Getting around to it

I think our guest bathtub was out of commission for a month before it finally got fixed. We discovered that they don't make certain kinds of tub/shower parts that they used when our house was built 30 years ago. So it took a while to figure out how to fix the water diverting issues without tearing out the whole tub and re-plumbing. Again, I'm so thankful for a husband who can handle these home repairs. And I'm thankful that we have two full bathrooms, so we didn't suffer too much with only one. Besides, our poor kids don't get bathed nearly as often when I'm pregnant anyway. This is due to a combination of my being tired and lazy, and not being able to bend over as well. My discomfort is prompting me to teach Bree to wash her own hair. I could probably get her to wash Mason's too...

I love technology, but it can make me so angry!

Yesterday was a hugely frustrating day. I woke up excited to watch the season finale of the Bachelorette online (since we can't get and don't pay for TV reception, I couldn't watch it when it aired last night). I have been an avid fan this season, thanks to Jaime. Well, the stupid ABC episode player wouldn't work--only on the finale episode too! So, from 9:00am until 6:30 pm, I tried once an hour to see if it was working, meanwhile exchanging frustrated texts with Jaime. I mean, it's hard enough to squeeze in Bachelorette watching when you've got to work around distracting children (they wanted to be fed AGAIN today) and a husband who can't stand the show. It made it near impossible when I had to work around a malfunctioning online program as well. But finally, after 7:00pm, I got to see the final result, and my personal favorite guy won the bachelorette's heart. Happy ending. But, as Jaime asked me last night, what are we going to watch now?

He does talk...sort of

Mason has definitely been slower in the vocabulary department than Bree was, and whether it's because he's a boy or the second child, I'm not worried. But he's finally managing a few decipherable syllables. He has yet to end any words with consonants, but this is a start (somewhat in order of appearance):
dada
mama or mommy
daw (dog)
uh-oh
hi
bye bye
bee (Bree)
ba (ball)
bee boo (peek-a-boo)
wuzza(t) (what's that?)
mm hmm (as in the affirmative)
bi (bite)
dah doo (thank you)
pee (please)
szhoo (shoe)
poh poo (poo poo, he actually let me know once when his diaper was dirty)
nana (banana)
mou (mouse; the kids watch a lot of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse)
wah (water)
So, while I'm not going to brag about his verbal skills to anyone, these words do help to make life a little easier. Mason is just about 18 months old, and I'm finally able to get through to the guy--get him to listen and do what I ask--and he's stopped the constant screaming (thank heaven!). I was getting worried there for a while!

On a good day...

Many people are aware of the fact that I tend to be emotionally labile, even when I'm not pregnant. Any type of strong emotion can bring me to tears in seconds (although I have become rather adept at only breaking down in private). So, when I'm having an emotionally "good day," the little stresses don't bother me quite so easily. On a good day, I could walk into our bathroom to find my 18-month-old sitting in the sink, surrounded by blue children's toothpaste that his older sister helped him finger paint all over the room, and I would not become unglued. On a good day, the gallon of fruit punch Gatorade powder that my lovely children dumped on the floor in my kitchen, dining, and living rooms and proceeded to slide around in, would not have caused me to scream at my kids. On a good day, the fact that neither of my children napped and instead spent the 2 hours alternately playing and crying in their room would have only been a minor inconvenience. On a good day, Bree crying for 10 minutes about putting on socks and shoes to go outside wouldn't faze me. I can handle most anything that my kids throw at me on a good day; nothing they do surprises me, and they're just being kids. But, man, on a bad day, like today, when all of the above happens, I end up asking myself "Why am I having another one again?" Thank goodness for forgiving children (because my crime of screaming at them is worse than their small infractions), for a caring husband (he still doesn't like seeing me cry, but knows that sometimes I just have a bad day or two), and for fast food when nothing could motivate me to cook. And thank goodness I know myself well enough to know that this funk won't last forever. And maybe tomorrow will be a good day.

It's a boy!

We are so excited! Chad, of course, knew it was a boy all along. Due date is still December 15th, and the little guy is healthy. My placenta is completely covering the cervix (called placenta previa, which I had when I was pregnant early-on with Mason), but I haven't had any bleeding, so my doc's not too concerned. We're just praying that the placenta will move out of the way so I won't have to have a C-section. As for names...so far we've got Riley and Preston.

A Wicked Fun Weekend

Saturday I finally had the chance to see Wicked after hearing so much hype about it. I LOVED it! The music, acting, set, everything was awesome. I've been walking around with the songs in my head ever since (of course, if that really bothered me, I'd stop listening to the soundtrack every time I got in the car). It's been 9 years since the last time I saw a Broadway show, and that is such a shame. Sure, they're pricey, and the ASU Gammage theater isn't exactly close, but I'm determined to get there more often. Chad and I are eyeing the Phantom of the Opera tickets that go on sale for this November. You can't go through life without seeing Phantom once, right?

The rest of our weekend has been pretty eventful as weekends go. Sunday I got asked to join the ward activities committee, which Chad has made me swear will not make me crazy with stress. I told him that I've just about mastered the art of saying "no" when I need to (I didn't mention to him, however, that the Bishop asked me to spearhead next year's "Cultural Event"--which is as yet undetermined but will be something like this year's "10 Virgins" performance).

Yesterday we had Joanna and Tyler over for a 3-course fondue experience (minus the kids). Course 1: french bread and green apples dipped in cheddar cheese fondue. Course 2: beef, chicken, potatoes, and tempura vegetables (AKA batter-dipped) cooked in seasoned oil. Course 3: milk chocolate fondue with strawberries, pineapple, bananas, donuts, pretzels, and cream puffs. Oh...my. We were stuffed. I thought of our friends Rob and Jaime, with whom we started the fondue tradition (and who gave us our amazing Rival electric fondue pot). Now we've shared the gift of fondue with Joanna and Tyler.

And today was the big ultrasound day, which left Chad and I smiling. We celebrated with a late breakfast at Mimi's Cafe (when I took a bite of my favorite dish, Pain Perdu, Chad laughed and said I had that happy contented look where I wag my head back and forth without realizing it. If you haven't tried Mimi's Pain Perdu, it is the most delectable stuffed French toast ever invented). Then we stopped at a couple of stores and found Chad a some new shorts and a pair of jeans that we both agreed upon (jean-shopping has become the most painful thing Chad and I do together). And we ended the day with a viewing of the new Harry Potter movie, which we both liked, and agreed did a very decent job at including most, if not all, of the vital plot elements from the book. Now if I'm lucky, I'll get some time to myself tonight to watch last night's episode of the Bachelorette...

Congratulations Rachel!

Saturday Chad's sister Rachel got married. Thankfully everything worked out and we were able to go to Vegas for the weekend with no problems. Rachel and Jeremy make a beautiful couple, and the ceremony was beautiful. It was outdoors on the shore of a small lake, so it was a little hot, but fans were handed out (these were quickly confiscated by our kids, so I didn't get much benefit from them!). The reception was at Chad's other sister Sydney's house, which was beautifully decorated. The food and drinks were delicious, even the cake (I am super-critical about the taste of expensive wedding cakes), and Mason and Bree had a blast roaming and playing in the backyard with their cousins. When he's cooped up in our house Mason is a terror, but let him loose somewhere else where he can entertain himself, and he fools people into thinking he's a perfect angel! Rachel seems so happy, and we are so happy for her and excited for her new life as a married woman!

Romantic Getaway

Chad and I had been planning an overnight getaway for July or August, but when Rachel's wedding was announced, we decided it would be fun to spend a night at a hotel while we were in Vegas. We left the kids with Chad's parents after the wedding reception, and headed to the JW Marriott resort. We got an amazing deal, thanks to a police officer discount and the effects of a poor economy! Our standard king room was huge, and the bathroom was awesome: complete with a large jacuzzi tub. When we got there we cranked up the A/C, got in our bathing suits, and went out to the pool. It had been such a hot day, and I felt like I hadn't been cool since I woke up. The pool was so peaceful at twilight, and the water was wonderfully cool. After cooling off, we went to dinner at JC Wooloughans Irish Pub. The atmosphere was so fun. We enjoyed the music of a live Irish band, and ate Corned Beef and Cabbage and Chicken Hibernian. After dinner we may or may not have played a little video poker and Chad might have won $65. In the morning we indulged in a room service breakfast, and then we worked on our "tans" for a couple hours at the pool while I enjoyed a Pina Colada. (I remember my first experience lying by a pool in Vegas--I was amazed at how much a person could sweat not doing anything at all! It was not something I had experienced in Western Washington.) We both had an amazing time, and were pleased with every aspect of our stay. We may not come close to having a weekly date night, but this sort of makes up for it!

We actually celebrated!

Last year we didn't do anything to celebrate Independence Day. Chad always has to work long shifts to cover the holiday crowd at the lake. But this year my friend Amy decided to have a small party at her house. We planned the menu: ribs, hot dogs, and home-grown squash kabobs grilled on their new barbecue, Amy's delicious baked beans, and Fran's potato salad. For dessert we had gorgeous and delicious fruit pizza. The kids had fun throwing the little Pop-its (the only thing legal around here; we can't even have sparklers) and swimming and running in the backyard. Then we went to the local fireworks show that the mine puts on. It was a fun evening of friends and really good food.

A vacation of firsts

On Thursday the kids and I joined my parents on a drive through northern Arizona to see some forests and mountain scenery. Thursday we drove to Prescott (Bree loved picking out a snack from a vending machine at one of the rest stops). We checked into our hotel, and Bree was so intrigued by the idea of sleeping there and sharing a big bed with Mommy. She has stayed at a hotel before, but she was just a baby. We swam in the indoor pool, which the kids loved. Bree is still too wary of the deep end even to let Papa hold her while he swam around, but Mason was fearless. Then we went to Golden Corral for dinner. Despite the wide range of buffet options, Bree ended up with a corn muffin, a slice of pizza, and a chocolate cupcake. Mason out-ate her, as usual, despite his stick-like physique. After dinner we took the kids to the movie theater for their first time to see Up. They were both enthralled when the movie started on that huge screen. Mason got bored after a while, so I spent some time in the arcade with him, since I'd seen the movie before. We had a comfortable night's sleep (that was the nicest Holiday Inn Express I've ever been to!), with the exception of Bree hogging the bed a little.

We hit the road in the morning, and drove to an area near Seligman for some hiking. The weather was nice--not too warm, and it was quite an adventure for the kids climbing on those big rocks. Bree is actually a decent hiker, but Mason got a little frustrated trying to walk on that rocky ground. Both of them really enjoyed being outside, and the views were gorgeous. I'm not sure where Bree got the supermodel side hip thrust pose...I just told her to smile.

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On the way back home we stopped in Williams, Strawberry, Payson, and Apache Junction (we missed our turn-off and ended up going the long way). The kids were a lot more antsy during the second day on the road, but still did admirably well for so much time in the car. Grandma entertained them with some fairy tales during the last stretch. Thanks Mom and Dad, for a fun little vacation!

Little issues

Here's how Bree dressed herself yesterday. It was a real chore to convince her that the black tights are only for church, and they're really only to wear in the winter time.

Chad went to work today. We've spent the past week worrying that he'd be forced to take an upaid 10-day furlough starting today because of state budget issues. The budget was supposed to be approved by midnight last night, but apparently there has been some sort of extension on the deadline, and in the meantime everyone in the public safety division gets to keep working for now. Chances are good that even when the budget gets passed, it will include a 5% decrease, causing cutbacks which will mean 10-day furloughs for everyone anyway. It is SO frustrating to be waiting like this! I am so mad at the legislature for putting this off until the last minute.

So, we don't know if we'll be able to go to Chad's sister Rachels' wedding next weekend. We can't make any plans. And those tickets for Wicked on the 18th...well, Chad might not be able to use his. Oh well. At least he has a job, and we are incredibly thankful for that.