Food. . .glorious food!

I'm not a big "craver" when I'm pregnant, but lately there are some things I've HAD to have in the last few months. . .

grapes. . .mmm. . big, juicy, green or red, why am I craving these in the middle of winter when they cost like $4 a pound??

tomatoes. . . on just about everything

avacadoes. . .I've always been a fan, but lately they're like the tomatoes. . .on EVERYTHING, or just plain.

bacon. . .I've had a LOT of BLT's. . .actually BLTA's (can't forget the avacado!)

Dove truffle eggs. . .no surprise, pregnant or not

Izze. . .it's my thing lately. . .but only the pomegranate. . .I guess it's better than Dr. Pepper, which still wins sometimes. (ok, a lot of the time)

Who can resist these cute bottles? Not I. My beloved SuperTarget also sells Izze in cute little cans (a 12 pack!)

Don't worry it's not all tomatoes and grapes. . .there's plenty of this thrown in there. . .




MMM. . .what's for lunch today?

Coincidence? I think not.

My childhood home (actually childhood, teenage, lived there from the day I was born until the day I was married home) is for sale.

AND my birthday is coming up (in a couple of months)!

Anyone want to buy me a great present?

Anyone?

Anyone?

It starts. . .

I knew someday (I was hoping much later), my beautiful daughters would begin to get noticed. So imagine my surprise when my first grader came home with $12 from a second grader.

Me: Where did you get that?

Molly: From "Bob" (obviously not his name)

Me: Why?

Molly: I don't really know.

Me: Well, what did he say?

Molly: He said "here, sit by me on the bus tomorrow."

I politely put the money in an envelope and wrote a note to his mother. . .I wasn't quite sure what to say.

"your kid was trying to buy my daughters attention"

"your son gave her money to sit by him"

"your son gave away his lunch money for a chance to sit by my beautiful daughter"

I decided on "Bob gave Molly this money, she wasn't quite sure why, we're just returning it."

Heaven help us.

How to make a 3 year old really happy. . .

Happy 3rd Birthday baby girl!!

ski bums (on and off the slopes)

We had a fabulous time at Grandpa Camp at Tahoe. My Dad, all of my siblings/spouses were there and all the grandkids except Katrina (we missed you!!). My brother-in-laws family owns a home right on Donner Lake (yes, those "Donners"), and it's gorgeous. We almost had enough room for everyone, Grandpa opted to sleep down the road at the Holiday Inn, a smart choice given the late nights that were had at the cabin. I'm still recovering from the lack of sleep.



We stopped after we flew into Reno to visit our friends that were in Nebraska for law school. We had a quick (late--thanks Shanna!) bite and visited and got some cute pictures!



Our chef, Suzanne. Yummy meatball subs, pizza, spagetti squash, salads, turkey, mashed potatoes, rolls, the list goes on and on!!

Grandpa and the gang after the Grandpa Camp Show!!

Choo-choo

Everyone singing the Grandpa camp song to Katrina on the phone.

Madison and grandpa Gary

Molly

Whit

Everyone sing!!! (You have NO excuse, Dad even printed off the words!)

More of the gang singing

Grandpa leads the group!

(the gang on the deck. . .Cameron, holding Justin, Brandon, Hannah, Sarah, Madison, Megan, Molly, Annie, Whitney, Lincoln. . .oldest cousin Katrina stayed home for this trip, baby Quincy was inside)

Gorgeous sunset on Donner Lake

Who's hungry?

My sister Lisa, brother-in-law Sterling (with baby Quincy--who was amazing. . he did this most of the time) Lincoln, Whitney, Annie (some mornings), and I held down the cabin and played games and did puzzles all day while most everyone was gone skiing/snowboarding. We had just as much fun as they did. When everyone was fed well when they got home the night games began. I don't think I made it to bed before 2am most nights.

Grandpa and most of the gang on the slopes.

The snowboardin' crew

Molly and Megan tubing

Is she the cutest thing or what? Annie ready to go tubing

Matt and Molly

The Sullivan clan, Sarah, Scott, Annie and MeganMadison and Sarah tubing

here's Scott, Annie and Hannah tubing

(the "twinners" Molly and Megan)

Madison and Sarah at the slopes

Meanwhile. . .back at the cabin. . .Lincoln and Whitney
Look at that form from Molly!!

Madison

Molly

Sarah and Maddie

Yeah, I could deal with this out my back window. . .the snow covered Donner Lake early on Wednesday morning

The ski bums. . Matt, Maddie, Molly

The halfway point. . .

Well, techinically I'm 21 weeks, but I figure it's about time I posted about all this pregnancy business!!

I'm one of those sicko pregnant people. . .it usually lasts at least 16 weeks, this time it was about 18. It wasn't awful like it was with Molly (read: in bed, ALL day, lots of pukes, addicted to the food tv channel, and could only eat french fries), but it was still bad. I still can't brush my teeth very long. And that's all I have to say about that.

Super tired. I forgot how tired I get. It seems worse this time but those 3 other kiddos may be attributing to it. . .and I don't think it'll be over for about 18 years.

Excited kids. It's fun to have kids that are excited about a new baby. All of them. It about killed them not to tell everyone they know until about 12 weeks. They were about busting to spread the news.

Loving the lub-dub. There's just something about hearing those first little beats. I don't know why but from the start I had anxiety about this baby. Like something was wrong, or I was just trying to set myself up for it incase something happened (probably because one of my best friends miscarried her 4th, my mom miscarried her 4th, and recently we had some close friends have their baby die at 20 weeks.) So, hearing that heartbeat the first time let me exhale.

Drama. Scary. Not fun. But everything was fine.

Little kicks. I swear I could feel Molly move at about 10 weeks, but that is so her personality. This one was about 14 weeks. Matt finally felt the baby kick just this week. I think the baby just wasn't willing to put on a show. . .as soon as someone would put their hand there. . .he'd stop. Whitney loves to put her little hand on my belly and say "you feel that?"

Speaking of "he". . .can you believe it? We seriously would have been thrilled to have another girl (and so would my pocketbook), but we're over the moon about having a little boy in this house. In Matt's family (he's oldest of 7, and only has one brother), this will be the first (and maybe only) boy to carry on the Mar name. Just wait until you see/hear about all the cute photoshoots Matt's sister has in mind. Can you say little superman cape?

The ultrasound. I'm always amazed at the things they can see during an ultrasound these days. Not only "the parts", but I could see his little tooth buds (proud little dental hygienist momma), his little fingers waving around, strong little legs kickin' away, even a little swallow. They even gave him a percentile rank of growth. "He's in the 67th percentile for all babies his age". At ultrasound (almost 19 weeks) he was 8 inches from head to toe and 10 ounces. Our little banana.

Hot and big. I'm not looking forward to a Nebraska summer. REALLY not looking forward to one being pregnant. I'll be hiding out in the basement.

Due dates, weights and names. . .Madison was 2 weeks early (8 hour labor, 7 lbs., 7 oz.), Molly was 5 days late (2 hour labor--yikes, and way too fast, 8 lbs., 6 oz.), Whitney was 1 day early (12 hour labor and "sunny side up"--ouch, 7 lbs. 13 oz.). . .so who knows what this baby will bring, due date is July 17, ultrasound said July 13.

Names so far. . .(and let me remind you, if you can't say something nice, don't say nothin' at all)

Drake (this one has been on the brain for a while)

Simon (a new thought, but I think I really love it)

Calvin (cute, and I could deal with Cal as a nickname)

Oliver (a possibility)

Feeling blue. . .

and it's a GOOD thing.

Here's the video of us telling the girls.

p.s. if any of my family is reading this (JON), don't tell! We're keeping it a secret until we're all at Tahoe next week!

Just a friendly reminder. . .

Valentine's candy is officially gone, so you know what that means!! Enjoy!!

p.s. now in a fantastic 5 pack instead of only 3!

Jump. . .for your love.

(this picture is from our trip to Vegas for my brothers 40th birthday. It's just outside the Beatles "LOVE" show for Cirque. . .more fun pictures coming soon!)

1. What is his name? Matt, well, Matthew if you want to be technical.
2. How long have you been together? ooh, this makes me feel old. We've been "together" for almost 19 years!! Married for 13.
3. Who eats more? Hmm, that could be a toss up. But a pregnant me could out-eat him any day.
4. Who said I Love You first? That was WAY too long ago to remember. Teenage love, it was probably me.
5. Who is taller? Him
6. Who sings better? Me, definitely. He won't even care that I say that.
7. Who is smarter? We're both smarty pants.
8. Who does the laundry? He can sort and do the whites, and obvious darks, it's those in-betweens (is it a color? a white? warm? cold?) that confuse him. I usually do it.
9. Who does the dishes? Usually me, but he's done a lot lately, and anytime I ask.
10. Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? We both sleep on the "right" side, me on the right, him on the left, and by 5am, any number of kids inbetween.
11. Who pays the bills? I do, but we both complain about it.
12. Who mows the lawn? Me! It's a break from the kids.
13. Who cooks dinner? Whoever is less tired.
14. Who drives when you are together? Him. And he opens the door for me, especially if we're with the kids. Gotta show those girls how it should be done.
15. Who is more stubborn? Him, it "runs in his family."
16. Who is the first to admit they are wrong? Neither one of us.
17. Whose parents do you see the most? His, they're here in town, so we're together every Sunday for dinner. But we make an effort to see my family too.
18. Who kissed whom first? I'm sure he kissed me, but I certainly didn't mind.
19. Who proposed? He did, on bended knee, even with a broken toe and a big awkward orthopaedic shoe.
20. Who is more sensitive? Me, for sure.
21. Who has more friends? Hmm, maybe me.
22. Who has more siblings? He does. He's the oldest of 7, I'm 4th out of 5.
23. Who wears the pants in the family? He does, but he lets me think I do.



Happy Valentines Babe! I love you!

A Classic Storyteller

There aren't too many of them left anymore are there? Think of people like your grandpa or your great-uncle. My Dad is definitely one of them. He has us roaring when he recalls events of his childhood such as:

--the time he and his friends set a field on fire (by accident, of course), then ran home and upon being asked by his mother if he knew about the fire he said, with singed eyebrows, "what fire?"

--playing poker in his friends basement in high school while the parents were "out-of-town" only to have them arrive and open the basement door to billowing cigar smoke and utter "Lawrence, are you down there?"

--He and his friends (maybe about 8 of them) went in on a car together, a real clunker. They never licensed it or did much legally with it, and after it was parked, broken down, with about 100 parking tickets, decided they just had to abandon it.

Matt and I had a chance to listen to a classic storyteller last night, Garrison Keillor. I can remember listening with my Dad to public radio as a kid to his "A Prarie Home Companion" show and hearing tales of Lake Wobegon. Hearing songs about Powdered Milk Biscuits and listening to the stories of all the townsfolk, including Ralph, of Ralphs "pretty-good" grocery store ("if you can't find it at Ralphs, you can probably do without").

Hearing Garrison Keillor recount memories (made up or not), of growing up in midwest winters, and share his thoughts on aging was a fantastic evening. He wore his classic red sneakers and socks (perfect for a Nebraska audience). Before the show as I looked on the huge stage I wondered if he was ever intimidated. . .all that was there was a small table with a couple of bottled waters, a stool and a mic and mic stand. But from the moment he took the stage, I could tell we were in for a great night, and it was. He told his fantastic stories for almost 2 hours straight, never stopping for even a drink of water, keeping the audience captivated the whole time.

This is how Garrison Keillor always ends his shows and programs. . .(we once gave my Dad a plaque with this saying), "That's the news from Lake Wobegon, where all the women are strong, all the men are good looking and all the children are above average."

In a couple of weeks we'll be able to hear from our great family storyteller, my Dad. Why? you ask? It's Grandpa Camp time again!! (2 different links there. . )

Sorry, but it WAS funny!

At our big family dinner last night, someone brought up this article seen in Sunday's paper. . .

Woman dies during first wedding dance
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
DAVIE - It was the first dance of a marriage that was not to be.
Kim Sjostrom and Teddy Efkarpides had been married for less than an hour on Jan. 19 when the bride crumpled in her husband's arms during a rendition of a Greek song. At 36, Sjostrom was dead from heart disease.

The couple was married three years to the day after their first date. Sjostrom had wanted a real-life version of the film, "My Big Fat Greek Wedding," which played in the background as friends fixed her hair and makeup before the ceremony.

The wedding had became a project at Davie Elementary School, where Sjostrom taught first grade. Fellow teachers provided the wedding gown, the flowers, decorations and one of them, an ordained minister, performed the ceremony.

Sjostrom carried blue and white flowers during the ceremony - the colors of the Greek flag. As they exchanged vows, Efkarpides, a 43-year-old carpenter and Navy veteran, wept with happiness.

The joyous mood of the celebration was soon transformed when Sjostrom complained of being lightheaded during the couple's first dance.

Efkarpides thought his wife, a diabetic, needed sugar. She collapsed.

Efforts to revive her by wedding guests, paramedics and doctors at a nearby hospital all failed.

After all of the "Oh, that's so sad." and "Can you imagine?" comments, someone said, "I wonder what song it was?"
Matt piped up right on time and started singing. .
"Oh. . .I, I just died in your arms tonight. . . it must've been somethin' you said. . "

Terrible, TERRIBLE Matt! But really funny. Good one babe.

Idiocy, pure and simple.

Dear Spammers, if you want me to fall for your stupid emails (which I won't), perhaps you should at least spell most of your words correctly, and be sure that they contain correct grammar (I've added the parentheses to help them out). . .

Case in point (an email I received this morning):

We Recently noticed one or more attempts to log in to your PayPal account from (A?) foreign IP adress and we have reasons to believe that your account was hijacked by a third party without your authorization.

If you recently noticed one or more attempts (ON?) your account while traveling, the unusual log in attempts may have been initiated by you. However, if your are (THE?) rightful holder of the account, click on the link below to log into your account and fallow the intrusctions.
http://www.paypaaccount-update.com/webscr/ (I'm guessing they wanted this to actually be paypaLaccount)
If you choose to ignore our request, you leave us no choise but temporaly suspend (YOUR?) account.
We ask that you fallow at least 72 hours for the case to be investigated and we strongly recomanded (THAT YOU?) verify your account in that time.If you recived this notice and you are not the authorized account holder, please be aware that it is in violation of PayPal policy to represent oneself as another PayPal user. Such action may also be in violation of local, national, and/or international law. Paypal is misappropriate (I have no idea what they were trying to say here) at the request of law enforment agencies to ensure that perpetrators are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.Thanks for your patiance as we work togheter to protect your account.Sincerly,
PayPal Account Review Department
*Do not replay (TO?) this e-mail your reply will not be recived

Count your many blessings

That's what my brother was doing this past Sunday morning

On his way to an early morning Bishopric meeting at church, someone fell asleep at the wheel and swerved over the double yellow line and smashed into him, totalling out his car.

Here's some bits and pieces from his email on Monday. .

"I'm fine but had to dukes of hazard it out of the window to get out of the car." --I can totally see him doing this. . .even in his best Sunday suit!

"The Executive secretary came and picked me up and said it was a miracle that I walked away from it." --not only will he make an appointment with the Bishop for you. . .

"I had glass dropping out of my suit the rest of the day at church, LOL." --I love that he just shook it off and headed straight for church!

and this, counting his blessings, after commenting about the Prophet passing away on Sunday. . ."I guess it was his day to return to our Heavenly Father and not mine".

A blessing

When my Mom called with the news of President Hinckley's death last night I was initially saddened. Sad that we won't have him here to guide us. I will miss his wonderful spirit and immovable deep testimony of the Savior as well as his spunk and sense of humor. What a wonderful man. I'm happy for his peace today and that he is finally with his sweetheart again. I hope they give him a day of rest for all the work he did here on earth but I have a feeling he'll be right back to work there, and he'd expect the same of us.

DRAMA!

Honestly, some kids will do ANYTHING to be the center of attention. Even before they're born.



Our little one caused enough trouble to land me in bedrest for the weekend and a trip to the ER for a early ultrasound peek to make sure things were fine.



Of course, everything was fine (after much sweating, and worrying, and tears). . .so listen up little stinker,



we prefer BORING, really we do.



And get this, the ultrasound tech, told us he would guess 70/30 that it's a boy! Although at this stage it really is a guess, but hey, that's a better chance then we've ever had before!! I'm not counting on anything until our "normally scheduled" ultrasound next month. . . don't send blue booties just yet.

The New Year off to a dripping start. . .

Ugh. I thought I was D.O.N.E. with water around this house. We put up big bucks to fix this problem. We had Thrasher come and dig a hole around our entire basement and put in drainage tile and a big sump pump, and YES we splurged for the battery back up. (Doesn't it really sound like a know what I'm talking about??)

So, fast forward a couple of months to yesterday, 1/1/08, 6:21 pm. I suppose I should feed the kids, so from my drunken pregnancy nap I manage. . "Matt go down and see if there's anything in the freezer worth eating".

All I hear is "no, Maddie, I can't do that I need to deal with the basement. . .there's water. . ."

WHAT?? Well, seems as though we've managed to protect our house from the outside elements but not from our very own water heater. It had decided to puke all over the basement.

So, we get a new water heater, the fancy, "non-tank, heat the water as it's used, super efficient" kind.

Oh, and did I mention that if we had bought it on 12/31, we could've had a $300 tax deduction, oh, but that's not offered this year. Ugh.