If you ever find yourself stuck...

...during a game of trivial pursuit or a crossword puzzle when you get to the question, "Where can you experience the phenomenon of heavy snowfall accompanied by lightning and thunder?"

The answer is "Minnesota."

It's weird.

And a couple more

Momisms that is:

"You've got the heebeejeezees" (aka "jitterbugs")
"This (or that) is for the birds"
"I feel 'blah'" (Blah was our family's code word for "in a fowl mood" or "out of sorts" or just plain "BLAH!!!")

"House of Bounce" one of our favs

I've made mention of this fantastic venue before... but it just can't get enough props in my mind. Why? Because this place just opened up this Winter and I do not know what I would do without it! When Jackson needs to burn off some pint-up cooped-up energy, OFF WE GO to the House of Bounce, where (thank goodness for our pocketbook) kids under two bounce for free. It's fun. It's exercise. It's hands-off for Mommy. It's AWESOME.

Tonight Scott went with us (often I go after during the post - afternoon nap slot while Scott's working), and he learned of the calorie-burning features of this place for himself. Scott took Jackson on the experience of some of the more adventurous slides. Jackson was such DARE DEVIL! Usually he's so tentative. But tonight he was ALL ABOUT the extreme sporting. Scott was sweating like a pig by the end of the hour (lots of ladders to go up and - as is obvious - lots of BOUNCING! A TOTAL workout). Jackson's debut down one of the bigger ones

And the below few are of us goofing around at home. Look at the full set of TEETH!

Let it Snow Let it Snow - but not till April

We got a little dump on Friday night... not even sure what the final count was, but I'd say 4- 5 inches??? Definitely warranted some snow removal Sat morning. So we ALL bundled up and braved the cold.

I have some MAJOR work to do in order to increase Jackson's affection for the white stuff. I'm afraid I haven't been persistent enough in getting him interested. So, instead, he whines and moans at the unsteady footing the snows surfaces provide and the bulky confines of the winter-wear.

But we made him deal this time. For a solid 30 or 45 minutes. Scott was the work horse, while Jackson and I played.

Geared up in their snow suits. Mine didn't quite make it over my belly, so I spared you that image.

"Mom, it's hard to smile with my eyes open, when snow is falling in them!?

Our home's snowy front view.

Mama and Jacksonian (neither of our teeth have gotten a brush for the day!)

I put the mittens on backwards, I think, because Jackson looks like he's raising the roof in all these shots... either that, or praising God!

Aunt Lisa, if you look real hard, you will see the yellow handle of one of your LL Bean sleds poking out! Let me tell you, my pregnant butt barely fit on it! But it worked AWESOME on our driveway. I need to get Jackson to slide down without a wing-woman. He wasn't so confident going it alone this time! FUN gift!

In the absence of snow shoes or skis, I went for the next best mode of transportation - the dependable Radio Flyer wagon. When Jackson and I walked/slid past Cassie's house, we discovered their family out too, so we picked up Miss Johanna (Jackson's sitter's daughter and playmate). Our street has a couple little hills, so my pregnant self got a work out pulling them along! Every time I turned around to check on those two, they had their tongues out at each other (likely more a desire to taste some snowflakes rather than an insulting gesture towards each other, but ya never know!).

Left one out...

The list of "Mom-isms" wouldn't be complete without:

"You're cruisin for a bruisin."

I know I'll say it to Jackson or Sesame one of these days!!! Did anybody else's Mom use this one?

Freaking out

I delivered tomorrow. TOMORROW... in my last pregnancy. It was 34 weeks and 1 day that my water broke and the labor began. From beginning to end, I labored for 3 hours TOPS (i know, don't be mad at me your double digit labor-ers!). That being said, it was INTENSE labor the whole time (yeah, like what part of labor ISN'T intense, but you know what i mean), since I was already 4-5 centimeters when the whole thing began.

So, to address the title of this blog, I am FREAKING OUT after tonight's hospital tour. It suddenly dawned on Scott and me this past week that we didn't know a) where to park, b) where to go, or c) what to expect when the upcoming process unfolds. So we scheduled tonight's tour of the labor and delivery and post-birth floors. The guide's presentation included a short run down of birthing accesories (ball, bar, bath tub, etc) and talk about the different "stages" of labor.

WHAT???

We learned all that stuff in a labor and delivery class the first time around, but it wasn't until tonight that I fully recognized how UNUSUAL our first labor was. There was NO TIME for music or movies or massaging or balls or walking or positions. There were no STAGES. It was bing-batta-boom. And before I knew it, I was being rolled into an OR for the pushing part.

So - what I'm saying is - if what I experienced in 3 hours will likely be drawn out to 8, 10, 14, 20 hours, I may not make it.

But on the flip side, I keep reminding myself of the positives of this hopefully more typical birthing process: baby on my chest immediately after delivery and even breast feeding if he wants to, baby stays in room with me if I want him to, pumping not necessary, etc, etc. I won't need to visit HIM. He gets to be with us! What a convenience. Although, rest assured, I will be taking advantage of the free babysitting the nursery provides when I need a nap or two. Ha.

So I'm pumped and freaked in ways that I didn't expect this second time around. Then again, does it EVER get old?

My two Valentines, and one on the way...

Yesterday I cooked my men heart-shaped pancakes for breakfast. They felt loved, I think.

Then, I felt loved when Scotty prepared dinner for me. To fully understand the magnitude of this act of service, you must be informed that peanut butter and jelly and grilled cheese were highlighted FEATURES on his bachelor menu. Those were and still are culinary masterpieces for Mr. Arthur. Needless to say, I'm the cook in the house (but don't get me wrong, there's nothing better than a pb and j scott-style... he makes a mean one and i appreciate him for it!)

What I'm trying to tell you is that when he asked what I wanted for his special Valentine's Dinner and the thought "chicken cordon bleu" crossed my mind and rolled out onto my tongue (from where? i have no idea... totally random... i don't think i've had in years and i don't think i've EVER made it myself!), I became instantly scared. Scared for my kitchen. Scared for my belly. Scared for my future child in there. Would Scott really be able to pull it off? So I began back-pedaling... "No, no... I'd be fine with spaghetti, Scott. Really, don't worry about chicken cordon bleu. I don't know what I was thinking. It just popped in my head. Let's go simpler." To which he replied, "You're getting cordon bleu. Leave it to the chef." So I stayed out of it. I stayed out of it when he googled "chicken cordon bleu." I stayed out of it when he wrote his grocery list. And I stayed out of it when he entered his zone for the cooking itself.

Let me tell you, the man can COOK! It was DELICIOUS! He followed the internet recipe down to pounding the chicken to 1/2 inch thickness - and he knew WHERE and HOW TO USE a meat tenderizer (maybe thanks to google... not sure!). My valentine, he's so sweet! He even finished the meal by saying, "Won't it be a neat tradition to have your boys, Jackson, me, and Sesame cook for you every Valentine's night?" I can't think of one thing I'd like more.

I wonder if he's now regretting revealing that what Scott Gibson Arthur puts his mind to, he can accomplish. Cooking isn't a weakness after all! I'll have him in there more often, maybe!

,

Yesterday

Yesterday, Valentines Day, was the exact day in my first pregnancy when a routine ultra sound appointment led to me being admitted to Riverside Hospital for the duration. I was (and am) 33 1/2 weeks pregnant. Here's a picture of me on that day. I was WAY big. And at 34 weeks and 1 day I delivered my beautiful baby boys.

Wonder when this little booger will come out? I have to say, even though I was made to feel anxious by a slew of other factors during that time in May/June of 2007 (Duncan's health concern, prematurity, my mom), the one comfort was that I was eating, sleeping, and being monitored 24-7 in a hospital where professionals knew what to do with me. Now, I am anxious about WHEN labor will happen. WHERE it will happen, if I KNOW it will happen... the drill every pregnant woman goes through. I just didn't have a typical one the first time around...

So far, so good though! I might hang on to this one till it's actually due.

L.A. - finally

Where else? Rodea Drive, baby!

Things My Mom Used to Say

It seems the memory of my mom is always alive in my heart. I feel her parenting in the way I parent. I hear her phrases and sayings come out of my own mouth. I daydream about memories of our childhood when she worked so hard to make family moments precious, and I only hope I can make the same memories for Jackson and our future child/children.

Here are the words I can still HEAR coming out of my own mom's mouth. They were unique to her and sometimes when I say them, I smile:

"Naked as a jaybird"
"All the way round robin hood's barn"
"There's more than one way to skin a cat"
"Hell's bells"
"What's that got to do with the price of eggs?"
"Close, but no cigar"
"I'm in the wrong pew - again" (she would say this when she needed to switch lanes at the last minute driving - why the reference to "pews" i'm not sure!)
"Get your shit together" (often used when Justin or I left messes around the house!)

For the family or close friends who knew Mom intimately, can't you just HEAR her saying these things? Some of them seem very Henry County, KY to me, so maybe it's country talk. Because you just don't hear them being used very often, if ever.

While I'm discussing familial and regional dialect, let me also include a couple Minnesota idiosynchrasies I've picked up on. The first was a few months ago when I had my first Rochester, MN dentist appointment. The technician cleaning my teeth was chatting - while I had my whole body anchored on a tilt and my mouth pried open - about the remaining baby tooth still hanging out in there (I know, weird, but I never had any permanent one to replace it, so it was decided it should stay). She said, "It has a nice r---t." I asked her to repeat. "It has a nice r--t." I asked her to repeat. By the fourth repeat, she finally spelled the word. R-O-O-T. But what I want you to imagine is the "oo" sound being more like the "oo" in "foot," as opposed to what I'm used to hearing, the "oo" like in the word "roof." You'd have to hear it to understand, but people here say their "oo"s weird.

They also call water fountains, "bubblers." Well, I'm actually overgeneralizing. I've learned that the Wisconsin transplants are the ones with this little nickname for a machine that delivers a small arch of a water stream to our mouths. Never, ever, have I seen a water fountain produce bubbles - but whatev. When a student asked once to go to the bubbler, I thought there was some secret hot tub in the school kept under wraps! Either that, or a secret torcher chamber. I was confused, to say the least.

Back to "o"s. I am having a hard time thinking of another exmaple besides "occasionally," but the people here make all words starting with an "o" a LONG, DRAWN OUT "o." Say the word "occasionally" out loud, accept say "O" slowly and in a long syllable pronunciation. It sounds so sophisticated, instead of the sloppy, haphazard way I've always known to begin a word like that... with almost an "uh" start. I think this is one way I'm gonna blend in here. I'm gonna make the long o thing my own.

And would you guess noone knows what "whopperjawed" means? Does ANYONE know what "whopperjawed" means? Am I speaking "Tricia" or am I speaking "Kentucky" or am I just NOT speaking "Minnesota?" I grew up believing whopperjawed meant off-cilter or disheveled or crooked. When I told our plumber recently that that's how our plumbing was looking, he looked back at me like I had three heads. Ha.

"Ma Ma"

Jackson has been able to say it for some time. And it always puzzled me that he wouldn't call it out when he was ready to come out of his crib after a nap or overnight sleep. Instead, he used the universal code: CRYING.

Just yesterday, I passed by his room around the end of nap time and heard him rustling around. I lingered around upstairs, getting some laundry put away, expecting to be interrupted by him crying out. But this time... the kid addressed me, "Ma ma? Ma ma. Ma ma. Ma ma. Ma ma. Ma ma?"

It was so cute.

Our computer was fried for over a week, hence this long hiatus from blogging. I'm back, though, and plan on uploading some fun pics of our LA trip soon. Seems like IONS ago already. It's OK that we're bound by the Rochester city limits though. When I was in CA, I had nightmares of having to deliver this baby on a plane. I'm glad I'm staying put!