"Stars"

It is only halfway through January and we have already had a lot going on at the Lloyd home.  Here are some "noteworthy" things happening around here....

Nathanael just finished his second quarter of his sophomore year in high school.  He continues to remind me daily that I need to take him driving and that his 16th birthday is only a few months away.  I tell him not to tell me-I am in denial.

Lindsay also just finished her second quarter in eighth grade.  She scored a goal in one of her last indoor soccer games.  She was very excited!

Ethan continues to play Jr. Jazz basketball.  In his last game, he accidentally passed the ball to the opposite team but turned around and ran hard and fast and stole it back from the kid that he passed it to-it was fun to watch!

Clarissa performed in her dance concerts this last weekend.  They did the production "Mary Poppins" and Clarissa got to be a penguin.  She was hilarious!  The first night at the end of her dance, she was the last one off and turned to the audience to give a great big wave!  To us, she was the "star" of the show.

We celebrated Zachary's 2nd birthday this last weekend.  The theme was guess what-"Cars"!  He is totally obsessed with anything "Cars".  It was fun to watch him get sooo excited over his gifts and blowing out the candles on the cake.  It's funny that when they are turning 1, you try and try to show them how to blow out the candles.  Now it was hard to get him to wait until after singing the "Happy Birthday" song before he blew out the candles  I think the third time around we just decided to hurry and sing the song before he blew them out!  He was the "star" for the day!

My "moment of joy" this week was when I had stayed up well past midnight decorating a Lightening McQueen car birthday cake.  When I first showed him the cake he said, "Mommy, cake, me!"  and then gave me a kiss.  The loss of sleep was totally worth it!

Someday I Will Laugh!!

We are still experiencing a few "technical difficulties" at our home and so I have not kept up on this blog as I should.  Anyway, here are some "notes" from the Lloyd home....

Nathanael took an EMS class at school this semester. He just passed the test from The American Red Cross which means that he is a certified EMR (emergency responder).    Right now, he continues to enjoy playing futsal as well as playing young men's basketball.  Someday I will laugh when I remember how he is eating us out of house and home!

Lindsay continues to play futsal and she also plays indoor soccer.  She played extremely well in her last indoor game!  It was fun to watch.  She hopes to get her braces off in the next few months.  Someday I will laugh when I remember how we would race to the orthodontist's office month after month after month...

Ethan just started rehearsals for the school play.  He also just started Jr. Jazz basketball.  His first game was this last week.  Ethan's favorite sport seems to always be the one that he is currently playing-which basically means that he loves them all!  Someday I will laugh when I remember how he would take the clothes that I just washed and folded and put them back into the hamper???

Clarissa is just about ready for her dance concert.  She also just started piano lessons.  She continues to write and illustrate many stories.  Someday I will laugh when I remember how there is no copy paper when I need it  because she has used it for her books.

Zachary is almost two and seems to be turning into a "little boy" more and more each day. However, someday I will laugh when I remember how he found a green crayon and decided to color all over my white closet door with it.  Someday I will laugh when I remember how he likes to try to clean up after himself and dumps everything in the sink or the garbage-which he misses half the time!

Someday I will miss the messes and the fingerprints everywhere.  Someday I will miss all the noise and the shuttling of children here and there and everywhere.  Seriously, I truly am blessed and this year one of my goals is to try to really enjoy my children more and all the things that being a mom of five includes.  My "moment of joy"  this week was noticing that my laundry piles were not so large this time because I am finally starting to really get my routine going-it only took about two years after having a baby!  Oh, dear!

Cathy

Happy Holidays!

Yes. We are still alive and kicking! We have just had a few technical difficulties at our house. Nevertheless, here is the latest from the Lloyds....

After Nathanael had his wisdom teeth removed, he developed a secondary infection the night before Thanksgiving. His cheeks swelled up again and were very painful. Fortunately, we were able to clear it up with a stronger anti-biotic and he was able to really enjoy Christmas. Nat played futsal (brazalian indoor soccer) over the last few months. Travis coached this team and they won the championship the night before Christmas Eve. Both he and Travis considered it a wonderful early Christmas present. Nathanael also got into the holiday spirit by singing with Men's Chorus in a holiday concert at the school. I am not sure which he likes better-soccer or music! This year, I believe that Nat was grateful for pain medication and being able to eat normally again.

Lindsay participated in her school concert singing with SSA-the women's chorus. It was very enjoyable! She also participated in a holiday dance concert at school. Lindsay participates in futsal academy as well as plays indoor soccer with her team. She continues to improve and is learning a lot. I think Lindsay is grateful to be old enough to go to the stake dances!

Ethan also played futsal with his team as well as participated in futsal academy. It has really helped him learn some good ball skills that he can use in soccer. He sang in the little Christmas concert at Deerfield Elementary and did a great job! His face was very animated! He also found out that he gets to be the character, Michael, in the school play, "Peter Pan". He is really excited. I think that Ethan was just grateful for a break!

Clarissa sang in the little Christmas concert at Deerfield. She is very dramatic and really got into her songs! It was so fun to watch her! She has told me more than once in the last few weeks that she is sooo grateful for her family. I am so grateful that she feels that way!

Zachary was really fun to watch this year with all the Christmas festivities! He absolutely LOVES the movie, "Cars"! It was so satisfying to watch him figure out that when you get to open a present, it ususally has something in it that you like-almost all of which had something to do with "Cars"! I think Zac is grateful for "Cars".

There have been so many wonderful things that have happened in the last couple of months, it is difficult to pick just one "moment of joy". However, one of the highlights was on the way home from choosing a Christmas tree. Picking out a live tree is one of my favorite memories growing up and it is so exciting to me to go pick out a tree. On the way home, we had a tape playing. It was, "John Denver and the Muppets, A Christmas Together". We were all singing, "fa,la,la,la,la" along with the tape as loud as we could! It is a memory I think that I will treasure for a long time!

We are so grateful for this time of year to reflect on our many blessings at Thanksgiving and to enjoy family time together and fun memories at Christmas and New Year's. To me, it truly is the "most wonderful time of the year"!

Cathy

The Monday of Medical Mayhem

We survived!  It has been an interesting two weeks at the Lloyd home.  Here are some "notes" about it...

Two weeks ago, Travis and I took Nathanael in to an oral surgeon to have a tooth exposed that was not coming up.  The orthodontist said that they had done all they could do with his braces without that tooth.  When we got to the office of the surgeon, he recommended that Nat get all four wisdom teeth removed because he had to be "out" for the exposing anyway and it is much better to do this procedure when the wisdom teeth are there- but not totally developed and have large roots.  We ultimately left the decision to Nat and he decided it would be better to get it over with and have it behind him.  Everything went well.  When Nathanael woke up, he kept claiming that he was fine and kept insisting that we take him back to school.  He claimed that his brain was sharp and that he just couldn't talk. Really???  Then when we got home, he jumped out of the van, went inside the house, and ran down the stairs before Travis or I could help him.  He just kept telling us that he was fine!  Of course, the medications wore off and reality set in later.  Anyone who has had their wisdom teeth out can relate to how miserable one can feel.  Despite the pain and not really being able to eat, Nat was a fairly good patient.  He took his medications when he was supposed to and kept himself hydrated and rested.  He is finally doing soooo much better and we are all grateful that it is behind him and he can enjoy the holidays!

That same day, I had scheduled a dentist appointment for four of us to have some dental work done.  What a pain!  I did not know when I scheduled the appointment that Nat would have his wisdom teeth out that morning.  Lindsay needed a small cavity filled.  Poor thing!  She takes such good care of her teeth and yet she is the one whose teeth are not as strong as the others.  I felt like I had to keep the dental appointment because it is so hard to schedule that much time.  Anyway, she got her cavity taken care of and I don't need to worry about it anymore.

Ethan needed one tooth extracted.  It needed to come out to allow for some other teeth that are coming in and must have space.  His teeth don't come out!  Almost all of them have had to be taken out by the dentist.  When we see the teeth after they come out we realize why they don't just fall out on their own.  The roots are unusually long!  His teeth look like talons!  Ethan handled everything well and I don't think he complained at all.

Clarissa also needed to have her teeth extracted as well.  She had to have four little baby teeth pulled.  I overheard the dentist saying how easy it would be to pull out those little teeth. He was surprised when it took a little more effort because, like Ethan, Clarissa has roots that are extremely long!  Unfortunately, that night, Clarissa's bottom lip was extremely swollen and continued into the next day.  I wondered what in the world was going on because I had never seen this with any of my other children.  It ended up that because her lip was numb and she had never experienced that sensation before, she bit her lip over and over-hard and caused many canker sores as well as a giant cold sore.  It took several days for her lip to heal and be normal.  Even though she was in pain, Clarissa did not complain!  She was awesome!

While we were waiting during Nat's surgery, Zachary was breathing funny.  It wasn't so obvious at that point that something was wrong and I debated whether or not to call his doctor.  I finally decided that he needed to be seen, so that evening after the dentist, I took Zac into his pediatrician.  By that point, it was obvious that he was having trouble breathing.  The doctor gave us an inhaler and put Zac on an antibiotic and told me to come back in two days.  I took Zac back to the doctor and it was determined that he has asthma-triggered by a cold.  I had juvenile asthma but grew out of it and so I hope that Zachary grows out of this too!  I just need to watch him close every time he has a cold now.

As you can tell, it was quite a day, but I am grateful that it is behind us and that we can enjoy the holidays.  My "moment of joy" was when Nat was changing his cold packs on his cheeks every thirty minutes.  He asked Clarissa to go get the frozen one out of the freezer for him and take the one back that he had just been using and put it in the freezer.  She told him that she would be happy to and was a cute little nurse!  When she gave the ice pack to him he said, "Thank you sooo much Clarissa!"  I really thought their little exchange was so sweet!

Cathy

The Lloyd Characters

Once again, we have celebrated Halloween...already? Well, here are a few "notes" from the Lloyd home...

Nathanael decided to be Dr. Doofenschmirtz from Disney's "Phineas and Ferb" for Halloween. He really enjoys watching that show. It gives him time to laugh and "chill out" from his crazy schedule. Every year, our family carves pumpkins for Halloween. Nat really does not like cleaning out the pumpkins! When he was little, he would cry and cry when we tried to get hime to pull out the pumpkin "guts". It is so interesting that still after all these years, he carves out his own design but refuses to clean it out!

Lindsay was a "goth" this year for Halloween. She looked pretty convincing! At a ward Halloween party, an elderly woman came up to me and told me that Lindsay looked so much like me when she was all "dolled up" like that! I really was not sure how to take that compliment? Was it the black lipstick or black eye shadow? I know, it was the nose piercing! Ha! Ha!

Ethan was Harry Potter this year. He was perfect for it with his new glasses! We were lucky because we already had a costume that some of our other kids had worn. It seems that every year we either have some character from "Harry Potter" or "Star Wars". This year we had both! Ethan really is into Harry Potter this year and has already said that he wants the Lego Hogwarts Castle for Christmas.

Clarissa was soooo cute this year as Junie B. Jones. She loves those books and I can often hear her laughing out loud in her bed as she reads at night before she goes to sleep. Clarissa took quite awhile to decide what she wanted to be for Halloween-but when she did-it was perfect for her! She was quite entertaining quoting phrases from the books. I loved it!

Finally, Zachary was Yoda from "Star Wars" this year. I had always promised Travis that we would have one of our little ones be Yoda because the baby/toddler costume was so cute. Since Zac is our last little one, it was kind of now or never! He loved Halloween!!! This was the first year that he got to go trick or treating. Travis took Ethan, Clarissa, and Zac this year because it was his turn. He dressed up as a Sith Lord to go with Zac. Zachary was his "little green friend". Travis asked Zac if he wanted to walk or be carried and Zac kept saying "walk". He walked for over an hour and did not want Daddy to carry him! I guess candy is a pretty strong incentive for him. Hmmm. Good to know for future reference! Because it was Travis' turn this year, the weather was fantastic- so just be aware that next year, the weather will be miserable because it will be my turn and the pattern has never failed! I don't really like trick or treating. I didn't even really like it as a child! I remember one year in which it rained and rained and I was so cold that I begged my dad to take us home ( I think it was only after one street). Anyway, he encouraged me to continue and as time went on, I noticed that my hands were turning blue and I told my dad that I was so cold that my hands were turning blue! He took me home and I realized that my hands were blue from the dye that was on my witch's hat! (I really was panicked that it was a permanent condition!)

Well, my "moment of joy" was when the pumpkins were all carved and set out on the porch. For some odd reason, I get a lot of satisfaction out of making sure each pumpkin is scraped very clean before a face is carved in! I know it is weird but that is just the way I am- a little weird!

Cathy

Nostalgia

Here are some "notes" from the Lloyds...

Nathanael sang in a concert for Lone Peak High. It was their fall concert. I couldn't go to the first one and so I was excited to go to this one. I really enjoyed the concert. They sang a couple of pieces that I sang in my junior year. The concert really took me back to some great memories-although I can't believe that it is now my son making those high school memories!

I was helping Lindsay pull a costume together this last week for Halloween. She has decided to be a "Goth". I remember in eighth grade that I dressed up as a flapper for Halloween. I think that that was the last time that I really dressed up for Halloween. Wow!

When I took Nat and Lindsay to the orthodontist this last week, I had Ethan get a free consultation. He needs A LOT of orthodontia work! I felt so bad for him! I remember having so many lovely problems with my teeth growing up! Oh, well! At least we can get them fixed and he will be even more handsome than he is now!

Clarissa has told me who she has a little crush on and how when she sees him, she gets a little shy and embarrassed. I thought back to my crush in elementary school-really it was one boy throughout all my years. However, I regret to say that I was not very shy or embarrassed around him, I probably frightened him off!

Zachary has learned the names of all the animals in the book, Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? It made me think of how many times I have read that book over the years...again and again and again....

My "moment of joy" this week was when I saw Zachary in nursery take his little cup for his snack and throw it in the garbage without someone telling him to do it! Yeeeaaaah! (Unfortunately, it probably won't last!)

Cathy

Apples and onions

I think when soccer season ends-which is soon, I will be able to be more consistent with this blog. Here are a few "notes" from the Lloyds...

"Apples and onions" is a tradition that we do at dinnertime as a family. Each child gets to go around the table and tell his/her "apple" or good thing for the day and his/her "onion" or bad thing for the day. True to the sense of humor of our children, some really like onions but don't like cheese and some really like cheese but not lima beans etc. So basically, sometimes its the "onion" of the day and the "cheese" of the day and so forth... Having said that, here are some "apples" and "onions" from the last couple of weeks...

Nathanael has been doing really well on his soccer team. It is amazing to see how far he has come from working so hard! He even scored a goal from about 40 yards out which arced up high and went in behind the goal keeper. This is his "apple". His "onion" is that he had scored a great goal along with his teammates and the referee called offsides on his teammate and so the goal did not count. Travis said that he was "robbed" and that it was a beautiful goal.

Lindsay's "apple" is that she got to perform in her first choir concert of the year. She is in SSA-the women's choir at her junior high. They performed a variety of songs from different musicals and they also got to do a little choreography with it. She had a lot of fun performing! Her "onion" is that she has had a really bad cold and has felt quite lousy. I don't know that she has felt that yucky for a long time.

Ethan's "apple" is that he is playing flag football right now and has scored a touchdown and extra points. Ethan is really fast and his coach calls him "crazy legs". His "onion" is that it took us forever to finally go and buy him some new shoes because his old ones were full of giant holes. At the store, the new pair that he had picked out seemed to fit, but the next day he tried to put them on for school and they were definitely too small. He was very disappointed not to have new shoes and have to wear his holy shoes.

Clarissa's "apple" was that she was able to save her money and buy a Junie B. Jones book at the book fair at school. Her "onion" is that she lost her homework this week and has to make it up. Her teacher is very positive with her and does not make her feel bad, however, Clarissa feels bad about it anyway -which I am so glad that she cares about it!

Zachary's "apple" is that he is talking up a storm now! He knows so many words and the names of things. My favorite little thing that he does lately is say "up top" and holds up his hand so you can give him a "high five". I don't really know where he got that from! His "onion" is that yesterday he was asleep on the couch and rolled off and smacked his face on the floor. He had a little bloody nose. I felt really bad and have not worried about him rolling off of something for a long time! I guess I will need to watch that more for a while.

My "apple" or "moment of joy" was the night of Travis' 40th birthday. I was so relieved that everything had gone well and that he felt really good about it and felt very "loved". I am so grateful and touched for our extended family's support in coming to celebrate this milestone!

Cathy