You Know You're Showing When...

Madison in your class yells (while you are in front of the entire silent class), "WOW! Are you pregnant? Your belly is totally sticking out!!" I guess she was absent the day I made the announcement. This is what happened today. That's all I'm going to say about that.

Are We This Old?

Paul and I are slowly realizing that our "middle age" years are creeping upon us. We are doing nothing to keep ourselves young either as evidence of our weekend "fun" events. Event # 1: On Friday, I thought it would be great to go to a movie because Paul was free for the first time this semester, and he is leaving us next weekend. We bypassed the thriller "Prom Night" and the SNL spoof "Baby Mama" and settled on the Ben Stein documentary "Expelled." We arrived a little early at the theater, chose our seats, and watched as about 12 other couples between the ages of 45 and 75 walked in to take their seats. During the movie, I pulled out of my purse a vegetable snack tray that I bought at Costco. Paul made fun of me, but snacked on the veggies himself (5 a day is very important to us lately). As if this weren't enough to prove that we will soon need bifocals, WE ACTUALLY LOVED THIS MOVIE and joined the other couples in applauding at the end!! I seriously am going to recommend it to everyone I see. It was very thought provoking, and stirred me up inside. I may have a new cause to get behind!! (Anyone who knew me at 15 will understand that "MAYBE DOGS REALLY DIDN'T COME FROM WOLVES" after all!! I feel totally justified in making that argument in 9th grade biology).
Event #2: On Saturday, we decided to go to Park City to hit the outlets and see what kind of deals we could find. We are both crazy about getting a good deal on something. We walked right past the American Eagle and Fossil outlets and made our way into the Bass and Van Heusen outlets for some screaming deals. I went to MotherHood too, but I dare say that had I not been pregnant I would have stepped foot into the Ann Taylor outlet. When did this happen??

P.S. PAUL GOT A HOLE IN ONE when golfing with his dad on Friday and has been bragging about it all weekend. You go PJ! I thought I better mention this so that we don't forget it.

One Crummy Car and An Abundance of Blessings

On Monday, Paul was at the law school studying for his last final on Tuesday. (Yay!) He had told me that he was going to be quite late studying that night, so I asked him if he wanted Sabrina and me to bring him dinner. I have felt bad that because of work and our distance from the school, I haven't been able to do this as much as I would like to. He accepted, and we headed to Gandolfo's to grab some sandwiches and then to Provo. We had a good dinner together (and got to meet Taylor, Justina, and Aiden), after which Sabrina and I promptly headed home so that Paul could get to work. We didn't make it far. While traveling down University Ave., my car overheated, and we were forced to pull over. Well, long story short(er... this story is already feeling really long to me), my car is dead. We are now forced to live with 1 car, and we have some decisions to make now about our dead car that aren't very fun, especially since we have less than 2 weeks until Paul leaves for DC.

Tuesday, however, in the midst of wallowing over our car, we received some news that seemed to put everything into perspective for me. I received a text from my mom telling me that our neighbor's (the neighbor I grew up next door to)14 year-old daughter, Jolyn Manuela, had passed away due to a genetic lung disorder which also claimed the life of her younger sister, Rowelena, about 6 years ago. This is an amazing family, who honestly bless everyone they know. They have always been so good to our family. It doesn't seem fair that people who are already so good and humble and solid in their testimonies should have to endure what they have had to endure over the past years, and it really isn't fair. I know that the Lord has a plan and a reason for everything that happens and that we have to trust and have faith in His plan, even when it just doesn't make sense. I was so impressed with the Manuela's faith 6 years ago and their faith now. They are just amazing.

So seriously, I was upset over a car? A CAR? We are so blessed to have everything we have. I have Paul and Sabrina. We have our health. We are expecting our second child. I live in America. Paul is getting a good education. We have amazing support all around us. We have the gospel. We have temples. We have eternal families. We have the blessings of the atonement. This list goes on and on. I know that times are hard for everyone at some point, and I hope that I can always remember the ways in which I am blessed. A little perspective is always a good thing.

Birthday Report

Check out those eyes!!! I guess we know who her dad is!

Well, it was a small affair!! Just the three of us. Sabrina had a great day overall. We started out our b-day celebration by going to Macey's getting some balloons and picking out a small "happy cake" as Sabrina called it. Then we headed to Bajio for dinner. Sabrina and Paul ran around in the yard, and then she played with her new kitchen. We had cake (she was excited by the candles, but wouldn't blow them out) and ice cream followed by a dance party in the real kitchen. The next day we had a party at the Ricks home where the April birthdays were all spoiled rotten (no surprises there!). All in all, I'd say it was a successful 2nd!

Happy Birthday Sabrina!!

Happy 2nd Birthday Subby! We adore you!
P.S. I can't believe how old she is. It doesn't seem possible!

Notes From A Novice

I've learned something this week. Heavenly Father must hand pick those with particular patience, kindness, goodness, optimism, skills etc. to receive multiple children at one time. This revelation comes at the hand of playing the part of my sister Shelley for 2 nights. (Note: I was supposed to watch her children for a week while she and Chad went to Maui, but because of the health of one of their children, they settled for Las Vegas for a shorter time). This threw me into being an instant mother of four. I've already learned that motherhood in general is a learning process, and if I know anything about learning, I know that I learn best through scaffolding (easing me into things, step by step). We had an eventful couple of days. Here are some stories/observations from the experience:

1. I thought I was being smart by having both the babies (Nolan 1, and Sabrina 2) come into Shelley's room with some toys while I took a shower in her adjacent bathroom. They had a great time! During my shower I could hear pattering little feet and laughing, and I thought, "Wow, they are really enjoying this!" I came out of the shower to find that Nols had been given a makeover courtesy of Sabrina using Shelley's eye-liner from her make-up drawer. Sorry Shell.

2. Shelley and all mothers spend 90% of their day behind their kitchen counters as glorified short-order chefs/kitchen maids.

3. Sometimes bribery IS the only answer. Jack had 3 days straight of dry pants.

4. Nols is a great walker...and a great faller. He has cuts and bruises as evidence of my stay.

5. Maya can be very convincing...movie night(s) with endless popcorn and marshmallows anyone?

6. Again, I thought I was being smart by having the babies (Sub and Nols) take their baths together and then having the bigger kids (Maya and Jack) take a bath after that. I could see Nolan starting to wrinkle so I got him out, put on a fresh diaper, and jammies and then called for Jack to get his PJs and come get in the tub. He was obedient; it's just that he forgot some under roos. So I left Jack and Sabrina in the tub for seriously less than a minute so I could run downstairs to get said under roos. When I returned I saw Jack, Sabrina, and NOLAN who was fully dressed and fully soaked in the tub, laughing. I still do not know if he got in himself (head first, I'm guessing from the looks of things) or if he was aided in the crime. I wish I'd had a camera. 2 steps forward, 1 step back.

It's a good thing that we've had an ultrasound already to confirm that we are only having one child. I'll take them one at a time. I think it's for the best. I am endlessly impressed by all you moms with multiple children! You're amazing!

I want that!

Paul and I ran into one of his mission buddies at TJMaxx the other day, and his wife was toting around her two children in this...



She said it was great!!! I think I want one. It's made by Phil and Teds.

Paul is really embarrassed by this

I shed a tear tonight watching the Biggest Loser. You can blame that one on the pregnancy. Then I turned the channel and saw that my Jazz beat the Hornets, and I shed another tear. You can blame that one on years of heartache from being a Jazz fan.

Say Cheese!

I decided that the next time I got out the camera, we were going to practice cheesing and posing. She's a quick learner! This was early in the week, however. If you had seen her in the last few days you'd know that a smile never crossed her lips. Sabrina was struck with the flu this weekend, and therefore, we were shut-ins. Sub is on the mend though and better days are ahead, hopefully!

Oh kids...

Setting: today at Shelley's. Jack (my 3 year old nephew)- "Lindsay I want you and Jordan and Josh and Zack to come to my birthday party." I hope it's Spider Man themed.

Setting: tonight at my mom's b-day dinner. Ella (my 2 year old niece) announces she has a secret to tell me. She comes over and whispers (loudly) to me, "Doggies!"

Setting: last week at Shelley's. Maya (my 7 year old niece) makes me a "Baby in Here" sticker with her new sticker machine and places it on my belly.

Setting: about a month ago at Shelley's tending. Maya- "Hey Lindsay, if you had a real job what would it be?" Me-"I do have a real job. I teach first graders like you." Jack-"My mom doesn't have a job." Me-"She does to. She's your mom." Maya-"You're a mom. If my mom had a job she'd probably be a piano teacher." This is only funny because despite some natural god-given ability, her mom hasn't ever taken piano lessons. No offense Shell.

First grade quotes to come. I just thought I'd better get these down before I forget them.