The End of Pregsy Malone

I decided I need to do one last blog before 1) my brain turns to complete mush with a newborn and a crazy 3 year old, and 2) because maybe it will appease the blog Gods and I can have this baby a few days early.


To make my blog more interesting, I have invited a special guest blogger - the treidi.blogspot.com man himself, Travis. Welcome to the bee's knees.

It's good to be here. Thanks for having me. I am very sorry for your condition. I suppose I had something to do with it?

Yes, but as this blog is NOT called "the birds and the bees", we will not be engaging that subject.

That's fine. I know we have sensitive readers. What does this post title mean anyway?

Funny, considering you were the person who gave me the nickname. This blog is marking the end of my pregnancy; the end of maternity clothes, apple fried ice cream, weird chip flavors, waddling - the end of Pregsy Malone.

You have to admit, Pregsy Malone suits you while with child. You're just a little bit more sassy, funky, and crazy, aka Pregsy Malone. She's kind of like your Mr. Hyde, without the murder.

I will admit, sometimes it is fun being Pregsy Malone, just like I'm sure Dr. Jekle enjoyed the freedom Mr. Hyde gave him to do things out of the ordinary. Who knows? Maybe Mr. Hyde put on a pair of elastic waist pants or a billowy peasant blouse every now and then. And I'm sure Mr. Hyde must have got some stretch marks from his transformation.

Yes, Pregsy has had a good run. But I miss my lean, mean, Heidi fighting machine as well. Heidi doesn't take 4 hour naps or borrow my clothes. Do you still want me to bring Henry Weinharts bottled root beer with me to the hospital?

Yes, I was sooooo thirsty last time. All they gave me was ice chips. And when I tried to let them melt them so I could actually drink some water, they would take them away and bring me a new cup of ice chips. I would also like to order a Gandolfo's Urban Cowboy sandwich, foot long.

Do you want the sandwich before, during or after delivery? I need to know so I can time it correctly because it is best served hot.

After, please.

Done. Now to the question everyone wants to know. What are you naming Snyder boy #2? You have 5 seconds. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1...

First off, I hate that game. I get all stressed out because I take it seriously, then realize that it is just a game, and I REALLY don't have to choose right then. So, I will name him when we see him, although I might be tempted to name him "Epidural".

Heidi, we've been working on not saying the word "hate" in front of Luke. Please use dislike instead. Epidural wouldn't be too bad. We could call him E.P. for short. I guess we will just have to wait on the name, like everything else right now. You'd better get to bed, Mrs. Pregsy Malone needs her labor and delivery sleep.

Alright. This is Pregsy Malone signing off for another pregnancy season. See you in a few years.

Thanks for having me. You truly are the bee's knees in my book, and to anyone out there wondering, Luke and I will be taking extra special care of our favorite girl.

Oh, Carolina

Our 3rd generation UNC fan. He can already box me out and post me up. I mean, look at those muscles. See you in a few years, Roy!

I'm not Tar Heel born or bred, but I have become an adopted member of the Carolina Tar Heels Fan Club. I married into a team of UNC fans, and I must say that I love it. Their enthusiasm for Tar Heel basketball is contagious, even to the point of my parents making the 8 hour drive from their vacation in South Carolina to the UNC campus store to get authentic Tar Heel gear for us. I even found myself at the Dr.'s office boxing out soon-to-be-dads for the latest Sports Illustrated, featuring a full length article on Tyler Hansbrough. Don't mess with a pregnant lady who played post for 6 years. I'm still trying to figure out how I can get Travis or me to UNC to get a PhD just so we can cheer on the Tar Heels from the Dean Dome. Maybe then I could tell such legendary stories as Phil when he literally bumped in to Michael Jordan, or dress my kids in Carolina Blue "numbered shirts." I'm sure all the excitement would get me through the statistics classes and dreaded dissertation.

So, needless to say, I was pretty bummed about the game on Saturday. I thought all the cards were aligned: Hamilton in his good luck onesie, Luke in his UNC basketball outfit, Travis willingly going to Priesthood during the game (it helped that he got updates on his phone, I'm just glad he didn't pull a Homer Simpson), and an allstar lineup is always good. But there's always next year, which now seems more likely to include my favorite, Psycho-T. For you other Carolina fans who are also a little sad about the NCAA tournament this year, I have posted some "Carolina songs" to get you through this hard time.

PS - Travis showed me this link to the "Danny Dance" and it's worth the watch. Who needs starters when you have a 6th man that can move like that?

Favorite Things

So, every so often Oprah puts out a list of her favorite things and does the famous "Favorite Things" episode.

http://www.jibjab.com/view/175411#login_popup

Although there will be no cashmere sweaters or exploding heads (see above link) I thought I would share a few of my favorite things.

1. The Road by Cormac McCarthy - This really is the best book I have read. I won't say too much about it because it just won't come out right, but I linked an article from THE Dr. Phillip Snyder.(side note: Phil, aka Grandpa Phillip, is responsible for introducing favorites years before they become popular, such as Cormac McCarthy, Dave Matthews Band, and his classic BBQ baked beans - maybe he should post some of his favorite things...)

2. NPR - So many amazing programs: Wait wait ... don't tell me, Science Friday (yes, I am a science geek and proud of it), Fresh Air, Morning Edition, the list goes on and on. npr.org

3. Rimmel Mascara - It is probably one of the cheapest mascaras, but I love it more than MAC, Estee Lauder (sorry Gwyneth), Clinique, or any of those $25 mascaras. And now I have my sisters hooked on it, too. And it totally makes you look like Kate Moss (minus the drugs).

4. Iron & Wine, The Trapeze Swinger - This quite possibly could be my favorite song ever. I know, a bold statement. Just a warning, if you listen to it, listen to the "clean" version as there is an "artistic expression" in the song (but somehow his mellow voice doesn't make it sound bad).

5. Granite Cleaner - I love the Method Brand granite cleaner. It smells amazing, and won't ruin your granite like other cleaners. You can get it at Target or Lowes.

6. Electric toothbrush - So, we got electric toothbrushes for Christmas, and let me tell you, it's the gift that keeps on giving. It even gives you a picture of a smiley face when you have brushed the Dentist recommended 2 minutes.

7. Mizuno running shoes - I tried lots of other brands, and they gave me foot problems. Since my first pair of Mizunos a few years ago, I have never gone back, and have never had a single foot problem.

8. My Grandmother's Strawberry Shortcake - Every year for my birthday my Grandmother would make us any cake we wanted. I (like Kristin) always picked strawberry shortcake. A year or two before my Grandpa died, I got him to mail me the secret recipe. I love looking at his handwriting each time I make it.

9. The extra flavored chips at the bottom of the bag. Simply amazing.

10. Shopping with my mom - she has a gift for finding amazing things at amazing prices - don't ever pass up the chance to go with her to Macy's.

11. Cupcake containers - At Walmart (not one of my favorite things) if you go to the bakery department, you can buy the plastic cupcake containers, 5 for $1. That way when you bring them to people, they look super cute and don't move all over the place.

PS - Luke does an amazing impersonation of Oprah. Just ask him to say "George Clooney" and you will be blown away. Scary, especially since he has never seen Oprah.

Happy Easter

Luke had fun dying 30 eggs in about 30 seconds. Happy Easter!

Belly

So, I decided to take my first belly picture. I read somewhere that when your kids grow up, they like to see pictures of when they were in mommy's belly. I'm usually the one behind the lens, and I like it that way, but this week I decided to take a picture of our second little guy - little Clark, or Maxwell, or whatever name we come up with. Still struggling in that department. So here he is in (as Whitney says) all my "belly glory". And the belly is getting more glorious by the second!

7 years

Yesterday we celebrated our 7 year anniversary. It was fun to reminisce about funny bridesmaid dresses, waiting for Travis at the temple, crazy catering lady, feeling like a celebrity taking pictures at the beach, Travis break dancing to Q-tip, and the infamous bagpiper (which ironically Luke would have LOVED). What a great 7 years, with many more to come!

Hero Week

Last week was "Hero Week" and Luke had a blast. We played "hero" and Luke saved me from the evil dragon, Travis. Luke had fun flying around with his cape, we ate a hero sandwich, watched the Incredibles, Hercules, listened to the Batman and Spiderman theme songs (which he loves to run around the house singing), and learned the characters in the Justice League.
Find out which superhero you are at:
http://www.thesuperheroquiz.com/

Here comes the sun!

We decided to come down to LA for Baby Hamilton's blessing, and enjoy a little break from the long Utah winter. Luke had fun at the beach hanging out with Grandma and Grandpa. He also went on his first "roller coaster" at Disneyland. You can't see him, but you can see the little daredevil's hands in the air. He loved it!

Jackson Pollock Week

This week was Jackson Pollock week (don't worry - we laid off the booze). Luke and I had fun making a "drip painting", and watched a video of him painting. The only problem is that Luke does not like getting his hands dirty. Every time he would get paint on his hands (which was every 2 seconds) he would stop and go wash them. Needless to say, this took us a VERY long time.

DJ Hydrophonic

I have a "bucket list" (PS did anyone see that movie? I heard it got horrible reviews), not that I plan on dying anytime soon, but I have a list of things I would love to do sometime during my life. I have one item that has been on my list for a long time: I want to be a DJ; not a radio DJ or a wedding reception DJ, but one of those underground DJ's with the big headphones and 2 turntables mixing and scratching. I considered calling up MTV and trying out for "MADE", but decided against it in case I ended up on one of those dreadful gauntlet shows, where 30-year-olds, institutionalized by their brief MTV fame, go to die.

So, I guess I'm on my own - well not completely, I have google (Travis calls it my other lover). In my google quest to become a DJ, I found out I need a very cool DJ name. Thankfully, I also found some DJ name generators to help me since I am a 27-year-old Mormon mom of 1.5, who has lost touch of all things "hipster". Some of the names they suggested are:

DJ Spunky Gun
DJ Tastes Like Chicken
DJ ThunderCat
DJ WildOrchid
DJ GhettoBooty (maybe they know I'm pregnant)
Find your DJ name at:
www.quizmeme.com/djname/quiz.php

Next on the list: I found out that I need to develop some "charisma". That is an entirely new google search - where I found out that I can become charismatic in 12 easy steps, from Donald Trump at Trump University; although I can't imagine Donald would be a very good DJ.

So once I have a name and some charisma, I'm ready to start spinning in my basement!

PS - if you like this kind of stuff, check out DJ Rekha. She is one of my new favorite people in music right now, and defies all the stereotypes of female DJs. There is an article about her on npr and in the New York Times.

Surf's Up, Dude!

This afternoon I heard noises in the laundry room. I caught Luke "surfing" on my ironing board, so needless to say, I grabbed my camera. I think he misses California more than I think. Jordan, can Luke borrow one of your boards? Now to find a wetsuit...

more pictures

I know that I basically just post pictures of Luke, but my mom loves it, and not everyone can be as witty as John and Ashley Connors (love the latest piece on Dino Bites).
Today, Everett asked in Luke still likes Peter Pan, so here is your answer (it wasn't even 9:00 am when I took this picture). Also, Travis made Luke a special Mickey Mouse cookie for Valentines Day. Luke loved every bite!

Happy Valentines Day

The other day, Luke refused to take a nap, so I made him take some pictures with me. He is such a ham that he thought it was more than a fair trade. Now he stands by the window and tells me to get the black camera.

Luke, and the rest of the Snyder clan wish you a happy Valentines Day!

Votes for women!

As I was leaving the voting booth today, it made me think of a memory from mine and Kristin's childhood: Mrs. Banks in her straw had, blue dress and sash singing the Sister Suffragette lyrics "Votes for women!" I always thought that part of the movie was so funny for 2 reasons: 1) to see Mrs. Banks sing so sweetly "though we adore men individually, we believe that as a group they're rather stupid" and 2) how weird that women couldn't vote in England. Obviously as I got older, I realized that it wasn't just in England that women's suffrage was taking place. I am grateful for women like Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, those amazing "feminists" (a dirty word around these here parts of town) who organized a movement for equality. Because of them, I was able to drive around Payson for 30 minutes looking for a hidden elementary school (I mean, come on, do they really want people to vote?), walk up to the table, show my ID, have the lady writing down my name just assume I was a republican, and have the other lady next to her created a "stop the presses" moment saying, "No, no, she's a democrat," rather loudly for her sweet, hard of hearing partner, and cast my vote, all while a 3 year old is sitting in time out, throwing toys and his jacket at other people waiting in line to cast their votes. (Sorry for the run-on sentence and any punctuation errors, English teachers). But it was worth it, and I wore my "I voted" sticker with pride.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=QUhwA-C-ACg
This is for you, Kristin.

Super Tuesday!

Happy Super Tuesday! Rock the vote!

I love my job!

Who knew that cooking and cleaning could be so fun?

Especially when Luke is "helping". His favorite chores include making cookies, putting dirty laundry in the basket, and refilling the dishwasher soap. Now that he wears big boy underwear, maybe I can teach him how to change diapers in a few months. Hmmm....

Herry Christmas

Here are a few snapshots from our very "Herry Christmas" (as Luke calls it). Luke got a train table, but I think the chips and juice box he got in his stocking drew even better reactions. We went sledding after we opened presents, and Luke absolutely loved it. He even went down the "baby hill" all by himself.

Pie Feast

Our pie feast was a great success! We discovered that Luke can eat peach pie for breakfast, lunch, and dinner - it's his favorite! Here are a couple pictures. The winning pie was a black- bottom peanut butter mousse. Here's the recipe:

1 graham cracker pie crust
1 1/3 cups bittersweet or semisweet chocolate chips (about
8 ounces)
2/3 cup plus 1 3/4 cups chilled whipping cream, divided
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
2 teaspoons vanilla extract, divided
6 ounces (1 cup) peanut butter chips
2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter (do not use old-fashioned style or freshly ground)
cool whip or whipped cream topping

Combine chocolate chips, 2/3 cup cream, corn syrup, and 1 teaspoon vanilla in microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on medium heat until chocolate softens, about 3 minutes. Whisk until melted and smooth. Spread chocolate mixture over bottom of crust. Freeze 10 minutes.

Microwave peanut butter chips and 3/4 cup cream in large microwave-safe bowl on medium heat at 15-second intervals just until chips soften, stirring often. Whisk in peanut butter and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Cool to barely lukewarm. Beat remaining 1 cup cream and 2 tablespoons sugar in medium bowl until very thick but not yet holding peaks; fold into peanut butter mixture in 3 additions. Spoon mousse over chocolate layer. Spread whipped cream on top. Chill at least 1 hour and up to 1 day.

Christmas Kitchen

One of my favorite things each year is to have a "Christmas Kitchen". It's basically where I turn on the Christmas music, and make mass amounts of my favorite Christmas treats. Sometimes I go overboard and it overtakes the kitchen so there are chocolates, pretzels, caramels, or cookies everywhere. Like canning, it can be slightly annoying to Travis, but for the sake of tradition, I do it anyway. This year I made caramel apples - only slightly better than the funny reindeer heads made of coco crispies - ask Travis. They were delicious, and I'm not counting how many I had to eat to make sure they were OK.

my new bee

Since my new "bee" is my new camera (correction - OUR new camera), I thought I would post some pictures of the winter wonderland we have in our backyard, and the snowman we made. While Everett was here, he kept complaining about the cold, but he kept saying "maybe it will snow", like a little kid. Well, Everett, you left a little early, but you are probably glad you did. First, because I would have wasted you in a snowball fight. Mom gave me this nifty little snowball maker that can make a perfect snowball in 1.2 seconds flat. Second, you would have froze to death working on the house. All the hot chocolate and clothes from Walmart can't keep that California boy warm. Merry Christmas, California crew!