Summing up the year, part 1

Summary of the year:

January - March: Spent most of the time being pregnant.  Funny how that takes over your life - you spend a lot of time just trying to keep everything together and it's exhausting!  I tried to keep myself busy with crafting, play group, book club, going to the Children's Museum with Carmen, etc.

April - Mace was born!  The first few months after having a baby are a blur - you're up feeding every 3 hours and hormones are a wreck.  Also, Mace was tongue-tied: that's where the frenulum, the thing under your tongue that holds it down, is connected all the way to the tip and you can't stick your tongue out.  It makes nursing really hard and painful until the doctor clips it.

May - Carmen's birthday, Mark's birthday, Big Carmen's wedding, Jocelyn and Andrew's wedding.

"Big Carmen" is the girl whom my Carmen is named after.  We became friends in 6th grade, and she ... well, I can't really put into words how special she is and how much she means to me.

Unfortunately, both Carmen and Mace were miserable throughout the whole ceremony so I ended up being the only one to attend while Mark went out in the hall and drove the kids around. O.o;  But it was lovely, the cake was delicious, and I thought it was incredibly sweet Carmen's mom remembers I don't drink and let me drink sparkling white grape juice with the little kids while everyone else toasted with champagne.  LOL.  I LOVE BEING MORMON SO MUCH.

Also, a few weeks ago, she texted me and told me she's pregnant!  She's so excited!!  I'm excited, too!  And I'm sure you're NOT wondering, but I doubt she'll name her kid "Kamis" to reciprocate my naming a child after her.  ;)

A few days after returning from Carmen's wedding in Dallas, my friend Jocelyn married Andrew.  Jocelyn's daughter, Zoe, is friends with Carmen.  We met Jocelyn when we first moved here, and it was about the same time she and Andrew started dating.

The ceremony was lovely, and my favorite part was when Andrew read the vows he wrote for Zoe.

He gave her a necklace with a ring on it.

And since I'm talking about babies ... Jocelyn is expecting a little girl any day now.  (Gosh, now it's going to be embarrassing if I find out she had her baby over Thanksgiving and I never found out about it.  If it's not on Facebook, it didn't happen, right??!)


May was the time when Mark started looking for a new job in earnest, because two things happened: there was a meeting with the higher-ups where he presented his ideas and they said it sounded interesting, then his immediate supervisors came to him after they left and were basically like, "By the way, so you know, it totally ain't happenin'.  Go back to your cubicle and give up your dreams." and then he got his annual review where they essentially said, "We have no idea what he's actually doing, but other people say he's good at it, so we think he's doing okay."  No matter how much you love your office manager and a few of your coworkers, when your job gives you such miserable feedback and makes you so depressed, it is time to look for a new job if you can.

(Carmen with Diane, the office manager, at the work BBQ.  I miss that lady!)
At the end of the summer, Mark's work had a BBQ (this was before he found this other job).  Of course, it was the ONE weekend it rained all summer and the activity was outdoors.  Luckily it stopped raining for a little while and we had a lovely time. :)  Also, we played Bingo and I won the final prize - an iPod nano!  ... if anyone wants an iPod nano, let me know.  We have a bajillion iPods and need to get rid of them.

Story: Once upon a time, I wanted an iPod.  I asked for one for YEARS, and finally after 6 years, my dad gave me one for my birthday!  (By this point, I had given up on the iPod thing.)  So I put music on it and at Thanksgiving, I somehow managed to lose it at the Coast house (where we go almost every summer with Mark's family - Mark's dad's siblings got together and bought a house on the Oregon coast).  Mark got an iPod Touch for Christmas one year, and we thought we lost it driving home so we bought another one.  The day after the new iPod Touch arrived, I found it between the front seats of the car (I swear it was invisible before!!  It had been almost a MONTH since it disappeared!) ... A year or so later, I got a phone call from Mark's aunt, saying they were at the Coast house and found a lump in the recliner and discovered my iPod.  WHAT. SERIOUSLY.  .... So then we had two iPod touches and my old iPod back.  Then I won an iPod nano.  And then this summer I needed to get a new phone (it was about 3 years old and if it shook too hard the battery would disconnect and turn off my phone ... so my phone would be off for hours at a time and I wouldn't notice.) so I upgraded to a free smart phone.  So now I REALLY don't need my iPod touch, much less 3 other iPods. O.o;

Er, anyway.  So yes. iPod. Want one?  Everyone's already got one.  Sigh!