insert interesting, attention-grabbing title here

okay, so i really need to post something...its been awhile, but i have no idea what to write. i did find out today that i will be induced next thursday morning (the day before she's due) so as to ensure my mother being here to watch the other little tike during the whole ordeal. i'm pretty stoked. its crazy to be able to know when the big day is. i just watched the bucket list so i keep thinking that its kinda like knowing the day you're going to die, but not really...yeah, that's a little morbid. sorry, like i said, i don't know what to write.
in other news, i did have a baby shower last week which was pretty fun. i kinda persuaded my good buddy, jen to host it for me....ssh, don't tell. we had fun, ate some food (all bad...including the spinach-artichoke dip from costco-yum), and opened several pink packages with more pink stuff inside. i'll admit that all the rosiness around is a little strange, but i'm sure i'll get used to it eventually. luke has been known to sport the once purely feminine color every once in awhile, so we'll get there slowly but surely. anyway, i don't currenlty have any photos of the festivities because someone else took all the pictures, but i will have them soon and, in turn, will share them all with you with some witty commentary i'm sure.
alright, well that about does it for the crazy rambling. sorry you had to go through it, but i was fulfilling my duty as a blogger to keep you all informed of my oh so interesting daily life.

and the winner is...

sofi lyn. i know it wasn't even one of the options, but it seems to be the right choice (just ask mr. president aka my husband).

la la la lola...or not

well, thanks to everyone to "weighed in" on my issue. it looks like it might've all been in vain, however, because my husband, who apparently thinks he is the president of the united states, has pretty much vetoed the winning name. he seems to think our baby should be hispanic if she were to be called lola. all of my arguments have fallen on deaf ears i'm afraid. so, back to the drawing board as it were. nora is still in the running, but now i'm wondering if there is an even perfecter...more perfect? name out there that i just haven't been introduced to yet. sigh...what to do? anywho, thanks again and we'll see what happens.

ps does anyone happen to know any songs with hand motions besides the itsy bitsy spider and popcorn popping? i'm pretty sure we sing each of them right around a thousand times a day.

life, love, and bubble gum toothpaste

i've been trying to hold off posting for awhile so as to allow you all adequate time to weigh in my newest dillema. i do appreciate those of you that did put in your 2, or in some cases, 50 cents, but i'm left a little confused. the majority of comments that came in seemed to favor the name lola, while the poll has had nora in the lead since the beginning. i'm not sure what to make of that, unless you are all deliberately messing with my already befuddled pregnancy brain. if that's the case...sheesh, how rude. if not, its okay. i know you all have your own life changing decisions to be concerned with. i'll figure it out one of these days i suppose. i do like the name stella...
moving on to the task at hand--bubble gum toothpaste. so, andy left town and apparently took the last tube of "grown-up" toothpaste with him. since every news program on the television has posted yet another storm warning, i didn't leave the house yesterday, thus giving me no option but to use the thomas the train bubble gum flavored toothpaste. i remember it being fun when i was a kid. we felt like we were slipping a fast one past the parentals by doing the mandatory act of tooth brushing with something that tasted like candy. nowadays, however, i must admit that it kind of gives me the creeps. mostly because when i'm done brushing, i don't so much feel that clean, just left the dentist's office with the knowledge that my teeth and breath are the freshest they've been in 6 months, feeling. instead, i'm left with this kind of ew, i just chewed on some really stale bazooka before turning in for the night. its a mind trick. the stuff leaves you with the question of did i just brush my teeth or are they going to rot during the night because my mouth tastes like something resembling strawberries? needless to say, i'm heading out after naptime (yes luke's and mine) to commandeer some plaque fighting, minty fresh toothpaste. disaster averted yet again. wow, this stay at home mom stuff can be pretty intense. i'd better go start on that nap.

christmas, eye infections, and name wars

well, here i am...i told you i would be! i finally got pictures onto my computer and am about to share them all with you. as you all know, and if you don't-you're seriously living under a rock or in iran or something, it was christmas a little more than a week ago. i know its redundant because everyone says it, and if they don't, well you know...anywho, christmas is pretty much the best time of year and my favorite by far. i love the weather, the smell of fires emanating from chimneys, christmas trees, lights, decorations, etc. it was also pretty exciting to have a kid who actually semi knew what was going on. by semi, i mean that he was aware of all the extra family around and the fact that santa looks like grandpa used to. he also didn't mind the fact that he scored several things with wheels and obnoxious sound effects. good times. one factor that made this holiday even more special was the "arctic freeze of 2008." special might not be the word that a lot of people would use to describe this particular weather phenomenon, because it caused some travelling issues, but the fact that western washington was blanketed with cold, white stuff made for a pretty stellar, white christmas. here are some pictorial highlights of the thomas family holiday.


ridin' the tractor with grandpa

mr. scrooge himself directing the decoating efforts on the front porch. what a good sport

luke really enjoyed imitating a marshmallow in his snowsuit get-up as well as sampling the christmas goodies that grandpa so lovingly shared with him. now i'm sure you're all wondering what the eye infection part of the title refers to. well, pictures speak a thousand words, or at least, in this case, explain what i meant. feel free to say it...poor luke--

no, there isn't anything wrong with his mouth...that was just the chocolate that gram gave him because we all felt sorry for him in his cyclops state.

finally, last but not least--the battle of the names has begun, well it actually began when we discovered the bun in the oven was a female, but it has continued. we (or i, i should say) have narrowed it down to two names.

lola or nora

now i know that there are a few of you who have attitude concerning the first option and its ties to a certain hispanic prostitute. let me address your concerns by stating that i was reading people magazine and there were three celebrities with daughters named lola...not one of them being hispanic. one was african-american, but none of them lived a double-life as a "woman of the night." there is also a rather annoying, but nonetheless existing cartoon on the disney channel that is titled "charlie and lola." no, it isn't a show about drug abuse among children. its actually an educational children's show about a pair of curious, blonde, british siblings. just because a band in the 70's decided to use the name in a song about a certain rendevous in a drinking establishment doesn't mean that the name should be contaminated forever. i mean, what about lola the showgirl, who conquered her fears and sang in front of a crowd? alright, off the soapbox. just let me know what you think by commenting here or answering the poll in the right column. the middle name is jean if that helps narrow it down for you.

happy new year and thanks for the help in advance!