Some guys have all the luck

Why is it that boys seem to get the best eyelashes?

He's Official

Mackay finally got a name and a blessing yesterday. Mackay Filson Richardson is now officially on the records of the church and received his first priesthood blessing from his father.

My sister-in-law Lora loaned me the blessing outfit, which was worn by Mack's cousin Alexander last year.

As we did with our girls, we opted for a smaller, more private gathering for the blessing rather than the traditional blessing of the baby in sacrament meeting at church. We invited a few friends and family members and blessed Mackay at Brian and Becca's house next door.

Dan gave Mack a wonderful blessing. He blessed him that in his heart and in his mind, he would understand his place on this earth, that he is a son of Heavenly Father. Mack was blessed to understand that his parents love him; that his mind will be sharp and his body strong. He was blessed that he will be able to understand good influences from bad influences and have the strength of character and understanding to choose good influences. And finally, he was blessed that his parents would try to understand him and help him find his place in this world.

In reflecting on the blessings Dan has given each of our children, they have all been brief and to the point, without flowery language (with the exception of Amelia being blessed with the gift of dissertation -umm, discernment- during the time Dan was writing his graduate thesis. :) He has not talked about specific events in their lives like missions or marriage or parenthood. Rather, he has blessed them with strong character traits, healthy bodies, strong intellects, and lots of love from their parents. These fundamental blessings, along with the gospel, will hopefully lead each of our children to happiness.

Love my boy, and love my husband for being worthy to bless our children.

Mom's Job Description

I'm tired.

I love my kiddos, but I am just exhausted. I've been feeling overworked, underaccomplished, and while I know I'm putting forth a lot of effort, there's very little to show for it at the end of each day. I always feel better when I look at pictures of my kids, so even though the kitchen needs a major crisis cleaning before my mom comes tomorrow, I'm going to stop and blog for a minute.

Paddy, my mother-in-law, sent this to me on Mother's Day and I thought it summed up my life pretty accurately.

MOM - JOB DESCRIPTION

POSITION :

• Mother, Mom, Mama, Mommy, Ma

JOB DESCRIPTION:

• Long term, team players needed, for challenging permanent work in an often chaotic environment.
• Candidates must possess excellent communication and organizational skills and be willing to work variable hours, which will include evenings and weekends and frequent 24 hour shifts on call.
• Some overnight travel required, including trips to primitive camping sites on rainy weekends and endless sports tournaments in far away cities.
• Travel expenses not reimbursed.
• Extensive courier duties also required.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• The rest of your life.
• Must be willing to be hated, at least temporarily, until someone needs $5.00.
• Must be willing to bite tongue repeatedly.
• Also, must possess the physical stamina of a pack mule and be able to go from zero to 60 mph in three seconds flat in case, this time, the screams from the backyard are not someone just crying wolf.
• Must be willing to face stimulating technical challenges, such as small gadget repair, mysteriously sluggish toilets and stuck zippers.
• Must screen phone calls, maintain calendars and coordinate production of multiple homework projects.
• Must have ability to plan and organize social gatherings for clients of all ages and mental outlooks.
• Must be willing to be indispensable one minute, an embarrassment the next.
• Must handle assembly and product safety testing of a half million cheap, plastic toys, and battery operated devices.
• Must always hope for the best but be prepared for the worst.
• Must assume final, complete accountability for the quality of the end product.
• Responsibilities also include floor maintenance and janitorial work throughout the facility.

POSSIBILITY FOR ADVANCEMENT & PROMOTION:

• Virtually none.
• Your job is to remain in the same position for years, without complaining, constantly retraining and updating your skills, so that those in your charge can ultimately surpass you.

PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE:

• None required unfortunately.
• On-the-job training offered on a continually exhausting basis.

WAGES AND COMPENSATION:

• Get this! You pay them! Offering frequent raises and bonuses.
• A balloon payment is due when they turn 18 because of the assumption that college will help them become financially independent.
• When you die, you give them whatever is left.
• The oddest thing about this reverse-salary scheme is that you actually enjoy it and wish you could only do more.

BENEFITS:

• While no health or dental insurance, no pension, no tuition reimbursement, no paid holidays and no stock options are offered, this job supplies limitless opportunities for personal growth and free hugs for life if you play your cards right.

Mother's Day 2009

"Uh-Goo"

Apparently I'm on a real video kick lately.

Here is one of Mack making his favorite sound, complete with phlegm rumbling in his throat. He must be practicing up to go on a mission to the Netherlands. Have you heard Dutch spoken? It sounds like you either have a hairball or are getting ready to hock a loogie. Take a listen here (especially "volg de veg" and "verkeerslichten").

Typical

This is a very good representation of the chaos at our house and the multi-tasking skills required to pay attention to three kids at once.

Splashy Boy

Would you believe he was only in the 45th percentile for weight at his 4 month check-up?

Morning Breath

Amelia said the funniest thing a couple of days ago. When we brush her teeth at night, we can usually get some sort of cooperation from her if we tell her we have to clean the sugar bugs off so they won't eat her teeth.

After waking up in the morning and talking to me through her binky, Amelia said, "I meyw umping" (I smell something)...

"I meyw sugo bugs in my mouf" (I smell sugar bugs in my mouth).