Mmmm, cereal!

Per gets so excited when the blue spoon comes out! He loves his rice cereal, as you can see. Yum!

My Grandma

My grandma passed away a week ago today. My sisters posted a few of their memories of her on our family blog, and I wanted to share some of my memories of Grandma here. They mentioned the trips we would take to her house in the summers, how we always had Froot Loops cereal there, and how we would tell each other that there was a dead cat buried under the side of the porch. Grandma would tape Bob Ross episodes and send them to us in the mail. I remember those things, too. Especially the Froot Loops for some reason. I still like Froot Loops. And I still like watching Bob Ross paint his happy little trees.

These memories are mostly from the 9-12 years of age time for me: I remember the way her bathroom smelled like Coast soap. I still love that smell and get nostalgic when I catch that scent as I walk down the soap aisle at the store. She had one of those toilet seats that was padded. I remember thinking it was pretty swanky. Why do I remember all this stuff about the bathroom? I don't know. I must've spent a lot of time in the bathroom. Weird.

I loved to get letters from my grandma. I remember when I was 10 years old (or so) she sent me a nice pen and some exercises to improve my penmanship. I wish I had actually done that.

Zak, Per, and I went to her funeral on Saturday. It was nice to be able to be there and to see some of my family members and my two cousins from my dad's side that I haven't seen for years. I am grateful to have known my grandma, and I'm especially grateful that we lived close enough to see her several times a year for the last four years. She also really loved Zak. Every time we would visit, she'd always hug him and say how tall he was. She was a good woman, and I loved her.

One closing thought -- Zak and I randomly decided on Monday the 15th to go to Salt Lake. At least, we thought it was random. We had a couple of reasons for doing so, but one of the reasons was to see my grandma. We hadn't been to see her since Per was born four months ago and we wanted to introduce them. Luckily, everything worked out and we were able to see her. She was so excited to see Per and to hold him. I am grateful that we got to see her that day.

First Christmas

We knew that Per wasn't going to give us anything for Christmas this year (or probably for several years to come, either). However, we were pleasantly surprised on Christmas day to receive a gift from him -- we noticed his TWO TEETH peeking out of his bottom gums! I don't know what Zak and I did to be blessed with such a great kid, but honestly, we didn't even know he was teething. He hasn't been extra fussy or even extra drooly. It was a bittersweet moment for me as a mother, because while I'm excited for him to reach milestones and to grow and progress, I also want him to stay exactly as he is right now -- my perfect little guy.

He wasn't particularly interested in any of his presents, except to chew on them, as shown above. We mostly opened his presents for him. He is also sitting up really well now (with help) and is starting to love tummy time. He likes to stand up, too, and is so strong! We love our little {big} guy.

One Word Answer Tag

It's been a little while... so here's a tag I found this morning.

1. Where is your cell phone? desk
2. Where is your significant other? Smithfield
3. Your hair? ponytail
4. Your mother? home
5. Your father? working
6. Your favorite thing? Per
7. Your dream last night? strange
8. Your dream/goal? security
9. The room you're in? basement
10. Your hobby? reading
11. Your fear? heights
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? house
13. Where were you last night? Millville
14. What you're not? alone
15. One of your wish-list items? MacBook
16. Where you grew up? Florissant
17. The last thing you did? work
18. What are you wearing? gray
19. Your TV? off
20. Your pet? none
21. Your computer? on
22. Your mood? stressed
23. Missing someone? Per
24. Your car? dirty
25. Something you're not wearing? watch
26. Favorite store? Target
27. Your summer? short
28. Love someone? YES
29. Your favorite color? blue
30. When is the last time you laughed? morning
31. Last time you cried? morning

Tummy Time

Per isn't a big fan of tummy time.

But he really likes Berry the Fairy Frog, as you can see. And he's getting better every day at holding his head up.

What a handsome kid!

An Observation About Inopportune Moments

I have noticed that it is always j-u-s-t as Per is falling asleep that I get an itch behind my ear or on the back of my head, or on the back of my knee... really weird places that I can't reach very well with a sleeping baby in my arms. I do my best to remain still and ignore the itch so as not to disturb Per, but it doesn't always work. And sometimes I sneeze just as he's going to sleep, even though I try really hard not to. Normally he wakes up a little, and then I rock him back to sleep and all is well.

In those moments, I know that in another time and place I would have been annoyed and upset that the baby had just woken up, whether it was a niece, nephew, or someone else's baby who I was tending. Now, I just enjoy the fact that I have my little boy in my arms and that I get to rock him to sleep again. Besides, look at that sleeping face. Absolutely priceless.

I think having children is one of the most wonderful blessings we have in this life. We think that they need us, and they do, but I think that we need them much more.

Little Cuties

These kids belong to my sister Karen, and her husband David, and they are all very, very cute. I think the picture of Peter (last one) is my favorite, though. Doesn't it bring to mind Elder Cook's conference talk, "Hope Ya Know, We Had a Hard Time"? James's picture is a very close second favorite of mine -- just hangin' out, relaxing, watching some football.

I didn't get a picture of Mark because he was hangin' with Jacob and Alex. They were all very involved in a computer game. Mark really seemed to hit it off with Alex. I saw Mark showing Uncle Alex his very cool Leapfrog game player thingie with his and his siblings' games at one point in the day. It was so fun to see you guys!

Catching Up

These pictures were taken when Karen, Carolyn, Nicole, and I got together (with our respective families) in mid-October. Hazel is three months older than Per, and yet, they look like they are about the same size. They are both pretty adorable, in my opinion! It was great to catch up with my sisters and really fun to see all of Karen and Dave's kids -- see next post for a couple of pictures. They are so grown up! It was fun to listen to them and watch how they interacted with each other.

The second shot of Per is very typical for him, even though the picture is a month old now. His tongue is constantly sticking out of his mouth, but now he's added a twist -- he curls it up to one side when he sticks it out of his mouth. It's just cute. The frog in the pictures is Berry the Fairy Frog. He was named Berry by Per's cousins Beck and Kaiya, who thought it was very funny that Per was named after a fruit. (Which he wasn't, but to their 6- and 4-year-old minds, he was. Therefore, they gave him a frog also named after a fruit.) I added the Fairy Frog part of the name, partly because it rhymes and partly because he has fairy wings on the back of his shirt for some inexplicable reason. They aren't visible in the pictures, but trust me, they're there. I think he's a very cute frog.

The Art of Grilled Cheese

Not everyone is aware of this, but making a grilled cheese sandwich is an actual art. A few weeks ago, Zak, being the kind husband that he is, offered to make us some sandwiches while I fed Per. This was a welcome offer, since Zak generally does not trust himself to cook anything other than hot dogs or mac & cheese after a mishap with oil and water in a frying pan (the stove was on and quite hot -- let your imagination go!) early on in our marriage.

After the first three sandwiches turned out like those you see on the left, I offered to take over and make the sandwiches, which turned out like those you see on the right. You see? Making grilled cheese sandwiches really is an art.

The 2 Month Report

Here's our big guy in a picture Zak took a couple of days ago. Per had his 2 month check-up on Thursday and here are his stats:
Weight: 13.69 pounds
Length: 25 inches
Head Circumference: 16.4 inches
Wears 6-12 month size socks
Wears 3-6 month size clothes

This is compared to his 2 week check-up stats:
Weight: 9 pounds 11 ounces
Length: 22 inches
Head Circumference: 15 inches
Wore 0-6 month size socks
Wore newborn or 0-3 month size clothes

He's a growing boy! He is roughly the same size now that his cousin Sofie (who is 3 months older than Per) was when she was four months old. He has started laughing, and you can see his beautiful smile here. He chatters to us frequently and is generally just a very happy baby! We sure love him!

The Many Faces of Per

These are some pictures from a little earlier on -- he was probably four weeks old and was having some serious baby acne. But I love the faces he was pulling!

We Call This "Butterfly Emerging from Cocoon"

Sorry for the long delay in posting -- we don't have internet access at home which makes it a little hard to post... But I will be better in the future. Thanks to Dave and Jamie for the reminder!

We learned early on that Per hates having his hands covered. From the first day we brought him home, he has always liked having his hands and arms out of the blankets so that he can move. He also likes to see how quickly he can wiggle out from under a blanket. We tried an experiment with him one day in his bouncy chair when he was six or seven weeks old. My favorite part is the little smile he has on his face in the last picture -- he is so proud of his accomplishment!

BHFL

This is probably Per's most common pose, which we like to call Bunny Hands and Frog Legs, or BHFL for short. Hence the title of the blog. Per is three weeks old and we are having a lot of fun with him. We're getting a lot less sleep than we used to also, but he more than makes up for it when he smiles at us. Yeah, yeah, it's probably just gas. You don't have to tell me that. Let me think that he's smiling because he knows I'm his mom and Zak's his dad. Pretty soon, he will be smiling because he recognizes us. Incidentally, the stain on the couch is from Per, too. I realized about 1.3 hours after we got home from the hospital that I needed to buy a bottle of stain remover for upholstery and carpet.
We'll continue to keep updates coming as we have time!

p.s. Before we had a baby, we always thought we'd never be those parents who told stories about their kids that no one else cared to hear. We have since realized that no parent can really help it. The kid is just so darn adorable (and I mean that "so" ... don't care who you are ...).
Additionally, I would just like to say that Zak has been utterly captivated by Per. Zak is sitting next to me holding Per as I type this, and he just said that to Per, who is starting to wake up. Zak also just told Per that he'll never get anything productive done for the rest of his life, since he'd rather just hang out with Per than be productive. Or watch Per sleep. Or feed him. Or change his diaper. Or pretty much anything that has to do with Per. So you see, there's one of those little stories that parents tell that no one else really wants to hear. My apologies. But not really.

Baby Per

Here are some pictures of the boy -- I know there have been some requests. I'm sorry it's taken a while for me to post them. The first is Per in the NICU the day after he was born, the second is The Thinking/Sleeping Baby, and the third is another one of Per sleeping just a day or so ago. We are having fun with him and figuring out schedules and child care and all kinds of things!
Mostly, we are just enjoying having him here. So far one of my favorite things about Per (besides his snuggliness -- is that a word?) are his manly burps. He really has some of the loudest, most impressive manly burps I have ever heard from a baby. He takes after Zak in many ways -- in looks, in nature (totally mellow most of the time), and also in burping ability. We are so glad he has joined our family!

Correction to The Clapper

Zak requested that I correct the portion of my last post that says that I clap my hands twice and the light goes out. He would like me to (correctly) say that he claps his hands twice and the light goes out. Thanks for being such a great light-put-outer, Zak!

The Clapper

I am at work trying not to think about how today is my due date and how I have had absolutely no indication that I will be in labor anytime soon.

Therefore, I am going to post about how much Zak and I like our Clapper. In our new apartment, the switch to the light is all the way over by the door and our bed is against the opposite wall. (I love how I make it sound like it's such a huge room. It's really not that big.) So we pulled out our Clapper and plugged a lamp into the Clapper, which is plugged in to the wall.

In our old place, we tried out the Clapper but found that we couldn't use it because the traffic sounds of motorcycles and trucks coming out of the canyon made the light flip on and off at inopportune times. Our new place is nice and quiet, and we have no problems at all with the Clapper. Plus, it's very nice not to have to get out of bed and turn off the light. (It's all because I'm closer to the door - I have to be closer to the door. I'm pregnant. And even after I'm not pregnant anymore, I have to be closer to the door to hear the baby and to get up with him in the middle of the night.)

I just clap twice, and the room is plunged into darkness. When I was a kid and saw those commercials on TV, I didn't believe that the Clapper would work. Luckily, Zak has made me a believer in the virtues and benefits of the Clapper. We might be nerds for loving our Clapper so much. I'm okay with that.

It's so simple. Clap On! Clap Off!

I love the simple joys in life.

More Meme

I saw this meme on Jill's blog this morning and thought it looked fun. And since I'm suffering from brain shrinkage, it doesn't require me to be excessively creative, which is good!

1. Last Movie I Saw in A Movie Theater? A 9 pm showing of The Dark Knight a little over a week ago. I was having a really hard time staying awake toward the end though, so I'm a little hazy as to what happens at the very end of the movie. Darn, guess I'll just have to see it again!
2. What Book Are You Reading? Shadow Gate by Kate Elliott - This is one of those fantasy series that is just getting started - Shadow Gate is book 2. I love books that have several story lines going on at one time and lots of interesting characters! The next book I'll be reading is Breaking Dawn.
3. Favorite Board Game? We have a lot of board games, but Zak and I rarely play any of them. Though lately we really like Guess Who?. We must both be regressing to our childhoods. At least we're regressing together!
4. Favorite Magazine? I don't read a lot of magazines -- The Ensign is the magazine I read the most, so I guess that makes it my favorite!
5. Favorite Smells? I love the smell of clean laundry just out of the dryer and baking bread. Mmmm. Especially cinnamon bread.
6. Favorite Sounds? Maybe it's corny, but I love hearing my baby's heartbeat with the Doppler thingie. It reassures me that he's doing okay. And Zak's singing, even though he thinks that I think he has no musical talent. Who cares if he sings the wrong words and makes up his own words when he doesn't know the words and sings whatever tune or in whatever key he wants? It's one of his most endearing traits.
7. Worst Feeling in the World? Getting bad news of any kind.
8. First Thing You Think of When You Wake? "Still not in labor... darn."
9. Favorite Fast Food Place? Wendy's Dollar Menu
10. Future Child’s Name? I can't tell you. Well, I could tell you, but then I'd have to kill you. We have to keep our childrens' names confidential until they actually arrive so that no one else uses them (this is, of course, by Zak's request, because the names are so cool that others would immediately want to use them).
11. Finish This Statement - “If I Had a Lot of Money…" I'd buy a big house where we both could live (who knows what movie that song lyric comes from? 10 cool points if you can name it.). I'd do a lot of investing. And I would buy a house, but probably not a very big one. And I'd buy Zak a car that runs on CNG so that he only has to pay 63 cents a gallon for fuel instead of $4.09 or whatever ridiculous price gas has risen to today. Naturally, I'd share the wealth with my family, too.
12. Do You Drive Fast? Nah. I'm a speed-limit-follower.
13. Do You Sleep With a Stuffed Animal? No, I never have. I had a yellow favorite blankie that I slept with. The stuffed animals generally went on the floor at night.
14. Storms - cool or scary? I like storms as long as I'm safe inside.
15. What Was Your First Car? The first car I owned was a maroon 2003 Mazda Protege. I loved it. I wish we still had it, in fact. Then we'd have those snap-in thingies for a baby's car seat instead of having to use the seat belt to secure it and having to find one of those H-clip thingies since the seat belt is lame and doesn't lock in place.
16. Favorite Drink? Strawberry-watermelon cream slush from Sonic. Boy, that sounds good today. Hmmm... Zak might be getting a visit at the job site this afternoon from me, bearing drinks from Sonic... love that Happy Hour deal from 2 to 4 pm.

17. Finish this Statement - “If I Had the Time, I Would…" get my house organized a little better. It's actually in quite good shape, considering we have barely lived there a week. But I still wish that I had the time (read: energy) to do a little more there every day. Zak did catch me cleaning the little crevices on the washing machine with Q-tips yesterday. You know how there are little spots that collect gunky residue, and you can't clean 'em without something like a Q-tip? It's those spots like where you put the liquid bleach, or the fabric softener or whatever, and then dirt sticks to it and it's not a place that the water ever really goes to clean off the dirt and residue. I was called a nerd, and I didn't disagree. But at least the washing machine is really clean now!
18. Do You Eat The Stems on Broccoli? It depends. I usually do, unless the stem is excessively long. Then I just eat a portion of it. I don't like a lot of stem.
19. If You Could Dye Your Hair Any Other Color, What Would it Be? Dark brown - I have always been a blonde, but as I get older, my hair is getting darker. I figure if I just give in and dye it dark brown, that would save me some of this transitional time as a non-descript, "dirty-dishwater" blonde.
20. Name All the Different Cities in Which you Have Lived - Black Jack, Florissant, (those are both in St. Louis) Provo, Chesterfield, Salt Lake City, and Logan
21. Favorite Sport to Watch? Basketball (specifically Jazz basketball -- and I'd like to point out to all you fans of other teams who shall remain nameless -- the Jazz is the only NBA team that has TWO players on the USA team for the Olympics -- Go D Will and Boozer!!)
22. One Nice Thing About the Person Who Sent This to You? No one really sent it to me, but I saw it on Jill's blog. Jill has a great laugh and a great sense of humor. Her laugh makes me laugh.
23. What’s Under Your Bed? My green-lidded craft bin (hated by Zak), a plastic sweater bin full of sweaters, and a plastic bin with our extra sheets and pillowcases in it.
24. Would You Like to Be Born as Yourself Again? I think life is tough enough the first go-round. I don't know that I would want to be born as myself again and experience life all over again from babyhood to childhood to adulthood. I really like where I am in life right now. Does that answer the question?
25. Morning Person or Night Owl? Morning person, though I really, really try to be a night owl for Zak, since that's what he is. He loves staying up late.
26. Over Easy or Sunny Side Up? Fully cooked. How 'bout that? I like 'em scrambled, but they must be completely cooked, no runniness at all.
27. Favorite Place to Relax? In my bed with a good book. And lots of pillows to prop me up. I love my bed.
28. Favorite Ice Cream Flavor? Oooh. Any ice cream is good. I was thinking last night how much I'd like a raspberry frozen custard from Ted Drewes, though. I really miss Ted Drewes. Someone should really open one in Logan. We all need a little frozen custard in our lives.
29. Of All the People You Have Tagged, Who is the Most Likely to Respond First? I agree with Jill on this one, so I'll just borrow her answer: I've given up tagging. People do memes if they want to and don't if they don't.

Pregnancy Meme

I admit it. My brain cells do not work as well as they used to before I got pregnant. Lately I cannot think of things to blog about. So I searched and found this pregnancy meme. And incidentally, here's an article about how womens' brains shrink during the last part of pregnancy: http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_19970109/ai_n9648385

I Am This Far Along: 39 weeks, 3 days

The BEST Part of Being Pregnant Is: Getting to experience this miracle of life. It is amazing to think that almost nine months ago, a process started with two little cells (don't worry, I'm not going to get any more graphic than that) and now the cells have multiplied, grown, and developed into my baby boy, who I can feel kicking me. All. The. Time.

The WORST Part of Being Pregnant Is: I have been exceptionally lucky to have a really easy and good pregnancy, so I really can't complain about any part of pregnancy. I barely remember the all-day sickness of the first trimester, but I think that was the worst part of my pregnancy, if I have to pick one. I never wanted to eat, but I knew that I had to eat. Then I would eat, and I would feel even worse than before. I don't like to feel sick, so that part of being pregnant -- the off-and-on sick feelings you get -- are not very fun.

This Has Been My Most Ridiculous Craving So Far: Steak Baja Gorditas from Taco Bell. However, I stopped eating them part way through the second trimester when I realized that my body just didn't feel good after giving in to this craving.

This Is The Nick-Name We Have Come Up With For the Fetus: We used to call the fetus The Peanut or something generic like that. I know that I wrote it down in a journal, which I don't happen to have with me. See article about brain shrinkage at top.

This Was The Time I Felt The Most "Pregnant": The last week or so. I am getting soooo ready to have the baby and I feel enormous. Also, I have finally stopped exercising in the last week and I really miss it. But it was just getting too difficult to exercise with the fetal girth. Plus, the Braxton-Hicks are coming all by themselves all the time and I didn't feel a need to actually induce them by exercising.

This Is The WORST Baby Name My Husband/Family/Coworker Has Suggested So Far: Zak, I am so sorry, but I have to put this out there: Breeze Anne. Zak really likes this name for a girl, so fortunately for me, we're having a boy and we didn't have to cross this bridge. I really don't like the name (it brings to mind a cheap-looking cocktail waitress named "Breezie" -- my sincere apologies to anyone whose parents saddled them with this name, or to anyone who does like the name -- I can't shake the image it brings to mind when I hear it and I really don't want to associate that image with any child of mine).

The Silliest Piece Of Unsolicited Advice I Have Received Thus Far Is: Sheesh. I don't really know the answer to this one. I have gotten lots of advice and if I don't want to take it, I promptly forget it. See link to article above about shrinking brain. The storage space in my brain is at a premium just now, and I don't have room to remember silly advice that I'm not going to take anyway.

People Have/Haven't Started To Touch My Belly Without Asking: A few people have, but as soon as they see the look on my face, they draw back quickly. It's weird to me that some people think it's fine to walk up to a pregnant woman and touch her belly. Just because she's pregnant doesn't mean her belly isn't a part of her body anymore, or that it's open season for anyone who wants to touch it. Wait to be invited. If the invitation doesn't come and you really want to feel the belly, then ask. But otherwise: Please. Don't. Touch. The. Belly.

I Believe The Baby Is A (Boy or Girl?): He's definitely a boy. There's no question about it.

Funniest Place I Have Unwittingly Fallen Asleep: Don't tell my boss, but I've been starting to nod off at work. I haven't fallen fully asleep at my desk, but there have been quiet times when I'm not super-busy and I have really started the head-nodding-and-jerking process and have had to get up and get a drink of water or walk around the building for a minute. My body is just so tired!

My Pregnancy IDOL Is: Any woman who goes through pregnancy! It's a tough thing to do, whether you have an easy and good pregnancy as I have had, or if you end up with preeclampsia or hyperemesis or any other number of difficult conditions pregnant women go through.

So the long and the short of my particular situation is this: I am due in four days. If I don't go into labor by 8/8/08, I will be induced. I think that would be a really cool birthday for our baby to have since the numbers are all 8's and also because the Olympics start that day. But rest assured, I am quite happy to have him come anytime between now and then.

And we're down to 16 days...

I haven't had my baby yet -- I just haven't posted recently. I would really like to wait another week to have him since we are moving in a few days. That would be convenient. Now we'll just have to see if that actually happens!
Zak and I were talking about our current home last night and decided that we're going to be really sad when we move and it's not our house anymore. We know that we were only renting it, but it is where we've made all kinds of memories over the last four years of our marriage (wait -- that would be over the entirety of our marriage...), but it still feels like it's ours. It's home to me. So we're a little sad to be moving. On the other hand, we are very motivated to move ever since we found the termites eating the wall in the bedroom. Also, it has helped to be extremely cramped over the last six months as more and more baby paraphenalia collects in the bedroom and hallway.
So... we'll keep you posted on events as they happen!

Threesies

I don't know if threesies is a word or not, but it's what I'm calling this tag I got from my BIL Dave. It's sort of like onesies, which is a word, and one that has been on the brain at our house lately. So I think it counts. Here goes:

3 Joys
1. A really clean house. Sadly, I am not experiencing this at the moment as the hallway and rooms of our place are all lined with baby paraphenalia. Good thing we are moving very soon into a bigger place!
2. Spending time with Zak and just seeing what he's going to do next. He keeps my life very interesting. For instance, over the weekend I helped him take out the five stitches in his arm. (See knife safety post.) I held the tweezers and pulled the stitches up so they were clear of the skin while he cut the stitches, and then I pulled the stitches out of his arm. I am not a medically-inclined person. Usually I want nothing to do with any of that stuff. I can't watch a needle going into my skin. Zak gives me lots of opportunities to try new things, which is really, really good for me. (And by the way, we know we could've gone back to the Instacare to have them take the stitches out, but it was the 4th of July and they were closed and Zak really wanted the stitches out. I guess they were itching.)
3. Anticipating meeting our son for the first time. This should happen Any Time Now - 23 days until August 1st. Anticipation is wonderful. The time after he arrives will be wonderful. I'm not sold that labor and delivery will be wonderful. But I'm still looking forward to it!

3 Fears
1. I second Dave's fear of spiders and snakes. They give me the willies. I'm shuddering just thinking about them. Ew.
2. I'll admit to being a little nervous about labor and delivery. I'm a little scared of the whole thing. But I'm also pragmatic enough to realize that it's unavoidable and that everything will turn out fine, one way or another.
3. I don't enjoy change. It scares me a little to start something new or make a big change in my life. How appropriate for me that we are in the midst of some really huge changes in our lives right now. It's a good thing that Zak isn't afraid of change and helps to make it easier for me.

3 Goals
1. To get a new cell phone within the next month. You may think that's a strange goal, but Zak and I have had the same phones for (prepare to gasp) two and a half years! Our phones are not functioning as well as they used to. Sometimes the buttons don't work, mine vibrates only sporadically when it's on silent, so I miss calls all the time. Zak's is exceedingly dirty from being taken to work at the construction site. We can upgrade our phones for free with our cell phone company. We just have to do it. Zak is still deciding what he wants to do...
2. To begin packing our stuff prior to the day of the move. It's very hard to get motivated to pack when you're 9 months pregnant and it's mid-July and blazing hot.
3. To worry less. (I can hear Zak's "AMEN!" from here.)

3 Current Obsessions/Collections
1. Reading is almost always an "obsession" of mine. I haven't been reading much lately, though. But Breaking Dawn comes out on August 2nd, which you may already know is 24 days away. I think that will help to renew my reading obsession.
2. I am collecting baby stuff out of necessity. We have clothes, bath-time stuff, a crib, a changing table, diapers, wipes, blankets.... the list goes on. And it's all piled in the front room and hallway.
3. I guess I'm a little obsessed with all the clutter in my house, as I have now mentioned it twice in one post. And I've been thinking about it the whole time I've been writing this. I really don't like clutter.

3 Random Surprising Facts About Myself
1. I think it still surprises people that I like watching basketball as much as I do. Go Jazz!
2. I actually have learned to accept a little bit of clutter and even to occasionally leave the dishes in the sink for a day or two. (Or four or five... Hey! I said it was hard to get motivated to do anything when 9 months pregnant in mid-July. I meant it, too.)
3. It has really surprised me how much I have missed riding my bike and going on scooter rides with Zak this summer. I tried one short bike ride a few months back and realized after it was done that it was not a good plan for a pregnant girl. I really, really miss the evening scooter rides when the air is a little cooler and it feels great to be outside, feeling the wind rushing by.

The tag is open to anyone who wants to participate!

Proper Knife Safety

Here are five simple rules for proper knife safety:

1. Never touch the knife blade. Never let the knife blade touch you.

2. Use a knife only for its intended purpose.

3. Let a falling knife fall. Do not try to catch the knife.

4. Carry knives with the cutting edge angled away from your body.

5. Never pull a knife toward any part of your body while cutting something.

Here's the story that goes along with the knife safety rules, specifically rule #5:

It's Tuesday afternoon. It's my day off work, so I've been doing some shopping, and now I'm checking out at Fred Meyer. (Well, it's Smith's Marketplace, but it used to be Fred Meyer and we still call it that to differentiate between that store and the regular Smith's grocery store. I digress.)

My cell phone rings. It's Zak. He says, "Hey, so, do you think that our insurance will cover it if I get some stitches?" WHAT?!? More explanation, please, double quick!

He had a very close encounter with a razor blade knife at work as he was trying to cut open a box that had a stubborn plastic zip-tie on it. In fact, the encounter was close enough that the razor blade struck the bone in his arm. Yeah. So a 2 centimeter portion of his wrist was laid open pre-e-tty far and he was debating as to whether or not he ought to go into the Urgent Care clinic and get it looked at or if he'd be okay to just super-glue it shut and keep on working. Good thing that his dad was there and saw the wound and decided that Zak didn't have a choice.

Luckily, he missed all essentials in the wrist, such as tendons, arteries (only a 1/2 inch away, though, if you don't mind...), etc. He needed 7 stitches to close it up and later lamented to me that he wished he hadn't allowed the doctor to use some lidocaine to numb the area up first. He was curious as to how painful it would've been to have the stitches without it. Right. Well. Moving on.

Zak's favorite part of the whole ordeal was that right after the cut happened, a spurt of blood shot a foot or two away and made a puddle on the ground. Thank goodness that he immediately applied pressure and that someone had the presence of mind to grab some gauze and tape and get a pressure bandage on it until it could be stitched up.

So that wasn't really how I was planning to spend my afternoon, but I was grateful that I had the day off work and was able to meet Zak at the Urgent Care clinic and be there while he got stitched up. Many thanks, as well, to the doctor who stitched Zak up and gave Zak basic lessons on how he could do it himself (should the need ever arise) as he stitched. (The last portion of this sentence is dripping with sarcasm--I thought I'd better make that clear in case it isn't completely obvious.) I am also glad that Barb was there to take pictures of the wound with her camera phone since I really wasn't feeling like that was something I wanted to do.

Zak is back at work today with an only-slightly-sore arm (from the tetanus shot) and has promised that he will not pull a knife toward any part of his body while he uses it to cut something.

Happy Thoughts

The first happy thought of the day is that the Celtics won the NBA Championship last night! Go Celtics! I am so happy that the Lakers didn't win. And the Celtics are so deserving of the win - Paul Pierce was amazing through most of the series, as were Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, and the rest of the team. The whole team played fabulously last night! It was wonderful to see the Lakers shut down by the Celtics defense. The only downside of this is that now basketball is over until the preseason begins again in the fall. Sigh. At least by that time, Zak and I will have a little buddy to watch Jazz games with. Look at that -- another happy thought! Chances are he'll be sleeping through the games (or maybe that's just what I'm hoping for -- who really knows what he'll be doing?), but I think that still qualifies as "watching" as long as you're in the same room. This, of course, depends on whose definition of "watching" you're using.
Other happy thoughts of the day: I really love the song "Go Your Own Way" by Fleetwood Mac. There is something about starting my work day with that song that does me good. I don't listen to it every day, but I do listen to it at least two or three times a week. It puts me in a great mood. I sit in my little gray cubicle under the unflattering fluorescent lighting in the basement/dungeon and sing along under my breath and do a little dance in my chair. Don't tell anyone I do that though, okay?
It is so sunny and warm in Cache Valley now! This is a happy thing for lots of reasons, but mostly because we have really missed the sun and warmth (the two together) for the last several months. It's also a happy thought because I have been lucky to escape a lot of the hot weather we would normally have had for the last two months. The summer heat is a whole different ball game when you're pregnant. So, with only six weeks to go, I am grateful that I haven't had to experience the heat for the last six weeks. Plus, we have these wonderful, cool nights in Cache Valley. Can't ask for more than that!
I got to eat more cherries today for my first morning snack. They were so good!
And here's the last happy thought of the day (at least for this post): I have three brand new books at home to read. I love the public library system. This is how it works for me: I notice that new books have been published by authors I enjoy reading. I make a request for the library to purchase these titles since I really don't have $75 or more to spend on three new hardback books. The library purchases said titles. Then I pick them up and get to read them at no cost to me! So I am excited to start any one of the three once I finish reading Sense and Sensibility. I am sitting here just anticipating the enjoyment...
If any of you have happy thoughts for the day, feel free to leave them in the comments!

First Things First

I saw this on my friend Jill's blog this morning and thought it looked fun.

Just write down what you did first today...

The first thing I thought today: Holy Cow! I did finally fall back asleep after laying awake at 4 am for ... well, a while. I wasn't sure I was going to be able to!

The first thing I ate today: Apple Cinnamon Nutri-grain bar. My pre-breakfast breakfast. Have I ever mentioned how my pregnancy eating patterns make me feel like a hobbit? (First breakfast, second breakfast, elevensies...)

The first thing I drank today: Water.

The first thing I said today: Hi. (It was really more of a grunt.)

The first action I did today: Rolled over (quite clumsily) and turned off the alarm.

The first thing I read today: Chapter 6 in 2 Kings and chapter 5 in Ether. Also an article in the June Ensign about increasing your sensitivity to others. Great article!

The first item of clothing I put on today: My exercise clothes that no longer fit very well over the fetal girth. Good thing that I exercise in the privacy of my own home! AND, I did a new Firm workout today - Total Body Toner. It was really good, even though I didn't use any weights. (Thanks again, Carolyn!)

The first person I spoke to today: Zak

The first chore I did today: Threw together a lunch (and several snacks, natch) for work.

The first blog I visited today: Confessions of a Pioneer Woman, since that was the only new post in my Google Reader. She is pretty stinkin' funny! And takes amazing pictures.

Consider yourself tagged. :)

The Perks of Having to Eat for Two

I love cherries. Not maraschino cherries, those are gross. I'm talking about Bing cherries. They are delicious. I just ate a small bowl of them. Mmmmm.

Love when cherries are in season.

Hazel's Blessing

Seriously, one day I will get the picture thing figured out a little better. I have no idea how they are going to look when I post them on my blog. Right now, they're all over the place.

Anyway.

We went to Provo for Carolyn and Jacob's baby's blessing on Sunday. The first picture is, of course, the beautiful Hazel, who slept peacefully for most of the after-blessing celebration. I didn't realize that I look like I'm hiding behind Zak in the picture of the two of us together until I saw it just now. There are two reasons for this hiding pose. First, the fetal girth (as Zak likes to call it) is ever-expanding. This makes perfect sense, since as of today, I have 58 days until my due date. Not that I'm keeping track. Second, I spilled chocolate or some such food item on said fetal girth and I was trying not to show that in the picture. Also, I think Jacob is unintentionally lurking behind us in this shot.

The next one is the beautiful Carolyn and the beautiful Hazel, followed by the three sisters.

We drove down on Saturday night and played games on the Wii with Nik and Alex, including some Blox game that I wasn't very good at, Mario Kart (which I am pretty good at usually), and then Alex and Zak played a lo-o-o-ong game of Defend Your Castle. We stayed with Nik and Alex (thanks again), accidentally absconding with a pillow from their couch which we will return very soon. Jacob did a beautiful job giving Hazel a blessing and we were so glad that we were able to go!

Family Visit

My sister Carolyn had her baby girl Hazel on May 1st. I was able to go visit them yesterday on my day off and see her for the first time. She is adorable! She is a very calm baby (unless she is getting a bath or she is hungry). She is so sweet.

It was great to see Carolyn, Jacob, Nicole, Alex, Scott, Analee, Madison, Mylie, and my parents. It was a mini-reunion! We had a nice visit and enjoyed taking turns holding Hazel. Please excuse the happy shiny faces of Carolyn and myself in the picture. It was getting warm in that room with all those people!

Also, I was able to play a little Mario Kart with Alex and Nicole... and I came in first a few times! I guess all my practice is paying off a little.

The Host

I bought this book last Friday. You know it's a good book when I actually buy it... I am a die-hard library card holder and usually don't buy books. It helped that I had a 40% off coupon, too.

I started the book Saturday night and finished reading it on my day off on Wednesday. It was great! The whole tenor of the book was very different from Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series (all of which I own, too, and have pre-ordered the 4th book that comes out August 2nd!), but it was really well written, and I loved the story!

I won't write anything else about the story because I don't want to give away any of the plot. I recommend this book to anyone who wants a good read!

The Chair

Zak and I have been looking for a recliner due to the impending arrival of our baby. We have a couch and we have kitchen chairs, but I was interested in finding a chair that was more comfy for feeding the child. The La-Z-Boy plant in our area is closing down very soon, so all the furniture stores were advertising a close-out on their La-Z-Boy recliners. We thought this was a perfect opportunity to find what we wanted... until we got to the first store and realized that a close-out is not the same as a sale. It just means that they want to get rid of their stock.
I found an extremely comfy chair that I really, really loved -- for $563. That wasn't really the price range we were looking for, so we decided to wait a while. We still have a couple of months before the child makes his debut, anyway.
Last week my co-worker announced that she has a La-Z-Boy recliner that she wanted to get rid of, as her sons are moving and she didn't have room at her place for their furniture. I jumped on that!
So yeah, it's a little worn and has a slip cover, and the part that you put your feet on (can't remember what you'd call that -- pregnancy brain) caves a little in the middle -- but it was FREE! All we had to do was pick it up and take it home! The best part of all, next to the chair being free, is that it is soooooo comfortable. I sat down in it last night after working all day, then cooking dinner, then going to the grocery store, then doing the dishes... and I didn't want to get up. Ah, bliss. I love our free chair!

My Husband, the Model

This is the poster created by Rhett and Burke in honor of Zak's graduation. I should've just had them e-mail me a digital copy instead of taking a picture of it myself, but I didn't.
In case you can't read what it says, I'll post it here:

ONE MAN.
ONE EXTRA VERTEBRAE.
ONE GRADUATION AT LAST.

LET THE CHAOS BEGIN...

There were lots of Jack Bauer quotes on the wall, too, the day of the graduation celebration. What a handsome guy!

Crazy 8’s

I was tagged by Dave, Cheryl, and Wendy. This was a tough one because I really had to think about my answers, but it was fun to do, and fun to read others' responses to the tag.

8 things I’m passionate about:
My family
Reading
Being a good and productive member of society
Keeping my house clean and uncluttered
The Gospel of Jesus Christ
Good spelling, good grammar, and good punctuation
Jazz basketball
Enjoying scooter and bike rides (although not so much currently, since I’m 7 months pregnant)

8 books I've read recently:
Eclipse (currently reading for the second time)
Animal Farm (currently reading)
New Moon
Twilight
Someday
Dawn’s Light
Tawny Man Series
Farseer Trilogy
**Disclaimer: I do not read for education purposes. I probably should, but reading is my main escape, hence, I read a LOT of sci-fi/fantasy. One day I will read non-fiction on a regular basis. Maybe.

8 things I often say:
“Loan Department, this is Sarah. May I help you?”
“For the love…”
“Give me strength!”
“Maybe you didn’t hear me correctly…” (Zak can explain this one.)
"I think so. I think that's what I said..." (Zak can also explain this one.)
“I love you.”
“Have a good day, see you later!”
“No way. No dang way!” (You get at least 10 cool points if you know where this phrase comes from.)

8 things I look for in a friend:
Sincerity
Sense of humor
Interesting to talk to
Genuinely caring
A sense of adventure (to help bolster my very weak sense of adventure)
Strong values and morals
Common interests
Trustworthiness

8 things I want to do before I die:
Go to England, France, Germany, and various other European countries
Plant a vegetable garden
Have fruit trees
Become a gardener (of fruits, vegetables, flowers, and other plants)
Have a washer and dryer inside my house so that I don’t have to go outside to change loads of laundry around
Raise a happy, healthy family
Learn how to sew really well, instead of just sort of knowing how to sew
Read non-fiction books (maybe)

8 things I have learned this past year:
I really love to exercise. It’s much harder to do when you’re 7 months pregnant, but still feels great when you’re all done!
High school kids are just as mean as they were when I was in high school, and possibly much lazier than when I was in high school.
I’ve learned all kinds of things about pregnancy through experience, but especially that I would do anything at all for my baby, no matter what it is or how it makes me feel. Even go through sinus infections, cold, and the flu with no medication. Not to mention the impending labor and delivery… though that will not be without medication. Sorry, baby. You've got to draw the line somewhere.
There were two Catholic saints and one Catholic archbishop named Peregrine. And the peregrine falcon is the fastest creature on the planet. They can fly at speeds from 99-273 miles per hour!
1978 was a banner year for catching and/or sentencing serial killers (Ted Bundy, Richard Chase, David Berkowitz—a.k.a. Son of Sam, John Wayne Gacy).
I can sometimes let the house be a little cluttered and my life doesn’t end.
There’s nothing wrong with a little weight on a woman. (Can you name the movie that quote comes from?! Another 10 cool points if you can…)
You can eat an entire quart of ice cream all by yourself…just one spoonful at a time. And that’s completely okay, as long as those spoonfuls are spread out over several days and weeks. (**Another disclaimer: I didn’t say I had actually done this. I just learned that it was possible. Big difference.)

I tag anyone who reads this and wants to do it! Especially you blog lurkers who never comment. Be a sport. And let me know if you take me up on the tag... I want to read your answers!

Or Else!

I just stumbled across this picture on a website and it made me laugh. I assume this sign is in a bathroom based on the pictures around it.

Mario Kart

At long last, Mario Kart for the Wii was released on Sunday. Zak had an exercise in patience over the weekend, because we called Saturday to make sure that our specially ordered copy had come in and it had! Unfortunately, the store couldn't sell it to us until after the release date. We don't shop on Sunday, so the earliest Zak would be able to get it was Monday. So, Zak went first thing Monday morning and picked up his copy before he went to work. He played for a few minutes before he went to work, much to Rhett's dismay. I have to admit, I went home on my lunch break and also played for a little while. I actually won my first two Grand Prix races on the bike! Mario Kart for the Wii is a lot of fun.

Naturally, we had to share the fun with the brothers, so last night after work we gathered together and played on the big screen at the parents'. Barb snapped this picture. Please ignore the slouching pregnant girl in the back. She was trying to hide, as she was feeling frumpy and huge. The verdict: playing Mario Kart for the Wii is pretty fun!

The Update

Zak has officially finished his student teaching!! He went to a "closing of the semester" meeting this morning and has one more meeting this afternoon. Next week he will start the process of applying for his teaching license and will continue to wait for his degree to post to his transcript. It has taken a lot of hard work for him to get to this point. We are so excited and I am so proud of him!

In other news, the Jazz lost (at home!?) to the Rockets last night by two points. It was a really exciting game to watch, but we were very sad that they couldn't pull out the win. We're hoping for a better showing on Saturday night.

Also, we are so happy for Nik and Corey -- they welcomed baby Sofia yesterday. She is just beautiful!

The Book Tag

Karen took Wendy's challenge to do the book tag on her blog yesterday and it reminded me that I haven't done it yet! Shocking, considering my recent post about my library card. So here's my page 123, fifth sentence:

"Since he hadn't been raised by her, the letter was one of the only pieces of her Dayne would ever have."

It's from a book called Someday by Karen Kingsbury. She is one of my favorite Christian authors. I love to read good stories with characters that are interesting, and I can't read all science fiction/fantasy all the time, just most of the time. So when I want a change, I read select Christian authors because I know that there will be no swearing and nothing inappropriate, unlike what you find in most popular authors' books today. Plus, the authors I read talk a lot about faith, quote scriptures from the Bible, and their characters have really good morals, which is just nice to read about.
I really love the three series that Karen Kingsbury has written about the Baxter family. They are the Redemption Series, the Firstborn Series, and the Sunrise Series. Here's the link to her website: http://www.karenkingsbury.com/. I have really enjoyed getting to know her characters and seeing their decisions and struggles in life and would recommend these books to anyone who'd like a good, uplifting read.

On an unrelated and quite sad note, the Jazz lost to the Spurs last night. I guess that the Spurs wanted to return the favor from April 4th. Oh well, at least they're in the playoffs and we'll have more basketball to watch!

Totally Unrelated News

The Jazz beat the Rockets last night in the final home game of the season. We were pretty excited, because that's one step closer to home court advantage for the Jazz when the playoffs begin. Now if they can just beat the Spurs on Wednesday night at San Antonio... Go Jazz!!

I haven't posted in a while and that's mostly because there hasn't been a lot going on. I have been working a lot since one of the loan officers quit recently. Zak is finishing his last full week at Preston and making progress in the job hunt. That's about it!

We are really looking forward to the end of the semester. The last couple of days here have been beautiful -- it's been warm and sunny. We've been able to go outside without jackets. And then just a few minutes ago, my co-worker's husband e-mailed her to say: "It's snowing." I think the whole of Cache Valley has somehow stumbled into Narnia during the reign of the White Witch. This winter is never going to end!

What Once Was Lost

I lost my library card last week.

For anyone who knows me well, they will understand what a tragedy this was in my life. I went to the library on Monday and I thought I put the card back in my wallet where it belongs. I have been rather forgetful lately -- I hear it's very normal for this quality to increase in pregnant women. I thought I'd just misplaced it somewhere in my house or car.

Here's some background information to help you understand how important my library card is to me: when Zak and I arrived in Logan after our wedding and the subsequent cross-country road trip from St. Louis to Logan in July 2004, it was very late at night and we went to his parents' house and crashed on the floor in the family room. The next morning, we drove to our little apartment to start moving in and unpacking. This naturally entailed getting the utilities turned on first thing so that we'd have electricity, which we went to the Logan City offices to do. Right after we paid for the utilities to be turned on, I went to get my library card (now that I had proof of residency), since the library is in the same building as the city offices. This was before we unpacked, before we got our new cell phones, before we went to the grocery store. You get the picture.

So I looked for my library card on Thursday, intending to make a trip to the library after work, and couldn't find it. The horror! I am usually so responsible with my belongings; it really bothers me when I misplace something. I searched my purse, my car, checked all the pockets of my jackets and pants. It was GONE! I even looked over at my in-laws', since I had recently checked out a book for Larry and thought maybe I had left it in the book when I gave it to him. No luck. I assumed that it had fallen out of my jacket pocket as I walked from the library back to the car last Monday.

Imagine my joy this morning when I was getting ready for work and grabbed a pair of pants I thought I had already checked all the pockets on, pulled them on, and found a plastic card in the front right pocket.

I was going to get a new card tomorrow on my day off. But thankfully, I have found my Logan Library card and will not have to pay $2 for a replacement. All is right with the world.


p.s. In case there was ever any question as to my degree of nerdiness, I think I have just removed all doubt. I'm pretty much a total nerd. I had to call Zak immediately just to tell him that I found my card, so great was my joy.

Spurs? What Spurs?

The Jazz beat the Spurs on Friday night in a very fun-to-watch game, with a final score of 90-64. Holy cow, right? The Spurs are a great team, but something just wasn't clicking for them on Friday night. I don't know what the deal was -- I'm just thrilled that the Jazz beat 'em!
I'm hopeful that they'll do well against the Spurs when they play them in San Antonio in another week or so... but let's be honest, folks. The Jazz do not have the best track record when playing away from the Energy Solutions Center. In any case, like I said, I'm hopeful! Maybe they'll beat 'em again! Go Jazz!
So there is snow and rain forecast for today. Is it not April? I'm pretty sure the Vernal Equinox occurred right on schedule on March 20th. Last week we got two inches of snow, which has since melted off. I know that the snow isn't going to stick around if we do get it, but seriously! Can we get a little sunshine and some warmer temperatures? Sheesh.
We enjoyed a great General Conference this weekend, which Zak and I primarily listened to on the radio since we don't have cable and bunny ears do not work in our apartment. There were lots and lots of great talks, and I'm excited to re-listen to several of them online. On Sunday, we had to drive to Preston to pick up the Mustang from Zak's grandpa's place (where he worked very hard to get it fixed this past week - thanks, Dallas!) and ended up staying for lunch with them. It was so fun to visit and talk with them for a while -- we shared and compared some of our travel experiences in San Francisco.
Zak enjoyed an evening of video games with his brothers last night. He returned to Preston High this morning. The official count as of this morning: 9 more classes each with his 9th and 12th grade English students, 7 more classes with his psychology class (all grades). Only 14 days of student teaching left! We are excited.

Go Jazz!

The Jazz beat the Clippers last night 121-101. Hooray! This definitely made up for their poor showing against the Clippers in February.

This win was a result of which of the following:

a) It was Jerry Sloane's birthday yesterday and they were all anxious to get to the "hoe-down" that was being held after the game (Jerry's words, not mine)
b) Boozer and D Will are great ball players
c) President Thomas S. Monson was among the crowd, cheering the Jazz on
d) all of the above

I'll let you decide.

Zak's Quiz Results

This is what Zak came up with:

Which Peanuts Character Are You?
	You are part Schroeder. You are brilliant, ambitious, and brooding; you tackle tasks with extreme focus. People don't always interest you as much as other pursuits, though, so you can come off as aloof.
	You are part Snoopy. You have a vivid imagination and lead a rich inner life. Everyone likes you, but some don't understand that you may just be of another species.
Find Your Character @ BrainFall.com

Which Hogwarts House Would You Be In?
	The Sorting Hat would put you in Gryffindor. You are bold, passionate, and brave. You have a highly-defined sense of right and wrong, and you are not afraid to speak your mind or fight for what you want.
Find Your Character @ BrainFall.com

Which 24 Character Are You?
	You are Jack Bauer. You are an aggressive and heroic figure. You think rules are only for kids, and try to break them at least once everyday (or hour). You like to get help from others especially your best friends. To complete a task, you are willing to do whatever it takes - be it the right way or the wrong one. Also, you could totally kick Chuck Norris' a**.
Find Your Character @ BrainFall.com

Looks like we are pretty closely aligned... except for the Snoopy-other-species thing. Who'd've thunk it? Also, I'm quite impressed that Zak is Jack Bauer. He's the coolest.