6 Old-Fashioned But Classic Names For Girls

February 5, 2015 Only Hsuman Leave a comment

After perusing some lists and some family trees, I’ve picked out six favorite names for girls that are old, but still beautiful. Some old names can’t seem to work on younger people, but I feel like these do.

Dorothea/Dorothy
This vintage name is due for a comeback. The meaning just makes me think that more; God’s gift is a sweet name for any girl baby, because they are all sweet gifts.

Evelyn
I think this one is a beauty. It’s long, without being too many letters or difficult to spell, and flows nicely when you speak it aloud – which you just did, as soon as I suggested it. Right?

Hazel
I’ve always loved this one. I’ve got a great-aunt (or that’s what we always said she was to me) with this name, and she’s a sweet memory to attach to it for me. I don’t think it’s too old-sounding or quirky to use now.

Vivien/Vivian
I personally like the spelling with an “e”, a la Vivien Leigh (the actress who portrayed Scarlet O’Hara) but I’ve always loved the beautiful sound of this name. I had a student by the name of Vivian, and she went by Vivi (Vih-vee, not Vee-vee). Not to mention, I like this “V” name more than I like Vera or even Veda.

Edith
Hubby’s grandmother’s first name (that she doesn’t go by) is Edith, as well as one of my mom’s friends from childhood. I’ve always had good connotations with the name, and so I love it even more, now that I’ve had the idea that it can be shortened to Edie. WIN.

Phoebe
I know, it takes a few minutes for those of us who grew up on “Friends” to get Lisa Kudrow out of our minds, but I’m digging Phoebe right now as a cute baby girl’s name. I’ve got a cousin who just named her daughter Phoebe, and already, at less than a year old, the little gal looks like a perfect Phoebe.

What vintage or “old lady” names do you wish would come back around? Do you have one yourself?

faith, mommyhood, pregnancy

A Test of Genes and a Test of Faith

February 4, 2015 Only Hsuman 9 Comments

This has been hard. So effing hard. Pardon my French, but this has sucked in a major way.

Two weeks ago at my ultrasound (I briefly mentioned this here) we did the initial screening for chromosomal disorders. This first screening, for those of you that have never had it – I hadn’t with either of my first two kids – is just a little thing that the ultrasound tech looks at during your first ultrasound, around 12 weeks. So the tech (the same one I’ve had with all my ultrasounds with my other pregnancies) found something (whatever measurement it is that they take) that indicated a “risk” of having an issue, and said that I should have the second screening, which just involved a quick blood draw that day, and I’d get results in a week or so.

That second screening came back (three days later, mid-shower, on a very busy morning, with very little time to process) with a likelihood that the baby has Trisomy 18.

If you (like me) don’t know anything about it or have never heard of it, here’s what the Trisomy 18 foundation says:

Trisomy 18, also known as Edwards syndrome, is a condition which is caused by a error in cell division, known as meiotic disjunction. Trisomy 18 occurs in about 1 out of every 2500 pregnancies in the United States, about 1 in 6000 live births. The numbers of total births increase significantly when stillbirths are factored in that occur in the 2nd and 3rd trimesters of pregnancy.
Unlike Down syndrome, which also is caused by a chromosomal defect, the developmental issues caused by Trisomy 18 are associated with medical complications that are more potentially life-threatening in the early months and years of life. 50% of babies who are carried to term will be stillborn, with baby boys having higher stillbirth rate than baby girls.
Some children will be able to be discharged from the hospital with home nursing support for their families. And although less than 10 percent survive to their first birthdays, some children with Trisomy 18 can enjoy many years of life with their families, reaching milestones and being involved with their community. A small number of adults (usually girls) with Trisomy 18 have and are living into their twenties and thirties, although with significant developmental delays that do not allow them to live independently without assisted caregiving.

Cliff’s notes: This is bad. High risk of miscarriage. High risk of still birth. High risk of infant mortality. Unlikely for my baby to reach his/her childhood years, much less reach the other side of them.

My doctor (aka my hero – read my birth stories!) encouraged me to get a (very expensive but worth it) blood test that would give us 99.9% accurate results as to whether baby has Trisomy 18. So there I was, having taken a test that will tell me for almost certain whether or not I should be worried for the next 6 months, whether or not to even get excited about decorating a nursery and buying a new outfit or two, whether or not I will have just moments with my sweet child or years. How can a woman possibly be expected to hear this news and do anything but stay in bed all day (several days!) and cry?

As you might expect, I’ve been an emotional wreck. I’ve been vacillating between crying and yelling and being silent and praying and pretending I’m fine. I’ve been on an extremely short fuse, what with being cooped up from the cold, cooped up in half our home, and bearing the unbearable weight of possible bad news.

So I’ll spare you the waiting and waiting that I’ve gone through.

My doctor called yesterday late in the afternoon, as I was lying down to nap. When I saw the caller ID, my heart stopped in my chest. I knew it was the moment of truth. My world could either continue turning, or be shattered for the foreseeable future. I’d been waiting for the call, and now I wasn’t sure if I could answer.

But I did… and he (thankfully, prayerfully and PRAISE THE LORD) told me the test came back negative for Trisomy 18 and other chromosomal disorders, and that the baby is normal. THE BABY IS NORMAL! Has anyone ever been so happy to hear about “normal”?! I don’t know. But I sure was ecstatic and overwhelmed and unable to even respond. I just sat and cried on the phone.

The waiting, my friends, is indeed the hardest part. It’s seemed like an entire lifetime I’ve waited to hear these results, barely breathing, much less going on with life, until I knew how to proceed. My thoughts were consumed, I didn’t stop for a moment to pray for anything else, and I just zombied (yeah, it’s a verb) my way through a week and a half of life, waiting to hear whether my family would drastically change in a good way or bad.

So please, rejoice with me, even though I didn’t share the extent of the situation until now. If I kept it from you, it wasn’t because I didn’t want to tell you. It’s because I didn’t know how to say it. The situation has been redeemed, as Jesus has a knack of doing. My fears and anxieties have been put to rest, and I have a peace in my heart that surpasses understanding. Jesus wins, Jesus saves, Jesus heals and Jesus answers prayers. I am so thankful that I had Jesus to turn to.

pregnancy, random thoughts

Six Names for Successful Boys

February 4, 2015 Only Hsuman Leave a comment

Upon reading list after list of “strong boy names”, I noticed a trend. There were lots of names of American icons (former presidents, founding fathers, actors, inventors and heroes in general) that are considered to be names that would let the boy next door grow into a great man. Here are a few of the ones I thought stood out…

William
Yes, it’s a common name, but it’s considered a strong one, and has been held by many famous Americans, such as William Faulkner (author), William Holden (wonderful actor), William Wordsworth (poet), and including four presidents (William “Bill” Clinton, William Howard Taft, William Henry Harrison, and William McKinley).

Charles
Another common name, with a lot of history to it. Famous Americans include Charles Schulz (Peanuts!), Charles Dickens (author), Charles Lindbergh (aviator), Charles Goodyear (inventor) and Charles Houston (civil rights activist)

Benjamin
A Biblical name, but also a strong, male name. Big Bens include Benjamin Franklin (I refuse to explain him on principle), Benjamin Bratt (actor), Benjamin Harrison (president), and Benjamin Guggenheim (businessman, died on the TITANIC!)

Henry
I like this name a lot, and think it’s a classic. American Henrys: Henry Ford (obivously), Henry Winkler (the Fonz actor), Henry David Thoreau (philosopher and poet), William Henry Harrison (some of these presidents really doubled up), and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (poet)

Christopher
Hubby’s middle name, so it’s obviously important, but it’s also a famous one. Famous Christophers: Christopher Reeve (SUPER actor), Chris Paul (one of the only famous basketball players I would know), Christopher Ferguson (astronaut – I’m a nerd), and can we just count Christopher Columbus as an American?

Thomas
A name meaning “twin” obviously gained popularity. We can start by naming the presidents (Thomas Jefferson and Thomas Woodrow Wilson) and move on to include Thomas Edison (inventor), Tom Hanks (actor), Thomas Wolfe (writer, playwright), and Thomas Eakins (artist, sculptor).

What names would you add to the list for the boy next door/future American icon?

pregnancy, random thoughts

Teachers’ Thoughts: Popular Names of School-Aged Kids

February 3, 2015 Only Hsuman Leave a comment

Remember, like, a few years ago, every other boy was named Jason, and the girls were all named Brittany? -Pain, in Disney’s Hercules

I’m sure this happens in every generation, but it seemed to me that I had tons of kids at my school who all had the same names. Sometimes, that made it easier to remember their names (Oh, you’re one of the Evans!) and sometimes it seemed odd. (Wow, I didn’t realize Ezra was such a common name!)

I got some of my teacher friends to weigh in and tell me what they felt like the most common kinds of names at their schools are right now. So here are the results!

For boys:

The suffix -den. Examples are Aiden, Hayden, Brayden, Jaden, etc.

Other names that end in -en, -on, or -in. Examples are Justin, Carson, Cameron, Grayson, Finn, Austin, Jaylen, the list goes on.

Jack/Jackson. Not necessarily a shortening of the other, but related sounds for sure. Alternate spellings like Jax and Jaxson included.

Isaiah and Elijah. Unrelated histories, same Biblical origin.

“Traditional” boys names. Including last names as first names, are still prominent, such as George, William, Christopher, Michael, James, to name a few.

For girls:

M names. Such as Makayla, Mackenzie, Madison and all of their related possibilities.

Ella and Emma. Often used as part of double names as well.

Caroline. Maybe it’s because I live in North Carolina, but I know a ton of Carolines.

Katherine and Kaitlin. And all of the spellings and shortenings that that implies: Kathryn, Caitlin, Kate, Katie, Katelyn, Catherine, etc.

Another thing my teacher friends said is happening is waves of people just making up names. Not necessarily making up words (using punctuation and silent letters – Na’Ja, D’Andre, J’Keir) but combining syllables from two names to make on name (TyShawn, Devonte, Keyshawn), and using words that haven’t often been used as names before (Wisdom, Angel, Rainbow, Happy, Neveah – Heaven spelled backwards). I guess that leaves the floor wide open for creative types!

What are some names you feel like you see used often nowadays? Do you know several little girls named Norah? How about lots of little guys named Hudson?

faith, mommyhood, My Big Jesus, siblings

Your First Child… and Your Second

February 2, 2015 Only Hsuman 2 Comments

People tell you things about your second child. He will go with the flow, they said. He will have to, they said. Your second is always more easy-going, right?

Wrong. In my case, dead wrong.

Our oldest child is very go-with-the-flow. She loves running errands, having play dates, and being out of the house. She loves going out to dinner, meeting new people, taking a nap whenever, staying up late, and generally having a full schedule. I mean, she does really well entertaining herself at home, but she’s also great at all-around keeping herself occupied wherever we are.

Our second child is the opposite. He’s a homebody. He likes nothing better than to be at home, with his toys, nap on his own (different-every-day) schedule, eat at our own dining room table, and go to bed over an hour earlier than EK. This, as you might imagine, can cramp our style. Specifically, it cramps my playdates-and-meals-at-restaurants style. He often naps through the lunch hour. My lunch dates will have to wait. Playing in the playplace at Chick-Fil-A? No way. Morning playdates while EK is in preschool? You must be joking. And put him in the nursery at church with babies he knows and parent volunteers he knows? ALL BETS ARE OFF.

But which kid is right? Which one has the “better” idea of what’s going on? Neither. They’re both great. I love taking EK with me when I go to Target and Costco and the grocery store, because she loves being out and about. Talk about a girl making my busybody, stir-crazy-at-home-all-day heart happy! Equally, I love my at-home cuddles with J, watching a movie or snacking on fruit at the kitchen table, instead of going out to lunch with friends. I even (usually, anyway) think it’s amusing to go behind him and right all the upturned objects he’s hit with the Swiffer he nabbed, and pick up the food crumbs he’s dropped off his pants as he walked away from the table.

Both my kids are awesome. God has given them totally different personalities, and it’s my joy (and yes, occasional frustration) as their mom to get to know them, even as they change every single day. I can already enjoy special moments with each of them separately, doing things that they enjoy. I love knowing them, and knowing that they’re different.

mommyhood, pregnancy

What’s Your Name, Sweet One?

January 31, 2015 Only Hsuman 4 Comments

When you’re pregnant, you’re a planner, and you’re OCD like me, you want to name that baby. Specifically, you’d like to name that baby so you can speak about it without saying “it” all the time. Hubby rarely wants to talk names until we know the gender around 20 weeks, which I guess I understand, but still… isn’t it fun to think of names?! Even really silly ones you know you’d never use?!

Naming a child is serious business. They keep it forever… they can truly become the name. It helps mold them into themselves. The pressure is on, in other words, to choose wisely.

When naming EK, I knew immediately the route I wanted to take. I’d had a dream about four months before I got pregnant with her that I had a baby girl named Ella Katharine. I specifically remember in my dream that Katharine was spelled like Katharine Hepburn (and yes, that was the association in my mind). However, when we got pregnant and started talking names, we wanted to use family names. So I started looking for something approximating Ella and Katharine in our families. And of course, nada for both. However, I came up with a way to honor two wonderful women, and mostly keep with the name for my daughter that I had dreamed of. EK’s full name is Elena Kathleen, and we call her Ella Kate. Elena is my mom’s first name (who goes by her middle name, by the way) and Kathleen is my ,om’s mom’s mom’s name – my maternal great-grandmother, Mamaw, whom I knew and loved for my first 18 years. I was so pleased with the full name, the nickname, and the whole idea of it that I knew it couldn’t be topped.

When naming our son, we had a different thought – no dream this time to help us out. We still wanted to use family names though, and when we found out it was a boy, we had it narrowed down to two options. We knew his middle name would be Stevens (Hubby’s mom’s maiden name, and middle name of Hubby’s middle brother) but we had two first names we’d tied with. Both were family names, and both had been used a few times within the family. We ended up choosing Joseph, Hubby’s dad’s name, and also Hubby’s eldest brother’s first name (which he doesn’t go by). We literally covered all Hubby’s immediate family with his full name, Joseph Stevens. It worked out really well!

Now that we’ve used two names from my family and two names from Hubby’s, we haven’t decided whether we want to use more family names (we have several more we’d love to incorporate) or whether we want to go completely out of the box. Obviously we don’t know gender yet, so Hubby hasn’t made too many contributions to the conversation, but my mind is spinning with possibilities, options for pleasant-sounding double names if it’s a girl (I do love a good, southern, double name.) or strong, handsome boy names.

The main problem I have thinking about baby names is the same problem I had picking tile for the bathroom floor, and paint color for the walls: I like everything. I literally like so many different things that it’s difficult for me to choose. I love Biblical names and their accompanying history. I love Celtic names and the way they sound when you speak them. I love strong, traditional, common names, that everyone will know how to pronounce and spell. I love family names and the honor we can give to people we love. I love non-traditional, unique names – to an extent. But let’s be honest: I shan’t be using “Apple” or “Blue”.

I came across this app (now I can’t even remember where I read about it) called Baby Name Genius, and it took over my life for a little bit. A name pops up, you give it the “thumbs up” or “thumbs down”, and it generates a name you might like, based on your previous opinions. I wasted several minutes (read: hours) throughout a couple of days giving my approval or disapproval of names, until I felt like it was giving me the same names over and over again (including ones I had thumbs-downed!). Bummer. It says the app has tens of thousands of names. I didn’t see that many. Anyway, I’ve been doing random research reading lists of celebrity baby names, names for girls based on adventurous women, names for boys based on sensitive men, you get the idea. Reading short lists is better than starting at “A” on nameberry.com.

All this is to say that I’m going to post a few fun or funky lists of names that have caught my eye for one reason or another. But you’ll have to wait. I don’t want to give it all away in one post! How dare I? Make you come back?! I know. I’m stringing you along, aren’t I? Hopefully these baby-naming posts will culminate in an actual decision about what Hsu Baby #3 will be called! If you’d like to weigh in with a suggestion, leave it in the comments!

books

Reading Challenge 2015

January 31, 2015 Only Hsuman 6 Comments

So I’m an avid reader of Daily Geekette and have finally decided to join them in doing POPSUGAR’s Reading Challenge in 2015. The reason that I love this challenge more than other book lists is the free-will option they’ve added in. Instead of giving me a list of 20 must-reads, they’ve given a list for which thousands of books can apply to each category. I LOVE the freedom in it, and am excited to see if I can finish during this year! Hubby and I have been reading more than watching TV recently (a big accomplishment for two parents who like to zone wayyyyy out after the kids are in bed).

I will give you the disclaimer that I’m not going to read 50 different (well, 52, since one requirement is a trilogy) books… I’m going to let a few fill several categories at once. For instance, a book that made you cry could be almost anything for me – especially right now while I’m pregnant!

I’ll tell you a few of the books that I’ve already read this year that are going to qualify for different categories:

I just finished the Divergent Trilogy (Divergent, Insurgent, Allegiant) about a week ago. It could be my trilogy, a book that became a movie, a book with a one-word title, a book that a friend recommended, a book set in the future, and a book that made me cry. I don’t need it to fill all those categories, because I can easily fill several of those. But I’m going to let the series be my trilogy, and Divergent will be my book that became a movie. If I need to switch it to the book set in the future instead of the movie one, I can. I’m flexible!

Where’d You Go, Bernadette? could be my mystery, although I wouldn’t be sad to read more mysteries. What Alice Forgot made me cry, and was written by a woman. I’m going to read The Secret Keeper by Kate Morton, to fulfill my book I haven’t read by an author that I love. When I pick back up the Outlander series (I got through the third book and took a break from Jamie and Claire), those are over 500 pages and also turned into a TV series!

How many of y’all would like to join me on my book quest?! I know there are several of you who enjoyed my reviews of Where’d You Go, Bernadette? and What Alice Forgot and gave me some suggestions of what to read next! So now, I’ll have a million recommendations from friends! If you give me a suggestion, tell me which category it might fulfill!

Can’t wait to make 2015 a year of reading. Join me!

faith, mommyhood

Being Intentional vs. Relinquishing Control

January 29, 2015 Only Hsuman Leave a comment

I’m about to be brutally honest, y’all.

I’m struggling to find a balance in my life right now.

I want to live intentionally. I want to be intentional. An intentional Christian. An intentional wife. An intentional mother. An intentional friend. This leaves me floundering in things I want to do and “need” to do to keep relationships up and chores, etc done. I’m finding that I want control in so many areas so that my intentionality shows through. Basically, my OCD is going nuts over making sure every single thing I do has a reason and a good result.

The real result? I’m being so controlling that there is no grace and no room for error. You know who errors a lot? Kids. Husbands. Wives. Friends. People. EVERY SINGLE PERSON. I’m turning into an angry monster when things don’t go my way. (Hormones, much?) I’m realizing that being intentional isn’t the only thing that matters. And if I fail a little at being intentional, that doesn’t necessarily mean that I’ve achieved the opposite – some sort of willy-nilly disregard for results or consequences.

I need to reign myself in, and let Jesus increase in my life. I’m not leaning on Him enough. I know this to be true, because doing things on my own, I will fail every time. I’m not bringing Him glory by trying to control everything in the name of being intentional. But I could bring Him glory by letting myself decrease, and letting Him increase.

I’m not saying this is easy for me. Actually, it’s one of the more difficult things I’ll ever do. Relinquish control over situations, over life in general? Yeah right. I’m good at organizing and managing. I can handle it, right? Well, I can’t. I’m realizing it more and more every day that I try. I can’t be a graceful parent without receiving the grace the Father has for me. I can’t be a wife who loves her husband unconditionally unless I receive the unconditional love from my heavenly Bridegroom. I can’t be a friend who listens and loves well, unless I am loved and renewed by my Savior and Friend.

Remember my New Year’s Resolution that wasn’t a resolution? To embrace it: life, my situation, whatever “it” was? Well, this is all going to be part of that – make it easier, even. Embrace my situation by relinquishing my control over it, and choosing to see myself, others, and my life the way God does. Seeing the world through His eyes instead of my judgmental, small-minded view could change everything for the better! I’m just taking the very first step in making that change… admitting that I need one.

mommyhood, siblings

Siblings Will Be Siblings

January 28, 2015 Only Hsuman 2 Comments

Sometimes, my kids argue. They may argue without words, but they argue. Over toys, over who gets to sit in Mom’s lap, over eating each other’s food, and being in each other’s space. There are some thoughts that I’m sure are going through their heads:

That toy is mine, so you can’t play with it. That toy is yours, so you can play with it, and so can I when I want to.

If he gets to eat spaghetti for lunch, then I don’t want the PBJ I asked for.

I woke up my brother so we could play together, but after five minutes I’m tired of him.

Why does she get to take things from me, but she yells “NO!” if I take something from her?

But sometimes, they’ll have fun together. EK crawls around chasing J to pretend like she’s a baby, too. J laughs whenever EK laughs. J does something silly, and EK automatically copies him. They sit across from each other at the table at breakfast and sing songs. I can’t even describe how much it warms my heart to hear giggles and squealing throughout the house as they play together.

The other night after dinner was one of those times. We’ve got a sofa in our kitchen (something we saw when we visited when looking to buy the house, and then wrote into the contract because we loved it) and it’s a place of hang time before or after dinner most nights. On this particular night, we postponed the usual clean up to watch the kids squeal and throw pillows. Here’s a glimpse:

These are the times that give me hope in their friendship throughout life, and the times that I’m glad their ages are close, even though sometimes I’m swamped in their messes and laundry and tears. I remember why they’re my favorite people to be with and how much I adore them.

mommyhood, My Big Jesus, pregnancy, random thoughts

10 Reasons I Want to Throw a Toddler Tantrum

January 26, 2015 Only Hsuman 2 Comments

This post also appeared on MyBigJesus.com!

Does anyone else wish they could hit the floor, scream at the top of their lungs, and cry it out?

1. I use wrinkle cream around my eyes, and acne-prevention face wash. At the same time.

2. The snack I made was for me, not the tiny pairs of hands that keep stealing it.

3. My coffee doesn’t reheat itself.

4. I want to take a nap, so why don’t my kids?!

5. I am angry that I don’t know the sound a rabbit makes, too.

6. I’m swimming in laundry. Seriously.

7. I just put those puzzles together, for crying out loud.

8. I can’t drink wine while pregnant.

9. I was using the laptop! And no, I didn’t want to watch Frozen!

10. I want to go to sleep at 9:00pm, but I can’t, because my toddler doesn’t want to.

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