Outside my window the sky is a weird orange color, thanks to the thunderstorms that have been moving through our area all afternoon and evening. It’s rather beautiful.

I am thinking about baby names, but not so obsessively any more. Troy and I have narrowed the list down to a handful of possibilities and we’ll roll those around in our minds for a while.

(Thank you, by the way, for all of you who commented with your favorite girls’ names. My goodness, we all certainly do like talking about names, don’t we? And I learned, from reading all your suggestions, that I have a complicated system of rules for naming my children that I wasn’t even aware of having. Which maybe explains why I was going so crazy for a while there.)

I am thankful for perspective, which makes my life so much less difficult than it otherwise might seem.

I am wearing a Gallifrey t-shirt and Wal-Mart maternity shorts that I purchased in 2004. (First person to know what Gallifrey is wins a crocheted coffee-cup cozy.)

I am remembering how uncomfortable all these baby kicks can be. I’m thankful that the baby is active and healthy, blah blah. But I can honestly say that once this kid is born I won’t miss all the internal pummeling one little bit.

I am going to California in 18 days! Yay!

I am currently reading an issue of Touchstone Magazine.

I am hoping that I can figure out this whole homeschooling-a-first-grader thing without going crazy or scarring me or Annalie for life. (Pretty confident I can. Just, y’know…fingers crossed.)

On my mind: the movie Inception, which I’ve heard praised to the skies from so many different quarters that I think it’s impossible I won’t be underwhelmed by it. I’m still avoiding spoilers, though.

Noticing that Annalie has probably been watching too much TV lately. But I like my midday naps, so for now I’ll let it slide.

In the kitchen there are a few cookies left. I’m trying to ignore their siren call.

Around the house is plenty of evidence in every single room that a 6-year-old girl lives here. My attempts to have her clean up after herself are failing to keep pace with her ability to spread her belongings about.

One of my favorite things is the color of the yarn I’m using to crochet this baby her own cuddle blanket—sort of a pale yellow-green.

From my photo archive: this photo of Annalie was taken in March 2007, when she was two months shy of her third birthday. I’m very interested to see if the baby will look as much like Annalie as I look like my brother.

Post inspired by Beck.

What is something your dad always says to you?
“I love you, Annalie.”

What makes your dad happy?
When I laugh at some stuff that he says.

What makes daddy sad?
When I don’t listen to him and I lie to him.

How does your daddy make you laugh?
When he says something, like…kickapowah! Or chicken bubbles.

What did your dad like to do when he was a kid?
Um, draw.

How old is your dad?
25?

How tall is your dad?
89 inches.

What is his favorite thing to watch on TV?
The race!

What does your dad do when you’re not around?
Watch racing.

If your dad ever became famous, what would it be for?
Um, for watching the most races in the most days.

What is your dad really good at?
He’s really good at…making me laugh! Hahaha!

What is your dad not very good at?
Watching ballerinas.

What does your dad do for his job?
Works at the Pentagon.

What is your dad’s favorite food?
Chinese.

What makes you proud of your dad?
He’s really funny.

What makes you happy that he is your dad?
Because he’s really funny and he has a good sense of humor. And he likes to help me with puzzles.

If your dad were a cartoon character, who would he be?
A cartoon racer!

What do you and your dad do together?
We eat together, we play together, he takes me to the movies sometimes, and to lunch.

How are you and your dad the same?
We’re a lot the same. We both have blue eyes, and we’re both very funny. I thought of one more thing that’s the same about us: we both like rainbows!

How are you and your dad different?
Well, I don’t really like racing, and he likes it. And I like ballerinas but he doesn’t really like it.

How do you know your daddy loves you?
Because he says it all the time.

What does your dad like most about your mom?
You both laugh at the same things.

Where is your daddy ’s favorite place to go?
The movies.

I interviewed Annalie about Troy last year, and asked the same questions about me last year and last week.

What is something you mom always says to you?
“Annalie, I love you.”

What makes your mom happy?
When I give you a hug and a kiss…like right now!

What makes your mom sad?
When I do something I’m not supposed to, like eat too much candy, or sneak.

How does your mom make you laugh?
By tickling me. Do it!

What did your mom like to do when she was a child?
I think you liked to draw and sketch a lot.

How old is your mom?
75? What? Wasn’t it a close guess?

How tall is your mom?
You are…78 feet? And you weigh, um, 70 pounds.

What is her favorite thing to watch on TV?
Doctor Who.

What does your mom do when you’re not around?
Watch movies that kids can’t watch. And blog and twitter.

If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for?
Hmmm…[grinning]…for being the world’s longest blogger!

What is your mom really good at?
Sketching and being nice.

What is your mom not very good at?
Being able to reach stuff really high up.

What does your mom do for her job?
Dottery. What? You’re gonna be a teacher doing it!

What is your mom’s favorite food?
Chinese. Especially pork-fried rice.

What makes you proud of your mom?
You’re really nice to me most of the time, and you’re really good at loving me.

If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be?
You’d be a starfish on Spongebob. Not Patrick, just a starfish.

What do you and your mom do together?
Paint, watch Doctor Who, play together, and help each other.

How are you and your mom the same?
We both have blue eyes, the same DNA, and when you were little you had really blond hair like me.

How are you and your mom different?
Well, you have a little bit of long hair, and it’s dark. And I have short hair, and it’s light. I like to draw a lot, and you like to paint.

How do you know your mom loves you?
Because you give me hugs and kisses.

What does your mom like most about your dad?
He’s nice and he can reach things and he takes care of stinkbugs for us.

Where is your mom’s favorite place to go?
That Pottery Place.

I did this same interview last year. For the record, I did indeed like to draw and sketch a lot as a kid; Doctor Who is in fact one of my favorite shows; I am going to teach a class in painting dottery at my local pottery-painting studio at the end of this month; I do love Chinese food but I wouldn’t say pork fried rice is my favorite; and That Pottery Place could certainly be called one of my favorite places. However, I’m not 75 years old nor 78 feet tall, and I weigh considerably more than 70 pounds.

I think this was a Facebook meme originally, but I first saw it at Wannabe Hippie and Zebrabelly.