Sadie is another year older!

HaPpY BiRtHdaY
SaDIe!

You are a gem and a wonderful friend. I love you and hope you have an absolutely fantastic day.

BESTS!

Amy

Ode to Pervis

Oh, remember the days of the game MASH and random moments where we as friends expanded a bit much on inside jokes and the expansion became a part of our lives? Well in my "nesting phase" I came upon something that must be remembered (call me a pack rat but I have kept it).... THE PERVIS LIST!!! Maggie, I am happy to hear that you did not marry fool, live in a trailer park, and have your kids sleep in drawers. However in Junior High we thought Mags would have 100 kids and here are some of their names (you can imagine the twins, Triplets, and quadruplets):

1.Pervis 2. Philly 3.Willis 4. Chuck (chucky) 5. Billy Joe Bob 6. Gurtrude Penelope 7. Thomas Rex (T. Rex) 8. Peggy Lou 9. Herbis (Herby) 10. Marvin 11.Marva 12. Elvira 13. Gunther 14. Jem 15. Atticus 16. Burris 17. Fernice (Fern) 18. Vernice (vern) 19. Blanche 20. Dorthy 21. Rose 22. Sophia 23. Fea 24. Feo 25. Gaupo 26. Celder 27. Celver 28. Stella 29. Elkis (Elk) 30. Wulfus 31. Bookie 32. Shilcut 33. Thunder 34. Clearen 35. Winston 36. Guido 37. Hudwich 38. Stormis 39. Odis 40. Up 41. Down 42. In 43. Out 44. Brock Lee 45. Friend Lee 46. Deep Lee 47. True Lee 48. Mad Lee 49.Ugwich 50. Garvis

Man we were cool! (: ha!!

Anonymity

Hi, ladies.

In the interest of preserving a bit of anonymity (and therefore some peace of mind), I have avoided using my last name on my blog. I just realized, though, that because of this blog and because of links to my blog from some of your lovely blogs, I am still google-able. Now, as I would love for my students (and any other scary blog stalking folks) to not be able to track my blog down, I just changed my name on this blog to Nicole E*. I would also really appreciate it if those of you who link to me on your blogs (which I love, by the way) would take my last name out of the links. Thanks, ladies. You're the best.

Incidentally, can you believe how many times the word "blog" appeared in this post? And I call myself an English teacher. Unreal.

HOORAY!!!

Congrats to Bekah and Brad, AND Heidi and Dave. They have twins! Okay, so not really, but the same birthday. I don't know baby Goldie's name, but

i know it's baby Anna Karen Miner.

I know we are all so thrilled for you guys.

Heal quickly and post a ton of photos for us all to see. Lots of love and prayers for you all.

p.s. Em, you're next

A couple of things to make us happy

I was just thinking that our blog needed a little attention. These were a couple of pictures that remind me of things that make me happy. Hawaii, new born babies, Mt. Olympus, pregnant mommies, being a mom in general, and lake powell. Yes, it's random. Sorry. I would have added a tribute for Sadie about the end of breastfeeding but was afraid to google it. Hope you all have happy thoughts. I'm going to congratulate Bekah right now in hopes that the baby will make his debut soon. Have a happy day. Good luck to Heidi and Em, you're down to the final stretch (mark).

and another post

yes, this is three posts in one day on our friend bloggie. sorry about that, but i wanted to answer bekah's question, which was echoed by sadie.

"chez," roughly translated, means "at the place of." thus, my blog is "at the place of nicole." why? because i speak and love french due to my time in paris.

love you all. the end. aka fin.

Confessions of a mommy blogger. By Catherine Newman

Sorry to post on top of Sadie's post today. Make sure you read hers too. I thought I'd share this article.

My friend got the magazine Wondertime in the mail and lo and behold there was an article in it about blogging that I stole from her blog! Here are some of the highlights.

"Blogging is narcissistic-and time-consuming. It gives strangers (not to mention the in-laws) ammunition for criticizing our parenting choices. And one day it could really mortify our kids. Here's why we do it anyway... You are not alone. If there's a single fact to take from the 70 million blogs that inhabit the Internet, it's this: Whoever you are-however thrilled or frantic, bored or despairing, buoyant or afflicted with love like an aching in your bones-someone our there understands. Especially if you're a mother."



"When I asked my readers to describe for me why, after finally getting their children to bed, they stay up half the night writing about them in blogs of their own-or, crazier still, reading about other people's children in their blogs-they described this longing for connection: "I read blogs to feel I'm part of something larger, a whole world of other women raising children on this crazy, spinning planet." "Being a parent is so Frustratingly difficult and blindingly beautiful at the same time. Blogs remind me to celebrate the beautiful and that I'm not alone in the difficult."

"Blogging is the underbelly of scrapbooking. In the scrapbook version of my summer vacation, I would paste together a sunny collage of sea and sand and smiling kids. In the blog version, I might be more inclined to mention the steaming beach Port-A-John, where the final quarter of Birdy's sandwich ended up tumbling into the reeking blackness. If scrapbooking is the urge to put it all together, blogging might be the urge to take it all apart. Blogging might not make life tidier, but it keeps life in your memory, and keeps it real."

Comments are like Christmas! She says:

"I've checked for comments as obsessively as I once stuck my eighth grade hand into the echoing hollows of our mailbox. (Anything for me? A letter from Shaun Cassidy detailing his undying love?)
Heehee!

"...I'm always seeing our family's life as a funny story I could tell, the question that troubles me is, am I really paying attention? Sometimes I feel like on of those tourists arguing about the camcorder while Niagara crashes down around them in frenetic blue wonder."
"The anonymous author of the blog Bub and Pie puts it: I go through the day in a kind of 'compose post' mode, where I'm actively selecting words to describe my children-their beauty, their quirkiness, their inner lives-and that process helps me to see them, to be mindful of who they are." Writing gives me a way to step back from my life and really see it. To watch my kids and feel the gratitude flood through my veins."


I thought this was a cute article and I totally love the part about blogs being the underbelly of scrapbooking. Hope you enjoyed it.

What became of it?

At our little get together in December, we found out htat Tori was the new head hauncho (how do you spell that?) at her job. Congrats Tori!! And right there at the party she offered Sarah a job. So... What became of it? Is it a done deal? Are you interviewing Sarah?
Just wanting an update. Anyone know anything?

P.s. Thanks to Mag i am guessing for the new background. Or whoever did it. It's nice to have it change every few months. The Christmas theme was nice too.

Happy Birthday Nicole!!!

Happy birthday to our dearest Nicole! Just wanted you to know that I am thinking of you today, and hope that you have a fabulous day! Thank you so much for your friendship! I love talking to you! You can always make me laugh! I am so glad to have you in my life! Hopefully you drink lots of Dr. Pepper today and eat at your favorite place! You are the greatest! LOVE YOU!!!!!

Em