Monday Daybook

Outside my window... might as well be the dead of night, because it's pitch-black. I really hate the "falling behind" portion of daylight savings. I would so rather have daylight on the back end of the day rather than at 7:00 in the morning!

I am thinking... about several blog posts that I'm itching to write. I'm also thinking about finalizing all plans for November and ways to celebrate Christmas at home. That's right, we're staying HOME for Christmas this year! Marty and I decided it's very important for our children to wake up in their own home on Christmas morning, to run down the stairs in their footed jammies and rejoice at the sight of presents while Mommy and Daddy snuggle on the couch, sipping coffee and enjoying the lovely chaos of it all...sigh with me now -- "ahhhhhh."

I am thankful for... a young college student named Jessie. Who is my new day nanny, who starts tomorrow, Hallelujah! She is a doll, this girl, and she singlehandedly helped me go from worried like crazy about having a "stranger" in my house, caring for my son (even while I'm here) to stoked-excited at having some quality help. Jessie genuinely loves children and has excellent experience and credentials. Plus, we already dished on how much we love the Twilight books...I think this one's a kindred spirit. (My other favorite thing about having a nanny? I'm this much closer to actually living like Tori Spelling. HA!!!)

I am creating... a budget. Still. And at the advice of my dearest Kate, we bought Quicken, and may I pass the recommendation on down the line? It's a fantastic program; I especially love being able to hit the "Update" button and get current balances on all checking and savings accounts, plus credit cards. It's so cool, it seems magical.

I am going... to keep the kitchen clean daily. It's like a new obsession of mine. I refuse to go to bed with a single dish on the counter. Let's hope this obsession sticks!
I am reading... The Case for Christ by Lee Strobel. It ties in with what I mentioned last week; there's a big ole blog post on this topic coming soon; I'm already drafting it.

I am hearing... "Jeopardy." Marty and I are self-admitted senior citizens when it comes to pre-primetime TV. We truly love a good episode of "Wheel of Fortune" and "Jeopardy," even though Marty can't stand Alex Trebec's attitude (I think it's funny).

Around the house... are baskets of clean laundry. I need to clean out my dresser -- I'm sick of piling clothes I use on top of clothes I ignore. It's time to purge!

One of my favorite things... Mrs. Smith's frozen pies. We've been enjoying Dutch apple and it's going to disappear tonight. I wish I could make a homemade fresh pie, but at this point in my journey of (still) growing accustomed to motherhood, in addition to my other roles, who am I kidding? It's going to be frozen pies for the Conways for a few years to come.

the April list

*New categories!*

Okay, I'm sure this excites no one else but me. I think of my blog as the closest thing I'm capable of keeping as far as a personal journal goes, so I wanted my monthly list to capture just a wee bit more than what it had been. So here goes!

*new* What we're watching: American Idol, and for me, because of Adam Lambert!

Um, could I love this kid any more than I do??? He was my favorite from the very beginning (don't believe me? Ask my husband -- I picked him out long before he made any of the big cuts!). I love his adorably punk self, with the black nails and spiked hair and earrings. You better believe it. I keep telling Marty that he's this amazing combination of Freddie Mercury, Steve Perry, and Barry Gibb! Oh, the falsetto he can achieve! The only reason I'm really watching American Idol these days is to catch my 5 minutes of Adam Lambert, because the crazily greedy people at the network CHARGE you on iTunes just to catch the latest competition songs. How stupid is that? Anyway, whether he wins or not (and personally, he really doesn't HAVE any competition up there), I know he's going on to have a great career, and Marty has already promised me concert tickets and CDs when they come out! Honestly, it's not just his extraordinary talent that has captured my attention. He is the only contestant who always acknowledges his back-up vocalists and band performers. He is actually quite humble and gracious for a kid who's a total rock star!!! I heart you, Adam Lambert!

We're also watching The Office (last night's episode had to be the best one ever -- Jim is always the hero!) and 30 Rock, as usual. The Thursday night line-up is really the only thing we consistently watch besides American Idol. Usually we're Food Network and HGTV junkies.

What I'm reading: I've been a reading fiend this month -- perhaps I know it's because my time is running out to devote hours upon hours to books??? I can tell my son one day that ONLY for him would Mommy have ever given up her book time!

1) A Reliable Wife, by Robert Goolrick. I finished this one a couple weeks ago, and wow, this was a sexy book! However, the sexiness was intrinsically tied to the plot, and I can't say anymore without revealing too much, but if you like thrillers/mysteries with great characters, and you don't mind a certain degree of sensual content, this is a great book for you. There is a major plot twist that I had to read 3 times to be sure I understood the revelation!

2) Mommywood, by one of my favorite celebrities (don't judge me, even deep, complex people can have favorite celebrities, in my humble opinion!), Ms. Tori Spelling! Kids, this girl cracks me up. She has one of the most unique perspectives on Hollywood and all the glitz and glamour, because she was raised in such a privileged way, but has been self-reliant her entire adult life (her mother is a real piece of work). She is so honest and her sense of humor is right up my alley. And I loved reading about her experiences with motherhood, for those very reasons -- she's brutally honest and laughs at all her misadventures along the way (the poop in the pool incident was hysterical). Fluffy to the extreme, but I highly recommend it.

3) Finally, Marty and I are sort of co-reading this Smart Guide to the Book of Revelation by Daymond Duck and Larry Richards. I guess you could say I'm a (very?) amateur theologian, because I love understanding the Bible and church history and apologetics, and though I'm pretty well-versed (get it?) in some areas (I could teach Genesis), I'm quite woefully ignorant in others (uh, Revelation). So far, I am really getting into it. I now know the significance of the seven angels, seven letters, seven lampstands, etc. And I love how the book (Revelation) is written -- so much parallelism and great imagery. Of course, when I get further into it, I might really be ready to pull my hair out because I know it gets pretty difficult the deeper you go. But Marty and I are having fun reading this and discussing. We come from such different viewpoints: I believe in the Rapture and I'm a sold-out Millenialist, whereas he was raised not believing in the Rapture and is quite a-Millenialist. So this book is prompting all kinds of discussion in our home! One of our favorite things to do is have a down-and-dirty theological debate. How nerdy are we?

What we're spending on: A cradle, probably something like this one.Thing is, I HATE the rollers/casters. I'm sure they're practical for putting the baby down for a nap in various rooms throughout the day (so it serves you, rather than you being a slave to its location), but we'd be opting for a cradle over a bassinet anyway because of the aesthetic. I just can't get into the frilly, fluffy, bells-and-whistles bassinets. They look cheap and ugly to me! Anyway, I love the classic look of a cradle, but I'm going to see if those casters come OFF before I buy! Or I'll just get used to it and somewhere around the middle of July be thankful that the cradle can roll around!

What we're saving for: The pay-off of my labor & delivery bill. I never knew you had to make payments on these things loooong before you have your first contraction! Or is it just my screwy insurance? I don't know, but heavens-to-Betsy, it feels weird making payments on something that won't happen for 11 weeks yet, and especially so, considering my mind gets all fuzzy when I start thinking of how everything's going to go down...I think my mind goes into self-protection mode, like, "don't think about it yet, Becky! Too scary just now!"

What I need to do: File all my paperwork for maternity leave (yee-haw!). Get a couple more outfits/dresses for business trip/baby shower in May. Learn the ins and outs of nursing bras and invest in a few (here's where nursing moms, past and present, give me all kinds of advice on brands, etc.). Move my office downstairs, set up nursery in current office (this is going to be no SMALL task).

What I'm thinking about: God's providential care. He keeps working things out in my life, more perfectly than I could have planned or dreamed. One of these days I'm going to actually learn to trust Him implicitly.

What I'm working on: You guessed it. Evil Storage Room. It really is a monstrous project, and while we are making progress, it seems like the chore that will not die.

*new* Things I've learned this month: 1) That you're supposed to have 3 sets of sheets for every bed in your home: one on the bed, one in the laundry, and one clean and folded, waiting in the closet. I'm pretty sure I got this handy advice from House Beautiful (magazine). 2) That sometimes colds last longer than 7-10 days. I still can't hear out of my left ear. 3) That I'm sick to death of "going green" ads and commercials and shows and articles and just get out of my face about the environment already!!! One of my magazines last month told me to stop using Windex, paper towels, bottled water, the list went on and ON. Of course I don't want to trash our planet, but for heaven's sake, I'm going to wipe down dirty mirrors with Windex and paper towels and then take a nice big slug from an Evian when I'm done, thank you very much, if that's what I WANT to do! We don't live in a communist country (yet).

What I'm happy about: May is just around the corner, and we're so busy that month, that before I blink, June will be here and we're hoping to take a quick little "babymoon" if we can afford it. I plan on doing NOTHING the month of June and just enjoying the last few weeks of having my hubby all to myself, before we embark on the grand adventure of parenthood!

That's it for now. Happy weekend everyone! It's going to be in 80s all weekend here, and Evil Storage Room notwithstanding, we're going to spend time outside!!!

Random thoughts, round 2

I haven't posted in a little while and that's mostly because I haven't felt well this week. I think I'm battling strep throat and I really need to suck it up and find a local doctor. I don't really want to because I adore my doctor back home in Indiana, who has been my doctor since I was 5 years old! Anyhoo, just wanted to jot down some thoughts rolling around in my head, from the extremely trivial to varying levels of higher importance.

• I feel a rant coming on toward legalistic Christians. I grew up going to a very strict private Baptist school, and I experienced legalism in just about every form imaginable. I must state that my parents were not among this crowd; they sent us to the school so we could get a top-notch education, which we did. What they didn't bargain for was all the irrational spiritual "sludge" (my term) that would be crammed into our minds along with our A-B-C's. Anyway, for most of my adult life, I've attended non-denominational churches and more recently, a Lutheran church (which is truly my church "home" -- they are ALL ABOUT grace!). However, I still read lots and lots online about current thinking in the modern-day church, and lately, what I'm reading is scaring me. It's scaring me because it's so deeply familiar. For example, practicing yoga is a sin? Er...WHAT??? Seriously, people, let's get back to the basics of Christianity. Love God and love your neighbor. This is the message that Jesus preached to us over and over and over again. Why? Because that's the heart of Christianity, not spending all our time worrying over sin. We've been freed from the law!!! Let's live in GRACE. Like my pastor says, "Live in the gift." I could go on and on, but that's a good summary for now. I've a feeling I'll be revisiting this topic again soon, though. Stay tuned. For more ranting.
• And on to a completely different topic...how many of you ladies use Oil of Olay? I'm 31 years old, and suffice it to say, I've had pretty crappy skin for oh, 17 years? I've tried everything on the market to help with acne and dryness, and I mean everything: Proactiv Solution (which works until I break out into hives), all the over-the-counter products, several expensive salon products, even the prescription drug, Accutane (which you can NOT be on if you're sexually active...even with the required 2 forms of birth control, the possible birth defects are truly scary). Anyway, I don't recall how I got the idea to moisturize my skin to the nth degree, but last week I bought Oil of Olay day cream and night cream. And holy cow, kids, it works!!! My skin is not only soft and smooth, it's CLEAR. It's like a drugstore miracle. Maybe my skin was just starved for moisture all these years? Typical of me...struggle for years with something only to find a very simple solution.
• This weekend, Marty and I will be continuing our search for economical but high-quality king-size mattresses. People who know me personally, know that I'm a champion sleeper. Seriously, I have the equivalent of a black-belt or a gold medal or an Oscar in sleeping. I'm that good at it, and enjoy it that much! So I can't stress enough the importance of a good mattress to my championship sleeping...yet in my old age, I'm becoming something of a penny-pincher. Does anyone have any good recommendations on where we should be looking for mattresses? The next decade of my sleeping quality depends on what you say...so no pressure.
• It's official...we're going to NYC for Thanksgiving weekend! We'll be flying out Thanksgiving morning and then making our way to Long Island, where Marty's Aunt Becky lives. We'll be staying until the next Tuesday, so there will be plenty of time with the Fam PLUS time by ourselves in the great city! Yes, it won't be long until I can personally say...