A lot is in a name!

The stories that some of you have sent me (okay, my dad and my sister) regarding the history of your name, the application of it, the meaning of it...all demonstrate that there is so much more to a name than what it brings up on spell check... KEEP SENDING THEM! Or at least write down what you do know for your children, your someday children, grandchildren, friends, loves, whomever.

Just write it down.

(and send it along if you want to share it...and indicate if you'd rather I not publish it.)

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Here's the story of Ava France's name. We thought she was going to be a boy. Were convinced. So after I delivered her and the doctor announced she was a girl we had a little scrambling to do. We had discussed the names Julia and Ava at different points...but she felt immediately like an Ava and that's what we called her--without any discussion.

A couple of days after I was home from the hospital, I was reading an email from an old professor of mine (my favorite). Pete was in the kitchen doing something, dishes maybe, and listening to the Beatles. In his email, my professor was remarking on the name we had chosen and wrote, "Ava's a beautiful name--makes me think of birds, flight, spirit..." I read that line (I'm not kidding) at exactly the minute the "Free as a Bird" came through the speakers. It was a very distinct moment that I will not forget.

Ava definitely suits Ava if you think of her name the way my professor did. But if you want to know the truth, it's exactly what she provides for us, everyday.

Oh, and Frances is a family name on both sides: my grandmother's and mother's middle name; my grandfather's first name (though with an "i"); Pete's grandmother's sister's name.

So, in addition to Ava, we also call her, "Franny, Fanny, and Francey pants."

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I'm experiencing my first ever sinus cold and it isn't pleasant. I have newfound empathy for those who experience them regularly, which is a miserable thought. Nothing this uncomfortable should be regular.

I took Sudafed "nighttime", and while it helped to clear my head from sinus stuff, it made it race with other stuff.

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Super-Splurge-Sunday:

What a game! Yippeee. When I think of a Giants fan, I think of my husband Pete as a little boy, all decked out in his blue "56" Lawrence Taylor shirt and matching white football pants. I couldn't find the picture to enhance the visual of that image, but I'll keep looking.

Our friends hosted a kid-friendly superbowl party that included everything from macaroni and cheese, chili and cornbread, nachos and sour cream, and peanut butter chocolate bars. Splurges splurges everywhere!