Happy Birthday!

For those of you looking for a daily "dash of snark" you aren't going to get it today. Today you will be hearing a "spoonful of sugar" from the not that snarky husband.

Today is my wife's birthday and I wanted you all to know that. She of course wouldn't come out and say it, so I will. Currently C is asleep and she is out with her parents enjoying some time together. Typically we would be in Minnesota enjoying cheese curds, cookies and 4-H Arts In at the Minnesota State Fair, but this year we are playing it low key at home. This is more than a little bittersweet for my wife, but I think given that she is a little under the weather and due in like 42 days (holy cow! that's soon) it's for the best.

So Happy Birthday wife of mine. I love you as does C and little one on the way. You take such good care of us and we probably don't tell you that enough!

Happy 831!

Kind of a Big Deal

Today is a pretty sweet day.

Ten years ago, at the ripe old age of 17,  I started my first day of college classes.

Then, at 5:30 I was to head to the stage of the theater for the theater scholarship meeting/theater picnic. Which essentially was the big kick off to the year.

This is before Facebook (at least before it came to my college and back in the day you had to wait for them to build it specifically for your school. Don't worry, they figured it out by May.) so I don't have 700 pictures of the day. But I wore my Arts High Football shirt to the picnic. I know that for a fact.

Anyway, I met a lot of really great people at the theater picnic and scholarship meeting. Some of my best friends. And, Husband was there too.

He remembers meeting me. I have NO recollection of him. Which is funny because I remember a lot.

I remember what I wore. What I ate. People I talked to. The after party. Very very specific memories of the after party.

• Ben, who lived on the 5th floor of my dorm, and I were the only two freshmen to attend. From the picnic we walked back to the dorm, dropped off our Death of a Salesman posters in my room and went to the party together. Side note: He was one of my first really good friends until he sort've dated my roommate for about a week and that was the end of him hanging out with me. He did the Disney college program for sophomore year and never came back. As in, he still works for Disney. Currently on one of the cruise ships. 

Back to the party:

• Jenny told Daniel that Andrew was going to sing a song about her. 
• Kathryn, Emily and Katie gave me the play by play on who everyone was. 
• Jake was snuggling with his fiancee (they broke up not soon after in fact) but I was floored that people I was hanging out with would be getting married. 
• I got in a long conversation about the play reading list for Players at Dawn and then determined that I had no interest in waking up at 7:00 to go read plays I'd already read. 
• The one called Mar was drinking wine out of a tall purple cup. And her teeth were stained. I was sitting on a couch and she was sitting on a table behind this couch. In retrospect, it is probable that Husband was in the crowd of people behind the couch I was sitting on. 

Anyhow, the 10 year anniversary of meeting Husband (even if I don't remember it) should be remembered and acknowledged somehow. So I am doing that. Crazy. 10 years! I feel old! 

7QT of Nothing

The most random quick takes ever.

1. Good Days and Bad Days

My brother loves to say this. And it's true. Well let's be realistic for a minute and say "good days and exasperating days." I can't even say C's twos are terrible but they're certainly frustrating some days. Today might be one of those days. Heaven help us.

2. Summer Colds

C had a 24 hour cold on Tuesday into Wednesday. I had it Wednesday into Thursday. Luckily both of us seem right as rain today. I am glad.

3. Labor Day Weekend

An odd weekend for me. One of my yearly favorites but this year we will not be driving to Minnesota and going to the fair which is the typical plan for the weekend. I am really doing okay with this, the only things I deeply regret missing are the cheese curds because they're never as good as at the fair and then the 4-H Arts in. That's my most favorite thing to watch. But ah well.

To redeem the weekend my parents are coming here! Hey-O!

4. The Elusive French Toast Combo

I know that French Toast has eggs in it already. I know. But why is it so hard to have a combo? Most of the time you can have your plate of French Toast. But what if you want hash browns and a meat with it? That's all I'm saying.

5. Getting Ready

We moved the crib and set up her dresser last night. (Husband moved, I cleaned the crib. So same thing really as we.) I think I'll probably clean the car seat this weekend too and we'll call that the barest of minimums but enough that it satisfies me. You know, just in case this baby opts to come early. Doubtful. So so doubtful.

6. Winnie the Pooh

We are going through a Winnie the Pooh phase. I think it's because he likes it when Pooh says "Christopher." It's always fun when teddy bears say your name. This phase has taught me that old school Pooh is infinitely better than new Pooh. The Tigger Movie is actually really sort've depressing. And it's adorable when the phrase that's picked up and repeated all the time is "Oh Bother."

7. Filtered Water

I love my Britta water bottle with a filter. I put a new filter in last night and it's practically life changing over here.


Happy Friday. Not even interesting enough quick takes to link up with but there ya go.

Let Me Bore You With My Thoughts on Toothpaste

Once upon a time when we went to Florida in April our hotel had Aquafresh Toothpaste. It was even in the room description which was nice because I knew I wouldn't have to pack toothpaste. I'm going to say, it didn't make that much of an impact on me at the time.

But when C and I were kicking it with my parentals last week, they had the Aquafresh and I was really grooving on how clean my mouth felt. Like really clean. And it was lasting a lot longer than my Crest Pro-Health cleanliness feeling.

As fate would have it, we were practically out of toothpaste, which is odd because I buy the toothpaste at Sam's Club so there is usually ample supply. But we were low. And my mom gave me her extra tube because she got a 2 pack. (Maybe they had a coupon? I don't know.)

What I do know, is that Husband is also grooving on the cleanliness of his mouth too. I enjoy saying Aquafresh because it's just a fun word all around. The orange stripe is interesting and something I wasn't expecting because orange toothpaste that still tastes like mint? Plus  it was free ninety nine so that's pretty great too. What I'm saying is I am happy with my toothpaste.

I know the world is all "let's make our own natural toothpaste or just do the oil pulling thing." And that's swell. Really. Enjoy that. I'll be over here with my Aquafresh.

This is totally reading like a sponsored post. Sorry. It really isn't. I just like the toothpaste.

*If the people at Aquafresh see this and feel like throwing something my way I'd take it.*

The Not Exciting Days

Sometimes the days run together. Okay, often times the days run together. Didn't I just do laundry? (Probably.) Has it been enough days since the last time we had Macaroni and Cheese? (Probably Not.) But these are the last few days of this normal.

47 days until the estimated due date. And goodness this baby is going to keep us on our toes. Between several different major players in the equation (Husband, my parents, the doula and someone to watch C while my parents are on the way.) there is no one time that would be particularly convenient for baby girl to show up. Like we get a choice. (Okay I know some people do get a choice for valid reason but none of the valid reasons apply to me at this time.)

Funny enough any and all days work for me. But I am not yet at that point where I just want to be "done." Sure I could live without the heartburn. And I wish that my back didn't hurt so much. But for the most part all of this has been pretty doable. We even got some girl specific clothes so... I mean that's pretty good.

It seems so bizarre that there are so few days left of being just a family of three. In some ways I feel completely unprepared, like we should be doing more. But really, I just feel like savoring the opportunity to do nothing specific. To read the books when C wants to read books. To play train table now while I can devote all time to just playing train table. To go grocery shopping and to Target with only one kid in tow.

To go do anything by myself because soon even that is going to be hard for a while.

So yes, the days seem remarkably similar most of the time. But that's just fine with me. I'll take it.

August Adventure #2

We are in a recovery day from our second August Adventure! And you guys, this was the big one. The highlight of our summer if you will. We went to the Indianapolis Zoo.

Now, I know what you're thinking. "Um, a zoo. So what? In Indiana of all places."

But did you know that in the United States there are only 19 Walrus in captivity? And primarily in coastal places like Washington, California, New York, Texas and Florida? (Those in fact are the locations of the Walrus in the United States.) With the exception of Indianapolis.

And my boy loves walrus.

It is such a unique love he has for the walrus that is really complicated as a parent. The walrus is not what you would call popular. If he liked sharks or penguins or trains (he does, just not as much as walrus) that would be easy to find books, movies and merchandise.

He has a stuffed walrus that is very important for sleeping. In fact, when it is bedtime, a certain toddler yells up the stairs "Walrus, I need you!" It's pretty cute.

So anyway, in my walrus research it was determined that Indianapolis has two walrus, Pakak and Aurora. Pakak of YouTube fame. (He was rescued by the Alaska SeaLife Center and there is many a video available on him. Trust me.) And fun fact: Indianapolis is only 4.5 hours away from us.

So we went on a trip. We planned. We packed. We left on Saturday.

A monsoon tried to stop us from reaching our destination but we prevailed.

We checked into our hotel room which was nicer than anticipated and we headed off to the pool. The time zone change threw me off, I realistically knew that we'd switch time zones but it didn't really occur to me that time was different until we were at the hotel. The pool was very fun. Tick Tock Croc came with us to swim. I just supervised.

Because the monsoon caught up to us we decided not to go out for dinner. This was a good plan, as C had been very good in the car and we thought expecting him to be very good at a restaurant might be stretching it. So by ordering a local establishment's pizza (we love trying local pizzas) he was able to eat and stand and jump around to his heart's content.

Sleep time did not go as well as anticipated but we did all eventually get some sleep.

We woke up bright and early, ate our continental breakfast. I had a waffle coincidentally on what I would find out later was National Waffle Day and we packed up. Google took us through the ghetto. And the longest red life of my life. 4 minutes later, contemplating just going because we could have many many times it finally turned green, we made it out of ghetto and to the zoo!!

I had read that their brand new orangutan exhibit was very popular so we did that right away before the zoo got too crowded. It was a good choice on our part. C told each and every orangutan how they were "cute" and got a lot of face to face time with them.

I went to the other side of the exhibit to get this picture. I was standing with a lot of grumbling senior citizens about how the orangutans wouldn't come over to their identical window area. The zoo employee told them that they apparently love kids "the smaller the better." Ah well, my dude got a good long look and was very excited. 

Another part of the zoo that I really enjoyed was the dolphin show. I love dolphins. When the Minnesota Zoo still had dolphins I knew all their names, could identify them and their histories. I was not disappointed with the dolphins in Indianapolis. It was a beautiful dolphin arena. When we walked in with our tickets the song playing was "Mmmbop" which if you are a frequent visitor you know is my jam. The rest of the soundtrack in the arena pretty much came straight from my iPod. (Enya, Counting Crows, Hanson, Backstreet Boys, Colbie Caillat etc.)

Watching the Dolphin Show with Mom

The dolphin show.

We went to the "main event" 3 different times and these pictures represent the best of all 3 visits. The exhibit starts with the underground viewing area and moves up to the above ground view. When you first walk down the ramp there is a walrus art piece. This was almost as popular as the real walrus because C is pretty tactile and enjoyed touching and playing with it. 

We of course had him wear his walrus shirt to see the walrus.
It's his favorite shirt and he wears it at least once a week anyhow.

He kept saying "Oh Walrus!" 

Next to the art piece of fun are 4 windows to watch the walrus swim. We of course made no use of the 5 rows of stadium seating to watch we were right up in the windows every time. It was very very hot and humid yesterday and that was unfortunate. The viewing area of the exhibit was not climate controlled but obviously the walrus water was so the windows were very foggy and had a lot of condensation. It did not deter us from enjoying the swimming but it would have been nice to sit together and watch from the seats for a while. (which would have been hard yesterday)

We were the walrus champions of the zoo yesterday. Most groups came through, spent about 30 seconds and said something like "They're so big." Or "A Walrus." Parents would tell their toddlers "That's a walrus swimming." And then they'd move on. We spent a great deal of time with the walrus. Which was just fine by us since that is the reason we made the trek in the first place. 

The above ground area was nice too. It was very much a look down at the walrus view but C liked it too. We spent a lot of time up there as well. 

By the sign. I really wanted to get a picture of C, his walrus shirt and the walrus but it wasn't meant to be. 

Watching the walrus being trained and going splash with Mom. 

Playing with our small walrus and watching walrus. 

This shows kind of a good view of the whole exhibit and the walrus being trained.
Not the same visit to the exhibit as the other trainer up there. :) 

He had a blast. I mean, the tigers, giraffes, elephants and such were fun too. But not as great as the walrus. The one thing I will say negatively about the experience was that for having 2 of only 19 walrus in the country their walrus merchandise was lacking. They had, get this, the exact same plush walrus who was waiting in the car for us. (Though let's be honest, C would have had another one.) And a set of ocean animal figures that included a walrus. Those were the choices. As it happens, C is very much into animal figures right now so the pack of animals is a huge hit, but I was hoping for a shirt or something. Oh well. 

After a fun filled 5.5 hours at the zoo in which we accomplished everything except the splash pad. (We offered, he opted to go to the walrus instead.) And we decided that it was hot and crowded and we had a decent drive ahead of us. So we headed out to our car and started the journey home. 

We are happy C is happy and thrilled we were able to swing seeing a walrus even though we don't live on the coast. We're very lucky! I was thrilled to have even a mini-vacation with no obligations to anyone but my guys. We had a very good time and have spent all day playing walrus and with our new sea animals. Pretty great stuff! 

AMT: The Last One (Unless Kendra Changes Her Mind Which Is Fine By Me)

We are back from August Adventure #2! And I log on and lo and behold Kendra is calling it quits with the internet's favorite cocktail party. Do you think if she decided it wasn't the favorite cocktail party but merely a cocktail party on the internet she'd keep going? 

Well anyway, just in case. Here are my last answers. 

Linking with Kendra. Happy Sunday!

1. What is your favorite picture book?

My love for Mo Willems well documented. Just search the blog. My favorite picture book to read to C is The Pigeon Wants a Puppy. Not only is it well memorized by my 2 year old but it also, I believe started his love for walrus. 

My favorite book to read, like to read to me is Robert Francis Weatherbee by Munro Leaf. In fact I just read it to confirm that it deserves the word favorite. It does. 

2. Are you a boycotter?

Well I won't donate to United Way but I don't tell other people what to do. I just think it's a scam. Why on Earth should I give money to a company so they can distribute it to other charitable places? I know you can direct your funds but why not skip the middle man? My best friend got me a United Way shirt for my birthday once. I laughed. I wear it for pajamas. 

As far as companies go... nah, life is too short to worry all the time. 

Well I do also hate Apple products and won't buy any. (We have iPods but only old ones.) But again, I don't tell you not to buy them. I just refuse.I don't understand dropping $1000 for a computer, I for sure am not Apple Product minded. Apparently, they're easier and more user friendly. Except I can't do a darn thing on them. Whatever. I also find it suspicious you can't change a battery in an iPod/iPhone. They're forcing you to buy a new one when the only thing wrong is the battery is old. Overpriced and complicated. That's Apple for me. But again, go ahead and have your Apple products. I so don't care what you do. 

3. How do you feel about cheese?

Well I like real cheese. And even processed American Cheese. But cheese food and I have major issues. 

4. How many pairs of sunglasses do you own?

That I can find? 1. They were $10 at a gas station. I bought them because I was road tripping home from Minnesota and could not see. So I bought some.

5. How long has it been since you went to the dentist?

I have to go again in December. I don't like to talk about it. I loathe dentists with a passion. Like I really really do. It's not even fear, just crazy vast amounts of dislike. Borderline hate. I also think it's crazy someone would opt to go to school for a long long time to look in people's mouths all day long. And then be hated or feared for it. 

6. If you could visit any religious site in the world, where would you go? 

The Vatican. 

7 Quick Takes: Things On My Mind

1. Beyonce and Jay-Z

Are they getting a divorce? Are they on the rocks? Who CARES?! You know when we'll know? When one of them files for divorce. Until then the speculation is pointless and a little insulting to both their marriage and our brain cells. Celebrity gossip is great, I am a fan. But this is just trying to make a story out of nothing. Again, when someone files for divorce report on it all you want but good grief, LET IT GO for now. 

2. Jill (Duggar) and Derick Dillard

I have never been shy about my love for the Duggars. I eagerly anticipate this new season (which I will binge watch at Christmas at my parent's house) and seeing the wedding. I am not surprised or shocked by the latest headlines that Jill is expecting. I am again not surprised but in disagreement with the headlines that read "Why '19 Kids and Counting's' Jill Duggar Dillard Doesn't Mind Getting Pregnant Days After Marriage." 

You'd think she was the first person to ever have a honeymoon baby. Why is it bad for this married couple to get pregnant but Jessica Simpson having 2 kids while engaged is celebrated? Gosh our world is messed up. And seriously news outlet, did you expect different news from the Duggar offspring as they wed? Get real. 

3. Sleep 

I love sleep. And I am getting into that not so fun point where laying in one position for too long is uncomfortable but moving is hard and also uncomfortable. Ah well. Nearly 33 weeks. That's nuts. 

4. IKEA

In related news, my brother and I went to IKEA on Wednesday to procure a dresser for Baby Girl. We went pretty quick after they opened for the day and truly we had a rock star parking spot. Fairly close but not too close and right next to a cart return. 

I will say though, that sometimes Minnesota nice in IKEA is annoying. Like when an entire group of people gets stuck behind a couple of moseying  people with their kids in carts. (I have not yet dared bring C with my to IKEA even though I love going to IKEA but certainly the day is coming.) I don't care that they brought the whole family. I hope they had fun. I do care that a tortoise would have gotten through the section a heck of a lot faster. And that a group was bunching up behind them because we were all being nice and polite and letting them get away with it. 

Ain't nobody got time for that. So the pregnant lady and her brother walked between the entertainment centers and bypassed them all together. My main point here is it is possible to be too nice. Even in Minnesota. 

5. I Discovered Crack 

There is a chocolate shop in my hometown. And they make crack. In this case, crack is orange flavored dark chocolate covered pecans. Here's what you need to know: I LOVE orange flavored chocolate. I am positive I've explained my love for Terry's Chocolate Oranges. 

You also need to know that I don't even like Dark Chocolate. But I love these. I also love pecans. These things are seriously crack. And I couldn't stop eating them. I tried. 

6. Ice Bucket Challenge

This is not about the moral aspects of it. Really. I just don't get why watching someone dump ice water on their head is fun? I was bored when it was still just The Today Show peeps. 

7. August Adventure #2 

This weekend is our mini-vacation and our second August Adventure! Stay tuned for a post on Monday! I promise it'll be a good one! 

Happy Friday Everyone! Enjoy your weekend!

Theme Thursday: Google Image Search

C and I are back from our first August Adventure and we have about 36 hours to do some laundry (not a whole lot, just a little) rest up and head out for our second August Adventure!

The Theme of the day is Google Image Search. Yep. It's true. 

Google your name in the image search and post the first picture that comes up. 

Disappointing to you maybe. This is Lilly and Purcell. They are Ann Wood Birds and they were our cake topper for our wedding. And if you're wondering, I don't even like birds so how we came to have a bird themed wedding.. probably has to do with Lilly and Purcell here. 

My mom found them, we fell in love. All of our designs changed. And a theme was born. 

Anyway, back to the theme. I would screen shot it but there is literally not one picture of actual me. And while that sounds like it could be just random enough to be interesting... it's not even a little bit fun to look through, Kinda sad really. 

So... that's what I know about the theme this week. Happy Thursday. Stay tuned for an actual post from me in the nearish future. Maybe tomorrow even if I get my act together. No promises though. 

AMT: 9

C and I are off on an adventure with little to no time to blog. But lest I sit in silence for the foreseeable future I am going to pop in with a Answer Me This post because... okay. 

1. What is your favorite room in the house?

I am totally and completely recycling pictures here. Sorrynotsorry.

All things considered, our 3 season porch. I love how we decorated it.
I love the natural light.
I love the breeze.
I love we have a place to ditch shoes/groceries/packages etc without actually coming into the house but still being in the house.

I do not love my next door neighbor who sits in a chair in his backyard even with my porch and talks on speaker phone all the time. He drastically drastically reduces the time we spend out there in the evenings.

I love that we have a dutch door from the porch to the kitchen. It makes it like a really nice play pen for when you're cooking or cleaning etc. 

2. Do you subscribe to any magazines or other periodicals?

Um. Sort've. We get: Entertainment Weekly, Sports Illustrated, Inc., Golf Something or another and People. But we never signed up for them and we don't pay for them. I promise. I have scoured our bank accounts to double, triple check because while I do actually like People and Inc. the others go directly to recycle and are a waste on us.

My mom got me a subscription to Parents and C has Highlights High Five (he just switched over from Highlights Hello) also paid for by my parents. I like it when I get Family Fun too.

3. How do you feel about the sign of peace in Mass? Enriching? Awkward? Overdone? Just right? Some combination of the above?

I've never, ever thought about it negatively. Ever. So, I guess just right?

4. What is your least favorite sound?

Anything when I am in that precious spot of sleeping but not deeply. I have a very harsh "ssh" and I use it. 

5. What was your favorite TV show (or shows) growing up?

Um... I love television. And I have an strong memory. So I have lines and plots and storylines and characters that are very very clear in my head. But if you were to say which television show was my favorite I would have to say 3 shows. 

I really like Growing Pains. I am SO SAD I can only get seasons 1-3 on DVD. Husband is horrified/not shocked/impressed that I know the lines with the exact inflections even after all this time. I like it because it was wholesome without being ridiculous *Cough 7th Heaven* (Which I also watched and can quote.) 

Forever and ever amen I will love A Baby Story on TLC. I LOVED summers and school vacations so I could watch. I have been watching A Baby Story for SO SO long. Like since 7th grade or something. I even have favorite episodes. (Also I have a favorite episode of A Wedding Story which should for sure come back.) When I made it to college I never had a 10:00 AM class, because I could PLAN that and I wouldn't miss A Baby Story. It is probably because of this that birth has never, ever been scary to me. 

And High School/College was devoted to Gilmore Girls. And I maintain I did a lot of growing up with Lorelai and Rory so... I am counting it. 

6. What are your favorite TV shows now?

I still watch Gilmore Girls a lot. A lot. 

Shows that are on the air still: The Good Wife (September 21!) and Grey's Anatomy (September 25!) I also LOVE The Big Bang Theory. I would also watch 19 Kids and Counting (I have also been watching them forever, I might just really love TLC) but I don't have satellite. But I record it at my parent's house and binge watch when I am there. 

Four

Four Years.

We've been married for four years.

How on Earth can it only be four years?! At the same time... how have FOUR years gone by already? That's crazy!

Four years.
3 addresses.
2 kids. (Nearly.)
1 pretty swell guy.

Happy Anniversary Husband! I love you!

Genie, You're Free.

I remember watching Hook as a little girl.

I remember Maggie Smith looked SO OLD. And she probably wouldn't be around much longer. When Husband and I watch Hook even now, we marvel at the idea that Maggie Smith looked so old in 1991 and is still rocking it on Downton among other things. She's a force of nature.

So it is mind boggling to me that Maggie Smith is still around and thriving and Robin Williams of all people, is gone. It's sad. I think it goes to show that we don't know the demons other people are facing.

There's so much suffering in the world. So much. It makes me thankful that my biggest issues are that Husband didn't wash the dishes like I assumed he would. There is no reason I can't wash dishes. I just didn't want to. Tough life.

We quote Robin Williams in movies (or lines about Robin Williams) ALL THE TIME.

Sad.
Hug your people.
And pray for the world. We need a little more peace on Earth these days.

AMT: 8

It's time for another Answer Me This! The link up with Kendra where we answer some random questions and sneak a blog post in! 

1. What do you still want to do this summer?

Go on our zoo vacation. I have been planning a 3 day weekend trip to a zoo near us since LAST summer. And it still hasn't happened. But it is going to. We have it narrowed down to 2 weekends in the near future. And I am really excited. Really, really excited. 

It seems every time we've traveled at all in the entirety of our marriage besides our honeymoon it was to something. To see family, for work, a wedding etc. I am all kinds of excited for even 3 days with just my own little family doing our own thing. It's like a real and true vacation! 

PLUS this trip will be exciting because we are going to see a walrus. And my toddler is obsessed with walrus. It's why we picked this particular zoo in fact!

2. What's your favorite kind of pie?

Apple. Which works out pretty well since Husband's family owns an apple orchard and fall brings a boatload of free apples. (Really the perk of the family I appreciate most.) Husband of course, growing up with apples is usually less than impressed by apple things. But he does like my pie.

I'm not even trying to brag though. My pie isn't that special, I'm just not cranking out a lot of pies at once and I spend more time with my spice blend than his family. I also don't overcook my crust. Just saying. It's the love in my pie that makes it good.

3. How much sleep do you need each day? How much do you get?

I am a sleeper. If sleep was a love language that would be mine. I need as much sleep as possible. This translates to about 7 or 8ish hours at night and a mid-day nap. (C sleeps from 1-4 and I usually go from 1:30/2:00 depending on chores to 3:58.)

Of course in October the baby will mix things up again and I will have to find my new normal. C is definitely my child though, he is a good sleeper and needs his sleep or he is a grumpy pants. Like me.

4. Do you prefer to swim in a pool, lake, river, or ocean?

Pool. Lakes have fish/weeds/smells. Oceans have waves. Rivers are gross. Pools. 100% pools.

5. Do you know any poems by heart?

Not long ones. But yes. In elementary school we had "Poetry and Punch." A few times a year in second grade and fifth grade (Maybe third and fourth too but I distinctly remember second and fifth.) we would memorize a poem and recite it for all the parents. It was a big deal. The little portable microphone would be in the classroom and you'd say your poem. Then you got a glass of punch and a cookie. With your parents. I wonder if schools still do this? They should. (And all you homeschooling mama's, you should totally start a Poetry and Punch too.)

Hawaiian Punch in a giant food service can. With the little triangle openers.
Nothing but the classiest punch for school events.

I was that kid who refused to use a Shel Silverstein poem. Because they were overdone and everyone else used his work. And they were nonsensical. That says so much about who I am as a person. Madeline, refusing to conform to the popular opinion of art since 1993.

I can also do the first 2 chunks of  Paul Revere's Ride by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. That, funny enough, is also knowledge retained in fifth grade. Probably for "Poetry and Punch."


6. Do you use the public library?

Yep. I do. I have 3 library cards, one for my current town, one for my grad school town and one for my hometown. I use all 3 to find the ebooks I need/want and get on wait lists usually for all 3 for really popular books. I only go to my local library when I can't get the book I want on ebook. And I usually reserve it ahead of time. 

We always pick out a few children's books when we go and we always just do the spur of the moment picking with those. 

Theme Thursday: Panic

Life is hilarious.

 I have been in panic mode for weeks.

Weeks people.

I have crazy OCD-for-me nesting urges and anxiety. I have:

• Mowed the lawn (I don't do yard work. This is weird.) 
• Obsessed over when Husband would use the weed whacker
• Contemplated learning how to use the weed whacker because it wasn't happening fast enough
• Weeded the flower beds. All of them. Because they bothered me. 
• Stressed over the kitchen, which is also unusual. 
• Made a meal plan. Not a really great one, but a list of what we were/are going to eat. For 3 meals a day. Then made a shopping list to go with the meal plan. And actually followed the shopping list.  
• Started cleaning out the baby room. So, you know we can turn it into the baby room. 

And during all this cleaning and such I have been internally and externally panicking over whether or not the 2 year old was: 

• Learning enough
• Being engaged enough
• Eating enough vegetables
• Eating enough protein
• Getting too much screen time

And panicking about 

• Everything else you could imagine. Really. 

And I did this all week long. For weeks. Calming down only on Saturdays. And sometimes not even. 

Then yesterday Cari wrote about being panicked. And I was like "AH! A theme I've got in spades." Thursdays have been notoriously bad for me. Like in tears nearly all day. Barely holding it together when I talk to my family on Skype. The day I give up and just can't do it anymore. 

And by the Grace of God when Cari essentially gave me permission to panic and freak... I sat down to write this morning and I just had nothing. No panic in my heart. No stress. No freak out. No tears. And I can only attribute that to Cari. She somehow took the burden off of me. I don't know how but today has been a normal, productive not in the slightest upsetting day. 

I have accomplished plenty on the OCD list, but in a way that brought me peace. Not panic to DO.MORE.THINGS! 

Which is good. A very good thing. This boy deserves a calm mom. 

So does she. 

So Thanks Be to God (and Cari) because today has been one day with no panic. And even if all the stress and panic comes back tomorrow... I will be refreshed from my day off. 

Wednesday Happenings

Well book club was just fine. We discussed the book and didn't delve too deep into the cover up discussion points. For the most part we took the book as historical fiction. I was probably the most critical of the group but within the discussion people did seem to understand my points and we were able to dialogue about some of my issues.

Today I had my 30 week OB appointment where I also had an ultrasound to check on growth. I am in the clear on gestational diabetes, my blood pressure is normal and so we got a clean bill of health for the week. I am into the every 2 week visits before they turn into once a week visits. It's kind of crazy that I am already to this point!

And baby girl looks healthy and happy. She is head down (and I am hoping and praying she stays that way) and looks a lot like her big brother as an infant. 

In other news, did you know that painted cast iron reacts with bleach? I was cleaning bath toys and left the bleach water in the tub too long I guess because the tub turned kind of yellow. A quick google search told me that to counteract the bleach I needed to use hydrogen peroxide. Cue the Clorox 2. I found the humor in the Clorox vs. Clorox 2 thing. Who woulda known? 

Well the Clorox 2 worked, my tub has NEVER been whiter and as a bonus my bathroom smells like laundry. I love the smell of laundry so I am quite content with that. 

That's really all the interesting in my world. Just keeping on keeping on. Trying to stay ahead of the messes and keep C engaged and excited. Happy Wednesday friends!

Pre-Book Club Thought Sorting

I have book club tonight.

I would normally be super super excited about that. For real. But I am incredibly hesitant about tonight. I have some very negative feelings towards the book, and I'd like to say it's because the writing isn't good. That is true, but the fact of the matter is that tonight, assuming people have actually read the book (debatable, really.) is going to turn into a discussion about religion. I am not one to shy away from religious discussion. Nor do I have fears in doing so. But it's going to be intense.

The book we read was Pope Joan by Donna Woolfolk Cross.

Do you know about Pope Joan? The supposed female Pope The Church has been hiding since the Dark Ages? Woolfolk Cross states in the historical research bit at the end that she isn't Catholic and how great it is that she is not because she wouldn't have a bias. Never mind she thinks there is a massive cover up by The Church to hide Joan from us. I don't know whether that's true. I don't know that anyone could prove that one way or another. But I also know how to cherry pick my sources to get the research to say what I want it to say and I am quite certain that is what she did here. Thank goodness the book is labeled fiction. 

For the author to say she doesn't have a bias is of course only one part of the story. In this case I think the proof is in the pudding. Which is to say that in this thoroughly researched book we meet not one truly faithful individual. In a time where money spoke even more than words and education was based on whether it could be afforded, it isn't hard to imagine that some men of the cloth wouldn't necessarily want to be religious. Were there and are there corrupt religious authorities? Yep. Wouldn't you encounter someone who wasn't? Well, I didn't live in the Dark Ages but my gut instinct is to say yes. 

The most insulting part of the book is not that a female pretended to be a male and became Pope. That's almost besides the point even as that is supposed to be scandalous. Because we would be ignorant as to say that no female, seeking to educate herself, didn't pass herself off as a man. Woolfolk Cross is correct to say that the hygiene of the time would in fact permit that situation to occur.  

What is truly scandalous within this book is that she wrote a Pope who values science over faith, idolize Norse gods and attempted an abortion. Whether a Pope is male or female is meaningless here when these come to light as she wrote the POPE as someone who rarely celebrated Mass or prayed at all. I think we can all agree that even in a time of corruption like the Dark Ages the Pope would still pray and not worship other Gods. Just thinking out loud. Joan is a secular feminist in the most modern version of the word. In her reign as Pope she instituted modern court room procedures (witnesses and defense) as well inventing intinction to help not spread germs during communion. 

Just no. 

No. 

I can get past the whole female Pope thing. I can. It's historical fiction and certainly worse things have been written about The Church. But the characterization of this secularist feminist who argues for women's rights at the age of 4, that's where I tuned out. The character of Joan values logic above all else and has very little faith at all. She is educated oh yes but she uses her knowledge, like Woolfolk Cross to cherry pick lines of scripture to prove her radical ideas. 

Let's not even get me started on the cheap romance novel part of the book, where our leading lady falls for a man old enough to be her father, lusts after him for the greater part of the book even though time separates them for many many years. Gerold has the depth of a Ken doll which makes this whole aspect book read a bit like a free Kindle book. They discover each other, they can't be together even though they want to and there is one brief moment of passion. Time passes. They accidentally bump into each other and all their love burns brighter than ever but now they really cannot be together for Joan is John. They finally get together and they die before their secret is exposed. 

Those are my problems with the book. And if our discussion tonight could stick to that, I would be very content. But in a group of women, who are all active in their churches but not a lot of Catholics I fear we are going to delve more into the cover up historical discussion. I am especially burdened because the other Catholic is the one who picked the book. One woman teaches history at the local community college and she is very nice but a little intense. She of course actually believes wholeheartedly that Pope Joan is a historical figure the world has forgotten about. 

Wish me luck. 

Have you read Pope Joan? I probably didn't convince you to but if you have or you do I would LOVE to talk to you about it! 

Quick Takes: All the Things

1. Theme Thursday: BBQ

I don't know where my head was, but apparently I forgot that yesterday was Thursday. Here are the pictures for Theme Thursday. The Theme of the week is BBQ and because EVERYONE knows that guys take BBQ more seriously than girls in many many cases, I assigned this week to Husband. (Cari says there's no rules for Theme Thursday so... I can assign a week out here and there yeah?)

In the interest of full disclosure, these are pictures Husband took for work but they still fit the theme and I am not making pulled pork until tomorrow or Sunday. So... there's that. 

2. Edel

I have referenced it before but when we got married we had to take a temperament retreat and then spend all day discussing the results. Everyone likes those Meyers-Briggs descriptions of themselves and I have a heck of a time with those. I always switch between 2 results depending on my mood when I take the quiz thing. But THIS profile was spot on. For both of us.

My profile basically says that I want to be invited to the party but I don't want to go. I like to do things on my own terms. So I admit, that when I first heard about Edel I was kinda... whatever about it. Pay all that money to go to Texas. In July. And have to socialize? Yeah I was perfectly content following the hashtags and reading the recap blog posts. And, okay. I'm going to say it. I don't like Tex/Mex food often, so while I am thrilled there was enough sour cream so no tears were shed and the breakfast tacos (what does that even mean?!) were plentiful, it wouldn't have done it for me.

But I may gear up and go sometime. I'm hoping for Edel Chicago. Hot Dogs and Pizza. I'm SOLD!

3. Toddler Activities 

How is it possible that when I plan a whole day's worth of fun activities they are done in 20 minutes but if I plan nothing we somehow make it through the day just fine? That seems backwards.

4. 30 Weeks

I will be 30 weeks along on Sunday. That's crazy! I have the nesting as far as the clean allthethings goes but not in the actually have anything for the baby yet way. I should probably get on that.

5. Big Boy Bed

We transitioned to the Big Boy Bed this week. It's going really well. The crib is still in his room and is serving as the threat of not staying put. So far so good. Only getting out once a night.

Double bed on the box spring on the floor, so pretty low to the ground.
There is a side rail now as well.

Next is getting rid of the nuki but one step at a time. I can only take major life changes in small doses.

6. It's August 

August is my very favorite month of the year. Though I will admit, July was not nearly as painful as expected, probably because there was only ONE day above 90!

7. Book Club

I have book club on Tuesday. I finished the book Wednesday and I have a lot to say. I am sure my book club won't want to get into the discussion I want to so you're all going to get lucky and have to hear about it. So stay tuned for that post.

Linking up with Conversion Diary and Clan Donaldson.