Cops and Robbers

I just witnessed a robbery. It shook me up a little. I was out grilling when I heard a strange cracking noise. I thought something was falling on top of the covered parking in our complex. Then I heard more cracking and glass breaking. I followed the noise to the apartment building facing us and I watched a man shatter the sliding glass door on a ground-level balcony. I quietly backed into my own house, hoping he didn't notice me, and called 911. As I did, I heard what I think was the apartment's alarm system going off.
Steven was at the grocery store so after I phoned the police I called him to tell him to be careful when he pulled in as he was already on his way home. As I spoke with him, I noticed a car pulling out of the parking lot awfully fast. Though I'm pretty sure that was the guy(s) in the car, the H* police made me proud as they got there within minutes from my phone call. Steven happened to pull in right in front of the police and pointed to the apartment where I had described.
I, meanwhile, was hiding out in my children's room with the lights out watching the whole thing. When Steven knocked on our front door, I think I jumped about 4 feet. We watched the police as they waited outside to make sure the person had gone, brought the k-9 unit, and actually went in to make sure no "bad guy" was still inside. They later came to ask me what I saw.
I was mostly just a little flushed and excited about the whole thing. But I noticed the rest of the evening was shot. I was in a terrible mood, yelling at my kids for the lamest reasons. I even brokedown and cried when I noticed water on the bathroom floor from who-knows-what?. And kept crying. And crying (and I'm not a huge crier). That's when I realized, it bothered me more than I thought to watch the vulnerability of our home. Though we hadn't been broken into, it just as easily could have been us. The only thing we have going for us is being on the third floor - not an easy getaway for anyone. We've been blessed with safety for this long in this city, I pray that our little home will continue to be so.
Anyway, I knew writing about it would help me cope, so you poor people get to hear about my drama.

The Nutcracker

Two nights ago, Steven and I were lucky recipients of two excellent tickets to The Nutcracker performed by none other than the H* Ballet. I felt very cosmopolitan as we rubbed elbows with other theater regulars.

Though I took ballet lessons as a child and have always loved the ballet, I've never been to a performance of The Nutcracker. Nope, not even by elementary school-aged children. My parents were never really into that sort of cultural thing. They found it dry and dull. Maybe it's the background and training, but I thought it was fabulous! I think my own children are still too young to appreciate it (or even sit through it for that matter), but it will definitely be something I introduce them to.

Thanks to John and Elizabeth for the tickets! We're only sorry we couldn't all go together.

Name Nonsense

Now that we've decided that we aren't finding out the gender, the name issue has reared its ugly head. We have weekly familly discussions involving everyone's opinion on naming the baby. Before I go any further, as much as I would love to share my name ideas, I just don't have the stomach to. Responses to name ideas are never good (especially from my mother - sorry Ma, it's true). Here are some of my favorite responses from people:

• Oh, I had a dog named that once...
• Man! I was going to use that name. Great! Thanks alot!
• The "smelly kid" in my 5th grade class was named that.
• Wo, never heard that one. So, uh, how would you spell it?
• Isn't that's a boy's name?
  

So don't bother asking us what we are thinking of. I won't break. If you want to know more about what and why we named our other kids, see my entry November 2nd. Maybe from that you can guess, but until that fateful day in May, you will await yet another surprise from the Mick Monkeys.

Genderless

Yet another decision has been made in our house. We are NOT finding out the gender of the baby. I was pretty wishy-washy there for a while but we've finalized and decided that we're up for the challenge (of not finding out) and the surprise that will occur in the delivery room. Even as I type this, I'm dying to know -- but I can be strong, right?

Travel Plans

We've made our big decision on our Christmas plans. We've decided to postpone our trip to Utah until further notice. I now realize that I'm so relieved to have finally decided. I felt like everyone was waiting around to see what we were doing and when we were doing it. Though most are leaving elsewhere to visit their own family, we're happy to have a few select sticking it out here in H* with us.
Everything is just too up-in-the-air right now. I can't bear the thought of making that drive twice within a month. And getting tickets right now is ridiculously expensive. So I'm very happy to be staying. I know I'll see my family soon enough.

Trading Places

I can't tell you the irony of the past two days. Steven and I have truly traded roles in the home. He's taking care of meals, bills, and cleaning. Meanwhile I work all day, come home, bathe the kids and feel pretty tired. My favorite of all this was this morning as I left, Steven called down to me as I was getting into the car and wanted to make sure I had taken the right keys. I double checked and sure enough, I had my keys and Steven has misplaced his. For any of you that know me, I'm a chronic key-loser. I laughed the whole way to work knowing Steven had become me.
I will say that our house hasn't been this clean in a while. I had lost all motivation when we decided to move. Steven's been doing an excellent job at something I wasn't too sure about. I'm not sure, however, how long both of us will last in our new roles. The kids are enjoying their time with Daddy and I'm enjoying my lunch breaks where I get to go Christmas shopping without using the art of stealth-shopping so the kids don't know that I've slipped their wishes into the cart.

Job Announcement

We are very happy to announce that today we received a wonderful job offer we can't refuse. Ironically, it's not for my husband, it's for myself.
After all of Steven's efforts to obtain a job, his ego was somewhat thwarted yesterday when a friend called me out of the blue and asked me if I could do some temporary work in a local doctor's office to help with billing. It paid well and wouldn't last more than a couple weeks. Since Steven's home and we could always use some extra cash (especially since Christmas is around the corner), I couldn't help but jump at the offer. So I'm off to work for the common good of our household starting tomorrow. Wish me luck!

Late Thanksgiving Report

I have a bit of catching up to do. Our best friends John and Elizabeth invited us (again) to John's parent's ranch in/near B*. We, like last time, had a wonderful time and were able to stay three days instead of only one. Here are the highlights of our wonderful Thanksgiving:


Even though we could cook here (indoors), we decided to mostly cook here (open flame is always preferred).









The ranch had 10 cows that we were able to feed. They were all female and pregnant. Bradley, being all-too-wise for his years, knew about pregnant women because of his mother. And learned a thing or two more from Uncle John. Here are a few treasures out of that monkey's mouth:

• "Okay ladies, come to Papa." (Calling them to the feeding pens.)
• "John, they can't move that fast, they're pregnant!" (After John told the cows to hurry up.)
• "Moooooooooooo!!!" (We like to stress communication - even if it is with the animal kingdom.)
  
• "Mom, I think being pregnant means that you're going to have a baby and your mean." (Yesterday, after I got mad over something small and unnecessary to get angry over.)

Emmy being VERY brave - thanks to LeeLee!

Bradley on John's shoulders being, well, less brave.

Emmy giving John some extra needed love. Emmy has him wrapped around that chunky little finger of hers.






Bradley and his treasures (various animal bones) found on the 300+ acre ranch.









Not all were found by him, but the next picture is definitely his favorite find considering his history of broken elbows.

Real highlights:

From L to R: John, LeeLee (Elizabeth), Steven, Mindy, Emmy, Bradley, Harriett & Frank (owners of the ranch). Thanks for the memorable time.

Graduation

Oh how I've missed my blog. It's so therapeutic! Graduation was so much fun and a great experience. Jon and Domie were able to visit from SF* for a grand ol' time. There was lots of sightseeing and even more eating! (Ummm, I need to do something about that extra 3 lbs.)
Speaking of which, my little - or not so little - tummy seemed to have popped out this weekend. I noticed Friday night at the commencement ceremony that my skirt fit, just not nearly as well as before. By Sunday, my blouse wasn't enjoying its time buttoned up. Those poor threads were hanging on for dear life. I guess I just have to accept it at some point during my pregnancy. The only problem is that it's still way too early for maternity clothes, so I'll either look like a vagabond in roomy warm-ups/pj's or red in the face with eyes popping out because I'm sucking it in.
Here is Steven walking across the stage. My camera wasn't able to get it's flash clear across the room so you could see him really well. If I turned off the flash, it was miserably blurry. Earlier in the day, Baylor held an awards ceremony for the Allied Health Program. This includes his Physician Assistant class as well as the Nurse Anesthetist class. Steven was one of 1/2 dozen students to receive an award for maintaing honors grades throughout his 1 1/2 years of rotations. Way to go, Babe! We were all (yes, including Steven) very proud of him. We had no idea he was going to receive it. Besides, he'd never tell anyone, so this is my chance to brag about him.

As most graduations go, this one was slightly too dry for my kid's taste. Apparently there wasn't enough animation or candy involved. They decided to take a quick snooze on my lap. Besides that they were surprisingly well-behaved for a 7pm commencement.

Here's a picture of our little celebrating group. Though lots of our family was unable to make it, they've been super supportive in many other ways. Thanks Jon and Domie for a wonderful time in H-town.

Images Worthwhile

And this is why I have babies...


Thanks, Natalie, for a surprisingly successful shoot.

Exhaustion

I'm not dead - not all the way at least. I've been getting frantic calls and emails from readers asking if I'm okay. First of all, I had no idea of such a fan base - sort of flattering. Secondly, all is well in the household, I'm just exhausted from a truly busy...no, insane week (er, I mean weeks). More later, I need to go to bed.