Well, Rejeanne and I handled a tornado warning tonight. That was interesting! Luckily our friendly tornado went 9 miles north of us, so it was a bunch of getting ready for nothing but it did give Rejeanne the rare opportunity to color all over herself with a pen while I got us prepared for tornado time. She had fun I think. I could do without tornado warnings. I like earthquakes. By the time you are terrified, it's over!

I'm thinking about naming the boy Lazarus instead of Cyrus. I don't know why I even mention it since I'm pretty sure he's going to be Cyrus no matter what I think I'm going to do. Lee can be pretty convincing once he has made up his mind about something, and he has definitely got his heart set on having a Cyrus around here! (Although, Lazarus is the only name I've mentioned that didn't get shot down right away, so I'm seeing a light at the end of the tunnel :P )

I'm so excited! My Mother's Day gift and card from Crimson finally appeared in the mail today! Crimson made me this awesome little vase thing with starchy tissue paper on the outside. It's really pretty. The picture doesn't really do it justice. She also sent me a big card that she drew a winter tree and snow on. I miss her soooooooo much! I can't wait until she gets here for the summer.

No one thought it could ever happen!

I finished the quilt top for Cyrus' quilt!! I designed this quilt for Rejeanne but never got it completed because of working full-time and having a gimpy back as soon as I started working on it again. Luckily, someone else made one for Rejeanne and she is extremely attached to the one she has. I made a quilt for Crimson when she was a baby too. I didn't know she was going to be a girl (I was actually soooooo sure she was a boy) and I made her quilt with a boy in mind. When I was done, my former mom-in-law and I looked at it and both thought it was very, very girly even though it was blue, green and purple. Good thing Crimson wasn't a boy!

Anyways, apparently if I think "girl quilt" it turns out kinda boyish as well because this quilt, in spite of being full of flowers, doesn't say girl to me at all! Maybe it is all the frogs!

The hard part is over! All I have to do is the border, assemble it and tie it. I'll take pics of the completed quilt as soon as it is done. I'm guessing it will be done in the next two weeks. It will have to be done before Crimson gets here in any case.

Rejeanne has had "cookies" less than 5 times in her entire life, this includes the Animal Crackers. I'm not a fan of feeding kids sugary foods but she is also allergic to milk products (including butter, the main ingredient of cookies!). On the rare occasion she had eaten an actual cookie, it's been more like a cookie crumb. The very first time was around Christmas last year and she instantly learned the word "cookie". Everytime she sees Animal Crackers in the store, she starts talking about cookies. Tonight, she reached for the bag and said "MINE!" and then "cookie!"

For some reason -- I'm guessing the low, low price of $1.82 for 2 pounds of Animal Crackers -- I let her have the bag. She held it close in the store, cried while it was being rung up by the cashier, and held it tightly all the way home. I've never seen her cling to anything quite so tightly, so I figured I should catch the moment of Rejeanne's deep love of "cookies". (Animal Crackers are the only "cookies" that are safe for her to eat that I have found so far)

I think it's going to last her all summer. That is a TON of cookies!

It was a beautiful sunset tonight, but we didn't get out fast enough to catch all the pink in the sky. The clouds were awesome though, so I took some pics in front of our apartments.

Why does Billy Ray Cyrus have to exist? Everytime someone asks "What are you naming the baby?" and I say "Cyrus", the response has consistantly been "What?", then I say "Cyrus", and then they say, "Like Billy Ray??". *sigh* For the record, I would never name my son after a man who had two kids by two different women in the same year, who sings country music and especially after the man responsible for that vile tragedy known as "Achy Breaky Heart". Until last night, I wasn't aware that he did Achy Breaky Heart, I just knew he was a country singer and Hannah Montana's dad. Now that I know he did Achy Breaky Heart and that even people who don't listen to country IMMEDIATELY think of this guy when they hear the name "Cyrus", I really don't want to use it now. Like REALLY, REALLY don't want to use it.

The Cyrus I had in mind when naming the boy was a Persian king considered a messiah by the Jewish people because of his amazing nature, he allowed religious freedom in his kingdom thousands of years before anyone else ever did it again, and has been written about in history and the Bible as a benevolent leader above any other in grace, kindness and leadership. As far as I know, he didn't have two chicks knocked up at the same time.

Seriously, Billy Ray needs a name change because I can't think of a better name for my son (and Lee would probably cry if I didn't name him Cyrus)

The other option would be if people could please make Evan NOT be the 14th most popular name in the country. That would rock.

I have this weird feeling that Rejeanne is going to bust out with a perfectly formed paragraph any day now. In the last week, she's started saying soooooo many new words and TONS of two word sentences. They sort of came out of thin air too! I can have a conversation with her sometimes (when she feels like it). I ask her if she went potty and sometimes she will say "I poo" which doesn't mean what you think it would mean, but just means her diaper is wet. I asked her if she found her blanket today and she said "I did". Then I answered some question of Lee's with "I know" and then Rejie said "I know" right after. She's been saying "I see" for awhile because it is the first couple words in her favorite book. It just seems like this whole talking concept has really escalated in the last couple days.

Wow! I'm 3/4 done being pregnant!! It looks like Rejeanne is getting a brother for her birthday! I'm 30 weeks pregnant today. I wonder how Rejeanne will feel about this type of birthday surprise...

Also, which is better: Evander, Evangelos or Ivan?

I had fun trying to do Rejeanne's hair this morning. It turned out pretty crazy because she wouldn't stay still, but it somehow worked for her. The rest are just me and Rejeanne, by popular demand.

Lee doesn't like it when I take his picture! The living room is the only room that is almost completely done. All that is left is a little organizing and the spiral of rope lights to be installed on the ceiling.
This may look familiar. I liked it so much at the last place that Lee put it back up for me here.
Our books are miraculously ON SHELVES!
I really like the zebra blanket from Judy on our couch. I'm not sure why exactly, but it does something for me.
This is the little wall between the kitchen and the hall. If you look really close, you can see the orange counters...and probably some dirty dishes :(

I'll take more pics as the house progresses and some of the yard and the front of the building. The building isn't interesting on the outside. It pretty much looks the same as the last place from the outside. I'm also going to try to take some pics of the lilac bush down the block and some of the flowering trees. Springtime is spiffy!

Since Gwen has been whining at me to actually be photographed with Rejeanne and pointed out that it hasn't really happened since October, those pics will probably be next. Maybe Rejie and I will get gussied up for this rarest of occasions, since me being caught in a photograph is something I avoid as much as possible.

Rejeanne has been in full effect so far today. She conducted a mom's arm/cell phone/alarm clock experiment, which was hilarious, but completely undescribable. She blew raspberries on my belly which her brother HATED. He curled up or something in there. It felt really weird. Then she did a drumming performance on my belly. Then, as soon as she stopped, she turned away and said in a sing-songy, imitation-of-mom-voice, "Don't do that, Rejie". I was laughing so hard I was crying at that point. Apparently, she thought the drum solo should have gotten her in a little bit of trouble. Rejeanne is notorious for doing naughty stuff and telling herself "no!". One time, she took my purse and Lee gave her the stern voice, she promptly set the purse down and pointed at it saying "no! no!" very vigorously. Clearly, the purse was the troublemaker that day. I wish her knowing she's not supposed to do something would actually stop her, but it doesn't. Not even close! She's just so cute and funny when she does stuff (even the naughty stuff) that it's hard to not appreciate her determination and spunk. The camera is put back together now, so if she is still having a spunky day after her nap, I might be able to get some evidence :)

Ack!

I almost forgot to post about the ultrasound today. We had one 5 weeks ago, and one today. He's still a boy. He's already about 3 pounds, 4 ounces (that is more than double his weight from 5 weeks ago) so he is on track to be another 9 pound baby. Even though my diabetes is more of a struggle this time, he's not having any noticeable effects, so that is great news. His organs are the right size for his body, there's not too much fluid, and as far as one can tell on an ultrasound, he's in tip-top shape!!

I also picked him up a tie-dyed jammie today. I can't resist putting babies in hippy clothes.

Random Thoughts?

I'm very thankful that I've learned to stop to enjoy hearing my daughter laugh, even when I'm in a hurry. I feel like I don't miss a moment of joy with her, that I don't take her for granted. I'm very thankful for that. I'm glad that I've tried hard to not live a life filled with regret and to just accept life for what it is - a constant surprise. (Now, if I could only train myself to LIKE surprises...)

One awesome surprise: My sadistic English professor ended up giving me an A! I thought I'd be lucky for a C!! So yeah, I'm the proud possessor of a 3.462 GPA for this semester. It's no 4.0, but it ain't too shabby for a pregnant chick with a gimp back and a short attention span who refuses to study when her kids are awake.

It's weird to feel like I'm "starting" college because I'm finally at a real university and going full-time in actual classrooms for the first time in forever, only to realize that I'm actually something like 6 units away from being a junior. I have very little general ed to finish up, so school is finally going to get more interesting!

I don't think my life has ever been this wonderful before. It's not just school though, it is everything. Moving to Vermillion was the best thing that could have ever happened to us. I want to say "except for winning the lotto" but I honestly think we are happier here poor than we would be in California with loads of money, so I can't even say that I'd rather win the lotto.

Say what ya will about my fly-over state, but life here is beautiful and I'm so glad to be grateful for it.

I have a friend

This is my bird. I love him! He perches on my window ledge and sings to me several times a day. He's very very tiny. Also, he's very bright orange/red but you can't tell too much in the photos. It's like having a pet you don't have to clean up after!

My budding artist

Rejeanne made these "spaghetti fans". All by herself even. I thought they looked pretty cool, even though she wasted a box of spaghetti and got into stuff she shouldn't have been messing around in! That's what happens when you move and your pantry is in a Huggies box on the floor.

Almost there!

We've almost got the boy named! Lee is totally winning on the name front so far. I hope the labor is easy because naming the baby is generally the award for pushing it out! Anyways, if you want to weigh in on the narrowed down name list, there is a new poll on the right. I'm trying not to be superstitious about having baby stuff in my house before the baby is born. I have a couple things hanging around and nothing bad has happened yet, so hopefully nothing will. I'm pretty serious about my superstitions!

Back to the name! I didn't have Rejeanne's name totally picked out until about a week or so before she was born and I started working on it as soon as I got pregnant. This naming thing is a lot of work! I wanted to name her Kailani or Cassia, but Crimson really wanted to name her Cassandra. Crimson won that one. I wanted to name her a French name and after my aunt Jeannie (I also had an aunt Jeanne, but I never met her) but I wanted to skip the Aladdin jokes, so I had to decide between Eugenie and Rejeanne. I also thought maybe I would never ever have a boy, so I should try to use Brian or Hallen for the girl, so I was going to use the Welsh name Briallen (it's pretty and it means 'Primrose'). Then the hardest part was the "naming kids after my grandmother and her sisters" trend. I only had Elizabeth and Elvera left to use (or Lillie or Hilda). I figured there were so many Elizabeths between the two families that I should use that, but I was really wanting a Hawaiian name, so I figured I'd find a Hawaiian form of Elizabeth, and that's how we got to Elia. So, she went from being Kailani Rejeanne something, to Cassia Rejeanne Elizabeth, to Cassandra Rejeanne Elizabeth, to Cassandra Rejeanne Briallen, to Cassandra Rejeanne Elia. *whew* See how hard that was? I guess my point is that the pressure is worse because this is the first boy (and likely the last baby) and I change my mind a lot, so it's not final until it's on the birth certificate.

In case you were wondering, Crimson's name was easier because I though she was a boy the whole time and only had a month to pick a girl name! I called her Cain for the first part of the pregnancy and wanted to still name her that when I found out she was a girl. She ended up being Crimson Alexandria Eleanor. Crimson because it was uncommon but I wouldn't have to spell it a lot, Alexandria because that is what I wanted to name Kellie but didn't because her dad's family had too many Alejandras, and Eleanor after my favorite relative. That was pretty easy :)

I guess since I rambled about the rest, I'll ramble about Kellie too! I was going to name her Alicen Hildur Ottilia, but I wussed out. Then I decided I'd name her a name I had NEVER heard before: Cailley (pronounced Kaylee). So, I told my boyfriend at the time that I was going to name her Cailley and he looked at me like I was nuts and said "Why don't you just name her Kelly, everyone is going to think that is what you are trying to say anyways!" So, I decided he was probably right and named her Kellie. Boy, she is soooooooo happy to not be a Cailley! I think about 90% of girls her age are Kaylee/Katie/Kylie/Kayla/Michaela/Caylin/Caitlin. At the time, I had NO CLUE how popular the name I had never heard before was! Anyways, her whole name was Kellie Alicen Helena (Helena is one of my grandmother's middle names. Her first name was Lola, but the Kinks killed that name permanently). When she was adopted, they changed it to Kellie Allison (her mom's name is Allison). Weirdly enough, she never knew her second middle name was Helena, but ended up naming her cat that.

So, um...world's longest name post or what?

We Moved!

Moving could have been better, could have been worse. We did manage (with lots of help of friends who love us) to successfully get moved. Unfortunately, we now have two cars that don't work, one of which is stranded in another state! Luckily, we've got a trustworthy, reasonable mechanic in the works in the other state but we don't know what's wrong with the car yet. As for the broke-down car in town, keep your fingers crossed that it is just a battery problem!

I took my first (and easiest) final this morning. I'd like to say I'm soooooo happy that I only live about 5 blocks from school, that it is not cold anymore, and that I did well on the test! One more final today, two more tomorrow, then finishing off a research paper and then DONE! At least until Fall.

I think Crimson is going to LOVE the new apartment. There is a ton of kids here her age and they spend all day outside playing. The play area is right underneath my window, so I'll probably even let her out there without me! She'll be happy about that. I baby her a little too much sometimes.

The playground being so close is a little rough on Rejeanne though. She just sits at the window yelling at all the kids and wanting to go play. I took her out there for a couple hours yesterday and that seemed to make her feel better. I think she's going to get a lot more time outdoors (which means less is getting done inside the house, but oh well!)

I'll try to get some pics up of the new place once we get a little more settled in and school is over. I'll be glad to see the end of this week!

In the meantime, I'll give a little teaser. My apartment has 1970's tangerine countertops...a color only know to exist in modern times in very well preserved tupperware.