My New Funeral Dessert?

Have you had Lacey's cookies? They're these flat toffee and chocolate creations that are off-the-hook delicious. We got a container of them at Costco recently, and Trader Joe's also carries a version of them. Kind of like eating an Almond Roca in cookie form.

They might be in as the dessert served at my funeral, and Mrs. Field's cookies might be out. You see, I have this idea to serve the attendees at my funeral services a meal that includes some of my favorite foods. Everyone can eat and tell nice stories about me and/or read some of my favorite quotes while my closed casket or urn looks on, then go home. I guess I could always serve both.

Baby Girl!

On March 16th, we found out that baby #3 is a girl! I scheduled the ultrasound on a day when First Brother was out of school, so the whole family was able to attend:

We let the gender be a surprise for both boys but decided to find out this time. First, because we're 95% sure this is our last baby and wanted to try it out. I adore my kids, but I just don't want any more. Is that a good enough reason? I don't know, but 3 sounds like the right number for us, and the idea of having my body back and going through this for the last time is awesome. Second, we're planning to move before this baby is born, and I wanted to clean out our things with the gender in mind. I already have about 6 bins of stuff to get rid of - yes!!


Here's a side view of me on ultrasound day at 20 weeks (actually 21 since my doctor bumped my due date up from August 6th to July 30th):

I posted that picture on Facebook and said I was excited for and a little scared of having a girl, which is true. First Brother said he wanted a sister, and that was my hope too. I love that the boys can learn from her influence and vice-versa, especially as they start dating. I know it could be easier to be the maternal grandmother than the paternal if my kids marry and have families of their own, so that's good too. And I'm excited for the possibility that she'll be close to my sister's little girl since they'll be about 17 months apart. But I'm also worried about fighting with her, which seems more likely for moms and daughters, and I feel more directly responsible for how she turns out. I don't have a lot of girl skills and attitudes, so I might not prepare her in some ways.

Baby girl, I'd like to apologize in advance if you are into any of the following:

-Crafts
-Chick flick movies
-Party planning/hosting
-Cheerleading
-Gourmet cooking
-Attending plays, the ballet, and/or the opera

I will also not be able to talk for long about make up or fashion, but I'll try my best if necessary.

After the ultrasound, we got donuts to celebrate (the pink box is girly, right?). I love the smirky look on 2nd Brother's face, like he's saying, "Isn't it something that Mom is having a girl?":

We went to the Apple Store on Chestnut Street to pick up the new iPad that came out that day - my husband had pre-ordered one for himself - and then wandered into Baby Gap. I was thrilled to find this dress, which I bought for her blessing (like a christening):

Some notes on the pregnancy:

-I had another miscarriage before this pregnancy worked out. It was different from the previous two miscarriages because they found a heartbeat and everything looked good at 8 weeks, but I miscarried around 11. I suspected something wasn't right early on because I was once again feeling "too good" (a sign for me but not necessarily for others).

-Since we weren't having a baby in March and I thought I wouldn't be pregnant for awhile, we decided to go to Florida without kids at Christmas. But guess who was 9 weeks along and feeling tired, bloated and barf-y on our special trip? Not the best, but I was grateful for the short 2-month turnaround, and we still had a good time. It seems all we have to do for a healthy pregnancy is plan a trip, because I was about 9 weeks with 2nd Brother on our no-kids London trip too!

-We told the boys early, around 8 weeks because we were joining family for Christmas and I'd already told some of them. Since everything looked healthy at my first appointment and I was feeling icky, I thought it was okay to go ahead. I read the Berenstain Bears And Baby Makes Five book to them to break the news.

-Dum dum lollipops were very helpful with the nausea - how did it take me this long to figure that out? I gave in to drinking soda as needed too, which also let me keep food down when I otherwise wouldn't have. I threw up 3-4 times per week from weeks 6 till 15 or so, and napped almost every day. I'd forgotten how intense that early fatigue can be! And even when I was well-rested, the "I don't want to do anything" malaise was going strong.

-As happened with 2nd Brother, I started showing early, around 10 weeks with this one! I gave in and pulled the maternity pants out around that time. I started getting the achy, creaky, pinchy pains in my pelvic bones, sciatic nerves, and lower back at 12. They let up a bit around 16 but are still there.

Be smarter than a bird

I sometimes pass a hair salon in North Beach when I walk 1st Brother to school that has this sign on the door:

It's hard to see, but it says, "CAUTION Please watch out! Glass door is TRANSPARENT!"

What brought about the need for this, exactly? Have several people walked smack into the glass thinking it was an open store front? Because you know, San Francisco's tropical temperatures make that a great option (being sarcastic here). Maybe it's some liability thing? Hilarious.

First Lost Tooth

First Brother lost his first tooth on 2/10/12, the bottom center on his left side, at almost exactly 6 1/2 years old. I'd noticed it looked a little crooked, then they mentioned it was loose at a dentist appointment, it got looser after he bit into an apple at school, and it was barely hanging on by the evening of the 10th. I convinced him to let me pull it before bed.

I gave him a Twinkle Toof holder to keep the tooth safe. It has a secret compartment and glows in the dark:

He wanted to keep the tooth and get the Tooth Fairy loot, so I recommended he write a note to her. He did, but only after a week or so and several reminders:

Ha! I actually forgot to give him the money that night but was able to stuff it into the Twinkle Toof and save the day (he thought the money would be under his pillow). The Tooth Fairy paid out $2, which I thought was generous, but a friend said she knows of kids who get $20/tooth!! What?!?

2012 Birthday CD

I know, what is this, 2002 and my sister is my girlfriend? I keep thinking I'm going to run out of songs to put on her annual birthday mix CD, but it hasn't happened yet, so I'm keeping the tradition alive. Thanks in part yet again to my husband, who introduced me to about 1/3 of these awesome selections:

1) You Know What - N.E.R.D.

2) Steal Away - Robbie Dupree (I bet this would be her very favorite)

3) Never Gonna Give You Up - Rick Astley

4) Long Time - Cake (it took some restraint for me not to fill half the CD with Cake selections that I don't think she knows. So good).

5) Call It What You Want - Foster the People

6) Love Rollercoaster - Red Hot Chili Peppers

7) Don't Lose My Number - Phil Collins

8) She's Got Me Dancing - Tommy Sparks

9) Pumped Up Kicks - Foster the People

10) Love You Madly - Cake

11) Dog Days Are Over - Florence + the Machine (this song always makes me want to cry, and I actually did when I heard it in Florida and was missing my little guys)

12) Baker Street - Gerry Rafferty (the intro music to Dave Ramsey's radio show - 2nd Brother will say, "Mom! Saxophone!" when it comes on)

13) Move Your Feet - Junior Senior

14) Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger - Daft Punk

15) The Final Countdown - Europe (it's impossible not to giggle through this one if you've seen Arrested Development)

16) Jump - kriss kross

17) Summer Samba (So Nice) - Walter Wanderley

18) Weightless - Marconi Union (via my Armstrong & Getty radio show - this is supposedly the world's most relaxing song)

-Adele's "Rolling in the Deep" was going to be included, but it got overplayed for me and didn't make the cut

-I was also going to include Maroon 5's "Moves Like Jagger" as a song I knew would embarrass her, but then I got too embarrassed to even buy it

Christmas 2011

We spent almost 2 weeks in Utah for Christmas - weirdly, there was no snow anywhere the whole time! Immediate family on both sides are all still there, but this may be the last year that we're so lucky.

The boys made quite a haul even though we tried to keep it simple. 1st Brother got 3 different Lego sets, inherited an old Nintendo DS player, got more Leapster stuff, etc. 2nd Brother got 2 different Lightning McQueens, his own Curious George since the boys fight over the one we already had, a Leap Frog computer and more. They also got new pajamas and a light gun each:

For our Christmas/10th anniversary present to each other, my husband and I decided to take a trip to Florida. It was also a big gift from a number of family members who cared for the boys while we were away from Dec. 26 - 31. Babysitting really is the best present you can give parents of young children, whether it's for an evening or a week. The absolute best.

It would have been exquisite to be anywhere while only having to look after ourselves, but enjoying the 80ish degree weather in south Florida was especially nice. For most of the trip, we stayed in Key Largo at a small resort called Kona Kai. They only allow people ages 16 and up (!) and were extremely helpful and great.

Here's their beach/dock area with kayaks and paddleboats you can take out whenever:

Sea kayaking (at last!). We've tried to go twice before but didn't because I was too pregnant in one case, and a storm ruined our plans in another.

The pool and hot tub:

That door in the foliage led to our comfy little room:

We had some great meals around Key Largo. For the record, the best were breakfast at Made 2 Order and dinner at Ballyhoo's.

We were not impressed with Key West, the southernmost of the islands that make up the Florida Keys (Key Largo is the northernmost). It was a 2+ hour drive with some lovely scenery, but Key West itself was crowded with cruise ship people and felt like Fisherman's Wharf. We waited too long to have a mediocre lunch, then toured the Truman Little White House, converted military housing where President Truman spent 175 days of his presidency working/vacationing.

The tour was interesting, but I was distracted. There was a chubby white kid in our group around 9-years-old wearing a shirt that said, "Cool story, Babe. Now go make me a sandwich." I wanted to strangle his parents for allowing (probably encouraging?) him to wear it. Then there was this mouth-breathing typical tourist guy wearing a shirt that said, "I know, I know, I'm awesome. Let's not make a big deal out of it." He and his portly gal pal were being very affectionate with each other, to the point that our guide said, "We need to get you two a room!"

We did the obligatory alligator farm visit and fanboat ride. It was fun, and I was glad we did it since we didn't see much on our night walk in the Everglades.

Baby alligators!

Here's my husband in the backyard of Vizcaya, a rich guy's former winter estate that is now open to the public (including LOTS of engaged couples, quinceanera girls and others with their professional photographers). I discreetly barfed into a ziploc bag before we went in - more on that in another post.

A few other memories:

-Our trip started out in a bad way at midnight at the Hertz rental car counter. Despite having a "reservation," we were told there were no cars available because people had extended their rentals during the holidays. But we could be added to the wait list and be FIFTY-FIRST in line (?!?). Lifetime boycott, y'all! We ended up getting a car from Budget but not without a good amount of run-around from them too. We got to our hotel at 2:00am.

-We were walking down the street in Key West when we heard a LOUD gunshot kind of sound, and then there were some bird feathers fluttering down from the sky. A local came out and explained a pigeon had flown into an electric transmitter again. Ha! It was like some sort of Looney Tunes cartoon, but more fatal for the bird.

-It was a little morbid, but I regret not buying a little shellacked alligator head from a gift shop we visited. They also had bins of little alligator feet.

Ornament Favorites

I always enjoy decorating our Christmas tree each year (which has to be fake since I'm allergic to the real ones - sad). That's because our ornaments hold so many memories - I got one each year growing up from my parents and grandparents, and we've picked one up on major vacations. Here are some of my favorites:

There are so many great vacation ones. Like Cayman Islands lady, dancing wooden pull toy from Germany and the Unicef hummingbird from San Diego:

Henry VIII from London might be my absolute favorite if I was forced to choose. The Buckingham Palace guard is pretty great too:

Many stores in Chinatown have machines out front where you put quarters in and get a prize in a plastic bubble. Several of them contain Winnie the Pooh cell phone charms, and you can collect him in different outfits - below are caterpillar, seagull, hamster, grasshopper, gnome, and ringmaster Pooh. I started buying them ocassionally for 1st Brother when we'd go to the library, then decided to put them on the tree (he wasn't that interested in the actual toys once they were out of the machine and the bubble):

I got my husband the Meatloaf ornament since he's a fan, the Ralph Wiggum keychain was on major clearance when the Orem Media Play was going out of business and functions nicely on the tree, and I'm so glad I didn't give the Michael Bolton ball to my friend as I originally intended. He would have thought it was funny, but I probably think it's funnier:

I found this fantastic mini nativity scene ornament in a store on Polk Street:

The LDS Manti Utah temple where we were married is lovely as an ornament - thanks Grandma!

My great-grandma made these skates and the snowflake:

Probably my most memorable one from growing up is the felt-y cat from 1981. It can function as a bank and is sitting in a red bag that says, "A Pet Bank From Santa." Weird but memorable. Also high on the list are the mini Cabbage Patch dolls with hands that clip to the branches. I think my mom's friend made them for me and my sisters?:

And finally, here's the angel who sits on top of our tree. I got her off eBay a few years ago: