Goodbye Aurelian Ball

July? Geez. I knew I hadn't posted in months, but I thought it was at least September, not July. Pheeps! My computer died for a looong time, but that's not the whole reason why I stopped posting.

Anywho. I'm not blogging anymore. I'm choosing to do less. Basically it's because I can't even clean my house and feed my child (or myself) everyday. Practically. (Hyrum is fed at regular intervals. Gee whilikers. Don't you know not to take me so literally?)

You already knew I'd stopped posting. It was obvious. "Now it's official! Ha ha ha."

Awesome Movie

Arranged is about a Muslim girl and a Jewish girl becoming friends over their uncertainty for their arranged marriage prospects. I LOVED THIS MOVIE. And it's free streaming if you have Netflix. :)

So Tempted

K, so I'm super pale, right? Cha. The polite/pretty term is porcelain, but that's definitely me. But I love my pale skin! Problem: finding make-up pale enough. Every foundation I find, always choosing the palest they have, makes me look ORANGE. 


I did some pale-skinned-makeup research and tra la la! found out that there DOES exist a make-up that would work for me. It's just too expensive for little me to consider. Sad day. But if I could-- I'd go crazy for Bobbi Brown Alabaster shade. It's soooo tempting.  

Two Months

Someday I'll explain why I haven't been posting-- for now, here's Hyrum's most fabulous picture! Taken by his Aunt, Heather Mildenstein.

Hommina! Royal Wedding Cake

News Group Newspapers Ltd

Royal Wedding of William and Kate was this week. We're all so glad that new Princess Kate chose a classy, timeless wedding dress. Right? It was breathtaking! But did you see a picture of the cake? Mah mah mah mah maaaaaa..... it's phenom. It took five weeks to construct, so it really should have been. I can't believe it's all frosting-- even those legit looking roses are made of frosting! Holy eight tiered goodness, Batman! 

Read more here.

News Group Newspapers Ltd

I'm a Mommy!

HYRUM DYLAN MALTBY

April 22, 2011

21.5" long, 7 lbs

Hyrum looks just like his Daddy... even has the same hair-cut!

 My baby made it here a whole week and two days early. He's just perfect. I'm SO GLAD he has hair! Tons of DARK hair! That's what I wanted. I suppose I got lucky. :) He has my hitch-hiker thumbs and stubby fingers, Dylan's nose and face (excuse the "conehead"), and a few features all his own. 

We love him very much.

Birth Details follow if you want to read more. More pictures too.

1st bath-- always Grandma's privilege!

Meanwhile, here's some Bach

Only Japanese people would build something like this, I swear. Pretty cool though. 

Anyway. I've been totally in labor-- not false labor, the REAL DEAL-- and then it slowed down. Lather, rinse, repeat: totally in labor "get yourself to the hospital now" labor... oh wait... your contractions just quit... since last Friday at midnight. My mom changed her plane ticket to get here early and now we're sitting here waiting.

I'm told this is very unusual for a first-time mom. There was no way that I should be 80% effaced and dilated to a four at 37 weeks, let alone have contractions every 2 to 3 minutes that last 2 to 3 minutes apiece, so I guess this is all unusual. Yippee.

I didn't mind waiting the full 40 weeks or even MORE for my baby; personally, I wanted him to stay inside and bake as long as possible. But now my Mom's here and the clock is ticking until she leaves, and I loathe being the "oh wait, sorry to upset everyone's life, but it stopped" girl. Ah well. At least I wasn't one of those panicked people who went to the hospital with braxton hicks-- these are, at least, real contractions.

So for now I just feel like my line is I'm going to free the genie. ...Anytime.  *sigh*

Keep you posted. --R

Photo Proof

A HUGE thank you to Heather for throwing me a baby shower Saturday. Another HUGE thank you to Heather for then taking some pictures of me so I can a) fondly remember my happy pregnant days, and b) show photo proof to the dozens of you who've been begging for a glimpse of my belly :) .

I never can get a good face-angle in pictures (I don't say this because I'm pregnant, I've thought this my whole life) but the rest of me looks pretty good. If I do say so myself.

Happy April, Everyone!

daffodils are my very favorite flowers.

And Merry Conference, too! As for us Maltby's, two of Dylan's good friends are staying with us this weekend. They're visiting from Alaska. 

It's intimidating business entertaining house guests you've heard stories about, but have yet to meet...

Especially when they've known your husband far longer than you. Aha ha. I'd better hear some really good stories this weekend. That's all I have to say.

Spring Cleaning

I've always loved making bathrooms shiny! When I was little I pretended to host my own cleaning show. I told audience members how to really get your faucets to shine. :) Haha.

If you deep clean your house this spring please don't neglect baseboards, the tops and sides of door jambs, light plate switches, overhead fans (in bathrooms especially), refrigerator doors + handles, and around doorknobs.  People often forget those areas and they can look nasty. Thank you.

Here are some cleaning digs I recommend:

Microfiber mitts or cloths (the kind with opposable thumbs are nice). Get one and you might forget to hate dusting. They pick up more than swiffers and don't snag on rough corners. After microfiber looks full of dust you can beat it outside to get off the excess nd keep dusting, or you can always wash it. Keep one in your glove compartment and your dashboard will always look spiffy! 

Rubber gloves. Not only will your hands stay out of the muck, they won't absorb nasty chemicals either. I used to hate it when my hands smelled like bleach all day after I cleaned, but now they don't smell anymore!

 

Old toothbrushes + toothpicks. Especially in bathrooms and kitchens, dust combines with liquid-- water, grease, hairspray, etc-- and settles into every groove imaginable. I use old toothbrushes and toothpicks to remove it. The dials on your stove, the outside rim of your sink, the runners of sliding glass doors, that tiny space between your vanity mirror and its frame-- I dare you to pick at that gunk with a toothpick. They're also great to use on drains, spigots, and other tight spaces.

Click to read about my take on chemicals and products:

The Baby Bag

Behold the Eddie Bauer messenger I bought at TJMAXX.

If the bag had come in an awesome color I'd have taken it but this was it.  Usually I'm the girl with a brightly colored purse, so the utilitarian look will be a change for me, but function was more important to me than color.
 

What I most wanted:

1. Easy storage for and access to: keys, wallet, and cell phone. 

2. Lots of pockets to hold things so they don't jumble into a mess. 

3. A bag I wouldn't be embarrassed to carry everywhere. 

4. Durable + easy to clean. Also won't start to look old. 

Everything I thought I might eventually have to stash in a diaper bag-- extra clothes, blankets, books, toys, snacks, changing kit*, meds, burp cloth, water bottle, etc.-- I brought to the store with me so I could really tell how a bag would suit my needs. Hands down this was the most functional and attractive choice.

 Why this particular bag:

1. My stuff has it's own section! I won't have to dig for my keys or phone and I can get to them with one hand. Most importantly, my clutch-wallet fits without a squeeze.

2. Changing system fits into it's own outside zipper pocket! Sweet. 

3. Dylan is pleased he won't be embarrassed to carry it. 

4. Slim! Even with all the junk inside! Half the diaper bags I saw resemble clunky luggage even before they're packed-- this does not.

5. Classy construction: the zippers glide open, it's lightweight, there's a very comfy shoulder strap AND a trim handle for easy pick-up, and it doesn't look cheap. 

6. With everything inside there was plenty of room to spare, and it was very organized.

Finally I found a diaper bag to suit MY needs. There was much rejoicing.

*I have a sensational all-in-one changing pad that holds diapers, wipes, and ointments, so I wasn't looking for a bag that came with that extra stuff (plus if it comes with a bag it's usually flimsy). While not intended to be a "diaper bag," the bag I chose is sort of like this one from Chicco, except better. And mine didn't cost $60.

Alone & Windy

Dylan works the graveyard shift*. Have I mentioned that? He does. As it's 10:00 pm right now I'm all alone at home in a rather eerie situation. WIND is howling through the trees and spaces between houses, wailing and moaning with great enthusiasm.

I must admit it's a little unsettling having windows rattle next to me... in the dark. Eek! Silence starts and all is calm-- interrupted suddenly by howls of air whistling through tree branches. Yes sir. Just a tad creepy being here alone. One more creak of the carport roof and I may hide under the covers! :) 

*We both actually like his schedule. By working graveyard Dylan gets the same amount of hours but ALWAYS gets a three day weekend; we have more time together than if he worked during the day. 4 ten hour shifts instead of 5 eight hour shifts. Since we don't have kids (yet!) the nocturnal thing feels more like an oddity than an imposition.

Recommended Baby Gear

My sisters are my trusty sources of modern-gadget mom knowledge. They recommend stuff that I wouldn't have thought to get. Like the baberoo necksaver. Self-explanatory, it's designed to prevent your child from looking like Nearly-Headless-Nick.

Seems sort of silly to get a neck pillow for a baby, doesn't it? But then I think of how many hours they spend asleep in a carseat or stroller and it seems less silly. I know MY neck hurts if I fall asleep in the car (or tour bus!) with my head lolling around with every bump in the road.

Today TJMAXX had them for 50% off. I bought one.  :)

Happy St. Patricks Day!

Wear orange today, please. Just for me. No green! Just orange. :)

Green Thumb & Petunia Pride

Plants and I struggle with relationships. Just ask the feeble clinging-to-life pot of shamrocks in my living room. Hopefully getting a green thumb has more to do with practice than natural ability, cause I'm trying reeeeeally hard.

I've been making early preparations for my 2011 yard to be blooming terrific. (Does that count as a joke? It was supposed to, otherwise I'd have written terrific-ly. As in, adverb? ...anyway...) I bought fertilizer, swept away leaves and sticks blown in by winter winds, raked away dead grass, and soon I'll be turning over dirt to make nice, soft, drain-able flowerbeds for this years batch of petunias. 

Yaaaay petunias: cheap colorful flowers tolerant of Utah dry heat and blazing afternoon sunlight that won't die easily! Woot yeah! But what colors should I choose? My house has sea-foam green siding (built in '41) and I need flowers that work its color-quirk.

Picture found at Vista Landscaping

Some things you repeatedly tell yourself to do but don't get around to them. Last summer mine was "take a picture of my house covered in the petunias that I planted." Big surprise, I never took that picture. I lost my chance to preserve the memory of a great summer. Moping aside, I've decided that it's okay because this year it will look even better! (and I promise to take a picture so you can see it too.) I'm gonna GET that green thumb, baby!

Sorry I didn't post last week-- my Mom was in town and I was having too much fun to get on the computer. :) Miss you already, Mom.