Moved In

Well, you're getting two posts today. :) Lucky for you, this is the only one that requires much reading :)

We moved into our apartment a week or so before we had expected to, which is a good thing! :) We're back on our own! It was so great to spend so much time with Grammy and Grampy, but it's nice to be back on our own schedule and in our own place! We are so grateful for family that has the means and ability to help us out when we need it. We are so blessed!

I don't have any photos of the new apartment since we've moved in. We only have pics of the empty apartment before the move, but it's been a great fit. The kitchen is small, and that's no big surprise, but the rest of the apartment fits us just fine. :) We live LITERALLY 50 yards from the playground equipment (I can see it out my bedroom window), and when it's not raining we get to go play outside. The kids have even been riding their tricycles and bikes in the parking lot (since we're the last apartment on the street, there isn't much traffic). :) It's really been a positive change.

Work, for me, is going well. I am working about 4 days a week and am really loving it. It's harder now with the overlap time, but we're making it work. The kids still spend a bit of time with Grammy and Grampy, there's just a lot of vehicle changing we have to do. :) I usually get home after the kids are in bed, but I get to spend all day with them, so I don't feel too horrible about it. JJ gets a little extra daddy time, too, so that's nice. The kids really love having some one-on-one time with their daddy. JJ is really good to them. :)

JJ is still working with Terminix, and doesn't hate it yet. He's working really long days, usually about 10-12 hours, and we expect it to slow down, but we're not sure how much it will. The nice thing is that they are compensating him for his extra time, and he's earning a production percentage from each job he does, which adds up since he's doing about 13 - 15 jobs per day. I hope he can still keep this up. I know it's not ideal, and he doesn't get much time at home, but we each have Sunday off and he'll be off 3 out of 4 Saturdays. It's just hard work, and a lot of driving in Seattle traffic. :( Ugh.

On a brighter note, we're on to Thanksgiving, and then to Christmas! I LOVE the Holidays! xoxo Love to all!

Just Photos

This is the Halloween cake I made this year. It was SO fun!

This is Mason at Grammy and Grampy's house. :) Apparently he got really tired!

Andrew and Me playing on the rocking chair

Andrew at the park

Mason sliding head first! He loves slides!

"Uncle" KC, "Uncle" Heath and Daddy when the Huskies got slaughtered by Nebraska

"Uncle" Heath's Seahawks birthday cake

Mason and Mommy play Go Fish

Wrestling boys - Andrew and Mason - Still having fun!

All of the cousins on this side of the family -- Andrew, Mason, Cate and Lilah

Andrew's birthday present - a Basketball Hoop!

Andrew opening birthday gifts! I can't believe he's 4!

Andrew opening a gift from Grandma and Grandpa! He was so excited!

Doing what they do best - Running in circles!

Grammy's 60th Birthday cake. :) Dark Chocolate with Raspberry filling

Andrew and Mason in the culdesac with our caution buddy. :)

In Limbo

Well, we've been moved in with JJ's parents for about a month now. It's been difficult in some ways, but overall has been relatively easy to adjust to. JJ got a job pretty quickly with Terminix and has been working with them for about 3 weeks now. This week he is spending most of his time in Phoenix taking classes and getting his certification. He's had a series of tests he's had to study for and has passed 2/3 of them so far. One more to take next week in Olympia. So far this job seems like it will be good. I found a job working at the local Denny's. I loved waitressing when JJ and I were first married, so I figured I could give it a go again. It works out nicely because I don't start work until JJ's parents are home from work, so they are able to watch the kids during our overlap time. JJ usually gets home around 7 or so from work. He's working 12-hour days again, which isn't great fun, but should slow down when Winter gets here.

The boys have LOVED being with Grammy and Grampy. They have fun outings to the park with Grampy and the dogs and Grammy is a great book reader! They have really enjoyed being here and have adjusted well. They still don't understand why we're not going back to our house in Wenatchee, but hopefully they'll get it soon. Mason said last night "Mommy, I want to go home." I didn't know how to get it across to him that this is our home for now... oh well. They have been so good and have been such a joy for all of us.

I'll be posting lots of pictures as another post. Just some things that have been happening and all. Andrew's birthday will be one of those. He was so cute! I can't believe he's already 4! I forgot to take a picture of his birthday cake, so you probably won't see that, but it was fun to make it. He wanted a Mario cake just like uncle Ben's and was a little bummed when it wasn't 2 feet tall. I had to scale it down for the 8 people who were here :) A little different story than when I made the cake in Utah for Ben!

Anyway, sorry about the length of time it took me to get back on here. I'll get pics up soon!

It's official...

well, to those of you who haven't heard yet, JJ got a job in Clearview, near Snohomish. We will officially be moving August 21st. That's 3 weeks from yesterday.

I'll be honest. I'm totally bummed. I'm also really excited! We'll be moving in with JJ's parents (who I LOVE!) and getting adjusted for a couple of months, and then we'll take off to a new apartment, probably. After about a year, we'll start looking at buying a place.

JJ got a job at a Mechanic shop called Hilltop Automotive with some really good guys. Turns out that his mom and his aunt both know this guy pretty well, and he's really super decent. We're glad that things are working out. JJ had been out of work since the 1st of June (his birthday, what a bummer!) and hadn't started this new job until the last week of July. It has been a really rough patch, but we have a lot of support over here, so we're doing alright. :) John also passed his Police Department Testing, so we're just waiting to hear back from PDs about when they want to continue testing with polygraphs and background checks and oral boards. Ugh. It could be weeks or a matter of months. We'll see how it goes.

I started packing this week and only have 3 more weeks to get it all done. It should be pretty easy, and really basic. Not like I've never done this before! The boys don't really seem to understand what we're saying, though I think Andrew is starting to catch on, what with all the boxes everywhere and half of his toys being thrown away or given away. Mason is just content knowing that we're going to go live at Grammy and Grampy's for a while. :) They're pretty reasonable when it comes to all this stuff. :)

Honestly, the hardest part of this move for me is going to be leaving this amazing ward! I have never felt so at home with any ward (aside from Fernley, where I hadn't known any different)! There has been a big change in who I am and the things that I feel are most important since living here. I have never felt such an outpouring of love, concern, support and kindness. What a wonderful and exceptional place to be! I have had so many wonderful opportunities and have met some really terrific and amazing people. It's like I'm leaving another family! I just hope that my next ward is half as phenomenal as this ward has been. I know that my testimony has been strengthened just by the company I keep here in E. Wenatchee. I wish everyone could have a glimpse of what I get to take in every single week! Thank you to all of you who have made this the best home I've ever had. I'm going to miss you all so much!

Caught in the Act

-isms

Mason: "owie owie owie!"
Me: "Mason, what happened to your finger?"
Mason: "A Monster got me!"

Andrew: "Mommy, you must be a genius!"
Me: "Why?!"
Andrew: "That's because you're soooo smart!"


I love my children!

Potty Party

Yesterday was a big day for Mason!

I took the kids to Paxton's house while I went to have my hair cut. I totally forgot that I had Mason in underwear, but Andrea noticed and kept asking him if he needed to go. At one point he started to go in his underwear, but Andrea took him into the bathroom really fast and he actually WENT in the potty! Of course he's going to do it somewhere else first!

After being at Andrea's house, he went potty on the toilet (without wetting his pants) 3 times yesterday, and only had 2 accidents! Hooray Mason! You're doing great!

So far today... no accidents! Here's to a swift and *hopefully* easy potty training adventure!

Our Biker Boy

Andrew learned how to ride his bike! Hooray, Andrew!

VROOOOOM!!!!

Mason has learned how to make car/motorcycle noises when he runs and stops. I hope you enjoy this! It basically just cracks us up!

Crossisms

Here are a couple of the latest Andrew- and Mason- isms. It seems like they say more and more fun stuff every day!

After putting Andrew and Mason down to bed, Andrew came out and said "Mommy, there's a pickle in my eye."

After breakfast one morning, Mason picked up a book Andrew had been reading before they went to the table. Andrew started crying and saying "I want that book! I want that book!" Mason went into my bedroom and locked Andrew out. Andrew came to the door and kept crying "I want that book! I want that book!" Mason sweetly, yet teasingly, said "Too bad." hahahaha

We LOVE our boys~!

Happy Birthday Chandler!

Here's Chandler's 5th birthday cake. Chandler is a little boy in our ward, and he is chock-full of energy! Hope you like the cake! It was a total blast to make!

Photo of the Day

Here's a recent pic. Hope you like it.

Crash and BURN

This week has been full of kids getting hurt. Mason has tackled Paxton and given bites. Andrew fell off of his bike and scraped up his knee and elbow (I know... that's what pads are for... but they were in the closet inside...).

Today was an especially fun injury day. JJ went to the transfer station to get rid of some of our yard waste so I was home with the boys. While I was folding laundry, Mason and Andrew were playing the "let's push each other down" game. Regardless of my constant warning that someone was going to get hurt, and regardless of the fact that I kept telling them to stop, they continued until Mason hit his eye on the shelf by the kitchen. Resulting in... what else? A cornea abrasion. Awesome. SO, we called the doctor and were told to take him in right away. Mason hated having the sun in his eyes, but I couldn't find a pair of their sunglasses (surprise, surprise. The one time I need them, they aren't all over the place!) So, we got him in to the doctor and the doctor put a little dye in his eye to help find the scratch. He turned off the light and turned on the blacklight and, sure enough, there was the scratch right across the center of his eye! A few paralytic drops and some antibiotic ointment later, Mason was patched up like a pirate and sent home. :) Enjoy the pictures!

Played for the fool...

Mason gets chocolate chips just for SITTING on the potty. Today he figured out that if he tells me he has to go pee (which he still hasn't done in the potty), then he'll get a chocolate chip. We've been in the potty 4 times in the last 15 minutes. Do you suppose he is playing me!? This kid is SMART! :) And he knows I'm going to take him every time because I'm not going to discourage him from telling me he has to go! I can only imagine what he is going to do when he figures out how to go a little bit, then hold it until later, so he can get an even BETTER treat! Help me! I'm in for a REAL time this go-around!

Potty Training

Mason is potty training. He's been potty training for 3 days (that's 3 full mornings of being in underwear) and he has yet to go in the potty! ugh! This promises to be a LONG road!

Andrew finished reading lesson #3. Yes, I know I'm not on schedule. In fact, I believe I'm 3 days behind. But, he's starting to put two letters together to read them. Things like "am" and "sa" and "as" and things of that nature. He's doing well, but is easily distracted, so I have to take him into the other room. He doesn't really care for writing the letters as he is being instructed in the book, but I figure I'm not going to push that at this point in time. He has plenty of time to learn how to write the letters before he's even in school. We'll just concentrate on the fun games the book has us play! :) He seems to be enjoying the reading. I hope that he continues to have motivation and excitement toward it! I am actually VERY impressed by this teaching method. I LOVE that I can be totally braindead and still be able to accomplish something! Thank goodness for a word-by-word manual! :)

Here's another cake picture!

Ben and Cindy's birthday cake

(March 2010)

Reading 101

Well, Andrew and I have made it through the first 2 lessons in our new book! He's working hard and is catching on as quickly, and possibly more quickly, than I had expected! The first two lessons really just focus on the letters M and S. Of course, the book doesn't refer to them as "letters" or as the letter name, but instead refers to each as a "sound." It's great because it helps kids stay focused and reduces confusion of each letter. It seems to be working so far, and Andrew has really picked up on the pattern that the book teaches in. He jumps the gun a little and I have to make sure he waits until I tell him to say the things he knows I'm going to make him say! He's so smart! :)

Paxton and I are still working on A, E, and W. He just can't seem to focus enough to add another letter yet, so we'll just keep working with these three (while he often forgets these as it is) until he seems more confident. Mason and Andrew point to letters all the time, so maybe he'll catch on soon. I am seriously considering going down to the Academic Toolbox store here in town and see if they have posters that show the letters of the alphabet. :) I think it may help if he has it in front of him, even if it's in the background.

Aside from schooling-ish, I thought I would toss a couple of recent photos up, starting with new pics of the kiddos and then just a couple of my latest cakes! I hope you enjoy them! Thanks for checking in!

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Mason's backhoe cake for his 2nd birthday

(Jan 2010)

My Father-in-Law's leafblower birthday cake

(March 2010)

My brother's wedding cake

(Nov 2009)

Starting Anew

Hello Everyone!

Welcome to our blog, previously thefamilycross.blogspot.com! I decided to start again, hopefully without skipping months at a time! In fact, I'm going to try to get on here on a daily basis for a while. I have just discovered the book "How To Teach Your Child To Read In 100 Easy Lessons" and will be posting progress on here after each lesson Andrew and I do together! I've heard nothing but raves about this book and program and am DYING to try it out for myself! I'll also be working with teaching Paxton his letters. He is having a heck of a time catching on and I have to teach him only 2 letters per day, and have to review what we've learned so much that I sometimes can't find it in me to teach him more! It's amazing how much it takes out of me!

On a more lighthearted note, I'll be posting pictures of the cakes I bake and decorate, just as a brag book for myself more than anything! So, With updates, reading adventures, letter adventures, and dessert, I hope you won't get too bored with us! Thanks for reading!

Cindy and the Cross Family