In Response to Emily....

So my old roomate, Emily (I am neither cool or technologically savvy enough to know how to link people's blogs, so her blog is embrenner.blogspot.com) posed some cute questions on her blog and wanted me to answer a few.

Here is what she said:

Morgan C.- Nobody makes me laugh quite like miss Morgan. Even in your blog posts I can hear your voice and your stories make my day (ex: what giving birth feels like, involving a watermelon and fire). What has been one of your funniest mommy experiences over the past few years? You know, the ones when all you can do is laugh at yourself because you know other people are shaking their heads? We've all had them.

- (on love) Online dating. It's becoming more and more common and accepted. I can't tell you how many people I know who have met their match via the web, including you and your perfect match! What do you think about online dating? How did you and Scott meet up on there and what would you say to someone to is looking for love but doesn't know how they feel about the online dating world? Perhaps even a naysayer.


I'm glad I make you laugh, Emily! I was voted class clown of my senior class in high school and it seems I've made people laugh my entire life (although the majority of the time it hasn't been intentional). I think early on in life (junior high-ish) I realized that I wasn't the prettiest thing on the planet. In addition, I knew I wasn't the most talented athlete, the brightest or most intelligent, the nicest or most compassionate... BUT, being the youngest of 5 kids, I quickly realized what I DID have going for me was humor. And so I ran with it. I love to laugh and be silly and most of the time it's a positive trait. Sometimes, I laugh when it's not funny (like when one of my YW at church (a beehive) says something serious and I can't help but muffle a laugh) or when my husband tripped over one of our kids toys and BUSTED it on his rear. I'm still trying to grow up a bit and realize there is a time and a place for laughter- and laughing at my beehives or my husband writhing around in pain on the floor are not appropriate times to laugh. :)

Anyway, to answer the questions. I have had SO many embarrassing moments that I can't count. Where can I even begin?
Backing into my husbands parked car in the driveway- not ONCE, but TWICE was bad.
Going to church in a form fitting dress (zipper in the back) and realizing once I got in the mothers lounge that I didn't have any access to my cha-cha's was worse.
Trying to stick Lily UP THROUGH the bottom of my dress to get to my boobs, only to have someone walk in the nursing lounge, was even worse than that. Driving halfway home from San Diego, only to turn around and see Brent walking around in the back of the van (I forgot to strap him in) was BAD but not as bad as doing it AGAIN a few weeks later.

Here are a few more memorable moments-

**I went shopping with my Mom when Lily was only a few days old. She always says that new Moms need new outfits to make them feel good about themselves. I was in the dressing room at Macy's and it had been a few hours since I fed Lily. I was trying on an EXPENSIVE dress that I knew I couldn't afford- I just wanted to try it on anyway. All of a sudden I could feel my milk letting down and I realized it was the only day I forgot to wear a nursing pad. Before I knew it, there was breastmilk all over this gorgeous dress. What was I supposed to do? Take it to the sales clerk and say "Sorry about the breastmilk on the dress?" The dress looked TERRIBLE on me and didn't even fit so I certainly didn't want to buy it. Mortifying- even if no one else knew. Did I stick it back on the hanger or did I buy it? You'll never know!

**Being locked out of my house by my toddler with NO BRA or shoes on, no makeup, and greasy hair. 2 hours and a 911 call later, I vowed I will never leave my house- even just to get something from the garage- without full makeup and a bra on. You never know when you'll get locked out.

**When Brent was only 2 weeks old we went to a wedding reception for a family friend. I was still exhausted from giving birth (which, as Emily mentioned, I described as pooping out a watermelon while your crotch is on fire- well at least, that's how it feels giving birth to a 10 lb baby) and a lady came up to me and was looking at Brent. She looked at me and said "What's his name??" No exaggeration, I looked at her with a blank look on my face and just stared at her. My mind was racing, but for a good 2 minutes, I could NOT, for the life of me, remember my baby's name. After a few minutes, the lightbulb went off in my head and I said "OH!! Brent! His name is Brent. Sorry, I forgot." The lady looked at me and gave me a nervous smile and walked away quickly. I'll never forget how embarrassed I was! I could not, for the life of me, remember my newborn baby's name. That's what exhaustion and sleep deprivation will do to a person!

And the list could go on and on, but I don't have all day!! Gotta move on to the second part of the question-

(on love) Online dating. It's becoming more and more common and accepted. I can't tell you how many people I know who have met their match via the web, including you and your perfect match! What do you think about online dating? How did you and Scott meet up on there and what would you say to someone to is looking for love but doesn't know how they feel about the online dating world? Perhaps even a naysayer.


I don't know what you are talking about, Emily. I didn't meet my husband online. We met at a 6th grade track meet. :)

Ok, this is one of my LEAST favorite questions. Scott and I have been married for almost 6 years and I still hate talking about how we met. However, it is becoming more and more common and it's not that big of a deal when I tell people. Here is how it all went down.

I was home for the summer in Kerrville, TX- population: lots of guys with no teeth, 20,000 deer, and ZERO young single adults. The closest singles ward was over an hour away in San Antonio and one day I was just plain old bored. I heard another friend of mine was on LDS singles.com and I went online to make fun of her and look at her profile. HONESTLY. That's how it all started. I was making fun of someone else and look where it got me!

So after I saw her profile, I thought "Hmm- what the heck. I'm curious.." Literally one of the first "profiles" I saw was a guy in southern California. He had a goatie and was tan- the picture was of him in Hawaii. He had a different "look" to him (it's gotta be the Mexican in him) that I liked. I was bored out of my mind, he was cute, so I PAID ELEVEN DOLLARS AND GOT A PROFILE JUST so I could send this guy a message.

I had absolutely NO intention of trying to find a husband on ldssingles.com and even thinking about it makes me laugh. I was purely bored, stuck in a small town, and found it amusing to flirt via email with a cute guy. So I emailed him and he emailed me back. I emailed him back, and he emailed me back. By the nights end, we had emailed each other back and forth like 10 times. Finally he asked if he could call me. I thought I was going to poo my pants because I was so weirded out, but at the same time excited because his emails were really interesting.

He was also 28 and divorced and I KNEW none of my friends or family would be thrilled if they found out. So I waited until my parents went to bed and I talked to this STRANGER for hours. I've heard people say that sometimes they talk to people and they just "click" and that is the case with Scott. That phone conversation lead to a month of conversations- at that point I still hadn't told anyone and still had NO intention of anything with this guy. I thought I would go back to College Station in August and forget about it. I NEVER, in a million years, thought I'd actually fall for this guy.

In August, he said "You know, this is kinda weird talking to someone I've never met. Can I come to Texas and meet you?" Then I REALLY thought I was going to poo my pants. At that point I had to sit my parents down and tell them what was going on. My Dad's first reaction was "OVER MY DEAD BODY are you going to meet some guy that you met on the internet. Not gonna happen."

My Mom, however, was different. She said "I don't see why not. Have him come down and he can meet all of us." Later, I found out that my Mom said that she trusted me and she just knew that something was different about this thing. So Scott and I's first "date" was with my parents and some friends of my family. We all went to a baseball game in San Antonio, then out to dinner. Then everyone else went home and Scott and I (OH, and did I mention my MOM IN THE BACKSEAT) went to the Riverwalk. My Mom did not leave us alone and chaperoned our first date. Scott was SUCH a good sport and sparks were flying like crazy between us. I really really liked him and he liked me. My Mom REALLY was impressed with him and so the next day, with her approval, she let us go out alone (whew- what a relief not to have my Mom in the backseat of the next date!) The next 2 days we just hung out all day and then he flew back to California.

We continued to talk every day and then I moved back to College Station. I was TERRIFIED to tell my friends- (AHEM, LUKE AND EMILY) about Scott. I got the reaction from my friends that I thought I would get (teasing) which is what I would have done too! The next 5 months I flew out to California ALOT and Scott would come to Houston and stay with Josie and Jonah while I spent time with him. AND, Emily, if you are reading this, one of my biggest regrets was not bringing Scott to College Station more to meet my friends (besides Josie and Jonah). I didn't want him to be uncomfortable and I was so scared everyone would give him a hard time (now that I'm more mature I see the errors of my ways! haha) I really wanted to protect him and didn't want people thinking he was a freak because we met online!!! In fact, his Mom is the one who talked him into signing up online after his divorce (that's a whole nother story!!!)

Anyway, to make a long story short, we started talking in July, met in August, got engaged in December, and married in May. Quite the whirlwind, but when you know, you know- and I knew. Fortunately we were able to spend alot of time together, so our circumstances were a bit different. We had arguments and I KNEW what I was getting with Scott. I had talked to his Bishop, spent alot of time with his family, saw how he treated his Mother, and I had a good, firm knowledge of who he was as a member of the church and as a person.

The thing that scares me with some "online dating" is people that don't really know who they are getting. Anyone can make themselves appear to be anything that they want- and I think that is dangerous. Some people talk for months and months online and then get engaged the first time they actually meet- which that may work for some people- but it scares me. I think the reason this worked for us is because we were able to spend a lot of time together and actually "date" even if it was long distance.

What it boils down to for me is it's not HOW you meet someone, it's what happens afterwards. Did you meet them at school? At church? Online? Fine. It's the dating, the PROCESS that takes place afterwards that matters.

I'm not sure what I'd say to the naysayers. There are LOTS of freaks out there, and lots of them are online. I'd probably never want my daughter to try and find a husband online! :) It is scary. However, my Mom once said that what happened with Scott and I was "kismet". I really feel that he was MADE for me. I get hung up sometimes on how we met, but I feel there was a little divine intervention. Everyone that knows Scott loves him and tells me that I don't deserve him (my family constantly remarks on this). Whether I met him initially online or passing by him in the street, the end result would have been the same. I would have fallen for him- hook, line, and sinker.

Now almost 6 years and 3 kids later, I'm so glad I was bored that summer day in Texas! I can truly say that I met the man of my dreams. :)