Red Butte with Grandma

Apologies...

...for the misleading comment on my "My Addiction" post. No, I'm not pregnant. I'm a big time planner, and yes, I'd like to have another baby in the forseeable future.

Time?

Before I had Andrew, I worked as a bank teller. I always wore a watch because I needed it to record the time in a book every time I took cash into and out of the vault. I also had to write down the date several times a day.

Now that I'm a mom, I've stopped wearing my watch altogether. And I never know what the date is.

My Addiction

I got this harebrained idea some weeks ago that our apartment is just too small. That I NEED a fenced backyard. And a garage. And a basement. And a place to put a third baby. We're on a waiting list for 8 total student 3 bedroom townhomes/houses - we're 3rd in line. The problem is, once a family moves into one of these said homes, they park it for eternity, so we're looking at a 6-month to 18-month wait. Sooo....I've developed this terrible habit of checking Craigslist every few hours, and every time I drive by a FOR RENT sign, I stop and call to find out the price & number of bedrooms. I've yet to find as good a deal as the student homes. So I wait.

And dream.

Dr. Daddy: The First Week

Randy started his residency last week. When he came home Friday evening, he pretty much questioned his decision on becoming a doctor.

This isn't the first time he's said such things, and I'm sure it won't be the last time (and I believe many medical students/residents/doctors have similar feelings on any given day).

After being married to Randy for 7 1/2 years, I know my role well--I listed all of the jobs he could possibly have had (he graduated with a chemical engineering degree, we could have stopped there!). We deduced together that this is the best job for him, that he is way overwhelmed, and that things will get better. That night, we went to a BBQ with the residents and fellows. He is working with the nicest, most down-to-earth bunch of people I've ever met. I left that BBQ feeling comforted, knowing Randy was in good hands. I love their residency coordinator - she is like a mom and makes sure the residents are well taken care of.

Do you want to know another beautiful thing about Randy's choice in residency? He had a three day weekend! We went swimming and did all of the fun 4th of July things we've always done. I'm telling you, Randy is a smart man.

My Photoshop Break

I finally felt inspired enough to fiddle around with our Photoshop Elements software. We got it last September for Randy's India trip and I was excited because it's supposed to be the best photo-editing/digi-scrapping software out there (next to the full-blown version of Photoshop). Too many other things got in the way and, well, the new blog banner is the by-product of my hours of fiddling with it. Although I should be filing, making my cards for Card Night, balancing our checkbook, blogging about my children and the 4th of July, scrubbing someting, etc.--it was a nice break and I learned something new!!

In Memory of Camille

Little Camille is a sweet, 1-year-old baby that I've never met. She is the niece of a dear friend of mine and she died 2 1/2 weeks ago in a drowning accident. I've been reading her mother's blog (who uses blogging to help cope with her loss) and it has touched me so profoundly that I wanted to respond to one of her blog posts:

Take a minute for me tonight and record the little things your kids do right
now. They don't even need to be cute things. Someday when your baby is grown you may even miss the food thrown on the ground or the face wiped on the sleeve.
Cherish the little things. For the little things are the spice in life.

Andrew:

• Andrew is a hard-core back seat driver. He tells me to go, stop, or slow down when the traffic lights change. Randy was following a car ahead of us a little too closely the other day and Andrew said, "Don't crash Daddy!"
• His grammar and sentence structures are still a little off, and it reminds me that he's still my sweet, little boy and that he's not quite a "big boy."
• When he doesn't want to go to bed, he says, "But Mom! I'm bigger now! I can stay up!"
• He's my little buddy. He gladly goes on trivial errands with me while we leave Dad & Josh at home.
• He has an unstoppable urge to suck his fingers whenever his blankie is around. I have to remind him to go put his blankie on his bed.
• Every now and again he'll ask me to sit with him while he's watching Sesame Street. We both usually end up taking a little snooze together.
• Whenever I get the camera out, he gives me the cheesiest smiles & poses. It's hard to get a normal picture of him.

Josh:

• He has this move we call the "Joshy Strut." After bathtime, he gets this sudden burst of energy - he leans forward and starts running up and down the halls. I've yet to get a decent picture of it (he doesn't perform for the camera).
• Whenever I pick him up, he puts his head on my shoulder. He's such a cuddly kid.
• When I ask him to give me a kiss, he leans forward so that I'll kiss his forehead.
• When we're out on the playground, he has to walk every square inch of the area and tries to discover new crevices.
• He started going to Nursery two Sundays ago. He's doing great and when I go peek on him, he's usually playing on the little slide they have. He'll climb to the top, clap his hands, slide down, and giggle, and then repeat.
• He always has a bruise (or 2 or 3) on his head. He just can't keep his noggin' out of harm's way!
• He has very distinct cries, I know what they all mean.

Stephanie, please know that you are changing lives with your faith. I can't even grasp the loss that you and your family are going through right now. I think about you often. I wonder how I'd react. I wonder if I'd be as strong as you are. I go through many emotions, and I'll be honest, sometimes I've felt mad for you. I know you're not mad, but sometimes I go there. Thank you for sharing your pain and your testimony. You have strengthened my testimony of the healing powers of Jesus Christ. I love how you said that you "fully feel His arms wrapped around you" and that you "feel the ministering of nearby angels." My faith has been strengthened and I know that no matter what trials I will need to face in this life, that I will never be alone because I am a child of God. Thank you, thank you, thank you for sharing with us. You are wonderful.