Celtics All the Way!!!

I realize that most of you reading my blog are not huge fans or watchers of the NBA. That's okay, I still have to say that I feel a bit perplexed when I watch the series between the Lakers and the Spurs. Here's why:

You'll notice that they still call the Lakers--the Lakers and not Kobe Bryant and the rest of those guys. No one has told Kobe this still. In fact, they just made him the MVP of the whole NBA league (a title that used to be held by respectable, hard workers like Steve Nash is now given to men who ultimately admit that they may have misunderstood a woman and raped her accidentally and then get tattoos of their wife's name on their arm as an apology).

I would cheer for the Lakers if they didn't have Kobe on their team, but he made me really angry the other night and here's why:

At the end of the game, Barry had the ball and Fischer totally fouled him. I mean, blatantly fouled him. You know what happened? Nothing. No free throws, no foul given, nothing. I mean, let's be fair. You foul someone, they get some sort of retribution; that is how the game was designed. An interviewer asked Kobe about the foul at the end of the game and instead of making some wise comment like, "You know, I didn't get a good look. I'll have to review film later." He said, "There was no foul." Riiiiiggghhhtt.

Jack Nicholson is not the ref--so sit down! Phil Jackson, looks to me like you need to stand up more often--get thee to the gym--you're starting to make Sir Charles look thin.

Now, as much as I don't really appreciate Kobe, I can't cheer for the Spurs either and I'll elaborate on that for you too:

Bruce Bowen is a dirty player. He gets away with cheap fouls and no, he's not quick, he's a cheater.

The Spurs, as a team, must attend acting class in the off season because I have never seen so much acting by any one team. Not good acting, but there is no instant reply in the league.

The Spurs whine. My two year old whines less than they do. In this catergory they may have found a friend in Kobe Bryant who is also a big whiner.

As you can see, I don't have any love for either team. I don't really care who wins at this point, but it's fun to pick a team anyway, so I'm going to say Go Celtics!!!!

By the Numbers

35: Number of people who were at our house yesterday for a yummy Memorial Day BBQ with homemade rootbeer & ice cream, pasta & cookie salads, chips, desserts, etc.

19: Number of those in attendance that were children age 5 and under.

200+: Number of times kids went down the Slip 'n Slide.

1: Number of kids that were "bowled" down the Slip 'n Slide.

15+: Pounds of food that didn't get eaten even though we all pigged out.

10 or so: Number of flies I killed in the house trying to eat that left over food.

11: Number of hours my kids slept after this exciting day.

0: Number of fights I witnessed between the kids (at least I didn't see any...)

Drumroll please....

So, we had our ultrasound today. It went really well. The baby even yawned while we were looking in and that was just the neatest thing. I love to see those little baby hands and toes and... everything really and to hear the ultrasound tech say that everything looks great.
We only encountered one problem. No, it's not what you're thinking, we couldn't get a good look at the baby's face because the baby wouldn't let us. Those hands and arms never budged from being right over the face. The tech had me go to the bathroom--which I was dying to do anyway because they had me drink 20 oz. of fluid and HOUR before the exam and then they pushed on my stomach with the wand thing. Nope, that didn't work. So, she had me lie on my left side. No go. Then she had me lie on my right side. No difference. Looks as though this baby is going to be stubborn.
Oh yeah, did I mention it's a BOY?!?!?
Yeah, I was sure this was a girl. So much for my intuition huh? Now I'm completely clueless on names. Seriously, not a single name. I'd love to hear some suggestions. I don't want a top 10 popular name though, so don't bother with those.
Ryanna was pretty disappointed about the result of the ultrasound and refused to believe that this is the final say. She said, "Well, I think it's still too early to tell. I'm going to wait a little longer and see." I'm sorry to disappoint my sweet, little girl, but we had a pretty clear shot.
I hope this little boy loves sports or he's going to have to learn to love them because I've never seen a child as obsessed with balls as Owen. He's going to love having someone to play with.
And, we get another ultrasound out of the deal because the tech wants to see the face to make sure everything is okay. Yay for us--three ultrasounds with one baby. We are so spoiled.

Perpetual Motion

Today was Ryanna's violin concert and she did an excellent job. She played Suzuki's Perpetual Motion which has been quite a tricky song to learn. As you'd guess from the name, it is a bit of a circular song using the A Major scale. She was having problems remembering if she'd played the E ending or the A ending and then moving to the next section, however, she worked incredibly hard this week and put on such a wonderful performance. As you can tell from her teacher's big smile at the end, she was very proud too. I only wish I'd captured her wonderful bow that she does. (I was too excited to clap for her and turned off the camera.)
Please leave your comments for her here and I'll read them to her--she'll be very excited.

Click here for the video.

Where I've Been and Other Exciting News You Always Wanted to Hear

So, I don't usually like to use my blog as a journaling tool as much as a my thoughts on random items tool, but I know that so many of you have been wondering where I am and why I've been silent and well, if any authorities have come to take my children away like that "annonymous" poster said would be such a good idea.

Where: I've been in Utah the last week and a half. My grandma was sweet enough to fly down to Phoenix to drive with me and the kids to Utah. Her help and the double DVD player that Melissa loaned me saved my life. Wait! I feel a song coming on "You are the Wind Beneath My Wings....Oh! The wind beneath my wings."

Why: Women's Conference was May 1-2 at BYU. It was amazing. We were able to first hear from Sheri Dew who is one of the most motivational speakers for women that I've ever heard. Seriously, if you can't feel inspired after hearing her speak, you may need to check your pulse. Once again, there is much credit due here. Thursday, my cousin Kelli watched my kids along with her own, so that I could attend. Friday, my sister in law Sabina watched my kids with hers so that I could attend again. Let's see, another appropriate song..."We are family! I've got all my sisters with me. We are family! Get up everybody and sing!" (Actually, neither woman is directly my sister, but they are my family and their help allowed me to have a wonderful two days.)

So, if Women's Conference was only two days where have I been?

Well, I decided it would be a lot of fun to let Sabina take care of me and my kids while we got sick at her house. On Tuesday (I think that's when it started) Ryanna woke up in the middle of the night and threw up all night. I stayed up with her and helped to rinse the throw up bowl and try to offer comfort. Owen did his usual trick of this trip and woke up at 5:30 Arizona time allowing me just about 4 hours of sleep for the entire night. Sabina was kind enough to let me sleep for several more hours the next day. Ryanna continued to throw up for the remainder of the next day.

On Thursday I felt really sick and my head hurt all day, so once again, Sabina let me get some additional rest in the afternoon. Ryanna was restored to full health and ran around and played with her cousins.

On Friday, my grandma flew back out to SLC and drove back with us to Kanab, Utah where we spent the night and I felt like throwing up all night. I never did throw up and I managed to watch the end of the Jazz win over the Lakers. I see they won again today--way to go.

Saturday, we woke up early and started the drive the rest of the way to Phoenix. Owen pooped all the way up his back and down to his toes. None of this was noticed until my grandma had pressed him firmly and lovingly to her chest and coated herself in poo. I waited in the car while she changed him and herself. We made it to Phoenix where I dropped my grandma off at the airport, so she could fly back to Colorado and I drove home, took a bath and slept for two hours while Derek played with the kids and brought me random items of food I tried to eat.

Today, my energy level is slightly better than it was earlier today, but typing is about as much strenuous energy as I can exert. I did go to sacrament because I wanted to see Ryanna sing a Mother's Day song for me (she rocked!) and noticed that I had developed a weird rash on my arms. The woman sitting next to me said it's some flu virus going around and that her grand daughter had it earlier this week. Did I mention Owen is sick?

A few side notes:

1. Yesterday, nothing, absolutely nothing except for peppermint lifesavers sounded good, so that's what I ate from early morning until I got home and had a Jamba Juice. Oh water, that was the only other item that sounded good. Peppermint and water--who knew? I can also highly recommend Butter Rum Lifesavers. They will refresh you and allow you to stay temple worthy.



2. If you do have to be sick at someone's home, it's really good to be sick at Sabina's house because she is miserable during most of her pregnancies, so she'll offer you a lot of sympathy and let you get the sleep you need.



3. Women's Conference was completely motivational and the speakers reminded all of us that as mothers the only and best place for us to be is in the home with our children.



4. The Museum of Art at BYU is awesome and it was incredibly refreshing to study art again in some small measure like I was able to do in Spain.



5. Kelli is an incredible cook and her raviolis in browned butter sauce were absolutely delicious (so was the garlic bread) and then on fast Sunday, while she was fasting, she made us fruit smoothies (please post the recipe Kell!), ham and pancakes. If I lived with this woman I would weigh close to 300 pounds.

Okay, that's about it. Please let Owen's sickness pass soon...