What's In a Name? . . . Part 2

Remember this post? Quite the controversy at the time... whether or not to change my last name to Sam's. And, of course, I decided to keep my own last name even though I was marrying a man I loved. It seemed to be a huge issue to many people around me, and everyone had/has their own opinions. Well, a year and (almost) half later, I'm content in my decision and glad I stuck to what I wanted/needed/believed. It really hasn't been a problem, and Sam and I have dealt appropriately to the name mix-ups we both get without holding a grudge or being unreasonable. One of my many points in that post was that a name is important - it's who you are, it sets up your identity, and it becomes a part of you. I had the option (and still do, by the way) of giving up my last name to become something new and different from before. I chose not to because I felt attached to my own given name - even if it's not an amazing name.

So, why bring all this up again? Well, because names have been the topic of discussion around my house (and all the homes of Baby Boy's grandparents) for the past few weeks. We need to find a name for our son, and it has not been an easy task! Recognizing how I feel about names in general certainly places a lot of pressure on me (and therefore us) to feel confident that we've selected the perfect name for Little Man. Sam and I both believe that names give individuals the right to be a certain way - a script, if you will, of how an individual's life can play out. For instance, Lowell has a totally different life with completely different hobbies, likes, dislikes, friends, talents, etc. than that of Jagger. Right?? I mean, can't you just see Lowell reading in the middle of class completely engrossed in a historical fiction novel? And, there's Jagger over there with his leather jacket and shabby, long hair too good for the girls who go weak at the knees for him. So, we both put a lot of thought into what we want our baby's life to be like. Maybe we're crazy, but I just don't see Frank as the star quarterback or Tony as the all-A, star student.

I also seem to have a lot of rules about the names we choose. I don't want our son to be known as his initials, so I try not to think of names that could be easily transitioned into them (TJ, CJ, DJ). Sam seems to think this won't happen if we don't let it, but he's not the one who works with kids everyday - kids who like to reinvent themselves by changing their names or the classmates who make plays on names all the time - the kids who love it when the substitute gets a kids name wrong, and from that moment on little "Eston" becomes "Easton" for the rest of his life.

Another rule, he'll need a playful nickname. No, I'm not talking about the kid who goes by his middle name (that's another rule...he should go by his given first name). I'm talking about the kind of nickname that allows him to know he's loved. Amber is easily, playfully nicknamed "Am" - which I actually really like. It tells me that a person finally feels close enough to me to abbreviate my name in a loving way. Cherie is "Cher," and Robyn is "Rob." And, then there are those little kid names that just come about after a few years - like my nephew, Caden, became "Caders" over the years. My niece, Mara, became "Mar." I just want my baby to have that experience where he knows someone is calling his name affectionately. It's a playful, fun, loving way to show you are close to someone. Again, just one of my hang-ups about names.

I'd love to find a name that is not easily turned into a tease, either. Of course, kids are going to be creative and cruel, so there's no way around that one. Matthew becomes "Matth-pew" or Joseph becomes "Grosseph," and those are popular, nice names! I'm sure little Matthew and Joseph are cute kids, too! You just don't know how their taunting peers will treat them if they aren't loved by all for whatever idiosyncrasies they have. And, even if they are the most perfect little Matthew or Joseph, loved by all - even their best friends will come up with something that irritates them, right?

So, getting back to my point - this whole being in charge of picking someone else's name - it's tricky and beyond difficult. Honestly, Sam and I have a couple names that we like - one in particular that we have always wanted for our little boy. You know, on the phone as a dating couple, we talked about our kids and their names and wondered what their personalities would be like. But now that the reality is upon us of this little creature being in our lives - we're not so sure who he's supposed to be!

There's two really big problems being the ones to name this kiddo.
-One: We don't know him yet!
-Two: We have never had to make a decision for someone else's life!
I mean, really, other than deciding to get married, there's been no other decision that impacted someone else's life to this magnitude. And, even the marriage was a joint decision that still impacted me directly - but not only me!

True that the kid can change his name if he hates it, but what parent wants to put his/her kid through that? What a horrible identity issue he'll have! Right?!?

So, what's in a name? Sheesh.... a lot! There's a lot riding on this decision. I know we'll make the right one in the end, and hopefully we'll come to an agreement on it. Luckily, we do seem to have the same taste in names, so I think we will agree on one. I just hope it's sooner than later so I can just get used to knowing who's inside my growing belly! It's weird to think that one day I'll say something like, "When I was pregnant with (insert baby's name here), ..." and talk about him as if I always knew who he was, because right now, I have no idea!

The Great Ice of '11

Last year at this time, Sam kept referring to the weather as the "Great Snow of '10" because we hadn't seen that much snow in our area in years, and the snow just kept coming and going every couple of weeks throughout the winter. It was the most beautiful snow - coating the tiniest of tree limbs and making our neighborhood such a winter wonderland. We only missed one day of work last year - and it happened to be on a staff development day, so only the staff in the district had to make-up those hours. Snow is way different than ice, though, and this year, we've gotten ICE. So, we're calling this year's winter weather the "Great Ice of '11." (And, you have to say it with a deep, deliberate voice to make it sound as important as it is!)

So far, we've missed four school days in a row due to road conditions (and I suspect there may be some heating and power costs taken into consideration when deciding to cancel school or not given the extremely low temperatures). While I hate that we have to make up these days later on - during a hectic late spring as children are losing their minds, parents are losing their minds, and therefore teachers are losing their minds - I am trying to make the most of being stuck at home:

-Day 1: I slept in. I napped throughout the day. I did not get out of my pajamas except to shower. I spent a lot of time online looking up baby names. I made lists of things I needed to do once I got back to my office. I talked to my sister on the phone for a while - which happens too little! When Sam got home from work (yes, he had to go in), I watched him try to get up the driveway to the garage over and over, trying not to laugh too much. (Finally, he put sand down on his side of the driveway to make his way up, which worked wonderfully!) I found out there was no school for the next day, getting slightly upset that we'll have to make up that day after what is technically the last day of school. I started thinking this baby might be here before school's out. We made dinner and had some deep, amazing discussions before watching some TV. Then, we made s'mores!

-Day 2: Sam found out he didn't have to go in to work because the office power was out. Yea! We had a great day together... we nested a little and cleaned out the kitchen cabinets and started making room for Baby. We now know where bottles, bowls, etc will go once he's here! We sat in front of the amazing fire that Sam built. Sam did a little bit of work, while I watched some TV. Then, we did a little research as we started thinking about what we want to register for and buy for Little Man. I talked to my best friend, who told me she accepted a new job that starts next week! Again, I stayed in my pj's all day. I did shower, but once I knew school was called off the next day, I refused to dry my hair. That was actually more of a treat than most of you will ever know! I talked to my dad (an OB/GYN) who reassured me that Baby will not, in fact, fall out of me or open my cervix from all the pounding I'm feeling inside. When I told him that I feel like I just don't understand what all is happening in there because it would seem that the baby moving so powerfully would make my uterus contract or something, he made me feel so reassured when he said, "I've been doing this for 35 years, and I still don't understand that!" He said everything I'm feeling is completely normal for this stage of pregnancy, and that made Sam and me feel awesome! In fact, what was even better - while I was talking to my best friend in Houston about our pregnancies, Sam felt the baby move for the first time! It was amazing!

-Day 3: (and the first day of Week 22!) Sam slept in just a little, then he got up to go to the office... leaving me at home alone, totally bummed after our fun day together on Day 2! :( So sad - being completely isolated just the two of us with no plans, no obligations, and no where to go - it kind of felt like a mini-moon all over again! We had even commented that it's a good thing we actually really LIKE each other and don't get sick of each other! We also realize it's one of the rare last times we would have weekdays off without a baby in the mix... so we're just soaking it up for now. Before he left for work, he excitedly brought me the cup of water-turned-ice that he had set outside last night for his little science experiment. He was like a little kid, excited that he had "made ice" in a plastic cup overnight...all grinning and proud of himself. The rest of the day was spent trying to find things to occupy my mind & time: making mac 'n cheese to go with my orange for lunch (yes, it's weird... no big cravings at this point, but I notice that I coincidentally totally enjoy orange-colored foods), watching Oprah, reading friends' blogs, talking to my mom, talking to my mother-in-law, ordering childcare books on Amazon, making a grocery list, and ultimately, waiting to see if school would be canceled for a fourth day in a row. Of course, my school district took its sweet time in announcing it, but lo and behold: School's Canceled! Sam stopped at the grocery store on his way home, we ate dinner, watched our Thursday night shows, and then began downloading some Beatles lullaby iTunes for Baby J's playlist! Around midnight, it started snowing again, so we stood in the dining room looking out the window watching the beautiful snowfall. Then, it was bedtime!

-Day 4: Around 6AM, Baby Boy must have been excited for another snow day because he started "jumping" up and down. This kept me up, and therefore Sam, until we all fell back to sleep watching the news. Due to the accumulation of snow, Sam got to work from home again! Yahoo! I slept in before getting on the treadmill for a bit - desperately in need of some activity! Next, Sam and I headed out to play in the 6+ inches of snow! Like big kids, we wrote our names in the snow, and we might have written a few possible baby names in the snow as well. :) You won't find those pictures here, though! We also were mesmerized as we caught snowflakes and had such an epiphany: snowflakes really do look like snowflakes! They are so beautifully crafted. We took a few pictures of them, you'll see one below that Sam took of my hair with perfect little snowflakes! Anyway, frozen fingered, we headed back in for hot chocolate and some lunch. Then, it was time to get out the old bread machine! We decided to make some home-made cinnamon rolls. Although they took a long time to make (which we certainly had plenty of time for!), we thoroughly enjoyed them at the end of the evening! By the time we finished these sweet treats, our "snow day" had officially ended. Sam touched up Baby Boy's Bachelor Pad, and I posted this entry! The only thing left to do this evening is let Baby Boy listen to our playlist we started last night - for his first official jam session - or music appreciation lesson, whichever you want to call it! Here are some pics from Day 4:

And, this last snow picture I included just for Sam - he wrote the "numbers" from Lost - gee, how surprising!

Cinnamon Roll Dough

Ready to go in the oven

And, then, ready to be ICEd!

What a "Great Ice of '11" - laying low and having lots of "me" time, no make-up for about a week, not having to dry my hair!, hot chocolate, catching up with friends and family on the phone, nesting, spending time with Sam, sleeping in, staying in comfy pjs, and playing in the snow! Even when so many of us in my area have been itching to get out of the house, it's been nice to just stop and relax! Here's to the "Great Ice of '11" and an extra "spring" break this semester!