Funny Funny Annie

Okay, I'm ready to move on from The Mullet.

Ryan and I went to DC last weekend and it was great! I went for business but we managed to fit in a little fun while we were there. My boss and I were up on the Hill on Friday visiting with the offices of our representatives and senators. It went well and I learned a lot. Ryan hung out on the Mall that day and had a good time. We spent some time on Saturday at Arlington National Cemetery. This was an amazing experience. I won't wax too poetically about it, but suffice it to say, I walked (waddled) away very humble and grateful for the unbelievable sacrifices men and women of our (and others) country have made for the life I enjoy daily. We also spent some time at the Smithsonian--Museum of Natural History, tried the National Archives but the line was loooooong (about 2 hours) just to get in. Then we went to try and find paintings by Charles Russell (Ryan's fave) at the Museums of Art, but to no avail. We did see some good stuff there, however. I've been to DC and specifically the Smithsonian several times when I was younger, so I've probably seen most of it already, but I was bummed that Ryan didn't get into the Archives. Well, we made a commitment to come back with our kids when they are older. Annie would have just LOVED the Museum of Natural History. Cool stuff.

Anyway, back to funny Annie. She has said some funny stuff the last few days and I wanted to share. Richard, please forgive me for this one, but it's too great to not share. I was driving Annie to preschool on Monday morning and she said nonchalantly, "Grandpa drives too fast." I was a little taken aback. "How do you know this?" She continued: "Well, because when he was taking me to school on Friday (they stayed with Ryan's parents while we were gone), he was driving too fast." "Yes, Annie," I continued, "but how do you KNOW he was driving too fast?"

"The policeman told him to slow down!"

nice.

"And then he told Grandpa he could go."

busted.

So, being the kind and respectful daughter-in-law that I am (chuckle chuckle), I immediately dialed him and inquired as to whether or not he had made an unscheduled stop on the way to drop Annie off at school on Friday.

He had.

priceless. just priceless.

Then, later that day, I was doing some work, and she came up to me and said, "Mom, is Darryl Hannah nice?" WHAT? HOW? Where? Darryl Hannah? Where do they get this stuff? She continued: "How about Tim Curry? Is he nice?" I busted up laughing. I had finally figured it out. She has a video (and loves the previews) that she has been watching that has a preview for a movie they did together (I think it's the Munsters or something like that) and the voice-over says the actor and actress's names and they're the monster mommy and daddy. Fair question. So we had a nice chat about what actors and actresses do, and how the people they pretend to be might be nice or not so nice, but they are probably nice people, etcetera.

It was just really funny to hear my four year old say these people's names randomly like they live down the street. Too funny!

Kids are hilarious!

The Haircut

My daughter has a mullet.

. . . sigh. . .

And I have one question: What the heck?

Just when I think, they can NOT raise the bar on their craziness any more than they already have, they do! And feel free to laugh at my parental naivete--I'm sure there's more trouble on the close as well as distant horizon.

I was fixing a clog in my vacuum hose (which ironically was full of hair--albeit Jack's dog hair) and apparently I was a bit TOO engrossed in the task, when she walked in holding THIS in her hand saying, "whose hair do you think THIS is?" with a big smile on her face:


What are you SUPPOSED to do at a time like this? I just started crying. We just got her this beautiful Easter dress (at Costco, LOVE Costco) and shoes, and hair accessories. I just figured out how to have her wear her hair down like SHE likes it yet out of her eyes like I like it. I have a friend who is an amazing photographer who was going to take pics of my kids. And, you know what? I really think her hair is pretty when it is down! I am sure many of you have dealt with similar self-haircut disappointments before and can attest to the fact that I won't feel as horrible tomorrow.

Here is a beautiful before picture: This was taken last summer in CT at my parents' house. It's the best I have of her long beautiful blonde curls:


It is difficult to see from the above photo how long it's gotten, so here's an example from today. Bear in mind that her hair is really thick and there is a surprising amount missing on either side, but again, difficult to tell from the rear:


And the side:


And, lastly, the fabulous front:


Thank goodness for Grandma. Ryan and I are going to DC tomorrow and I asked her if she could schedule a "fix-it" hair appt. for Annie while we were gone. She said she would and called and PRESTO, Heidi (thanks, by the way) had an opening right away. So, off they went. Here is the result:


I guess we'll live. Worse things have happened than this. I think it's cute, although it will take some getting used to. And a little bit of a learning curve for me to figure out how to style it! She was pretty happy about it. When I asked her why she cut it (I never learn, why do parents ask their kids why they've done something naughty? Do we expect they'll give us some glimpse of personal accountability or wisdom gained from the experience? or even honesty, for that matter?) Anyway, she said she wanted it short.

I told her, "next time, ASK!"

what is next?

HAPPY 11th ANNIVERSARY!!!

Early Spring 1998
In love and BLISSFULLY CLUELESS!!!

I can hardly believe Ryan and I have been married 11 years. I know. I know. Just wait till it's 20, 30, 50, . . . I'll deal with THAT craziness when it happens.


My car's temperature gauge says that it is 64 degrees outside today. Eleven years ago, it was cold and cloudy and windy! In most of the pictures (NOT the above one, thank goodness), my bangs are just flying in the wind. One of several "whaddaya do?" wedding-day mishaps. All in all, it was a GREAT day! I remember a few things about it (surprisingly):

I remember that I woke up and I couldn't believe I was going home with Ryan rather than my family at the end of the day. I remember loading my bags into the "getaway car" which was hidden--thank you Richard. I was SO excited about that. We'd bought our first home--a two-bedroom condo in Logan--and we'd moved all our stuff in and it was waiting for us after our honeymoon. It seemed so strange yet exciting. I didn't have to write my name on my mustard, cheese, milk, what have you, in the fridge anymore! WOO-HOO.

I remember that we ate Eggs Benedict at the wedding breakfast. I remember my friends sang for us, I remember talking with all of our friends and family and smiling a lot. I'm sorry to say I don't remember much of what the sealer said before we were married. But, I remember who was there, and I remember how I felt. I'll never forget that. I remember sitting in the celestial room of the temple while we waited to be taken to the sealing room--which by the way, my dad SWEARS was the same room he and my mom were married in. Incidentally, on our 5th anniversary we did temple sealings to celebrate and were in the same room! And, last fall, we did sealings again in the SAME ROOM! What a great way to remember that awesome experience, I say!

What I remember most is how Ryan totally took my breath away when I walked around the corner to where he was waiting in his tux--I could NOT believe how handsome and sexy he looked! My heart was literally pounding in my chest. He had picked out his tux -- no input from me allowed! I think he did a GREAT job!

I remember thinking I couldn't believe how lucky I was to find someone who fit me so well. From the moment I met Ryan, I was impressed by so many things. He was very kind and gentle, he didn't care that he wasn't the only person I was dating. He was not embarrassed to tell me and show me how much he liked me. I was grateful for that because I do NOT like the "does he like me?" game. Always hated it. I would much rather just KNOW and not have to guess or figure out how to play the game. Anyway, it was like he knew how he felt and he was confident that with time, I'd realize I didn't need to date anyone else. I still remember the night I went on my last date with someone else. I spent the entire night wishing I was with Ryan and I couldn't wait to get home and tell him.

Another thing that impressed me about Ryan was how respectful he was. He was a true gentleman. And I remember when we drove to his parents one weekend to meet his family. I felt immediately comfortable with them. That makes a big difference, ya know? I've always been very grateful that I married into such a great family. I'm so lucky to have such great in-laws. And they're pretty fun, too. I've said it before, and I'll say it again, NO ONE makes me laugh as hard as Ryan does. And he knows it. Life can be pretty hard sometimes, and it makes all the difference to me that my silly husband is there to lighten the load.

I could go on and on and on. Suffice it to say that I'm so glad that I married Ryan eleven years ago today. It hasn't always been fun and games (who DOES have it that way?), but even when we've struggled or had hardships, we've grown so much closer and stronger as a couple, and found more true joy together. And I couldn't have picked someone who was more perfect FOR ME! Even though we are different in many ways, we have much in common. He evens out my personality very well and I'm grateful for how our differences make us better and more fun for each other. Oh ya, and we've made some cute kiddos together too, I think.

So, thanks to all of you who are such great examples, friends, and supports to us. Some of you were there eleven years ago today: can you spot yourselves?

I'm excited for the next eleven years!
(I hope it's MUCH MORE than that)

The Party and the Cake

Sigh. . . . I tried and tried to think of the perfect cake for Carson. He is ABSOLUTELY obsessed with Cars and Balls. I couldn't decide between the two: balls would have been much easier, but in the end, I decided to go with cars. Here is his cake. Don't look too closely. . .


It took some people a while to realize that the "2" on the cake is actually the road. Ryan did the road (lines and vehicle placement--thanks, Ry) and decided that he'd never seen a road where there was a dotted line on such a tight curve--hence the double "no passing" zone. Leave it to him to notice a detail like that! I'm glad he helped because I was a tad bit neurotic at that point. You see, I'd read somewhere that you're supposed to freeze the cake to make it easier to frost. So I did, IN the pan. I could NOT get the cake out for the life of me. So I called my friend Heather (thanks for the help, your advice worked) who does amazing cakes, and she told me to set it in warm water for a minute. (this may be a "duh, Sarah" moment for many of you, but I am not good at this stuff). So, there it was. Carson LOVED the cake, although he saw it before it was cake time and had a very difficult time behaving during and concentrating on his bday dinner: mashed potatoes and gravy and black olives are among his favorites and all he cared about were the "CARS!!! CARS!! CARS!!!" that were in the other room. So, needless to say, he was pretty psyched by the cake. Good decision, mom!


Here he is with his cake (the CUTE picture of him actually blowing out the candles was very fuzzy, so this will have to do!)


All in all, I'd say he had a GREAT birthday. We gave him a rug with roads on it to use with his cars, and he received a motorcycle (a BIG hit) and additional cars from family members. As you can see, he was QUITE pleased:


And this is how he spent the rest of the afternoon. Cheapest birthday ever. Nice! Can't go wrong with a 99-cent Matchbox car!

Happy 2nd Birthday, Carson!

Okay, I realize this is not a current picture, but it is one of my favorites. I can't believe my little man will be TWO YEARS OLD on Sunday!! I wanted to take a few minutes and share some of my favorite pictures and tell what I love about this little boy!

I think that first picture is so perfect because it sums up the first two years of his life: happy happy happy. Carson is most always smiling and is quick to laugh. Believe me, he is learning to tantrum like a champ, but for the most part, he's been very easy going and chipper!

This is one of our first pictures together:


I would be lying if I said I thoroughly enjoyed the experience of getting that boy here, 'cause I didn't, but I will say that I immediately thought, "I could do that again." I am a fan of epidurals--especially when they work all the way. Anyway, Carson entered the world in his calm little way. He was a really good baby--slept through the night at 6 weeks and to this day, hasn't woken me up in the middle of the night yet. I'm not exaggerating. Now that's gotta be one thing to love about this little boy!



Okay, I promise, I'm not going to scrapbook/blog his entire life so far, but this one is a cute picture too. This is his first bite of food--sweet potatoes if I'm correct--served by one Aunt Gretchen. This is another thing to love about this little boy: he's not a messy eater. I either got really good at the face scrape with the spoon or he just plain ole' isn't messy. And he loves to feed himself. It didn't take him very long to insist on holding his own fork. "I do it!" And he's pretty good to eat whatever is offered him. Nice.



Pardon the invasion of their bath time privacy, but yep, you guessed it, this is another thing I love about the little man: He absolutely adores his big sister Annie. When he wakes up in the morning, after requesting to play with his cars, he starts calling out, "Annie! Annie? Annie!" And gets sooooo excited to go play with her. She's a patient and kind big sister for the most part, but sometimes his immediate and ever-present company proves too much for the girl! I love listening to them talk to each other. It's priceless! And they are a united front, let me tell you! One time I was getting after him for climbing on the coffee table or something, and Annie looked at me and said, "Mom, he's just a little boy and he doesn't understand!" Oh boy! And then another time, I told Annie it was time to brush her teeth and no sooner had I said it, then Carson had walked over to her bathroom stool and brought it over to the sink for her. Now, how chivalrous is THAT? What a cutie! Like I said, he just LOVES his sister. . .



I love this picture because it reminds me of his adventurous side and his independence. Why sit at the table when "on the table" will do? And what could be better, I ask you, than chocolate cake and ice cream in the middle of the summer wearing nothing but a tank top and your diaper? Now THAT is living, folks!

He loves to snuggle and get hugs from us, but is perfectly content to go find something to do and sit there for a half hour to an hour if the activity is interesting enough to him. One day, he sat down in Annie's room with her doll house for at least an hour (I kept checking) and had the doll baby in its high chair and was "feeding" it with the little spoon, and putting the baby to bed, talking it all out the entire time. Yet another thing to love about the little guy!


Well, this is from two days ago. He just looks so much older to me! The story behind this picture is once again, he'd snuck off to go do something all by himself and I called and called him but he wouldn't answer. Finally, I found him downstairs in his room, IN HIS CRIB (which he can't climb out of yet, by the way, but getting IN is apparently "no problemo") along with every clothing item from the bottom three dresser drawers:



. . . sigh. . . I guess he's growing up. All those things to love and NOW, there's even more. How creative and innovative is THAT? Oh, and in case you're wondering why his crib is in the middle of the room, this is why:



Apparently, he was really bored one night. Like I said before, he goes to bed without a problem and doesn't cry at night. He usually is awake for about an hour before going to sleep and I guess there's only so much one can do whilst laying there by oneself for an hour.

Well, HAPPY BIRTHDAY, little Carsie! We're so glad he's here with us. It hardly seems possible that he is already two, but alas, he is. And I'm sure time will continue to fly. I'm so glad I get to be his mom--I cannot imagine life without either of my kids. I had no idea how much joy there would be in being a Mom, and honestly, I had no idea how difficult it could be either.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: becoming a Mom has been one of the best things that has happened to me. Again, I'm very happy and blessed that there are so many things to love about Mr. Carson, and I guess it's time to press on into the "terrible twos." Looks like we're off to a GREAT start!

update

Sarah is on the mend. yes! I went to the doctor today and found out I had an ear infection and a really bad sinus infection. In fact, the doctor's words were (regarding the ear infection) that it was "the type you'd see in a 4 or 5 year old." I answered with, "well, I've been emoting at the age of a 4 or 5 year old lately, so that seems appropriate!" He gave me some prescriptions, so hopefully I'll be feeling better tomorrow. Woo hoo!

The great and terrible VENT of 2009

Okay. I apologize in advance for the negative tone of this post. I may take it down later tonite, tomorrow, or soon thereafter, but I'm going to write it nonetheless.

I am officially miserable. Capital M miserable. The pregnancy is okay, and for the record, I do recognize that I am really blessed to have been healthy and pretty comfortable so far. However, IT has begun. You know, the feeling like I'm being stabbed in the side every so often, feeling so stinkin' tired I can't even stand it, not being able to bend over and pick something up whilst seated without rocking forward and backward three or four times first, my back aching soooo badly I'd swear I was carrying a load of bricks in a backpack in front--oh, wait, I AM! I start out the day pretty okay (except for that first move in the morning, yep, the one where you take a deep breath and hope you don't swear out loud as your muscles and ligaments yell out in protest). I have good energy in the morning, I hang in there during the afternoon, and then 4 PM hits. My patience, positive attitude and kindness go runnin' out that back door. I will not mince words: I hate how I feel and act between 4 PM and when Ryan gets home from work. I am just nasty nasty nasty!!

Well, if that wasn't bad enough, I got the mother of all colds two days ago. I usually feel the worst on the first day (yesterday) and then get slowly better each day, feeling fine again by the fourth day or so. And I most always sound worse than I feel. But this is usually under "the best of circumstances" which to me means being calmly and happily under the influence of TheraFlu. But guess what? Can't take that! I'm pregnant. So here I sit, stuffy head, aching back, shoulders, chest, ribs, nose, face, left eye thinks it's Niagra Falls for heck's sake, my throat feels like the Badlands, lips are chapped, I'm being "that guy" that breathes through his (her) mouth--I HATE THAT--my TEETH hurt, I can't sleep, my head is throbbing and throbbing. Ughhhhhh. And, to top that off, I can't breathe deeply, and I seriously feel so out of breath I think I'm suffocating half the time.

Okay, I know I'm getting a little drastic and dramatic here. I did get the nickname Sarah Bernhardt from my parents for a good reason, I guess. . .

Anyway, the thing that has set me off tonite (other than the previous paragraphs) is that I got all cozy in my favorite pair of pants--they aren't maternity (which means they don't fall down), they stretch enough to accommodate two pregnant women, yet are elastic enough to stay up and feel great, they are fleece and cozy, and I just folded them and put them in my cozies drawer this morning. Wellllllll. . . . those of you who have birthed babies before understand the risks taken whilst laughing, coughing, and the like. . . I have been warning Ryan all night to NOT MAKE ME LAUGH because If I laugh, then I cough like crazy and either throw up or die. (well, not really, just feels that way). So, he makes up some parody to the tune "Sweet Child of Mine" about Carson's stinky pants smelling like death while he was changing him, and I started laughing and I PEED MY PANTS!!! A LOT! I could not help myself or stop myself. What the HECK?!?!?!? 2 year olds pee their pants, 3 year olds pee their pants! I don't like it, but my four year old has even peed HER pants. But a 34-year old? Seriously?! I can't believe it. Suffice it to say, I've HAD it today! I know I should count my blessings, be grateful for what I have. Fine. I will. Later. But, I just wanted to vent. I hope my cold is better tomorrow. And I hope I can try to have a more positive attitude.

I know it won't last forever. . . I know it won't last forever. . . I know it won't last forever. . .