Microwave

When I was pregnant, I didn't go through a 'nesting phase.'  I didn't have the urge to do anything but sit the couch and do nothing, and sometimes even that was pushing it.  I did, however, want to clean the microwave out before Emerson arrived.  That was pretty much as far as my clean-everything-in-sight-before-this-baby-comes went.  No more.  Well since I couldn't even get off said couch, the microwave did not get cleaned. 

Now that Emerson is 6 months old, I can finally say that I completed that task.  I only did it because I ran across the easybeyondeasiest way to do it: lemon.  I microwaved two lemon halves for two minutes and then wiped down the grime.  Easy peasy.  It took me all of 10 minutes start to finish without having to use any chemical cleaners.  Wahoo. 

There are no before or after pics to save myself from embarrassment.  You'll be fine without them.  Just imagine the dirtiest microwave you've ever seen.  Now times that by 47 and you've got mine.  After the lemon trick, imagine the brand spanken newest microwave you've ever seen and times that by 47 and you've got mine. 

Oh, plus now my microwave smells lemony-fresh and so does my garbage disposal.  Little Emerson just sat and played while I cleaned it - that's how fast it was. 

And just for cuteness' sake:

(He was not in the bathtub while I cleaned the microwave.

This is from a previous night. I am aware of bathtub safety.)

Memorial Day

Memorial Day has never been a day that I've really celebrated much.  To me it has always been a good excuse to have a three-day weekend.  This year that changed, and not because my Grammie and Grampie have recently passed away.  A few days before Memorial Day, I was talking to a friend and he mentioned how he had all these cemeteries to go to and flowers to buy so he could visit all his dead.  Then I got thinking.  Are we supposed to honor all the dead on Memorial Day?  Or do we only honor the military?  What is the meaning and history of Memorial Day?  What I learned from a quick google search surprised me.  Memorial Day is a day of remembrance for those who have died in our nation's service.  This is different than Veteran's Day in that we honor ALL who have served honorably on Veteran's Day.  


"Traditional observance of Memorial day has diminished over the years. Many Americans nowadays have forgotten the meaning and traditions of Memorial Day. At many cemeteries, the graves of the fallen are increasingly ignored, neglected. Most people no longer remember the proper flag etiquette for the day. While there are towns and cities that still hold Memorial Day parades, many have not held a parade in decades. Some people think the day is for honoring any and all dead, and not just those fallen in service to our country.  To help re-educate and remind Americans of the true meaning of Memorial Day, the "National Moment of Remembrance" resolution was passed on Dec 2000 which asks that at 3 p.m. local time, for all Americans "To voluntarily and informally observe in their own way a moment of remembrance and respect, pausing from whatever they are doing for a moment of silence or listening to 'Taps.'"*


Last year for Memorial Day, Will and I walked through the cemetery and enjoyed seeing all the flowers.  This year though, we decided to go to the program that Orem City put on for Memorial Day.  It was a simple service, but was very meaningful and appropriate for the holiday.  The American flag was raised followed by the reciting of the pledge.  Then all the flags of the military divisions were raised.  After a musical number by a quartet, the military personnel fired a 21-gun salute and Taps was played.  I could hardly get through saying the pledge without getting emotional.  Few things get me choked up to the point where I can't talk, but for some reason reciting the pledge always does.  I wish we had a flag that we could fly as well, but I'll just have to wait until I have a place to put a flag before I get one.  Proper flag etiquette for Memorial Day is to fly the flag at half staff until noon, then fully raise it for the remainder of the day.  


We loved the Memorial Day service and have it on the schedule for next year as well.  Remembering all our ancestors is great throughout the entire year; however, on Memorial Day, hopefully we can honor those who have died serving our country and remember them for their service.


*information came from www.usmemorialday.org

Mother's Day

For my first Mother's Day, we were in Arizona and got to spend some time with Will's mom.  Although we traveled for most of the day, gifts were exchanged in the morning. Patty gave me a cookbook that looks like it has some really great recipes in it.  Kitchen/cooking/anything-to-do-with-food items are always a great choice for gifts and Patty nailed it again.  I can't wait to try some!


When I returned from Arizona, my mom gave me a frame that holds four generations of mothers.  It includes pictures of me and 3 generations back of photos as young mothers.  I love it and have just sat admiring it multiple times since I've received it.   What a beautiful gift.

Will gave me a bejeweled hat - I'd been eying (is that how that's spelled? is that even technically a word?) one at Taipan for a while, but then one time I went in to buy check on it (because I couldn't bring myself to buy it since it wasn't a need), AND IT WAS GONE!  Oh, turkey muffins!  Nooooo!  So then I completely regretted not buying it and wished upon a star that I would have when I could have.  Fast forward to our AZ trip and viola! a hat just like Taipan's for a similar price.  Yessss!  Happy Mother's Day to me.


Will also let me have a trip to a jewelry store in AZ where everything was $2.  What?! (said in the voice of a minion)  Such. A. Find!  And everything was color coordinated in sections so I could go to the section where my wardrobe tends to be and just pick out matching jewelry.  So great.


I decided to give our mothers a framed gift of Emerson's silhouette.  It was super hard to get Emerson to hold still so I could trace his profile- gotcha!  ok, really I just took a picture of his profile, cut it out, then painted it black. Easy peasy. It was such a fun project and turned out so cute.  I might just have to make one for myself now.