It's a Boy!!!

I think I am more excited for this baby than I even was for Hyrum. I just think of how much fun I have with Hy-guy and dream about having another little guy running around with us too. It will be so fun.

Though, I have several friends in the past couple of months that have delivered with my same doctor and they all had c-sections. Hmmmm... I hope my doctor is not one of those that goes right to c-section at any potential complication. I cannot have 13+ children via c-section! No, seriously though, I am a teeny bit worried about his track record. Now I am going to have to sit down and actually talk to him about it--which will be awkward--and come to some kind of, dare I say, "birthing plan." I know, I know, I shudder at the thought of being so....so....like the kind of mothers described in the book
What to Expect While Your Expecting.

"No, I don't eat cheese that hasn't been boiled first...it may hurt the baby..."
"I sleep only on my left side because if I lay on my back my baby will die"
"I faithfully count every kick and record it in my 'baby movement journal' to speak with my doctor about"
"I've made plans with my nanny so that she will be in the delivery room with me so she can begin to bond with the baby right away."
"I expect my spouse to get up, diaper, and bring the baby to me before every middle-of-the-night feeding, then take the baby back to bed when the baby is finished eating. I need my rest."
"My husband and I have written my birthing plan and have made copies for each member of the staff at the hospital."
"My doula says...."

Seriously, if you really listened to, and followed, all the advice in that book, you would be so psycho. Come on girls, millions of healthy babies are born every day to mothers that blissfully ate cheese while laying on their backs throughout their entire prenancy. Shocking!

Labor Day

Monday started out as a pretty fun day. Aaron and Hyrum and I cleaned out the garage and then "helped" daddy take apart the car door. By the time Hyrum went down for a nap I was ready for one too. Unfortunately, I got wrapped up in reading Truman by McCullough and...three and a half hours later (yes, Hyrum was still asleep) I finally finished it. Though I love to read and it was fun to take such a long break I got up feeling a little dazed, like I had spent the last several hours watching pointless TV. Then things just started going downhill from there. Aaron was at a standstill on the car project and Hyrum had taken such a long nap that there was no chance in him retiring for good anytime soon so we were left with the dillemma of the summer: What can we do in this town for fun?

We had already been to St. George twice over the weekend so that was out, plus we were almost out of gas and short on cash. I flat refused to go back to Walmart, on the basis that we have nothing to buy, nothing to buy it with, and I have every square inch of the establishment memorized. We don't know the sex of the baby so buying baby clothes is still somewhat a guessing game. And we all were hungry, yet not in the mood to eat fast food. Aaron drove us around the town for a little while, then back home. We were SO BORED. Even thinking of going back into the boring house made me want to cry, yet I didn't want to keep driving around the boring town. It really got bad when we went inside, though. Hyrum started pulling every book off the bookshelf while Aaron and I just sat and watched. Then we got this great idea to make dinner together, which would have been fun if we had some meat in the house. Finally we settled for a box of frozen fish sticks, some quick grits flavored with velveeta, and reheated frozen mixed vegetables. You think I'm kidding. I'm not. It was really THAT BAD! While we waited for our fishies to cook we entertained ourselves by Aaron copycating me and me making a spontaneous mixture of cornstarch and water to play with (the same concoction we used to make as kids on boring Sunday afternoons, and yes I did also think of making a "volcano eruption" with baking soda and vinegar). Later I wanted to bug everyone in the house by performing "trust tests" on them. Yeah, pretty much we all reverted back to nine year old siblings with nothing to do but bother each other. After dinner Aaron and I had twinkies for dessert (to balance out our nutritous and well planned dinner), then we went to the river. It was Aaron's idea to go down to the river and it turned out to be the best idea of the day. We had a lot of fun. Aaron and Hyrum splashed in the mud, hunted rocks, and waded up to Hyrum's knees (obviously it's not that deep). Because I had shoes on I stayed on the bank and Aaron taught me how to skip rocks. We got to watch the sunset together and played until we almost couldn't see the other side anymore.

Moral: We need to find some friends in this town. I need to have better ingredients on hand. We need to go explore together as a family more. I need to bring my camera next time.

I'm thinking pink, but Aaron's not so sure

So Monday was the big day with Dr. O. He is waaaay more thorough than Dr. Glenn ever was. Besides the customary first appointment exams, weight check and urine test, he also took several vials of blood for genetic tests and an HIV test; checked my blood pressure, took my temperature, checked my eyes, ears, and throat, listened to my lungs, etc, etc, etc. Then to top it all off he did an ultrasound and we got to see the tiny little blip that is our baby and hear his/her heartbeat. HOW FUN!!!

I already like Dr. O. a lot. He is going to be a little more rigorous of a doctor so I definately have to exercise and stay on a pretty healthy diet so that I maybe won't be diabetic this time. His staff is really nice and it was a lot of fun to be somewhat of a novelty for once--the waiting room was not crawling with pregnant women like it always is in Utah. I'm also excited to deliver in our little hospital here to see how it differs from UVRMC and the huge floor of women delivering babies.

So far I haven't really craved anything in particular, except for pizza (but I crave that always-pregnant or not). Instead, it seems like everything sounds gross and makes me want to throw up (a problem I wish that would last into the post-partum stage so maybe I could lose a few pounds..).

40 minutes and 29 seconds

I did it. This morning I participated in my first 5K. I was supposed to do it with Rachael but I couldn't get a hold of her. (Susannah told me later that she probably was in Park City.) Then I was going to call Suzanne but Aaron said that he wanted to do it with me. But because of some early morning complications (ask Meridith about it), I ended up having to do it alone.

I was pretty sure that it would take me an hour to do the whole thing. My original goal was supposed to be 40 minutes but I knew that that was unrealistic for me so I just did the best I could--hoping that I would get in under an hour. Imagine my shock when I ran over the finish line and looked up at the clock: 40 minutes 29 seconds. I started to cry. I couldn't believe it--the fact that I actually finished it and in time. What in the world? How did that happen? I actually did it. I can't believe it.

My favorite part was grabbing the water from the people handing it out, drinking it and throwing it on the ground with the rest of the cups. I felt really cool--something that hasn't happened since, let's be honest, junior high or high school.

Thank you to Suzanne and Rachael for the inspiration and the encouragement and to Aaron for his constant support.

Next year I'm going to do it in 35.

Let's be honest here, who am I kidding?

Tomorrow I am going to "run" in a 5K race--something I NEVER expected to attempt, on purpose. I keep telling myself "because I didn't train, then I will just have to walk the majority of it." But somehow, that seems more like a copout and I am sick of giving myself exceptions to my goals. What would happen if I actually tried to run the majority of the race? Would I die? Probably. But, maybe not. We'll see.

I think that the real problem here is in my mind. I have always looked at people that run, and like to exercise in general, with a certain amount of disdain and pity. Like, "you poor thing...you've obviously never tried eating...it feels a LOT better than running...you must not have ever eaten well" or "what a fanatic...I'm glad I'm not in any way athletic." But the thing is, when I was little I was pretty athletic, actually. I used to climb to the top of the metal swingset and do flips and twirls like I was in the olympics. Mom would always say "you have great upper-body strength." So why do I have this huge disconnect in my adult life?

What is really funny is that, physically, I actually enjoy exercising--I enjoy running. Who knew? But mentally, I still have a block. I always think to myself "who do you think you are, pretending that you can do this?" "you are just not the exercise type" "you are big-boned, get used to it!" "you will never make it to the end of this race, that is just not the kind of person you are." "you will be plump all your life, you've always been that way and you will always stay that way" "you cannot love to cook and eat and also love to exercise and run" The other day, I was at the gym running on the treadmill and I saw some people outside running. My immediate thought was, again, disdain and disgust. "Oooooo, who would want to ever run, what wierdos, what fanatics." It took me, literally several minutes to make the connection that I was indeed running too. Hello?

Yet writing this all down, I'm beginning to think that maybe I can do this afterall.

"I like you chocolate covered strawberry apple pie a la mode"

Hyrum has thrown up six times now since yesterday morning. Poor little thing. The problem is, it is my fault. I knew that Emma, Caroline and Lukeee had thrown up and I still took the Dude over to play thinking "oh, he'll be fine...I'll just keep his hands sanitized..." Well, obviously, that didn't happen. He's been pretty good about it. He's slightly less crazy then usual, but still smiley and fun. Last night Aaron and I went to Smiths and rented our first "Rug Doctor"--an adventure in vomit clean-up that will surely not be our last as parents.

Yesterday night Aaron was late coming home from work (I found out later that he was driving around trying to find a florist to surprise me with flowers!!!), so Hyrum and I decided to make homemade sherbet. "Refreshing lime sherbet" to be exact. He stood on a chair next to me while we rolled limes on the counter and then squeezed out the juice. Soooo cute! He's my little bud, such a good little guy. He woke up at 6:20 a.m. this morning so I spent the first few hours of the day bleary-eyed and dozy following him from room to room as he played.

Our pool is open!!! I don't know why but there is something different about having your own pool in your backyard. It is soooooo much fun. We went swimming after dinner the other day and it was about 6:00 p.m. and the sun was just starting to go down. There was not a cloud in the sky and it was beautiful. I could really get used to this. I'm thinking of making my Saturday morning workout doing laps in the pool instead of packing up and heading to the gym (the gym opens later on Saturdays). Seriously, I love my life.

"You're Weird, Deborah" "No, I'm interesting...there is a difference."

I'm pretty sure that most people have obsessions. I'm not talking about psycho, stalker, OCD obsessions, or even addictions. All I mean is something that catches your fancy so completely that it becomes part of your everyday living--for a little while. People without them would be boring. I refuse to be boring. My current obsessions (this month) are as follows:

Otterpops (I have already gone through one entire box this month)
The Rec Center pools
Working out/Diet (Though it really needs to be more of an obsession than it currently is...seeing that I can singlehandedly eat an entire box (100) of otterpops without feeling guilty in the least. Plus I still seem to take the weekends off...hmmmm)
Downy Simple Pleasures fabric softener in Vanilla Lavender (seriously, I would bathe in this stuff)
Peppridge Farms Flavor Blasted Cheddar Fish Crackers (an entire family obsession, really)
Agatha Christie and David McCullough books
Avocados (I eat at least half of one a day, YUMMY!!!!!)
The Apprentice (I even have dreams of being on the show and wowing everybody with my amazing skills.....now isn't that funny, hahahahahahahha)

Snip, Snip, Snip, Ooooops

Last night for FHE we cut Hyrum's hair. Yes, the darling shag is gone. He is now a sweet little boy that looks like he attempted a self haircut in a closet somewhere. Seriously. Poor little thing. It was bad enough that he was getting it cut outside in the windy night air, but then we had me and Aaron with differences of opinion about how to go about it. Hyrum screamed and squirmed the entire time. Hence the 'head caught in the blender' hair-do. His bangs go up decidedly to the left, and there is a generous bald spot gash in the back. The only remedy seems to be a nerdy comb to the side look, but even then, we're not fooling anybody. He just plain got a bad hair cut from Yours Truly and Significant Other. He still is cute to me, though. At least he won't be as hot outside any more and when he wears a hat he won't look like a dirty trucker.

Hot, Hot, Hot!

I haven't seen any polygamists lately. It's like they came out to welcome us and then went back to their compound for the summer. Hyrum is up asleep. He had quite the weekend. Friday night we picked Aaron up from work and went to Vegas to sleepover at Elizabeth and Jayar's house. It was a blast. Auntie Sushi babysat the kids while we went to Bucca di Beppo, a tacky and boisterous family-style Italian house. The food was yuuuuummmmmy and I fell right off the 1500Kcal wagon the minute we walked into the door. Then, after dinner, we saw Mission Impossible 3, which was the first movie in several months that Aaron and I have seen. I liked it. The next day we spent driving around (Vegas to St. George then home) doing errands.

Sunday was fun, though it was another "ooops , no dieting" day. We had the fam over for some southern lovin from the oven--roasted chicken, cheesy grits, sauteed collard greens, carrots, biscuits, brownies, peanut butter ice cream and carmel popcorn. After dinner, as if I hadn't had enough to eat, I proceeded to devour about 6 otter pops. Oh well, there's always tomorrow.

All in all, though it wasn't a perfect dieters weekend, I am still pretty proud of myself. Thursday night I ran the treadmill for 1.12 miles. That is a HUGE step up from the .14 miles I did the other day and was so proud of. Tonight I am hoping to be able to run the entire 1.5 miles that I am supposed to according to my training schedule. I have got to do this! I already paid the money to be in the marathon and so I cannot walk the entire thing. Rachael (who is going to do the 5K with me) said that our goal should be to do it in 40 minutes. Well, let's just say that I have been doing some calculations and I need to get more in shape to be able to pull that off. In a strange, masochistic way I really am enjoying the challenge. It is actually fun. Even though I haven't really lost more than, like, half a pound, I feel better and look better. I just hope that I can lose some weight and feel healthier before I get pregnant again. Who knows...

I am having so much fun in this little life I have here now. Hyrum and I are discovering the joys of popsicles. Hopefully the pool will be open soon so we can have a daily swim party too. Just another reason to lose weight...Swimsuit Season!!! AAAAGGGGGHHHH!

The ACLU would be proud of my little town!!!

Probably the funniest thing about living here is the "diversity." Really, if you are not standing in the supermarket line behind a seventy-year-old woman wearing booty shorts and a fanny pack, then you are behind a polyg wife in her ankle-length flannel number. All I keep thinking is that she must be absolutely melting in that getup. So it's the polygs and the geriatric club. Really I've seen more old men's pasty white upper thighs this week than you can shake a stick at. Despite that, it is sooooo much fun living here. I am enjoying it more than I even expected to. The only, and I mean only, downside is not having friends or family around. But at least now we have a telephone.

Last night, for FHE, we took Hyrum to the Rec Center Pool. He LOVED it. The kid is so dang independent. He tried, the entire time, to get out of my arms and walk by himself. It was so fun to see him discover the joys of water resistance. He is so fun. I look at him all the time and think "who knew that Aaron and I would produce such beautiful children." He is so handsome. Of course every Mom thinks that about her children, I am sure.

Right now Hyrum has pulled out some cleaning spray bottles and a scrub brush and he is "cleaning" next to me--making ssshhhh sssshhh sounds as he pretends to spray and then wiping the walls with the brush. It is pretty cute. He doesn't know that I am watching. His biggest obsession this week is brushing his teeth. Last week we took a special trip to Walmart to buy him his very own toddler toothbrush and toothpaste. Now every morning I catch him in the bathroom with paste in hand dutifully brushing his teeth. He is such a fun little guy.

Because Aaron works for the city, we have free memberships to the Rec Center. YEA!!! I have gone twice now to work on the treadmill. Yesterday I actually ran for a few minutes (exactly .14 miles to be exact...don't laugh...it's better than nothing!) I am trying to train to run (ok walk/jog/run) the 5K at the freedom festival in Utah this July. I am determined to train well and faithfully and also to stick to a 1500Kcal diet. So far, I am doing OK. It is hard when I make such yummy food all the time.... The only problem with the Rec is that in the mornings when I go (6:00 a.m.) it is crawling with senior citizens. This is good because I definitely don't feel like I need to look nice at all, but they hog the machines. We'll see what finally pans out in July. Wish me luck!

Psalms 18:2

To say that this week has been a bad one would be an understatement. We've definately seen brighter days here at the Baker house. Monday night I had a miscarriage. It was a sweet and teeny little baby boy. He was perfect. Ten fingers and ten toes. It has been hard on all of us. I even have noticed that Hyrum has had a pretty rough week. It is almost as if he senses that something is just not right.

Today has been the first really OK day. The sun came out and I got to spend some of the afternoon outside with Hyrum. He is so sweet. It is healing to be with him. All will be all right. We know that this is all part of the plan and happier days are coming.

"Don't give up boy. Don't you quit. You keep walking. You keep trying. There is help and happiness ahead--a lot of it--thirty years of it now, and still counting. You keep your chin up. It will be all right in the end. Trust God and believe in good things to come."

You gotta love maternity pants!

I just got finished having my organ lesson--something I always have great expectations about but....seeing as though I am back in the old viola/piano habit of not practicing, it never turns out very well. Yes, I can play it ok. But, no, I will not be asked to play for the MoTab anytime soon. This just drives me crazy. I figure, there must be some talent in there somewhere because I don't practice and I still do ok. Hmmmmmm, I wonder what would happen if I actually did practice?

This morning Hyrum and I attended "Toddler time" at the library for the first time. This is where you take your toddler to a little curtained off area of the library where they get to hear stories, sing songs, and play rhythm instruments. I had some pretty high expectations because so many of the mom's in the neighborhood "just looooooovvvvve" it. But Hyrum, was not in the least interested in sitting still to listen to someone tell a story. (What were they thinking?) Though he was somewhat amused watching a grown man jump up and down singing "Down By the Bay." In the end we spent most of the time exploring the bottom two feet of the library shelves and crawling in and out of a giant tepee. I thought it was a morning well spent, all-in-all.

Right now Hyrum is asleep and I just finished paying all the March bills. Whew! I cannot believe we made it this month--barely squeaked by is more the term I should use. I have to quit saying things like "When Aaron gets a job we will finally buy..." though. More like "When Aaron gets a job, we'll still have bills to pay, and they will probably be bigger than ever." Seriously though, I don't mind paying bills at all. What is money for except to spend it? And it is a great feeling to have all the bills paid and to feel somewhat like a responsible adult. (Knock on wood.)

I am getting more and more excited and antsy-in-my-pantsy for April/May when we will most likely move and start a "real adult life." (read: not married students) It is so funny, Aaron and I look at each other sometimes and have to laugh--we have a child...and one on the way. WHAT DO WE THINK WE ARE DOING? We are not adults yet! But yet, maybe this is how our parents felt, and feel. Life moves faster than we do sometimes.

I just finished reading "Running with Angels" by Pamela Hansen (a lady that lived in my parents ward). It is a story about how she lost over 100 lbs and then ran in the 26.2 mile Deseret News marathon. I thought about Suzanne and Rachael the whole time and how they are normal people (read: not running Nazis, but actually people with lives) and they run marathons. How crazy. Reading it, I could almost feel myself wanting to try running, or at least starting some kind of exercise/training that is really a challenge. Now, I know that I can't do that right now, but I am trying to gear up for October/November when I can start to diet and exercise more rigidly again. I think that I want to change my lifestyle. Even with two kids and a busy husband, I think if I make it a priority then I can do it. I can't believe I am writing, or even thinking, this but I think that I want to be one of those people that LOVE to exercise and that would choose to eat 6 grain cereal with fresh strawberries and a cup of orange juice over a Sausage McMuffin Meal. Wouldn't that be wild? Can you just see me? But seriously, I am sick of eating honky, gross stuff. (And maybe this is all coming about because I am in the third month of pregnancy where I crave fresh fruits...) Though...I think I might be ready for a breakthrough. We'll see how long it lasts.

By the way, Happy birthday today to Aliesha!!!

It's Official - So much for the Diet

I guess I should have known when I started crying during a rousing game of Monopoly. Baby number two is due September 29th and we couldn't be more excited.



Just to "make sure" I had to take three tests. Yep they all came out double lined, albeit faint...it's just early.

Vegas Highs and Lows

Highs

Driving to Las Vegas with my sweet little family
Having 6+ hours to talk/laugh/dream with Aaron (while driving)
Hyrum being the perfect little traveler, hardly making a peep of complaint
Playing word games in the car with Aaron
Making home videos at Elizabeth's house
Seeing Sushi
Lazy mornings talking to Elizabeth and watching the boys play in the playroom
Cheesecake factory at 10:00 p.m. with Elizabeth and Jayar
Spending the day with Aaron on the strip (with no baby!)
Elizabeth babysitting for us, twice
Perusing the Art Gallery of Impressionist paintings
Hyrum going to sleep for the night at 6:00 p.m. because of the time change
Watching Aaron finally relax after months of constant go (He golfed with Jayar two mornings and even got some reading in.)
Watching Hyrum discover the joys of slides at the park
Making Navaho tacos (yummy)
Going to Costco with Sushi and Liz
Changing Hyrum's messy diaper and finding a bright red previous digested game piece amongst the contents
Buying jeans for me and Aaron that actually fit and don't have holes
Watching Hyrum's delight in his cousins
Just having a change of scene and a break
The peaceful drive home

Lows

Sleeping through Hyrum crying in the night (Ooops!, I only found this out the next morning when I joyfully boasted to Elizabeth that "Hyrum finally slept through the night again after a 2+ week hiatus." To which she tenderly replied "Um, he was crying when we came upstairs...we had to close our door so that he wouldn't wake Luke.")
Staying up late and waking up early
Wanting to, but never waking up early enough to go with Liz to the gym
Spending more than we planned
Hyrum waking up in the morning at 6:00 a.m. because of the time change
Wasting time lazing around
Eating more than we should have
Breaking out (yes, zits)
Not seeing Susannah as much as we would have liked
Hyrum waking up in the middle of the night
Once again, planning to, but not going to Hoover Dam
Leaving early and missing the dinner at "Rosemary's" with Mom and Dad and the gang

Tidbits

I am over at Mom and Dad's house waiting for "the fun to begin" but nobody is here except for Meridith, Hyrum and me. It seems like my scheduled little life has been a little off canter the past two weeks. That always happens when it is holiday time and family is up from Vegas and down from Idaho. I spend my days over here and Hyrum has an absolute blast with all of the big cousins running around. Unfortunately, though, I instantly turn into the neglectful homemaker--dirty dishes, laundry, a kitchen that could stand a good bleaching, and an answering machine full of dial tone messages. And I always feel horrible too because I have spent my day eating crackers and cookies and so has Hyrum. Every year, after the holidays, Aaron stomps out of our kitchen yelling "Munchies, munchies, munchies...I am sooooo sick of munchies." And every year we vow to eat nothing but broccoli, brown rice, and grilled chicken.

Today is Aaron's last day of work and I am already feeling nostalgic about how close his work was and the fact that he had a cell phone and that a paycheck came in every other Thursday morning. Aaron was really happy working for Orem City and it has been fun to see him enjoy his job.

Meridith and I, under extreme peer pressure, pierced our ears yesterday. I don't know how I feel about it today. Generally I don't wear any jewelry and it is way wierd to see earings on me. They look out of place. And my ears are stubby so they look funny. Meridith, on the other hand, looks really cute.

Stir Crazy

Hyrum is driving me LOCO today! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. He is really into wanting to touch everything right now...everything he shouldn't be touching. Like the garbage, for instance. What is so extremely exciting about a kitchen garbage? Nothing, I tell you. But if you are Hyrum, it is the unexplored treasure trove of items to examine and then casually drop on the floor. I feel like I am spending my days running after him and cleaning up. Or, if I am not doing that, he is whining and holding onto my legs...only until I pick him up and he immediately demands "dis" (while pointing to some object that he should not touch, like a pushpin)and distorts his body into some unnatural position in an attempt to get close enough to the object to get it. It is about this time of day that I start to get a little annoyed at the fact that I have not been able to get anything done that I needed to (a hot dinner is now something I can only remember, vaguely). So usually I try to take him on an outing (like to Grandpa's office or something...anything), but today we are waiting for Aaron to call so I can pick him up from school...so, anyway, I am impatiently awaiting this weekend when there will be cousins congregated in one place where Hyrum can play with them and be entertained.

Plus, the other bonus is my anniversary. I have some surprises up my sleeve for Aaron and I am soooooooooooooooooooooooooooo excited to 'get away' for awhile with my husband, and be a wife (read: not a mommy) for a couple of hours.

I am counting down the minutes.

Weekly Recap

Highs

Hyrum taking a few unaided steps
Making cream cheese ice cream (yes, there is a recipe for this, yummy!)
Sharing a twinkie with Hyrum and watching the delight on his face
Finding a new friend in the ward
Getting lots of comments on the food at Evening of Excellence like: "Oh, you guys had it catered?" "Who made the food..." "You should start your own catering business" "Do you do weddings?"
Finishing the Food science book and starting one about George Washington
Having my first official Organ lesson
Hearing Hyrum say "done" all by himself when he is finished eating
Walking the treadmill 60+ minutes and feeling fabulous
Spending Saturday afternoon with Mom, making food (let's be honest, she really made most of it...I chased and consoled Hyrum the majority of the time)
Watching snipets of the BYU game
Re-arranging and deep cleaning my kitchen!
Spending sunny Saturday morning on a drive with Aaron and Hyrum
Enjoying how cute Hyrum looks in stonewashed jeans, a T shirt, and a suit coat (sports jacket)
Bajio's, yummy
Anticipation of Thanksgiving and family visiting
Hearing that Clarke and Aliesha are having a Girl!
Finding out that Amber is pregnant
Watching Hyrum get down from a bed all by himself

Lows

Eating all of the leftover tarts from Evening of Excellence the next day
Eating all of the leftover food, period
Hyrum cutting his finger on my food processor blade (it has since moved locations from a bottom cupboard to a top cupboard)
Trying to but a bandaid on a one-year-old's bloody finger
Buying twinkies...and eating more than I should
Aaron being gone until 5:38 a.m. doing homework
Again, stepping on the scale...no change whatsoever
Wasting Friday night and not being able to spend any good time with Aaron
Being so completely bored on a rainy and cold day
Yet another two weeks without a date with Aaron
Hyrum dropping one of my good glass mixing bowls on the tile--it shattered, of course
Throwing up
Hearing Aaron throw up
A perfume bottle falling off the top shelf and hitting Hyrum just below his eye, giving him a lovely bruise

Who put her in charge of food? Whatever happened to BYU mint brownies and Sparkle?

Well, since I haven't blogged for several weeks, I am at a loss for where to start. Hyrum wetting the kitchen floor with glue mouse traps stuck to his hands and leg? Halloween and the attendant festivities? Winning the "best soup in the world" contest at our Ward Party? Coming home to a dead mouse in the middle of my kitchen floor (again) and little bloody mouse tracks all over my kitchen (and I mean all over)? Hmmmmmmmm. Maybe I'll just stick to Today.

Right now I am putting together the "refreshments" portion of our Young Women 'Evening of Excellence'. This year it is an "Academy Awards" theme so I wanted to make the refreshments more like fancy appetizers. Mom and I have been brainstorming and we came up with the final menu last Tuesday night while watching Martha Stewart's Apprentice. The menu is as follows:

Stuffed Mushrooms
Savory Shish kabobs (skewers of marinated tortellini, olives, zuchinni, and grape tomatoes)
Frosted globe grapes
Lemon cream tarts
Sugar dusted brownie cubes
Sweet bread assortment (pumpkin and banana nut) (not to be confused with a sweetbreads assortment)
Crudite (Fresh veggies)
Chilled sparkling wassail

And all of this for a budget of $30-$40. I love this kind of stuff--trying to come up with a menu of balance between colors, flavors, and textures. It is soooo much fun for me. I can't wait to plate them all and see how it looks. I know, I know, it is a Young Women's function and I am really going to be the only one who even notices this little buffet. Most people will look at it and be like "great, they're serving food." But, who cares. It is fun for me to make it beautiful.

See I am not the crafty type. I don't scrapbook. To be honest, scrapbooking seems like a HUGE waste of time and space to me. And crafts...well let's just say that I am not as talented as I would like to be. Ok, I can't make a stick figure cute. But when it comes to food...now that is a genre I can get into. Happily, it is also a nice diversion from actually eating food. I am just as content (or more so) to plan, cook, plate, and serve beautiful and delicious food to others as to eat it myself.

Speaking of which, I just finished reading Anna Karenina and just started reading What Einstein told his Cook--a funny and captivating book on food science written by a very witty chemist. I think this is my favorite thing about being home--having the time to do things that I love.

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