Calling All Slackers!

I don't know about you, but I am constantly struggling to make my life look the way I want it to. And I don't mean the decor. I'm talking about having the habits that are important to me, including scripture study, exercise, healthy food choices, keeping my temper, dusting my house, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. And one thing that I've learned about myself is that I am motivated by a few different things: accountability, vanity, and money, to name a few.

So, I've concocted a plan to help me get back into exercising daily. And I want you to join me. If you already have this habit down, you don't need to get on board (although you might join just to get the prize at the end); but if your exercise schedule could use a boost, please read further.

I am working on a google website for a healthy habits group. The first habit we are going to tackle, as I mentioned before, is exercise. If you sign up for this one, you are not obligated to stay on for future habits. Anyone can join by leaving me a comment here, and as soon as the website is published I will get you a link. Update: The website is up, even if it is a work in progress. Go here to see it. Here's the deal:

Beginning Monday, August 4th, we will track our exercise for 90 days. Sundays will be days of rest, but for all the other days we are aiming for at least 30 minutes of exercise. Each participant will earn points (up to 3 per day), 1 for every 30 minutes of exercise up to 90 minutes. If you miss a day, you owe $1 to the "Victory Pool," which will go to pay off the winners. So, if your goal is actually only 5 days a week of exercise, you can just plan on spending one dollar a week on this competition.

We will tally fines at the end of each month and submit them then. At the end of the 90 days, the person with the most points earned and the person with the fewest days missed will split the Victory Pool.

There is no charge to join our group, but if you drop out there will be a $25 fine, plus any money you owe from missing days. The point is to help as many of us as possible develop this healthy habit, so I'm making it harder to get out of it than it is to get into it.

So, who's with me? Wouldn't it be great to have this habit well developed before the holidays are upon us? We'll take new members up through Monday, August 11th, but they will still be accountable from August 4th.

Come on. Let's get stronger, leaner, more fit! Let's do it for ourselves and for our families.

Writing Contest: The Results Show

Thank you to all of you who participated in my first writing contest. Each of you taught us (or reminded us about) something special about motherhood. There were so many wonderful essays submitted that I was glad that it was my marvelous mother-in-law's responsibility to choose the best, rather than mine! She spent a great deal of time poring over them and in the end chose a first, second, and third place winner. And they are simply wonderful.

Congratulations to Lei from My Many Colored Days, whose essay, "A-ha!" took first place. Her essay, if you haven't read it yet, was all about becoming the perfect mother through Christ, but letting go of the notion of being "the perfect mother." Myrna's (MIL/judge) comment on it was:

"This is a lesson that will stand you in good stead the rest of your life. We are all dependent on His grace and as women striving for perfection, we often get lost in the independence we think we have."

Lei has a beautiful and inspiring blog and I recommend that you meander over there and take a look. She has lots to say on the issues that affect mothers today.


Second place goes to Lizzy at My Ice Cream Diary for "Ah-ha!", which she amazingly wrote this when her newest baby, Cheeks, was less than one week old. Her epiphany had to do with appreciating her mother after all the years of criticizing her ways. It was funny, warm, and oh, so familiar. Here are Myrna's comments:

"I'm sorry. I have a little bias here as I am on now on the wise and wonderful side (even when I'm neither wise nor wonderful). But this is a time honored epiphany of motherhood. It's a safe bet that this time one generation ago your mother was calling your grandma and saying, 'She hates me!'"

Third place goes to Lucy at An Ordinary Mom, with "The Duck Pond." She writes about learning to live in the moment and not always rushing on to the next thing. The judge said:

"This speaks to me even as a woman who is no longer focused on the busy-ness of motherhood anymore. I like the duck pond and I suspect there is another lesson in the distractions that made the rest of the walk peaceful. Hmmmm."

If you haven't already, go on over to their blogs and read them for yourself. You'll feel inspired, you'll enjoy a good laugh, and you may just decide to set a new goal for your mothering self.

To all who participated, please please send me an email with your postal address so that I can mail out these cookbooks. (Truth be told, I have yet to burn them for you--but I've only gotten two emails with addresses so far.) I will get them out to you very soon.

Prudy's Having a Give-Away

If you've never tried any of Prudence Pennywise's recipes, then you may think that I gush way too much about her food and her blog. But if you have tried even one of them, you know that it would be impossible to praise her too highly. I make Prudy recipes multiple times a week, and turn to her for great ideas. Some of my favorites lately have been:

• Refrigerator Dill Pickles
• Garlic Chive Fettuccine with Sauteed Chickpeas and Parmesan
• Old Fashioned Buttermilk Brownies (the picture does not do these justice)
• Lightened Up Zucchini Pineapple Bread

... to name just a few.

You really need to check out her blog and try your hand at some of the deliciousness. They are not only gourmet, they are inexpensive and often very easy to make.

Prudy is sponsoring a giveaway in honor of her 100th post. There are four great cooking prizes on the line. You just need to go here and leave a comment mentioning the first thing that you remember cooking by yourself. And tell her Michal sent you!:) Get over there before Wednesday, when the time will be up. I've got my finger's crossed for the brand new Ina Garten cookbook.

Wordless Wednesday

Our visit to Temple Square a couple of weeks ago. (I found my pictures in a "hidden" folder on my harddrive. Yeah!)

Want Ad

Wanted: A happy family to buy my childhood home. Must have lots of kids to run around in the backyard (and occasionally do some yard work). Must be willing to eat breakfast and dinner on the deck from May through October. Must promise to hold wedding receptions, birthday parties, neighborhood breakfasts, and other such events on a regular basis. Must love old houses with all of their charms and their beautiful woodwork. Must promise to never put in vinyl windows that would compromise the beauty of the original craftsmanship. Must adore Coastal Redwoods, ocean breezes, and detached garages.

It is an added plus if you love to sing together, want to lay on the grass at night to watch the planes fly overhead, and don't mind an occasional siren (as the police station is only a couple of blocks away). I hope you'll love all the trees, including the original Whittier Haas avocado trees, the persimmon tree (we can give you recipes for that one), and the space for a vegetable garden. You'll be pleased to know that there is plenty of room for food storage, camping storage, and storing your kids' stuff when they are too grown up to live at home but not grown up enough to have a place to store their own things.

I hope you'll build a tree house where ours once was and hang a hammock under another tree-- a place for a bookworm to escape and while away an afternoon with a great classic. There are plenty of places to play Star Wars, Davy Crockett, and GI Joe (if you're into that). The basketball court will help your kid develop their athletic ability--or not.

Be sure to take walks and bike rides to the nearby library, to the Whittier College campus, to Michigan Park. In the spring, the jacarandas bloom everywhere and then snow purple all over the streets. It's positively dream-like. Your out-of-state relatives will all want to visit since you'll be within minutes of Disneyland, and a short distance from Los Angeles, the Pacific Ocean, and Irvine. You'll be glad for the guest apartment over the garage (unless you decide to rent that out to a college student.)

This home has been in our family for over 30 years now and we will be sad to see it go. You can probably buy it even if you don't meet the above qualifications, but it will be easier for us to hand over the keys if you do. Then we will know that we are providing a place for another family to build 30 years of memories together--and it is the perfect spot for that.

Taking Note

As you know, I had the blessing of spending two weeks visiting family and old friends this month. Upon returning home, I have been reflecting on all the things I learned from the mothers with whom I visited. With some of them, I have had many opportunities to observe them mothering their children. Others I had not had the chance to spend much time with since they became mothers. I am so grateful for each of these women and the things that they taught me about how to mother my own. I know that none of them are perfect (they would be quick to protest such praise themselves), and I try hard to dispel the myth of the perfect mom, but we can take note of their strengths and try to make them ours as well.

Angela, my sister-in-law, reminded me (without saying a word to me), of the importance of quiet discipline. Angela is so wonderful when her children misbehave. She gets down on their level and firmly but lovingly discusses with them the bad choices they are making. There is no question that her children feel safe and loved even when they are in big trouble. This is a concern of mine when I yell or harshly scold. I want my children to feel safe and never doubt my love for them. Of course I already knew that I should be doing this, but watching Angela in action made me resolve to do it more often, and not just when I can tell that the old lady in the grocery store is watching!
Lindsee, another SIL, makes fun and relationships a priority over her to-do list. She doesn't let a sink of dirty dishes stop her from taking time with her children when they need it. She thinks that this is a weakness, but I see great strength in her ability to be a Mary when I tend towards Martha. The dishes will always wait patiently, and although they must eventually be washed, the needs of our children are so much more vital than a clean kitchen. Lindsee also gets involved in the fun, not worried about getting dirty or being uncomfortable. I have made a note to walk away from my chores more often and have fun with my kids when I could be doing housework.


Molly, our new(ish) step-cousin, is another great example. I mostly know Molly from reading her blog, but we've met a time or two before, prior to her being a mother. Molly has two daughters, a three year old and a three month old with some special needs. Molly is a wonderful example of having a cheerful heart and a can-do attitude. We got to spend some time together at our family reunion on the 4th of July and Molly wasn't flustered and stressed out, even when her baby was fussing and being needy. She wasn't feeling sorry for herself that she was missing out on all the fun while most of us were out in the orchard enjoying dinner and she was inside trying to calm down Alice. And when I sat down to talk with her, she didn't fill my ear up with how hard it is to have a child with special needs . . . she was upbeat, happy, and full of light. I loved visiting with Molly and holding precious Alice until she went to sleep. And I remembered how often I tend to stress out when things aren't going just the way I expected them to. I'm a control freak that way. And I want to chill out and be more like Molly--willing to go with the flow rather than trying to control everything and falling apart when I can't. (I didn't take a picture of Molly, but here is her dad, Tom, with baby Alice.)


Being around Bec, my cousin, reminded me of something that I'd noted when I'd been to visit her in Washington, DC last fall. It's something so little and yet I have tried to change my ways with Bronwen because of Bec's example. Here's what I learned from Bec: she lets her toddlers feed themselves messy foods. On a regular basis. Okay, this may not seem strange to you. It isn't strange. But as you can already tell from the earlier lessons I've mentioned above, I'm kind of a controlling kinda girl who is striving to loosen up. My independent one year olds? They tend to eat foods that won't make a big tremendous mess. Until I visited Bec, it didn't even OCCUR to me to put milk on the cereal of a child under four. I know that it ridiculous, but it's the sad and honest truth. But I am a new woman. I give spaghetti covered in sauce (not plain) to my baby now, cereal with milk and a spoon (knowing full well it will get dumped on the floor,) yogurt in her own cup . . . I am finding that it is so much easier than feeding her myself, plus she is so much happier to be feeding herself these messy foods. I'm also thinking that it may help her not grow up to be as picky as her older brothers, who were fed less messy foods (and thus, less variety) at her age. Bec, you may think that this is a silly non-lesson, but it is clearly one that I needed to learn. And watching Brandon eat a bowl of cereal and milk on the ground at the parade reminded me of it. (See how his baby brother, Trevor, wants in on the action?)


Heidi has been a friend of mine since we were teenagers. We used to go to stake dances together, toilet papered many a house together, and played a few practical jokes one year at girls' camp. She was a year younger than me, went to a different high school and ward, so we spent time together in spurts until we were roommates for a couple of years at BYU. I had really only seen Heidi a couple of times since she became a mom five years ago, and those times were at events like weddings when I didn't get to really watch her in action. This time, Heidi's mothering really stood out to me because she was so relaxed about letting the kids be kids. I know Heidi well enough to know that she likes to control things around her as much as I do, but she was so low-key about kids coming in and out of the backyard with grassy, wet feet, kids leaving the sliding door open when it was 25 degrees warmer outside than in, kids spreading toys all over the family room floor while sitting on the carpet in their damp (or soaking wet) bathing suits. Now don't get me wrong--Heidi's house was not a mess. It was clean and neat when we got there, and I'm sure that she keeps it looking nice. But Heidi's mothering reminded me that the kids are more important than the clean house or the electric bill. She was happy that they were having fun and wasn't going to spend the hour and a half that she had to catch up with Alli and me nagging her kids to close the door and wipe their feet. Her house felt clean and neat enough, but it also felt homey, lived in, and comfortable. Just the place you'd want to be. And the fresh brownies, hummus with french bread, and chips and salsa (all of our old foods) that were waiting when we arrived added to that homey welcome. Because she was relaxed, I was relaxed, and didn't worry about my kids being perfect either.

Erin, aka Prudence Pennywise, is Heidi's older sister. She and I became friends when she returned home from her mission and moved in with Heidi and me and some others at BYU. This was a special blessing for me at the time, because it was my junior year at BYU and the year I really needed to decide if I was going to serve a mission. Erin was a wonderful influence on me then, as she is now. I really miss being able to stay up all night talking to her. She has also been a great influence on my love for cooking. Anyway, we got to spend an afternoon swimming with her and her kids, then had a delicious Mexican feast, then talked and talked until it was too late and we needed to be in bed. One of the things that Erin said while we were talking struck me. She said, "You know the kind of family that saves all the fun for the adults, after the kids are in bed? It's all about the adults in those families when they get together." Hmmmm, I wondered. Does that sound familiar? I will admit that I am someone who is anxious to get my kids to bed at night (by 7:30 if at all possible) so that I can have some time without them. Now, my kids are also early risers regardless of what time they get to bed, so I have always justified their early bedtime easily, since they need to sleep. But I don't know if I spend a lot of time making sure that they have plenty of fun when we are together as a family. Sunday nights after dinner we race to get the kids to be so that we can play games with the other adults in the family. I'm not sure yet how I'm going to change this, but it's the mindset that I'd like to borrow from Erin. She knows how to make everything fun--and she'd never dream of denying that to her kids. We (all--not just the grown ups) had so much fun on our visit there that I'm already trying to figure out a way to get back to St. George sooner than later. (Since Erin and I managed to stay out of all the pictures, I'll just have to post some of our children enjoying the food together. And not one of my picky eaters was anything other than th-rilled at the food.)



I'll bet if I thought about it some more, I could name something wonderful that I learned from every aunt, cousin, and friend that I came across on my two week jaunt. I can't help but feel so grateful and humbled that the Lord has surrounded me with strong women of faith, who love their children and are striving to be the best mothers they can be. Their influence on me is a great blessing in my life.

Memories

I have so many posts cooking right now, but can't seem to get them written down. But I was just reading Mahina's blog and loved the meme she is passing on. Here's how it works. I need your help, dear readers!

In order to play the game, my readers need to leave me a comment with a memory they have of/with me. It doesn't matter if we are virtual friends or if we've known each other since birth, just think of a memory that we share or of something that reminds you of me and leave a comment. Yes, it's all about me. But I do love a post that begs for comments because I am always dying to see who is actually reading out there. So go ahead and de-lurk and tell me about the time you met me and I had food in my teeth or the time I pooped on your carpet as a baby (Aunt Karen), or anything you want. After all, I did put myself out there and post this picture of myself in 6th grade. Check out those lovely specs!

Then, if you so desire, you can carry this meme over to your own blog and request memories from your readers. I will happily come visit and leave a comment.

One More

This post came to me via email (before the deadline) and the author wishes to remain unnamed, as this is something that she holds very close to her heart. I asked her if I could publish it without her name because I know that her pain and anguish is something that many other women can relate to--and others, upon reading it, may not take their own fertility for granted.

My epiphany about motherhood came many long years before I ever had the chance to be a mother. I always assumed that my life as an adult would look something like my mother's. I would own a red and yellow striped superwagon to fit in all of my 12 kids. I'd do market runs at 5:30 AM and stay up all night to help with California mission reports and life would be crazy and chaotic and happy and good. But after trying for quite a while to get pregnant, my vision started to blur. Especially after my frightening miscarriage and accompanying complications. I still wanted exactly what I'd always wanted, without any adjustments, but as the years ticked by, I kept knocking off one child-one by one- on my dream list. I was getting older, and I was running out of time to have 12. After about five years, with age 30 looming, I finally had to face the reality that it was possible that we could be childless. Childless. I didn't know what to wish for if I couldn't have children. All of my adult dreams were based on having a family. All that was left with a void. I was angry and frustrated and I felt myself shutting myself down emotionally to cope with the devastating possibility.

Still, I harbored a bit of hope that maybe it might still come to pass. So we waited and prayed and went to the doctor. A lot. And while I was waiting, and praying, and going to the doctor, I was thinking about what kind of mother that I wanted to be. I was thinking about what I wanted to give to my children, those children that were either not going to show up, or were going to show up very late in diminished numbers. So when our first baby came, so pink and pretty and perfect, I knew what I had to be. And it didn't feel like a sacrifice-it felt like a dream come true, a privilege, a saving miracle. When a second child came, it was like a wrapped gift that I could carry around with me always. I wasn't planning or expecting it, so it was all the better. I'm not a perfect mom. I'm cranky and crabby and demanding, at least once every day. But I really love my children. And even though I don't have 12 or a superwagon, I still have a crazy and chaotic and happy and good life. And I still have to make 5:30 market runs and stay up all night to help with reports. And the void is gone, completely filled in by those two sweet little spirits that I'm privileged to call mine. I don't even want 12 anymore; I'm too busy being happy being me. Mother of two.

Time's Up!

Thank you so very much to all of you who participated in the writing contest. I was a little discouraged at first at how few were participating, but once I extended the deadline and upped the ante when it came to prizes, the entries came in, and they were just what I hoped for. Women sharing ways that motherhood has been a blessing to them, ways that the Lord has whispered peace to their hearts about mothering, ways that they have been changed forever because they are mothers. I posted links to most of our contributors a few days ago, so please take the time to read them and leave a comment so they know how many they have touched by writing about such personal moments.

I will get the entries off to Myrna, our distinguished judge, without the authors' names showing so that she can't be swayed by personal bias. We'll have a winner announced in a few days. As for me, I need to start burning CDs for you! If you participated in this contest, please shoot me an email with your snail mail address so that I can send your CD cookbook. My email is sleepymumATgmailDOTcom.

In the meantime, I am bemoaning the tragic loss of the 435 photos I took over my two week trip. Photos of sunrise in Provo, UT, a hot air balloon launch, of cousins frolicking and loved ones gathering, photos of parades and dinosaur museums, photos of Temple Square with our kids, photos of work projects at my mom's . . . GONE. I'm really not sure what happened, but somewhere between importing my photos and accessing them they disappeared without a trace. I'm really hoping to pray them back so that I can properly regale you with tales of our odyssey.

Sweet Affirmation

This is posted by a guest, Robin, who wanted to participate in the writing contest and does not have a blog. Thank you, Robin, for joining in the fun anyway, especially since you have so much wisdom to share!

Sweet Affirmation

I started motherhood early, and it was planned that way. I had always wanted to be a mom, I married my sweetheart at the tender age of 18 (and this month it will be our 35th anniversary.) Two weeks later I was pregnant and on the road to motherhood. I have never regretted starting so early, and have raised four nearly perfect daughters.

Since it was my career being their mom, I only took on the smallest of jobs here and there - working a few hours a week at the school as an aide, or the more lasting job of daycare in our home, which evolved into my nannying for a family - a wonderful job that spanned a decade and took place in both Massachusetts AND Arizona, where both our families resided.

So I was always the mom sitting in the stands for their games, and driving them to rehersals. We decided as parents we would always attend their concerts, their games and whatever else they were involved in. And we often had a carfull of girls when their friends' parents couldn't drive them.

And like most mothers, I was also the one who stayed up late helping with reports, making the dioramas, and proofreading book reports (and even skimming through chapter after chapter late on a Sunday night for a girl who put it off too long and was on a deadline.) My husband thought it was foolish of me to do so, that I was spoiling them somehow; "They need to learn a lesson here, face some consequences for their lack of action!" I didn't see it that way, I've always thought life was tough enough and school was the hardest part of it. Teachers would give them unreasonable tasks, saving many projects and reports to the end of the semester, and the girls were often overwhelmed by too many expectations.

But of course, like any mom, I'd find myself at the end of MY rope sometimes, running hither and yon trying to help or accomodate one of my children. Service and busy times don't come during our leisure, they usually interrupt our most hectic days.

It was on one such evening I was given a wonderful affirmation from my Heavenly Father concerning being a mom. My third daughter was in her high school play. (Three of our four girls were involved in drama and all the school plays, and I even was their photographer for many of the plays, and we attended many rehersals together.) The high school was performing The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, and she was the Ice Queen.

This being dress rehersal, all the cast were at the school from the late afternoon on, and they were ordering pizza for dinner. She didn't like pizza much, and had asked if I would bring her dinner. The school wasn't too far from our house, but it was a busy day and I had to be over at Church that night for a meeting, so wedging in a dinner run to the school made for a very tight schedule. Still, as her mom, I wanted to help her out; I reluctantly made a plate and jumped into the car and hurried to the school.

As I drove, I asked out loud, "Is this really worth it? Does all this matter??" A sweet Spirit hit me almost immediately: "YES! It does matter. All the mommy things ARE important, what you are doing, all the help you give them, it is of value. What you are doing is really worth the time you are spending doing it."

It was a clear answer and I could barely see the road for the tears that came with that sweet assurance from my Heavenly Father. I knew He knew what I was doing and He valued it. I knew that the extra care I took for them, bailing them out of their homework predicaments, staying up late to help with reports, sewing costumes and prom dresses, helping out at school - all of it was indeed an important part of being a mom and He appreciated me for it.

I needed to hear that, I needed that pat on the back. The world values less and less the mom who stays home with her children. Our economy makes it harder and harder for a mother to be home instead of out working. But I'm so glad I chose to make it my career to raise my daughters, and feel immensely blessed that I could do so. I'm grateful that we were financially in a place that, even though we sacrificed many luxuries to make it work, I could be exactly what I wanted to be, a stay-at-home mom.

I am still out of town and busy with my family, but I have been receiving the most marvelous entries for the writing contest that I am sponsoring that I wanted to share with you. I encourage you to take the time to read these submissions. Each one tells of an epiphany on motherhood. Each is uplifting and genuine and teaches an important principle. And because they rescued my contest from being a dismal failure, I adore each and every one of them!:)

As I extended the date for submissions, you have until this Wednesday (July 15th) at 11:59 pm PDT to join the fun. Every contributor will receive a copy of my CD cookbook, which holds some original recipes, some old favorites that I've found other places, and basically the recipes that I consider to be my standbys-- those that I turn to time and again, year after year. So if you haven't yet, jump on board and tell us about an Ah-ha Moment that you've had on motherhood.

Here are the submissions so far, in no particular order:

My Ice Cream Diary, with "Ah-Ha!"

Terrors in Tiaras with "Different is Great"

Finding the Happy in Today with "One of the many Ah-ha Moments"

Wonder Years with "Little Drops of Water"

An Ordinary Mom with "The Duck Pond: A Lesson About Living in the Moment"

Life is Not a Final with "Ah-ha!"

Note to Self with "Out of Small Things"

Howe Thoughts with "I Really Don't Know How To Tie This One"

My Many Colored Days with "A-ha"

A Mother Heart with "There Are Angels Among Us"

The Spices of Life with "A Wonder Woman's Bad Day Turned Right"

Happy Reading! And don't give up on me. I'll be back from vacation soon with lots of posts. I promise.

Gingered Mango-Peach Ice Cream

I've spent the past two days with my two amazing sisters-in-law and their kids. (We had a weekend that included daddies as well, but now we're on our own.) My kids have been soaking in cousin time and have been enjoying themselves immensely in spite of being sleep deprived and somewhat prone to sudden shrieks or fits of tears.

When I get a chance to upload some photos, I'll have to tell you all about our adventures with dinosaurs, assorted parks, and scoping out architectural styles in the new community where Lindsee lives.

In the meantime, have a go at a homemade ice cream that we enjoyed tonight. I found a recipe online for mango ice cream, then added a few elements to come up with something we all loved. Here's the recipe as we made it:

Gingered Mango-Peach Ice Cream

• 3 cups very ripe mango, peeled and diced
• 1 cup very ripe peach, peeled and diced
• 2 T. fresh lime juice
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 cups milk (we used lowfat)
• 5 egg yolks
• 1 cup granulated sugar (this is not a repeat)
• 1 cup whipping cream
• 1/8 tsp. nutmeg
  
• 1/4 cup diced candied or crystallized ginger, OR 1/8 tsp. powdered ginger

Dice fruits and put in a non-metallic bowl. Add lime juice and 1/2 cup sugar. Cover and refrigerate for at least one hour.

Whisk together egg yolks and 1 cup sugar. In a 2 quart sauce pan, heat the milk to scalding. Pour into egg yolk mixture slowly, while whisking. Return to sauce pan and heat about three minutes more, stirring constantly, until it coats the back of the spoon. Do not boil. Strain (if you aren't lazy like I am) and allow to cool to room temp in a bowl.

Add the fruit mixture and the cream to the custard. Add the spices and chill for 2 hours. Churn in an ice cream maker. Try not to eat the entire 1 1/2 quarts all by yourself.

A Case of Mistaken Identity

Sorry I have been so pitifully absent, dear readers. I am away on vacation and will confess that I have been longing to check my Google Reader and to post a thing or two so you know how much I still love you.

We spent all day on Friday at a family reunion (fodder for many future posts, I assure you). Ian was meeting lots of my aunts and uncles whom he didn't remember meeting before, due to his short-term memory toddler ways. About half way through the day, I discovered that he was telling everyone that his middle name was Frank.

Frank? Really? Where did he get that? Give me a little more credit. I may like some unusual and old-fashioned names, but Frank?

My indignant husband (whose first name is the same as Ian's actual middle name) tried to convince him that he wasn't named Frank, but the more we talked about it, the more Ian insisted that he was Frank, ("to protect my true identity"). Where does he come up with this stuff?

I guess we'll have to give our next child Jared's name all over again. I hope she's okay with that!:)

Picture is of Ian being pushed on the swings by my aunt Kim, also known as Super Kimmie.