Idol Thought: Halonga Ramielle, you cutie!

Okay, so I said, "Halonga", which, rather than being "goodbye" is actually "take care." It's not Tagalog either, which is Ramielle's language. It's Hiligaynon, my most used mission language. Regardless of all of that, Ramielle Malubay, the cutest little Filipino-Hawaiin-American just got voted off of American Idol this week, and I'm a little sad to say goodbye to her. For one thing, she was so teeny and kind of needy, which I found terribly endearing. For another, she had a wonderful big voice despite her tiny body. Finally, and the most obvious reason for my sadness, she was Filipina, or Pinay (as they say over there), and that's just special to me.

(Incidentally, I must interrupt this to tell a short story about my using the word "Pinay." I was at a Relief Society dinner, and a couple of us start discussing this year's season of American Idol. I was saying how excited I was that they had Ramielle on, because she's such a cutie "and she's Pinay." Suddenly, one of the women stopped what she was saying to a neighbor and asked,"What did you just say?" I repeated the word 'Pinay', and as the word came out of my mouth, I realized what it must've sounded like. The word is pronounced pea-nie, which sounds like it could potentially be (though I assure you it is not) the plural form of another English word. Anyway, we had a little chuckle when it hit me, and she teased that I should be careful about when and where I use that word. Oops!)

Filipinos are amazingly cute people. While a majority of Filipinos (at least the Mormon Filipinos) seem to lack sufficient training, experience, and possibly talent in music (I won't even describe what hymns in church meetings usually sounded like because then you'll really think I'm a big meanie), there are still a number of Pinoys who are extraordinarily talented musicians. For instance, I'm sure you've heard of Lea Salonga, right? If not, have you seen Disney's "Mulan" or "Aladdin?" If so, you've heard Lea Salonga, who sang the roles of Jasmine and Mulan in the films. She's won a bunch of awards and stuff. She's pretty great.

Lea Salonga's just one of many great talents, some discovered and some undiscovered. In fact, I often met young men and women in the various areas where I served who could sing show tunes and Mormon-pop as well as anyone I'd ever heard. It was actually weird how someone could almost perfectly mimic famous vocalists on contemporary music but would completely butcher a simple hymn to pieces. Honestly, I still don't get it.

So, back to Ramielle: It was so hard to watch her pick the wrong song week after week while knowing that she was capable of so much more, but I must speak in her defence. First, she's so young (just 20), and she was at quite a disadvantage when they spent the first two weeks as the top 12 & 11 singing Beatles or Lennon/McCarthy songs. She was either really unfamiliar with the music of the Beatles (poor thing!), or she made that horrible mistake which some Idols make of choosing more obscure pieces of music rather than beloved hits that will resonate with and excite fans to vote. Either way, neither of her Beatles songs showed off what she was capable of.

Then we have last week, when Idols selected songs from their birth years. Either Ramielle hasn't watch this show for many seasons, or she has forgotten that Heart's "Alone" has been sung at least 2 or 3 times on the show in the last four years. I won't forget how great Carrie Underwood sounded the night she belted that song out for a #1 Hits Themed night. (Though her hair was terrible. Where do they find these stylists, and when are they going to hire someone better?!) I'm also confident that one of the top 24 last year also sang the song. Finally, though I really love Heart (Ann and Nancy, you rock my world!), such great stuff must be used sparingly, or it starts to become almost a gimmick or cliche. (Plus, if you sing Heart, you better be really, really fantastic.) So, as a side note and an amendment to the rule to use beloved hits, I really wish I could warn the Idols to be careful to not overdo such groups as Heart, Queen, Journey, etc. We're talking about sacred material here, and we don't want to cheapen it by overdoing it. The fans will not forgive you quickly, nor will they vote for you.

Finally, who would dare to say anything mean about Dolly Parton's music? She's just about the sweetest, most humble women in the music business who has endured decades of a very emotional career, not to mention being taunted again and again for her unique proportions. What a lady!

Well, I'll say something mean. Dolly Parton's music on American Idol? It's so dated! Yes, she's amazing, but it takes tremendous creativity and rearranging to make her songs accessible to the current generation. And what did our Rami do? She picked an upbeat song with a forgettable melody that, rather than showing off what an amazingly powerful voice she has, showed off how cute she is when she dances around on the stage. What a shame! Carly and Syesha were the luckiest, smartest ones in the bunch. They picked two of Dolly's most memorable songs with plenty of range and emotion. (Actually, I'm not sure Syesha was that smart. After Whitney covered Dolly's song in '93, there was no getting over her version. Yes, it was beautiful and dramatic, and it was also played about every 3 seconds on every radio station in America for months and months on end. Most people under 40 don't actually know what the original melody of that song is. Frankly, I prefer the simplicity of the original Dolly version, or, better yet, the Vince Gill and Dolly duet recorded in '95, but I'll get off this subject now).

So, was it a surprise when Rami made the bottom three this week? No. It was sad but unsurprising. It was a little shocking that Kristi Lee outlasted someone for yet another week, but what's a body to do? This year is full of so many really talented performers that the bar is just going to get higher and higher every week. I mean, who can compete with people like David Cook? He's just so fantastic! And what a cute haircut! (But, David, honey, would you please consider shaving closer to a performance sometime? I mean, is this a sensitive skin thing? It's just starting to make me a little uncomfortable.)

Ramielle, sweetie, goodbye! We will miss the joy of seeing you barely pass Ryan Seacrest's shoulders when you stand next to him. (How cute is that?!) You will have so much fun on the Top 10 Tour, though, and I highly suggest that you choose to sing one of my favorite songs ever covered by a Filipina - "You Were There" by the Southern Sons. It just might be your express ticket to stardom!

(See below for a glimpse of this sweet little ditty, covered by Regine Velasquez. I swear it'll be a hit in this country some day.)



If you thought that was nice, you must see this very special music video of the original Southern
Sons version. It makes me very happy when I see it. I hope you like it too! (Be on the lookout for my favorite moment when the "storm" starts to pass. It's just pure genius!)



By the way, Kristi Lee, you're next. As Simon would say - "Sorry."

Easter memories!

Easter is my favorite holiday of the year. I believe it's mostly because of the spiritual significance. It's just a happy thing when the Christians of this world, practicing or non-practicing, can get excited about faith. Hurray! (Incidentally, I just barely learned about the Pascal greeting, which a relative tried on me and I failed to respond to properly. Oops! But, you know, I can break out with a mean rendition of "Christ the Lord is Risen Today.")

You cannot ignore, however, that while Easter equals Christmas in religious significance, it is infinitely less stressful. I mean, you don't have to do any decorating unless you want to. You are not expected, not even by yourself, to lay out lots of money on a bunch of presents. There is no pinching involved whatsoever. You don't need a costume. It's unlikely you'll be expected to travel far for visits or host a house guest, since it's just one day of festivities. You get to follow it up with at least 4 or 5 days of yummy hard boiled egg breakfasts. (I'm a big fan of those white round things). It also happens to occur during my favorite season of the year - Spring! (I did miss the tulips this year, though). It's just a lovely holiday, and that's even if the extent of your religious practices is to watch "The Ten Commandments" and wonder what was wrong with those silly Israelites. Poor Moses! You come down one day exhausted, starving, and anxious, and then you have to deal with a bunch of naked loons making a ruckus. Actually, that sounds like some of my days, to be honest.

Anyway, we had a lovely Easter, despite having a terribly messy house and being overbooked on Saturday, our shopping and preparation day. The Easter Bunny (yes, we play that game) brought us all some media. Sophie got "Enchanted", Aidan got "Buzz Lightyear of Star Command", David received a Bob Marley CD, and I received "Godspell." (Hurray for Victor Garber in suspenders with a very large afro! Amazingly enough, he was still very handsome.) Mr. Bunny also brought a lot of sugar. Our Easter spread looked like this on Sunday morning.

The kids looked like this.

You may recognize Aidan's suit from last year. The pickin's were slim at Burlington, and the time was even...slimmer? Either way, it's a delightful suit, and it makes me terribly happy when he wears it. (He looks pretty happy too, but that's probably more because he's holding his blue and black Batmans.)

Sophie had a bit more luck with her dress. Here she is with Deanna, one of her Cabbage Patch Newborns.

Cute no? Believe it or not, Sophie and Deanna's dresses came together at an amazingly low $29.99. We paid for the nice deal by searching through the chaos of Burlington Coat Factory. I don't know if I've gone off about that place yet, but it is so appallingly disorganized at ALL TIMES. It is completely unacceptable! Every time I go I want to fire everyone, especially the manager who accepts such appalling work from the staff.

What I also feel is a bit unacceptable is the fact that there is no such thing as an Easter dress with sleeves. I ask you, what do the little Christian girls in Greenland do? They can't go around in sleeveless, spaghetti strap, or tank dresses on Easter Sunday. They'd freeze their little arms off! As you see, we resorted to the slightly long sweater shawl, which added a touch of elegance while covering a little too much of her cute dress. Ah well!

Church was lovely, and we came home to prepare for dinner at the Grahams and dye Easter eggs. Sorry, I have no pictures (I know you were excited). Suffice it to say, our Easter eggs are... fun. We usually enjoy dipping each egg in several different colors until we're satisfied with the effect (or until the egg turns brown, whichever comes first).

Our Easter egg hunt and dinner at the Grahams was lovely, though when the subject of the upcoming Graham Family Reunion came up, I started to have anxiety attacks. I won't go into my reasons. I just get overwhelmed with stuff like that, especially if I remember that this baby will probably be about a month old at that time and not really ready for big crowds. Michael, the committee representative was very understanding and compassionate when we discussed it later. We were finally able to wind down the discussion at 8:00 o'clock, and, as we were driving home and the clock read 8:32, my cute husband said the following to me: "It may be a little late to mention it, but were you planning on calling family today?" My hands flew to my face, and I moaned, "I knew I forgot something."

Happily all is well, and each of the family members I've reached so far have been very patient and understanding and had their own lovely Easter Sundays.

So, we survived yet another holiday! I was just thinking, though, about how, despite the messes, inevitable frenzies, and sugar rushes, short people tend to add a bit more joy and meaning to the holidays.

You know what I mean?

By the way, indeed He is risen! Happy Belated Easter!

An Identity Crisis?!! Oh no! I knew this pregnancy was wearing me out!

But seriously, looking at my blog, I see that it is strange to have my name appear as "Irina Sergeyevna." It'll be changed back to my normal name before most of you read this, but for about two hours I appeared here under a different name. As Catherine asked me who Irina is, however, I thought I'd explain and, let's be honest, reminisce a little.



Irina Sergeyevna is a role I played at BYU in 1994 in Chekhov's The Three Sisters. The youngest of the three sisters, she was inadvertently responsible for the death of the plays most beloved character, Tuzenbakh. (Though should she really blame herself when someone lets himself get killed in a pointless duel over her? I mean, really?) It wasn't my greatest work ever, but Emmie played my eldest sister, and I still call her Olga much of the time. I know, it's pretty random to call myself that when it really means something to just a few other people, but posting comments as "dianna g." has felt boring. I'll have to find some kind of middle ground, because I have the cutest picture of Sophie on my profile, and if I don't comment as a blogger, the world will miss it. Anyway, I very much see myself as Irina. She was passionate, emotional, often a bit confused, very childlike, and she had a bad habit of not getting things done (like that coveted trip to Moscow!). That pretty much sums me up most of the time!

Now my favorite role ever has a very boring name: Kate Mundy. Another good friend, Jannah, played my little sister, Christina, that time. As I already have a sister named Christina, I choose to call her Jannah. I must share, however, that my favorite cast-mate memory of Jannah is when she played Poseidon in The Odyssey. She was so brilliant that I feel really sorry for everyone in the world who missed her performance. My hand has only recently healed from the day she slammed a 5 pound trident onto my fingers when I, as Zeus, wasn't paying enough attention to her godly demands. Those were very special days!

(Incidentally, if you feel up to something like The Odyssey, you must try the Robert Fagles translation. It's hysterical genius!)

Of course, in that play, we each played multiple roles, most of which were men. Identity crisis indeed!

To Do Lists While You Have a Big Belly

I have one response to them. Phooey!!

Okay, I'll elaborate. I am a Palm girl. I live in my Palm. Well, sort of. I'd live in it a little more if the touchscreen were more reliable than a Palm and didn't need reconfiguring every 20 minutes. But, I digress. Like a great old Go-Go's song once said, "I am a girl of a hundred lists..." Isn't that a nifty tune, by the way? I loved the Go-Go's!

So, each day I make an effort to review and revise my To-Do List, but during these last few days I've made very little progress shrinking it down. It has been growing and growing, and it doesn't contain a whole lot of things that make me excited. Allow me to share it with you.

I will now proceed to list my "Last 7 Days list" with due dates and explanations, because you need to know these things. This does not include anything planned for tomorrow or later. It also does not include my list of library books checked out (unless they were due in the last 7 days), life goals (one of which is to learn at least two more languages - doesn't that make me cool?), church responsibilities due in the future, shopping needs, thank yous I should be writing, and other "personal" items (a.k.a. everything else). So, back to this last weeks due dates:

- Due 3/11! - List people to pray for - I heard of this lovely idea when you have a lot of people you care about and want to pray for, but you tend to forget about by the time you kneel down exhausted by your bed (or lay on your side clutching a pillow to your expanding belly). Anyway, I've got a lot of people I should be praying for, so I'm wanting to do the list. This item, I must point out, will be like some others that do not get checked off for the day, but get a new due date assigned to them. You will see a few others like it. So, did I make the list for prayer yesterday (!)? Not yet.

-Due 3/11! - Pray for miracles in our lives - Why have I kept this one? No, really, why? I'm not sure, and I want someone else to answer it for me. I just get so moved when I'm in church and someone teaching a beautiful Relief Society lesson challenges me to pray for miracles in my life. I just have to write it down. I haven't prayed for any very specific miracles yet, but I've recently learned of some great miracles I should be praying for in some other peoples' lives. So, I'll get to work there.

-Due 3/11 (surprise!) - Easter music. Oh wait, I can check this off. I have accomplished something. I won't explain it. I just needed to send an email, and I actually did it for a change. Woo!

-Due 3/11! - Temple - I volunteered to help coordinate temple trips with other Moms of wee ones. I've shirked this so far. I'm too tired right now. I should change the due date to something more reasonable.

-Due 3/11! - Update Palm and calendar - No explanation needed, except that I must comment at what a ridiculous obsessive compulsive I am that I actually gave myself an assignment in my Palm to update my Palm. What a weirdo!

-Due 3/11! - Organists, pianists - One of the joyous responsibilities of overseeing music in the ward. You are supposed to know who has the ability to fulfill these responsibilities. I'm overdue on this one, so that's why I keep torturing myself to finish doing the updated research and send the info along to the Music Advisor. But, really, I'm pregnant and being kicked all of the time. My poor children (the ones already born) are sorely neglected. I'm exhausted. I need more time. So, this needs a better due date.

-Due 3/11! - David fix computer - It's broken. I want it fixed. Not this one I'm typing on. It's fine. Just the one that Aidan used to play on while I was on the elliptical. Oh, I had such a great system down. But the computer is broken, so you can guess what other To Do item will go undone for yet another day.

-Due 3/12 - Exercise - see last item

Okay this is getting old for you, so I'll stop. Suffice it to say that this pregnancy has just taken me by surprise, and I feel so dragged out that it's hard to get things done. (Plus, what's my problem with a million church responsibilities? I'm really overdoing this stuff). You see, I had such awful doctors and took horrible care of myself when pregnant with Sophie that I felt terrible for much of it (and I gained a ton of weight). Then, when I got some education, got better care, and took better care of myself with Aidan, I felt great. I guess it's just been a surprise that my sickness went longer on this, my 2nd trimester flew away with the holidays and other major events, and I'm now just feeling like Ripley does in Aliens when she dreams that the alien's hand is rising out of her. (It's a pretty cool scene.) Not comfy! I guess it's the 3rd time Mom or the "I'm 33 now" thing. I've really been trying to take care of myself this time around, and yet my body seems to be saying, "Okay, this has been nice, but how many more times do you think you're going to do this to me, because I'm not sure if I'll be up to it again."

So, I think the newest item on my list should be "try not to complain and keep your chin up," due daily. One thing I know I'll be adding around May 24th - "Give birth."

True Art

I hope this brings a little joy to your day.




(Apparently, Aidan was supposed to pretend to sleep along with the other two, but I think this makes it even more meaningful, don't you?)

A Very Special Book...

Sophie Amada Graham, kindergartner at Brookside Elementary (age 6), has written the following book with no assistance whatsoever. Though this electronic version will be a little difficult to see and will not likely do it full justice, we hope you'll enjoy it just the same. Here it is:

(Translation: Our Family by Sophie Graham - with labels for each current member)

("Our family is so sweet.")

("My Mommy is a great cook.")

("My Daddy is good with kids and makes jokes." On the left side, David is holding Sophie's hand and a baby in the other hand. On the right side, our family is all laughing at one of his "jocs.")

("Aidan likes to fight. He likes Batman." On the left, Aidan is playing a "fighting" video game, and on the right, he is dressed in his Batman costume.)

("And I like princesses and Hannah Montana.")

("And the baby in Mommy's tummy swims.")

("The end." Before anyone panics at the creative spelling, I just want to emphasise again that this was written by a kindergartner with no assistance from an adult. It's rather good considering the source.)

Here's hoping that your day is filled with the kind of joy and simplicity that this story contains. Love to all!

The Buggy Grahams go foreign...

So our family took a very special trip this month. My father and step-mom have a time share in Aruba, and they invited the Wilsons (Christina and her family) and the Grahams to go and join them for the first week in February.

If you are like me and you know little or nothing about Aruba (except that it has been Dad and Shirley's favorite vacation spot for almost 18 years), you might ask someone about the place, and they'll often answer, "It's one of the ABC islands." If you are still like me and you have no idea what that means, your jaw will drop a little, and then you'll suddenly put (not get, but put) a knowing look in your eyes and say, "Oh, yeah. Uh huh." (Or a humbler person may admit that they've never heard of the ABC islands in the whole of their life, but it really just depends).

The ABC islands are Aruba, Bonaire, and Curacao. (There's a really cool accent on the second C in Curacao, but I've not actually learned how to put accents on my foreign letters with this keyboard). They are three islands located in the far west of the Antilles in the Caribbean and are less than 20 miles off the coast of Venezuela. Isn't that fun information? I just like to hear the name "Antilles" because it makes me think of Once on This Island (a delightful musical).

Anyway, it's a lovely island with a very pleasant climate. They speak multiple languages (I'm allergic to Spanish, but I used a fair bit) and have iguanas, gorgeous beaches, snorkling, and happy hour. I have to chuckle, though, because Wikipedia (which I tend to rely on way too much) says that "unlike much of Caribbean region, Aruba has a dry climate" which I find to be totally false. Okay, I'll concede that I've lived in a more humid climate. Southeast Asia is quite humid in places (my hair was pretty curly on the mission), but Aruba wasn't very far behind it. Most of our clothing, once wet, remained wet until put out to dry on the patio or placed into a dryer. (It took us almost 5 days to figure out the patio trick, by which time some of that wet stuff was just gross). My skin liked it, but I noticed that everyone was a little sticky most of the time. (I tend to noticed such things, which make me a very pleasant companion). I'm sure if I'd surf the net for climate descriptions, I could come back with evidence that the Philippines is more humid, but I've already bored everyone enough with the whole ABC island explanation and the climate thingy. So, I'll proceed with a trip report:

We had an adventure! It was a very beautiful island, and the opportunity to go and stay with Dad and Shirley and see Chris and Kenny and the boys all at once was very unique and nice. Sophie loves her cousins, and she and Josh and Joey were often seen running around or playing in the pool together and making large amounts of noise. Aidan admired them and enjoyed the excitement as well.

I will refrain from giving details about Sophie's near-death experience on our first afternoon there, which frightened David and me terribly, but which is something Sophie is anxious to share with others. (Short people are very interesting.) Suffice it to say, I think we may wait to go to another beach and pool resort until all of our children know how to swim and are potty trained. You can guess the rest (or email me directly for more details).

This lovely photo is of Sophie just minutes before her near death experience. Oh how cute we thought it was that Sophie just "fell in." Little did we know what was coming...

More about the climate (because you came for a weather report): There was a lovely breeze all of the time, and the only time it was remotely unpleasant was if you were just coming out of the water in the later afternoon, and you were suddenly a wee bit frosty. When you were resting in a lounge chair, however, it was comfy.

This is a picture of a couple of natives. Well, the human natives are much more attractive and charming, but these iguanas have their own charm as well. They have keen senses of smell, sleep in palm trees, occasionally take a dip in the pool, and like to come out at lunch time if there are people eating. I rather enjoyed them (unless one was under my chair - then I was afraid of being bit on the bum), but I did not have the exciting experience of having one fall on and scratch me. (Shirley had one of those during a different visit).

About the iguanas: I couldn't tell if it was a sign of anger or something, but sometimes they'd lift their bellies from the ground and start nodding their heads repeatedly. Aidan found them very interesting and liked to recount how "the guanas ate the pineapple off the ground." He only just announced to me a few minutes ago that he "love"s to look at pictures of iguanas.

Unlike the iguanas or other creatures with olive skin, we (the Grahams) all got sunburned. Is anyone who has ever seen my family surprised by a fact like that? Ironically, and you might not believe it to see and know me now, I was once a skinny, bronze little blonde. Actually, it was really just for one summer before I started high school. There was a time, however, when I swam or laid by the pool for hours everyday in our South Florida neighborhood after spraying or smearing generous amounts of suntan oil on my 5 foot 6 inch, 105 pound body. (I did not eat much and was also doing many rebellious things at the time.) Frankly, there is little to admire in that era of my life, but I could've used the tan skin while we were there, because after the first day in Aruba, David, the kids, and I were tee-shirt wearers in order to protect ourselves from the agressive rays of the sun.

So, since anything I say about the trip will be boring, I'll just post a few photos to keep things lively. I can only say that while trips like this are very cool and make special memories, for pregnant and pasty people like me, there really is no place like home. Our family got a little sick and has needed some time to recover (and, in one case, get their voice back). Just the same, our Bishop was standing near me last Saturday at a friend's baptism, and he asked, "So, Sister Graham, how are you liking all that white stuff out there?" I answered him in my husky voice, "Well, I do love home, but the snow sure makes iguanas and palm trees sound a lot better."

Sophie and Aidan enjoyed the beach, both near the resort (above) and at "Baby Beach" (below). Actually, Sophie didn't LOVE baby beach, because it was windy and she was unaccustomed to the salty water sloshing in her face. Also, she may be a bit like her Mom, who does not love sand and the difficulties of managing sand. You can call us party poopers, but I think we may just be industrialists or something. Either way, we like swimming pools (when someone we love is not almost dying in one).

A comment about Baby Beach: It really was beautiful (as was all the ocean water), and if you look very closely at the ant-sized humans, you may notice that the water was quite shallow
for at least a hundred feet. David went very far out (farther than I was comfortable with) before the water began to reach up past his belly. (He was holding Aidan, and I just stared in terror and dreaded the possiblity of my two favorite men floating away together. Again, I really can be a bit of a party pooper. The whole family tolerated me admirably, which I appreciated.)

Another attraction we visited was the Butterfly Farm, which turned out to be just delightful. You can't tell from the photo on the left, but this guy is a gorgeous blue-backed butterfly which typically lives in the jungle. (I don't remember names. Sorry.) A nice view of his "true colors" can be seen in the photo on the right (below). I don't know how they got that photo of him, because he (or she) does not stand still and spread wings for very long. Perhaps it was dead? Or drunk? (It is Aruba...)

The last photo (below) is a fun and famous example of a divi-divi tree. Again, I uploaded the ant-sized version, but if you look closely, you'll see that the trunk of the tree twists and turns and is quite funky. After this photo was taken (Dad has the good poses), David and I walked with Sophie and Aidan back to the resort. It was a beautiful beach, and it quickly proved that Baby Beach is uniquely shallow. Unlike at baby beach, adults stepped into the water here and were up to their shoulders within 20 feet of the shore.

Anyway, the trip was a cool adventure, and, as always, it's fun to hang out with some crazy relatives. So, here's a little shout-out of appreciation to Dad and Shirley for making the whole thing even possible. Thank you, fun people, and welcome home!

This is a test...

This blog entry is a test to see how quickly I can give an update of the exciting events of our lives. You see, I check blogs when I'm syncing my Palm with my laptop, and I rarely feel like I have time (after the 2-3 hours I've spent checking or paying bills, setting up transfers, etc) to actually update my blog. So, I just enjoy the blogs of others and then listen to my screaming children and return to other practical matters. My daughter has often yelled the following at me: "Your kids are a lot more important than that stupid computer!" I tell her she's right (but let's not use the word "stupid"), and I can't stand how long it takes me either.

So, here are some updates from the past few weeks:

I organized a fireside for our church ward, which took place on Sunday the 20th and was pretty successful. There was a wide variety of talent (styles, instruments, levels), but each number was tender and spiritual. I sang with the choir, which opened and closed the fireside. Overall, it was a relief to have it done, and it was touching to hear the positive response from attendees.

I must mention that one of the songs was "Impossible Dream" from The Man of La Mancha. (I looked for a photo to include, but all I found from the film had Sophia Loren front and center and looking quite cleavy, and I just didn't think it would fit in with my description of the fireside...) Unorthodox? Yes! It was performed by a family band with full strings, some small clicking percussion instrument that sounded like the clomping of a horse, and (gulp) a cymbal. I avoided looking at the Bishop, who was in attendance, and reassured myself that this was a fireside and, if people can speak-sing and belt Mormon pop and call it spiritual, the Jensens can give their inspirational rendition of a show tune. In truth, it was great, and I just basked in everyone's contribution.

Ah, I see my Palm has finished syncing up. Oh well, I'll share a some more...

Aidan got an ear infection this last weekend. It was so sad! Our little buggy came down with a bad cold (and a BAD cough), and a fever kept recurring over a few days. It still took us a little by surprise when he was in and out of bed for over half the night from Saturday to Sunday and was completely inconsolable. After our various attempts to comfort him and get him some rest, he asserted, "I want to go to the doctor!" It was heart wrenching! David took him to the emergency room, and the doctors confirmed that one ear was pretty red and the other was rather pink. Medicine brought healing and relief, though, and he's doing great now.

We purchased an absolutely lovely vehicle: a 2008 Toyota Sienna. We bought new. I know, I know! I have issues with buying new and watching a vehicle's value depreciate before your very eyes as you drive it off the lot, but it was a great option for us. (You don't need to know financial details). Suffice it to say, after the smells of various chemicals wore off (the stuff on the engine and the "Autoshield" chemicals), David yielded custody of the vehicle to me and the kids, and it's delightful to drive. It's quite, comfy, and we haven't had to fill up a gas tank or pay a new insurance payment yet, so the shock of financial changes hasn't hit us quite yet. (Though, that $15,000 down payment felt pretty surreal). Here's a picture of our beaut!




Another update: An old friend from summer stock and BYU classes, Michelle Gardner (formally Marquis), called a few weeks ago and asked if I'd join her in a performance on the 23rd of this month. We sang a few standards for the Springville Chamber of Commerce at the Springville Art Museum in this great room upstairs that is fabulously live, but not echoey. Michelle's expecting her 4th child next month, and I'm showing quite a bit by now, so audience members enjoyed the convexness of our bodies. One man tenderly approached us and said, "It's so cute how you are both in the family way!" I wanted to hug him for using the phrase "in the family way." What a dear!

Anyway, the performance went well (Michelle sounded fantastic, especially at 8 months pregnant!), and it was a relief after the weekend when my head/chest cold peaked and threatened to make things very difficult. (It was exactly the kind of illness which has rendered me speechless in the past). Each day leading up to the performance, I was constantly trying not to stress about my voice. Here's a snippet from my inner monologue: "Have I sung enough today to keep the voice up, but not too much? I don't know. It's sounding pretty husky there. How on earth am I going to sing these songs?" You see, I didn't choose the songs wisely. They were not the kind of songs that a stay-at-home mom who rarely warms up or sings full out would choose. They were the kind of song that an active professional would select. So, what was I thinking when I picked "Blow Gabriel Blow" from Anything Goes and "The Man That Got Away" from A Star is Born? I guess I was thinking I was hot stuff or something. :) Very silly. Happily, once I started working the songs some weeks ago, I decided it was a great challenge and worth the effort to get my voice reprimed.

As an aside, I must say that I rejected the Audra MacDonald version of "Man That Got Away" and chose to sing it straight Judy (even though I'm no Judy). If you're interested in comparing, here they are:


With the help of a thermos full of hot water mixed with grade-B maple syrup, lemon juice, and cayenne pepper, I made my contribution to the night successfully. So, I can now say I've sung an Ethel and a Judy on the same night in a fabulous room with great acoustics and was paid for it. It doesn't get much better than that! It may not be that exciting for others, but it was thrilling for me (and terrifying, I must say. "The Man That Got Away" at our chosen meter of 81 makes the long notes...well, long). And best of all, it's done!

So, this next week brings the excitement of preparing for Sophie's birthday on the 30th and getting ready to leave for Aruba on the 31st. The birthday for Sophie should hopefully be easy. We'll be picking up a few of Sophie's friends on Wednesday evening and heading off to Chuck E' Cheeses for pizza, cake, and games. Let's just hope that we don't have a repeat of Aidan's birthday experience at Chuck E Cheeses where his stomach flu decided to make itself known while we were there. It was sad. So, fingers crossed for no vomiting attacks from any of the short people (especially in the van. Boy, does a $25,000 vehicle bring out the obsessive compulsive in you)! (It also makes you a little heartless, but look at it! Would you not become heartless?)

So, the hard part of the next 5 or 6 days will be preparing for Aruba. We've never traveled so far with the kids, and we'll be stay in a foreign country, so David and I feel daunted. The good news is most things are sold in dollars, English is spoken by everyone in the area, and, according to my Dad, we can drink the water. David and I are sure that, while it may be peanuts compared to the cost of visiting Europe, the natives are making major bucks overcharging foreigners with their "dollars." (We've decided NOT to find out how much the cost of living actually is for natives. It would just ruin the trip for us.)

As I sign off now, I must acknowledge that in the time I've taken to write this epistle I could've hot-synced my Palm 15 times, checked our bank balances, paid a month's worth of bills, and taken the time most people take to update their blogs. Perhaps I should try the method utilized by my witty friends who tell one or two stories maximum with a lot of flare and throw in some great visual aids.

Speaking of, here's one more peak at my favorite visual aid for today...

Gee, that's pretty!

Have you ever been mooned by someone who is less than a foot long?

I have, and I must say it's a surprisingly pleasant experience.

You see, we had our 20 week ultrasound today (even though I'm 19 weeks and 4 days), and our brilliant ultrasound technician was using her magic wand to determine the condition of our little bundle. After checking the heart rate and measuring the belly (and before doing all of the important medical stuff), she moved her wand around to get a little peak below (or in this case above, as he was "head down"). Well, it's a boy! As a matter of fact, it's so a boy that if for some reason this child came out with different parts, the office would have to return the machine for one doesn't detect imaginary appendages, the technician might be out of a job, or my child may the be greatest prankster of all time - capable of placing a hand or something else so perfectly as to trick us into thinking she had something that wasn't there... Nah! The technician would've caught the bones in the hand. Okay, so it's a boy.

Actually, I have to comment that it's just so funny how we get all excited to take a peak at parts that we are eventually determined to have private. I also think it's funny to compare the girl ultrasound to the boy ultrasound. When it's a girl, the technician has to point out these little lines to you, and you stare for a long time and think to yourself, "Okay, I guess. I mean, I think that makes sense." When you are having a boy, however, all the technician needs to do is give you a bottom view, and you feel a little embarrassed for the poor kid!

On a more important note (but a little less interesting, I know), he is looking healthy and well developed so far. The heart, spine, legs, head circumference, brain cortex, stomach, lips, fluid level, and heart rate all look lovely. So, thus far, we've nothing to worry about (or at least nothing we could doing anything about). And I must say that his profile and cheek bones look as lovely and tall as one would expect from a child of mine and David's. Let's just hope that these cute little monkeys of ours don't hate us for their noses and cheeks by the time they're 18! I fear that adolescence may be as unkind to them as it was to me.

Here's hoping you are all well and feeling grateful for your noses, cheekbones, hearts, spines, brain cortex's, head circumferences, stomachs, lips, and other, uh, unmentionable parts.

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.