06 March 2010
By Audrey
In General
Looking at baby stuff sometimes makes me hyperventilate. The reason is two part: 1. I have zero experience with baby gear and 2. You sure can spend a lot of money.
For the most part, I just look at stuff online and make lists, but don’t purchase anything. Then I found this on the REI outlet:
The super stroller. It can be a jogging stroller, regular stroller, bike trailer, hiking stroller, cross-country skiing stroller, etc. It was a really good deal, but would still end up costing $450. All day long the stroller sat in my shopping cart while I argued with myself.
“You already have a jogging stroller.”
“Yeah, but it’s old . . . and I don’t have a bike trailer.”
“How often do you ride your bike?”
“I would ride it more if I had a bike trailer.”
“Uh-huh.”
“It’s so durable and useful.”
Luckily, the past two months Visiting Teaching lessons have been on self-reliance and budgeting. After thinking back on a discussion with Visiting Teachees I realized that I was probably rationalizing my want into a need. I didn’t get the super stroller . . . but maybe someday.
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28 February 2010
By Audrey
In General
Pregnancy isn’t divided into nice even trimesters. Supposedly the whole thing lasts 40 weeks with the 1st and 3rd trimesters taking up 13 weeks each and the 2nd trimester taking up 14 weeks. I don’t know if they make the 2nd trimester longer because it’s rumored to be more “enjoyable,” but it kind of bothers me. If you divide the trimesters evenly each one lasts 13.33333 weeks and I hit that mark sometime yesterday. Really it’s all guess-work anyway (see Noel’s post below). Besides, I look like I’m in my 3rd trimester (we won’t discuss the 20% increase in body weight ). My belly’s huge, I know. I even exercise and keep a food journal. It makes me slightly afraid of what I could look like in three more months and what size our child will be. I’m trying to talk him into coming early anyway (yes I talk to my belly), and my motives are actually partially unselfish since I want my in-laws to be able to attend his blessing. I guess we’ll see if he’s obedient or not.
Let the 3rd and final trimester begin!
Since little Cooper’s arrival is drawing nearer and I don’t have any homework (yeah!), I’ve taken on a couple of projects (I’m trying to connect with my “motherly” side) shown below:
One of my projects: a baby carrying wrap.
Alligator PJs for Dad and Son 
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27 February 2010
By Noel
In General
Today Audrey officially entered her third trimester. To commemorate that, I though what would be better than to put up a countdown to the big day? However, nothing says the little guy is going to show up on June 1 as scheduled. So, I did a little research. It turns out that the actual birth dates tend to be normally distributed about the estimated due date (mean = -0.5 weeks, standard deviation = 2.12 weeks) according to these guys. (There are other estimates, but this one tends to put the due date sooner, which makes Audrey happy.) Anyway, what I did is take and randomly apply that distribution to guess a due date using a little JavaScript and got the little counter you see there. The guessed due date will be different every time the page reloads, adding the kind of uncertainty that real life affords, sort of. Geek on.
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26 February 2010
By Audrey
In General
I have received some good mail this week (both electronic and conventional). It took long enough, but earlier this week my diploma finally arrived! Then today, I received an email telling me my teaching license had been approved – it was attached as a PDF. Perhaps it’s all a bit anticlimactic, but symbolically these documents represent years otherwise unaccounted for in my life. I only wish the office of education wasn’t so cheap and would actually mail me a fancy license . . . in a perfect world.
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15 February 2010
By Audrey
In General
This year’s Valentine’s Day has been a reflective one for me. Things are changing. Like everyone likes to tell me, my “life will never be the same.” It’s fun (and often amusing) to watch siblings and friends enter the dating world or start relationships, but I’m happy with where I’m at. Noel and I didn’t necessarily do anything extremely romantic to celebrate (I got a haircut, we went to a stake sponsored dinner/dance, we cleaned our house, we ate delicious salmon), but even though the holiday was void of expensive gifts or love-drunk poetry I think I prefer it.
I know I’m kind of rambling, but I spent an entire semester last year delving into my ideas on love. The product was a 17 page personal essay that while I’m quite proud of, I think it will never be complete until I’m dead So, if you’re interested in my thoughts, you might want to read it now before I live some more and turn it into a book. You can read it here: Fragments of Life
Family Valentine's Day Pic
Valentine's Cake
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10 February 2010
By Audrey
In General
I was filing our state taxes the other day and encountered a problem with the online system. The helpline was only available during business hours (which of course is not when an employed person should be filing their taxes) so I sent them an email with my question. A day or so later I received a response. My question was cordially answered and the email closed with: Respectfully, Tax Master. It was then that I realized that I need to change my email signature, it is much too boring (just my name) and does not capture my actual power and influence. Any ideas?
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02 February 2010
By Noel
In General
Once again the great holiday of Groundhog’s Day is upon us. A day when we all consider how nice it would be for spring to come and rescue us from the cold, inverted mess we tolerate through the dark wintry months. Our hopes are high only to be thwarted by a rodent. A rodent that if PETA has its way will be a robot. It’s a good thing they rarely get their way.
So today we celebrate: A rodent meteorologist, Bill Murray’s last good movie, and good food and good company to get us through the cold. Here’s to you Punxsutawney Phil.
We're keeping the Groundhog's Day tradition alive
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29 January 2010
By Audrey
In General
Unlike many females, I have not had names picked out for my children since I was 13. For the first time in my life, this has become a problem. I’ve been going through family history and name books and finally came up with what I thought was a list of original and meaningful names. Then I got an email from Baby Center with the top 100 names of 2009 and every last one of my names was on that list. I hate it when Demotivator posters become the theme for my life.
http://www.despair.com/individuality.html
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19 January 2010
By Audrey
In General
In preparation for my future, I decided I should drive a bigger “mom” vehicle and take some teenage boys under my wings. . . Okay, so really my parents went on a two week cruise for their 25th wedding anniversary and like a good daughter I took over my parent’s responsibilities. While my parents enjoy the Mexican sun I am responsible for 1 dog, 1 cat, 2 brothers, an art exhibit entry, and 105 high school seniors. All I can say is I can’t wait till my parents get back, and I’m glad my little boy won’t immediately eat like a 16 year-old-boy.
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15 January 2010
By Audrey
In General
It was nice to see our little guy, but I felt kind of sorry for him. The Ultrasound tech really wanted a specific picture of his head so she kept trying to stir him up and got kind of mad when he kept covering his head with his arms. What did she expect? I would probably do the same if someone shook my world and prodded me with an instrument the size of my body. I almost said something to that effect, but bit my tongue. I think I’m going to be one of those moms. All in all, I think he’s cute already.
Profile Pic
Little Face
This one’s my favorite.
Little feet I'm sure to be chasing around
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