The Etherington's Visit

Hooray!! I love visitors!! I welcome any distraction these days, especially when they bring a four month old little peanut named Eloise. I had so much fun with my brother Nick, his wife Brooke and their baby Eloise this last week. It was not only just fun having them around but Nick cooked for me every night and made me a sandwich every afternoon.
These days I loath cooking so having someone here to cook the meals was a total heaven sent. They weren't just any meals, they were "Nick's" meals. I swear he could be one of those chefs on television. He gets so excited about the smells, the savor, and the colors of foods. Chase always calls me a "food snob" but he now thinks Nick takes the cake.
Only the best foods come from his kitchen. I was very impressed. He is interviewing all over the place for business school and while interviewing at American and William and Mary, they decided to stay with us for a week. The 7 days included speed scrabble, Smitty, our buddy from high school (always good to see him), shopping, Georgetown, Old Town Alexandria, several trips to Trader Joes for Mochi Balls, late night basketball and movies. Sadie LOVED baby Eloise. She was so sweet with her. I loved watching her help out by giving Eloise her binky or a rattle when she cried. At first when she heard her cry she told me to "make it stop" as she covered her ears. Eventually she got used to the noise. It was very good preparation for her and the upcoming arrival of the baby brother. I was so glad they came. I was hoping I would go into labor so they could see the baby but I have a feeling he won't come until Mimi gets here on Tuesday. Sorry they couldn't get a peek but I'll send some pictures. Speaking of pictures, I took some great little photos of Eloise with my new camera. Here are some of my favorites:

Son of Georgetown

Congratulations Chase!!!! I feel like we've been waiting for this day forever. Well, it actually went pretty fast even though we tacked on another year for the Tax LLM. I knew it would be an emotional day and it was. I am so proud of Chase I can hardly keep myself from squeezing him ALL the time. I love him so much and appreciate the sacrifices he makes for his family and all the work he has done these last four years. I of course took a million pictures. I broke down once he got his diploma and gave me a hug. I just was so overcome with love for this man and joy for what he has accomplished. One can't help but get a little misty. The campus was so beautiful and he looked so handsome in his cap and gown. I just couldn't help myself. The weather (for me) was perfect. It was a bit chilly for everyone else but I was just glad to not be roasting in the sun. I welcome any day with out shadows for great pictures. Here's the day in a megapixel or two.





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Month of "May"hem

It has been a VERY busy month. I am actually grateful for all the distractions because otherwise I'd be twiddling my fingers waiting for my water to break. Let me just review what's been going on these last couple of weeks. I'm actually surprised the stress hasn't popped this baby out.
1: Invasion of ants. Never seen anything like it. They were on my counter tops, in my refrigerator, and even made their way into my dishwasher. They showed up in places that didn't even have traces of food. Land lord came over to spray the house.
2: Getting Sadie's and baby's rooms ready. I have had Sadie's furniture for quite some time but was planning on painting it a different color. I had put it off for a nice weekend and decided to get it done the hottest weekend in May's history (I think). We painted all day Saturday and finally completed her big girl bed and dresser. I decided to keep her armoire a baby blue because it's cute and I had no energy left to paint another thing. We moved the guest bedroom from upstairs into the basement. We got the mattress down the stairs just fine but the box spring was wedged and had to be taken outside. I guess a 9 month pregnant woman is stronger than most people think because Chase and I totally hauled the monster out the front door and around to the back with a little back pain but very little effort:-) We then moved everything into it's place. Sadie's room was completed once her bedding arrived in the mail. It looks pretty cute and I LOVE the little guys room. So the upstairs is now officially done.
3: Water leak both in basement and bathroom upstairs. This included strange men walking all over my home with high powered fans, dehumidifiers, and muddy shoes. The leak happened on a Saturday which was kind of a relief because the men still had a week to clean the mess up in time for Sadie's birthday the next Saturday. Dry wall was put up, ceiling was painted, and walls were patched all in one day..hooray. Carpet was steamed on Friday for the final touch. Everything was done.
4: My poor friends the Mechams moved out of their home the same week and I had offered them the basement to keep them from inhaling paint fumes and chemicals from the cleaning of their new home. Little did I know that we would have our own paint fumes from the leak and repair scare. We were still able to have a couple of sleepovers and Sadie was in heaven. How fun to wake up and have her little buddy there to eat breakfast with. I had fun having my buddy there to eat breakfast with as well. Come anytime Erin, we loved having you. Sorry about the fumes.
5: Chase has finals week which means he's off duty for pretty much everything but still manages to give me hugs and take out the garbage a couple of times.
6: Put on Sadie's birthday party. I mentioned this before but these kind of events totally stress me out when they should just be a party. I went way overboard and just about collapsed, but it was a fun party and I'm glad we all survived.
7: The next Monday and Tuesday I hosted preschool. Monday afternoon I headed out to get flowers for Tuesday's project and while putting Sadie in the car I somehow must have pushed the lock button and accidentally locked her and the flowers inside. I could see my keys on the front seat just aching to be held. Sadie was able to reach the lock but couldn't figure out how to pull it up. She cried her eyes out and I did too because I was not only exhausted from hosting preschool with 6 kids but when you're prego, you just cry. I was actually pretty put together and very patient with Sadie trying to get her to pull the lock up but when I finally got a hold of Chase after a 1/2 and hour of trying to reach him (I could have been in labor for heavens sake), hearing his voice made me cry and I screamed at him for not having his phone with him at all times during these last few weeks of pregnancy. He called a locksmith but they didn't get there as fast as the fire department who opened the door and released my poor baby from bondage. I of course grabbed her and squeezed her for about ten full minutes while the two of us just cried. I told her over and over again how sorry I was and she kept saying "don't ever do it again Mommy." The firemen had front row seats to the dramatic scene as they were waiting to see my license and registration. They told me to "take my time." Obviously they have dealt with a full term pregnant mother reunited with her daugter after a lock down before. Sadie still talks about how the firemen "saved her" and we told all her friends about it the next day at preschool. The amazing thing is after the whole incident I still had the energy to go by a mattress for Sadie's new bed. Hooray for adrenaline.
8: Signed up for triple A.(AAA, just incase we lock Sadie in the car again:-)
9: Wednesday, my beloved buddy Jill arrived from Utah!! The movers weren't coming to her new home until Friday so she and Isabella stayed with us for a couple of nights. It was a blast. I forgot how much fun it is to stay up late talking with Jill. She was reunited with Behrad on Thursday night (he's been in FBI training for the last 4 1/2 months) and told me she completely lost it. Isabella totally remembered Daddy and Jill just cried tears of joy. He graduates from the program this next week and they will all be one happy family again. I am so glad Jill has come out here. Our girls play very well together which is great because we would have to force them to hang out because we're "bosom buddies":-)
10: Friday, took Jill to her darling new home in Arlington (old home with tons of charm and character) and after wards ran about a bazillion errands with Sadie still in her pajamas and princess dress. Ran home and cleaned house for next guests to arrive..the Cannons.
11: Friday night, pick Chase and Uncle Curtis up from the Metro station and head to Olive Garden for dinner with the Cannons. Detour to Trader Joe's to get thank you gifts for baby shower the next day. Can barely walk because of sciatic nerves but LOVED my dinner. Get home, waddled downstairs to get sheets out of the dryer for Jim and Connie's bed. Stayed up late talking and watching Sadie show off for Uncle Curtis and Grandparents.
12: Saturday,Baby shower!! Fun party to celebrate the little guy. Thanks again ladies. Played scrabble with Curtis and Chase when I got home. Dropped Curtis off at Metro station and headed to Lizzie Gardner's birthday party. Sadie hit Moriah and was warned that if she did it again we would go home. She did it again so we went home. Fun party, sad to leave, and sad to say goodbye to the Gardners.
13: Sunday, Chase's graduation. Headed to morning sacrament meeting and then to Georgetown for commencement ceremony. Laughed, cried, and reminisced over the last four years of school. So glad it's over!! Headed out to Cate's house for Sunday dinner. Yummy flank steak. Thanks Cate!! Sadie fell asleep in the car, wet her pants, and cried when we had to leave.
14: Monday, Etherington's arrive. Nick, Brooke, and baby Eloise make their way to D.C. for interviews with American University and William and Mary's business schools. Week of wonderful company, delicious food, and fun activities. Thanks for being my personal chef for a week Nick. (I say forget business school and head into the culinary arts. The boy's got talent.)
15: Only thing left to do is wait for the baby. I just realized that in the space of three weeks we had 8 guests stay in our home. My mom comes in one week and my dad the week after. It's great having all these distractions. I think I need to buy new sheets.

Baby Shower

I was so grateful to my buddies for throwing me this shower. It's always a special treat when you get a shower for a second child so I felt very spoiled. We had a couple of obstacles but overcame them swimmingly. The first obstacle was sending out the evite (a website I am starting to question). When Jess sent it out for some reason it copied the guest list more than once and ended up showing that 200+ people were invited. When I saw this I immediately thought "I hardly even know 30 people in Virginia let alone 200." I was worried that the girls would think I had stopped every woman on the streets to invite them to my shower. However, it was remedied in about three hours and we all had a good laugh. The second obstacle was where to have the shower. Erin offered her new home (just purchased and being painted) with the hopes that everything would be moved in and completed by the time the shower date arrived. I told her a million times that if she were feeling stressed, we should just postpone the shower or cancel it because her poor husband was over there every night till 5 a.m. painting the walls. Erin is too nice and told me the shower was going to happen. When the walls were still unpainted and the rain made an outdoor shower impossible, my cute visiting teacher Janine offered her home instead. I forgot to mention that my sister in law Cate offered her home as well but she lives about 45 minutes away. Once the location was set we were good to go. The shower was so fun. I had a great time talking to all the women from my ward and it was so fun to have my nieces Mary Jane and Grace there as well. Even my mother in law Connie was able to make it because she and Pops flew in for Chase's graduation. It was so much fun and I was definitely spoiled. Thank you to Erin, Jess, Cate, and Janine for the wonderful shower. I hope the obstacles didn't stress you out too much. I appreciate all the preparation that was done for me and the little man. Also thanks to everyone who came. Celebrating a new baby is the best...if only we could get him to come out.

Lightning McQueen Birthday Party

Yes, my little girl had a Nemo party last year and a Cars party this year. I've got a serious "tom boy" on my hands. I love how well rounded Sadie is. She will play with just about anything but her Cars characters are her absolute favorites. I tried to throw her an easy "pink princess" party. I thought if we chose a theme like Nemo it would be a lot of work for me in this these last three weeks of pregnancy. Well Sadie wanted a Cars party and I couldn't change her mind so I bent over backwards seeking for as much Car paraphernalia that was available. Chase had finals so I pretty much planned the whole thing myself. I hate this about me but I'm kind of a perfectionist when it comes to parties and events (and a lot of other things I'm afraid).

With Chase gone Saturday morning I rallied and put together a fun little party. He got home from taking his last final around 2:30 so was able to help me for about an hour before the guests started arriving. I was exhausted by the time everything was put together.

We had little stations set up including "Ramone's body art" where we face painted and gave the kids tattoos (which haven't come off by the way...after a week of baths). I'm sure all the Mom's are mad at me for "branding" their kid for what I thought would be temporarily but has become quite permanent.
We set up "Luigi's tire toss" where the kids received a "Piston Cup" trophies if they could throw the ball into the tires. We also set up "Mator's Tow yard" where the kids used a fishing stick to "tow" for a prize. The kids had a blast and it was fun to see how excited they got when they each towed their own little car.

The highlight was watching the kids try to break the Cars piñata. They each gave him a few good whacks with a wooden broom. Sadie's friend Andrew (fully decked out in his knight's armor) opted for his sword instead.
The little men were much more aggressive at getting the candy out. What's a party with out a piñata?

I made a cake from the 365 brand mix and it was delicious. I thought I could do another "Nemo like" cake but in Lightning McQueen style but realized I wouldn't be able to pull it off. So I just made a white cake and put red polka dots all over it. It was the one feminine accent at the party which I was very happy to add. Of course for the finishing touch I placed a huge McQueen car on top. The kids thought it was pretty cool and of course Sadie only ate the frosting.

It was a very fun party and great to have our friends there as well. Of course Sadie put on her princess clothes at the end of the party. Such a funny combination. I hope she appreciates all her fully pregnant Mom(and Dad)did for her. She probably doesn't now but hopefully one day she will.
I'm just glad Chase could haul the chairs back up the stairs and clean up while I put my feet up for a while. It was totally worth it and the funny thing is that after all the stress of planning and the party was over I was a little sad. It's fun having a project (not that I don't already have about a million more) especially when I know it will make my little girl so happy. Happy Birthday Sadie!!

Here are some videos for your enjoyment:

He's finally done!!!

I just wanted the world and universe to know that Chase took his VERY LAST final EVER on Saturday. He's done. No more studying, no more finals, no more night classes, no more student loans, no more expensive law books, no more eating dinner alone, and no more worrying about grades. Hooray hooray, yippee skippee. If I weren't fully pregnant I would do a cartwheel!!

Happy Birthday Sadie Lady!!

I have a three year old. I still have to pinch myself that she is this old. Of course I am totally nostalgic and sad that my baby is now a full grown toddler. I love Sadie for so many reasons. Here are all the reasons why I feel like the luckiest mom in the universe!!
1: Even if she's a stinker all day and has about ten time outs, she still looks like an angel sleeping. I can't help but look at her every night and often times pick her up for one last squeeze.
2: She's always slept with her mouth wide open, just like her Mom and most Etheringtons.
3: She calls her canker sore a "cranker" and uses it as an excuse for not being able to eat her dinner.
4: When she's done with dance class she runs out to me screaming "I did it Mommy..I did it" with just about the biggest smile I have ever seen.
5: She sings to "Part of your World" and "kiss the Girl" from the Little Mermaid whenever we are in the car. Often times she closes her eyes and sways her head back and forth like a real jazz singer:-)
6: When we are driving she will say "Drive faster Mommy, but Mommy if we drive too fast the police man will come and take my Clifford away."
7: She gives us "true kisses" (on the lips) whenever we are sad and immediately thinks it will cheer us up...and miraculously...it does.
8: She still loves her "bahh" blankets and gives "tag" to the special people in her life.
9: She licks the icing off a cupcake and gives me the rest to eat.
10: If she's chewing gum (not very often) out of the blue she'll grab my hand and leave the wet wad when she's through.
11: When Chase goes to work she'll yell out the screen door, "Be careful Daddy..don't slip on the ice. Have a good day Daddy." She says the same thing every morning even now that it's hot outside and there is no ice in sight.
12: She'll come in VERY early in the morning and say "Wake up..it's summer time."
13: She is potty trained and can use the potty all by herself. I love hearing her in the morning go the bathroom, flush the toilet, wash her hands and then SLAM the door. She's just a mini adult these days.
14: We transferred her to a big girl bed a few days ago and she's been a total champ. Hasn't come into our room once!!
15: Even though she's in a big girl bed she still takes a three hour nap every day.
16: She asks me "where'd you get the baby" just about ten times a day. I tell her heavenly father gave him to me. She responds with "what did Heavenly Father say" and I explain that he asked me if I wanted another baby and I said yes so he put him in my tummy to grow and when he gets too big he'll come out. She responds, "is the baby going to bring me a present?"
17: She rocks at the "Horton Hears a Whoo" dance with her cute little bum.
18: She wears her princess dress while she plays with Lightning McQueen and her train table. She's a very well rounded little girl.
19: She wanted a Lightning McQueen birthday party even after I went down the pink princess isle at Party City.
20: When I sing in the car she says "Mommy will you please stop singing" but when it's time for bed she wants to hear every song in the book.
21: She's incredibly bright and knows all the letters and their sounds. Her favorite song to sing these days is the "the A says Ah..the B says Bah" and so on.
22: When she's hungry she says she needs to "feed her baby" while pointing to her tummy.
23: She LOVES to read books. I could read to her all night and she would never fall asleep.
24: She's my little buddy. We've been through three years together and I can't wait to see what she will say and accomplish next. I've got the greatest kid. How did I get so lucky? Happy Birthday Sadie!!

Is it worth it?

I have a bone to pick with Costco these days. For a while I have been buying their milk in this nifty square container. Occasionally I won't spill when I first open the jug, but almost every other time, milk ends up all over my counter. Whoever engineered this product should be spanked!! The milk is cheap, that's for sure, but I've decided after my last three episodes that it's just not worth it anymore to save a buck or two. First strike: The spout is dysfunctional and cannot pour with out spillage. Second strike: While driving home the other day the jug tipped over and leaked milk all over the upholstery in my car. I saw a little milk by Sadie's car seat so I cleaned it up. Little did I know that nearly a fourth of the gallon had spilled down through the hole by the seat belt and had completely saturated the upholstery below the leather seats. It wasn't until a foul stench and three days later that I discovered the yellow dripping milk all over the inside of my car. It smelled soooooooooo bad. So it spills when it's opened and spills when it "should be" sealed. Strike three: I had myself a bowl of Great Grains the other day thinking to myself it tasted a little weird but after looking at the Sell By date, I was reassured that because I had another week, my pregnancy taste buds must be playing tricks on me. It wasn't until feeling lousy the entire day and midnight that night that the vomiting started. I had been poisoned!!! I threw up seven times that night and didn't get a wink of sleep. You don't give a 9 month pregnant woman a bout of food poisoning and get away with it. I AM FURIOUS!!! Costco will hear about this and hopefully those who read this post will think twice before buying this horrific product.

Two peas in a pod

I have heard hear from many that Sadie looks like "chase in a dress." I realize that a very few of the Etherington genes made it into her pool but it wasn't until I snapped this photo of the two of them sleeping that I realized, Sadie really is a chip off the old block. They are two little twins!!

Perfect timing

As if we didn't have enough to worry about in the last few and the next few weeks (i.e., speaking and playing in church, preparing EQ lessons, studying for finals, preparing bar applications, birthday party for SadieLady, visitors arriving for like 2 straight weeks, and oh yeah, a baby due in four weeks), we had the honor of a visit from the Leaky Ceilings Club. First, two weeks ago, after getting Sadie out of the tub, I went downstairs to get her some milk before bed. As I rounded the stairs to our main bedroom, my ears were filled with the familiar sound of rain. Except that I was inside. I looked up and realized that the ceiling was raining on our couch--Oh joy. So I put a bowl under the spout of water, moved the couch, and within one or two minutes the leak had slowed to a drip. No worries, everything dried out within a day. I guess I probably should've recognized the sound of "indoor rain" when four days later, as I sat in the kitchen studying for my final, I heard a "faucet" turn on downstairs. Thinking it was Abby in the bathroom, I quickly turned my mind back to stock and loan basis adjustments for S corporate shareholders (exciting, I know). After about 3 or 4 minutes, I heard Abby talking to Sadie in the living room, and jumped up. Instead of a rainstorm downstairs, we had a waterfall. I grabbed the same bowl that was on the couch and moved it downstairs. Within about a minute the waterfall was a steady rain, and then slowly it turned into a drip. Nevertheless, water had saturated the carpet, washed the train table, and had formed a giant water bubble under the paint on the wall. All I can say is--it's a great time to be renting! All will be fixed by this Friday (fingers crossed), before any visitors or guests arrive.

It's just a thought...

I think I have a great way to drop the percentage rate of teenage pregnancy. They should have a 9 month pregnant woman come into every health class to show them her stretch marks and saggy sides (not to mention all the other saggy places that form). I have a feeling it would scare them so badly they wouldn't let their boyfriends so much as touch them:-) Another thing they fail to mention in health class is that you are actually pregnant for 10 months. 9 was always the lucky number but I am 9 months now and there is no baby for another four weeks (three if we're lucky).

Cars for tea sets

I think my parents will remember my beloved elephant tea set that they gave me. I must have been around Sadie's age and it was my favorite toy to play with. I would wash it in the sink two or three times daily. Sadie isn't really into tea sets. Instead she loves her cars. She asked me the other day if she could take them to the "car wash" so we washed them. This is now one of her favorite activities (and mine because I can clean the kitchen while she's occupied:-)

It's official!!

Sadie is finally potty trained. This might be boring for all of you but I need to record how I (we) accomplished this vexing task. About a year ago Sadie's friend Lizzie was showing signs of wanting to be potty trained. I thought that because these girls were on the same track (developmentally) I would get Sadie started with the training as well. We bought the potty and put it in the bathroom. She had a few exciting moments when she decided to sit down and be a "big girl" but that was about it. She showed very little interest in the whole ordeal other than the Reese's pieces she received whenever she used the potty. Then I got pregnant and had absolutely zero desire to do anything but sleep on the couch while Sadie played with her trains. I feel a little guilty because she was finally showing the signs of wanting to train but I was just too lazy (and nauseated:-)

Entering the second trimester of this pregnancy I got a sudden boost of energy and decided to try again with the training. However, if any of you know Sadie, you also know she has a mind of her own and doesn't like to be forced into doing anything. Now because I wanted her to be trained she totally retaliated and wouldn't even sit on the potty. I finally gave up again knowing that the more I pushed the more she would back away. It wasn't until we had a week off of preschool for Spring Break, that I actually saw a little progress. I found something that Sadie is obsessed with (Disney's Cars Movie) and used the toys as incentives. At this point she was really comfortable going #1 but NEVER wanted to go #2. She would always go off into a secluded place (right after she used the potty) to "take care of business" (sorry I really dislike all the potty vocabulary). So to initially get her to sit on the potty for #2 I got her a MACK semi truck. If she performed, she got the truck but if she messed up her pants, I took the truck away. She LOVES MACK and eventually did everything in her power to keep him.

Now that she was finally comfortable we decided that every time she went #2, she got one of the car characters from the movie. This was a great incentive as she got so excited to use the potty because she anticipated the next car. She only had a #2 accident once because of this plan and when that happened we took all the cars away and she had to earn them back all over again..one by one. I know it sounds regimental, but it worked for Sadie.

Now every time she keeps her pants clean while she's away at nursery or preschool, she gets a lollipop (we ran out of cars). She is always so excited when I pick her up as she says "Mommy I did it, can I have my lollipop now?" She's a great kid. I am so proud of her (and me for enduring to the end). I can honestly say this was one of the hardest things I have ever had to accomplish. Good luck to all you readers with a soon to be trained toddler. It's definitely NOT a walk in the park, well at least it wasn't for us.

Hooray for Sadie...she's finally trained. Now that she's out of diapers, I have to start all over with the next little one. It's a viscous cycle!!