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Okay, I’m ready to talk about it
A year ago today I lost something very special to me. I lost LOST. For those of you not in the “know”, LOST was a 1 hour drama on ABC from 2004-2010 about a group of people stranded on a mysterious island.
(*Spoilers contained in the link*)
I’m not a person that gets super into tv. We don’t even have real cable anymore. I first saw LOST during the second airing of the first episode. I was flipping and didn’t see anything on. I came across LOST, which I had seen previews for. The previews didn’t really tell you anything about the show and I thought, “That’s probably going to be a really stupid show.”, but I knew that Dominic Monaghan was in it and being a huge Lord of the Rings fan I figured I’d watch it.
And I was hooked.
For me it became one of those “never miss” shows. I recorded episodes while I watched them (with a VCR because I’m all fancy like that. I know you DVR people are jealous.). I never missed an episode. I would remind everyone that I knew, “Don’t call me while LOST is on.” My husband, who was equally interested in the show, would sometimes forget while he was working and call me only to hear me answer, “LOST is on, this better be an emergency!” I visited LOST related websites and followed forums (though I never posted). I was all about LOST. The fact that a year later I still remember the exact date that the finale aired proves that I was more than a tad involved.
Part of the appeal of LOST was that it was a mystery show. There were many storylines and while one episode may reveal an answer it would also raise three more questions. It was one of the best and most frustrating aspects of the show. Many people had theories and ideas and others, like me, didn’t try to figure it out and just went along for the ride. If you’ve never seen LOST it’s near impossible to explain to you what it was about. If you’re a person that gets easily confused and can’t pay close attention to characters or multiple storylines you would be completely LOST. And many were…yet they watched it anyway. I personally never had any trouble keeping up with the plot and I loved every minute of it.
Well, every minute up to the last season.
While I wasn’t a LOST theorist I was still very interested in getting answers. It’s part of the reason why I never theorized to begin with. I wanted to see where the writer’s were going with it. I couldn’t wait to see what they had created and how it all came together. But guess what. They didn’t tell us. No answers. They just left us hanging. Sure they answered some questions…but not all of them. The final season itself raised more questions than ever before! Up until the last episode I was still holding on to the hope that they would tie it all together in a pretty little bow and I would be amazed at their brilliance and at the same time go, “Oh my, yes…that makes so much sense.” But no, it did not happen.
I’m sad that my show ended. I do miss it. But it’s more than just missing a show that I enjoyed. For me I feel like the show was cancelled in the middle before having a chance to work out the plot…but it wasn’t cancelled. They ended it like that on purpose. I felt a little cheated to be honest. It’s not about the finale (even though it’s definitely one of those love it or hate it kind)…it’s about how they ended the series as a whole. If they had more episodes that answered questions and explained what was going on I would’ve been fine with the finale. It’s like someone ripped out the last chapter of a book and I can’t find a whole book anywhere, all that’s left is a bunch of people theorizing how it really ended.
Not cool, dude, not cool.
This blog explained it really well here.
(*Spoilers contained in the links*)
Am I little jaded? Maybe. (Okay, yes, definitely.) On one hand I still love the series and I’ll still call it my favorite show. But I haven’t gone back. Since the finale I haven’t re-watched any of DVDs of previous episodes, or read any forums, I didn’t even bother to buy the last season on DVD. It only reminds me that I’ll never know and I think that really stinks. It’s been one year since the finale and I feel like you do a year after a break up. You think about all of the good times and how in love you were and how much fun you had and it makes you smile and then you think about how your heart was broken and it just makes you sad.
Yep, my heart was broken by a tv show.
Well, by a tv show and also by ice cream.
Have you ever been disappointed by a tv show?
Tell me in the comments!
If you’ve never seen LOST but you’re thinking about watching it now…please don’t let me stop you. In fact, I encourage you to watch it, it’s a great show. You’ll be going into it with the advantage of knowing that there will be some things that will never be explained. Maybe you’ll enjoy it more because of that.
Coolest Family on the Block is committed to helping you find creative ways to have fun and make memories with your family all year-long. Don’t miss an idea, tip, or trick…subscribe and have updates sent directly to your email!
Celebrate Your Name Week: Jordan
March 6-12 is Celebrate Your Name Week! I figured I’d celebrate by discussing the names of our cast of characters here at Coolest Family on the Block. I told you about how Muppet got his name and how Adaline got her name and why I spell it wrong, and why Cool Daddy’s name is a secret
After almost 5 years of unexplained infertility we got pregnant. Just before 12 weeks I lost the baby. Three months later I got pregnant with Adaline. On the first baby’s due date, 03/14/2009, we “officially” named the baby Jordan Shiloh. (Coincidentally Jordan’s due date fell 2 days after I had my 20 week ultrasound with Adaline and discovered for certain that she was a girl.).
Shortly after finding out we were pregnant with Jordan, Cool Daddy and I were taking a walk and I said, “I’d like us to give the baby a nickname that we can call it until we find out whether it’s a girl or a boy. Any suggestions?” Right away he answered, “Biddle.” and I thought it was great. For the remainder of the pregnancy we called the baby Biddle. After the miscarriage we wanted to give the baby a real name, but we weren’t sure if it had been a boy or a girl. We decided to use a unisex name and Jordan and Shiloh were our favorites. I also liked that Jordan and Shiloh are Biblical place names.
Jordan is the river in the Bible where Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist. It was at Shiloh where Hannah prayed to God to give her a son and it was there where Samuel was later brought to live.
Jordan means “descending, flowing down” and Shiloh means “He who has been sent” and also “safe, peaceful, tranquil”. Together the name means “Descending, flowing down, He who has been sent safely, peacefully, tranquilly.” Quite honestly I didn’t even know that at the time that I picked the names. While having a name with special meaning was important to me, I just wanted to pick a unisex name that I liked the sound of and Jordan and Shiloh were my favorites. Now I think that the name is so fitting. While losing Jordan was one of the most painful experiences of my life (s)he left this world flowing down and had been sent safely, peacefully, and tranquilly to be with his/her Father in heaven.
I still often refer to the baby as “Biddle” since no one ever seems to know who I’m talking about when I say “Jordan”. I’m glad we gave our baby a name, even if we’re the only ones that remember it.
Follow the links below for more information on the names “Jordan” and “Shiloh”.
*Jordan (Male)
*Jordan (Female)
*Jordan: Meaning “descend, flow down”
*Shiloh (Male)
*Shiloh (Female)
*Shiloh: Meaning “peaceful, tranquil”
*Shiloh: Meaning “He who has been sent”
*Shiloh: Meaning “His gift”
Other “Celebrate Your Name Week” Posts:
+How Muppet got his name
+How Adaline got her name
+The meaning of Adaline’s name and why I spell it wrong
+Why Cool Daddy’s Name is a Secret
+The meaning of the name Jennifer: My name 🙂
+Why “Coolest Family on the Block”?: How I picked the blog name
Read The Short Version of our infertility/miscarriage story, or for the whole story read:
*Part 1: Trying to Conceive: Take 1
*Part 2: My First Pregnancy
*Part 3: My Miscarriage
*Part 4: Trying to Conceive: Take 2
*Part 5: Trying to Conceive: Take 3 Secondary Infertility
*Spring Ahead: Reflections on Miscarriage
*Childless Mother: Infertility Poem
*National Infertility Awareness Week
Coolest Family on the Block is committed to helping you find creative ways to have fun and make memories with your family all year-long. Don’t miss an idea, tip, or trick…subscribe and have updates sent directly to your email!
Celebrate Your Name Week: Muppet
March 6-12 is Celebrate Your Name Week!
Today I’ll tell you how Muppet got his name.

Muppet (right) shortly after we brought him home. (Don’t mind my hair, I once was an 8 year old boy.)
Muppet was 4 months old when we brought him home in August 2004. He was a fluffy white ball of shaggy fur that looked a little crazy and wild like Einstein or Doc Brown from Back to the Future. Back to the Future is my absolute favorite movie of all time so we considered naming him Doc. It didn’t take me long to change my mind. Despite his wild white hair he still had a “baby face” and the name Doc just seemed too old for him.
Sticking with the BTTF theme we thought we’d try “Marty” which was definitely more youthful. My husband spent an entire day taking care of the puppy and calling him Marty. All day long I thought about how he almost didn’t look real (the dog, not my husband). He looked like a stuffed animal or a puppet. In fact, he looked like a Muppet. He looked as if Jim Henson had created him and he had a fun, sweet personality that made you believe he could start talking to you at any moment. I’ve always been a big fan of The Muppets and the name seemed to fit him perfectly. When Cool Daddy came home with the puppy that day I said, “His name is Muppet.” “I’ve been calling him Marty all day!” he said, but he agreed with me. It would already be embarrassing enough to have a giant 6’3 man walking a tiny white dog that would look like a living cotton ball on a string…why not name him Muppet too?! (At least I didn’t want to name him “Smooches”.) And that was that. We got him registered with the official name of Muppet Puppet (plus our last name). People mishear us when we say his name (do we lack annunciation?!) and often think his name is Muffin, Muffet, or Moppet. Umm, no. He’s acquired many nicknames over the years including Mr. Muppet, Muppety-Mupp, Muppy Puppy, Bubba, Bubbaloo, and Mupp. Quite often we just call him “buddy”.
When we got Muppet we were told that he was a full bred Maltese (he had “papers” and everything) but as his fur grew in it didn’t look like Maltese fur. It was long and white like it should be, but it was fluffier, not as silky, and it just wouldn’t lay down…if puffed up and out. Grooming him became an impossible task and we started getting him shaved. Now his signature “Muppet” fur that inspired his name is all gone. I can still see the Muppet in him, in his eyes and in the way he cocks his head to one side.
While writing about how my Muppet got his name I was curious to find out how The Muppets got their name. Here’s what Wikipedia had to say:
The word “Muppet” itself first appeared in 1956, and was said by Henson to have been created by combining the words “Marionette” and “puppet”. However, Henson was also known to have stated that it was just something he liked the sound of, and he made up the “marionette/puppet” story while talking to a journalist because it sounded plausible.
More information about the word’s origin can be found here.
Here are some dog Muppets I found on muppet.wikia.com
Rufus, Dermot, Foo Foo, Muppy, Barkley, Dog and Foo Foo.

Dog Muppets (All photos can be found through links on this page http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/Dogs)
How did you choose your pet’s name?
Tell me your story in the comments!
Other “Celebrate Your Name Week” Posts:
+How Muppet got his name
+How Adaline got her name
+The meaning of Adaline’s name and why I spell it wrong
Open House: Dominic’s Nursery
*This post was originally published in September 2010 and I have since then changed my blog theme and layout several times resulting in issues with older posts that have pictures. The pictures are sometimes too big, too small, or too “smooshy”. At this time I don’t have the time to re-post the photos to correct this. Clicking on the photo to enlarge it should solve your smooshy problems. Thank you.*
Just because it’s so cute, I thought I’d give you a look at my nephew, Dominic’s, nursery even though it’s not even in my house! My mom decorated the nursery. Most of the décor is from the Hobby Lobby, I just kept piling stuff in my cart (don’t you love spending other people’s money?!). The theme is antique toys. Mostly you’ll see sports and mobile related things. These photos were taken before the room was entirely complete so there are probably a few details missing. I think it’s adorable.
*Open House: Adaline’s Nursery
*Open House: Dominic’s Nursery
*Open House: Master Bedroom
*Open House: Laundry Room
*Open House: Family Room
*Open House: Storage
*Open House: My Mama’s Kitchen
I still haven’t added the living room or kitchen yet. Let me know if you’d like to see them. The more interest there is the more likely I am to make the time to do it!
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Adaline’s Nursery
I thought I’d share some pictures of Adaline’s nursery. These pictures were taken a few weeks before she was born. In the past year we’ve made some changes, the biggest of all being that you can’t keep a room quite that tidy with a 12 month old walking around in it. For the nursery I wanted something pretty and girly without it being too babyish. I wanted her to be able to grow into it and be able to change it easily if we needed to. I didn’t want to get a bunch of “nursery” items that would no longer be appropriate for a “big girl” in a few years. We ended up with what I think is a sort of shabby chic look in pink and green. I just hope she likes pink when she gets older 😉
(Click photos to enlarge.)
The crib area
The crib was given to us by some wonderful, generous friends. The crib bedding was a gift from my mom and mother-in-law. It’s the Isabella crib bedding set by Glenna Jean. Hanging on the wall above the bed is the quilt that came with the set. I knew we couldn’t put it in the crib with her and I didn’t want it to go to waste, so we hung it above the crib. We moved the bumper once Adaline was born and put it underneath the crib decoratively. The mobile was a gift from my sister-in-law and is also a Glenna Jean, however, it is part of the Story Time collection because I thought the teddy bears on the Isabella mobile were kinda scary. To the right of the crib is a “There’s no place like home” sign from The Hobby Lobby.
We got the changing table at Target. I purposely wanted something without drawers so that the diapering stuff would be easily accessible. I also wanted something with built in straps so that I would have a way to secure the baby. I know that a lot of people don’t use a changing table, but it ended up being a big help for me. I had a cesarean and it was too hard for me to get up and down from the floor and I couldn’t twist properly to change her on a sofa or bed. I also have a dresser/changer that was part of my baby furniture that my mom had saved. I put it in our family room downstairs and it was great for changing her and for storing baby junk without it cluttering up the living space. The changing pad is from Babies R Us. I got the baskets at Michael’s.
The black and white bunny on the left and the black and white “Faith” blocks were from the Hobby Lobby. The bunnies on the right were from a local hobby/antique shop. The rose topiary is one of the centerpieces from our wedding. The Wish Sister was a birthday gift for me from my dear friend, Sara. The “I love you to the moon and back” sign was from Kirkland’s. The little lamb is a Boyd’s that I’ve had for years. The framed outdoor scene is a chalk drawing my sister made for me when she was about 10 years old. It hung in my bedroom until I got married and now it’s in Adaline’s nursery. The “Diamonds may be precious but daughter’s are priceless” photo frame is from The Hobby Lobby. It contains one of Adaline’s 3D Ultrasound images from 33 weeks.
The three hanging letters with scripture “Pray, Daughter, Blessings” were from a Bible bookstore.
The dresser is from my set of furniture when I was a baby. Yes, it’s held up 30 years. Over to the right is a set of handprint kits that was a gift from my mom. Each tin includes the materials to make a handprint impression from ages 1 to 5! We still need to do Adaline’s first year handprint…something we haven’t had the chance to get around to yet. The princess piggy bank was a gift from my sister-in-law. I think that the metal “Dream” box was from Michael’s. The bear plays a recording of Adaline’s heartbeat when she was 33 weeks in utero. When we play the recording for Adaline now, she thinks it’s a song and she starts dancing to it. So cute!
The Philippians 4:8 sign is from The Hobby Lobby. The pink baby sign and baby quote beneath it are from Kirkland’s. The wreath on the door was another centerpiece from our wedding (used as a candle ring for hurricane lamps). The “For this child we prayed…” plaque is from Family Christian Stores. The white photo frame from Babies R Us contains an ultrasound from each trimester. I saw the growth chart at The Hobby Lobby and bought it before I was even pregnant. The basket is from Michael’s.
The glider/recliner from USA Baby was a gift from my mom, sister, and brother-in-law. Getting the fabric was a whole ordeal and a blog for another time. Just know that I wanted it to be green and fabric that I ordered was discontinued…twice. The adorable bear on the glider, Honey Jo, has been my pal for over 20 years.
We found the toile fabric for the valances online. It’s the same pattern that’s on the Isabella bedding. The valances were made by my awesomely talented friend, Sara, who also made the rockin’ Happy Birthday sign for the front of the house on Adaline’s birthday. Because I thought the walls and valances were a little too much pink we got paint and sponges at a craft store and added the stars above all of the windows. There’s also a star pattern in the Isabella bedding. I loved the way they turned out.
The wall décor pictured here was from The Hobby Lobby, Kirkland’s, and a Bible bookstore. The rocking and changing areas were one of the things that got moved around. We ended up needing more floor space for a swing and jumperoo so we had to move some things.
The book and door area
The “Child of God” sign is from The Hobby Lobby. The swag above it is actually another of the flower ring centerpieces from our wedding unbent.
Although you can’t tell in the photo the switch plate has the same toile pattern as the valances and Isabella bedding in green.
The shelves used to hang in my sister’s bedroom. The book shelves had been sitting around my mom’s attic for years.
You may remember these black ceramic letters that spell Adaline from the mantel display at her first birthday party. On the other shelf they spell out her middle name, Rose. I found these letters at the Hobby Lobby. The “Faith” box and wall décor were from Michael’s, The Hobby Lobby, and Kirkland’s respectively. The bunny and lambs had been mine for years. I got the cute little round bunny box at a local hobby/antique store. The round box was from Michael’s, the “Love” blocks from The Hobby Lobby, another of my own bunnies, and another topiary centerpiece from our wedding. The nursery rhyme prints I found at Wal-Mart for $1.00 years ago when we first got married. We used scrapbook paper to matte them and I believe those frames were from something else that we no longer had on display.
The giraffe was a gift from my mother. The brown bear was my very first teddy bear. The Cinderella book (and Mother Goose book on the shelf beneath it) was from a local hobby/antique shop. The box was from Michael’s and the bear is Adaline’s first bear. Cool Daddy got it for her at Babies R Us. Most of the books and Bibles on the shelves we already had. The baby doll was part of my doll collection as a child.
The cute wire table is from The Hobby Lobby. The stuffed bunnies were mine (Cool Daddy has gotten me one for Easter every year since we first started dating). The box they are sitting in is the box that her teddy bear came in. The pink poodle, FiFi, has been mine for about 20 years.
Everything from The Hobby Lobby, Kirkland’s, and Michael’s was 50% off or on some kind of sale or clearance. Many of the items were reused or repurposed items that we already had. Many things were gifts. Very few items were purchased brand new at full price. Some things that aren’t “babyish” and that aren’t particularly pink or girly can be used as she grows older or used elsewhere in the house if her color scheme changes. I’m sure hoping that she’d like to keep it like this for awhile. I hope you enjoyed it!
**A VERY special thank you to my mom. While I hand-picked everything that went into the nursery my mom was the one that put it all together. I was pregnant and huge and she did all of the decorating for me. THANKS MOM!**
*Open House: Adaline’s Nursery
*Open House: Dominic’s Nursery
This post is linked to 4 Moms Open House
+Smockity Frocks
+Life in a Shoe
+The Common Room
+Raising Olives
I’m not a “mom of many” (unless you consider one “many”), but I love reading about these ladies and their families.