thoughts on a sunday

Nine cute cousins at the beautiful Portland temple.

• We are so excited that my sister Lisa and her family are in town visiting!  It's been so fun to have the Allred's here for a couple days before they go to a reunion on the coast and we have plenty planned for the next couple days.  

• Last night we went to a drive-in movie with the Allred's.  When was the last time you've been to a drive-in movie?  I know.  We only stayed for the first feature, which was Despicible Me, but we all had fun.  The little kids, mine included, were a little bit little for a drive-in, but they still had fun.  The movie was cute, I guess.  Trevor and Brian liked it, and the kids of course, so maybe it's kind of like a dad/kid movie.  

• The kids didn't get in bed last night until after eleven.  This never happens.  Not living by family, their bedtime routine is as routine as it's ever been.  There is rarely a reason to keep them up past bedtime, so we hardly ever do.  These next few days will be interesting because I'm not anticipating that we will make bedtime once.  In fact, I know we won't.  

• I had a doctor's appointment this week.  Is it weird that I feel like my doctor likes me better when my kids are with me?  I do feel like that.  I didn't want to bring them, but forgot to arrange babysitting and didn't feel like calling anyone last minute.  So they've come to the last two.  McKay is Mr. Chatty with the nurses and doctor and I have to remind him that it's good to be friendly, but that he has to let them talk to mommy about the baby and not try to talk to them himself the whole time.  He gets quite inquisitive at the doctor.

• Nothing really to report with the baby.  I'm feeling sore and sleeping worse.  Brian has said my snoring has reached a new level.  Wait. . .have I told you that I'm totally snoring?  Yeah, this happens to me when I'm pregnant.  I hate it.  I can't help it.  Brian is so good and doesn't complain, except for yesterday he told me that for the first time it kept him awake during the night.  Ahhhh!  There's nothing I can even do about this!  I would have major issues if Brian snored.  I'm glad he still loves me.  

• Ellery doesn't eat breakfast.  She drinks a big old cup of rice milk and sometimes I can get her to take a bite of a bagel, or munch on some cereal.  McKay, on the other hand, sometimes eats three breakfasts.  I'll give him something, then he'll ask for more, and then he'll eat Ellery's that she didn't touch.n  Breakfast is his most important meal.  

• Brian had Friday off.  It was nice to have him home, but we didn't do much.  I had planned on cleaning the house and so that's what I did.  He helped a little, which was nice.  I was happy that he got to see the time and energy I put into cleaning because he hasn't been around on cleaning day for a long time.  After I was done I requested that he rub lotion on my feet because I just felt like I deserved it.  

• After the cleaning was done I did not have the energy in me to wash the car, which was really dirty.  We went to a car wash and of course, I was disappointed!  Our windshield still had bug guts on it after we were done.   

• If you want to imagine me, being eight months pregnant, kneeling on my hands and knees on the hood of my car at nine o'clock at night washing the windshield by hand, then go ahead.  It was necessary.

• I substituted McKay's primary class today.  I wasn't too impressed with my almost-five year old.  Whether he was influenced by his previous late night, or because his cousin was sitting next to him the whole time, or maybe because his mom was his teacher, I don't know.  But I do know that we've got to do some talking about reverence and respect.   

• My friend Starr had her baby on Thursday and I was able to visit her at the hospital that night.  It is the same hospital where I will deliver and I was glad I got to see it before I am a patient there.  It's a very busy maternity ward with tons of rooms.  It will be a much different experience for me since I am used to a smaller, more intimate hospital experience.  It was fun to see a little newborn and to be able to picture myself there with my own.  

• Some girls in my ward had another girls night get together.  I love these.  They are so good for me.  I really enjoy our ward and the people we've met here.  My mom always says that it takes a  year for people to really settle into a ward, and I have to agree.  For us it takes a year.  And we're coming up on a year in a few weeks and it feels good.  We've settled in quite nicely.

• A couple years ago Santa surprised McKay with a space train set.  It was a really cool space train set. And really annoying.  It fell apart easily, was difficult to assemble correctly and it was quite large.  Large enough and annoying enough that we hardly ever had it out.  And Santa guessed wrong that year because McKay never really got too into the space train set.  So, we decided to sell it.  I brought it out one day and set it up to take pictures of it for craigslist and McKay's friend was over and they played with it.  He fell in love with it and when his mom found out I was selling it, she offered to buy it.  McKay was able to have the money, since it was his toy, and pick out something at the store- anything he wanted.  This was so wonderful for him, but took so long.  He finally decided on a big transformer and a little transformer.

• Transformers.  This is our first dive into an "older boy" toy.  So far, so good.  We'll see if the excitement lasts.

• It's no secret that we love Taylor Swift around here.  We've been listening to hear album in the car- which is like magic when the kids are crying or upset.  Ellery has a few favorite songs, but the one I like to hear her request the most is I Be the T-Shirt.  If you're familiar with any of her songs you will understand how cute that title interpretation is.  

• The other night it was my turn for story and song.  As I was singing to the kids, McKay gazed down at me with a twinkle in his eye and said with a sigh, "I wish I was Brian."  Why?  "Because then I could marry you."  Perhaps it was my angelic voice.  Yeah, probably that.

Happy Sunday!