It's happening...

Does anyone know what these three things have in common?

#1 - My House

#2 - My New (to me) Van

#3 - My Cute Kid Playing Soccer
All of these things prove to my unbelieving mind that ... *gulp* ... I'm growing up. I am a homeowner, a mini-van-mom, and a soccer-mom right now - and within the next two months, I will add being mother of three, and a kindergarten-mom! Oy vey! You know all those commercials that show moms' packing all of her kids' lunches, and shooing them out the door, and washing the grass stains out of their clothes, and vacuuming around a tornado of kids, and plugging in air-fresheners, and lifting massive, heavy-duty garbage bags out of their kitchens, and bringing hot food out to the dinner table? THAT'S ME! I didn't feel like that was me until this past month or so...but it totally is!

I'm entering into the next step of motherhood. Going from 'playing house' to 'living real life' so to speak. McKenzie is growing up, and all the sudden I need to kiss more than just the scrapes on her knees - I need to figure out how to kiss her broken heart because she feels betrayed by one of her best friends. All the sudden I need to encourage more than just saying 'please' and 'thank-you' - I need to figure out how to teach her to learn how to be polite always...especially when she's placed in uncomfortable situations. All the sudden I need to stop blocking dangerous things such as electricity outlets, and sharper scissors, and toasters, and butter knives, and ovens, and hammers, and nails - I need to show her how to use them properly, and teach her how to decide for herself what is dangerous and what is not.

You know what? I love it. I love this phase and I've just started it! This is kind of odd for me, because I usually have a difficult time transitioning from one phase to another - - - but I've been surprised with how gratifying these new problems are to solve. Sure, there have been tears and moments of frustration and times when I feel lost and unsure of how to proceed. But I am so excited to step a foot into this new life. A life of raising kids, along with babies and toddlers, losing teeth, making friends, learning science and math... ah!

This is going to be fun.

Smiling and Laughing

I was just sitting here staring at my belly. It was hopping and jumping and stretching and vibrating for about five full minutes before it went completely still...lopsided, as usual, with the right side slightly higher than the left. It made me smile and I realized that I haven't been very diligent about keeping my 'things that made me laugh or smile today' column current. It could be because I'm feeling a little more pessimistic these days - or it could be that I'm just too tired to think at the end of a day - or it could be that I'm not doing much smiling and laughing as I wait for the end of my pregnancy - or it could be because it got pushed underneath the pregnancy picture and ticker so I've forgotten about it - or it could be because I'm not sure anyone really reads it anyway - but, whatever the reason, I kind of miss it. It helps me focus on the positives of the day, and it gives me a place to go when I'm feeling overwhelmed with frustration or fatigue to read about all the wonderful things that happen to me on a day-to-day basis. And let's be honest here, how could I possibly go through a whole day without smiling and laughing when I have McKenzie and Carson in my life!?!

So, I think I'll start it up again. Here are just a few highlights that would have gone up there over the past two months:

*
me: McKenzie, do you know where your sunglasses are?
Kenz: Ummmm....check behind the toilet. That's where I keep stuff.

*
Kenz: I made a new friend today.
Me: Really!? Who?
Kenz: A boy named Caden.
I remember most of her preschool class, but couldn't quite put his face to his name, so I asked
Me: What does he look like?
Kenz: He had on a striped shirt and blue pants.
Ah...thanks.
A few days later.....
Me: Did you play with Caden again today?
Kenz: No. I didn't really like him today. *pause* he had on a really ugly black shirt that I didn't like.

*
Carson's talking is SO cute right now. He has this deep little voice, an adorable lisp, and the grammer that comes with most 2 year olds. My favorite sentence he says right now (supposed to be "Where am I, everybody?") is: "Where is me, every-guys?"

*
Brian, trying to suppress a laugh at dinnertime, exploded the laugh - - - sending little kernels of corn flying from his mouth to rain down all over the table! ... Maybe it was a 'had-to-be-there' moment.

*
YELLING across the house -
kenz from the bathroom: I'M GOING POO!
me from the family room: Okay, Kenz.
carson from the kitchen: WHAT, KENS?
kenz: I'M GOING POO, CARSON.
carson: OH. YOU GO-EEN POO?
kenz: YEAH.
carson: O-TAY.
30 seconds pause
carson: KENS?
kenz: WHAT?
carson: I LUB YOU.
kenz: I LOVE YOU TOO, BUDDY.

*
I bent down to give McKenzie a hug goodnight and she said, "Whoa, watch out with your big fat tummy hangin' down there, Mom."

No Longer Deprived!

You may remember my sorrow (in this post) last October when the last of our freezer jam was eaten.

Six months ago.

Six looooooong months of waiting. My palate has been disappointed for so long because of my own negligence in letting this season go by last year without taking advantage of it - but now, NOW I will not disrespect the sacredness of this wonderful time of year.

Yes, Berry Picking Season has come again!

My freezer is once again being stocked with jars and jars of strawberry freezer jam - and I vow to never again let my family endure this famine!


Happy, happy day!

Art from the Heart

(you can click on the image to make it bigger)

Pink: Mom has a babee in hr tumee!
Orange: I louv mi mom
Green: louv McKenzie
Purple: Dad louv mom so mch

And then, we have the lovely picture of yours truly, with a huge belly (note the baby inside), complete with a FROWN on my face.
"Why do I have a frown?" I asked.
"Because the baby is hurting you."

How right she is! :)

Beach Birthday

Remember that special feeling that came on your birthday when you were a kid? That feeling inside that screamed, "TODAY IS A SPECIAL DAY! IT'S MY BIRTHDAY!" And, strangely, the feeling seemed to seep out of your eyes and skin so it was detectable by others... I noticed this in a cute little girl at the park last week. She was running around with an extra vibrant smile that caused me to consciously think, "Wow - she's in a great mood today!" And when I found out that it was her 4th birthday, it all made sense.

Those were fun days. I felt the same way for about a week after I got engaged, and then again for three days when I found out I was pregnant with McKenzie.

But I haven't felt it on my birthday for many, many years...so I wasn't surprised or disappointed when my 27th birthday came and went without the same childlike excitement. But this birthday was seriously one of the best I've had because I was surrounded by people I love, and I was happily surprised to see that my kids seemed to feel that 'special feeling' for me!

I won't go into too much detail - just because it probably wouldn't be quite as fun for you to read as it was for me to experience, but I do want to tell you a little about it, anyway.

First of all, how could it not have started out wonderfully when I woke up in the comfy covers of a beach house, knowing that I could head out to the beach at any moment? Yes...it started out fantastically. :) I had been instructed the night before by my husband to 'stay asleep' for a while the next morning while they were making ... preparations. (This, of course, was not surprising to me, because McKenzie's traditional surprise for ANY special event such as this is breakfast in bed.) So, when I awoke, I pulled my scriptures onto my lap and had a nice, relaxing scripture study before my tray of cereal, milk, orange juice, a banana, and a broken branch of some sort in a beautiful vase arrived, carried by McKenzie (and Daddy) and accompanied by a chorus of 4 small voices singing "Happy Birthday" from some of my favorite kids in the world (including, of course, my own).


That night, Brian surprised me by taking me out to one of my new favorite restaurants, "Treasure Island Restaurant" with delicious chicken bog from the chef, Katie Aldrich, and over-eager waiters/waitresses/water boys who kept our food coming promptly, our glasses filled with lemonade, and smiles on our faces.

Some of my favorite images from the night include: walking up to the restaurant (that looked suspiciously like our beach house...) to be greeted by the waiters, McKenzie and little Eric, who were dressed in their Sunday best, delivered fantastically memorized lines (welcome to Treasure Island Restaurant! If you will come with me this way, I will show you to your seat), and then enthusiastically skipped all the way up the stairs to show us to our table; turning around a corner to see my little Carson dressed up in a white button-up shirt and a bow-tie that was almost the size of his head (he was SO cute!); asking one of the waiters (Carson) to please not lick the salt off our table...or Brian's hands; reading the menu; listening to McKenzie deliver her lines about what was coming out next; encouraging two other waiters (Harrison and Brigham) to work together as they poured our lemonade S...L...O...W...L...Y; and, of course, eating Katie's cheesecake after the meal was all finished.
Treasure Island Restaurant, huh? A pretty fitting name for a place that will feed you good food and send you home with memories that will be treasured for a lifetime. :)

Bad Days can make Great Memories!

"All my bags are packed, I'm ready to go..."

"I have the best idea!" These are five words that are generally NOT spoken by me when it comes to thinking of exceptional gifts to give. I try, really, I do - but trying doesn't seem to stimulate any great ideas. No, usually my gifts are pretty lame and, especially when it comes to my husband, are focused on a 'well, we need this' theme. Christmas presents and birthday presents have been known to consist of things like ... well ... okay ... wow ... this is sad ... so Brian and I just tried to brainstorm about past presents, and we can't even REMEMBER one! So, that shows you how memorable they are. Hmmm ... maybe I'm worse than I originally thought ... :)

Anyway - this year, for Brian's birthday, I finally came up with a wonderful idea. An idea that was completely geared towards Brian's interests. An idea that had me saying, "I have the best idea!"

Two days, and one night up in the historical town of Williamsburg, VA. No, really, it's a good gift because it encompasses two of Brian's passions in life: traveling, and history (and, if you know me, you realize that this was a completely selfless decision because there are few things that put me to sleep faster than history lessons *snore* - it's okay...you can call me uncultured). And, to put the icing on the cake, all of it was a total surprise for him...no stress, no worry, no planning, no packing. Plus, he had two full weeks off of work (making the scheduling a breeze for me!)

So there I was, a week before his birthday, confident that I had the best birthday present ever (at least, compared to any previous gift) - - - but, as I've come to learn, things don't always work out the way you plan, and I watched throughout the week as wrench after wrench after wrench was thrown into my masterfully engineered plans.

Sunday before departure: Scheduled departure day, Wednesday. I had arranged for the kids to spend the two days at a friends house. I had spent hours online researching all the bed and breakfasts, all the restaurants, and all the fun activities. I had a spreadsheet that ranked all of the Bed and Breakfasts I was interested in based on size, outside appearance, quaintness, price, parking, proximity to the downtown events, etc. I packed our bag, and the kids' bag (while he was gone) and hid them under our bed. Wrench #1: I watched him get excited and fawn over the TV as Selection Sunday was going down, and I realized I had made a grave mistake in neglecting to account for the first round of the NCAA tournament that would start on Thursday - the second day of our trip. I know that, as much as Brian loves history, he loves basketball much, much more - and I could just see him dragging his feet all around Williamsburg while those sacred basketball games were going on. That night: stress, stress, stress. Should I bag the whole trip? Should I get tickets to Duke's first round game instead? Should I move the whole vacation up a day? Could I get everything ready by Tuesday? Research, research, research - how much did a first round ticket cost? How far away was Duke playing? When did they play, and how good of seats could I get? I finally made the decision to move the trip up a day and leave on Tuesday instead.

Monday before departure: Scheduled departure day: tomorrow. I started calling the Bed and Breakfasts listed on my spreadsheet to make a reservation. After haggling with a few, I found one that would be willing to give me a great last minute deal and booked it for the following night. A few hours later, Wrench #2: Brian came home from work and said, "Hey Linds! I have to go into work for a few hours tomorrow...but after that we'll be home free for the next week and a half!" Faking excitement for the week and a half off, I secretly grabbed the phone and tried to figure out what to do with my new situation. Basketball? Now that I had made a reservation, I couldn't cancel without losing my registration fee... I did what I thought the next best thing would be: call the Bed and Breakfast, change the reservation to Wednesday night, and beg to be allowed to stay in their common room after checkout on Thursday to bum their WIFI and watch a few games before we headed back home. Success. I started to get a little excited about watching basketball with Brian without the kids interrupting us every few minutes...

Day of Departure: Estimated departure time: 8:45am. Happy Birthday, Brian! I woke up at 5:45am (an hour I haven't seen in a blissfully long amount of time - it was unpleasant) showered, packed the last few things into the car, got all the ingredients out for a big, birthday breakfast, dried my hair (that doesn't happen often, either!), and was just about to finish putting my makeup on at 7:00 when McKenzie walked into the bathroom holding a big, blue bowl.

"Hey, Sweetie! Guess what day it is?!?" I grabbed my mascara tube and unscrewed the lid.
"Mom?" McKenzie said in a complaining voice, "My tummy hurts."
"Uh-oh," I said. "Do you need to use the toilet?"
"Maybe."
I finished putting my mascara on right as, Wrench #3: she puked into the big, blue bowl.

"No - no. No, no, no," I thought. "Not today."

But, today it was. She threw up again, and then again before 8:00 and I saw my plans swirl down the toilet with each flush.

Devastation, folks. Devastation was the word of the day. By 8:00 it was clear that we were not going to be able to go - and I dissolved into a mess of tears that remained throughout the entire day. Funny thing about pregnancy hormones, once I start to melt, there's no stopping it. And boy, did I melt! The surprise came pouring from my mouth almost as fast as the tears were pouring from my eyes when Brian came out of the bedroom.

"And...and...and then we...we...we...we were going to..." Yes, that was me. You know that voice kids get when they cry really, really hard? "Now...now...now I don't even have a ca..ca..cake, or a present, or...or...or decorations..."

I spent the rest of the day rearranging our trip to another time, crying, making homemade oreos from scratch that turned out awfully flat and lifeless,

(but I had some great help!)

crying, taking care of my sick girl, feeling guilty for crying about my silly disappointment when my daughter was so sick and my husband was having a birthday, crying harder about that, telling Brian about all the plans and all the wrenches that had happened in the past few days, watching a movie with the family, and finally talking to my good friend, Brooke, who somehow brought everything into perspective, dried up my tears, and made me realize that it wasn't that big of a deal anyway.

As in most situations, a gold lining came out of it. Brian: "So, Linds...I was just on craigslist and happened to see a couple of tickets to tomorrow's Duke game for pretty cheap...what if we went ahead and did that for my birthday, and then used the Williamsburg trip as our babymoon?" Well, I felt so terrible for how the day had turned out that he could have asked me if he could buy the whole entire Duke team and I would have said yes!

So, we got a couple tickets and ended up having an incredible time at the first round of the NCAA tournament to watch our Blue Devils play (a really, really, really incredible time - it's definitely a night I'll always remember). I guess there was a reason the seats were so cheap...since we were directly behind the basketball hoop...but it was so awesome to spend some real time with Brian, and to sit and watch a Duke game surrounded by the excitement that comes from the NCAA tournament.

Happy Birthday, Bri. Thanks for being so wonderful. :)

Sibiling Similarities

Last month, my mom sent this picture of my sister and me (with my childhood best friend's backside making an appearance as well...) with the only message being, "Sooooooo, do you still think you don't look alike?" Alright, alright - I definitely see the family resemblance here! (In case you're wondering, I'm the one sitting in the freezing hose water.) Since Michelle and I are so close in age, we grew up being friends - and from the moment McKenzie was born, I knew I wanted to give her the same kind of 'live-in' friend that I had. When Carson was born - and confirmed, indeed, a boy - I felt a little sorry to see McKenzie's future without a sister close in age. And, when this coming baby was deemed a boy as well, I felt the same twinge of sadness as I realized that McKenzie will never have the same fun, close, friendly relationship with a sister that I had...in her growing up years, anyway.

But, even though McKenzie doesn't have a little sister, she's determined not to let that stop any fun:

I was a tiny bit surprised by my reaction when they came up the stairs dressed like this...instead of an 'Ohhhhhhhh, how sweet!' it was more of a 'spit-my-milk-out-of-my-nose-in-laughter-because-you-look-so-ridiculously-funny!' type of reaction. Nope - nope, nope, nope. Carson does NOT make a beautiful fairy! Cute, maybe, but not beautiful! McKenzie gets along fantastically with her little brother - and I'm realizing that, maybe the way I had it wasn't the only best way. Besides, moments like these are MUCH funnier when a boy is involved!

And, McKenzie definitely has the gold medal when it comes to booty-shaking! She has the grace of a lioness, I tell ya! Carson, on the other hand, seems to have the grace of a baby penguin walking on land...