Something That is Making Me Laugh

I heard about this sign two weeks ago and every time I think of it I laugh. HARD.

Book Reviews #66 and #67

I'm going political on you with these book reviews. Both are interesting reads.

Book Review #66

I was very interested in reading this book because Sarah Palin has been a bit of an enigma to me. Who is the real Sarah Palin? Is she the savvy, feisty, big oil butt-kicking Governor of Alaska or the the train-wreck we witnessed during the Katie Couric interview? When she first came on the scene I had no idea who she was and was unsure of McCain's decision to pick her as his running mate. As I learned more about her I was intrigued...then came the onslaught of bad press, media sabotage...not to mention the SNL parodies. What was one to think?

I read this book because I wanted to hear her side of the story...in her own words. I wanted to get a glimpse of who the real Sarah Palin is and what does she stand for. I read it with a bit of trepidation. I was skeptical. I didn't want the SNL parody to be confirmed. I was pleasantly surprised.

This is a interesting and enjoyable book. It was very readable. I couldn't put it down. I was fascinated to learn a lot about Alaska, her history, upbringing, family background, how she got into politics, and her position on the issues. Her account of the Presidential Election was unbelievable to say the least. I appreciated hearing her side of the story on the various scandals and bizarre events that took place during the election. I enjoyed her matter-of-fact view of politics, her values, and her ideas for our country. I appreciated her not going into all the personal details surrounding her daughter's pregnancy. In fact Levi Johnson's name is never mentioned. All in all, I found her story compelling.

That said...the book was far too long and her "aw shucks" and "oakey dokey" way of speaking truly bugs the heck out of me. Is Sarah Palin ready for the White House? The jury is still out for me but I like her position on most issues.

My Rating: Good

Book Review #67


If you like Glenn Beck you will like this book...if you don't like Glenn Beck... you won't. I happen to enjoy Glenn Beck and I, therefore, enjoyed the book. This book is highly readable with interesting quotes, side notes, cartoons and you just might learn something. I did. I also appreciated all his sources and citations listed in the back of the book. Great if you want to research a subject further or verify a fact. I did.

My Rating: Good

A Rose By Any Other Name




These are the things I ponder while teaching my CTR 4 Primary class. What is in a name? This has been a favorite topic of mine to ruminate upon since reading Freakonomics. This Sunday I had to find out from all the parents of the kids in my class why they picked the name they did for their child. It was highly enjoyable. CTR 5 (Ailey's class) had the same lesson so I got to explain why we picked that particular name for her. Again enjoyable.

I love naming. Seriously. It is the best part of being pregnant besides the baby at the end of nine horrific months. Apparently I have always enjoyed this since my little girl journals are filled with lists of "names I like" and "what I want to name my kids".(I apparently REALLY wanted girl/boy twins named Ashley and Anthony.) I am somewhat sad that I don't get to name any future kids but feel good that I got to use most of my favorites.

I was thinking about my name and why my parents picked it for me. I like my name and have never wished it was anything different. My name is Kristin Marie. My mom named me Kristin after her best friend that she grew up with and my father picked Marie after his aunt who passed away before I was born. My mom wanted to name me Kristin Kara and my dad wanted to name me Nancy Marie (Ew!) so they compromised. If I would've been a boy my name would have been Scott John.

Reilly was going to be named McKenna Marie until I saw her on ultrasound and just knew that her name was Reilly not McKenna. Incidentally, all my children's names were picked after seeing them on ultrasound and having their gender determined. Reilly was the name of the niece of a guy my college BFF Tiffany was dating once upon a time. Tiffany had the "pleasure" of spending some time with little "Riley" who was somewhat obnoxious and I heard many hilarious imitations of Riley. (Tiff-- to this day when Reilly gets obnoxious and whiny I like to bust out with "Where's Pork? Where's Pork!!" to her utter irritation and confusion.) Tyler and I both liked Reilly and picked her middle name to be Victoria after my mom. If Reilly would have been a boy we would've named her Braedic Tyler or Braedic McKinnon. Braedic is the name of my friend Tiffany's darling younger brother, Brady.

Kameron's name was going to be Braedic (our #1 name) but after seeing him on the ultrasound I felt "inspired" on the elevator at the hospital that his name wasn't Braedic or even our #2 name Cade but actually our #3 name Cameron....which we changed the spelling to a "K" in honor of me I guess. What can I say? I like the letter K. We didn't decide on his middle name until after he was born. We were torn between Tyler and McKinnon. My grandpa McKinnon had just passed away and we wanted to honor him. I let Tyler decide the middle name. He picked Tyler in the delivery room and I'm glad he did because Kameron is our only boy and I'm glad that he is named after his dad. If Kameron would've been a girl his name would've been Ailey.

Once we knew that Ailey was a girl and we saw her dainty little face on the ultrasound we knew that her name was Ailey. When I was four years old I had as friend named Ailey and I always thought that it was such a darling name. Ailey is a name that was on all the lists of names in my journals...that and Cameron...ironically. The problem was picking a middle name. We wanted to honor one of Tyler's grandmothers who were great ladies but we weren't too crazy about Alice or Helen. So we were going to "fancy them up" a bit and go with either Elise (for Alice) or Helene. We couldn't decide and went back and forth. When we got home from the ultrasound I looked through our baby name book to see what the meanings of both names were to see if that would help us decide. Oddly enough I found the name "Ailey" (which I had never seen before) and Ailey is Scottish for Alice and Finnish for Helen. I got the chills. Her name was meant to be. We picked the name Eva to be her middle name after my Great-Great Grandmother. If Ailey would've been a boy her name would've been Braedic.

The name Bryn is my sister Jordin's middle name. I really love it. After Ailey was born there was a little girl in our ward whose name was Brinn and I thought it was just darling. I didn't always think Bryn was a cute name. When my mom was pregnant with Jordin after she found out that she was having a girl my parents decided to name her Kiera Lauren. I just LOVED that name. I thought it was so pretty. Well somewhere along the line they decide to change her name and neglected to tell us. I remember going into my mom's hospital room and seeing little "Kiera" only to be told that they had decided to name her Jordin Bryn instead. I thought it was the most hideous name ever. Now I love the name but I really had my heart set on Kiera. :)

Two very early ultrasounds told us that Bryn was going to be a boy. Once again Braedic just didn't fit and I couldn't see the face because the baby was too little and I just didn't feel inspired. Finally we decided on the name Callum which we both really loved. My VERY favorite name was Seamus but that didn't seem to go over very well with our family even though Tyler and I both really liked it. I also liked the name Asa but it is the name of my friend Rebecca's son and I didn't want to steal his cool and unique name. So we decided on Callum McKinnon. We thought Kam and Cal would be cute names for brothers. The third ultrasound revealed that Bryn was DEFINITELY not a boy and Tyler had his own psychotic break in the doctor's office. I was so excited to use the name we had picked out for a girl... Bryn Kaitrin. My sisters have a friend named Meghan Caitrin and we were in Dining Divas together and I kept seeing it on all her emails and I thought it was so cute. Once again we swapped the "C" for a "K". It also worked out perfectly because it is a Celtic name that honors two of my grandmothers Kate and Kathy. We LOVE the Celtic names in this family!!

I'm still loving the names we have chosen for our children. They fit them perfectly. I still wish we could've used Braedic because it is such a cool name and Tyler never got to use his favorites ...Lance (that was never going to happen) and Taylor (I could've been talked into that one.) Reilly wishes that her name was Vanessa and names every heroine of every story that she has ever written Vanessa and last week Kameron told us not to call him "Kam" anymore because his name is Kameron (so I guess Kamers, Kammy, Kamer-lamer-ding-dong, Kameroni, and Kameronius are out too? BUMMER.) Oh well...they will come around.

Speaking of Vanessa...Reilly was thrilled to see the "original" Vanessa (and the only Vanessa I know) at a stake function on Saturday only solidifying that Vanessa is a GREAT name! I am forever grateful for Vanessa helping me to feel less crazy about my psychotic break!! I owe you!!

So back to names...Tyler and I were discussing our names. When Tyler and I met we were known to all as Kris and Ty. I miss them. Kris and Ty were a good time. Kris and Ty rocked. Kristin and Tyler live in a world of mortgages, bills, snotty 13 year olds, homework, church callings and baby poop. Kristin and Tyler are good people: they try hard; but sometimes they take themselves a bit too seriously. It's not like Kris and Ty don't make appearances...they do but they are fleeting. Here's to more Kris and Ty in 2010. Let's hope they come to stay because Kristin and Tyler are a little bit stressed out these days and need to LIGHTEN UP!!

So...do you like your name?

Cast Claustrophobia No-More

Oh the glorious day has come!! My cast was removed on Friday. Woohoo. I can't even begin to tell you how fantastic it is to be able to scratch my arm, shower (bye-bye baths...Tyler will miss these I am sure), do my own hair, hug my baby without clocking her in the head, wear my wedding ring and a whole slew of other things that I have hither too taken for granted...like typing with two hands. (I hope you have appreciated my blogging because it took FOREVER to peck out the posts with one hand!)

The night before my cast was to be removed I let my family go at it with a sharpie. Here are a few pictures for posterity.




My doctor actually asked me if I wanted to save my cast after he removed it. Uh...no. Gross. Who would want to save their nasty old cast. But then I thought of my Aunt Bonnie and her jewelry box of horrors and I bet she probably has a cast or two saved right? Paul's maybe from when he was a baby? Needless to say I did not save mine and think that these pictures will suffice.

Sweet Freedom!!

I am thrilled to be out of a cast but it still hurts like crazy, doesn't bend whatsoever and looks nasty. There is still work to be done to get back to normal but it feels good to be on the mend. Yay for two hands!! Don't take them for granted!!

Happy 39th Birthday Tyler

You are still looking good after all these years!!

Happy Birthday to the best friend, husband, and dad anyone one could ever have. We love you so much. You are our rock and the voice of reason in this crazy bunch. You mean the world to us!!

Each day I look at you and wonder...how did I get so lucky?!

Happy Birthday Baby!!