I'm so excited to be tagged, and I have no one to tag who hasn't recently been tagged by someone else...

But anyway, it has been about two months since I've posted anything. Sorry about that. While my dear friends and family would probably enjoy an update on our little clan (it's coming), I am delighted to accept a tag from one of my favoritest people who loves Hello Kitty. Anyway, little lamb, this one's for you:



Five Things I Was Doing Ten Years Ago:

1. Living in Jaro, IloIlo, the Philippines, and serving a mission for the LDS church.
2. Making a weekly treck to Sbarros with a bunch of white people to overpay for undercooked pizza and saucy pasta (the closest I could come to home).
3. Trying desperately to avoid aggressive and very unkind preachers from another Christian faith who stalked us with intent to argue about God, and who would not leave us alone - EVER!
4. Being told by a small, very dirty Filipino boy with black teeth that I had a very small chest.
5. Eating fried milkfish every week with calamansi juice mixed in soy sauce (yummy!), and fighting over the head with the Filipinas. (Many would argue that's better than my fettish for half-developed duck eggs).

Five Things On My To Do List: (Okay, I had to rewrite some of these items to make them sound more interesting, but the actions really are on my to-do list. For real.)

1. Write thank you notes to a bunch of people.
2. Call my visit teaching companion and visiting teachees, again.
3. Practice my recorder for a performance with friends at a Christmas party this Friday.
4. Do some laundry before we end up having to move to a nudist colony.
5. Return New Moon and Eclipse to my friend Holly. (I finished them in September.)

Five Snacks I Enjoy: (I'm going to list a few things that I'd like to enjoy but currently have to severly limit due to my pregnant state and my intense fear of eating too much sugar).

1. Twizzler cherry twisty ropes. (I know that Twizzlers are completely processed and everything, but I swear they put herion in their cherry flavored stuff or something. I just can't get enough of it).
2. Triscuits with chedder cheese and green olives with pimentos.
3. Almonds. The perfect food.
4. Nachos with plenty o' nacho cheese, very heavy on the jalapenos. (Makes my abdomen ache awhile later, but oh so worth it).
5. Cellas cherries made with dark chocolate alternating with Ferrero Rochers. One bite of cherry, one bite of hazelnut. Mmmmmmmmmmm...

Five Things I Would Do If I Were a Billionare:

1. Buy an energy efficient estate with an indoor swimming pool and a racquetball court.
2. Travel overseas at least once every other year, and visit far away family at least 3 or 4 times a year.
3. Replace our vehicles with hybrids.
4. Support the following individuals/organizations: LDS-missionaries from non-LDS families, public television, high quality local theatres, and various other charities
5. Save - I'd do what Tom Cruise does (according to Steve Martin): Every day I'd take a million dollars and just put it away, and at the end of the year, I'd have a little cushion. :)

Three of My Bad Habits:

1. Mulling over past painful experiences. (A rotten habit indeed).
2. Staying up too late.
3. Losing patience and yelling at my kids. (Even more rotten than #1)

Five Places I Have Lived:

1. The Philippines
2. Florida
3. Connecticutt
4. Louisiana
5. Utah

Five Jobs I've Had:

1. Underpaid actress in a union house
2. Compaq admin at Modus Media
3. Cafe worker at a natural foods store
4. Housekeeper at a bed-and-breakfast inn
5. Server at a Sizzler

Five Things People Probably Don't Know About Me:

1. Though I love performing, part of me wishes I had gotten a BA in Linguistics (studying at least Russian, French, and German).
2. I have a life goal to go back and read all of the classics, especially those I fudged with Cliff's Notes in high school. (I confess.)
3. When I'm stressed, half of my thoughts sound like an 'R' rated basketball movie.
4. I occassionally have nightmares about doing drugs or getting drunk, and I wake up terrified for the first few minutes.
5. If I do a show or a performing master class and am away from my children for very long periods of time, I cry A LOT.

I don't yet know who to tag, but I'll find someone. Hmmmm...

Blah blah blah

While the title of this post is a good description of most of my blog posts, it is actually intended to describe how I feel and not how I talk. I feel blah blah blah.

I won't go on and on about the constant nausea I'm faced with at this time. I won't weigh you down with how hungry I actually am since I only eat very small meals 3 times and day and just nibble on fruit or sip on flavored drinks the rest of the time, because eating full meals would be a waste of good food (I know from past pregnancies).

And why should I force to you relive my restless nights of tossing and turning from one side to another? (Laying supine only increases my nausea. Instead I must tightly hug a pillow into my belly and lay on either side - and I'm not a side sleeper). How insensitive and immature that would be!

Yes, there are so many wonderful women in the world who are unable to have children. Yes, I, unlike some of my relatives, only start feeling sick at 5 weeks and am done by 18 or 20 weeks. And yes, I have the cutest, most helpful husband on the planet who wakes up early enough each day to be with the kids and help Sophie get ready on school days. Finally, my children are so patient. They let me lay around while they play with each other or watch movies or PBS Kids (and they only make crazy messes about 70% of the time). I am truly blessed.

And I still feel sick. Thank goodness for you that I've decided to restrain myself and not complain too much.

Pre-emptive Update

I thought I should let my dear friends and family know before Sophie announces it to the rest of her neighbors, classmates, teachers, and church friends. I feel pretty icky, so it's kind of hard to hide.

In a much bigger version, it's easy to the see the little plus sign in the result window. But who wants to have a huge, oh so clear picture of a pregnancy test on their blog? Hopefully, it makes the point just the same.

So assuming nothing unfortunate happens with this pregnancy, here's evidence of Short Person #3 to come. (Sophie already calls him/her "little baby", but I prefer the name "lizard" - because that's how he/she looks right now).

I wish I could say that showing the positive pregnancy test as a means of announcing the condition is completely original, but this method was recently used by one of my best friends to announce her pregnancy to us. I'll flatter myself that I'm almost a clever as she is, though, since we used the same method in 2001 to announce our first pregnancy to local family members. We carried a printed up picture of the test to a family dinner, and passed it to members as we saw them. David's brother, Michael, particularly enjoyed the surprise. He said, "I looked down and thought, 'That's a cool toothbrush...uh, I mean, whoa!'"

In the meantime, here are some more promised photos of the family. Enjoy!

Sophie enjoyed using every single barrette to decorate her head. I actually thought it was pretty cool, but David was more practical minded and knew it would result in much hair loss when the barrettes were taken out. Sophie hasn't complained since, though, and her lovely head is still covered with many lovely, naturally highlighted locks.

This passed-out person was found on our upstairs couch after we went away to South Jordan in late July for a weekend. Apparently, Aidan got tired.

This last photo was taken on a beautiful Friday morning in August when David had just walked to receive his MBA from BYU. We were crazy proud of him, and he looked terribly handsome to me (as usual). I will not include any photos of me in a dress that I thought was flattering but was sorely mistaken. No big deal!

Anecdotes...

I just wanted to share some of these little anecdotes with you. Some of you may have heard these, but hopefully at least one will be new to someone. Here they are:

A few Saturdays ago, David was upstairs on the top level, Sophie and I were in the family room, and Aidan was alone in the playroom. I can only imagine that he was enjoying his knight's castle set (complete with little plastic battle axes), and Sophie's tiny princess dolls (what are knights without damsels, no?). Suddenly I hear Aidan have the following exchange with himself: "Rapunzel! Rapunzel! Let down your hair to me!" (Large pause) "Okay!"

Last week, Aidan and I spent the morning in the office while I filed at least 6 months of old bills and important documents. I loved getting the huge job done, and Aidan loved playing preschool games on the computer with me only an arm's length away and willing to help at any time. When Sophie came home and joined us, Aidan started choosing more complicated games, and Sophie wanted to help. I wanted her to help, because I was just 30 minutes away from a more organized office than I'd had in ages. Sophie said, "Aidan, can I please help you?" I pleaded, "Aidan, will you please let Sophie help you with the game?" Aidan looked at each of us and then began to throw and huge, loud fit. Sophie's response to that: "I think that's a 'no.'"

On Monday evening, we were returning from a fundraiser spaghetti dinner for Springville High, and we got on the subject of Halloween costumes. David and I were making suggestions, and Sophie was expressing her interest and distaste at the ideas. Suddenly, Sophie got on the subject of scarecrows. "We should have a scarecrow. Mommy, if we ever have a garden, we should have a scarecrow." David suggested, "YOU should dress as a scarecrow" (clearly still thinking Halloween) to which Sophie responded, "Then I'd have to stay outside all night and all day."

And those are just the ones I can remember right now...

We're baaaaaaaaaaaaaaack!

Okay, I have to start by saying that the line which inspired that title ("They're baaaaack!" from Poltergeist 2) is one of the most ridiculous lines in the history of film. Okay, it's not like "Congo" ridiculous, but the first Poltergeist is such a classic; and putting that line in the second film felt like a mockery of the original film. Though I'm getting more sensitive to gore in my old age (couldn't stomach Pirates of the Caribbean 2, so I didn't even go to number 3), the first Poltergeist film is one of the greats to me. It's truly frightening, even with the cheap effects with the poor geeky scientist tearing his face apart while looking in the mirror, and eventually he's, WOW, a plastic skeleton with foam rubber on it. Pure genius! In truth, the second film was pretty good too (except for the cheap Hollywood line), though it kind of had a "suggesting Mormons" thing going with the evil self-proclaimed prophet who leads a bunch of pioneers into the desert only to bury themselves alive - just... creepy. Okay, so maybe I don't really like that one, but, hey, I'm a sucker for scary movies that leave you chilled (i.e. Poltergeist, The Mothman Prophecies) without having blasphemed against everything you believe in (i.e. The Exorcist - superior film making, yes, but in a word - evil).

Oh, I've missed blogging! To rejoice in the beauty of a great tangent, even before the blog has really started...

Anyway, I'm back. Did you miss me? Life has been wild, good, stressful, tiring, but we're doing pretty well, and I realized that I have no right to get impatient waiting for my friends' updates to their blogs if I'm unwilling to update my own blog (even if the audience is much smaller and will have to be formally invited back).

David had a wonderful trip to Europe (see photos), finished his MBA classes at the end of June, and walked in August. It was a special, rather early morning (the convocation exercise started at 8:00 AM). David looked very handsome in his cap and gown, and just being there to see him complete the journey was worth the early rise. (And his brother, Michael, was a godsend and a huge treat for the kids). It's great to have David home in the evenings and sleeping at normal hours. He's enjoying the change, and work is going pretty well for him; but it's pretty stressful too. As usual, though, he looks great.

Sophie and Aidan had a pretty good summer (though it felt eternal, really). They both started swim lessons, and Sophie progressed pretty well. (Note for next summer: Take the kids to a heated pool or sign up for classes at the latest hour in the hottest time of year - Aidan was a grumpy little popsicle and did not progress that much. But he did cling to me a lot, which is almost more pleasant in water than on land). We all played a million games together, read lots of books, watched appalling amounts of TV and children's film, and ate way too many otter pops (it was excessive). I hate otter pops now.

Now, Sophie is in kindergarten and is really enjoying it. I listen and empathize and try to minimize my advice when I hear about the saga of Andrew, Kelsie, and Sophie (kind of a little love triangle). Sophie is doing well, though, as Andrew clearly considers her a friend. Also, while Sophie thinks Andrew is swell, she does not openly profess it to the self-proclaimed shy man - a wise choice in any lady. I have yet to meet this Andrew, but I will volunteer at school tomorrow and may give a small update if there is anything interesting to say about him.

In the meantime, Aidan really loves Blue's Big Musical Movie (featuring Ray Charles as G-Clef, although my favorite song is "Steve's Got a Silly Hat" complete with a little flamenco dance by Steve), Dora the Explorer , and the "geletons" and "gary things" at Sam's Club and Walmart. If you give him the chance, he'll explain that the "geletons" don't say anything, and the "gary things" aren't really "gary." (Mommy just says they are for an effect).

By the way, potty training is not really a big concern of mine. And thank goodness for that because the initiative Aidan once had (of which I boasted) is gone. Maybe when I'm feeling daring I'll try the "let him run around with a naked bottom and see how that motivates him" method, but really why on earth would I do that? I'm sure I'll be the only one it motivates.

That's about it. Well that's not it, but do you really need to hear about how chaotically messy the house was for weeks and my not too occasional anxiety attacks OR my recent inability to stop obsessing over old friends and acquaintances who I was fine knowing nothing about and now learn that many have completely changed directions in their lives? So uninteresting to you folks, I'm sure. But, it's fall (hurray), and I hope to provide lovely Halloween photos before long and maybe a surprise or two by Christmas.

Oh, and P.S. - I'm totally going to start watching "Heroes" this year, because David is watching the season premiere even as I type this, and Sark from "Alias" is on it now. Really, who could possibly miss that? I swear it's not just about his looks. He's just fun. I almost said that it's cool how short he is and yet so confident; but then I checked IMDB, and he's 6 feet tall. Wow! I wouldn't be writing 'thank yous' to the camera man for that show.

Spring, American Idol, Classic Rock, Victor Frankl

There is so much to share after all this time. It's just nutty how you finish the holidays and think, "Gee, what a relief to finish that whirlwind season" only to realize within weeks that you've entered a new whirlwind. I'm not complaining, though. The faster and more meaningful these months are, the sooner I get to share more evenings with my snuggy husband. Yes, we are, as I'm sure I've previously mentioned (at least a million times), in the home stretch. Come April 1st and we have only three months remaining in David's EMBA program. I'm conveniently pretending that two of those weeks in May won't involve me going solo here whilst David will "toil" in Europe. (Long story...will share it another time).

After his classes are completed at the end of June, we plan to celebrate Independence Day (which will suddenly have a double meaning), enjoy a couple of normal weeks, and then take a lovely long drive to California to see family, friends, and...Buzz Lightyear, perhaps? Who knows what oversize, Spongy Disney character will come up and terrify my children in July, but I look forward to the inevitable snuggles that will result.

So, to the subject of this post, we are just two days from Spring, and Utah is taking this very seriously. This is also not a complaint. It is just gorgeous out here!! The tulips are so close to popping out their pretty little heads, and the sky is clear as...well day. We had an awkward little picnic on the grass today in our extremely and already slightly overgrown backyard, and I couldn't believe that it wasn't April yet. Of course it is so sun-drenched in the morning and early afternoon in our yard that we could probably start a tomato farm and open up a salsa plant. It might be wiser for me to tempt the kids with indoor activities until after 3:Pm so that we don't go broke from having to purchase gallons of sunscreen. Still, the excess of rays is a definite improvement over the windowless environment of our playroom, which now takes no less than two hours to clean due to WAY TOO MANY TOYS WITH ACCESSORIES. Did that sound overdramatic? You come on down and give it a shot! You'd go nuts (if your own children's accessories haven't already driven you so)!

On to the next subject: American Idol. What can I say? I'm sure it surprises no one that I LOVE American Idol. I didn't watch it very often during the first few seasons, but I got really hooked the year that Kim Underwood and Bo Bice were in the mix; and the rest is history.

For non-Idol-watchers, do you know who coached the contestants and then performed on Idol last week? THE Diana Ross. I don't know if my sister and Mom can remember, but I adored her as a child and used to play one of her albums over and over... What a legend! And those lucky contestants had the chance to be coached by her with her huge hair and slightly worn vocal chords. But, wow! It was exciting, and they have some truly sensational vocalists this year. I think Melinda Doolittle and Lakisha Jones are both worthy of winning, but I have a feeling Jordin Sparks, the AMAZING and gorgeous 17 year old sweetie, may give them a run for their money...unless the vocal coach they have for Idol doesn't ruin Jordin's technique. This may not mean much to anyone else, but something happened last year with Katherine McPhee that infuriated me to no end. When she entered the contest, she was solid and had fantastic, healthy technique, AND she sounded amazing. In the final six weeks that approached the finals she started to sing more and more like Leann Rimes, who, despite her resilience and natural talent, is a painfully unhealthy singer. (Well, I don't know how healthy her pipes actually are, but I just get a sore throat every time I hear her sing. Ouch!) Anyway, Jordin sounded ultra-strong and practically flawless to me every week before last, and then, oh so suddenly, she comes in with this heavy, hard sound, banging her chords against each other with such force... Am I boring you guys? Okay, I'll get off the voice teacher soap box. It's just annoying, and if another singer goes by the wayside as I felt Kat McPhee did, then I'll just have to sob for another fallen vocalist.

Do any of you know how much I really love 70's and 80's rock? A lot.

Finally, on to Victor Frankl: I read the most wonderful book last month, I would like to highly recommend it to everyone I love...which means you guys. It is called Man's Search for Meaning by Victor Frankl, and it is such a powerful, amazing book. Frankl was a psychiatrist and neurologist who founded a form of therapy called "logotherapy." He was also a Holocaust survivor. You would expect his book, which chronicles and analyzes some of his experiences in the concentrations camps (he was in a few, I believe, including Auschwitz), would be a huge downer; but it was very, very inspiring. I would call his "logotherapy" therapy for those unwilling to pity themselves. Rather than focusing on the origin of trials and placing blame, he emphasized finding meaning in love and the unavoidable challenges in life, and taking responsibility for your choices and actions. It was just amazing, and I know I've failed to sell it. But if any of you have some time to spare (the book is a pretty easy and fast read), I doubt you'd regret it. Even if you're not big on self-improvement books (which this one hardly is - it's more of an inspirational/memoir/science book), I'm sure you'd be glad you read it.

I guess that's most of my update. Wait, I didn't say much about David and the kids. David is doing great and surviving his perpetually sleep deprived state with impressively good looks. :) He is also making a great impression on a number of classmates and co-workers, and it's opening some good doors for him. Since I don't know how much or how little to share (and I don't pretend to understand all of the doors that are opening for him), suffice it to say, he is doing very well, and we're so grateful for and proud of him.

Sophie continues to have a small crush on the 14/15 year old who lives across the street, named TJ (I'm sure she'll mention him to you sometime). She has expressed that she hopes to marry him someday when she's grown up, and we've gently explained that 10 years is quite a gap in age for a couple. I think I was exactly like her. I adored teenage boys when I was a little girl. Hey, I adored them when I was a big girl. I just really liked boys, and now I just like one (well, two - one tall and one rather short). Sophie is also really doing quite well at spelling. Often, if we ask her to do something, she responds with "N-O, M-O-M/D-A-D." It is a little hard to discipline when you are swelling with pride.

Aidan is so gorgeous that I sometimes want to eat him. He is also very fun and sweet. The other day David was video-taping him in the playroom playing with his Medieval Castle set. He was eating many knights and a marionette with a ferocious dragon and screaming joyously. He says many things, and is very self-motivated in toilet-training. He has been using the toilet at least a few times a day, at his own request, and we're applauding every little baby step. As always, he and Sophie love each other so much.

And I'm doing my thing. Cleaning, playing with kids, cleaning, reading with kids, cleaning, arguing with kids... You know, the usual. Then, in the evenings I relish the time to read, write in my journal (my new crush), and get on the elliptical or do some Pilate's while watching my shows. (Or I drag myself down to my cave to work on finances, etc.) I love it most of the time, and when I don't love it, I have some wonderful friends to laugh with over it. I love the women in my church ward. They are a blast, and I sneak out to as many Relief Society Activities as I can for the friendships.

I bet it sounds like I'm pretty blessed. I guess I am. Of course, the chances of me coming down here to update the blog while I'm going insane in the middle of a crazy week are pretty slim. So, let's say, I'm blessed, just like all of you, and I'm often stressed, just like all of you.

And I love and miss all of you. :)

Birthdays, birthdays...

I look forward to a time when birthdays are not so much stress. But, really who am I kidding?

As you all know, so far our only two children have their birthdays in January - Aidan on the 2nd and Sophie on the 30th. Aidan was very low stress. He was truly surprised when we pulled out a bunch of gifts for him and had a little cake and sang "Happy Birthday" to him. (Incidentally, his current way of saying "Happy Birthday" to people is "happy to you.") He couldn't believe the attention (as if he doesn't already get tons of it daily), and it actually took some coaxing to open each new gift. (This too shall pass). We had a lovely breakfast, followed by presents and cake, and then we headed off to Salt Lake to spend a couple of hours at Discovery Gateway, the new children's museum. Then we rushed back to Provo to get David to school on time. All in all, it was a lovely day.

The following Sunday, the 7th, we had a birthday dinner with David's family (with cousins and an Aunt and Uncle present, no less). Once again, Aidan thought it was bizarre, and, again, he needed to be coaxed into unwrapping his gifts. (Though, this time it was due to one gift particularly catching his attention over the others). The times were good, the cake was rich, I gained weight, etc. We had fun.

Just yesterday, we attended another birthday party, this time for Rachael and Annie. It was less work and less stress (at least for us - I can't speak for them), and it seemed to be a lovely time for all. Rachael is one of those cute people who doesn't mind most or all of her birthday gifts having a little more to do with another birthday than her own. What I mean to imply, and to inform those who don't know yet, is that Raydees is pregnant! And all of her gifts had something to do with the baby. She got maternity clothes, a body pillow, and some other baby stuff I can't remember right now; but she was as happy as a clam. Even though she's only 16 weeks, she is such a naturally skinny human being that she is already bumpy. I wish I had a photo. It is so cute!

Annie was herself, happy to share the spotlight with another on her birthday. It is charming, and don't tell anyone, but she had a big birthday this year. I won't say the number, but in the year she was born the CIA was established. How do you like them apples! And I gotta say, she looks good!

Now, I mentioned stress, and yet these previous birthdays have been low/no stress. BUT... the stress and excitement will come. So, if I took a survey today on the streets, I might ask the following question, "Is it more stressful to give a birthday party with a large number of guests, or to limit the guest list to 5 and force your daughter to choose?" I might put my vote in for the 2nd option after this week. I feel like I'm torturing her. Ironically, 3 of her 4 favorites are in kindergarten, and are older than her. This only presents a problem for scheduling the party because one of those three girls attends kindergarten in the morning, and the other two go in the afternoon. Also, on the following Saturday morning (an ideal compromise), her favorite friend will be out of town. But, we'll work that out, I believe.

The real stress for me comes when Sophie wants to fill that 5th guest spot, just because. We agreed that she'd just party with preschool friends at preschool (which is fine with the teacher), since a) her closest friends are not actually in her preschool class, and b) she couldn't possibly choose just 5 from that group. By the way, this is going to be a girly Princess party - no boys allowed, even if you adore a lot of the boys at church and school and would have so much fun playing with them. You're right, why am I concerned about this? It only facilitates narrowing the list down.

Still on the guest list - there are four girls in her church primary class, but she hardly knows any of them, and singling one out is hard, and when we do (I say, when, not if, because Sophie has made it clear that she plans to fill that last spot with mystery CTR 5 girl), we will have to be sneaky about it so as not to hurt the feelings of others. We'll have to sneak the invite to them after church on Sunday, so they don't get excited and tell the other girls. Sigh...

Okay, where is all of this anxiety of mine coming from? I'll fess up. I hate birthday parties with friends. I mean, I don't really. But I did not have luck with birthday parties as a child. I remember pictures from my 5th birthday (I think it was my 5th) in Lake Worth, Florida; and really all I remember is that I was bratty and thought that I should have everything at the party, even the guests' party toys! (Also, I was a crazily awkward little girl, and I don't think I looked very pretty in those pictures).

The pinnacle of disappointment for me with birthday parties, however, (and this is not family-only parties, which I love!) was some years later. Honestly, I don't know where we were - Connecticut, Florida? Can't remember the age, grade, or state. But, I wanted a birthday party, and I invited all of the kids in my class. I think it was at a park or something, and it would've been really fun. Instead, the number of guests that actually showed was --- you guessed it, one. (Okay, for those of you who guessed none, please don't ever tell me you guessed that, because I may faint from insecurity, UNLESS something like that happened to you, and I promise I'd take you in my arms and hold you and cry for awhile with you...)

It's okay. We made a fun day of it. I don't remember much else of the day, except that we spent some time with that girl and her family. But, only one guest actually showing. Yikes! Does it surprise anyone that I'm the most insecure correspondent ever, and that I'm completely weirded by those birthday parties my friends have where, say, 100 of their good friends show up. I don't know whether to go mute from confusion or turn green with envy.

So, I digress back to Sophie. She is so much like me, but I am hoping in the best ways. I don't think that my whole class hated me or anything. I actually doubt that I knew any of them that well. We moved quite a bit, we didn't do formal RSVP's for parents, the invites went out late, I just wasn't a popular kid, etc. Or maybe it was just the childhood of an awkward person. How terrifying it is to think that your little baby might face the same kind of rejection you once faced.

All I can say is, if Sophie continues to love others and herself the way she currently does, she'll have at least a few really good guests at her little parties. If she's anything like David and me, that will be all she needs.