What a guy (and what an egg!)

Earlier this week, Robert rubbed my feet for me. :) But that's not all. He noticed how scaly and yucky one of my heals was getting--it's summer, I'm hugely pregnant and bending, for me, is like trying to fold a hard boiled egg. (More on eggs later.) So, my good husband (who is quite adverse to anything "gross") offered to file my heal down for me with our little flat foot file. I got to relax on the bed while he scrubbed away. What a guy! It was awesome and my heal felt SO much better.

While in the process of scrubbing, he mentioned how we should get one of those Ped Eggs you see on TV. Yeah, we thought, someday. Whatever.

Well, very serendipitously (I think that's a word...blogger didn't highlight it) we were at Ross yesterday. I love Ross. I even considered it as a name for one of our boys--really--but not because of the store. And not because of Friends either. Anyway, at Ross, I was wandering the kitchen aisles, and saw a misplaced Ped Egg glowing like a beacon among the pots and pans! And the best part was, it was only $5.99! (I REALLY love Ross.) I snatched it, to be sure.

That afternoon, when we got home, I opened it and due to its ease of use, I was able to do it myself (since I didn't have to fold at my waist for very long) and loved it! It is exactly as they describe in the commercials, even down to the part where you open it up when you're done and have the satisfaction of seeing all the shavings inside and dumping them in the trash. So, I recommend everyone take a trip to Ross today and find their own little Ped Egg for $5.99 and give it a whirl.

My only complaint is that my toes didn't come out painted a pretty pastel pink. I guess you can't have everything.

Due date

By the way, I'm officially due Tuesday, the 1st.

Final belly shot

Here I am. This was taken about two weeks ago, but not much has changed (well, you can't see the daily-expanding stretch marks on my belly). I am making some progress, slowly, and expect this little guy to come within the next week, but we'll see. Anything can happen, of course. For the most part, I have a million false contractions every day, and a few times a day I'll feel something a little stronger, but that's been going on for a couple weeks now. I did wake up the other night with a pretty strong one that made me lie awake for the next 45 minutes waiting for more and thinking about all the things I still had to do. But, of course, nothing came of it. I'm getting really anxious and everyday I make a list in my mind of all the things I wouldn't have to deal with if I weren't pregnant. I also list all the things I could be doing with my new little baby. Sigh.

Maybe I should start sniffing peppermint oil and eating eggplant parmesan. I hope there's a full moon coming.

Craig and his pot (not that kind!)

Yesterday Craig carried a pot into the living room where Robert and I were, pulled out a spoon, set the pot on the couch, and proceeded to dip the spoon into the pot and serve us his imaginary concoction. And, woowee, if we didn't actually stick the spoons in our mouths, he was not satisfied that we had enough to eat...several times. It was pretty cute. I am constantly amazed at the connections he makes and the things he figures out.

Free Mars Bar!

Click here, enter your information, and they will send you a free Mars Bar within 6 weeks! Why the heck not? If that link doesn't work, copy and past the one below. You can do this every Friday through September. Hurry, they only give out 250,000 every week.

https://secure.realchocolate.com/default.aspx

Some more good news!

Last week Robert also interviewed for a job as a general manager of another restaurant in the food court at the same mall he's working in now with Sbarro's. Today the man called to ask him to come back for a second interview on Friday! We have no idea how much the pay would be, if they offered it to him, but we're guessing it would be at least a little more than the sous chef job and would probably include benefits. Of course, there's also the issue of how many hours he'd be working and Sundays off or not, but even after today he won't know about the sous chef job until the end of the week, so this gives him some time to look into both and see what is offered! It feels good to possibly have some options on the horizon. :) If nothing else comes of it, Robert feels better about himself. He was feeling pretty down last week with Sbarro's pulling the carpet out from under him. He felt like he wasn't doing a good job and it was his fault, but this has rebuilt his self esteem. Even if neither people offer him the job, at least he knows he was good enough to get two interviews out of hundreds of applicants. (Literally, hundreds.)

Some good news!

First of all, sorry for the downer last time. I don't think I'm the only one who just needs to get something off my chest once in a while (at least I hope not). And thanks for all your encouragement!

Robert did get a call back from a catering company he interviewed at last week about the sous chef position. They called on Saturday instead. They had said they would call Friday if he was chosen to do a second interview and if not, they had picked other people. That was part of why I was feeling down on Friday--they hadn't called and it didn't seem like they were going to that day. Anyway, this would be a much better position--more of what he wants to be doing. He would get salary pay and it would be more than at Sbarro's. It's also only 10 months out of the year, so he'd have July and August off for vacations or to make a little more money. It also would be fewer hours and he'd have almost every Sunday off. And they would give him the option of working some events for a really good hourly wage on top of his salary. So, he's going in today for this second interview and we should hopefully know what they decide by the end of the week. I just wanted to let you all know that and be a little more positive today since I was so negative last time. :) And thanks again for your help!

Is anyone out there?

Um, I guess I've been pretty boring lately. Did anyone read my last post? I didn't get any comments on it. Maybe no one was interested enough to watch the video and let me know what they thought.

Things have been difficult lately, so I will try to post as much as possible, but I guess there's nothing post-worthy. Craig and I stay home almost everyday since Robert has the car at work for 13 hours a day. Sometimes I bake something, but most of the time it's naps, organizing baby clothes, playing, and watching Disney movies. We don't go anywhere, and when Robert is off, we don't go anywhere exciting since he's exhausted from the long week and we don't have the money or gas to spend. Sometimes we go to the mall so Craig can play in their kids area for a change of scenery.

Plus, I haven't felt like getting creative with my posts, as far as the stuff we do at home. That's why I've been trying to post other things that are of interest to me. It's been pretty stressful around here with Robert's work. They told him two days ago that they are not going to promote him to co-manager, he won't be getting a raise, they are keeping him at the mall he's working in now instead of the one closer to home (which will be about $150 more per month in gas), and they're cutting his hours back. They're also not giving him Sundays off anytime soon and I was just called as a Primary teacher. Craig isn't old enough for nursery, but there are people willing to help. I have to get rides to church every week, and I don't know what I'm going to do at church in a month or so with no husband at church, no car, a newborn and a toddler, and just getting to church will be a challenge, let alone getting a lesson together that's creative enough for a group of rowdy 7 year olds who like to take turns sitting under the table and every answer they give starts with "underwear". We also have no idea how his pay is going to affect our medicaid, so we may not even have any health coverage in a few weeks when the baby is born.

Well, I'm sure this depressing rant has driven many of you away for awhile. I guess I just need to vent it all a bit. I will try to post stuff more interesting to you all, but it may be a lot less frequent. Like, I may see you in several weeks after the baby comes and there's something to tell. Or if Robert finds a better job. Or if I get released from my calling and don't have that to worry about anymore. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

America's Got Talent?

Robert and I like to watch America's Got Talent. This week a group of kids performed (two brothers and one sister) called Voices of Glory. They're pretty good, but what people like best about them is their story. Their mother was in a car accident and left pretty severely disabled and they want to win so they can provide for her. However, I think that sometimes people are blinded by the sob-story of the contestants and fail to recognize their talent for what it really is--good enough for a church choir and community stuff, but not worth $1 million dollars and certainly not an act I'd go see in Vegas. Go to this YouTube link and watch their performance this week of "You'll Never Walk Alone" and tell me what you think. Like I said, they're not bad, but the judges (for the most part) praise them and fail to point out some of the biggest flaws in their singing. They start out rough (which on judge mentions), they do get better in the middle, but then at the end, to me, it was literally a train wreck. It starts when the boy on the right (watch him at the end) cracks on the "a-" of "alone" and sings the "-lone" before either of the other two. Then they get to the last phrase where they sing "you'll never walk alone" and the little girl (who's 9) is supposed to belt out the "ne-" of "never" and not only misses the note, but doesn't sing the word at all. Anyway, I know it's just a show and no big deal, but it seems that everyone thinks these kids are close to flawless, and Robert and I were wondering if we were just hearing them wrong. Let me know what you think. If this link up top doesn't work, I put it down below for you to copy and paste.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMik73IHdTA

Bagels!

I attempted bagels a year or so ago with a recipe from someone's yuppie-I-think-I-know-how-to-cook-because-I-by-$90-cookbooks cookbook and they were a total flop--flat, hard, and flavorless. Nothing went right. A few months ago, I came across this recipe from the Smitten Kitchen and it seemed to have everything the other recipe didn't, so I gave it a shot. Here they are:

The recipe makes 12 so I made 6 plain (back left), 3 cheese (back right), and 3 cinnamon and sugar (front). They came out wonderfully. If you have a taste for authentic bagels but can't seem to find a good bakery, these are worth making. Robert even said he's never had bagels any better, not even from a bagel shop. They do require some patience, but they're not difficult at all. They also have to sit overnight, so they take two days essentially. But they are worth it. The first day is the most work. The second day they take probably 30 minutes total to prep and bake, so you can do them first thing in the morning and have fresh bagels for breakfast and not have to get up at the crack of dawn. Let me know if anyone tries them!

In case the link doesn't work, here it is again for you to copy and paste: http://smittenkitchen.com/2007/09/bronx-worthy-bagels/

Something to post!

I was in the kitchen and heard Craig beginning his frustrated whimper. He usually does this when he's trying to open something and can't, or put a toy inside something it doesn't quite fit into. This time he came toddling over to me and pulled on my dress. I looked down and saw something like this:

He had put the container on his head and it got stuck. I thought it was the funniest thing, I couldn't stop laughing. I took it off for him, but since I had laughed, now he thought it was funny and kept putting in on over and over again and every time I have to pull it off. A couple of times he got it on there pretty tight. I almost had to get out the butter.

As a side note, this new fascination with seeing what fits inside where has led to me catching him trying to put things like crackers and toys in his ears. Right now, he hasn't figured out those are all too big, but sooner than I'd like, he'll figure it out and then it will be off to the emergency room. Sigh.

More Famous Mormons

Since there isn't really anything interesting going in my life, and since I have been forgetting to get the camera out of its hiding place in a locked cupboard, I am going to post another set of famous mormons, in case you were interested by the last one. After this I promise to try harder to post things about my life.

Aaron Eckhart



This one surprised me. And it seems as if he's active. He served a mission in France and says that he loves things about the church but doesn't want to be known as a "Mormon actor".

Katherine Heigl



From "Grey's Anatomy", "27 Dresses", and the current movie "Ugly Truth". This what she says about herself: "I'm not as disciplined about it was I once was, but I hope to find my way back as I get older and a little less selfish."

Rick Schroder



“Schroder is ... a religious man; four years ago, he converted to Mormonism, joining his wife, who was already a member.” Interesting.

Ted Bundy (infamous rather than famous)



Serial killer and converted to Hinduism on death row.

Butch Cassidy



Bank robber born in Utah to pioneer parents.

The website has famous Mormons in sports, writers, artists, and all kinds of categories. Check it out at www.famousmormons.net.

Famous Mormons

Someone emailed me this website that lists a bunch of famous Mormons from music, movies, media, reality shows, etc. Of course there were some obvious ones (like the Osmonds and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir) but some surprised me. See how many you knew about.

The Jets (remember?)



They are active and had 17 kids in the family!

Derek and Julianne Hough



She's a country singer and they both are dancers on Dancing with the Stars.

Lacey Schwimmer



She was a contestant on So You Think You Can Dance and is now a dancer on Dancing with the Stars.

Amy Adams



Amy Adams, who grew up in a Mormon household in Castle Rock, Colo., the middle child of seven.

Amy Adams was raised Mormon until she was 11, when her parents divorced. She never practiced after that.

Wilford Brimley



Some of you might now him from something other than the Diabetes commercials he does these days. What was that 80's show he was in? Our House, or something?

Keene Curtis (for you Cheers fans out there)



He was a big time Broadway/Shakespearean actor. He was John Allen Hill on Cheers and Daddy Warbucks in Annie. He passed away in 2002.

Miss Utah 2008 Jill Stevens



I realize that most Miss Utahs are probably LDS, but this girl was a sergeant in the army was and actually a childhood friend of mine. Well, her sister Julie and I were the same age and little tomboy Jill was a few years younger. She was the only contestant in the Miss America pageant last year who wore a one piece bathing suit and a modest evening gown. Way to go!

There's more I'll post later.

A job!

I realized that I haven't written about Robert's job yet. He did get one (not up to his qualifications, but you take what you can get, right?). He's a manager at Sbarro's in the mall--you know, the pizza places. He's still training right now, but he'll hopefully be in his normal routine in a week. That means he'll get most Sundays off. He's worked the last two, so it's kind of stunk, but we're grateful he's working. He's still been trying to look and has had a couple other prospects, but nothing too promising. So, we're thinking we may just have to stick with this for a while. It's enough, but barely. The other unfortunate thing, though, is that he's been working 13 hour shifts. The overtime is great, but we never see him. And with only one car, Craig and I have to get creative with how we manage our days. Once the weather cools off, there are tons of places to go around here within walking distance.

I finished my online classes last week, hallelujah. I think I got A's in both! Considering how much time I didn't have to study, that's was a big accomplishment. Today was my catch-up-on-cleaning day since I haven't had the time or energy lately. It stinks to do, but it's so nice once it's done. Hopefully I'll only have to do one more big cleaning day before the baby comes. I can't believe I have less than a month. It's gone by so quickly and I feel totally unprepared as compared to my last one. Nothing is set or organized. We haven't gotten a frame for our bed so we can attach the co-sleeper to it or a double stroller, which I know I'll eventually need without having a car. We also need to start stocking up on newborn diapers and I need to go through the bajillion bags of baby clothes and at least separate out the newborn and 0-3 months ones. I'm exhausted just thinking about it all. :) But it's exciting at the same time. I can't wait to have another little cuddly baby, and to have the beginnings of a normal body back. Here are the things I look forward to the most, immediately post-partum:

-Peeing normally again
-Being able to see Craig when he's pulling at my knees
-Getting dressed without almost falling over
-Standing for longer than 5 mins. without my feet throbbing
-Bending at my waist
-Non-itchy and dry belly
-Turning over at night without the aid of a boon
-Being able to get up and down off the couch, or off the floor, easily

There are many other things that come later, too, that I am looking forward to. Not that I dislike being pregnant, but I'm just not one of those women that relishes the experience. I appreciate pregnancy more for the prospect of a new baby and see it as a means to an end, or a new beginning. Let's just say it's going to be a while before there's a third little Leal on the way.

37 Things About Me

I haven't had much to post lately, so I thought I'd throw this in. Copy and paste it into your blog and see if there's anything we didn't know about you. :)

1. Do you like Blue cheese dressing? NEVER!!!

2. Have you ever smoked a cigarette? No (if I had, I wouldn't admit it on here!)

3. Do you own a gun? No

4. What flavor Kool-Aid was your favorite? Grape, maybe...it's been so long.

5. Do you get nervous before doctor appointments? No

6. What do you think of hot dogs? With mustard, ketchup, onions and pickles!

7 Favorite Christmas movie? Muppet Christmas Carol

8 What do you prefer to drink in the morning? Orange Juice

9. Can you do push-ups? Nope, never have (not even when I had my Pilates body!) and probably never will. (I don't know why the font changed on this question...weird.)

10. What's your favorite piece of jewelry? The earrings Robert got me for Mother's Day.

11. Favorite Hobby? It used to be reading, but Robert felt left out, then it was crocheting, but Craig felt left out, and now it's spending time with Robert and Craig, by default. But I do really enjoy going for rides and outings as a family.

12. Do you have A.D.D.? No

13. Do you wear glasses/contacts? I should sometimes for distance, and I have some, but I don't wear them. I can pass the test at the DMV, so who cares.

14. Middle name. Lee

15. What are you thinking about at this moment? My middle name and how is sounds funny with my last name.

16. Name 2 or 3 drinks you regularly drink? Water, juice, Coke Zero (it really does taste more like Coke than Diet Coke.)

17. Current worry? Money

18. Current hate right now? Robert's long shifts and not having transportation while he's at work.

19. Favorite place to be? At home, ironically.

20. How did you bring in the New Year? Went to a party at a friend's house with no kids. Played fun games, ate junk food.

21. Where would you like to go right now? California to visit (thanks Josephine for making me home sick! :))

22. Name three people who will complete this. Probably not anyone, but maybe someone will surprise me!

23. Do you own slippers? Yes

24. What color shirt are you wearing? I'm not wearing a shirt...;) I'm wearing my blue nightgown.

25. Do you like sleeping on satin sheets? No, kinda sweaty.

26. Can you whistle? Yes

27. Where are you now? On the computer (duh) in the kitchen.

28. Would you be a pirate? For Halloween? I have been, I think. In real life? Only if Orlando Bloom were there, too. And only if he dressed up as Legolas.

29. What songs do you sing in the shower? I find it difficult to sing in the shower--I have my face under water too often.

30. Favorite Girl's Name? Hmmm, I forget. I've been racking my brain for boys name so much lately.

31. Favorite boy's name? Ethan right now, maybe Isaac.

32. What's in your pocket right now? I don't have pockets.

33. Last thing that made you laugh? Craig spontaneously cracking up when he put the ties from my dress in his mouth (why would that seem so funny to him?) Or maybe it was watching The Office. They were both happening at the same time (Dwight's such an idiot.)

34. What vehicle do you drive? Jeep Grand Cherokee, occasionally.

35. Worst injury you've ever had? Sprained ankle from falling off a horse. Worse than the broken arm I had. One of the worst parts was it happened in Sweden and even though everyone at the hospital spoke English, all the paperwork they gave me to help manage the pain was in Swedish.

36. Do you love where you live? Sure.

37. How many TVs do you have in your home? One, and it's plenty (the stupid thing is the size of four friggin' normal T.V.s)

Do you live in the Phoenix area? Are you a "manscaper"?

I was looking on craigs list for jobs for Robert and came across this. I don't think Robert would...um...be...um...willing, but if anyone else out there has this special talent, by all means, check it out!

Looking for somebody to shave my back for me, possibly regularly. I am overweight, if that is an issue please don't respond. I would prefer a male.

If interested, please let me know and include your rates.

Does someone out there actually have rates already set? How much would you charge?

Bon bons (shhhh--don't tell anyone)

So, I'm supposed to still be on this "no sugar" thing for 6 more weeks (any longer and I'll scream), or until the baby comes. But sometimes, you have one of those days: it's 110 degrees outside, you're 8 months pregnant, the only parking spots at Wal Mart are 100 yards from the store, and as you carry (because the cart guy just came through and there are no carts) your 14 month old 26 lb. son across the asphalt Sahara you notice half of the close spots are filled with people just sitting in their cars with the air conditioner going. And I had more to complain about that day, but I try not to complain. :) I just get ice cream. So, I found these wonderful little things in the ice cream novelty section. I tried to find a picture online, but I can't remember the name of them, so I will describe them. They come in a box of 12, there are a variety of flavors (I got strawberry), they are dipped in real, non-waxy dark chocolate (I think some kinds have milk chocolate), and there is a yummy, chewy, fudgy cookie on the bottom. I ate 6 on the way home, and the other 6 later that night. They're not cheap, mind you...about $5 for the 12 of them, but more than worth it that day, let me tell ya. Hope you find them and that they make your stinky days that much better!

A Day Away

Last week I had a doctor's appointment and it was going to last all morning. There was a lot of catch up work that needed to be done. The new Harry Potter movie came out the night before so Robert said, "Since you'll be gone a while anyway, you might as well go see Harry Potter." I was so excited!!! Neither of us have been able to do anything fun (date nights or anything like that) since we moved and Robert's been looking for work. For one, we don't know any baby sitters down here and on top of that, we haven't had any money to spend. But, Robert said I could spend $7 and see the movie. It was so nice to have a day to not worry about nap times and everything. Oh, and I really liked the movie.

What's the story about JK Rowling writing another book?

Monsoon!

Something I've learned about this area is they have this thing called Monsoon season. It starts pretty much in July and goes through the summer. Every night for the past couple of weeks, the clouds have rolled in and we'll get thunder and lightening in the distance, but no rain. Finally, last night for the first time, we got The Rain. It was quite the show. The thunder was so loud I was afraid it would wake up Craig, but it didn't. The cat got pretty freaked, though. The wind, the rain, all of it was pretty cool. I really love storms like that. I've missed it since Montana's primary form of precipitation is snow, not much rain and certainly not many summer thunder storms. By the way, I didn't take that picture, but you can pretty much see the lightening as clearly as that.

As a side note, we've decided that Craig isn't going to make his first words clear to us for quite some time. For now, he's content to speak his first language...Ewok.

Me: Craig, will you bring me the remote?
Craig: Yib wada wob doooooooooo! Daba dish?
Me: Thank you, love.

Yesterday, I asked him to find the calculator and bring it to me which I wasn't sure if he knew the word "calculator" or not, but he dutifully marched off with the gleam of a quest in his eye. A few seconds later, he came back and triumphantly thrust the bag of cough drops into my hands and smiled at me so proudly. I just said, "Oh, thank you Craig! What a good boy! You're so smart!" I can't wait until he begins actually speaking English. Oh the funny things he'll say. :)

Updates

Things have been kind of busy lately. Robert's been out doing the job search thing. It's tough right now. Since we've been married (and we've moved and changed jobs a lot) it has never taken Robert longer than two weeks to find a job. And we've lived in much smaller places than this. I know we hear about the economy and unemployment statistics, but until you live it, you don't quite realize how bad it really is out there. But we continue to be greatly blessed in many, many ways. I just keep thinking that this time is meant to build our faith and to literally put everything in the Lord's hands. Everyday I think of that scripture that says not one sparrow falls from the sky without Him noticing, so then we should feel confident that He will notice and take care of us, too. Don't worry, though, I'm sure something will work out. I feel oddly at peace. :)

On other subjects...I believe in karma. Right after I posted that last thing about men and colds and being sick, I got a cold. It hasn't been bad, but enough to tire me out and make sleeping difficult, especially since I'm limited on what medicine I can take. Now Robert is getting it. So far he's being womanly about it :). If it gets any worse, I may have to take my own video of him and his "man-cold", which we all know is much worse than what I have right now. Oh, I guess I shouldn't say that. Now I'll get the stomach flu or something.

Craig had his first little bleeding accident, the poor little guy. The other day he was squeezing himself between the recliner foot rest and the couch next to it and tripped on something. His body barely fits into that little space, let alone his head, so when he fell he really mashed his face along the side of the foot rest. We weren't too worried since the foot rest is padded, but he was crying really forcefully. I just held him and shushed him, then he pulled his head away from my shoulder and his mouth was covered in blood! We cleaned him up, gave him a Popsicle to eat and numb the pain, then he let us look. His lip must have caught on the edge of the foot rest because he had completely torn the flap of skin connecting his top lip to his gums! Wow, that must have hurt. He had a little fat lip for the rest of the day, and whimpered a few times when he accidentally bumped his lip a couple times, but he's fine now. We haven't looked at it again, but I guess it's healing. Those mouth wounds just bleed so badly, it really freaks you out. He's a boy, so we'd better get used to it. :)