Too Much TIme Living

Not enough blogging. . .
We have had a great time this summer trying to figure out life with two kiddos.  Number one is a great big sister and number two is a great snuggler.
I have complete faith that at some point I will be able to have time to post more on this blog.  Today is not that day.  Tomorrow doesn't look good either.  Nor does next week.  But someday. . .

6 Week Stats

This is one of those posts that will be boring to everyone.  Everyone except myself.  I just want to jot these down before I forget.

Magnolia, sweet girl, you just love to be held.  You get very offended if I put you down. . .even if you were just fast asleep.  You are lucky that I love to hold you, and that you are so cute.  I am lucky that your Aunt Ruth let me use her wrap or my arms would fall off. You are not a normal newborn, if there is such a thing.   The phrase "sleep like a baby" does not apply to you.  You are a super light sleeper.  You are strong.  Most babies are sort of limp and squishy like cooked spaghetti.  Not you.  Even when you eat your legs stick out straight as boards.  Silly Noli.
We love you so much.  Lily loves you and always wants to see your "facey".  It is all I can do to protect you for all of her love.  Today you had your first bath with your big sister.  She loved it and you survived so I count it as a success.  Lily's first comment when I put you in the bath was 'Let's see if she sinks!'.  I assured her that you do.  After she shared (threw) a toy with you it was time for you to get out.  Lily was sad.   Just the other day your big sister said 'I have been waiting and waiting for a baby just like this and now, I have her!'  It was very sweet.
You are a good baby, but still fairly fussy when you are awake (unless you are in the wrap, on mommy with the paci).  I think you will feel better when you figure out how to use your body.  You seem very frustrated by the limitations of your new body.  I think you just want to sit up and be a big girl!

I love you and am so happy to have you in our family.  Little Noli, you are loved.

More Magnolia

My Girls Really Clean Up. . .

My mom had Lily while I was in the hospital having Magnolia.  Since we didn't know she was a girl until she was born, we were anxious to call everyone and let them know we had another beautiful girl.  When we called my mom, she was at Costco with Lily.   Not five minutes after we called and told her the news, and that we were naming the babe, Magnolia, my mother was stopped by a sampler that had some new laundry detergent.   The sampler had her smell the detergent and when my mom asked what the nice, unique scent was, can you guess what she answered?

My mom bought me some and brought it to the hospital for me.  How could she resist?

Noli Poli

We sure are taken by our little lady.   Check out her wrist rolls.  Awesome.  If only those things were still cute at my age. . .

Answers

Here are a few answers to some burning (ha ha) questions from the comments of the previous post:

How has Lily adjusted to a sibling?

She is doing really well.  She is obsessed with the umbillical cord.  It ranges from disgust to total fascination.  She loves to kiss Noli's head and stroke her hair.
I really think that week 3 will be the test.  The novelty will have worn off, the attention will still be mostly shifted toward Noli, Chris will have been back to work and Lily will, I expect, start to feel the real brunt of the change.  As for now she has been showered with attention from Grandma, friends, relatives, etc.  so it probably doesn't seem to bad for her. . .yet.  She was a little disappointed when she came home from her BFF's house today to find that I had not cleaned her play room.  What?!  Hmmm, little miss needs a lesson in responsibility I think. 

What was in the gift basket?

Soaps, lotions, scrubbers, luffahs, bath things.  All in a horrible, super-strong cherry scent.  Who wants some?

For Claudia:

Yes, that is exactly why Claire's doll got that name.  I think I spelled the doll's name "Nolie" if I remember right.  Chris REALLY wanted it to be Noli (no e) and as a nod to my bestie Angi and her daughter Addi, I thought it was a great idea.  I hope Claire doesn't mind sharing the name.  I hope Angi doesn't mind that we blatantly stole her spelling ideas.

Who does Noli look like?

She looks like me.  She actually looks a lot like my sister, Tori, when Tori was a baby.  When Noli was very first born and was all puffy, she looked like a toad.  Really.  I was worried.   Incidentally, Tori's nickname growing up, was Toad.
Lily looked exactly like Chris when she was born.

Baby Story

We went to the hospital Wednesday, June 16th for our scheduled C-section.  It was different this time, having everything planned.  I thought it would be easier.  I thought it would be more calm.
When they strapped me to the table, numb from the chest down and started the surgery, I had a sudden feeling of panic.  Maybe it was the normal nasea that the doctors said would occur, maybe it was the fact that although I could not feel anything, I KNEW they were cutting into me.  I don't know but I had to consciously keep my head and arms from ripping down the blue sheet isolating the sterile field.
Luckily the feeling was fleeting and surgery was fast.  When the doctor called out "It's a GIRL!" it was okay.  It was perfect.
Only four people that I asked to guess the gender of baby number two guessed a girl.  One of those people was myself.  One was my husband.  Even though some claimed to have special gifts and knew it was a boy, this little flower is certainly a girl.

Magnolia Nilsson
June 16, 2010
8 lbs 1 oz (I know, holy cow!)
21.75 inches long (again, HOLY COW!)

Yes, I have giggled at families with 'thematic' names for their children.  Yes, I am really eating my words and openly accept all mockery.  Still, 3 years after first hearing the name, 'Magnolia' and working on Chris to come around to the idea (he black listed my other top girl names of Gwen and Felicity), I am blessed with my own little southern flower.
Noli is a sweet little baby.  She sleeps a lot, eats a lot and has really won our hearts.  It was really hard for me to believe that I would love a baby as much as I loved Lily.  I was actually quite worried I wouldn't.  Turns out, I do.  The heart never can be so full as to not have enough room for a baby.   I was really grateful for the four days in the hospital to have with just me and and little baby Noli.  It was great to bond with her and have some special (and I am sure what will turn out to be rare) one on one time with her.

When Lily was born Maui experienced the biggest earthquake it had had in (I think) over 30 years.  It was a wall shaking, ground moving experience.  It was pretty scary with a newborn.  Not to be outdone and proving that sibling rivalry can start within the hour, Noli saddled up with a ground shaking experience of her own.

About an hour and after Noli was born and after hanging out in labor and delivery for a little snuggling, the nurses said we could move to our room on the second floor.  Still numb and motionless, they let me hold Magnolia on  my chest as two CNA's and Chris moved my bed down the hall and into the elevator.  The doors closed and we started our 2 floor accent.  Suddenly, the power went off and the elevator started shaking, violently, up and down.  We all screamed.  Then, the elevator stopped.  Still with no power and stuck between floors, the CNA's started to become hysterical.  They were both trying to call people on their walky-talky things and then picked up the emergency phone.  Then, more shaking.  The elevator moved up and down, several jerky feet at a time and we all braced ourselved against the walls (or, in my case, the bed) for a quick desent ala every cheesy action movie you have ever seen.  I closed my eyes and tried my best to stabalize Magnolia's neck.  I was actually worried about shaken baby syndrome at that point.  I was too scared to scream the second time.  I just prayed.  Hard.
Everyone was trying to talk to us at the same time, through 2 walky-talky units, the phone and the CNA was texting someone.  We could also hear the maintence men above us telling us the cables were holding and were strong so not to worry.  Too late, buddy.  I asked if they could take the baby through the roof.  They said that it probably wouldn't come to that but they were keeping that as an option for all of us.  "All of us that aren't paralyzed from the chest down" I thought.  After 20 minutes or maybe 4 hours, they were able to get the elevator to return to the lower level to Labor and Delivery.
Relatively calm compared to the frantic nurse's aids, Chris and I were a little emotional as the doors parted.  I refused to get on any elevator and they wheeled me back into the labor room.  After a few hours, and still paralyzed, they told me I had to go up to my room.  I started getting a little teary but after the director of the women's unit came and said she had personally tested a different elevator 4 times and would accompany us sans psycho CNA's, I reluctnatly agreed.  I didn't breathe the whole 37 seconds we were in there.
Later, the director brought me a gift basket and apologized profusely.  My story quickly became legend throughout the hospital and was being referred to as the "Tower of Terror" story.  A couple of days later my nurse was talking about it and I said "that was ME!"  It really was one of the scariest experiences of my life.  If I wasn't before, I certainly am now, a stair girl.

My babies are earth-moving, ground-shaking, rock-and-rolling girls.  Next time I give birth, I will issue a state-wide warning.  I mean, just imagine if it had been a boy!

I should mention also, that I lost my voice the day before Magnolia was born, which made the birthday interesting.  Every nurse asked me at least once if I was a smoker.  The labor and delivery nurse asked me three times.

Harvest

My brother asked me if I was prepared for the baby to be removed.  Always the sensitive fellow, he continued to refer to the day as "harvest day".  Having worked in agricultural research, 'harvest' seemed appropriate.  It is definitely the hardest and most time-consuming (and, duh, most important) part of farming. 
I guess with a scheduled c-section "baby removal" and "harvest", though un-emotional are accurate.  It is very strange knowing the exact day and time that my baby will be born.  It is strange knowing that I will have very, very little to do with it.  I just lay there, strapped to a table, numb from the chest down, and wait.   With Lily, I had no time to think about it.  After 13+ hours of labor, once they decided to do a c-section, it was over in 15 minutes.  I remember the green tile walls and the sound John Mayer in the background overlapping a nurse's conversation about what she had for lunch.  It was very real.  Not at all romantic and dramatic like the dimly lit scenes of the OR on TV. 
This time I have time to think about it.  It will be slower, I think.  Maybe even more strange. 
There are obvious advantages to having a schedule.  It is always nice to know things in advance and have a time to prepare.  Also, being completely unable to birth a child the "normal" way is actually comforting.  I don't feel guilt about the c-section like I did with Lily.  After her birth I kept thinking, 'what did I do wrong?'  and 'why couldn't I just do it?'.  It is nice to have a reason.  It is nice that the reason isn't just that I couldn't hack it.  Still, it is weird.  Weird to think that tomorrow, at 12:00 I will have a baby.  Outside of me.  Born.   Breathing.  Mine. 
What a miracle.  What a life.
Now. . .what to name this kid?

Truth

Truths that do NOT hold up during pregnancy:

Lemons should not be peeled and eaten like oranges.
Pop tarts are disgusting.
Chicken is a food.
6 cucumbers should be enough for one person in one week.
Also, 3 lbs of celery should be enough for one person in one week.
Walking through Costco is not a work-out.
My husband's 36" boardshorts are HUGE.
10:00 am is too early for lunch.
I currently do not have 7 loads of clean laundry waiting to be folded.
Sitting down doesn't hurt.
Standing doesn't hurt.
Sleeping doesn't hurt.
Waking up to pee 7 times in a night is excessive.
Brushing my teeth 17 times in a day because I want to eat my toothpaste is a bit concerning.
Changing bra sizes every other month is not normal.
I have thin hair.
I can remember important things like appointment times, days of the week, and names of family members.

Things I have discovered this pregnancy:

If you crave toothpaste and so you brush your teeth 17 times a day, you still crave toothpaste.  And you worry about your enamel (don't even get me started on the lemons!)

Costco sells a hand dipped ice-cream bar for $1.50!  How did I not EVER notice these before?  They are amazing.

It is kind of funny the first time your mail lady asks if the baby is due yet.  Every day after that for 2 months, it gets a little annoying.

No matter how uncomfortable, big, sick, tired or annoyed you get,  no matter how many times in a week you have to go to the store to buy more celery, no matter how many times the mail lady says you surely must be carrying twins and no matter how many times you have to go to the bathroom in a day, you are still grateful to have a healthy baby growing inside you.   What a blessing it is to live in this time of modern convenience and medical technology.   What a blessing it is to be a mother.

And, what a blessing it is to have a week left to prepare.
One week and counting.
Any advice for the second time around?

And Speaking of Chickens. . .

This Easter season I did something I have been thinking about for a long time.

I dyed eggs.

Without dyes.

Start with this:

Add some vinegar, five 3 year-olds, and let sit for. . .a bit.

Then, you get this:

We used blueberries, tumeric, carrots, spinach, onions, chili peppers, and beets.  My favorite results came from the berries, onions and beets.   Try this site for some instructions to try it on your own.  I really want to try some natural dyes for cake frosting.  Maybe this weekend.  Chris has a birthday coming up. 

The girls loved it (almost as much as I did) and had only slight issues in choosing which eggs to take home.  I am definitely doing this next year, it was way more fun than regular food dye (which is just so. . .predictable!).  Plus, I had little tasting bowls of all the ingredients for the kids to snack on while we dyed each kind.  Well, I skipped the tumeric bowl and hot chili bowl.  I know, so boring.    Next time I want to try orange peel, grass, some flowers (maybe dandelions?  The kids could pick them in the yard. . .if we celebrated Easter in May. . .hmmm) and herbal tea. 

**Oh and a tip:  if using carrots or spinach, you really should boil them.  As per the instructions.  I got bored of boiling stuff.  They didn't really work well.  The carrots were really faint and the raw spinach did nothing. 

The Nilsson's Welcome Baby Juliette. . .

And Rosie, Minnie and Tulip.  Sorry about the continuing jokes about the baby!  I just cannot help myself. . .bwah ha hah!  It is just to easy to make jokes when you are in your final weeks.  But the real announcement is:  We finally got our chicks and they are so cute!  Lily loves to check on them everyday and I am starting to think this was a really good transition to prepare her for the baby.  We loved picking out the little babies and Lily loved playing with the Mama's and Aunties on the 'chicken farm'.  For now, we have the chicks inside (hence the weird heat lamp picture) but soon they will be able roam the yard and sleep in the new coop (still to be completed).  We hope by the end of summer to have some nice, fresh eggs in a rainbow of colors.

40 Days and 40 (sleepless) Nights

If I do one a day. . .it just might happen. . .

1.  Buy a carseat
2.  Buy Lily a bed.
3.  Set up Lily's bed.
4.  Set up crib for baby.
5.  Wash baby clothes.
6.  Paint bedroom.
7.  Move Lily's clothes to. . .somewhere?
8.  Move dresser to closet and fill with clean baby clothes.
9.  Prepare for preschool yardsale.
10.  Make slideshow for preschool graduation.
11.  Clean . . .EVERYTHING.
12.  Convert tri-folds into all-in-ones (cloth diapers, people)
13.  Organize closets, mostly mine.
14.  Mail Mother's Day gift to my Mother-in-Law (sigh. . .late)
15.  Dig up daffodils.
16.  Get my hair cut.(it has been since last July)
17.  Order my favorite baby soaps and lotions.
18.  Clean out the kitchen lazy susan cabinet.
19.  Clean behind the fridge.
20.  Clean behind the stove.
21.  Put weed barrier down in "The Pit".
22.  Set up the baby swing.
23.  Sterilize bottles and pump.
24.  Clean out fridge.
25.  Clean out freezer.
26.  Buy a stroller that fits the carseat from #1.
27.  Organize storage area and find the rest of the baby gear.
28.  Buy some pacifiers in hopes that this kid will take one.
29.  Buy tile for the cabin (more on this later!)
30.  Buy tables, chairs for the preschool.
31.  Paint the small wall of the preschool.
32.  Plan the first few months of preschool.
33.  Fix the towel ring in the upstairs bathroom.
34.  Sew shower curtain for downstairs bath.
Nag Chris about the following:
35.  Finish the chicken coop.
36.  Dig and bury cement barriers to keep the neighbor's nasty dogs out of the chicken coop.
37.  Secure the slide in the backyard.
38.  Put boulders down in "The Pit".
39.  Move furniture out of the preschool.
And, last, but not least,
40.  Pick a name for this baby.

Small and Simple

Sometimes it is the most small and most simple things that remind me that Heavenly Father is aware of me.  Today, it was that I got a nap.  One that I really needed.  One I thought there was no chance of getting.  On a day that started at 5:15 am with pee-soaked sheets.

What a nice surprise and an important reminder.

All from a nap.

(*smile*)


And apparently Baskin Robbins has 31cent scoops tonight (and you can get up to THREE!).  Yes, today is turning out to be a great day.

Favorites

Lily:  My favorite vegetable is a pickle!


Me:  Oh, and what is your favorite fruit?


Lily:  French fries.


This has been another episode of "Feeling Like a Great Mother" courtesy of the Nilsson's.

My Stars Have Aligned

With two of the coolest people of my life joining forces I have to spread the word!  As you know, my cousin is the mastermind and creative genius behind My Baby Rocks and has been putting out cute clothes for rockers, punkers and their punklings now for a while.  I have another friend, my first BFF, if you will (seriously, since 18 mo old!) who has the best mommy blog ever and is offering a giveaway of one of my favorite My Baby Rocks items.
All you have to do is go to My Baby Rocks and pick out your favorite item on the website and then go to A Baby?  Maybe and leave a comment telling what your fav is.  Then, you could win the most adorable little anchor dress or t-shirt you ever did see.  Lily had this dress and I still squeeze her into it as a shirt with some leggings, which means she wears it with only undies.
As for me?  My fav, of course, is my robot shirt.  Although, a close second would be the chandelier burnout shirt (which Lily, I promise, is wearing RIGHT NOW and I didn't even plan it.)  Lily calls it the 'tangerine' shirt and loves to wear it with her black skirt.

Here are some shots from the last photo shoot that Lily did with my cousin.  I sometimes wish that talent was catching like the plague.  Still hoping to come down with some of Andrea's genius.  So head over to A Baby? Maybe. . .and win something for the special little punk in your life.

Co-Sleeping

Lily:  Do you know why I sleep in your bed, Mama?  Because Jesus wants us to snuggle.

So Offensive

Me:  Lily don't climb on the sink, you are going to break it.


Lily:  I am sorry, Mom.  I know it is very offensive.

It's a BOY!

When I walked into the cozy Pauche Cafe I was looking for soup.  I came out with revelation that will, I am sure, change my life forever.

After three days of 60 degree weather, the snow, today, felt even colder than normal.  After my appointment at the hospital, I decided to warm up my heart with a visit to my youngest sister, who has been working in Salt Lake this week while she has a break from school.   After chatting with her for awhile, ordering half a dozen flower shaped sugar cookies (with cream cheese frosting, oooooh yeeeeahhh!) and then ordering half a dozen more, some customers came in and I headed next door for something that would not give me instant gestational diabetes.

Decorated with mismatched tea pots and saki sets, the little bistro was empty except for the two employees and The Man Blessed With the Gift.  I asked if they still had any soup this late in the afternoon and after receiving answer in the affirmative, I started exploring the small, but cute European-esque cafe.

The Man smiled at me.  I smiled back.
"How far along are you?"  He asked.
"61/2 months" I answered.
"You are having a boy." He asked.  Sort of.  It was more of a statement.
"Oh, I don't know, we want it to be a surprise!" I love people's reaction to this statement.  Usually it goes one of two ways.  Either they say 'oooh I LOVE that!  How exciting!' or they say 'I could NEVER do that, you are a crazy lady'.  My mother is of the latter opinion.  She even offered to call the doctor, find out the gender, and then not tell me.

The Man had a different reaction.  He simply looked at me right in the eyes, smiled and repeated, resolutely:
"You are having a boy."
"Oh, you can tell?"  I couldn't wait to hear his reasoning.  I was carrying high, I ordered a cream-based soup, my breasts are uneven,  I asked for butter for my bread, my skin is splotchy,  I do love a good wive's tale, especially when they are a little insulting.  Just yesterday, a woman in my ward predicted I was having a girl because "girls are all in your butt."  Cool.

"Yes.  I am Catholic, but my LDS friend has told me that I hold the gift of discernment anyway.  I am right 95% of the time."  I have to admit, I was a little disappointed that his tea leaves didn't spell out "M-A-L-E" when I walked in but this was still interesting.
"Oh, well I will tell my husband to start thinking of boy names, he is convinced it is a girl."
"No, no.  Definitely a boy."
My soup was ready.  I went back to the cookie shop to tell Tori my big news.

So, I am having a boy.  I guess I can finally put all of those girl clothes I have been hanging on to in to the 'give-away' pile.  I can't help but feel a little bad for The Man With the Gift, however.  Why he feels that being Catholic makes him fundamentally ineligible for discernment of prenatal gender is a little sad.  And if his Mormon pal holds such authority, then why doesn't The Man just convert?  What a tortured life he must lead.  At least he can find joy in resolutely ruining other people's intended surprises.

I heart robots

After Lily had a photo shoot with my cousin, we visited my parents. My mom and I thought it would be fun to take some pictures with our new robot matching shirts. It was fun! I am constantly amazed at how beautiful my mothers pictures are. I love everything she does. She gets better and better. I really love having a photographer in the family. And I love my robot shirt. And I love my robot Lily.

As always, check out mybabyrocks.net to get your own robot shirt or other cool kids clothes.

Hawaiian Birthday

Mom, on my next birthday can we go to Hawaii again?

Uh, I don't think so. . .maybe.

Can we go to the pool and decorate that room [the party room] with Hawaiian decorations so it looks just like Hawaii and go swimming with my friends and eat cake?

Yes, we can definitely do that.


Thanks for the pics, mom. And thanks for the trip.

Mr. Washington

Last week at preschool we talked about President's Day. We did a lot of fun things like coin rubbings, log cabin (pretzel) building, stories and more to learn about past and current presidents, honesty and how to be a good leader.

My personal favorite was how the George Washington wig turned out. I made all the kids say "I am George Washington and I cannot tell a lie" as they walked out to their parents. Lily doesn't love to wear her powdered wig but she did love the counting activity that we used to make it. The girls all looked so cute! (boys would have looked cute, too, but I only have girls in my class!)

Happy (late) President's Day everyone!

Table Top

We bought this cool tablecloth when we were in Bozeman. It is basically just a rectangle of vintage polyester with some sort of rubbery applique. I have no idea what the applique is made of. Some sort of fabric paint, perhaps? Any ideas?
the edges are unfinished and I love it. When I saw this very similar fabric at the DI I just couldn't resist trying one myself. I decided to go with heat transfer paper for the applique (even though, now I am pretty sure that is not what the original is) and printed off a design onto the paper. Then, I cut out the design and ironed on. Sounds easy, but if you try this home let me offer this advice:
1. choose and EASY design. Cutting each piece and then getting it back together can be. . .hard.
2. when it says to separate the layers before cutting and then to replace them, DO IT.
3. beware. this could become addicting.

I made this for a best friend. What do you think? I like how it turned out even if the transfer paper isn't exactly what I was going for. My tablecloth definately has a more rubbery-plastic feel that is thicker than the transfer. Enlighten me, please!

One More

I wore this sweater in 9th grade! Although it is still in really good shape, it isn't really my style right now. But, have you seen those cute sweater dresses every little girl was wearing this winter?

A few adjusted seams, some chopped and hemmed sleeves and here is Lily's Christmas dress. . .which she hated. . .because I made it and it is cute. We have different styles, she and I.
I bought her the cutest little tights to go with it. They were cream colored and had little hearts that were holes? Obviously I know nothing about knitting or I could use the terminology here. Anyway, I opened the size 2-4 tights on Christmas morn to go to my Grandma's house and when I unrolled them and they came down to the floor ON ME I knew we had a problem. Someone had packaged size 12 tights in the size 2/4. Blast. Well, she hates tights anyway. Would they be too juvenile on me?

Look how happy she is to be wearing this dress. . .

Before and After

I found these knit dresses at Old Navy for $1.50. I bought the biggest sizes they had. So here is my latest recycle:
I do feel a little sad that someone had to sew the dress that I cut up.


I used the tutorial on ruffles and stuff for her jersey skirt and then just added a little rose. I kept the pockets from the original dress as an added bonus (with no added work!)

By the way: would someone please explain to me in exhausting detail (and small words) how to make a link from my blog (in the text) to another. Thanks Alyssa!



My sister's old pants she probably never wore but threw in the DI box.


Wah-lah! A little gift for my cousin who was married in December.

Happy Valentine's Day

Lily: Valentime's Day is about Jesus.

Me: Oh, okay, sure.

Lily: It is. Valentime's Day is about love and Jesus is love.

Me (humbled): You are right. You are absolutely right. Valentine's Day is about Jesus.

Out of the Mouths

My most favorite stories about children are the funny things they say. Lily is hilarity in motion with all of her quote-ables. I always forget to write them down but thought I would take a minute to review some recent winners.

She loves to play pretend but within the last couple of weeks or so, the dialogue has taken a funny structure. Too many audiobooks at night perhaps? (Meg thought ponderously).

Lily: Don't take my kitty! Said Snow White smiling.

Meg: But I love kitties.

Lily: Cinderella said as she snatched the kittens away. No! Not my kittens! Said Snow White as she jumped onto the carriage with a groan.

Meg: (amid laughs) a groan?

Lily: What is a groan?

Please note, that we are not playing with dolls here. Lily is being Snow White, and I am Cinderella. The narrative extras crack me up! (Said Meg with a wink).

Kids are literal beings. Lily has said a few phrases recently that, in context, are not that funny. But, to an idiom-spouting adult, are hilarious.

Today:

Lily: Mom, you need to tell the preschool kids to suck it.

(I will let you guess at the true context here. . .)

Last week:

Lily: Mama, I stuck it to the man!

(magnets can be funny)

And some are funny for no reason other than they are uttered by a three-year-old.

Lily: I am exhausted!

Me:Do you want to lay down or have a quiet time?

Lily: Mama, what does 'exhausted' mean?

Me: It means you are really so, so tired.

Lily: I am certainly NOT exhausted!

Lily: Mama, I made a trombone and he is playing it. That is how he is creative.

The simple fact that she consistently says the word "usually" when she means "actually".

Lily: I have been thinking and thinking of a name for my unicorn all morning. Then, I realized, Cotton Candy is the best name!

And speaking of names. . .the most entertaining part of playing ponies, or discussing the new baby to come, is the issue of naming. Here are some of her best:

Twinkle Wishes

Star Heart Love Wing

Kitty-Paw Jewel

Tria

Plates

Plant

Sparkle Bubbles

Jingle

and, of course, if the baby is a boy: Tyler. Go figure.

January

The calendar counts down the days
until the new year
a depressing reminder
that the only resolve
comes in winter

I miss Maui most in January

Thoughts on the Pioneers

Chris: If the Pioneers could have tasted a Cafe Rio salad, what do you think they would say?

Meg: Yum.