Slice of Jean

The Two Kids

2012-01-29T14:11:00.001-07:00

MG cries much more than Liam ever did.
Not because she's colicky, or even fussy, but because she's the second child. There are at least five times a day when I have both babies crying and I have to decide which to fix first; these days that first is usually Liam.
(Or else I have to clean up the snot that he got everywhere, because he's been sick.)
(TMI!)
It's tough being a younger sibling, you know?

Thank goodness for Netflix! The great land of Netflix instant streaming which is ruled by fickle gods who KEEP TAKING WORD WORLD OFF. Why do they do this?? It's the only show I don't feel guilty about sticking Liam in front of (actually, I kind of like it myself), and it's also the only show that I've noticed to be part of a double-disappearing act. If you have any insights regarding, please share.

This morning was my second time taking both kids to church by myself. This is the WORST thing about Slice's work schedule - every other Sunday he's working while I am struggling through meetings. This year is especially hard, because we have Sacrament Meeting last. Liam doesn't want to leave nursery, MG is tired and/or hungry, and I have 70 minutes to keep them both quiet.
Today I passed MG off to the bishop's wife and FORTUNATELY she slept through most of the meeting. Liam kept me busy the entire time. By the time the closing song came around, I had used up all my tricks, and I was trying to soothe MG because she had woken up. Liam crawled under the bench and slowly made his way up to the stand. The benediction-giver herded him up the steps, the bishop held him during the closing prayer, and afterward I dragged him out along with my bulky diaper bag and baby-in-the-carseat combo.

It's exhausting.

At least I have some treats, some inspired words, and a naptime to get me to 5:00.

Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star - and Die

2012-01-20T10:26:00.002-07:00

Here's something weird.

We recently acquired a swing for MG exactly like the one we used for baby Liam. (That was my sister's.)
It's a great swing, 3-directional with lights and a mobile and a WALL PLUG, and four sound settings including one of nature sounds. I love those chirping birds.

Anyway, one of the sound settings is a series of songs, which has been playing intermittently for a week now. And every time I hear one of the songs, I start thinking of The Hunger Games. Characters, impressions, specific scenes and conversations - they play and replay in my mind. It took me a while to figure out why.

Last time I had a newborn, I read the Hunger Games series for the first time - mostly while my baby was sleeping or rocking in the swing. The swing songs played over and over while I read of oppression, terror, violence ... and the scenes stuck in my mind are inextricably connected with the baby tunes. Weird.

I remember hearing once, maybe in college, that you should study with Mozart (or similar music) playing in the background. Supposedly the music helps you commit information to memory.
I didn't utilize the tip much, but now I'm thinking I should have. There is clearly some potential to be tapped there.

Adjusting

2012-01-18T16:30:00.001-07:00

Three weeks ago my younger sister and her friend from college moved into our downstairs bedroom. This brings the total number of siblings I have lived with post-marriage to FIVE.
We love each other a lot, eh?
Both girls are off track from BYU-Idaho, and while I think the track system is downright crazy, I also like having Kiana home every few months. It's fun.

Monday Slice's parents started their move to Cedar City. It will take a few weeks (possibly months) to finalize, but once they're gone, it will be the first time that Slice has lived away from his parents, if you don't count his overseas mission. I imagine it will take some adjusting.
For one thing, Liam is going to miss having his "Papa" around.

Tomorrow my baby MG will be six weeks old.
I feel like Slice and I are leaps and bounds ahead of where we were with Liam at this point, parenting-wise, but it's still quite an adjustment from one to two. And just when I was getting used to Slice's work schedule, my workload doubled.
Ha!

Fortunately MG is awesome and sleeps as well as Liam did at night. Even better, she goes to sleep on her own with a binkie in her mouth. No rocking/walking/bouncing baby to sleep and putting her down as gently as possible, just hoping that she won't wake up. (Or we repeat the process - possibly multiple times.) Nope.
I nurse her, burp her and stick her in bed, and if it's dark in the room she'll eventually go to sleep. Amazing!
(I know this means I will have to wean her off of it later. It is totally worth the extra sleep I'm getting right now.)

and he's good to us

2012-01-10T11:12:00.000-07:00

It must be said that Slice adores his baby girl.
(We all knew he would.)
Yes, he is wrapped around her beautiful, tiny fingers and she gets whatever she wants from him.
To hold her all day? Sure.
To sleep in bed with us? Fine.
I have to put my foot down every once in a while, because I don't want to deal with a spoiled baby.

And speaking of spoiled....
I got a new kitchen table! Again!

See, our other table was lovely, but it just didn't work with my breakfast nook. The legs were on the edge of the table, and we had to push it out and back in anytime we wanted to use the bench. No Good.

After stewing about it for a few weeks, I listed the table on KSL classifieds (without telling Slice first....) just to see if there would be any interest.
It was sold in 3 days.

By Thursday night we had no kitchen table, and family coming to stay with us Friday. I didn't think we would find anything I liked for a decent price anywhere around here. There's not a great selection, you know?

Friday we went to Vernal, and in the first place we stopped at we found this table:

which is now sitting in my kitchen - obviously. And I LOVE LOVE LOVE it.
It works perfectly with my breakfast nook.

Thanks Slice!

This is why we have kids.

2012-01-06T23:34:00.000-07:00

11/12

2012-01-02T19:43:00.000-07:00

Three years ago I wrote a lovely review of the previous year's events. I'm glad I did, because 2008 was life-changing for Slice and me, and it's fun to look back on that year and what we've done since then. If I did a quick recap for 2011 it would look something like this:

Alex moves in downstairs, we remodel the bathroom out of necessity
Slice gets fired at the worst possible time
I am diagnosed with hypothyroidism
We find out I'm pregnant
We spend 4 months searching for a golf job, then consider other options
South Carolina almost becomes our new home
We are blessed with work opportunities in the meantime: piano students, photo shoots, research job, pumps
Slice gets hired in the oilfield, we try to adjust to his new work schedule
A bunch of my friends get pregnant
I give birth

Things can only get better from here, right?

Some of my plans for 2012 are:

Donate my hair again, before postpartum fallout
Put my kids in the same bedroom
Don't have a baby (I'm liking the sound of 2014?)
Take at least one family vacation besides the annual Arizona trip
Buy a bigger car
Start exercising again

Pretty low bar right there, folks. What about you?

and a Happy New Year

2011-12-31T15:47:00.002-07:00

I was hoping to send out Christmas cards this year. It would have been our first time. But after some procrastination and a disastrous home-photo shoot, it just didn't happen.

Looking over these, I'm having a hard time deciding which one is most representative of our family right now. They're all pretty good -- too good not to share, that is. Merry Christmas, Internets!

Let's start with an action shot:

singing "Baa Baa Black Sheep" to get him to smile

and the "how can I get out of here?" shot:

Moving on to the "how do we take pictures with a two-week old?" shot:

"... especially when she wants to eat?" shot:

And ending with the "WE ARE DONE WITH THIS" shot:

I'm thinking the last one takes the cake.

(Next year maybe Kiana should use a tripod?)

(Also, don't you love the Arnold Palmer ornament prominently displayed on our tree?)

Anyway.

From our house to yours - may the next year be better than the last. May you grow in wisdom and love. May your days be merry and bright ... and filled with less crying than mine are.

Photoblogging: because I don't even have to leave the couch

2011-12-30T14:52:00.003-07:00

I am really loving my Android phone now that I am up in the night (and down all day) needing things to entertain me - that don't require the use of both hands.

See: Facebook, Great Expectations, Words With Friends, Tetris, Netflix

And, as most of you discovered years ago, it's nice to have a camera on my person at all times so I can record the little moments that make up my life. Behold:

Cutco for Christmas!

(the best thing is finding pictures that I didn't take)

We had a lovely December, not least because Slice had more than half of the month off work. My bones stayed intact, my baby is beautiful, and I haven't gone into sugar shock yet. (No small miracle!) In fact, I'm almost back in my pre-pregnancy pants.
Joy!

Small-town living: healthcare edition

2011-12-21T12:12:00.000-07:00

I was already thinking about how nice my hospital stay was when I heard the hullabaloo about the baby switching.

Now, it's a rare thing to live in a town as small (/insert-your-own-word-here) as Roosevelt is, and to have health care like Roosevelt does. Our Medical Center is the pride and joy of this community - and for good reason. It's a nice combination of good quality and low pressure.

I was especially grateful for this during this labor/delivery/recovery. As I've mentioned before, I know my Dr. on a personal level, and I've called him at his house with any questions I had. When I arrived at the hospital at 4:00 a.m. in advanced labor, he got there pretty quick-style (although he wasn't on call). He was very supportive of my birth decisions, as were the nurses, most of whom I also knew. I was pretty much free to do whatever I wanted.

Switching babies? Hardly possible. If there were any other babies born during my 48-hour stay there, I didn't know about it.

I don't know how other hospitals are, but I didn't have to change rooms or wear a gown or shower in nasty bathrooms or ask the nurses to let me keep my baby for the first hour(s) after birth. I could have come home after 36 hours, but chose to stay an extra night.
We also came home with a pack of diapers, two pacifiers, two baby shirts, mittens, a crocheted baby hat, formula, pillows and egg-crate foam pads, among other things provided by the hospital.

BUT next time around I am definitely taking my own towels.

Emma Grace

2011-12-15T08:43:00.002-07:00

It's been a week and the shock hasn't quite worn off.
The shock of being a mother to two, yes, but also the shock of having just gone through a birthing experience beyond my wildest, most optimistic dreams.
This birth story won't be as long as the last one - but no one's forcing you to read it anyway, right?

This time around my birth plan went something like this:

1. Spend as much time at home as possible
2. DO NOT BIRTH A POSTERIOR BABY

And ... that's about it. Seriously.

Of course, I was hoping for as little intervention as possible. (Who wants pitocin? An episiotomy?)
I've been there, done that and after last time, I just wanted something better. The Hypnobabies preparation gave me confidence that I could handle anything.

So last Wednesday the real "pressure waves" (HB speak) began. It was 3:00 a.m. and they were intense enough that I couldn't sleep through them. (Unlike my faithful contraction-friends, that plague me from month five onward.)
I woke Slice.
They were coming 7-8 minutes apart; Slice decided to take the day off work. He left for a quick meeting, I put on a hypnosis track and eventually fell asleep. By the time he got back, they had slowed to 10-15 minutes apart. I spent the rest of the day laboring that way.

Thursday morning just after midnight, the waves woke me again. I got up and started timing, changing positions between each one, relaxing as well as I could. (Also eating and drinking. See, I learn!)
At 3:00 again, I woke Slice and told him we needed to go. My mom came over, I packed and showered and dressed and labored, still feeling pleased with how well I was managing the pressure waves.

I didn't start to doubt myself until we were en route to the hospital. What if it was too soon? What if I was still in early labor, and didn't progress? Could I do it without anesthesia? If I was on pitocin? WHAT IF SHE WAS POSTERIOR??

We checked in around 4:00 and the nurse checked me. "Six or seven," she said. I about died.
But she couldn't tell the baby's position, and neither could the Doctor when he came in shortly. He broke my water, declared I was at an 8, and told me not to push until they were ready to catch her. Ha!

A few more hard waves and I was clinging to my husband for support through them. That blasted back labor. The nurse came in to check me - but I was ready to push. They scrambled, I lost any relaxation/concentration I was still employing, and two more birthing waves later, my baby girl was born.
It was INTENSE.

She weighed a perfect 7 lb. 4 oz. with a head of thick, dark hair. Born at 5:32 a.m. the day before her due date, she came earlier, quicker and easier than I even dared hope. The little darling.

Mom's fingers, Dad's toes

2011-12-12T21:46:00.005-07:00

And the hair?

We have no idea.

Perspective

2011-12-04T22:11:00.001-07:00

It's 10:00 on Sunday night and Slice has been in bed, asleep, for nearly two hours now.

Tell you what: our marriage would have been a completely different animal if Slice had been working this job (i.e. this schedule) from the start. I used to be the one begging to go to bed every night, unbelieving when Slice insisted he wasn't tired, bitter about him leaving me to play XBox or repair pumps until the wee morning hours. So what if I was already asleep?

Now I'm the other one. This pregnant body doesn't sleep before midnight, and doesn't sleep well before about 4:00 a.m., so it's hard to put myself to bed at any hour, regardless of exhaustion level.
(Which is high. Ever and always.)

But wait - there's something else I wanted to talk about here. I've been thinking about it for a week now and tonight's Christmas Devotional reminded me. Let's see if I can put it together coherently, shall we?

Last Friday Slice and I were in the Salt Lake Valley with hours of time to kill.
Black Friday! Unbelievable sales! Targets and Kohl's everywhere we looked! Money in our bank accounts for the first time, like, ever!
And the strangest thing happened - neither of us wanted to buy anything.
I stopped in 6 or 7 stores just for fun, came away with a 3-piece outfit for Liam that included a winter coat and jeans, $20. Done.

You guys. It was so LIBERATING.

Because I spent months looking and wishing and planning and buying, for my house and my babies. I spent months feeling the weight of (unemployed) poverty, envying people who could spend money on home decor, pampering, trendy clothes, expensive baby things, organizational supplies (!). I got irritated by all the "I Want This" Pinboards and "Amazing Deals!" websites that really just encourage more spending. I bought a patio set for my backyard because I thought I needed one .... and then we never used it. Simply put, consumerism was consuming me.

I'm better now.
I finally realized, last weekend, that the only difference in the whole business is my attitude. I can spend my life coveting and wanting and shopping and spending, or I can let things be things and choose to be grateful for what I have. It's much easier to see looking back, of course - but I can't believe I wasted all that time and energy making myself unhappy.
I do know, now, that I won't let that happen again.
I can't afford it.

Realistically Speaking

2011-11-18T13:11:00.001-07:00

Since joining the wonderful world of Pinterest, I have been pondering on some vital life questions.
Like How can I possibly live in a house that has so many, non-coordinating colors??
and
Does anyone actually spend that much time & energy wrapping a present?
and
What is the deal with all the labels/hot chocolate mix-ins/decorative pillows/maps/wreaths/monograms?
and, incidentally,
Are people really gullible, or are they just lazy?
(I've checked out several pins before pinning them to find that they are nonexistent. No longer manufactured, never actually been built (i.e. underwater hotel in Dubai - you CANNOT 'go there someday' unless someone builds it first), not a DIY tutorial but a link to a retail site.)

But you know me - practical to a fault. Which is why I'm having such a hard time deciding on a crib for this baby to sleep in.
(Ha! Of course this post is about nesting!)

We have a crib that was given to us, and it works, but it IS quite rickety and has drop-sides, and I would really rather not use it anymore.
I've basically decided on a mini-crib, for a variety of reasons. It's the only thing that will fit in our bedroom for the first weeks/months, I've read a million reviews and MOST say their child slept in it fine for eighteen months to two years, they are less expensive than full-size cribs, the "nursery" is already cramped, I like the idea of a snug sleeping space for my baby ....

But what COLOR?!

Is it worth spending an extra $40 to buy a particular color of the exact same crib? When I don't have a definite color scheme anyway? I'd love it if all the furniture in the room was white, and I was planning to make it that way (hence the white spray-painting of the glider), but now with the toddler bed and dark dresser it would take a lot of work to get there.
Also, I am running out of nesting steam.
Questions? Comments? Suggestions?

In other "realistically speaking" news, I am not spending the 1-2 hours a day on Hypnobabies that I should be. I should be doing more exercises and visualizing and affirming and directing anesthesia than I am. I'm doing almost as much as I can, though, and am still optimistic about it. So, yeah.

Like a Love Song

2011-11-17T09:46:00.001-07:00

The other morning while breakfast was cooking we turned on some Vevo.

I had never seen him make any of these faces before....

... and then he came home with a gun.

2011-11-15T15:08:00.001-07:00

Yesterday we canned applesauce. Sort of on a whim, but sort of not, seeing as I've had a box of apples sitting on my counter for a month. (Not Fuji apples; therefore, not the kind that Slice will eat.)

I had borrowed a strainer, jars, and steam canner from my mother ahead of time. I even started boiling the apples. But when we pulled out the strainer, there was a very important piece missing.
I sent Slice up to my parents' empty house to search through the storeroom for the missing part. Or the other strainer that my mom has. He found neither.
I called my sister, my aunt, my neighbor - nobody had a strainer. By then I'd been chopping and boiling apples for almost three hours. Slice left again, this time to the store to buy one.

An hour later I called him, wondering where he was.
(But not really wondering because 1 - he had just gotten a fat paycheck and 2 - every time he goes to the store he spends time at the gun counter.)
Which brings me to the real point of this post. A question, really.

Do any of you live with a person who gets fixated on certain things? And if so, how do you deal with it?
I like to think of them as phases: the remote-control airplane phase, the iPod touch phase, the dog phase, the new phone phase, the Modern Warfare 3 phase (AHEM). But this gun one has lasted so long that I'm afraid it isn't just a phase.

I finally got so sick of hearing Slice talk about this gun or that one, watching (and making me watch) YouTube videos of shooting ranges and explosives, checking Basin Sports/Stewart's every time we were in the vicinity - that I told him he BETTER buy a gun after this paycheck OR ELSE.
Right or wrong, that's what I said, and that's what he did.
And then we made applesauce.

Raising Funds

2011-11-10T12:23:00.001-07:00

Several weeks ago a couple girls from our neighborhood (i.e. ward) (i.e. Primary) came to the door with a fundraiser that I've never heard of outside the Uintah Basin. They offer a "free sitting" for family portraits and "free 11x14" with a certain donation to their organization.

Now, the last time we took family photos was over a year ago at Lu's wedding, just for fun. So I'd been wanting new ones forever. Mainly from the ever-fabulous Linnea Anne, who by the way, was one of my very best friends in middle school. (And my grandparents now live in her parents' neighborhood.)
But as family photos - and pregnant bellies - go, we hadn't gotten around to it. So we signed up for the fundraiser.

Two weeks ago I went to pick them up. Not really wanting an 11x14, but unaware that they would present me with other outrageously-priced sheets (all I wanted was a couple 8x10s!), I ended up buying the whole package including copyrights and the digital image. Because it was cheaper than the two sheets.
Darn fundraiser.

Anyway, here's our latest family photo, which will be outdated in a month:

My hair went flat during the HOUR we had to wait for portraits. Also: good times standing there while the photographer tries to figure out how to hide my belly. Ha!

Holly Fair FAIL

2011-11-09T09:42:00.002-07:00

As you know, I spent the last three weeks or so crocheting with the free yarn I'm now storing in my guest room.

I planned to put all my finished projects in a booth (or two) at the Holly Fair, a local annual tradition that - until this year - I had never even witnessed. I had no idea what to expect or what kinds of things would sell. Naturally, this made it hard to decide what to make.

I did decide, however, that in addition to my crocheted hats & headbands I would attempt these balls:

because I've been wanting to make them anyway, for my own decorating purposes. (Again, thanks Pinterest!) Surely someone else would like them too.

Only, this is what happened:

(see: my kitchen table for two weeks)

the balloons shriveled up before the glue dried. Fail #1.

I also attempted some monster hats like this one. I don't generally follow crochet patterns because they never work out for me. This one was no exception. The first time I tried (and every time thereafter until I figured out just how to modify it), it turned into an adult-size hat. Fail #2.

(Unless you know an adult who wants a royal blue beanie?)

Finally made a SMALL one with two eyes and put it on my kid, and behold, it was darling. So I made a couple more and this one is now my favorite:

Cute little alien.

ANYWAY, I had made tentative arrangements with some people who actually planned ahead for their Holly Fair booths. But plans changed, I didn't have stuff ready until the second day of the fair. And this was my big mistake - by the time I was ready to sell it, most of the buying was over.

Not a single thing sold.

Major fail: #3.

I guess I had something to keep me busy for three weeks?

Nursery (unfinished)

2011-11-06T13:45:00.001-07:00

This is the (unfinished) nursery.

This is the toddler bed that I found on KSL classifieds for $30 in Vernal

in the (unfinished) nursery.

Yes, pink pillowcase. Because it's flannel and he loves it.
Also he's keeping in touch with his feminine side.

This is the 17-month-old boy who slept PERFECTLY

in the toddler bed I found on KSL classifieds for $30 in Vernal

in the (unfinished) nursery.

He put them on by himself, and he is the gosh darn cutest thing you've ever seen.

This is the night that the 17-month-old boy decided, after a week, that he didn't want

to sleep PERFECTLY

in the toddler bed I found on KSL classifieds for $30 in Vernal

in the (unfinished) nursery.

In fact, he decided to cry on the one night that his dad never came back from work,

so his mom wasn't sleeping well either,

and got much less sleep than she really needed,

especially since he woke up long before his usual (punctual!) 8:30 a.m.

And they were STILL late for church.

Quickie

2011-11-04T09:10:00.003-06:00

OK, I'm not really back yet - too much going on right now. I'll give you a little taste of things to come though
(hopefully)
(when I get around to blogging about it):

newly textured & painted bedrooms
more crocheting stuff
Holly Fair
TODDLER BED that my baby has been sleeping in for almost a week
family pictures/dance fundraiser
five weeks (ish) to go until we have a new family member

and, in the meantime, let's talk about my appointment yesterday.

I hauled my 17-month-old to the appointment with me. (First time I've had to do that without Slice.)

He wanted to play in the toilet. He freaked out when I layed down on the table so the Dr could find a heartbeat. He wandered around through halls and behind desks while I waited for an ultrasound - TV remote in hand - until I chased him down.
He cried again when the ultrasound tech started doing her stuff.
Ah, my boy.

Anyway, here's the deal: Baby girl is small. Much smaller than Liam was at this point. After a thorough investigation, the tech estimated just over 5 pounds, which is quite a difference from my 8+ lb. firstborn. But she looks completely fine.

So basically I'm feeling good (/justified) about my early decisions to 1) eat fatty food to my heart's content, and 2) to be lazy. The only thing I've done differently this pregnancy was take thyroid medication, and if I had been exercising and eating only healthy foods, who knows what might have happened?
Right?

(Just agree with me here.)

Where I've been

2011-10-26T09:45:00.002-06:00

Here:

Liam is LOVING the smartphones and eating cereal (in milk) by himself!

In other news, he knows his body parts, some shapes, and several songs. Smart little bugger.

He talks a lot and wants to draw all day long. Which means I have to watch him all day long, unless I want to paint every room in the house.

Ahem.

Here:

Per Angie's recommendation, I am preparing myself for childbirth via Hypnobabies. So far so good.

It still reminds me (eerily) of Inception every time though.

Here:

Center Stage, here we come!

Of course, here:

and here:

But MOST OF ALL, here:

Ten days ago I scored a few GARBAGE BAGS FULL of skeins of yarn. All kinds!

A lady was giving them away at a yard sale, and I happened to stop by .....

and now I am eating, sleeping, and drinking the crochet.

This is why I don't crochet.

(I can't stop.)

Reaching New Heights

2011-10-12T12:51:00.003-06:00

in Technology:

pics coming to you from this phone

For the first time ever, Slice bought himself a cell phone. He has previously used only hand-me-down phones; I have used only the free-after-rebate kind. (He picked the Google phone for me and I.LOVE.IT.)

Phones with picture messaging and Facebook?

We are moving up in the world.

in Domesticity:

fantastic cantaloupe bread/muffins I made for Slice to take to work

sewing machine I bought after using my mom's for 20 (or so) years

Young

2011-10-12T11:41:00.004-06:00

Isn't it funny how "age" and "experience" are all relative? Your (and my) concept of age is based mainly on cultural, familial, and occasionally personal expectations - rarely on physical limits or historical traditions. But the stereotypes tell such a different story.

I grew up hearing that Brigham Young University was simply a marriage factory. (From non-family members, of course. We are the "friend from high school"- marrying type.) When I decided to pursue my degree there, people teased me about getting my Mrs. degree at the B.Y.Woo, etc. etc. You won't last a year there! I'm sure you've heard it all before. It's an old stereotype that, in my experience, could not be less true.

My fellow BYU students have married later than my friends at every other university in the state. Out of the twenty roommates I had over 11 semesters - all older than me! - I was the one who got married first. Two months shy of 21 years, with a semester in Europe and almost-a-BA-degree behind me.
(I have my theories about this phenomenon.)

Still, I felt slightly cheated. My oldest sister served a mission before getting married; my next-oldest sister at least had a mission call before her plans changed.

Then I moved back to the Basin, where a different culture prevails. I realized that fellow high school classmates had married and had one, even two children in the time that I spent at school. They were in a different stage of life. It made me think twice about my previous expectations, and perhaps learn to judge a little bit less.

Now my college friends are getting married and pregnant for the first time. As the youngest of the bunch, I get to play the part of the old, wise friend with years of experience.
Not a part I ever asked for ... but a pretty fun one, in any case!

(And I am SO EXCITED for you three!)

Guest guess

2011-10-07T08:40:00.004-06:00

I am needing your advice.

Since my brother moved out of our basement a week ago (YAY!), we now have an empty bedroom. Slice thinks we should put Liam down there when the baby comes but there is NO WAY I am doing that, so .... guest bedroom it is.

Major problem: we cannot fit a queen-size box spring down the staircase. (Old house, remember.)

SO. If you are going to stay at someone's house, which of the following would you prefer?
A) a full-size mattress with a good box spring
B) a hide-a-bed mattress (technically "queen" size but we all know it's smaller)
C) a double chamber queen-size air mattress on the floor
D) something else that I will tell you in the comments

I would love to put a futon or frame like this down there eventually, but it's not at the top of the list, seeing as we still need to buy a crib for our unborn child. Among other things.

Ideas?

obligatory pictures

2011-10-05T12:50:00.001-06:00

We took Liam to the zoo on Monday. We've been wanting to forever, and I thought we better do it before it gets cold and we have another baby and I never want to leave the house again, etc. Slice and I were definitely more excited about it than he was!

I think the favorites were the monkeys and elephants ... lots of construction and NO BUTTERFLY HOUSE?? LAME.

Anyway, good times all around. I just think I have the cutest kid in the world.

As we rural dwellers do, we made the best of the trip. Siegfried's for lunch, RCWilley for a kitchen table (YOU'LL SEE!), Provo Canyon for a photo shoot, Sprint kiosk in the mall for a new phone plan. It's exhausting, but we've got to do it.

In other news, Slice has switched his schedule so he won't have to work Thanksgiving or Christmas. For the first time ever, we can make plans for Thanksgiving! (With no guarantees though - I'm due two weeks later.) Hopefully we'll get to see some family this year.

Other fruits

2011-09-30T11:41:00.000-06:00

You'd probably have to be from here to understand, but when we moved to the Basin, music was NOT cool.
(Understatement.)
The high school band was really small - but growing! - the orchestra was downright pitiful. And the choir? Well, I wouldn't have been caught dead in the high school choir. Me.

You recall that I was part of a show choir of sorts during high school. Yes I was; it was sponsored by the college, directed (in part) by my mother, and was one of the best experiences of my school career. Stagelight has a long history of service, entertainment, music education, and, of course, relationship drama in this community. One time we tried to count up all the marriages born ....
Still, we were not "cool" by any means, and we had to do quite a bit of convincing to get our peers to even come watch our shows.

Imagine the time we had getting boys to actually join! Like pulling teeth! Year after year, we begged and pleaded and bribed. It was a fantastic success when we had twelve boys and twelve girls to make up a group.

Fast forward seven, eight years.

Things is changin' around here, Laurey! Maybe not with the high school choir (I wouldn't know), but I'll tell you, a grassroots movement has begun. And I'd like to take the credit.

Mom, Lana and I are directing Center Stage again, and in four rehearsals we have had EIGHTEEN BOYS sign up to be in the group. Eighteen. male. high school juniors and seniors. What are we going to do with them all??
For the first time in history we have more boys than girls.
(And many more boys and girls than we expected.)

The best part is, they can actually sing. Some are beginners, to be sure, but many others are capable of reading and holding a part. They're learning the music so quickly we might need to add more.
We are literally shaking our heads, wondering what to do with this group. We've got to decide soon, because our show is scheduled for December 2nd.

Want to come?

Fruits of our Labors

2011-09-26T11:27:00.004-06:00

Despite the sleepless nights and compulsive Pinteresting, I've decided that the nesting instinct is a real blessing. For a few consecutive months I am motivated to do any and all projects that have been cluttering my brain/house for weeks, months ... even years.

('Cause after the baby comes, you better believe I am doing nothing for half a year. Or longer.)

Case in point: this chair.

Slice and I bought this chair maybe two years ago at a freight-damaged place in town - still one of the few pieces of furniture we have actually bought. While we loved the look (and the chair has gotten us more compliments than anything else in the house!), it just didn't match anything we own. So I've been planning to re-cover it ever since we brought it home.

Last week I finally did.

My trusty handyman helped with the dismantling:

Slice helped with some of the stapling and reassembling. The job did take a little ingenuity - but don't be like Slice and get all surprised at my sewing and problem-solving skills. Just because I keep them well hidden doesn't mean they aren't there!
The fabric is quite boring compared to the original (I know), but it's also neutral, which is what I wanted for now. I still have another chair waiting in the garage, and some other ideas up my sleeve.

Not a bad piece of furniture for about $50 total.

Who am I kidding? We LOVE this chair!

Item #2: Right side-view mirror that has been broken since the elk ran into us almost a year ago.
Slice replaced it all by himself.

Item #3: Two bushels of peaches, canned and put away in my cute little pantry.
I have many many fond memories of canning (especially peaches), and this time was no exception. It is just so fun! Also, Slice and I doubled our yield from last year so we don't have to ration them quite as carefully.

on Coming to Terms, and Pearls

2011-09-19T12:14:00.005-06:00

Years ago I attended a lecture at BYU about the concept "to be." Yes I did.
The speaker talked all about and around being - for one thing, the admonition "be ye therefore perfect" - and at one point he said something like, "But who ever said that you'll be happy if you achieve your dreams?"

Uhhh, what?

Here's the thing: I got it. I understood what he was saying then, and I've understood it ever since. Dreams aren't everything, and achieving them won't necessarily bring you happiness - especially if they're the wrong dreams in the first place. Subsequent years have brought poignant reminders of where my true happiness should be.

Which isn't to say I have followed his counsel faithfully. Indeed, a couple months ago I read this article (thanks C. Jane) and was surprised to find myself in it:

“They can’t bear the thought that saying yes to one interest or opportunity means saying no to everything else, so they spend years hoping that the perfect answer will emerge. What they don’t understand is that they’re looking for the perfect answer when they should be looking for the good-enough answer.”

Folks, that's me right there. Was? Is? Hard to say. I like to keep my options open. Throughout my school years I was waiting for the perfect answer to present itself, the one career choice (or multiple career choices) that would challenge and fulfill me in every way, while still leaving room for life changes and family. And, hey, I wanted it for my husband too.

(Newsflash: Doesn't Exist! Work is work and Tiger Woods has problems too!)

Over the last year Slice and I have come to grips with multiple realities: money, time, family, opportunity. We've had to let go of prejudices and dreams in order to find answers and build other dreams. It's been a long, slow process. Often painful.

But Slice loves his new job. He really does. Which is a FAR cry from the misery that was last summer at the golf course BEFORE he got fired.

And, I'll admit it, I love the paychecks. I love having Slice home almost half the time and seeing him happy the other half. I love planning dates and trips and investments.
I love the string of (real!) pearls that he brought home for me Saturday, completely out of the blue....

Small

2011-09-14T13:38:00.003-06:00

Monday at my check-up the doctor told me I am measuring a few centimeters small.
No big deal, but at this time last pregnancy I was almost a week "big" and so far during this pregnancy I have measured normal. So I have another check-up in a few weeks to measure again.

I know I've said this before, but I really feel like I should be getting fat by now. With little exercise and no dietary restrictions whatsoever (quite the opposite!) it is just not fair that I'm staying semi-skinny. Not fair, I tell you.

BUT - when I stopped to think about it, I realized that I eat most everything in small quantities. Small meals, small drinks, small snacks, etc. And we can't disregard the metabolism-power of the Synthroid.
So there's that. I guess.

(Pics from Provo Town Centre mall last weekend. The kid ran out of Motherhood Maternity and climbed right in this car ... and proceeded to wave at everyone who walked by. What a celebrity.)

the Mother and the Media

2011-09-08T11:13:00.007-06:00

I have watched a grand total of three movies in the theater since I became a mother.
(One was True Grit, and although an excellent movie, is not pertinent to this discussion.)

The others both contain central scenes with babies crying in their beds/homes, watching parents/caregivers die/leave them forever.
Hollywood? Do you have it in for the mothers out there?

I don't know about you, but motherhood has given me a different perspective on everything. Media included. I always find resemblances between these darling movie-babies and my own darling baby, and I'm telling you, it is not pretty. My heart tears in two. I leave the theater a wreck, and afterward, the baby scenes play themselves over and over in my mind. I find myself wanting to run into my baby's room, scoop him out of his crib, and hold him forever. I want him to know that I will NEVER do that to him.

Sigh.

I know they're just stories -although these things DO happen in real life- and eventually the images in my mind will fade. But darn this mother heart, it can be a pain sometimes.

(P.S. The Help was great. As we all expected.)

Unforeseen Consequences

2011-09-06T08:58:00.002-06:00

I was browsing through the kids' shoes at Kmart a few days ago, looking for something for Liam. He's outgrown his sandals and we lost half of his only other pair of shoes (darn those little things), so he has really been needing something.

I looked .... and looked ... and looked ... and found nothing in his size. NOTHING. Not a single pair of boys' shoes, that is. I dug through the mounds of clearance shoes, hoping to find a box with a "5" or even a "6" on it. Nada. I scanned over the wall of regular-priced shoes, wondering just what might have caused this strange phenomenon.

And then I remembered.

There's an army of little boys exactly Liam's age.

And, by the looks of it, a horde of girls exactly my little girl-fetus's age ... to come.
(How and why does this happen?? Anyone?)

Good-bye, clearance shopping!

In-Between

2011-09-02T12:14:00.003-06:00

Last week I turned 24 on the 24th.

Golden.

It was a typical mom birthday, complete with a Subway lunch (thanks Ang!) and Velveeta shells & cheese dinner (thanks honey!) and brownie/cheesecake desserts (thanks Pinterest!). I made some delicious new recipes and will post them on the Edd blog post-haste, for those who are interested.

We also had some friends over in the evening to help us eat them (thanks friends!).

I contemplated piercing my ears for the occasion - you know I've been thinking about doing it forever - but of course I didn't get around to it. Now I'm wondering if this is just the wrong stage of life for it. Babies pulling on my ears? More stuff to buy and try to keep track of? Ouch.

Today I am 26 weeks along, and looky here, I took a picture of myself:

I think I'm about the same size as last pregnancy. In fact, I FEEL smaller, but probably because the first time I was like "My body!! Not my own anymore!!" and stuff ... you know how it goes. This time I'm just feeling lucky that I've had it so good.

And speaking of good, I'll have you know that I am staying busy. The projects this week included sewing some curtains, picking upholstery fabric for my chairs, reorganizing a little, and wall-papering the inside of our bedroom closets. Why wallpaper, you ask? Well, why not?

The doors were ugly, the wallpaper was cheap, and the makeover took very little time because I am a wallpapering expert (thanks Mom!). Also, I love the results.

Please, ignore the clutter because IT WILL BE GONE and/or completely reorganized within a few months.

Don't you worry.

When the rooms are all done and I am happy with them, I'll post more (and better) pictures. These are just the in-between pictures, got it?

A door closed, a window opened

2011-08-30T13:26:00.002-06:00

When my family moved to Roosevelt ten years ago, the only family in the area we could claim was my aunt Lana, her husband and their daughter.
To our great astonishment and delight, less than a year later, my mother's parents followed us. They bought a house next to Lana - a few doors down from us. And the partying commenced.

We had family reunions, birthday parties, circle parties, holiday meals, lunch outings; you name it, we celebrated it. Even when there wasn't anything to celebrate, we celebrated. While I was away at college Grandma supplied me with McDonald's gift cards to keep me from starving. (You should see what she gave Kiana!) We've had some jolly times, I tell you.

But things have changed, and Grandpa's health is not what it used to be. One thing our town can't provide is the kind of care that he needs. He and Grandma decided to move back to the Salt Lake Valley, closer to their other children (and most of the population of Utah).

AND .... they bought a house in Glenmoor! Our old neighborhood!
(Severn Circle, Laurel & Linnea?)

We moved them out last week. Dann & Angie bought their house - you know how we keep things in the fam - and are in the process of moving.

Meanwhile, a cousin of Slice's found a job in the Basin and relocated here. He and his wife (and two young ones) are living in Vernal, the first extended family of Slice's to move to the area. We're pretty excited.
Let the partying commence!

Nesting 2.0

2011-08-26T11:39:00.003-06:00

It's official folks, I am in full-on nesting mode.

Last weekend I drew sketches of each room in my house complete with colors, furniture, wall decor, and a very comprehensive to-do list. I've scoured the internet far and wide, visited almost every store in town, and joined Pinterest so that I can keep my links all together.
I've also begun a love affair with spray paint.

Tuesday I spray-painted my "espresso" colored glider chair white, to begin the nursery makeover. Wednesday I turned my cedar chest (high school graduation gift from my parents!) from this:

into this:

on my very own front porch. Sorry, terrible pictures. I'm not going to fix them either.

I have many more projects in the works.
But, as you know, I am full of self-doubt when it comes to these things. Will my colors/fabrics/pictures work together? Do I like that upholstery fabric next to those curtains? Should I use a stripe on the chair or the chest, or both? Do I leave the dresser in the room or switch it for something else? Does it all make me happy and say what I want it to say? Most of all (at this point): WILL IT ALL FIT IN THE ROOMS?

Because the delightful thing about living in a 70-year-old house is that you can barely fit a queen-size mattress into a bedroom. Forget about a bed with headboard/footrails and dressers and nightstands and laundry hampers and extra chairs and oh, a crib for the new baby too. Won't fit.

(Slice just said, "You're posting a picture of our bed right now??")

SO.

I've got 3+ months to go and my work cut out for me.

I've also, fortunately, got a husband who is patient and helpful, who offers opinions and only occasionally mocks me when I start talking about this stuff.

(And by "occasionally" I mean "almost every time I bring it up.")

Wherein I feel like a failure

2011-08-21T19:01:00.007-06:00

So it was that just after 10:00 this morning, I had a parenting crisis.

We were at church, Liam and I. He had woken up so early that he was tired by the time we left for church, which was not a good sign, but I stuck him in the stroller anyway and hoped for the best.

Primary lesson prepared (with handouts!) - check
Tithing - check
Diaper bag with extra books and snacks - check
Arrive early enough to sit on the end near the door, just in case - check
I thought we were set.

During the first Sacrament Prayer, Liam smacked his head on the corner of the arm rest. I took him out for a few minutes, then came back in to try some books. He started hollering again. So I took him AND the bag out and after a lap around the church, I put him down to walk by himself.

It wasn't long before he had walked into a dark, empty classroom and shut the door on himself.
AND THE DOOR WAS LOCKED.
Commence Screaming.

I hurried to the library to ask if anyone had keys. No. I ran to the clerk's office. Someone was there, and luckily, he did. My son came out with tears streaming down his face, terrified and exhausted and feverish (because he has canines coming in, of course!). Try as I might, I couldn't get him to calm down.

10:15 and I have to decide.
Stay and try to teach a lesson? Wait until the end of Sacrament meeting, so I can at least make arrangements for my class? Take Liam right home and leave them high and dry?
After chasing him around and trying to keep him quiet, I'm not feeling too good myself. I'm getting light-headed and nauseated and having those oh-so-familiar contractions.

I chose the third option. After some Tylenol and a bottle, he slept for over 3 hours, which NEVER happens.
I still don't know though.
What would you have done?

Friday

2011-08-18T17:37:00.003-06:00

It might be exaggerating - but only a little - to say that I have never been so excited for a day as I am for tomorrow.

Pay Day!

After ten (or more) months of scrimping and stressing, I can't even tell you how nice it will be to have a steady paycheck coming in. I imagine only those who have experienced unemployment know what a depressing, deadening state it is.

We have big plans for Slice's first few paychecks .... you know, like toilet paper and medical bills and underwear and a sideview mirror that's been broken since last October. Also possibly loans and maxed credit cards and family members that we owe for various things. So exciting.

photo from 2/09...

Home

2011-08-13T11:21:00.006-06:00

When I went away to college, I pined for home - and everyone knew it. One day a boy I worked with asked me, "Who would want to live in Roosevelt, Utah? What's so great about it anyway? I drove through there once and I thought it was pretty ugly."
I responded with something awesome like "The people there are the best people in the world!"

Every once in a while I think of the exchange and it makes me smile again. I'd like to tell that 18-year-old a thing or two, but I just can't do it. She was so full of confidence and love and loyalty that I hate to clue her in.

Every once in a while, though, I think she might have been right. Like this Thursday, when Slice and I drove to Vernal to join the Welcome Home procession for the first Uintah Basin military man killed in action since Vietnam. It was quite a sight.

photo kifed from here

We got there early (and it was a little late), so we had plenty of time to take pictures, which I will be posting over on the photoblog.

I love that my community rallies for things like this. Businesses closed for hours - in the middle of the day - and people of all ages flocked to watch the procession without candy or scantily-clad dancers. It was solemn, short, and, in my opinion, beautiful.

I just kept thinking that I would want the same for my son.

While the Slice is away

2011-08-09T16:27:00.005-06:00

I've written about single parenting a couple times before, tongue-in-cheek of course, because I know real single parents have it a billion times harder than I do. In fact, I feel like I'm just getting a glimpse of what my med-school siblings have gone through.

Fortunately for me, Liam still sleeps about four hours a day between his two naps. He also watches Word World (only one episode a day! I promise!) on Netflix, which gives me time to clean, fold laundry, cook, blog, read, and/or sleep if it's one of those days.

So far I've made deviled eggs, cream cheese brownies (but from scratch), and chocolate cake with this frosting. I've also read a few of the Percy Jackson books, watched all the episodes of The Glee Project (Cameron!!!), fixed some of Slice's pants and slippers, and spent lots of time with family.

The day I was dreading the most was Sunday - namely, trying to keep my energetic class and my energetic toddler under control for two entire hours. By the end of the block I had walked out of meetings 4 times, once because my baby was bleeding from the mouth after being hit in the face with a chair.

Ahhh.

This is some more of what we've been doing:

pleased because

2011-08-03T13:38:00.001-06:00

One of my voice students competed in a pageant this week, Miss UBIC Outstanding Teen etc. and

she WON.

We've been working on her song for months now (a song I picked for her!) and by all Facebook accounts her performance was "AMAZING!!!!!"

I'm really sad I missed it.

Pregnancy, Part II

2011-08-02T15:34:00.004-06:00

Although no one has actually asked me yet, I'm pretty sure you're all wondering the same thing: how is this pregnancy different from the last?

And since I am nothing if not obliging, I have compiled a list of differences. Chiefly for your enjoyment.

First - gender. For no reason that I can recall, Slice and I assumed that we would have a baby girl first. So when, at our very first doctor's appointment, we had an ultrasound that looked suspiciously manly, we were thrown for quite a loop. BUT! According to our 2 ultrasounds thus far, I am indeed carrying a girl. So now, I get to think about the drama that will subsequently be added upon our household. And be really excited for the girly stuff.

Second - symptoms. My pregnancy symptoms were fairly mild the first time around, but I think this time they've been even milder. Possibly because I've been on Synthroid (I was suspicious about thyroid problems even during last pregnancy), which has helped tremendously with fatigue and dizziness, etc. Also, because I know that I can't let myself get hungry, I plan accordingly. Thus far I have slept better at night and experienced fewer symptoms - nighttime arthritis, leg cramps and restlessness - than last time.

Third - food. Once again I haven't really had "cravings," per se. I am really liking chocolate and peanut butter, especially together! but I eat like I normally do, and I don't feel guilty. My first baby turned out just fine ...

Fourth - my brain. Okay. Last pregnancy I was obsessed with my baby; it was all I could think about. Will my water break? Will I be in public? How will I fare in labor & delivery? What if he's ugly? Where will he sleep? Where will I put all my other furniture? What other furniture do I need? What kind of mother will I be?
It was nine months of annoyance and exhaustion for me AND Slice.
This time, I am much calmer about everything. I have deliberately put off the nesting (i.e. changing & collecting furniture, rearranging & improving my home) instinct because right now, there is nothing I can do about it. And there won't be anything I can do until we have a few months' worth of Slice's paychecks in the bank. Then I'll go crazy.

Fifth - anticipation. Of labor, mostly. Before I experienced it myself, I was literally terrified of the childbirth process. Everything else I was confident I could do. (I was right.)
This time, even though I know what I'm getting myself into, I somehow find myself in anticipation instead of dread. There is something so incredible about childbirth that even the pain doesn't scare me anymore -
and THAT is saying something.

Plus, I get a baby out of the whole deal.
(And now I really know what that means.)

Reunion pics from Mutti's camera

2011-08-01T16:12:00.005-06:00

don't tell Slice!

SAHM

2011-08-01T10:52:00.002-06:00

Slice started his "real" work today. After a week of OSHA training (complete with disturbing images) and a week of phone calls, this is the beginning of the end.
(Just kidding.)

The schedule is 8-on 6-off, so although we won't see much of him for more than week at a time, we'll also have time for family vacations and things. A welcome change - at the golf course we couldn't plan ANYTHING because he didn't know his schedule until days beforehand, and he had to work all holidays unless the weather was bad, in which case we couldn't really travel anyway. Lame.

So...

I'm trying to remember what to do with all this time on my hands! My research stint is on hold due to a major accident; I don't have a sewing machine or any projects that don't require money to complete. I can't play piano while Liam is asleep and if I clean my whole house today, what will I do for the next 8 days?

Blog??

21 weeks

2011-07-29T13:51:00.001-06:00

This picture pretty much says it all ...

Still recovering

2011-07-28T14:46:00.006-06:00

Well, we made it. I'd even venture to say it was a success.

We (and by "we" I mostly mean "my mother") fed and entertained around 70 people three meals a day for three full days. When some people left, others came in their place, so the numbers were pretty steady.

We played, swam, ate, visited, slept, and - fittingly for Pioneer Day weekend, I thought - watched the movie Luther.

If I ever couldn't find Slice, I looked for the little kids:

and there he was. Also, we took Liam swimming for the first time ever. This is what he did most of the time:

We could hardly hold onto him. Or get him out of the water.

Gotta love my boys.

Reunion

2011-07-21T10:47:00.000-06:00

Two summers ago we had a Woodruff family reunion in Roosevelt, in our homes.
(Most of my extended family lives on the Wasatch Front or elsewhere.)

It was so great we decided to try it again, but with the Eddingtons this time.

And - in true Eddington fashion - we are a day away from the event, with little idea how many people are actually going to come. Good times!

It could be anywhere from 70-100, and vary exceedingly over the 4 days. We have an itinerary and meals list, food bought, homes and yards and trailers divvied up between families, even a quilt in the making. But, no matter what happens, we are masters at throwing things together last minute.

(That's something to be proud of, right?)

I'll let you know how it goes!

Turns out, my stomach's not made of steel

2011-07-18T15:56:00.003-06:00

Last week at my doctor's appointment the nurse gave me some samples of prenatals.
"Some women get nauseated from certain vitamins, so try these out and let us know which ones you like best. Then we'll get you a prescription."
"Oh, I don't think I'll have a problem with any of them," I told her. "But I'll let you know, thanks."

If I can make a trip to Japan in my first trimester without ever getting sick, I don't think a vitamin is going to give me trouble.

So. I took the first pack and all was well. Yesterday we grabbed a quick snack between church meetings (third week in a row at a special event in 11th ward!), and I took the first pill of the new pack before heading to our ward for Primary. About 10 minutes later I bolted to the bathroom.

A new first! Is this how morning sickness works?
I didn't feel sick before, I didn't really feel sick after - it was a quick ordeal and I was hungry by the time we got home. That's nowhere near the 3-9 month nightmare I've been conjuring up in my head. It's the awful, awful pains of the stomach flu that I don't think I could handle for any length of time.

Knock on wood.

Out of the Woods

2011-07-14T17:09:00.002-06:00

It's been well over seven months since Slice worked at the golf course, and our plans have changed at least 89 times since then. (Oilfield - school - Jackson Hewitt - Arizona - Asia - South Carolina - oilfield again - pump repair - Utah Valley - to name a few things seriously considered.) Alas, none of the plans worked out.

We've seen miracles large and small, set up house, watched our son grow from a baby to a rollicking toddler, healed a broken wrist, and irritated each other a bunch.

(Have any of you spent months on end with your spouse in a limited space? And survived? Because I think we've both come to realize that there are very good reasons one of us works outside the home, and possibly, that things were meant to be that way .... to preserve relationships.)
Anyway.

Our plans have changed again. Finally, a full-time job has been offered to Slice, and it looks promising. He starts training Monday. So we'll probably be staying here for a while.

And, despite the stir-craziness, we are really going to miss Slice when he's gone. Liam and I have been spoiled all this time having him around to play and cook meals and change diapers (and let me take naps).

It's an adjustment I'm willing to make.

A few of his favorite things

2011-07-13T21:37:00.002-06:00

paparazzi!

Blogging Pregnant

2011-07-09T05:22:00.009-06:00

Oh, hey. I hope you're sleeping right now.
(I wish I was! I'll pay for this later!)

I'm not, obviously, and the thoughts currently plaguing my brain are curiously related to blogging. Why? Who knows? But if I get it all written and published, will I be able to sleep? Worth a try.

And so I present: Why I'm a Terrible Pregnant Blogger. In Parts!

Part I: No pictures. As a general rule, I don't like to take pictures of myself. Even less so during pregnancy. I actually cringed when I looked at the 37-weeks-pregnant picture I posted a year ago (just before I linked to it) because, why did I ever post that?
Bloggers are supposed to be narcissistic - that's what makes them bloggers - and perhaps I am, but I'm not vain. Never have been.
'
Part II: The long journey to "Publish." I write (many!) posts in my head, but when I sit down to write them, they just don't seem that important. No one wants to read about my relationship with Holocaust memoirs, for example. It's not relevant.

Part III: Once again, I don't feel like I can write what I'm really thinking. If I wrote a "How are we going to make a house payment this month?" post every time I was thinking about it, that's ALL my blog would be. Seriously. Forget about the plans for the nursery .... I can't even buy a maternity shirt right now. Or bacon.
Now, I have no problem talking about money, but it makes a lot of people uncomfortable. So let's just say we're poor, and the perpetual job search-application-interview-letdown process has been more than we (I) could handle at times. I have to keep telling myself there has GOT to be a reason for this.

Part IV: Perma-furious. This is very much related to Part III.
I've pretty much been mad at the world since Slice got fired for no (good) reason, then replaced with someone less experienced - who is "loyal" and, by the way, someone else's SON - and then everyone pretended like nothing happened and our entire livelihood/plans/goals weren't just tossed by the wayside.
I'm trying not to be bitter. I really am.
But it would be a whole lot easier if we could get out of this place, where the situation is brought up again and again by (well-meaning) people who want to know what's happened, why Slice isn't at the golf course anymore, etc. etc.

Part V: Holding my tongue. Also related to Part IV, see the progression here?
I suffer from an unfortunate side effect of pregnancy, where the part of my brain that tells me "this is unacceptable behavior" (dear Shawna!) simply stops working. I imagine it a little bit like being drunk. I know of perhaps a few people I have offended, but there are possibly many more that I am blissfully unaware of.
So.
I'm trying to hold my tongue, which turns into second-guessing everything I want to write, which turns into writer's block, which turns into probably every reason I have listed here rolled into one.

This my brain on pregnancy.

Teacher

2011-07-03T10:04:00.001-06:00

I started five new students last week. This brings my current total to eleven.

There aren't enough piano teachers in the Basin, did you know? And there are hardly any voice teachers. My mother and I get phone calls almost weekly from mothers looking to start their children. Crazy.
(I've even heard from a few sources that they made more teaching from their homes than by working full-time jobs.)

Someday I would love to have a music studio in my house, complete with mirrors and a grand piano ... but for now, my mother's setup is working quite nicely.

My piano skills are rusty though, since I went from practicing an hour a day (high school) to an hour a month (college). The years of choir and school took their toll on my piano abilities; since I started teaching I've been trying to coax them back, little by little.

At first Liam would cry and tug on me the second I sat down. Now he usually plays in the room for as long as I want to practice. This is called conditioning.

Anyway. I am starting to really enjoy teaching, and I think I'm getting better at it. Voice lessons are a bajillion times harder than piano because there is no set curriculum, no books that we can go through, skill by skill. The mastery of vocal technique is so complicated that I don't profess to have mastered it - or even come close, really.

But I share what I can, because few people around here are willing and/or able - and hey, the money's a bonus.

June

2011-06-29T08:57:00.002-06:00

Memory Lane, aka Neola Highway

2011-06-28T09:59:00.003-06:00

Memory is funny, isn't it? Don't you love how a smell or place can take you back to another time?

Saturday evening we took a little family trip to Uintah Canyon. I swear every five miles up Neola Highway holds a different memory for me. Neola store: Carolyn and Bree Anne, going to the wrong house for a surprise party ... Burning fires: burning (high school) love ... the point of no cell reception: waiting for a call on our first (and only) married camping trip ... Lake Leaving: our first outing with baby Liam ... the campground: a hundred other trips with friends, family, and even a very ripe fetus .... you get the picture.

It was a lovely evening for memories - and everything else. The weather was perfect. We ate oven-baked tinfoil dinners (due to time constraints) and roasted marshmallows. Slice hacked away at a walking stick while I tended the fire, and Liam had the time of his life digging in the dirt. These are the times I live for.

Now I'm tempted to go dig up some old pictures to add to this post.

Parenting 201

2011-06-24T11:40:00.002-06:00

I realized this morning that it's been at least six months since I had to take a shower while Slice was gone and Liam was awake. Crazy, right?

I didn't know what to do - my 12-month old still cries if I even leave his sight. Unless he's getting into trouble, which I know right off the bat, because he's quiet even though I can't see him.
(And what is it about toilet paper anyway??)

So I took him in the bathroom and he played with his bath toys while I showered. Fortunately he finds his bath toys much more exciting when they're NOT in the bath.

What do you do?

We've been busy.

2011-06-23T11:11:00.005-06:00

A few weeks ago we finally located a 10 inch rough-in toilet (in Sandy) and brought it home.

Voila! Bathroom complete!

After an unfortunate mishap with the previous blue paint job in our upstairs bathroom, we had to tear everything down, texture and paint again. Green. I did most of this one myself.

It looks much better in person, promise.

Friday & Saturday was the annual API tournament, for which we (I) took pictures again. More on that later, because you KNOW I have only snarky comments for golfers these days.

Monday we celebrated our third anniversary with our first garden planting! Yes, it's super late in the season and yes, it might be a total failure. We're crossing our fingers.

We also splurged with the money from API and bought the cheapest patio set we could find ... thanks ALCO!

(And thanks Slice, for hanging the lights.)

Tuesday, Slice surprised me with a little anniversary trip. It was a total surprise, let me tell you! Without me knowing, he planned for three babysitters, packed swimsuits, temple clothes and anything else he thought we might need, made up some story to get me in the car - and we left town. But of course, he made me decide what to do. So after hours of deliberation, this is what we did:

and we had a marvelous time. I'm still sore.

At least I got to use that new swimsuit I bought in February ... before I get too big for it.

Add in a few more job applications, voice & piano lessons, a bunch of laundry, some family stuff, and trying to keep the house clean with a toddler and a puppy running around - and you have my summer right there.

All right.

2011-06-13T22:26:00.002-06:00

I am 14+ weeks along, due at the beginning of December. And just in case you're wondering, our doctor is guessing it's a girl. He was right last time.

We've known for quite a while - when I wrote this post we were already suspicious, oh how I crack myself up - but we did not tell the family until Liam's birthday party. In fact, only Matt & Kim knew weeks ago because they were the only ones who visited us and saw the ultrasound posted on the fridge.
(Hey, everybody who didn't visit us! Better luck next time!)

I probably would have waited even longer to tell, but it just gets hard at this point. I already feel the need to apologize for my behavior over the last three months, and if I wait longer no one will accept my apologies.
(Hey, everybody who I offended/said strange things to/flaked out on/exhibited uncharacteristic behavior toward! I'm sorry!)

Thanks again for all your congratulations. I love you guys.
Any more questions?

Still talking about my thyroid ... and maybe answering some of your questions.

2011-06-13T11:45:00.001-06:00

(If you prefer, you can skip on over here and watch more puppy+baby videos. They're cute.)

A few months ago when I went to the doctor after blood tests, he said, "I'll be honest with you. I really didn't think you had a thyroid problem."
He went on to explain that his typical hypothyroid patients are a little overweight (thyroid controls metabolism) with flaky skin and other symptoms which I did not seem to have. Yet, I tested hypothyroid.
So he put me on some Synthroid and I've been taking the same dose ever since.

The dizziness stopped - until I got pregnant. The hair stopped falling out - maybe because I got pregnant. My energy returned! - until ... well, you get the picture.

So far, my experience with pregnancy is this: fatigue, a little night sickness, and do not even think about getting hungry. When I start feeling hungry I MUST. EAT. NOW. or I will get sick. And then I don't want to eat, but I have to. Then, when I do eat, I feel even sicker. It's vicious, I tell you.

Add the Synthroid which has also increased my metabolism, and watch my grocery bill skyrocket. I feel like I eat all day, every day, and you know what? I weigh less than I did even in high school. I am 5'8" and weighing in quite below 135 lbs.
(But I honestly don't know where it's coming from. This little pooch is growing every day.)

Anyway, I'm not complaining because again, I'm not throwing up anything that I'm eating. I just eat and sleep and play with Liam and lose weight. And not exercise. Wouldn't want to make things worse, you know?

On Plans

2011-06-09T00:49:00.001-06:00

Some people are lucky enough to live their lives according to plan.

Some people marry their high school sweethearts, go on missions, finish graduate school, build hotshot careers, move from place to place as they choose. Some people have exactly the number of children they want, in exactly the amount of time and exactly the manner they expect.

I imagine it would be nice to be someone like that. Wouldn't it?
See, that's not how my life works at all.

I like to make plans, really. I've tried for years to map out my weeks, my months, my semesters. But the last few years and, especially, months of my life have shown me that sometimes it doesn't matter what you plan. You can make decisions, actively pursue a certain course, do everything possible to stay on it ... and in the end the Lord has a different plan for you. For me.

Lately, I've been thinking (surprise) about what it means to be a parent. What it means to announce to the world that you are expecting a baby, when you know too well that a hundred things could go wrong in the subsequent months and you would have to explain. What it means to bring a baby home and welcome it into your life, knowing how little you have to teach it and just how much you have to learn. What it means to accept unexpected turns in your life, without turning away from that God who sent you down this path.

Planned or no, it takes great faith, being a parent. I think it takes more faith than anything else in the world.

Birthday Festivities

2011-06-06T09:21:00.001-06:00

We had a family party (plus a few friends) for Liam last Friday night.

As we expected, he wanted to play with each gift as soon as he opened it - so we should have just given him one present a day for a couple of weeks.

Oh well!

His favorite present, hands down, is the baby-size golf club Slice has been waiting to give him for several months. He is obsessed with that thing. We like that he will walk with it.

Of course, we saved the best present for last. Time will tell how much he likes it....

To my Firstborn on his First Birthday

2011-06-01T13:05:00.003-06:00

Dear Liam,

Today you are a year old. I won't say how crazy! it is or how fast time flies! because, let's be honest, a year is a year, and this one has been longer (for me) than many. It has also brought joy that I didn't know existed.

Liam, you are a remarkable baby. You bring sunshine and smiles wherever you go - literally. Every time we go to church, to the store, anywhere, people comment on what a cute, happy child you are. In fact, I've had many people come to me privately to say you are the cutest baby they've ever seen. Naturally, I agree with them.

You got your father's charming personality, my boy, which will be a great asset to you throughout your life. You love people, too, and I've said many times that you should have been a youngest child instead of an oldest. We have to entertain you constantly! If you ever aren't getting enough attention, you take care of that pretty quickly. You like to have all eyes on you.

Right now, you're pretty sure that you are the best thing to ever happen to this earth. If I could preserve this confidence for you, I would. All too soon you will have siblings, friends, and school experiences that will make you think otherwise. I only hope you never lose that smile.

It has been a sheer joy to have you in our home. I don't think there is anything sweeter than watching a child discover the world for the first time. Every new food, noise, cupboard and animal is exciting again. You make us smile and laugh and make ourselves ridiculous. You also make us proud. The ones who "know" tell us that your attention span (and dexterity) is off-the-charts. You are smart, and we know it.

We love your kisses and your snuggling, your singing and your games. You've given us plenty of learning experiences in the last year, Liam; more are certainly to come. It was no easy task to get you here ... but you were worth it. Every second of pain was worth it.

Love you forever!

Love, Mom

Today.

2011-05-30T17:52:00.003-06:00

Last Memorial Day I looked something like this.

My friend Brittanie was out to visit for the weekend, and I sang the National Anthem for the Memorial Day service at our local cemetery with my sister and her friend, which is no small feat when one's lungs are that squished.

But the organizers of the service neglected to tell us that right after we sang (i.e. in the silence), there would be a 21-gun salute. So we were standing there with our backs to the guns all innocent-like, and they fired three times, and WOW you should have seen my belly jump. The rest of me jumped too, but little unborn Liam was definitely not expecting that noise. I still think that might be what put me into labor exactly 12 hours later.

the Genealogist

2011-05-27T10:56:00.001-06:00

As you all know, I am doing some top-secret research and writing for a book.
(Hopefully it won't be top-secret forever.)

This involves online research, which is almost turning into family history research, which, have I told you about that one Family History class I took? The 400 level class I signed up for my last semester at BYU, thinking it was something entirely different?
Well.
Turns out, family history is not a piece of cake, especially when you've never done it before and you're in an upper division college class where the teachers expect you to know how to do it right. Like a professional.
(You guys, there were employees of Ancestry.com and Familysearch.org in my class. I was in WAY over my head.)
But I digress.

My latest three subjects have been somewhat difficult to find information on. Sure, there are 50 websites about them, but they all repeat the same little bio, practically verbatim. I need more. I finally found a little family website with some genealogies and the same last name, and I emailed the webmaster asking if he had any information on my subject.

So far, he has sent me four emails back. After telling me he really didn't have anything (he's "just a hobbyist"), he went and looked at censuses, military records, county records, and compiled all the information to send back to me. The stuff just keeps coming!
I was tickled in the first place that he would even reply - but now he's practically doing my job for me. I'm a little embarrassed that I didn't think of these things before, what with all my training. Ha.

Anyway, how awesome is that?

You better believe I am encouraging this.

2011-05-23T13:50:00.003-06:00

I'm not the biggest Harry Potter fan around, I know. But perhaps I did re-read the entire series right before the 7th book came out (while I was taking summer classes and had thousands of pages to read for them ... ahem.), and perhaps I attended a midnight movie showing or two, and perhaps I bought the 7th book at midnight the day it came out, read it all along a cross-country road trip, and perhaps I BAWLED at the end of the book when Harry walked into the woods.

Perhaps I even read the last book twice without emerging from my room. (Sorry, roommates!)

Anyway. I have been telling Slice to finish the dang series for three years now. He read the first few, moved to Japan, and never picked them up again. Until yesterday.

We finally watched Part One of the Deathly Hallows a couple weeks ago, and part of the Goblet of Fire Saturday. I guess that was the catalyst - he picked up the 7th book yesterday afternoon, and he's been basically useless to me since.

I'm okay with that.

my new favorite snack

2011-05-21T14:54:00.001-06:00

(or meal, as the case may be)

I could make my own dip, but that would require some work.
Off to see what else I can put on my crackers....

Graduates

2011-05-19T20:06:00.007-06:00

This week my two older brothers are graduating from St. Louis University (for the Wikiness see here) - one as an M.D., and the other with a joint MBA/MHA. (Remember how Brent went to China for school last winter?)

gratuitous wedding reception pic + dad sighting!

My parents are there for the week with my three youngest siblings, while the rest of us pine for/envy them.

Anyway, I just think my brothers are awesome, and also my sisters-in-law because we all know it takes a good woman to put a husband through that much school. (Especially with two or three kids.)
Congratulations to all of you! May the paychecks start rolling in!

a little bit obsessed

2011-05-18T09:46:00.000-06:00

with this video:

and also the Glee version. Mostly for Jonathan Groff's voice and the a capella.

The song's been stuck in my head for three days now .... help.

C'est la vie

2011-05-16T10:01:00.006-06:00

Last week during the rainstorm our basement leaked a little. There's a closet under the front porch that sucks all the water from the surrounding dirt, and since we also have no rain gutters, water streams off the roof into that corner unless Slice puts up a tarp to stop it. Leak leak leak.
($$$)

Our bathroom has been looking like this for a couple weeks now:

you may now admire Slice's tiling job

because when we bought a (standard) toilet from Lowe's and tried to install it, we realized that our 70-year-old bathroom will NOT be fitting a standard toilet. We need a 10" rough in. According to our local Lowe's expert, it will cost us 3x what a 12 " would, and also take a month to get here.
($$$)

Wednesday Slice took his girls golf team to their State tournament at Mountain View golf course in Salt Lake. He left his Ipod touch there, so I've been having Words With Friends withdrawals.
($$$ - but we'll get it back)

Saturday we ran a few errands around town, and when we got out of the car, my wallet was on top of it. The wallet that I had put there with my BRAND NEW phone before we left. Only, the phone wasn't there anymore. Classic!
We've retraced our route three times now, with no luck.
($$$)

Also on Saturday I did some laundry while Slice was gone. He came home and started hollering at me from the basement, where there was a bona fide flood from the drain in the floor. Luckily we had a shop vac handy from our bathroom job, as well as a carpet cleaner, and two dads with pipe snakes. Slice worked on the drain all Saturday night and a good part of yesterday afternoon, but we still don't know what is wrong and we can't run the kitchen sink without it backing up. So, a plumber is coming this afternoon to check it out.
($$$)

Basically, I can't do dishes or laundry right now.... all I can do is post pictures of the puppy sleeping.

I tried to tell you yesterday but Blogger went AWOL.

2011-05-13T11:44:00.003-06:00

You may or may not know this, but Slice has a habit of bringing things home without asking me first.

BIG THINGS.

This happened Wednesday.

But ... since Slice has never had a dog
and since he's always wanted one
and since we've been talking about getting one forever
and since we don't have enough messes in our house already

and, most of all, since I am a sucker for tiny, adorable things

he is staying.

Internets, meet the newest member of our family.

So you want to be an Eddington?

2011-05-10T22:47:00.019-06:00

That is great!
There are a few things you should probably know beforehand.

First - musical talent is not required. This is a widespread myth. Sure, it wins you major brownie points and admiration (especially while singing around the piano), but just ask the manly in-laws. If you are an otherwise excellent person, not having musical abilities will not be a deal-breaker.

You know what is a deal-breaker? High-maintenance lifestyle. If you are the type of girl who spends $100 every six weeks on a hair appointment 100 miles away, I can tell you right now, you and I will not understand each other.

Also not required: snow sport skills, water sport skills, nunchuck skills, or video game skills. Phew!
Boggle skills are good, just as long as you don't beat me.

Definitely required: hard work. I am not joking about this.
Your mother may not have birthed you for the sole purpose of watching you work. (Lucky you!)
Your family may not have spent every single Saturday working together - out in the yard, in the house, painting, growing a garden, feeding animals - in addition to daily chores. You may not have lived in a house with SEVEN bathrooms, nine bedrooms and no maid. But hey. You can always learn.

Not appreciated: inappropriate humor. I know, I know, many of you think Meet the Fockers and Superstar and Dumb and Dumber are hilarious. But you know what? We turn it off. We're funny enough without it. I bet you are too.

Another thing you should know is that we are serious about our Toyotas. Oh, how we love Toyotas!
The last four cars my Dad's bought for himself have been Avalons. Three families now have Siennas. I fantasized about Priuses before all the celebrities bought them. And I am telling you, my next car will be a Scion xB. Yes, I know they are ugly. Yes, I still want one real bad.

Other things we are serious about:
Cutco
Dan in Real Life
BYU football
BYU everything (But don't worry, we're not all crazy anti-U. There are plenty of U graduates among us.)
parties
parties with food
parties with ice cream
parties with homemade rootbeer
Muppets from Space
Saturday morning pancakes
homemade syrup
MUSIC

... and I think that about covers it.

Any questions?

Post-edit:
I neglected to mention the way we typically find our eternal companions. With one notable exception, we have all - parents included - married friends from high school. This means SIX high school marriages. So I guess if you really want to be an Eddington, you better know one in school, or be a professional athlete.

another Delusion of Grandeur put safely to rest

2011-05-09T10:57:00.004-06:00

Yesterday I woke up at 5:21. The baby was crying.
(He just started doing this in the early morning again. Reason: unknown.)
I waited until 5:45, then got him a bottle, changed his diaper and put him back in bed. He fell asleep, I didn't.

He woke up again around 6:30. (WHY?!)
I got him up, turned on the light, sent Slice back to bed, and we played on the floor. I fed him some breakfast while I caught up on Reader and Facebook; by 7:30 it was clear that he was still tired. I put him back to bed, showered, picked up the front room and kitchen, ate some cereal, made two jello salads for lunch, and got ready for church.
Slice prepared the primary lesson.

We walked to church, pushing Liam in the stroller. Along the way Slice made jabs about how nice it would be to have a wife who cooked, cleaned, and did all the housework without a complaint.
(Welcome to my marriage!)
(He really did want a Japanese wife.)

I sang a solo in Sacrament Meeting while the kids tried to remember the words to their Mother's Day songs ... Slice was already out in the hall because Liam was throwing fits. Then when we got to our Primary class, the kids were all inside, barring the door with their bodies. There were FOUR of them and we couldn't keep them under control. So Slice went and got the bishop, who joined us for the rest of the class. Then they were angels.

Liam was not. I tried to stay with the class, but he was reaching for light switches and little girls' hair, arching his back, screaming like it's the new fad. Most of the third hour was spent in the hall.

We went straight to my parents' house for lunch after church. The food was great - until Liam started up-chucking the ground chicken and the jello. I stripped him to his diaper until we went home.

At home (after some much-needed naps!), we tried to melt Symphony bars to dip strawberries in, but burned the chocolate in both the double boiler and the microwave. (Apparently I am needing some tips, Heath.) Fortunately, the chocolate chips worked perfectly. Two more outfits for the baby.

We had a delightful monthly family meeting in the evening and a couple more visits, then put Liam to bed. I wrote in my journal for the first time in six months ... and writing in it just reminded me of everything that's happened in that time.
Sigh.

For my first official Mother's Day, I'd say we're off to a roaring start.

What I know about you

2011-05-04T15:54:00.003-06:00

... thanks to my trusty site tracker.
(Unless you are a URL feed reader, in which case I know almost nothing.)

Approximately 35% of you are residents of the great Uintah Basin. Sorry to say it folks, but I'm trying my darndest to get out of here.

A good majority of you are Utahns, even if you don't claim it. 70% -ish.

One of you is undoubtedly Yasue, my most faithful blog follower. Practically every day I have a visitor from Morioka, Japan and I'm pretty sure only one person there has the URL....

Ratio of post-readers to comment-readers: 3 to 1. Again, except for the unknown feed-readers.

Ratio of readers to followers: 10 to 1.

Ratio of post-readers to commenters: 50 to 1 (or something like that. I'm totally making these numbers up).

And, at least once a week someone types in "ponytail chopped off" or something similar in Google, and winds up at this post. I'm glad, because donating hair is awesome and I would totally do it again. If I had hair, that is. But right now, am just jealous of those of you with long gorgeous hair. DANI.

When in doubt, just have more kids

2011-05-02T22:13:00.020-06:00

The story goes that for years, my mother's mother was never happy to hear that she would be having more grandkids.
My parents would take her out to dinner, butter her up, let her down gently with the news of a baby on the way - and she would be furious. Mostly with my dad. He had no right, she told him, to do that to my mom and to their children.
(As if it wasn't her choice too!)

Well.

My parents more than held up their side of the family (with twelve children, indeed). My mother's other siblings, however, have all had smaller families; some struggled with infertility which even left them childless. I vividly remember the day when, years ago, we were piled in the van leaving my grandparents' house. My dear Grandma came to the open window and asked Mom, "Couldn't you just have one more?"
At the time, I was unaware of the change of heart evidenced with that statement.

This cracks me up, and for many reason. I wonder how I will feel about the decisions that I am making 30, 40, and 50 years from now?

I don't presume to tell people how to live their reproductive lives (ha!); nor do I adhere to any Quiverfull Movement weirdness. But (if you recall) I am fascinated by demography - and I do wonder what influences people most as they make their family planning decisions. Money? Time? Culture? Career? Standard of Living?
And do these factors change over lifetimes? Generations?

And since we're on the subject ... what do you think about spacing siblings? Heaven knows we can't control it completely, but if you could, what would your ideal family look like? Kids right in a row, or three years apart? Six? Please tell.

BIG sigh.

2011-04-28T13:19:00.005-06:00

Whew! We've got three weddings under our belts.
(And no money, but let's not talk about that, hmm?)

Last Friday we drove to Utah Valley for a wedding at the Timpanogos temple. We had a family Easter party in Bountiful Saturday, so we planned to make a weekend of it. Only ... we thought the wedding reception (which was in PRICE) was that same night. It wasn't.

So we took the pics, visited friends, shopped and ate and spent the night in American Fork.

Saturday we drove to Bountiful for the family party, to Price for the reception, and back home for Sunday.

Total drive time: 11 hours in 2 days. Poor Liam.

Sunday I accompanied a musical number in Sacrament Meeting for a missionary report - but when the girl brought me the music, the bottom line was cut off on all four pages. A quarter of the song was missing! So I just made up the missing stuff, which was fun. Then I filled in again as Primary chorister while Slice wrestled the boy.

(I knew this would happen when I wrote that post. Karma, you know.)

Monday was filled with wedding preparations, and Tuesday was filled with the wedding.

Guess what else it was filled with?

Angie's baby!

She was a week overdue and attempting a VBAC without any pain medication. Of course(!), her water broke in the wee hours of Tuesday morning. But she still went to the sealing and also, she did it, which pretty much makes her my hero.

Anyway....

The wedding was wonderful, and the flowers were gorgeous (thanks to the incredibly-talented Amy!), and we had perfect light for taking pictures. Until it started hailing on us. Literally.

Don't worry, no one got hurt too badly.

We took pictures at the luncheon and reception, and BOY it was a long day. I will be posting pictures ad nauseum on the photoblog and our new Facebook Fan Page (become a fan!), so as always, you can find more there.

You guys are awesome. Now, back to my recovery ....

Angelbaby Strikes Again

2011-04-25T22:16:00.003-06:00

For the past ten months I have been living my life in two-hour increments. (Aside from Sundays, which do not allow such luxury.) I don't leave the house much - if I do, Slice stays home - and when we go places all together, it must take less than two hours or we have a fussy baby on our hands.

And all this time I've been wondering, how do moms get anything done outside the house? Ever?

Then recently, I became aware that not all babies sleep for more than half of their lives.

See ... Liam now sleeps consistently from 9:30 at night to 7 or 8 without waking. He also takes 2-3 naps during the day, usually around two hours each. So as a general rule he is awake for two hours, then sleeps for two hours, and we (literally) plan our days around his naps.

Most of the time, this schedule is awesome. It is simple and predictable, and we are incredibly lucky that one of us can be home with Liam almost all the time. He hardly ever cries when we put him down anymore; he goes right to sleep and I love it. But sometimes, it is hard for the very same reasons - life isn't simple or predictable. We like to visit with family and eat Sunday dinner and go out of town occasionally. Even overnight! But if we do, we have to figure out how to deal with him, because he doesn't just sleep anywhere. Not even in our arms. He's barely learning to fall asleep in his carseat.

So my question is this: How do you all do it? Forgo the naps to get a little more done? Deal with a fussy baby so you can stay at your parents' a little longer? Put them down wherever you're at?
Or do your babies just not nap during the day?

(And if they don't, HOW DO YOU STAY SANE?)

and now we know what to get him for his first birthday...

2011-04-25T16:38:00.003-06:00

Thanks Shawna and Casey for the entertainment!

The two things I love most

2011-04-21T13:19:00.003-06:00

(just in case you were wondering)

the jobs.

2011-04-20T10:44:00.000-06:00

Going on five months of Sugar Momma-ness around here. That is a post unto itself.

But today I am irritated because apparently, golf professionals are NOT very professional when it comes to business things like "hiring new assistants." Out of the 20+ resumes we sent out, we got approximately THREE emails of acknowledgement. Then when Slice called every single place, a healthy majority of them were like, "Oh, that listing is still up? Yeah .... we filled that position last month."
For crying out loud.

I'm thinking that these people post jobs on PGA Links (like they are supposed to) just for show. Then they hire their best friend's son.

Or maybe that only happens in the Basin?

Point is: we are still in limbo. An unfortunate position to be in for all planning purposes.
Over and out.

Jane

2011-04-18T11:56:00.000-06:00

Slice and I spent a wonderful (if somewhat stressful) weekend on the Wasatch Front with some dear friends and former roommates. Jane married her sweetheart Ivann after a quick turn of events (i.e. moving the date up from SEPTEMBER) - and they pulled it off beautifully! The sealing was wonderful, and she looked absolutely gorgeous. I'll be posting lots more pics on the photoblog.

Just a conversation

2011-04-14T21:31:00.003-06:00

Slice: "Babe, you're pregnant."

Me: "Huh?! What are you talking about?"

"Uh - fruit snacks?"*

"I bought them for the baby. He needs some snacks."

"He can't even eat them."

"Yes he can. I'll bite them in pieces for him."

"Whatever. You'll eat them all."

"Whatever."

*This pretty much tells all about my last pregnancy. Ha! I lived off those things.

Word.

2011-04-12T15:03:00.002-06:00

You guys, it is crazy up in here.

I would tell you all about it - but between the job search (/rejections/perpetual small-town golf course gossip), the sick baby, the elopement(!), the remodeling, the pictures and musical numbers and family drama, I just don't think it would fit.

I mean, I have one brother sneaking in and out of my house at night, another sending all his money to an imaginary girlfriend in New York (now trying to get a passport so he can fly to the Philippines for an imaginary job), and another getting married two weeks from today.

I have three weddings to photograph in the next two weeks, still waiting on some equipment that Slice mis-addressed, because apparently he doesn't know our address yet....
still feeling inadequate, with or without it.

You can't make this stuff up.

Clueless

2011-04-11T12:53:00.002-06:00

Yesterday morning Slice and I walked into church just after 9:30, a bit late and (as always) a bit frazzled. (Also hungry.) My Primary lesson was prepared and waiting in the church bag; Liam's snacks and toys were in the diaper bag. We missed our ward the Sunday before General Conference due to some musical numbers I participated in.

Surprise!

Stake Conference!

We were early!

And we thought it was Fast Sunday. Fortunately, Liam had taken a morning nap and was relatively well-rested. He lasted most of the meeting. (Unlike Slice, who fell asleep the moment I walked out with the baby.)

Unfortunately, we missed the other sessions of Stake Conference, being ignorant of the occasion.
Ah well.

The Health.

2011-04-08T15:31:00.001-06:00

The little goblin had a check-up this week, plus shots (boo.) which have made him grouchier and less sleepy than usual.

According to the stats, this kid is in the 50th percentile (or lower) on pretty much everything.

Huh?

He's like, the jolly green giant! He weighs 21 lbs! Everyone we know says "Wow, he's big!" whenever they see him! How is he barely average?

We are baffled, to say the least.
But whatever.

Also, how do you keep your kids entertained at the Dr's Office? We had two appointments this week - both during his naptimes - and decent wait times for both. This is what we did.

One more thing

2011-04-05T14:11:00.000-06:00

This just made my day. Completely.

Announcements

2011-04-05T13:47:00.002-06:00

3. I lost a follower in the last week or so. I'm kind of flattered.

2. My parents own a condo in south Provo that is now vacated and (hence) available for rent. If you know anyone that is looking for a nice place, send 'em our way!

It has three bedrooms, two full baths - about 1800 square feet on one level.

(I have lots more pics for anyone who is interested.)

And, most importantly . . . .

1. I am pleased to introduce our new family website, months (almost a year?) in the making. We decided a while back to put something together that could serve as a springboard for our abundant, varied ideas. We're still working out kinks, but - we are really excited about it!
Come check it out and please, leave a comment!

to Grandmother's house we go

2011-04-02T19:46:00.000-06:00

Grandpa and Grandma's house is always more fun than our house. Just ask Liam.
But especially when there are new baby chicks.....

AND a new baby swing!

A pretty good day, all around.

for Heather

2011-04-01T17:23:00.000-06:00

A few weeks and a few (hundred) bucks later, we are ready to tile!

Our resident concrete expert helped us fill the hole.

Slice built a ledge for the shower.

Then he filled in the shower pan and leveled out the rest of the floor.

We picked out some tile and bought all the spacers, grout, etc.

Now for the fun part!

sweetbitter

2011-04-01T16:11:00.001-06:00

Sweet: this GORGEOUSLY warm weather (for the past three days) that has allowed Slice and I to do yardwork in our own yard for the first time .... ever.

Bitter: knowing that we are doing this yardwork not so we can enjoy it, but so we can sell the house that we've been in for less than six months.

Sweet: finding a gourmet chocolate bar in our cupboard left by the previous owners.

Bitter: finding the six-year-old expiration date.

Sweet: living within walking distance of TWO redboxes.

Bitter: wafting McDonald's smells, day and night.

Sweet: watching my baby grow up.

Bitter: watching my baby grow up . . .

Next thing you know, he'll be in the front seat. Driving.

2011-03-30T14:32:00.004-06:00

The Stuff

2011-03-30T12:59:00.001-06:00

I should like to explain my recent semi-absence via this post, with further explanation that the only "secrets" I have presently are more like "mysteries" unrevealed to me, i.e., where am I going to live in a month? Or five? And what will we do with this house in a month? Or five?

You know, little things like that.

In other (happier) news, our second annual Girls Weekend was last week, and although Liam joined us he didn't ruin the fun.

Indeed! I preferred to have him outside of me this year. He slept almost all night in the crowded hotel room, making me love him ever so much more.

Unfortunately we didn't have time for anything but Prom dress shopping (for Em), bridal showers (for Kim), and eating: Dunford donuts, pizza from The Pie, Coldstone, In-N-Out.

I did get a picture with my closest cousin growing up, and her day-older-than-Liam son Asher. Look! A picture of me on my blog! What's it been, five months?

His head looks pretty big right there.

Well, I'll be a dirty shirt.

2011-03-23T16:10:00.003-06:00

(Grandma Jean's expression. She has some good ones.)

I had no idea how awful I'd been feeling for the last several months, until I got feeling better. Who knew a functioning thyroid made such a difference?

I've been on a dose of Synthroid for a week now and I can actually get out of bed in the morning. That plus Daylight Savings, plus warmer weather, plus a tax return, plus some job prospects for the Slice, and we are feeling on top of the world!

Thank you all for your kind words and supportive comments. We've had some hard things to deal with, but we'll get through and maybe even be better for it. One can only hope.

Our little (big) Liam is still loving being home with his dad all the time. He will certainly be sad when that has to change.

Ah, Internet, my old foe. We meet again.

2011-03-19T09:19:00.002-06:00

I've heard about things like this happening, but I never gave them much thought; perhaps because I am wary of all things Internet and protect myself accordingly.
(Perhaps because I am naïve.)

Last week my brother Al came to me, asking if someone else could move into the house. He'd been "dating" a girl online for a month, he said, and she was coming to Roosevelt to date and hopefully marry him. He wanted to pay her rent (at my house), drive her around and help her get a job, and get an apartment to move into with her after the supposed wedding.
We raised our eyebrows a little. What kind of girl does that? Accept a marriage proposal from someone they haven't even met? Especially someone who has obvious developmental disabilities (as anyone who's tried to read his writing can tell you), and nothing to offer in the way of financial support.
Very strange.

But, after some discussion - with my parents as well - we decided to help him out, because we want him to be happy. He's had a rough time since returning from his mission, and anything that will help him move on has got to be a good thing. Right?

So after three days of frantic planning (also, scurrying to get our bathroom done; she was supposed to arrive Sunday), I got a phone call from my dad. He and my mom had checked out the "boarding pass" this girl had sent a picture of, and there was no such flight. Long story short: it was a hoax. An elaborate, month-long hoax on my VERY OBVIOUSLY handicapped brother, who bought every single word.

It took a couple more days to figure out that he sent money (from his meager income) so she could buy a ticket to fly here. And he is STILL pursuing her, not believing that she is faking him out.

We have no idea who this person is, but I sure wish I did. Preying on unsuspecting, desperate young men is deplorable, certainly. But unsuspecting, handicapped desperate young men?
There are no words.

Flames

2011-03-16T20:44:00.014-06:00

Last week while in Vernal for the inescapable shopping trip, I ran into the guy who asked me on my first date.
(Homecoming Junior year, four-wheeling day date. He came from Colorado to take me, so it was kind of a big deal.)
I was pleased to see him there with his fiancee. Even more pleasing, he's gained a little weight.

That, plus some nostalgic song-listening got me thinking about old flames and such...

The first boy I ever loved was killed in a car accident the day after I got married.

My first date at BYU (who, by the way, I had quite the crush on) is now apostate - and a Texan!

My two prom dates are college roomies.

And Slice's old flame is being relocated.

You can't predict this stuff, you know? Seriously.

(Anyone have good former-flame stories? Because I love them.)

And the Tax Return goes to....

2011-03-15T10:42:00.003-06:00

the downstairs bathroom!

I know you've all been DYING to hear the updates about this. Well, we have a plumber here for the fourth time in as many days. While digging into and below the foundation of our house, we ran into some mishaps, like Slice putting a hole through a pipe that we weren't planning on replacing, and other stuff like that. That's home improvement for ya.

FYI: 70-year-old cast iron pipes are very brittle!

Slice got to use a jackhammer for the first time and he felt very manly about it.

Speaking of manly......

I baked a German chocolate cake from scratch yesterday, at Slice's birthday cake request. I also made the frosting (of course). Not a big deal to most of you, likely, but it was a pretty big deal to me! And it turned out deliciously.

My husband really loves it when I wear an apron.

(Too bad it doesn't happen very often.)

I love him, I do

2011-03-13T21:52:00.000-06:00

I was just looking for pictures of Slice that I could add to this sappy blog post about how much I love this guy, and for so many reasons.

But here's the deal.

Life's a little crazy right now.

And it's days like today that I am especially grateful to have him by my side.

He's the one who will go teach a Primary class after driving 12 hours through the night, while I am dead on the couch.

He puts the baby to bed most nights - and gets him up in the morning.

He makes delicious meals, especially of the Japanese variety, and often.

He encourages me to do the things I love. He makes me want to be better.

He is a wonderful father.

And always, forever and always, he makes me laugh.

Happy 24th, darling.

a little disaster for your Friday morning

2011-03-11T09:31:00.001-07:00

We woke this morning to a phone call from my sister, who was calling to tell us about the earthquake in Sendai, Japan.

In case you forgot (or didn't know!), Sendai is where my husband served a two-year mission. He has spent the morning gaping at live footage of the ocean slowly eating at the place he once called home.

I don't know if it's because I've never seen footage like this, or because I was there 13 months ago, or even because we've been looking at jobs in Japan, but this disaster is so devastating to me I can't stop thinking about it. The scene replays itself over and over in my mind. What will those people do? Where will they go, how will they eat? Is there anything we can do to help?

(According to Church Headquarters and the Humanitarian center, no. We called already.)
(But we'll keep trying.)

Tricks

2011-03-09T22:44:00.001-07:00

My darling boy is 9 months old. He is happy to oblige us with a variety of tasks: clapping hands, saying "dada," shaking his head no when we say "yes," and crawling into/off of various things. But of course, not if there is a camera somewhere in sight.
He is also earning himself the nickname Destructo Boy.

(In other news, Slice has been home from his mission for 3 years. Ha! We weren't even dating 3 years ago and now we have a 9-month-old!)
(I once wrote about the day he came home, but I can't remember when. So, no linky, drat.)

Ode to Kiana

2011-03-08T22:32:00.000-07:00

Kiana Lee

a.k.a. Physics Woman

cuts my hair like Jessica Simpson's (sort of)

and files my taxes like a pro

and picks out sweet $5 boots.

Ki visits me when

I get bored and/or lonely.

She makes the world brighter

and the music lovelier

with her awesome piano skills.

She takes pictures sometimes.

And did I mention? She is also known as Physics Woman.

Ki, what would we do without you?

Why I'm a bad blogger, in a nutshell

2011-03-06T15:13:00.003-07:00

We just got back from Arizona.

Sorry, no pictures. Again.

It was the second annual Brothers' Birthday Golf Trip (i.e. excuse for Slice to play golf for a few days, and for us to get out of Utah, and to visit family).

This year didn't turn out exactly as planned - my sweet sister had emergency surgery four days before we were scheduled to arrive, and was recovering instead of "party hosting" - but it was wonderful anyway. Just too short.

The weather was perfect and Liam was a trooper. A TROOPER, I tell you! I'm not gonna lie, I was terrified to take him on a 12-hr drive when the longest we'd previously attempted was 7. So we drove to Springville, ate, bathed and dressed and bottled him, and continued on our way in the dark. He woke up only once before Vegas and fell asleep pretty quickly after that, sleeping until we were just minutes from Heather's house.

(Don't tell anyone, but I think having him in a front-facing carseat did the trick. He loves being able to see. That just may have saved us.)

Yesterday afternoon we decided to drive back home through the night, instead of all day today as planned. The Utah weather was looking ominous and Liam did so well on the drive there. So we packed and said goodbye, all too soon.
We're still recovering.

Other stuff we did in AZ:

watched Toy Story 3, finally
called around for open jobs
made orange juice from freshly-squeezed, neighbor-grown oranges
played with Lincoln logs
visited Cold Stone again
showed off our adorable son
did NOT go to a spring training game
did NOT get enough sleep (thanks, Liam!)
made coconut curry for the Dopps, complete with sushi
talked talked talked
started a new family venture: to be revealed ... soon
wished we didn't have to come back to Utah for at least a month. Alas.

We're Cheap.

2011-02-26T17:19:00.004-07:00

So, Matt and Kim asked us to do their wedding pictures.

Yikes!

Talk about pressure. A wedding only happens once. And we really don't have the equipment to do everything I'd like - we don't even own a decent flash, for heaven's sake, thus far we've shot only with natural light - so, it will be quite a challenge. I'm excited but also SUPER nervous.

Last weekend we took some engagements, and you can go check them out here (there are two posts). If you want to.

and I'm thirsty anyway...

2011-02-24T22:14:00.001-07:00

I've always been a big hair loser.
Well, fine, not always. I had thick hair until I was a teenager, and then it mysteriously started falling out.

When I was thirteen or so my mom took me to the doctor to have some tests done. (This is the ONLY doctor visit I had before my marriage, save a few to have warts burned off. No lie.) I kept finding bruises without knowing where they came from and I lost hair in such quantities, I was convinced I had leukemia or some life-threatening blood disease. (Dramatic much?) The tests, unfortunately, came back normal.

"Your blood vessels are just really close to the skin," the Dr. said, "and you probably don't lose as much hair as you think. It's just long, so you notice it more."

I heard that same thing - "it's long, so you notice it more" - many times over the next decade, when hairdressers noticed it piling up on the comb, or when I mentioned it to other people. I got it, I got it. Everyone loses about 100 hairs a day. And they used to recommend women brush their hair 100 strokes a day, until studies showed that brushing too much makes hair brittle.
Normal, but don't brush too much.
Fast forward.

One thing I loved about pregnancy was that my hair was at least three times the usual thickness, shiny and lovely and growing. Until the Great Post-Partum Hair Loss, that is. Still, everyone said it was normal, and that some women even get bald spots. Mine never got that bad.

So a couple months ago, when my hair started coming out in handfuls every time I showered, blow-dried, or brushed my hair, I didn't worry too much at first. Blame it on the hormones! Hormones! Hormones! Surely it's normal! Normal! Normal!

Sorry about that .... anyway.

The hair loss was annoying, but the dizziness was worrying. And still it took a full-blown UTI* to get me in the clinic to take care of it. More blood work done; thyroid levels checked. Sure enough, my thyroid isn't functioning the way it should, (high TSH and low t3, t4,) but we won't know exactly what to do until I get a few more tests done. Just what we need right now.

Now I know that I'm not crazy. About the hair loss, at least.

*"Bring on the Rain," or something. I've had a broken wrist, two different infections requiring antibiotics, and a diagnosis of a lifelong thyroid problem within the past 10 weeks. And you thought I was joking about funding the hospital!

Continuing a Solid Family Tradition

2011-02-19T22:02:00.005-07:00

I have to tell you, this relationship has been planned for a long time.

It's been well over a year since Kiana, Slice and I decided that Kim would be a good match for Matt. We discussed it many, many times over the subsequent months. Indeed, the only thing left was to convince the parties involved.

(This family tends to marry friends from high school. We're 6 for 7 in that category so far.)

Of course, we never predicted it would happen this fast - Kim was still in high school at the time, and Matt was 'writing' someone else - but it worked out perfectly, all the same. No time like the present, I say!

She is the real deal, this girl. Beautiful inside and out.
Really, how many girls do you know who don't wear (or need) makeup for their engagement photos??

almost compensated for missing HP 7

2011-02-18T22:18:00.006-07:00

Wednesday night Slice and I went to a movie for the first time in, I don't know, eighteen months at least.
We decided to use the movie passes that we've had forever and see the late show of True Grit before it's gone from the local theater. Our friend/SIL's brother agreed to come sit at our house after Liam was asleep.

So when we got to the theater we handed over the passes and were ushered in, and to our pleasant surprise, there were two bags of popcorn waiting for us "on the house." Then we asked for some drinks, intending to pay for them, and the ladies wouldn't let us pay for those either.
Also - there was only one other person in the entire theater.

So...
Two tickets to a movie (nearly to ourselves) + two bags of popcorn + two drinks = one free date night.
There is no charge for awesomeness!

And now for the Feature Presentation:

Liam does the inchworm, golfs, and reads the JW bible. For reals.

....he kept screaming when we took it away.