It's not you, it's me.

During the five years we lived in the rainy Northwest, locals often told me how "unusual" the weather was. They'd say things like, "I'm never bothered by the [cold/gray/wet], but this year it's worse than normal."

Whenever I'd leave the state, I'd be excited for a change in the weather, but usually, I'd be disappointed. Every time we came to Utah for Spring Break, it would rain or snow, while those who stayed in the Northwest would report that I'd missed a week of beautiful weather there! Even when we went on our Caribbean cruise, our biggest excursions got rained out. In the Caribbean!!!

Now that we're back in the desert, and I'm smugly anticipating a warm spring and hot, dry summer...

Here are today's weather reports.

Seattle:
While not quite unheard of, we are nearing "rarely heard of" territory with the current dry streak. Monday will be the 27th day in a row in which no measurable rain has been recorded at Sea-Tac Airport. We are nearing the record for longest dry streak spanning May into June. If we don't get rain Wednesday, the streak could last well into the 30s as we return to a dry but pleasant pattern of morning clouds then afternoon sunshine, with highs in the 70s.Enjoy the week!
Paul Deanno, komo4 news

Salt Lake:
We've had rain just about every day this month-- and it looks like we are in for more. Partly cloudy early in the day- but with so much moisture in the air- and a low pressure area to our north- we should see some more showers this afternoon. Another chance of rain Wednesday and Thursday. -Grant Weyman, Live 5 Weather


I know it. It's me. Expect the unexpected.

Isn't it Ironic

While the skies are rumbling with thunder, a few little tummies in this household are rumbling with sickness.

So while my kids are "tossing their cookies", I'm in the mood to bake some. With chocolate chips.

How Do You...

...choose a dentist?

Do you choose someone you know personally? Or do you avoid personal relationships with medical professionals? I'm not sure I want my dentist to be that up close and personal with my face/mouth in his office, and then casually say hello at church on Sunday. Knowing someone is a dentist, even if he's not my dentist, makes me self-conscious around him. What if I have bad breath? I already know that I have crooked teeth, which are not perfectly white. Do I want someone I know personally to get a really close look at them?

Here's a unique set of choices for you to help me with right now. I could :

A) Go back to the dentist we used to see 6+ years ago when we lived in this area before, although I'm sure he wouldn't remember us, and I have no special feelings towards him as a dentist. He wasn't bad. (And for a dentist, that's a compliment, I'd say.)

B) Go to a dentist who was in my last ward. All I really know about him is that his wife is delightful! :)

C) Go to a dentist who lives in my new ward. I saw a girl asking him questions about her orthodontia this past Sunday, and I wondered if she's his patient or not. I suppose he could be a handy resource either way. And I bet he might get tired of that. But maybe not.

D) Pick a random stranger from my list of participating dental providers. Maybe the closest one to my house?...


Ok, vote now. And hurry, because I need to schedule appointments before it skips my mind again!

Summer Syndrome

Every time school lets out, it hits.

Last year I blamed it on having a newborn, and waking up with her during the night.

But this year, it's affecting us all...even little Olivia.

When school is out, we like to sleep in.

And, not unrelated is the fact that we like to stay up later than usual. Even Olivia. I tried to put her to bed at the normal time last night, but she wouldn't have it. So we gave that up, went for a walk, and put her to bed later.

Which might explain why it's now after 9 a.m., and she's still asleep.

Even though I hate waking up in the morning, I really feel lazy when I sleep in past 7:30 or so. I'm conflicted, I know.

Lauren gets to attend summer school this month, which begins at 8:30. Last week I was good about getting myself out of bed when Doug left for work, giving me time to get dressed and fix breakfast before taking Lauren to school. But the past two mornings, I've startled myself awake at about 8:15. Not good. (Except the good part is that I know my internal clock is pretty accurate. I never wear a watch, and I don't set the alarm. My mind just subconsciously keeps track of time for me. I think it's a talent, or maybe just a gift of motherhood.)

Anyhow, the worst part of this summer habit is having to break it again in two months. And then dealing with the Daylight Saving time change just two months after that.

Instead of waiting til then, I'd rather nip this thing in the bud, and continue to get out of bed closer to 7:00 in the morning, even during the summer.

Also, I would like to exercise. I think a morning walk/jog would be refreshing. But I don't like to go alone. Anyone...?

Biped

Take one cute crawler.

Remove one pair pants.

Add one pink plug (aka Binky Power).

Voila! She walks.

Olivia is a self-motivated little thing. Set up two of her favorite people in a walking practice scheme, and Olivia would rather cuddle or be carried. But give her some space (like an empty room), and she'll teach herself to stand, unassisted, and suddenly walk right past you while you're sitting, preoccupied, on the couch.

Way to go, Baby!

Reduce & Simplify

As of this morning, and for the first time in two months, we are officially responsible for just one house: our own.

The rental home is empty, clean (Thanks to my mother!!!), locked, and the keys are no longer in my posession.

It is so nice to be relieved of that burden.

But since I know that it is going to be vacant for the next 30+ days...I might have to go cut myself some fresh flowers and pick myself some apricots (if they ripen soon enough) from the yard. That place was kind of nice. :)

Can You Spot the Differences?

Calling P-O-P-C-O-R-N

I have a pretty good memory for numbers. Doug uses me as his personal phone & address book instead of ever looking anything up (even his own parents' digits), or memorizing it, for that matter.

But we've had quite a few changes in a very short time: 3 distinct addresses in the past 6 months, all of which were based on North/South - East/West coordinates. It makes new places easy to find (except in WA where they are not square blocks, and there are several streets by the same name in the same city that do not connect--crazy!). But it really tests my brain's retention skills.

In Washington (where we also had 2 different addresses that were very close to each other), I made up songs to teach my little ones our address, using familiar tunes. One was to the tune of "The Song That Never Ends." That made for fun car rides.

I didn't even bother trying to teach the girls our most recent address, because 1)it was long and random, and 2)I knew it was very temporary.

When we bought our new house here, the difficulty of the address honestly made it onto my list of "cons". But other features overcame that. So here we are, with an address to memorize, and I can't come up with a song that fits it.

To complicate matters of the mind even more, we have changed phone numbers even more frequently than addresses. Doug's work number and cell phone number have changed, and obviously our home phone number changed when we left Washington. I was really happy to get to pick a super easy new home phone number back in December.

And then, when I transferred our phone service to this new home, they just about sent me over the edge when they told me I couldn't bring that easy phone number with me.

I tried to get them to assign us a number that would be easy for my kids to remember. We tried to incorporate part of our new address into our phone number--no luck. Finally they offered me a number that seemed very simple to recall. I was happy with that until, two days later, it turned out to belong to a local tire company, and not to me.

So, we have a new number. It has been proven to direct callers to my own home phone, and not someone else's business. But my poor mind (let alone my poor kids) is overwhelmed with numbers (and other issues) at the present time. So I'm trying to figure out some little device to help me remember.

And then my mind (which is having a hard time remembering everything current) when back to when I was a kid, and our favorite number to dial was P-O-P-C-O-R-N, which was a recorded message with the local time and temperature.

That also reminded me how, when I was a freshman in a college dorm, some girls living across the hall from me discovered that the last 4 digits of their phone number spelled out K-I-S-S. A number only freshman girls could be giddy about.

So I studied my new number, looking for a word it might spell, and here's what I found:

a problem.

Our last 4 digits include a zero. Can you think of any words that have "operator" in the middle?

The Dust Settles...S L O W L Y

Sometimes I have to post, just because I'm sick of seeing/thinking about my previous post.

So, I'm sitting at my computer, in a quiet house, without the burden of "I have so much to do and not enough time to get it done!" on my mind. I do still have so much to do (unpack mountains of boxes), but I'm in no big hurry. We're planning to stay in this house for a long time. And it's feeling nice to take a break.

We took a walk around the neighborhood this evening. I made a real dinner (Doug helped) which we ate, at the normal dinner time, around our own dinner table, on real dishes. How long has it been?! And I even baked cookies!

It's starting (just starting) to feel like normal life again, by golly!

Except for one thing: Doug and I have been asked to be in charge of the Webelos. And that definitely doesn't feel like "normal" life to me!

Reality Check

I don't often watch that one reality show about a certain couple who has twins and sextuplets, because I find it either boring or obnoxious. But a series of events (I needed to relax after the kids were in bed, and I also needed to braid Katelyn's hair for her, so I turned on the tube, and my Tivo is disconnected because it's having issues, so I was left with live t.v., and that show was on...) led me to see a teaser about their threatening divorce.

Can you imagine?...

So even though I had to bore myself for half an hour watching the kids' birthday party, and commercials in between (I really miss my Tivo), I had to stay tuned til the end to see what they had to say about their broken marriage.

I found it very sad, and very interesting.

When questioned by the producer about the future of their marriage, both parents (who refused to look at each other or speak to each other, and who constantly rolled their eyes at each other's comments) repeatedly emphasized that everything they do is for their kids, and how they want the best for their kids, and so they plan to do everything in their power to protect their kids.

And here's what I'm thinking:

Before they had any kids to focus on, they made commitments to each other. And then they brought 8 children into that commitment.

So, Overwhelmed-but-Good-Intentioned-Parents-Turned-Celebrities, don't think that you're looking valiant by voicing your dedication to your children, when simultaneously you're abandoning the commitment that you first made to their other parent. I realize that the children are young and vulnerable and needy, but sometimes to one's surprise, and even sometimes to one's frustration, spouses need nurturing just as much as little children.

There have been times when I've caught myself in this dilemma, and have struggled to put into action what I know to be true, that my role as wife shouldn't be displaced by my role as mommy. Being a mother to young ones can be so consuming!

But as Doug and I watched this sad t.v. episode end, he commented to me, "That's sad. It just makes me want to hold you closer."

Get it? Seeing trouble in that marriage made him want to hold me close. Not our children.

I don't want to forget.