What's in a Name?

One of my oldest and best friends just found out she's having a girl, and I couldn't be more excited for her. We chatted about all things baby on the phone last week, and the conversation inevitably turned to names. It seems she and her husband are having difficulty agreeing on a name, and this is all too common. Fortunately, Marcos didn't really have an opinion. I don't think he offered a single name, but he vetoed plenty. There's a lot of pressure when it comes to naming a little human. I mean, we don't get to choose our names, yet we're stuck with them for the rest of our lives. You want the name to be a little unique, but not so unique that no one can pronounce it. My sister goes by her middle name, McGuinn, a beautiful family name, but not one that the average Starbucks barista can spell without some help. Choosing a name is not something to be taken lightly, and that's why there are a few basic rules to consider when naming your daughter or son.

1. The name should mean something. 

There doesn't necessarily need to be an elaborate story behind your child's name, but there will come a day when your son or daughter asks you about the meaning of his or her name, and you probably want to have a better answer than, "We closed our eyes and randomly chose a name in our baby name book". As a kindergarten and first grade teacher, one of my first day of school activities each year consisted of reading the book "Chrysanthemum" by Kevin Henkes and discussing the meaning behind all of our own names. The students' "homework" for the day was to ask their parents about the story behind their names, and the next day everyone would share what they had learned. Some of them were meaningful, but most of them were pretty lame. Imagine that your child's future teacher will do this same activity. What would you want them telling their classmates?

2. Consider family names and heritage. 

When all else fails, check your family tree. You may be pleasantly surprised at some of the names you will find when you go back a few generations. Many people name their children after special people in their lives, and I don't think there's any greater honor on earth. Rory's middle name, Keiko, is Marcos' mom's name. Not only do I love the name, but his mother is also a very kind, smart, and hard-working woman, who I would love for Rory to take after one day. Rory's first name is a nod to my Irish heritage. I figured if she wasn't going to look like me, she could at least have an Irish name. (Also I love Gilmore Girls.)

3. Think about the future. 

Bear may be a cute name for a toddler, but not so much for a 25-year-old trying to move up in the corporate world. Your baby will have whatever name you choose for the rest of his or her life...driver's licenses, passports, job applications. There's a study that found that kids with "normal", classic names (think Joe, Sarah, etc.) spend their lives trying to stand out, while people with obscure, strange names are constantly trying to blend in. (Lady Gaga's real name is Stephanie. Think about it, people.) Our last name is Fukumoto, so Rory will forever be saddled with a horrible/awesome (horribly awesome?)  surname. The least we could do is give her a somewhat normal first name.

4. Consider ALL possible nicknames. 

One of the families I babysat in Dallas told me once that they considered naming their son Porter, but then realized that Portly Porter would be a terrible nickname if he happened to be a little on the chubby side. They went with Beckam instead. Tucker is cute, until you think about what it rhymes with. Also, write down your child's initials. You don't want to get home from the hospital and realize that your son's or daughter's initials spell out something horrific like KKK or IBS.

5. Check out the name popularity lists. 

I think it's always a good idea to see a list of the year's most popular names before deciding on your baby's moniker. You don't want your child to be one of five "Isabellas" when they enter kindergarten. This isn't always a sure thing, though. My good friend Karla named her son "Lincoln", a name that was virtually unheard of a few years ago, but one that is steadily gaining popularity. Kristen Bell and Dax Shepherd even named their first daughter Lincoln. The point is, you never now. Rory is pretty unique now, but in a few years, it could be in the top 10 list of names. Or maybe you want your child to have a more common name. Two of my good friends had babies in the last year. One named her son Noah, and the other named her daughter Olivia, both of which are in the top 10 names for 2014, but both are beautiful names that fit their babies well.

6. Look anywhere and everywhere for inspiration. 

I think baby name books are the absolute worst resource for baby names. They are incredibly over-whelming, and not very inspiring. When I was pregnant with Rory, I kept an ongoing list of names on my phone, and every time I heard a name I liked, I would add it to the list. I would later run it by Marcos, and if he vetoed it or I discovered later that there was a serial killer with the same name (true story), I would cross it off the list. I found names in the oddest of places: Novels I was reading, movie credits, and eavesdropping on random people's conversations. All you have to do is go to a park on any given day, sit on a bench, and listen to the mom's call after their children. (Warning: you may look slightly creepy. Bring a book or something.)

7. Bring a short list of names to the hospital. 

I went out to dinner with my friend a few nights ago, and she made the comment that she doesn't feel as though she can name someone she hasn't met yet. She wants to hold her baby and see her before deciding on her name. I totally respect this, and think there is some truth to this. If you feel this way, just make sure you have a short list of names ready, or you may end up choosing a name you don't really love  or leaving the hospital with an unnamed baby. I'm pretty sure this is frowned upon.

8. Say the name out loud. 

It might look good on paper or sound good in your head, but it's important to say the name aloud. Some first or middle names may not sound great with your last name. (Ahem...Fukumoto.) Or perhaps when you say the full name quickly, it morphs into something else. My cousin's daughter's name is "Lily Claire", and I remember my cousin making the comment that when she hears the name spoken quickly, it sometimes sounds like "Lil' eclair". Not that there's anything wrong with this. Eclairs are delicious.


The only other Rory's I know...

Rory McIlroy

Rory Gilmore 

And for your reading pleasure, a list of awful celebrity baby names: (Seriously... Tu Morrow?!)

http://www.babble.com/celebrity/33-worst-celebrity-baby-names/

A List of Things I've Fished out Of Rory's Mouth in the Last Week

1. A gum wrapper

2. Marli's food

3. String

4. A popcorn kernel (Marcos, if you're reading this, when is the last time we had popcorn?)

5. Wood chips

6. An unidentifiable object from the playground sandbox

7. Foil from a package of Rolos that she grabbed from the shelf at the gas station. (We now have a package of Rolos in our pantry.)

8. Toilet paper

9. A grape stem

Three Things Thursday

1. Don't cry over spoiled milk. 

Marcos asked me to get more milk at the grocery store yesterday, and I did...the problem is it never made it in the house. I guess between taking Rory out of her carseat and making sure I didn't spill my iced coffee, I forgot the groceries in the car. Good thing it's trash day.

Milk that's been sitting in our hot car for over 24 hours. 

Get it together, mom. 

2. "So, they're just toy logs?"

This is the conversation that occurred between Marcos and me last weekend when I got home from the consignment sale.

Marcos: How much did you spend?

Marcos' Loving, Money-Saving Wife: That's not important. What's important is that Rory has lots of new, imagination-inspiring toys...including a huge bin of Lincoln Logs that I scored for six bucks.

M: What are Lincoln Logs?

MLMSW: Excuse me? You've never played with Lincoln Logs?!

M: I grew up in Brazil. I had never played Candy Land before until two years ago when you forced me to play....after the kids you were babysitting went to bed.

MLMSW: You were so deprived. It's a good thing you have a wife like me who cares enough about you to make sure you don't miss out on some of life's most important moments, like your first trip through the Candy Cane Forest.

M: (Peering at the container of Lincoln Logs) Wait, so they're just toy logs? What do you do with them? I'm not sure I understand the appeal.

MLMSW: You bite your tongue! This is a classic American toy. Rory will spend hours using them to construct all kinds of things.

M: Okay, but they seem pretty lame.

Fast forward to two days later at 9 pm. (Rory has been asleep for two hours.)

Lame, indeed.

3. Yay for fall! 

Starbucks just announced that they're releasing their Pumpkin Spice Latte early this year due to the unusually chilly temperatures all over the country. I, for one, cannot wait!

Autumn in a cup. 

Love Is....

My best friend and college roommate, Shannon, used to collect a comic strip called "love is...". Her mom would sometimes send her one in the mail and she would pin it up on her bulletin board in our dorm room. To be honest, I always thought it was a little creepy that the man and woman were naked in the comics, but they are sweet none the less.

Definitely.

I haven't thought about these comics since sophomore at UNT (Go mean green!), but for some reason I was reminded of them yesterday when Marcos came home with a huge container of chocolate mousse from Del Frisco's. An Oracle salesman took him and a few of his colleagues out to lunch at the famous steak house where he had a four course meal, which included jumbo shrimp and filet mignon. (I had leftover lentils and grilled cheese for lunch, in case you were wondering.) He texted me after lunch and told me that he had saved his dessert for me. It's probably because he was so full from the three previous courses, but I like to think it's because he was thinking about me and my affinity for anything chocolate.

Love is...bringing home chocolate mousse for your wife...even though she hasn't made dinner in over a week. 

Date Night at Red Rocks

Last night Marcos and I left Rory with our neighbor while we attended a concert at the Red Rocks Amphitheater. It was the longest we've ever been away from her, and I'm not ashamed to say that I enjoyed every minute of it. We danced, we sang, we drank overpriced beers. Of course, we used our baby monitor app to check on Rory no less than 20 times, but it felt good to let loose and think about something other than diapers and baby proofing for a few hours.

The concert was Jack Johnson featuring Alo, and it was by far the best concert I've ever been to. Jack Johnson sings our wedding song "Angel", and Zach Gill, lead singer of Alo, sings "Watch Them Grow", the song I danced to with my dad at my wedding, so both artists are pretty meaningful to us.

Jack Johnson could sing in a public restroom and still put on a great show, so having the opportunity to see him perform at one of the greatest venues in the world was like a dream come true.

Red Rocks is an outdoor amphitheater in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. It's surrounded by giant red rocks that serve as natural acoustics, and the view is amazing. There isn't a bad seat in the whole park. If you ever make it to the Denver area, make sure Red Rocks is on your to-do list.

Obligatory selfie. 

Check out that view. 

Homemaker

Last week I had my annual physical with a new doctor. The first ten minutes of the appointment consisted of me answering a series of inane questions. (Do you do street drugs? Um, no. What is your stress level on a scale of 1 to 10. An eleven. How many drinks do you have per week? One. Okay, fine...three.)

And then she asked me a perfectly normal question: What do you do?
What do I do? How do I even begin to answer this question? How much time do you have, lady?

I spend my mornings making sure my daughter doesn't stick her hand in the toilet, and I change a lot of diapers... cloth diapers, so then I have to wash them. I cut up bananas and kiwi and grapes into pieces that are small enough so they're not a choking hazard yet large enough that my daughter can easily pick them up and shove them in her mouth. This is harder than it sounds. 

I spend a large part of my day preparing my daughter for her depressingly short naps. I read the same three board books about 5 times, sing off-key versions of "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" and "The Wheels on the Bus", and do my best to zip up her sleepsack before she can wiggle out of it. Then I rock her, place her in her crib, and pray that she will sleep long enough for me to eat my lunch. 

My daughter hates the car, so we don't venture too far, but we go to story time a few days a week at the Highlands Ranch Public Library where she completely ignores the story and prefers instead to take random books off the shelf, so I'm left trying to put them back in the right spot while simultaneously keeping her from shoving another child's toy in her mouth. 

I also do a lot of laundry and cleaning. Our "stainless" steel refrigerator is never without tiny handprints and I find Cheerios in the oddest of places. My daughter has an obsession with the vacuum, so sometimes when I feel as though the day is dragging, I vacuum not because the floor is dirty, but because I don't know how else to distract my daughter until dinner. 

We go on several walks each day, usually to the park. Once we're there, I push my daughter in the swing (Does this count as a form of "regular exercise"? If yes, please change my answer to your previous question.) and then spend the remainder of the time stopping her from eating the sand in the sandbox. 

I'm a former teacher, so I spend about 30% of my day obsessing about my daughter's development. I narrate my every move in an effort to prevent speech delay, and I show her alphabet flashcards, which she inevitably ends up either a) shoving into her mouth, or b) hurling in the general direction of our 5 pound chihuahua. 

When my daughter is finally napping, I scarf down my lunch (usually whatever happens to be left on her high chair tray) and google normal-ish phrases such as, "Can ear infections be fatal?" and "potty training at 12 months". 

At some point between 8 am and 3 pm I remember to let our dog out. 

About four three times a week I attempt to cook dinner,but despite spending $100 a week at the grocery store, we never seem to have any actual food. While I cook, my daughter crawls around on the kitchen floor and plays in the liquor cabinet. Every once in awhile she complains just for the sake of complaining and because it's 4:00. 

When my husband finally gets home from work, I have to make the decision to either go workout or hide in my room and read. If I'm feeling really ambitious, I'll read People magazine on the elliptical machine. 

After feeding my daughter and myself, I get her bath ready and shower while my husband bathes her. While in the shower I have to make the decision to either shave my legs or wash my hair because I almost never have time for both. 

After my shower, I chase my daughter around in an attempt to put on her diaper before she pees on the carpet. I brush all 4 of her teeth and nurse her to sleep. While I breastfeed, I send emails with ridiculous typos and pin things on Pinterest I will never look at again. 

But despite the monotony and lack of intellectual stimulation, my days go by way too quickly. I go to bed with a full heart, looking  forward to repeating it all over again the next day. I'm even planning on having another one of these time-sucking, house-wrecking, tantrum-throwing creatures. So, to answer one of your earlier questions, yes; maybe I do have a history of mental illness, because I've never been happier. 

Of course, I didn't say any of this aloud. Instead, I mumbled something about how I used to be a teacher but now I stay at home with my daughter.

"Oh," said the doctor, "So, you're a homemaker."

*sigh*

Bargain Hunting: MOMS Consignment Sale

My friend Paige and I went to the MOMS consignment sale this morning, and I made out like a bandit. I practically ran out of there before someone could block the exit and say, "Did you really think you were going to get all of that for only $122?" (And then he/she would laugh maniacally.) Fortunately, that didn't happen. Here's a list of what I bought:

• A huge bin of Lincoln Logs for $5.99 (retail $55)
• A 72 piece Quatro Lego set with the bin for $10 (retail $50)
• A 5'X7' car rug for $8 (retail $40)
• Wooden blocks (all shapes) for $8 (retail $20)
• An ABC light up toy for $2 (retail $18)
• Child-proof cabinet locks for $2 (retail $5)
• Padded corner protectors for our coffee table $2 (retail $7)
• Brand new Robeez tan moccasins for $10 (retail $25)
• A Taggies blanket for $2 (retail $25)
• A handmade Brown Bear Brown Bear mini blanket for $2 (Rory is obsessed with this book, therefore I consider this my find of the day.) (priceless)
• A fleece pumpkin costume for $2 (retail $25)
• A Khaki Gymboree zip-up jacket for my new nephew for $5 (retail $25)
• 2 Hanna Andersson zip-up fleeces for $15 (retail $45 each)
• A white Hanna Andersson tee for $3 (retail $16)
• 2 pair of Hanna Andersson organic cotton Christmas pajamas for $5 (retail $35 each)
• 2 large Halo sleepsacks for $10 (retail $20 each)
• A brand new infant life vest by Marine West for $15 (retail $55)
• A cute (tacky?) Thanksgiving outfit for $5 
• A pair of Carters flowered leggings for $2 (retail $9)
• A pair of gray Nike sweatpants for $2 (retail $20)
• A Gap hooded sweatshirt for $3 (retail $25)
• A pair of pink fleece mittens for $1 (retail $5)

Total Spent: Approx $120

Total Retail: Over $600