Hellthy holidays everyone

Cheers to government mandated health insurance and no idea how to pay for it!

I won't say much about this lovely Christmas present from the United States Congress but here was my favorite comment (I wish it was my own) from this article:
Let me get this straight. Obama’s health care plan will be written by a committee whose Chairman says he doesn’t understand it, passed by a Congress which hasn’t read it, signed by a President who smokes, funded by a Treasury Chief who did not pay his taxes, overseen by a Surgeon General who is obese, and financed by a country that is nearly broke. Democrats in action. I’m impressed.

Merry Christmas

So I guess we were bad this year. Instead of just getting a lump of coal (that we didn't have to pay for,) we get to choose between spending a lot of money to fix our thirty year old broken garage door, or even more money for a new one. Oh, and we have had two break-ins in our complex in the last two weeks- and a freaking wild boar(what the??!!) wandering around three houses up from us today; so before we even decided about which of the bad options we would like to do, we had to spend 150.00 JUST to get it down so that we could leave our house secure for two weeks while we go to Utah. HO HO HO!

Hopefully you have all been on better behavior, or at least will just get something crappy for Christmas that doesn't cost you any money! Adios and Merry Christmas to all my peeps in Loma Linda, and I can't wait to see all of you and the snow and the cold in Utah! Adam has two more finals and then we are out of here. Let the festivities begin-wahoo!-can't wait for things like this:

Reasons why I should adopt some older children:

They can be helpful and adorable...and you already know what you are getting!





...Sometimes they turn out to be professional football players AND terrific big brothers! btw, this story/movie was phenomenal.




And they entertain your younger children without being asked because all they are really doing is entertaining themselves.


We had a blast over Thanksgiving. We went down to Phoenix to my aunt Wendy's house. Perfect group, perfect size, perfect food, perfect relaxation and perfect company. We swam, played a new game that the boys made out of PVC pipe and golf balls, went boating, running, watched football, watched movies about football and generally enjoyed the company of people we really, really like-which in my mind, is precisely what Thanksgiving is about. It's my favorite holiday by a long shot.

Reminiscing

Can you believe Eli wore this little "up to 7 lbs" outfit? Abeit, not very long...he weighed about 20 lbs by the time he was six months. But hey, that's fine with me: Come out tiny and get huge quickly. Oh man, I sure hope I get another six pound baby!

Today I am pulling out all of Eli's baby clothes; that boy was well dressed from day one! I am so excited that I get to use all of this darling stuff again. Unfortunately, I am not a laundry wizard like my mom or mother in law yet, and most of the stuff has yellow stains. They aren't bad...but for a newborn baby you just want everything perfectly fresh and perfect you know? I am going through and spot treating all of it and then I am going to wash it in Dreft and Oxyclean. If this doesn't work, does anyone else have any stellar suggestions?

Question

Are you and/or your child(ren) getting the HINI vaccine? If not, why not? I was flabbergasted when I read yesterday that of the thirty something percent of people who said "no" to this question, that 76% thought that it was unsafe...and that reason was only one of like eight different possible responses.

We don't even have access to it yet-except at the public health office, which I have pretty much ruled out since I think there is a greater chance of contracting the swine flu just by going down there than by not. But there has been SUCH an uproar at Adam's school over having the shot mandated; I say it's just an inconvenient part of being a health care professional and people who chose that profession should buck up and take one for the team...I really don't see what the big deal is.

But are any of you who have the option really worried about it?

Somewhat lacking in manners

Does this look like the face of a perfectly polite boy? That is a rhetorical question.

I love this age. Eli is just old enough to have a pretty decent command of vocabulary and ABSOLUTELY zero concept of propriety: A few minutes ago, he walked into the kitchen stark naked-- keeping him in underwear, to say nothing of fully dressed, is my new full time job. He came right up to me, turned around, bent over so as to stick his bare bottom directly at me and commanded "Scratch it my bum mom?"

Burr boys aren't universally known for their manners so I suppose there is a decent argument that he comes by some of that genetically; but I'm also sure that there is a very distinct age where kids just figure out how to talk and are still completely unbound by social decorum. Either way, it's freaking funny.

Boys rock

So we are ecstatic to be having another one! Boys have always made my life more interesting and exciting; I have always enjoyed being the only girl and I am glad that that situation is destined to continue.

The one problem? Adam and I exhausted every possible name in the UNIVERSE last time and already used the one name on which we could both agree. Help! Here are Adam's rules...(seriously, I used to think I was an opinionated person; now I think I am pretty laid back.)

1.NO verbs (so like Chase, which I love, is out)
2.No name combinations or made up names
3.No names that rhyme with anything stupid that other kids will make fun of
4.Can't end in R (our last name is Burr)
5.No names that start with D (initials would be DB)
6.No names of anyone that Adam has EVER in his life known, met, saw, talked to, heard of or imagined that wasn't cool...I double dog dare you to try and get around this last rule.

I tried

Halloween was a little bit tricky this year. My helpmate (and photographer) was in, of all places, St. Louis-and he didn't even get to see Nelly!!!

So these are the most decent pictures I could muster. You can't even see his cute mini football, or that his authentic number 10 jersey says MANNING on the back. I tried really hard...by Friday night, after our ward trunk or treat, a library costume party and an attempted 30 minute photo shoot, I was more than a little bit Halloweened out. But I managed to pull it together and take him trick or treating and to one more trunk or treat party-mostly because they had a bounce house, which I foolishly presumed would mitigate the effects of the time change; it didn't work. He woke up at 4:30 am this morning.





Cheers to no more ASDA conferences over Halloween- a holiday where two parents are an absolute must.

We've reconciled

WARNING: There is a hilarious picture which exaggerates the point of this post at the end; do not scroll down if you are offended by a woman in a bra and underwear.

Anyway, some of you may remember that I was rather upset about this discovery early last year. Finding out that my, obviously, favorite mirror in the house was a skinny mirror was irritating. Being the kind of girl that I am, one who has no tolerance for sugar coating or distorted realities, I generally don't find any satisfaction in seeing an image of myself which is not real: When I ask my husband, or anyone for that matter, if my outfit makes me look fat, I genuinely want to know the truth--why would I want to wear something out in public that doesn't look good on me? So naturally, I felt betrayed by my skinny mirror when I found out.

No more. We are friends once again. It turns out that the awkward image of a midway through pregnancy me makes the fictitious version of myself too compelling to resist. I know, I know. It's not true; I don't look like what the skinny mirror says I do. But it looks so much better than the real version that I have just decided to go to the dark, fake, skinnier side.

So, at least for now, until I reach the "cute" point of pregnancy-you know, that very narrow window of time where your stomach is just big and round enough as to make every other part of your body appear proportionally smaller and cuter--I will take comfort in a lie. Actually, let's be honest, that stage is fleeting as your body gives way to incredible hugeness, swelling and misery; so it could be an incredibly long time before I am prepared to face the real me again. Cheers to the skinny mirror! Ha ha ha...I hope it's not this bad...

The two (mostly) happiest places on Earth

DISNEYLAND: Eli made it through an entire day at Disneyland without a single bathroom incident-what a potty power champ! We took the day, braved the rain and met my cousins (twelve of them!) aunts and uncles at the happiest place on Earth. And only one child, Mr. Sammy the Wimmer, was temporarily lost the whole day. So it was definitely a huge success.

COSTCO: Like most people who hail from the great "This is the place," we are devoted and loyal Costco fans. I am particularly so because it is the only place that my husband enjoys to shop. However, I was wondering if anyone has been irked by the enforcement over the past year of the entrance "card flashing?" Really, it's not that big of a deal; anyone who has ever shopped at Costco knows that it is just standard protocol. Silly, perhaps...unnecessary, yes- since they neither permit you to purchase anything without it, nor do they allow you out of the warhehouse without a receipt to confirm your purchase. And for a while, the employees "guarding" the entrance were either casually engaged in something else or just didn't care if you didn't wish to dig through your purse to find your wallet in order to pull out your card and prove your legitimate membership.

So I have only been mildly annoyed by the recent crackdown in card flashing at the Costco until Monday night. Sidenote: It will shock no one that Eli's primary goal in life is to make it through the parking lot-where he knows full well he MUST hold someone's hand- to the sidewalk so that he can then proceed to run away as far and as fast as humanly possible. I don't know why this fact of life sometimes escapes me, but it does. So as soon as we made it to the sidewalk on our way into Costco the other night, Eli was already inside and on his way to visit the wash and the cold, which is to say the washing machines on display and the refrigerated section. So Adam and I both started to rush inside in an attempt to reclaim our fleeing son, paying little attention to the card guard. He seriously stuck is hand out and said, "Excuse me, can I see your card?" After a brief glance of incredulity passed between us, we silently agreed that Adam would chase the kid and I would pacify the guard. "I got it. Can he go get our kid?" I said laughing.

So apparently the card flashing is pretty important. I suppose once Eli busted his way into the Costco, like anything else inside, we needed a membership card to get him out. Makes perfect sense.


PS Am I a bad mother for throwing away all of the art drawings that Eli creates if he tears them to shreds once I display them on the fridge? I was particularly excited about this piece because it rather resembles a Jackson Pollock, don't you think? But this is what he does to every piece of artwork he ever creates; apparently he is not a modern art lover. I try...I really do.

Seriously?

I guess if Twitter crashed because so many people were telling the dear internet what they thought of President Obama's latest award, I should at least leave a small comment: Well now we know why President Obama didn't get his pet Olympic project for Chicago...because that would have been ridiculously over the top for him to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize AND the Olympics for his homeboys in less than a week. Apparently the people who make the decisions for this prize didn't see last week's SNL where Obama himself admitted that he hadn't done anything (not to mention anything Nobel Peace Prize worthy) yet-which to be fair, I don't think even the strongest supporters of ending the wars would have expected to be done 10 months into his administration; if he had, it would have been incredibly irresponsible. If there is one thing that SNL does right, it is make fun of people who say and do stupid things. They are incredibly clued in to the sentiments of American people. Had I been asked by the council, I would have strongly suggested they watch this clip before they seriously considered selecting our president to win the award.

E's got Potty Power

...mostly. Oh man, this job is far less fun than I thought it would be; and I didn't think it was going to be very fun. I will spare the internet the grosser details and pictures of Eli in "unders", as he so lovingly calls them. But suffice it to say, diapers are way underrated. And I say that even as I am forced to admit it is going surprisingly well.

We had a wonderful time in St. George last week. Adam saw the light of day, Eli got to see Adam, I got to be one of two equal parents, and we all got to see Bryan and Natalie, which was a lovely surprise. We went hiking in Zion's, ate at all of the good restaurants Utah has to offer-Pizza Factory and Bajio being my favorites-and generally mowged (a verb derived from Mowgli of the Jungle Book by one of my siblings...probably Chel?)around all weekend by the pool. Adam's parents did their best, as only they can do, to spoil Eli completely rotten which of course we appreciate tremendously. And now we are both back to working hard: Adam at creating teeth accessories and me potty training Eli. Be jealous; it's a wonderful life!






PS Not shockingly, Eli is an excellent rock climber and hiker.

Braggery and a VERY important question

I don't gush about my husband very often. I try to avoid it where I can. However, I feel compelled to give him a shout out at the culmination of this hellish term. Adam has not really seen the light of day for about three months. The one advantage to that is that he has mostly avoided the 100 degree days-a small consolation for giving up so much vitamin D, I would say. He has been spending most of his days (and nights) locked in a dental lab dungeon, slaving away in the name of achieving a perfect denture, crown or whatever for his patients, often to have them slip out of his hands and irreparably crack in the final moments of the process. (I gave him what I thought was stellar advice: Never polish your projects. Doing so always leads to destruction. Eliminate that last step, settle for good rather than "THE BEST" and come home earlier....he chose not to accept, which is why, dear world, you should trust him with the care of your mouth someday: if he doesn't get it exactly perfect the first time, he will start over and make it perfect.)

So, aside from crashing at about 8:30 pm in the middle of all of the shows we have neglected three nights in a row, he still hasn't taken much of a break on his so called break: On Thursday he played with Eli most of the day in between searching for a cheap replacement (ie, bicycle) mode of transportation for his beloved motorcycle...oh, and trying to repair the lens on the camera that I broke; let's just not talk about that. Friday, he spent most of the day attempting to fix my dryer, WHILE letting Eli "help" him. The poor thirty year old warrior lost its ability to dry with heat last week. Adam, once again locked in a hot, dingy environment spent most of the day taking it apart, absolutely convinced that if he could channel enough time and brainpower into it that he could fix it. This attitude typically proves its usefulness. My dryer is not yet fixed, but a replacement part is on its way so we will see. Saturday, he spent most of the day at a dental conference and being disappointed by the devastating BYU/UTAH losses; let's not talk about that either. Sunday, was church-exhausting on any given Sunday. And today, he is spending on the phone trying to recruit vendors to come to the LLU vendor fair. And tomorrow-this might be the most taxing job of all for him-he has committed to go to Disneyland with us! Bless his heart.

We are going to go down to St. George on Wednesday for a few days. So that should be relaxing and fun. But I appreciate Adam so much. He is a tireless rock; or rather, he rocks.

PS Should Eli be Eli Manning or Billy Idol for Halloween?

Rediscoveries

I think being pregnant has really brought out the kid in me this time. Although almost everything about it has been more difficult, i.e. completely different, from last time, I have experienced the high that comes from emerging out of places very very low...much like a moody child who can one minute be found bawling and screaming because the world is ending, only to be immediately and completely consoled with a promise to "do the wash,"-or whatever really makes your kid happy. Ok, so I am being dramatic. But here are some of the things that have made me really really happy when I have felt really really bad the last few months:

-DISNEYLAND. I know, I know. Every one of you just decided you don't even know me anymore. But here is the thing: Eli is old enough now to get really excited, really appreciative and really opinionated about what he wants to do. We go and he tells me which rides he wants to go on and, not shockingly, he sprints from one venue to the next. I love watching that. I love spending so much time with him where he is so focused on something other than destroying my house! That is, as long as it is not hot and crowded, which it hasn't been recently.
-CRYSTAL LIGHT SLURPEES FROM 7-11!!! On my way to Disneyland on Friday, I saw a 7-11. And I had this flashback of Lisa Chuntz and I cruising the streets of Provo in search of an acceptable treat-either Crystal Light slurpees or Maverick frozen yogurt. And I had to have one. I thought about it the whole time we were at Disney. I had to stop, even just to check and see if they had one. Lo and behold! My child fell immediately asleep and I slurped on a wild strawberry slurpee while listening to the Red Hot Chili Peppers all the way home. Even though I wanted to puke when I got home, I was so very happy for that hour.
-MAC&CHEESE AND PB&J SANDWICHES. I don't know if it is just that I have grown ultra lazy and would rather partake of Eli's menu than make myself something off of my own for lunch, but have you tried either of these delights lately? Nothing wrong with them. Nothing wrong. Why did I ever think I was too good for these handy little kid foods?
-TV AND FOOTBALL, which are kind of the same thing now that football season has begun; our TV doesn't broadcast much else. I watched the Ohio v USC game by myself on Friday night while Adam went to his 49th Dave Matthews Band concert (not really, but you know what I mean.) I was so happy. Sick, but so happy to be sitting on the couch and watch so much peripheral excitement without actually having to move.
-NAPS. I need one like every other day. Mid afternoon naps cure everything... for a few hours anyway.

Oh bless my heart, those things are kind of sad. I kind of hope my enjoyment of such will wane with the progression of this pregnancy because I sound like kind of a loser.

Farewell old friend

Oh my gosh, look at that fat baby...Anyway, today we said goodbye to Adam's beloved motorcycle. It was time. But it was sad. We always wanted to ride it together more than we really did, and we both worried about him getting into an accident-even just going to and from school. I think those fears were encouraged by several things: Massive amounts of debt that depend on Adam's functioning appendages to be paid back, a dental student who was critically injured a few weeks ago doing exactly what Adam does (riding home less than a mile during lunch,) and just the general sentiment that now is not the time to be taking any extra amount of risk. For three and a half years, Adam rode that bike to and from school and has loved having it. But it is time to move on. We sold it to a darling newlywed couple who was so excited to have it. But I think Adam felt like he was giving up one of his children...and it was sad.

Round 2

Due March 21st.




I think most everyone already knows since pregnancy news spreads like wildfire-even across state lines- in Mormon culture. But yeah. Here we go again. We are excited-and when I say we, I mean Adam and I; Eli just says "no baby" when we bring it up. And I don't really know how Duane feels. Chances are he may feel overwhelmed and outnumbered. How is he supposed to fend off TWO kids with red markers?

Getting out of here until football commences

Eli and I are sojourning to Utah this weekend. I am tired of the heat and tired of being a mostly single parent to my child who is...well, you all know how he is. I am going to get my haircut, swim at the inlaws' new pool, watch baseball games and let Eli play with his cousins and uncles. I made the unfortunate mistake of telling him that we were going a couple of days ago; now he asks me multiple times a day when we are going to Nannie's house to see the wash and Grandma's house to see the goats...my mom has a front load washer which he idolizes, and Adam's parents have neighbors who have goats. He had a full on meltdown yesterday and bawled himself to sleep screaming "Goats!" I keep telling him we'll go on Friday but he doesn't really get it. So that's it. Swimming, goats and laundry-hooray!

PS Football season is almost here. That statement really deserves an exclamation mark but I try to limit them to less than one per post; just know that I am REALLY excited. Go Cougars. Please don't suck.