Colorful Leaves Are Tasty Treats

I just love her.

Blogs I Think Up At Night

This blog has been a long time coming (since August to be exact - I have slowly yet surely been adding to it).

Let me explain: When I go to bed at night and try to go to sleep, I have to clear my head of things that stress me out. If I don't, bad things happen.

You want an example? All right.

I stress over Aslynn. I think of these random scenarios in my head about her getting hurt or kidnapped or forgotten - things that I tell myself all mothers freak out about. Well, if I fall asleep thinking of these scenarios I have nightmares...that I act upon. Once, a couple of months ago I fell asleep thinking of Z falling off the bed and I tried to catch her before she rolled off. Next thing I know, I am awake (though my dream seemed so real) and Luke is curled up in the fetal position moaning and whining because he is in extreme pain. Apparently I had thrown my arm backward (in an attempt to catch Z from rolling off the bed) and nailed my sleeping husband right in the baby-making gear with a cupped hand. I felt SO bad; what a horrible way to wake up!

So, for the sake of safe sleeping I started to clear my mind of Aslynn, work, and other stresses in an attempt to keep the nightmares to a minimum.

But I have to think of SOMETHING.

So I either think about blackness/being in complete (but safe) darkness or blog topics. I always imagined that the best sleep happened when it was pitch black, and well, there isn't anything that stresses me out about blogging.

This is a blog topic that is just kind of silly. But I've spent so many nights perfecting it, that it has to be posted.

4-5 Secrets about each of the Mechams that 98% of you didn't know - plus some random pictures that I just felt like sharing.

Luke
1. Collects tins. You know the tins that the Christmas butter cookies come in? We have a ton of those and lots more of other shapes and sizes. Luke likes to have things to put stuff in. His theory is that you never know when you will need a good, solid tin to put something important (or not so important) in.

*True Love.*

2. Has never in his life, (to his knowledge) partaken of any caffeinated beverage.
3. Loves the movie Pride and Prejudice with Kira Knightly. He would watch it every Sunday if I let him (because apparently it is a Sunday sort of movie).
4. Can crochet really well. He's teaching our good friend Sarah the craft.

*This one and the next two were taken right after Luke propsed on June 6, 2006.*

Breanna
1. Back in the day, when I was single, underpants were my absolute favorite clothing item. Even if I was having a bad day I could think of the fact that I had on my cute/sexy/comfortable/favorite panties and smile. Good underpants can always lift a cloudy mood. Now my favorite clothing item is socks. I always have on two pairs (the outer pair going up to my knees) and neither of the pairs match. All of my socks have patterns on them so they are always very obviously unmatched.

*Here I am in a state of excited shock.*

2. After I get done eating ice cream I crave burritos and tacos.
3. Really, really wants to go back to school. I love school! I just need to figure out what I want to go back to school for; I don't feel like I've found my educational "calling" yet. I still need to figure out what I love and also am good at. What a dilemma!

*And now I am all giddy and giggling like a silly girl in love.*

4. I love cilantro! I love the smell! I would bathe in that smell! How come there isn't a cilantro scented candle? I would LOVE that!

Aslynn
1. The baby has at least four different "flavors" of binks in the general vicinity of her person. The binks are all different kinds, brands, and colors. She carts them around with her as she explores the apartment so that when she feels the urge, she can change flavors. It's the funniest thing to watch. Sometimes she leaves one behind and eventually finds it later in a part of the apartment she hasn't been to lately. When she finds the missing flavor she pops it in her mouth with a look on her face that says she has found a long lost friend.

2. Picks out her own clothes. In the morning I hold up three options and she gets to pick the one she wants. If the clothing item still has the price tag on it, it wins – hands down – because cardboard/paper tags are her favorite thing to chew on.

*Example of her outfit picking out skills. She found some of these clothing items herself. She is also quite the climber and got to where she is in the photo all by herself.*

3. Will eat anything. She wants what you are eating. Direct quote: (because I am her mother and I know what she is saying though she doesn’t say it…yeah) You wanna give me that? I know that I will like it! *Food item is places in her mouth* Hummmmm. Yeah, you don’t have the greatest taste in food, but I won’t hurt your feelings by refusing if you offer me more of whatever you just gave me. *Screams to remind you to share*” She’s very good at finding random stuff (leaves, old snacks, paper, rubber bands, dirt, hair-bows) on the floor and eating them too. It’s at those times that I come in all mean-mommy like and ask her what she has in her mouth and then wait for her to take it out and show it to me; if she doesn't show me, I make Luke fish it out. Yuck.

4. Her Native-American name is "Repeat Baby Mess-Maker and Giggles." Roughly translated it means young child who laughs while making messes and laughs while her mother cleans up after her only to repeat the process in ten minutes.

5. She has a thing for feet. She likes socks and shoes and bare feet; she likes to eat them. If she find shoes or socks on the floor she likes to chew on them a little until I freak out because I've just seen what she's been eating and I take it away. If Aslynn is mad at you or wants to get your attention, she will bite your feet.

Mecham Family Secret
We have moved eight times in the three years that we have been married.

*Sleepy Lexi*

"Don't you just love (Portland) in the fall? It makes me want to buy school supplies."

Title note: "You've Got Mail" is my favorite movie of all time.

Moving on...

Luke found these salamanders swimming in the complex's pool. It's closed for the season and we are no longer worried about proper chlorine levels - hence the living creatures actually surviving in the pool-water. He fished them out and brought them back to the apartment. Since Luke grew up in the desert he hasn't really seen salamanders, let alone be able to catch them. He was so excited!



A friend of mine made a ribbon wreath (I saw a picture on her blog), and I thought it was too cute! I decided that I would try and make one. Luke had never seen me do any sort of craft, so he was a bit skeptical at first. In the end, he was impressed by my crafty skills.



We carved pumpkins with our friends Matt and Sarah. (Sarah was my roommate in college. When the couple arrived in Portland for Matt's schooling, we convinced them to move into our complex so we could have friends nearby. We love em'!)

*Luke's*

*Mine*

*Z's - that I carved for her. It's a hand with a heart in the middle.*

Aslynn was Belle for Halloween. I picked the costume because it was 50% off and I could live vicariously though her. (I'm 22 years old and I still wish I could dress up like Belle.) She wasn't the biggest fan of the outfit - especially of the crown that went with it - but she tolerated it well.

Our new calling in the ward is as chairmen of the activities committee. We helped plan a massive Halloween party for two, very large wards. Tons of people were there and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves! We went to the party dressed as a cleaning lady (you just can't see my apron, feather duster and yellow rubber gloves), Belle, and a mafia-gangster.

On Halloween we went trick-or-treating at the zoo with some play-group friends. We had fun!

All the excitement tuckered Z out.

This is our newest family member, Lexi (aka: Little Grey). It took a while for Luke to agree to get a cat, so he got to make the final approval on the name. It was only after we got the name picked out that we laughed at ourselves and our unexpected cleverness.

Explanation: We sometimes watch the show "Grey's Anatomy" and one of our favorite characters on the show is named Lexi. Her nickname is "Little Grey" - Lexi the cat happens to be little and gray. We thought we were pretty punny.

Aslynn still hasn't completely warmed up to the fact that she now has to share the floor with a furry, jumping, scampering body. Sometimes Z just wants he space when Lexi wants to play. There are times when they do get along nicely. Aslynn and Lexi chase each other around the house and play with the cat toys together. Lexi tolerates Z's "petting." Z doesn't like Lexi to sit on her lap though; she squals in protest and pushes the kitten off.

Luke threatens Lexi and pretends to hate her, but NO ONE can resist curling up with a snuggly car for a nap.

My heart is full of warm fuzzies because I have an animal of my own again. Seriously, pets are such stress relievers. I wish I could explain it better than that.

Thanks Mom, for picking her up from the Bend Humane Society and bringing her to Portland for me. You (and Dad for tolerating it) are the best!