may and june...in pictures

helping dad do the brakes; too bad you can't see mor in his sweet overalls

started out on this horse...

...but ended up on this one (the other one was "too big")

lots of fishing at idaho lake (aka nielson's grove)

being gutsy, going up the steps (on his hands and knees, mind you) and down the big slide

cheesing in the backyard pool

for good measure (and because i think he's pretty adorable)

showing off his early summer tanlines

first session of swim lessons; it was finn and 3 girls plus 2 girl instructors

addie, finners and piper with their main instructor marisa in front of finn

after jumping off the diving board into the deep end; he did AWESOME!!!

more fishing

i MIGHT have a problem

there are a few things over which i am ocd. no, i don't have to touch a light switch 4x before entering or leaving a room or lock and unlock a door 7x before leaving my house. i don't have a compulsion to eat bar soap or drink gasoline.* no no, my compulsion of which i'm talking now is much healthier than that. well, except to my pocketbook. you see, i HAVE to buy cars. not to drive. at least not on outside streets. i have to buy the disney/pixar diecast cars. you know the ones? like little hotwheels or matchbox but 3-8x more expensive? those cars. i know it is ridiculous, but once i started buying them for finners, i had to buy ALL of them. no matter where i am, if there is a toy section, i must see if there is a car we don't he doesn't have. and if there is, i have to buy it. mor finally realized a while ago not to question this; the same way i don't question why he has to drive the same route to certain places. you get somewhat used to the quirks of the one you love most, ya know. (even if they still bring you thisclose to crazytown.) this is one of my innocent ocd quirks. so...if any of you happen to spot the following,** i'd sure appreciate you sending it our finn's way, knowing that i will send you the money for it.***

all images courtesy of amazon...thanks, amazon!

*movies have to be organized alphabetically, books either by author last name or color (depending on my mood at the time of organizing), clothes by color (using roygbiv, of course), silverware in the dishwasher must be placed eating-end up and cups arranged by color on the top rack...you get the idea.
**these aren't the only ones, of course, but the only ones for which i could find pictures on amazon. we're also in the market for the disguise maters--taco truck and dracula specifically--and several others.
***i'm only mostly serious about sending these to us; totally serious about the money part if you take me up on it.

saying "good night" to a bad day

today...was bad. not because finners was a wildman or anything like that. (in fact, throughout all of my morning/all-day sickness and now this horrific heartburn, he has been super helpful and even understanding. i swear, the poor kid hears "in just a minute" about every other time he asks me to do or get something for him.) i'm not quite sure what is happening, but i have had the WORST pelvic pain you can possibly imagine. it isn't on my pelvic bone; it's directly above it. it has been just this side of crippling all day and has gotten worse as the day has dragged on. i could barely push myself out of the chairs to do...anything. i have been hobbling around the ughpt like an invalid, unable to get any sort of comfortable. i took to strapping a back brace around my lower belly with an ice pack tucked inside to help ease the pain. it didn't. the brace only made my back and belly sweaty, and the ice pack only made my belly cold. my consolation through all of this were the kicks and punches baby h2 was letting go to reassure me that he isn't going anywhere. it didn't hurt either that around 8p mor was able to come home and give me a blessing. (i sure put his priesthood to good use, don't i?!) my blessing was made that much sweeter by my little finn, who sat quietly with his arms folded, eyes closed, mini book of mormon resting in his lap. i am still very uncomfortable, but i can take the discomfort if it means this peanut is safe. just maybe pass me some 2% milk, the zantac, a piece of bread and half a unisom please. and perhaps a teensy prayer sent my way, for good measure.

ready for suggestions

name suggestions, that is. for a boy. (hallelujah! another boy! prayers truly are answered!) we've already vetoed about 20, and that was before we knew baby h2 is a boy. we need your help. but, please stay within the following parameters :
- no made-up names (gma connie's suggestion of kalen is without a doubt a no-go. kalen? and she was serious.)
- a bit unique but nothing impossible to pronounce or spell correctly
- any number of letters and/or syllables
- any beginning letter (we're not sticking with a F theme for our kids; we're not THOSE people.)
- goes well with our last name and finn's name (it's strange to me when a family has a ted, a sarah and a guinevere. this is not made up; sarah and guin were roommates of mine once upon a time, and ted is their older brother.)
there will be an immediate dismissal of any names that appear on either side of our families. there are enough names out there to not repeat one, even in families as large as ours. other than that, we're open to any and all suggestions. and all will be received gratefully, even if they are rejected as quickly as connie's kalen. (sheesh. that one is just terrible.)
thanks in advance!

aww nuts

ever since finn started cutting his big teeth (aka molars), the kid has been in love with nuts. a lot of nights for dinner, he would want cashews and rice instead of chicken and fries. he's graduated to loving peanuts (when he remembers to crack them open first) and pecans (off the top of our beloved kneaders' pumpkin muffintops), but the kid still loves the cashews. good source of protein, fiber and the good fats? keep eatin', kid. needless to say, we always have some cashews in the fridge (storing them in the fridge helps keep them better longer, so says rachael ray). when i opened up the fridge the other day, the bright yellow lid on the cashews caught my eye. i needed them. NEEDED! but not plain. i needed them in or with something. what though? hmm...cashew chicken? yes please! now, to find a good recipe. "good" meaning fast with few ingredients. recipe : found! thanks to eclectic recipes. (and google, of course.) the only thing that i didn't like about this recipe is that the ingredients are not listed in the order they are used; that drives me nutso. (get it? cashew chicken--nuts--nutso? bahahaha!) she also forgot to mention when she tossed in the bell pepper, so i guessed. aaand i halved the recipe, hence the somewhat odd measurement for the chicken stock. whatevs.

cashew chicken

1lb chicken, cut into chunks or thin strips

1T olive oil

4 garlic cloves - i used about 1T minced

1/2c cashews, whole or chopped

1T corn starch

1/4c + 2T chicken stock OR water

2T hoisin sauce

1T white wine vinegar OR rice vinegar

1/4c bell pepper, diced

4 green onions, chopped

salt & pepper

preheat a large skillet or wok over low-medium heat. saute the garlic and cashews in the olive oil until garlic is just golden. salt and pepper chicken and add to skillet/wok. cook until chicken is no longer pink. (the time for this depends on how big your pieces of chicken are cut. i cut mine really thin so they cooked pretty quickly.) in a small bowl, whisk corn starch and stock/water to make a slurry. add this to skillet/wok. stir in hoisin sauce and vinegar. simmer until sauce begins to thicken, about 5-10min. add bell pepper when just about ready to serve. (this helps the pepper keep its bite.) serve topped with green onions, over steamed rice.

this recipe is pretty much bang-on as far as any restaurant cashew chicken i've eaten. i do advise you to watch your sauce closely, otherwise it might just decide to congeal a little and become more of a jelly than a sauce. mmm...hoisin jelly. delish. except not. (in hindsight, i should have stirred in a bit of chicken stock to thin it out. yep, definitely should have done that.) i also might toss in a few more cashews and add some diced celery for more crunch. if you're in the mood for some super easy, really good chinese food, give this recipe a whirl.

update

i haven't kept up very well on this pregnancy, mostly because we didn't even let anyone know until i was out of the first trimester. (question you may ask : why did you not tell? answer i would give : because of the length of time it took to get pregnant with this baby, we wanted to make sure we were good and pregnant before letting the cat out of the bag.) just so i remember a few things about this go 'round...
until the last few weeks (maybe beginning around week 17), i would sit around wondering if i really am pregnant. it still seems surreal, and each time i've been to the dr, i've been surprised to hear the babe's heartbeat.
i've been having some really awesome heartburn and indigestion. (and by awesome i mean miserable.) thank goodness i'm finally far enough to do something other than drink a glass of milk and hope that helps.
i felt the babe move for the first time around week 14, but it was only the little flutters. mor felt the babe move for the first time about 2wks ago, or week 18.
my lower stomach, right above my pubic bone, is already completely uncomfortable. good thing we have a neoprene back brace that i can wear around the house as an under-belly support. (i even have a picture of finners wearing it, although it's wrapped almost 4x around him when i'm luck to get 1!)
it's been so hot that i have heat rash in my cleavage. it seems very awkward for people to see me reach my hand down my shirt to scratch that itch, but i cannot help it. underwire brassieres (and perhaps here shortly ALL brassieres!) are a thing of the past. good riddance!
this babe seems to be doing the same thing finners would : press itself all the way up against my belly, so it feels like a rock is inside instead of a chitlin.
i cannot stand uncooked chicken. i can get it thawed out, and then mor has to take over. if it doesn't cook itself (thank you, crockpot!), i'm out. the mere thought of it is currently making me gag. on the other hand, i could eat steak or any other red meat every day. all that extra iron my body needs to grow this babe, i guess.
i have only been throw-up sick twice. once was after a big cup of apple juice, which burned the lining right out of my throat. i felt sick for the first 14wks, and i still get the hot-water taste in my mouth if i don't eat every 2-3hrs. surprisingly, i've only gained 3lbs. (i had some extra meat on me already, so i'm not complaining.)
i'm into the uncomfortable phase of sleeping, and i'm a side-sleeper! this shouldn't be happening to me! it doesn't help that i have to pee at least 3x a night and mor snores like a lumberjack. needless to say, i feel tired all. day. long.
i cannot wait to have the ultrasound on friday. i'm nearly giddy with anticipation. although i'm nervous that i'll be disappointed if the babe's a girl, and i'd be lying if i weren't silently asking heavenly father for another boy. this probably makes me a terrible person/mother, but i cannot help it. just the way it goes.

question of the day #42

did you know it's really REALLY obnoxious when people ask if you're hoping for a boy or a girl, and when you tell them you'd like another boy they say "oh then you'll TOTALLY have a girl"? did i ask YOU what you wanted me to have? or did you ask me? (connie, this is partially directed at you, and mostly to everyone who has so far asked me this question and responded in the like to my answer.)

question of the day #41

q : who knew forever 21's "return" policy was so terrible?
a : not this girl, or i wouldn't have spent $40 on things that will only cover part of my belly for another week. better luck next time. (not that there will be one at f21 for me.)

ahem, "return" because even if you just bought something 3days ago, the tags are still attached and you have the original receipt with method of payment, you may only receive store credit; no cash back, no money put back on your card. how heinous is that? downeast is the same way, and it bugs.

the announcement

i'm pregnant.
with a baby.
(hopefully a boy baby, but i'm not picky. (except i am. PLEASE be a boy.))
due in january 2013.
so there you have it, folks.
over and out.

summertiiime, and the living's easy

it doesn't get much better than...
...the ever-present smell of sunscreen and chlorine
...days spent at the pool or in the backyard chasing zombies with water guns
...having pasta salads and fresh fruit for dinner
...watching countless episodes of "a pup named scooby doo" or "house hunters" or "storage wars"
...letting finners run around in his underscoobs and go barefoots all day
...sleeping with the windows open (out of necessity and only until the birdies start to chirp around 4am)
...going on roadtrips to see family
...swim lessons at the big, outdoor pool
...napping because it's just too dang hot to do anything else
...snacking all day instead of sitting down to eat lunch
...early morning donut and drink runs
i'm so excited for all these things. and i think finn and mor are too.

question of the day #40

how is it that finn can go almost 12hrs without peeing or pooping in his scoobs at night, but during that 1.5hr nap, he always wakes up with a gross bum? i'm losing my mind over this, people. losing. my. mind.

on a personal note

i've been feeling really downtrodden lately. well, for the last year, since we've been trying to add to our family. i've watched lots of friends and acquaintances, even my sister who wasn't planning on more kids, get pregnant and have these soft, beautiful, pink babies. it is amazing what it will do to one's psyche, to desire another child more than anything else in the world and be denied that privilege, that blessing. month after month. after month. i felt like maybe it was my fault. or mor's fault (since i'm being completely honest here). is it because i enjoy my daily mtn dew? or because mor has been downing monster energy drinks to help him stay awake after hours at work and then hours of studying? am i eating too much protein? not enough? too many sweets and treats? not enough green and yellow veggies? is 7hrs of sleep not enough if it doesn't fall between 10p & 6a? why is it just.
not.
happening?
and then it hit me...i needed to hear from my heavenly father; i needed him to comfort me. so, i asked mor for a priesthood blessing. and it was beautiful. i immediately knew that he hadn't forsaken me or forgotten me; he hadn't been deaf to my prayers and pleads. he knows me. he LOVES me. he reminded me that ALL things are done in HIS time. he calmed my fears even if he didn't specifically answer my questions. and i'm finally at peace with what's been happening, or not happening, every 28 days. because i know his plan for me is so much bigger, so much better than i could ever possibly imagine.

well i never...

...saw all of titanic (to be honest, i don't remember ever sitting down to actually watch this, but i'm sure i've seen some of it, i think...?) or my girl or groundhog day or what about bob?
...saw any of braveheart (except for the "but they'll never take our freedom!" clip) or schindler's list or american history x (except for the face to the curb part) or any of the monty python movies or the hangover (after the misery that was pineapple express, i swore off rated r movies)
...will tire of watching clue or shag or nancy drew (yes, the one with emma roberts)
...should have chosen pink and green as our wedding colors; i should have chosen cream and midnight blue
...like to be without some sort of tan line; no matter how faint, i NEED them!
...thought i'd spend more than $25 on a bra, let alone $100 on two (ridiculous, victoria's secret. absolutely ridiculous.)
...have liked people who publicly pat themselves on the back or seek recognition for good deeds
...wanted to live in utah after i graduated college, which was EIGHT years ago now, but with a view like ours how can you not love it (sometimes)?
...should have gone long boarding that one time (kal and erica can testify to the horrendous adventure that was; as can the scars i still sport on my hip and side)
...remember dreams; but i do remember nightmares
...listen to, read or watch the news; i find it all so very depressing (and mor usually updates me on it all anyway)
...thought i would choose water to drink over practically anything else
...can go a day without a sweet treat of some kind
...will get used to saying good-byes when leaving family
...have learned how to "properly" apply makeup; i'm adept enough at mascara and lip gloss, but that's about it
...thought i would like painted nails
...have been out of the country (except for that one time to canada, but that was before even they required passports)

question of the day #39

what are the odds i would be arrested if i were to post up at our bedroom window and shoot bbs at the neighborkids who think our backyard is their playground?

(i have found them playing hide and seek behind our trash can (in which there is poop : penny poop and porter poop and sometimes even finn poop; who wants to hide there?!), sliding down finn's slide, kicking around finn's soccer ball and most recently playing in finn's pool and with his pool toys. i have finally become the crotchety old neighborlady who shoos kids out of her yard with a broom. well, i haven't used a broom on them yet. perhaps i should try that before i bust out the bbs, hmm?)

book report - april

pd james' cover her face : i'd never read anything by james, but i will definitely be reading more. there is something about  addressing the end at the beginning that i really like. you know from the start who the victim is, but you're left wondering until the end who's done the victimizing. (it makes it much easier when there is really nothing you like about the victim.) although, i will say, i had a fairly good idea of whodunit. and i was right! this was a quick read that i enoyed quite a bit.

kate jacobs' the friday night knitting club : not my favorite. this is about a single mother who builds a thriving yarn/knitting business from the ground up. then her baby daddy comes back into the picture and she finds out some devastating personal news. it seemed like there were waaay too many side stories that weren't completely necessary. plus, it was quite long and drawn-out. i read this to the end, but wouldn't pick up another of jacobs' books. unless it was less than 200pgs.

just once...

...i'd like to start the month ahead.
...i'd like the laundry and dishes to clean themselves.
...i'd like to go on a real vacation.
...i'd like to take a nap and wake up feeling rested rather than feeling like i should have been doing something "more productive."
...i'd like penny smell less like a dog. (although, i quite often find her puppy-scent very reassuring.)
...i'd like to spend more--LOTS more--quality time with my family without worrying about when the visit will end and we'll have to go our separate ways.
...i'd like my hair to be curly, or at least hold a curl for longer than 10sec.
...i'd like to travel to europe.
...i'd like utah to have SOME humidity.
...i'd like to not worry about whether buying something i want will make it impossible to buy something my family needs.
...i'd like to take full advantage of the wonderful place we live instead of wish we lived somewhere, anywhere else.
...i'd like finn to not cry when he i tell him we aren't going to watch "spooky buddies" for the 10th time in one day. (worst. movie. ever.)
...i'd like to be able to do a backflip. (weird, i know. my elementary school gymnastic days coming back, i suppose.)
...i'd like water to taste like mountain dew.
...i'd like to have back my college freshman physique. (oh who am i kidding? i want back that body for good!)
...i'd like someone to knock on my door and tell me i won a million dollars instead of hassle me about my cable/internet/phone/insurance company.
...i'd like that pregnancy test to have a + instead of -.
just once...

fch

as finn runs around hyped up on ice cream and sodey (we REALLY need to cut back on our caffeine drinking since finn inevitably drinks half of any beverage he finds!), i thought i'd put up a few pictures to show you that he's just as cute as the day he was born. which, if you can believe, is almost 3yrs ago!!! sheesh, where does the time go? (in no particular order, since blogger is being awesome.)

mom's birthday breakfast at original pancake house knocks a kid out

helping dad with some experiment or other

fishing out of the sube, on the way to nielsen's grove, which finn calls idaho lake (?)

 

the male tiger at the zoo getting a better look at finners

eyeing mor as he hit his hand against the plexi, right before the tiger lunged at the plexi scaring the bejsus out of all of us, esp mor (hehehe!)

handsome dan on easter

from way back in jan or feb, tubing with zander at soldier hollow

hanging out in his valentine spidey jams, courtesy of the walls

munching on his first ever (!) ice cream truck treat = sonic the hedgehog

the "before"

and the "after" (this is typically as good as it gets from this kid)

see? i told you this kid is still adorable.

...

isn't it absolutely silly and ridiculous to let the same thing bring you to tears each and every month? i mean, if i were morgan, i would avoid coming home every fourth week or so. he's found me sitting on the floor in the laundry/bathroom sobbing my eyes out, standing at the kitchen sink sobbing my eyes out, laying in our bed, you guessed it, sobbing my eyes out. he doesn't even ask what's wrong anymore. he simply puts his arms around me and holds me, tries to reassure me that "it will be okay." and deep in my heart i know he's right; it will be okay.
but, at the moment when my cheeks are streaked with a year's worth of tears, i don't believe him.

book report - march

helen simonson's major pettigrew's last stand : i really REALLY R-E-A-L-L-Y liked this book. a lot. A LOT a lot. so much that i just typed in ALOT alot, and you know me to be grammatically/syntactically correct in all things. i liked this book for the following...(not reasons, just following examples if you will)...
pg 175 roger to his father, major pettigrew and the major's response "if we refused to do business with the morally questionable, the deal volume would drop in half and the good guys like us would end up poor. then where would we all be?" "on a nice dry spit of land known as the moral high ground?"
pg 200 "life does often get in the way of one's reading"
pg 230 "there is nothing more corrosive to character than money"
pg 321 the entire scene on this page as well as "passion is all very well, but it wouldn't do to spill the tea"
i only thought to mark the passages/quotes i like when i was 150+ pages in, darn it. you need to read this book. it will reaffirm to you that love truly does/can/will conquer all.

richard yancey's the highly effective detective : i liked this book. it wasn't any sort of literary genius, but it held my interest. after teddy ruzak's mother dies and leaves him a substantial inheritance, he drops his job as a nighttime security guard to live his dream : being a private investigator. his first case seems simple and silly at first; elderly parker hudson wants teddy to find the driver who ran over some baby ducks. through a series of events, teddy's baby duck case becomes a missing persons/murder investigation. i think you'll figure out who the killer is pretty early on, but there is an unexpected twist that i appreciated. (think eye-for-an-eye mentality. sometimes it's just the sort of justice deserved.) since this is the first in a series, i'm hopeful the sequential books are better than this one.

alan bradley's i am half-sick of shadows : i liked this installment more than the last one i read. (not that it wasn't any good, but this one was better.) because of financial difficulty (to put it gently), colonel de luce is forced to let the house to the filming of a new movie, starring the infamous phyllis wyvern. she, unfortunately but not surprisingly, ends up dead. the killer was a bit of a stretch for me, but i as always enjoyed flavia's involvement in solving the crime and her hair-brained scheme/science experiment to catch that slippery character known as st nick. this is a pretty quick and easy read, and i think you'll not be disappointed.

memo : rejected

off-again due to SNOW. seriously. if my birfday gift wasn't on its way to my hungry hands...you don't even want to know what would happen to ms march. (and i ain't talkin' 'bout julie from matlock. i wonder if that's on kjzz...?)