What Every Father-To-Be-Again Should Know...

In the summer of 2010 I started feeling like it was time to add another little bundle of joy into our family. Joe and I discussed this and prayed about it. I went off the birth control and a an hour later I was pregnant. (My high school health teacher Ms. Searle wasn't kidding when she said, "All it takes is once.")


Soon after the pregnancy test came back positive doubt and fear set in. I was working two jobs at the time so that we could pay for Joe's school, pay off some debt and save for a house. On top of that I was baby sitting my two-year-old niece Sophie 24 hours a week. We were living in a basement apartment and didn't have hardly any room for storage. I was ALWAYS tired. I felt guilty that I was too tired to give Nora all of the attention she was used to. In fact being pregnant with a second child was much more exhausting then the first because I was constantly chasing after a toddler, if not two toddlers when I was watching Sophie.

Me with Nora and Sophie at Tracy Aviary.

I started to question, "Are we really doing the right thing?" and then thinking "What have we gotten ourselves into? I can't even handle the one I've got!" I couldn't fathom the thought of leaving another little baby with a sitter while I went back to work.  I would fantasize about the days before Nora, when my husband and I could just take off and go see a movie, enjoy a meal in a restaurant without having to find a sitter or deal with a cranky kiddo and I would dream of the days when we could take off for a weekend get-a-way. Now we were prolonging the "us time" even longer.


I felt worried sick about how Nora was going to react. She was the center of our world and I worried about her feelings.  I was experiencing so much anxiety that we decided not to tell our family members until after our 20 week ultrasound. I wanted to make sure that baby was healthy because if he wasn't healthy I didn't want to add to my anxiety by having others feeling sorry for us and bombarding us with a ton of questions.


The day of the ultrasound was one of the best days of my life. All of my anxiety melted away as the Ultrasound Tech showed us this alien looking baby on the monitor, and we heard his little heart beat. She pointed out his tiny hands and feet, she counted all of his little fingers and toes. When she showed us that he was a boy, I watched my husband's face light up. I knew that this little guy was meant to be a part of our family. I had a strong feeling that everything would work out. I was filled with so much love for this tiny person and I hadn't even met him yet. I couldn't wait to hold him in my arms and kiss his soft little head.

Ryan profile

tiny feet

Ryan the Alien Mud Baby!

Ryan 1 day old.

A few days ago my brother-in-law, Jeff, his wife Casey, and their 3-year-old Alexa came over for a visit.  One of the cutest families ever! As they were leaving I asked Casey if she was hanging in there. Casey is about 4 months pregnant and a CNA in an extended care facility a job that can be physically taxing. She said that she was pretty tired and mentioned that she was taking some extra days off work. She also mentioned that she had been trying to explain to Jeff how exhausting it is to be pregnant, that she is building a tiny human being inside of her and it takes a lot of energy. (I feel like I should mention that Jeff wasn't criticizing Casey in any way for being tired. I suppose he was just wondering.  In fact Jeff is an exemplary husband and father and Alexa has him wrapped around her extra cute little finger.)

Jeff, Alexa and Casey

It might be impossible to explain to someone who has never been pregnant how exhausting pregnancy is, especially with the second, third or fourth baby. But a little sympathy and extra work can help your wife be a happier less stressed person.  As your wife continues to put on extra weight and is filled with raging hormones, the Father-To-Be-Again should tack the following onto his to-do-list:

1. Take the older child or children off of mom's hands whenever possible. It is important that she gets the rest she needs.
2. Run errands; for me riding in the car would trigger nausea and vomiting. So when Joe would go to the grocery store or the bank for me it was a really good thing. You can also combine number 1 above by taking the older child/children with you so that the wife can take a much needed nap.
3. Cook or order out. Another thing that would trigger my nausea and vomiting was cooking and dishes. So it's nice when father-to-be orders out or takes over dinners for awhile. It's also an added bonus when he does the clean up. Not leaving dirty dishes with disgusting stuck on ketchup in the sink for 3 days that helps too.
4. Baths; As your wife's belly gets bigger, it's harder to bend over and maybe even painful to give toddlers baths. Dad's can help out with baths more easily then big pregnant moms.
5. DON'T COMPLAIN; This is the most important. Your wife is not being lazy, she is making an actual person. Raging hormones and the stress of adding another little one to your family can be very stressful so complaining about the extra choirs will make an already exhausted wife feel guilty. 

I know that I worry too much. I wish that I would have just enjoyed being pregnant with Ryan instead of being so stressed out. Everyone says that it all works out in the end and so far it has. I can't imagine life without little Ryan. Everyday I thank my Heavenly Father for my husband and my two beautiful kiddos!

Utah, Mormon and Democrat! Somebody Save My Soul.

I know this is a mommy blog but humor me I need to get this off my chest.  


"At election time each year, a Church statement of political neutrality is read in LDS congregations throughout the nation, which "affirms [the Church's] neutrality regarding political parties, platforms, and candidates." Importantly, it also stresses that, "principles compatible with the gospel may be found in various political parties." Implicit in this statement is the notion that gospel truth may be found in the Democratic party's platform."  Boyd Peterson's Why I'm A Mormon Democrat.

2012 has begun, it's another presidential election year. I consider myself a Democrat, meaning the majority not all of my beliefs lie with the Democratic party.


I want to make it very clear that I don't care who you vote for. However, it seems there is always somebody out there who cares a whole lot about who I vote for. Every presidential election year someone who knows that I vote Democrat tries to convince me to vote Republican. I have even been told, by a seminary teacher, that it is a sin to vote Democrat.

Again I don't care who you vote for. I don't care if you vote for Obama, Romney or Super Dell. Now, if you still feel the need to convince me to vote Republican here are a few easy to follow suggestions:

1. Do not verbally assault me. Yes, this has happened more than once at church, in school and with family members. For example; soon after the last election my husband and I went to a family party. One of our family members, we’ll call him Jason, who at the time I very much respected, sat with my husband and I. He asked my husband how school was going and what he wanted to do with his degree once he was finished. My husband told him that he was interested in alternative fuels. Jason had somehow found out that we vote Democrat and started raising his voice and saying something to the effect, he wasn't being quite clear, that there would be no more energy or fuel because of "Your Guy." (He kept calling President Obama "YOUR GUY!" as if the President of the United States was Voldemort and he could not speak his name).  He then started spouting off information that I know from my research and news watching is not true. One of the things that Jason said was basically that it is our guy's fault that the economy collapsed. I'm pretty sure that the economy collapsed in October of 2008. President Obama was not even elected President until November 2008 and was not sworn in until January 2009.For over an hour we had to listen to Jason go on and on about how horrible the President of the United States is. My level of respect for Jason dropped down to a big zero. I now try and avoid him at all family functions. 

NOT A LEGITIMATE NEWS SOURCE!

2. When trying to convert me to the Republican Party do not quote TV or Radio personalities. They are paid by their political parties; they are hired for entertainment purposes only and ARE NOT A LEGITIMATE NEWS SOURCE!

A Legitimate Source of Cute!
Not A Legitimate News Source!

NOT A LEGITIMATE NEWS SOURCE! 

3. If you want to discuss your politics with me know what you are talking about! For example, don’t tell me that Mitt Romney can do no wrong, is absolutely perfect and then tell me that you hate "Obamacare." It frightens me when the people I associate with have one-line stingers aimed at Democrats especially President Obama and have no facts to back up their arguments. If you are going to tell me that "Obama is a wolf in sheep's clothing" or that "Obamacare" is socialized medicine at least have some facts to back it up.

Romneycare = Obamacare

4. Understand and respect political offices especially that of President but also all other elected positions. I recently read a really good article that one of my friends posted on Facebook. It helped me to understand the Presidential role more clearly. It even made me respect President George W. Bush a little more. I think that everyone should read it before  going to the voting booth this November. Obama, Explained-The Atlantic.

To sum things up:

• I don't care who you vote for.
• If you are going to try and convert me to the Republican Party- don't be rude, only quote legitimate news sources and know what in the heck you are talking about.
• Respect the office of the President.
• And last but not least I have my opinions and reasons for voting for who I vote for. Don't Judge me because I'm a Democrat-Judging isn't Christian. 

Now here is how I feel about some of the hot button issues and why I vote Democrat, Disclaimer: These are only my opinions. If they bother you too much simply stop reading. If you feel that you must leave a comment, please be respectful. 

1. Abortion: This is a big one for a lot of LDS people. Just because I am pro-choice does not mean that I am pro-abortion or pro-death. Here is the Church's stance on abortion   ("The Church has not favored or opposed legislative proposals or public demonstrations concerning abortion") I believe that life is precious and should be treated so, however, there are details to think about before passing certain legislation:

• You and your wife have been blessed with 3 young children all under the age of 6. Your wife is pregnant with the fourth. When you go to your physicians office you are told that if your wife has this child she will die. I am not saying that she should have an abortion. I am saying that she should have a choice.
• Your sister is raped and soon after discovers that she is pregnant. Shouldn't your sister have a choice about what to do with the fetus? Again I am not saying that an abortion is the right choice I just think she should have the choice.
• Your young neighbor has been abused by her uncle her entire life and now discovers that she is pregnant with his baby.  I am not saying that she should have an abortion. I am saying that she should have a choice.

There is a lot of "pro-life" legislation especially that comes through Utah's legislature that threatens these specific types of choices. I believe that birth control should be made available to all, incentives for choosing adoption should be made available and when the need arises for an abortion I think that the patient should be able to go somewhere safe and legal to have the procedure done.

2. Welfare and Healthcare: King Benjamin teaches, "...succor those that stand in need of your succor; ye will administer of your substance unto him that standeth in need; and ye will not suffer that the beggar putteth up his petition to you in vain, and turn him out to perish." Mosiah 4:16 In my opinion the Democratic party works harder to protect moral priorities such as ... feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, and administering to the sick. Mosiah 4:26.

3.Earth a Gift of Gladness. I believe that Heavenly Father has created this beautiful world for us and that we should respect and protect this gift. Al Gore, is a good example of a Democrat who works to protect our earth. 

4. Education: The scriptures state "to seek ye out of the best books words of wisdom, seek learning even by study and also by faith" (Doctrine and Covenants 109:7) Democrats have the long-term goal of having low-cost, publicly funded college education with low tuition fees available to every eligible American student. I do not support private school vouchers because they would damage our public school system.

5. National Budget: Democrats have a history of being more fiscally responsible. Google "national deficit by president" and several articles and charts will prove this pattern.

Okay now that's off my chest, we can be friends and I'm moving on... 

Here are some really good links regarding the same subject: 

• Why I'm a Mormon Democrat by Boyd Peterson
• Being A Mormon Democrat by Shawn L.
• National Press Club Q&A with President Gordon B. Hinckley-

Q. It says, Given the platform and positions taken by the Democratic Party, can you be a good church member and a Democrat? "

A. Yes, I think so. I don't know why you couldn't. It depends on what you believe as a Democrat in terms of some things. There are some things we don't subscribe to. We've got lots of Democrats in the church, lots of them, and they are good people. I don't worry about that too much. 

Our Tobogganin' Adventure

Last month Nora watched an episode of Calliou. In this particular episode Calliou went tobogganing. Which apparently is the Canadian word for sledding. And ever since then she has been begging me to take her tobogganin'. (this is a good example of why we shouldn't let our kids watch TV. They get ideas in their heads about doing crazy things like toboggnanin')

This winter has been a mild one and we haven't had very much snow but when Nana invited us to go with her and the kids to the cabin in midway and go sledding I decided that I needed to take Nora down the hill a few times if there was enough snow.

Joe had to work all weekend so I packed up all of our stuff by myself and got the kids ready to spend a night at Grandma Great's cabin and hopefully go tobogganin' HOLLA!!! (Doing this kind of thing without Joe gives me a much greater appreciation for the wonderful man that he is. It also gives me more respect for single parents. Which is why Joe is forbidden to 1. die before me and 2. leave me. )

There was not enough snow.  This is what the hill looked like:

We arrived at the cabin and went to bed but early the next morning Nora was all over me to take her, "Snowmobilin'." (Sometime during the night she had stopped calling sledding " tobogganin'." and started calling it "snowmobilin'") So Nana started making breakfast, Aunt Julie (newly engaged the night before btw) said that she would watch Howie. Nora and I got all of our snow clothes on. Snow pants, gloves, hats, coats and boots. The lack of snow did not stop us from having fun! We sled down the hill six times, ran into big bushes twice, and screamed like crazy with our hands in the air all the way to the bottom of the hill. It was the most fun I've had in a long time. 5 days later my bum is still bruised but it was totally worth it. Climbing up the hill was also an adventure. The entire way up Nora was repeating in her out-of-breath voice "are we there yet? are we there yet? are we there yet?" Which of course made me laugh. I'm really glad that she was a trooper and didn't want me to carry her to the top because that would have killed me. Let's just say I take up a lot more space then I used to.  

Calliou is a Canadian television show about a bald headed four year old little boy, named... Calliou, and his adventures growing up. Nora loves Calliou probably more then any other television show. 

"To Nora! Cheers!" or I Love Being A Mom, So What?

I was just reading over my last blog and realized that it seems as though I'm complaining. I'm not. The day described did sound particularly bad but strangely enough it is a typical day for me. I didn't even realize that it was all that bad until I had gone back read what I had written.

Being a mom, especially of young children, is really hard. It is a 24 hour 7 day a week job. It was hard when I was working full time out of the home. It is a hard job now that I am home with the kids. Whether I am with my kids or I am away from them for a short time I worry and think about them constantly.

I have been working in a hospital emergency department as a Health Unit Coordinator since the summer of 2000. Before having kids I supposed it was the perfect job for me (If I don't count the demeaning size of the paychecks.) I get to be a part of a team that includes very intelligent hard working professionals, Nurses, Doctors, Social Workers, Techs etc. It is an excellent position to learn new and interesting things. Every shift involves some sort of exciting drama and I can be a part of it by sitting behind a desk and not having to get my hands dirty.  

Today I believe that working in the Emergency Department is boring in comparison to being a mom. In fact now I count working in the ER as a nice little break from motherhood. Being a mom is so much more demanding and challenging. Working in the Emergency Department has never brought me as much joy and fulfillment as being a mom.

As a mom I get to experience little joys everyday like seeing little Ryan stand up on his own for the first time, hearing Nora sing, "I Am Like a Star" or "I Love to See the Temple." She also does a fabulous rendition of The Little Mermaids, "Under The Sea" during bath time. I love it when Ryan is crying and Nora puts on a silly act until he is laughing so hard that he can't stop. I love it when we are eating dinner and Nora proposes a thousand toasts...to herself! "To Nora! Cheers!" I love it when I make kissing noises and Ryan takes that as his cue to give me a big wet slobbery kiss. I love it when I tell Nora that she has to have some piece of clothing on before dinner and she comes down in her swimsuit, or comes downstairs in her dad's shirt and shoes talking in a low voice...

The other night I was rocking Ryan in his room with all of the lights off. I had the lullaby music playing, he was snuggled up with me drinking his bottle and drifting off to dreamland. It was one of the most relaxing, peaceful, happy moments in my life. I was filled with so much love for this tiny human in my arms. I then realized that he would be turning one in a few months and that he wouldn't be drinking bottles anymore. In just a few short months these moments of snuggling and rocking with little Ryan will probably come to an end. How short my time with these precious little monsters.


Kids grow up so fast, I only have a short time to be a mommy and then they will be off and gone and on their way. I am committed to enjoy every stage of their lives a little bit more, and worry less about the demanding, messy part of being a mom. So what if my house isn't tidy? So what if there are toys everywhere and the laundry is piling up? So what if play dough gets stuck in the carpet, and the walls are covered with peanut-butter-jelly-finger stains? So what if they aren't dressed in designer clothes looking like baby gap models everyday? So what if I have boogers all over my shirt? So what if Nora is sporting her favorite swimwear during dinner in January? So what if I have ugly outdated clothes and no make-up on? Nora and Ryan are my number one priority. Molding, shaping and teaching my little ones is my calling in life and I know it is the most important thing I will ever do. I am going to enjoy the doing and not focus so hard on the getting it done. And my new attitude is SO WHAT?

What is important is that I work hard to make sure that my babies know that they are always loved. What is important is that I work hard to make sure that they are taught to treat others with love and compassion. And what is important is that I find the joy in being a mother everyday.

I LOVE BEING A MOM!

Sometimes A Good Mom Has To Laugh To Keep From Becoming A Suicidal/Homicidal Mom

The title of this post might be overly dramatic but as they say laughter is the best medicine!

Here is a list of things that I laugh at now. At the time they weren't so funny...

• I did not laugh when Nora at 10 months sat in her car seat, holding my keys in her cute little baby hand, hitting the lock button and laughing when the car honked. I was not laughing because I was standing outside her window pleading with her to hit the unlock button. 
• I did not laugh at the time both No Eye and Soapy had Hershey squirts in the bath tub.
• It was our second Sunday in a new ward and Nora came out of nursery with a pout on her face. When I asked her what was wrong she told me that she was in trouble for saying, "poop, poop, fart, fart, toot, toot" in nursery. (I almost died of embarrassment not laughter)
• I had to climb my fat, sick, 8 month pregnant self to the top of the McDonald's play place to drag Nora down. I found 3 half eaten, oldy, moldy chicken nuggets on the way up. I got stuck in the tube slide on the way down. I prayed and prayed that they wouldn't have to use the jaws of life to set me free. It took quite a while to wriggle my way down but my prayers were answered. Needless to say I didn't return to McDonald's without reinforcements for a very long time. At the time it WAS NOT FUNNY! and even though it was almost a year ago this one still isn't funny. 
•  I didn't even giggle when she covered herself and my bed in a bran-new bottle of diaper-rash cream and then asked me if she looked pretty with her make-up on. What I did was snap a picture so that I could laugh about it later.

On Friday one of my favorite people in the world posted this as her Facebook status:

"My day is going good so far... no finger paints on my bed spread, no pee puddles on the floor and no Anna's have escaped the house without my knowing..."

I saw this and thought to myself hmmmm, I think that I too had a pretty good day.

Then I started to go over in my mind the events of the day...

 I woke up to Ryan's screams at 6:30 a.m. and realized that he was sitting in a huge disgusting blow out. I got that special treat cleaned up (BTW-it smelled like Twizzlers) I then made him a bottle and was reminded that I needed to buy formula. Luckily it was pay day. It took about 3 more hours to get Nora out of bed get them both dressed, fed, bundled up and in their car-seats and we were off to Sam's Club.

While shopping Nora and Ryan were actually really good. Nora didn't beg to get out of the shopping cart and with the promise of McDonald's for dinner whining was at a minimum. I loaded up the cart with huge boxes of stuff that will last us months and spent way more than I should have, typical Sam's Club outing. After we were done at the check out I looked down and noticed that Nora had on only one purple boot.

"Nora, where is your other purple boot?" I asked.

"I don't know mommy." She replied

"Did you notice that it had fallen off?"

"Yes, it fell off a long time ago while we were shoppin'."

This is where I let out the world's biggest sigh turned the heavy cart around and began to retrace our steps. We looked up and down every isle for the purple boot and I was determined to find it. Alas we were not having very good luck and after what seemed like an eternity had passed I thought, "I'm just going to buy her another pair of damn purple boots and get the heck out of here!" just as this little thought had entered my mind an employee at the deli said he saw a guy carrying around a purple boot that matched Nora's.

We went to the customer service desk and sure enough some unknown hero had turned in Nora's purple boot. I now pray that good fortune and blessings will befall the man who turned in our purple boot.

The store trip had only taken an hour longer then I had planned.

After we got home I prodded, threatened, begged and sang the clean up song about 20 times for Nora to clean up her blocks and she did!  Nora actually picked up her blocks in the family room! I was a proud mother of a 3 yo child who had picked up her own toys for about 20 minutes because while I was making our PB & J lunch she promptly decided that she wanted to get the blocks back out, along with every other toy in the toy box and I was to exhausted to make her pick them up.

After a nutritious delicious PB & J sandwich came my favorite part of the day....NAP TIME!!!! Can I get a Whoot Whoot!

Oh how I absolutely love nap time. Nap time brings balance into my universe. I fully intend to enforce nap time until my kids begin Kindergarten or maybe even first grade. And when they aren't sleepy they still have to stay in their beds for at least an hour looking at books or drawing big colorful murals on their bedroom walls in my beautiful new house. Murals, murals, murals that cannot be erased with the Magic Eraser, Soft Scrub, 409 or anything else because the paint in my house can be better described as chalk than paint and easily comes of with even a flimsy paper towel and a squirt of water!!! 

After we got up from nap time, Nora, Ryan and I sat on the floor and played for a while. Nora even jumped up and ran to the bathroom when she had to drop a poopy. I was thrilled that I only had to ask her once to get up and go. 

After an extra long time in the potty, I heard Nora call from the top of the stairs, " Hey Moooooom! The toilet water is comin'!"

"What do you mean the toilet water is coming?" I asked.

"Oh it's floodin' again." she answered very matter-of-fact.

This lead me to think that it was just clogged which has happened a few times since Nora decided that she needs an entire roll of TP to wipe with instead of the 3 squares which we have repeatedly discussed. Therefore I simply moseyed on up stairs and then I saw my bathroom with 3 inches of water on the floor! and yelled out 

 "JOOOOOOOOEYYYYYYYY! THE TOILET WATER IS COMIN'!! IT'S FLOODIN'! AND BRING THE PLUNGER!"

Thank heavens I had shoes on. The toilet handle was stuck in the down position! I unclogged the toilet soaked up the water with like 6 heavy duty towels and we went to McDonald's....

McDonald's was a breath of fresh air. Nora made friends, they played tag. When she was "it" she chased the other kids yelling out, "Hey Mom! Come help! We've got some action to do! We've got some ACTION to do mom!" Which totally made me laugh. 

I can't decide which part of this visit to McDonald's was better the fact that I finally got to have an actual conversation with my husband, Joe, who I hadn't seen for the past 2 days because he is so busy working 12 hour graveyard shifts and  going to school during the day. Or the fact that the cleanup consists of no more then dumping your garbage into the trash receptacle. 

Joe kissed me good-bye and was off to work. I bundled up the kiddos and all three of us reluctantly went home. 

When we arrived home the fully clothed Nora dumped Dora the Explorer strawberry shampoo on her head. I guess she wanted to get a jump start on bath time. 

I bathed the kids, then Ryan had a bottle and because it was only 6:30 p.m. I read Nora 3 stories instead of 1. 

They were both in bed an hour early and after all of this I still went to bed with a smile on my face thinking that I have the most beautiful, fabulous, fantastic kids in the universe. And even though I fantasize constantly about leaving the kids with their grandparents for a week and jetting off to some tropical destination with my husband. I know that I am blessed to be able to raise my little ones, that I get to experience their unique personalities everyday and that I get to have such a big part in shaping their lives.

I love being a mom!



Nick Names and No Eye

I think that I should start off my first post with my usual introduction-Yes I am a female and yes my name is Michal pronounced Michael like Michael Scott or Michael Jackson. No my parents were not on drugs when they chose this name for me, and no they were not confused as far as my gender is concerned. (both answers to questions that I have been asked more then once.)

I've never really been someone who likes nicknames all that much. In high school someone tried to call me Mikey and I gave them the look of death and they never used it again. Every now and then someone thinks they're clever and tries to call me Mike which I don't allow either.

My husband's nickname is  Buzz. When I first met his family they were all calling him Buzz. I thought, "wow! how many white trash points do you get for having a nickname like Buzz?" Some of his nieces and nephews didn't even know his real name.

Later I discovered that Buzz started out Buzzer. Jeffry, Joe's younger brother was attempting to call him Brother but pronounced it as Buzzer. Later it was shortened to Buzz, and because he is a Jr. it stuck.

After I learned the origin of my husband's nickname I found it to be rather cute and even though he hates it...I also like to call him Buzz.

Soapy and No Eye

When I was pregnant with my first born, Nora, someone mentioned that they had lovingly chosen the nickname of Nome for her. With all of my pregnancy hormones raging I growled. I think that I literally growled, grrrrrrr... "I love the name Nora! Why can't people just use the name that we pick out for her!" I vented to my husband.  

Now Three years later she is my little No Eye. Worse then Nome? I think not. Two weeks after Nora was born her beautiful little cousin Sophie was born. My sister-in-law and I decided to take turns during the week watching each other's baby's. For two and half years Sophie and Nora where together at least 3 days a week sometimes 4 or more. They love each other more like sisters then cousins and when they began using words Sophie called Nora-No Eye. In turn Nora called Sophie, Soapy. The names No Eye and Soapy make me smile when I hear them. Sometimes they even "give me a tickle." as my grandma Yates would say. 

Howie

My son Ryan's nickname is a big fat question mark. One day my daughter decided that she wanted to call Ryan Dee Dee. I have no idea where she got this from but I hated it. Luckily after a few weeks went by she changed his name to Howie. I like Howie much more then Dee Dee and it kind of fits his curious, goofy little personality. So Howie it is!!!! 

To some things up Mikey, Nomee, DeeDee bad nicknames. Buzz, No Eye, Soapy and Howie...Kinda cute. In my opinion anyways.