Potty train George
Have a healthy baby boy without needing to be induced (please!)
Gain no more than another 15 lbs this pregnancy
Finish baby #2's quilt before he gets here (still waiting on the fabric!)
Breastfeed through the end of the year
Save enough money for Glen to get his Masters without taking out a loan (we're only 1/3 of the way there and we are halfway through our available saving time...)
Graduate from BYU with my bachelors (Graduation is set for the same day as my due date so I will probably not be walking... Sad day)
Get Glen started at ASU in the Fall in the program he really wants (come on ASU, you need him!)
Find a good daycare for George when Glen starts school (I would love to keep him home but thinking about two babies and working full-time is scaring the crap outta me) I think it will help him learn social skills as well. He needs interaction with other kids and adults!

And that's about it. This is more for me than you. I need to put these things down in print so I can be reminded. Happy New Year!

We Made it! (barely)

2012-01-02T08:47:00.001-08:00

So I made it through my crazy week. The RS activity went really well and Glen and Theora did a great job, of course. I took my final and passed the course with a B. Not my best work but the course is over and that's all I care about at this point. The orchestra concerts were also well done. The kids have worked really hard and Glen is a genius so put two and two together and you get a great concert. After the activity on Saturday, we loaded up the car and headed to Vegas. We were only there to sleep since we wouldn't get in to Springville until about 3 or 4 in the morning. That wasn't happening. We got to see my brother who was there for a training which was fun.

We made it to Springville on Sunday afternoon and Glen thankfully took George over to Grandpa's house while I took a two hour nap. Mmmmm.... I could use one of those right now. We stayed at my little sister's house which is a mother-in-law apartment at the back of Glen's dad's house. It was nice to be so close to family! George went a little stir crazy in the small space, though. My sister and I swapped houses so she came here and took care of Charlie and the house and we took care of her dog and house. It was a pretty sweet set up.

Most of my time in Utah was spent working but when I wasn't doing that, we were shopping, eating, and spending time with family. One day I actually went into the office. We had a Christmas party and it was really fun! I love to be able to see the people I work with and interact with them.

We took Grandpa Hicks up to the Natural History Museum at Thanksgiving Point the day before Christmas Eve. George loved it! He now loves dinosaurs!Christmas Eve was spent at Glen's sister's house which is the annual tradition. We all get together and eat and exchange gifts. It's always a lot of fun! George got a LeapFrog bus that teaches the alphabet from his cousins. He loves it!Christmas was awesome! George had a slight cold but he was still a happy boy. He got a tricycle from Grandma Robin that he loves! He went straight for it Christmas morning and wouldn't get off. We were able to have Christmas morning at Glen's dad's house and it was a lot of fun! Between the six of us (Dad, Glen, Marie, Marianne, me and George) we had enough presents to last an hour and a half. It was nuts! My most exciting presents were my new breastfeeding cover and Moby wrap! They are so cute! Glen and Marie got me those.
The week following Christmas was a little crazy. Glen woke up not feeling well on Tuesday and stayed in bed all day. I was feeling fine until that night. All night long I was vomiting and doing other unpleasant things. The next day was spent recuperating until the evening when we went to a friend's wedding reception. It was at the same reception hall where we had our reception and is the only other reception we have been to at that venue. It's a nice little place in Provo. We walked over to Sammy's around the corner and got hamburgers afterward. Anyway, the rest of the week was spent cleaning the house and packing. Our last night I took my car over to my brother's house and he replaced the speakers. I didn't get back to the house until one in the morning and we had decided to get up and leave as soon as George got up. George woke up around five so I got a good four hours of sleep and then drove the whole way home. I prefer to be the driver because, well, let's face it, I like to be in control... I almost let Glen drive when we got to Wickenburg but I had a time I wanted to get home and if I wasn't driving I couldn't guarantee we would make it. I have a problem.

Is this week over yet?

2011-12-14T11:36:00.000-08:00

I'm so stressed. I really just need to breathe but I can't. Sunday Glen reminded me that I am playing in his concert on Thursday and I haven't even looked at the music. I also realized that my house is no where near ready for people to come stay here. Our friend Theora is coming tomorrow to stay for a couple of nights and then we are leaving for Utah on Saturday and my little sister and her family will be staying in our house. So Sunday night was spent tidying up the kitchen (after Glen's Christmas treat extravaganza on Saturday which lasted until midnight and involved making two kinds of cookies, peanut brittle, chocolate dipped candy canes and peppermint bark) and practicing the cello for the concert. One of the songs is ridiculous.

Then on Monday I continued to clean the rest of the house and do six or so loads of laundry. Glen didn't come home from work because he had to help with the elementary Christmas concerts. I met him at the school to watch the performances since my nephews were singing. Luckily my mom was able to give me a ride and help with George at the concert.

Tuesday I continued laundry and got my bedroom (the worst room of all) ready to be vacuumed. I started vacuuming and then my vacuum broke. Meanwhile, I have been trying to squeeze in as much studying as possible, which isn't a lot. Then we went to the band concerts. Glen's band was awesome! My nephew's band was pretty good, too. It was not easy to keep George under control on my own. This morning I woke up at 2 am to go to the bathroom and couldn't go back to sleep. I was too busy thinking about getting the Relief Society Christmas party ready. I have to go to the store to buy all of the food for it and it is a lot of food.

So, after laying awake for four hours, I decided I would only work a half-day today and then go to the store and buy everything so I don't have to think about it any more. Then I will deliver it all to my magnificent helpers. Tonight I am taking my final exam for Abnormal Psychology. I am not ready for it but I have to take it before we leave for Utah and this is the only free night.

Tomorrow is the dreaded concert. I guess I will be free to practice tonight after my exam since I won't need to study. Also, Theora is flying in and I will need to go pick her up. Friday should be good. My little sister will be here and I can hash out the last minute details for the activity. This activity is going to be awesome. Glen is doing a presentation on Handel's Messiah and playing the organ and Theora will be singing. She is a vocal performance graduate from SUU. Then we will have an awesome lunch. Any way, I need to go to the store!

Second Time Around

2011-11-30T12:54:00.000-08:00

So far this pregnancy has been very similar to the first one. The only difference is I now have a small child kicking, punching and jumping on my belly from the outside instead of just the inside. I swear he knows an annoying younger brother is in there and he's trying to get rid of him. I finally got George to say "baby" instead of "mama" when he sees a baby or small child. We're making progress!
He can also say about 80% of the letters of the alphabet. He doesn't know the song but he will point out the letters in his books, on street signs, in subtitles and anywhere else he sees them. He also knows how to say numbers 2-10. He has a hard time with 1. He also points out numbers where ever he sees them. It's crazy! He's getting too big way too fast. He gives excellent hugs (or "hums" as he calls them) and kisses. He loves to be read stories before bed and he won't start eating his food until it's blessed. He tries saying the prayer on his own but it's just humming with his mouth open. That must be what I sound like when I pray...I love this little boy more every day! I won't lie. There are days I want to give him up to a nice family. Sometimes he will just scream and cry for no reason and he won't stop for 15-20 minutes and I just want to scream. I'm learning patience, that is for sure!

Little Brother

2011-11-25T13:32:00.001-08:00

Birthday Week!

2011-11-17T08:05:00.000-08:00

My birthday week started on Sunday. My mom made the dinner of my choice (Navajo tacos) and Glen made the dessert of my choice (New York cheesecake). My mom had also made her famous cinnamon rolls and Glen made a two-layered carrot cake for good measure. It was all delicious and it was all a lot of food to digest. My mom also gave me some gifts that day since she would be in Utah for the actual day of my birth. She got me a giant bag of Hot Tamales, a real-live wok (which we used the next day for teriyaki chicken) and a rotating waffle-maker. It was an awesome day!
On my actual birthday, yesterday, Glen made me some from scratch waffles in my new waffle-maker and I ate them with the leftover strawberry sauce from the New York cheesecake. I received lots of lovely phone calls, texts and Facebook messages. They made me feel so special! Glen got home from work around four-thirty with flowers, a card and a few gifts. I got Epic Mickey and Dance Dance Revolution for the Wii and Dumbo on blu-ray! I'm so spoiled. Then told me he had a babysitter lined up and we had reservations for 6:00pm. I had just gotten out of the shower and the nearest place with reservations was at least 30 min away. So I hurriedly got ready and we dropped George at my wonderful brother and sister-in-law's house with my amazing nephews that are George's best friends. We had a lovely dinner at PF Chang's that was only interrupted a few times with more texts and a phone call from my other brother who was mad at Glen for not answering his text about our address so my flowers from him did not get here on time. I love brothers!But the birthday celebrations are not over! Unfortunately for my family, they continue! We will be going to Buca di Beppo on Saturday. If you have never been to this restaurant, I suggest you go and at least try the gnocchi. Mmmmmm...
In my defense, I was planning on simply celebrating my birthday on Saturday at Buca's and Glen added all of the fanfare on my actual birthday. It wasn't supposed to be a three-day celebration. Thanks Honey!!

New Pictures!

2011-11-06T17:40:00.000-08:00

We got new family pictures yesterday in preparation for Christmas cards. I can't wait to see the rest!

No More Candy!

2011-11-03T10:47:00.000-07:00

Halloween was so fun! We had our annual Allen Family Halloween party the Monday before and ate lots of food and candy. Then the ward Trunk-or-Treat was that Friday. George picked up on it right away. He didn't like it when people would put candy in his bucket, though. He just wanted to be handed the candy and then he would put it in his bucket. We figured he didn't know it was all candy but then someone gave him non-candy and he gave it to me. No thanks, Mom!

On the day of Halloween, George's cousins and Aunt Miken came over and picked George up to go to my brother's office for their trick-or-treating. He made a killing and was a hit with the co-workers. He even stole candy from some unsuspecting little girl who only had about two candies because she had just started. He's sneaky.

That night, we went trick-or-treating in a nearby neighborhood. Our neighborhood has a lot of kids but it seemed like last year we only had a handful come by so we went somewhere else with George. The old ladies loved his hair. He would go up to the houses by himself or with the other kids and take care of business himself. No need to wait for mom and dad. Besides, he didn't want mom and dad. If he was going to hold someone's hand it was Uncle Taylor. Which seemed odd since Taylor was dressed as a zombie. But George didn't care. He knew it was just good old Uncle T.T.My tongue is now sore from all the candy. I let George have a piece or two a day. He doesn't seem to mind. Hopefully it will be gone soon...

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-25T15:23:00.001-07:00

Slow news day

2011-10-19T07:43:00.000-07:00

I haven't really felt the need to update the blog in a while. We went up to Utah for a week last week and that was fun. We saw as many people as we could squeeze in to a week. It's not easy trying to see everyone you love in a place you lived for half your life (or your whole life, in Glen's case). But we did get to see our family which was the best part! We spent some time with my sister Caitie and my brother Dayton and his family. We also got to have dinner in Salt Lake with Glen's sisters, minus his littlest sister, Marianne. We went to The Spaghetti Factory and I shamelessly ate every bite of my garlic mizithra, which is just like their usual mizithra with spaghetti except it had garlic, bacon and mushrooms.... I want some right now.

Glen has officially applied to grad school! I am so excited! He still has to get accepted to ASU and then apply to the actual program but I know he will get in. He is so smart and has so much potential. Most importantly, he is most happy when he is in school learning about the subjects that most interest him. The 9 to 5 just isn't for him.

I am taking a mid-term this week for my abnormal psychology course. I'm not really prepared but I'm working on it. I just want to get these courses over with. I have decided that I don't care if I get a B. Bs are just fine. This means I can stop stressing so much about getting As. I started a horrible English course two months ago and I am not even one tenth of the way through it. I gave up about a month ago. There are so many freakin' papers for this course and I am pulling my hair out trying to understand what this professor wants. I have completed two assignments but I have to turn in the first three together and I haven't even started the third because the premise of the paper is so convoluted. I wrote a paper on my opinion of what the most important aspects of rhetoric are. Then I wrote a cover letter and resume. Now I have to write a paper on how my first two papers used my theory of rhetoric that I wrote about in my first paper on rhetoric and I have to use my theory of rhetoric while I write about it. If anyone would like to write this paper, let me know.

George and I have cold this week. He got it in Utah and gave it to me when we got home. This means I have not been able to jog all week. I want to go but then I wake up at 5 am to go and my throat hurts and my head feels foggy. I keep thinking I am better and then I wake up like that and realize I really shouldn't go jogging.

Anyway, life is great! I feel good, I feel great, I feel wonderful.

Disneyland

2011-10-06T20:42:00.000-07:00

We had a great time!! George rode everything he was big enough for and loved every minute! He only cried when he had to wait his turn.

18 Months!

2011-10-01T08:09:00.001-07:00

Can you still call an 18 month-old a baby? Well, he's my baby and he's hilarious. He does and says some funny things. I needed to go to the bathroom so I paused Sesame Street and took George with me. When we got back I couldn't find the remote so I said, "George, where is the remote?" He said, "Mo?" and started giggling. Then he pulled it out from behind my laptop where it was about a foot away from me and held it up and said, "Der it dis!" Like, "Mom, you are so dumb..." He takes after his momma in that department.
Tomorrow we will ride off into the sunset on our way to Disneyland. I watched a documentary on the park with George so he could see some of the rides and maybe recognize them when we get there. I also had him watch Nightmare Before Christmas to get ready for the Haunted Mansion. He put his hands over his ears when it first started and then he loved it! I really hope he likes to ride the rides and doesn't just cry the whole time...
I love this boy more than I thought I ever could. He's my best friend (after Glen, of course)!

Holy Crap, It's Happening!

2011-09-20T07:03:00.000-07:00

My mom is going to Anaheim tomorrow for a convention and she will be in Disneyland in Thursday. This made me extremely jealous and I tried to work it out so that George and I could go with but it just didn't work. So then I got to work thinking about how I could get to Disneyland before the end of the year. Glen and I were going to go in October for Fall break but we decided to save money and go to Utah instead. Well, I really want to go to Disneyland. My little sister is coming to town next week and I thought, "Caitie loves Disneyland, maybe she will drive over with me while she is here." So, I ran this by my mom and she said, "I will go, too!" Well, I asked my boss if I could take a couple of days off in about two weeks and he said that was fine (usually it has to be approved a month in advance). I booked a hotel yesterday and just bought tickets online. Now we have to go. I am so frackin' excited! We are taking George and my six month-old niece Jeri so it will be low-key and I am totally okay with that. I just want to be in the atmosphere of the happiest place on earth!
Glen is not going because he refuses to take a day off. But now that mom is going, he wouldn't have fit in the car anyway. So, it's a girls' and babies' trip. Woot!

It will be Halloween time again!! But I hope to not be that chubby (granted I was pregnant but I just look chubby).

I'm Starving

2011-09-09T09:48:00.001-07:00

Not eating that long list of foods is proving very difficult. One week after cutting those items out of my diet and I am still getting hives daily. A few more days of this and I am going to go insane. Do you know how hard it is to find foods without any of these ingredients? I refuse to go to a health food store and spend millions when I don't even know what is causing the hives. So, for now, I eat salad with special dressing, rice, meat, cheese, fruits and vegetables. Other than rice chex (no rice crispies, they have soy or something I can't remember) and fruits and veggies, there is nothing I can just snack on. I can't go down and make popcorn or grab a handful of pretzels. No fruit snacks or candy. And lets be honest, how often do you eat a banana and realize you are now more hungry than before? So, for my daily snacks I usually have to make a meal and just not eat a lot of it. I eat salad or cheese or a Greek yogurt. I have two boxes of Hot Tamales staring me in the face each day from their location on top of the tv. Oh, how I want to eat them. But I am not having any problems keeping the lost weight off, since I can't eat anything.
Last night we had a RS meeting I was in charge of and we had chicken salad sandwiches on croissants. I really wanted one. Even just a spoonful of chicken salad would have been enough. But that darn mayonnaise in the salad ruined everything. Anyway, I am not usually a negative person but you know how people on a strict diet are usually moody? Well, take that times ten. Being on a forced strict diet is the worst thing ever. Anyway, that is enough negativity for one post. As soon as I realize this isn't worth it, I will be eating everything in sight. Starting with sweet pork nachos with tomatillo ranch dressing from Costa Vida.

Hives Update

2011-09-02T08:34:00.000-07:00

I am still getting hives. I had my blood tested for food allergies as well as other things. The good news is I do not have blood cancer and my liver is functioning properly so those are not the causes of the hives. The results for the food allergy test were interesting. I am not allergic to milk. The one thing I thought it was and had started changing my lifestyle for. They rate them on a scale from 1-3 which comes from how much of a reaction there was. Here they are in order of severity from least to most:
And the most severe reaction of them all came from:

So, I'm going to go eat my rice with nothing on it for lunch. What is everyone else having?

But seriously folks, the doctor suggested I stop eating all of these foods for two weeks and then start reintroducing them one by one to see which one is causing the hives. I am able to manage the hives with an antihistamine but she said the reaction could develop into anaphylactic shock and so on. That's alright, I hate french fries and ketchup. And I can't stand strawberries! Ick! Ugh. My life will never be the same without most of these foods. Hopefully it turns out to be one of them and that one is oats or something. Although, I love me some oatmeal cookies. The only one I wouldn't care about is shrimp but I know it's not that because I don't eat it. Are there any on this list you could not live without?

Compellation

2011-08-30T08:04:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure that is a word but it's not underlined in Word so I'm going with it. It refers to the fact that I feel compelled to write something on the blog today but I don't know what about.
Glen started school a few weeks ago and things are going much more smoothly this year than last. He likes the new assistant principle and he is not as strained as last year. The administration is requiring all teachers to have a prep and a normal lunch time. He had neither for the first two weeks of this year.
My schedule at work was changed so I can't work half-days on Friday anymore. I am mostly okay with this as it will make it so that Monday is not so crazy. George is becoming increasingly difficult to have around while I am trying to work. He likes to climb on me and brush my hair and yell really loud. This doesn't work when I have someone on the phone. Luckily, every once in a while, Grandma comes to save the day. Yesterday she picked him up at noon and didn't bring him back until five. It was glorious. I even took a nap. I should have been cleaning the house but the couch was calling my name.George is growing. He is huge and so smart. He says all sorts of fun words like "papa (grandpa)" "mama (the obvious but also grandma)" "ball" "bumbob (spongebob)" "memo (elmo)" "cow" "wa-is-at (what is that)" "dow (very nasily 'no')" "teetee (Uncle Taylor)" "day (cousin Dade)" "tay-a (cousin Tayen)" "peepee" "bubu (bubbles)" "dita (diaper)" "cah (car)" and others. They are starting to actually sound like different words instead of just the same word with different emphasis.He likes to brush his own teeth. I brush them first and then hand over the toothbrush. He actually does really well reaching all of his teeth and he does not give it back very easily. He likes to say prayers and will fold his arms when we ask him to or when we say "amen" or when he sees someone else with their arms folded. He loves to color and eat crayons. We are a month from nursery! He has been before, as I have mentioned, and he loves it!He eats his vegetables first on his plate. He loves broccoli, cucumber and carrots the best.
Hope everyone is doing well out there!

At the Mall

2011-08-22T14:58:00.000-07:00

In Arizona, you really have to search for free activities outside of the home during the summer months. On Saturday, we decided to head to the mall. Free air conditioning, a pet store and a play place could only be improved upon with a free sample from See's Candy.This dog was very concerned because there was a Yorkie running around in the back behind all of the cages.

The day is best summed up in George's words: "Weee, weee, weee!"

Hiatus

2011-08-10T08:12:00.000-07:00

I have taken a break from losing weight. Well, my body has. I am still trying to lose weight but it's just not happening anymore. So I will stick with maintenance for now. I get up every weekday morning (I try to anyway.. sometimes not even my alarm can wake me up) and go jogging/walking. Then I usually have a healthy breakfast, snack and lunch. But then Glen comes home and makes a delicious dinner that is not always the best for me. I think that is my weakness and the reason I am not progressing. But I'm not gaining and I feel good so I'm okay with all of that. Forty-eight pounds is a lot to lose and a lot to ask of my body. It needs a break!

I leave you with a video of my baby doing my job:

Happy Birthday!

2011-08-01T21:35:00.001-07:00

Today is Glen's birthday! He is now as old as me. But not for long! He spent the better part of the day in training in Maricopa. If you know anything about Arizona, you know that Maricopa is in the middle of no where. It is over an hour from our house. So he left here at 6:30 am and got home around 5:00 pm. Then we dropped the rotten off at Grandma's and went out to dinner. My family came over after and we had cake and ice cream. He requested "Better than Church Cake". This is more commonly known as "Better than Sex Cake" but Glen's a prude; at least in public.

Glen is a wonderful husband and adoring father. I watch Glen with George and I see everything I should be as a mom. They are best friends! When Glen left for work this morning, George would not let him put him down. He would just start screaming every time. But, he left anyway, with me holding a screaming baby. Luckily, George fell asleep shortly thereafter and slept for three hours. Then when Glen got home, George ran to his daddy and anytime I even looked at him, he got mad and waved me away. He is his daddy's boy.

He works really hard at his job, delaying his dream of a Master's and Doctorate while I finish my Bachelor's. He is the reason I am finishing it. I kept saying I didn't really need it and he kept saying I did. He knows how important it is to me even when I don't.

Thanks for everything honey! I love you! Happy Birthday!

Pictures!

2011-07-16T13:31:00.001-07:00

Upstairs guest bathroom. This bathroom had THREE towel racks. Really?! So we took them all down, spackled and painted and then put one new one up. It was a beige color and we painted it the same green as the downstairs half-bath.

Downstairs Living Room. This room was four different colors... Not sure what the thought process was there. We went for two colors: one main color and an accent color in the kitchen that extended into this room.

Update Your Blog Day!

2011-07-15T12:01:00.001-07:00

I declared it "update your blog" day so I guess I had better join in the festivities! We have been making several home improvements. I am finally satisfied with our living room and took pictures but I need my mom's magic cord to download them (I have learned I need only mention it on the blog and it appears at my house within 24 hours. Let's watch!). We had the entire downstairs (minus the front room/salon/parlor/piano room {that's all one room, I'm just not sure what to call it}) painted recently. We did the bathroom ourselves and have already posted pictures here but we hired our home teacher to do the kitchen/dining room/living room/entry/stairs area. The kitchen is not quite ready for its debut on the blog because we still need a curtain for the window over the sink, but when we get one, I will be sure to take a picture and then post it several days later after getting the cord from my mom. Oh, we have also redone the guest bathroom. We did it around the same time we did the half-bath downstairs we just didn't post pictures. Maybe I will just take pictures with my phone and post them later today....
We saw Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II last night/this morning! It was awesome! We had readmit tickets from a previous purchase and we were told we could use them for any movie. Therefore, we paid the price of a regular ticket but were able to see Harry Potter in IMAX 3-D. It was fabulous! We got in line around 9:30 and waited until 12:05 for the movie to start. My sweet mother stayed the night at our house so that we could go. Isn't she awesome? While the movie was not inline with the book completely, I feel David Yates does a great job of making sure the most important aspects are still present.
Next time you see George, ask him what a chicken says. You are sure to smile!
PS. I thought I had already mentioned this but I guess not: I am now in the Relief Society Presidency. I never knew how much work goes into such a calling...

15 months!

2011-07-12T07:11:00.000-07:00

Watching Elmo

My baby boy is now 15 months old. We went in for his 15-month check-up on Friday last week. He weighs 25 lbs and is 32 inches. He has grown 2 inches in three months. He is around the 50 percentile for weight and 70th for height and of course he is somewhere in the 80th percentile for head size. It doesn't help that both his mom and dad have giant noggins. He can kind of say a few words. He can identify several animals and he says, "chi-chi" for chicken and "dawdy" for doggy (sounds a lot like how he says daddy) or he'll just say, "woof woof". He says, "ooooo" for cows. He talks in his own language non-stop. He points to his various body parts on command. I think his favorite is to find his ear 'cause he can really grab on. He has decided to sleep more at night and only take one long nap during the day which is working well. He LOVES Sesame Street. He especially loves Elmo. He is an obstinate little stink and throws tantrums when he doesn't get his way. He also frequently employs a rather dramatic but quite silly psuedo-cry. It's pretty funny. But he is also a sweetheart that loves to give hugs and kisses and will walk in circles around the room with his lips puckered saying, "mmmmmmm" until everyone in the room has received a few kisses each. We love our little boy!

Die Hard

2011-07-07T07:39:00.000-07:00

They are back this morning, with a vengeance. And, yes, I am aware that if my body were like it was a few years ago, there would be a boob in the picture.

Utah

2011-07-06T20:47:00.000-07:00

Okay, so overall, Utah was awesome! The weather was absolutely perfect. It even rained a couple of times which was a nice change from home. We were able to visit our families and friends that we never get to see. George was able to play with his cousins on both sides and spend time with his Grandpa Wayne. His most favorite part was playing on the riding lawn mower. I have a lot of pictures but they are all in that black hole of a camera that I have. I will take it over to my mom's one day and download them. We went to Lagoon with Glen's little sister Marianne. It was the most awesome! George rode a couple of rides by himself but did better on rides we could be on together. On the haunted houses, he would bury his face in my side and whimper. I thought he was too young to even realize what was going on but he was definitely scared. It was kind of cute. About a week into the trip, I starting getting ichy,red bumps on my body. I thought it was just a bad reaction to some mosquito bites. I went to the doctor and was told it was an allergic reaction to something but not bites. Then I realized it was hives. I have no idea why. I had to take steroids and I am still on them to keep the hives away (I thought they would go away as soon as I got home but according to my mom, whatever it is will probably be in my system for a week). Oh well.
So remember this post? Well, I started the Bachelor of General Studies program in October of last year. It took some time getting through the first course because of some confusion with the final exam since I originally enrolled at BYU under Chelsea Allen and they still had me with that name... Anyway, I am currently working on my psychology of gender course. It is course number five of eleven. It's interesting trying to squeeze my courses into the rest of my life. Also, making sure we have the money for it. That part is probably the hardest. For this reason, I took a couple of months off. But I have started again. Just today in fact. Here's hoping I finish before George starts preschool!

Hives

2011-06-30T13:25:00.001-07:00

That about sums up what I have been dealing with since I pulled into Utah 12 days ago. Sure, I've been having a great time. We've been to Park City and Lagoon and spent time with old friends and family. But I can't stop thinking about the hives all over me. More details will come after we get home next week.

Mexico!

2011-06-15T10:17:00.000-07:00

So, I did it! I lost 46 pounds as of the day before we left. However, I gained a little weight while we were out... Not surprising by any means but we did still jog 4 out of 5 days and I didn't eat a lot of crap because I was not feeling well for three of the days. I thought for several hours I was pregnant because that is what the nausea I had felt like. But I took a pregnancy test and it was negative and as soon as I crossed the border back into the states I was feeling just fine. I have never had stomach issues in Mexico. I have a stomach of steel. But not this year...

The trip was a huge success! George absolutely loved the beach. He sat in the sand and played with shovels and buckets and he even braved the surf. When we went fishing and snorkeling, he wanted to get in the ocean with me so I let him. We had a wonderful time with family and can't wait for the next year! Here are some of my favorite pictures from the trip:

I hesitate to post this last one... but it's for posterity, right? Every kid is looking for a bikini shot of her great-grandma, right?

So Close and Yet So Far Away

2011-06-01T10:31:00.000-07:00

Remember this post? Well, I'm so frackin' close to meeting my Mexico goal. I had planned to lose 45-50 pounds by Mexico and I am down 44. I have three more days and they will be filled with lots of activity and sweets avoiding. I wore my very first bikini on Saturday with my mom at the public pool. I never understood why women were those. Now I do. It has nothing to do with what other people are thinking. I have never felt so good about myself. I don't plan on making it a habit but when I am just with family in Mexico, I see no harm. Anyway, I weigh less than I did in my goal picture and none of the clothes I wore that year to Mexico are small enough now but I am still not satisfied. I have seven pounds to lose before I am considered a normal weight for my height. I want to at least do that and then some. But, I do plan on having more babies so we'll see how far I get before I start growing again. I am so grateful to my awesome family for encouraging me to be healthy and active. I feel great and I am ready for those pictures in Mexico. At least for now; I might be embarrassed of them later on down the road.Mexico 2007

Easter 2011
(I have lost a little since then but I can't find a good recent one...)And just as a reminder, Mexico 2010

The Help

2011-05-31T10:46:00.000-07:00

My mother introduced me to this novel. It is fantastic! It is set during the 1960's and is all about the black maids employed in Jackson, Mississippi. It is a national bestseller and they are making a movie to be released this August. It is shocking to think this was happening just 50 years ago. I find it hard to fathom that a group of people really thought themselves higher than others just because of where and to whom they were born (and many from all races and nationalities still do). Anyway, I read it in a very short amount of time because I simply could not put it down. I suggest it to any and all who enjoy a little historical fiction. You will love it!

Prescott, AZ

2011-05-31T10:31:00.000-07:00

Glen and I spent less than 36 hours in Prescott, AZ for a weekend getaway without George. Within that time, we were able to do all of the things that are not as fun to do with children. We went to church, out to eat (too many times...), to a museum, to the movies, to many, many antique shops, to a (great) chamber music concert, and stayed in a quaint Bed and Breakfast. We slept until seven! It was so great to just get away for a little and spend time alone together. We have fun no matter where we are but when we make an effort the fun is multiplied exponentially. Even though we both had colds it was a very enjoyable weekend. I'm so blessed to spend eternity with my best friend. He really is the only person on earth that can put up with me for that long.

2011-05-26T21:57:00.001-07:00

Three Glorious Years!

2011-05-24T09:27:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, Glen and I celebrated our third anniversary. I was under the impression that we were REALLY going to celebrate this weekend when we go to Prescott to a Bed and Breakfast. I THOUGHT we would be swapping gifts then. Well, I was so wrong. Anyway, we decided it would be fun to go to lunch together so Glen came home and picked us up and we went out to a little Mexican place by our house. Then we capped it off with some yummy Thrifty ice cream. After school, Glen came home bearing gifts. It's the third anniversary and the traditional third year gift is leather and he handed me a Victoria's Secret bag. Unfortunately, it was not what you would think. It was beef jerky! Yum! And somewhat like leather. He also got me a really sweet card. I felt like the worst wife ever. Then we got ready to go take family pictures. My neighbor down the street is a photographer and we asked her to do a session with us. She did an amazing job in a really short amount of time! We then dropped George off with Grandma and headed out to dinner. Glen had a gift card for Outback so we figured that would be as good a place as any. It was really good! When we got back to Grandma's house to pick up George, there was a beautiful bike with a sign on it waiting for me in the front room! It's gorgeous and I can't wait to take it for a spin. In fact, I rode it around my mom's house. I am so spoiled and I am the worst wife all at the same time. Then we got home and our pictures were already on our photographer's blog! Nuts! Anyway, it was a fabulous anniversary and we haven't even done the real part of it yet! I can't wait for this weekend!

Monkey See, Monkey Do

2011-05-19T07:24:00.000-07:00

I felt it was time for an update on my smelly son. He has learned quite a few things lately. He says, "Daddy" but it sounds more like, "Da-eee". He also says "Hello" but it sounds more like, "Eee-yeah". Then he says things like, "mama", "bye-bye" and so on. He also responds to several phrases such as, "get your drink", "go see Daddy" (I use that one when I've had enough), "get your doggie", "Let's go downstairs", "Do you want a bite?", and so on. He does not seem to understand, or rather listen to, the following: "Don't put that in your mouth!", "Leave Charlie alone!", "Don't go outside!", "Stay here!", "Don't pick up/eat the dog food/poop!" and several other life-saving commands. He can run, go up and down the stairs unassisted, dance like a maniac, and half-blow kisses (he brings his hand to his mouth and just leave it there). He gives the best hugs and kisses and will even do so on command. He sleeps about 9.5 hours at night, takes a 2-3 hour nap in the morning and, about 50% of the time, he will take an afternoon nap lasting anywhere from 30 min to 2 hours. Those naps allow me to get all of my phone calls done for work. Occasionally, a student calls me while George is awake and I just pray he's quiet and use the mute button a lot. He loves elmo and will watch entire episodes of Sesame Street just to see him. Other favorites are Wonder Pets and Word World. My psychology books take a lot about the benefits of Sesame Street. Apparently, kids who watch it do better in High School. I thought that was interesting. Anyway, Mexico is in two weeks and two days! I can't wait to see my naked baby buns running on the beach!In his Easter suit

Eating S'mores for lunch

S'mores are messy!

Mother's Day

2011-05-10T07:39:00.001-07:00

My first Mother's Day was pretty uneventful last year. We were in Arizona for my Grandmother's funeral and I just couldn't get into it. This year was amazing! We didn't get to bed until 1:30 am and I lamented that I would be getting up in four hours with George. Glen said, "No you're not!" and I said, "Um, yes. It's my fault we're up so late." Then he said, "If you do, you will be in so much trouble!" I was so confused. Then I remembered: Mother's Day! Yes! So, I took a couple of Tylenol PMs to deal with the literal pain in my neck and closed my eyes until nine, NINE the next morning. (We try to get to church by ten so Glen can practice the organ and start prelude 30 minutes before church starts.) I was happy for the sleep but realized I would not be able to make the cookies I had planned for my Sunday School class. I walked downstairs to a beautiful site: clean kitchen, orchids, breakfast on the table and cookies in the oven! Glen had made a traditional Mexican breakfast. He even made me a smoothie! It was really good! I was so grateful that he had made the cookies for my class. It made my morning so much easier. Church was great, of course. George slept through most of Sacrament meeting like usual. After church, we started the movie Glen got me for Mother's Day and took a nap. Glen never takes naps but since he had only had four hours of sleep...

We then went to my parents' for dinner. Glen had made a cheesecake for my mom the night before because he loves her so. My dad made a great dinner and the cheesecake was a great ending to the evening. My mom got me a necklace and we gave her flowers, chocolates and bubble bath. This reminded me of Mother's Days past. I think I gave her the same thing about ten years ago. Oh well. These are things that stand the test of time.

I love my mom and I am so grateful for all she does for me and my little family. There are days when I cannot take the stress of working and dealing with hyper-active George. I just call her and tell her I am losing it and she comes right over. This is probably more for George's sake than mine but, either way, I am grateful. She has always been an amazing example of a disciple of Christ and I only hope to have the faith she has one day. She communes with Heavenly Father in every sense of the word. I love you, Mom!

PS. Being a mom is the best job I have ever had!

Update

2011-05-05T07:44:00.000-07:00

Things are going well again with weight loss. I started changing things up. I still go walking in the evenings with my brother and sister-in-law but because it's too hot and I needed to change things, I no longer take George on a walk in the afternoon. Now I stay in and do Kenpo X (the only P90X video I can get through) or some Gold's Gym Cardio Workout on the Wii. Every once in a while I go to a Zumba class in the evenings with my sister-in-law. We had an instructor we really liked and she quit so now it's not as fun to go. Anyway, I have lost 40 pounds and I now weigh what I did when I got married. For those wondering, I track my nutrition and workouts at myfitnesspal.com. If any of my friends joins that site, add me as a friend! It's a great program. I try to only eat about 1200 calories a day. No less. Any less and your body goes into hibernation mode and stops burning calories. You need to eat calories to burn them! I have a little over ten pounds to go before I hit my ultimate goal for Mexico. I think I will keep trying to lose weight after that but for now that is my goal. Here is an updated picture. Unfortunately, it's a cellphone picture so it's a little grainy and I look lumpy but I promise my tummy doesn't look like that....

Easter in Pictures

2011-05-04T07:37:00.000-07:00

We had great Easter! George is an amazing egg hunter! We had most of the festivities on Saturday. We had a party and egg hunt with my dad's family and then more of the same with my mom's family. Then on Sunday we had a nice dinner at my parents. Poor Glen is surrounded by my relatives here!At the Allen party

First time on a horse

With his beautiful Gramma!

Enjoying not being a part of the egg toss

He spotted this one on his own

Cousins!

He loves his daddy!

We sat at the dessert table. Grandpa's idea

Surprisingly, George found most of the eggs I hid....

Dade!

Hunt #2

On the hunt. Not a very flattering picture of the mom

Happy Easter!

2011-04-25T15:06:00.000-07:00

The Fateful Trip

2011-04-22T06:52:00.000-07:00

Our Sophomore year, we had the opportunity to go to Disneyland with the orchestra. Bobbi was not going because her family had planned another trip (it was the week after school let out for summer). Glen was not going because his dad would not pay for it (which is why Glen is so awesome). I was sad for Glen because he hadn't been to Disneyland since he was little and I was and am under the impression that everyone needs to experience the joy that is DL. But he really didn't care either way. I wasn't going to stand for it. Every year, to help kids raise money for the trip, the orchestra holds a yard sale of sorts. I decided to sell anything I could find and give all the proceeds to "Glen Goes to Disneyland". I raised about half. His dad agreed to pay half as well. Glen was going!

We walked around the parks in our quirky little group (we had a lot of other quirky friends in orchestra). I have very few solid memories of this trip. I remember Kiri spilling warm coke down my front while we were waiting in line for Splash Mountain (on purpose, mind you). It was a coke that was just sitting there, that someone had left. I was furious. I wish we had bought the picture of us as we went down. I had this constipated look on my face and Kiri had a faux-"I'm Sorry" look about her. Everyone else was just fine. I also remember having a discussion with my friends about not wanting to marry someone with bad teeth. There was also the time when half of us went to the "bathroom" but really took pictures in the photo booth. We swore ourselves to secrecy so as not to upset the others. However, as soon as we saw them, I said, "Hey look at these awesome pictures we got!" I'm an idiot.

The clearest and best memory I have is also the saddest because Glen does not remember. On all the rides, we took turns sitting by different people. One of the times we rode Pirates of the Caribbean. Glen and I got stuck together in the back row. I don't remember really paying any attention to the ride. We just talked. I learned about his mom. I knew when we first met that she had passed away. It was something the other kids talked about. But I had never talked to him about it. My dad had passed about the same time as his mom. We sat in that boat and talked about how annoying it is when you tell someone about it and they say, "Oh, I'm so sorry!". It had happened years ago. We're okay now. We talked about what it was like to lose a parent. I realized in those moments that Glen was my friend. I got to know him personally and from then on I knew when he was around. No more ignoring little Glen.

Disneyland. This was our second trip together, six years later.

Our Story

2011-04-20T14:53:00.000-07:00

With our all-important third anniversary quickly approaching, I have been compelled to ponder on the relationship(s) I have had with my wonderful Glen. I thought it important to start putting down in words the journey that led him and me to the altar (although it sounds terribly wrong, I assure you, that grammar is correct. It was difficult to type even but I went over it time and again and I'm leaving it!).

Our acquaintanceship began in middle school. I owe it all to my dear friend Kiri. She had been at the same birthday party I was invited to and we found out we both played the cello and were in the same orchestra. Okay, to be fair, I think she knew all of that but I am a little dense and it was the first I had heard (there were only, like, eight cellists). Anyway, Kiri and I became fast friends and she introduced me to a quiet boy named Glen. Much to my surprise, he also played the cello in the same orchestra (maybe I was too self-absorbed to notice anyone else? I really don't know). We didn't do much outside of school. I mostly remember getting together at lunch and sharing a bag of skittles between four or five of us. In Junior High, Kiri and I became closer friends and Glen was always there, it seemed. We added Bobbi to the mix as well. I was too busy crushing on... another boy to really notice that Glen had a Y chromosome. He was just one of us, ya know?
Anyway, high school brought more friends but none as close as Kiri and Bobbi, oh and Glen. He was always there. When I remember stories from high school, I tell them to Glen excitedly like it's something he's never heard before and it usually ends with him saying, "I know, I was there." I honestly do not remember him being there for most of it. As Sophomores we were pretty awesome. None of us could drive. Kiri turned 16 in September but refused to drive, I turned 16 in November and failed the driving test... twice. Bobbi didn't turn 16 until March and Glen was 15 until the following August. So, we mostly hung out at school.

Next Time: The Indispensable Trip to DisneylandBeautiful Kiri on her wedding day. Bobbi is on the right.

Life As I Know It

2011-04-15T07:29:00.000-07:00

Smash cake

Cake Bites

I am currently watching Toy Story in Spanish with George. He just stares at it. I think he is trying to figure out why they sound different. He has become quite the difficult child at night. He will wake up sometime between two and five in the morning and SCREAM until we go get him and put him in our bed. I've tried just rocking him back to sleep and putting him back in his crib but I will rock him for 30 minutes and he will be sleeping soundly until he feels me standing over the crib. Then he is instantly wide awake and screaming again. So, I just put him in our bed. I am hoping he eventually sleeps in until at least eight, like he used to. He's still cute and fun during the day. I just want to give him away in the wee hours of the morning. What I'm trying to say is, it's not time to work on kid number 2 quite yet.
We had a really fun family party for George last Saturday. We ate yummy food by Glen, opened presents with the friends and cousins and then had cake and ice cream. There is still ice cream in my freezer, which I am proud to say I have not had any since the party, but it is EXTREMELY tempting. I wish I had thought to get gross flavors that I wouldn't want. My weight-loss lately has been very frustrating. This week I have worked out more than ever and I am gaining weight. I am going to attribute this to muscle gain but that is just an excuse people use I think. But, as long as my clothes keep getting bigger I won't worry so much.
Glen is almost finished with the school year! I can't wait to have him around all the time. He will be a big help with George and we will finally get more home improvement projects done. We want to paint the kitchen and add a back splash. We also want to put in grass and a brick patio. Oh, and we are still missing three doors in our house... That should probably be higher on the list...
My job has been frustrating lately, to say the least, but things are getting better. It's really hard to complain about my job when I actually have a job and I get to be home. But sometimes I wish we were in a position where I could just quit and focus on being a wife and mom and finish up my stupid degree. I have eight courses to go. I am not finishing my classes as fast as I want to but I don't have as much time as I thought I would. That and it costs $500 every time I take a class so I have to choose my start dates wisely.
Our third anniversary is coming up and we wanted to do something special. We were thinking about going up to Prescott (where it's nice and cool) and staying in a B&B. This might still happen but I am trying to decide if we can afford to do that and still let me take two courses in June. Also, the only weekend we can go is Memorial Day weekend which means we need to book something soon or everything will be full. Unfortunately, I live with Mr. Indecisive so I will just have to make the decision on my own...
Life is good. Life is great. Life is wonderful! Al infinito y mas alla!

Prenuptials

2011-04-07T14:44:00.000-07:00

Gus and George: Best friends for life!

As you can see from the ticker on the sidebar, I have now lost 34 lbs. Almost, anyway. The website I use rounds up. I've actually lost 33.8 lbs which means I am .2 lbs from pre-pregnancy weight. Next step, prenuptial weight. When Glen and I got married, I guess I just got lazy. Oh, and in order for Glen to think he has eaten, an animal needs to have died. Therefore, I gained some weight. I need to lose another 6 pounds for my prenuptial weight and just another ten after that for my ideal weight. No biggie! Anyway, just thought I would mention something since I haven't said anything about it in a while. I haven't stopped working on it!

I spent the last few days in Utah for the birth of my niece. It was awesome! I loved spending time with family but I sure don't know what to do with myself without Glen. I'm not me when he's not there. Anyway, George had a great time playing with his cousins and seeing Grandpa Hicks and Marianne!

George loves cake!

We had a little birthday party for George in Utah at my sister's house. It was great! He had some cake and loved it! This weekend we will have another party with Arizona friends and family. Pictures to follow!

One year older and wiser, too!

2011-04-01T23:11:00.001-07:00

If this kid is not the cutest you have ever seen, I would like to meet this other baby you deem cuter. I love this boy with all my heart. He is very obstinate and wants to have his way at all times which just means he takes after his mama. He loves an audience and will flirt with anyone who will reciprocate. They only time he is really rotten is when it's just the two of us. But to counter that, he gives me lots of hugs. I can't wait for this kid to talk and tell me all of the things he is thinking! He's so smart and so cute! Happy Birthday George Porge!