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!

sorry, no pictures...soon i swear

okay so...an apology is in order to all of you who actually read this glimpse into my life. i'm sorry its been so long. it all started because i didn't have any pictures and then i had pictures, but not transferred to the computer, and now i've been camas which you all know means dial-up internet, which means i don't come within 10 feet of the computer. that was a serious run-on sentence.
anyway, to make this sob story even sobbier (i know its not a word, but since i already failed on the grammer side of things, i decided to just go with it)...i don't have pictures again. i won't go into why because i'm sure you're already bored, but i wanted to say merry christmas and happy new year and tune in because my false promises will become true promises as soon as i am surrounded by the wonderful aura of wireless internet. i hope you all had a wonderful holiday and that the new year brings everything you are hoping for. how's that for cheesy?
thanks for your friendship, support, and for all the fun i have reading about your lives. i'll be back...i promise :)

merry christmas!

apparently its finally christmas on the sutton blog. i promise i really am chock-full of christmas spirit, i just have been totally blog-retarded and haven't even looked at it in pretty close to a millenia. its going to be awhile again unfortunately because i'm heading to the internet black hole that is my parents' house. i'm definitly going to try and post again before i fall into the great abyss. you all definitly need an update on the business/moving scenario that will be happening in the near or distant future...depending on the child that will be arriving. hasta pronto...hopefully.

ode to the phenomenon that is twilight

so, i have to come clean, i was among the choice few (actually many) who endured the late night bedtime in order to catch the very first showing of twilight: the movie. the experience was fun overall and definilty interesting. among the sporatic mother and person my age...there were about 500 screaming teenagers and the occasional boy. i know what you're thinking. they took their girlfriends because it would be girl heaven, right? well, there was actually a row of about 5 males that were there without a feminine escort. i guess we're not the only ones who love edward...right, ladies?

all in all, the movie was pretty good. i don't have too many complaints about it, some of which could have been avoided if those aforementioned adolescent girls were missing from the experience. the other quite large problem was the actress who played bella. i think i might be mostly alone in this because i haven't heard of too many other people who didn't approve of her, but she drove me nuts nonetheless.

i'll just leave it at that for those of you who have yet to experience the joy of seeing edward lifesize and in color (and in the form of cedric diggory, which i surprisingly wasn't upset about after all. he did pretty well considering the beautiful shoes he had to fill).

ps even though i did see if before all of you, i was in the front row and thus had to rub and refocus my tired eyes every few minutes so don't be too jealous.

happy edward viewing!!

is there a punishment for blog neglect?

yeah, so obviously if there is, i would charged with it. i've been feeling rather badly that i haven't posted a new installment in the day in the lives of the sutton family for quite some time, but i have a good excuse. actually, i really don't. i've just had a severe case of blogger's block. plus, i don't really have any pictures...add those two together and there's your formula for no new post in several days. in fact, i really don't have a lot to say now...i'm just really trying to come up with something so that a new little title will pop up on your lists saying that i posted something like all good bloggers should.

i guess i'll just use this pictureles blog to fill you all in on the drama that is andy's business or lack thereof. so, a while back, i wrote a cryptic entry about something that was happening to andy and his "employment status." well, to make a long, agonizingly annoying story short, his business partner told him he wanted out of their partnership. this was the day before we left for utah mind you. woo hoo! nothing like crappy, crappy news to get you on your way to a fun-filled vacation. so, we left and andy talked with several people that he knows from living in salt lake for 20 plus years of his life and he found someone that was interested in starting up a new company. enter satellite professionals, inc. set to debut any day now. i say set to debut because now he is in the course of jumping through hoop after hoop thrown so mercifully by dish network and brought on by the awesomeness of changing companies when least expecting it. i can see the comments now:

where are you going to live?
when are you leaving spokane?
where is your child going to be born?
are you going to be homeless?

all very valid questions, but not of them have i been able to answer for all the countless people that have asked me up to this point. needless to say, its getting a little frustrating. mostly because i love the holidays and i'm feeling a tad sabotaged. i mean seriously, kick us out of the business two months before christmas??? that's like getting dumped right before prom (which i was by the way. i ended up going with a boy that i had a bargain with at the beginning of year-stating that if neither of us had a date, we would go with each other. tmi? sure, but sad nonetheless, right?) anyway, in short...i think its really funny that people write in short after a horrendously long explanation like i just did. gotta love irony. yadi yadi yada...we've had our very own scrooge/crachett experience this year and i guess it hasn't killed us, so that means it will make us stronger supposedly.

in reality, i really do have a lot to be grateful for. i have a wonderful husband (how's that for cliche? i'm workin on it) who is willing to overcome this hiccup shall we say and seek new and better opportunities. i never have to wonder if he will be willing to put blood, sweat, and tears into his work. preferrably just the middle one, but you know what i mean. i can rely totally on him and for that i will be forever grateful. i also have a healthy child, who even though has learned the fine art of screaming to portray both good and bad emotions, is hilarious and fun and the reason why i get up at 10 to 7 everyday. life is good, christmas is coming and this blog is getting unecessarily long. i guess some stuff to say after all. thank you all for your support and kind words. its been a bit of a trying time, but i'm glad that i have friends like you and all the blessings that come with that.

here's a picture to lift your spirits in case they need lifting. it certainly did the trick for me:
Nothing says happy fall like a good old fashioned lighter sale. gotta love spokane

up and coming...

yes, i am still here and yes i do have halloween pictures that will make you all wish that luke was your child because he's so darn adorable, but no i do not have them posted yet. i've been experiencing blogger's block yet again, but keep the faith. you'll be updated soon :) don't despair!

let the games begin

apparently i left a subliminal message on my blog saying, "please tag me" because it happened twice in one day. thus, this entry might be a tad on the long side, but i'm going to fulfill my blogging responsibility and follow through with each tag. i was never one to just give up when playing the game in the backyard as a child, so i don't see this situation as being any different. on with the show...

Eight Shows I like to Watch:

The Office (duh)
Pushing Daisies
NCIS
24!!! jack is really the man
Bones
Burn Notice
Chuck
Numb3rs

Eight Restaurants I like to eat at:

Black Angus
Spencer's Steakhouse (two words...wow)
PF Chang's
Linnie's Thai
Ruth's Chris
Olive Garden
Costco...yeah, its really true
Shogun (Bennihana's)

Eight things that I've Done today:

wish that i worked out
went to playgroup
took a nap :)
went to olive garden with some friends from pullman
picked up the truck from the shop
bought some chuck taylor's (yay)
let luke play at the kid's place in the mall
watched playhouse disney...good times

Eight Things I am looking forward to:

luke's first trick-or-treating experience
CHRISTMAS!!!
day after thanksgiving sale
thanksgiving itself, of course
moving on with andy's new business
finishing all the annoying details from his old one
having the child that is taking up the majority of my mid-section
the end of the terrible twos...does that ever happen?

Eight Things on my wish list:

no more love handles
a new wedding ring (in the works)
knowing where i will be living
a breast reduction...those of you that know me, know how important this one is
a sweet pair of buckle jeans
a haircut from chris
gray converse (just got them today)
a shopping spree at baby gap

Eight people to tag: (Sorry ahead of time)

jen
leslie
devin
meghan
andrea
ashley
annie
adam (both of you...why not)

i'll continue with the other tag tomorrow. one of my eight shows is currently on and my husband is threatening to turn it on without me

october field trip

i'm jumpin on the bandwagon and posting pictures from our "annual trip" to the pumpkin patch. i put annual in quotations because this is the second time we've ever been to one...andy and i included. well, i can't be totally positive about that, there is a lot from my childhood that i don't recall but as far as i know there aren't pumpkin patches in seoul, korea. anyway, we went last week and gathered up our global gourds with the sincere desire to carve them up as is the halloween tradition. kickin up my heels?

even though the express purpose of our voyage to green bluff was to acquire pumpkins, i'm pretty sure that luke was more interested in acquiring a wheelbarrow to push around. aah, the little joys in life.

happy birthday luke

here it is, the moment you've all been waiting for...the documentation of luke's amazing 2nd birthday. now, don't be surprised if you experience feelings of utter jelousy brought on by the explosion of creative amazingness. um...or just have a good laugh because i sure did. so, we were in utah for 3 weeks and before i knew it, we were on our way home the day before luke's birthday leaving no time for the creative juices to flow (as if there were any or something). anyway, we get home, head to toys r us and purchase the tricycle that luke has desired ever since he was a wee babe. we invited over a few friends, one who happened to be an 18 month that we have been known to babysit every once in a while...the others were all a tad bit older than the little guy, meaning they were our age because we haven't been around long enough for luke to actually make any little buddies of his own. sorry little buddy--anyway, i put the soup in the crock pot and the cake in the oven. everything was going pretty well until the cake came out and subsequently fell apart, leaving poor pooh's head detatched from his body.

luckily, i have a cake-maker extraordiaire for a friend in pullman so she saved the day this last weekend by making a halloween style concoction that not only stayed together, but looked awesome and tasted even better. thanks again pal. the night was saved by the unveiling of the tricycle and train acquired that day from the store.


2 down, many more to go (aka more chances for me to succeed with a memorable party that might actually make sense).
ps all the pictures have made it into the safe confines of the computer's hard drive, so exciting installments all about new york and the yearly trek to the pumpkin patch are coming soon.

80 percent chance of showers...

i mean that i'm having a female child. aaaggghhh!!! don't i have enough emotions on my own? now i have to learn to help another estrogen ridden being to cope when the floodgates open? i must admit i had a feeling that this one was gonna come out looking more like me than her dad, but its still a bit of a shocker.

there you have it folks. as if my life story wasn't funny enough, now you get see me struggle through raising a mini version of myself...oh boy, or girl i guess. thanks for all the support. ps still pretty stumped on the name, if you have any thoughts. here's to mini me!

winnie the pooh and disposable cameras

i made the realization that i've been pretty lax in the blog writing lately. sorry, i'm going home today and i'm gonna scan some pictures (yes, scan because i've been using a disposable camera while the digital is out of commission) and post some photos and some worthwhile reading that will make you all tear up and hug your loved ones. or maybe i'll just do some more rambling in the form of run-on sentences as i've just demonstrated.

tomorrow is luke's birthday and i am hopelessly unprepared yet again. yikes, is the kid going to be 18 before i actually plan something for him in advance? i guess by that time, he won't need me anymore...oh gosh, we need to move on to a different topic. anyway, if you have any ideas, i would greatly appreciate them. so far, i have a winnie the pooh cake tin and the determination to get him some sort of tricycle. yeah, not much i know...my only solice lies in the fact that he won't remember how unfortunate a mother i am currently and there's always next year. i know this is the last year for both of those blessings, but i fully intend to take advantage of them. yadi yadi yada...happy birthday luke and if you want to come partake in the joyous occasion that will be the anniversary of his birth, it will be this saturday, time and place and all that jazz to be announced.

ps baby sutton will be discovered tomorrow afternoon. if you're important enough, i'll let you know. totally kidding.

a blog from the big apple

i only have one hour left until the billing cycle on my "in-room" high speed internet connection expires, so i thought i'd leave a brief synopsis of our trip so far. we've only been here a day and a night so far, but the lure of nyc has definitly taken me in already. since yesterday was sunday, we spent the entire day, well maybe the entire day, but a lot of it, walking around central park. its really amazing that all that green exists in the middle of all the concrete. we had a great time exploring and today we're off to ground zero. as luck would have it, my luck, my camera is out of juice...of course and my mom doesn't have one. we will most likely be purchasing one today so i can document this a little better than with just words...for those of you visual learners of course.

happy national stay at home week!

isn't just a little bit sad that the nation has set aside a week for all of america to stay at home at night just to watch television?? a little bit sad, and yet we are fully participating. unfortunately, the mixture of free satellite and a toddler that needs to be in bed at 7:30 has made a recipe for a show a night in the sutton household. yes, i'll admit, sometimes 2 or 3...blame it on the dvr. i thought about divulging the long list of shows that we have come to know and thus get addicted to, but i'm afraid i wouldn't come off looking so good...so, instesd i'll just let you know that tonight is probably the biggest of them all. the one hour office premiere is this very night! i can't believe its already here. we are a little bit sorry, however, that we are here in utah (i will call andrea, i promise...haven't i mentioned how much i suck at phones?) while our faithful fellow office watchers are in spokane. a moment of silence please...alright...that should do it. tonight we find out what is going on between dwight and angela and if jim really will ever get to propose. aah, sweet drama. as a side note, we will also discover if warick on csi really is dead. yikes. do i sound like a housewife or what. somebody save me from myself. for all you that are snuggling up on your couch in front of your flat screen or regular tv, of course, happy office to you and i hope you have a relaxing night with whomever you might be spending it with.

thanks dudes

i think that's a recycled title, but it works for this post nonetheless. i promise i wasn't trying to whine, it was just one of those times when you realize something and have to write it down. i guess if i was a poet, i would've been able to write something profound and meaningful...but, alas, i am what i am and i'm grateful for those of you that wished me late regards. i was happy to get them. on a higher note, as i was perusing some other blogs, i ventured upon one birthday post discussing the joy that comes on a birthday, but also her "resolutions" if you will for the year to come. i guess i learned a bit of a lesson and decided it was time to end the pity party. i will come up with my list and let you know...stay tuned

another "big day" come and gone

so, i usually like to keep this little glimpse into my life pretty light and witty, but i'm feeling a little low and i thought i'd share that with you. it doesn't really make any sense to do such a thing, but i've seen others do it and its worked for them so here goes...sunday was the 29th time i celebrated my birth into this world. i received 4 phone calls, 3 of them consisting of family members. thanks, larissa by the way. you made my otherwise mediocre day. side note-isn't it sad that you reach about 23 and suddenly, birthdays don't really consist of presents and parties and instead are just mostly full of the day to day humdrum stuff you do anyway? maybe that's just me, but anyway...i got a text message or two that night and then went to sleep and woke up to another day which i'm sure was someone else's birthday, but for me, it was just the day after mine. the day that made me realize the point of this rambling post, which is that i've failed as a friend. i guess my severe deficiency in keeping in contact with people has led to their lack of remembering my birthday. it was a sad, sad discovery (there is a better word for what it was, but i'm suffering from a harsh case of pregnancy brain at the moment), but one that will hopefully motivate me to be a better friend. so, to all of you whoe read this blog, thanks for doing so and i will try to recognize all of the exciting happenings in your lives...including the day that only comes once a year for you and should be a very happy day and one that you don't have any worries but to feel special. happy birthday everybody! thanks for checkin in

false alarm

so, apparently i misled several of you (or maybe you just didn't understand such literary genius...kidding) into thinking that i would be discovering the sex of our newest little one this week. sorry, i just had a routine check up. everything does seem to be fine, however, and its full speed ahead...whether i like it or not, i guess. we did get some pretty bad news about andy's business, but i will fill you in as information comes to light. for now, we're headed to utah and then we'll really find out what's on the horizon (as far as if the nursery is going to be pink or blue) when we return in october.