Max is on his way

With baby on his way, we decided to do some stuff to his room, without spending money unnecessarily. As usual, Anna came up with an idea, and I blew that idea out of the water. So we headed over to Goodwill to get some cheap picture frames. I'm sure the girl at the register was curious why this white couple was interested in the Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, and Morgan Freeman Nelson Mandela picture (I also was amazed that someone was able to get all three of those guys together for a picture). However, we were just interested in the frames. Below is what I we crafted. In case your wondering, the baby boy is going to be named Max. I was worried that the 'A' was going to look too much like the Star Trek logo. We didn't want to ruin his life before it really started, so I tweaked it a little. Crisis averted. We know he will be able to read right away, so I wanted him to know his name. He's that advanced.

Pregnancy Photo Shoot

I am not sure why but I have this huge desire to have a pregnancy photo shoot.  I picture myself wearing this old white, embroidered shirt that is from my mom's hippie days.  I want my hair down with a small braid on the side and I want to be in a field.  Tim cannot be involved unless he agrees to wear an old flannel shirt of my dad's and grows out his handlebar mustache again.  I have no idea why I have this weird desire, it is really not like me...or maybe it is actually.  Either way, it is not going to happen because no one can find my mom's old shirt.  So instead of posting nostalgic photos of myself as a tribute to my parent's stylish taste during their youth, I have decided to post some inspirational pregnancy photos of others.  I am not going to post the link to the site because it has some nudity that although my brother Sam would find humorous, not many other family members would appreciate. I really don't know if I have a favorite, they are all unbelievably good.  Warning, some of these have PG 13 nudity.

1. Garbage bag dress in the swamp


2. Tree straddle birthing position


3. Dancing couple with gay husband


4. Goodyear Tire Ad


5. Watermelon and a gun


6. Mirror of the future (creepy and reminds me of poltergeist)


7. Minnesota Hockey Mom


So although you won't be enjoying my own pregnancy photo shoot, I hope you enjoyed some of these captivating and creative photos that words just can't describe.

Fight for Kisses

One of the young men at church told me to watch a video on YouTube because he and his family decided that this is what is going to happen to Tim when we have the baby.  I couldn't stop laughing while I was watching this.  Not only does the video look like Tim, but the reaction to the baby is also quite plausible.  It is kind of a nutty video but a 17 year old boy recommended it so that is kind of expected.  Tim laughed when he watched him but it made him a little nervous about the baby coming.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LuSBCIV1zuQ

Baby Showers, Weddings, Aprons, and Belly Pics

Last week I took a trip out to St. George UT for my wonderful friend Lauren Knox's wedding! (I am allowing an exclamation point for a wedding).  It was wonderful and I loved being home with family and friends.  I have some pictures of the adventures from the trip.

First, my sister-in-law Katie threw a baby shower for me and it was beautiful and so much fun.  She should be a party planner.  She had so many little details with the decor and food and I loved everything about it.  I especially loved being able to see so many wonderful friends and family.  A few pics are below and I took way too many pictures so I had to just pick some favorites. 

 

Second, my beautiful friend Lauren Knox (photo above) had a much awaited wedding and it was spectacular.  It really was unreal. Very beautiful and perfect with a Polynesian twist.  I had so much fun with high school friends and BYU friends and I am glad Lauren and I have so many mutual friends because it made the day extra fun. Just a few of the hundreds of pictures I took are below.

Above: St. George friends Emily Lund and Kiersten

Below: BYU friends Ashley Christley, Katie Duncan, Carly Adams

 

Hula Dancers

Here are some pictures of Lauren and Tai doing the money dance.  

It was the highlight of the night.  I was so proud of her for doing this in 

front of 420 people and she looked great doing it.

 Backyard lunch at Lauren's house

Third, for Christmas my sister Sarah came up with a great idea that the girls in my family should make aprons

for one another.  We drew names and then made an apron for that person.  The first picture is the apron we

got from the other person.  The second pictures is the apron we made.

Fourth, I am posting pregnancy pictures after many requests of people wanting to see me look fat.

  The first was at 16 weeks:

 

The second at 24 weeks--took this today, bad angle:

Big News

We bought a new car. Here's a picture of Anna with it.

We got it because Anna is scared to drive in the snow and it sometimes snows here. Pictures from Snowmageddon:

Some more big news, if you haven't heard, we will have a new passenger for the new car come July. Anna is pregnant, with a boy. He just better not spill anything in the backseat. I'm serious. I was thinking the other day about all the freedom I'm losing with the baby coming, but also of all the good things (besides the obvious). So I made a list. And being around family/friends/people-in-general-whom-I-consider-neither, I've had lots of practice learning the benefits of having kids.

1. I'll no longer have to babysit for free anymore. Now I can finally get something in return for watching other people's kids. Now I've got kids to watch. When you babysit other people's kids and you're an adult, you can't really get repaid. For me it's too awkward getting paid - mainly because I'm an adult and getting paid for babysitting puts me on the same level as a 12-year-old girl. As it stands, my babysitting in the past has been really just a favor. And being married for nearly five years now has given me plenty of these favors. A bonus of this is that now I'm able to finally cash in on all that free babysitting. So if I've watched your kids in the last five years, it's my turn. Looks like I've got my Friday nights cleared for the next year. A side note to this is now I have an excuse when someone wants me to watch their kids at their house. Before kids, I was forced to go to someone's house so that their kid could be put to bed at home. This is one of my least favorite things to do. I basically have to mosey around in someone's house for three hours. Someone who usually has no cable TV and nothing to eat. I'm so glad that I will never be in this predicament again. For those of those of you who we have turned down (a recent favorite past time of ours), we will still ask you just as many times as you've asked us. We've been keeping track.
2. Anytime I don't want to do anything, I'll just use my kid as an excuse. "Really wish I could, but bedtime is 5:30, so...you know. Sorry."

Things I won't like:
1. Apparently, I won't be able to do anything at all for the next thirty years. That's just what I've heard, a lot, as in, "Me and Bobby haven't done ANYTHING together in SO long. I mean, I forget that we're even married sometimes."
2. Women and mothers being condescending about my parenting skills, because I'm a man.
3. It's also going to be hard because our blog will have to go private when our kid is born because we know there are all those perverts on the internet looking for pictures of kids at the birthday parties and the zoo. Kidding. I hate private blogs. I have thought about this before, and it was pointed out by someone else, but it is highly unlikely that random people are coming across your blog and then trying to abduct your kids. Unless your daughter is Jonbenet Ramsey. (Too soon?) All these parents need to cool it. "Ohmygosh, some guy in Shawnee, Kansas is looking at our blog. Do you know anyone in Kansas? I don't. He must want to steal our baby."

Mormon Blog Spectrum

Quite a few of my friends on Facebook posted a link to this article http://mobile.salon.com/life/feature/2011/01/15/feminist_obsessed_with_mormon_blogs/index.html and a few other friends emailed it to me. It was written by a self-proclaimed feminist atheist who says she can’t stop reading Mormon housewife blogs. She described a few of the blogs she follows and includes their links (I follow one of these already). The blogs she describes are very familiar to other Mormon bloggers because there are many other blogs just like the ones she talks about. However, this made me think a lot about the different types of Mormon blogs out there. They really don’t all fit in this category she is talking about, I would actually say most do not fit in this category. This has made me spend way too much time thinking about the different Mormon blog categories that do exist. I have broken this down into four categories. This will not include everything but probably the majority and be warned that it includes a lot of generalizations and blanket statements.

1. Artistic, Educated or Self-taught Mormon Wives
These blogs are the main ones discussed in the article. These women are typically college educated and have very real artistic ability. The non-college grads are self-taught which is pretty cool. These really aren't your typical Mormon wives. Many of them majored in something like Print Design in college. They spend much of their time making beautiful, vintage creations that the rest of us would probably buy at an expensive boutique or make a poor attempt to replicate. Also, you will notice these women have expensive cameras and some editing skills. All of their pictures look professional which means they actually know how to use their expensive cameras too. These women tend to be detail oriented, well dressed, classy, yet humorous. Their sense of style is really what sets them apart from the rest of us. They may dress in a unique way that is not typically mainstream but they would know how to redecorate your entire house and wardrobe better than anyone. They have husbands that listen to cool music and children with classic names like Henry. They do talk about their husbands and children on their blogs but it is not the focal point of the blog. They use their blog as an outlet for their vast amounts of creativity and exhibit how they use this creativity in their daily lives.

Phrase to describe this bunch: Artistic hipsters.
A few examples of my friends under this category:
Kenzie Sasser http://www.secretpocketblog.com/   (she has links to tons of others in this category)
Kylee Fackroll http://myyellowballoon.blogspot.com/

2. Family Orientated Record Keeping Mormon Wives
The author of the article never claimed that blog type number one is the only type of Mormon wives blogs out there or that the hipster blogs are the most prevalent. Her only claim was that she is addicted to that type of blog. Most Mormon Wives blogs fall under the family oriented record keeping category. These women are busy moms and wives that work hard to plan fun activities for their kids and lots of playgroups. These women spend most of their time discussing their kids, family outings, family events, and playtime. These women can be overwhelmed with all that is going on around them but are generally positive and happy. You could print their blogs into a book and it would easily make a family journal of their happenings and sometimes feelings. These blogs contain lots of pictures of kids. Some of these women do crafts and are very talented but that is not the focus of their blog. The blog is an outlet to show their daily activities and keep family and friends updated. The majority of my family and friends blogs would fit under this category. I like these blogs. They keep me up to speed on the people I care about.
Phrase to describe this bunch: Moms on the move (I think that is the name of a workout video).
A few examples of my friends under this category: too many examples to share

3. Explorers of Life’s Journey
These blogs focus on wherever life takes you. These women focus on always trying new things, sharing witty stories, travelling to new places, and a lot of self-introspection. A lot of my friends with these blogs are either single or do not have children. They are excited about life and the future. They never seem to have any expectations for the future but just let life take them on a journey. I love reading these blogs. They are so real and can be raw. Not raw in the sense of TMI but raw in the sense that they are letting you in. You almost feel like you are listening to your friend when you are reading it. Their personality and humor are ever present. They hate being showy.
Phrase to describe this bunch: Real life learners and enjoyers
A few examples of my friends under this category:
Hannah Prusso http://hanyon.blogspot.com/
Kirstin Hansen http://kirstinkayhansen.blogspot.com/
Courtney Hansen http://courtneykayhansen.blogspot.com/
Kate Buhler http://kateandgraham.blogspot.com/
Katelin Rowley http://thesummernanny.blogspot.com/

4. I <3 Me (Mom, <3 means heart in case you forgot)
These blogs are always interesting for me to read. I definitely think Seriously So Blessed is based off of this last type more than any other type. This type of blog is what made Tim and I create so many weird blog rules such as no using the word AmAzInG or excessive !!!!. These women use the word “I” a lot. Although there is some introspection, it is at a surface level. They want you to see their lives but they don’t want to let you in. These blogs can sometimes be unrealistic. The wives tend to have lots of highs and lows. Either things are picture perfect or it was the worst day of their life. Some of these wives can come across as immature or self-absorbed at times. Other times they do elaborate posts about their fantastic husbands and children followed by posts about something terrible their children or husband has done. These wives are social. They have lots of friends. They like to make sure their blog emphasizes this. These wives are fun, cute, happy, outgoing, and trendy. Mostly Utah trendy though. I think sometimes enjoy motherhood and sometimes hate it (which is normal from what I hear). Their blogs are an outlet for them and a way for them to have a showcase showdown with other blogs. These aren’t bad blogs, they are just an alternative type from the other two. I must admit that I find these the most amusing and the most annoying at the same time. I have no close friends with these blogs so I don’t end up reading them often.
On a side note, these wives tend have a poor music selection playing in the background.
Phrase to describe this bunch: High School was the best 4 years of my life
A few examples under this category: I refuse to post them for obvious reasons.

5. (Sorry, I added another category) Your husband writes your blog because he thinks he is funny and because he does more crafts than you. Sometimes the wife posts too. The wife wishes she took more pictures.
Example: Tim & Anna Hassell http://hassellplushassell.blogspot.com/

Antiques Roadshow

Whenever I’m flipping through the guide on the TV and come across Antiques Roadshow, I always stop for a minute to see what items may be sold. I’m always hoping for some secret compartment to drop down from an old dresser revealing an original copy of the Declaration of Independence or something. There have been some pretty amazing finds.

This is what I think about whenever I go and do work at the old man’s house on our street. He and his wife (now deceased) bought the house from her father roughly 25 years ago. Buying from family means they leave all their crap behind because it might be useful to someone someday. And old people love junk. So now I’ve got the junk of two people, all very well organized in old Jiffy bottles.

So this last week I’ve been working on stripping his basement floor of the old paint and applying a new, more durable finish. It’s terribly laborious, but it’s been filling up my nights and weekends. Going into his basement, especially the first time, I thought I was for sure going to find some awesome old furniture or at least an old confederate uniform. Didn’t happen. This stuff is in the basement for a reason.

However, while moving his things around (I have to do half the floor first, then move everything to the other half and do that side) I discovered an old, metal utility box. Being in this basement makes me a little more curious than usual. I’m generally very curious anyway, so this means I look at everything. So I open the box up because I know it hasn’t been seen in ages and it was hidden under a shelving unit. I wasn’t expecting much. I mean, the box on the shelf above it was filled with matchbooks from every casino in America. However, inside the box was individually wrapped (in aluminum foil) sets of bills. I wasn’t surprised. I know old people fear banks, keep a little money hidden in case of an emergency. However, when the old man came downstairs later on and I jokingly mentioned to him that I had found his stash of cash, he had no idea what I was talking about. It turns out that his father-in-law had put the money down there 25 years ago and forgot to tell anyone. He became very giddy.

So now the old man is $6,600 richer and I’m still waiting for my finder’s fee. He is going to split it with his two brothers-in-law. I still feel a little jilted though.