A Little Birthday for Grace

Grace got a little gypped last year as far as birthday celebrations go. So I wanted to make sure her day was appropriately observed this year. She asked for sushi for lunch again this year, and lasagna for dinner on her birthday.

Her official brithday cake.

Saturday we invited some friends over for what may be the last fancy dress-up birthday we ever do at our house again. She turned 9 this year - and with no other little girls in the queue - this may have been the last hurrah for foofy parties. After reading the Fancy Nancy Tea Party book 25 times, she was determined at least once more. My little girls are growing up. *sigh*

Fancy hair, nails, cupcakes...

Not sure what to expect for her 10th birthday. But this was fun.

Survey Says...(Naming our Baby)

Mike's crossword of all the members of our family plus a couple of front runners for the new baby. We have a few other names in the running besides these.

Jupiter, Pluto & Slick are our pets' names - just to be clear. Although Slick would make a great kid name too. Ha ha ha.

It's tough to name children. I've always thought of it as a heavy responsibility. And since this is our last - it seems like we have to get it right. No redo's or additional chances. 

Everyone who knows us knows that our kids names are all family names, and we would like to keep that going. (It makes it easier when you get the inevitable weird look after someone hears their name - to be able to say, "It's my grandpa's name." They can't really argue.)

Here's the thing about naming children: everyone has strong opinions. I don't exclude myself. I've been known to shake my head a little at some names that parents use (I'll be honest right now. My big pet peeve is "unique" name spelling. ugh.). Mike's grandma Searle once said "to each their own" in reference to naming children, and I've tried to make that my philosophy. Every parent has the prerogative to name their children & I think most parents try to do their best with that responsibility. And who's to say what the "best" names are?

We have about a month to go before baby comes. We really need to get on the ball about what we are going to name him. We have a few finalists - but we're a little bit stuck. I kind of dodge the topic with people when they ask what names we have picked out - because sometimes I'm afraid of hearing every one's opinion. The worst is getting a negative response to one of your favorite names...because it wouldn't be on your list in the first place if you didn't really like it. It's almost like being put on warning: "If you DO name your child that, I will think it is SO lame." My resolution for etiquette when in the future someone tells me the names they are considering for their baby: compliment the ones I like, or find something neutral to say.
Parents need all the positive they can get. And a baby is a miracle no matter what crazy name their parents give them. Right?

An Update on our Wrestling Friend and a Little Mood-Lift

You may recall our first glimpse into the world of wrestling. Apparently the big league of professional wrestling has a reality cable show called "Tough Enough" where contestants compete for a professional wrestling contract. I guess it shouldn't have surprised Mike when he heard that his former employee (they work in different parts of the company now) had a leave of absence to be on the show. (I still can't believe that they approved a leave of absence for something like that...whatever.) Anyway, Mike and his colleagues have been following developments on YouTube reruns over the past several weeks...and since he can't keep it to himself, he's had me watch a few as well.
I wouldn't recommend it -  (reality tv bugs me like crazy, never mind stuff like pro-wrestling) but it has been pretty fun watching Martin make his way through his 15 or 20 minutes of fame.  It ended with this heart breaker.

You should know that the previously eliminated contestants were all sort of bullied off the show - so they were really nice to Martin. I think because he was actually on track to win - and because he wasn't a big dork. Mike says he has been pretty bummed at work. I don't want to make fun of his dream or anything, but I think he'll be ok.  Sorry Martin. You are tough enough in my book. 

And - I've been enjoying this song more lately. So - if you need a little boost today...

The album version is better - but it's always fun to see it. You can stop the vid after about 4 min - he's just killing time after that. His base player looks like a young Bill Gates. And that kind of makes me smile.
Have a nice day. :)

Mothers Day is Coming to Town

And Noble presented me with an early Mothers' Day gift (I think he may have been trying to smooth things over - he was in the hot seat over a late school project he was finishing up).

It had the desired result. Thank you Noble. I love that he left un-checked: Silly, Energetic & Crafty. ha ha ha.

Mike has to go in to work this Mothers' Day - which he is having guilt about. I told him no worries. I feel like the most blessed woman in the world anyway.

I often feel like a mediocre-at-best kind of mom/wife/contributor to civilization. I think a lot of women feel the same at times. A little nagging self-doubt. I think we all want to feel a lasting confidence and comfort with ourselves and our experience. The good news is that seems to grow as we grow. Keep up the good fight ladies.

Happy Mothers Day to all - especially the two moms who balance my life. We will be hanging out with Mike's mom this Sunday. She is so generous and dedicated to her family. We love her so much. She takes SUCH good care of us.

My own mom will be out of town this Mothers' Day - bushwhacking to Toroweap Point with my Dad. Here's a photo of some of us at Toroweap - circa 1995. I have to tell you, it makes me a little dizzy to think about it - even now. It's pretty remote - and the National Park Service website emphasizes, "no one should attempt the trip without ample preparation and knowledge of the hazards associated with remote desert travel." Not that any of that would help you if you stumbled over these cliffs. We literally CRAWLED, pancaked to the edge. Don't even ask about how my Dad got where he is. (It makes me white-knuckled to think about.)

It's an impressive place.

That's my mom on the left, next to me. One of the things I love about her is that she is adventure girl. Life was/is always exciting with her.

Have a great Mothers' Day weekend, mom! - and remember to harness-in if you venture to the edge.