Why?

I'm not the best housewife.

Perhaps it is because by the time I'm done with classes and homework I have nothing left. Or I could have just missed out on the housewife gene. Either way, for me to keep a clean house is a big deal for me, and this weekend I felt like I was finally making headway. (Our house hasn't actually been completely clean, all five rooms, since before we remodeled the bathroom) I was really happpy and very proud of myself. Big mistake.

We learn all about pride in the Book of Mormon, so I should have known better. The correct feeling I should have felt was being pleased with myself. So, to teach me a lesson about being prideful, Monday morning Rob went to take a shower and there was no hot water. That's right, our hot water heater broke. Not only was it broke, but it was horrible timing- we were already planning to replace it this fall when we remodel the kitchen and add an addition. Right now the blasted thing is in the kitchen along with the washer and dryer and I don't like that, so we are going to add on a mudroom where we could put them, that way we could have a real kitchen. So we didn't want to buy a new one now, only to have to move it or get another new one in the fall.

Luckily, Rob is the man and can fix everything. He opened it up and replaced the heating element and thermostat and stuff and it's all better. We have hot water again and didn't have to buy a new one. But now the kitchen is kinda trashed. Not as bad as it could be, but it's still a lot messier than it was before this all happened. Oh well, I'l just get back to work and think twice before being proud of myself again.

I feel like my life is over.

Today I found out my hard drive is toast. It stopped working right before Christmas and Rob thought he could get it to work again, but didn't have time to work on it until today. And it's gone. All of Max's life up until Christmas was on it- luckily I have CDs of the first month or so of his life, but the rest is gone. Our trip west, the beach, his birthday, all of it gone. I think total there were around 7000 pictures of us, plus the photo shoots from this fall, and all the pictures of the exhibit. It's been a rough morning. We looked into data recovery, but it would be around $1600. Not in the budget right now. So, those of you whose pictures I took (all the people from before Christmas, if you were after Christmas I have them) would it be ok if I borrowed the CDs I gave you back? Or you could make a copy, either way. Don't worry about doing it now, I still have to get a new hard drive first. And this time I'll make sure I have backups. Just another example that we need to be prepared. An awesome computer file system backup thing called a RAID (I think that's what it is) has been on our list for awhile, and I figured I'd back everything up once we got one. It's just my luck that I would lose everything before we got one. So even if you don't have the easiest, most convenient way to be prepared, still do the annoying, time consuming thing so you don't lose everything.

Ode to Leaving College

Oh, how I can't wait to graduate!

No more classes, or homework, or tests or quizzes. No more exams and reviews and staying up all night. No more cramming and freshmen and big words and papers. No more textbooks and student loans and crappy food. No more projects and critiques and writing resumes. No more being broke and registration or being late to class. No more campus bathrooms and stupid PCs. No more blackboard and CAD and the stinky feet smell of the computer lab. No more walking up tons of stairs every day or tripping on the carpeting. No more almost getting hit by crazy student drivers, no more park and ride. No more insolent classmates or group projects. No more tuition and fees for things you never use. No more extra credit or people stealing your chair or "borrowing" your supplies. No more stress and humiliation and turning things in late. No more doctors notes and lame excuses and 6-tech. No more chalkboards or the smell of dry-erase markers. No more flashcards or campus activities. No more speeches or novels or dialogues. No more debates, no more socialists, no more silly liberals. No more EUC, no more Yum-Yums, no more windowless rooms. But most of all, NO MORE SCHOOL!

Oh, how I can't wait to graduate!

Sweet child of mine.

How could you not fall in love with this?

Yum.

Max currently has two favorite foods.  The first:  bananas.

He lunges for them every time we go to the grocery store and gets so upset that he can't eat them right then and there.  He also doesn't understand yet that they have to get ripe before you can eat them- if it were up to him he'd eat them when they were still green.  We had to get a new trash can because Max could reach inside it and would put random things in there or pull random things out.  It didn't became a priority, however, until one day I found he had pulled out a banana peel and was sucking on it.  Uh, can we say gross?  That night we went and got a new one.

His other favorite food are babybel cheese.  

Rob introduced him to these- I never would've thought to give a baby real cheese.  Anyway, he LOVES them.  He has a babybel cheese dance he does whenever he sees them- he sorta bounces up and down and sometimes throws a stomp or two in there.  He even licks his lips.  These are probably his most favorite thing in the world.  Unfotunately, they're not cheap so we could never get them very much, until we discovered Costco has them!  And in a big bag!  Oh, and we get the ones in red packaging.  These were also a catalyst for getting a new trashcan- one day I found him eating the wax.  Well, I guess I'll never have to worry about him being picky. 

Trouble

This morning when I got out of the shower, this is what I found...


This was after he woke me by hitting me between the eyes with his bottle at point-blank range, before he bit my finger when I was feeding him, followed by him dumping his bowl of peas on the floor. It has been an interesting day. On a different note, my grandparents gave us their old bench that they used as a tv bench for years. I love it - it is gorgeous and it looks so good in our house! Thanks Grandma and Grandpa! Mid-Century Modern is my favorite style of furniture, and this bench doesn't disappoint.

Selfish

As a mom, and an almost stay-at-home mom, I spend a LOT of time with my child. So much time, that I can get to the point where I need time to myself. Now, I can't just up and walk away from Max whenever I'm sick of him, so I have learned to cherish a very private time- when I am in the bathroom. It doesn't matter what I am doing in the bathroom, the door gets shut and I have some alone time (most of the time- sometimes he has to come to the bathroom with me and those are very tense experiences). So, if you're ever around me and I go to the bathroom and linger, that's why.

Max and his aunt

What my child will not do with me, he will do with Paige or Laura or my mom. Today he curled up and took a nap with my sister Laura. He doesn't usually snuggle up like that with me- and if he does I instigated it, not him. But, at least I could admire and take a picture instead of being stuck under him. Isn't he adorable?

I'm it- are you ready?

How long have you been together? almost 4 1/2 years
How long did you date? 9 months (dated about 5 months, engaged about 4)
How old is he? 28 (6 years older than me)
Who eats more? Rob. Duh. Although I gave him a run for his money when I was nursing
Who said I love you first? He did. Sort of. He said "Ti voglio bene" which roughly translates to "I love you"
Who is taller? You have to ask? I think it'd be hard to find someone smaller than I am
Who sings better? I honestly don't know- neither one of us are that great
Who is smarter? depends- I'm a better student, but Rob remembers all kinds of random stuff
Who does the laundry? I do
Who does the dishes? I do, with Rob helping out occasionally
Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? I do
Who pays the bills? Rob does, but that'll change once I've graduated
Who mows the lawn? Rob. It's hard to find a riding lawn mower (we have an acre) where I can pull the seat up far enough to reach the pedals
Who cooks dinner? It's pretty even
Who drives when you are together? Rob- he doesn't like it when I drive
Who is more stubborn? We're both pretty bad- I just usually give in first
Who kissed who first? I think Rob did, but he claims I did, so I guess that means it was mutual
Who asked who out? Well, our first date wasn't supposed to be a date- a group of us were going to a Grasshoppers game (back when they still played at War Memorial Stadium) but it ended up no one else could make it. So it was just the two of us and we had a good time and we started hanging out after that. Our first "official" date was the day after Rob bought his WRX- we went fishing with the Boy Scouts (his calling at the time was with the scouts) and afterwards broke in his brand new car driving to Asheville with another couple. And that was the beginning of our relationship.
Who proposed? Rob did, but I had already let him know my intentions, so I had been waiting for it
Who is more sensitive? Me, but Rob is sensitive too, just not as much
Who has more friends? Um, probably me
Who has more siblings? We're even- Rob is the oldest with 3 younger sisters, and I have an older brother and 2 younger sisters
Who wears the pants in the family? That's a really hard question- I guess Rob does for the most part, but I have my moments

I tag Brisa and Angelica

Oh. My. Gosh.

Today the thing I never thought would happen did- I referred to the color of something as "carolina blue." I didn't even think about it- it just slipped out. I thought I was above such adolescent loyalties, but I proved my self wrong. So if you ever overhear me muttering to myself "it's baby blue. Baby blue. BABY BLUE!" or "that is periwinkle, PERIWINKLE!" it is in the hope that I can squeeze the college biases out of my system. We'll see how it works out.