Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Winter Wonderland

Have you ever had one of those days where you get up, spend a couple of hours getting you and your kids ready for family pictures, then when the time comes to load them all into the car you can't get the doors open because they have been frozen shut by the previous nights snow/rain/freezing temperature?

Not only were to doors to the car frozen shut, but the windshield was covered in an inch of solid ice. It took so much time to get everything defrosted that we missed our appointment to get the pictures done. Now, I don't mean to complain or anything but this is the fourth time we have had family pictures ruined in the last two months due to weather! And I wouldn't even be that upset about today's car fiasco except that I had taken the time to really get myself ready. Usually I put my hair in a pony tail, dab on some blush and swipe on some mascara. Rarely do I have the time these days to doll myself up the way I did PC (pre-children). I spent all that time making myself into the good looking girl I once was and it was all wasted on a day spent inside.

Yesterday when it started snowing I was super excited. After all I'm from Arizona, snow is still a novelty. Everything was covered in a pretty powdery snow, it covered up all of the grossness that is Jersey City. For a while it looks like we live in a snowy fairy land...until the snow turned to rain, and then the rain froze along with the snow and turned our car into an ice cube.

Huck Gets Blessed

When you live in Jersey City it's not unheard of to travel back to your hometown to have your baby blessed. When Haylie was born I asked Tom if we should wait until we visited Arizona and do it then. He said No. Tom said that you have your baby blessed in your ward, where you live. So we blessed Haylie in JC with no family in site. We were lucky enough to have some great friends to participate in the blessing, but still not the same.

This time around I didn't even ask to wait to bless Huck with family. But we were lucky enough to have some family around. Tom's mom, Charlotte, was here as was my good friend Jeff Depew.


We had a great time having Tom's Mom here. The kids loved her! Haylie cried when we dropped her off at the airport. Well, it was either that or she was really sad that her fruit snacks were gone. Huck was spoiled rotten while she was here. If I wasn't holding him, she was. Now he's back to normal life hanging out in his swing. It was really nice to have some family here, we rarely get visitors.

It was also fantastic to have Jeff help with the blessing. Jeff and I served our missions together in France. We served in the same small town of Beziers for over eight months. He is pretty close to family for me, Jeff was even a bridesman at my wedding. Talk about a good friend, he never even told anyone about that time Julie and I wet our pants from laughing at the beach on P-day.

Tom did a great job with the blessing! Huck was an angel the whole time and it couldn't have gone better. Huck was adorable in his blessing gown. It was the same gown Tom was blessed in over 29 years ago. Not to be outdone by his son, Tom looked pretty handsome too in his suit.

I finally was able to get a shot of Huck smiling. Granted he isn't grinning ear or ear but still that's a smile on those little lips.

In other news, just as exciting as Huck smiling, I finally drove through the Holland Tunnel by myself! I have been putting it off for months, ever since we got a car, but last week I finally had to man up and overcome. I have this huge fear of driving through any underground tunnel but especially the Holland and Lincoln tunnels. This is probably due to watching "Daylight" with Stallone. I probably wouldn't have even thought of the possibility of a car accident resulting in mass disaster in the tunnel without it's help. But every time I go through the tunnel I'm praying to make it out alive. So far we've been okay, but I don't want to take more chances then I have to.

I have Jill to thank for giving me the opportunity to overcome my fear of the tunnel. If I hadn't told her I was going to come visit her I never would have had the courage to drive to the other side. Unfortunately once I got to Manhattan and then over to Jill's place I drove around for half an hour trying to find parking within walking distance. It never happened! I was so disappointed. Now that I know I can make it through the tunnel alive I'll be much less nervous to make the trip again, and actuall make it in to visit Jill.

Am I the only one with really crazy fears? For instance I have another fear of getting stuck in an elevator, or getting trapped on the subway...I refuse to take a cruise because I'm sure a tidal wave will overturn the ship or we might hit a glacier....the list goes on. Please don't tell me I'm the only crazy one out there!

All Hallows Eve

All Hallows Eve sounds much creepier in my opinion.

In case it's not totally obvious, Haylie went trick or treating as a Witch and Huck went as a tiger. We had to keep him in his stroller so he wouldn't attack people...he was that invested in his costume as a Tiger.

Tom's step mom, Sujean, made a little butterfly costume for Haylie. She loved the tutu, even though it kept sliding down to her ankles. We had her dress up in both costumes. What a fun Halloween!

If you look at these pictures of Haylie and think to yourself "Gee whiz, Haylie's bangs sure are short. I wonder if she cut them herself". You would almost be right.

Haylie's hair was getting long, especially her bangs. I was actually pretty pleased about that because I had cut them a couple of months back and they were way too short. I vowed that I would not attempt to cut them myself again.

One day out of the blue, Tom mentioned that he thought Haylie's bangs were becoming shaggy and he wanted to cut them. I told him it wasn't such a good idea. "Cuting bangs is alot harder than you think", I said. To which he replied (and this is a standard Tom reply to most things) "even a monkey-retard could do it". I implored him to please whatever he did, don't cut her bangs.

I thought he was going to respect my request. Then one evening Haylie came running out of her bath with Tom right behind her. "I cut her bangs" he said. "They are a little shorter than I thought they would be, but I think it'll be fine." . Since I had told him that it would not turn out well and he did it anyway there wasn't much left for me to say except "sure". He went ahead and put Haylie to bed with her hair wet. A couple of hours later she woke up. Tom went into get her. I could hear him laughing. He called me in to show me Haylie's bangs. It actually did look like a "monkey-retard" cut it. It looked so ridiculous that I laughed until tears were streaming down my face.

As most bang cutters know when you cut bangs wet they will be much shorter once they have dried. That's what makes it so tricky for a non professional hair cutter to do. And although I did my best to explain that to Tom he just wouldn't listen. He learned the hard way.

The next day he took her into a salon to get her hair cut. His hopes were they would be able to even it out a bit an make it look better. When he took her in he was too embarrassed to tell them he was the one who made her look that way and blamed it on his wife! What!?

I don't think he will be attempting to cut her hair again. By the way he isn't allowed to give me highlights either as the one time I let him do it (to save money) he botched it. Of course it ended up costing way more to have it fixed than it would have to just had it done well the first time. Some lessons are only learned the hard way, even a "monkey-retard" knows that!

Trapped Inside

Exactly how is this suppose to work? I mean, how am I suppose to leave my house with two kids. It's not as easy as it might seem. Most of my readers with cars are probably a bit spoiled having their vehicles parked in a garage connected to their home, or even parked in front of their home (in case their garage is stuffed with too much junk to fit a car inside). My car on the other hand can be parked anywhere in a square mile radius. On a good day, when the "Car God" smiles on me I get a parking spot right in front of my apartment. On other days when I have angered them, I am forced to park several streets away. It's not unusual for me to drive around for 20 minutes looking for a good parking spot only to give up and park far away after all.

So back to my problem. I just haven't figured out how to leave me apartment alone (meaning without Tom's help) with the two kids. I guess I could leave them alone in the apartment, go get the car and drive around to the apartment and then load them in one by one. That options freaks me out. Whenever I think I just might go for that option I get flashes of scenes from movies where a fire breaks out, the fire department is there and the building is in flames and a woman is screaming that her baby is in there! I am afraid that would be me if I left to go get the car. I always wondered what kind of a mother leaves her baby in the apartment alone in the first place. Now I know, the kind that has to park the car a mile away. So, no that's just not a safe option. The other idea I have is loading them into the stroller and walking all of us to the car together. I haven't worked out the details of that one either because that would require me to leave a child outside alone. This is because I can't lift two kids in the double stroller up the stairs onto the street alone. Two kids in a stroller is heavy. I would have to put the stroller up on the street empty and then load them in one by one. I'm worried while I'm putting one kid in that the other may be kidnapped, or hurt. Haylie unattended by the stairs is an accident waiting to happen. She thinks she can step up and down stairs like an adult. Going up the stairs isn't a problem, but going down is. Although we have tried to teach her to scoot down on her bum she refuses and steps down with gusto. I can't say how many times I have caught her just in the nick of time before she plummets to injury on the hard stone pavement.

I've talked to Tom about installing a handicap ramp onto the stairs. That way I could load them up inside and just stroll right up to the street. Only, he doesn't have the tools, and the ramp would have to be pretty steep. I'm not sure how safe it would end up being. I fear I am doomed to stay inside our apartment for the next eight months unless I can figure out a safe way to get us all out of the apartment at the same time. Quite the dilema, isn't it.

The best laid plans

I've been around long enough to know that things rarely go as planned. Why I thought I could "plan" my labor is beyond me. And even though my first labor went completely array I couldn't help myself from making a "birth plan" for the second time around!

My birth plans are pretty specific. Absolutely no drugs, no episiotomy, let me eat and drink during labor, no I.V., let the cord stop pulsating before it's cut...you get the picture. When I wrote my first Birth Plan for Haylie, Tom made me revise it. He told me it sounded condescending and the nurses were going to hate me after reading it. I didn't think it sounded that bad, but on the other hand I tend to think Doctors don't know anything when it comes to natural child birth. Okay, it may have been that bad.

Things with Haylie didn't go as well as I wanted. After 22 hours of labor I had pitocin (I just wouldn't dilate past nine) and morphine. I thought for sure this labor would go much more smoothly. After all it was going to be my second and everyone knows the second one is easier, right? Wrong.

I went into the hospital at three in the morning. I was dilated to a three. I didn't progress despite the regular contractions. They gave me Pitocin. The labor pains became worse and I started feeling that old familiar pain in the back. Oh yes, back labor! How the H could I be having back labor I made sure at every appointment that the baby was not posterior like Haylie had been. For anyone who has endured back labor you understand how it is, if not let me say that back labor is one of the worst feelings on the planet. It is pure agony. I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. It is that painful. A little while later the nurse came and announced that the baby had somehow turned and was now posterior. I was pretty angry. And after nine hours on Pitocin I was still only dilated to a four. How was this possible? It all started to feel like Deja Vu. It was all going exactly wrong!

Around 12:30 pm my doctor came and broke my water. The pain had been pretty bad up until that point but after that the pain became unbelievably intense. Worse in fact then it had been with my first labor. I have a fairly high pain tolerance. I mean, I went 22 hours without drugs with Haylie, and that was with the back labor. I started talking to Tom about possibly getting some drugs. He told me no. He did the right thing. I had written out a list for him and one of the things on the list was to make sure I didn't get any drugs. He told me to wait just one more hour and then I could make a decision. He then left the room to go call my Mom for a quick update in AZ. As he left my new nurse, Susan, entered the room. The pain was getting worse, I was actually crying through the contractions, and still only dialated to a four! That's when I broke. I asked Susan what my pain management options were. By they time Tom entered the room again I had called in the Anesthesiologist. Tom was baffled. He knows how much a natural birth means to me.

The epidural was the best thing ever. This is coming from someone who is so anti epidural I could form my own anti epidural corporation. Sure I still felt pain, especially during transition, but it was manageable pain. I can honestly say I think I would have died without the epidural intervention. Don't misunderstand me, I still believe in a drug free childbirth. I'm pretty sure my next labor will go as planned. Unless it's posterior again, in which case I'll gladly accept the epidural the moment I walk in.

Within 45 minutes of getting the epidural I ended up giving birth. I only had to push for a few minutes this time. It probably helped that Huck was more than a pound lighter then Haylie had been. I will credit the epidural with the speediness of the delivery. Sometimes you just need to get one despite your best laid birth plan.

Pictures

"Huck" ne' Thomas Huckleberry Wilson

Huck was born Saturday afternoon, the 20th of September.
weight 8.7
length 20 inches

Baby Stuff and a cute picture of Haylie

Getting ready to have a baby is the best! There's just so many fun things you get to buy. For instance we HAD to buy a double stroller. I love stroller shopping! There's just so many things you have to consider. For instance, do we want a side by side stroller, or tandem (like the Phil and Teds), what kind of tires do we need, and of course we have to consider the weight...the list goes on and on. I can't even tell you the hours I have spent weighing our options. We looked at the Phil and Teds E3 sport. It seemed like a good choice, at first. After seeing it and strolling it around we had to admit it wasn't going to work for us. Tom is just too tall. He kept kicking the infant seat in the head as he walked. Lame. My heart was set on the Duo Skywalker, it's a stroller company out of New Zealand, and it looked amazing on the internet. Unfortunately, I couldn't find any stores in the metro area that had it on display. I refuse to buy something as costly as a stroller without seeing it in person. Because I know you are dying to know which stroller we did decide upon, I won't keep you in suspense any longer....The Bumbleride Indie Twin is our choice of stroller. Side by side, it fits through standard doors, pushes like a dream (one handed even), folds up compactly enough to fit in our limited storage space, and looks ever so stylish (totally important).

I do admit that I let Tom be the deciding vote on the stroller situation because I had my heart set on a Natural Mat crib mattress. I'll be the first to say this mattress brand is a bit "steep", but in my heart I couldn't bring myself to buy anything else. You see, I'm really into organic, enviromentally friendly things these days (ever since Haylie's horrible experience with mold). I don't even vaccinate! Natural Matt mattresses are 100 percent organic, totally breathable, dust mite resistant, and naturally anti flammable( thank you organic wool ticking) . You may think I'm crazy, I don't really care, but all that off gasing from the chemicals they put in crib mattresses makes me nervous. Do I really want my infant to inhale all of those fumes? I don't think so...enter Natural Mat. I am SO excited to have it delivered! It could be here any moment.

After purchasing the crib mattress of my dreams we had to invest in quality baby bedding. So we bought the cutest Tahti blue bamboo sheets (bamboo is the best, anti-microbial, eco friendly, and oh so soft!). To make sure the air stays clean I made Tom, literally forced him, buy an air fliter. Not just any air fliter, but one that gets rid of dust, pollen, viruses and any VOCs or other chemicals in the air. The air filter is mainly for Haylie's room/hallway. I didn't know what I know now when we purchased her baby items, so I'm positive her room is filled with off gases and chemicals that will surley bring down her IQ and immune system.

By the end of this week we will have all that we need for baby boy Wilson. On a side note, the middle name is totally up to me! Exciting, I know. Tom and I had to make a deal, we make lots of deals, we are VERY good at comprimising, probably because we have the pefect marriage (maybe later this week I will do an "Ode to My Husband" blog). Anyhow, the deal was brought about because, suprise, I was anti circumsicion (still am). Since there was a good chance I was going to lose the battle against circumsizing our precious little boy, I jumped at Tom's offer to let me have full reign of the babies middle name in exchange for circumsizing. I haven't totally decided what I'M going to name him...it could be Tikkeanine (Grandmas maiden name) just to make Tom sorry for what he's doing to our child. Sounds harsh, not really, I'm not going to do that to my child, sorry Grandma. But the middle name will be one of these three: Victor, Charles, or George (after Georges St. Pierre UFC fighter, oh, and my Grandfather). Before any of you scoff at my middle name choices know that they are all family names and that's super important to me. For my child to have a link to his ancestors. I'm all about turning the hearts of the children to their fathers. If you are wondering about the first name, don't. We have no idea what it will be. Wierdly all of the names we like begin with the letter H, and we are concerned about labeling our family as the family that names all their kids H names. We don't want to be THAT family, if you know what I mean (unless that IS your family, please don't take offense).

Seriously, babies are the best! It gives one the ultimate excuse for shopping. And since I am currently banned from making any purchases for myself (I had to sign a contract with Tom, which is legally binding as we that watch Judge Judy know) shopping for the baby is just as good! Thank you baby!

If you all are super lucky I may get super motivated and post something else before the baby comes (around the 24th of September). After all, now that my baby shopping is done (tears) and the Olympics are officially over (If I hear anything about lame-o Micheal Phelps I might throw up), what else is there to do?

Update

We are back! After a four day drive from AZ to the NYC metro area I have come to realize a few things.

#1 Besides TiVo, the GPS may be the best invention of the modern age.
#2 Texas and Oklahoma have the nicest rest areas in the country
#3 Missouri has one heck of alot of Adult Superstores

Let's discuss the GPS. Usually when Tom and I travel he drives and I navigat. The problem is I'm not very good at reading a map. All those squiggly lines don't make sense to me and we end up yelling at each other because we miss turn offs, or end up 40 miles down a road we weren't suppose to be on in the first place. The GPS eliminated essentially all arguments, it was by far one of the best investments we have ever made. If someone asked me which I would rather give up, my scriptures or my GPS, I may be tempted to say my scriptures. That's how much I love the GPS! Now that I am back in the city, it's just as helpful as it was on our journey. I found the Whole Foods with no problems, got to my Doctor appt in no time and am no longer afraid of ending up in another state because I take the wrong Turnpike. Besides, I can always down load the scriptures onto my computer, right?

About the rest areas. Usually rest areas are disgusting. The floors are sticky, the doors don't close, there's never any toilet paper because someone decided to put all of into the toilet and not flush it, and the local insects have made themselves at home. That was not the case in TX or OK. I urge you to drive through just to experience the rest stops. Clean bathrooms with granit counter tops that actually smell clean! The were well lit so you were pretty sure no one was going to jump you, and on top of all that they had a nice playground for the kids. I wish my bathroom in Jersey was as nice as the ones in TX. Granted mine is cleaner, but I sure liked the Granit.

Last but not least. What is up with Missouri! Never in my life have I seen so many Adult Superstores advertised on the highway. I may have dismissed the big billboards as advertising one giant superstore, but you could actually see the superstores from the highway so you knew they were for more than just one superstore. I'm sure all those late night travelers appreciated that they were open 24 hours, just in case they wanted to get a Missouri souvenir for friends and family. What also superised me was all the churches I saw in Missouri, I guess they wanted to Adult Superstores to have a little competition. The way I see it, unless those church doors are open 24/7 they probably aren't giving them much of a run for their money. Who knew there were so many perves in Missouri? I bet that state is glad they pushed out those puritan Mormons to make room for their Adult Superstores, I know I'd rather have one of those in my neighboor hood than one of those pushy Mormons! Obvisouly, I'm joking, Who wouldn't prefer a nice mormon to a sleazy Adult Superstore.

As a side note. Several people posted that they didn't know I was pregnant. I guess I never really announced it, it was more of a "by the way I'm having a baby" type of a thing but for all of those that are wondering...I am due in September and we are having a boy. We weren't going to find out the sex, but I couldn't resist, it was too much temptation. To be fair, I knew I was having a boy already, but I just wanted it confirmed so I could get my mind around it cause I kinda wanted another girl. I felt better after I went shopping for boys clothes, shopping tends to fix all of my problems. Let it be known, I am currently very excited for a boy even though it took some time.

Our New Addition

This is such exciting news, I can hardly stand it. In just a few short days I will be making the trip to Arizona to go pick up the newest addition to our family (drum roll please) a new-to-us car! It will be great to see family and friends. I managed to get my brother Tyler to fly home with me to help on the plane. He just came home from Afghanastan and is on leave for the month. He wanted to come visit us anyway and the timing worked perfectly. (As a side note, if anyone has any single sisters, friends etc. that are into blind dates, my brother is single, 25 years old, returned missionary and active church member who doesn't get the chance to be around a lot of girls since he is in the military).

As exciting as this new addition is, it's got me a bit worried. First of all, the roads in Jersey City, are really difficult to drive, crazy intersections, lights, and traffic. Second, it's been about two years since I have had to drive. True, I have rented a car twice in the last couple of months but those experiences didn't turn out too well.

The first time I rented the car was to go to my Ob appointment in Hackensack. Hackensack is about 16 miles away, and I had never driven. Well, I hadn't ever driven anywhere in Jersey or NY for that matter. I left an hour plus early, giving me plenty of time to find my way if I became lost. It took me two hours! That's because I made a wrong turn onto a crazy turnpike and ended up going the wrong way. Luckily, the doctors office allowed me to come in over an hour late.

The second time I rented the car was much, much worse. I got the car the day before and decided to do some grocery shopping at Trader Joe's. Once again, I had never driven there but I knew the way since I'd been along on Trader Joe outings with a friend. We had rented a brand new Ford Focus. They handed over the keys and told me to enjoy and let them know what I thought since it still had that new car smell, and just 19 miles on it. As I was driving to Trader Joes I passed the entrance and started to panic (I'd never been pass the Trader Joe's, who knew what was on the other side!). After driving for about a mile I didn't see anywhere to turn around, then I saw an opening in traffic and decided to execute a U turn (are they illegal in New Jersey?). My last car the Toyota Echo, could turn on a dime and u turns were simple as the turning radius of the car was amazing, but that's what you get with a Toyota, and this was a Ford. There was a bus about a hundred yards away, I figured I had plenty of room. Well, I ended up misjudging the turning radius of the Ford. There was no way to make the U turn without either backing up or going up in the curb. Since I saw the bus behind me I decided to gun the engine and go up on the curb (I'd done this lots before with no problems...unless you think missing hubcaps is a problem). I hit the curb hard but made the turn. About a minute later I realized something was horribly wrong. Luckily there was a gas station just ahead so I pulled in. I got out of the car and saw that I had managed to blow the tire completely! I was horrified, and of course have no idea how to change a tire (that's what boyfriends and husbands are for, right?). Some nice men at the gas station put on the spare for me...and then charged me 20 bucks for their kindness! I was all shaken up after that but still went to Trader Joe's, where I lost the keys to the car while Haylie was locked inside. I found the keys, the key ring broke while I was putting away the cart, on the ground and all was well, but it was a super scary day. I'm worried things like that are going to happen all the time now!

I am glad to be getting a car. If I just had the one child I could get by for the next year or so walking everywhere, but with another one on the way, it just wasn't as doable as I would like, especially with doctor appointments. It will be nice to know I can go to the hospital with out waking up Naomi or Dawnell when the time comes.

American Idol

The good thing about Tuesday's performances by the top 5 was that it actually made me feel not so bad about our Neil Diamond talent show medley. What I think the top 5 didn't understand about Neil Diamond week is that you don't just SING Neil, you PERFORM Neil Diamond. Neil himself isn't even really a singer, he's the man that write the songs. No one ever listens to Neil and thinks, "Damn, he sings like an Angel". Heck no, they think "great song. Who's the creepy voice singing it?" Anyone who has seen a Neil Diamond live sing "Desiree" or "Girl, You'll be a Woman Soon" has got to admit that his creepy voice it what holds us to his music. And he performes the heck out of his songs, that's where the magic is. I personally have not seen Neil Diamond live, but I've seen Tom impersonate him enough and I think I've got a pretty good idea. As if that wasn't enough I've also seen "Saving Silverman" a few times. How could I not, it's a wonderful tribute to a wonderful artist.

Let's do a quick run down of what I remember...

Jason sang "Forever in Blue Jeans". Did he smoke out prior to this performance? He was way to chill, don't be chill when singing Neil Diamond. Frankly, he lacked passion and he made me forget that I love this song. His second song was forgettable, however, I do remember that it made me feel like I was at an open air restraunt on Maui with a soft breeze blowing. Not exactly a song that had an WoW factor, which he needed after his first song.

Brooke sang "I'm a Believer". I love Brooke, I think her sound is so fun and cool, but it didn't work with this song. Not only do we all remember it from the Shrek soundtrack but she was way too cute and happy while singing. Neil is never too cute or happy while singing. She needed to be uglier to pull this off, or wear hot pink sequins. Her second song, I thought was amazing. She made me believe in this song. I felt she did a great job of connecting with the lyrics. Maybe it was when she changed the lyrics to "I'm Arizona born and raised" that I really started to believe that she believed in this song. Like a drifter she is caught between two shores. Arizona raised girl to girl, I know just how she feels.

David Cook sang I'm Alive. He did well. He is creepy enough to pull off any Neil Diamond song, but seemed to be afraid to really take it on. His second song was good. It didn't blow my socks off, but it was the best showing of the night. He deserves to make it to the end, even though he is smug, he did rock Billie Jean a few weeks ago.

Syesha. I can't stand Syesha. She did a great job on "Hello", but totally blackified "I Thank The Lord for the Night Time". Why must African American singers always do this? Take a wonderful song and turn it into Aretha Franklin? I had enough of that last season, I can't stand another second. She would do well on Broadway, I give her props for that.

And now let's talk about David Archuletta. Am I the only one who can't stand this kid? Yes, he can sing, but it's what he sings that I have a problem with. Give him his own Disney Channel show for crying out loud, he's just begging for it. It could come on right after Hannah Montana. I don't remember what he sang first, but he probably butchered it like he did "Remember Me Fondly" on Andrew Loyd Weber night, and made it sound like it was a "Little Mermaid" soundtrack song. His second song, Coming to America, which he obviously picked because he liked the message and because his Mom was lucky enough to score a Missionary serving in her country and brought her to America, was so boring. I'd much rather hear Tom's rendition, which was much more colorful and creepy, just the way Neil Diamond should be.

I was sad that Brooke got the boot on Tuesday, but it was a long time coming. Now if we can only band together and get ride of Syesha and then David Archuletta. The kids young, he wants to go back to Utah and attend Prom with his little girlfriend. Being the American Idol is only going to mess him up and make him into another Donny Osmond. Do we really need another Donny Osmond in the world?

Neil Dimond

Haylie is smiling in this picture because she just found out that this week is Neil Diamond week on American Idol.
Tom LOVES Neil Diamond. He owns all of his albums, and even goes to his concerts. A few years ago he went to see Neil with his family, in the process he acquired a Neil Diamond T-shirt. It's the ugliest gray T-shirt on the planet, and yet he gets really upset if I wear it and get food on it.

A few years ago when Tom and I had just begun dating and I thought his adoration of Neil was appealing, he talked me into doing a Neil Diamond medley for our singles ward talent show. It was Tom, myself, and his sister, Shanna who was also a Neil Diamond fan. We got together one afternoon to decide on the songs. There were so many they felt necessary to include that all together the compilation was about 15 minutes. The plan was for Shanna and I to be the back up singers while Tom did the actual Neil Diamond singing. Just to be sure that no one lacked on stage time Tom and I sang a Barbara Striestand/Neil Diamond Duet "You Don't Bring Me Flowers Anymore", and Shanna had a solo to "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother". Tom and Shanna went to the thrift store for our costumes. They came back with a pink, sequined, black shimmering shirt for Tom, a gold 80's dress and matching gold pumps for me, and a sexy black, beaded frock for Shanna. We looked awesome, as you can imagine. Now the great thing about this performance is that we didn't do any lip syncing...no, not at all. We did all the singing ourselves. Tom was worried that the singles wouldn't realize that he was the one doing the actual singing so he made Shanna announce that what they were about to hear was indeed our actual voices. This is where it gets rally embarrassing...the stereo system wasn't loud enough to get the music into the cultural hall, so instead of having back up music it ended up being an acapella
Neil Diamond performance...for 15 whole minutes. It was so embarrassing. We have it all on tape. Every time we watch it we literally cringe as it is awful. I can't imagine what the audience was actually thinking as we draped the American Flag over Tom's shoulders during the finale song "Coming to America". Although the applause at the end was huge I'm not sure if it was for us and our immense talent or because it was finally over.

It goes without saying the we are elated at this upcoming American Idol. I wonder what they'll sing. I think Brooke would do well to sing "Forever in Blue Jeans" and Cook could sing "Girl, You'll be a Woman Soon", and annoying David Archuletta could sing "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother", because it has such an amazing message.

Happy Birthday Haylie

We celebrated Haylie's 1st Birthday last Saturday. It was just the three of us, Tom, Haylie and me, but we still had a great time. She really liked her gifts.

Two Years

Last Friday Tom and I celebrated our two year anniversary. Of course, we celebrated by going to a Knicks game. For our honeymoon we went to the Baseball World Classic. For our first year anniversary we went to the Baseball Hall Of Fame, in Cooperstown NY. Does anyone see a trend?
To be fair, for our Honeymoon we did go to a spa. I got a facial, and Tom had a massage. After my facial I went and got dressed and went out to wait for Tom. He wasn't there. Minutes passes, he still didn't come. I wondered where he was. The front desk finally paged him and after awhile he came out. I asked where he had been. He explained that he had been enjoying the amenities. The natural mineral spa outside. A hummingbird had even landed on his shoulder while he relaxed in the outdoor spa of paradise. He explained all of the other wonderful things the did, and I couldn't believe it! No one had told me about any of those things! I missed out on everything good because no one had clued me in. So while Tom was enjoying the beautiful palms trees outside, and the spa, and of course the hummingbird I was waiting inside on a bench wondering what was taking him so long! When ever I think about this story it makes me upset. After I found out what I had missed we didn't have time to go back because we had to get to the baseball game.
Back to our Anniversary...it's been two years, but we were dated on and off for three and a half years before we actually tied the knot. I've been very blessed to be married to Tom. He does everything for me! There is nothing he would not do for me, I know this because I ask a lot. When I decided to stop working at three months pregnant with Haylie he supported me in my decision, which I have always been grateful for. Every Saturday he loads up the laundry, rain or shine, and walks to the laundry mat to wash and fold all of our clothes. He does the grocery shopping, pays the bills, goes to school full time, and often cooks dinner for me when I don't feel well. He takes care of Haylie when he can. He is the handiest guy I know. He has brought our computer back from the dead more times than we can count. I got the better deal when I married him. He does everything I ask, usually without so much as a complaint. He has always put me first in our marriage, there are not enough good things I can say about him as a person. If only we could agree on politics and vaccinations, it would be a marriage of true minds.

Tagged!

I was tagged by my friend Naomi and it's about time I did it.

A. The rules of the game are posted at the beginning.

B. Each player answers the question about themselves.

C. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5 other people and posts there names. And then leaves a message on their blog letting them know they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog to get the directions.

What I was doing 10 years ago:
I'm afraid this isn't going to be a very interesting question to answer. Ten years ago I was 19. Living in AZ and "waiting" for my missionary, Zac Hoover, who was serving a mission in Alaska. I actually made him a really great quilt while he was gone. I cut out the shape of the state of Alaska and appliquéd it onto the quilt and then marked all of his area's with a little polar bear. It was pretty awesome. However, since it's pretty obvious my last name is not Hoover, we broke up and he refused to keep the quilt. He said if he kept it he was going to burn it, so he returned it and I think it's still somewhere in my parents home...so, Zac, If you still want that quilt I can get it to you. In case you were wondering he was a really nice guy and was my first boyfriend. I'm glad he ended up married to a really great girl.

I also remember I was working in Phoenix for Banner Hospitals in the insurance dept. It was a pretty fun job. I was one of the only Mormons that worked there. The rest of the staff was Catholic, they gave me a really hard time about being Mormon. That was the same year I bought my very first care from a dealership, all on my own. It was a Ford Aspire. I always claimed it was "aspiring" to be something better. It was just a roller skate on wheels but it was nice not to spend massive amounts of money on gas for the Cadillac that I had been driving previously.

5 Things on my To-Do List Today:

1. Make sure Haylie and Beckett both get fed.
2. Clean the kitchen
3. Do some grocery shopping on line from Fresh Direct. I love that place!
4.Read my Scriptures (everyday I look over at my scriptures collecting dust and think "I should read those today" and everyday I still don't do it. At least I pray, that counts for something.)
5. Figure out what I can make for dinner that won't make me want to vomit.

3 Bad Habits I have
I have so many, it's hard to choose just three...
1. I am horrible at paying my bills..horrible. I always forget to do it and then end up paying massive late fee's on everything. Tom is in charge of all our bills at this point.

2. I sleep in every chance I get and have trained Haylie to sleep in until 9:30 every morning to accommodate my bad habit.

3. I am easily irritated by other what other people say and do. My most common phrase is probably "that's the lamest thing ever". For instance....I can't stand when people refer to their children as "the kiddies" or "the kiddos". It makes it sound like children are accessories and it irritates me to no end, just call them what they are, kids, or children.

Places I have Lived

Mesa, Gilbert, QueenCreek, Arizona
Provo, Utah
Toulon, Montpellier, Beziers, Perpignan, Nimes, France
Manhattan, NYC
Jersey City, NJ

Things Most People Don't Know About Me

Is there anything that people don't know about me? I suppose most people don't know I have had over 28 different jobs since I was 17. I have done everything from working at a Yogurt shoppe to selling socks. I worked at Abercrombie and Fitch for a bit, a dried fruit store, I managed a Karate School, worked as a Nanny, receptionist, a High School teacher for a charter high school, sold wedding dresses... the sad thing is I wasn't very good at any of these jobs but I interview so well that it makes people forget that I'm not a very hard worker. The longest I ever stayed with one job was when I worked as an Aesthetician. I did that for a total of two years before I got married, and loved it. It was the only thing I did that I actually enjoyed and was any good at. The only thing I ever really aspired to be was a Mom. I looked forward to the day I could stay at home with my kids. I was so glad to finally have a baby so I could stay home and do the best job in the world. I feel bad for people who don't have the opportunity or don't want to stay home and raise their kids because it's the most important job a woman can do. Being a Mom is the most fulfilling job I've ever had, it's also the hardest and most fatiguing one out there. But it's so worth every single sacrifice we have made to have me stay home despite the lack of income we currently have.

Another thing people may not know about me is that I technically served two missions. I entered the MTC in January of 2001 to serve in the Marseilles France mission. I left the MTC Feb. 19, 2001. I decided I didn't want to serve a mission after all, and ended after tons of prayer decided I would rather go home to Arizona, or break something and go home to Arizona. I was home for a month or so when my Stake President called and told me one of the Seventy had called and asked if I wanted to go back on my mission. I said no. The MTC was horrible in my opinion. The only fun part was meals when the elders could entertain me (thanks Wiseman and Gibb). The Stake President told me to think about it and let him know if I changed me mind. I was pretty sure that wasn't going to happen. I had felt good about the decision to go home and I wasn't about the change my mind after all of that. But, things happen and after a family trip to AZ I felt impressed that I needed to go back. I called the Stake President and told him I'd go back. Within 24 hours I was back in the MTC. I went back to the MTC April 25th 2001. I was called again to the Marseilles France mission (It's rare that you get called to the same mission). This time was totally different. I loved the MTC, had wonderful companions who are to this day still my best friends. The elders were even funnier than before. I was only in the MTC this time for two weeks before going to France. Going back on my mission was one of the best, but most difficult decisions I ever made. I sobbed the whole flight to the MTC because I didn't want to go but knew I needed to be there. What a relief that it turned out so well!

Oh, and in September we are expecting another baby.

I tag Dawnell, Tammie, Kaycee, Jodi, and Starr

American Idol- My family endorses Brooke White

I enjoy American Idol. This year is especially exciting as one of our friends, Brooke White (Ray) is one of the top 12 girls! If you don't know which one she is, she is the cute blond who has never seen an R rated film. You should all make an effort to vote for Brooke. If we can't win a Presidential primary election at least we can get a Mormon girl to win American Idol, right? Of course, don't vote for her just because she's Mormon, vote for her because she is incredibly talented, and nice as can be.

Also, all those RM's from the France, Toulouse Mission you have special reason to vote for her since she is dear Elder Ray's ( You know him, the firefighter with huge arms also known as a "soeur hater") sister in law. Which means if she wins we can all take pleasure in saying we know her family, and what Mormon doesn't enjoy the "who do you know game" when you get to know someone really cool? Kind of like when one of the sisters on the mission came up to me when she found out I was from AZ and asked if I knew of her uncle...Danny Ainge (former Suns player and then Coach). First off, I found the question to be condescending, how could any one live in AZ, be Mormon and not know who that guy was, impossible. Yes, I answered the question and managed to keep the annoyance out of my voice, it was hard.

And Canadians..her husband is from Canada! This could be your chance to do something great for your country besides getting maple leaf tattoo's or maple leaf patches on your backpacks...think about it.

Sunshine!

Haylie and I have been visiting family in Arizona for the past week. I will post pictures when we return next week. We've done some fun stuff. Besides visiting family we went to the Phoneix Zoo. They have new exhibit with StingRays. You are able to go in and pet them. I loved it. Even Haylie tried to pet them. Her arms were a little too short so she wasn't able to touch them, but she still enjoyed watching them swim up to her. Who knew they were so friendly? Don't worry, they trim their little stingers so there won't be an Steve Erwin experiences.

Haylie: The Destroyer of Books!

This is Haylie. She loves books. Loves to destroy them I mean. When I'm not looking she loves to sneak into her bedroom (not really a bedroom, just a hallway in our apartment) and pull all of her books off the self. Sometimes she looks at them, other times she rips out the pages with her amazing 10 month old strength. When she is not destroying books she likes to seek out and eat mouse traps. Lucky for Haylie, when she gets caught in a mouse trap we don't take her outside and cut off her head with the kitchen shears.

Hugh Jackman or Ian McShane?!

The other night Tom and I decided to watch the Woody Allen movie "Scoop". It starred Scarlett Johansen and Ian McShane. Do any of you know who Ian McShane is? I did not and it served to make me look the fool.

A few minutes into the movie Scarlett Johnassens romantic interest arrived on screen. Tom said "oh, that's weird, I didn't know Hugh Jackman was in this film." Then I said "that's not Hugh Jackman, Tom, it just looks like him. It's Ian McShane, the guy who played Hugh Jackmans double in "The Prestige"". I gave him a look that conveyed how foolish I thought he was not to recognize the difference in the two similar actors. He then gave me a look that conveyed that he thought I was an idiot. "No, Jenny, Hugh Jackman played both parts in The Prestige".

Still, I didn't believe him. He made me a $20.00 bet that Ian McShane had no part in The Prestige. He set about immediately to prove me wrong. He looked up the info on the internet and sure enough Ian McShane was not in the film and it turns out Hugh Jackman did play both roles. I don't know how I managed to become so confused.

I guess I shouldn't be too surprised. I tend to make mistakes like that more often than I want to admit. For instance, when I was in High School I was driving along with my friend for a night out on the town. As stated in a previous post I was none to savvy on the Music front. My friend started singing a song which was going to set the tone for our evening out. "wild thing, you make my heart sing, wild thing..". I stopped her midway through and said "Stacey, you are such an idiot, the words are "Swamp Thing"!". She gave me a look like maybe I was from another planet and explained that despite what I though the original song was Wild Thing. I understood that I had been mislead by an advertisement on T.V. for the old horror movie "Swamp Thing". I guess that happens sometimes, where the notes stay the same but they change the lyrics. How was I to know? The only time I heard the song was when it was advertising Swamp Thing, it made sense to me. I know, that's a very sad story. I am embarrassed for myself.

P.S. Is anyone else mourning the loss of Heath Ledger? He was amazing in "Ten Things I Hate About You". Totally overshadowed his female lead, I can't even remember her name.

Target, Chess, and Twilight

Tom came home at a decent hour from school today. That meant one thing, we were going to go to Target. Before you judge me and think I am totally lame to take a family outing to Target please understand a few things.

#1. We do not own a car..we walk everywhere. This means even when I was nine months pregnant I still had to walk to the grocery store and lug them all home. Once when I was about eight months pregnant I was walking home from the grocery store. My homeless cart (that's what I call the wheely cart) was laden with groceries. As I was crossing the street my homeless cart hit a pot hole and sent my cart flying, and the groceries. They were all over the street. I had to bend over and pick everything up as the light turned green and cars started speeding by me. No one even slowed down for the pregnant lady in the middle of the street picking up her groceries. It was sad and pathetic and basically sums up everything there is to say about Jersey City.

#2 There are very few places with in walking distance. There is the Mall, Target, and...oh yeah, that's it. The Mall is totally played out for us. Target, not so much, it's about a quarter of a mile farther than the Mall so we go there a lot less. Target is still a Novelty for us.

#3. It's cold outside, and I don't have a hat or mittens. I had a hat last year, but I put it through the wash and it's completely misshappen and I wouldn't be caught dead wearing it. It makes me look like I should be pushing the aforementioned "Homeless Cart". I also had mittens. In fact I just bought some at the beginning of the season. They were a bright, cheery pink. They were lovely. I left them on the train. I guess I was overly excited about being on a date with my husband. We never go on dates. Finding a babysitter is more work then getting into the Ivy League and just as expensive.

There we are at Target. Walking down the isles, imagining what it would be like to own more than two matching dishes let alone buy new ones for every holiday like Target is always displaying. I stroll down the toy aisle with Haylie and show her all of the cool toys that I am not going to buy for her. I make my way over to the media section while Tom browses the video game aisle. Tom is the lucky one. He has a 50 dollar gift card. He won it during our New Years Game Marathon. He beat me fair and square at Chess. Why I offered Chess as an option for our Game Tournament I'll never know. I am terrible at Chess. I can't think far enough ahead to really succeed. Just to illustrate how bad I am at Chess I'm going to tell a short story.

I use to teach at a High School for delinquent kids in Tempe, AZ. Most of the kids had been kicked out of their regular high school and my class room was their last hope. In the beginning I tried to help the kids in my classroom. The pregnant girls, the boys with home arrest devices attached at the ankle, the girl who dressed inappropriately, and the kids that were never going to succeed where all in my class. One day I challenged one of my students, Marco, to a Chess game. I figured I would win easily. I figured it was a sure thing since he should have graduated the previous year and still had no hopes of graduating the year I was his teacher. Marco and I gathered the other students around the table. I blinked and it was over. Marco, the delinquent, who worked at a discount grocery store beat me in just three moves, check mated me in just three moves. I hung my head in shame and walked back to my desk. They didn't respect me before the game and they sure as H didn't respect me after my devastating loss to Marco. Later that year I was called into the Principals office because some of my students had come to him saying "Miss Pear doesn't give a S***t about us". When confronted with the statement I didn't even bother to deny it. I just shrugged my shoulders and said they were correct. I was quickly demoted to the night teacher and given a teaching partner. It's okay thought, I still received the same pay but had to do even less. It worked out for the best.

As Tom 50.00 gift card was burning a hole in his pocket I was searching for something to occupy my lonely hours at home while Tom is at school. That's when I found myself reaching for something scandalous, something I am completely against, something I have balked out for months, something that I'm almost ashamed to admit to. I reached for "New Moon". Stephanie Meyers sequel to Twilight. I was disgusted with myself. Of all the books in all the world that is the one I hate the most. I read Twilight when it first became the "it" book to read. I couldn't figure out why so many people liked it. It was horribly written, the plot was thin, and Bella was a disaster. Never have I met a character I cared less for then Bella. I found her romance with the vampire shallow and mediocre at best. I would put it just a notch below the trashy romance novels people buy at the grocery store. Now, all of those Twilight fans out there, please don't get offended by my distaste for Stephanie Meyers novels, there are certainly books that I love that you may not, and that's okay. I put the book back on the shelf and backed away, and bought "The Giver" instead. We walked out into the night, Tom with his StarWars game and I with my book, and Haylie empty handed and braved the wind and the rain for the journey home.

Top 5 songs of the 90's And a Few Other Things to do With Music

Last night was a late night..I mean really late, like going to bed at 3 am late. That's because we tuned into VH1's Top 100 songs of the 90's countdown. We came in about half way, and since Tom has no control when it's a VH1 countdown special, we watched the whole thing all the way to number one.

This was an interesting program, especially for me. You see, dear readers, until I was in the sixth grade I didn't know there was such thing as FM radio or Rock Bands. I was led to believe there was only AM talk radio or rock and roll records from the 50's and early 60's. The Beach Boys were my favorite band, followed closely by The Carpenters. That Karen sang like an angel! Little by little I figured out how wide open the music world was by listening to Debbie Gibson and Tiffany. Boy could they sing! I remember the first time I heard Paula Abdul. I was on the Synchronized swimming team at Kino pool and we preformed a routine to her song "Forever Your Girl". I fell in love! I don't think Paula had any songs in the countdown.

Tom claims he bought the single to the song "Shine". "Oh, was it a good CD?" I asked. He laughed and told me it wasn't the CD, but the tape. Oh how that brought me back. I remembered my first tape...I was going to Smitty's (the local all purpose Target of Mesa) and was going to buy myself a Beach Boys tape. Yes, I am totally lame, I know, but I really wanted their California Girls song for myself so I wouldn't have to beg my friend to let me listen to her album on her Holly Hobby record player! They didn't have the tape I wanted so I decided to get the "Pet Shop Boys" tape instead. Even though I'd never heard of the group I figured a group with a sweet name like that had to sing totally cute songs! My Mom wouldn't let me get the tape of a group she didn't know. I was sad, but quickly realized I'd rather have Tiffany's new tape, Hold an Old Friends Hand, so I got that instead.

Does any one remember how cool it was to have one of those state of the art tape decks in your car. You know the ones that you can fast forward, or rewind but it will automatically stop when it comes to a new song. That was great! No more coming in half way through my favorite Eagles song. Oh no, from there on out we started at the beginning of the song. That was some amazing technology. My family suburban "Polly Pollution" had a tape deck like that. It was pure bliss until the said Eagles tape become permanently wedged in the tape player. From there on out it was "Tequila Sunrise" everyday until my littlest brother Dallin took over the vehicle and spray painted a skull and cross bones on the tailgate and upgrades all of us to the a CD player.

When my sister Kori and I were in high school CD's had just started to become available. She and I went to the store one day to buy a Reba album. Instead of getting the CD she opted for the tape. I asked her why didn't she start getting CD's instead. She told me, and I quote "CD's are a fad, they won't last". It was probably a year or so later that she relented and admitted that CD's were indeed here to stay!

Now Here it is, the moment you have all been waiting for...the top five songs of the 90's!!!

#5 Madonna "Vogue"- I didn't think that was even close to being as good as the song she wrote for "League of Their Own", "This Use To be Our Playground". That is a great song, heartfelt, real, and tender, like you've never seen Madonna before, until she adopted that kid from Africa.

#4 Whitney Houston "I Will Always Love You". Yes, the song from the Kevin Costner film. There is no way on earth that song deserves to be in the top 5! She is totally lame in every way, including that song she ripped off from Dolly Parton!

#3 Back Street Boys "I Want It That Way"- I guess I can agree with this one. Not only do they have some amazing arm dancing ( I think I might have spotted "spirit fingers") it does define a whole generation of teenie boppers. Plus you know when you hear it on the radio you don't change the station, you sing along and muse "what is 'His' way?"

#2 U2 "One"- I've heard this song is about a Mormon girl Bono wanted to marry. She wouldn't marry him unless it was in the Temple. Proof of the truth of this rumor lies in the lyrics "love is a temple, Love, the higher law". Yeah, sounds like the Temple to me. (Are Mormons really this lame that we have to do this to all celebrities...Steve Martin is not a Mormon, neither is Prince..Paul Walker is!)

#1 Nirvana "Smells Like Teen Spirit"- I didn't know who this band was until after this guy died. This song disgusts me..remember girls of the 90's, the deodorant brand called "Teen Spirit"? I do, and that's all I can think about when I hear that song....smelly, berry scented, sweaty under arms. That's gross.

I wonder..who is it exactly that gave this program the authority to proclaim the top 100 songs of the 90's? Most of my favorites weren't even included. Maybe that means I'm not nearly as cool as I hoped I was. That's okay, I'd rather hear "California Girls" then a Marky Mark song any day.
P.S. Tom just informed me this was voted on by the people..people who have nothing else to do except listen to old Vanilla Ice tracks all day.