Finally! A Celebrity I Can Respect!!!

Merry Christmas, Ben!!!

"Confessions for the Holidays"

CHARLES OSGOOD, host: We all have our own thoughts about the holidays. Here's Ben Stein with his.

BEN STEIN: Here at this happy time of year, a few confessions from my beating heart. I have no freaking clue who Nick and Jessica are.

STEIN: I see them on the cover of People and Us constantly when I'm buying my dog biscuits. I still don't know. I often ask the checkers at the grocery stores who they are. They don't know who Nick and Jessica are, either. Who are they? Will it change my life if I know who they are and why they've broken up? Why are they so darned important?

STEIN: I don't know who Lindsay Lohan is either, and I don't care at all about Tom Cruise's baby.

STEIN: Am I going to be called before a Senate committee and asked if I'm a subversive? Maybe. But I just have no clue who Nick and Jessica are. Is this what it means to be no longer young? Hm, not so bad.

Next confession: I am a Jew and every single one of my ancestors was Jewish, and it does not bother me even a little bit when people call those beautifully lit-up, bejeweled trees Christmas trees.

STEIN: I don't feel threatened. I don't feel discriminated against. That's what they are — Christmas trees. It doesn't bother me a bit when people say 'Merry Christmas' to me. I don't think they're slighting me or getting ready to put me in a ghetto. In fact, I kind of like it. I shows that we're all brothers and sisters celebrating this happy time of year.
It doesn't bother me one bit that there's a manger scene on display at a key intersection at my beach house in Malibu.

STEIN: If people want a creche, fine. The menorah a few hundred yards away is fine, too. I do not like getting pushed around for being a Jew, and I don't think Christians like getting pushed around for being Christians. I think people who believe in God are sick and tired of getting pushed around, period. I have no idea where the concept came from that America is an explicitly atheist country. I can't find it in the Constitution and I don't like it being shoved down my throat. Or maybe I can put it another way. Where did the idea come from that we should worship Nick and Jessica and aren't allowed to worship God as we understand him? I guess that's a sign that I'm getting old, too. But there are a lot of us who are wondering where Nick and Jessica came from and where the America we used to know went to.
********************************************************

Mr. Stein currently offers occasional commentaries for the CBS Sunday Morning news program, and the item quoted above is based on one such commentary, entitled "Confessions for the Holidays" and delivered by Mr. Stein on that program on 18 December 2005, one week before Christmas. However, the version widely circulated via e-mail includes some transcription errors and modifications that were not part of the piece as originally aired. Here is the full version as broadcast, taken from a CBS News transcript of the program:

Stein, a lawyer by training, has also served as a speechwriter for President Richard M. Nixon, has to date authored sixteen books (both novels and non-fiction efforts), and continues to write editorials and columns for a number of prominent publications. He is perhaps best known to the world at large, however, for his in-front-of-the-camera work as the dreadfully dull economics teacher in the film Ferris Bueller's Day Off (and his similar role as the monotonic science teacher Mr. Cantwell on the TV series The Wonder Years) and as the keenly competitive host of the Comedy Central game show Win Ben Stein's Money.

Christmas Time In New York

Last weekend we ventured south to New York for a quick over-night visit. We went with another family in our ward who also have two (adorable) little kids. We left Saturday morning early and came home late Sunday night. It was a really fun trip, but I'm afraid we brought home colds as a souvenier and have been suffering ever since. Here are a few of the highlights!

Christmas Tree at "The Rock" (Rockafeller Center). One word: HUGE! (It was too bright to get a great picture. It was one of our first stops of the morning.)

Yes, that's right. These two poor children are leashed. (But very humanely! Oh yeah, and we like to call it a tether!) I know, I know...I too, said I'd NEVER do this to a child. But knowing we would be in such a HUGE city at such a BUSY time of year, I was all for it. This is Sammers with his friend Laney while we waited to get into the ice scating rink.

Only the big boys got out on the ice. The rest of us stayed warm inside with Hot Chocolate. I didn't think they'd last long but both Max, and his buddy Trace, got good quick and stayed out a long time!!!

I'm too lazy to post the rest of these pics through Blogger, so please enjoy my first every slide show!

How to make a snowman cake...

Start with two glass mixing bowls. One Large (body) and one medium (head). (Obviously, they should be oven-safe).

Grease and flour. Don't try to cheat and use cooking spray. I tried that the first time and the results were less than desireable.

Make one box of Funfetti cake mix and divide it between the two bowls filling each bowl about half way up.

Wrap wet paper towels around the sides of the bowls before putting them in the oven. {I don't know why this works, but it makes the cake rise more evenly so the top is flat. (I learned this trick in High School from S.P. , the mother of my friend Felix, and do it every time I bake a cake of any size or shape.)}

When the cake looks like it's done, trust me when I tell you it's not. It's completely raw in the middle.

Fashion a cone of tinfoil with the help of a turkey baster. Shove it in the middle of the cake. This will allow the hot air to circulate and cook the middle. (Be sure to remove the turkey baster...) By-the-way, if you try to insert the cone too early it'll tip over and mess everything up.

Keep checking with a toothpick to determine when the cakes are actually done. The larger of the two will take awhile longer.

After allowing the cakes to cool a bit, invert them onto a cooling rack after carefully sliding a thin rubber spatula around the edges to loosen. When that doesn't work, shove the rubber spatula farther down around the edges and try again.

Now start at the top and repeat this whole process.

5 (or 20) hours later, you'll have four halves of two wholes. Stick them in the fridge on their respective cooling racks and figure out the rest in the morning.

As you may be able to tell, I'm not an expert and this is not an exact science. Which is why I wont be going into the cake baking business any time soon. I'm pretty sure I got the idea of the round bowls somewhere, but I obviously don't remember where, or I'd have had a better idea how long to cook in them and at what temperature.



So there you go. Mystery of the snowman cake, REVEALED! May it be just as vexing a project for you as it was for me!

Happy Birthday Maxwell!

Flashback: Five years and two days ago I was working in HR at UVSC. My mom was in town waiting for her baby's first baby to be born. The night of the fourth, after work, we did a little shopping. I was having contractions, but feeling fine. That evening around 10, the contractions were getting pretty painful (I DO NOT do well with pain) and close together so we all piled into the car and headed to UVRMC in the snow.

I wont go into the gory details of the next few hours. Suffice it to say, Maxwell Douglas was born the next morning around 7 a.m. He was the most beautiful baby I'd ever seen in my life and I was so thrilled to finally meet him. I fell instantly in love with him.

Present: Maxwell turned 5 years old yesterday and couldn't be happier with himself or with life. The day started out with a breakfast of German Pancakes - which he requested. (Yum) As a special treat, Daddy rushed home during lunch and delivered him to school where he got to bring chocolate chip cookies and soy milk to his class for snack time. (He and Daddy made the cookies on Sunday.)

While Max was at school, I got to work frosting his cake which I'd made the night before. It's hard to work on these types of projects when he's home because he always wants to help. Which is great, but there are some things I just can't relinquish artistic control of, i.e. Birthday cakes and my calendar. (Only I get to write on it. Sorry, your handwriting just isn't good enough!)

When I picked him up we went straight to the store to get a few more party supplies. He got to pick his own pack of Extra Watermelon gum and TRIED to weasel quite a few more treats out of me when he realized I gave in to the first one.

Next we headed home where Max immediately went to check the mail box. He was thrilled to find two cards with his name on them and even happier when one had 5 dollars in it.

Don't think I'm a bad mom when I tell you the next part. I made him take a nap. (Sam too.) I knew the next few hours would be torture for both of us and he claimed he didn't want to watch a movie, so what's a mom to do? I told him it was so he could "stay up later" and he was fine with it.

At 6:30 p.m. his party started. While the kids were arriving, Max turned on his current favorite movie "The Polar Express". Once they were all here, we headed upstairs to decorate Gingerbread (Graham Cracker) Houses.

A fun time was had by all and MUCH sugar was consumed. (All totally sanctioned - even encouraged - by the supervising Pediatric Dentist.)

More merriment ensued as we had cake and ice cream and opened presents. Max got some super cool new toys and loves every single one of them. He's playing with them even as I type.

It's sure been a great five years! We all love you, Birthday Boy!!!!!

Update

We woke up to SNOW for the first time this morning! D was so giddy he tried to drag me out of bed at some horrible time like 6:30 a.m.! We compromised. I opened my eyes and partially sat up in bed while he pulled up the blinds in our bedroom window. LUCKILY, Max woke up at 7 and was THRILLED by the surprise just in time for his birthday which is TOMORROW!

Max and Daddy got all bundled up and immediately ran out in the yard to throw snowballs at each other. When Sammy woke up he joined them and I had a hard time getting them to come inside for breakfast. I'm so glad D doesn't have to go in early on Mondays because he got to spend some time playing with them before work. (He was probably really late, but it was worth it.)

So like I said, tomorrow is Maxwell's birthday. He's turning 5 and is SO excited. We're having a little party for him tomorrow night and will be decorating graham cracker houses. He's also requested a snowman cake which I'm sure I'll be working on all day tomorrow.

In other Max news, he's become somewhat of a mystic. A few months ago he got a Magic Pirate Skull toy in his Happy Meal. You shake it, ask it a question, and then lift its eye patch for your answer. Unlike the "Magic Eight Ball", it gives answers like "Nay Scullywag", "Aye Captain", "Yo Ho maybe so!" and "Aye! Smooth Sailing Ahead". Max consults it on all the important issues in his life. For example: "Pirate! Will Daddy let me brush my teeth by myself tonight???" (Turns out it was wrong that time...there was no smooth sailing ahead.) OR: "Pirate, will friends come over today?", and "Pirate, can I have Mac and Keys for lunch today?" He relies on it for answers to all of his most pressing questions and since I have to read him the answers, it's usually right on!

Sammers is our adorable little bi-polar. He goes from being sweet and happy one minute, to screaming like a possessed banshee the next. (Ahh, two year olds...) Generally, he stays pretty happy but mess with his food, binky, or trains and you take your life into your own hands. He's talking a lot more now but I'm afraid only his immediate family can understand him -- and sometimes only Max. I think this is due to the fact that he's been learning to talk around a pacifier which tends to slur speech a bit. (re: picture - He's adopted my spare sunglasses and demands them every time we get in the car.)

D is almost finished with his current rotation which means in a few weeks he'll be able to come home at 5:30 instead of 9:30 pm. We're all very much looking forward to that. Oh yeah, D blogged all about our activities yesterday and like I've said before, I don't want to duplicate effort, so if you're curious about our latest adventure, click HERE.

I am in my 17th week of pregnancy and have been feeling SO MUCH BETTER. I did throw-up today but I think it had more to do with the fact that I'm hypoglycemic and put 10-spoonfuls-too-much brown sugar on my Cream of Wheat -- not the fact that I'm pregnant. Whoops.

As for Baby: "The baby weighs in at about 5 ounces (142 grams). This means that the baby now weighs more than the placenta. No new structures have formed. Loud noises outside may actually cause the baby to startle." (This ultrasound pic is of a 17 week old baby... just not my baby. My ultrasound is on December 22nd. Fae's birthday!!!)

The other day I went to visit a friend who has a brand new baby. As I held the adorable tiny thing on my tummy, she got a kick in her little bum from a jealous un-born. Or maybe it was just a friendly "Hello Baby! Can't wait to meet you in a few months!" Either way, it was a pretty good jab. Another soccer player in the making perhaps?

Now it's time to get Maxer ready for school. You'd think it'd be easy to get to school on time when it starts at 12:30 but that's only if you stop blogging at some point in the morning. So, until I post again...! Adios!!!

Leftovers

This year The Significant Other and I celebrated our very first family-less Thanksgiving. Sad, I know. But what's really sad is that we had to do all the cooking ourselves!! Between the two of us, we were in charge of the WHOLE MEAL!

Considering this, I think all the food turned out pretty dang good. In fact, I've been enjoying the leftovers immensely!!! (And we only missed our target eating time by about 30 minutes!)

I made the Turkey, Stuffing, Mashed Potatoes, Gravy, Green Bean Casserole, and (of course) Peanut Butter Pie. Chef D and his cooking side-kick/assistant, Max, made the pie crusts, Jell-o and delicious (very labor intensive) Parker House Rolls. (I'm salivating just thinking about it.) Happily, we had some good friends over to help us celebrate the day and eat some of the food!

The day after Thanksgiving, we got busy preparing for Christmas! First, Bargain Shopper D got up at the crack of pre-dawn to hit a few sales and get some shopping done. Someone had to stay with the boys and since I'm a BIT early-morning-waking-up-challenged, that job fell to me. He came home with some very nice things for himself and instructed me to wrap them. (Way to go Me, for getting him just what he wanted!)

Later in the day, all the pumpkins disappeared and red and green boxes were retrieved from the storage room and dusted off.

Saturday morning we headed to a tree farm to pick our tree* and then spent all afternoon and evening decorating it and the house.

Let me amend that a bit...I decorated all day, my husband went to watch the BYU/Utah football game THEN came home and helped. (F.Y.I. BYU won. "and there was much rejoicing...yeaaaah!")

We got 700 lights put up and then the boys joined in to help put on the ornaments. (While simultaneously staring at "The Polar Express" d.v.d.)

(Ahh...that's a great picture. The little posers!)

I have to say I love our tree. The next picture just doesn't do it justice. It's so pretty!!! I know my friend Ginger will say I'm a tree murderer, but I say, our tree is fulfilling the purpose of its creation. And doing it quite splendidly I might add. (The same goes for the Thanksgiving turkey we just ate. umm....turrrkeyyy!)

After all that work, now we get to sit back enjoy the Christmas holidays! So bring on the Neil Diamond Carols and fruit cake! The Dubs are ready for the Christmas season to begin!

*If you'd like a fabulous description of the experience, see this blog. You'll have to search the Nov. archives to find the November 11th entry but it's worth it. No need for me to duplicate effort.

preparation for THANKSGIVING!!!!

Since this year we are living in the HEARTLAND of Thanksgiving, we decided to do something about it. On Wednesday we drove to Plymouth, Massachussetts where we were able to experience Thanksgiving History first hand.

Our first stop was at Plymouth Rock. We piled out of the mini-van only to be assaulted by the coldest wind I've felt in a loooooong time. The wind was blowing so hard it was making the boy's eyes water so it looks like they're crying in all the pictures. I must say, Plymouth Rock isn't much to write home about. It's just not very intimidating as far as rocks go. But, hey...we can say we've seen it now. (And that's pretty much all that matters, right?)

Not far away was the MAYFLOWER II. It is a reproduction of what they think the original Mayflower must have been like based on the historical information they have. All of the employees working on the Mayflower II were in period costume and character. Max had fun running around the ship but Sam thought the "tween" deck (In between the cargo hold and the top of the ship) was just too dark and creepy and wanted nothing to do with it. (Probably much how the pilgrims felt after the first few days aboard.)

Our last historical stop of the day was at Plimouth* Plantation. This is a large area where they've recreated a Pilgrim settlement as well as a Wampanoag Indian settlement. In the Wampanoag settlement, all the employees were either actual Wampanoag Indians or from other Native American tribes. We got to walk around and talk to them about how they lived. One couple I talked to were cooking stew over a cook-fire and making a dumpling-like bread to go with it. It was pretty interesting.

In the Pilgrim settlement, we met some actual caucasian people of european descent. (Hey wait...that's what I am! That's not exciting!) Okay, so they were actors portraying the lives of various English colonists. They told stories of crossing on the Mayflower and answered all questions as if it were 1627. They were telling stories, building things, and generally just going about their business. Max got to help some woodworkers do some hammering and thought that was pretty cool.
Ya know, despite the fact that we're a million miles (and dollars) away from all of our family and friends, (new friends excepted) living out here does have its perks! We had a fabulous (if freezing) day and enjoyed learning about American history first hand.

Three cheers for PLYMOUTH!!!

*We learned that back in the day they didn't care much about spelling and just spelled things the way they sounded. Sometimes many different ways. (So Plimouth and Plymouth are the same thing.)

Thanksgiving Traditions

I don't know about you, but in my family we have a very scared Thanksgiving family tradition. Sometimes the whole family participates. Usually though...I just go it alone.

It's called "illness".

In past years, I've been plagued by stomach flu numerous times. Last year I was happy to sleep through the best meal of the year because swallowing was agony due to tonsillitis. One memorable Thanksgiving Day I had laryngitis and couldn't say a word. A very kind friend drove me around all evening playing music and talking so I wouldn't have to.

This year I'm going to try really hard to break tradition. At the moment, I have a HORRENDOUS head cold accompanied by never ending hacking cough (which tends to induce vomiting...just another pleasant side affect.) BUT! On the positive side, I've been sick for the last three weeks and with a handful of hours left until Turkey Time, I have high hopes of a full recovery.

In the mean time, I've learned a few tricks to surviving this fun family tradition over the years that I'd like to share.

1. When you have a head cold, never EVER sleep on your side. You (and by "you" I mean "I") will wake up with an ear infection.

2. If you happen to have tonsillitis, poking and prodding the infected tonsils with your finger tip is never a good idea.

3. If you're going to fall asleep with a cough drop in your mouth, DO NOT tuck it up between your gums and cheek. By morning, the steady stream of sugar will have dissolved your gums and left the roots of your teeth completely exposed.

4. The "Vicks Vaporizer" is worthless.

5. Sucking on ice chips while trying to fall asleep (which inevitably leads to loudly crunching ice chips) may annoy the person sleeping next to you...so try to crunch responsibly.

That's all I've got for ya! Good luck and have a happy, healthy Thanksgiving!!!

Peanut Butter Pie

If you're looking for a yummy new recipe that will likely become a family favorite, you've got to try this. It ain't easy, but it's WORTH IT!!!

First, here is the history of this tasty treat. I’m relying on memory here, so I hope I get it right. My mom, Faezer, first made this in college for her boyfriend. (Not my dad.) She got the recipe from his mom because it was his favorite dessert. I think she said his family was from “the south”. (So maybe that's where it originated.) We’ve had it every year for Thanksgiving my whole life and it’s DEFINITELY a family favorite. YUM!!!!!

World Famous Peanut Butter Pie

First you need one baked pie crust. (Although we usually double the recipe and make two.)

Step 1: Custard Filling

2 cups scalded milk
½ cup sugar
3 Tbsp. butter or marg.

3 Tbsp. flour
Pinch of salt
3 egg yolks (save the whites)

Scald 2 cups of milk in a heavy pan. (It’s scalded when foamy bubbles start to form around the sides and it starts smelling “cooked”. Use Med/MedHigh heat and stir constantly.) Add sugar and cold butter then set aside to COOL. (So that flour and eggs won’t go lumpy.)
When the milk mixture is room temp./cool add flour, salt and egg yolks. (Don’t try to save time by pre-mixing the flour and yolks. It will only lead to pain and suffering.)

Step 2: Peanut Butter Topping

½ cup powdered sugar
¼ cup peanut butter (Fae says crunchy is best)

Mix until it is as fine as meal. Put 2/3 of mixture in the bottom of crust. The other 1/3 is for sprinkling on top of the meringue.

Step 3: Meringue

3 room temp. egg whites (see! I told ya to keep ‘em.)
3 Tbsp. powdered sugar

Put room temp. egg whites in clean glass bowl or measuring cup. Mix well on high, gradually adding 3 Tbsp. powdered sugar. When it comes to stiff peaks, pile on top of custard filing, spreading meringue to edges of pie crust to prevent shrinking. (Fae always does it perfect so there are pretty little peaks all over the whole top.) Sprinkle remaining P.B. topping over meringue and bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes until little peaks are golden brown. Refrigerate until it’s dessert time. ENJOY

Hooray for SATURDAY!

Can I just say, Saturday's are Grrrrrrrrrreat! I look forward to Saturday all week long!

I mean, it's the one day of the week when I can pretend not to hear the boys fighting and pretend not to smell Sammy's poopy diaper and someone else will actually step in and solve the problem!!! (eventually, anyway...)

Oh yeah...and sometimes we do fun stuff too! Yesterday, for example, we went to the zoo.

(Earlier in the summer I got caught up in a "Join today and this visit is FREE!" moment when paying admission to the local zoo. I bought the family pass just KNOWING I'd be visiting at least weekly all summer long. Well, yesterday was my second visit.)

It's actually been quite good weather here lately so after a morning of me dodging all parental responsibility, we loaded into the mini-van* and went to the zoo.

Just as we were getting started, I noticed Maxwell's favorite school friend, Shawn, coming in with his grandparents. There were gleeful shouts of "HEY BUDDAY!" (that's the proper New England pronunciation) and the two little blonde boys were off to try climbing into the animal enclosures. (With Sammers following close behind.)

After getting our fill of cute animals and foul smells, we were on to our next adventure. We were just leaving the park when NavMan spotted a "yard sale" sign. Since it was late afternoon by this time, the yard sale was the very best kind of yard sale...the kind where the sellers have gotten bored, gone inside, and left everything on the curb free for the taking. Max scored a nearly new "Slinky Dog" toy, (think Toy Story) and a fluorescent pink plastic tube thingy that you spin and it makes noise (great for whipping parents and younger siblings).

We, the imminently practical parents, scored an inflatable boat with two oars (that I somehow doubt will ever inflate) a big wreath, (that I'm going to decorate for the holidays) and the coup de gras: A swimming pool! I wasn't too sure about this last acquisition as it IS the end of Fall/beginning of Winter, but SuperDad was determined. This is a LARGE sturdy plastic kid pool that when shoved into the van completely obliterated any sign of small boys in carseats. (It took Sam awhile to quit panicking under there and I'm afraid he may now have claustrophobia issues as an adult.)

Next stop: Newport Creamery. Baby in utero was craving grease in the form of French Fries and a Hamburger. CalBoy, of course, had to ask what he always asks: "If I ordered a 'Milk Shake' what would I get?" The answer, this time, from the confused waitress was "An Awful Awful." "DUH!" was also implied in her tone.

***The Rhode Island "Milk Shake" or "Awful Awful" is milk with flavored syrup in it. To get something with ice cream in it you have to order a "Cabinet" or a "Frappe".

In the mean time, the couple at the table next to us were giving their one-year-old a "Coffee Milk" in his sippy cup and saying "Here's your Coffee Milk! Now you're a real Rhode Islander." ...No, I'm not making this up. ***

After lunch and once again shoving the boys under the pool, ("Get your heads back in the pool!!!") we made our final stop at Toys R Us. The idea was, we'd see what Max wanted to play with and therefore know exactly what to get him for Christmas. Turns out, he likes everything, played with everything, and wants us to buy him everything. D'oh!

That pretty much chronicles every single moment of our day. (I'm sure you found it as thrilling to read as I did to write.)

SO, until another Saturday has come and gone, (unless I think of something funny before then,)TTFN! Ta ta for now!!!

*It's hard to be cool and drive a mini-van...but I manage it.

Pillow Talk

Me: "Sweetie, it feels like something has come between us...There's just this distance that wasn't there before...."

Him: "It's the pillows."

Me: "huh?"

Him: "The pillows! The gigantic body pillow you got for your pregnancy, the pillow I have to wedge under your back every night, the one (or two) you sleep on, the extra three pillows you keep around just in case...IT'S THE PILLOWS!!!"

Me: "Oh. Alright then. Glad we had this talk."


Okay, so we didn't actually have that talk. But I imagine it's coming any day now. When I get into bed at night, I immediately assume the left side fetal sleep position. I then have to carefully position the multiple pillows around me in their precise, pre-established locations.

It's harder than you might think considering we only have a queen sized bed and I have to leave at least a sliver for my 6'2" husband. After that I can't be bothered to move again. It simply requires too much energy expenditure!

So my poor spouse has to say good night to my back and then has to scale a mountainous pillow barrier just to give me a kiss.
{Cue song: "Ain't No Mountain High Enough"}

I'm going to blame it on the pregancy. I'll get rid of the body in pillow in May! I swear!

In the mean time though, I think I'll name it "Cusack" :)

A few more Halloween Pictures

Halloween

I'm afraid my Husband took the good camera to work with him, so I only have two pathetic little Halloween pics from the old camera. I'll try to post some more tonight!

The first pic is of Max and Sam with their friends before starting out to terrorize the neighborhood.

Max is a pirate and Sammers is the monkey sitting next to him. (He refused to keep his cute little monkey hood on so you can't tell.)

The second is one of their first door. Notice who is first in line!!! The weather was perfect and all the kids had a great time. We didn't go too far, but still managed to end up with a TON of candy. Add that to the candy from the church party, the candy from the school party, and the candy from the Halloween birthday party...and that equals a lot of candy. And potential cavities. Good thing we have dental connections!

Baby Update!

I just got a call from my brother-in-law who had some very exciting news. He's a New Father! (Which, by default, makes his fabulous wife a New Mother.)

Eden Claire Kristin Dub was born this afternoon, and though I have no proof, I'd wager she's beautiful. She was born at 1:58 this afternoon and is 7lbs 8ozs. Mother, Baby and Father are all doing fine. (I asked if he could still look his wife in the face after witnessing childbirth and he says "yes" so he gets two thumbs up!)

In other baby news, today I am 12 weeks along. I'm hoping this means that as of tomorrow I will no longer be heaving over the kitchen garbage can. (It kinda stinks when you get your head right down in there...which kinda makes the problem worse.) ANYWAY, according to this site, here's what's going on:

Mom:
You may actually start feeling better from your extreme tiredness and nausea this week. Others will hang on to it for awhile longer. (That is SO not going to be me!) Your abdomen may start expanding, especially if this is not your first pregnancy. (Um, yeah...)
Baby:
S/he weighs about 14 grams and is approximately 3.54 inches in total length.
Your baby has its reflexes and also practice movements in the digestive tract. All of this in preparation for extrauterine life.
If your practitioner uses a doppler, you may be able to hear your baby's heart beat at this office visit. It will sound very fast. Some say that they hear clicking or the sounds of horse hooves. Either way it is a joyous sound to hear! Your risk of miscarriage is greatly reduced once you hear this sound.
Dad:
Consider joining a support group...(I think that pretty much just sums things up.)

Blogging Slump

Ever since Fae left (a week ago) I've lost my desire to blog. I mean, it was just so sad when she left. No more sleeping in, no more forcing her to watch Arrested Development, no more excuses to leave the state... JUST SAD!!!

But it's not like nothing has happened lately so I finally feel guilty enough to catch you, my loyal reader(s), up. (Sorry to dangle a preposition there, but sometimes it can't be helped of.)

First of all, to rub salt in the wound of my mom leaving, Dr.KidDentist started a new rotation. Now he get's to leave earlier and come home after the kids are in bed. (Usually around 9:30 p.m.) Yay! Can't you just feel my overwhelming happiness seeping through the monitor? Oh no...wait...that's depression. Never mind.

So yeah, there's the single mother thing...that pretty much covers the whole week until Friday evening. The one night Husband/Father got home at a normal time. We went out to dinner and then painted pumpkins while drinking hot chocolate at Max's request.

Which brings us to Saturday. We went to a birthday party. (A very spooky Halloween party with a Haunted House, ghost pinata, yummy treats and costumes! Everything a 2-6 year old could ask for. And did ask for.)

Which brings us to last night. Last night, we replaced our front door. Scratch the "we". Dob the Builder replaced our front door. This isn't the first time either. He replaced the front door of our first little house in Provo. This experience was only slightly less traumatic and labor intensive than the first time. It took many hours and allowed many mosquitos and moths to enter the house.

Amazingly, he was able to complete the Herculean task (pretty much single-handedly) and the new door looks freaking awesome. It will look even better when I paint it red and we repair all the holes now in the walls and replace the ripped off moulding.

But one thing at a time.

So that brings us up to today. Church is behind us, the kids are sleeping (if you consider Sam humming and pulling all the books of his shelf "sleeping"...which I do...) and we get to sit in our nice soft bed, under a huge pile of blankets, with the heater cranked, just staring out the window and sleeping.

Not at the same time, mind you. D's sleeping, I'm staring.

And frankly, I need to devote my full attention to it.

Until next time...

I Heart Veronica

Favorite quote from Tuesday's episode of Veronica Mars

"Now, maybe people would say they'd never install a tracking device in their significant others car. But I think that's just because they don't know how."

My Husband

In an effort to expidite getting me out of bed this morning, my extremely intelligent, sensitive (but manly) husband came up with a brilliant idea this morning.

He nuked my sweats.

Yes, that's right.

I was complaining that it was too *bloody cold to get out of bed so being the problem solver that he is, Dug grabbed a pair of my sweats and stuck them in the microwave. He then delivered them to my bed allowing me to get up with out going into hypothermic shock.

I should also mention that he brings me cereal in bed almost every morning because I feel too pukey if I get up before eating. (I tried soda crackers but there is just something undesireable about putting nasty dry crackers into already nasty morning mouth.)

So, in other words, my husband rocks!!! (Try to contain your jealousy.)

In other news, I went to my first OB appointment on Tuesday and got to hear BabyDub3's heart beat for the first time!!! Since I am still pretty early (then: 9 weeks, 5 days) it took her, the Doctor, quite awhile to find but she kept trying and I got to hear it along with Dug and my mom!!! It's always nice to know all the freakish symptoms and side affects aren't just imaginary.
My due date is May 10th!!! Hooray for BABY!!!

P.S. A small amount of thread in my sweats melted so be careful how long you microwave your clothes.

*Yes. I say "bloody". Since all the american swear words are off limits to me and Dug wont let me swear in German, I'm forced cuss like a Brit. Which really isn't cussing in my opinion. Because I'm not a Brit. Right? Right! Glad we all agree.

More Fun with Fae

As Monday was Columbus Day and a holiday, my hardworking husband had the day off. We decided to stay a little closer to home and venture only one state away: to Edaville, Massachusetts to be precise. This was the location of a spectacular Edaville Cranberry Festival featuring a fabulous train ride, a visit from Curious George, and other small carnival rides as well as, of course, Cranberry Harvesting in the nearby bog. It was really fun and we even ran into some friends from church and their cute little Boo. (See her by clicking her name.)

Sammy was absolutely thrilled with the train ride, being the "Thomas" fanatic that he is.

The highlight for Max was the visit from Curious George. He stole about 15 hugs.
D and I liked watching the harvest. To do it they flood the Cranberry Field, send a machine through to knock the berries off their bushes, then suck them off the top of the water when they float up. Genius! (Who thinks of these things?!?)

Tuesday and Wednesday Dr. KidDentist was back to work so Fae and I hung out and did some shopping. She also took care of the kids a lot so I could take naps which was most appreciated.

Today we all went Apple Picking at a local orchard. It turns out, there are fun things to do without leaving the state!

Visit to Jaffrey, New Hampshire, and the Scarecrows

Yesterday (Saturday) we again left the state in search of action and adventure. What did we find? "Scarecrows on the Common" in Jaffrey, New Hampshire, and lots of beautiful fall colors and sights along the way.

Here is a photo tour of our adventure:A quick stop at Sunset View Farm in Massachusetts

We purchased a giant pumpkin, a few gourds, used the bathroom in the 200 year-old farmhouse, and were back on our way...

It took us about 3 hours total to reach our destination but that included a few detours and potty breaks...

Upon arriving at the Scarecrow Festival, I immediately spotted a native San Franciscan (note the sweatshirt) and proceeded to better make his acquaintance.

After Maxwell had a turn slobbering on numerous apples... (failing to actually get his teeth into one)

...the Mister saved the day and secured his prize. Next, it was off to make a scarecrow!!! For a small fee of course...

By-the-way, if you've ever wondered to yourself, "Does Fae like to play in the hay by the bay?" The answer is, well..."nay". She'd rather shop at the antique store across the street. And so would her youngest daughter.

Max and Dad exhibited their divergent thinking by making their scarecrow not only Christmas themed, but pregnant, and two-headed as well. Let's hear it for the boy(s)!!! ...and the she-male scarecrow!!!

After a long day, we loaded the newest member of the Dub clan (Bert) into the van and headed for home! Hooray for Scarecrow Day!!! (In the hay. Not really by a bay, but with Fae!)