Shear Genius

I've become a huge fan of some competitive reality shows on Bravo lately: Top Design, Project Runway, and Shear Genius. While I watched an episode the other day, Amber ran into the bathroom and emerged with all of my hair styling tools. Then she said, "Mom, who is that girl with short blonde hair? I'm her." So I said, "Hi Nicole. Can you cut and style my hair for me?" Nicole/Amber said, "Sure, but I need you to hold the scissors." She handed me some invisible scissors and went to work on my atrocious style (or is it atrocious because I let these amateurs have at it every day? Hmm...). She was using all the lingo from the show and explaining the steps she took just like the stylists on T.V. did. Then Karli became the assistant and held up the mirror for me to see. She kept asking me, "You look pretty? See?" It is now an every day occurance and it's so cute (that would be the situation...obviously not my hair)!

Ready, Set, Roll!

Rex can now roll over all by himself. He did it first on Thursday and now loves to sleep on his tummy and make us worry about him all night. The best part is that he usually needs the leverage from having his thumb in his mouth to get all the way over. I can't believe he's growing up so quickly. It's fun but sad (what a mommy thing to say!).

Just Leave Me Alone

Karli is learning so many words and phrases at this point, and sometimes it's downright hilarious to hear such a sweet, adorable little voice say some of the things she does. Here's a perfect example; she sings "I Feel My Savior's Love" and then tells Amber to leave her alone.

I'm Leslie

Our friends Leslie and Derrick had their baby boy last week, and we took our kids over to see him last night. Upon returing, Karli immediately took out her five baby dolls and re-named them Oscar after the new baby. Then, she re-named herself Leslie and has been taking great care of her "babies" ever since. It's adorable! By the way, congraulations to the Larson family!

Slap Your Grandma

Here's a clip of Amber singing her favorite song, "Honky Tonk Badonkadonk". She thinks the title is "Slap Your Grandma." It's pretty cute to hear her sing jibberish when the words say "Keepin' perfect rhythm, makes you wanna swing along."

Intriguing Tragedy

I am so fascinated by the Caylee Anthony case; it's all I watch on T.V. and can't get enough of Greta's analysis (Amber now recognizes her and was disappointed when Greta took the night off last week). I guess I just can't comprehend how a mother could appear so empty and nonchalant when her darling daughter has been missing for two months. Adam says it's the perfect defense because it's easy to prove insanity when there's no emotional reaction or excited statements. I'm dying to see how this case plays out and hope law enforcement gets to the bottom of it very soon.

No More Law School!

Adam's last day of law school was Friday. As soon as he came home from turning in his final paper, he hit the hay for some well-deserved rest. I'm so proud of him for making this grand accomplishment and for setting a goal and attaining it no matter the cost. He has sacrificed more than I can document for me and our kids, and we all think he's the greatest dad, husband, friend, student, and pugilistic-near-attorney ever! :) Congratulations, Adam. We love you!

Urban Cavalry

If you read my post last week, you know how I feel about these Rascally devils who cruise around town on their state-supplied motor scooters. While outside with the girls this morning, I saw five different riders eek by on their pimped-out chairs (I think I saw hydraulics and a bass cannon on one..he he), and I felt good to know that one of the largest ladies was miffed because my girls dirtied up the sidewalk where she had to drive. Giddyup!

FYI: The guy in the green shirt is not an offender in my eyes; he's actually disabled.

It's Official: We're White Trash

The minute Amber woke up this morning, she said, "Mom, I have the BEST idea. We can get Rex's tub and fill it with water and take it outside and dump it in the dirt and put on our swimming suits and play in the big........huge........MUD PUDDLE!" Despite my ever-increasing desire to avoid messes at all costs, I could tell that the wheels in her little brain had been turning all night to work out every detail, so I couldn't say no.

The girls loved rolling around like piglets in the mud puddle we created between the sidewalk and the seven or eight feeble blades of grass that are left of our front lawn, and to make this vision of low-class living even more authentic, I was still in my pajamas. We were quite the hee-haw spectacle, but the girls had a grand time and I even got a little bit of a sunburn line on my horrifically white feet.

Welcome to the Family!

This is my adorable new niece, Olivia, born to Jennifer and Jimmy on July 21st. Isn't she sweet? This is one of my favorite photos. Her older brothers are already protective and love to put their feet on her soft hair (just like Amber and Karli do to Rex...maybe they're related). I can't wait to meet her!

Today is a Wonderful Day

Today has been a great day! It actually started last night, when Adam and I got to watch a "grown-up movie" and then went to bed at the same time, with not a single child in the bed with us! I know, I know...it's a miracle, and it was only for a few hours (Amber does a spectacular 3 a.m. jump from her bed to ours), but it was grand while it lasted. This morning, I woke up early, ate chocolate and oatmeal cookies for breakfast, fed the kids, cleaned the house, and only had to scrub up one potty-training mess (is it sad that this makes me happy?) which was conveniently right next to the toilet and immediately before bath time, so it wasn't too bad.
Our wonderful friends Deanne, Sophie, and Truman came over for some chatting, playtime, and lunch after which all three of my kids magically fell asleep at the same time. Obviously, I'm catching up on some neglected blogging and scrapbooking, rockin' out to some old school John Mayer, and since I already have dinner planned, I'm thoroughly enjoying this day. I can't decide if it's great or pathetic that these small things get me all jazzed up...it must mean I'm a stay-at-home mom, he he he. I joke about it more than I should, probably, but I definitely couldn't ask for a better occupation!

All-American Boy

Rex is already three months old! I can't believe how quickly time is passing (oh, I sound like an old lady, don't I?). He is now wearing larger clothes and fits into these two adorable outfits. My friend, Diana, gave Rex the darling camo ensemble and I found the tres-American, Ralph Lauren overalls at T.J. Maxx for a great deal (good 'ol Ralph...my favorite designer of all time!). Rex's hair is decidedly blonde and his huge blue eyes (and his enormous smile that inevitably disappears as soon as the camera's flash fires) make him the quintessential American baby. He's a joy and we love having him in our family!

Olympic Aspirations

On August 8th, the opening day of the Olympics, Amber and Karli watched an episode of "Dora the Explorer" about teamwork in which all the team members won gold medals. Amber asked if she could have a necklace like Dora's, so I busted out the family-reunion-Olympics inspiration and made them each a gold medal out of some jar lids and ribbons. I had no idea they'd be a hit, but the gals still love them.

I think they like the medals even more now since we've watched several Olympic events together. Amber, Karli, and I particularly enjoy women's gymnastics and diving, while men's swimming and the genetic freakshow/phenomenon that is Micahel Phelps seems to be the entire family's choice for entertainment. He's fun to watch! I can't believe how easy he makes swimming look. I'll be thrilled if any of my kids make it to the Olympics, but I secretly hope they keep colligiate athletics as their ultimate goal!

It Makes Father Happy

After three years of living in ghetto-ville, both Amber and Karli have learned some not-so-choice phrases from the neighbors (okay...fine...some come from me and Adam, but not many!). Despite the rule I established for all children who enter my house that prohibits using the Lord's name in vain, Amber inevitably began saying "Oh my $#@" one day and naturally, Karli chimed right in as well. As I calmly tried to explain when it's appropriate to use the word God, I mentioned that it's Heavenly Father's name and it makes him sad if we say it in a naughty way. Karli said, "Dat make Heee Faddah sad?" ("That makes Heavenly Father sad?") and I said, "Yes, but whe we sing 'I am a Child of God', it makes Him happy" because Amber was thoroughly confused as to why we could say it sometimes and not others. Now, Karli uses this logic to explain every situation, but has conveniently omitted "Heavenly" from the phrase. Amber had an "accident" today (it's actually called peeing all over the bathroom floor when the toilet is one inch away from her...arrrrgh!) and Karli said, "Dat make Faddah sad, Amby!" When Karli ate all of her food the other day, she said, "See! I eat all mine food and dat make Faddah so happy!" She even uses it to describe happy or sad movies, respectively, and completely random events like getting a letter in the mail or spilling something on one's clothes. It's pretty hilarious.

A Founcy Zucchini

My sister, Allison, used to work for a Brazilian imports company and snagged this itsy-bitsy adorable bikini for Amber last year. While it is now strictly bathtub wear, she sneaked into her room and put it on all by herself yesterday so I let her wear it around the house for a few hours. How could I resist when she told me she wanted to wear her "founcy zucchini"? By the way, that means fancy bikini. :)

An Angel in Scrubs

Last summer when we lived in Utah, I experienced my first migraine and thought I was having a stroke. Since our insurance generally doesn't cover out-of-state emergencies, I put off going to the ER as long as possible while I waited for the phone call from McLaren authorizing the visit. They never called back, so finally when I couldn't see out of my left eye, I packed up and headed to AF hospital. The doctor there, Dr. Shelton, took great care of me and even gave me a CT scan to make sure I didn't have any clots in my brain.
After returning to Michigan and filing paperwork for a year, I found out that my primary insurance would cover part of the bill, but there was a hefty chunk left that my secondary insurance would have to cover. Of course, Dr. Shelton doesn't do business with the secondary insurance company, so I was left to pay for the rest of the visit. May I take a tangent here for a moment? I totally believe in paying for what I use, self sufficiency, etc. I didn't want to go to the ER because I wasn't sure that the visit would be covered, but I honestly felt like I'd have two kids and a husband who would be mother/wife-less if I didn't go (it was a really bad migraine!). That said, I knew I needed to pay the bill but we absolutely didn't have enough money to cover it (or even a significant portion of it). I followed the secondary company's suggestion and filed a hardship claim, detailing that my husband is a law student and we were just barely scraping by, etc. Yesterday, I got a letter from Dr. Shelton:
"Dear Mrs. Clark,
I have read your letter concerning your financial situation and I understand more than you probably know what that situation is like. I too went to Michigan, Wayne State University Medical School, and I know what it is like to have a family and not much money. When I was in Detroit many friends and church members took us under their wings and gave us furniture, food, and other necessities without asking for anything in return. These people knew that I was not planning to stay in Michigan. All they asked was that if I ever had the chance to help another family out like they had helped me, then I was to extend to them the same gift that I had received. What this means to me is that I have asked my billing company to wipe out the debt you owe to me. In exchange, however, I ask of you the same thing...If you or your husband ever have a chance to assist another family in need, please give them that assistance. If you do then I will consider this bill paid in full."
Obviously, I was so touched that I broke into tears. I'm thankful for the charity, kindness, and understanding of this doctor and I hope that we will be able to help LOTS of families in need because we have been so blessed in our educational endeavors. To all of you who have helped us in so many ways, thank you. Your kindness and generosity are appreciated more than you'll ever know.

Adam...Karli...Any Similarities?

The other day, Amber found this photo of Adam in the tub when he was a toddler. I can't believe how much Karli looks like him. Karli even thought it was herself in the photo. What a bunch of cuties!

Walk, Schmalk

Just when I thought I couldn't be surprised by anything else that takes place in our apartment parking lot, I saw this. The sad thing about this incident is that it is not the only one of its kind; we have recently discovered a whole gang of Rascal-ridin' Georgetown dwellers who are perfectly capable of walking around (I see them strolling easily to and from their power chairs that they actually park in parking spaces), but elect to let the Great State of Michigan pay for everything they use, including transportation. In case CATA was thinking about adding a bus route from one end of our parking lot to the other, they can rest easy knowing Medicaid has already solved the problem! I can't believe my eyes. In fact, I find this slothful transport so stunning that I sneakily snapped this picture through the window while I was washing dishes so I could share it with all of you (I felt so scummy, like a tabloid paparazzo). On the other hand, though, maybe it is a great way to save gas money. I mean, really...pride and self-respect are so overrated!

Mia Michaels' Protege

I always make the girls watch "So You Think You Can Dance" with me in hopes of providing a little inspiration and it seems to be paying off in terms of drama and creativity. And now, ladies and gentlemen, I present for your entertainment, Amber Clark's modern interpretation of "Beauty and the Beast" (she does the whole song, but I had to edit it so the clip would load).

Derrick Will Be So Proud

A few weeks ago, we had Derrick and Leslie over for dinner. Derrick taught the girls "Break the pickle...tickle, tickle!" and the "Me Chinese, me play joke..." hand game and rhyme. They laughed but didn't seem to think much of it. The other day, Karli came up to me and told me to "open the fridge". She had the whole routine down pat and it made me laugh so hard! She doesn't say the entire ending, but just says "pee pee in Coke!". I know, I know, I'm probably a bad mom to think something like that is funny, but her little voice is so darn cute that I just can't help but giggle.

By the way, does it seem like my kids are always nude? I take off their clothes before they eat so I don't have to do as much laundry...an example of laziness and exhibition...I guess I am a bad mom!

This Place Will Self Destruct

We lucked out when we moved to Lansing; thanks to Adam's valliant efforts, we moved into a brand new apartment that was cute, clean, spacious, and cheap in a convenient location. As our kids have grown up and exhibited their artistic skills in mixed media (read: jell-o, ink, spaghetti sauce, lotion, dirt, baby powder, nail polish, chocolate milk, peas, sunblock, red popsicles, and anti-bacterial hand gel), we've become increasingly worried that we won't receive any of our security deposit, because our lease says we'll be charged for "any damage incurred, regular wear and tear excepted". So just how much wear and tear is regular with two toddlers running around? As it turns out, we may have worried for nothing...

Last weekend while watching a movie, we heard a suspicious drip coming from the closet that houses the water heater and furnace. Upon opening the doors and being blasted with the dank smell of moldy drywall (wetwall in this case), we noticed the ceiling was soaked through and dripping onto the floor. That's right, we have another reason to love our upstairs neighbors: they keep their puppy in their utility closet and their pipes were "unattached". Along with wetness was moldiness, and of course, since it was Saturday night, no one was around to stop the drip. Finally, we tracked down the maintenance guy who brought over a 5-gallon bucket to catch the stray water and assured us the problem would be fixed first thing Monday morning.

Well, well, well...it's now been a week and not a single thing has been fixed (we've called to complain six times). The new maintenance man, Don, came over to inspect the situation and promptly tried to blame us ("Don't you use your exhaust fan? This is from the humidity in your house") and then explained that the drywall didn't need to be replaced, just "treated" with Clorox Clean-Up. Yeah, right, Don. I don't know the first thing about builiding, but I do know that you can't get mold out of drywall. Our bathroom ceiling (adjacent to the utility closet) is now being overtaken by mold and the plaster is turning yellow. The carpet outside said closet has been wet for several days and is developing it's own atrocious odor and interesting patterns of flora as well. The pilot light on our water heater keeps extinghuising, and I'm only one more cold shower away from having a complete breakdown. At least we won't have to worry about being charged for any damage done to the walls and carpet by our children. I'm glad we'll have an attorney in the family soon, because I smell a big, moldy lawsuit coming on if this problem doesn't go away tomorrow morning. Aaaaarrrrggggghhhh!

Greetings from Lansing

Yes, that's right, you are correct...we are still in Lansing. Here's an interesting twist of fate: we have buddy passes to fly to Utah on JetBlue Airlines, which means we have to fly standby and are always on the bottom of the list. Hence, we've been poised to head home for ten days now, living out of our suitcases while finding out right before we head to Chicago to board that the flights are all full. Yesterday, Adam was contacted by a dean at the school and offered a five-week internship with a firm in town that turns out to be an excellent opportunity to get some courtroom experience each week. There's no way in heck I'd want to be away from Adam for five weeks, so the kids and I are planning to stick around until August 12th.

Soooooo...I guess the girls can learn a few more bad words from the 'hood figgas outside, we can laugh a few more times at our ridiculous upstairs neighbor doing his daily walk of shame after he gets beaten up by his girlfriend, I can say goodbye to all of my friends again, and we can enjoy the adorable lightning bugs for a few more weeks! I always chuckle when I realize that Heavenly Father has a plan and there's not much we can do about it sometimes. This is a good reminder for me that I need to be more in tune with what He wants for our family. I am totally excited for Adam and the chance he has to put his skills to work in a unique environment and I am totally excited to be out of here for good. See you all real soon!

Los Idiomas de Juventud

I noticed last night that my girls have achieved the linguistic phenomenon described by Steven Pinker as "children spontaneously invent[ing] a consistent grammatical speech (a creole) even if they grow up among a mixed-culture population." For example, both girls have begun to use an "oye" sound instead of an "or" sound (to-moye-rrow, D-oye-ra, d-oye-r) and, to my utter disgust (sorry, all you Midwesterners!), saying "maaaaaahm" instead of "mom". Add to this the Ebonics that they've unavoidably picked up (a few days ago, Amber said, "What the hay-ell!?" just like the attitudinous multi-ethnic kids who lurk outside our door), and they are definitely in for it as far as accents and language go. Yikes!
I've also noticed my atrocious hybrid hick/blue collar (translated: Utah/Michigan) vernacular becoming increasingly grating to my own ears. Whatever will we do? A self-proclaimed linguist should never suffer from such cacaphony. I guess we'll just abide by another of Pinker's observations, that "rules like 'a preposition is not a proper word to end a sentence with' must be explicitly taught, therefore they are irrelevant to actual communication and should be ignored." Word.

Christopher Kimball, My Hero

He's edearingly dorky, yet nothing short of genius in the kitchen. He's Christopher Kimball, the founder of the public television show "America's Test Kitchen" and "Cook's Illustrated" magazine. While I've been a tepid fan of both for about ten years, I never fully appreciated the excellence of Kimball's ideas until I began using the recipes and methods his folks discover. The recipes are all wonderfully practical and produce the best results I've ever experienced. I highly recommend America's Test Kitchen for any recipe and/or technical information needs. You can sign up for a limited membership for free (which I have done), but I have a feeling the full membership would be well worth it! I received a free copy of the magazine in the mail three days ago and have already tried several of the recipes with grand success.

Betrothed

I was thrilled the other day when my friend, Elaine, let me know that her son Miles wants to marry Amber. Miles is one of the cutest, funniest little guys I know. Here's a picture of them at the Hawk Island Splash Park on Friday. I'm pretty sure Amber is smitten! Elaine and I have a secret plot to make sure they actually do get married; Miles can go on his mission while Amber goes to college, then they'll get hitched and I'll have the coolest in-laws and cutest grandchildren ever. :) Hooray for puppy love!

Memory Game

This is fun and cool:

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember! Since this is our family blog, feel free to leave a memory about any of the five of us.

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty cool (and funny) to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you. Thanks!

Houston, I Have a Problem

I am addicted to blogging. I know this sounds odd and you may not believe it because I don't post every day, but the following scenario presented itself as a major warning to me that I need professional help:

Tuesday, none of the kids took naps (yikes, I know). By 4:30 p.m., they were all becoming testy, so I figured we'd head to the mall and have an exciting afternoon to keep them from dozing off at 7 p.m. only to awake, ready to party for 6 hours, at 11:30 p.m. We had a disastrous trip to say the least, so at 8:30, I was delighted to put them all to bed and have four hours of tranquility with Adam. If you're a parent, you're probably chuckling to yourself because you know what happens next...

Amber woke up at 12:30. After thirty minutes of whining, she fell asleep again. Then, Rex woke up to eat and promptly went back to bed. At 2:30, Karli started whining and wouldn't stop, so I put her in bed with me. Amber joined us shortly thereafter and, in her sleep, suspiciously began kicking Karli. Karli screamed each time she received a blow and was finally worked up into such a frenzy that Amber and I were both wide awake. When Karli realized I rebuked Amber for kicking her, she needed another irritant and decided to whine because she wanted to watch a movie. Determined to return to my well-deserved REM state, I put Karli back in her crib and let her scream for 20 minutes. Finally, Adam, who was preparing for a huge mock trial that was to take place 5 hours later, came in and rescued Karli from the dregs of her brutally confining crib. She was beyond consolation, however, and despite any attempt Adam made to pacify her, the screaming fit continued. His efforts to prepare any arguments for class were futile and he was royally ticked off.

By this point, Amber awoke again and chimed right in alongside Karli, wailing so loudly that our neighbors woke up and began stomping around to let us know they'd been disturbed (oh...if they only knew...). Adam was yelling, I was yelling, Karli and Amber were screaming, and not wanting to be forgotten, Rex started crying too. This continued until 5:30 a.m. until two of the three kids had cried themselves to exhaustion and Karli the Insomniac finally settled down to watch Teletubbies.

The point of this tangental saga is that throughout the whole episode, I kept thinking to myself, "This is going to make a great blog post." Then, in the middle of sternly explaining to Amber why she couldn't eat ice cream at 3:00 in the morning, an idea for the title of my post popped into my head. During the whole melee, I just wanted to escape to the office, lock the door, and describe the situation play-by-play. At first, I thought this was an evil desire, but now as I'm writing, I think it may be more of a boon than a burden. My blogging addiction could actually be a cathartic coping mechanism developed by my feeble brain to help me survive episodes of children-induced stress, panic, and sleep deprivation.

Shock and Awe

Celebrating my 28th birthday last week has put me into a state of shock and reflection. The shock comes from discovering more and more gray hairs on my head every day for the past two months, the rate at which said discovery is made being too rapid for me to pluck them out. Also producing shock in my life is the recently-discovered phenomenon of instantaneous weight gain. My body is not like it was twelve short months ago; now, if I eat a carb-rich diet one day, I pay for it the next by barely being able to wedge myself into my clothes. Add to this my severe muscular atrophy that can only be slowed by pumping iron religiously each day, and I feel like I should be 82 instead of 28. Surely I must be older than a late-20-something.
Reflection stems from thinking about what a marvelous life I've had thus far, and the promise of more wonderful years to come. I have an amazing husband who magnificently juggles a rigorous school schedule with taking care of our kids so I can squeeze in a few breaks here and there, along with teaching all of us valuable lessons of dedication, tenacity, humility, humor, and Christlike love for others. He is the best blessing in my life! Our three sweet and adorable kids make me happy every single day and help me learn to be patient even when it's the last characteristic I want to exercise. I have such great parents, siblings, in-laws, grandparents and friends who give me love and support, and I feel like I have blessings more than I deserve. Here's to many more birthdays and years of life filled with good things, happy times, and great people!

These blueberry scones are my favorite breakfast (or anytime) treat; I made them for myself on my birthday and ate nearly the whole batch (and I complain about being overweight...duh!). They are completely divine. Obviously, I couldn't button my jeans the next day. Click here if you want the recipe.

Doesn't Miss a Beat

Karli is funny...she doesn't make much noise (that is, when she's not throwing a fit), sits around and observes, and when no one's expecting it, does something hilarious with all the information she's absorbed. Case in point: last night, Adam, Derrick, Leslie, and I were eating dinner while the kids played. We looked over to see Karli "feeding" her baby doll named Jessica. She had even donned my nursing cover. She'll be a great mom someday!

Rockin' Out Hillbilly Style

Three years ago (before he was the mega-star that he is today), Adam and I went to a Trace Adkins concert in Grantsville, Utah. It was awesome, so I was thrilled to learn that he was playing in Lansing at the Common Ground Music Festival. I bought us tickets for my birthday present to myself, and yesterday we loaded up a blanket, the stroller, and the young 'uns and headed downtown to Adado Riverfront Park (by the way, the girls were stoked to hear that they were going to watch a real cowboy sing "Slap Your Grandma" aka "Honky Tonk Badonkadonk", which is one of their favorite songs).

The gates opened at 5:30 p.m., so we were there right on time to stake our claim on the best lawn seating we could get (which actually turned out to be pretty good). We helped ourselves to cotton candy, hot dogs in scones instead of buns (it sounds gross but it was actually yummy), licorice, fresh lemonade, freshly cut french fries, and a host of other horrifyingly non-nutritious-yet-delicious fair food to pass the time. Karli even enjoyed two tubes of complimentary chapstick and had minty-fresh breath and lips for the duration of the evening. Finally, around 7:00, we wondered if the concert would ever start. Adam spotted an usher and asked him what time it was supposed to get under way, and found out we still had two and a half hours left to wait!

With three kids under three, any period of idleness longer than 30 minutes can turn into a disaster at the nod of a head, so my internal panic mode immedately switched on. I didn't bring warm clothes for anyone, and our kids had only eaten junk food. I figured Rex would need to eat at some point so I took my nursing cover, but started to feel totally awkward when I actually had to breastfeed him while sitting on a blanket, surrounded by drunken people of all walks of life (it was more wierd for me to breastfeed in front of the white trash instead of the gentry...crazy, huh?). Adam and Amber left for a while to print some cases at Adam's school, and Karli helped herself to the $2 bottles of Pepsi and water, dumping them out all over the blanket, herself, and the neighbors while I was helplessly bound by humiliation to Rex until he finished eating. Add to this about seventy-eight comments by everyone around us on the size of our family (and ages), and I didn't know if I'd be able to make it.

I remained calm, though, determined to have a rockin' time, and everything miraculously worked out (can I say "miraculously" when I'm talking about breaking the Sabbath?!). Remarkably, Karli sat on the blanket and entertained herself and didn't even try to run away, and Rex didn't make a peep. Adam and Amber came back just in time for the warm-up act. The sky was cloudy but no rain fell, the kids didn't cry or whine until we were on our way to the car, and Trace Adkins played all of our favorite tunes. We even had a little swarm of lightning bugs right in front of us, which was charming beyond words. It was one of the most fun times we've had as a family and was definitely worth the money I didn't know if I should spend on myself.

A photographer from a local magazine asked if she could take our picture for the next issue, so that was flattering and kind of fun. My favorite part of the concert was the song "Arlington". Representatives from the Army passed out small, American flags during the waiting period before the concert, and everyone stood up and waved their flags during the song. It was a beautiful sight to behold with beautiful music playing. I hope we get to go to another Trace Adkins concert; it was grand!

Tales from the 'Hood, Vol. 186

We made plans to occupy our whole weekend, so we were sure we'd be able to avoid the weekly visit from the police or episode of domestic violence. Unfortunately, fate found us only moments before we walked out the door on our way to Don and Joan's:

As I put shoes on all six little feet (right in front of our door), I heard a frantic pounding. I looked out the peephole to see our neighbor, Adria (14years old) cowering by our door and sobbing. I let her in and she immediately ran into our bathroom, choking out "Don't let her beat me anymore!" I asked her to calm down and tell me what was going on, and she said her mom was beating her. Nicole (her mom) knocked on our door and Adria started sobbing again, whispering "Don't tell her I'm here!" Adam explained to Adria that we couldn't hide her in our apartment without criminal penalty, so he let Nicole in.

At this point, Adria was calling her grandma on our phone (we said she could), and Nicole took the phone from her hand and commanded her to "hang up that (expletive) phone and get your (expletive)-ing (expletive) outside this minute!" Adria screamed back, insisting she wouldn't leave our house without police presence, so Nicole and Adria stood in our entry way screaming four letter words at each other, wrestling and struggling in front of our kids (and Nicole's other two kids who are 10 and 3 years old) for about five minutes while Adam and I stood next to them in utter disbelief and shock.

Finally, the drama had gone far enough, so Adam told them it had to stop. I said we couldn't have that happening in front of our kids, so Nicole apologized and asked (aksed...ha ha ha, just kidding) Adam to please tell Adria to leave our apartment. Adria didn't look like she was wounded, but we didn't know for sure because she has really dark skin. I wasn't sure what to do, so Adam offered to call the police and told Adria she could wait by our door until they came. Adria finally went outside, where Nicole was waiting (right in front of our door) to rail on her for disrespecting our house and embarrassing her mom in front of neighbors, using the f-word more frequently than any gangsta rapper I can think of.

It was quite the spectacle, and a very, very awkward situation. I never imagined we'd get to witness the infamous Arbors-at-Georgetown-Ghetto-Action right in the comfort of our own living room! Needless to say, our poor kids were utterly traumatized (I was, too). Only six days left...hooray!

Saturday at the Holmes Home

My husband's step-grandpa's brother and his wife (how's that for a Mormon association), Don and Joan Holmes, live in Howell and have us over once or twice a semester. They have an amazing yard, are magnificent cooks, and live in the most beautiful, quiet neighborhood we've seen in Michigan. We went to their house on Saturday for a barbecue with Don, Joan, Jennifer (their granddaughter) and her husband Tom, and Jacob and Joshua, their kids. It was fabulous to be able to escape the drama of our neighborhood (well, almost...a post is coming about the weekly episode!) for a day and enjoy some peace, quiet, and normalcy. We will miss Don and Joan immensely when we move!

Amber and Karli loved to play and find frogs, lightning bugs, hummingbirds and chipmunks in the yard. They even asked Don if they could swim in his waterfall. Amber said it was a perfect slide and that it would be so fun! Don very politely declined. :)

Great Times with the Greatest Women

Living in Lansing has been a wonderful experience, due largely to the great friends I've been able to meet over the past three years. I am so impressed by their willingness to share everything they have and to help out in any way possible. I feel very blessed to know each of them and to be able to count them among my closest friends. I will definitely miss seeing them weekly and shooting the breeze at church, playgroup, or Target!

A few of us got together on Tuesday at DeLuca's (for the best pizza on the planet if you ask me) to enjoy one last hoorah before we all depart. Thanks, Elaine, for setting it up and thanks Julie, Diana, Sadie, Leslie, and Becky for being there. It was great fun. I sure will miss you!

Strange Obsessions

Amber and Karli are obsessed with all things romantic, from deciding which of the Disney princes they will marry to watching the seemingly innocent kissing scenes in the princess movies over and over and over again. Several times each day, out of the blue, Karli reminds me (since we've reminded her several times) that only "mommies and daddies kiss on lips. We only kiss on cheeks, huh?" Then she says, "Ariel and Eric kiss on lips, huh?! That's crazy!" I feel kind of disturbed by their obsession with kissing at the tender ages of two and three. Adam and I must be in for some rough teenage years!

Liz Tagged Me

What was I doing 10 years ago:
I had just graduated from high school and started classes at Ricks College. I was a lifeguard at Heise Hot Springs and loved being able to finally hang out with the college crowd and not be considered a lame high school student! :)

What is on my to-do list for today?
Grocery shopping, packing, chillin' with Adam

Three of my bad habits:
1. Negative self talk
2. Eating when bored
3. Judging people

Three things you might not know about me:
1. I want to be a guest on Jay Leno's show
2. I love to dance and sneakily do so when people aren't watching
3. I got accepted to law school (but I'm glad I didn't go!)

Movies/TV shows I love:
1. The Sopranos (A&E Version)
2. So You Think You Can Dance
3. Crash
4. Gladiator
5. Project Runway

Four Books I Love:
1. The Book of Mormon
2. The Language Instinct
3. The Hundred Dresses
4. Baking With Julia

Four Jobs I've Had:
1. Tumbling Teacher
2. Lifeguard
3. Public Relations Manager
4. Writer

Five Places that I've Lived:
1. Rexburg, Idaho
2. Alpine, Utah
3. St. George, Utah
4. Provo, Utah
5. Lansing, Michigan

Five of My Favorite Foods:
1. Deep dish pizza with ham from DeLuca's
2. Bread (right out of the oven)with homemade strawberry freezer jam
3. Vegetables
4. Black licorice
5. Ice cream

Ghetto Drama: Two for One Special

As you well know, we've had lots of trouble with our upstairs neighbor, Nancy, and her boyfriend, Richard, who fought incessantly for about six months. Finally, they stopped fighting, procured employment (as shady as it seems, at least they're out of the house), bought a nice car (drugs, anyone?), and have been model tenants except for the cigarette butts that continue to fall from their balcony onto our porch. It's actually been bearable to live beneath them for about a month.
We noticed that Nancy and Richard had a girl and guy hanging around this weekend, and last night the guests were alone in the apartment. They started fighting, rolling around, calling each other every foul name in the book, and he slapped her a few times, eliciting a few "Please stop!" screams. We called the police once, they came to the apartment, and of course, like every battered woman in the neighborhood, she told them she was fine and that nothing was happening. Ten minutes passed before they were at it again, so Adam ran outside to knock on the door while calling 911. He noticed a police car further down the lot, so he thought the officer may be able to stop at apartment #5 on his way out.
Moments before Adam went out to check out the domestic violence in #5, we heard a series of six loud, rhythmic cracks that could have been fireworks, but sounded like gunshots (we still don't know what they were). While Adam stood outside trying to get someone to stop the insanity above our apartment, at least ten police cars screeched into the parking lot with sirens and lights blaring, zooming past Adam toward our clubhouse. In the land of perpetual porchsitting, events of this nature are always a spectacle and everyone in the complex seemed to swarm the area to see what happened. Police cars lined the parking lot, blocking off the clubhouse, and lined the two streets that lead into our complex. We only know that there was "a big fight" in the clubhouse.
The guy upstairs must have called Nancy, because about 20 minutes later she stood at our door, yelling in an annoyed/panicky voice that she heard we called the cops regarding her guests. She continued to spew information that they were only 15 and 16 years old, had dropped out of school and were trying to get pregnant (the Apocalypse should begin any moment) and that they promised to behave themselves while Nancy and Richard went to a birthday party. Ahhh....Heaven help the future of this nation!
Adam explained the situation which made Nancy even more irate because her guests were sabotaging her recently polished reputation. Adam calmly told her we called the police twice because the girl was yelling for help. Nancy marched up to her apartment, dragged the girl down to our door, and asked Adam to verify that she was the girl in the apartment. After verification, Nancy marched the girl back upstairs, demanded that she and the boyfriend leave immediately, and Richard's wrath was let loose upon the pair of them until they made the walk of shame from our building to the bus stop. Talk about entertainment; we are so excited to get out of here!

Midnight Visitor

I have to admit one thing: if we are going to have disturbances in the night due to unexpected visitors, I think I'd rather have it be mysterious criminals escaping the law than vermin. Unfortuately, the pond behind our house is a haven for both, so once in a while we get the latter sort (they don't even have the courtesy to knock on the door and give us a chance to grab the gun...they come in from under the oven and scare us out of our wits). We managed to grab a picture of our univited guest last night before we dispatched him to the dumpster where he'll hopefully be a happier rodent.

If you know Adam, you know that even though he is a strapping man who is afraid of very few things, mice get the best of him. He has my utter respect, though, because I am even more freaked out by the creepy, crawly creatures and could never muster enough courage/gall to stick my head under the oven and remove the trap. While I'm undecided on whether I prefer live or fatal traps, one thing is certain: I prefer visitors of the human persuasion!

I've Been Tagged: Six of My Many Quirks

My sister-in-law, Amy, tagged me, so here are six quirks:

1. My closet is organized by item type and color and in a very specific order. It drives me crazy to have an item out of place, not hanging the right direction, falling halfway off the hanger, etc.

2. I feel naked if I go for a run or walk by myself or without a stoller holding at least one child.

3. I'm a showering and shaving obsessor. Sometimes I shower four times a day, and frequently I've shaved my legs twice in one day. I have to shower and shave everything from my neck down every morning or I can't function; I'd shave my head and eyebrows, too, if I wouldn't look like a space freak. Body hair of any kind makes me absolutely sick, as does "bed smell".

4. I also have a very specific plan for items that go in the dishwasher (like Amy) and get really irritated if someone else loads the dishes the "wrong" way.

5. My toenails and fingernails must be as short as possible at all times; any white extension makes me feel dirty and bothers me tremendously!

6. I'm a bit of a kitchen snob; I love to use the best pans, knives, tools, appliances, and ingredients that I can and I treat my batterie de cuisine better than most of my posessions (hand washing, careful drying and placement in cabinets, etc.).

Leslie, Stephanie, Becky W., Adam, Jeanette, and Lindsey...you're it!

Happy Birthday, Karli!

I can't believe little Karli is already two years old! We had a fun weekend celebrating her birthday and finished it off with a big slice of Mike last night (Karli is obsessed with the movie Monsters, Inc., so I tried my hand at a monster cake). Derrick and Leslie came over to join the party and brought Karli an adorable Nemo bubble-blowing machine that Amber loves to "borrow".

Along with her pierced ears and new fuzzy blankie from her family, Grandma and Grandpa Liljenquist sent Karli a cute package full of fun surprises: hair barettes, movies, money for treats from the ice cream truck, princess jammies, a cover-up, and an adorable Ariel swimming suit. Grandma and Grandpa Clark gave Karli some money to use for a shopping spree where she found a cute baby doll that coos and giggles, another movie, Curious George panties, a bubble tumbler, and some new shirts. Great Grandma and Grandpa Rydalch sent her $5 to buy a new Barney book. Karli really cleaned up this year; thank you so much for all of your generosity and kindness! :)

False Alarm (the good kind)

Just to let everyone know, we are going to stay in Lansing until July 18th. That means we get a few more weeks of playgroup, the Trace Adkins concert for my birthday (yay!) and more time with Adam! :) We'll see you in Utah in three weeks!

Quasimo(squi)do

I took the kids for a walk on Tuesday morning when the temperature was a balmy 65 degrees and the humidity must have been at least 85 percent. Yesterday, we sat in the park for about 20 minutes around 11:00 a.m., still in air wetter than any tropical destination. Without knowing it, I managed to garner 27 mosquito bites, some of which penetrated my shirt (and I even have one on the bottom of my foot, right in the arch). They are gigantic and are driving me completely crazy! The biggest one of all is right on the back of my neck and leaves me looking like a poor old hunchback with only one thing to say: SANCTUARY!

Six Days Left

The kids and I are flying to Utah on Friday, never to return to our little house in the ghetto; I am so excited to be out of Lansing but feel a little melancholy to be leaving such wonderful friends (being away from Adam for a month is awful, too!). We've been here for three years--longer than we've lived anywhere as a couple--and I actually do feel a bit sad to be moving on. As ridiculous as it may sound, I've grown to love going to playgroup because I've met many amazing women (and their darling kids) who are wise, friendly, and funny to boot. I'll definitely miss everyone in the Holt Ward...and the pizza from DeLuca's! :)

From Baby to Big Girl in No Time Flat

I'm amazed by how quickly children grow up, especially when they do it right before my eyes. Just last week I felt like Karli would be a tantrum-throwing, whining infant forever, and yesterday I noticed she was talking to everyone like a tiny adult, reasoning and communicating with actual words instead of wailing and sobbing. Suddenly, she's even more entertaining and loveable than before and it's so fun to see/hear her develop into a big girl.

We marked the occasion (and her upcoming 2nd birthday) by getting her long-awaited earrings today. She was so brave and only cried for a few seconds. She told me she wanted "Monsters, Inc. earrings with soap in them", so I made an executive interpretation and ordered the clear, sparkly kind that I liked best. She has been such a good girl to not touch the earrings and lets me clean and medicate them without a fight. She says she looks like Giselle from "Enchanted" and is so excited to have pierced ears like Amber. Her little ears look darling!

Death by Olives

My poor digital camera finally gave up its ghost after three long years of toddler abuse. It's door hung by a meager, broken hinge for at least a year before it finally snapped off, thus rendering the camera useless (the broken door leaves the camera in a permanent "off" position; I'm considering a law suit against HP for an inherent design flaw). Goodbye, dear camera, you've been a great help in documenting some magnificent moments in my life.

One ray of light in this tragic moment is the slew of pictures I took just before zero hour: a feast of olives by Amber and Karli. I've only met one person who doesn't like olives (Adam) and I got a big kick out of seeing Amber and Karli put an olive on each finger the way I used to when I was a kid. Karli even managed to fit a few on her smaller toes (I envy her flexibility but am certainly glad I'm past the years of thinking it's cool to eat with my feet). They had a blast making "monster hands" and eating the olives off each other's digits until Amber accidentally took a bite of Karli's index finger.

Nudie Fest

Karli has finally taken someone over to the dark side; Rex enjoys spending time in the buff just as much as she does. Thank heavens he can't vocalize his desires like Karli can. She always yells out, "I want to be nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnNUDIE!" even in the grocery store and Relief Society.

Gas and Giggles

Rex has been smiling a bunch; of course, his best smiles occured just before we turned on the camera today. He is very well natured and we love having him around!

Rachael Ray, Beware

Amber is going to take over your career! She loves to cook and even has her own little toque. Here's the first take of the "Cheese Pie" episode of her cooking show. :)

Let the Humiliation Commence!

I've dreaded the moment for the span of my motherhood, and it finally happened last night at Target. Amber and Karli were in the shopping cart while Adam was loading items in after they were scanned by the checker. I was standing by, absently staring off (my lack-of-sleep induced behavior du jour) and faintly hearing Amber begging Adam to let her hold the lipstick she picked out. Adam said, "What? You want to hold the diapers?" Amber said, "No! The lipstick!" Adam: "You wear diapers?" Amber: "No, silly! Karli wears diapers. Mom wears diapers, too, after she has a baby!"
The checker, a 19-ish boy who was pretty punky, tried valliantly to stifle a surprised laugh, but couldn't do it. He chuckled as Adam finished loading up the goods (I was halfway out the door at this point!) and steered the cart away from the counter. Just then, Amber yelled out, "Mom, that guy (the checker) has earrings. That's funny!" Adam pushed the cart to the door as fast as he could and I was trying to hide my face in my hoodie as we scurried to the car.
I always worried that I embarrass Amber in front of her friends and other people, but now I'm not so concerned. I suppose the comments she made could have been much worse, so I'll chalk this up as a humorous moment in history and hope that this is as bad as it gets! :)

We Could All Use a Little More

Check out my all-time favorite TV commercial in the sidebar. I saw it the other night on So You Think You Can Dance and I got teary-eyed because I felt so inspired (okay, fine...I am really hormonal and tear up when I see a pile of clean clothes folded neatly...what can I say?!). I hope you like it!

Word Craft

As an English major, I'm pretty much enthralled by language and the acquisition thereof (nerd alert!). One of my favorite things to witness as a mother is the way my kids use their newfound linguistic skills to communicate. Recently, Amber has been rhyming and making up nonsense words and it is often hilarious to hear what she develops. A few days ago, she and Karli were playing in our bedroom and Amber said, "Come get me, Beeheehee!" Beeheehee now serves as one of Karli's nicknames (Amber coined her other nickname as well: Carlos), the name of a game (it involves playing in a specific region of the bedroom), and a word that also describes any general person who is bothering Amber ("Don't, Beeheehee!").

My Narcissistic Experiment

To all of you ladies out there (I don't think I've achieved the blogger popularity of having mannies read my blog, but in case I have, by all means, mannies...go right ahead, too), I've started a new blog called Mama Moda. I'm hoping you'll all visit and post your best advice, recipes, tips, etc. Hopefully, it will be a helpful forum to record and reference all the wonderful ideas we hear and share everyday. Thanks in advance for your input and I hope you enjoy it!

http://mamamoda.blogspot.com

Lost in Translation

Amber and Karli are talking up a storm these days; Karli is learning how to use sentences and Amber is rapidly increasing her vocabulary (a result of her constant stream of questions, I think). The cutest thing about this new linguistic phenomenon is that they both get new, large words confused with other words they already know. Here are some of the best:

Amber told Adam she wants a red "incredible" (convertible).
Amber and Adam bought "elevator" at Meijer (Gatorade).
"Bacteria" put Karli in her car seat for me yesterday (Octavia, our neighbor).
Karli's new favorite movie is "George Washington" (Curious George).

My Little Mermaid

Amber has always loved mermaids; she was Aquamarine for Halloween and is obsessed with Disney's "The Little Mermaid". She even has a crush on Prince Eric and pretends to call him on her Little Mermaid cell phone. Imagine her delight when she saw this large rock at Georgetown Park the other day. She screamed out, "Look Mom! A rock like Ariel's!" and climbed onto it as fast as she could. She immediately started singing, "Watch and you'll see, someday I'll be part of your world!" and did the dramatic back-arch move that Ariel does. It was adorable!

Great Dane

My little sister, Allison, was called to the Denmark Copenhagen mission today. My cousin, Skyler, is serving there, too, so they'll get to see each other once in a while. Our ancestors came from Denmark; maybe Allison will have an advantage with a Danish last name. She is set to leave on September 3rd and I know she'll be a great missionary!

Swamp Things

Living in Michigan has taught me to appreciate the things I hated while growing up in Idaho and Utah, but living in a desert is the thing I took for granted the most. Yesterday we had torrential rain for six hours. Normally, I would have been elated to open the windows, smell the fresh, cool air, and snuggle up with Adam to enjoy the sexiness of a rainstorm of that magnitude. This storm, however, had no cooling effect on the 88-degree temperature and the air was anything but fresh. In weather like this, showering seems utterly pointless as one can never actually dry off afterward. Fixing my hair is also pointless because despite using the best in anti-humectant technology, it hangs in the same, shapeless and frizzy mass only moments after I unplug my flatiron. I must say I cannot stand amphibious living any longer!

The 80%-plus humidity also wreaks havoc on my laundry, and I am falling victim to what I deem the most horrific domestic odor: sour towels. I suffered from this travesty for the better part of my childhood and vowed that when I had my own house, my towels would never have a discernible fragrance. I have, up until this point, been able to maintain wonderfully clean and fresh towels, but last night I experienced a terrible shock when I emerged from the shower and grabbed my newly-washed towel from the bar. As soon as it touched my wet face, the acrid, sour odor blasted into my nostrils and nearly knocked me out. I frantically thought to myself "How could this be happening to me?" After all, I use bleach and baking soda in every load of towels that I wash, and I am the from-washer-immediately-to-dryer Nazi of the Clark home. The only explanation is the cursed humidity; the towels don't even get dry in the dryer. They hang in the bathroom to dry but don't have a chance in heck, hence we are stuck in the awful, disgusting cycle of towel stench. Save us!

Nothin' But a G Thang

Here are some of Rex's best tricks--the gang signs he's learned from five weeks of living in the ghettos of Lansing. He's a 'hood figga; he even has the saggy shorts-for-pants. Word.

Adventure in the 'Hood

Last night we had yet another brush with crime and punishment; of course, we wouldn't be able to have a normal week at The Arbors without a visit from the police.

At 11:00 p.m., Adam was lying down by Amber and Rex in our room and I was working in the office. We heard a knock on our door and assumed it was our beloved upstairs neighbor coming to chat with (lie to) us about the goings on with her multiple lovers and roomates. Adam jumped up, threw on some clothes, and retrieved the revolver from the top shelf of our closet. He carefully opened the door to find a young black male (I'll affectionately refer to him as Suspect #2; you'll know why in a moment) trying to push his way past our neighbor, Ken, into their apartment.

Adam said, "Did you knock on our door?" and #2, feverishly out of breath and looking horrified, told Adam he had just been jumped in the parking lot. Suspect #2 proceeded to pull out a $10 bill (convenient after being jumped, no?), hand it to Adam, and say, "I need to come in and call my girlfriend." Adam said, "There's no way I'm letting you in my house, but I'd be happy to call the police for you. Wait here." #2 said, "No, that's o.k." and walked away quickly.

An element which makes this event even more bizarre and creepy is the wailing of several police sirens heard in the area. Adam shut the door and told me about the conversation. We started wondering if QD, the gas station on our corner, or one of the adjacent liquor stores had been robbed again. Adam decided to go check it out and left me with the loaded gun and the kids.

Shortly thereafter, he called my phone and said, "Lock it up!" I could hear police talking to him on the other end and then he said he had to go but would be right home. At QD, Adam told police what had happened. The officer asked for our address (to which he replied, "Oh yeah...you have a problem neighbor in #5, huh?" See what we deal with?!) and asked Adam if he could identify Suspect #2 if he needed him to do so in a line up. Adam said yes, gave the officer his phone number and an offical statement, and returned home.

An hour later, the midnight need for a Monster emerged and Adam headed back to QD to see if the robbery had been cleared up. The clerk said they hadn't been robbed, but that there was a horrbile accident on I-96 (a block southwest of our apartment) and that someone had been hit while trying to cross the freeway. Adam drove over to the scene to find crime tape, ten cop cars, and numerous emergency vehicles. Upon his return, we anxiously waited for a news report to crop up. At around 5:00 a.m. (I finally gave up at 2:00, but he managed to stay awake), Adam told me the whole story. Check it out here: http://www.lansingstatejournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080603/NEWS01/80603001

We believe our visitor last night was Suspect #2. Needless to say, we felt like we were living in an episode of "Cops." Who needs movies when you have real-life crime drama unfolding at your door?

Precious

The other day, Amber and Rex interacted so much that they tuckered right out on the couch. It was adorable!

The New Normal

I never believed that having strict schedules and enforcing routines was all it is cracked up to be. Yes, I know, many of you are frenetically gripping your mouses (mice?) and uttering horror-filled gasps of disgust, but I liked having a bit of flexibility in our family's procedures for two reasons: 1) We operate on a student's clock, which means we steal family togetherness time whenever we can (generally between nine and ten-thirty p.m. and lately around four a.m. for a fun-filled session of whining, eating, whining, movie watching, more whining, and back/tummy/arm/leg/foot tickling) and 2) Spontaneity is something I have always loved. Those were the good old days!

Now, since the feeble daily structure that we maintained pre-Rex is shattered, I yearn to Stepfordize my family's activities for the sake of my fleeting sanity. I never knew I had it so good as far as accomplishing basic tasks goes. My whole method of living is unraveled and I wonder if I'll ever find a 15-minute window of time to actually work out again. I guess I'm almost there, though; I do manage to put on my work out clothes before someone needs a diaper change, a meal, or a load of laundry washed--needless to say, I've been wearing the same work out clothes for a week because they never get worn during a work out.

Ironically, I see that even I, the non-routinist, did in fact employ a schedule that worked fairly well until May second rolled around. I'm taking bets on how long it will be before I regain a livable mode of functionality.

Random Things That Make Me Happy

People always tell me it's the small things that make life wonderful and I agree. I find it funny that once in a while, the small things are SO small, no one but ourselves would be able to notice them. Hence, the purpose of this post. Here are two of my very small things:

1) I finally made a complete batch of sugar cookies (dough-making, refrigeration period, cooking, cooling, frosting-making, and decorating always seems to be way too much of a process for me) and actually had them turn out. They were so cute that I indeed hesitated before I ate each cookie in nearly the whole batch. It did help me, though, that two of our neighborhood kids walked right into our apartment and helped themselves to a few without asking. :) My inner Martha was very satisfied with the darling (if I may say so myself) 7-minute frosting job.

2) As I prepared to take a shower this morning, I noticed the bottom of my ribcage for the first time in about six months. To some, this may seem trivial to the point of ridicule, but to all of you who have been pregnant, this is a reason to rejoice! I must admit, the ribs are still covered in an abundant layer of loose skin and fat, but to see the mere shape--even a suggestion--of a ribcage made me smile.

Despite the six loads of laundry to fold, a filthy bathroom to clean, and three sinkfuls of dirty dishes to wash, today is going to be a glorious day!