Jesus and the Cat

Remember when Quinn said that Jesus would bring her a real cat since Santa can only bring things he can make in his workshop. Well, basically, the next day we got mice. I joked with one of my students that she can go ahead and ask Jesus for whatever she wants because since he is real, I don't have to do anything about it! At the time, I figured the only way Jesus could bring Quinn a cat was to make one appear in the living room. But soon the mouse problem got worse, and, in fact, a few little mice appeared in my living room. Quinn and Jesus and the mice left me no choice, and after buying poison and traps, I was inspired to search online for the perfect cat. Gray, Russian Blu, Female, Short hair, already spayed and potty trained, likes families and hates mice. In about 5 minutes I had my choice of 3 perfect cats in a 40 minute radius from the house. I couldn't fight it.

So, the day before Christmas Eve, we added Charlotte James Fellow to our little family. She is perfect, and we adore her. Tim was pleasantly surprised with the adition, and the cat has already learned that he is the best back scratcher.

Happy Holiday Workers

I try to do a good job at work.

I mentioned today that my new cleaning ladies gave me big hugs and Merry Christmas wishes when they left. They also stayed 30 minutes extra (They are paid strictly by the hour at their company) and did not change me any extra. They were also shocked and happy that I gave them a tip. GOOD PEOPLE!

Then I heard a knock on the door in the garage. It was my UPS man. He was delivering a very important holiday gift. He said, "I am delivering a package. It has pictures on the side. I thought it might need to stay hidden." He had carried Quinn's big girl bike box all the way into the back corner of the garage and hide it from view. GOOD PEOPLE!

That all just seems over and above and makes me want to work harder.

That's all.

The War is Over

I got a "cleaning lady" today. It was fine time, mind you. I have been very politely waiting for Tim to come around on this issue for a long time.

I know there are woman out there that work full time, make babies AND keep the house clean. I AM NOT ONE OF THESE WOMAN.

For several years I told Tim that I would take on more hours or get a second job to pay for the house cleaning because THAT IS HOW MUCH I WOULD RATHER NOT BE CLEANING!

He tried to pull out some junk about how it is not about the money it is about the work ethic, blah, blah, blah. But then he bought a rock band, and I clearly showed -- as I supported Tim, our child and some other fools for a year -- that I have plenty of work ethic. Also, I do not believe that in the information era that anyone needs to prove their work ethic by scrubbing a bathtub. My children will know how to work -- just like I do -- with my brain and my heart because that is what my parents taught us. (Maid, Gardener and 3 master's degrees at Marne Drive, thank you very much.)

One time after a big discussion about the work ethic/we have no money issue, I was woken up my a nap by a crazy loud lawn mower. How on earth could the neighbors gardeners sound so loud? I thought. Oh, yes that would be OUR gardener that Tim swore he told me about. I am a good wife for not hiring the maid (and kicking him out) the very next day.

But as time went on I got at least a little better at cleaning the house when my friend Melissa taught me how to clean the floor and how to use vinegar on everything. I liked that, and I sort of dropped the issue.

Now we have mice, and Tim is taking it personally as if a few cleaning bathtubs are going to replace the work of a few traps and a fast cat. But whatever ... if this is what tips the scale for him, so be it! Bring on the mice because I got me a cleaning lady and clean bathroom mirror today!!

Sadly, I have to just give in to the fact that to have a cleaning lady in Utah cost about twice as much as it costs in Los Angeles, so I guess I will have to do some of the cleaning myself so we don't break the bank. Bummer.

Aside from suddenly having clean spaces that have never been cleaned, my two favorite parts about this experience today are that one of the woman who showed up is named Mariam -- which is the name of the wonderful woman who cleans my mom and sister's homes! Love it. And second, both woman gave me huge hugs and lots of Merry Christmas wishes as they left. See, I am not being lazy, I am adding to my Utah family. More people to love. What is so wrong with that?

A Necklace for Quinn

One present I bought for Quinn this Christmas is a "Church Necklace." A few months ago she found my jewelry box that had my Young Women's necklaces in it. For a month or so she wore one of them to church. She's 3 ... so it broke, of course. No big deal. But she has been asking about it ever since. So for Christmas I bought her a Young Women's torch charm and a chain. It was two small to figure out how to wrap it, and her stocking is already going to be really full. I want the necklace to get the attention she is apt to give it. So, I am writing this hear, so I do not forget: I hid the necklace inside one of the Christmas ornaments. I want it to be the last one she opens. I think she is going to freak out. It is an old woman gift for my little daughter with the old soul.

Singing Quinn and Big McKenna

So, 3 year olds don't sing pretty. Quinn is so exception to this rule. She was a late bloomer to singing. But now she call pretty much learn songs and repeat them. She CAN do this. She chooses not to.

Tonight in the car I was telling her how I proud I was of her for singing with her friends and the primary on stage during the Ward Christmas Breakfast this morning. Then, I started singing Away in the Manger, which is the only song from the concert that she knows. She did not join in.

When I was done sing, there was this silence, and then she said, "Mom, you do know (and broke into song) "Joy to the World, the Lords is come. Let earth ...." She sang the whole song. She knows the words better than I do. I loved it. She sang it on my request 3 more times on the way home. Then I join in and then Kenna joined in scream and singing. The three of us sang about Jesus all the way home. I was so happy.

You should have seen Tim and I watching her sing this morning in the primary Christmas program. We both ended up standing from our table to get a better view. I was taking pictures, and neither of us could take our eyes off of her. It was one of those moments as a parents. The first time one my next children sings in the primary program, I might stay sitting and keep eating my bacon ... I realize that. But this was a moment for us a young parents. I never wanted it to end. I wanted to stand there and watch her pretend to sings songs she didn't know with a big smile on her face occasionally waving to us forever. I love my singing Quinn.

On a totally different note: McKenna is 18 months and starts Nursery tomorrow. I am not sure I have it in my this weekend to dress her up and take pictures, but I will do the best I can. I can't believe she all of a sudden got so big and so old. I love that she is crazy and normal and falls down all the time and sings and gets a groove and has to dance. She'll probably start dancing when they sing in Nursery. I hope they let her. Too bad nursery is at nap time, and as good parents we pretty much need to take her home and put her to bed. I will be conflicted I am sure.

A Sleigh

Quinn and I were eating dinner at a restaurant tonight. (She calls it a restanaut.) There was a surf board hanging as a decoration on one of the walls. Quinn was looking at it, so I asked, "Hey, Quinn do you know what that is?"

She said, "Yes. It is a sleigh ... like for the ocean so like you don't get eaten by like sharks and whales and stuff. You know ... a sleigh."

Just to clarify I said, "You mean like a sled but for the ocean?"

She said, "Yes, like a sled (and then repeated) ... for the ocean so like you don't get eaten ... (and so on.)

We've decided to name our baby girl ...

Elizabeth Marie Fellow. We will call her Lizza, but you are welcome to use any nickname for Elizabeth that you like.

I love the name Elizabeth and have had several close and wonderful friends with this name. And Marie is my middle name and Tim's mom and sister's middle names. Although the name Marie comes from both sides of the family I think about Marie as a part of Jan. She is an amazing mother and grandmother, and she means a lot of me. She is an example and a friend, and I an honored to give our daughter part of her name.

And then Lizza, of course, comes from one of my oldest and dearest friends. One of the many things that I love about this name is that (if I understand the situation correctly) my friend Lizza gave this nickname (for Elizabeth) to herself as part of her journey to find herself in dark times. (I know she went by other nicknames at other times in her life, but I might have the story wrong.) But knowing a little about my friend's life before I met her, I feel like Lizza became the name for her that represents a woman who is strong and faithful and on a constant journey to find happiness, peace, love and God. Lizza for me -- because of my friend -- is a name and word that I associate with some amazing qualities that I have found in few others. I truly love my friend Lizza, and I hope my daughter can know her and love her and have some of her best and beautiful qualities.

Elizabeth is due to join our family in mid-April. Seems really far away. I can't wait. Quinn talks about her every day, which makes it both more fun and more real.

New Decoration

I usually buy a few new Christmas ornaments every year to remind us of what happen that year or how we celebrated the holiday. One year I bought matchy, matchy ornaments with my Mom when she spent Thanksgiving in Utah with us. You might remember the one year we had no money, and so we tied a cat ball on one of Quinn's hair bows and placed it on the tree. We have a Christmas cat ornament from my mom the year we got Berkeley, and an Angel for the year we had Quinn. We hung Tim's graduation tassel up for 2006, and a key chair I bought during the 3 day walk for 2009. We have little drums all over the tree to represent Tim's music and the simple gift for the baby Jesus from the little drummer boy. Tim's mom has given us some really beautiful wooden nativity and star ornaments that I love. We have a small stuffed poodle has we hand up every year to remember the passion of our oldest child and a small frame with an ultrasound picture to remember the miracle of our second. I'm sure at some point this Christmas season I will find an ornament for this year ... but so far ... no luck. Here is the deal. A lot happen this year. A lot! But not a whole lot of it is tree worthy. I got a new job that took up all my time and made me crazy. I went on and off Zoloft. I had a miscarriage. Kenna went crazy. Tim took a bunch of tests. I cured my lifelong stomach and bladder pain. I lost 25 pounds. I got pregnant twice. Quinn learned and grew and got sassy. Kenna learned to scoot, walk and love shoes ... that's it. I'll buy a shoe! I think Kenna's journey is a really big start of 2010. We working was part of that journey for her. The zoloft drama was part of that journey. And her shoes were her first passion after she finish her withdrawal and became our McKenna. I'll buy a shoe ornament or just hang up one of her shoes. Well, the point of this post was not answer the problem, but the point was to tell you that because I could not find an ornament for 2010, I took my girls to Smiths's Marketplace today, and we bought a new decoration for the house. $13.99 for a pretty cute Santa.

So, I guess now we'll have a Santa and a shoes (and a little bike ornament to represent my fall down the mountain on our 7th anniversary ... if I can find one.) :)

Green Pancakes

I feed my kids pancakes about 3 times a week. I love pancakes. And since I am not on my candida diet right now, I want to live it up! My kids are so used to green pancakes that they forgot they are not supposed to be green in the first place.

Here is what I do:

1 and 1/2 c. Bisquick in to a 4 cup measuring cup and set aside

1 and 1/2 c. Water into a blender
2/3 cup dry milk into the blender
1 egg into the blender
big handful of Spinach into the blender

Mix the heck out of the blender ingredients.

Poor the liquid into the measuring cup and mix with a fork. Add a little more bisquick for desired thickness.

Use measuring cup to neatly poor onto a greased griddle.

So yummy!!

2/3 of a tree

It has only been a few days, but it is clear that the bottom third of our tree is going to have to be naked this year. We have already had several casualties. Oh, dear. Out of instinct everything time Kenna pulls one off and hands it to me or throws it on the grown ... I just put it back on the tree ... at the top. Kenna even pulls on the lights. What a crazy, normal child!! Quinn just didn't teach us enough. We're so blindsided by this normalcy! Merry Christmas ... 2/3 of a Merry Christmas.

The Name

So, we chose a name for our new baby girl. I just have a few more people to tell in person before I post it here. The big news is coming soon ...

The Back Order

Quinn wants Santa to get her a big girl bed for Christmas. Santa decided to outsource to JCPenny. He ordered and paid a few days ago, and just received a notification that the Elves at JCPenny are back ordered, and Santa might not be able to deliver the bed by Christmas. What is Santa going to do?!! AH!!! Stupid outsourcing.