I know you’re all probably sick of hearing about it.  But it’s really consuming my life right now (that and the yellow jackets who have invaded my backyard so we can’t go out there) and I just am not smart enough to come up with something more interesting to blog about.

My girls names remain the same, though I’ve added Aislin (or Aislinn…I think I prefer the double N) to the list.  It was #1 on my list for a girl last time I was pregnant but obviously unused.  For those people who cannot pronounce Irish names, it’s pronounced Ashlyn.  But I really like the traditional Irish spelling and there’s always someone out there who wouldn’t pronounce it right even if we spelled it Ashlyn.  It would be Ashley, Ashleen, Ashen, Ashton, or whatever they could come up with.  My brother’s name is very straight forward.  Five letters, one syllable.  Even when he writes it down, people call him something else because it’s less common than another similar (but completely different in spelling!) name.  When I was younger, I would often tell people my name and they immediately started calling me Missy…because everyone named Melissa goes by Missy, don’t ya know?  (That’s completely sarcastic, by the way.  I hate the name Missy.)  If you must nickname me, call me Mel.  Most of my high school and college friends called me Mel and I loved having something a bit more unusual.  There will ALWAYS be someone who gets it wrong either by pronunciation or by turning it into something it’s not.  So I’ve decided I just really don’t care if people think it’s a funny way to spell it.  That is the original spelling and I like it.

For boys, Mattox is off the table, nixed by my husband.  But on the table now are Lucas, Harrison, Dawson, Duncan, Evan, and Quentin.  I am leaning toward Harrison right now…my mom’s dad was called Harry (full name Harold, I think?) and it’s kind of a neat variation.  Plus who wouldn’t want to be associated with the coolness of Harrison Ford every time somebody hears your name???