Today marked a momentous occasion in my life: I voted for the first time. I admit that I have not been moved to vote in previous elections, but today I reconciled my patriotism with my actions. This is not a political post-- I am not saying who I voted for, but I did want to say how grateful I am to vote. My right to vote has been recently attained. In Switzerland, women could not vote until 1973-- this makes me even more grateful to be an American living in 2008. It doesn't matter than I am a woman who doesn't own any land. I have a say in who leads our country, state, city, and county because I am a citizen of this country. It's a fine thing.
I used to feel that my vote was useless. Living in Utah, it doesn't matter whether I vote Republican or Democrat, Utah is not (and probably never will be) a swing state. I'll admit that I wish I lived in a place where my vote had more weight, but it remains the same, I vote because I can. I vote because millions of humans in other countries cannot. I vote because women before fought tooth and nail for me to be able to. I vote because the founding mothers of my church (Zina D. H. Young, Bathsheba Smith, Emmeline B. Wells) fought for and gained women's suffrage in Utah before all other states besides Wyoming. I vote because I care about what happens in our public schools, in Iraq, in our economy, in our environment, and in our hospitals.
I should have written this post before the voter registration deadline to move all those non-voters to action. But if you happen to read this post, are registered to vote, but hadn't planned on voting, go vote! We are blessed to be able to vote. And whether you vote for Huntsman or Schanze*, Obama or Nader, Yes or No-- excercizing that right is a way to say thank you to all those who fought for your right.
*If you vote for Schanze, however, I'd like to know why-- unless you thought it would be funny. Which it would be.
04 November 2008
02 November 2008
Huit
Tagged by Jenna
8 Tag
8 TV shows I like to watch:
1.The Office,
2.What Not to Wear,
3.Scrubs
4.Heroes
5.Chuck
6. Grey's
7.Jon & Kate Plus 8
8 things that happened yesterday:
1. Made pumpkin chocolate chip cookies
2. Bought some new jeans
3. Hung out with Jason, Lindsay, Hunter, and Abby all day
4. Ran two miles (I'm starting out slow)
5. Talked to my sister Whitney on the phone
6. Bought Halloween candy on sale for $1 because Sam and I felt slighted that we didn't get any
7. Watched Sam and Jason play Mario Kart on the Wii
8. Watched the Cougars beat the Rams
8 Favorite places to eat:
1.Cafe Rio
2.Cheesecake Factory
3.CPK
4.Carl's Jr.
5.Fleming's
6.Panera
7. PF Changs
8.Sub Zero (does it count if they only serve ice cream?)
8 things I’m looking forward to:
1. I am going to start working at Williams-Sonoma part-time this week!
2. My sister Whitney moving back to Utah tomorrow
3. Running a 5k on Thanksgiving
4. Going to the library this week to check-out another slew of books
5. Bria's second tooth popping through (as opposed to hanging out just below the gums as it is doing now)
6. Thanksgiving
7. Implementing the new things from IKEA I bought this past week-- some storage items to keep Bria's things more organized
8. Christmas! (I usually don't start getting excited this early, but I can't wait for all the McPhies to be together this year)
8 people I tag:
Lindsay Hickok, Maranda Anderson, Calixta Ashby, Kathleen Mangum, Jean Mangum, Jen Mangum, Kilee Nickels, Joanna Farnsworth
8 Tag
8 TV shows I like to watch:
1.The Office,
2.What Not to Wear,
3.Scrubs
4.Heroes
5.Chuck
6. Grey's
7.Jon & Kate Plus 8
8 things that happened yesterday:
1. Made pumpkin chocolate chip cookies
2. Bought some new jeans
3. Hung out with Jason, Lindsay, Hunter, and Abby all day
4. Ran two miles (I'm starting out slow)
5. Talked to my sister Whitney on the phone
6. Bought Halloween candy on sale for $1 because Sam and I felt slighted that we didn't get any
7. Watched Sam and Jason play Mario Kart on the Wii
8. Watched the Cougars beat the Rams
8 Favorite places to eat:
1.Cafe Rio
2.Cheesecake Factory
3.CPK
4.Carl's Jr.
5.Fleming's
6.Panera
7. PF Changs
8.Sub Zero (does it count if they only serve ice cream?)
8 things I’m looking forward to:
1. I am going to start working at Williams-Sonoma part-time this week!
2. My sister Whitney moving back to Utah tomorrow
3. Running a 5k on Thanksgiving
4. Going to the library this week to check-out another slew of books
5. Bria's second tooth popping through (as opposed to hanging out just below the gums as it is doing now)
6. Thanksgiving
7. Implementing the new things from IKEA I bought this past week-- some storage items to keep Bria's things more organized
8. Christmas! (I usually don't start getting excited this early, but I can't wait for all the McPhies to be together this year)
8 people I tag:
Lindsay Hickok, Maranda Anderson, Calixta Ashby, Kathleen Mangum, Jean Mangum, Jen Mangum, Kilee Nickels, Joanna Farnsworth
25 October 2008
Six Months
Our little Briebe is six months old today! Not only that, but I also discovered that she has her first tooth! Excitement abounds at the Mangum home. I was a little curious why on Thursday night Bria woke up at 11:00pm and then again at 5:00am. And all week she was only taking 35 minute naps. I think this tooth explains all of that!
At six months old, it is clear that Bria is the joy and the queen of our family. She continues to be such a calm, good-natured baby. She is trying to get up on her hands and knees, so I think we'll have a crawler pretty soon.
I can't believe it's already been six months since she made her appearance-- half of a year! She is growing up so quickly. Sam and I are constantly telling each other how happy we are to have her and how much we love her.
Then:
Now:
At six months old, it is clear that Bria is the joy and the queen of our family. She continues to be such a calm, good-natured baby. She is trying to get up on her hands and knees, so I think we'll have a crawler pretty soon.
I can't believe it's already been six months since she made her appearance-- half of a year! She is growing up so quickly. Sam and I are constantly telling each other how happy we are to have her and how much we love her.
Then:
Now:
18 October 2008
Bria takes the Cake
Hi everyone, this is Sam. After months of encouragement from Courtney I finally made a video of Bria. It took several attempts to get a good compression that didn't stretch the 16x9 picture. Without further ado (grab some popcorn, silence your cell phones), I give you . . . Bria!
16 October 2008
A Note on Swaddling . . .
So, I've had some comments on how we keep Bria swaddled. I'm not one to proclaim myself an expert on mothering subjects, but I do have a tip-- the tip-- on swaddling.
USE A FLANNEL BLANKET
I heard this tip while I was pregnant, and I am so glad I did! The flannel material kind of sticks to itself, which helps keep that baby in tight. What we have done is just go to the fabric store and pick out some flannel material and have them cut a square (however long the fabric is naturally wide). My mom was nice enough to make us some double-thickness blankets, but we also use single flannel sheets as well, when she doesn't need to be quite so bundled. We also have some flannel blankets we got from Target, but they aren't quite big enough. It's better to get them from a fabric store where you can ensure they will be big enough to swaddle your 90th-percentile-behemoth baby.
Also, we wrap both of Bria's arms under the first wrap-- for some reason, that has helped her. And, of course, we pull the blanket tight, tight, tight. And we don't wrap her feet up. Bria does wiggle her arms out often, but usually only once she has woken up.
And there you have it: your completely unsolicited advice from me on swaddling.
Back when Bria was little and I still took pictures of when she was swaddled:
USE A FLANNEL BLANKET
I heard this tip while I was pregnant, and I am so glad I did! The flannel material kind of sticks to itself, which helps keep that baby in tight. What we have done is just go to the fabric store and pick out some flannel material and have them cut a square (however long the fabric is naturally wide). My mom was nice enough to make us some double-thickness blankets, but we also use single flannel sheets as well, when she doesn't need to be quite so bundled. We also have some flannel blankets we got from Target, but they aren't quite big enough. It's better to get them from a fabric store where you can ensure they will be big enough to swaddle your 90th-percentile-behemoth baby.
Also, we wrap both of Bria's arms under the first wrap-- for some reason, that has helped her. And, of course, we pull the blanket tight, tight, tight. And we don't wrap her feet up. Bria does wiggle her arms out often, but usually only once she has woken up.
And there you have it: your completely unsolicited advice from me on swaddling.
Back when Bria was little and I still took pictures of when she was swaddled:
13 October 2008
Early Winter :(
It has turned cold quite quickly here in Provo! Things had been so lovely until this past weekend when I, the Queen of Cold, actually got cold enough to turn on the heater! It even snowed. I'm still pretty sad about it. It was, however, fun to bundle Bria up in some new clothes-- winter clothes, and a new size, 6-12 months. 
Some other random bits are that Sam is back to a shaved head. I'm not sure why we follow the pattern of shaving his head in the winter and growing it out in the summer. Anyway, while I was buzzing his head, I thought he should have a mohawk just for fun, so he sported one for a couple days.
My mom bought this little seat for us as a high chair. There really isn't room for a high chair in our apartment, plus this is machine washable and much easier to store once she grows out of it. We love it!
The past couple nights Bria has been rather sleepy before bedtime-- we are in that limbo of not knowing whether she should take a cat nap and still get to bed late or if we should just push her to stay up and go to bed at her regular time (8:15). One night I pushed it, and she fell asleep while I was getting her ready for bed. I set her on the bed to wrap her up, and had to take a picture of my sleeping beauty.
Here is just a random picture of today. She is just getting so big so quickly. I am usually anti-huge-bow-on-the-top-of-the-head, but I think this one is cute once in a while.
This is what I see when I open the door to get her up in the morning or from a nap.
And this is the close-up. She is always so excited to see me!
Some other random bits are that Sam is back to a shaved head. I'm not sure why we follow the pattern of shaving his head in the winter and growing it out in the summer. Anyway, while I was buzzing his head, I thought he should have a mohawk just for fun, so he sported one for a couple days.
My mom bought this little seat for us as a high chair. There really isn't room for a high chair in our apartment, plus this is machine washable and much easier to store once she grows out of it. We love it!
The past couple nights Bria has been rather sleepy before bedtime-- we are in that limbo of not knowing whether she should take a cat nap and still get to bed late or if we should just push her to stay up and go to bed at her regular time (8:15). One night I pushed it, and she fell asleep while I was getting her ready for bed. I set her on the bed to wrap her up, and had to take a picture of my sleeping beauty.
Here is just a random picture of today. She is just getting so big so quickly. I am usually anti-huge-bow-on-the-top-of-the-head, but I think this one is cute once in a while.
This is what I see when I open the door to get her up in the morning or from a nap.
And this is the close-up. She is always so excited to see me!
04 October 2008
Cousins, letters, and solids
Bria and I have gone up to Salt Lake quite a bit this week. With Baby Abby's arrival and a visit from my sister Whitney, my parents' house has been quite the hot spot.
First, a comparison of Bria the tank compared to the string bean Abby:
Then, Bria received a hand-addressed letter from George and Laura Bush welcoming her to the world.
And then, after much insisting from Bria, we introduced solid foods. She is still a bit shy of the six-month mark, but I think she is close enough since she can sit on her own and she also looks like I am betraying her when I eat and don't give her food. The rice cereal went over well. Bria ate all of it, and managed to keep most of it in her mouth. We also caught it on tape. I'm pretty sure I was more excited about it than Bria was. Please notice how Bria is reaching for the bowl in the first picture-- this was just before we started. Also, in the last picture, if you look closely, you'll see that Bria is wearing a bib from when I was a baby and it has Courtney embroidered on it.
First, a comparison of Bria the tank compared to the string bean Abby:
Then, Bria received a hand-addressed letter from George and Laura Bush welcoming her to the world.
And then, after much insisting from Bria, we introduced solid foods. She is still a bit shy of the six-month mark, but I think she is close enough since she can sit on her own and she also looks like I am betraying her when I eat and don't give her food. The rice cereal went over well. Bria ate all of it, and managed to keep most of it in her mouth. We also caught it on tape. I'm pretty sure I was more excited about it than Bria was. Please notice how Bria is reaching for the bowl in the first picture-- this was just before we started. Also, in the last picture, if you look closely, you'll see that Bria is wearing a bib from when I was a baby and it has Courtney embroidered on it.
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