07.26.08 -- Busy Busy

Yesterday, Brian had the day off--part of a long weekend due to our state holiday. What did we do with that time? Moved topsoil, of course.

He rented a skidsteer from a local equipment company and it took him a while to get a workable path from the front of the house, where the soil was dumped, to the back yard. In the meantime, I was a little obsessed with changing the grade by the wall that supports our driveway because it was a little washed out.

After I satisfied myself with the changed grade, I moved my efforts to the back yard, spreading out topsoil.

Lucy was left to entertain herself, because, aside from moving some rocks with me, she wasn't finding any great urge within to do what we were doing. She played in water, watched a few minutes of a movie, rode her Pooh "bike" for a few moments, had snacks, and went back and forth between the front and back yards.

The morning hours went pretty quickly for me, but they must've been long for Lucy. When Brian and I decided to stop for lunch at about 1:40 p.m., I peeled off my grimy shoes and stepped inside. The first thing I noticed was that Lucy was crying. The interior of our house is such that it's a little tricky to localize sound, but I found her right away.

She was on the couch upstairs, curled up in a little ball, sobbing and clutching a blanket--her tears pooling on the couch. The picture of sadness. I scooped her up and asked her if she felt lonely. In response, she nodded gravely and snuggled into my arms.

I told Brian at lunch that I never wanted to see Lucy like that again.

So yesterday was a long day--long for Brian and me, but much longer for Lucy. Here is how I found her after we spent a few hours dancing together in the afternoon:





Today will be a long one too, but soon we'll have some grass!

07.23.2008 -- Huzzah!!

Few people out there may truly understand the title of this post... For the rest of you, I'm just going to encourage you to make a little room in your own vocabulary for this underused exclamation.

Among my other new e-mails this morning was a message from "Bountiful Recycles." The subject of this particular e-mail was, "We made it!!"

My response? Huzzah!!!

Seriously, though. This will make a BIG difference to this household. Apparently, a resolution was (finally) passed last night at a city council meeting to start a citywide recycling program at a cost of less than $3 a month to respective Bountiful residents. The first pick-up is slated for January.

Broad-minded as I try to be, I have a lot of difficulty, a LOT of difficulty, understanding the point of view of the 2 city council members who voted against this resolution. Thank heaven for the other 3.

In a previous post, I was demonstrably not a fan of our mayor--due to comments he made during a city council meeting. Well, he has changed his tune, I guess. According to the e-mail from Bountiful's most dedicated recycler, "The mayor opened the discussion by giving a great speech in favor of recycling, and the importance of prolonging the life of the landfill. He reviewed over all the recent work they had done on the issue and the problems with the current drop off bins, and then opened the floor for discussion."

Huzzah, Mayor Joe!

I sent all of the pro-recycler city council members (and the mayor) thank you e-mails this morning. That's the least I could do, I figure--as I took the time to send them e-mails letting them know that I thought they were falling short without a citywide program.

Another reason for a "Huzzah" this morning... (Go ahead, say it out loud with some feeling--you may like it!) A truck and pup is in front of our house as I type leaving us two piles of topsoil. We have sod scheduled to arrive Friday!

...And all of this before 9 a.m.

Added later: Lucy and I went to the ABC park today. To my surprise, all road construction was finally completed, leaving Bountiful's very first and only roundabout!!! There you have it. Today was truly a banner day. You can glimpse the roundabout behind Lucy in the picture at the top of this entry.

I love roundabouts.

07.22.2008 -- Take a Breath

Wow. As of yesterday, I am able to breathe. Not that before yesterday was all bad--no, no no. Just very busy.

More later...right now, I'm trying to get things into shape around here.

Deliciousness.

07.11.08 -- Day in Pictures, Watching Concrete

07.10.08 -- The Last July 10th of my 32nd Year

With my dad's help the past few days, the yard has been weeded. Sure, you could find a stray survivor out there without looking too hard, but it really is weeded! I lingered in bed this morning because I felt like I deserved a little respite, but it wasn't for long! The concrete guys actually showed up this morning!

The above picture was taken so I can remember how happy I was watching the gathering of MEN discuss the details of our patio extension and stairs--all to be poured tomorrow. Check out the tall drink of water holding the plans...




Aunt Monica surprised us today with an early visit. This picture was taken in the LoveSac. Lucy was in heaven.

Today marks the halfway point in my 40 weeks. Hooray! To say that I am excited to meet the little guy (that's right) is SO lacking in descriptive value.

Monica showed me how her pants were falling down (she's shrinking), and I suggested we trade. (I'm not shrinking.)

One fashion show later, and I was able to send her home with a bag full of pants (etc.) to wear for the next while. It was an incredibly fun and surprisingly fulfilling way to spend the morning--tossing pants to her, telling her to try everything on and check her fine self out in the mirror.

She left her big pants here with me. Bonus! They're super cute and fit great.




This year, Santa brought Lucy a kitchen, which she loves. Mysteriously, her cousin Megan's kitchen disappeared right before Christmas. We found a perfect spot for the play kitchen in a little nook downstairs.

A few weeks ago, one of my sis-in-laws invited me to a Sentsy party where I bought a candle warmer and a deliciously scented brick of wax (cucumber limmmmmnnnnnumn) which I recently put to work making our basement smelly (in a good way). I wanted Monica to smell it, so I enticed her down the stairs with my pathetic enthusiasm for my scented basement.

But seriously? I love the result. Scentsy gets my vote.





Lucy took advantage of our trip to the basement to cuddle with Monica in the LoveSac and eventually lured her into the kitchen with the promise of preparing potato salad. If you look carefully at this picture, you'll see that she entrusted Monica with her beloved white puppy and one of her many babies.

Zoe loves the kitchen (and Monica), too. Every person who enters Lucy's kitchen gets down on Zoe's level, and she takes advantage of it.

One thing you can't tell from that picture is that Zoe is particularly stinky today. See what a sweet sister I have? She doesn't even care if the dog stinks, she'll love her up anyway.

Monica is just sweet. She also said some sweet things today. She told me that I (ahem) looked like a painting, that it made her want to take a picture of me.

I guess that comment found it's way into my little brain and partnered up with my friend Crystal's example of self-photography. I decided to set up my black sheet (thanks, Crystal), my tripod, and take a picture of myself (without changing a thing--well, I did put in earrings). I didn't set it up right, so I had to hunch over to put myself in the right spot... impatient, but here it is:

I yam what I yam.

My parents stayed with us for a few nights this week (left yesterday for Monica and Eric's place). We had lots of fun with them. Here are a couple of pictures from Tuesday and Wednesday:



My mom sorting coins with Lucy. We all have guilty pleasures. Mine and Lucy's include letting her stay in her PJs past 8 am. (See photo.) My mom's includes the simple act of sorting change to put into rolls. (I save it for her.)

We have a guest room downstairs, which Lucy simply calls "Grandma and Grandpa's Room." She loves it when they come to visit. The room is not reserved exclusively for them, though--if anyone else wants to visit (hint, hint).





Here's my dad working in the yard. I am always amazed at how much progress is made when he visits us (between sidewalk painting and puzzle sessions with Lucy). Yes, he inspires me to work alongside him, but he truly has a gift for work (if I do say so myself). Thanks, Dad.

I love my parents.

07.06.2008 -- Habbeee Birdeee!

I am a tad supersticious when it comes to birthdays and New Year's Eve. I like to think that the way I spend these days will serve as some sort of indicator of how the following year will go.

For example, if, on my birthday, I were to get a traffic ticket, overeat, and if the contents of my closet were to spontaneously combust--I might think that the following 12 months might be sort of difficult on lots of levels.

Of course, it doesn't make sense, because New Year's Eve and my birthday basically split the year in two.

I may have to rethink this.

It's kind of exciting, though, to me--the idea that one day can predict the progress of an entire year.

I may have to rethink the rethink.

Habbee Birdeeeee to me!

07.03.08 -- Salty Water

Tears, anyone? It all started this morning when I was chatting with my sister. This is not noteworthy. We talk on the phone all the time, but I've been in Texas watching some of my nieces play volleyball in the Junior Olympics for five days (fuun!). Having been out of town, and both of us busy, we actually had some catching up to do.

"Hey," she says. "Did I tell you about the boys' lemonade stand?" She told me a bit last Saturday, but I was sure she remembered that part: she made me cry.

"No," I say, thinking I am prepared, I will not start blubbering again.

"Well, I told you how they made $30 when they made the sign that said, Lucy's Lemonade, right?" she says, "and the 20% donation to the Hydrocephalus Foundation?"

"Yes," I say, I am prepared, I will not start blubbering again.

"The boys decided by themselves to change it to a 100% donation. They changed the sign and made a hundred bucks. The Newspaper ran a little story on it. Lucy's name is in the paper."

I am losing it. My eyes start to fail me. They are leaking.

"The cool thing is," my sister tells me, "that the boys got to tell people about it when they stopped to get lemonade or donate money."

I've lost it. Lost it! Completely gone. I thought I was prepared. (Ha! toughen up this hormone-laden mother? My wits are gone, too.)

See, Lucy is doing SO well. So well. But she is 2 years old and there is no cure for hydrocephalus. Chances are, we'll have to deal with it again. Don't get me wrong, there are countless worse things to be dealing with in life... We all have our challenges, so few of them are public, let alone comprehensible to the general observer. But that 100$ may make a difference for Lucy. It may make a difference for someone else who relies on a brain drain to avoid brain damage. Right now, Hydrocephalus is an incredibly small part of Lucy's life. I've met people whose lives are absorbed by it.

The kicker for me was the idea of Lucy's cousins (and their friends) raising money with our little Lucy in mind. Talk about a soft spot.

Yeah. I cry. So?