Thanks, but No Thanks

My sister Amy left me a message yesterday with ideas for names for our baby boy, since we haven't decided yet (I really have to see the baby before I'll settle on a name anyway). Here are some of the names she suggested, with their meanings in parenthesis:

Omega Payne (Great Payne)
Onam Payne (Strong Payne)
Ruben ("Behold the son")
Soreno Payne (Calm Payne)
Sared Payne (Fear Payne)
Saul Payne (Peacable Payne)
Terach ("Goat")
Teva ("Nature")

Hmm...Obviously I need another source of input here. You really have to be careful with a last name like Payne. We could ruin this kid's life, make him the constant object of snickers and giggles, and limit his future career opportunities to clown acts or McDonald's. I guess there's a chance that it could work out and he could be Dr. Omega Payne, but really, I think that a name like that would limit his potential patient field just from a listing in the phone book. I do know of a Dr. Ken Hurt, who is a dentist, and a Dr. Jeffrey Bender, who is a chiropractor, and they are inspirations to me and my son's future. I really shouldn't worry, with a lack of doctors in my and Rus's family history I guess we'd be leaning towards the Major Payne side anyways, but you never know...

Grateful to be a Mother

(my mother's day flowers from Rus)

I felt especially blessed this Mother's Day to be a mother. I know that it is a noble calling, and like any blessing, it is a gift from my Heavenly Father. I know that on most days I take my children for granted. And on hard days I wonder where in the world these crazy kids came from and why I wanted them in the first place. I find it amazing that these "innocent" little spirits can be so trying and so wonderful all at once...And that they can bring out the best and worst in me better that almost anyone (Rus being the main exception). I've been trying to think of different experiences I've had with my kids and the feelings I've felt, and here are some that I've come up with...At any given moment I feel (have felt): incapable, insufficient, overwhelmed, frustrated, overjoyed, proud, embarrassed, speechless, ridiculous, happy, sad, worried, stressed, angry, tired, exhausted, giggly, goofy, childish, too-old, inexplicable, confused, impatient, powerful, powerless, depressed, contented...hmmm...that's all I can think of right now. I could probably give you a detailed example of each feeling, but think I won't. :) I guess my point is that being a mother isn't all bliss, but I am grateful to be a mother because I think I've felt everthing more deeply. It is much harder than I thought it would be, but I think I've had a richer experience, a more valuable and rewarding experience, than I would've had without being a mother. So, again I thank Heavenly Father for this journey, for this season of my life, and for my family.

Happy Birthday Rus!

Yep, Rus turned 30 this past Friday. I love it when he has birthdays, it just makes me feel so...young. :) Here's some pics of what we did for his birthday...

Bekah and Jacob helped me put the finishing touches on the back piece for Rus's magazine rack for the bathroom. I gave them unrestricted access to any of my paint colors and they went to town! They used blue, red, white, pink, purple, and yellow, and thankfully all the colors blended to a nice dark blue color (instead of puke-ish brown). Jacob had a blast painting! He and Bekah were a good team, because he'd just glob the paint on and then she'd come around and smooth it all out.
Here's the finished product...All ready for reading room literature. Bekah and I made Rus a Birthday Hat that he could wear when he was opening presents. It says "Birthday Boy" on it. Oh yes. It was a work of art, and no one could pull off wearing it better than Rus. :)
Bekah and Jacob got Rus a card, and Bekah drew a picture of her daddy in it for him. I think it's one of the cutest things I've ever seen. Can you see his big head? And then she didn't give him any hair, cause he had just buzzed it and didn't really have any hair. But she did give him "lambchops". Rus had just been teaching her to say "My daddy has lambchops!" For any of you that know the bond between Rus and his sideburns, this drawing was perfect!
Seriously, I am a lucky girl. Rus is my best friend, and I love making memories with him and knowing that I'll get to be with him forever!

Rus...you're my favorite!

Jacob Knows.

Yep, Jacob knows best how to torture Bekah. Remember that road trip I told you about, and the long, long hours we spent together in our van? Jacob took that time to hone his "Irritate Bekah" skills. They'd just be sitting there, looking out the windows, and then the conversation would go like this:
Jacob: What Bekah?
Bekah: I didn't say anything.
Jacob: What Bekah?
Bekah: I didn't say anything.
Jacob: What Bekah?!
Bekah: I DIDN'T SAY ANYTHING!

Or, Jacob would pick on Bekah when she'd start singing. Bekah loves to sing. She makes up songs all the time. Usually I have no idea what she's even saying, and the song will go on for as long as she wants it to, at least five minutes. So then the conversation will go like this:
Bekah: (Singing)
Jacob: No Be-ah! (That's how he says Bekah. He leaves out the "k")
Bekah: (Keeps singing)
Jacob: No inging Be-ah!
Bekah: I want to sing!
Jacob: No Be-ah!
Bekah: JACOB WON'T LET ME SING!

Oh yeah. He knows how to get her. And he loves to do it!

Dilemma.

Bekah has started distinguishing between things that are real and pretend by saying it's either "regular" or "pretend". This morning she told me that she wanted to be a fairy so she could fly to Flagstaff by herself and pick up her cousin Sarah. She showed me her fairy wings that go with one of her dress up outfits and said that she needed some like that, but "Regular ones." I tried to explain that fairies aren't real, they're pretend. To which she replied that she wanted to be a "Regular fairy," and that I needed to make her regular wings. I told her that I don't know how to make wings like that, it's really hard, actually impossible, and that I couldn't do it. That didn't make her very happy, and finally the only thing I could say was that I'd think about it. So then she went upstairs and packed two backpacks full of stuff to take to Sarah's house, and lined it up by the front door alongside her coat. When I was putting her down for a nap she said, "Will you work on my regular wings while I'm sleeping?"
So here I am. Big dilemma. How do I tell my little girl that I can't make her into a fairy?

Greening up our Backyard, and a Prego Pic

Rus went out of town about four weeks ago and my friends, Tara and Taffy decided that we needed to plant grass while he was gone. Because then it could grow while we went on vacation, and that would mean that I wouldn't have to worry about keeping the kids off of it. So, my awesome friends came over and did all the work while I held Tara's baby. Now they see the grass growing and feel a burst of pride because they were the ones who planted it. And I'm sure they'll never let us forget that. :) But it is looking pretty good for brand new grass from seed! We just reseeded again last Saturday, so hopefully it will continue to fill in the brown spots. On Saturday we also planted two trees, a peach one and an apple one, two raspberry bushes, strawberrys, and honeysuckle on my arbor. Horray for the green!

Yup, and there's me, I guess now at 32 weeks. Can you see the sign on my belly, "OPEN FOR ALL PUBLIC DISCUSSION"? For example, the lady in front of me, checking out in Walmart..."You're having a boy, aren't you? Yes, I could tell because you're carrying him low and in the front. When are you due? July 4th? Oh, you'll never make it that long. It looks like he's already dropped." And then she continued on to my favorite topic, Random-People-I-Don't-Even-Know-Labor-Stories. I couldn't even meet the eyes of the man checking me out after that, what with the lady vividly explaining how she popped her 9lb baby's head out. The same baby that is now at least nine years old and standing next to her, somehow oblivious to the conversation.

The ladies in my water aerobics class also agreed that I would deliver this baby much sooner than July 4th. I think that's supposed to be a "reassuring" way of telling someone that they look huge. And I guess I should believe them, because they see me twice a week in a bathing suit.

Personally I think I'm getting used to my current size of belly because I don't feel huge. Just big. And like I'm wielding a weapon in front of me, a weapon that likes to either bump into things or get bumped into by things or people. I have no idea when this baby is going to come, although I'm pretty sure he won't come as soon as everyone else thinks, and I hope that he won't come later than that date stamped in my mind, July 4th.

Who knows...Oh yeah, the lady in Walmart does!