September or mid-summer?

I keep hearing talk (well, Facebook talk) about "fall" coming and cooler weather. Nope. Not here. We are still high 90's, low 100's, which is cooler than it has been here, but more like the dead-of-summer Utah weather that I'm used to.

The saving grace of living in Arizona has been the pool. The kids love it and so do we (lots of swimming = tired boys that fall asleep quickly). Just six weeks ago Hewitt was fairly timid in the water (he had a scary experience a couple of years back that led to major pool caution). Well, a super cute 20-yr-old girl home from BYU for the summer worked with both Hewitt and Tosh and I can't believe the progress. The kids have turned into little fish and get more confident all of the time. Now, I know that most of you are enjoying the cooler weather, but should you get a hankering for more summer, head on down. We'd love to have you and according to the locals, it will be "summer" until Halloween.

Okay, so Liv's first experience (on Saturday) wasn't the greatest, but everyone else loves it.

To bow or not to bow

I'm sure that we would all agree that most people in general have strong opinions about certain things. You may even find that there are some people that seem to have strong opinions about everything. The many hot topics out there include politics, education (home vs. public vs. charter), health care, and religion just to name a few. I'm finding as I get older that there are certain topics that I just really don't know how I feel about (yet), or have any real opinion on at all. I am finding that one topic that is as equally divided is the topic of "Hair Accessories for Babies." And you, faithful reader and friend, probably have an opinion on this too, don't you. Don't you? Yeah, I thought so.

Any of you that have seen any of my babies can testify that my babies are bald. Well, even if they are born with some hair/fuzz, they will surely lose it within a few weeks and then be bald for several months. I actually joked with the nurses before Tosh was born telling them, "I will be more surprised if he is born with lots of hair then if he turns out to be a girl!"

For years I've listened to the many opinions regarding bows (and "head squeezers" as some prefer), and I never had to worry about it. I was a "boy" mom. Well I finally have a little girl, and truth be told, I don't have an opinion on "the bow." I didn't want anything in Liv's hair when she was a newborn because I didn't need anything else attracting Tosh to the baby's head (he is known for stealing barrettes and bows from little girls). I have some darling clips and barrettes for Liv, but alas, my baby is still bald and not able to wear these yet.

A new friend of mine in AZ just taught me how to make thick headbands out of a pair of tights. These kinds of things are foreign to me. It sorts of goes back to my "fear of trends" problem; although I'm sure that Liv can pull off the latest fashions for baby. She's a doll after all.

To get to my point, I pulled out the sewing machine to give it a try and now I have something to attach Liv's cute bows and accessories to until her hair grows in. Whenever that may be. And I have to be honest: with bow in hair, I get way more comments on what a cute baby I have, and I can't argue with that.

Rock band

Ever since Rob and I started daydreaming about our future kids, we agreed that piano lessons would be a requirement. I've always heard that a good time to start a child in lessons is about 2nd grade (when they have reading down). I asked Burke if he wanted to start about a year ago and he did not show much interest. I assured him that he would be starting the next year. Well, it just dawned on me about a week ago that he is now in 2nd grade and it's time to get going! I brought it up again the other day. "So, Burke. I'm thinking that after soccer ends in December you can start piano lessons in January. What do you think of that?" Burke then tells me that he would rather play guitar. I am happy with this response (he is at least showing an interest in playing an instrument) and am even happier that I can use his "dear-old-dad" as an example. "You know, Burke; Dad learned to play the piano before he learned guitar. Wouldn't that be cool if you could be really good at both too?" I then think to myself for about the millionth time how blessed I am to be married to such a talented guy and the fact that his "mad music skillz" are what attracted me to him in the first place.

Skipping on to a different child... from the time Hewitt was about 18 months old, it was apparent that he had a lot of energy and a bit of a temper. My in-laws have suggested that we get a punching bag for our sweet Hewie (they got one for Rob's older brother when he was young and it seemed to help channel the aggression/energy). Well, the other day when Hewitt was a bit ornery and trying to take out his frustration by hitting the wall I had an epiphany, "Hewitt. We need to teach you to play the drums."

Suddenly a rock band was forming in my head (gol, I've been daydreaming a lot lately). Burke on guitar. Hewitt on drums. Tosh on keyboards (he has always shown the most interest in our piano and sitting with Dad while he plays anyway). Liv on bass (think of the darling girl that plays bass in "School of Rock"). The verdict is out for lead singer; my first instinct was to say Liv, although Tosh clearly has the pipes and personality for the gig (although Rob might put up a fight for lead...). My daydream was even complete with band name:

"My other brother Pete"

Get it? "On drums, my brother Pete. On guitar, my other brother Pete..." What do you think? I mean, look out Jonas Brothers, am I right?

A glimpse of a practice in session:

And I'll just hang onto this to use for part of Tosh's audition tape:

Note: It has just come to my attention (several hours after posting) that I wrote, "the verdict is out..." instead of "the jury is out..." in this post. That is pretty funny and such a "me" thing to do. Rob's sister and brother-in-law still give me a hard time for the time I said, "I hit the jack box!" instead of "jack pot."

Today's forecast: sun

Liv's room is almost complete. Paint: done. Crib: assembled. Darling newborn photo: framed. Curtains: hanging. It's still missing the final touches (and most likely will be for quite some time), but it's currently my favorite room in the house. It's peaceful, quiet, and the only room that seems to stay clean...for now.

As I fed Liv this morning, I watched her curtains sway gently back and forth from the *glorious* soft breeze coming from the ceiling fan (an Arizona must). As we rocked, I couldn't help but imagine "three-yr-old Liv" (with lots and lots of strawberry-blonde hair, of course) lying in her bed, watching the pale pink, faux-silk curtains lull her to sleep. One of my earliest memories suddenly came to mind: Lying in my sunny-yellow-walled bedroom at nap time, watching the room darken and lighten over and over as the sun went in and out of clouds.

Why is it that we say "the sun went behind a cloud" anyway? We all know that it's really clouds moving in front of the sun...the sun remains constant. Since writing my last post, I have reflected much about friendship and was overwhelmed by the kind and wonderful responses I received from many of my dearest friends. Thank you for the reminder that you are still there...behind my clouds. Much love, Tam.

My day

Maybe it's because my house feels like a complete mess (again)...

Maybe it's because two of my kids weren't being nice to each other...

Maybe it's because all I felt like doing was holding/taking a nap with the baby...

Maybe it's because the electric bill was over $600 (and I'm still hot!)...

Maybe it's because there is still so much to fix, replace, and buy for our "new" home and it's all so expensive...

Maybe it's because I don't get enough sleep...

Maybe it's because I'm trying to "ween" myself off of sugar...

Maybe it's because making new friends isn't always easy...

Maybe it's because my hormones are still crazy...

Maybe it's because I have a ton of personal goals that aren't being met...

Maybe it's because the two-yr-old didn't nap and is into EVERYTHING (he "decorated" the banister with the entire contents of my brand new floss, ripped into a box of cereal, pulled out all of the books out of the bookshelf when he got upset--oh wait, that was the 4-yr-old, etc.)...

Maybe it's because I feel alone a lot even though I am surrounded by people...

Maybe it's because I miss my friends...

Maybe it's because I miss my mom...

For whatever reason, I had a good sob today (well multiple sobs, it was just one of those days). It made me wonder, does a woman really need a reason for a good cry? As I waited for Burke's bus this afternoon (and yes, I drive to the bus stop; it was over 110 today), I turned on the radio which is rare, and my favorite Coldplay song happened to be on. I turned up the radio as loud as I could allow myself and tried not to worry about what the neighboring parents were thinking of the hysterical, ugly-crying, half-laughing woman in the "Utah" plated minivan. And for the next three minutes my world seemed wonderful again. My tried and true combo (tears and a little music) was just the right therapy.

Facelift

I thought it was time for another facelift. I figured that I might at well embrace the palm tree (hey, better than a cactus, right? ha, ha) as they surround me here. I've never lived anywhere where palm trees grow (so in that aspect it still feels like I am only here on vacation), and I have always loved them thanks to a mother that spent a semester of college at the University of Hawaii... My laundry room is even decorated in palm tree wallpaper!

The other feature that stands out here: blue sky. Every day. Thus the blue background. Now you have a glimpse into my new "world."

Just giving "the people" what they want...

more photos of Liv!