Anderson Family

Handwriting

2012-02-01T14:26:00.001-08:00

The other day, Michael took a pen and did this:

I was thrilled! I have done some coaching on writing out some letters with him, but we certainly had not hit up all the letters in the alphabet. We practically did the letter "O" a lot.

Preschool has definitely helped him, for sure.

And, he's just a smart kid on top of that.

Little things like this are so exciting for me to witness.

Singing, "I'm so glad when Daddy comes home"

2012-01-26T19:59:00.001-08:00

Of course, he has to goof off when he sings it too.

His goofing off reminds me of primary when I would sing "Follow the Prophet" with my friend, Katelyn. During the verse about Enoch it says, "People in his city did just what they should." My mom was the singing leader at the time and as part of her visual reminders of the words, the city was represented by a picture of the Seattle Space Needle. So, instead of singing the correct lyrics, my friend and I would obnoxiously belt out, "People IN SEATTLE did just what the should."

I love my random Seattle memories. Like I even knew what I was talking about. :-)

Proof that we celebrate Christmas

2012-01-25T11:04:00.002-08:00

Scentsy Giveaway

2012-01-16T09:45:00.000-08:00

As most of my readers know, I am now a Scentsy consultant. It's been fun coming up with ways to get my name out there, sometimes challenging. Luckily, a coupon blogger in California (whose blog I follow) agreed to host a Scentsy giveaway on her site!

Go and enter here

Never heard of Scentsy? After you choose a fragrance that you absolutely love, your scented wax comes packed in a bar. Each bar (as shown above), has 8 cubes in it. You simply break off one cube and place it into your warmer, which hides a low-watt bulb inside, to melt down the wax releasing a nice fragrance into your home. It's non-toxic, no flame, and the wax doesn't dissipate into the air.

I obviously love Scentsy enough and can't even believe I signed up as a consultant. But, if this is a product you like too, or you know a candle lover, please help me get my name out there!

All-Growed Up

2012-01-05T13:17:00.006-08:00

Guess who started preschool this week?

And he came home with an expanded vocab after his first day. "Mom, did you know I rode an excavator at school today?"

Excavator. He said it as clear as a bell. I'm thinking he's referring to one of those little playground toys where you use two handles and dig the dirt....? In any case, I was astounded that a word with that many syllables came out of his mouth.

And then I just stared at him all throughout dinner. And he made silly faces, and told stories that made sense, and he was just holding conversation with us. And I began to see the toddler years quickly moving to the past. *Sigh*

Okay, I'll stop before you start crying.

On a different note, I had a dream last night that my dear mother gave birth to a little girl. She didn't tell anybody until she actually had the baby, and we were all definitely surprised. You'll be surprised to know this wasn't the first time I've had a dream about my own mother giving birth. The first time was when I was in college. In that dream, my mom told me at a party that she had just given birth to a baby boy. And then as our conversation went on, she revealed that the baby wasn't actually hers, it was mine, and his name was Douglas. Dreams are so weird, right? But I held Douglas and then I woke up.

And it only gets cheesier from here.

All day long I thought of that dream, and somewhere on campus, it clicked "Douglas is Richard's middle name!" At the time, I had a wild crush on Richard, but he had yet to acknowledge my existence (in other words, he was dating another girl), but I told myself, if I ever marry Richard I'm going to name our first boy, "Douglas". And guess what, I did both: marry Richard and name my first born, Douglas. But we call him Michael, because Richard likes that name better. Haha, the story behind a name.

And now our little Douglas Michael is all growed up. (Hold back those tears. Growing up happens to all of us at some point). Secretly, I'm hoping this dream I had last night was a foreshadowing of a baby girl to come. Wouldn't that be nice.

Too Poor For Pants

2012-01-04T15:49:00.003-08:00

Credit to friend, Aaron for titling this photo

Michael Stories

2012-01-04T15:46:00.000-08:00

Yesterday during the dinner prayer, Michael said, "Bless Mom not to put soap in my mouth tomorrow or that it will taste good, if I say bad words."

I have never actually put soap in his mouth, and have only used that threat once in his entire life.

He told us he was just preparing because he had a feeling he was going to get angry at me tomorrow, and say a bad word.

•••••••••••••••••

I heard Michael in the carseat.....what's the word?......salivating/making spit and then doing that annoying sucking sound to keep the spit in. (How would you explain it?)

After hearing it over and over, I asked "What are you doing?"

Michael replied, "I'm thirsty, so I'm drinking my spit!"

Have a good day

2012-01-03T12:51:00.000-08:00

Good Riddance

2012-01-01T14:47:00.000-08:00

So long, 2011

LMAO

2011-12-31T20:13:00.000-08:00

A long, long time ago before Michael could walk and talk, he produced this adorable dancing video for us to admire. But this week, he has excelled above and beyond in his dancing skills. We have been laughing our heads off at this.

Dance parties and Shooting games

2011-12-30T07:46:00.000-08:00

When I was a little Gillespie I would always play with my little neighbor friends, the Heisses. Now we're all grown up and some of us have children of our own. We were all in Utah over Christmas, and it was fun to have the new little generations playing together. First games, building guns out of legos. Even the girls got involved in this one.

Uncle Philip got a drumset last year for Christmas, and I had yet to even hear him play. He agreed to play for a bit. The kids came flocking in, and danced their little hearts out. So cute!

Volleyball

2011-12-29T15:20:00.000-08:00

One of my very favorite things I did this holiday season was play volleyball a couple of times with family. There was so much laughter involved too, it was out of control. When it was time for lunch, I went to find Michael, and found him and his cousin (well technically second-cousin) playing their own volleyball game in the other room with a table as their net.

Preschool Santa

2011-12-29T15:16:00.000-08:00

I took Michael with me to drop off our preschool hold application, and little did I know I would walk into the end-of-year preschool program in front of parents. The teachers were so fabulous, and didn't give me a second to even feel embarrassed; they just invited us to sit down and watch, which we did. Then Santa made his appearance at the end. Michael was so excited, and looked forward to going up and telling him that he wanted "Go Diego Go" toys. He got a candy cane instead.

That weekend, we attended the ward Christmas party and Santa made his appearance there as well. When Michael saw him he said, "I don't want to sit on his knee. That's a different Santa." He still went up and showed the Different Santa the craft he made, but refused to sit on his knee when Santa invited him.

The photographer pushed Michael once more to sit on Santa. Michael, firm in his thoughts, sat on the floor next to Santa. Eventually, he stood in front of Santa and smiled his big cheesy grin. That won over the crowd, and even Santa was laughing too much that he forgot to give Michael a candy cane (which believe me, I was grateful for)!

Book Recommendation

2011-12-18T16:40:00.000-08:00

If you haven't read this, read it.

I have been flying through these chapters, and all the footnotes (which are just as insightful as the writing itself) and been loving every page. I especially loved the beginning chapters about Joseph Smith's mother and her family and their living circumstances. I look around at my beautiful apartment, and think "How lucky am I?" and then imagine squeezing 9 people in this living space. I am definitely grateful that Lucy Smith kept a journal and kept records of events happening around her as pertaining to her family, and especially Joseph's life. (But those who know me, know I'm very partial to journal writing).

Growing up in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, I have heard many stories of Joseph's life and highlights of glorious events that happened around him. Oftentimes these stories are repeated over and over again and with time some events have just kinda become that, a story, with no real fascination to me. And although many of these stories are also in this book, it is surrounded by context and characters that I never knew were present and these stories have become real to me. They are exciting to read.

I'm also grasping the personalities of people like Martin Harris, Oliver Cowdery and David Whitmer more wholly than I have ever before. Growing up, I just envisioned them as nice people who helped Joseph out. But now, they are remarkable to me. Real men who had to learn for themselves that the true Gospel was unfolding. Many had their own preparatory events unfold in their lives before even meeting Joseph Smith. Things happen for a reason. People enter our lives for a reason. And I believe it is just as true then as it is now.

Anyway, there's my book recommendation for the week.

Richard's Birthday

2011-12-16T10:55:00.000-08:00

This post is very belated.
Richard requested a Guava cake for his birthday. I've never made this before, but was happy with the turnout. My gelatin on top was a little too runny, and I didn't really build a wall of frosting & coolwhip around the top so well so the guava gelatin kind of dripped off. But, you can't beat the taste!

I put 28 candles on there. Never again. I kept burning my fingers and only ended up lighting 26 of them. Next year, I'm purchasing number candles.

We invited some friends over for cake and ice cream, and then two of those couples joined us in going to an improv show. It was funny and great company. We were lucky because we got the very LAST tickets. Phew!

move&bake

2011-12-15T18:39:00.000-08:00

I am the type of neighbor who loves to share. Usually, I bake a large batch of cookies or cupcakes, eat just enough, and then pawn them off. In my last apartment, they acted more like a bribe--Dear Neighbor, please like us, and please don't mind all the noise our little family of three creates. And, in other ways they were a thank you--like, Neighbor, thank you for putting up with all the noise our little family of three creates.

I think it worked. Although, I should've delivered downstairs a few more times.

Once again, I have to mention my all-time favorite post. When we first moved to Seattle, I felt very confined to my apartment. I had a newborn, no friends, and no idea what the city had to offer. So instead of getting out--I stayed in and baked, a lot. Within 6 weeks, I had baked over a dozen varieties of cookies.

With our recent move, I thought I would go on another baking kick. Tis the holiday season, right? A couple of weeks ago, I did whip up some chocolate cupcakes and pomegranate icing, but I hated the cupcakes that I baked. So, I tried a different recipe. And I don't know what happened....

...I totally botched these cupcakes. After those many hours in the kitchen I was ready to throw in the towel to cupcakes.

But then I remembered these cute cupcake liners and toppers that I bought at an after-Christmas sale. That motivated me once again. I chose a basic chocolate cake recipe with plain ol' delicious vanilla buttercream frosting. I topped them with crushed Andes Peppermint Crunch and they were just perfect!

They didn't even make it to the neighbor's home. Instead, they went to a "Christmas Party" which really turned into a "Adios Anderson Family" party that my dear Seattle friends put together. We have some of the bestest friends in the whole wide world.

Talk About Talent!

2011-12-01T10:28:00.000-08:00

I recently came across an autobiography that I wrote in 5th Grade. Our teacher provided us with sheets of paper that prompted questions that we answered. It is quite a hilarious read, and definitely the school project I won't be throwing away ever!

One page is about talents, and this is what it says:

Although I've only been around 10 years, I've managed to accomplish some pretty neat things! Here is a list of just some of the things I've done: swimming, basketball, piano, playing, reading, singing, violin, writing storys, playing with cat

I am especially talented at eating a lot
And the accomplishment that I am the most proud of is that when we were having a big dinner I was so hungry, and most of the food I didn't like so I ate 3 tacos, one serving of salad, and I drank 2 cups of water

When I accomplished this I felt very, very full

I'm also pretty sure I was the hottest thing walking the elementary halls that year.

Goodbye "Ciatill"

2011-11-20T15:01:00.004-08:00

On June 1, 1997 I wrote about my friend Sarah's baptism. I ended the entry by writing, "...at 4:00 on the same day she and her family went on a vacation to Ciatill somewhere in Washington."

I absolutely love this entry. I love being able to interpret amidst my wretched cursive and little emotion, that I had absolutely no clue where my friend was going and just wanted her to come home. I remember her describing the Space Needle to me, and I, well I just gave her a blank stare.

But when I read my journal now, I think about how lucky she was to go on vacation to Seattle!

I am full of so much emotion today. I just got home from church--my last day in this wonderful ward where I have made so many friends. When I think about why I love Seattle so much, the number one reason has to be because of my friends. I have some really fantastic friends--but then again, who wouldn't say that about their friends?

I also love the majesty of living in a big city. There is something brilliantly alluring about sitting in a lot of traffic. Okay, okay not so much. But, really I don't mind how busy and large everything is. It's absolutely breathtaking driving into the city at night, and seeing all the speckled lights on the tall buildings. Seriously, the first time I was driving home on the freeway at night, I just wanted to pull over and stare. I loved inviting visitors to go to Pikes Place Market and to do downtown shopping. I like driving past the Space Needle and reminding Michael that it can't fly. I love that Seattle will be the first place he will remember as home.

I remember the day when I discovered there was a beach just a few miles away. And then another, and another. Hello! I loved being in walking distance to multiple parks and meeting other moms there. I like how every weekend there seems to be a festival for something, or someone, somewhere. There is always a reason to get out (and sometimes a reason to stay in). And the weather, to be honest, I love Seattle weather. The summertime is perfect. The rain, well at least it's not snow!

I know we are just moving to the other side of the lake. But to me, it's a brand new adventure. I am anticipating that I will end up loving it just as much as I loved my experience here. I wonder who my friends will be, how I will acclimate with my new ward, and if Michael will end up starting school there. The unknown is a little overwhelming (and so is packing).

I am really grateful to my friend Tysha for taking some awesome pictures of my little family around Greenlake, one of my favorite locations in Seattle. These pictures will forever remind me of the good times (and the not-so-good-times) that made this chapter of my life so sentimental to me.

Halloween 2011

2011-11-16T10:54:00.001-08:00

Oh boy, did I miss Halloween? Richard knew at the beginning of the year that he was going to build Michael's costume. Of course, we all didn't start putting it together until two weeks before. The costume wasn't quite to his liking, but it was cute enough.

Introducing Bumblebee! (the Transformer...in case you are confused, because some people were confused when we would refer to Michael as "Bumblebee")

We went to Richard's work party on Halloween and ate a yummy lunch. And played with balloons. Richard had every desire to dress up as Optimus Prime but there simply wasn't enough time to get that project going.

I didn't dress up, but I think I'll buy these next year.

Despite going to a neighborhood business trick-or-treat, the ward trunk-or-treat, and then trick-or-treating with some friends on Halloween night there is definitely no more candy left at this house.

Carcassone

2011-11-03T17:50:00.000-07:00

Recently R & I went to a friend's home and played Carcassone. The next day Michael wanted to play the game with me. We got things started when he started talking about which color was going to attack the red guys. I corrected him by saying, "Michael, this isn't a shooting game. It's about getting points."

His reply, "Oh. Yes. So, you point this guy at that guy and then shoot."

Here's a video of some of the battle. And Michael saying, "Mom" a lot. I haven't counted how many times he calls for my attention in this video, but holy cow kid! I'm sitting right in front of you! I can hear you. Say what you want to say!

the Difference Between Girls & Boys

2011-10-27T22:54:00.001-07:00

I know Michael is acutely aware of the differences between girls and boys. But there's one thing that I don't think has quite clicked for him: Girls don't really prefer shoot & fight & "smack that bad guy" games.

I think Aunt Karen came to appreciate her sweet granddaughters much more after being around Michael for a week.

"Hey!" Michael yells, looking at Karen, "Hey...hey, uh, hey...."

At this point, I prompt him, "Michael, her name is Aunt Karen."

"Hey, Aunt Karen, watch this!" At this moment, Michael could be holding anything from a pillow, to a lego, or a piece of lint, and as soon as Karen looks over Michael throws it up in the air and starts batting it like the "bad guy" it is.

Or he'd hand her a toy, "Let's fight!"

"Umm, no, Michael, I don't really want to fight with it right now," Aunt Karen replies. I'm sure Michael couldn't understand why she wouldn't want to play such a fascinating game with him.

I'm glad I had a break from these games for a while. The week after Karen went home, I went to Utah for a weekend trip (kid free)! I stayed at Grandma's house, and played with my 3-year-old niece, Emily. It was fun to curl her long blonde hair on Sunday morning (something I wish I could do more often). While I was doing my own hair in the bathroom, Emily came in and picked up two of my bobbypins from the counter and immediately started naming them.

"This one's the mommy," pointing to the one bobbypin, "and this one's the daddy." Then she proceeded to walk those hairpins around the sink and into their homes.

I stood in awe. Michael would have never done that.

It was nice to come home and see my three-year-old again. I'm good at getting him partially dressed (as many of my pictures prove). This picture was taken the day I got home from Utah. While sitting at the computer, Michael pulled out some pennies to play with, and guess what? He immediately named one of them.

"This one's the daddy...."

Oh wait, I don't want to steer you wrong. That's not really how that sentence ended. One penny was set aside and he called it "the daddy....warrior" and the rest of the pennies began a deep, cutting battle with one another protecting that daddy warrior penny. Yup, that's my boy.

Boys and girls are different. Very different indeed.

Snoqualmie Falls

2011-10-17T10:10:00.001-07:00

We had a visitor all last week-Richard's Aunt Karen! It was nice to have two cars, and to get out and do something out-of-the-ordinary everyday. We also played lots of Mexican Train Dominoes and ate a lot of sugar everyday. Oy!

Our first days adventures included a drive to Snoqualmie. We visited Snoqualmie Falls, which was incredible. I didn't realize such a powerful waterfall was just down the street from Richard's work. It was breath-taking.

After the falls, we drove to downtown Snoqualmie and walked down a path with rusty parked trains. We read some of the information posted along the trail about these old trains and laughed at it's many spelling mistakes.

After trains, we stopped by Richard's work and had lunch with him and then looked at his desk. Very exciting stuff indeed. Richard has already adorned his desk with a couple of Transformers.

The final stop of the day was a trip to Theo Chocolate Factory. We went on the tour, ate lots of samples, and looked hot with our hair nets on. Michael hated having it on his head, and was quite thrilled with all of the information he was learning about cocoa beans. Can't you tell? Sorry for the fuzzy I-Phone pictures. There wasn't a lot of light, and I was trying to sneak this picture of Karen intently listening to our tour guide. Karen learned one thing--90% cocoa chocolate bars are not her favorite thing to sample. I should've gotten a picture of her face when she took a bite of that!

United States of America

2011-10-12T07:33:00.001-07:00

This is kind of an old video. This has been a fun puzzle to do with Michael. He's proud to say he lives in Washington and that Philip lives in Utah.

Adventures

2011-09-23T13:16:00.000-07:00

A morning at the Locks where we observed the salmon traveling on the fish ladder. A few of these salmon were exceptionally large. It was pretty amazing!

This young boy has finally started to play on the swings. He has never been fond of them, so it's nice to see him enjoy them now (as long as he's on his tummy).

Richard works near Snoqualmie Falls and the old trains. We enjoyed walking around and gazing into some of them one afternoon. I mostly adore this pictures because Richard looks so sharp. Michael on the other hand, is still wearing his pajama shirt because it was a rough day, and I justified it because we were going to see the trains later anyway.

50 Bar Challenge

2011-09-16T09:38:00.000-07:00

Update: It's still Friday, and I've got 40 bars to go! That's absolutely fantastic! If you don't want to pay shipping (by buying through the site) please tell me what you'd like, and I'll get the product to you. Thanks for all of you that have gotten this competition off to a great start!!!

I promise you that my blog will not be completely overrun with Scentsy products now. It's just new, exciting and on my mind 99% of the time as I'm getting this business rolling.

My Star Director has challenged me, and others to sell 50 Bars in 5 days. I know I can do it, and the competition aspect is really driving me! I am so happy I signed on right when the fall fragrances came out, and I'm sure you'll find plenty of scents that you just love. My favorites are: Sugar Cookie, Pumpkin Roll, Coconut Lemongrass, and Kahiko Hula (pineapple-scent).

Scentsy bars come in over 80 flavors. $5 each, 3 for $14, or 6 for $25.

In short: Scentsy is a really neat product that is super simple to understand. A Bar has 8 cubes of wax, each cube giving approximately 25 hours of fragrant melting time. You just place a cube into one of the warmers to melt the fragrant wax, and walah!--your home will smell fabulous. It's a candle without the flame, and the wax cannot burn you which is important to me with having a 3-year-old running around. Their stinkin' cute holiday selection is now online too.

Call or message me, or order online at https://dianaanderson.scentsy.us/Buy?partyId=52163557

I will be placing an order as soon as I hit my 50 Bar goal! Thanks, friends!

Housewife

2011-09-10T15:37:00.006-07:00

Just a few of the wonderful things I've done this week:
• Made a new batch of homemade laundry soap

• Baked Peach-Mango & Cream cupcakes for a holiday/birthday celebration with friends. These cupcakes have been on my radar for a year. It was about time.

• Canned 20 pounds of peaches in record time with Richard's help

• 4 sunny days at the park

• Saved $24 with coupons in one transaction at Target, getting 6 items free. :)

• I AM NOW A SCENTSY CONSULTANT! Have you heard of them, or used Scentsy products before? I'd love to know. I really like their products, and am excited to be a consultant for them. View my website to see what it's is all about: https://dianaanderson.scentsy.us/

I'm trying to get started with hosting some parties and introducing the products to those who have never had them before. So far all the feedback I have heard is that people "love their Scentsy" which makes things pretty relaxed for me.

Please, please, please if you want an excuse for a girl's night, or already have something going on and you'd love to have a Scentsy sampling on the side, let me know! Obviously I'm talking Washingtonians here, but if anyone wants to host an online party, we can arrange that and the host can receive free products as well! Think Christmas gifts--I know I am!

Electric Warmer. Keep it plain, or apply a DIY Theme

This is a DIY Theme Pack under the Close-Out tab.
I love this one a lot!

My Crafty Side

2011-09-01T16:03:00.001-07:00

Look what I made recently! I actually created this morning & night routine chart several months ago, but wanted to get it laminated before I actually put it to use. However spending the money on laminating didn't fall under "need" in my budgeting. So I was excited to receive some birthday money, and headed to the print shop! (Huge splurge, right?)

Each rectangle is laminated separately and I have extra blank sheets, so I can add/take away things as necessary. Michael for now is just using a small magnet to mark his spot. He was so enthusiastic about it this morning, which made me super happy. No negotiating about sitting on the potty, or eating his breakfast before playing. And, of course, it was nice to start the day with a hug & kiss. I have high hopes that things will go really smooth for the bedtime routine as well.

The other activity I am super excited to show off is a Preschool Pack that I printed from Homeschoolcreations website. When I spotted the Star Wars one, I knew Michael (and R) would be in love with it.

The entire pack includes tracing, measuring and counting exercises. Michael's favorite thus far is the matching games. In the following pictures he is matching up the featured shapes with the word. And yes, he is sitting at his own makeshift school desk.

So, maybe we didn't get completely dressed this morning.

I printed it at home on regular printer paper, but next time I will take a file to a print shop to use their ink and get some of it on cardstock. I put the write-on pages into sheet protectors so Michael can use dry erase markers. It all took me less than 24 hours to put it together, and this is just one of many themes. I thought it was super cute.

an entry :)

2011-08-31T15:53:00.000-07:00

I recently talked to Jessie on the phone about couponing and gave her a few words of advice. I loved talking to her about it, and it kind of made me think about having some "starter tips" written out somewhere, so when someone asked questions I could forward the info to them.

But, I don't really feel like doing that right now.

On a different note, I just started "following" a couple more blogs on that related topic a couple of days ago. Of course, I found my way to them because of giveaways they were hosting. And then today I found out I won $100 from one of the blogs! I was super stoked.

Anyway, I just submitted a simple 6 ingredient recipe on A Thrifty Mom's site. (Hers is the couponing-type blog I read most regularly). This recipe entry was my entry into another giveaway. And this post, well, it gives me an extra entry.

Just to clarify, I really don't spend my entire day just entering giveaways. Although, there are plenty to go around.

It ain't a birthday without cupcakes

2011-08-29T16:29:00.000-07:00

For my birthday, we met the Mahelona's at Claim Jumpers for dinner. It was delicious, and I got a complimentary red velvet cupcake!

After dinner, Twyla, Aaron and Ben came over to our house (sleeping bags in tow). Michael was so excited that Ben was sleeping over. Then surprise! surprise! Twyla pulls out a pan of chocolate cupcakes. Richard starts putting paper, markers, scissors, and mini marshmallows on the table. The plan? Turn our cupcakes into pirate ships. It turned out really fun, and Rich and Z stopped in for a minute and added their own designs. Here's the debut of our pirate ship cupcakes. The snowman pirates are my favorite. ;) Which is your favorite?

Thank you Twyla and Richard!

The next day, we had a Hart family picnic to attend. We enjoyed a wonderful picnic in the shade and then Uncle Wes, Uncle Paul, cousin Ryan, and we headed to the Family Fun Center in Tukwila. We did a few rounds in the batting cages, then Richard played mini-golf. Michael and I went inside to the (air conditioned) arcade area. My favorite game was the Wheel of Fortune game. :) Michael and I got over 105 tickets in one game. And then just collected one ticket here and there in other games. Here are a couple of the "great prizes" that he got.

And to top off the evening, Julie brought me some cupcakes she made. Of course I took a picture of them before eating them. They were gorgeous, and delicious. And Julie recently told me she reads my blog, so I must shout out: THANK YOU JULIE! :)

It was a great birthday weekend. I am now a-quarter-of-a-century in years. I always thought I'd feel old when I turned 25. But, I don't. Probably because most of my friends are older than me, and I can never seem to catch up.

Haircut

2011-08-29T09:49:00.001-07:00

I had a fabulous birthday weekend. Richard did a great job at keeping most of it a surprise. On Saturday morning, Richard planned on my friend Twyla taking me to go get my haircut (something I've been talking about doing for 2 months). My hair was a bunch of split ends and definitely needed a cut. It's funny how different my hair color looks in both of these pictures. No, I did not color it. It's taking a bit of getting used to, but overall I'm pleased with the change up and my great stylist.

Cherry & Almond Cupcakes

2011-08-24T16:03:00.000-07:00

Michael is utterly obsessed with birthdays, and is about as anxious for my birthday as I am. I told him a few days ago that my birthday was in 5 days, and he's been so kind as to remind me every morning how many more days I have to wait. This morning he pulled out his pom-pom jar and requested another jar to play with. Then he said, "I have 2 jars just like you have 2 more days [until your birthday]!" I was impressed with his object lesson.

I woke up this morning with cupcakes on my mind. I am having a girl's night tonight, and that's motivation enough to get some baking jitters out and then share the sweetness so I don't overstuff myself (well, that was the plan at least--I've already eaten 4).

Using my favorite Theo bar, Cherry & Almond, as inspiration I whipped up a white cake mixed with finely chopped almonds, diced cherries, almond & vanilla extract, and a healthy handful of chocolate chips. The cupcakes were most delicious warm (because I couldn't wait) although I feel they borderline a muffin. But because I slathered them with cherry cream cheese frosting, they are worthy of Cupcake status.

Happy birthday to me (in 2 days, of course).

What heaven sees in you

2011-08-24T15:29:00.001-07:00

We learned this song when I was in young women's. Watching this video makes me want to learn photography. Amazing pictures, and lovely song.

Prayers and Toys

2011-08-22T11:03:00.000-07:00

I have been asking Michael repeatedly this morning to pick up his toys that are scattered all over the floor. Obviously, my requests are going unanswered because he's doing exactly opposite by actually pulling out more toys. If I was following the steps according to the book, "Beyond Timeout" (a book I highly recommend), I'm sure this battle would have been over an hour ago. Instead, I am trying to do my own things on the side and not really pushing the picking up toys issue. I have just been impossibly wishing that somewhere in Michael's brain it would click that he wants to just be obedient to his mother.

Right....

Anyway, sometime later Michael walked into my bedroom where I was kneeling by my bed. He and I talked for a minute about prayers, and of course we talked about how he can ask Heavenly Father to help him with the desire to pick up his toys (among other things). Michael liked that idea and said, "Yes, we should ask Jesus to come over and pick up my toys for me!"

Right....

From my Journal

2011-08-11T17:59:00.005-07:00

I was 8 years old when I started writing in a journal, and good thing because my handwriting needed some help! I love journals, and I love that I started writing as early as I did even if I wasn't consistent in the slightest. Hopefully, you have a laugh at some of my childhood thoughts, and if this doesn't inspire you to start writing (if you aren't already), I hope you find something that will.

November 11, 1994
This is the worst day of my life. No sleepovers during school years can't go to Classic Skating with my friends intell my chores are done I wish I could do whatever I wanted to do but my mom and dad always boss us aroud. I know they still love me (heart around "love me") but I still wish I was a mom. But, I'm going to be nicer. Diana.

It's true-I dreamed about being a mom since who knows when. I once had 50 imaginary children, 24 boys and 26 girls. We lived in a school building, and our mode of transportation was a school bus. And, of course, all of my stuffed animals were "my children." I kept a notebook of their names, birthdays, likes/dislikes. You'd think with all this prep I'd be a Supermom by now, but I know Michael already has thoughts similar to mine, "Gosh Mom, stop telling me to do my chores!" I should be nicer. ;)

November 12, 1994
This is another worse day of my life. have to clean my room always ~~and I can't go skating because of my dumb sister named Suzanne we call her Suzy for short.~~
I'm sorry Suzy. I don't know what you did to dear me, but don't worry I apparently retracted that statement at some point as you can tell by that line being crossed out, and I totally love your guts!

And now for more important news, I give to you a quick run down of what some of my family was up to on February 10, 1997 (This was only a few pages after 1994--so obviously I didn't write that much) I really don't have a lot to say so I'll tell you what's going on. Suzy is practicing violin, Philip is crying, Mom is cleaning the bathroom, James is just standing in our room, and I'm writing in here.

On January 15, 1998 there is a chocolate cake smudge that Philip smeared on my page, and I circled it with my pen and made note of the act. Haha!

From all of this, however, it was a couple sentences at the end of a journal entry that inspired me to blog today at all. But that will just have to wait until another day.

Felt & Blueberry Cupcakes

2011-08-03T21:22:00.002-07:00

Look at this adorable chocolate felt cupcake, with a red cherry heart on top, and chocolate sprinkles of course. This is just one of the many varieties Michael can piece together from his new cupcake craft I made for him last week. I downloaded the template here from MoneySavingMom.com. We took it to church on Sunday, and he loved it! I still think I love it more. I'm just mildly fond of cupcakes, if didn't know that by now.

Here's the most recent cupcake I baked up for dessert when we fed the missionaries. It's a lemon-blueberry cupcake. The frosting has fresh blueberry puree, but I definitely added too much of it and it was runny. I didn't want to end up with a lot of extra frosting, so I only added enough powdered sugar to stiffen it up just a bit. In the end, however, I loved how the frosting fell around the cupcake,. All I did was put a small dab on top, and after a minute, it creeped its way down and domed evenly over the top of the cake. They were perfectly delicious in taste and I ate four of them--completely disregarding my sugar-intake goal of the week.

Kickboxing

2011-08-03T21:05:00.003-07:00

A friend and I bought a groupon for 4 kickboxing classes, and one personal training session a while ago, and it was the best purchase I have made in a long time. It has been so great to get an intense workout and do something amazingly fun. We did kicking on Monday, and today my upper thighs and butt are incredibly sore. It's been so great though. This last time I went, we got our free gloves and Michael was so excited when he saw them. I showed him the moves that I learned in the class, and I think he believes I'm the greatest mom in the world now because I'm the one showing him the punching and kicking moves (one of his favorite activities).

Michael will probably regret one day that I took these pictures of him when he was only wearing underwear.

Just a plug: If you haven't signed up for Groupon yet, sign up here. After your first purchase, I'll get $10 in credit. ;)

KidsBowlFree!

2011-08-03T20:56:00.000-07:00

At the beginning of summer, all the "thrifty deal" blogs I follow advertised this great deal from the site kidsbowlfree.com. It sounded interesting, but I just passed it by telling myself it was an unnecessary expense this year. Instead, Michael and I have spent a lot of time at Greenlake wading pool (completely free and out in the beautiful sunshine).

But yesterday I was itching to do something different. I have a coupon for buy one get one free entrance to the zoo. But, then when Richard said he wanted to join, I thought bowling would be equally as fun. Then that site came to memory. It really ended up being a great deal afterall, even if I purchased it late into the summer. I just purchased the one week adult pass (13.95) that gives Richard and I two free games everyday as long as Michael is with us (he automatically gets two free games everyday for the rest of summer just for signing up). Richard has his own bowling shoes--so the price of shoes was cut down. That deal paid for itself by far on our first use.

After bowling yesterday we stopped at Fred Meyer, and I saw this shirt that I thought looked like it belonged to a pro-bowler. I think Richard should wear it from now on. Not that he's pro. I mean, his highest score was 136 yesterday (which was definitely higher than my 101 score). But, he used to bowl much higher all the time.

I couldn't stop smiling the whole time we played. I felt like it was "the good ol' days" when we and a bunch of friends would go bowling all the time (thus the reason his friends and I pitched in and bought him bowling shoes for his birthday one year. He still has the note we attached to them.)

So, to make good use of this one-week pass, we went again today! (After Michael and I spent the morning at the wading pool with friends, of course). Our scores were even worse today. And Michael was pretty worn out after the 6th frame, which means we may not end up going tomorrow to give him a break.

Life

2011-07-30T09:41:00.000-07:00

Video #1--At Central Market. They had little carts! I love little carts.

Video #2--Michael explaining the game of LIFE.

What do you think?

2011-07-26T08:59:00.000-07:00

Sugar&Greens Blog

2011-07-19T10:12:00.000-07:00

I've started another blog called Sugar & Greens. It's a place where I'll journal nutritional knowledge as I read and learn, and also track some of my personal goals. Right now it's not too exciting, as I've just been writing about how much sugar I stuff into my mouth, but I hope to start incorporating healthy recipes, guest posts of friends and their struggles with weight loss and nutrition, and research on organic vs conventional food and home cleaning products. Click here to follow along!

Swimming

2011-07-18T08:27:00.006-07:00

This summer has already included a lot of swimming for our family. Michael and I will sometimes head up to the Mountlake Terrace indoor pool, but now that the sun is coming out we've been enjoying swimming in Enumclaw with friends, or going to the Greenlake Wading Pool *My absolute favorite go-to destination.

Last time we were there, I was wishing for ice cream. Then I spotted a guy sitting with his ice cream stand! Sweet. I got my chocolate bar, and Michael requested the Spiderman frozen treat. (Next time I'll just share because the thing melted faster than he could eat it, and he didn't understand that he couldn't just leave it with me for a little while to play).

And some random iPhone video of our swimming. (Michael was scared of the big pool and preferred to play outside of it the majority of the time). And the other video is really wiggly (because we were walking back to the car), but it shows Michael beating the ninjas and zombies that were in our way.

Hello Cupcake

2011-07-08T14:42:00.005-07:00

I know, I'm on a roll with this sugary deliciousness here. Perhaps you'll remember one of my all time favorite posts on this blog about me. Upon first moving to Seattle, I was really into cookies, and now it seems I've moved on to cupcakes.

Well, feast your eyes on these:

Chocolate Balsamic Raspberry Cupcakes

This is the first time I have ever made cupcakes, and been absolutely terrified that I would even like them at all. I have never worked with Balsamic vinegar before, and the minute I opened it, I wanted to run away from that smell. I cautiously poured it in--tablespoon by tablespoon. When the frosting had thickened up, I dipped my finger in, closed my eyes and thought, "Here I go!"

I was blown away.

At first my tongue was wowed with the flavor, but shortly the taste of sweet raspberry rested on my tongue. I was quickly addicted--and of course, went back for more. It tastes 10x better when it's complimented with the chocolate cake made with pureed raspberries, coconut milk and balsamic vinegar.

Believe me. These are well worth your time.

Recipe stolen from Layla's blog, who stole it from Love and Olive Oil. I love how all of our frosting styles come out very different from one another. Word of suggestion if you use Layla's recipe: Either double your cake batter recipe, or 1/2 your frosting measurements. Got it? Good.

Pampering

2011-07-04T22:36:00.002-07:00

Two things I would do weekly if I could afford it:

1) Get my hair done.

2) Get a 1-hr back massage.

Chocolate Covered Strawberry Cupcakes

2011-07-03T21:11:00.004-07:00

Today I made these:

They were SOOOOO good! Probably my favorites cupcakes I've decorated yet. And the chocolate buttercream was delicious (really sweet), but my cake wasn't very sweet at all so it balanced out. I have posted the frosting recipe (and more pictures) on our "Mothers in the Kitchen" blog.

Talents?

2011-06-29T13:05:00.005-07:00

Many months ago, I was going through some clothes in my closet and was dreaming of ways I could reuse some of the old shirts I have. My creativity doesn't run too wild in that department, but I still thought to myself, "Sometimes I wish I had a sewing machine." This was a very fleeting thought, that was primarily on my mind because I have a bunch of friends who are good seamstresses and I had been involved in many of their recent conversations about things that had been sewing.

That same day, or maybe it was the next, I received a phone call from Layla.

"Hello?"
"Hi Diana, I have a random question for you. Do you want a sewing machine?"
Completely taken aback, I replied, "Umm...what?"

Layla told me of her current circumstance, where she was helping clean out a house and either putting things in the garbage or in a pile for donations. As I recall her telling the story to me later, she said when she got to this old sewing machine, she immediately thought of me. She pushed away the thought because it really is an old machine, and why would I want this old machine? But, thinking of me again, she picked up the phone and called me anyway.

And, it really made me happy. To be honest, I felt like it was a tender mercy from the Lord. Like, He was aware of my random wants (not even a need!) and He was happy to bless me with them. I don't really know how to explain it--except I felt this obligation all of the sudden, to learn how to use it because of the manner in which I received it.

Don't ask me if what I've sewn with it so far. I don't have an answer for you.

Is this an example of burying a talent?

He's at work

2011-06-29T13:01:00.003-07:00

Today is a little bit of a windy, cloudy day. Michael and I still walked to the UPS store nearby to ship something off, but other than that we've been inside without a car, because Richard's at work.

I love being able to say that.

He is just doing freelance design for a company, but they asked him to go in for the day to work side-by-side another guy on a project. So, for at least one day this month I'll be over-using the phrase, "Oh yes, Richard's at work."

Heel Dreams

2011-06-27T13:41:00.002-07:00

Sometimes I wish I wasn't so tall so I could wear heels and not look awkwardly enormous. But, sometimes I indulge and wear them anyway--but only at the store. Then, I carefully wrap them back up and place them in their boxes and go on my happy way.

ParkTimePlayTime

2011-06-22T16:30:00.004-07:00

I learned how to be the popular mom at the park. Bring sidewalk chalk and bubbles.

A few days ago, Michael and I did just that. I sat on the grass, pulled out the bubbles and it wasn't long before I had 6-7 little kids by my side.

They were just like the birds on Finding Nemo repeating over and over, "Bubbles? Bubbles?"

So, I continued to blow bubbles. Some kids chased, and other kids hung out by my feet and coloring with chalk, begging for me to compliment their every line and squiggle.

And then I noticed it. I noticed that Michael wasn't around me anymore. I started glancing here and there. Where had Michael gone? I spotted him far off, starting to curl up comfy with himself in a secluded corner of the park.....with my iPhone in hand. Yes, somehow amidst the hustle and bustle and distraction of the other kids, he had managed to pull my phone from my pocket just to run off and play uninterrupted for a little while.

Some Pictures I Like

2011-06-19T21:44:00.000-07:00

Michael

2011-06-12T17:04:00.003-07:00

10 reasons I love this boy:
10. He sure knows how to cheese it up (to get his way).
9. He's a pretty good friend. It makes me happy when babysitters tell me he was "really good" and played well with their children.
8. He likes to play Pacman, Angry Birds, Plants Vs. Zombies with me.
7. That he is practically potty-trained in every way. His nursery teacher had to bring him to me twice today, because he told her he needed to go to potty. The second time Michael said to me, "The pee-pee just keeps coming, Mom!"
6. That when he gets frustrated, he grunts and stomps his feet.
5. That he's quick to say "sorry".
4. That he loves to eat tomatoes just like an apple.
3. I love it when I catch you humming/singing along to songs on the radio in the car. Country singer in the making. ;)
2. When he randomly says, "Mommy, I love you."
1. I love how excited you are for your next birthday. You practice blowing out candles-saying you won't be scared next time. And, when you see something you want, you kindly tell me, "You can get this for my birthday."

I just love my boy.

Bragging about my Grad

2011-06-09T19:15:00.010-07:00

The sole purpose of this post is to brag about this guy:

You may remember this post from last year when it was huge news for us when he passed his Portfolio 1 class. He was the only student in the BFA design department that quarter to pass, straight up, without a "conditional" (an additional three days to get your work up to satisfaction).

This quarter, his only class was Portfolio 2, which involved prepping for his portfolio show and preparing 6 more projects to present to a panel of teachers. He's created some pretty fascinating things and is very thorough, detailed and passionate about graphic design.

Monday was the big day to present to teachers who would determine whether he passed the class or would have to retake the course. Richard said the teachers kept asking question after question, making him dig into details about why he designed things the way he did. He was told that a board game he designed was one of the best projects to come out of the school. That is a huge compliment! When time was up, the academic director stood, shook his hand, and said one word: "Congratulations" then immediately exited the room. Richard just stood there and looked at the other teachers and said, "So, did I pass?" They laughed, and said, "Yes, you passed."

His confusion came because the girl before him had to exit the room for a period of time, while the teachers deliberated, and he thought he'd have the same experience. Out of 9 students in his class: 4 passed, 2 got conditionals, and 3 failed. I wasn't worried about Richard. He's wonderful.

The last event of his school career is his portfolio show at Benaroya Hall on Monday from 12-3pm! (Public Welcome!)

I cannot believe this chapter is coming to a close. Holy cow, it's so surreal.

Check out his website as it stands right now: www.richardandersondesign.com You can also see some pictures of the board game he created. It's still in the game testing mode, but it's playable!

He's been blessed with some freelance work to keep him busy for the next two months. Otherwise, if you hear of any graphic design opportunities, brag about Richard. He's proved himself in school, and I'm positive he'll bring as much zeal to the work force.

This is an i-phone picture of us. I like it, even if it's somewhat unrelated to everything I just wrote.

BAH!

2011-05-25T11:22:00.002-07:00

I am my own worst enemy.

There is no one who knows how to push my buttons better than myself. In an argument, I know exactly what will eat at me the most. I know when my guard is down, and when I can strike. If you think you're a bad person, hang out with me for a while and you'll feel much better.

To be honest, I have found it so easy to mix myself up in guilt-complexes as a mother/wife. It's like I'm not only married to a husband, but to a nag-filled wife as well who tells me I should constantly be better at what I am doing.

How do you deal with the enemy within? Can you just shut her out? Or do you push her buttons back with kindness until she learns to be kind herself?

Basically, I would love to hear I'm not alone in this.

Mr. Not-Quite-Potty-Trained

2011-05-19T18:54:00.004-07:00

We have gone to the park on 4 separate occasions in the past 2 days. I am loving this 70 degree weather! At 530, I decided to walk to the park one last time with Michael before the sun set. Our walk took about 20 minutes, and within 2 minutes of arriving at the park Michael wet his pants. Poor boy. He was incredibly uncomfortable in his wet clothing and it showed in his walk. (See the video below).

So, we made our way back home which I thought was going to take an eternity since now we were walking slower than before. He kept commenting that he needed a diaper, because "underwear doesn't help." Honestly, I think he made a solid argument from a 3-year-old perspective. Anyway, the sun must've dried those pants up real quick, because soon Michael started playing "catch Mommy's shadow" (which was perfect, because that meant I set the walking pace).

Some like it cold.

2011-05-19T08:37:00.001-07:00

That's what he said. Really.

2011-05-19T08:08:00.005-07:00

My dear son cracks me up. He keeps saying the most hilarious and unexpected things. This is just an attempt to remember some of these things, because I forget so quickly.

Just barely he announced, "Mommy, I need another birthday, because I lost my birthday."

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He has starting adding the phrase "dot-com" after he says things. "I want some tomatoes.com"

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This morning, Michael told me that his tummy hurt "because it's hungry. I need a carrot. And tomatoes."

"For breakfast?"

"Yah." Okay.

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At dinner, Michael sat inappropriately on his chair (in a defiant act not to eat his meal) and ended up getting his arm stuck between the bars on the back of the chair. He started screaming and yanking at it. We finally got him free, comforted him, and gave him kisses. After all was said and done, he perked up and asked, "Did you get a video of that?"

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Michael bit his tongue. Came up to me, pointing to the inside of his mouth. "Mommy, I got hurt. Will you kiss it?" Then he stuck out his tongue. (no, I didn't)

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His newest response to things: "I do. But, I don't." or "I can. But, I can't." "I will. But, I won't." You get the idea.

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We went to a park yesterday, and there were two bouncy houses set up. Michael acted like he wanted to go in (mostly because all his other friends were getting stamps on their hands and were really planning on going in). So, I paid the $2 for Michael, and of course he was too scared to go in. He would sit anxiously by the bouncy house while his friend Mason was inside. Finally, he came over to me and said, "Mommy I need help." I thought he wanted help getting in, but he threw a little fit when I tried to put him inside.

"No Mom! I need help! I need you to help me get Mason out."

He eventually did go in, after most of the crowd left and it was just him and Mason in the house.

My two dollars at work.

Baby Hungry

2011-05-17T10:48:00.003-07:00

A glimpse at our past and present.

That darn monkey

2011-05-11T11:45:00.000-07:00

Do you ever hear of some really stupid lawsuits and wonder, "How do people get away with this?" Most memorable to me was the case where a customer was suing a dry cleaner $54 million over a pair of missing pants. I worked at a dry cleaners at the time, and every customer brought it up. At the time, I also worked with a girl who was notorious for misplacing clothing, or giving them to the wrong customer. You can imagine the only thoughts that went through my head those days.

Yesterday, this month's edition of Reader's Digest came in the mail. I love it when they do issues about "dumbest criminals, lawsuits, etc" and this issue was one of them! Here was a lawsuit that just made my jaw drop:

On her way home from having dinner and drinks, Melanie Shaker of Chicago got angry with her husband and tried to kick him. Instead, she crashed through the window of a beauty salon, suffering several deep cuts. So naturally she sued the salon. Part of her argument: The store's plate glass window, which fronts a sidewalk "frequently traveled by intoxicated pedestrians," should have been stronger."

I don't know what the end result was, but nevertheless, these cases got me thinking about our sue-happy society.

Last night Michael went to bed fairly early around 7pm. He had had a fun day at the park with several friends and was "really tired." But then at 11pm he was up by my side proclaiming he was scared because there were monsters in his room. And he had a difficult time falling back to sleep during the rest of the night.

As of just a few weeks ago, Michael had never heard of the idea of monsters in the dark. Not until he watched a Curious George video online where George was scared to sleep because of monsters! I'm sure the video was created to help calm the fears of children who already had those ideas in their head. But, at the same time they were introducing that very idea to children who wouldn't have conceived it on their own.

I announced to Richard last night, after about my 17th time being awaken, that I am going to sue that darn monkey! Because of him, not only did I lose a precious 8 hours of sleep on the night of May 10, but he is also responsible for introducing the idea of monsters in the dark to my son causing him to experience fear, anxiety, and loss of sleep as well. After my quick determinations, this is all worth $1,450,430,687!

Now who wants to represent me? Or will I have to be my own lawyer like the guy who sued over his missing pair of pants?

Capn Crunch and Froooot Looops

2011-05-04T22:20:00.006-07:00

It's 10:20pm. And I'm eating a bowl of super sugary sweet cereal. Yum. I got it for a decent price today, as well as other spectacular deals at the grocery store (my favorite place to be!). I have ringed in a tight-knit group of couponing friends, and sometimes that's all we talk about and it's totally cool with me. Hahaha.

The other day at Rite Aid, Michael spotted a box of Froot Loops. He was very persuasive as he whined and begged for them, "Mommy! I just want a box of Froooooooot Looooops." He really held out the "O" and it was adorable. And being adorable is just about the best reason to let people buy you things. But, I didn't. Instead I offered a plan.

I said, "How about we make you a sticker chart. And every time you do the dishes (aka-empty the silverware) you can get a sticker on your chart. Then, when your sticker chart is all the way full, we'll buy you a box of Froot Loops."

I don't think he really got it. In fact, I think the only words he selectively heard were "Froot Loops AND stickers" because he got really excited and wouldn't stop talking about the two things. But, then we walked out of the store with neither.

When we got home, I made a quick chart for him; purple, crooked, and just six squares. I coached him in starting the dishes, and then I rewarded him with a sticker afterwards. As luck would have it, I was able to do another load of dishes, and he got another sticker later that evening. He was starting to understand the concept.

Well, this morning, I stole a glance at the chart and noticed another sticker (with a corner ripped off) on the chart. Yet no dishes had been done.

Michael proudly admitted he had done it. But, then threw a fit when I asked him to empty the silverware to make up for it. I'll deal with that battle tomorrow.

As for today, it turned out to be a fabulous day. I love the sun. I went on two walks. Michael played with two different friends and got along well with both of them. I curled my hair. Talked with Aunt Lisa. Richard made dinner and Michael ate all his food. (Maybe Richard should always cook). And, I found a penny bringing my total to 66cents for the year.

My Son

2011-05-04T11:01:00.003-07:00

Today is a good, warm day. I WILL be getting out.

This is what Michael likes to do when we go outside: throw rocks.

imperfections

2011-05-02T10:59:00.005-07:00

There are only three people on Earth that have the capacity to really care about you. Parents, and if you have one, your spouse. Everyone else can act as angels for a time by giving support, comfort, and saying that they care. But, in the end, only a few will have the capacity to really care.

It's most unfortunate when you don't have parents on Earth who care and your spouse isn't there for you 110%. I believe there is no feeling worse than feeling alone.

If I were the Easter bunny....

2011-04-24T20:24:00.002-07:00

...This is what I'd put in your basket.

Basic devil's food chocolate cake recipe (with only two eggs in it. Important, because I only had two eggs left). And, topped with a white chocolate cream cheese frosting. Yummy stuff.

Scavenger Hunt

2011-04-19T21:57:00.003-07:00

Two weeks ago, April 9 to be exact, my Facebook status read: Agh! I'm going crazy. I don't do this sahm business very well. I had just recently quit my job, and was immersed in a lifestyle of a stay-at-home-mom immediately and I wasn't really liking it all too much. May sound a little ungrateful, but I was used to contributing to the family financially. Sure, before I would spend time with Michael after work, but this 24/7 time with him was/is like a brand new job where I am my own manager, making my own priorities, to-do lists, and learning to get paid by something other than paychecks. (They say parenting reaps great reward, right).

Nancy, SAHM herself and mother of 2 adorable girls, quickly commented affirming my "stir-crazy" emotion and brainstormed the idea of a scavenger hunt. Being that we live in different states, we agreed to both take our kids for a stroll on Wednesday (yes, that would be one week ago-I'm slow), locate various items on our list, and then blog about our adventure!

To be honest, I thought about the event quite a lot leading up to Wednesday, but then on Wednesday completely forgot! Right around 5pm, I received an email from Nancy asking if I had done it. Oops! I got Michael's coat on, wrote out the list, briefly explained we were going out with a purpose and off we went.

First find from our list was "a pretty flower." Sweet! I knew exactly where to start, and we weren't even outside yet. We looked out the window from our building and saw lots of pretty flowers.

Then we crossed off that item from the list.

Before we left the apartment, I tried to define some of the words to Michael. For example, one of the items on the list was "Find something prickly." How was I going to describe prickly? Richard did that job by having Michael rub the stubble on his chin. "Oooh, prickly!" Outside, we were having difficulty finding something prickly. We finally settled on a pine cone. Yes, a very prickly pine cone.

This beautiful popcorn-blossomed tree looks white, but there is a lot of pink in it, so that counted as "something pink." "Something yellow" but it also scores us double points on the "pretty flower" hunt too.
This find was sweet. We had to find a sign with the first letter of your name on it. Little did I remember that our neighbor is a music school of course! (We have a love/hate relationship, that school and I. Especially when the drummers are there. At 8pm. On Tuesday nights. When I have to be to work at 1130pm. But, I already explained I quit that job, so I guess I'd best get over it now).
This part was actually Michael getting distracted. He saw a telephone pole, and was so infatuated with it that he hugged it and loudly proclaimed, "MOM! I LOVE THIS TREE! I WANT TO CARRY IT HOME!" Then he tried to pick it up, grunting and moaning, and eventually crying that he couldn't do it. So, we found him a stick instead.

Nancy, thanks for the great idea. I enjoyed the walk, and especially how the list prompted me to talk about what we walked by and not worrying about the distance we went, but rather just the moments we spent together outside.

RainyDay@TheBeach

2011-04-05T10:35:00.003-07:00

We are a pretty stunning couple, I think. Although, for whatever reason we couldn't coordinate enough to look at the camera at the same time. Haha

And here's Michael with his best buddy, Ben

Reading

2011-04-03T21:21:00.002-07:00

Michael was reading this book fairly well, before I turned the camera on--then things just got goofy.

Michael's 3rd Birthday

2011-03-18T13:28:00.005-07:00

Michael turned three years old in February. I would've loved to invite every person I know over for his birthday celebration of cake and ice cream. But, to be honest I was worried that I invited Too many people over. At one point, we had 24 people in our apartment. 10 kids, and 14 adults. It was a mad house, but very fun.

Here's the video of us singing happy birthday to him.

Michael's commentary after watching this video just barely, was as follows: "I don't want to blow the candles. That's yucky. I don't know how." Then he dramatically laid his head down on my arms almost like he was reliving the moment. Haha

He got a Pacman birthday cake, with mini cupcakes that were the ghosts since we like playing this version of Pacman together.

For his present, Richard bought him a Prince of Persia lego set. My gift to him is changing his diaper. Still. Aren't they supposed to be magically potty-trained once they turn 3?

Potentially annoying toys

2011-03-18T13:09:00.004-07:00

Photo courtesy of Michael-as I rock out with him. ;)

I can't get enough of his dancing though. So, they're tolerable.

Friends

2011-03-03T12:17:00.003-08:00

What is it about having a cute kids around that makes me want to pull out the camera?

A long, long time ago (or so it seems) our friends came up for a weekend visit. Michael and Jewell played a ton, and I babysat cute Ivy (or Mini-Jewell) for an evening. They are such cute girls.

Giving Sad Jewell a hug after her parents left for the evening.

Dresses

2011-02-10T15:49:00.004-08:00

For a very long time now I have wanted a dress. I have plenty of skirt & shirt combinations, but have yet to find a dress that I absolutely adore that has the length to cover past my upper thighs. The other weekend, while shopping I kept finding some adorable clothes, but they were either too short, pricey, immodest, etc... Richard finally said to me, "You need to find someone who you like how they dress and ask them to go shopping with you."

So, I talked to Layla. Who. Doesn't. Just. Adore. Her?

And do you know what she told me? Eshakti.com

I'm in love. Never have I found in one location, so many dresses that I absolutely love. And they allow you to enter your measurements so they can make it to fit! I was using Richard's iphone when I first navigated the site, and I kept getting up all-giddy-like and showing him dress after dress.

Okay, so here are a few of my favorites minus the purple (I would choose a different color). Which do you like the most?

Dreams

2011-01-20T18:21:00.005-08:00

I love dreams. I love going to sleep--because I can dream. The worst kind of dream is when I am at work, doing my job just to wake up to my alarm clock and go to work in reality. Why? I was just there! Here's a previous post of a dream I had a month before giving birth to Michael.

This post was inspired because I was reading a few journal entries I tried keeping of my dreams. The time period for these dreams was during my first year in college, with roommates, boys, and school. You know the drill.

It's hard to write down dreams, because I only remember so much, and to put it in words can even be more difficult. But, in case you are interested, here's my dream as recorded on the night of November 8, 2005.

I was at Brian's apartment watching a movie. Our hands touched as we held them for less than a second and then I had to pull my hand away. Then I was back at home. I was going to Chelsie Hansen's house. I was running funny and then I saw Steve L and his family come out of their house. I jumped on a roof to hide. I just laid flat, and Br. L saw me and everyone crowded around. Eventually I got down. Steve had just gotten a divorce and we began walking and talking about it. We ended back up at Beehive Manor (my college apt at the time) on the 3rd floor. Esme (former roomate) was with us now and was asking people if their toilets were working. 308's wasn't working. So, we spent the rest of the time there fixing it.

I just loved the randomness, and as I reread it, I could actually recall the hiding out on the roof part of that dream. I'll bet there is no way in a million years I would've remembered a bit of that dream, without writing it down.

How about the night of November 13, 2005. This one was apparently too much, I couldn't even finish writing about it.

Trent's car was stolen and was parked in Beehive parking lot and was now being towed away. He was really frustrated. And there were two dolphins in my dream. I was in the kitchen and they were there too swimming around. They were almost miniature size. I took two spoons out and we were doing tricks with them. Almost too confusing to write about. The end.

What is one of your most recent/memorable dreams? I want to read all about them!

Christmas 2010

2011-01-09T15:03:00.005-08:00

We spent Christmas day in Utah this year. We drove. We made it. But, I did tell my mom, "I don't think we'll be making this trip again in the winter time." Nevertheless, it was a good trip. Here are a few more belated Christmas pictures. Growing up, my family always had a manger set as our "Christmas tree." My dad built it for my mom when they were first married, and we've always placed our gifts beneath it. It is a home tradition that I adore. My brother got a drum set. Very cool, although I never heard him play it once.

I was teasing my sister for eating broccoli for breakfast, but then we found Michael in there eating it with her. Whatever gets the good stuff inside of you, right?

We gave Philip our Wii for Christmas. I loved snapping pictures of all his expressions as he opened it--he wasn't sure if we were pulling his leg or not.

I kept offering to wrap gifts for anyone who needed gift wrapping. My mom kept saying how great it was to have someone to wrap the gifts for her. So, I took the liberty of wrapping up many things on her desk. How many can you find? And what do you think is inside?We also spent part of our Christmas afternoon at the Heisses for lunch, and opening a few more gifts.
Our Christmas activities seemed rather extended this year. The day after coming back to Washington, we opened the gifts under our tree. Because Richard was sleeping, I told Michael to bring the presents into our bed, because I was anxious to get them open.
I made this building blocks for Michael. First, the blocks came much smaller than I expected, but that's my bad because I asked for the wrong size. So, my original plan didn't really work as I had planned (making it a building puzzle). So, instead, I took some of my favorite scrapbook papers and created a collage of sorts, with one side spelling Michael's name. They're cute. I think I want to retry the original idea again, however.
The next weekend, we went up north to the Schenk's, for dinner, games, and more presents! Sweet surprise. And, then the next weekend, Jared brought up some gifts from his family for us. Here's Michael playing with the super deluxe airport set that they gave him. Three weekends of presents. Wow!So, I guess I can say the Christmas season is now officially over for us. Thanks to everyone for the good times, gifts & memories.

Coconut Cupcakes

2011-01-08T20:32:00.003-08:00

Wonderful day off means time for some long awaited baking. I used a new recipe, new ingredients and I'm totally in love. Click here to ~~salivate~~ read more.

Some really good things:

2011-01-06T17:15:00.002-08:00

In no particular order, here are some really good things of recent:

1. I didn't clip any coupons in December. It was nice to have a break, and not do any shopping but Christmas Shopping--done mostly online, or crafting. But, it's a new month, and I'm back in the mode and love that I have my "frugal eyes" on again (I am currently watching Mr Potato Head on Toy Story). My goal this month is not to spend more than $5 on any household products this entire month. So far, so good!

2. I was scheduled a full 40-hour work week. I've been sticking to a consistent sleep schedule, and it's really been working out great. But, I could not do it without my amazing husband who takes care of Michael for hours after I go to bed, to make sure I get sleep.

3. I just found out I don't work until 3:30am tomorrow. That's an extra hour of sleeping in for me!

4. Richard is finally wrapping up various client/freelance work, just in time to start a new school semester. This is good in many, many ways.

5. I went to Bartell's and they were still getting rid of Christmas candy. I got three bags of Junior Mints for only 25cents each. Earlier that day I was tempted to buy a small box for $3.00, but refrained. Sweet Surprises! And, today, I got some frozen pies for only 50cents each(originally $6.99!) I love knowing the manager, and when he's about to put things on clearance.

6. And, finally, Michael just went pee-pee in his potty! It's a sign that's he's finally getting it, and willing to try happily! He got Star Wars underwear for Christmas. He's been wearing them all afternoon--went to nap with them on, and stayed dry. Anyway, I am so stoked! I rewarded him with Junior Mints.

Family Photos

2010-12-30T09:06:00.003-08:00

As a surprise & gift to my parents, my siblings arranged getting family pictures done. Who knows when ALL of us will be together at one setting again. My wonderful cousin, Robyn, took the pictures on such short notice (Christmas Eve!), and they look fantastic! However, you can always find one goofy face in each picture--since I don't think anyone in my family knows how to smile at the same time. Hahaha. And, in case you haven't seen Richard in a while--check out that hair!

See all the pictures by clicking here!

Cousins

2010-12-27T16:52:00.003-08:00

Cousins = The Best Kind of Fun

I love the blonde hair thing going on here.

Once there was a snowman

2010-12-27T16:15:00.008-08:00

I'm quite sad I never took a picture of the 9-foot-snowman my brothers and husband built after the massive snow fall. The second ball was so heavy they had to build a ramp to roll it up. However, this snowman literally melted and fell over the next day (a little top heavy?)

Thanks to my nephew Adam and his prepared Mom, we were able to borrow his snow pants so Michael could go outside and play in the snow for sometime as well. I loved how bright blue Michael's eyes were as they reflected against his white surroundings.

-Michael-

-Adam-

The Mr. and Mrs.

2010-12-27T15:39:00.004-08:00

The Mr. and Mrs cake. So stunning.

Emily, who I so lovingly nicknamed Embo, was married just days before Christmas, and it was this event that really tipped our decision on whether or not to go to Utah for Christmas. I must say I was very shocked to see Embo with so much make up on. Honestly, this is Emily--the one who doesn't like make-up! But, she looked beautiful. And, I really mean, BEAUTIFUL!

This girl holds such a special place in my heart. We've grown up together, played make-believe together, and even started clubs together. The most memorable clubs for me were:

1. Save the Animals club that started after we saw a neighborhood cat kill a garden snake! We had a proper burial for the snake, and then we colored awareness fliers and handed them out to all the homes in the neighborhood. Oh my. Way too funny.

2. The Slashers Club. This club was to be based on service projects. Each of the club members had specific duties such as treasurer, secretary (in charge of monthly newsletter), president, and vp. I think this club lasted less than a month. We never officially made our t-shirts, because my Mom informed us that Slashers sounded somewhat.....gory, and we could never come up with a new name, I guess.

3. The most memorable club is "The cool club". As Emily recalls, my sister Suzy and I (and I'm sure others) started a club called "The cool club" and told Emily she couldn't join because she was "too young." After her birthday rolled around, she asked if she could join and we told her, "maybe next year." This question became a running joke for years following. On her 17th birthday, however, Suzy and I came up with a grand gift idea for Emily. We snuck into their house, and decorated Emily's room with ribbons and balloons, and a banner that said, "Welcome to the Cool Club!" (She was cool way before that, by the way).

It was her family that introduced me to my husband (of 4 years tomorrow). So, Embo is due some credit for that. Embo and I would joke for years that it was going to be awesome when she married my younger brother, James. Then not only would we be cousins, we would be sister-in-laws as well, which wasn't too far out there for us, since we'd try to convince people we were sisters all the time. But those plans came crumbling down quickly (in just seven months) when Emily met Morgan. That's okay, I like Morgan alright-although, I can't decide if I should allow him entrance into The Cool Club just yet. Maybe when he's older. :)

Congratulations Mrs. Beautiful Emily!

If you're happy and you know it

2010-12-16T15:52:00.003-08:00

This has not been a fun week. It's been very stressful, hard, depressing, difficult, trying, and flat out miserable. In short, we haven't really been cultivating a nice environment at home (which is ironic because I just taught a fabulous lesson to the Beehives about cultivating a nice environment wherever you are). It's frustrating.

I feel like there will always be ebbs and flows in my spiritual journey through life, however sometimes I get so sucked away that it seems impossible to return to a state where I was just a few weeks/days/months prior; happy, more selfless, and motivated.

There was another time in my life where I was obviously feeling incredibly down (although I can't recall how long ago this was), but I grabbed my scriptures and began reflecting on the semesters I lived at BYU-Idaho. For the most part, I was incredibly happy at BYU-I. I was surrounded by an incredible spirit-filled campus, with wonderful roommates, and good influences where ever I went. But, what was it that truly made me happy?

This is what I wrote down in the back of my scriptures:

What was I doing then that made me so happy?

-The basics. I prayed morning and night, in private and aloud, and with sincere thought.

-I read my scriptures daily, and read much. It was the year the prophet challenged us all to complete the Book of Mormon by the end of the year.

-I tried to do things for others, and control rude thoughts.

-I attended my meetings and fulfilled my calling.

-I wrote in my journal. I stopped doing unrighteous things, pushed any evil influences away. I kept my guard up.

-I heeded my patriarchal blessing.

-I worked my hardest, well at least worked and concentrated a lot on my school work.

-I maintained a balanced schedule.

-I apologized.

-I tried to show gratitude.

I'm really glad that I wrote this down, because it tells me that I know what I need to do if I want to be happy. But even though I know this and the blessings it will bring, why is it so difficult to form and keep good habits?

And humility? Let's not even go there.

A Holiday Poem

2010-12-13T20:10:00.003-08:00

Stressed household.

Great friends.

Needed vacation.

The end.

New Battery!

2010-12-03T09:21:00.002-08:00

This is a movie clip to celebrate our digital camera working again! I just had to replace the battery--but it took me long enough to get around to it. Now it's ready, just in time for Christmas!!

Thanksgiving & Black Friday

2010-11-28T17:18:00.004-08:00

Hooray for holidays, holiday pay, and family time! I actually worked for a few hours on Thanksgiving morning. We were planning on going to Grandma Hart's house for Thanksgiving, but then she got sick, and wasn't up to cooking all day. Hope you feel better Grandma. So, that morning, we just went to the church where some members of the ward had organized a potluck for those who didn't have anywhere to go for Thanksgiving dinner. We had some fun chatting with friends for a couple of hours.

However, that night, Richard said, "I'm going to the store!" What? Then he explained, "It just doesn't feel like Thanksgiving to me. I need some leftovers!" So, we went to Safeway and picked up a box of Stove Top, and a whole roasted chicken! Haha! So funny. We warmed it all up, and sat at the table together as a family expressing our gratitude for different things in our lives. It was the perfect meal.

And then I went back to work again to work all through the night.

I have never really been interested in all the Black Friday sales. However, I am highly looking forward to Cyber Monday. The only Black Friday deals I hit up were at Rite Aid! Classic, right? I brought home some Froot Loops for Michael, and myself and we made him a Froot Loop necklace, which he loves. And, together we ate the entire box in less than 24 hours.

And, all our Christmas decorations are up! Hooray for the holidays!!!

These are just two....

2010-11-24T06:42:00.002-08:00

November 22 brought some snowfall. In Utah, this amount of snow is no big deal, right? But, in Seattle, they have seriously no resources to clean up anything but the main roads. Here's some home videos that I enjoyed of people who seemed to be enjoying themselves inside their homes, drinking hot cocoa, while watching out the window.

And that's why I'm glad I'm close enough to walk to work.

Sick House

2010-11-21T07:59:00.002-08:00

We are living in a sick house. I am so glad it's Sunday. I can just rest.

Michael was the first to go. On Tuesday morning, he crawled into our bed and threw up. Nothing like a good adrenaline rush to get Richard up on time for school! We got the sheets in the wash, Richard took a shower, and we all began to get ready for the day. Michael came into the kitchen and started crying for oatmeal. My initial thought was, "You just threw up, I'm not giving you oatmeal." But, then he kept crying, and crying and I felt bad for this kid who was hungry and traumatized at what had just happened. So, I gave him really watery oatmeal. After he ate it, he just laid down on the floor and there he stayed until we walked out the door to drive Richard to school. I put a towel over Michael in the carseat, and off we went.

Michael did just fine, except for the part where he threw up on the way home, missing the towel, and making me completely regret giving him oatmeal. Dumb Mom moment. We pulled over, I cleaned him up briefly, opened the windows, and rushed home as fast as I could.

When we got home, I knew I had to strip all his clothes off of him before I could take him upstairs. That's when I spotted a plastic bag in the passenger side of the seat. I recognized this as a tender mercy, especially when I recalled the circumstances for why it had been left there. I realized then that Heavenly Father knew that days later Michael would throw up and that I would need it. Seeing this, almost forced my mind to take a more positive approach to the entire situation, instead of getting too discouraged.

Taking off the seat cover from our carseat is very complicated. I couldn't just figure it out, and eventually googled it. I love the Internet. I found someone who had written an entire blog post on how to take off the seat cover from our carseat. It was quite the hilarious read, honestly.

Michael throwing up all over his carseat was a good thing, I decided, because:

1. It taught Richard and I cooperation as we worked on stripping it down and cleaning it.

2. I don't think we've washed it once since buying it.

3. Now it's really clean, and I can feel good about putting in our car.

4. I know not to feed a sick child oatmeal when he's sick again.

Later that day Michael asked for chicken nuggets. I'll leave you to your own thoughts on the matter.

Lucky for the rest of us, we just have colds. I'm glad the week is over, quite successfully too. In fact, it involved making these:

Deal of the Week

2010-11-16T10:39:00.004-08:00

Albertsons had fantastic freebies this week! I did one trip last weekend, and then after they printed doublers, I made another trip. How much do you think this transaction cost me?

I paid...drumroll...

...just a little bit of money!

Haha, I actually misplaced my receipt, but the transaction was just over $5.00! That's $5 for 15 boxes of hot cocoa, 4 bottles of pop, 4 boxes of brownies, cake mixes and frosting for baby shower weekend cupcake baking, and more!

I got the pop and hot chocolate and brownies without paying a penny.

Looks entirely healthy, doesn't it!? Tis the season for baking, and baking sales!

I must note that I never had got any doublers from the paper. I was hoping they would have some at their customer service desk, but they were out. When I got to checkout, after I handed over my coupons, the checker asked me if I also had the doublers. I said, "No, I didn't see any." Right then, the customer behind me pulled her doublers out and gave them to the checker for me to use, even though she had coupons in her hand as well. It was very nice, and hopefully I will find the opportunity to return the favor to someone else.

What is it?

2010-11-13T10:37:00.003-08:00

There is a game my family plays called, "What is it?" The rules simply go as follows. Somebody picks up an object, typically an oddly shaped object, and asks "what is it?" As the object is passed around, the persons playing will give a clever, imaginative reply to the question without repeating what the object really is, or what another person has already stated.

Well, Michael is learning this game, in his own way. He has the innate ability of picking something up, and when I ask him "What Is It?"...well, can you guess what he replies?

I took the liberty of taking some pictures of the various objects he's picked up the last two days.

A Banana=A Gun

Some Tongs=A Gun

An Apple Peeler/Corer=A Gun

A Puzzle Piece=A Gun

He even tucks the puzzle piece into his pants, and walks around with it that way.

What is in my sink?

2010-11-05T16:31:00.003-07:00

What is it?

Have you ever found a sippy cup filled with milk that was hidden for days?

I just did.

And it was truly disgusting.

Glugged out as I dumped.

Looked like tofu.

Now I really have no interest in eating tofu.

And--even after letting the water run on it, it wouldn't break apart and go down the drain.

Gag. Gag. Gag. Gag. Gag. Gag.

Halloween 2010

2010-11-02T10:50:00.003-07:00

Who goes there?

We were going to go as Yoda, Leia, and Skywalker. But Richard failed to put a costume together and I didn't finish getting everything together either. But, here was an attempt at pulling my hair around my ears.

Looks fine from the front, but the sides just looks silly.

So, I went as an angel instead.

Using the force.

On Saturday, Michael and I went around to businesses who were hosting early trick or treating. Then that night, we enjoyed a ward trunk-or-treat, with games and cupcakes. :) Michael was very good at saying "trick or treat" by the end of the day. And collected much candy to share. :)

Farm Animal Sounds

2010-10-25T20:29:00.002-07:00

Posted for Michael's viewing pleasure, and for my brother to get more views on his silly YouTube video. He can certainly find ways to make a little money in some of the most odd ways. But, all the little things add up.

By the way, I just redeemed my 11th gift card from Amazon via Swagbucks.com. I could've had 13-14 by now, but I took a chance, and entered into a bunch of sweepstakes. Swagbucks gives you points for doing what you do already on the Internet. I find I gain the most points by using their search engine, (although I keep Google handy). Sign up here to start bringing in some gift cards yourself!

Dreams do come true...

2010-10-20T08:52:00.005-07:00

When I lived in Russia, many of us girls conjured up lists of our life goals. *Others may call these bucket lists. Mine consisted of 33 things, some of which include: "Have a large funeral" (Which I talked about here, actually), "Go a week without chocolate" (Make that an entire month! Booyah!) & also, "stop biting my nails" which by now, don't think will ever happen.

The irony of that however, is there are many goals on my list that I never thought would be entirely possible in my lifetime anyway--for example, #2 Visit Space. For sometime, I was very interested in space & astronomy. I still find it fascinating, but don't research it to the same extent as I once did. I knew being an astronaut really wouldn't be in my league though, because of my poor eyesight, and lack of smarts & training. I read about people who had been training to be astronauts for over 10 years, but had yet to go in a spaceship. Ca-razy!

In Russia, I must've talked about going to space all the time, because Anna even tore a picture of an astronaut from a coloring book, colored it for me, and autographed it with, "Good luck in all your future endeavors!" I still have the picture in my journal right behind my "life goals" list.

Why is this topic on my mind? Well, today, on the radio, I heard the most fantastic news. Starting at just $200,000, regular people like you and me can travel to space!!! Nevermind, it's for a total of four minutes; it's space nonetheless. This news gave me hope that by the time I can afford it (maybe we'll delay buying a house for some time), travel like this will be much more popular, refined, and inexpensive. Oh, and did you note the date this shuttle was successfully launched? 10.10.2010. It has to be a sign.

Until then, I'm accepting donations.

Running with Scissors

2010-10-18T18:10:00.007-07:00

I went on a shopping spree today. I'm leaving all the tags attached the clothes because I'm almost certain most all of it will be returned tomorrow. I can't stand the guilt that comes when I buy outside of my budget.

I like to buy my pants online at Alloy.com. It's a teen site, however, I feel comfortable buying pants from them because I have for years, and they come in 37 inch inseams! As I perused over their clearance section just barely, I could not help but laugh. And I'm sure you will too. Do you wonder why these pants are clearance?

Looks like they need to fire the guy who was running with scissors at the Alloy factory. I laugh at this style now, but just had a story come to mind. Because it was the cool thing to have little tears at the bottom of your pants in high school, I took some scissors to my pants, and created a small slit on either side that just rested against my shoes. After school, I was hanging out with some friends in the hallway, and my pant leg hooked to something, and just tore the entire way up the seam past my knee, completely destroying those pants, and creating quite the embarrassing moment in front of my friends. Seriously, what was I thinking?

And now, I'm going through a new dilemma. To skinny jean, or not? I remember throwing away skinny jeans and thinking "good riddance" because I thought flare pants were the most gorgeous thing.

In case you get bit by the shopping bug, whether clothes, or Christmas gifts remember there are ways to earn additional cash back on the purchases you make online. My personal favorite is shopathome.com. Instead of going directly to a store's website, I get there through shopathome.com and they give me back a percentage of my sale. It's easy, and it's free, and includes large retailers such as Target, Walmart, and Best Buy, as well as hundreds of other small stores. It's great!

You'll earn an automatic $5 after your first purchase within 60 days of signing up, and I'll get an additional $5 in my account if you sign up through the link on my blog! :)

Cupcakes!

2010-10-06T07:03:00.002-07:00

October 5 is the perfect day to make cupcakes.

1. It's my brother, Willie's birthday. Happy birthday!

2. I found out my neighbors' grandson's 1st birthday is also October 5. Our neighbor has never met his grandson because they live too far away. But he happily shared photographs with us. We wanted him to be able to celebrate Dean's 1st birthday from a distance.

3. I received an email (from a radio station) that gave me some fun facts to read. It stated, "The most common birth date is October 5." <--Reason to celebrate!

I got the cupcake holder idea from Tysha's blog. The process of wrapping the box was more complicated than I had hoped, but in the end I fell in love with it, and definitely plan on delivering cupcakes in this style from now on. Isn't it cute?

Michael was so excited for the present--he thought it was his birthday!

I also bought a new mini-cupcake pan. I was very pleased with it, and hope to make some cute minis for an upcoming baby shower I'm hosting.

A story with some pictures

2010-10-05T12:04:00.003-07:00

Sometimes I think that I'm addicted to blogging, but then I look at how neglected my blog is and feel better about myself. It's all in my mind, really. When I go through various events of my day, something may catch my attention and I'll immediately start conjuring up a post in my brain. Most of the time these posts never make it here.

The worst though, is when I'm in the middle of doing something "fun" or out-of-the-0rdinary, or even just the ordinary with Michael, and I think to myself, "I need to grab the camera! I want to remember this moment forever!" Do you ever have these moments?

I don't think my Mom had these moments like I do. She lived in the days of film! *Gasp* (I love you Mom!) Therefore, she couldn't (well she could), rather she would choose not to take 15 pictures of the same moment, because that's simply too much film. One or two pictures would suffice. When I look through my old scrapbooks, I realize most of my pictures are from big events; first day of school, birthdays, Christmas, vacations, and the occasional random picture. I love my scrapbooks, and the memories they awake.

I didn't need to have a picture of me playing make-believe to remember I played it. I didn't need a picture of me having snowball fights, or playing nightgames in the middle of the street to remember how much fun I had. I know my Mom now takes many more pictures with her updated digital cameras, or her phone camera *gasp*! -but hardly any get printed. Do your computer folders bulge with photos?

I know mine do. Well, used to. Before our computer crashed. *sigh* It's okay, I've started a new set of pictures. And with each one comes the potential of a blog post, so I can "remember this moment forever." So with no further waiting, I present:

Michael having fun in a toy that he hasn't seen for months!

Now, Michael, you can always remember you lived this moment.

Been up all night-maybe that's my problem

2010-09-29T07:19:00.003-07:00

I wish that I was good at something. Not just good, but excelled in some area. I just feel like I dabble here and there, but never dive right in. The End.

Sneak Preview

2010-09-26T20:05:00.001-07:00

Also, read about Michael's pals here

How many guys does it take to put a shelf together?

2010-09-26T19:52:00.002-07:00

The missionaries stopped by at random, on an evening we were rearranging our livingroom. So we put them to work.

Elder Wallin, Elder Crandall, and Richard. I thought it was funny when all three of them were sharing the duty of screwing on one leg on the TV stand.

Michael just enjoyed playing in the large box afterwards!

Pillow fights

2010-09-15T19:29:00.004-07:00

A few weeks ago, I was watching a movie and in it two of the actors get into a pillow fight. Michael was all over this idea. He jumped off the couch, grabbed a pillow from the bedroom, then came at me. He's always liked jumping on the bed but hitting with pillows just adds more fun to the fun!

At this point, he just wanted me to stop taking pictures and start playing again. :)

Dreams

2010-09-07T21:18:00.002-07:00

This is not meant to be a movie plug for Inception, but I have definitely thought a lot about that movie since watching it. My favorite part in the movie is during one of the levels when the characters are flying. I love flying in dreams. In fact, I have been flying in my dreams almost every night since watching the movie. It makes dreams one of my favorite things, because it's an experience I can never have in reality.

I felt like I could relate to the characters as they floated to the ceiling while flying. Actually, I hate it when that happens. Just like displayed in the movies, I have to crawl myself along the walls, and grab onto doorways to lower myself into the next room. This kind of uncontrollable flying is unbelievably annoying, and it used to happen all the time, until I learned to control it. Now, if I start off flying like that, I can usually make some controlled effort to "snap out of it" per se, and be able to fly freely up and down, and it's, well, awesome.

As I've mentioned this to some people, they've told me that they have never flown in their dreams. For reals? So, take my poll on the right, and leave a comment if you wish. Have you ever flown in your dreams? What is it like for you?

On a different note, for at least 2 years now, I have been having a reoccurring "nightmare" involving chewing gum! The setting surrounding this nightmare is never the same, but this situation is always the same. As I read the book "David Goes to School" by David Shannon, as a bedtime story for Michael I saw this picture that made me stop and reflect on these dreams. I feel it adequately illustrates how I feel sometimes in my dreams.

Nightmare situation: I am chewing gum. GOBS of gum. It's so much gum that I can't talk to the people around me, and I'm typically drooling because the gum is overwhelming. I reach my hand in to pull out the gum, and it just keeps coming out. Many times I'm wearing a retainer, and can't pull it out of my mouth because of this gum being wrapped around my back teeth! It's horrible! And most of the time, people around me don't understand what's going on. I usually have to wake up to make it stop.

I used to think our house rule of "no gum in the house" as kids was ridiculous, but now I don't like gum, period.

Paper Nut Alphabet

2010-09-02T22:43:00.004-07:00

My dear friend Jeanie-a talented designer, has recently finished her alphabet poster. I have seen this in the works as she sketched individual letters. I honestly had no idea that this magical poster was going to be the result of her work. I can't believe all the intimate details she put into this piece of work. So, if you're looking to buy me a belated birthday present, or Michael an early Christmas present, or if you are just dying to have this displayed in your home, visit her etsy shop.

"Each character is inspired by Victorian ornamental typefaces and holds a wonderland of fine detail hinting at an object beginning with that letter. Perfect to encourage the budding imagination of your child...or to freshen up your own!" Isn't that incredible?

Fandango Ticket for $4!!!

2010-08-25T09:08:00.002-07:00

If you want to snag this deal you need to sign up for Groupon. It's free! And I have totally loved it. Everyday they have a new local deal that you can snag if you want! Check it out, I'm serious.

So right now--there's a sweet national deal if you ever go out to see movies. Richard and his friends are always wanting to see one movie or the other so this deal is perfect for us.

A National Deal---Buy ONE Fandango.com Movie Ticket for only $4 (a $12 value! One one can be purchased per person) good thru February 28th, 2011

So, First you need to sign up for Groupon Here

Then, go here to see the Fandango deal!

Phones And Guns

2010-08-24T09:10:00.001-07:00

I am so amazed how you can pick up any object and turn it into a gun. Drool and spit fly from your lips as you make a shooting sound. It's rather disgusting, really. We've tried to teach you a different shooting noise that just uses your voice, but you seem to revert to the vibrating wet lip-smacking shooting.

Just today, we were outside playing next to the Baptist church next to our apartment. You found an interestingly shaped bark from a tree. You started poking at it, saying "8-9-10-11". Then you perched the bark against your ear like a telephone.

"Hello? Hi Chris! Yah? Okay bye."

First of all, I find it very funny that whenever you make imaginary phone calls, it is usually to Chris and Jonette. I know you really like these guys, but they are friends of Mommy and Daddy. I just wonder why you don't ever make phone calls to your nursery friends. Is this because they are too young to have phones?

I guess imaginary phone calls aren't the only calls you make. You love playing with Daddy or Mommy's cell phones whenever you get the chance. Yesterday evening you got into my Recent Call tab on my phone, and made a call to the missionaries. I heard you talking, but was extra surprised when I heard someone responding. According to the call log, Elder Peterson was humoring you for at least two minutes. Was he offering you some advice on how to be the best missionary you can be? I hope so.

Anyway, after you finished your imaginary conversation with Chris, we spotted an airplane flying overhead. Immediately, this bark transformed from a phone to a gun. You perched it up to your face, aimed the bark at the sky and began to shoot wildly. Spit flying. Drool dripping until the airplane was out of sight. Then the phone was back in your hands and the conversation with Chris started all over again.

"8-9-10-11. Hi Chris."

Imagination. I love watching it bloom.

Freezer Cooking Day

2010-08-22T21:14:00.003-07:00

I decided to take part in "Freezer Cooking Day" inspired by Money Saving Mom. I had a lot of fun figuring out what meals I could prepare in bulk, freeze, and have ready-to-go when needed. I spent just a couple of hours during two days preparing what I could, and cleaning as I went. For as much as I was chopping and stewing in the kitchen, it stayed very clean. It was very nice.

I didn't prepare as much as I'd like, but this is what I did:

Mozzarella Cheesesticks-battered and ready to fry!

Southwest Roll-ups

Turkey and Veggie Wraps (These took the most time, although they are good, I need a better system to prepare them more quickly.)

2 lbs cooked brown rice

Zuchinni Bread

Ready grated pepperjack cheese

Ready diced green peppers

Ready diced onion

Few pounds of cooked, shredded chicken

I will be buying more produce when it's on sale and chopping/dicing it so it's ready to throw into my recipes when I need it. And freezing brown rice-genius! Considering it takes 45 minutes to make, now I can just warm it up quickly & it tastes just as good.