The Birthday Bash

Well, Hyrum made it through one year with me as his mother. Now that is a feat! We had such a fun day yesterday. Aaron and I could not wait to give him his present so we set it all up and presented it to him first thing in the morning. We got him a "busy ball popper". He seemed to get the hang of it.

We spent the entire rest of the day preparing for the party. Hyrum and I made mummy hot dogs, ghost potatoes, witches brew punch, and graveyard cupcakes. I was somewhat stressed out when 5:30 rolled along and I dropped a bowl of vegetables on the tile, which shattered everywhere--just as the guests were scheduled to arrive. But, Aaron saved the day and swooped in and cleaned it all up. He could see that I was starting to stress and he was like "Deborah, don't worry about it, I'll get it..." He knows me so well. Everytime I throw some kind of party I get down to the wire right before showtime and I start to really stress about last minute details. Aaron, on the other hand, is a master and helping me through it and we always have a good party afterall.

Not many people ended up showing, but we had a lot of fun nonetheless. Those who came were: Richard, Suzanne, Abby, Parker, and Ella, Mom and Dad Baker, Mom and Dad Jackman, and Kim Starling (Aaron's cousin).

Hyrum was an angel and had a blast with his cousins and the new toys and books. He is really lucky to have family that care and love him so much. Hyrum even got a package from his Aunties and cousins in Vegas! (We wish Lukie lived next door...)

I looked horrible--I never got a chance to shower or do makeup (this really doesn't come as a shock to those who know me well), so I was in grubbies--but the food looked good! All in all it was a great day!

Ok Kids, Let's Review

Highs

Halloween candy--candy corn, pumpkins, jelly beans, etc
Turning around and seeing Hyrum standing by himself in the middle of the room without holding on to anything
Going to a live jazz concert with Aaron
Leaving Hyrum with a babysitter, and not worrying about him all evening
Sharing a couple of Entenmann's buttermilk old fashioned doughnuts with Aaron
Bleaching the kitchen floor, bathroom sink, tub, and toilet, and disinfecting Hyrum's highchair, all in one afternoon while Hyrum napped
Handmaking Hyrum's birthday party invitations
Eskimo kisses from Hyrum (his newest past time)
Sarah stopping by for a minute
The haircut is starting to grow out
One week of walking the treadmill for 60 minutes at 3.7 mph which, according to the machine, equals about 513+ Kcalories
Talking to Clarke on the phone Sunday night
A surprise visit from Dad
Spending all day Saturday with my two boys
Watching Hyrum delight in "helping" Aaron fix the weather stripping on the doors (picture Hyrum, fascinated, trying to help Aaron hold the drill)
Buying two gallons of whole milk--officially Hyrum's new beverage as a one-year old (no more formula, hoorah!)
Purchasing baloons, streamers, glitter, ribbons, etc in anticipation of Hyrum's big birthday party
Listening to Aaron for fifteen minutes trying to convince Meridith to blog about how a boy "winky-winkied" at her at work
Having a visit from the exterminator
Strolling and dreaming through Williams and Sonoma with Aaron for a "date night"
Enjoying 1/2 pound of hot and gooey macaroni and cheese (from the deli) with the Hy-guy
Making "no-bakes" and sending them to Mer mer
Mom and Dad coming over for dinner
Taking popsicles over to Sean's house for Mer (for a picture, see the official Jackman family blog)
Having Aaron flip through a "Better Homes and Gardens" magazine and saying that he would like to try the "Pesto Walnut Turkey Breast with Onion Thyme Gravy" (He is a man after my own heart...he has come a long way since our early days together...plain chicken, plain brown rice, and broccoli...)

Lows

Experience after experience with Hyrum, realizing that, sometimes, I am not the best Mom in the world
Mouse #7
Eating nearly 1lb of "Cowboy Mix" in about a day and a half (cowboy mix: pumpkins, candy corn, jelly beans, good and plenty, and boston baked beans)
Budgeting (or lack thereof)
Going absolutely loco--stuck at the house without my bike, the car, or the stroller
Getting a babysitter only to get to the Temple a few minutes too late
Watching helplessely as Aaron carries the burden of 19 credits and the attached homework/stress load
Falling asleep with the light on...again
Hyrum's horrible diaper rash
Stepping onto the scale with giddy anticipation only to find that I have...gained one pound (I don't know...maybe it is the cowboy mix...)
Mutual night's "Lip Sync" debaucle
Being consistently late to pick Aaron up from school with no good reason why
Changing seven dirty (not just wet), sticky, messy diapers in one day

Best Wishes to Happiness

So I talk to Happy pretty much every other day. It is one of the highlights of the week.

Yesterday I blogged about her dilemmas in the boy department. Today I thought better of it. Obviously it is a very sensitive subject to her, no matter how funny and/or matter of fact it seems to me.

So, instead, here is a delightful picture of beautiful Happy. She would like to marry the man of her dreams one day (soon). We all need to pray that this will happen for her. If for nothing else so that I can throw her the huge bridal shower that I always dream of hosting. (Yes, deep down it is all about those refreshments...)

Happy (bottom, far left) and "Marc" (above her)

Another week, another review

Highs

Bundling Hyrum up and bicycling with him in the rain
Making chocolate chip cookies (and not eating all the dough) that would rival even Meridith's best batch
Spending a cold and blustery evening eating homemade soup with Mom Baker and Hyrum while Aaron worked on the Buick (see "Lows")
Dad Jackman visiting for a minute during dinner
Watching the BYU vs NM game Saturday night
Talking to Amber on the phone in Virginia
Walking the treadmill for 50+ minutes at a time, daily, and loving it
Making a dish of chicken cordon bleu that I would give me right arm to eat again (I don't know why but it tasted AMAZING this time...probably the fact that it was at the end of a Fast Sunday had something to do with it)
Having the crop of spider infested ivy pulled out from around the house
Actually communicating with Celio, Grandma's "Mexican worker" in broken Spanish (I felt distinct joy in being able to understand and speak back to him in Spanish and it made me want to take out all my old Spanish literature and flash cards to review.)
Watching Mom communicate with Celio in Espanol mucho mejor than me
Long evenings dreaming with Aaron about the future
Having insulation put into the roof and enjoying the immediate benefits
Getting a haircut (just the experience alone)
Spending Friday night with Aaron and Hy-guy at Bajio's. Yummy!
Watching Hyrum voraciously stuff his little face with fistfulls of Spanish rice and black beans at Bajio's
Spending cold nights snuggled up to Aaron and reading Anna Karenina

Lows

The boy haircut
Finding out that the Buick has more than just simple "brake problems"
Overextending the budget because of said Buick
Furthermore, having to use the blue diesel station wagon in the meantime, ironically named "blue thunder" by Dad Baker (though, this could also be on the "highs" list because it is actually pretty fun to drive, albeit stinky)
Having the insulation guys empty the attic of its various contents (including wooden planks, a crate, and a huge old antenna) and leave them on our front lawn (these items in conjunction with the old rocking chair that is still drying outside and "blue thunder" make our house look like white trash central)
Seeing mouse #5 scurry across the kitchen floor
Aaron working on homework until 4:00 a.m.
Narrowly escaping another childhood accident with Hyrum: finding him innocently holding one of the set mouse traps in his hands that, for some blessed reason, didn't go off
Eating 3/4 of a batch of cookie dough
Cooking the other 1/4 and eating them too

Oh yeah? Well your Mom looks like a boy!

Usually Carol does a great job. Like last time. But this time...it was like she was taking out some aggression on my hair. Whack! Whack! Now I look like a boy. Actually, it is more like Julia Roberts hair in "Hook." (Gasp!) But it will grow out, you say? But you don't really go anywhere anyway, you say? That's not the point! Why is it that when I finally save up and go...to an actual "stylist"...it's like I am always trying to achieve the "she looks nice" status and never quite getting there. No matter what I do, I look like a tired Mommy. If it's not the hair, it's the outfit. And vice versa. It's really sad. When I go shopping now, I always seem to gravitate towards the sweatsuit/exercise/sport/lounge-wear. Anyway, I am determined to grow this hair out to sexy status and lose enough weight to fit all my Banana Republic pants. Maybe by next summer...

Bye the way, I don't know why nobody has nominated me for "What Not to Wear," yet. How many years do I have to wear three day old, oversized, paint stained, sweatpants in public before someone takes notice.

Ok, I am being a little dramatic. Besides, Aaron says that he likes the haircut and that it is "cute." So that is really all that matters. I just have to wear pink and a lot of makeup.

A Brief Moment in the Rain

Because today is so drizzily and blustery I thought that another poem would be appropriate. (Sorry, Susannah.)

This is one that I wrote during one of my creative writing classes at UVSC. The assignment was to write a Haiku. This is what I turned out--obviously not a Haiku. However, though I didn't technically do the assignment correctly, this poem did get picked up by one of the literary magazines of UVSC later in the year. (Notice the allusion to a kiss. About 75% of my poetry from this time of my life has some reference to kissing. Hilarious. So me.)

the searing flash
of angry electricity
waltz and curve toward
my house, and mouth, agape
like the conclusion of an
unpredicted kiss

Week In Review

Highs

Walking on the treadmill daily
Enjoying walking on the treadmill
Sticking to a diet for at least a couple of days
Getting several quarts of grape juice from grapes in my backyard
Girls night out during "Priesthood session"
Watching Hyrum eat Thai food with passionate zeal
Eating Thai food myself
Watching Hyrum discover new toys
Spending Friday with Aaron
Spending Saturday with Aaron
Crisp cold yet sunny days with only the screen door closed
Getting carrots and chives from my own backyard
Riding the bike with Hyrum to the grocery store in the cool fall afternoons
Conference
Seeing Meridith
Seeing Meridith spend over $100.00 of her own money on clothing!!!
Spray painting the ugly gold foiled rocking chair white
Trying on clothes at Gap and looking (somewhat) good
The starting of a new month and a new month's budget
Getting paid for used baby items (see "lows")
Eating the salad from Pizza Factory (yummy!)
Talking with Happy in New York

Lows
Eating chocolate cake for breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, and dinner
"Teaching" the beehives to "make" biscuits (ok sister baker, now that I, like, mixed all the dry ingredients with the milk, when do I put the shortening in?? [Sister Baker: "AAAAAAAAAAAAGHHHHHHHHHHHHH")
Hyrum getting electrocuted by touching the exposed wires on the treadmill
Touching the exposed wires myself to "see if they are what hurt Hyrum"
Hyrum knocking a giant can of food off the shelf only to land on his toe
Standing on the scale and seeing the exact same number as last year (in November)
"Talking" with Aaron about Walmart and the "responsibilities of businesses in society" for over two hours
Hyrum falling out of the stroller at Banana Republic
The horribly embarassing experience of trying to sell used baby items to "Kid to Kid"
The BYU football game against SDSU
Having nothing in the fridge except for milk, water, old grapes, swiss cheese, an apple, some rubbery carrots, sour cream and condiments
Feeding Hyrum chocolate cake for breakfast, spice cake for lunch, and white cake with peaches for dinner (what kind of mother am I?)