Green Means Go, Red Means Stop, Yellow Means...

Hannah has been obsessed with stoplights lately. If she sees the light turn green, and I'm waiting for the car ahead of me to go so that I can start moving, she has to point out that it's a green light, which means we can go now. She makes me aware of when the people to our left can go now, because she sees a green "point" (=arrow).

She has memorized the poem:

Green means Go!
Red means Stop!
Green's Below and
Red's on Top.

Unfortunately, I neglected to explain yellow to her. (Or in her eyes, orange.) Once in a while she'll ask me about the middle light, and I'll tell her that yellow means "watch out, be careful." Even though I learned when I was little that "Yellow means wait, even if you're late!", as a driver I never fully embraced that concept. And in my defense, I'd like to say that I'm really a good driver. I have never been pulled over, never received a citation, and I haven't been involved in an accident for 10 years, and even that was not my fault--I was rear-ended while I was at a dead stop behind a bus, by some silly student in Provo. Need I say more?

Anyhow, a couple of weeks ago, when I was taking the girls to meet Doug (who had been at church meetings) at the ice rink for their skating lessons, and I was running a bit late, and we were (of course) hitting every red light on the way, I got a bit frustrated. As we approached the final stoplight before the rink, and the light turned yellow as I approached, I decided that in that case, Yellow means hurry up! I had put in more than my fair share of time waiting at red lights on that road! As I crossed the intersection, I saw a couple flashes of light out of the corner of my eye, sort of like lightning. It was a rainy day (surprise, surprise), so it could have been lightning, but I knew it wasn't. And halfway through the intersection, I glanced up and saw the red light above me. Ok, so that was cutting it close. I knew it. After dropping off the girls, as I was waiting at a red light at that same intersection a few minutes later, heading the other way, I watched the same flashes of light as another driver tried to squeeze through before the red, and I noticed the traffic cameras next to the stoplights. So, I wasn't totally surprised today when I saw in the pile of today's mail an envelope from the city's "Photo Enforcement Program." And I wasn't surprised to see a picture of my van in the middle of the intersection with the red light above it. But I was surprised to see the picture showing my van not yet entering the intersection, and a red light above that. Honestly, did someone tamper with the photos? Because I would not have done that on purpose.

So, I'm going to swallow my pride, admit my guilt, pay the fine, repent of my yellow-light philosophy, and start practicing the complete stoplight poem with my 3-year-old. Especially the part about Yellow means WAIT, even if you're LATE! (Exactly 4minutes, 47.9seconds late, according to these photos.)

Who's Who

I think I have a pretty good idea of what this baby will look like when she's born: Dark hair (I'd be shocked if she comes out bald!), chubby cheeks (hopefully not too chubby!), adorable pouty lips.

The bigger question is, what will she look like a year from now?

Brown hair with hazel eyes, or blonde hair with blue eyes? We have 2 of each, so far. Maybe Olivia will mix things up?

According to Hannah...

"Princesses don't have to wear shirts."

And these are called "big girl diapers":

She likes to wear them, although thankfully she doesn't use them for anything. She just knows where to place them. This is what I noticed when she came downstairs as I was hosting my Visiting Teachers:

And what I found upstairs in the bathroom after they left:

Any suggestions on how to explain maxi pads to a 3-year-old?!

2 Committees = Please Commit Me!

It was a crazy week, and I've been feeling insane. I'm on two committees now: Enrichment and Activities. And both had major functions to pull off this week. I'm a girl who enjoys social activities, but I'm getting to see another side of them, and it may cure me of my party-girlish ways. Alternatively, once I get rid of this sciatic nerve pain (which should occur before I have another week like this one), these callings may not seem so bad. Plus, I'll probably be feeling much more calm after I get through my organ-piano duet next Sunday. (Since I'm the organ half of the duet, I can't seem to manage much practice time, and that doesn't help calm the nerves.)

And to completely change the subject, we've had some crazy weather this weekend. There was a little hail storm yesterday afternoon, between moments of clear skies and rain showers. But last night there was a pounding hail storm that woke me from a sound sleep, and I was almost curious enough to get out of bed and look out the window at it...almost...except for that sciatica and deep sleep combination. But anyhow, I started thinking today, and I have come up with a new rule that I think we could all agree on: Easter may not arrive until the tulips are in bloom. Agreed? Or am I truly crazy?

Too Big

Baby is too big. Went to the doctor yesterday. Ultrasound shows that the placenta has migrated out of the danger zone (good news) and baby is measuring two weeks bigger than she should be (not really good news). Estimated weight=5pounds1ounce. Simple math equation: If baby gains 1/2 pound per week until due date, she would match Hannah's birth weight of 9 pounds +. That's not good news. So...we'll have another ultrasound scan in a month, and see if everything is still following this unfortunate curve. In the meantime, I'm not supposed to worry about it. HA!

Katelyn is getting too big, too. She and I went to the middle school for an Open House on Monday night. Weird. She's going to be in the company of 8th graders this fall! Yikes! And yesterday she came home from school and informed me that in her classroom (4th and 5th graders, mind you!) they have been reading Tom Sawyer, and somehow that lead to an hour-long discussion about risky teen behaviors that she and her classmates have heard of (she mentioned examples such as "the choking game" and jumping off of bridges into water below). That disturbs me a bit--I'm very curious about how the teacher managed that dialogue. Of course, Katelyn and I got to continue the discussion and put our own perspective on things last night, so I'm glad she would mention such things to me.

Finally, I think I'm getting too big (I mean old) for my own ideas of entertainment. Yesterday I was invited to have lunch with some friends. We got take-out from Olive Garden--soup and salad and breadsticks, very mature, right? And after eating we went downstairs to this friend's basement and played Rock Band, while the little people (like Hannah and Lauren) played with toys...when they weren't borrowing the microphone and singing, or dancing to our crazy music. Do moms eating Olive Garden and playing Rock Band seem oxymoronoic (I think I just made up that word) to you?!

Obsessing

There are two things my mind dwells on lately: Spring, and Birthing this Baby. I am extremely excited, as always, for Spring to be here. I can tell it's on its way. On Saturday, Katelyn and I spent a while outside, picking weeds and mowing the lawn. (It was Katelyn's first mowing job, and I think she liked it. It's interesting how much one can improve their lawn mowing skills in just the small distance from one end of our yard to the other!)

I am also very anxious for this baby's birth, and I do mean "anxious" in more than one sense of the word. Anxious-excited, because I can't wait to meet this little person, and I will be very happy to make my way back to a non-pregnant body. (Back pain, anyone?) But also, anxious-worried, because I'm afraid by the way things feel right now that this baby will be another giant like Hannah, and that means C-section. That terrifies me. It didn't scare me when my medical professionals suggested the idea at first, because I thought it would never happen. But the bigger I get, and the bigger this baby gets, the more real the possibility seems.

Why is it that when I'm not pregnant, I can eat more and gain less? I feel like I can never satisfy my hunger because my stomach is too squished now, and I have to stop eating after half as many bites as I would like to eat. And yet, apparently every bite I take settles promptly and securely onto my mid-section, there to stay and make me feel guilty and confused about my constant cravings for food. We went to dinner with 3 other couples last weekend, really delicious Thai food, and I had to stop eating long before everyone else, and just sit there and watch them enjoy the hot food, and ponder how unfair it was that I couldn't eat like them.

Anyhow, there's no good outcome here. Either the baby is normal size and all this weight is just mine to deal with after she's born, or the baby is growing as big as I'm afraid she is, and I'll end up with a surgical birth. I have an ultrasound scheduled this week, and I'll be hoping for some sort of happy news to come out of it. Fingers crossed...

Here's some photographic evidence of my second obsession, as seen through the eyes of Hannah:

The Belly

My calendar: Hannah and I both keep notes on this!

A current favorite bedtime story

And the winner is...

Olivia Suzanne

I hope you like it! :) I think you do, since no one voted "No Way" for that name. I think I like it, too, but I have a hard time committing. After days of deliberation about whether or not to post this, I had to take a deep breath and wipe the sweat from my palms in order to type that announcement. Doug and the girls, however, take it much easier. They've been telling everyone they talk to that we've decided on that name, and I'm the only member of this family who's still hesitating. But I've learned from experience (beginning with baby #2) that once Doug starts announcing the baby's name, there's no going back.

Actually, it's not completely true that I'm the only one with reservations about making this name official. Hannah is warming up to the idea, but she still usually insists that the baby's name is "Bidia". I'm pretty sure that's going to stick after the baby makes her debut. So if Olivia wasn't your favorite, you can always join Hannah's campaign.

How Old is 35?

No, it's not that old. That's Lauren, dressed up as she imagines herself at 100 years old, celebrating her 100th day of kindergarten this week.


But 35 is...

Old enough (finally) for your age to be bigger than your pant size.

Young enough to still enjoy the privilege of lighting your own birthday candles,

but Old enough to put the fire out like this...

Young enough to pick the ice cream that has the most chocolate packed into one container, Old enough to appreciate a truly delicious homemade German Chocolate cake, and also

Old enough to control yourself and only eat one piece.

(None of the rest of us are that old yet.)

Old enough to be grateful for calls and cards from loved ones...Thank You!

But young enough to get excited about this gift...

All Fun & Games

Last night Katelyn had a friend from church come over to our house for dinner (pizza) and a movie (Becoming Jane). Katelyn's friend is a sweet girl, and we all had an evening that would rank as "above average" on the Family Entertainment Scale.... Not exceptionally high on the scale, just a little more enjoyable than a typical evening around here.

So today after church, this friend's mom comes to me and says, "Kylie had a great time at your house last night. She told me, 'Mom, they play games at the dinner table. We don't do that.'" I quickly replied to this mom, "Oh yes, we do that every night," as I winked.

The "game" we played was simply an effort to keep our girls at the table and engaged with the family for more than two bites. We ended up playing an impromptu quiz game about Emily, and we shared a few laughs while we finished our pizza.

I wish that every dinner was like that. And it struck me as humorous that Katelyn's friend would go home after one evening with us and assume that we are a jolly, connected, game-playing family all the time.

It reminded me of my first exposure to this place where we now live. Doug and I came househunting. We flew in to our new city on New Year's Day, just a few days after we'd been snowed in at my parents' house. There was misty rain all day long while we looked at houses for rent. But the temperatures were mild, and it was shockingly green and pretty in this area, for the middle of winter. The next day, it was clear and sunny, and a very beautiful day. As we drove around town trying to get to know the area a little bit, we even lowered the car windows a crack and enjoyed the fresh air. Mid-morning, we stopped at a store, and inside, I asked one of the employees how often they had weather like this, during the winter season.
He and his buddy laughed out loud. Now I understand why. I had no idea how lucky we were to be here, exploring the area for the first time, on such a beautiful January day as that.

I think it may have been a tender mercy.

I love days like that, and the more rare they become, the more thrilled I get to see them return occasionally.

But in the meanwhile, I think I'm even more prone to experience one lousy day and think that's the way it is all the time.

I love playing "games" at the dinner table, and although I could easily get depressed because that is not the every-day course of family dinners around here, I'm trying to just be very grateful for those occasions, and from them take comfort that we really are doing something right as a family, and that our relations in this household involve more than just bickering, nagging, and getting frustrated with each other.

There's nothing like the impending birth of a new family member to make a mother insecure and discouraged about all the things she's not yet doing right, or even well-enough, for the family she's already got. And there's nothing like an unusually cold and gloomy summer to make a sun-worshiper like myself dread the seemingly-endless dreariness of winter.

So this week, I am so grateful for lots of sunshine, spending time outside, and family games around the dinner table.

Sunny Get-Away

We decided to surprise the girls with a mini-vacation. It was so much fun! We packed light and didn't go far, but it was great to "get away" as a family.

First we went to see the Spiderwick movie--and it turned out to be too scary for Hannah and Lauren. (I should have believed the reviews I read/heard.) So, we now have 3 movie passes, so we can try again when the Horton movie comes out next month, maybe. I took the two of them window shopping at Target (one of Hannah's favorite passtimes), while the others finished watching the show.

After the movie, we drove to the hotel. The girls caught on pretty quickly and were very excited about the surprise. (Katelyn says she was suspicious that we would do something along those lines, but by the time we pulled into the hotel parking lot, she had forgotten about her suspicions!)

We had some snacks, went swimming in the hotel pool, and then went out to dinner. We had brought puzzles and games with us, but by the time we got back to our room after our late dinner, we were all ready to crash into bed--so that's what we did!

This morning, Doug walked to the nearby bus stop and went to work. The girls and I enjoyed breakfast at the hotel, followed by more swimming, before we came home later in the morning.

You would think we'd be tired of being in the water, but still, Hannah is now enjoying her third bath today. That's partly because she's been playing outside (sadly uncommon here!) and getting dirty, because we've had beautiful weather during this long weekend!! It doesn't get much better than that! Have I ever mentioned before that I LOVE THE SUN?!?!