My Significant Other Tag

Yes! I love this tag because I get to talk about my hunk of man-meat, the Shane-meister.

His name: Shane K. Johnson

How long have you been married?: 7 years 5 months

How long did you date?: We met in August of '99, and were married July of '00. That's seven years in Mormon dating time.

How old is he: 30

Who eats more? Him. I am on a strict diet of celery and black market phen-fen. (I know a guy...)

Who said "I love you" first? Him. I was merely the helpless co-ed being preyed upon.

Who is taller? Him. He is 6' and I am a dainty 5'7 and 1/2"

Who sings better? I've got him beat with Broadway, but he kills it with Johnny Cash and Willy Nelson. I love when he sings "To all the girls I loved before" to Hank. It makes me want to hurl.

Who is smarter? Shane is way more street smart. But I am good with kung fu stuff.

Whose temper is worse? His. But most of the time I had it coming to me.

Who does the laundry? He does. When I do it, it becomes a week-long project.

Who does the dishes? Our butler Benito.

Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? We sleep in a tangled mass of flesh I like to compare to a erotic Rodin sculpture...Just kidding. I do.

Who pays the bills? He does. I like to live in a little slice of heaven called Denial-ville.

Who mows the lawn? He does. He likes to mow our lawn into intricate rows resembling a baseball field. He is also slightly OCD.

Who cooks dinner? I do. I mash potatoes like no ones business.

Who drives when you are together? He does, and it's kind of a source of contention in our marriage. I mean, it's as though we were never liberated at all!

Who is more stubborn? Me. Totally. No competition. I'm Irish, and I'm Anne's daughter. But I know I'm okay cause God dont make no junk.

Who is the first to admit when they are wrong? Shane, but I have gotten a lot better at this over the years. Both times I have been wrong were great teaching lessons.

Whose parents do you see the most? Shane's, since they live 12 houses away from us. But they are such a blessing!!

Who proposed? He did. We went to the San Diego temple where he had to scare off some Sister Missionaries that were tailing us. He proposed very sweetly on one knee then proceeded to put the ring on the wrong finger. Classic Shane!

Who has more friends? Me. I am way more outgoing. But when Shane has a friend they are brothers for life. In all honesty, his friendship is an honor.

Who has more siblings? The same. We are both middle children and sport matching chips on our shoulders.

Who wears the pants in the family? I like to talk big, but it's totally Shane. He is the head of our family. I am just the trophy wife. He makes me laugh like no other, and he is the best guy a girl could ask for.

I now tag Bethany, Nicole, Marianne, Karine, and Steph!

In Jane Austen's World

Hopefully you have been enjoying Masterpiece Theatre's retelling of all six of Ms. Austen's novels. And hopefully you are not like my sweet husband who says that her novels, "pretty much write themselves." (Though no one could accuse Louis L'Amour of being formulaic...)

I have been thinking about this celebrated lady, and wondering why we love her so dang much. I think it's a lot of things. One is that we so badly want to be one of her heroines, because let's face it, she knew what good women aspire to be. Her heroines are simple, smart, good, talented, popular (with out being a "mean girl"), witty, and they always understand that there are far more important things than money and good looks.

Another reason we love her is that she created such great men. Darcy, Brandon, Wentworth, Knightly...the list goes on. All rich, but just. Handsome, but never vain (though often misunderstood). They would rather have a smart wife than a pretty one. They pine, they protect, and they own property in something known as "the Lake District".

Her villains are all recognizable. They aren't murderers or thieves, but rather they are petty, jealous, mean and greedy. The worst sin one could commit is to treat people badly, and not live up to ones word.

Finally, her world is the most just and fair place in all the literary world. By the end of the novel, each character is rewarded or punished in exact accordance to their behavior. If you are good and learn all your life lessons, you are rewarded with a handsome husband and a grand estate. If you are bad and compromise your values, you are cast out of good society and exiled to live far away from the good people.

Oh to live in her world! Oh to "Summer in Bath" or "Dance the next set". Oh to only wear empire waistline dresses!

She totally rocks.

"Godspeed, little man....Sweet dreams, little man"

Shane is out of town for the next week so it was up to me to get all the Sunday night tasks completed. Feed Hank, change diapers, say prayers and take him to bed. About 25 minutes after alls quiet lights out, I hear my baby screaming. I run to his room and pull him out of his crib and held him as he cried inconsolably for about 15 minutes. It was obvious to me that he had a nightmare (so sad that 1 year-olds have bad dreams!). I held him until he settled down, then we sat on the couch together where he just held to me as tight as he could. It actually turned out to be such a sweet moment because my boy is usually far too busy for cuddles. Often I get a quick hug before he is off on his adventures, so I treasure those times where he slows down and we just sit together. I sang to him, and we talked about how dreams are such happy things to have, and all the different places we can go when we dream. It was all very Walton's but I loved it.

The experience reminded me once again, what an awesome responsibility it is to be a parent. A few days ago I posted about my parents making everything alright, and now it is my job to do the same for my boy. As he held onto me tonight for dear life, he fully expected that I would make everything alright, and that the world would be a little less scary if we were holding on together. What incredible trust they have in us! What an honor!

It's a small thing, and something I probably would have forgotten if I hadn't written it down. But a good reminder when he is a teenager and Karma gets me back for being such a tool to my parents. I'll remember the night when my boy needed me and I could actually fix it. "This isn't our problem...this is our gift."

Latest Pics...

This is why I doubt that my son will live to his second birthday...And do we as responsible parents pull him down and give him a stern talking-to? Oh no, it was more like this, "That is not a toy, son. Now keep playing on the dangerous, slick, gas spewing oven until we get this shot."

Living in this house is truly a hair-raising experience...

Moms & Dads

Thank goodness for Moms and Dads. I am 28 years old, a mom myself, and yet when my Mom and Dad tell me that everything is going to be alright, I still absolutley believe them. What a great blessing that is. Thank guys.

Repeat the Sounding Joy!

After a wonderful and insanely busy holiday season, I finally have my computer back (a long story) and am ready to get back to blogging! My whole family came to celebrate our first Christmas in our home and it was a fun, loud, and memorable experience.

Christmas Eve, Bethany Hank and I singing a trio!

Our first Christmas as parents was a fun and eye-opening experience. I told my mom that I finally understood why they always looked so exhausted by 4:00 Christmas day! Shane and I woke up early, bundled up the Hankster and went to his parents house to open presents with his family. It's amazing how many presents are there for 2 grandparents, 4 siblings, 3 spouses, and 4 grandchildren! Poor Hank was a little overwhelmed with the whole experience. By the time we got him home, he was so exhausted that we put him down for a nap and opened more presents with my family. When he awoke from dreams of sugar plums dancing he was in a much better mood and able to enjoy opening his presents.

Hank checking out the awesome toybox his dad and Grandpa Jo made him. I absolutely love him in his Hugh Hefner PJ's!

My parents, probably also overwhelmed with their first grandchild's Christmas, got Hank a Little Tykes playhouse big enough for us all to live in (when the bank comes to take our house back, as Shane loves to say!)

Santa's Elves. My dad says the three most dreaded words in the English language are: Some Assembly Required

The finished product, to be featured in next week's MTV Cribs...

And as if Christmas and the constant attention of adoring grandparents, aunts, and uncles wasn't enough to spoil my little angel rotten, his first birthday was on the 29th! I spent the day in a haze, wondering where the first year of my baby's life had gone, and fearing that the next 17 years would go just as fast. We had a great party with both families, still more presents, and my son diving face first into his cake!

You can see his disappointment that it wasn't chocolate cake. Somehow he managed to shovel it down, stopping only when he burst into tears upon hitting the cardboard base (which he then tried to eat as well)

So I end this post with a short note to my little man. I heard someway say this past year that you don't love your kids, you fall in love with them. You are the second great love of my life. You are the best, hardest, most worthwhile, pain the butt thing I have ever done. I am so proud of you, and proud to be your mom. My "Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful boy."