Eight-Twenty-Eight

Victory for Precious Babies

2012-02-01T13:16:00.000-08:00

UPDATE (February 3rd): Susan G. Komen for the Cure reversed their decision. More information here:
http://news.yahoo.com/komen-drops-plan-cut-planned-parenthood-grants-163643930.html

They said previously that they "don't bow to political pressure." Well it seems they have done exactly that. Shame on you Susan G. Komen for the Cure!

Susan G. Komen for the Cure announced yesterday that they will be stopping all grants to Planned Parenthood. Hooray! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

Currently, there is an onslaught of pro-abortionists who are ridiculing Komen for the Cure for their decision. (Edit: A comment was made that the correct terminology should be "pro-choice." I am pro-life and not against "choice," I just believe that the "choice" of whether or not to be a parent comes BEFORE sex and not AFTER).

It would be great if Komen for the Cure heard from as many pro-lifers as possible so they know that they are supported in their decision!

Please take a few minutes to do the following, to encourage Komen for the Cure to stay strong in their position against Planned Parenthood:

1. Send an email to news@komen.org, and thank them for their brave decision to stop funding to Planned Parenthood and their affiliates!

2. Sign the petition at http://stoptheabortionagenda.com/online-petition/ to show your support for the decision that the Susan G. Komen foundation has made!

3. Share a "Thank You" sticker on Facebook or Pinterest (or both, if you have them)! Links to both below. :)
--Facebook Image
--Pinterest Image

It's A...

2012-01-26T22:08:00.000-08:00

It's a boy! We went in for my 20-week ultrasound today. The ultrasonographer was nice about explaining everything as she went along measuring the baby and looking for different things. During the ultrasound, we were able to determine that we are expecting a baby boy! We are very excited. Allan Sr. and Allan Jr. are probably the most excited though. Allan Sr. is stoked to have another son, and Allan Jr. is thrilled to have his first brother! The new baby will share the upstairs bedroom (across from the master bedroom) with Amelia. I'll need to repaint it a neutral color. Right now it's ballerina slipper pink! I probably should have painted it a neutral color the first time I painted it. :) Oh well! I'm grateful that Heavenly Father allowed us to find out the gender of the baby so that way we have plenty of time to prepare for his arrival!

Facebook "Timeline" Rolling Out to Everyone

2012-01-24T13:03:00.000-08:00

So I deleted my Facebook account this past weekend after accidentally switching to the optional "Timeline" feature (which I loath).

Now, just a few days later, on Yahoo! News, I notice that Facebook is rolling out the "Timeline" design to everyone! So if I had not have deleted my Facebook over the weekend, looks like it would have happened anyway!

Here is the article for those of you on Facebook who want to know more!
http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/technology-blog/facebook-timeline-mandatory-rollout-7-days-scour-past-185456598.html

No More Facebook (Gasp!) + Cute Pictures :)

2012-01-22T17:48:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, I deleted my Facebook account! I actually did it because I loathed the new "Timeline" feature that they put on there, where people can jump back to any point in time that you've had Facebook and read what you wrote. Weird, in my opinion. I don't mind that on blogs, but it's creepy on Facebook! When I signed up for a Pinterest account (I saw yummy food I wanted to make and pin), somehow I had to convert to a Timeline to get it. I thought I could revert it, but no such luck. So I deleted it! It's probably a good thing though, as I spent entirely too much time on it as is. It just means that I'll have to make more of an effort to actually talk to people instead of just looking at their status updates to see how they are doing! :)

Today, Adeline came to me and showed me the ties on her dress. She said, "Mom, you need to tie this, or someone will think I'm a horse." She thought someone might grab the ties and try to use them like reins, I guess! :) I should also mentioned that I thought it was funny that she said that. She overheard me telling Allan Sr. later, and gave me a severe stink eye and said firmly, "I didn't want that to be funny!"

Here is Amelia. She just turned 18 months old, so she is all dressed up for her first day of nursery on Sunday! She did very well today and learned about how much Heavenly Father and Jesus love her!

New Years Resolutions

2012-01-05T09:59:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!

This year, I resolve to become closer to achieving "supermom" status. Hahahaha.

I want to FINALLY organize the entire house before the baby comes (June-ish).

I want to deliver a happy and healthy baby, no complications. :)

...and then I want to make all the pregnancy weight VANISH by the end of the year! :D

So yes, for those who don't know yet, I am pregnant, due at the beginning of June. We do not know whether the baby is a boy or a girl yet.

Worms

2011-06-17T07:57:00.000-07:00

It's been awhile since I've updated the blog. Today's update is about worms!

Allan Jr. learned about worms in school. He loves worms, and he knows that they help our garden grow!

He asked me if I knew what nightcrawlers were. Then he told me they were the "big juicy ones."

A friend was babysitting him the other day, and while she was watching him, he saw a robin with a worm in it's mouth. I can't imagine what must have been going through his head, since he loves worms so much!

Actually, I do have a clue... this morning he told me that, "Robins are bad guys because they kidnap worms from their families!"

Rose, Present!!!

2011-03-29T11:40:00.000-07:00

Here is my roll call post. I have not lost any more weight since December of 2010. There were some times that I briefly escaped the 140s, but my body seems pretty determined to stay in that range.

I didn't do the 100 Day Challenge! Whoops.

My goal was to be back to 120 pounds by now. I have 20-25 pounds to go for that. Usually I'm motivated for the first 6 hours after making a goal, and then I'm not so motivated any more!

On the plus side, I'm not craving sugar and sweets like I used to. I think I'm past the "baking kick" that started at the beginning of December. 4 full months of baking! Yikes... that would explain why I'm still holding on to 20 pounds that I don't want to be there!

I have company all this week, so I doubt I'm going to be able to stay on the wagon of working out this week. So... NEXT week... I think I'll start 6 weeks of Biggest Loser workouts, plus yard work. Working out in the yard burns a gazillion calories for me!

I'm also going to try to find small ways to make my meals healthier. The other day, I made fried rice with brown rice instead of white. Also, when I'm hungry in between meals, I want to eat fruits, vegetables, and water.

I'll figure it out one of these days. My husband is still betting that I'll get pregnant again before I get back to my wedding weight!

I need some kind of competition, I think...

Flaming

2011-03-27T07:16:00.000-07:00

I read an article in LDS Living about etiquette. One of the things that it mentioned was that you shouldn't flame online. Well, I thought I already knew that. Sending someone a really nasty message online isn't nice. But what about harshly worded responses to something we disagree with? Such as a blog post, a news article, a video. Maybe not even directly responding, but talking about it. Or talking about other people that we don't even know in a bad way (celebrities, politicians, etc...). The rule of thumb is that if you wouldn't say it to the face of the person involved, you shouldn't say it online! Puts a whole new face on "flaming" doesn't it?

Our Best Bites Reviews: Stuffed Apple Rolls and Peanut Butter Bars

2011-03-14T07:47:00.000-07:00

I really hate to say anything bad about any of the recipes in the Our Best Bites cookbook, because I'm such a huge fan! The stuffed apple rolls didn't turn out very well for us. Some of it was my fault though.

They sure looked good though! I accidentally shut off my timer, and I had no idea how much time was left to cook them. So I had to guess. The middle ones came out doughy, but a lot of them were done! My fault.

We used Braeburn apples instead of Granny Smith apples, so the filling was kind of sweet. I should have cut back on the sugar with the sweeter apples! My fault again.

And lastly, the shredded apple texture was weird to me. If I were to make these again, I'd probably dice the apples instead.

That being said, I probably WILL make these again... cooking them for the right amount of time, with Granny Smiths, dicing the apples instead of shredding them... (and I may or may not add some apple pie spices in there)!

So I recommend anyone who has this cookbook to try this recipe at least once. :)

Below are the peanut butter bars I made for a spaghetti feed at Church.

Here's the recipe! This one is only on their blog, not in their book. But they are good. They taste like Reese's Peanut Butter Cups.

Our Best Bites Reviews: Sopapillas and Beignets

2011-03-12T07:07:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, we had Sopapillas for breakfast and Beignets for lunch. Sounds healthy right? Of course! :)

Sopapillas are a South American and Central American dish. They called in a pastry in the book, but the best way we know how to describe it is a deep-fried biscuit.

We sprinkled cinnamon sugar on them, but my husband and I agrees that they probably would have tasted far better with honey butter, so we'll try that next time!

With the sopapillas, I was expecting something similar to a beignet. The sopapillas weren't what I expected, but they were still good! However, I was left craving beignets. Cue lunch time! :)

The recipes for Beignets is only on their blog, not in their cookbook. I think the picture says it all!

Golden fluffy pillows of goodness dusted generously with powdered sugar. Yum.

Our Best Bites Reviews: Buttermilk Ranch Dressing, Classic Potato Salad, and Cheesesteak Sandwiches on Hoagies

2011-03-10T20:48:00.000-08:00

Okay, if it's not apparent that I love to cook by now, it should be pretty clear! :)

One recipe that I've already tried and love is Buttermilk Ranch Dressing. I had some on my salad for lunch.

After we had dinner tonight, my son was still hungry and wanted some salad with ranch on it... so I made some more.

I keep the ranch dressing in a mason jar in my fridge. It tastes so stinking good. I'm not going back to store-bought! I love it! It also tastes good for dipping oven fries in!

For dinner tonight, we had Classic Potato Salad, and Cheesesteak Sandwiches on Hoagies.

The Classic Potato Salad is in their cookbook, so if you want that recipe, you'll have to buy their book! Just in case you need reminding... you can get it at Deseret Book. No, I don't work for them (I wish)! I just love their book. :)

So, my go-to potato salad recipe is a Bacon and Cheddar Potato Salad Recipe. It's so stinkin' good, and I love to serve it hot. However, I have been looking for a Classic Potato Salad recipe that's a little bit healthier than one loaded with bacon and cheese, so I was happy to try this one.

The recipe calls for shredded onion, but since I didn't have very many shallots left, I finely sliced some green onions for the salad. I also didn't have quite enough celery, but it still turned out good! Our family liked it, but my husband would like me to add some chopped sweet pickles in there next time!

Yeah, it looks a little bit like mashed potatoes. That's because I was impatient and stirred the potatoes in the sauce while they were still hot. Let me tell you, I think the potato salad tastes AWESOME while it's still hot... I don't think it needs to chill! But it still tastes good after it's been chilled too. We tried it both ways. :)

Now... for the hoagies. It's actually a recipe for french bread that you can make other stuff with like hoagies. So, I thought I'd try it out! I think it'd make a great french bread recipe, but I think I had a little trouble turning them into hoagies. While the texture would be awesome for french bread, I love my hoagies to be insanely soft and fluffy (like dinner rolls). They were fluffy, but, not as tender as store-bought. Don't get me wrong, they still tasted amazing!!!

Part of it might be that they fell a little. I tried to shape them and bake them as hoagies, but they came out looking a little flat, and very wide.

Here's a picture of the hoagie looking very nice and fat and rounded.

But when I turn it... you can see how flat it looks!

So we wound up using each hoagie as a hoagie half, instead of slicing the hoagies in half. So instead of 10 hoagie sandwiches, we had 5!

For the Cheesesteak Sandwiches, we didn't follow the recipe close enough to give a fair review. We used what we had on hand for the filling, which was steak, mushrooms, shallots, Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning and some mozzarella cheese. It turned out nicely, and we'll definitely try the recipe (as written) sometime!

Ta-da!!! Sandwich. Loved it.

Our Best Bites Reviews: Roasted Pork Tenderloin, Oven Baked Steak-Fries, and Cinnamon Sugar Breadsticks

2011-03-09T19:50:00.000-08:00

Tonight for dinner, we tried the Roasted Pork Tenderloin and the Oven Baked Steak Fries. The fries are on their blog, but the roasted pork tenderloin is not. So if you want to try it, you'll have to get the book. :)

There are different options for marinades in the book. We chose to use the Sweet and Sour Marinade. It called for apple jelly. I didn't have any on hand, but I had the stuff to make it... so I made apple jelly from a recipe inside a Ball Pectin package.

Oh, I should also point out that we didn't have any tenderloin on hand, but we really wanted to try the marinade with pork, so we used pork chops! I marinated the pork chops in the fridge for about 4 to 4.5 hours. When I pulled them out and smelled them, they smelled so stinkin' good that I wanted to lick them. I had to remind myself that the pork was raw and that it wasn't a good idea! (It took some convincing!)

Both the fries and the pork needed to cook at 400 degrees, and the fries needed to cook longer than the pork, so I put the fries in the oven first. In the past, for oven fries, we've used Tom's Oven Steak Fries. We love that recipe. The oven fries in the cookbook is pretty similar to that recipe. The most noticeable difference is that Our Best Bites uses chili powder, while Tom's uses paprika. After trying the fries, we've decided that we prefer Tom's, but Our Best Bites was a pretty good variation and will be good to use if we ever want to change things up a little. We dunked them in ranch, ketchup, and honey mustard (Not all at once!!! Everyone picked which one they want... I used ranch).

Cooking the pork chops was just a little tricky, only because the meat thermometer didn't seem to be a good way to determine if the pork chops were done, although I'm sure it would have worked for the pork tenderloin! So they wound up being a little overcooked, but that was my fault... not the recipe's!

The pork chops were delicious with the marinade and I'm sure that we'll make them again!

For dessert, we had breadsticks again, but this time we sprinkled cinnamon sugar on them!

By the way, I want to point out one more "recipe" that I love about Our Best Bites blog. It's for cinnamon sugar. Yeah, yeah, I know... just mix cinnamon and sugar together... but this actually tells me the proportions, so I don't have too much cinnamon or too much sugar... now I keep a jar of the stuff in my cupboard for using it whenever I feel the need! :)

Our Best Bites Reviews: Chicken and Dumplings, Breadsticks, and Garlic Bread Seasoning!

2011-03-08T20:00:00.000-08:00

So tonight for dinner, we decided we'd try some recipes from our new Our Best Bites Cookbook. I will never post the recipes on my blog here, but for the recipes that Kate and Sara have listed on their blog, I will post a link, so you can try them! Tonight's dinner is all on their blog!

I'll post pictures too, but I'm reminding you again... I'm a chef, not a photographer!

So here is what we ate... :)

Chicken and Dumplings, with a side of Breadsticks

We topped our breadsticks with some Garlic Bread Seasoning

We try to follow recipes to-the-T the first time that we try them. We figure that's only fair! We did that with the breadsticks and the garlic bread seasoning and WOW were they good! I mixed the garlic bread seasoning together in a small mason jar, and I keep it in my fridge now! So I don't need to mix up a new batch every time I want it... yummy stuff.

The breadsticks were amazingly fluffy. They were the best breadsticks I had ever made! My husband said they reminded him a lot of pizza hut breadsticks with the fluffiness and seasoning!

For the chicken and dumplings, we had to make a couple changes. For one, I'm allergic to onions, so we replaced the onions with shallots. (For some reason, I can eat other things in the onion family... but not onions... anyway, back to what I was saying). One of the biggest changes that we made had to do with the broth! I realized that I didn't have enough broth to complete the recipe, so I replaced all of the broth with 6 cups of water and 3 tablespoons of chicken bouillon. The recipe called for Bisquick dough, but I don't usually have Bisquick on hand. So, I made biscuit dough from Carolina Buttermilk Biscuits on Food.com!

Overall, it turned out amazing, even with the changes! The whole family loved it and the chicken and dumplings were very filling! We decided that although the breadsticks were divine when dunked in the soup, that we didn't need to have the breadsticks and dumplings together!!! I can see us eating this again with the dumplings, and maybe even making it without the dumplings and making breadsticks to go with it. Ooh, the possibilities. And as good as it tasted... I bet it will taste even better when I use real chicken broth in the soup next time. :)

Thanks Sara and Kate for three awesome recipes!!!

It's Here!!!

2011-03-08T15:42:00.000-08:00

I'm stoked! I received a copy of Our Best Bites Cookbook on my doorstep today!!! I follow their blog already, and... I am a HUGE fan! I'm hoping to make a bunch of recipes. Typically, I use Food.com as my source of recipes, and I post a review (on Food.com) of each recipe that I try. Well, since I'm not on Food.com... I'll have to post the review of the recipes here! I'm looking forward to trying a bunch of the recipes... so be on the lookout for reviews! (I'm a cook, not a professional photographer... so don't expect the gorgeous looking photos that you see on cooking blogs! On the other hand, if you're ever in my neighborhood, drop in for some good home cookin'!)

No news...

2011-02-28T07:35:00.000-08:00

Stressful week = eating lots of junk and not exercising = still in the 140s.

Yesterday morning I ate something so fatty (and so delicious), that everyone here would probably gain 5 pounds by the mere mention of the dish on this blog!

This week, I have a battle plan... let's see if I'll stick to it.

Work out every day from Monday through Saturday.

Drink a small cup of lemon water before and after every meal (including dessert)!

Be active around the house too... cleaning it, organizing it... NOT sitting on my butt in front of the computer!

We're planning on doing our family pictures sometime this month, so I want to look amazing for them. C'mon scale... BUDGE! (Towards the smaller numbers, I mean...).

One more thing. Tonight, for Family Home Evening, is the only night I'm going to bake TREATS! Got it? Got it. Good. (whimper)

So... What?

2011-02-23T16:42:00.000-08:00

What is so compelling about dragging several loads of clean laundry all over a span of three rooms that I recently spent a whole day cleaning? And mixing it with dirty laundry, garbage, and toys??? All of this on top of my husband being gone for an extended period. Can anyone answer that for me? Or do my kids just want to see me have a nervous breakdown right now?

Just needed to get that out into the air...

Still Haunted

2011-02-17T20:01:00.000-08:00

My grandmother informed me of National Right To Life. So I checked it out. Browsing the website, I was sickened by the things that happen to these small babies. I started choking up ad had to dismiss the thoughts from my head (really hard... and it sounds so insensitive of me). I had to close the website and walk away.

How on earth am I supposed to do anything when I just about have a nervous breakdown every time I think of the subject? On the same hand, how can I NOT do anything?

Do You Have Any Better Suggestions?

2011-02-17T06:31:00.000-08:00

Last night, my husband and I took our family to see The Sound of Music. It was being performed by people from our church in our city at the local high school.

Amelia was squirmy and wanted to nurse. I couldn't find my hooter hider at home before we left, so I clumsily tried to cover up with a coat. During the intermission, I realized that part of the reason she was grumpy was because of a wet diaper.

So I laid her in my lap and started changing her.

Upon seeing a half-naked baby in my lap among a large crowd, my husband looks at me incredulously.

I look back at him, and state matter-of-factly. "We're in a high school. There's not going to be changing tables in the bathrooms."

He started laughing and said, "There'd better not be!"

So in my lap it was. At least there was no poop. :)

Haunted

2011-02-16T07:30:00.000-08:00

I have never had an abortion. I never will.

Nevertheless, I find myself haunted by the issue. I find myself haunted by the thousands of babies slaughtered... the images... the pain they surely feel... trust broken...

I feel like I should be out there, fighting for them, since they are too tiny to fight for themselves. But I don't know what to do or how to do it. I'm at a loss... wondering if I could really make a difference on such a controversial subject...

I should also add that these feelings are way more than just a mere opposition. I sometimes find myself mourning for those lives lost. Sometimes I feel so disturbed by what is happening that I withdraw into depression, feeling as helpless as the little babies who die.

Where do I start?

Tumbleweed

2011-02-12T12:38:00.000-08:00

Not a flattering picture of me... but this tumbleweed is huge!!! (At least, it's the biggest one I've seen... they probably come bigger!)

Amelia's first picture!!!

2011-02-08T10:10:00.001-08:00

Here's a jump back in time! (Not a huge one... just 6 months ago... so little!)

can i dwive peese?

2011-02-08T10:08:00.001-08:00

GMBOA's New Home!

2011-01-30T09:53:00.000-08:00

The GMBOA has reached it's home on the other side of the country! :)

If anyone is curious about the goodies they missed out on, check it out.

If you want a chance to win the GMBOA for themselves, be sure to watch Amy's blog! She'll be holding a contest to send it off to the next person!

Out of the Mouths of Babes: Not an Answer...

2011-01-25T07:56:00.000-08:00

Adeline: (peering over my shoulder at my blog) Mommy, why did you take pictures of you?

Me: (thinking it would be dumb to tell her that it was to show my friends my hair, cause really, that just sounds dumb) Um... just because.

Adeline: That's not an answer mom.

(Then a few seconds later... because she knows I have a habit of telling Allan Sr. every time she says something cute).

Adeline: Mommy, don't tell Daddy what I said, okay?

(I wonder if I'm allowed to show Daddy on my blog).

Actually...

2011-01-21T11:40:00.000-08:00

When I washed my hair, the curls came back. It's really tempting to have it "fixed" again (at a different stylist), but I'm just going to leave it! It'll grow out and relax eventually. I can flat-iron it to make it look like the previous picture... but most of the time, this is what it looks like now...

FINAL HAIR

2011-01-14T15:28:00.000-08:00

Got it fixed again, so that way I didn't look as much like a shaggy dog... my hair has been through a lot in the past three days!

Hair Update

2011-01-14T09:39:00.000-08:00

So they offered to fix it yesterday evening... here are the results...

Different cut... same curls... I don't know... I'm going to see if I can just get the curls out or something. *sigh*

Hair Advice Please!!!

2011-01-13T08:01:00.000-08:00

Terrible photo, but it'll work for my purposes.

I got my hair permed yesterday. I thought it would be a fun change. But I didn't know what to say after they were done. Seriously... it looks like I rolled out of bed and didn't brush my hair.

Advice anyone? Advice PLEASE!!! (Also, so we are clear... I know that you're critiquing the hair and stuff, so any comments you make about me looking like a shaggy dog or the old lady from Rapunzel... well, I'm not going to take them personally, so be as blunt as you please).

GMBOA Winner!

2011-01-08T06:26:00.000-08:00

I'd had so much fun this week. I'm a little sad because it's ending. Thanks to all the participants! I wish I could send prizes to everyone! Anyway... enough blabber... I know why you're here. You want to know who won!!!

The winner is... Entry #5!

(drumroll)...

Amy from One Day at a Time!

Congratulations Amy! Please leave your address in the comment section (as well as any information about allergies). The comments are moderated, so I will not publish it! :) I can't wait to send you your box of goodies!

Recipe/Tutorial Favorites

2011-01-07T20:29:00.000-08:00

We have enjoyed the recipes and tutorials! Thank you for submitting them!

My husband's favorite recipe was:
Amy's Christmas Crack

My favorites are:
Amy's Christmas Crack
Whimsy's Leggies Tutorial

So Amy, you have earned two extra entries, and Whimsy, you have earned one!

Plus, Whimsy and Stacie D pick up two bonus entries for their responses to my animal question earlier today. There's still 3.5 more hours for your entries! The winner will be announced tomorrow.

Entries:
Amy (22): 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 20, 21, 27, 28, 32, 33, 34, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43
Stacie D (10): 12, 13, 14, 22, 23, 35, 36, 37, 47, 48
Whimsy (20): 1, 2, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 24, 25, 26, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 44, 45, 46

GMBOA Wrapup!

2011-01-07T08:06:00.001-08:00

Thank you to Whimsy, Stacie D, and Amy for your participation yesterday! Also thanks to Sara Hammond for your comment. I've had fun with this!

As far as the recipes and tutorials go. Everyone has earned 2 entries for submitting them to me. We made the Christmas Crunch and Sugar Cookies last night. Yummy! I still haven't tried the banana bread, so rest assured, I will try it. Extra entries will be awarded after I've tried it.

For Whimsy's tutorials, I'll give her credit for the leggings tutorial she has on her blog! Here is my beautiful baby modeling a pair of leggings that I made using her tutorial! I made 9 pairs last week using 99 cent socks from a local ranch store.

So for now, you all get participation entries. "Favorites" will be awarded after I try the banana bread (and before I announce the winner).

Amy (20): 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 20, 21, 27, 28, 32, 33, 34, 38, 39, 40, 41
Stacie D (8): 12, 13, 14, 22, 23, 35, 36, 37
Whimsy (17): 1, 2, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 24, 25, 26, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35

If you need more entries, I'm still accepting jokes (up to 5), fascinating facts (up to 5), and spending $1,000,000 on charity (once)! I'm not accepting any more recipe/tutorial entries because I won't have time to try them all. Actually, I'll accept them, because I'd love to have them... but you won't get entries for them.

To wrap up the giveaway, I am challenging you to serve others. I'm sure we all serve our families a lot, so for the purpose of the giveaway, service within your own home doesn't count! Do service for others. It's okay if it benefits your family too. For example, you can pick up trash in the street. It benefits your family and your neighbors. Or if you shovel snow from your sidewalks, it benefits your family (and also your neighbors). So service that benefits your family is fine, but it needs to benefit someone outside your family as well! Report back on an act of service that you did today, and I'll give you five entries! If you do two acts of service, I'll give you a bonus 5 entries (for a total of 15 entries).

One last bonus entry: If you had to be reincarnated as an animal, what would you be and why? I'd pick a porcupine, because who would go through the trouble to eat a porcupine? You'll get 2 bonus entries for your response to that question today.

Today (Friday) is the last days for entries anywhere within the contest. The winner will be selected and announced tomorrow! I was going to wait until Monday, but I'm just as eager as you all are to see who wins this thing, so tomorrow it is!

Happy serving!

GMBOA Day 4

2011-01-06T07:49:00.000-08:00

Thank you Whimsy and Amy for your participation yesterday! You two are each earning 5 entries:

2 entries for your (on-time) participation
2 entries for favorites by my husband and I (How can we NOT favorite loads of money spent on charity?)
1 BONUS entry for participating every day this week thus far!

For everyone else, it's still not too late to participate! You'll still earn 1 entry for your jokes, fascinating facts, and money. :)

Entries (total in parentheses; entry numbers followed for picking winner):
Amy (16): 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 20, 21, 27, 28, 32, 33, 34
Stacie D (5): 12, 13, 14, 22, 23
Whimsy (13): 1, 2, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 24, 25, 26, 29, 30, 31

For this weekend, be thinking ahead about things that you can do to serve others. More details on that coming tomorrow.

For today, what are you famous for? What is something that you make that everyone always raves about? For me, it's my Hawaiian Sweet Rolls. I originally intended them to be a copycat of King's Hawaiian Rolls, but we think they turned out way better! Every time I make them, I get raving reviews and people can't stop eating them. I posted the recipe on Food.com a couple of months ago. Here's the link: Hawaiian Sweet Rolls (Bread Machine).

So what are you famous for? If it's something you cook, post a recipe. If it's something you craft, post a tutorial. Give me your best. I'll accept links to content you have created online. Because I want to try all of your recipes and tutorials, I'm going to say you can post as many as two. (Actually, you can post more if you want, but I'm only giving credit for two!)

Okay, GO! Best recipes and tutorials!!!

GMBOA Day 3

2011-01-05T08:51:00.000-08:00

Wow, we learned some amazing things yesterday! Thank you to Whimsy, Amy, and Stacie D for participating. Also thank you for the extra jokes! It's not too late to post more jokes (1 entry each) and more fascinating facts (1 entry each).

My husband's favorite facts from yesterday (you each earned an additional entry):
Amy's "Apples, potatoes, and onions all taste the same when eaten with your nose plugged."
Stacie D's "Popsicles were invented by an 11-year old. The inventor was Frank Epperson who, in 1905, left fruit flavored soda out on the porch so that when Frank found it again, it was a Popsicle! He kept it a secret for 18 more years until he was able to file a patent in 1923."

My favorite facts from yesterday (you each earned an additional entry.
The same two facts from above... and...
Whimsy's "A toilet only uses gravity to work - there are no moving mechanical parts."

Entries (total in parentheses; entry numbers followed for picking winner):
Amy (11): 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 20, 21
Stacie D (5): 12, 13, 14, 22, 23
Whimsy (8): 1, 2, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 24

So, sometimes my husband and I asked each other, "If you had $1,000,000, what would you do with it?" Sometimes we ask our friends the same question. The answers usually have a lot of things in common, such as getting out of debt, buying a nicer house or car, or both, continuing education, buying things for relatives, etc...

For today's entry, I am going to put an additional twist on the question...

If you had $1,000,000, and you were not allowed to spend it on anyone that you personally knew (including yourself), what would you do with it? Give me specific dollar amounts and specific causes. For example, mine might look something like this:

$100,000 - Tithing to my Church. I always give 10% of my income to my Church.
$100,000 - Local food bank (I don't know anyone that works there or uses the food bank, so I'm allowed to pick that)! I am blessed to have plenty of healthy food to eat, and I want to make sure that others have the same. I would probably buy lots of organic non-perishables and donate them on a regular basis.
$200,000 - Local pregnancy resource center (one that does not support abortions). I have a large disdain for Planned Parenthood, and a large respect for faith-based pregnancy resource centers. They do so much to help parents and parents-to-be, and they are under threat of being squashed by the abhorrent monster that is Planned Parenthood.
$200,000 - To the Susan B. Anthony List, to help the pro-life cause and stop the murder of innocent babies.
$200,000 - To Latter-Day Saint Charities, to provide funds for things such as neonatal resuscitation training, immunizations, clean water, and emergency response.
$200,000 - To organize a humanitarian aid project to provide assistance, medical attention and supplies to homeless people, battered women and children, and foster children within my community.

So again, I ask if you had $1,000,000, and you were not allowed to spend it on anyone that you personally knew (including yourself), what would you do with it?

I can't wait to see what you say!

GMBOA Day 2

2011-01-04T08:07:00.000-08:00

Thank you to Whimsy and Amy for participating in yesterday's kickoff!

You each have earned two entries. One for posting on Monday (as opposed to posting on that post later this week), and another posting a joke! We didn't have a favorite, so we didn't award favorite entries. You can still earn more entries on that post by posting more jokes. Others who have not participated yet can still post clean jokes, but they will only be worth one entry.

Entry numbers are as follows (total number of entries in parenthesis) - to find out the winner at the end of the contest, I will use Random.org to generate a random number! So here are your numbers. :)
Amy (2): 3, 4
Whimsy (2): 1, 2

Our family loves fascinating facts. Did you know that when mosquitos bite you, they regurgitate some of their saliva into your skin? That's what makes mosquito bites so itchy. (Gross!)

Today, share your most fascinating facts! There are five types to choose from. You can post more than one type if you want! You'll earn entries for each!
1 - Share a fascinating animal fact (1 entry, 2 entries if you post today)
2 - Share a fascinating human body fact (1 entry, 2 entries if you post today)
3 - Share a fascinating Earth fact (1 entry, 2 entries if you post today)
4 - Share a fascinating food fact (1 entry, 2 entries if you post today)
5 - Share a fascinating fact that doesn't fit in one of the first 4 categories. (1 entry, 2 entries if you post today)

We'll also award entries for the most fascinating facts!

I can't wait to see what you've got!

GMBOA Reveal

2011-01-03T15:14:00.000-08:00

For those of you who are wondering what the GMBOA from Bethsix contained... here it is!!!

Here's the GMBOA!!!

Here's a beautiful card made by her daughter.

The inside of the card, so cute! Thank you!

Oh yeah, these were so yummy!

Nice new kitchen towels!

More contents of the GMBOA including, but probably not limited to... christmas tags, bag clips, packing tape, Sharpies, a lint roller, Eucerin, hand sanitizer, Gold Bond, scrubbies, hair thingies, batteries, a kangaroo, Neon Goldfish, Orbit gum, Burt's Bees chapstick and a big box of Milk Duds (YUM!).

And this made the Golden Minion Box of Awesomeness TOTALLY awesome! I bought a mouli! :)

If you want to win a box of goodies from me, don't forget to participate in the giveaway! I launched the GMBOA Kickoff this afternoon! What are you waiting for? Go enter!!!

GMBOA Kickoff!

2011-01-03T12:14:00.000-08:00

Finally! The GMBOA Kickoff! It's the first GMBOA of 2011, and I want to make sure it's spectacular! What is the GMBOA? In short, it's a box of goodies. :) To win it, you'll need to participate in the contest that I am hosting, and also be a follower of The Creamery. For more information about what the GMBOA is, visit Whimsy's explanation here.

On with the contest! I'll post a question or challenge daily this week. You earn entries to win the GMBOA by the following ways:

Attendance: Post a comment in response to my question or challenge!

Favorites: Extra entries will be given to my favorite comments (and maybe my husband's favorites too)!

Bonuses: There will be opportunities this week to earn bonus entries, so watch for those too!

Also, an additional rule about posting here on Eight-Twenty-Eight. Eight-Twenty-Eight is supposed to be family friendly, so please keep all of your postings free of profanity and obscenity! Thank you!

Speaking of cleanliness... our family enjoys clean jokes. There are so many out there that are... well... not clean! We attended a talent show recently, and one of our friends made us laugh with a joke of his. He was the MC for the event, and he said, "I feel like a cow in tall grass. I'm udderly tickled to be here."

So, crank out your best clean jokes! You'll get an entry for each clean joke you post (up to 5 jokes). Our family's favorite jokes will earn extra points.

(For those of you curious about the contents that I received in my GMBOA, a reveal will be coming later!)

Coming!!!

2011-01-03T12:03:00.001-08:00

Sorry for the late posting for those of you who are waiting for the GMBOA. I am compiling it right now!!! :)

Attention GMBOA Stalkers

2010-12-31T06:41:00.000-08:00

I will be hosting the giveaway for the fantastic GMBOA starting Monday, January 3rd! Don't forget, you have to be a follower of The Creamery to win!

Snowballs and a Butt

2010-12-04T10:24:00.000-08:00

I am a genius.

The other day, a friend of mine hit me with a cyber snowball. You know the snowball fight that you forward to people, and the email says, "GOTCHA!" The rules are... you can't hit someone who has already hit you.

My husband saw that I got the snowball, and asked me not to hit him with the snowball. I said, "Why? So you can turn around and hit me with one?" He just laughed, and then pleaded with me not to hit him with a snowball. So, I was nice, and didn't hit him with the snowball.

This morning, when I checked my email, I found a message from my husband. He hit me with the cyber snowball!

Revenge was mine for the taking, with the assistance of baby Amelia.

My baby was already dressed for the day, so I left her clothes on her.

I opened the scanner and sat her up on the scanner.

Then I hit the copy button.

Then wrote my husband's name on the photocopy of my baby's (clothed) butt.

Revenge is sweet.

He's jealous that he didn't think of it first.

Early New Year's Resolution

2010-11-28T11:43:00.000-08:00

My New Year's Resolution is to teach all four of my children to read! I'm cheating and starting a little early, but hopefully I will be able to report that they are all reading by December 31st 2011. :)

Out of the Mouths of Babes: What to Eat First

2010-11-25T18:15:00.000-08:00

Of course, everyone wants pumpkin pie in our house. And of course, the rule is you need to clean your plate before going for pumpkin pie!

Our 2-year old, Aurora, was the only one who hadn't eaten the food on her plate yet. She really wanted pie. So I looked at the little bit of food left on her plate, and said, "Okay, what do you want to eat first?"

Easy choice. She said, "PIE!"

Happy Thanksgiving!

Out of the Mouths of Babes: Hairy Man

2010-11-09T14:03:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, I was cutting my son's hair, because it was picture day today. He had his shirt off, and his cut hair would fall down and stick to his back, chest, and shoulders.

He saw this phenomenon, grinned, and asked me, "Mommy, do I look like a hairy man?" Then turned and declared to his father, "Daddy! Look! I look like a hairy man!"

Happy Halloween!

2010-10-30T20:09:00.000-07:00

Have a very Happy Halloween!!! From...

A Sailor

A Snow Princess

An Wingless Autumn Fairy

...and a Tootsie Roll

Weight Loss Progress

2010-10-21T07:36:00.000-07:00

Just to remind you...

9 Months Pregnant - 198 pounds

7 Weeks Postpartum - 170 pounds

My goal was to double my weight loss by October 20th. It didn't happen, but I did get about halfway there.

3 Months Postpartum - 157 pounds

My gut isn't a whole ton thinner, but I can definitely see the difference in my face and legs. I've also lost a little bit of that horrid back fat!

3 Months Postpartum - 157 pounds

There's a front view for you to see too! You can see how thin my legs are (although I guess there isn't a before picture of my legs to compare it to). I still have a little bit of a muffin top, so I guess I look kind of like a caramel apple on a stick. Yum, that sounds good. :)

My goal is to reach my pre-pregnancy weight by New Years. I'll post another picture in about a month, and hopefully I will be halfway to my goal by then. :)

Oh, and I was able to squeeze into my pre-pregnancy jeans for this picture. They are quite snug, but I can zip and button them and still breathe comfortably. :) Hooray!

I've Won!!!

2010-10-19T08:49:00.000-07:00

You may have remembered a contest that I participated in a long time ago at the Creamery for a GMBOA. Well, it has been traveling around to various locations, and it is finally coming to me from Bethsix!!!

I am already brainstorming the contest that I will have and what sort of things will be the prizes. I will not tell you what the prizes will be, they will be a surprise to the winner! :) But more details of the contest will be forthcoming after I receive the box and enjoy it's contents. :)

In order to qualify as a winner, you have to be a follower of The Creamery with Google Friend Connect! That rule is totally non-negotiable, so if you want to win the GMBOA, you have to follow!

Yay!

Taking Care Of Ourselves

2010-10-06T08:22:00.000-07:00

As women, we have a tendency to put others first and sometimes neglect ourselves. That is why I'm sharing the 21-Day Self-Care Challenge found here:

http://livingselfcare.wordpress.com/

It starts today. Each post will be short and take about a minute to read. Your daily "task" takes 15 minutes or less. Taking care of yourself benefits those that you love, so take the challenge! :)

Out of the Mouths of Babes: Where Kids Come From

2010-10-03T19:04:00.000-07:00

Allan Jr: "When I get big, I will stay here."

Me: "No, when you get big, you will probably have your own house."

Allan Jr: "Yep. With my wife! And we will need to go get some kids!"

(I guess that works if he plans to adopt though! I guess I just assume he'll try another method first.)

Postpartum Depression Bites

2010-10-01T07:44:00.000-07:00

This is not a happy post. If you don't want to read an unhappy post, and would rather read something happy... go here.

I'm not typing this post because I feel the need to share personal details of my mental state (because honestly, I'd rather not). The reason I am typing this post is because postpartum depression seems to be a taboo topic, and one that makes those suffering from it feel rather isolated, alone, and maybe even feelings of shame and inadequacy. To those who suffer from postpartum depression, I want them to know that you are not alone in the way you feel.

I had postpartum depression with my first three children. It was the worst with the first and second. It wasn't as bad with the third. When I gave birth to Amelia, I felt great! I didn't feel any inkling of postpartum depression at all, and I assumed that I was going to be lucky and not have any troubles this time around!

I felt very happy for about a month after giving birth to Amelia. Then it hit me. All of a sudden I became moody and depressed for seemingly no reason. I couldn't tell what was going on. The thing that bothered me the most were the thoughts that I sometimes had of hurting my baby. It's not that I wanted to hurt her, but sometimes these troublesome thoughts would pop in my head, and I would shoo them away.

Because I was feeling very edgy and cranky lately, I decided to look up the symptoms of postpartum depression again. I found that most all of them described me, other than the thoughts of hurting myself.

Sometimes when I would get stressed out, I would eat to comfort myself. So I was eating a lot of food. As a result, I wasn't losing weight as fast I wanted to, which made me feel fat and depressed. I've been told many times, "you're not fat," and if you're reading this, you might be thinking about telling me the same thing. To be honest, no matter how many times people tell me that I'm not fat... I still feel fat and it depresses me.

I found that I was growing very impatient with the older children. I was always yelling at the top of my lungs at them when they were annoying me or not listening. Sometimes I just wanted spank them until they were sobbing rivers of tears (fortunately I didn't). Sometimes I wanted to shove them down the stairs (fortunately I didn't). Of course, these terrible thoughts coming to my mind made me feel like I was a bad mother, and I felt sorry for my children, and I became depressed even more.

I feel very tired and am often uninterested in sex. It has nothing to do with my husband, and I can't come up with any logical reason why I am uninterested. This makes me feel like a terrible wife, and adds to the depression.

I also feel lonely, like there are few people around that I can talk to. I feel like I don't have anyone close to me that understands what I am experiencing. I feel worthless and I feel like nobody cares about me. I feel like most people (outside of my family) would probably not miss me if I were gone.

I often feel hopeless, like there's nothing I can do about the postpartum depression. Like it's just a never ending curse that I have to bear. Of course, thinking that there isn't any hope doesn't help me be happy. It's depressing.

Of course, I thought, "Maybe if I could get some professional help, I could feel normal again." I get insurance from the state whenever I am pregnant. Otherwise, I don't carry medical insurance and I pay for my medical expenses out of pocket. With the past three children, fear of costly medical bills kept me from seeking help.

I'm a tough person. Or so I thought. I figured I could tough this out, and that I did not need any professional assistance. Or, maybe I needed it... but because of the expense, I figured I would be forced to stick it out.

But it kept getting worse. I would randomly have thoughts pop in my head of shaking Amelia. Not a playful shake... but a hard violent shake. Just to see what would happen. I would try to make the thoughts go away. Logically, I can't shake my baby. It would hurt her. I love her, and I never want to do something like that to her. Sometimes, the thoughts become very persistent. I felt like a terrible mom for even letting the thought enter my mind... even though I would never want to do that, because I love my baby so much.

Then I came across a terrible story online of a woman who suffered from postpartum depression. One day, out of the blue, she purchased a gun, went into her backyard, shot her baby boy and then herself.

I freaked.

Is that what would become of me if I did not seek help? Obviously, right now, I feel like I would never do a thing like that, but I'm sure this woman never thought she would do that either. I can't imagine the level of depression that has to be reached in order to be capable of doing that.

It hit me. I needed help. I didn't feel like I would let myself get to the point of harming anyone... but what if I totally lost my sanity because I was too stubborn to get help? And then, because I didn't seek help and lost my sanity, what if I harmed myself or a family member?

The possibility scares me. I don't want that to happen.

I need help.

So I scheduled a doctor's appointment.

However, there was no way that I wanted to admit that I had those terrible thoughts of hurting my baby girl. I felt like a monster.

I have been following a blog dedicated to postpartum depression and working towards recovery. I read on the blog of an experience of another woman who had a similar experience to mine. She had horrid thoughts of harming her baby, but knew that these thoughts were bad and made attempts to dismiss them. They kept recurring and she was appalled at the thoughts she was having.

Apparently these intrusive thoughts are so common in women with postpartum depression that there is a book being released concerning them.

Okay, so it's not just me. I guess I'm not a freak after all. I don't really want those thoughts to be there, and I still feel like a monster, but apparently it's pretty common.

So on the day of my appointment, I told the doctor that I had been depressed, and I told him about those negative, unwanted thoughts.

He prescribed me some medication that should help. I asked him if there was anything else that we could do besides medication (because I really didn't want to be a "pill-popper"). He told me that if I had gotten to the point of those terrible thoughts, that I definitely had postpartum depression and needed some medication to help. So I decided not to fight him on it and that I would take the meds. Being a "pill-popper" isn't something I want to be... but I do want to be a normal and happy person. If I need to be a "pill-popper" to be a normal and happy person, so be it.

So there you go. There are the ugly realities of postpartum depression. I hope that this post will help anyone that I know (or don't know) who reads this. For those of you going through the same things, I wrote this post for you. Know that you are not alone. Talk to me if you are going through this and need some support. I know what you are going through! It's a hard road, but there is hope.

For those of you who are feeling like jerks and want to leave rude, judgmental comments, I invite you to keep your mouths shut. I didn't write this post to obtain sympathy and I certainly didn't write this post for people to pass judgement on me. Certainly I understand that everything posted on the internet is public domain, and you might think that I'm just "asking for it," but I'm not. Take your hatred elsewhere.

And for anyone who is feeling unhappy after reading this post... feel free to do as I said in the beginning, and go here.

Allan Jr.'s Class Pets (and School Update)

2010-09-30T09:17:00.000-07:00

So for those of you who are wondering about the things Allan Jr. is doing in Kindergarten, this post is for you!

Here is a picture of the class pets!

They are Zebra Finches! Allan Jr. told me that the one with the orange circle on his cheek is a boy, and the other one is a girl.

He has been working on reading and learning about Eric Carle. (We ordered "The Grouchy Ladybug" from Scholastic).

He also has been singing lots of Jack Hartmann songs. One of his favorites is "Tooty Ta." He thinks it's hilarious! I remember singing that at Girl's Camp, so I can sing that song along with him!

Yesterday, he took an apple to school to help his teacher make homemade applesauce. They made recipe books and helped peel the apples with a real apple peeler! The kids also got to help measure the ingredients and stir and mash the applesauce! Today, they get to taste it.

Allan Jr. has also been learning about United States History. He brought home a page that he had colored of Betsy Ross making the first American flag. He also brought home a packet that he colored showing some basic rules for the flag (don't wear it, keep it clean and mended, etc...).

When I ask Allan Jr. what his favorite part of school is, he usually responds that he likes snack time and playing in the gym. Go figure. :)

So those are some of the highlights of what he is doing at the private school in Kindergarten.

He goes to the public school behind our house on Tuesdays for an hour (after he goes to Kindergarten). He is working with a speech therapist and an occupational/speech therapist. They are currently reevaluating him for services to see what he needs help with. He actually is doing fairly well in speech. The main concern for speech is that he sticks out his tongue when he says the "sssss" sound. Although, when prompted, he will keep his tongue in.

Throughout all of the areas, they are going to work with him on keeping focused and staying on task. He's a smart boy, but can be distracted very easily (hmmm... sounds like me).

Allan Jr. loves school, and I'm glad! Adeline can't wait to go to school like Allan Jr. does.

Allan Jr. and Adeline's first Primary Program

2010-09-29T18:23:00.000-07:00

Adeline is a Sunbeam, so this is her first year to participate in the Primary Program. Allan Jr. was a Sunbeam last year, but we moved before the Primary Program was presented in our previous ward (and after it was presented in our new ward) so this was his first Primary Program too!

Allan Jr. has memorized some of the Articles of Faith. He was the first child to speak, and he recited the 1st Article of Faith. I'm proud of his efforts to memorize the Articles of Faith!

Adeline also knows the 1st Article of Faith, and we had the children practicing their lines for about a month before the program so they would be ready for the big day. When Adeline walked up to the pulpit, she started to say the 1st Article of Faith: "We believe..." then she caught herself, smiled sweetly and said, "Oops, sorry!" Then she said her assigned line, "Prophets are called of God!" I am proud of her for remembering her line!

She then went back to her seat. As she sat down, she had her hands over her mouth giggling at herself for goofing up. I'm glad she knows how to laugh at herself when she makes a simple mistake, as opposed to being absolutely mortified!

And really, a 3-year old girl smiling and saying in her sweet little voice, "Oops, sorry!" It was just too cute.

Out of the Mouths of Babes: Bug Fight

2010-09-24T12:05:00.000-07:00

Our girls don't like bugs. Every time they see one, they always say something like "Eew! It's a bug."

Yesterday afternoon, we heard a banging sound. My husband asked me, "Can you see what Aurora is doing?'

I looked over towards our bedroom, and noticed that Aurora was swinging a baseball bat at the wall.

"Aurora, what are you doing?" I asked.

She responded, "I'm fighting a bug."

(Um... with a bat?)

Starting Fall Quarter at College

2010-09-23T08:39:00.000-07:00

Since Amelia is still nursing, I decided that for fall quarter, I would just go back to school part time. I have an online math class, and an arranged PE class (I go into the gym a couple hours a week, any time that I want, work out and go home). I enjoy school, and I enjoy the flexibility that the online and arranged classes give me with a nursing baby! I have milk pumped for my husband to give the baby if he absolutely needs to, but he hasn't had to use it yet! I will probably continue to attend college part-time for the rest of this year and then start going full-time again next year!

Now to figure out how I'm going to save money for graduate school!

There's No Such Thing...

2010-09-23T08:28:00.000-07:00

There's no such thing as too many books. Or at least, that's what I like to think. :) It makes me wish I hadn't donated so many of the books that I had as a child. I didn't think ahead about passing them on to my kids!

Oh well.

How many of you remember, as children, receiving the Scholastic book catalog at school? Then excitedly looking through it, taking it home, and telling your parents which books you wanted? (I was a sucker for Goosebumps books by R. L. Stein). If your parents were able to get you a book (or more), there was the excitement of receiving the book at school. I could hardly wait to get home and read the books from cover to cover!

So, imagine my excitement when my oldest son brought home a Scholastic catalog from his Kindergarten teacher! Although, the difference now is that you can place your Scholastic order online, instead of sending the catalog back to school with a check. Then the books still come to the classroom and home with the child (so much for using them as Christmas presents). :)

Allan Sr. and I looked through the catalogs together last night. We ordered 12 books! There were so many more that we wanted to get! Our favorite steal was "Chicka Chicka Boom Boom" for $1.00! (We had it before, and the kids loved it, but it somehow got ripped to shreds. We decided to replace it).

We can hardly wait to receive our first Scholastic order! The catalogs are sent out monthly, so there will be new deals every month that we can pick from and expand our children's library!

Here is our current children's library at home. Not all of the books are put away, so it is not our complete collection, but you get the idea.

My dream house would have it's own library full of books! Including a children's area with low bookshelves similar to these ones and comfy furniture to sit on to read the books!

What are your favorite books for children? Any must-haves for a children's library?

(On a side note, Allan Jr. needs chapter books for school next year... so suggestions for good chapter books for a 6-year old would be appreciated... :))

Shrinking...

2010-09-17T09:56:00.000-07:00

Okay, so for those of you who know me... it's been a long time since I've been anywhere near my high school weight! I was tired of the flab and the jiggle... so I decided that after my most recent baby was born, I was going to work hard to take all the flab and jiggle away! So for those of you who are wondering how I am doing...

Here I am, 9 months pregnant, at 198 pounds (Yes, I disclose numbers! It keeps me accountable!)

Here I am, 7 weeks postpartum, at 170 pounds...

And a front view...

The day that I took these pictures is the same day that the doctor cleared me for exercise 2 weeks ago. Once I was cleared for exercise, I decided it was on like donkey kong and lost an additional 11 pounds! My goal is to have all of my pregnancy weight off by October 20th (I'll post another photo then). I have 16 pounds to go.

Then my next goal is to get back to my high school weight again. My husband doesn't think I can do it... and of course, the quickest way to get me to do something is to tell me that I can't. :)

Dental Work Sucks (Unless You're the Dentist)

2010-09-15T16:17:00.000-07:00

Why do I want to remember this? Because I want to do everything possible to make sure I never get another cavity so that way I never have to have my teeth drilled again! Obviously dental hygiene is a must, but eating a lot of calcium-rich foods should help too, right?

A couple weeks ago, I went to the dentist, and he drilled and filled on the right side of my mouth. They made sure I was completely numb (although they needed to give me a little extra to totally numb where they would be working) and everything went smooth. The only aftereffects I had was some cold sensitivity. So I wasn't too nervous about going in today!

Today, I go to the dentist. They numb me, and the hygienist wasn't as thorough about checking to see if I was numb. I had to stop the dentist a couple times because I was numb everywhere except for two teeth that he was working on. So they had to give me more. Still felt something. So they had to give me more. Well, by the time they were done numbing me up, I was hoping that my face wouldn't permanently be frozen in numbness. Seriously, even part of my ear was numb! He finished the work, and I didn't feel anything. So that made me happy.

Now, however, the numbness is wearing off, particularly on the one tooth that they had to numb excessively. It hurts! I was trying to take a nap, and it wasn't working. Bad toothache. Booooooo!!!!! This didn't happen last time, so I didn't expect it to happen this time. Unpleasant surprise. Boooooo!!!!! Really, that's about all I can say about it. Boo. It hurts. Boo. I don't like it! Boo. Boo-hoo. Boo.

I'm seriously thinking about taking some pain meds to make me happy. (I don't normally take pain meds unless I'm hurting really bad).

So... note to self. Be religious about dental hygiene... definitely! And... eat lots of calcium. Every day. Dairy products. Dark green leafy veggies. Yum yum.

Preserving Memories, Honeydew, and Smiles

2010-09-15T08:40:00.000-07:00

Last night I went to a Relief Society Meeting where they spoke about photo journaling. One of the questions the presenter asked us was "How many of you just feel too overwhelmed?" My hand shot up in the air as I thought of the past 5 years worth of kids pictures and memoirs that I had not organized!

The presenter made an eye-opening analogy. She said, "If you just recently started paying tithing, the Lord isn't going to say, 'Hey now, you haven't paid tithing for the past 37 years! You need to catch up before you can reap the blessing of paying tithing!'" She encouraged us to not let the past discourage us from starting today to keep our memories. She told us to just start today and that eventually, the pieces of the past will fall into place!

What should we journal? Any memory that we want to keep!

This morning, I was slicing and chopping a honeydew melon. My children kept asking me if they could have some, and I told them that maybe they could have some with lunch or snack.

A minute later, I realized Aurora was missing. I asked my husband, "Did Aurora sneak off with a piece of honeydew?" I received the reply, "Probably."

I looked around the corner, and sure enough was Aurora, munching on a piece of honeydew. I decided to let everyone have a piece of honeydew. Then Allan Jr. went to school.

Then Adeline and Aurora wanted a second piece of honeydew.

And after they finished their second pieces, they each wanted a third piece!

Certainly nobody can accuse them of not liking honeydew! (On a side note, notice the CTR ring Adeline is proudly wearing, she hasn't taken it off since she found it yesterday).

And while we are showing pictures of happy children, I absolutely want to remember Amelia's beautiful smile. I captured a picture of her smiling this morning after taking pictures of the other two girls with their honeydew!

I dare say it's impossible to look at her cute little smile and not get a smile on your face yourself! (But then again, I'm her lucky mommy!)

First Day of Kindergarten

2010-09-13T08:49:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I keep seeing my friends post pictures of their kids for their first day of Kindergarten, and I'm thinking "Oh yeah, I have pictures, I should do that too!"

There is a public school just across a field behind our backyard. If Allan Jr. would have been enrolled in that school, then we could have walked every day. However, since we enrolled him in a private school a little farther away, we drive everyday. Although it only takes less than 10 minutes to get there by car.

We were still tinkering with the amount of time that it took to get to school on the first day. We got there very early, and were waiting in the car until it was a reasonable time to walk him inside!

Yikes, he's getting so big! But I wanted a smiling picture of him too, so I asked him to smile!

When we walked inside, he found his cubby with his name on it. It was a little tricky because there's another boy in his class that shares his name, but one letter is different! At first, we thought that maybe the teacher just spelled his name wrong, but then we found the cubby with the correct name. :)

The first thing he wanted to do was play in the sensory table!

It's full of beans and letters, and the children are challenged to find all the letters in their names!

Before I left, I took a picture of him with his teacher! He was so happy to be at school!

He also has a friend from Church in his class. I wanted to get a picture of them together, but Allan Jr. just wanted me to leave so he could play! Fortunately, his teacher likes to take pictures too, and she got a couple more pictures of him on the first day.

Here he is playing with Tinkertoys. He's sticking out his tongue, which he always does when he's concentrating hard!

Here's a picture of him with his class holding marshmallows! It's to remind them to have "marshmallow toes" in the school! No stomping and running. :)

He loves school. His favorite part of the first day was snack time and recess (of course)! :)

Out of the Mouths of Babes: How to Grow Nectarines

2010-08-12T08:15:00.000-07:00

I cut open a nectarine for my children after breakfast this morning.

Allan Jr: "Are we going to plant the seed?"
Me: "I don't know how." (Meaning, I'm not sure how to get one to grow)
Allan Jr: "I know how!"
Me: "How?" (Just curious what he'd say)
Allan Jr: "You put it in the dirt. Then you put water on it. And that's how it grows."

I wish it were that easy! :)

Project: Nursery

2010-07-21T12:19:00.000-07:00

With the new baby coming, I decided that Adeline and Aurora would share a room, and that Amelia's nursery would now be located in Aurora's former bedroom.

While I was working on Adeline and Aurora's bedroom, Adeline and Aurora temporarily shared the room that is now the nursery. Of course, they made a big mess of it. So here are the "before" pictures.

White walls, a bookshelf in the corner, a toddler bed (converts into a crib)

The closet, and a nook that has drawers full of Aurora's clothes

I finished the nursery on Saturday... here are the "after" pictures! (Much cleaner, yay!) Although, I'm just now realizing that maybe I should have opened a window or turned on some lights or something! Oh well.

This is the only evidence that I ever had wallpaper border up on the wall. I really liked the border, and it was such a pain to put up. By the time that I took this picture yesterday, it had all fallen down except for the small section above the nook. I decided to yank the rest of it down and throw it away. Bummer!

Amelia's crib. The valance on the window matches the bedding on the crib. I haven't converted it back to a crib yet because I'm still waiting for the repair kit to immobilize the drop side. Amelia is currently sleeping in a bassinet in our room.

The crib and the dresser. Adeline and Aurora got new dressers for their things, and Amelia got Adeline's old dresser.

The drawers that formerly held Aurora's clothes now hold cloth diapers, extra wipes, baby blankets, and the such. I've stashed the drawers in the closet.

I converted the nook to a changing area. In the middle is a changing pad. There's a diaper stacker hanging on the right, full of diapers (and a package of wipes sitting below it). The hanging item on the left has pockets that I have pacifiers, a hair brush, and some diaper cream stashed in. The back corner has some diapers and wipes that were sent home from the hospital. There's room on both sides of the changing pad for me to set a change of clothes, etc... I love it!

Labor Synopsis and a Couple Pictures

2010-07-21T08:31:00.000-07:00

For those that don't want to read the long details of how labor went, here's a brief synopsis.

About 6:00 pm - 2 centimeters dilated, 50% effaced, labor induced
About 9:30 pm - 3 centimeters dilated, 80% effaced, water spontaneously breaks
About 11:00 pm - Amelia is born.

It took 2 1/2 hours to go from 3 centimeters to birth, but it only took a couple minutes to go from a 6 to a 9.

I went so quickly, so fast, that the nurses wondered if the doctor would make it. I had a room full or nurses ready to deliver my baby, but fortunately, the doctor showed up, and I started bearing down as soon as he was ready. She came out so fast, the doctor and nurses told me to slow down. She was in shock from coming out so fast and had trouble breathing immediately after birth, but with the attention of the nursing staff while the doctor attended to me, she quickly returned to normal breathing as was just fine.

Both Amelia and I are doing well now.

Beautiful Baby Amelia

Proud Daddy

Proud Mommy

Only a day and a half old, and she already squirms out of her swaddle!

Happy Birthday Amelia!

2010-07-20T19:25:00.000-07:00

She is here! Amelia was born on Sunday around 11:00 pm. She was 7 pounds and 15 ounces... only an ounce shy of being an 8-pounder! Only a couple ounces bigger than her sister Aurora was. I'm not certain of the location of the USB cord for the camera at the moment, so photos may be delayed.

Here are the details of the labor and birth. Perhaps too much information for some, but probably not too much information for those who like to hear details of labor and delivery.

I went in to the hospital for my schedule induction on Monday evening and was having some mild contractions already. At about 6:00 pm I was 2 centimeters dilated, 50% effaced, and the baby was at a -2 station. The doctor inserted pill in my vagina to ripen my cervix. I was required to lay down for about an hour and a half so that way it didn't fall out! As I lay there I continued to feel the contractions come more regularly. I was able to talk through them without any trouble.

At 7:30 pm, I was allowed to get up and walk. Allan Sr. and I walked around the hospital for about 30 minutes, and then I returned to my room for some more monitoring. Everything looked good, and we were permitted to walk around the hospital some more. While I was walking, the contractions started coming about 1-2 minutes apart. We returned again at about 9:15 pm for some more monitoring. The contractions continued at the same frequency while I was being monitored.

At 9:30 pm, I felt some fluid leaking from my vagina. Not enough to be certain that my water broke, but definitely enough to not mistake it for urine. The nurse used a strip to test the fluid and determined that my water had indeed broken. She checked my cervix. I was dilated to 3 centimeters, 80% effaced, and the baby was still at a -2 station. That is the first time that my water has broken spontaneously while I was in labor!

We were moved to the Labor and Delivery Unit, and then permitted to walk around the hospital. While walking around, my contractions became intense enough that they significantly impacted my ability to walk. We went back upstairs to my room early and I sat on a birthing ball to rock through contractions. By now, I wasn't looking at the time anymore. The nurse came in to monitor the baby some more. I asked if I could remain on the ball for monitoring, and she said that was fine. She checked my cervix and said I was dilated to about 4 centimeters. I was still having contractions every 1-2 minutes, it seemed like. The contractions were more intense at that point then I remember my previous labors being (I don't know if it was because I was induced, because my water broke early in labor, or if I have amnesia and don't remember how bad my labors were in the past). I declared that I was a wimp, and said that if I was having this much trouble at 4 centimeters, there was no way I could handle the stronger ones!

I declared to my husband that I wanted drugs. Another contraction came, and I said I wanted an epidural. My husband told me that I told him not to let me have any drugs. I told him, "I don't care what I told you, I want them!" He told me he had confidence in my ability to make it through and that he thought I was strong enough to continue without the drugs. I told him, "I don't care! I want them!" For anyone that knows me well, that sort of attitude clearly indicates the sort of pain I was in. (I typically don't take medication unless I really feel like I have to).

I told the nurse I wanted medication, she said she would need to check my cervix first. I was dilated to 5 centimeters. Progressing… but not done yet! I asked for an epidural. She said it would take 30 minutes for the anesthesiologist to get there. I asked for drugs in my IV while I waited. She went to prepare the medication, and I went to the bathroom.

After a few more contractions, and using the bathroom, the anesthesiologist showed up. I don't know if that was 30 minutes or not… it sure seemed a lot shorter than that! The nurse checked me again, and I was 6-7 centimeters dilated. Too late for IV drugs. So… I'm still in a lot of pain and no medication to help.

The anesthesiologist asked me some questions. After he was done (it only took a couple minutes), the nurse checked me and I was dilated to 8-9 centimeters. Too late for an epidural.

My room was full of nurses now. They were afraid that the doctor wasn't going to get there in time because of how fast I progressed. I was already telling them that I wanted to push. They encouraged me to wait for the doctor, but they were prepared in case he didn't make it!

The entire time, I had been praying. I just wanted labor to be done! Some of my contractions felt like they were never-ending, and all of the nurses and my husband were gathered around me, coaching me and reassuring me. I was tired of being in pain, I didn't want to endure any more. Despite the pain, I was greatly comforted by prayer, my wonderful husband, and the nursing staff.

The doctor showed up in time, and was very quick about getting ready. I had already been pushing a little bit, because my body couldn't help it, but I held off on bearing down until the doctor showed up.

They told me I could push now, so I bore down a little. I thought I would try to go slowly, to see if I could go without tearing (I tore each time with the other three children). However, I got to a certain point where I just couldn't take it anymore. I felt like I needed that baby out of me now. I pushed as hard as I could and refused to stop. The doctor and nursing staff started saying, "Slow down, slow down!" Nope… no way was that happening! She came out very very quickly. Just popped right out, if you will… (of course, I tore). She was born at about 11:00 pm. So in 2½ hours, I went from being dilated at 3 centimeters to having a baby!

I was thrilled to be done with labor. Unfortunately, I pushed my little baby out so fast that she was in shock and wasn't breathing well. The nurses attended to her, gave her oxygen, and rubbed her to get her to start breathing. It didn't take long before she was breathing normally and was fine (phew)!

We were discharged the next evening. We could have stayed until the morning after that if we wanted to, but I wanted to go home! Both baby and I are feeling pretty good! My only major complaint is the occasional afterpains in my stomach. Even then, they aren't too bad.

Hopefully we find the USB cord and can share some photos soon!

Princess of Procrastination

2010-07-17T19:43:00.000-07:00

I must be the princess of procrastination. I'm 39 weeks pregnant and scheduled for an induction tomorrow. I painted the nursery today... :)

The camera is packed in the hospital bag right now, so no pictures just yet!

I'm feeling excited and nervous at the same time. I'm excited that we'll finally get to meet our baby daughter. I'm nervous about the process of getting her here though! You'd think after having 3 already that I wouldn't be nervous at all!

Induction Update

2010-07-15T12:48:00.000-07:00

Change of plans, the doctor has scheduled me for Sunday. Please pray that spontaneous labor occurs before then! Thanks everyone!

Possible Induction

2010-07-14T20:01:00.000-07:00

My doctor is going out of town for two weeks. He leaves just before my due date, and gets back quite awhile afterwards.

So basically, we're faced with a dilemma. If I go past my due date, then the decision of "what to do" would be left to someone other than my doctor. I don't feel at all comfortable leaving that decision to another doctor.

So the only way to avoid that is to induce before the doctor leaves town if I don't go into labor spontaneously before then. The latest the doctor feels comfortable starting an induction before he leaves is Monday night.

I REALLY don't want to have an induction, but it's much preferable over leaving late-term decisions to another doctor. So, please pray for the baby and I! We're praying for spontaneous labor to start before then so that way I won't have to be induced. (For the record, I'll be 39 weeks on Saturday).

We will keep you posted, please pray for the onset of spontaneous labor!

Out of the Mouths of Babes: Where's Amelia?

2010-07-14T16:46:00.000-07:00

Today, everyone went to my doctor's appointment to hear Amelia's heartbeat. The doctor offered to check my cervix to see if I was dilated. My husband really wanted to know if I was dilated at all, so I let the doctor do it. Allan Sr. didn't want the kids to see what was going on, so he had the kids behind the privacy curtain while the doctor did his job. The kids wanted to know what the doctor was doing, and we told them that the doctor was seeing if Amelia was ready to come out yet.

After the doctor was done and left, Allan Sr. kept the curtain drawn so I could get my pants back on. As soon as I was decent, I let him know, and he moved the curtain out of the way.

Allan Jr. bolts forward, looking around, and then... with a confused look on his face, asks, "Where's Amelia?"

Still in my belly! I guess he expected that she was coming out right then. The kids really want to meet her! :)

Belly Bump Update

2010-07-11T19:15:00.000-07:00

Here I am, about 38 weeks pregnant!

This is probably the last belly bump photo I'll get before delivery! I can't imagine that it's possible to get much bigger than this! I'll have lots of fun trying to take all the extra weight off, I'm sure!

We're looking forward to Amelia's arrival any day now!

Getting Closer...

2010-07-07T06:46:00.000-07:00

I'm running out of time to get Amelia's nursery done! I'm not expecting that she'll arrive anytime this week, but I think that next week is fair game! She'll probably arrive anytime during the final three weeks of this month!

I have completed Adeline and Aurora's room, but have been too busy to snap photos of the completed project. Hopefully I'll get that done sometime. I'm hoping to complete the nursery by the end of this week... we shall see what happens!

Out of the Mouths of Babes: What the Baby Says

2010-07-04T17:23:00.000-07:00

Today, Adeline put her hands on my belly and lightly shook it. In a high voice (imitating a voice of Amelia), she says, "I want to come out!"

Name Change

2010-07-04T17:22:00.000-07:00

Anna's name is being changed to Amelia.

Out of the Mouths of Babes: How Many Times?

2010-06-30T08:09:00.000-07:00

I was sitting at the computer this morning and I was resting my foot on a large stuffed dinosaur.

Allan Jr. sees this as says, "Don't step on my dinosaur!" He takes away the dinosaur and says, "How many times do I have to tell you, momma?"

(Um... you only told me once! :))

Out of the Mouths of Babes: When I Get Married

2010-06-30T08:06:00.000-07:00

Before we bought a home, we lived in an area where Allan Jr. had a close friend his age. We will call her Olivia. Olivia was one of Allan Jr.'s favorite friends and always looked forward to playing with her. Our family and Olivia's family have been living in different states for over a year now, but he still remembers her!

Recently, we've had a few discussions about marriage. He knows not to marry boys or relatives! Naturally, the first female non-relative he thinks of is Olivia. So lately, he's been convinced that he will marry Olivia. I told him that he can do that if she says, "yes," and that he can get married after his mission (he'd be about 21).

He has also been infatuated with the new bunk beds that his sisters have. He currently has a regular twin bed. He tells me he wants bunk beds in his room and that he wants to sleep on the top one. One day, he then proceeded to tell me, "When I get married, then Olivia can have the bottom bed."

Project: Girl's Bedroom, Almost Done!

2010-06-26T01:36:00.000-07:00

I am almost done putting together Adeline and Aurora's bedroom! The painting is done, and my husband and I finished the bunk beds at 1:15 am this morning. I thought I'd post a quick photo, and a more detailed post will come with the completion of the project (and when it's not 1:30 in the morning).

Project: Girl's Bedroom, Finally Some Color!

2010-06-22T20:53:00.000-07:00

It's about time! The room is turning pink!

As you can see from the photo, there was plenty of patchwork to do as well.

Some things I am learning:
It's best to let the wall texture dry overnight before painting... otherwise, I'll need to repatch and repaint those spots again! Lesson learned on the pink wall you see before you, as well as on the ceiling.

It is NOT necessary to dampen my roller with water prior to using it. Where did I get that funny idea? Who knows, but the excess water in my roller thinned the coat that I applied a little... so I'll need to apply a second coat. Lesson learned on the pink wall you see before you.

Colors appear much bolder when spread over a large area! Lesson learned on the very pink wall you see before you. So by the time I'm done with the room, there will probably be enough pink for someone to want to poke their eyes out. BUT the girls will love it, and that is what is important! (I should probably just plan on repainting before it comes time to sell the house).

Out of the Mouths of Babes: What Do You Need?

2010-06-22T08:24:00.000-07:00

Aurora has quite an extensive vocabulary. Unfortunately, being 2, her articulation isn't developed enough for me to understand everything that she says. Sometimes it's a guessing game of "What is Aurora saying?"

Earlier this morning, I was trying to guess an unidentifiable word...

Aurora: (unidentifiable word)

Me: "What?"

Aurora: (repeats unidentifiable word)

Me: (trying to guess) "You need to potty?"

Aurora: (shakes head 'no') "No." (repeats unidentifiable word)

Me: (not sure I heard correctly) "You need money?"

Aurora: "No!" (prepares to repeat herself, then quickly changes her mind, smiles, and says) "Yes!"

Project: Girl's Bedroom, One Bite At A Time

2010-06-17T20:34:00.000-07:00

So I had not made a lot of progress since the last time I posted! I need to hurry up and finish this room so that way I can move on to the nursery (and get it done before the baby gets here)!

I painted the small area just around the window white, and the small ceiling just above the window white. I still need to paint the main ceiling! I peeled off tape, laid down canvas and newspapers, taped them on, and did a lot of patching on the walls.

Still to do: washing the remaining walls and ceiling, more patching and texturing, and of course... PAINTING! I can't wait to cover that yellow with pink!

Out of the Mouths of Babes: I'm Shaking My What???

2010-06-14T16:18:00.000-07:00

Today, I took Adeline for her photo shoot with Rosalie Black. We were having some trouble getting some real smiles out of her, so I started doing some antics behind Rosalie to get Adeline to crack a real smile.

I started shaking my booty.

We got some real smiles from that.

As Adeline is smiling, Rosalie asks: "What is your mommy doing back there?"

Adeline declares, with a big smile on her face: "She's shaking her FAT!"

Um... thanks Adeline! I love you too! :)

Out of the Mouths of Babes: I Don't Want To...

2010-06-14T16:12:00.000-07:00

Adeline and Aurora were in the living room, when I hear Aurora start to cry.

Me: "Aurora! What's the matter?"
Aurora: "Adeline!"
Me: "Adeline, what did you do to Aurora?"
Adeline: (stares... and then says) "I don't want to tell you."

(She later admitted to biting).

Panic!

2010-06-13T16:08:00.000-07:00

Okay, I don't know if it's a nesting urge or what, but I am panicking! There's so many things I need to do before the baby gets here, and I'm not sure I'm going to be able to do all of them!

Eek!

What else can I say?

Eek!

Belly Bump Update

2010-06-07T11:44:00.000-07:00

Here's an updated pregnancy photo! I'm a little over 7 months pregnant now. Not much longer to go!

Allan Jr.'s Birthday

2010-06-01T21:58:00.000-07:00

So far, I've posted about my two daughters and my husband. I certainly haven't forgotten about my son, Allan Jr!

He is our firstborn child and our only son. We love him so much!

He's such a grateful little boy! He gets excited about getting clothes, which I'm sure isn't typical of most children. :)

He loves Monsters, Inc. He was thrilled to see Sully as one of his presents, and he is sleeping with him in bed tonight! :)

Naturally, he had a Monsters, Inc. cake. The white thing in the back is supposed to be Boo's door. It's a graham cracker with frosting on it. I'm not a professional cake decorator, so cut me some slack! :) He got to eat the "door" and claimed it was going through the door shredder!

Oooooooohhh... he likes the cake! He's counting how many candles there are!

Blowing out the candles!

I've said this before, but Allan Sr. is the best daddy in the whole world! I'm so glad that he is Allan Jr's father!

He had an awesome day, and it brought me great joy to see him so happy! Happy birthday Allan Jr., we love you so much! We are so lucky to have you as our son!

My Wonderful Husband!

2010-05-31T17:02:00.000-07:00

One of the greatest joys of my life is that I'm married to the man I love!

His life revolves his family. He holds his family a priority above all else. He shows great love and affection towards me and our children.

He is a wonderful father, and I'm glad he is the father of our children. He strives to make sure that our children are raised properly and that they know of our love for them.

He inspires me to be a good wife and a good mother. I love him so much, and I'm so lucky to call him mine!

Without Him, There Would Be No Joy

2010-05-30T12:00:00.000-07:00

Without Jesus Christ, there would be no joy.

Project: Girl's Bedroom, Getting Started

2010-05-29T22:03:00.000-07:00

This counts as my joy ride post for the day. Why is that? Because I love doing home improvement projects! It makes me happy to make my home beautiful, and I enjoy the work as well!

With the arrival of Anna at the end of July, we have decided to let Adeline and Aurora share a room, so Anna can have the nursery to herself. Since we bought the girls new furniture, I figured that now was a great time to paint the room and fix it up!

I love before and after photos. So I'm going to be posting some. I don't have any official "after" photos yet, because I'm not done! But I'll try to post a few "during" photos while I'm tackling the project. :)

Before: This is where Adeline's bed was. Allan Sr. moved it out of the room before I took the photo.

Before: Yellow walls. Markings on the walls. Blinds. Unvacuumed floor.

Before: Another yellow wall. This wall is where Adeline's dresser used to be.

Before: The closet. The door are still on right now, so you can't see how badly it needed painting!

During: I patched all the dings and cracks in the closet, and textured the bald spots. I painted the closet a bright white. This picture shows it in the drying stage. The wall to the right of the closet had lots of patchwork that was needed too, so you can see the plaster and texture that was on that wall as well. :)

Note the ledge on the ceiling, how the ceiling is a little lower next to the window...

During: This evening, I taped around the window and the "ledge." I don't know what else to call it. I'm going to paint the sides of the window, and the "ceiling" part of the ledge a bright white. I also did some patching in the window. I removed the blinds and there will be curtains in their place!

I am really enjoying the project. I am somewhat panicking a little though, because I want to hurry and get it done and get the girls moved in there! Once the girls are moved into their room, Anna's room is next! Even in a hurry, it's a fun project, and I can't wait to show you all what it looks like when it's done! :)

Pony Rides

2010-05-28T18:44:00.000-07:00

This counts as my Joy Ride post for the day. One of the greatest things that bring me joy is seeing my children have joy. They had joy from a new experience they had recently.

There is currently a carnival in our area, and they are offering pony rides. Our children love horses, but have never ridden one before. This was a first for everyone!

From the Time Capsule: Aurora's Birthday

2010-05-27T13:22:00.000-07:00

This counts as my Joy Ride post today. :)

Speaking of birthdays, Aurora recently celebrated one as well!

We love Aurora, she is a happy little girl!

She loves to look at books.

She loved opening her presents.

She likes Eeyore (and the rest of the Winnie the Pooh gang), so that's what was on top of her birthday cake. :) She also is a huge fruit fan, and probably wouldn't have eaten the cake if I didn't put blueberries on it!

She was happy to see the cake toppers!

Blowing out the candles.

Enjoying her cake and ice cream.

With the best daddy in the whole world!

Receiving a happy birthday hug from her sister. :)

We love you Aurora! You always make us smile! We're so happy you're a part of our family and that we got to celebrate your birthday with you!

Adeline's Birthday

2010-05-26T07:40:00.000-07:00

This counts for my Wednesday Joy Ride post. :)

This is our second child Adeline. She just celebrated her birthday.

She likes to act like a monkey. Here she is making monkey sounds.

She likes to dance. Here is her shaking her booty in her new Whimsy Attack skirt.

This little girl is one of the greatest joys of my life!

I love her sweet little face and voice!

I love it when she gets excited too. Here she is with a Cinderella doll, one of her favorite presents!

She also got Cinderella cake toppers on a rainbow chip birthday cake!

She was excited about those too.

Blowing out the candles!

One of the things I'm especially joyous about, is that this beautiful little girl has one of the best daddies in the whole wide world! He loves her very much. I am glad he is the father of my children!

Adeline, we're so glad that you had a wonderful birthday and that we had the special privilege of sharing it with you! We hope that you have many many more birthdays! We love you!

Joy Ride: Tuesday

2010-05-25T21:23:00.000-07:00

An unexpected moment of joy came today! We called a lawn care service to have them come turn our sprinklers on (we weren't exactly sure how to do it, and we didn't want to mess them up). They originally quoted us about $50.00.

When the guy came out, he looked at our sprinkler system and said, "This is too easy, I can't charge you $50.00 for this!" So he showed us how to turn it on (it really was easy), and left, refusing payment! Wow!

Joy Ride: Monday

2010-05-24T21:24:00.000-07:00

This week I'm going on a "Joy Ride" by invitation of my friend. I am supposed to find joy every day.

We have an electric lawnmower. We misplaced the security key, and it has been awhile since our lawn has been mowed! It's been getting quite shaggy. We have ordered a replacement security key, and have been waiting for it.

Yesterday, a neighbor offered to mow our front lawn for us. Today, she did it. Now our front lawn won't be the eyesore of the neighborhood. I'm am so glad to have wonderful neighbors that serve so unselfishly. I'm glad to live in a good neighborhood. That brings me joy.

Joy Ride

2010-05-18T07:44:00.000-07:00

I am accepting a challenge from my friend to find joy in every day and share it! The Joy Ride starts next week, on Monday, May 24th. I hope to be consistent with posting daily. Hopefully I'll at least get a few joyful posts in!

Photo Shoot: Aurora

2010-05-17T20:35:00.000-07:00

Selected photos of Aurora from a photo shoot by Rosalie Black.

Name Change

2010-05-17T07:08:00.000-07:00

Allan Sr. wants to change Anna's name. We don't know what it will be yet, so I'll just keep referring to her as Anna until we have something definite. I'm not sure that I'm going to like the new name as much as I like the one currently selected.

Seriously considering it!!!

2010-05-15T21:09:00.000-07:00

It seats four, and it fits through doorways! I think I want it.

Edit: I don't think I want it. I do want it!

From the Time Capsule: Halloween 2009

2010-05-11T13:11:00.000-07:00

A pirate

A golden fairy

A ladybug

From the Time Capsule: We're Homeowners!

2010-05-11T13:04:00.000-07:00

In October of last year, we became new homeowners. We needed a bigger place, and renting a 3-bedroom apartment in the area we lived in would have cost us at least as much as what our current mortgage payment is (on a 4-bedroom home) in our new area. Hmmm... stay crammed in an another apartment or buy a house? It was difficult to leave the area that we lived in, because I loved the people there... but being in a home has been well worth it (and it turns out that we like the people in this area too).

We had amazing help on both ends of our move! We had a bunch of men from our Church congregation help load the truck at our apartment. One of men, Kyle, used to work for a shipping company, and played Tetris with all of our stuff in the truck! We actually ordered too small of a truck, but with his mad Tetris skills, he made sure that everything fit! If we ever have to move again, we're seriously thinking of paying him to come load our truck for us!

At our new home, we had a group of men come from our new congregation. They got the whole truck unloaded in 30 minutes!

A couple days later, I figured I should take some pictures of the house so people could see what it looked like. It was nice and sunny on the day of our move. It was overcast when I took the pictures. Oh well.

The front of our new home.

The back of our new home (and Aurora). We love that deck.

So... I'm pretty sure you can guess what our children liked best about the new home! Okay, I love it too. I enjoy having a fenced backyard that they can play in, and I love that there is a playground there too!

Adeline pushing Aurora on the swing

Allan Jr.

We are so happy not to be crammed into a 2-bedroom apartment anymore! (Seriously, words can't express the huge relief it is not to be crammed into a small apartment... it was doable, but with 3 very hyper children... everyone needed some elbow room)! We love our new home!

From the Time Capsule: Adeline's First Haircut

2010-05-11T10:31:00.000-07:00

Adeline was 3 1/2 before we decided to cut her hair! I wouldn't have even cut it then except for that it was noticeably shorter in the front than it was in the back. So we decided to cut it all one length. I have some before pictures, but none immediately after the cut.

Adeline's hair in the front, prior to her haircut

Adeline's hair in the back (down to her waist!) before her haircut

From the Time Capsule: A Little Makeup

2010-05-11T10:26:00.000-07:00

Adeline likes to wear makeup. So she'll sneak putting it on when I'm not looking. Here is her attempt at mascara.

From the Time Capsule: Food Fest Grand Finale

2010-05-11T09:25:00.000-07:00

At least... I HOPE this is the grand finale... meaning I hope that nothing like this ever happens again! :) So far, we've survived this food fest and this food fest.

Food of choice? Flour. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves!

To top it off, this is when we lived in an apartment. Someone was coming to inspect our apartment that day! Yeah, I panicked. I took all the clothes off the kids and beat them over the balcony (I beat the clothes, not the kids)... along with a few stuffed animals.

I then washed off the toys, wiped out the wagon, swept the fireplace... and attempted to quarantine the kids to keep them from creating a further mess.

I started vacuuming and there was so much flour that it actually clogged my vacuum and... broke it. Eek! There was still flour on the floor and an inspector coming! I was desperate, and fortunately, Aimee was kind enough to loan me her vacuum... and we prayed that her vacuum wouldn't bust either!

Fortunately, her vacuum did not bust. I still worry that I may have returned it to her with the eternal fate of puffing flour every time that she vacuums. (Aimee, if your vacuum died... or ever dies... of flour complications, I will SERIOUSLY buy you a new one)!

So huge thanks to Aimee for saving my butt! Now we never leave open bags of flour around. It's all sealed in buckets that are very difficult to open!

From the Time Capsule: Food Fest Part III

2010-05-11T09:07:00.000-07:00

Okay, so this really isn't a food fest. Certainly not like this one, or this one.

Apparently Adeline thought that Aurora needed some yogurt. But as you can see... that's not yogurt! Oh well... she liked it anyway!

From the Time Capsule: Matching Dresses

2010-05-10T17:49:00.000-07:00

One of the best things about having girls is dressing them up in matching dresses! As far as I know, this is the best photo I have of them in this set.

From the Time Capsule: Food Fest Part II

2010-05-10T13:12:00.000-07:00

Remember the first food fest? Well, they did it again.

Here is Allan Jr. presenting the food of choice. Notice how it is smeared all over the toddler bed behind him. It was also smeared all over the other two twin beds located in that room.

They even had the courtesy to wash Aurora's hair with it. It almost looks like a lot of blood... but it's just ketchup!

Well at least they had fun, right?