For the last week or so the girls and I have been listening to the Newsies soundtrack as I drive around places. There is an 11-year-old inside of me that still gets such a kick from those songs.

Speaking of music I really wish I was more in tune with what adults listen to. I think I've been taken over by children's music and news radio. It is a sad sorry state to be in.

If you are interested in buying a 2003 Passat let me know, we are selling ours...... And moving on to the world of mini-vans. I have mixed feelings on this issue.

This video clip is about the most hilarious thing I've seen in a long, long time. If you are a parent, or have ever parented young children, I believe you will enjoy it. I know it is a little long, but it is well worth your time and gets better as it goes a long. Please trust me.


Thanks everyone for the reading suggestions. I started reading Cold Comfort Farm. It is a British comedy that really nails their dry sense of humor. It has some of the best characters I've ever read.

It is 9:24 and I think I'm going to go to bed. It is either a sign of my age or this pregnancy that I am super excited at the prospect.

Abbie is supposed to recite the scripture for primary. The scripture is "Wherefore men are free to choose...liberty and eternal life though the Great Mediator of all men." What she says is, "Wherefore men are free to choose liberty and eternal life through the great meteorite of all men." It is only because I know people will laugh and that she hates to be laughed at that I correct her. It is just so darn cute. I am proud that she is doing it and proud that she can read it herself.

Yesterday I felt like I had been hit by a bus. I don't know what bug I had, but it was a 12 hour nightmare. Glad to be feeling better today.

Anyone have any good reads they can suggest?  Anyone? Anyone? Bueler? Please? If you happen to be looking my latest recommendations are Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet and To Kill a Mockingbird. (Yes, yes, I know you read it in high school. Read it as an adult.)

It was supposed to snow a lot today. We need it to snow a lot today. But I am very excited that the forecasters were wrong.

I'm in charge of planning Valentine's Day for Russ and I this year. Any ideas that will appeal to a 35-week pregnant woman and her husband who only goes to plays because he knows that she likes them? (Sorry I want to go to a play, but I really want to do something we will both enjoy.)

This baby is less then two months away from birth and we still don't know what we are going to call the poor guy. So far Baby Brother just might need to keep covering it. It would help if Russ were interested in giving suggestions that included things other than Horace, Hugo, and Bartholomew.

For Christmas I got two presents that I LOVE. But first my tangent. Around Christmas time I read an article about the fact that we often spend money on big items or gifts that we use irregularly in hopes that they will improve our life. The example the author cited was an RV that was purchased and never used. Her suggestion was that to significantly increase our happiness we should buy things that we will use regularly that will significantly impact our life.

That brings me to my Christmas presents....

1 - My new Knife. Russ bought me a really  nice knife. It is a thing of beauty. I'm not joking when I say that the first time I used it I started to laugh because it was so sharp easy to slice though a ripe tomato. I gave it to my mom and she did the same thing. I love this knife because I use it every day, multiple times a day. And silly as it sounds it makes me happy each time I do because my life has been significantly improved. (You should see it cut through chicken. I swoon.) I know I'm a nerd but really nice knife = happy me.

2 - The Best 30-Minute Meals from America's Test Kitchen. As you well know I LOVE America's Test Kitchen. Their standards for excellence (which really means deliciousness) are high. I know I can trust every recipe they have. In fact, just Sunday I made their Bread Pudding, and it was heaven! But the down side is that a  lot of their recipes are more time consuming than I have time for at dinner time. At most I will only make one or possibly two of their recipes in a week because I just don't have enough time after Abbie comes home from school. If I'm really on the ball I'll do prep work during the day but that doesn't always happen either. I'll be honest there is a level of quality that comes with letting things simmer, marinade, caramelize, and combine for longer than 30 minutes that just can't be replicated in that time frame. But if you don't have that time,  enter their 30 Minute Meal Cookbook. The same high standards but start to finish 30 minutes. Tonight I made their Ravioli Bake and it was a big hit. It tasted a lot like lasagna, but I was able to fix the ravioli, a salad, green beans and get the table set (read: supervise Abbie setting the table) in 30 minutes. Not bad, my friends, not bad at all.

It is nice to have received gifts that just keep on giving.

All the girls in our family got haircuts yesterday. No dramatic changes, except that Abbie said she really wanted bangs. We talked about the time it takes to grow them out, how they look etc., and she was determined (not that I cared either way.) Her desire lasted until she saw the bangs in the mirror after they had been cut. I'm afraid she takes after me, because I have never, ever liked any dramatic change I have made to my hair. This morning she insisted on me pulling the bangs back in elastics. Oh well, its her hair.

I've seen this sign every day I drive to pick Abbie up from school. I have yet to figure it out.


I am rereading To Kill a Mockingbird. If you haven't read it since high school, or even college I would go so far as to say it should return to your required reading list immediately. It really is AMAZING.

I am 31 weeks pregnant. I have 58 days to go. It is much better to be pregnant through the winter than the summer. Especially when that winter has had record low snowfall.

Abbie still misses her cousins, but thankfully it is not as dramatic.

I have zero motivation to avoid snacks or chocolate at this stage in the game. I'm just going to get bigger, right? I'm sure I'll be much more motivated to eat healthily once the baby is born. I'm sure of it.

I realized that the myriad of baby blankets I own are all wrapped around pictures and breakable house decorations sitting in storage from when we packed up our home a year and a half ago. Bummer.

Coming back from a two week break to the school/work routine has been brutal in our house. We've all groaned when the alarm rings in the wee hours of dawn. There has been much weeping, wailing, and nashing of teeth. Each morning I've pulled Abbie half-awake body out of bed and helped her get dressed because she remains in a near-comatose state. There has been excessive clinging at school drop offs, and drooping tired eyes at school pick-ups.

So why is it that on Saturday, the one day we've been waiting for to sleep in a little BOTH children are up at 6:30, earlier than they get up for school, and happy, cheerful,* and ready for the day?


*I'm not complaining about having happy, cheerful children I just don't understand why it had to be at 6:30 on a Saturday morning rather than during the week.

I've started to think about goals for this new year. But with a new baby coming in March, a house and a car to buy, my main goal is to survive with my sanity in place. I will, however, take just surviving sans sanity though, as that is really the most likely option.

This week I wished more than anything that motherhood came with a manual specifically directed toward my children and which method of parenting would screw them up entirely and which would not. I get opinions from valued sources on all sides of the issues. I guess that is something for them to analyze with their therapists when they get older.

I had an urge to clean this week (don't worry it was passing). I spent the day getting out the baby clothes we've purchased/been given and washed and sorted them. It made me really, really, excited. Except that our son will be a well dressed baby until he hits about six months, then he will have to go nude.

Savannah is sitting on the stairs singing Christmas songs while I type. The three-year-old version of Deck the Halls is making my day.

Also in my cleaning I found the set of cloth diapers that my mother purchased when she found out I was pregnant  (the newer kind, not the kind my mother used with pins, elastic-plastic pants, and toilet cleaning). I so badly want to want to be on board with this as it could save me a lot of money. Right now I'm just thinking...gross.

 Abbie received the "Builder of the Month" award at her school. She's had a rough week and it was fun to see how proud she was of herself. The pin she received has followed her throughout the last 24 hours and was affixed to her shirt as soon as it was put on this morning.