Circus Freak=Me

Sometimes just showering and putting on clean sweat pants is a victory. That is about all I accomplished today. Well that and a whole lot of complaining. Sorry Rand.

I'd also just like to comment that NEVER EVER EVER will there be posted a picture of my belly, bare or otherwise. This is because that although I have avoided stretch marks for 2.75 pregnancies (but thinking I won't escape unscathed this time around) it does appear that I have swallowed a large watermelon that hasn't yet been digested and is now lodged just above my stomach. For some reason I carry babies in my ribcage. Here is a conversation I have about a dozen times each pregnancy:

Person I don't know well enough to be talking about my body to: "Wow, you carry your baby REALLY high."
me: "I know."
Person: "No, really, it is sooo high up."
me: "Yep, I can tell."
Sometimes this goes one with them trying to convince me. I'm not sure what reaction they are looking for. I would give it to them if I thought it would make them leave me alone.

So avoid the urge to tell me something I already know because I promise...I do realize how I look...being that it is in my body and all. I can feel my ribs spreading apart by the second. Even the nurses make comments and have been known to page other nurses to come and check out my freakish belly. I'm special in other ways too. This is just the most obvious at the moment.

Happy Birthday Collin!

My "baby" turned 3 today! We had a birthday extravaganza consisting of 3 days of non-stop activities and we all had so much fun. We went to the zoo (where I mostly sat and tried to avoid all of the smells that made me want to barf) and then we had a family birthday party and then we went to Chuck E. Cheese (which wasn't quite as horrible as I anticipated). Collin's favorite part was going to the store with Grandpa Lars and Grandma Kris. The tradition started because my parents would forget to go get presents (they are old, give them a break) So they started taking them to pick out what they wanted on their birthdays. Let's just say that I don't think it has ever happened where we have taken Collin to the store and said "pick out whatever you want." That is what grandparents are for.

I can't believe Collin is 3 and though we had a rocky start to our relationship (he only slept for 10 minutes at a time for a few months after he was born and I didn't really like him for awhile). But since then he has been such a happy boy and I have loved every minute. Here are my favorite things about Collin:

1. He doesn't fight with his sister. I hear fighting is common among brothers and sisters but we have lucked out completely. He is happy just to play with her and I never have to break up fights.
2. His hair. Seriously, this kid has great hair.
   
3. His imagination. No toys, no problem. Pretty soon his hands and feet are having deep conversations.
4. His voices. He has a gift for different voices. Sometimes when I call Rand from work I will ask him if there are other kids over, but it is just Collin using his 10 different voices.
5. He calls railroad arms "oh mans." We couldn't figure out why for the longest time, but then we realized that when we got stopped by a train (which happens often in Lehi) we would yell "Oh Man!"
6. He likes me. He likes his dad better but he is still so sweet to me.
   

I love you buddy.

Cute kids at the zoo

Another year, another train cake. This took me longer to make than I wish to admit...

Collin at Chuck E. Cheese

Who You Gonna Call?

I want to start off by saying that I don't know if I believe in ghosts. I mean, I guess I believe in them, I just don't believe that they would waste their time haunting me...especially if they had cool ghostly powers, as the undead often seem to. So while I joke that Sally was (is?) the spirit of a menacing, disturbed dead girl with unfinished business here on earth, I really don't think she is anything more than a manifestation of my child's unhealthy obsession with death.

That being said...there are some really strange things going on in my house. Well, more specifically, in my upstairs. For awhile now our TV will just change channels randomly. You can keep changing it back, but it will just sit and flip through the channels. I called the Dish Network guy and tried to explain it to him, but I think I sounded like a lunatic "hey, my channels change by themselves, could you come and check it out?"...needless to say the problem persists. Also, we have those clocks that set themselves and lately they have been going crazy. In the middle of the night they just start going around and around. I have also noticed that if electronic toys get left in our room they will turn on and off without warning. Collin has a play vacuum and once in the middle of the night it just started singing "I'm going to clean the house all day, dooh-dah, dooh-dah." My iPod will also skip songs and albums without notice only when it is docked upstairs. There seems to be some electromagnetic anomaly occurring here...and I know your first response is "there must be a ghost." But that is so obvious. What if it is something worse than ghosts...like aliens? Either way, I'm a little freaked out.

**PS: Do you ever watch "A Haunting" or "Paranormal State?" These shows are so funny. People think their houses are haunted, but it becomes sadly apparent that they just need some attention. On one show this guy tried to kill his wife with an axe and then claimed it was only because he was possessed. Sure buddy, sure you were.

Bring on the Mom Jeans

I know it is only February, but I have a feeling it is going to be a rough year. I'm turning 30, I'm having a 3rd baby....and we bought a minivan. I'm not against the minivan because I think I'm too cool for it or anything, I know I'm not. And I'm not in denial that I need one. I always knew I would eventually be married, and we always wanted 3 kids, I guess the problem is it just came faster than I thought.

Happy Birthday Andrea

I haven't ever used the term "BFF"(and I probably never will again) but if I did, it would be referring to Andrea. AND SHE IS TURNING 30 TODAY! So...happy birthday old woman. And even though you are a month and a half older than me and I will still be 29 for a few more weeks...I am still the one with the minivan and the 2 kids and pregnant...again. So I feel 10 years older than you if it makes you feel any better.

I was going to post some old pictures from High school, but then when I saw them I realized that I was in them and I would have to subject myself to all that ridicule. I'm not really up for that right now, I'm still getting over the minivan.

Anyway, have a great one!

More Stop-Action Animated Creepiness

I would like to share with you my love of stop-action animation. I have great affection for this medium. I think it is because it is dark and creepy and strange, and it takes a lot of work to produce much of anything, much like how my brain is. My all time favorite is The Nightmare Before Christmas. Today Rand and I are taking the kiddos to see Coraline and I am so excited, Maura and I have been waiting for this movie for a long time. Also, I think that the writer ripped me off. In 6th grade I wrote a story about a girl accidentally going to a parallel universe where everything was evil. I vividly remember reading the story out loud to the class and the look on my teacher's face was one of concern and fright. I need to talk to someone about getting royalties for this...

**Update: This movie is awesome. I had really high hopes for it and it was even better than I thought. It was pretty intense at parts and I thought the kids would be scared, but it seems they are completely desensitized to anything scary. No wonder they have creepy imaginary friends.