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.

Any Weather is Good Enough

I'm just going to get this post out of the way now. I have a little time and as long as I keep brooding about how things went down this morning, I might as well write about it.

Just to sum up - the school 5k this year threw us for almost every imaginable loop, from city permits & surprise health department inspections to a race course fiasco AND...

Snow.

This was the race site as we arrived this morning for set up. 

More concerning than the snow though, we discovered that on the 5k route the river had risen since our course inspection two nights ago, covering the trail with 8 inches of water at .5 miles in. We did an emergency re-route 45 minutes before start time (thank goodness Roy brought his bike and I had the GPS with me). We also found out (the hard way) that the little 1 mile "Fun Run" loop trail that we ran two years ago has been completely reconstructed. Two years ago we used a little loop trail around the fish pond as our fun run. I ran it as part of the Utah Marathon Relay a few years ago as well...so I thought I knew the course down there. Since I'm 7 months pregnant, I didn't run the course in preparation this year. Oh man, I wish I'd taken the time to walk it.

Apparently, since the last time I ran it trails, underpasses and bridges connecting nearby neighborhoods have been added and the landscape totally reworked. So I sent out our little herd of young children and parents with strollers down the trail with, "It's really easy. The trail just goes around a little fish pond, and you loop back. You can't get lost. Ready, set...GO." 18 minutes later NO ONE had finished - and I started to freak out a little. I sent my bro-in-law out on bike to find out what was happening. About that time we had a few runners come up the trail, and I was informed that a lot of people had gotten lost...some of the kids were up in a neighborhood, one kid was yelling for help (turns out that kid was Noble). My heart totally froze. I began to envision lost children, a fast river...you can imagine. I got a little panicked. I spoke with a few other parents who came past - and they made me a little less anxious - that most runners were on the right path by then. Several parents had followed the front-runners (all kids) to turn them around, Mike went back, my bro-in-law on bike collected the stragglers, and my brother, Casey, went back to guide the approaching 5k-ers (who were to finish along the same route) around the fish pond. Everyone made it in. No one got permanently lost, no police involvement, no angry mob of parents... But still, it makes me sick to think what might have happened. How can a tiny little thing like a 1Mile fun run go so terribly wrong? I have learned my lesson: NEVER ASSUME YOU KNOW THE RACE COURSE WITHOUT DOUBLE-CHECKING.

The funny thing is, in previous years I've actually lost sleep the night before worrying about logistics and details and what-ifs. This year I was feeling pretty confident, thinking this was our third year - on a familiar course - nothing to sweat. That will teach me. Later, before awards, I apologized for the mix-up, my co-organizer blamed it on the snow and the high water on the trail earlier that day - and all the chaos and confusion that caused at the last minute. Most (not all) people seemed to be cool about the mistake (as long as every one's kid had made it back in one piece...*shudder* It scares me to death.)

Other than that - and a few other dramatic moments - we had a very successful event. I was totally surprised at how many people turned up to run, even with the snow. We auctioned off a LOT of stuff. The Jimmer Fredette signed ball alone brought in over $700!

Mr. C. won the first annual pancake eating contest. Our timing guys pulled off their job without a hitch. (I don't think I could have coped with a timing failure on top of everything else. Thanks Elevated Racing.) 

Zeke turned up to show solidarity.

So - definitely a net success. But I would be good with less drama next time.

In other news, Jessie is competing in her first horse show of the season today. I'm going to go watch her now.

Easter Week Goings-On and the Forcast for this Week

My antibiotics have worked their magic. (When I get to the next life I want to have a few words with the guy who discovered penicillin. I want to thank him personally. Seriously.) And so I am back in the game.
Last week was a busy one in preparation for the Easter holiday. There wasn't a lot of time to convalesce - because the show must go on when you have kids. I had previously made plans to observe Easter week by doing something everyday to commemorate that day from Jesus' last week. I was excited about it - so we went ahead with everything even though I was kind of dead weight for most of the week.
A summary:

Sunday - We had my family over for a lesson about Palm Sunday and the triumphal entry into Jerusalem. Here, with a few of the cousins, I was barely audible from all the coughing. It's also nice to note that I was probably contagious with strep. Sorry guys. 

Monday - We did an Easter Egg scavenger hunt that led us ultimately up to the Oquirrh Mtn. Temple. This was the cleansing of the temple installment.

Tuesday - This is our busy day/evening so we just read through the references in the scriptures about teaching on the Mt. of Olives, Judas Iscariot's betrayal...

Wednesday - We surprised the kids and checked them out of school early and drove to the BYU MOA to see the Carl Bloch exhibit of altar pieces and sketches. It was not easy to get tickets, but I am so glad we were able to go. It was beautiful. The kids were a little disappointed that we didn't kidnap them to go on vacation to Disneyland or something...but it was still cool. They had fun. Especially browsing the bookstore/food court after.

Thursday - (Day 1 on antibiotics) We had Passover. The menu: matzo ball soup, bitter herbs (radishes, romaine), hard boiled eggs, sweet herbs (parsley, cucumbers), charoset (chopped apple and nut mixture meant to signify the mortar the Israelites used to build the pyramids of Egypt), marinated lamb, chicken, unleavened bread, berries in coconut cream with macaroons.

Ready with a vacant place for Elijah.

Grilling the pascal lamb and some chicken. I marinated the lamb for several hours, and I have to say Mike did a great job with it on the grill. I am not historically a fan of lamb, but this rib rack wasn't too shabby. (Which was good, since lamb is pretty expensive.)

Mmmm. Dessert was my favorite: berries in whipped coconut cream with homemade macaroons.



Friday - (Day 2 antibiotics) Good Friday. We invited Mike's parents over to dye Easter eggs - and talked about the symbolism of the egg / tomb.

Saturday - (Day 3 antibiotics) We got all my siblings together with their kids at my parents' house for an Easter egg hunt free-for-all. It was as exciting as ever. When Jack scored that last egg by riding down the zip line, knocking it to the ground...A capstone moment on a great morning. We love family.

Sunday - (Day 4 antibiotics) Talked about the resurrection, got Easter baskets, new clothes for church, Easter dinner at Meltons. It was a great day.

And by Sunday, I felt about 100% better - which was fitting, given the day. Easter is about rebirth & life beating out death. And that means something extra to me after the last week and a half.

Anyway, that was our week. If you need some ideas for Easter next year, hit me up - I kept my notes and recipes.

This coming weekend is our 3rd Annual NPA 5k. So, I'll be out of the office - so to speak - until that is wrapped up this next Saturday. We've already had some challenges pulling it off this year...but we're hoping for the best.  At least the weather looks to finally be clearing for our big event (we've had almost constant rain/snow for a long time now). Knock on wood.

Hot Zone Follow-up

FYI, (and in case we've been in close proximity to each other over the past week) the doctor's office called back. My strep culture came back positive. So there it is.  I was as sick as I felt. I'm relieved (this sickness now has an antibiotic-induced expiration) and also a little worried that I've been strep-py all this time and others may have been exposed.

6 Days in the Hot Zone

My bedside.

I don't mind being a little sick once in a while... but I can only afford a day or two.  Didn't I just have a bad cold a few months ago? I am officially over my yearly quota now. Yesterday (5 days in) I even went to the doctor because I was convinced this couldn't "just" be a cold. It is. A really nasty one. Mike has had to do a lot of filling in. He is the best. My mom took Sully for the day yesterday...and my 86 year old GRANDMA made dinner for us. (Do I feel guilty? Yes.) That was so thoughtful.
I'm not good about being patient...especially with myself. I have stuff to do. So I am giving this cold one more day before it I politely ask it to leave.

Growing a baby and other things that are keeping me busy busy

This morning.

As I caught sight of myself in the bathroom mirror off the kitchen, I decided I don't have many pictures of this pregnancy. Coming up on 7 months.

A few weeks ago I was having anxiety about putting together this Relief Society anniversary celebration at church. I have NEVER organized anything like this. But I felt pretty good about it when it all came together - thanks to the help of many. I didn't take a lot of photos, but here is one of the tables.

The 3rd annual NPA 5K fundraiser is coming right up - and preparations are in full swing. I've been working on that too. I have been putting together the silent auction blog site, working out all the race and finish line logistics and timing issues with Elevated Racing  . (Thanks again Hoffmans for hooking us up there!) I'm excited about this year's event. If you want to run for a good cause, let me know before April 21, and we'll get a you a registration. It should be cool. 

And....I've been printing t-shirts for my Etsy shop - hoping to get that up soon. This has been fun, but it always seems like I'm trying to do the tricky parts in the middle of after-school bedlam. Which is a little stressful. I've messed up more than a couple of shirts. Stay tuned. We've had lots of requests for Noble's "Nachrool Resors" shirts over the years (a few are up for auction at the 5K), and they will finally be available to the world - with more awesome stuff to come.

 

The weather seems to have finally turned a corner, and I've had Mike till up our future garden area. I am SO excited to get back in the garden after a year's sabbatical. We'll see what our soil can do here. I'm a little unsure about pulling it off myself this season - being too slow and large to move much dirt or put in lots of hours out there. But I am thankful to be healthy enough to give it a go. We'll see what I can do. I love the garden so much. Especially after a long winter. I'll take pictures.

I think that covers most of the high points. Have a great week!

In the Trenches: a Brief Tutorial

"In the Trenches" is probably going to become a regular posting - all about the rad stuff you learn living with kids. It kind of comes from something my awesome sister-in-law, Helen, said to me one day.  While wrestling her kids out of the car, she observed a lady precariously navigating an icy parking lot in stiletto boots, thought about her own ultra-practical look, shook her head in amazement, & thought to herself, "I'm in the trenches over here." (Actually, the way she said it was so much more funny.)

Not to knock stiletto boots. We all know they look hot. What she meant (and I echo) is - this family living is UN-glamorous business. And doing this line of work usually demands the kind of UN-glamorous approach that could be summed up in a pair of ratty overalls and sneakers...at least with little dudes. It takes skills. The kind you learn on the job.

(I guess doing the dirty job of parenting WHILE in stilettos would be one of those amazing skills too. I just haven't tried to master that one yet.)

So with that introduction, today's post:

WHAT TO DO WHEN A KID (or adult for that matter) LEAVES A CRAYON IN THEIR POCKET, AND IT GOES THROUGH THE WASH

11:00PM last Wednesday.

This is what I discovered as I attempted to change the laundry before bed.

In this load: almost ALL of the kids' school pants, the boys' church shirts, one of Mike's more expensive work shirts, a few pair of maternity pants, Sully's linen Easter vest and a couple of t-shirts. In total: several hundred dollars worth of clothes. The dryer barrel was nicely smeared with melted red crayon - so I couldn't put the wet clothes in that were waiting in the washer. 

Breaking it down for you: two problems. #1. How to get crayon off the dryer barrel? #2. How to remove crayon from all those clothes? Problem #2 seemed most challenging. Mike left a fountain pen in his pocket once and it ruined a whole load of laundry - and there was no recovery in that case. I didn't hold out much more hope for this situation.

Google to the rescue. (How did people EVER survive without the internet?!)

With a little Soft Scrub and about 5 minutes our dryer barrel was restored.

The clothes were a little trickier. The best advise I found was this: start with the simplest solution and work your way up to the more complicated. So....

I soaked everything (in batches) in HOT water with detergent and baking soda for 30 minutes. This took care of most of the crayon. Then I washed everything again in a HOT cycle (even that linen vest). And...everything came out crayon-free. (Except Noble's best church shirt which held the stain for some reason. Still, replacing one expensive-ish shirt is no biggie when I think of what I would have had to replace.)

Sorry, no finished product photo. I was kinda preoccupied, saving the world...or at least the laundry. Next time I'll do it in stilettos. Wait. I don't own any.

Skills to Pay the Bills

The basement bedrooms in this house are pretty bad. Two words: extreme mustard. (I still have NO idea why someone would paint a basement, floor to ceiling, in that color - doors and trim included.) I've been talking about painting them since we moved in. But you know how that goes. I decided it HAD to be done before I get any larger or the baby comes. Sooooo...last Friday I ambitiously threw myself, and the kids, into painting.

Untitled from Angie Melton on Vimeo.

(psst... I love that little Grace is wearing a skull and cross-bones bandanna in this vid...it's so cute.)

 It turned into a bigger project than I anticipated - especially since moving furniture by myself, & climbing up and down ladders, is a bit tougher right now. Plus, trying to paint over a dark color with a lighter one always stinks. I kind of got painted into a corner - pun totally intended - with a huge project, and not enough time / muscle to finish.
My mom wins the prize for coming through (again). She dropped what she was doing for 3 afternoons and came to paint, all by herself sometimes, leaving Dad to get himself a pizza for dinner, etc.  I was going to leave the baseboards alone for the time being...she would have none of that. So she picked up the trim paint herself and started on that as well. She wanted to do the closets too - but I finally persuaded her not to for now. (Those will probably take a year to paint - they're huge, with built-ins - completely mustard as well...)

I freely admit that I will never be able to keep up with my mother in many ways.

"Tough Mother" is a title she should wear around on a t-shirt, along with this one that she loved wearing...  (She wore it out.)

She's a champ.

ANYWAY, long story short, the basement is a little less gloomy now. Which makes us all a little happier.

Girls' room...baseboards not yet painted white.

Boys' room.

We finally got all the decals on the walls - this one was the trickiest. Noble's Periodic Table.