Memorial Day...Memphis Style

It was a great having Beth home and not working for the entire three day Memorial Day weekend. Beth got her holidays mixed up and thought it was Labor Day weekend, because she kept me busy doing chores around the house all three days. We finished putting up and painting all the trim in the kitchen, so the kitchen is finally complete. And we also weeded and mulched both of the big flower beds in the back yard, one of them we had never touched since we moved in, so it was quite a chore. I am hoping my mother-in-law will help me plant some flowers or something in the one bed when she comes up after the new baby is born.
(just a disclaimer, in the above sentences when I typed "we", I meant "me" because Beth isn't as big of a help right now being 38 weeks pregnant and kind of slow on her feet, but she was there for moral support and to tell me when I was doing something wrong)

We spent a lovely Memorial Day at Isabelle's house this year. The weather was perfect, sunny in the high 80's with a slight breeze. We had beer, burgers and hot dogs to eat, along with a great fruit salad that Beth made. The girls loved playing on the steps of the pool.

But the biggest hit of the day was the sand/water table. The girls played for hours with it. Libby especially loved to mix the water and sand together and drop it all over the ground. I think Isabelle will need to get a new bag of sand for her table soon.

What's in a name

Since we aren't telling people the name of our new baby, I thought I would give you an insight into our thought process of choosing the name.

Here are some of the "rules" we followed:

• The name can't be in the top 20 most popular names for the past 5 years
• The name must have two syllables, that way it's easier to yell the child's name
• No family member, including in-laws can have a similar name, including their animals
• How my Dad may mispronounce the name must be taken into consideration
• You must never be able to walk into a store and buy any sort of novelty item with the name on it, such as a pencil, key chain, or miniature license plate
  

Chillin'

After a hard day of working around the house, Beth and Libby relax by putting their feet up.

Fact

My sister Susan hardly ever comments on peoples blogs.

Spaghetti Face

Libby had a dinner of champions last night: spaghetti and a pickle. She usually does a great job of using a fork and spoon, but decided that it is much more fun to use your hands when eating the noodles.


Sure makes me glad that these are borrowed clothes from her cousin Elise. We don't have to worry about getting stains out and such.

36 Weeks

Beth is now 36 weeks along and getting huge. She has a hard time finding a comfortable position to sleep in and even sitting on the couch involves pillows placed in strategic locations. Beth has only one more call to take and one more test before the end of the semester. Tomorrow, Beth has another OB appointment in the morning and then every Wednesday until June 8th when the C-section is scheduled for.

As you can tell her belly button has popped, so she is close to being done, that is if I have learned anything from watching butterball turkeys being cooked.

Libby still has no clue about whats ahead for her. She likes playing with mom's belly button, but has no concept that there is a baby in there. I am sure she will love Sherry Violet very much.

New Vehicle

On Saturday Beth, Libby and I went out and picked up a new (to us) whip. We went to CarMax and had a very pleasant experience. It was great because they carry a ton of different brands of vehicles, so we were able to check out and test drive a bunch of different cars. We also looked at the GMC Envoy, Cadillac SRX, and Dodge Durango. But none of those cars had nearly the room or the features of the Chrysler Pacifica. It seats six with plenty of room for other stuff. We plan on getting it tricked out with "dubs" and "spinners", also a DVD system.

How Nice

I got the nicest text message out of the blue from Dave today. He wanted to let me know how much I'm like Jesus. Or as I put it, how God-like I am.

Happy Birthday Ben

My youngest nephew Ben turns 2 today. Here are a few things you might not know about him.

5. When Ben grows up he wants to be a dentist. He will specialize in dogs.
4. Ben is one of Libby's favorite people in the world. When ever she sees a picture of him she says "Bin Bin" and tries to hold him. Ben also is responsible for teaching Libby how to wrestle.
3. I have never called Ben by his given name of Benjamin. He is always Bender or Ben.
2. Ben gets his athletic abilities from his Dad. He is the most athletic 2 year old I have ever seen. If Libby tried to ride a scooter like this she would crack her skull wide open.
1. Ben is the best baby ever. I have never seen him cry or whine. He always has the best smile on his face. It must be because he is a third child.

Happy Birthday Rudi

My brother in law Rudi turns 28 today. Here are 10 things you might not know about him.

10. In the 5th Grade, Rudi changed the spelling of his name from "Rudy" to "Rudi" so he could dot the "i" with a smiley face or a heart.
9. On one of Errin and Rudi's first dates, I arranged for a copy of the movie Rudy to be held for them at their local Hollywood Video.
8. Rudi's favorite basketball player plays for the Memphis Grizzlies. Rudi like him for two reasons.
7. I'm not really sure what Rudi does for a living, but he works mostly nights and loves walls of fire.
6. As I did, Rudi got very lucky in the wife lottery. As my old boss use to say, "Even a blind squirrel will find a nut once-in-a-while."
5. You'll always know when Rudi has sent a funny email or posted a funny comment on a blog, because he will call you and tell you about it.
4. Most of Rudi's high school friends have crazy nicknames like Tiny, Jaws, or Skid-Mark. He was just called Rudi.
3. Rudi pretends to be Hungarian because he loves goulash and paprika.
2. Rudi is one of only 6 people born since 1979 who went to college without watching the movie Tommy Boy. He says that he just doesn't find Chris Farley or his antics funny.
1. Last September Rudi got to witness the wonders of micro-surgery firsthand when he had work done on his groin. The surgeon told Rudi that they had to use the smallest laser they had.

Congratulations!

Will, my brother from another mother, is finally engaged! On Saturday he asked Monaca for her hand in marriage (and the rest of her too). We are very excited for them both. Libby Danielle and Monaca Violet will both be practicing for their roles as flower girls.

Post Edit: I have just been informed that the picture I posted is not of Will and Monaca, but rather Will and Kate, some random girl. This does not make me any less excited about the upcoming nuptials. So instead I am posting a picture of a monkey lifting weights. Also I accidently let the new baby's name slip.

Call a plumber

Looks like we need to call a plumber for Beth's mouth. Yesterday she accidentally leaked the new baby's name to one of her family members. That family member has been sworn to secrecy, she can't even tell her husband. If she tells anyone, I am legally allowed to change the name of their newborn child to "Squirt".

Lessons Learned

After staying at Dave and Cathie's house for four days, I learned many things about them. Here are a few of them

• Cathie loves shower scrubbies. I was not sure which one was designated to clean dingle berries out, so I rotated and used a different one each day.
• Dave and Cathie love dimmer switches. From their bedroom to the kitchen to the family room to the bathroom, you can assured that if the light is to bright for your taste, you can dim it.
• In the past I have always been amazed at what morning people Dave and Cathie are. But I figured out it is not because they like getting up early, but it is because they have no choice as they have no working shades in their house.
• Dave has the messiest office in the world. When I mentioned how messy it was to his son Nathan, he told me that Dave "only cleans the office once a year, but must have forgotten to do it this year".
• I consider myself something of an audio and video expert. But Dave has the most confusing TV/DVD/Satellite system I have ever seen. I had to call him for help on watching a DVD. Dave could really benefit from a Harmony Remote.
• Apparently anyone can get a free vacation to Costa Rica if they just ask Dave.
• As a family they follow the "If it's yellow let it mellow, if it's brown flush it down" rule.
  

Happy Birthday Allie

My niece Allie turned 4 years old today. Here are five things you might not know about her.

5. She is the most patient cousin Libby has. One time Libby reached up to take off Allie's hat and accidentally knocked her in the head. Allie told me "it's OK, even if she hits me in the eye it's OK".
4. Allie looks exactly like her mom (my sister). I sometimes call her Little Susan.
3. Allie is not the clearest speaker, sometimes I will have entire conversations with her on the phone not understanding what she is saying until Susan decodes a key word for me. Today's word was "streamers".
2. I helped teach Allie how to ride a two-wheeler bike.
1. Allie was once called a "fat little man" at an Old Folks Home by a lady with dementia.

Hooray

I am an Uncle! My newest niece was born at 9:25 p.m. Her name is Julia Alexis. She weighed in at 8 lbs 6 ozs is 23 inches long and 6 inches wide and like her older sister she has tons of hair. Congratulations Paul, Laura and Elise. Sorry there are no pictures yet as my brother-in-law Paul can't figure out how to work the camera on his phone.