Cat in the Hat

One of the things Abigail was sad about when she left her old school was that she was going to be missing a field trip to see The Cat in the Hat at the Orem Scera Theater. So, I surprised her by getting tickets for my mom and I to take her and Maddy to it. 

Both girls were very excited!

I thought it was so funny that when I told my mom and Abi to look over for a picture, they struck pretty much the same pose.

The show was really fun. Afterward they got to meet the actors out in the lobby.

Abi's last day of school at Harvest

Abi's last day of school in Saratoga Springs was February 28th. 

She was really sad to leave. It was interesting because when we first moved here, she finished off first grade at this school and didn't like it. The kids weren't that nice to her and she cried about going back to the point that I thought about homeschooling her in second grade. 

She decided to give it another shot and see how second grade would be. 

And she loved it. She made more friends and had a lot of fun.

And then we had to take her out...

This is Abi with her teacher for most of second grade Mrs. Richins.

Goodbye group hug....

Valentines Day

I really didn't do much decorating or many activities for Valentines this year because I was in the middle of packing. But we did try to make the day special.

I made heart shaped pancakes for breakfast and everyone came down to their little surprises.

Abi had a Hello Kitty marshmallow treat, a fairy book series, and some treats from my parents.

Maddy had a Spongebob marshmallow treat, some Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle figurines, and treats from my parents.

I got Doug some Ferrero Rocher treats and he got some from my parents as well.

And I got some from my parents.

After we got Abi off to school, Maddy and I went to Krispy Kreme, Barnes and Noble, and to visit Doug at work.

We all had a pleasant day.

Random February

In February I had my first Story Sorority book club meeting in person. 

It was for the book Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo. 

Maureen, Karen, and Marcia all attended the meeting and we all really liked the book.

These are the treats I made for it.

 Abi had a school program a few weeks before we moved. They did all patriotic songs. 

You can see her close to the middle of the picture in the red shirt.

A pain in the ....

So, I started this new blog with the intent to not fall behind on it the way I have been doing for the last year.

But I have a good excuse.

I will hopefully be updating soon with all the things that we have been doing but for now... this has been consuming me for the past month and especially the past week.

We had been in our house in Saratoga Springs for a year and we knew we didn't want to stay in it. We didn't feel comfortable in our ward and the longer we lived in the house the more we disliked the neighborhood and the house itself.

Don't get me wrong. There were good and great things. There are always both good and bad anywhere. But there is always that scale of which you feel the most. 

We didn't really know where we wanted to go yet and the housing in Utah is so much more expensive than we thought it would be. So we asked my parents if we could have the option of staying with them for a few months while we looked more. They said yes. 

It turns out that this was exactly what was supposed to happen because there is no way I would have been able to finish that house and start on a new house this week, and Doug's brother has been making his basement into an apartment. We talked to them last week and have agreed to rent it from them.

We will be staying with my parents through May so that Abi can finish the school year at the school down here that she starts tomorrow.  Then we will be moving up to Sandy. 

Now, the biggest obstacle we have had this past week and the reason there was no way I could have prepared a new house is that I have spent the last 9 days in the worst pain of my life. I have been taking Aleve.. and if you know me I have a high pain tolerance and hardly ever take pain meds. Even after c-sections I only took advil for a few days.

It started a week ago Friday. My left arm felt like it had been ripped out of the socket. Then during the night my right foot was in excruciating pain. By Sunday my foot felt better but my shoulder was horrible. I called my doctor at home that morning to make sure I could take Aleve with my other meds. After a total of about 3 hours sleep in two nights I was finally able to sleep for a few hours after taking the aleve.

I had high hopes it was going to get better but then as the week progressed, it moved to my right hip then my left knee, then to my left wrist and hand and then to my right wrist and hand.

I spent Thursday and Friday mopping floors and washing walls and it I couldn't have got through it without help. Doug stayed home to help as much as he could. My sister had my girls. And although I was frustrated that the pain didn't go away after many blessings and prayers, I know without them I wouldn't have been able to get out of bed.

We drew a bunch of blood that all came back normal.

So he told me to call him the middle of next week to tell if it is better or the same and gave me a number of aleve I can take. 

So, Thursday night and Friday night I could barely open my fingers. I couldn't hardly eat or hold a fork. It killed me to pick up my phone. 

Then yesterday it moved to my right shoulder and my left hip and foot. It hurts to get up, to walk, to sit down, to lay down, to turn over, to lift my arms, to pick up a blanket, etc...

I have no idea what is going on. If it is caused by my meds or stress or virus.. I just don't know.

I am holding out hope that within a day or two it will be gone. I haven't been able to really hug or cuddle with my kids in a week and that is killing me. Abi cut her head at my sisters' house on Thursday night and I had to let her hold the paper towel and ice on it and comfort her because I couldn't do it.

My left hand is getting twitchy right now so I think I should stop typing but please, if you wouldn't mind, add your prayers to ours that this will pass. 

I think this has been harder than anything I have ever gone through. Which sounds weird, I know, when it is just pain. But that's just how bad it is.