Changes

I'm having a week....a month...a year? There are many changes going on in our lives. Friends are moving, new church ward, a baby on the way...a BOY, the weather, jobs, my body, Adrian cut his hair...etc...I could go on.
I am in the middle of offically getting rid of Juliette's baby clothes, and it's almost more than I can stand. It's like saying goodbye to that chapter. The little pink and white polka dotted dress that she looked so ridiculous but cute in. Her Santa dresses. The sassy Roca Wear jeans that made me laugh so hard. Luckily I have a new niece to pass things down to, but many clothes are simply going to garage sale and good will piles. Adrian was horrified when he saw me saying goodbye to these clothes. His remark was, "But you need to save them for another baby girl!" I just gave him a look and he walked away.
So this week Juliette is with grandma and Honey, (grandma and grandma.) It's good because I am singing several nights this week and also working for the Gymboree owners who are out of town. Grrrrr. Not the singing part, the Gymboree part.
Anyway, it's also a big week for Adrian. He is looking for a JOB!!!!! He still owns and runs Escapist, but he has decided pretty abruptly to find a new job and just be an owner of Escapist, no longer a full time manager as well. He wants to clock out and come home to his family on a regular basis, which he never gets to do running the business. I am supportive, but freaked out at the same time. I can't imagine Adrian having a boss, or wearing anything but jeans to work, and he may take a pay cut, or may increase his wages, who knows. It's just a big change for him, and for me. It's allll up in the air. The good news is that Adrian is a brilliant, inspired man who goes with his good instinct, which in the long run is usually the best thing. I'm just glad he'll still have Escpiast because he's worked so hard for it, and it's a very cool business.
Now I just need to take deep breaths and wait, and not think about money, or the economy, or what ifs. All of those things take away from the moment, and at the moment, Adrian and I are listening to Bobby Darin with the windows open, while cleaning out the garage and preparing for new chapters. Changes.

Viki Grandma and Aunt Elaine

I finally have a couple of pictures of Adrian's family to post. He has two sisters. Elaine is the one here, she is the middle child. Traci is the youngest, and she is currently serving in Iraq in the medical field. I wish I had a picture of Traci right now...she looks a ton like Adrian...red hair, fair skin. Adrian's mother is "Grandma Vikki." I don't have a picture, but Juliette also has "Honey," who is Grandma's partner. They live in Iowa, and Elaine does too. Juliette loves to go visit, and we do too, and since they live so close to the temple we always have a babysitter! They sometimes take her and spoil her for a whole week. In fact, Elaine is coming to get Juliette next week for five days! They have really helped me out during this pregnancy! Anyway, once Traci is back from Iraq, she will be in KC, and his family will finally all be close again.

I wish Adrian's Dad was alive to see his granddaughter. He died when Adrian was six years old. Juliette asked about him one day and Adrian told her that he was dead, they had a long talk, etc... Anyway, Juliette must have had her grandfathers mixed up, because the next day my Daddy called and Juliette answered the phone saying, "Grandpa, your alive!!!!!!" It was funny...sorta. A little confusing for her I guess.

Another Great Weekend

Juliette had a great weekend, which means I had a great weekend too. Honestly, if she is happy, then I am happy. Watching my daughter laugh and enjoy life reminds me of how important it is for me to do the same!

I took JuJu and Naomi to see the DooDads, an all Daddy rock and roll band for kids. The girls danced to every song, and in between, they would run to our table to grab a bite of mac and cheese.

On Saturday, which I believe was Earth Day, Juliette and some girlfriends spent most of the day outside at our house. They painted, played on swings, rode the gator, blew bubbles, had a fashion show, and made up dances to records I put on...Annie, and Tchaikovsky's ballets. I also put on one of my favorite jazz singers, Nancy Wilson, but they weren't having it. Watching these kids reminded me of being a little girl, and I felt like one myself.

Today, Sunday, we went to church and learned of the new ward we will be in, the Parkville Ward! We are thrilled. It was a historical day for the Platte City Stake indeed. We are grateful to be a part of this stake. Adrian was released from his Bishopric calling, so now he will be a seminary teacher. He is an awesome seminary teacher. The teenagers love him, and have commented on how much they have learned already. They go every day to Escapist and study the Old Testiment at 6 am. Needless to say, Adrian has been going to bed early....it's really strange to see him go to bed before 1 am, so when I hear him say it's bedtime at 10 ocklock, I just scratch my head.

Back at home after church, we had lunch, Adrian and Juliette went for a walk, and relaxed in the hammock until the sun went down. I took a nap....ahhhhhhh.

Shelby Drink Yer Juice

Whenever someone is wigging out, my sister Caroline throws out the quote from Steel Magnolias, when Julia Roberts is having a diabetic attack and everyone is trying to calm her down..."Shelby, drink yer juice!" Well, I'm having one of those attacks, only it's not diabetic...it's sheer anxiety. I may as well blog about this because one day I will hopefully look back and laugh about it.

SO... here's what's going on at the Frost house. Adrian is cleaning out the garage, bless him..I mean, cleaning it out....he's also cleaning out the Escapist Storage building, which is now our garage. Did I mention he has decided to build a green house in our yard, and is using the garage to store the lumber? My head is spinning at the amount of insanity in that garage, because much of that insanity is rolling into our house. I take deep breaths, deciding that it will all be okay because I will have a garage sale and get rid of everything. But in order to have a garage sale, we may need our garage back. There is a foot wide path to walk in now...that's it.
It's like detox...everything is going to get much worse before recovery. But I am pregnant and crazy, so this is all hard for me at the moment. Oh yeah, Leslie and I have been painting the nursery in prep for her mural art, and I took Juliette and Naomi to a kids rock and roll concert tonight, so I'm beat tonight.

Still, I looked around tonight after everyone was in bed, and then it happened...the straw that broke the camels back. I found a small roach in the basement near the garage... probably due to the fact that our garage doors have been open for two days and we've stirred up so much junk in the garage. Anyway, if I see one of these bugs, I flip. I really do...I can't handle bugs, esp this kind! Immediately I began to pour bleach down sinks and sprinkle cayenne pepper in the doorways. Immediately I was picking up anything on the ground I could find, and throwing it away. No matter what, if it was on the floor, I threw it away. I was a mad woman. I wigged man, I wigged out big time. I started moving things, organizing, and just getting in over my head at midnight, because of course I am blaming myself that there was a bug, and surely that must mean that there are hundreds more, and we may all die from a rare bug disease...and oh my gosh I haven't dusted under the couch in forever, and oh crap my closet is overflowing with clothes that I'm too fat for now, and jeeeez I need to clean out the cupboards, and the linen closet is out of control.....the list goes on and on.

I'd rest but it really hurts the right side of my rear to lay down, thanks to some weird pregnancy pain. And this is just the house anxiety...I haven't even started stacking my other worries up yet...you know, like learning new music for a gig on Tuesday, lining up babysitters for other gigs, my church calling, visiting teaching, my speeding ticket, the unfinished tile project downstairs, and things that are too far away to worry about....like Juliette's birthday, the BABY, driving to Arkansas, Juliette's new pre-school, the BABY!, the baby's name....I'm clinical....crazy...clinically crazy.

The good news is that Adrian will eventually build a beautiful green house, the garage will be obsessively organized and alphabetized when he does eventually finish, the nursery will be finished thanks to Leslie, I will finally get some clothes that fit, and the house will be military clean because I am just going to throw everything away. Everything. All of it. I told Juliette today that I would throw away any toys left on the floor. She doesn't believe me yet, but just wait. And this will all happen sooner than later, because no one wants to deal with my psychotic nagging. Am I nesting already? I mean, I never want things to be perfect....but right now, I need perfect.

I can't wait to go home this May. Maybe when I get back it will happen like Juliette insists it will happen...Snow White's animals will clean it all up for us. She keeps telling me to not worry about her mess because they will come while we are gone and tidy up.

I'm going to go "drink my juice," put on my sleeping mask, and pretend that I don't have heartburn.

Advice anyone?

Me and JuJu, and splinter apple

While I cleaned the kitchen tonight, Juliette made some interesting apple art. I asked her what is was called. She replied quickly, "splinter apple." I really think she may have Daddy and Darlin's artistic genes. She is very creative. Even when it comes to music, she's not so great at learning or memorizing songs, but she will make up her own songs about everything and anything, and sing them all day and all night. She will color, but she would much rather cut up paper and tape the pieces together to form strange shapes.

It is so much fun to watch your child grow into their own distinct personality. And we can't always assume they will be just like us. If I put on classical music or sing opera for even a second, she immediately protests. But she does share my love for a few great female songwriters. Once a week, I will put on chic music, usually artists I listened to in college, and we will have girl time. Tonight I made the mistake of listening to Heather Nova and Portishead...I used to listen to her when I was angsty and depressed, so it kind of put me in a bad mood. Juliette called it Halloween Music. Anyway, it's often just the two of us, and I will surely miss that one day.

20 Weeks and counting

I'm half way there. I don't even want to think about how much bigger I will get. It happens fast the second time. We had another sonogram, and Baby Boy Frost is in good shape. He is very cozy in his current position and despite the sono tech beating my belly with the wand, he still did not want to move out of the nook he was in. Also, apparently the placenta is in the front instead of the back, which is why I can't feel him moving that much yet...she said it's like having extra padding there so I may not feel him move much for another week or two....wait, he just moved. We found out our due date will be more like the end of August.

Being pregnant is harder this time. It is like sitting in a long waiting room...just waiting, and waiting, and shifting, and pacing, and seething, and sighing. I'm no super woman or trooper about it. I have bad ligament pain, and there is not one pain free position when I am sitting or laying down. But I do love this little boy...I'll just love him more when I can hold him some place other than my belly. We have a name picked out, but my lips are sealed for now. Leslie is going to paint some killer art in the nursery. We had a little consultation about it today, and it's going to be very cool!

small spring fire

The fire...we kept it small this time

Joseph and Benjamin

DJ AJ and A-Train
Me, looking rough, and Leslie looking great...and tiny Stella

Lindsey Church looks like Julia Roberts in this photo!
Ben was nice to come....he must be so sick of us lately!
It wouldn't be a bon fire without Anna and Jesus.
Girlfriends

Some of the kids...I couldn't keep up with all of them!
Delaney, Naomi, JuJu
Hannah and Isaac

Ray and Uma...man he makes a good potato salad!

So this weekend we had another bon fire. We have a tradition in the fall of having a big one, where we invite everyone we know. This weekend we had a small one. It was a good excuse to see the Aiono's again, and bring together a few other friends as well. It was hard for me not to invite our whole ward and neighborhood, but after having to buy a new engine for the Honda this week, we thought it best to keep things simple. I don't do simple well, but it was a smart choice.

The weather was beautiful, the fire was great, and the food was excellent, esp Ray's potato salad and Leslie's poppers. DJ AJ entertained us with 80's jam and tons of Stevie Wonder. He even had lights set up for a dance floor on the upper deck. My favorite part was seeing all of the kids run around our back yard, and dance around the fire. Funny, after everyone left I went inside and it seems the kids also had a grand time running around our house...I found muddy shoe prints everywhere...even in the upstairs tub. The basement playroom....it may never be the same!

I complain about our home on a regular basis, which I need to work on. It's never good enough for me, and there are so many things we have yet to do in and around our property....but nights like this make me realize how lucky we are. The trees, the lake view, the fire pit, the trails, the space, the privacy, nature, the decks, and hammock, the swings, the doors that are always open in the front and back, and the few neighbors we have who would do anything for us..there are wonderful, memorable things about this house that one day I will miss so much. Seeing others have fun here makes it all worth while.

Thanks to Caroline for encouraging me on this subject! I realize that a home is what you make it. No amount of granite counter tops, fancy landscaping, or marble floors can ever make a home as beautiful as the people who live there and the loved ones who visit. I'll read this blog next week when I start cursing about the the peeling paint.

Our weird little girl

Juliette, our happy, weird little girl. Barbies, bonded by bottle

All of JuJu's drawings look very similar to this....at least she's found her style!

Sculpture

I never have trouble pulling up the blinds anymore.

JuJu likes to tie up her dolls, usually upside down.

Jesus and God

Juliette cracks me up. She's confused two men of being Jesus and God. At church, she pointed to a very nice man and said with conviction, "That's God, it's him, it's God!." I quietly corrected her, "No sweety, that's Hugh Johnson." Now this I did not understand, but the next instance made a little more sense.
Tonight, as we were looking through our blog at the Nelson Museum photos, she pointed to one and said, "That's Jesus." I quickly corrected her," No sweety, that's Iggy Pop."