Will you miss us when we are gone?

John and Tyler just left for our stake's annual father/son camp out. I have a free night all to myself.

Tonight while we were eating right before they left Tyler asked, "Amy, will you miss us when we are gone?" My thought was to say, "Not at all! I get the whole quiet house to myself, I don't have to clean up after anyone, entertain anyone, put anyone to bed..." Well, you get the point.

Instead, I paused for a minute and thought, then said, "Yes. I will miss you." (He then suggested that if I got lonely I could go get on Facebook or call someone, which was quite cute.)

After they left and I stared thinking about it, I realized that I do miss them. You see, almost two years ago, I was the one who was going to leave. I don't think an 8 year old would ever understand that I almost did miss him. I made a decision to stay here with John and the kids rather than join the Foreign Service. I almost missed out on a noisy, chaotic house. I almost missed out on cleaning up after everyone. I almost missed out on entertaining everyone. I almost missed out on putting kids to bed.

The other night when I was feeling stressed out from trying to organize a house we just moved into, working full time, taking care of a family and meeting church obligations, John said, "If you wanted stability and predictability, just think...you could be at a US embassy in Libya or Yemen right now where your life would be much more stable." Very funny, honey. Point well-taken.

So with all the challenges of being a stepmom, a wife and a crazy pregnant lady, I am glad I am not missing out on any of this. Because all of it is good.

Me and Alyssa Milano

What do me and Alyssa Milano have in common? A LOT actually.

Well first, she was ON "Who's the Boss" and I used to WATCH "Who's the Boss."

She is Italian and I am Italian. This is getting scary...

SHE married a younger man (6 years younger) and I married a younger man (5 years younger).

SHE is 38 years old and pregnant with her first child, and I...uh...am 38 years old and pregnant with my first child!

Hey Alyssa, what do you say we get together and talk about how much our lives are alike?

My Red Apron

Someone (I think it might have been my dad) gave me a red apron for Christmas a few years ago. I wear it whenever I am in the kitchen or cooking.

My cute stepdaughter made this picture for me. It is of my red apron and me IN the red apron. Imagine my surprise when I realized that when she thinks of me and visualizes me, I am wearing a red apron. I think she thinks I pretty much live in this apron 24/7. And it's true. Whenever the kids are here I feel like I'm cooking something, cleaning up from something or preparing to cook the next thing.
















I am only a part time mom, but I realize how much moms do to keep the household running and keep everyone fed. In fact, when I think about my years growing up, my mom seemed to have an apron on a lot. The one I remember best was blue with white dots and I think it had hippopotamuses on it. I am sure I can find a photo somewhere. Does anyone in the family remember this apron? And she still wears an apron when the family comes over for dinner.

Obviously aprons are very useful. They keep your clothes tidy from all those pesky food splashes, but they are also a symbol of the work that moms do. My apron says, "I'm working to keep you fed." I hope that even though I am only a small part of my step kids' lives that they will remember that I took care of them when they were with us.