Household Theme Song

When we were younger, my family used to take trips to St. George to visit our cousins. We would hike, swim, jump on the tramp, eat, go to parks - the normal stuff. But for whatever reason, one of the things I remember most about those trips was watching a little video called, "The Cat Came Back." In truth, I don't really remember any of the details of that video other than it's about a man that keeps trying to get rid of a cat, but it keeps coming back. Appropriately, the one thing we all took away from that short little video was the theme song...

"But the cat came back the very next day. He thought he was a gonner, but the cat came back... He just wouldn't stay away."

For years me and my siblings would find ourselves singing that song. Just recently, I decided it's my home's theme song. Yes, my home has a theme song.

And now for the strange transition.

I am no domestic goddess. Not by any means. Not by a long shot. I have hopes and dreams of being a great stay at home mom some day that keeps her house in impecable order. But that day is not today. After a group effort cleaning, we sit back and admire how nice it is to have a clean home. And really - it is a sanity thing. When the house it clean, it is so much easier to think, relax and just simply function.

But bit by bit things start to slip. And before you know it - it looks like a tornado has struck. I will come home and wonder, "How is it possible for two people to make such a mess?!" It seems impossible, but obviously it's not. It is a step by step thing, just like anything else. You come home late from work and set things down you would normally put away. You are in a hurry to make dinner and rush out the door so the dishes don't get done.

The laundry gets washed, but you are never home to put it away.

You go on vacation, come home exhausted, and the bags and gear stay piled where they landed when you came home to shower. It happens. And then when you combine that with the fact that we are never home long enough to clean it up... well... you get the point.

And that's when I started singing the song to this little video realizing how well it fit. "But the mess came back the very next day. She thought it was a gonner, but the mess came back.... it just wouldn't stay away."

It was after a long and discouraging day that I sat up in bed whining and crying to Ryan about how overwhelmed I felt. I was stressed about my schedule, fitting in students, work, etc, and I was telling him how much I felt like a failure at not being able to keep up with everything, especially the household stuff. It felt good to get it off my chest, even if it didn't "fix" anything.

The next morning when I came home from the gym, I found Ryan in the kitchen, sleeves rolled up and hands wet and soapy. Not only were all the dishes done, but he had cleaned and scrubbed the counter and sink too. I cannot put into words how immensely happy that made me. It was a small act - but it made all the difference in the world. I felt like a huge burden had been lifted. Sure, the dishes are just a small part of the whole picture - but the fact that he just did it was so wonderful. I have the best husband in the world!!! We sat in the kitchen talking about projects and what we wanted to accomplish next. He must have been bitten by the cleaning bug too because he wanted to tackle a lot of the bigger issues right away, but sadly, there just wasn't time.

This weekend was his weekend to work. Thankfully I was full of energy Saturday morning when I woke up and decided I was going to repay his kindness to me in my time of need by tackling some of the projects he was wanting to take on.

To start of the day I went to pick up our first "Bountiful Baskets" order. That was another thing Ryan just up and did on his own. He researched it out after talking to other family members doing it, and then jumped online, made the order and payment, and gave me the instructions of where to show up. If you don't know about Bountiful Baskets, it's awesome. $15 per basket, per order. You get tons and tons of fruit and veggies. Way more than you could get at the store. For our first order we got lettuce, cabbage, carrots, green onions, tomatoes, bananas, 10 limes, strawberries, apples, peaches, plums, and mangoes. An incredible amount of food. All fresh produce. My in-laws did the math. They compared what they got with sale prices at the stores and it would have cost more at the store.

After the basket pickup, I went outside and decided to mow the back lawn. That is typically Ryan's job, but I figured that would be a good way to surprise him and show my gratitude.We have a riding lawn mower. I usually ride around and do the big parts of the back yard and then Ryan takes the regular mower and trims all the edges and the front lawn.

I have to say, Dodger is the coolest dog. He loves to sit on our lap and cruise around the yard with us. He is awesome.

After the lawn was mowed, I got really ambitious and called my sister Kara. A little bribery goes a long way, and after I got back from a brief stop at yard sale looking for baby items, Kara joined me at my house to tackle the "big project."

Remember my kitchen - or lack thereof? The disaster zone from our pipe breaking? Well of course it has only gotten worse since that time, but now that the pipe is officially fixed, it was time to get rid of those stacks of boxes. I pulled everything out of the pantry so we could really organize it all. Armed with the offer of money, Kara helped sort everything out, find lids for Tupperware, put things into piles, and help me decide where things should go. About this point my energy level began to sink pretty quick, but she kept me going. What a trooper!

Once we had everything off the floor, we started on the table. She picked up our giant calendar and asked for a push pin. I sent her to the pen drawer to find one. She came back empty handed. I went back with her and started digging through the drawer. Something was caught under the organizer so I spent quite a bit of timing fighting with the drawer until it finally came free.

Does anyone else have a drawer that looks like this? And this was after I got the organizer part out. Sigh... that's a project for another day. Point is - I found a push pin and the calendar is now back on the wall.

Kara and I finished washing a few items, sweeping and moping just as we heard the door open and Ryan come down the stairs. We didn't finish the table, but oh my goodness - we have a kitchen!!! It looks so nice! Our voices echo in there now. Empty, but so clean!

Aren't you so proud?! I sure am! And so was Ryan!!! He was so impressed! I think I overdid it a bit, because my energy level crashed after that, but I was so happy! I took a much deserved nap after that.

I may not be the best house keeper in the world, but I am trying. And I am getting better. I am so thankful to Ryan for being such a great help. He has done a ton of work on our back room. It is so clean and organized back there now. He has everything put away back there where it's nice and easy to find. He has also done massive amounts of work in the backyard. He is a stud. I am so lucky to have him.

Will the mess come back? Probably, but I am working on it. I figure I have six more months to get things in working order. And I am sure nesting will kick in and help out - hopefully before I get too big and exhausted. I really want to be better at keeping things clean and organized. I may not be a domestic goddess yet, but I am a goddess in training.

Cha-Cha-Cha-Changes

We never thought it would happen - but Ryan and I both received new ward callings.

We were married in July of 06 and were made Sunbeam teachers by October. The class had some great kids, but they were not very trusting of us as it was nearly the end of the year and they had already had several teacher changes and multiple substitutes. In fact, I remember one day we were heading up to class and we saw one of our girls with her parents. We said hello as we walked by. She blinked in response, turned to her parents, and said, "I don't like those guys." Sad!

Oh well. The year ended quickly enough and we were issued a new Sunbeam class. This time it was much easier to bond with them as we were their teachers for the whole year. They were a lot of fun.

The following year we changed to the six year old class. I only taught with him for a week or two before I was called as the primary pianist. I have been there ever since. Ryan has been moved a time or two, but we have both been happy with our callings. Primary really is awesome.

Then came the phone call from the Bishopric asking to meet with both of us. Ryan kept saying that he thought that it was for me, but I knew it wasn't. Sure enough the call was for Ryan.

1st Counselor in the Young Men's!

Ryan's eyes widened at the call, but I think we both kind of knew it was coming and at least suspected it would be the Young Men's. He of course agreed right away. He will primarily be over the 14 year olds. And how appropriate - their first big activity is a back packing trip. Boy did they pick the right guy!

I am sure Ryan was nervous about it, but he will do such a great job. He will be an incredible role model for these boys and I am so excited for him! Just sad that I won't see him in primary any more.

Two weeks went by. As I was sitting behind the piano in primary writing in my journal, one of the primary presidency members came to tell me that I was needed out in the hall. Waiting there was one of the Bishopric members. We went downstairs to find Ryan and pull him out of class.

"Well Ryan, you know you are safe!" he began once we were seated in another room.

My mind started racing trying to think what they could be calling me to. I am already in Activity Days and I highly doubt it would be Young Women...

The Primary Chorister.

Say what? I didn't see that one coming. They had just called a new chorister about a month previously. But apparently she wasn't very comfortable doing it solely on her own - and it turns out that she will be moving in a few months anyway, so that's where we were at. They said it would be up to us to decide how we wanted to divide it out - be it Jr vs Sr primary or every other week, or what not.

I have to say I think I am more nervous about this calling than any other I have ever had. It seems easy but it takes so much preparation! And sure, I guess I have had the advantage of being the pianist for a really long time. I have worked with 4 choristers in the time that I have been playing the piano. So yes, I have seen a lot of great ideas, but it still makes me nervous. I talked to the chorister today and we decided to rotate weeks. My first week will be the 17th.

Ryan taught his first lesson last week. It was a bit of an off week with meetings and combined pow wows of sorts, but he did a great job! He is awesome and the boys will love him.

I think we are both going to miss the ease of our previous callings. I know I will really miss hiding behind the piano. But we are both excited. Wish us luck!

I Want a Triceratops for Christmas

Back in March, Ryan's family decided that it was time to get an updated family picture. The last official studio one we had done was shortly after Ryan and I were married. I had the long hair to prove it - so it must have been within the first 6 months of marriage. Four years later (can you believe we have been married 5 years next month?!)- a lot has changed! Matt and Jen have had 2 more kids. Ryan and Jodi have also had two kids. Jess and Cameron got married and had their little guy too. Six additions to the family in that period of time? Pretty impressive.

Good looking family, huh? As we were each taking our turns getting the individual family shots done, Jodi turned to us and said, "You have heard of the family picture curse, right?"

We both laughed and said no.

"As soon as you get family pictures done and updated, someone ends up pregnant." Jodi and Ryan had family pictures taken with his side in December, and shortly thereafter conceived their very unplanned third child. She also blames the Mucinex. Apparently Mucinex can counter birth control to some extent, earning this new little baby the temporary nick name of "Snot Baby." (Don't worry. It may have been unplanned, but they are very excited for his arrival in September.) We laughed, and Jen, Jess and I all pointed to each other and guessed who would be next.

And that was that. Pictures turned out great. We were able to view and order them just before Ryan and Jodi moved to Colorado.

The following month...

Tada!!!

No, this is not a Mucinex baby - although we did laugh long and hard about that. Ryan had purchased, and begun taking Mucinex shortly before this family photo shoot. But seeing as he was taking it, and not me, we weren't terribly worried. That and there wasn't any birth control to counter...

Yes - this was planned and hoped for. We were both ecstatic when we found out - but spent a long time laughing about the timing and its correlation to the family pictures. I know it may seem strange to many that we waited almost 5 years before we started trying, but we don't regret it at all. The timing is right and we are thrilled!!!

We have kept it secret for a long time. Reasoning was two-fold. 1. We wanted to wait until we were closer to the "safe" zone, although miscarriage can still happen any time. The goal was to wait until at least 12 weeks, but when I realized that Father's Day was only 2 weeks after that - putting us at 14 weeks and the beginning of the second trimester, I decided that was the best way to go. 2. It's all about reaction. No one knew we were trying. And we wanted it that way. And let me tell you... it totally paid off!

We told my family this past Saturday, the day before Father's Day. Ryan and I were supposed to be with his side of the family for Sunday dinner, so we arranged a Father's Day BBQ for my side on Saturday. Luckily everyone but Fred and Jari were there. (Seeing as they live in Maryland, we will excuse them.) :) I had sent Fred and Jari a picture of the above ultrasound pictures in a "Happy late birthday, happy early birthday, and guess what?" package that arrived Saturday - thankfully. I called and had Fred open it about an hour before we went to my parents. His reaction?

"Shut up! Shut up!" It was perfect!

My dad opened presents as we ate. I saved ours for last because I guessed it would likely cause quite the ruckus. Fred asked me to call him and put it on speaker phone so he could hear the reaction. I wasn't sure if he would be able to hear it, but I did it anyway.

We gave my dad a picture of the ultrasound in a frame. The first few milliseconds after he opened it were silent - but only until Necia spotted it, flew out of her chair and started yelling, "Shut up! Shut up!" as she jumped up and down. That same instant my mom saw it and let out a high pitch scream that lasted several seconds. Recognition dawned on my dad and he looked up with teared filled eyes and asked repeatedly, "Really? Really?" (He later told us it took him a second to realized what it was because when he saw it was a picture frame he thought Ryan had given him a picture of the elk. Hahaha) This all happened almost instantaneously. I wish more than anything I had thought to record it. That would have been priceless. I think it would have beat out any announcement videos I have seen on America's Funniest Home Videos. I glanced around at the rest of the family to try and gauge their reaction. Most were smiling, laughing and looking stunned. Sabrina was grinning with her hands smashed to each side of her face in awe. James was smiling and a little teary eyed himself.

Necia turned to me and said, "I am SO mad at you! How could you have held out on me for so long?!"

My mom came over and threw her arms around me and said, "You could have saved me months of praying for you!" I laughed and laughed at that and said, "I know I could have. But that wouldn't have been much fun. And I told you not to worry..." Sabrina jerked my mom away and placed a gentle hand on my stomach. "Careful mom! There is a baby in there!"

After a while the pandemonium began to calm down. James sat next to me and tried to explain to Preston what was going on. He pointed to my stomach and said, "Diana is going to have a baby. She has a baby in there."

"She does? I see it!" he said as he started to lift my shirt.

James replied, "No you can't see it. It's inside. It's going to get bigger and bigger and then it will come out and it will be a baby!"

Preston's eyes widened with understanding. His jaw fell open as his hand shot to each side of his face in the classic 'Home Alone' face. "It's.... a.... baby.... DINOSAUR!!!!" He shouted.

We all erupted in laughter. I guess he didn't quite get it. We tried a few more times to help him understand, but it was to no avail. We finally just agreed that yes, it's a dinosaur. Mom told us not to encourage it, but we decided it really won't hurt anything.

James concluded, "He is going to be really disappointed when this baby doesn't come out a triceratops, which happens to be his favorite dinosaur right now."

We told his family the next day. The reaction was much more calm, but still heartfelt and wonderful. His dad turned to us wide eyed and stared. His mom sat back silent after a short intake of breath, and cried. His sisters and nieces cheered. I think the girls were shocked, but Ellen maintains that she had a feeling that I was. (I am sure it didn't help my case that she was there when I lost my lunch for the first time at Ryan's belated graduation lunch.) But even though she suspected it, she never said anything.

For the stats. These ultrasound pictures were taken at 12 weeks. As of today I am finally 14 weeks. Sweet! Baby is due December 20th. That is the only bummer part. We were really hoping to avoid the month of December, but that goes to show that we are not the ones in charge. This baby is coming when it's supposed to come. But sadly I have a feeling I will not go into labor on time, or perhaps even on my own at all if I am anything like my mom, putting baby just that much closer to Christmas. We decided that once the kid is old enough to really care, maybe we will celebrate the half birthday instead.

I have no inclinations whether it is a boy or a girl. We have been calling it a girl - but that doesn't really mean anything. I am not really hoping for one or the other. I have my moments. We don't have names picked out, but we have some we like. Girl names anyway. Not boy names. Anyone want to guess what it will be? We will find out probably around the first week of August or so.

We are really excited. In many ways it still doesn't seem real. I doubt it really will until I start feeling it move - which at my 12 week appointment and when I had this ultrasound they said they bet I will start feeling it soon because the little thing won't hold still! They had a hard time getting a long solid read on the heartbeat because it kept squirming out of the way. Then at the ultrasound I watched it jump up and down, wave, kick and wiggle. So amazing! And so surreal!

In way of confession, I apologize, Academy of Ballet girls at Heather's going away party... I have had reactions to hot tubs before, but the real reason I didn't get in was Dr's orders. Sorry!

So... there is our good news. Hopefully everything stays good and we don't run into any major complications.

Brace yourself world... a mini Ryan or Diana is planning its grand entrance in six months. Ready or not, here it comes!