Three Coats of Paint Later...

...and all 40 shirts are done. On Saturday we leave for the family reunion and I couldn't be more excited. I just hope the plane rides go smoothly. Hi--o! (The rallying cry of the reunion-ites; I'm sure of it.)

Happy Father's Day

It's a great time of year to be a teacher's wife, which makes a Father's Day tribute very easy. Here in Maryland the high schoolers have final exams the same way I did in college. (I did not, however, have them in high school; did you?) We are now fully entrenched in finals. Why do I love this so much? Take two Fridays ago: Chuck's school was doing finals for third and fourth periods. Well, pretty awesome that Chuck doesn't teach third and fourth periods and therefore could stay home with me and Rhett. Love me some three-day weekends! It's just so nice having him home.

Why do I love having him home so much? Because he's such a big help. He lets me run on my own, watching Rhett when I go (sometimes they even wait outside for me and cheer for me when I cross the finish line). He helps with dinner, or watches Rhett so I can get it. He helps with chores. He adds a soundtrack to our lives with his new guitar. Plus he's fun and I like him.

Then there are the special times like two Saturday mornings ago. While I ran, Chuck got Rhett ready for the day. Then, so I could have some time alone, he took Rhett to his parents' house so I could shower, do some chores, and then go fabric shopping. He didn't mind at all that I met up with him right at nap time (coincidence or no...actually it was but still). Did he complain? Nope.

He really is a great dad to Rhett and we both love him tremendously. Happy Father's Day Chuck! We both love you very much.



(I made both ties so they'd match and then wanted to feel part of their group so I made me a bracelet.)

What We've Been Up To this Week...

Forty freezer paper stencilled-shirts for the upcoming family reunion. Let's just say it's a process.

It's Here!

One week after finishing the photo book, I have it in my hands. I was afraid that might not happen, given one small hiccup. (Something about me entering my street name as the city--d'oh!). But thank goodness: USPS and UPS both came through in spite of my boneheaded mistake.

Here it is. I absolutely love it. It's solid, well put-together, and the images are sharp. Rhett didn't want us to put it away the first time we looked at it. It's perfect and absolutely worth it. It is exactly what I hoped it would be!

Made by e

This is a short version in the "Made by e" series. Other projects are still in the works or won't be unveiled until Father's Day. So hopefully you're content with these.

Last week my sister saw some cute little treasure bags and said that her six-year-old would LOVE one. She also said that if she could sew like I can, that she'd make one that night. I knew it was serious when she used all caps. Well, thought I, I know someone who can sew like I do: me! Plus, I needed a new project. So I whipped one up that night. But like my dear paternal grandma, I can't mail one child a present and neglect the others. Or worse, mail two children a present (I had a gift for Emmy) and neglect the one. Emily indicated that Jonas would probably like a little treasure bag too, so get one he will. Hopefully they arrive soon.


For Father's Day, I made matching ties for Rhett and Chuck. Knowing they'd be matchy-matchy left me feeling left out. When I mentioned this to a friend of mine (who also made her four boys matching ties for Father's Day), she told me about a fabric bracelet she was making for herself. Her description: a flat scrunchie. Awesome. I knew I had to have one. Saturday night I made one that matches the boys' ties. But because I can't wear it until next week, I made another one before church to match what I was wearing that day. Here it is!

Flashback Friday

Exactly ten years ago today, my dear friend Rachael and I were wandering around Europe with two huge backpacks on our backs. It was the trip of a lifetime and I am forever grateful that I got to spend it with her.

On this exact date ten years ago (June 11, 2000) we weren't having the greatest day, however. We tried to go to Fussen to see King Ludwig's castle, but when we got there, we found there were no hostel beds available that night. We knew we couldn't stay as we'd already tried the sleep-in-a-train-station thing and let's just say that it wasn't our best night. So unfortunately we only saw the castle from the train as we returned to Munich. Awesome.

But that night turned out to be one of the most memorable of the entire trip. When we arrived back in Munich at 9 p.m. we lucked into a hostel (and I mean LUCKED). We checked in, threw our packs on our beds, and returned to the train station to call our parents (and cry, probably). The day had been a bit, let's say, stressful.

When we got back to the hostel, the only thing we wanted to do was relax in quietude. But if you've ever stayed in a hostel, you know that's not always the easiest thing. In our room of eight beds, there was us two girls, three Canadians, three Irish people, and who knows on the others. Now I will quote from my journal:

"Rach had her Jerusalem stuff out and they asked about it and then it came out that we were Mormons. So they started asking us about stuff we couldn't do then they pretty much left to go clubbing! We thought that would be the last we saw of them because our train [the next day] left at 8:14a but at 4:00a they came in--loud and turning on lights. And as mad as I was, it was pretty funny because one Irishman kept bugging this other guy from England named Abraham [heretofore known as A]. It started out with the Irishman telling A that if [the Irishman] came to London [the Irishman] should get A's address to visit him and A was like 'Why? You don't know me' and the Irishman said, 'Sure I know you.' His logic of knowing him was that he knew A liked army pants and sex. So A says that doesn't mean he knows him. So the Irishman says that A is getting grumpy and he must not be religious because God wants us to be happy. Then A keeps telling him to be quiet then the Irishman finally says that if A ever shows up in Dublin, he'd murder him!"

Because Rachael and I were sleeping in a bunk bed, I couldn't see her face as this was happening. But as we got further into the conversation and our bed was quaking from our stifled laughter, I knew we felt the same way. It was a memory I'll have forever; and if not, it's recorded in my journal. Thanks Rachael! Here's to hoping that after all these years, I know her better than simply knowing her opinion on army pants (no) and sex (yes).

I'll leave you with one of two photos that contain both of us. This picture is a totally different story, but I'll leave that for May 27, 2020.

What to Do?

Seven years ago I bought these pants. I love these pants. They're comfortable and not hideous: a perfect match.

But now they have this lovely stain on them, a stain that refuses to be removed. Given the location of the stain (ahem, butt) and the color of the stain (ahem, brown), I feel I can't wear these pants in public. (Disclaimer: I believe the stain to be chocolate in origin. It's just not in the right location to be anything bodily.)

What to do? Do I cut them at the knee and use them as my around-the-house summer shorts? (Options for endowed Mormons are slim, and summers here are wicked.) Do I put a patch over the stain? Do I bleach the pants white? Or dye them another color? Help!

As a last resort I could freezer-paper stencil the words "HOT MAMA" across the buttocks in brown, hoping to cover the stain. I guess I'm hoping it doesn't come to this.

InstaPoll

If you could travel anywhere in the world right now (with unlimited budget and without kids, if that makes it easier), where would you go?

Manna from Heaven

I know not many of you will care about this, but it's changing my life. Seriously.

I like scrapbooks. I like to look at old pictures of others and myself (well, some of them). My memory isn't the sharpest, so having pictures helps me remember events and people I would have never remembered otherwise.

However, I don't like scrapbooking. Through August 2007, I went through the motions to create books to take up space on shelves. But since August (close to Rhett's conception--any relation? I think so), I haven't done anything. Sure, I've taken tons of pictures and even organized those I'd like to have in a scrapbook. But I couldn't get myself to print them and put them in pages.

Then came along digital scrapbooking. We bought Photoshop Elements and I was determined to catch up on the scrapbooks. But our seven-year-old computer was destined to keep me from doing just that. Seems that running Elements on a weak computer isn't the greatest idea if you actually want to use Elements. It was incredibly frustrating; so I stopped.

Then came Blurb. My sister uses it and loves it and creates beautiful books from it. I tried it, but found that it didn't work well with the silly blog I keep. I post weird things from "why-oh-why did I change my last name?" to silly polls. Only every once in a while do I include pictures that I'd like to keep. It was too cumbersome to sort through everything to find the gems. Besides, I don't post all the pictures I'd want in a book. So that went out too.

Then there was Lulu. For Christmas 2008 I made two books for two of my nephews. I used a site called Lulu but fought with Elements to do so. When I recently saw that Lulu (a self-publishing website) has a Word template that you can use to create you own books, I thought "This is it!" I am really good with Word and knew I could make this work. It would mesh my style of layout with journaling and would be perfect. I just didn't know it would be so ugly. I started but didn't get beyond the first month because I just had this plain white page looking back at me and I didn't like it.

[Cue the pillar of light to surround me, please.] Then I found Shutterfly. I'm sure I'm the last person to find this (making this post useless, but just in case...), but it is makes me so unbelievably happy. They create these photo books and have an option for you to customize. What does that mean? it means that I am going to create awesome photo albums that look great, aren't bulky, and are created on a computer! I love everything about that. All I had to do was upload the pictures I want, drag them into their correct pages, pick different layouts and backgrounds, edit with text, and publish! Seriously that easy. If you do an 8x11 book, with a hard cover, and 60 pages, it works out to be almost exactly $1/page. If you do more pages, the price per page decreases; of course, if you do fewer pages, it's more expensive per page. And if you get it done by June 10th, you can get free shipping and 20% off (the prices I quote reflect this discount)! Can you tell I'm excited?! And really, considering the cost of paper, supplies, and printing the pictures, I don't think my $70 book will be considerably more expensive than doing it with paper.

I'll definitely be done by June 10th (yes, it's that easy). I'll show you the finished product when I get it. Oooh, mail gets exciting again!

Memorial Day Weekend in Pictures

I already mentioned that we spent Saturday morning running in Northern Virginia. Here are the pictures to prove it. Don't I love my bright red running face? Oh yes.

Here we are at Gravelly Point. That plane is much larger, closer, and louder than it appears here.

The new tie and suspenders set. I love this plaid. Thinking of making a matching tie for Chuck for Fathers' Day.

Saturday night my friends showed up. Here are the little guys in the "beep" (Rhett's word for the cart, not mine) while picking up some essentials Monday morning.

After grocery shopping, we visited a park with a train, carousel, and playground.



Meanwhile, we got to eat these two yummy dishes: this salad on pitas and this "salad." Guess which one I like more.

Lesson of the weekend: Being a single mum is a LOT easier when you don't have to do it alone.

Single Mum: Take 1 of 1

Because I couldn't do my regular long run with my regular running partner today, Rhett and I took off for Alexandria. I've always wanted to explore Old Town and the Mount Vernon Trail runs right through it; why not combine the two?

All went as planned. We drove to a parking lot, ran three miles in, and then ran three miles out. I'm not a fast runner, but let's just say this run took a LOT longer than it would if I was on my own. We stopped to look at water (Potomac River mostly), dogs in the river, boats in the river, and one small trip to a playground. But hey! What did I care? Where did I have to be? Who was waiting for me? That's right: I'm playing a single mom this weekend.

After the run, we headed to Gravelly Point. If you're a Maryland or Virginia resident and you haven't yet been there, GO! And go now. It's awesome. It's a small park just north of National Airport and you can watch the planes take off or land, depending on the wind. We had a great time...after the shock of the first plane wore off. We ate our picnic next to the Potomac and went home exhausted. What a good way to start the day!

During Rhett's nap, I found out I wasn't to be a single mom for much longer: I was getting a polygamist husband and a sister-wife! Sweet; I've always wanted one of each. My friends Rachael and Andy decided to come to visit me (yep, they've definitely got cojones for making this trip). They're expected any minute and I can't wait.



Tomorrow you can see pics of Rhett's new Sunday outfit. It's my favorite so far.

Single Momhood

In my ward we have a lot of young women who are the daughters of single moms (11 of 23 girls). And every time I am forced to be a single mom for a long period of time, I feel for those moms. Who are we kidding; every time my husband comes home after 4 p.m., I feel for those moms. And not just feel for them, this is an intense feeling of "I could never ever do this. Ever." And yet, here I am, facing an entire weekend of being a single mom. (Too bad I'm not British because doesn't "single mum" sound so much cooler? I think so.)

This is the longest I have ever been thrust into single momhood (not liking "single mumhood" though--think I'll keep my US passport). Chuck has to go out of town to attend stake youth conference: Kirtland, Ohio watch out! We both tried to go, but it just wasn't an option with a toddler. And given his calling is on the stake level, and mine is on the ward level, he "wins." We still joke about who has the harder weekend: me at home, alone, with Rhett, or Chuck with 140 youth for three days? Still undecided.

I thought maybe I'd be strong enough to visit my friend Rachael in North Carolina, but can I drive five hours alone? Leaving D.C. on a holiday weekend? I'm just not woman enough to do it. When it can take three hours to go 40 miles, well, let's just say I like my hair on my head, not on the floor of my car, thank-you-very-much.

So now I'm faced with an entire weekend alone. With a two-year-old. As much as I love that little boy, this is my ultimate mom challenge. I did find some fun things going on and things I've wanted to do with Rhett, so that's promising. Here's to hoping I'll survive.

Is This Me or What?

Can't you see this in my house somewhere? I should totally make one, you know, because I just can't spend the $249 Pottery Barn is asking.

Nothing Going On

So you have to settle for one silly picture of the little dude.

Flashback Fridays

As it's getting to be graduation time around here, I thought I'd take a look back at my three graduations.

First, high school. What a joke. Living in Utah, we just don't plan for rain. Because we get none. But still, with big events, I think there should be some sort of back-up plan. Not so with my graduation, however. Midway through the ceremony it started sprinkling. After about 50 of the first 800 graduates' names were read, it started pouring. Then came the announcement, "Screw it. Go get your diplomas in the gym. Oh, and congratulations." (I may have paraphrased a bit.)

So when college graduation came around, I wanted all the pomp and circumstance I could handle. Therefore I dragged my entire family (sis, bro, parents, and two grandparents) to THREE (count them: university convocation, math graduation, and geography graduation) ceremonies. What a waste of time. I have no idea what anyone said. And I'm pretty sure that the readers of my name didn't get it right. Oh well, it looks like it was a beautiful day.

You'd think by the time I got to graduating with my Master's that I'd be done with graduation ceremonies. Turns out I wasn't. Going to a school downtown made me really really want to go downtown for graduation. I mean come on, how many girls from Utah can say that their graduation ceremony took place on the ellipse? Not many. This time I dragged my parents and my roommates. Again with the rain. (This shouldn't surprise people; it rains more here than in Seattle. I'm not lying. Look it up.) After we took advantage of the D.C. backdrop for some photos, we hightailed it to brunch instead, skipping all ceremonies. Finally! I learned something! And it only took me twenty years of school.

Thoughts on Aging

Reasons why I am feeling old:

1. The Radio. I don't listen to music on the radio anymore. In the mornings, it's a morning talk show and in the evenings, it's NPR. Sure I run with my iPod, but even then it's mostly podcasts filling my ear. I HATED when my Dad listened to call-in talk shows, but now here I am, enjoying the same thing I used to hate. I do listen to music when I'm making dinner, cleaning during nap times, or in the need for a Broadway sing-a-long. It's just the same music I listened to in the 90s.

2. The iPod. When the Laurels were recently at my house they informed me that I had an ancient iPod, and they laughed hysterically at it. My retort was, "Hey. I know it came from 2003, but what do I care? It still fits my music and it works fine. Why would I upgrade just because Apple wants me to? Not gonna do it." I think the Laurels should be happy that I even have an iPod and that I know how to use it. It's more than I can say about my cell phone.

3. The Hyper. I can't remember the last time I was "hyper." I was taking one of my Young Women home from mutual the other night and she was telling me about a day when she was totally hyper. I was cracking up inside, remembering my own 14-year-old self who was frequently hyper. But this 32 year old? Not so much. Do you remember the last time you were hyper? When do you think we stop being hyper? Personally, I'm not at all sad to see that go. The thought of being hyper now is soooo draining.

4. The Grey Hair. I'm getting it. Awesome, right?

More Sunday Clothes

My awesome cousin Nicole sent me a link to these adorable suspenders. (When you don't have a girl for whom you can make cute dresses and headbands, you settle for ties and suspenders.) I am super pleased with how they turned out and they weren't too terrible to make. But let me issue a warning if you want to try them: be prepared for the long haul on the turning inside-out of the suspenders. I enlisted Chuck to help and we watched an entire movie while we each did one. It was kind of like childbirth, though, in that after I produced such a lovely product, it was worth all the work. And I might even do it again...in a couple of years.

The Foodees: A Retropackle

Three years ago, my sister and I created the recipe blog, The Foodees. I'm pretty sure it was Emily's idea, but I was on board immediately. The name was a take on the word foodie (obviously) but with two e's since we're named Emily and Erin. From the beginnings, we wanted it to be a place for us and friends to share our favorite recipes. Three years later it still is.

I find it to be an amazing resource for excellent recipes and have tried nearly half of them (145 of 303). If I try only seven more, I can say that I have tried more than I haven't. Oooh, that might be a new goal. What are some of my favorites? Well, I am currently loving Megan's Broccoli with Bow Ties as well as this Tomato and Chicken Pasta. We make and freeze these Meatballs so that they're always on hand for spaghetti. Becky's Amish Oatmeal Pie was yummy, as was Deanna's Apple Crumb Pie. Daniel's Alfredo Sauce has become a staple in our house. I love this bread of emily's. And Becky's Monkey Bread might be the best thing ever created, but because of how deliciously bad for you it is, we limit it to only at conference time. Finally, these tortillas were so satisfying to make and yummy to eat.

Of course some recipes haven't made our list of things we would try again, but there are so few of those. That's the beauty of the Foodees--it's all good!

Some Foodees statistics: I have posted the most recipes (89), Becky is second with a not-too-shabby 45, and emily comes in third with 37. Entrees make up most of the posts (83 of them). Desserts come in second with 59 posts, and Breads are third with 34 posts.

New posts have certainly dropped off. While this saddens me, of course, I'm not too worked up about it. Definitely not worked up enough to do anything about it. I'll continue to post and hope others do too when it's convenient for them. It's taken me three years to try half of the recipes; maybe in another three years I'll worry about the lack of new posts. And just to confirm my stat-nerdiness, here's a graph showing the frequency of new posts. Notice the upswing in late 2008? That was the contest--pretty awesome, eh?

Anyway, to those of you who are member of our Foodees community, keep up the good work. Post when you find something good and when you have the time. To those of you who aren't, well, take a look. I'm sure you'll find something good for dinner.

P.S. Anyone other than Chuck know the movie reference found in this post's title?

An Interview with Rhett

I know it's long. I promise I won't feel bad if you don't watch the whole thing, unless your name is Dixie, Jim, or Emily. You guys have to watch all of it. There will be a quiz later.

A Mother's Day to Remember

Yep, it was a keeper. We had to get out of the house early to finish the YW fundraiser (selling YW-made corsages to the male persuasion in our ward) but it went off without a hitch. When we got home from church, I let Chuck take Rhett to his parents' house while I lazed around ours. Finally ready to be around others, I joined my boys at the in-laws' home for a man-made dinner later that afternoon. No really, the four men who share my last name in this area (father-in-law, brother-in-law, uncle-in-law, and my own sweet husband) made dinner for the lovely women. It was thoughtful (no red meat and potatoes for most of us) and had all four food groups. Chuck even made this lovely cake his sister posted on the Foodees. During my own quiet time, I got to read the paper, unload the dishwasher, walk the dog, and start a new sewing project (it's a skirt for me--yikes!). After dinner, I got to enjoy my sweet man and some Saturday Night Live. It was a good day to be a mom.

Help Please

Let's suppose you're the Young Women's president in your ward. Let's then suppose that you want to create a little booklet for the graduating seniors in your ward. What would you put in it?

Or, remember back to when you graduated from high school and went to college. What did you wish you knew? What information did you wish you had access to?

You probably correctly surmised that I'd like to put together some things for my graduating seniors (all three of them!). Some things my board already brainstormed are: easy recipes, laundry tips, ideas of free activities, notes from fellow young women in the ward. What can you suggest we add? Many thanks!

The Sports I Love and Why

I don't like watching sports. I like playing them even less. Alas, I married a man who loves watching sports. All sports. Yes, he'll even watch golf and poker (no comments on the sport status of poker. It's on ESPN so I'm counting it one for now). However, I must confess, that I, too, have some that I'll watch or follow.

(1) Football. That's easy. It's only once a week. TiVo makes it go fast. Downside is that Chuck's team (the Redskins, for obvious reason) is really bad. But I know most of the rules, so that makes it tolerable for me.

(2) NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament. I don't like watching these games, especially the last two minutes when all they do is foul each other on purpose. But I do love picking teams and filling out a bracket! Look at all of those things I can either circle or cross-out! List lovers of the world, UNITE! Oh yeah, uh, Go Utes.

(3) Hockey. I can't stand watching it. It's too fast and they just look sloppy. (I know, I know, they're not. They're incredible athletes and highly skilled. But why does it have to look like they're not?) However, our local team, the Capitals, has the best player in the NHL, Alex Ovechkin. This Russian boy is just adorable. He plays as if he actually enjoys playing. You know, as in, he'd play if he made no dollars per year, nevermind his millions. I like that. Plus he wears outfits like this: aviator sunglasses, black bomber jacket, white pants, furry boots. Furry boots?! Love it.


(4) Golf. And why? One name: Phil Mickelson. Now don't go thinking I'm a fair-weather fan. Nope. Growing up I lived about seven houses away from a girl named Amy. Amy was a couple of years old than I and was a cheerleader (!). My friends and I thought she was soooo cool and soooo beautiful; she was both of these things. She and her mom taught dance classes in their house and we took them. I think I even wore her cheer outfit one year for Halloween. Anyway, that girl named Amy? Yeah, her married name is Amy Mickelson. That's right. The neighborhood girl is now the wife of Phil. Because of this, I feel a kinship to him and always, always root for him. This totally minimizes my "Bacon Number." And now, because you know me, your Bacon Number is thereby minimized too. (Ha.)

Poll Response

Oh my. I don't even know what to say. I'm as speechless as I was when Chuck and I talked about vasectomies yesterday. Here is my response to each of you, since you all made me laugh (in a good way).

Amanda: Hipps: not bad, but definitely not good. Head, on the other hand, definitely bad. Can you imagine if your mom had hyphenated?! "Hi. I'm Mrs. Hipps-Head." Oh boy. But yes, good job on your current last name. It's a keeper (as is Al).

Sister Emily: I don't know if Amanda is related to western-Coloradan Sellers. Amanda, can we get a verdict here please? And yes, Emily, I still say you won the lottery of last names.

Deanna: I think you took a lateral move from your maiden name to married name. I definitely feel for the unpronouncability of it, though. Do you feel your maiden name was in the same camp? Both of my names certainly are.

Cousin Emily: I think I would have become a Robinson just to stick it to the man. What man? I don't know. But Robinson would be another lottery-winner in my book. I would love to have been in the meeting where they finally decided to keep Pugh. I would shake them and say, "What are you thinking?!" Not really, but I would have wanted to do so.

Merry: Best. Name. Ever. Oh my. I was telling Chuck your story and Rhett overheard and kept repeating "Merry Balls." Then, because he calls his babysitter (who is named Mary) "Aunt Mama", it then turned into "Aunt Mama Balls." Not our finest parenting moment, but a dang funny one.

Jessica: Although your current name isn't bad, I would have grieved at the loss of Walker. But c'mon, you HAVE to get some "Whatcha talkin' about, Jess?" Right?

Sarah: I am interested in your feelings about your acquired famous-only-to-Mormons last name.

Meg: You, too, had me laughing. Especially since I have a couple-friend whose last name is Barfuss! However, the maiden name of the wife rhymes with a very, very bad word (let's call it, oh, I don't know, let's say the "F-er-word") and I'm pretty sure Barfuss was a step up in her mind!

Linda: "No matter what?" Wow. You're brave.

Angie: You didn't quite answer the question, lady. So do tell, would you ever consider keeping your own name if fiance's was bad?

Me: Seriously, I'm just astonished at how alone in this I am. That's all. Happy Monday. And a picture just for kicks.

Poll: Name Change

I love learning the maiden names of women who married and took their husband's last name. I did, although I wish I had at least thought before I acted, because I didn't. (Although I can't say that the result would be different.) I feel that the move from my maiden name to my married name was pretty lateral. My sister? That girl totally scored! Her married name kicks our maiden name's butt. Then there's my friend who went from Leinweber (pronounced line-webber) to Gordon. Can you believe the luck?? Another score! However, my dear cousin Natalie went down. (And yes, I've already posted about last names. I promise this is a slightly different take--and it's interactive! You can take a poll--fun, right?!)

Anyway, I'm frequently window shopping for a new last name for my family of three. Last names like "Sugarbaker" or "Lickliter" still top the list. So many possibilities!

But let's pretend for a second that before Chuck and I got married that his last name was "Figgit" or "Knipl" (yikes--a real last name! See here.) or something equally bad and mine was "Stewart" or "Watkins" (a duo of fine, solid last names). If this were the case, Chuck has indicated that while he would be 100% supportive of me keeping my last name (much more so than he was in reality), he wouldn't take mine. This baffles me! A chance to kick "Knipl" to the curb? I'd take it in a second if I were him.

Now the interactivity: Ladies, if you had a great last name and your fiance had a very unfortunate one, would you keep yours and encourage your husband to take yours as well? Or keep yours and he keep his? Or would you switch to his unfortunate one?

And gentlemen (all one of you, Todd), same thing. Would you take the better name or keep your own?

Let's take it a bit further: let's pretend both parties of an engaged couple have horrible names. Should they just pick a new one? I'm not sure I could do this, but I think I'd really like to!

Where Can I Rent a Boy's Boy?

Oh how I want this boy to be a "boy's boy." You know, a ball-playing, rough-housing, sports-watching, animal-touching boy. This doesn't mean that I don't want him to be kitchen-playing nor doll-playing. Rather, it expresses my concern that I won't be able to give him these first qualities because they're simply not in me. Thank goodness I have a husband, right? Mostly right. Chuck is good for the ball-playing, rough-housing, and sports-watching (you know, when Rhett starts watching TV and has a bedtime late enough to allow it), but neither one of us can provide him a good animal-touching experience. Poor kid.

The other night right before bed, we were enjoying a lovely evening on the porch when I spied a caterpillar. I so wanted little Rhett to touch it and examine it and play with it, but when I jumped when he got close, I knew there was no chance. He did enjoy watching the little bug, however, so maybe there's hope? And in full disclosure, Chuck did better than I did. He at least got him on a leaf and then on his hand. That is much, much, farther than I got. It's hard to do those things when you're standing ten feet from the critter.

Made by e: Latest Projects

I tried to copy this, but it didn't turn out nearly as cute as the original. Oh well. Ha. Like babies care.

A set of freezer-paper stencilled onesies.

An "I Spy" book that ended up costing $90.
(inside the book)

Two gifts of appliqued onesies.

Halloween candy corn banners to be sold starting late summer. Interested now? Let me know.



Update: Blogger was totally lame today and I accidentally deleted two comments. Note to cousin Emily--I got these designs via Microsoft's clip art page. Just do a search for animals (or whatever). Although I try to support Microsoft as little as possible, this is the best resource I've found for my artistically-impaired self. Let me know if you'd like me to send you the document I created with these images and more!

Another Something That May Be Funny Only to Me

As I was putting Rhett down for a nap on Wednesday, I was overwhelmed by the love I have for that little boy. Especially at nap time doth that cup of love runneth o'er. He's a really great napper, sometimes even running to his room when it's nap time. This day was no different. As I was petting and caressing my sweet little son, he apparently would have no more of it. He said to me, "Go away mom." I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. So I did both. (Not really, but I wanted to.)

Happy weekend everyone.

What Say Ye?

Chuck and I are interested in getting a sandbox for Rhett. We think he'd love it. I'd prefer to stay away from plastic but to buy a new wooden one can be quite expensive. So being the proud people we are, we think we can just make one, never mind that neither of us has much (read: any) experience with power tools. But we like problem solving, and Chuck is my lead designer for all of my crafting projects. What do you think? Can we build this?

I Think Someone Else Likes Spring Too

Crying in My Cheerios

Do you remember the 1980s movie, "Splash? The one where Daryl Hannah is a mermaid rescued by Tom Hanks? I do. Do you remember the scientist who is desperate to prove to the world that Madison is in fact a real mermaid? He has this line in the movie: "What a week I'm having." I think he and I are having the same week, just played out a bit differently.

Among other tragedies, the only one I want to mention is the incredible bad luck I incurred during a run on Monday. I wasn't able to run until the evening, but it was a beautiful evening and a beautiful run. However, I must have done something very wicked to my leg because I have the most incredible pain I've ever experienced (remember, I had an epidural with Rhett so I never experienced that kind of pain). So now, besides the obvious not able to run, I am also not able to easily play with my son, or even walk the dog. I am so frustrated I can't even type this without crying a little.

To make myself feel just a touch better, I bought these. That's right. I bought both. And when they arrive, I'm making these immediately.

Why Math is Important

At McDonald's the other night, I see the following items: 4-piece, 6-piece, and 12-piece McNugget. The 4 piece was $1. The 6-piece was $2.49. The 12-piece was $3.79. I can't even begin to enumerate how many things are wrong with this if you want six or more McNuggets.

Tell me that even if you hated math, you still see the problem with their pricing? Please?

See, knowing math can totally help you save money and eat like crap AT THE SAME TIME. I love math.

Books-A-Billion

Every day at our house we experience a book explosion. It doesn't matter that as soon as Rhett goes to bed, all of the books are returned to a bookshelf in the family room. Twenty-three hours and forty-five minutes later, the books are scattered all over the room again.

As a side note: I'm sure that I could ameliorate this problem. I admit to being addicted to buying books at the thrift store. But honestly, I can't pass up the beauties I find there. (Remember these? The one on the bottom, "Otto Goes to Bed," is now one of Rhett's favorites.)

But still. It's really getting out of control. So what do you guys do? I was thinking about rotating his books. Something like sorting them into four sections and putting out only one-fourth a week and then rotating. Would this work? Where would I put the three-fourths that aren't being used? (Can't keep them on his bookshelf as they'd all end up back in the living room.) Any other ideas?

And if you have any ideas for organizing/displaying stuffed animals, I'd love to hear those too.

Flashback Friday

The greatest thing about this picture? It wasn't taken anywhere near Christmas. We thought it would be funny to put on our dad's robes and make like the Three Wise Men. We just happened to have the star balloon.