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Home » Family » Can you figure this out?? (…plus, a few personal things to share)

Can you figure this out?? (…plus, a few personal things to share)

Have you ever played the game Mad Gab?  It’s a card game that has a whole bunch of nonsense words written on it and if you read them fast enough and over and over, you’ll hear a hidden phrase within the mumbo jumbo. 

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 However, it’s hard for the reader to hear the hidden phrase because they’re reading the weird words and it just isn’t making a connection with their brain.  So your teammates, who are listening, have a better chance at figuring it out since the written words aren’t confusing them as much.  I used to play this in college from time to time, late at night (later=funnier), with my roommates.  The person saying the nonsense words would read it as fast as they could and slur the junk out of those words, and the listener would somehow decode it and shout out the answer.  We sounded pretty ridiculous and always got extremely loud……but if this skill could go on a resume, we’d all be highly sought after. But BYU-Idaho didn’t have a Mad Gab degree.  Imagine that…  (You remember this, right, Katie? I remember you and I getting particularly intense when it came to this game.  ha!)

 

 

Okay, if you’ve never played…..here’s an example:

 

 

If you read the words in the bubble, it sounds ridiculous…..but if you read it really fast and slur it all together, you’ll hear the hidden phrase, “A roll of toilet tissue”.

 

 

Get it?

 

 

 

 

Here’s one more to practice…..

 

 

Go on, slur those words in the bubble together…….

 

…….and you’ll soon hear, “Newspaper Report”. 

 

 

 

 

Well, here’s one that I’ve created and want to see if any of you can figure it out.

 

 

Ready?

 

 

 

 

 

Did you get it? 

 

 

No? 

 

 

Say it again…..FASTER!

 

 

 

 

Still no?  Well, I can’t just GIVE you the answer. 

 

Maybe these clues will help you.

 

 

 

Whatever the “Mad Gab” clue is, it’s contributing to some problems I’ve been having lately…

 

 

Like walking into the bathroom and not remembering why I walked in there.  (Ummmm……right.  To use the bathroom.  I should put sticky-note reminders on the mirror.)

 

 

 

 

Our family has been eating a lot of this for dinner.  (hey, it’s vitamin fortified…)

 

 

 

 

 

 

I can’t stand the smell of these.  (Oh gosh…..ewwwww.)

 

 

 

 

 

Oh my word, my face feels like I’ve reverted to my darn teenage years.  Darn pimples.  Ack…..don’t look!!!. :)

 

 

 

 

 

I only want to wear yoga skirts or maxi dresses.  Pants bug the heck out of me.  (I think I have like 12 all together.  And I just rotate over and over.)

 

 

 

 

 

I can’t get enough of this.

 

 

 

 

 

Sweets are my best friend.  And help calm my belly.  (Truly, I wish it were broccoli florets that made me feel better…..but as much as I tell myself I want veggies instead of sugar, my brain inevitably changes the subject.)

 

 

 

 

 

If I wake up during the middle of the night (or a child wakes up and needs consoling, help going potty, etc.), insomnia kicks in and there’s no “falling right back to sleep”.  It’s annoying.  So, I grab this little lifesaver and start browsing all the different apps I have on here, hoping to bore myself back to sleep.  Such a pain.

 

 

 

 

 

Have you seen this movie?  Do you own the soundtrack?  The silly little lyrics somehow make me cry.  Even after I’ve re-played it for Chloe 738 times.  (It’s not just this either……my eyeballs have serious plumbing issues lately, and start leaking for any ol’ reason.)

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This little girl has been found many a times, patting my arm while I’m slumped across my bed/the couch/the floor, saying, “Mommy’s sick.  Again.  Shhhhh….

 

 

 

 

 

Have you figured it out yet?!!

 

 

Well, here’s that Mad Gab card one more time. 

 

 

Say it one more time……real fast.

 

 

 

 

Ha!  Did you have the Mad Gab code already figured out? 

 

Or was it the fact that my family has been eating a lot of cereal for dinner?  And my face is a pimple fest?

 

 

But yep, the Johnston home is having another little one.

 

 

 

 

And my belly is definitely with child.

**Yeah, I don’t fool around.  I grow them large from day one……look at that belly!  (But remember how my last baby was 11 pounds…….oh, heaven help me!)

 

 

 

 

We brought the kiddos to the 20-week ultra sound and let them watch as the tech did her thing.

 

 

 

 

They thought it was fascinating.  Okay, let’s be real…..Chloe had no idea what was going on with those black/white blobs on the monitor.  She was more fascinated that it was dark in there and some lady had a magic fairy wand on my belly.  But whatever……I’ll show her pictures one day that she was in attendance, because she probably won’t remember a thing.

 

Elli and Connor, however, were completely focused on the screen, looking for the first signs of the gender of this new little baby.  Elli wanted another baby girl so badly and Connor, well, he would have given his left arm if he knew that would help to bring him a baby brother.  We told the kiddos Christmas Eve that we were having another baby (I was about 12 weeks at the time…) and all they have talked about since then, is whether this baby was going to be a girl or boy.  Oh, the conversations and battles that have ensued since then.

 

 

So the ultra sound tech looked…….and finally told us the news:

 

 

 

 

Connor. Was. STOKED!  He jumped up and down and screamed, “Yes!  That’s what I wanted!”  I glanced over at Elli and her face fell…..and then she moaned.  Chloe looked up at Elli, matched her face to her big sister’s……and let out a little copy-cat moan as well.  Steve and I (and the tech) just laughed.  Elli is a pattern girl and a math girl and an “even-steven” girl.  She likes life to be very even and fair (maybe it’s an oldest child thing??), so once I told her that the gender score in our family is now even……she perked up and agreed that it was better that we’re having a boy.  Whew……grieving process averted!

 

(And for the record, this is the ONLY baby that I really REALLY knew the gender.  The other kiddos surprisingly came exactly how I verbally requested them…..haha, but I didn’t really “know” what the first three genders were.  However, I just knew this little kiddo was a boy.  So, once she told us…..it was no surprise to Steve and I.  And we are THRILLED!)

 

While checking out the rest of the baby, the tech kept noticing the long arms and legs and commenting on how long they were for his 20-week age.  I reminded her to look at Steve and I…….and then she laughed.  (Remember, Steve is 6’5″ and I’m 5’11”.)  Yeah, tall genes are written all over this baby.  No surprise. 

 

While we were finishing up the scan (the baby thankfully looks completely healthy, by the way), we asked the kids what they wanted to name the baby.  Elli wants to name him “Max” (a good solid, normal name), Connor wants to name him “Spike” (oh dear, it’s a baby not a dog), and Chloe wants to name him “Baby Elli” (yeah, sorry, that name is already taken)!  Haha……we all had a good laugh again.  We told Connor later on that we probably weren’t going to name the baby Spike and his face kinda fell.  I really think he thought the name was a serious contender.  He demanded to know why we weren’t going to use his name and we told him that, well, mommy and daddy get to choose.  Steve then told him that he could call the baby Spike as a nickname and he immediately thought that was a great idea!  And the conversation ended happily.  Whew!

 

After the appointment, we had lunch together and then did a little new-baby shopping.

 

Out of curiosity, I told the kids to all pick their very favorite baby boy item in all of Old Navy and to come show me.  Elli can read now and thought this onesie was so silly….so that was her pick.  Connor picked these shoes because I think he just wanted them in his size, and Chloe……well, she didn’t want to pick blue clothes for the baby.  She wanted pink.  Lots and lots of pink!!!!  Oh my.

 

 

 

 

Such a fun day together, celebrating the little guy growing in my belly…

 

 

 

And well, now, another 19 weeks to wait.  I’m totally okay with that…..because holy smokes, WE’RE HAVING ANOTHER BABY!!!!!

 

 

 

And yeah, sorry for keeping this a secret for so long.  I have been dying to share…..because we are giddy with excitement to welcome another little soul into our home.  And it’s so hard to share.  However, we really like to see and know that the baby is doing well and thriving and all that, before sharing the news.  We have shared too early before and, well, sharing the bad news is painful. 

 

 

Now, buckle up…..because I cannot even WAIT to start sharing little itty-bitty baby boy ideas.  Oh, the things I want to make are crowding my brain!  Ack…….so excited!!!

 

 

And again, thanks for always loving on my family.  I have always been able to comfortably share bits about our family here on this blog……and interrupt the normal crafty blogging posts.  But I love that I feel like I can share such personal and exciting news to you, my dear blogging friends!  So thank you.  Now, go enjoy the rest of your day.  And if you’d really like to celebrate with me…….buy a family size bag of cadbury mini eggs (the current sugar craving of choice) and eat them all up!  Hey……sympathy cravings are REAL! :)

-Ashley

 

Ashley Johnston

Administrator at Make It & Love It
Ashley Johnston is a professional DIY costume maker, sewist, crafter, and owner of Make It & Love It. She is a mom of 5 and a wife to a very patient (with the craft clutter) husband. In case you’re wondering, she always chooses crafting/sewing/designing over mopping/dusting/wiping base boards……but bathrooms/laundry/full bellies are always attended to. Whew!

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Hi, I'm Ashley

Hi, I’m Ashley—the DIY-enthusiast behind this crazy blog!

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