turning this number today

this many weeks until baby buddy joins us. if i can keep him contained that long!

and when he does come, that last little surfboard will be occupied… a family of 6.

jeff got ready and left for work this morning. i hesitated as i watched the garage door closing, wondering how i was going to keep everyone entertained while still managing to keep my feet up (i'll explain that a little later). 5 minutes later i heard a honk and the back door open.
sneaky husband took the day off to celebrate with me. man, i love that guy and his surprises!
it's been a great day so far. here's to kicking back tonight with a root beer float in hand. 🙂

our last name is never simply mask.  when i first got married, conversations used to go something like this:

person: what's your name?
me: cherie mask
person: mask?
me: yes, m-a-s-k

pretty soon i realized i'd just avoid that last step and spell my name out every time. i don't mind the odd reactions so much. i like that our name is different. and it makes for catchy slogans and funny halloween costumes (like when we dress up as hippies holding signs to protest the "no masks at parties" rule).

but when it's time to name a baby, we do think twice about the combination. i remember a guy in one of my byu wards whose name was gamble lynn money.
yes, really.
i always wondered what his parents were thinking. but then again, who says you can't have a little fun?

we've finally decided on a name. any guesses on which one of these it is?    

jack mask

harry mask

chase mask

rocky mask

clay mask

ski mask

stone mask

(say these next ones fast!)

gus mask

hal owen mask

ok….so i'm only joking here. but do you have any funny ones to add to the list? 🙂

is his day.

i know i've said a lot about how much i love him lately. but can you ever say it enough? don't think so. it might get old for some. but for me…just makes my love grow. makes me more grateful for our relationship. makes me want to be as good to him as he is to me.

because he is so good to me.

yesterday as i walked around our house thinking of what i could do to make him happy, i ended up seeing little things about him make me smile

how he looks in a crisp white shirt and jeans
the bit of california boy in him…especially when he gets back from surfing. mmmm….
how he smells when he wants to turn me on
his junk food fettish. ice cream, gummies…whenever he goes to the store, he will always bring one of these home. every. time.
the kind of father he is to our 3 soon to be 4
how the sound of the garage door opening and his signature honk makes me giddy

all of this and so much more is what makes june 16th one of the best days ever invented.
happy birthday!

this pregnancy's craving will definitely go down as rootbeer floats.

you should see the looks i get from teenagers and middle-aged men as i'm walking through wal-mart carrying a refrigerator pack of mug rootbeer under one arm and a 1/2 gallon of breyer's vanilla bean ice cream in the other.

i can hear their thoughts now.

dude. looks like the pregnant lady is gonna get all hopped up tonight! i can almost see her getting bigger.

bottoms up! 🙂

me and this, that is.

i'm sorry but it's time to call it quits.

this has been the current scene in our bedroom for many years. except for one major detail…it's much, much darker in there. with a little help from photoshop, this is how much light i wish were in our bedroom but i've learned something very key about arizona—you either live in a cave or a sauna.

there are three options you've got.
a) you can let the blazing sunshine in and live in a sweatshop.
b) you can shut out as much light as possible and live the cave-dwelling lifestyle.
c) or just crank up the A/C and survive off of cockroaches in the backyard so you can pay the electricity bill.

C is pretty much not an option because we're still cheap and we'd prefer to eat popsicles morning, noon and night. and A, well A just can't happen especially when there is a pregnant mama around. i wouldn't want any innocent bystanders getting hurt due to induced insanity.
so B it is. which means i feel like lighting a campfire in our bedroom and carving drawings on the walls.

i've been collecting ideas to light up my life since we moved in. and this week the transformation is finally coming. i'm not sure exactly how it's all going to turn out. we shall see. we shall see.

the past weekend was nothing short of a whirlwind. it usually is when we take a trip up to utah in 3 days. knowing it would be crazy as usual, we were debating whether to go at all. but i just really felt we should. so we did. and it was wonderful. for so many reasons.

i wish i had photographic proof of all those wonderful reasons but some [frantic and rushed to get out the door] lady managed to pack her camera but left the battery charging in the wall at home. nice. oh well.

one of the highlights of the weekend was being able to attend a mission reunion in celebration of the dedication of the spain madrid temple. i can't believe it has been 10 years since i was there. so many memories. it was an amazing experience to walk into a room of missionaries i served with and have those memories flood over me again as i saw their faces. there is just something about the relationships you create as a missionary. it is a connection different from any other. a connection that is bound by the spirit you felt together as you prayed, taught, laughed, cried, and loved. so grateful for these friends who made such an impact on my life.

i got all nostalgic again and started looking through old mission pictures. remembering people, places, and experiences.

like the temple dedication
 

yeah, you. guess what? i'm turning you over.

organization is not my forte. my closets and drawers will rat me out. i'm great at shoving things here and there. buying more laundry baskets hoping they will do magic. sorting piles into…more piles. and saying to myself on a daily basis "i'll do that later."

honestly, the only time my house really gets clean is when someone is coming over. jeff has said on more than one occasion, you know, we really should have people over more often. that's subliminal for…why don't you clean this place up? 😉

most days i feel like i'm drowning in a sea of mismatched socks and underwear while surfing on legos and crushed cracker crumbs. and if you don't believe me, i dare you to come over to my house at this very moment. no really, i triple dog dare you.

so i came across a tidbit the other day that i hope has the power to change my world. self-help stuff is out there everywhere and it's always great to read but i need it simple. if it overwhelms me, it's a no go. but this Daily 7 routine screamed "you can do this!" and i think i can. oh wait. do or do not. there is no try.
this totally together journal has loads of promising info. check it out.
anyway, here is where i'm going to start.

Number 1: Make Beds Right Away
this means that lincoln can be my alarm clock no longer. when he came into our lives with his unruly sleeping patterns, the early morning me checked out. i need to go find her.

Number 2: Do One Complete Load of Laundry
this means i need to love the laundry, embrace the laundry, be the laundry.

Number 3: Empty All Garbage Cans
i used to think that once i got married i would inherit a new appliance–the automatic-garbage-taker-outer. don't get me wrong, he does a fantastic job. but let's face it, i have two hands and so do my kids.

Number 4: Keep Your Kitchen Sink Empty
this means i need to get over my phobia of emptying the dishwasher. why is it so much easier to fill it than empty it. why? (clenching fists in the air) why?

Number 5: Clean Up After Yourself and Help Children Do the Same
this means i need to hang up my clothes right away. no draping them over chairs or making so-called neat piles on the floor. i've struggled with this since the womb. maybe i just got too comfortable with that umbilical cord being all over the place. this one will take all the will-power in the world to change. i must summon the force.

Number 6: Bathroom Wipe-Down
this means just exactly that. the road to a dirty bathroom is paved with good intentions. i have a container of clorox wipes under every counter…what a novel idea to use them!

Number 7: Before Bed 10-Minute Clean Up
this means two things. a quick bedroom sweep up by the kids. and i need to unlock the 50 pound chains of exhaustion that bind me once i've put them to bed and close their doors. maybe i'll dangle a popsicle reward in front of me to make it happen.

it remains to be seen if i am going to sink or swim with this. gonna give it my best effort but also realize that it's okay to have a **subject to change without notice** disclaimer. wish me luck or better yet, nightly popsicles!

my mom and dad were in town visiting a couple of weeks ago. i think one of the highlights of each visit is when the doorbell rings and the kids run screaming with anticipation and excitement toward the front door. grandma and grandpa come bounding in with laughter and smiles. then grandpa does the gup-gup jump–usually holding someone in his arms (used to be me oh so long ago). then more laughter and hugs and kisses all around.

this visit wasn't too different from the usual. but something odd got into me. maybe it was because my mom was folding and putting away all of my laundry or that my dad was outside in the backyard planting me a garden. but one afternoon, it was sort of like the powers of freaky friday decided to take me back. way back to the cherie with a mushroom haircut and jelly shoes.

i found myself upstairs digging through a box looking for my little friends. the ones that filled my childhood with adventures and make believe. they were loyal buddies. when i found them it was as if i was just making sure that the 6-year-old in me was still alive and well. she is.

i loved them then. and still do.