Oh, Fuuuudddddgggge!

1. The week of Christmas I made fudge for the first time ever.
2. It was delicious.
3. It was intended to be treats for neighbors, but that just didn't happen this year. We had a lot of good intentions. Isn't the road to hell paved with those? Oh well. We ate the fudge ourselves.
4. Even when I was on the brink of a sugar-induced coma, I'd snatch up another piece.
5. We had so many plates of goodies dropped by that by Christmas Eve I just wanted to eat a carrot. I ate fudge instead.
6. I renewed my gym membership yesterday.
7. I'll make fudge again next year. For the neighbors...yes, for "the neighbors".

Christmas Joyness

Christmas was Snuggie-licious. The Snuggie was on Anders and Addie's wish lists this year. I think they look like they're in a cult when they wear them. The Snuggie Cult.

Santa brought Anders an MP3 player. Our child is old enough to ask for an MP3 player. Weirdness.

Aani got the hang of present-opening pretty quick.
Santa brought Addie an Easy Bake Oven. Santa forgot the 100 watt light bulb that goes in the oven. Darn that Santa! Darn him all to heck!Ava took a nap. All day.
The aftermath.
Christmas is wonderful. I'm glad it's but once a year.

Oh, it is ON!

What the H-E-double hockey sticks is up with the mice? Was there something about the weather this year that's making the little pieces of crap invade everyone's homes? I don't know how many are lurking around our house. I've had 4 sightings.

Nils caught one a few nights ago with one of those sticky traps. It squeaked as it got its head stuck on the thing, and we were feeling sad for it. He said, "I know it's stupid to feel bad for it, but they really are cute." Then he threw it away in the subfreezing temperatures, and we felt a little better.

At 4:52 this morning, I was woken up by something crawling on me. IN MY BED. I threw off the blanket and yelled really loud, "OHMYGOSHAMOUSE! IT WAS ON ME!" Nils bravely instructed me to take Ava and go into the living room, but the damn thing got away. (When dealing with mice and other disease infested rodents/creatures, it's perfectly acceptable to swear. But only little swears like damn and hell.)

To all mice everywhere! You may be cute, but I believe you were created by the devil, and you must die.

Many moons ago when we lived in the woods of CT, we had mice in our house. We bought some humane traps with a one-way door. We caught several mice and they were so cute that we felt bad for them and set them free outside. They came back. They got into the cupboards and nibbled through boxes of food, and we could hear them scurrying through the attic at night. One day we were getting ready for church, and I found a nest of egg noodles in my shoe. A NEST OF EGG NOODLES! It was then that they were shown no mercy and they were executed.

So... anyone have some great mouse killing techniques you'd like to share? Please? I may never sleep again.

How Thankful am I

Three people brought us food yesterday. I haven't had to cook in over a week, and it's AWESOME (sung opera style)!! Thank you, thank you, to all the wonderful people around me.

The kids love Ava. They think she's "so cute", and they think she's funny. "She makes funny faces! She likes it when I poke her in the eye! She likes it when I'm a half inch away from her face! She's asleep because I sang her a lullaby!"

I just love her little folded up body. I wish it weren't so cold so I could unwrap her more and stare at her cute little legs and belly. Speaking of Ava's belly, Aani saw her cord stump the other day and completely freaked out. She ran away screaming, "button has poopies!" and wouldn't come near Ava for an hour.

Before the baby is born, it's hard to imagine what life will be like with a new child in it, and how the family dynamic that you're used to is going to change, etc. I've been amazed every time that once my little baby is born, it's like I've known her (or him) forever. She's part of our family- she always has been and always will be.

Last week Nils was folding laundry and held up a pile of maternity clothes. He asked me what I wanted him to do with them, and I said, "Burn them." Then I sobbed for an hour. It hit me that this is it; I'll never wear those awful clothes again. It's such a weird paradox; being pregnant is miserable and it's not something I want to go through again. But that sacred experience of meeting your new baby makes everything more than worth it.

However, I love not being pregnant. And as life marches on, it boils down to a quality of life and a quality of parenting. We shall see how it goes with the four A's.

Ava's Birthday

Here is a fact-based post about sweet Ava's birthday. I want to write a separate "feelings" post.

I had a feeling a few weeks ago that I should go ahead and schedule an induction. I'm glad I did, because the last few days of my pregnancy were fraught with pregnancy-induced hypertension. (I had wanted to let nature take its course, avoid an epidural, and avoid paying an anesthesiologist. I'm getting very cheap in my old age.)

This extremely attractive and happy picture is of me last Sunday. I'd had a migraine all week, was swelling in my hands and face, and my blood pressure was on the rise. Hooray for PIH!

I had just woken up, and Nils started taking pictures. I was saying these words as this picture was taken: "Nils, stop. Seriously, it's rude." I was a delight to be around.

On delivery day, I was told to be at the hospital at 7:00 am. We were literally walking out the door when they called and said 3 women had just come in in labor, so I had to wait.

So I did.
Once again, we can thank Nils and his insatiable need to take pictures.

We got the call to go to the hospital. They hooked me up around 11:00 am. We watched two episodes of Glee. It made the time pass oh-so-quickly. The contractions were coming, but I was handling it like a champ. At this point I was still seriously considering NOT having an epidural. At about 1:50 the contractions were coming fast and furious about a minute apart- and hurting lots. I went from watching Mr. Shu & Co. dance and sing about to realizing I had a matter of minutes before things were getting serious, and if I was going to get the epidural it was then or not at all. My water broke while I was getting it, and I was hurting a lot. Then...that magical, warm, numb, tingley feeling came. (And now I owe that guy like $500. It was worth it at the time.) It numbed everything below my belly-button, but I still felt every contraction. I told the nurse that it was going to go fast from that point. Sure enough, I was at a 9. She called the doctor, who made it just in time. One push!

Ava Catherine Rasmusson
December 1, 2009 at 2:30 pm
6 lbs. 5 oz. 19"

El Doctor- Hey, thanks for showing up, buddy!

The doctor said I had the longest umbilical cord he's ever seen. It was like 3 1/2 feet long or something crazy. He kept coming back and looking at it. I don't know how to grow big babies, but I can grow freakishly long umbilical cords. It's how I roll.

The hospitals have major visitor restrictions because of the swine flu, so the kids weren't allowed at all. It was kind of sad that they had to wait until I got home to meet their new sister. Though I have to admit, it was nice to have a couple of days with just Ava and me before the chaos ensued. I love her.

She's Here!

Ava Catherine Rasmusson was born today at 2:30. She's a beautiful little earthling. She was quite the screamer for a few minutes but as I type she is sleeping peacefully and doing great. She's adorable. Here's her debut video. Thanks for all your prayers, thoughts and help. Katrina is doing great - the delivery went smoothly and quickly. Here's a video of Ava.

I'm Becoming My Mother

I just realized that I have two personalities. Like, I just realized this about 4 minutes ago. So there's Katrina and then there's Mom.

Katrina is me.

The Mom is that lady that cooks and cleans, tells the kids no, they can't have more cookies, to pick up their shoes and clean their rooms and all that other mom stuff.

I worry that while I'm Mom, my kids don't see me. When I sing the theme song to Spongebob opera style, they plug their ears. For some reason they don't appreciate how hilarious that is. Weird. But I especially worry that while I'm Mom, I don't convey enough how much I love them. In my defense however, they wouldn't tolerate me hugging and kissing them all day. So, do they just know?

A few weeks ago we were at my mom's house. When it was time to go, I sang, opera style, "Children! It's time to go! Please get in the van!" real singy-songy. I had a big cheesy smile on my face. Anders and Addie said, "Don't act like that!" I asked why, and they said, "It's too nice!"

Then I said, in an exaggerated grumbly voice, "Get out to the van!" They said, "Too mean!"

I asked how they wanted me to talk and they said, "NORMAL!" Normal. Normal would be the Mom. Down to business.

I'm wondering at what point my kids will see me and mom. Or, is this one of those, "your kids don't need you to be their friend, they need you to be their parent" sort of things? Do they need to see me?

When they catch glimpses of who their mother is besides their mom, I just hope they like me. Ya know?

My Little Slaves

Saturday morning chores bring families together.
We hate our vacuum. Any suggestions?

I'm Bored

Gosh, I'm so bored. Does that mean I'm boring? I've heard that bored people are boring.

The highlight of this last week has been this li'l box o' chocolates. Raspberry Cream, I love you... which is why I ate you.

So here's what's shakin':

• I've been released from teaching Gospel Doctrine given the current and upcoming circumstances. I'm not sobbing into my pillow about it at night, but I'm a little sad. I think it's a calling that everyone should have at some point. I learned a ton about the gospel, the scriptures, and myself.
• Nils, the KSL Classifieds stalker extraordinaire, bought a 60" HDTV today for $85. His baby the projector pooped out in July, so this is the replacement. I must admit, I have missed movie nights in the basement. We need a truck to haul the thing home. I'm sure Nils will soon find a way. He is gifted at getting what he wants. Truly gifted.
• I'm swollen. My face is fat, and that is a fact. It saddens me. I stumbled across this video the other day, and it gave me hope that I might look normal again one day. I'm also reminded that there should be no more composing and/or performing songs on my part.
  
• I'm scheduled to have a baby on December 1. Holy moly, that's in two weeks! It has been scheduled because I have a genuine fear of giving birth on the kitchen floor or Lehi Main Street. For real.
  
• Today at Target, I sat down in the aisle because standing was making me tired. That's the point I'm at. It was the toy aisle, so the girls were occupied.
  

And now, I'm all out of things to say.

Don't Judge

Nils says I look crazy in this picture.

The 64 oz. was only thirty cents more than the 32. How could I pass up that deal? I thought maybe a drink that big would make my belly look smaller. Meh.

Indiana Turkey

Anders had an assignment to disguise Tom Turkey so he won't get eaten for Thanksgiving. He wanted to dress the turkey as Indiana Jones. Harrison Ford, eat your heart out!

I LOVE the chest hair.

I'm just glad Nils was home to take charge of this one. Pretty sweet, huh?

(I made the whip, though- see how crafty I am?)

T Minus...

31 days! I have three bottles. I'm not ready.

Then I get kicked in the bladder,
or bend over to pick something up,
or try to put socks on and tie my shoes...
I was told the other day that I have "The Pregnant Nose".

I'm trying to enjoy this time, because I'm pretty sure I won't be doing it again. But boy-howdy, I'm ready to meet this little baby.

We should probably get that car seat sometime soon.

Keeping Up Appearances

Last night I hosted book club at my house. It was delightful, in case you're wondering. About an hour before it started, Nils helped me do some last minute tidying so that my guests would think that our house is cleaner than it actually is. He got the kids to help clean by bribing them with Oreos. In order to keep the house clean, they were required to eat their Oreos in the bathtub. So they did.

And that is how we keep up appearances.

Why I'm not a Pet Person

Well, I almost just killed the fish. I mean, it has been 5 days, so they're lucky they've made it this long. Their water has been a little murky the past couple of days, so I thought I'd be a good pet owner and refresh their habitat.

Do you like how loosely I'm using words like "pet" and "habitat"?

Anyhoo, we forgot to buy a net to get the little whipper-snappers out of their habitat while cleaning it, so I got them out with a measuring cup. I put them in a nice, roomy bowl and started to clean their home. All of a sudden, I see Pretty I Love You in the sink. Then I see Bolt on the counter. Then Pretty I Love You jumps onto the rubber part of the drain! STUPID FISH!

All the while, Addie and Aani are watching, Addie's bawling, and I was sure it was the end. I could see their little gills just flappin' away in the cold, dry air, but of course they wouldn't hold still and let me catch them with my measuring cup. I can't even remember how, but I managed to get Pretty I Love You before she went down the Insinkerator, and caught Bolt shortly after.

I put a plate over the stupid bowl, washed their freaking house, put them back in, and I swear to you- they both turned to me and gave me dirty looks. Their gills were flapping furiously at me.

Geez. Sorry for saving your lives.

The girls with the fish after the incident. These could be the last pictures taken of these fish.

Ma Peeps

(Last Saturday)
Me & Beverly
Cheri, Laura & Tiffany

What can I say about these girls? We've known each other since the beginning of time. We grew up in the same neighborhood, but when we reached high school we all came together and became a close group. I have been blessed with good friends in all stages of my life, and I'm so thankful.

These ladies are my BFF's from the teen and college years, and I love them. We did so much stupid stuff together back in the day. Oh the memories! We get together 3 or 4 times a year, and we gab for hours and hours about everything under the sun. It's always therapeutic and fabulous, and I'm so happy that we're still in touch and get to see each other fairly regularly.

P.S. I said a lot of bad words while trying to get the camera timer to work for this picture. Sorry, girls.

Welcome to the Family! You'll be Dead Soon!

Saturday, October 24, 2009 is a day that will go down in the annals of history, for it is the day that we got our first pets.

We're not really "pet people", if you will, so our investment of 8 dollars in the pets pictured above seems appropriate. 8 dollars total. Including the exotic tank.

The fish on the left belongs to Anders, and has been named "Bolt". The fish on the right belongs to Addie, and has been named "Pretty I Love You".

On the way home from the store, Addie kept comforting her fish by saying, "Don't worry, Pretty I Love You, I'm right here."

Nils has told the kids repeatedly that these fish will be dead in a matter of weeks, just so they're prepared for the inevitable. Hopefully when it's time for the big flush, they won't be too devastated.

If this goes well, maybe next time we'll spring for the $5 fish.

This week...

This last week has been one full of joy... and joyness. I kid. My fingers are swelling as I type this. They do that at night these days... or, these nights. What?

There was no school last Thursday and Friday due to Fall Break. To celebrate, the children got sick and we were quarantined for 4 days. Addie and Aani have just been hacking like crazy. Anders has been hacking, fevering, sneezing and breaking out in hives. Hives? Good grief.

I was able to escape on Saturday to get my hair done. The woman gave me a full weave and a mullet. I had no idea that I had a mullet until I got home and looked in the mirror at the back. Fortunately, my across the street neighbor is a beauty school dropout. She agreed to trim the mullet as soon as her family is rid of the swine flu. Until then I have to deal. I don't know, though. Maybe I could just rock the mullet like her.

Random McRandomson

Last night I made potato stuffed chimichangas for dinner. I've made fried food about 3 times in my life- two of those times were simply frying tortillas by themselves. So you can imagine the complexity of frying several chimichangas at once. It was a force to be reckoned with, indeed. Here are the successes and failures of my endeavor:

Success:

They were really quite delicious. So delicious, in fact, that the kidders even ate them... and dare I say it? Enjoyed them.

Failure:

I burnt the crap out of my thumb when oil splattered on it. I ate my dinner with my thumb in a glass of ice water, and the pain was unbearable for 5 hours. Ice, ice, baby. Nils told me that he fears for me sometimes. But he still really liked the chimichangas.

Funny:

While I was busy frying away, I heard the following conversation:

Addie: Anders, what do you wish?

Anders: For a hundred-thousand dollars. What do you wish?

Addie: That I was a fire dog.

Anders: Don't you mean a fire woman?

Addie: Or a guard dog.

Ironic conclusion:

After eating our fried dinner, we sat down and watched "The Biggest Loser" as I melted bag after bag after bag of ice on me poor little thumb. I love Bob. And I could really use Jillian screaming in my face around mid-January.

The End.

Kid Stuff

The past little while I've been noticing some things about kids and ages/stages. A lot of the things that were frustrating when Anders was 4 are things that are frustrating now that Addie is 4. Now that Anders is bigger, he's a lot easier to reason with, and understands that it's best just to cooperate. Most of the time. He's been a picky eater for a long, long time. In the past year or so, he has become much better. He'll try things when we ask him to, and he's finding that he actually likes most of it. Yay!

On the other hand, Addie has always been a good eater. She usually sat in her chair and ate her food without complaint. If she didn't like something, she simply wouldn't eat it- but she didn't whine about it. Well, that's all changed. Pretty much every day she acts like she's going to pass away from eating all of the disgusting food she's presented with.

Example: Salad.

Anders eating salad with gusto.

Addie eating salad with Addie-tude. I'M SO PUNNY! But don't you think it's fitting that with a face like that, she's wearing a tiara?

I take heart that mealtime with Addie will improve with age as it has with her brother.

Now to Aani. She's filling the role of 2-year old quite well these days. She hits her sister, then on her way to time-out flashes her biggest, sweetest smile. She destroys things; she's been like a little tornado lately.

Then the other day I walked into the living room and saw this. How cute is that? Sitting in Daddy's arm, channel surfing with cute little piggy-tails. I thought, "she's too cute to be rotten."

Then we got ready for bed and she brushed her teeth like this. And that's Aani lately. Cute and rotten.

And these are the simple days that I'll look back on with fondness, won't I?

The Weekend

Friday I got the kids early from school and we drove to Las Vegas. Have you ever needed to just leave? The thought of driving 6 hours on Friday, and then turning around and doing it again on Saturday was more appealing to me than staying home sans husband for another two days.

Around Mesquite I started feeling a cold coming on, so I kind of felt like poop all weekend. That killed any desire for me to take the kids anywhere near the strip. Well, that and THIS:

Honestly. The thought of walking my kids through tunnels of these guys was too much.


We drove the strip, and the kids oooed and ahhhed at the lights and crazy buildings.

Saturday Nils had classes until the afternoon, so I took the kids to the Lied Children's Discovery Museum. It was good, clean fun. And there were no naked ladies.

Then we drove home. That's us in the reflection. Pretty fancy picture takin' there, Nils. Oh yes, and Nils did forfeit his plane ticket and drove home with us. It was nice. He's my fave.

So Las Vegas is gross, but it was nice to leave the routine. Ya know?

The Belly in Vegas

Oh yeah. Vegas, baby.

The 100 Curse

Well, September has flown by and I have a piddly little 57 blog posts for the year. My OCD has to have 100 again this year. Hoo-boy, it's going to be an interesting 3 months for all of us.

I have 66 days until my due date of December 5. (FYI, Ash). I don't have a countdown ticker because I think it would make the time go slower for me. I have been pregnant for eternity. I know everybody thinks that they have been pregnant for eternity, too- but I really have. So there. Lately I've been worrying that she is actually a he. Not that I wouldn't love a he, but we've been calling her Ava and have grown quite fond of the idea of another she-Rasmusson. I was looking at the ultrasound pics of the... ya know... and I have to say, I just don't see it. I'm no ultrasound technician, but these things have been wrong before *cough* Melinda! *cough cough*. Nils thinks I'm a kook. I think he's on to me.

Speaking of Nils, he is attending Photoshop World this week in Vegas. I'm thinking the kids and I might drive down on Friday and harass him until he comes home. Am I brave enough to drive 6 hours as the lone parent? More importantly, am I brave enough to wrangle the kids for two days in LAS VEGAS by my 7 month gestational self while the hubs is geekin' it up with Photoshop all weekend? Do you think he would drive home with us, even though he has a perfectly valid plane ticket home? These are questions I'm willing to get to the bottom of.

About oversharing

Nils was kind enough to make me a new blog header, and I thought the subtitle "A place for oversharing" was appropriate, since I tend to be a real oversharer.

I overshared big time yesterday in RS when the instructor asked me to share an experience. So I blabbed on and on, and the whole time the oversharing alarms were going off in my head, but I couldn't stop my mouth from moving. I didn't overshare anything that I haven't already here on the WORLD WIDE WEB, so I guess I figured what the hay! I've been spending a considerable amount of brain power wondering why. The only thing I can come up with is that I just don't care if people know certain things about me. Why I'm compelled to say things publicly, I know not. I just hope the impression I give isn't negative. I really don't want to be a bummer. I don't want my li'l blog to be a bummer, either.

So thanks for putting up with my soul-bearing. I appreciate it lots.

I got my craft on- sorta

Why does sewing fill me with rage? I took 3 years of sewing in high school, and by my senior year I thought it was something I actually enjoyed. In the 13 years since then, it's been confirmed again and again that I don't enjoy sewing- what I enjoyed was the socializing that took place in sewing class. That, and the fact that my teacher helped me fix all my mistakes.

With that brief history, we had Super Saturday last week. One of the projects were these cute li'l aprons, made from a dish towel and a small amount of fabric. I thought they looked simple enough that I could handle it, and perhaps even enjoy the process. Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha. Simple- yes. Enjoyed the process- no.

Since cursing is generally frowned upon at church activities, I took my unfinished aprons home and wondered if they would ever get finished. The next day I took them to my mommy's house, and she pretty much took care of the rest. And my kids think I'm amazingly talented. Yep.

Oh sweet mother of pumpkin

Costco pumpkin muffin, I love you. My children love you. Thank you for existing and making the bittersweet transition from summer to fall a little easier for me. And thank you for your streuseley top, for I love it so.

The PJ

PJ= Pregnancy Journal, 29 weeks.

I went for a check-up today. At my appointment last month I realized I haven't even met 2 of the doctors in the clinic. I've had the same doc for all my pregnancies and he's delivered every time, which has been serendipitous. I thought I should meet at least one of the new guys, just in case. I did so today, and can I just say... he reminded me of a word that rhymes with backjass.
Very impersonal and rushed, and the only question he asked was, "what are you planning on using for birth control?" That's nice. Then he started talking about "getting fixed", as he so eloquently put it, and proceeded to educate me as to how it's permanent.

REALLY? I HAD NOT CONSIDERED THAT!

And that was the end of our time together.

I missed my regular doctor, the one I see at Hallmark and the gym. Tried and true. Sometimes annoying, but always willing to address my concerns, big or small. Last week after my little incident, I called the clinic to talk about going back on meds. He called later that night to see how things were going. I thought it was nice, since normally his nurse takes care of that stuff.

Have you ever been at a restaurant and decided it would be character building to order something different, so you do and then you end up puking all night and cursing the menu gods and wishing you had just ordered the regular old hamburger? Yeah. That's kinda like me and my obstetrician.

I just might be crazy

My debit card expired at the end of August and I forgot to replace it with the new one. The first time I realized this was when I was at the mall, 25 minutes away. I was buying a few maternity shirts, because the day before, every shirt I tried on had grease stains on the belly. Classy. 2 days later (Labor Day) I was at the grocery store and had forgotten it again. I left the groceries. I came home, almost despairing, so frustrated at myself. Nils went back and paid for the groceries, because I couldn't bring myself to do it. Later that afternoon, we went down to the Walmart, which to this day makes me nauseous, but that's besides the point. I think we were in the canned fruits and vegetable aisle, and I felt the crushing walls of depression closing in on me. In the times that I have felt this way, it's all I can do to remain upright. If you've ever felt this way, you can probably relate. It sucks. Nothing matters.

So, I thought: Crap. It's coming back. No, it IS back. And, this is a really inopportune time for me to have an emotional breakdown. Couldn't we have picked a different time, brain? Really?

The thing is, when I first acknowledged that I might be struggling with depression 2 years ago (which was Labor Day, weirdly enough), I knew there were some underlying issues that were at the root of it. I worked through those and felt better, and have been feeling great for a year and a half. When it happened again last week, I wondered what could have brought on another round. Soooooo, after two days of mulling, I think I started to understand.
Without getting into the nitty-gritty, here's the deal:

My husband is insanely busy. Job 1, job 2, starting a business, church calling, kids, crazy wife, etc. The weird thing is that all of these are good things- especially the crazy wife. She's amazing. Anyhoo, I've been trying really, really hard to suck it up. All of the things demanding his time are decisions we made together and are in our best interest for the long term. So, the trick is trying to figure out a way to maintain a balance between the two of us while all of this is going on. And, I think things were starting to get lopsided. I've learned, yet again, that sucking it up and not expressing frustrations is very, very bad for my mental health.

When I was pregnant with Anders we went to a childbirth class, and the instructor asked everyone what their coping methods were when they were under stress. Most people said things like "read the Bible" or "take a hot bath", and I said, "I complain about it until I can find a solution." During labor, I didn't read the Bible or take a hot bath. I complained until I got an epidural. It totally worked.

In this instance, trying to make sense of my feelings and expressing them proved to be what I needed. I feel much better, and for that I'm very grateful. In life, there are things we just have to embrace. I've embraced the fact that my hair will always curl. I'm not crafty and I've embraced it. My need for cake will always trump my need for six-pack abs- embraced! I need to embrace my need to whine, and not feel bad about it.

I guess in order to preserve my emotional stability, I can't be a quietly supportive wife. I can, however, be a wife who supports her husband but gripes about it at the same time. Whenever I try to fill that "never complaining, always supportive" role, I lose my mind little by little, until one day forgetting my debit card almost throws me over the edge; but it's the Walmart that actually does.

5K for a Great Cause

Alright, my 5K friends.... you know who you are! Maybe you've seen this McKenna Can button floating around blogs and Facebook. McKenna is a sweet girl in our neighborhood who is fighting leukemia for the second time. There are several fundraisers being organized for her and her family, but I thought I'd make particular note of the 5K. It's happening Saturday, October 10 at 10 a.m. here in Harvest Hills. Click on the button for more info. Click here to register or donate!

I'm planning on waddling as far as I can.

It has begun...

Anders started first grade, and so far, so good. There are two time tracks at the school: The Early Birds go from 8:00-2:15, and the Later Gators go from 9:15-3:30. Naturally, the later time is much more appealing to me and most mothers. Having said that, my child is on the Early Bird track. I realized last year that Anders needs more one-on-one time with the teacher. He just needs more validation and attention, and felt he would get that better in the morning when there are fewer kids in the classroom. There are only SEVEN kids in the class from 8:00-9:15, so even though I sort of hate the schedule, I know it's the best for him. Gosh, I'm such a good mom.

Another exciting turn of events: Nils was offered a job at Provo College teaching a Multi-media class and a Photoshop class. Two days a week that he's gone all day and all night, but we're counting our blessings as freelance work has been super crappy pickins lately. The term lasts 10 weeks, so by the time he's finished I'll be about 36 weeks and ready to explode. Perfect timing!

I think I have a girlfriend

This morning I went shopping at our friendly neighborhood grocery store.

I'm not sure, but I think the checkout lady and I are in some kind of relationship that I wasn't aware of.

Me: Hi.

Checkout Lady: Hi sweetheart, how are you? (Good.)

Did you find everything you needed, baby? (Yes, thanks.)

Is there anything on the bottom of your cart that I can help you with, sweetie? (No.)

Do you have your Fresh Values card, honey? (hand her my keys)

$69.37, sweetie. (swiping card, trembling a little)

There's your receipt, darlin'. (Thanks.)

You have a BEAUTIFUL weekend, hon. (Thanks, you too.)
-------------------------------------------------------------

I wish I would have whispered, "You too, schnookums".

Our Stay-cay

Well, this year we've had it in our heads that we would take a grand adventure to Northern California and the Oregon coast. Then I started barfing a lot and that took care of that idea. But, we still really wanted to have a fun family getaway. We loved going to the beach in San Diego last year so much and wanted to do something similar. I remembered that a short three hours away is magnificent Bear Lake. I hadn't been there in 10+ years, so it had faded from my memory. If you live 'round here and need a little water/beach fix, Bear Lake is where it's at, baby!

We stayed in a one-room cabin at the KOA, since we's po' folk and don't have a time-share. The kids loved the top bunk; probably because there was no where else they could sit down- what with it being a one-room cabin and all.

There were s'mores.

It made me so happy.The beach. Oh, how we love the beach.
We had a great time.