April Fool's

Mother Nature and my dad are the best April Fool's pranksters ever. Mother Nature--two days of weather in the 70's, daffodils blooming, sun burnt husband...it all leads one to believe that Spring has finally arrived. And then Bam! Mother Nature dumps a winter storm on us. She gets me every year with the same trick. Silly girl that I am, I get a little sunshine and start packing up my sweaters and breaking out the sandals and shorts. Every year. Without fail. I fall for it every time!

The only one who can rival Mother Nature in trickery is my dad. He has a fool-proof method (and, if truth be known, foolish children who naively believe their father). The secret to his annual April Fool's success? He keeps it simple, and he gets you in the morning when you're not thinking properly. His common stand-by April Fool's trick is to wake you up and tell you that you need to go clean-up where your cat puked/pooped in the living room. Every year, without fail, I would drag myself out of bed, stomp up stairs, and go in search of cat puke/poop. One year, I fell for the same trick when we didn't even have a cat at the time!
My sister is worse than me at being gullible. My favorite is when my dad woke my sister up and told her that her goat had escaped and was running havoc through the neighborhood. She got up and went in search of the run-away goat only to return home and find her goat and my dad sitting in the front yard laughing at her.
This year my dad woke my sister up and told her that she had a flat tire. He even offered to let her borrow his car, but, wait! my sister was parked behind my mom and how would my mom get her car out to get to work? My sister was stressing out, trying to figure out what to do, when my dad reminded her what day it was.

I've tried to follow in my father's footsteps, but have never been quite as successful as he. Sure, there was the time I convinced my best friend, Jean, that I had been arrested, and I needed her to come help me so that my parents wouldn't find out. And then there was the other time that I filled a bowl with bubbles, walked to Jean's apartment, and dumped the bubbles on her head. And there was the 'yarning' stage of my life when I would break into the apartments of my friends and possible love flames and create a giant web of yarn, so you couldn't even enter the apartment. But I know that I am no where near the mastery of my father.
This year though, I posted that we are having a boy on Facebook, but then added that it was April Fool's day, so was it a trick or not? So, I told the truth, but quite a few people still aren't sure whether I'm having a boy or girl! Fun times! =)

Anyway, in honor of April Fools and my dad, here is one of my favorite stories about playing tricks. This is a short story by Paul Jennings. For some reason I can just relate to this story!

Parents are embarrassing.

Take my dad. Every time a friend comes to stay the night he does something that makes my face go red. Now don't get me wrong. He is a terrific Dad. I love him but sometimes I think he will never grow up.

He loves playing practical jokes.

This behaviour first starts the night Anna comes to sleep over.

Unknown to me, Dad sneaks into my room and puts Doona our cat on the spare bed. Doona loves sleeping on beds. What cat doesn't?

Next Dad unwraps a little package that he has bought at the magic shop.

Do you know what is in it? Can you believe this? It is a little piece of brown plastic cat poo. Pretend cat poo. Anyway, he puts this piece of cat poo on Anna's pillow and pulls up the blankets. Then he tiptoes out and closes the door.

I do not know any of this is happening. Anna and I are sitting up late watching videos. We eat chips covered in sauce and drink two whole bottles of Diet Coke.

Finally we decide to go to bed. Anna takes ages and ages cleaning her teeth. She is one of those kids who is right into health. She has a thing about germs. She always places paper on the toilet seat before she sits down. She is so clean.

Anyway, she puts on her pajamas and gets ready for bed. Then she pulls back the blankets. Suddenly she sees the bit of plastic cat poo. 'Ooh, ooh, ooh,' she screams. 'Oh look, disgusting. Foul. Look what the cat's done on my pillow.'

Suddenly Dad bursts into the room. 'What's up, girls?' he says with a silly grin on his face. 'What's all the fuss about?'

Anna is pulling a terrible face. 'Look,' she says in horror as she points at the pillow.

Dad goes over and examines the plastic poo. 'Don't let a little thing like that worry you,' he says. He picks up the plastic poo and pops it into his mouth. He gives a grin. 'D'licioush,' he says through clenched teeth.

'Aargh,' screams Anna. She rushes over to the window and throws up chips, sauce and Diet Coke. Then she looks at Dad in disgust.

Dad is a bit taken aback at Anna being sick. 'It's okay,' he says, taking the plastic poo out of his mouth. 'It's not real.' Dad gives a laugh and off he goes. And off goes Anna. She decides that she wants to go home to her own house. And I don't blame her.

'Dad,' I yell after Anna is gone. 'I am never speaking to you again.'

'Don't be such a sook,' he says. 'It's only a little joke.'

It's always the same. Whenever a friend comes over to stay Dad plays practical jokes. We have fake hands in the rubbish, exploding drinks, pepper in the food, short-sheeted beds and Dracula's blood seeping out of Dad's mouth. Some of the kids think it's great. They wish their Dad was like that.

But I hate it. I just wish he was normal.

He plays tricks on Bianca.

And Yasmin.

And Nga.

And Karla.

None of them go home like Anna. But each time I am so embarrassed.

And now I am worried.

Cynthia is coming to stay. She is the school captain. She is beautiful. She is smart. Everyone wants to be her friend. And now she is sleeping over at our house.

'Dad,' I say. 'No practical jokes. Cynthia is very mature. Her father would never play practical jokes. She might not understand.'

'No worries,' says Dad.

Cynthia arrives but we do not watch videos. We slave away on our English homework. We plan our speeches for the debate in the morning. We go over our parts in the school play. After all that we go out and practice shooting goals because Cynthia is captain of the netball team. Every now and then I pop into the bedroom to check for practical jokes. It is best to be on the safe side.

We also do the washing-up because Cynthia offers – yes offers – to do it.

Finally it is time for bed. Cynthia changes into her nightie in the bathroom and then joins me in the bedroom. 'The cat's on my bed,' she says. 'But it doesn't matter. I like cats.' She pulls back the blankets.

And screams. 'Aargh. Cat poo. Filthy cat poo on my pillow.' She yells and yells and yells.

Just then Dad bursts into the room with a silly grin on his face. He goes over and looks at the brown object on the pillow. 'Don't let a little thing like that worry you,' he says. He picks it up and pops it into his mouth. But this time he does not give a grin. His face freezes over.

'Are you looking for this?' I say.

I hold up the bit of plastic poo that Dad had hidden under the blankets earlier that night.

Dad looks at the cat.

Then he rushes over to the window and is sick. Cynthia and I laugh like mad.

We do love a good joke.

It's a Boy!

Yesterday we had the big doctor's appointment and got to find out what we are having. Beforehand, when Sam was asked if he was having a baby brother or sister, he went with sister. When asked if he wanted a baby sister, he shook his head 'no'. When asked if he wanted a baby brother, he shook his head enthusiastically 'yes'. Grandma M has been certain from the beginning that the baby is a girl. She's been making pink John Deere quilts from day one. Grandpa D informed us when we were pregnant with Sam that I would be having all the grandsons in the family and Amanda will have the girls. Papa J and Grandma J made no bets, but Grandma J did buy some tights for a future little girl the other day. Nic and I knew we would be excited about a boy or a girl, though I think Nic was secretly hoping for a boy because I kept telling him how abundant cute girl clothes are and that if we had a girl, I would not be able to refrain from going on a complete shopping extravaganza. Well, Sam was wrong but got what he wanted. The Grandmas' quilts and tights will have to wait for the next one. And Nic has been spared a total shopping spree (though there will be plenty of 'little' shopping sprees for the new baby that just can't be avoided). It's a BOY! I guess I will continue to be out-numbered in this house, and I won't need to change the name of my blog. I liked what my friend, Heidi, said last Sunday. She said that if we are just going to have two kids, then it would be nice to have a girl. But then she said, "I don't think you'll be done with just two, so I say it's a boy!"
We are so excited for this new little one. I am sure that Sam and his little brother are going to be the best of buds! And, most likely, a holy terror duo running havoc through the house and neighborhood with Gus hot on their heels. The baby is healthy and is looking good. The silly boy kept hiding from us, so it was difficult to get a good look at his face. He kept ducking behind things when we would try to look at him. I wonder how much of their personality babies have in the womb because when we did Sam's ultrasound, he was dancing all around and flipping us off and not afraid to show it all off. There's also one ultrasound picture where it looks like Sam is working on something. It was so Sam. Sam is my social butterfly, my ball of energy, and he is a little mini-Nic. That was apparent from those very first ultrasound pictures. I wonder if this baby boy will be a little more like his momma--a little more reserved and shy. I guess I will just have to wait to find out. All I know for now, is that he is beautiful and that he is a complete miracle. Me and my Boys--it doesn't get any better than this!

Mulan Sweepstakes

Okay, I will admit that I was sucked into the Disney Movie Club...you get four free movies for a penny each and all you have to do is buy four more movies at regular price (plus shipping and handling)...I resisted them for awhile but eventually they wore through my defenses, and I've been Mickied. Now I'm not advertising for them or anything but I have to say that it hasn't been that bad of an experience so far--nothing like the Colombia House experience of my early twenties but that's another story. Anyway, the other day I ordered Pinocchio and instead received Mulan. Not a big deal except for the fact that I already own Mulan (thanks to the Disney Movie Club). Now listen carefully. Here is how this simple mistake is about to become your lucky day! I called customer service, and they were very kind and said they would send me my copy of Pinocchio right away. When I asked them what they wanted me to do about Mulan, they told me to just keep it as an apology for their mistake. Lovely! So I'm offering my first blog sweepstakes today. In honor of the luck of the Irish and all that, the first person to comment on this post and not judge me for being sucked into clubs and infomercials will receive their very own copy of Mulan (may I add this is the special edition DVD). Good luck! =)

A Boy and his Dog

Gus is Sam's dog. Sometimes Gus is scared of Sam, even though he outweighs him by more than a hundred pounds. But they are already becoming an adventurous duo. They both like to see what mischief they can find. Gus likes to help Sam out by finishing his dinner for him which Sam likes to throw on the ground for Gus. Gus also tends to stand in the way when Sam is doing something he's not suppose to be doing, and I'm trying to get to him. I can't wait until it warms up and I can turn these two loose outside!

Sam Up-dates

Friday Sam had his 15 month check-up. The doctor says that Sam is looking good. Sam is in the 20th percentile for weight and height and in the 96th percentile for head size. In other words, he's short, skinny, and has a big noggin'! The doctor says his head is so big to hold all the brains! =) But everything is looking good--Sam is a normal, healthy, strong 15 month old. Sam was funny because I think he's starting to build a fairly good memory of the doctor's office. He wasn't too excited about the stethoscope and kept swatting it away, and he's learning his lesson to watch out for those cute nurses. He had to get three shots this time, but he was brave and only cried a little bit.

Sam is such a character. He is such a social butterfly (like his daddy). He will talk the ear off of anyone who will pause to listen. When we were in Reno a few weeks ago, I swear everyone at breakfast each morning at the hotel knew Sam by name. "Good morning, Sam! How are you today?" And Sam would jabber away with other hotel guests, the front desk receptionist, the buffet hostess, and pretty much everyone. He loves to tell stories--funny ones, scary ones, adventurous ones--he has all sorts of stories and sound effects for them. He will jabber and then pause for a response and then jabber away again like he's having a real conversation. You can't understand what he's saying (he has his own complex language), but you get the gist. So far he can say, "mama," "dada" (his favorite word!), "pup-pup," "gus-gus," "papa," "nanna," and something that sounds like "out gus". But he won't say any of these things on demand! He likes to mimic the sounds I make. For example, when I first get him dressed, I usually say, "woo-woo! You look good!" So Sam has taken up saying, "woo-woo!" He can clap his hands by himself and loves to play peek-a-boo. He can also follow simple commands, like if I ask him to hand a toy to me.

As far as walking goes, he is so close. He walks along furniture, walls, etc. We have a couple of push toys that he will play with occassionally. He likes to push garbage cans and chairs around though. He can stand all by himself as long as he doesn't know that he is standing all by himself. The minute he realizes he's standing alone, he goes down. He can walk holding onto to someone with just one hand. He can do it; pretty much, he just needs to decide that he wants to do it. He can go up and down the stairs by himself, and he's a climber. He climbs everything! He'll pull drawers out and attempt to scale a cabinet by climbing up the drawers. He climbs up onto furniture--the other day I discovered him sitting in the rocking chair in his room playing. Unfortunately, he also has no problem with doing nose dives off of whatever he has climbed!

Lately, Sam has decided that he is a goat. He head butts everything and everyone. He and daddy have a tradition that they do knuckles, noggin', and kiss before going to bed, but now Sam noggin's everything! He's taken up head butting things when he's frustrated. So if he can't figure a toy out, he head butts it. If the door won't move out of his way, he head butts it. If mom does something that makes him angry, he head butts her. Last Sunday at church, Nic did something that upset Sam and so Sam head butted him. That was the day that Sam learned an important lesson: Daddy's head is far harder than his head. I don't think he'll try that again! Unfortunately, mom is hard headed but not as bad as daddy, so I'm still in the line of fire!

I am amazed at how smart Sam is and how good of a memory he has. If I take something away from him, he will remember exactly where I put it and go for it a few minutes later, probably when he figures I forgot about the object! The other day Sam found a shape block under one of his toy drawers, went straight to the drawer where the shape sorter was, and pulled out the sorter to put the shape away. I was impressed that he could remember what the block was associated with and where we keep the toy. Sam also loves to read, though he doesn't have a long attention span. We go to reading time each week at the library, and I'm proud to say that Sam is usually one of the well-behaved children in the group. He pays close attention to Miss Allison and tries to do what she says. He looks forward to going to story time each week.
He loves observing other children and trying to mimic them too. Unfortunately, Sam had his first lesson in mean kids the other day. After story time, he was playing at this play station while I check out a book. A little girl wanted to play with what Sam was playing with and pushed him down. Sam was devastated and couldn't understand why someone would do that to him. All the other children he's ever really played with before have been his cousins, and they adore him and treat him really well. He cried more from the idea that someone was mean to him than from being physically hurt. Now he's a little more apprehensive of kids he doesn't know and I've noticed him swatting the hands away of other kids from the toys he's playing with when he used to just parallel play with no problem. I know it's all part of growing up, but it's so hard not to want to shelter him from every bad and mean thing out there. Shame on that mean little girl!

All in all, Sam is just one amazing kid in my book. It's hard watching him change from my little baby to a little boy. He's growing so quickly and learning so much. Love that little guy!

A Valentine's Treat

For anyone wondering why Sam keeps patting his belly and repeating, "Baby, baby, baby...", there is an explanation--the kid just can't keep a secret. He must take after his mother in that aspect! And despite his confusion, there is no baby in his belly, but there is one in mommy's belly. What?! Yes, it is true, I am thirteen weeks pregnant! The secret is out! You have no idea how hard it is to keep a secret like that! I did my best, though there may have been a divulgence (this is a word I made-up meaning a 'spilling of the beans') or two and a rapidly expanding waist line. We just had our second doctor's appointment today and got to listen to that beautiful beating heart. What a miracle! I am amazed at this wonderful new blessing in our lives. I have now posted some of the original posts from when we found out to our first doctor's appointment.

We wanted to tell our parents on Valentine's day with a special Valentine's treat. First, we went out to G-ville to tell my parents. My sister was in on the secret and helping me with my secret plans to surprise my parents. Well, we were trying to work around my dad's work schedule with driving bus. I originally thought it would be cool if he were at the high school in his bus, and we had one of the secretaries call him in on the CB, but that didn't work out. So I told Nanny to tell my dad that she wanted to take him out on a daddy-daughter date for lunch. Then I forgot about that, and texted my dad to see what time his lunch was because Sam wanted to bring a special Valentine surprise. My mom heard that Nanny was taking my dad out for lunch and was jealous that she wasn't invited. Then my mom saw the text where I asked my dad what time his lunch was and thought that Sam and I were going out to lunch with my dad also. My mom was upset that she wasn't invited and included, and, sources say, she was a bit upset and grouchy that Valentine's morning. Anyway, Nic got off from work and we all drove down to G-ville. We picked up my dad and Nanny, and headed to the high school where my mom is a secretary. We must have planned really well because my brother was also at the school helping out with the mock trial team. We marched into the office and Sam presented grandma with a dozen red roses and a card. In the card we wrote a couple of Valentine's poems:
Roses are red,
Violets are blue,
When it comes to grandkids,
In August, you'll have TWO!

Roses are red
and liked by others,
Gus and Sam are so excited
to be BIG BROTHERS!

They were so surprised. They weren't expecting that news at all! My dad thought the Valentine's surprise would be that Sam was walking. We all went out for hamburgers to celebrate, and then Nic had to get back for work.

A few hours later, we took Nic's parents out for dinner. We told them that it was payment for taking care of Gus the week before. We then presented grandma with a dozen yellow/orange roses. I had put the name of each their grandkids on each rose. Right now, they have ten grandkids, plus Gus, and then on one rose it said, "Coming soon". So we told grandma to look at her roses. Then we had this frame for her. In her living room, grandma has these folding frames with a picture of each of the grandkids. So we got a folding frame and put a picture of Gus in one and "? Jenkins--Coming Soon" in the other. Then in the card, we had another poem:
Grandkids are special,
Grandkids are fun,
If you count Gus,
You'll have eleven plus one!

They were also very surprised. At first, they thought we were trying to tell them that we were getting another dog!
So once again, we've pulled off a grand surprise (though I don't think anyone is as surprised as us!) Grandmas and grandpas are excited and can hardly wait. What a Valentine's treat!

Reno

This week Nic had to go to Reno for work, so Sam and I decided to tag-along. We're having a great time. Breakfast buffet in the morning, cable television on a big screen (yay, Disney channel!), a maid who cleans up after us...we could really get used to this life! This is how it works: Nic has to go to work early in the morning and works all afternoon. Meanwhile, Sam and I sleep in (well, I sleep in, Sam plays and chats all morning), then we go down for breakfast and then plan our adventures for the day.
Yesterday, we took a ride on the free hotel shuttle and went to the planetarium at the University of Nevada Reno. It wasn't open yet, so Sam and I ended up exploring and hanging out on campus. Sam actually took a good two hour nap in his stroller while I had fun in the bookstore. It was kind of fun to be on a college campus and pretend to be college kids. The only problem was that I didn't plan well on Sam's outfit. In trying to keep him warm, I dressed Sam in his BYU sweatsuit to go hang out at UNR. Same colors, though, just wolves not cougars. Oops! =)
Finally, the planetarium opened, and we got to watch a video about oceans in the super dome. Sam loved the sardines swimming over our heads! Then Nic was done with work and came to find us. Then we got to hang out with daddy for the rest of the day.


The next day we mostly vegged at the hotel until Nic was done with work. Then we went and explored Carson City a little. It was fun except for it was really chilly. One of the things I love about us is that we can just go somewhere and explore and have fun. It doesn't have to be a theme park or something extravagant (though I don't mind those either). We just enjoy being together and learning about new places. When we left Carson City, Nic drove us by the 'bunny farms' to prove to me that they actually exist. I was very angered, not because Nic drove us by them but because they exist in the first place. I don't know if there are other places in the U.S. where prostitution is legal, but in this one county in Nevada, it is. I guess I just always assumed that prostitution is kind of like slavery and that we all agreed as a nation a long time ago that it is wrong. I guess I thought wrong. It makes me sad that women feel like they have to do those sorts of things to earn money. And it makes me angry that there is enough business out there to keep the industry going.

On our last day in Reno, Sam and I went downtown and hung out at the casinos. Did I mention that the shuttle driver for the hotel was super nice. The shuttle supposedly only went to a couple of places, but he took us wherever we needed to go. He even told me that if we needed to go to the store, he could take us! He was fun to talk to and told us all about Reno and how to get around town. On the first day, he dropped us off at the university campus and then worried all day about us because the weather had suddenly changed to stormy. He was just a nice person. Anyway, Sam and I mainly explored Circus Circus. When Nic finished with work, he met us there and hung out with us. The casino has a little gaming area, so we had a good time playing arcade games, and Nic even won a little lamb for Sam by popping balloons with darts. The sheep's name is Reno and is one of Sam's favorite toys right now. He always sleeps with it and loves to give it hugs and kisses. It's so cute!




After playing around at the casinos, we took a little drive up to the Reno LDS temple. It's a beautiful temple, and I like how it is separated from everything. It is up in the hills and overlooks the Reno valley. It's interesting to feel the difference of the temple up there on a hill and the casinos and everything down below.