... When No One Else is Watching

Logic

Not my brightest moment:

Jen - Wow, I feel like every bit of energy has been sucked from my body during this pregnancy!

Rob - Well, you were tired when you were pregnant with Avery as well.

J - But not this tired! I have no energy at all, all I want to do is sleep, and with Avery that's a bit impossible.

R - I don't know what to tell you, can I do anything?

J - No (whiney.) You know what? I think I'm so tired because this baby is a boy! I know it!

R - And why do you think that?

J - It's the penis! Helping grow another appendage is obviously much more work!

R - Ummmm...... I don't think that's the reason.

J- Well, I do, and I'm the mom so I'm sure I'm right. Creating a penis is hard work!

R - No comment.

Wow, I can't believe we wasted thirty seconds of our lives having that conversation. And now I'm sharing it with the internet. You're welcome.

Easter Blessings

I know, I know, I have been completely off the radar for a couple of weeks. Why? Well, there are a bevy of reasons including Avery coming down with her first fever which stayed with her little body for a full three days. Yeah, that was fun. Also, not only did she get sick, she also decided that directly after not feeling well she would continue on with her whininess and begin her terrible two's. Do you know how many time outs she's had in the past two weeks? Too many to count. Do you know how many times I've wanted to sell her to the highest bidder in the past two weeks? Yep, you're right, too many to count.

We did have a bit of a reprieve from her 'terrribles' on the morning of Easter Sunday. We decided to go to church at my mom's parish on Easter because they have a 7:30am mass and we figured since it was early enough we would also be able to get into a restaurant for breakfast before the Easter rush, because we all know that you really shouldn't expect to eat out on Easter Sunday unless you're there early! I was a bit worried about Avery having to go to church that early and I was even more worried when I went to put on her beautiful little Easter dress and she threw a horrible tantrum because I guess she's also entering her tomboy phase and thinks dresses are a bit too feminine for her. Eventually, I won (did you have any doubt?) Due to the craziness of getting her dressed I figured church was going to be one of those times where Rob or I ended up in the crying room or the back of the church during the entire mass because she was making a scene. But do you know what happened? Do you? She sat on her grandmother's lap the entire mass and behaved like an absolute angel! The girl knows how to earn her easter candy! She earned so much easter candy that she didn't eat one bite of her dinner that her mother painstakingly prepared for the family, but who am I to complain? She behaved herself in church! Miracles do happen - Easter Miracles!

Avery's First Easter Egg Hunt!

Easter Sunday

Look what sprung up in our yard on Easter morning!

Hint of Spring

It's been really lovely here for the last few days, so lovely that I was able to take Avery to the park yesterday with her friends. Sure, she fell backwards off the big-girl swing and bonked her head but beyond that it was a lovely day (I'm striving for mother of the year! I won't tell you how many other times she's hurt herself this week, she definitely inherited my clumsiness!) It's so nice to hear all the kids outside playing after school; playing basketball, riding bikes and chasing eachother in a good old-fashioned game of tag. The only thing I'm not enjoying so far is the scent of my backyard, it's amazing how much dog poop can be hidden under all that snow! (Yeah, I said it!) Just another chore for me tomorrow! Happy Spring!

Waste Not, Want Not?

I went to the grocery store yesterday with a very detailed list of items I needed for dinner recipes for the week. I had been disgusted earlier in the day because when I cleaned out my fridge I threw out a ridiculous amount of food that had went off. I'd like to think this isn't because we're thoughtless, it's because the way I have been feeling hasn't allowed me the ability to do much cooking and then the food, which I had the best of intentions on cooking, just goes to waste. With the turnaround I've been feeling in the last couple of weeks I have vowed to cook every night this week (even if it's just pancakes) and I will use everything I bought at the grocery store. I've taken this mission so seriously that I decided to eat eight of the Oreos I bought in one fell swoop. Oreos don't go bad, you say? Good to know. I can honestly say I haven't had an Oreo in a good two years, in fact, I can count on one hand how many times I've bought Oreos in my entire life. When I entered the store yeaterday they had a big rack of these cookies on sale for $1.99, I have no idea if this is a good price but I thought, yeah, those sound pretty good for some reason. The reason? They ARE good, so good that I will now make it my mission to eat them all and never bring another package of them in my house again,,, I can't throw them away, that would be wasteful and I'm not doing that anymore, remember?

Pass the Malt Vinegar

You know the silver outline of a fish people have on the back of their cars - Rob likes to call them Jesus Fish? Well, yesterday I was driving behind a car that had one right above their license plate and I've seen many offshoots of these things, like when people have 'Darwin' in the center of them, or a crucifix, etc. The person in this car obviously decided to go the humor route and had 'n'Chips' in the center of her fish. I can't even think of it without laughing. I thought it was witty and ridiculously humorous, and I don't know if everyone else will find it as humorous as I do but I just love anything that gives me a good moment of laughter in my day.

Raindrops on Roses and Whiskers on Kittens

I may not be Oprah, but when it comes to personal favorites I definitely have a few. Here are a few of my favorite things!

• Perfume - I have been wearing the same perfume for YEARS! Why? Because it is definitely one of the few things that everyone always tells me they love. And I love the fact that I have a 'Signature Scent'! The only perfume I wear is Origins Ginger Essence. It's fresh and light and a bit spicy,,, like me! (Okay, that is completely untrue but it's the me I wish I were!) Men love this fragrance and I know this because I get stopped by men constantly asking me what perfume I wear,,, kinda weird. One such instance happened quite a few years back when I was still traveling constantly for my job, I got on the airport shuttle and the man next to me was in the middle of a business call, about two minutes in he says to the person he's talking to, "one minute, I need to ask the woman next to me a question." He turns to me and asks me what perfume I am wearing because he loves the smell. I tell him and he says it's the next gift he is buying for his girlfriend. (No, I wasn't insulted, I was engaged at the time.) I'm telling you,,, it smells that good!
• Shampoo and Conditioner - I only use Joico K-Pak shampoo and conditioner. I love the stuff and it smells really good! You have to get it at a beauty products store or salon but it's better than anything I've tried. My hair is never dry and the Deep Penetrating Conditioner that you can buy is phenomenal! And it smells like bananas!
• Current Favorite Website - Pandora.com is a great website Rob recently discovered and turned me on to. It's a website that is categorized as internet radio. You do have to register for it but it doesn't cost a penny. Once you've registered you can go in and list an artist or song that you like and it will stream music that is similar to what you've listed. This morning, Rob and I put an artist mix of James Taylor and Norah Jones into our computer that is hooked up to our speakers in our great room and enjoyed our breakfast to an amazing array of music that was a perfect accompaniment to a lazy Sunday morning. It's like having a really great DJ on your computer.
• Salt Lake City Restaurant - I know a lot of people who read this blog don't live in Utah but if you ever visit here you need to go to a little place I've recently found which I love. It's not a restaurant so much as it is a tea shop. Elizabeth's Bakery and Tea Shop is a quaint little place to enjoy really wonderful tea as well as traditional English fare such as sausage rolls, steak and mushroom pie, quiche and of course, my favorite, homemade scones with devonshire cream and strawberry jam. Oh, and they also carry Avery's new favorite treats, Cadbury Swiss Rolls and Battenberg Cakes. As my mom would say, it's just lovely!
• Movie - I'm not a big fan of many of the movies that have come out in recent years, which is why it shouldn't be surprising that my favorite movie was made ten years ago. Sliding Doors is a great movie about what would happen if just one thing in your life turned out a different way; about how a few seconds can change your life. I love the "what if" of it all. It's a great movie!
• Makeup - The only makeup I wear is Clinique. I have sensitive skin and for some reason this is the only makeup that doesn't completely freak my skin out. I've been wearing it since I was a teenager and suspect I will wear it until I'm old and gray.
• Drink - My favorite non-alcoholic drink is the Cranberry Limeade from Sonic. I know this is the second reference in this blog to Sonic in less than a week but I have loved this drink since they offered it last summer. Whenever I want something cold and fresh I get this drink. And I love the Sonic ice, I think I'd even go there for water, just to get the ice.
• Alcoholic Drink - My favorite alcoholic beverage is Columbia Winery's Cellarmasters Reisling. I like a nice glass of wine every now and then and this a light, fruity wine, to me it could almost be classified as a dessert wine. I'm also getting into red wines as well but I think this reisling will always be on the favorites list. Now if I could only have a glass, it's been put on hold until the little one's arrival in September!
• TV Show - This one is an easy one. Grey's Anatomy is still at the top of my list for viewing pleasure. Unfortunately, for my husband, I also really enjoy reality television and if I were to list a favorite where that category is concerned it would be Amazing Race. To me, these two shows are by far the best shows on television, probably the only two shows I would skip dinner with friends for. Even Rob knows that if he's out of town he is not to call me when these shows are on. He knows his place.

That's all I've got for now. Even though I have plenty of favorite things, my pregnant brain is keeping me from being able to process too much at one time.  I'll add more when I think of them.