I Can See How She Might Be a Little Confused...

My dad has developed an interest in woodworking and also likes whimsical characters, so I think that's why my mom bought this statuette for him last Christmas. Right now, it sits on a small table in their living room for all to see. Ashley (age 2 1/2) saw it one day and asked, "Whistle?" My mom corrected her and said, "That's a flute!" And with all the innocence of a little child, Ashley asked, "Heavenly Father plays the flute?!"

*Not that it changes the point of the story, but I found out today that this is NOT an exact replica of the statue on display in my parents' home. The one they have is definitely more stylish...as stylish as a gnome statue can be, anyway.*

Sugar and Spice

A lot has happened in the past couple of months that is certainly worthy of a blog-posting or two...or maybe even a dozen...or two, but as anyone who has been checking my blog can tell, I have been AWOL for some time now. So, if you miss reading my blog (Mom, I know you do), I'm going to see if I can get back into the swing of things. Having posted three whole times in all of 2009, I can easily match that pretty effortlessly. I'll start with the most important of all.

I am now 23 weeks into this pregnancy and all is going very well, and the official word is that we are having another girl! I am excited and happy that Ashley will have a sister somewhat close to her in age. I'm not sure if Zachary is still insisting that it's a boy, but he was for awhile. I think he's finally starting to understand a little better. Today he said, "Mommy's going to have a baby in FOUR MONTHS! But first, it's Ashley's birthday. Then it's going to be MY birthday, and then vacation." And he's right. I told him that after he didn't quite understand how long four months was going to be. He said, "I can count to 4! One...two...three...four!" And maybe he wondered why the baby didn't just magically appear? I think he knows better, but delayed gratification is not the gift of most 4 year-olds, now is it?

Aside from the fact that I'm in no hurry for this baby to show up before her time, I think I have just about everything ready so she can come home. On New Year's Day, Chris disassembled the crib in the kids' room and set it up again in our bedroom, alongside the rocking chair and other stuff I set up to make the sleepless nights to come as comfortable as possible. As I polished the crib, I couldn't help but feel so excited to be welcoming another baby. That's when it occurred to me that I hadn't even wondered if I would be able to love a third as much as my first or second. This baby was very much hoped for, as much as the others and I am thrilled that all is going so well.

As far as a name goes, I have told this story many times already, but I once promised Chris that he could name our second daughter. I came up with Ashley's name (Ashley Rebecca) sometime before I was even pregnant with her. I asked Chris how he liked that name, and my recollection was that he agreed that he also liked it. By the time that we found out that we were expecting our first little girl, he claimed he never said he liked the name I had my heart completely set upon at that point. Reluctantly, I tried to come up with other names, but his ideas and mine were about as different as night and day. There was one name that he really liked, but I just couldn't take my mind off of Ashley Rebecca. It wasn't until the day Ashley was born that Chris finally relented and said that we could give her the name that I loved. And in that moment, I promised him that if we ever had another daughter, we could give her the name that he loved. So, I am keeping my promise to him and we will name our baby Katherine Elizabeth. I know Chris plans to call her Katherine. I'm a little undecided, as I think it's a little too formal for our family, but at the same time, I can't really think of a nickname that I'd prefer. For the sake of family unity, I might just have to call her Katherine, too...

So, that's a little update on our baby girl! We are still due around July 26, but due to the fact that Chris is registered to start the Bar Exam on July 28, we're hoping to have her up to a week before. July 20th would probably be the earliest, but that sounds pretty good to me!

To Say That I Was Sufficiently Warned...

I was trying to think of what to make for dinner tonight, and I admit I was being awfully slothful about it. Chris was taking a snooze on the couch, and the kids, who really should have been starving, were happily playing together in their room. I felt no pressure.

A little while later, I managed to get the kids to emerge from their room and I began probing them for some easy dinner ideas since, clearly, nobody seemed to really care WHAT I made. I asked the kids if they would like corndogs. The only problem with corndogs, or so I thought, was that Ashley will only eat the breading part. And on a day like today, if all she wants to eat is corndog breading, well, so be it.

Zachary piped up, "I want to eat a frozen corndog!"

Well, I have heard this a number of times before, and I have always been opposed to the idea. I'd kind of think that CPS might rightfully be called if I knowingly fed my kids frozen meals without preheating them first. I would never do such a thing, because I do *try* to be a good mother...even on my lazy days (like today.)

I speak only for myself when I say that I was doing what any lazy mother ought to be doing and was checking out Facebook instead of making dinner for my family at 7pm. So, it was no surprise when I heard my kids scrounging around in the kitchen for something to eat. I wasn't going to be on the computer for much longer, and kids in the kitchen (at least at MY house) always warrants an inspection and a quick one. That was going to put a hasty end to checking out my friends' status updates.

Just a few minutes earlier, the kids had been asking for Pillsbury Toaster Strudels for dinner...or in Ashley's own words, "Toaster Noodles." I had rejected that proposal, so when I heard the opening of refrigerator/freezer doors in the other room, I figured they might just be helping themselves to those anyway...or maybe they were after the tub of Cool Whip in the fridge. I knew it wasn't the parmesan cheese they were getting into, because I recently placed that on the list of "Foods That Are No Longer Welcome In My House" after the fourth container (in about 6 months' time) was emptied onto the table and eaten fingerful by fingerful. I wouldn't have been surprised if they were munching on chocolate chip cookies. After all, there was a tray of those sitting out unattended on top of the stove. But no...

What should I find when I emerged from my momentary Facebook stupor but Ashley with a corndog in each hand, frozen ones of course, with polk-a-dot-sized pieces of breading missing from each of them. In the kitchen, Zachary sat at the table with 3 frozen corndogs in front of him--two of them already half-eaten and the third one mostly unscathed. After initially being grossed-out, I wrestled the corndogs away and popped them all into the microwave and, voila!, "It's what's for dinner."

So today wasn't a stellar day for me in the balanced meal department. In my own defense, however, this is definitely not typical, so please don't call CPS. (After giving it some thought, I really wasn't very lazy today, either, because I got a lot of cleaning done.) You win some, and you lose some. But just where my kids get their crazy appetites, I think I will never know!

Ring in the New Year!

Happy New Year to you all! I haven't really been setting goals, have you? I like to think (or, perhaps, pretend) that I set mini-goals throughout the year so the New Year doesn't prompt me to get serious about goal-setting. If you have set goals, good for you! I would love to hear about them.

As for me, instead of listing my goals for the New Year, I have decided to compile a different sort of list:

12 Months of Things I'm Looking Forward to in 2009:

January: I am soooo enjoying having Chris off school for winter break! He doesn't have to return to classes until the day after Martin Luther King Day, so I'm lovin' that!

February: Hmmmm... OK, here's one: Chris will, of course, be BACK in school (that brings other untold blessings, like getting more of my own computer time back...ha ha) BUT he will only have Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday classes. How nice is that?! I intend to enjoy his easier schedule along with him.

March: This will be the month of finding out fun stuff, I think. If not, then the fun stuff will have already been found out and I'll be celebrating the knowing. Also, Spring Break! Maybe we'll make some fun plans for that.

April: There's always something to look forward to in April...nice spring weather, and Easter falls on the 12th. Also, I look forward to listening to prophets and apostles speak in the Church's semiannual General Conference at the beginning of the month.

May: Ashley turns 3, and I am so excited about that! Aside from celebrating her birthday (which I always enjoy), it means that she can start taking gymnastics and swimming lessons just like Zachary has gotten to do for the past year or so. She will no longer have to be the spectator. AND HOW COULD I POSSIBLY FORGET ABOUT GRADUATION?????? I keep forgetting that Chris will not be in school forever. He'll finish his finals around the 15th and officially graduate on the 23rd!

June: Zachary turns 5! June will mark the beginning of summer and that's always fun. Grandma will finish working so we can hang out more with her. Swimming lessons will probably start in June and, for the first time, both of my kids will get to take them.

July: Summer fun continues and the month culminates in some very important and exciting events. Chris takes the Bar Exam from July 28-30, which means that (presuming all goes well) our *new addition* will be born sometime the week before. We could just end with that, but I guess we'll probably celebrate my birthday, which falls on the 31st. With Chris having finished the Bar by then, we'll all have reason to party.

August: Chris can take this entire month off, but we haven't set any firm plans yet. Having a new baby at home, this will be especially nice if he can be around. Also, if we haven't done so already, we will probably be replacing my car with something bigger and more accommodating...or else I'll have no choice but to be sit at home and just take it easy until that happens. Call me crazy, but that sort of sounds nice to me, actually.

September: Chris will have started his new job by now! We are so thankful he was able to get the job he had been hoping for and that it's with a great place here in Austin. I hope that he will enjoy it (after all, that's the biggest reason he went back to school in the first place) and that we'll be able to count on it providing us with steady and stable employment and, oh yeah, something better than student benefits!

October: Fall finally kicks in, I guess, and that means cooler weather. Once again, General Conference takes place at the beginning of the month. Chris' birthday is on the 18th, and preparations for the holiday season can begin. Hopefully by then, I'll be getting more sleep at night!

November: Our anniversary falls on the 9th and Chris won't be getting ready for finals! Instead, he will find out this month that he (cross your fingers!) passed the Bar. And for that, among other things, we will be giving much thanks.

December: "Christmas time is here...Happiness and cheer..." I love enjoying the Christmas season with my family and friends. It's a busy month that gets stressful at times, but it is ultimately a season of peace, joy and unity as we celebrate the birth of Christ and give gifts to Him and to each other. Sharing this season with a new baby in our home will be one of the greatest gifts of all.

I hope that you, too, will enjoy many blessings throughout 2009. Happy New Year!

Dear Friends and Family...

I had no idea that you were still reading my blog while I have been off on some deserted (imaginary) island neglecting it! For the first time in months (or since the last time I posted...however long ago that was), I have come to visit the blog of my youth. I have aged slightly since the last time I visited, so this is bringing back some fond memories.

I also discovered that some of you have posted comments that I was not aware of. Seems like I used to have comments sent automatically to my email inbox, but for some reason, that has not been happening. So, if you felt snubbed by my lack of acknowledgement, I do apologize and assure you that it was nothing personal.

Finally, I have a bit of sad news to share. Our second computer (the one with all of our pictures stored therein) had to be disassembled and removed to make space for our old bed in the computer room. Why would we want a bed in the computer room, you ask? So that Chris can simply lie down to sleep once he has finished his gaming raids at all hours of the night. ;) Just kidding. The real reason is that we finally did get all of our new bedroom furniture, including a nice new king-sized bed (so we never have to sleep within arm's reach of each other again--Woohoo! just kidding) but we did not want to part with our old bed, either. Someday we hope to have a guest bedroom and will need a bed for our guests to sleep on. So, the moral of the story is that I am currently unable to post any pictures on this blog unless they come from our main computer. I might be able to expend a little effort to figure out how I can start dumping the pictures from my memory card onto that computer, but seeing as Chris is enjoying a well-deserved break from school right now, I might have to wait on that.

In the meantime, I hope you all enjoyed your Christmas and New Year's holidays. We did, indeed, enjoy ours and are doing well. We love getting to have Chris/Daddy/whoever that man is ;) at home for 3 weeks, so we are taking advantage of our time together (relatively-speaking since he does need a rest.) I have more thoughts to share with you but will wait until another time, since it's 2:12 a.m. and, darn it, I have to get up before noon tomorrow. ;)

Thank you all for your love and friendship and for continuing to look at my blog even though I've been lame in not posting. I'm still glad that there are people like you who stop by to read it. I hope to write more in 2009--because this is going to be a very exciting year with much to blog about!

Happy New Year, y'all!

My Kids Converse About Christmas Clothing

Last night, after enjoying a meal with their grandparents, my kids wanted to go back to their house. But it was late, so I was taking them straight home to go to bed. I told them that we would see Grandma and Grandpa another day. In fact, I told them, we would see them at church on Sunday since they would be attending Zachary's first Primary program.

Ashley responded, "O-kay, I wear my pwincess dwess! O-kay Mommy?"

I told her that her that, yes, she could certainly wear her princess dress (which actually is her Christmas dress from Grandma--not some sort of Disney get-up) and that Grandma would think she looked beautiful.

Zachary replied, "And I will wear my Christmas shoot!" (That would be his Christmas SUIT.) Unexpectedly, he continued. "And I will bring my guns and shoot all the bad police guys at church."

Ashley, knowing exactly what her brother would be wearing, said, "No, Zachary, you be a PWINCE!"

Jesus is my Autopilot?

After ignoring Ashley's pleas for me to put on It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, I reluctantly accepted the fact that my nap on the couch was over. I might as well let her watch it since continuing to endure her climbing all over me was not the better option. So, I put the DVD in the player and went into the kitchen to check on some brownies that were in the oven. I washed some raspberries and returned to my spot on the couch. Zachary and I were enjoying the raspberries when the DVD stopped on the menu screen. Both kids began a little chant for me to go start the movie for them. My mouth was a little full at the time, but I told Zachary to go press "play"...only it sounded more like, "Pless play!" They thought I had said, "Let's pray," and before I knew what was going on, both kids bowed their heads, folded their arms, and began, "Dear Heav'y Fodder...Jesus Cwist...Amen!"

See? They ARE learning!