Amazing

Isn't technology amazing?  I've never had a 3D ultrasound for any of my kids but this little guy.  It was so awesome to see him move around, to see his little face, and watch him open and close his eyes.  At first, his face was buried in the placenta but after some belly jiggling, he moved and we were able to see him.  He seemed a little annoyed that the movement knocked the fingers out of his mouth so he spent most of the time trying to get them back in.  It was so incredible to see him move around like that - like babies do after their born.  Being pregnant is such a surreal experience for me.  It never feels quite real until the baby is born.  But, after this ultrasound, my perspective has changed.  I can't wait.  Only 7 more weeks!

P.S.  No, his right eye is not open, - its just a shadow on the ultrasound. :P

Halloween at Christmas-time

 

Yep, I'm posting about Halloween two weeks before Christmas.  I do have a good excuse though…a new computer…a Mac.  Totally different format and no Windows Live Writer…ughh…the mac blog writers are horrible.  Otherwise, I'm loving my new iMac, but I digress.

This year was probably one of the best Halloweens I've ever had.  The older boys were out with friends so it was just J, me and V.  First we walked around our little cul de sac.

She didn't know how to say "trick or treat" so she said, "trickies!!!" instead.  It was so cute!

After trick or treating around the hood we went down to the Church for the annual trunk or treat.

I LOVE that we Mormons get all excited for Halloween and dress up our cars, our kids, and ourselves.  So much fun. Unfortunately, we weren't able to have a carnival this year as Halloween was on a Monday.  But, we were able to have the trunk or treat.  J had so much fun cruising from car to car asking for her trickies.

 

And, there were lots of other girls, both older and younger dressed up like Minnie Mouse too!

After the trunk or treat I got to go to our neighbor's house for hot chocolate and scones while my wonderful hubby got miss J showered and ready for bed.  Oh my goodness, does Deb make some good fried dough with honey butter! Yum!

We had so much fun this Halloween with our little sweetheart.  She is starting to understand the concept of the holidays.  I know she'll be excited about trick or treating next year but it won't be the same because she'll be a veteran at it.  I know I'm a goofball but those "first times", when you know your baby finally realizes what is going on, are the most precious to me.  I can't wait for Christmas!

Totally behind

Oh my, I’m so behind on posts.  I have lots of stuff to share but just haven’t gotten around to doing it yet.  I think I’m going to combine 2 posts in one.  First:   Bates Nut Farm.  Yes, I know ya’ll are sick of posting about Bates but c’mon – look how cute…

 

 

I made both the kids’s outfits (except J’s shirt).  Cute huh?  And, so much fun to do.

Of course we had to go on the hayride…

 

And get ice cream…

We had a great day! 

I guess I’ll make Halloween another post… eventually  :P

Fall weather inspiration

 

I love fall.  It is my absolute favorite time of the year.  I love the cool weather, the upcoming holidays, and the shorter days.  When that first day of fall weather hits I start thinking about making homemade bread, canning, pumpkin pies, and using the fireplace.  This year, the canning bug hit.  Two years ago I made about 20 jars of plum jam but this year I wanted to use fruit from my garden.

My good friend Theresa, who moved away a few years ago, was quite the avid farmer/gardener and a totally awesome do-it-yourselfer.  Before she left, she gave me two of her grape vines.  I planted them back along my fence line but didn’t do much else with them.  We had some serious problems with irrigation and I never saw the vines grow.  I assume I had killed them.  This year, after some serious backyard renovation and irrigation repair, the vines started growing like weeds.  I couldn’t believe they were still alive!  We had so many grapes – I didn’t know what to do with them all.  Enter – fall weather and canning.  This is what we picked just the other day:

 

And this is what we got in the end:

Yummy homemade grape jelly.  How awesome is that?!?

Embroidery

 

My sewing machine is so awesome.  I love embroidery but don’t have the talent to do it (or the patience).  My machine will transfer a computer picture to any cloth surface.  I wanted to make something special for Julia’s 2nd birthday coming up.  So I made this:

Last year, I was at a meeting for YW and a woman was speaking about her daughter.  As she was talking, she displayed a picture of her little girl, about 1 or 2 years old, sitting next to an embroidered pillow that said, “I am a Child of God.”  I thought it was the most awesome picture I had ever seen.  It was really grainy and old but the message of how precious this little girl was, not only to her parents, but her Heavenly Father, just warmed my heart.  I knew I wanted to do the same thing for Julia.  I actually made this pillow last year but J was not old enough to understand it’s meaning.  She may not understand it this year, but I want to give it to her and take a few pictures because I want her to know now, and in the years to come, how truly precious she is.

Drum Roll…

 

 

Can you freakin’ believe it?!?

A little bit of heaven

 

I think I slept weird the other night because I woke up in the morning with a horrible back ache.  I shouldn’t say “ache” but pain.  More like I pulled a muscle while I was sleeping (pathetic, I know).  I had Cade throw his nasty, bony elbows in my back in hopes of working the kink out to no avail.

I have super strong jets in my spa so I decided to go out tonight and keep my back on those jets until the kink or my skin was gone.  I stuck my foot in the pool – just to see where the temp was at….90 degrees folks.  Heaven!  I decided to swim some laps.  I think the pulled muscle while sleeping finally convinced me some exercise was in order.  How I could refuse 90 degree pool water at 10 p.m?!?  Needless to say, the spa took like 5 minutes to heat up so I swam laps until I got tired (not long) and then sat in the jacuzzi.  It was so awesome!  I felt amazing when I got out.  Seriously, it was like heaven.  The best night I’ve had in a while.  =)

I’ve been busy

 

Besides growing a little human being, I’ve been super busy.  Since having a little girl, I’ve decided to re-kindle my love for sewing.  I have made the most amazing stuff.  Last year for Christmas I made several gifts for the kids as well as an awesome advent calendar.  As I’ve been sewing more and more, I’m finding that my sewing skill is getting much better.  I’ve been able to successfully put in zippers! I used to avoid all patterns with zippers and buttonholes because I heard they were super hard.  But, I’ve done it and am really proud of how much better I’m getting.

I’m going to be teaching a class to the YW about sewing.  I have this super easy pattern for skirts.  In fact, check out the tutorial from MADE if you’re interested:  HERE.  I swear, that girl is SO talented.  Needless to say, I poach all sorts of ideas from her website.  She always has tons of ideas and they are very easy.  As I was saying, I will be teaching the girls how to make these skirts and I am really excited.  It never ceases to amaze me what you can make with a little thread and fabric.  I feel so creative when I sew.  I hope I can impart some of my excitement to the girls.  Not to mention the savings.  I can bust out one of those skirts for probably $7 and it would be way cuter than something you could buy. Anyway, I hope they learn how important it can be to have these types of skills whether its sewing or something else.  Here are a couple of things I’ve made for Julia.  I’ve sewn a lot more but only took pictures of a few outfits.

 

Guess What Revisited

 

 

Yep, due in February. =)

Another Disneyland Post

Yes, we love Disneyland.  Last week I turned 39.  Hard to believe, I know.  So, we went to Disneyland.  The older boys didn’t really want to go with the little kids so they stayed with my mom.  We got a great deal on the Grand Californian Hotel which is located inside California Adventure.  We figured with J’s crazy nap schedule it would be better to stay closer to the Parks.  What could be closer than in the Park?

The hotel is amazing.  It looks like a lodge, decorating in the Arts and Crafts style.  There are amazing pools, equipped with waterslides and a kiddie pool.  They also have a spa!  We drove up on Wednesday evening.  Victor and J went to bed early while Henry and I went on all the big rides.  My poor hubbie gets sick on the bigger rides so he likes to hang out with the princess.  Henry and I didn’t get back from our thrill-seeking adventure until midnight. 

The hotel has a program in which they open the Parks up early for those who are staying in the Disneyland hotels.  Victor and J got up early and went while Henry and I slept in.

Apparently, they hit every ride in Fantasyland, Pirates and the Haunted House before we met up with them in the New Orleans quarter.

We decided to go eat at New Orleans square but not before we were serenaded by a few pirates.  J danced along while everybody clapped and cheered her “squat” dance.

After we ate lunch, we went over to California Adventure.  We wanted to head toward the hotel so J could take her nap.  She loved the rides in A Bug’s Life.

She was having a great time until she got stung by a bee while waiting in line for the Ladybug ride.  She was crying and holding out her poor finger.

We decided to take her back to the hotel.  It was so nice that it was right there.  After the Advil kicked in she was doing great.  We called it day and decided to hit the Park early the next morning. 

We got to the Park before it even opened.  Surprisingly, there wasn’t much of a line until we got in the Park and discovered this:

A fairly large crowd waiting to go on the rides.  Smart of Disney to keep the shops open while you wait, eh?  Right before they officially opened they started playing music which sounded a lot like the William Tell Overture.  I thought we might get trampled.  J was clapping feverishly as Henry danced a jig.  Obviously, they weren’t afraid.

We went on Small World and a few more in Fantasyland before deciding to head home.  We had so much fun.  I spent a lot of one on one time with Henry which was nice since J needs so much attention right now.  J had a great time, mostly with daddy.  It was a great trip and a perfect birthday!

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Guess What?!?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My pool is now 77 degrees!  What?  What’d ya think I was gonna say?

March Madness

Okay, I’m totally into crafting.  I’m crazed!  I’ve been making t-shirts ever since I got my Pazzles.  Let me tell ya – I LOVE me some freezer paper.  You just put one of those puppies in the cutting machine and voila – instant design for ironing on to shirts.

I made shirts for both Presidents Day and St. Patrick’s after reading this tutorial on MADE.  Love, love, love making t-shirts.  Conor wants one that says “Jesus is my Homie” and “Emosaurus.”  Super cute and super fun!

 

How did I get here?

Saturday night, we were invited to a Gala at the hospital because they are opening a new cardiovascular center.  The event was black tie.  I was so stressed out because I haven’t gotten into a fancy dress since high school.  I was really nervous I would be over dressed.  I really hate that.  I would much rather be casual than over dressed.  Anyway, I was fine.  People were really decked out.  It was like prom for the middle aged.

They made this HUGE tent in the middle of the parking lot.  This thing was so big – it had girders.  There were two stages.  We were in a table right off the stage.  Patty Lupone (of Evita fame) sang as the entertainment.  It was awesome.  I had so much fun.  It was great to get dressed up.  And, don’t worry y’all, I had a shawl to cover my bare shoulders.

The Thursday before the gala we were invited to Disneyland by a friend of Victor’s.  There is a club inside Disneyland called Club 33.  The club was originally founded for the investors of Disneyland.  Basically, a meeting place where they could dine, hang out and drink – there is no alcohol allowed in Disneyland.  Then, they opened the club to the public but for a steep price.  Apparently, there used to be a wait list to become a member but now they aren’t accepting anybody new.  I guess the wait list was like 20 years long until they completely closed it.

Well, Victor’s friend has friend (blah blah blah) who is a member and put us on the guest list.  I was so excited!  My birthday is coming up and this was sort of a pre-birthday event for me.  I love Disneyland and this was the icing on the cake.

The club is really hard to see.  It is right outside the exit of pirates.  There is a call box next to the door and they won’t let you in unless your name is on the list.  Sounds like some N.Y. club doesn’t it?

It is really amazing inside.  Tons of memorabilia hang on the wall.  It looks like what I would imagine an old fancy restaurant looks like in the 20’s.  The drapery was absolutely stunning.  There was all this beautiful wood molding on the walls.  And, they had a very small old school elevator to take you up if you don’t want to climb the stairs.  I got in it but I can see how some people wouldn’t want to do it.

The food was amazing.  They had a huge buffet for the appetizer.  There was crab, lobster, grilled vegetables, tomato and basil salad….That was the best part of the meal.  Oh, and they had a dessert bar.  My goodness, every dessert you can imagine.

I can’t believe this past week.  Its been like some strange dream.  I am so truly grateful for my beautiful family anyways and then things like this come up and I think, how did I get here?  I am so grateful for my life and for the many blessings I have.  I know things aren’t perfect all the time but I am truly grateful for everything I’ve been given, big and small.

Happy Valentine’s Day

 

Normally I don’t do much for Valentine’s Day.  I’ve restricted holiday celebrating to just the fall ones – Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas.  However, the rest of the year seems like such a bummer with no good holidays to celebrate.  So, I decided to make the smaller holidays, well, bigger.

Last weekend, the boys and I made Valentine’s cookies.  I wasn’t really looking forward to it as I’m not much of a baker but I had SO much fun with them.  They were so cute and creative.  Henry slathered so much icing on his cookies, it was dripping off the edge.  He spread the excessive icing all over the cookies again and again, licking the butter knife in between.  Too funny!  Needless to say, nobody but Henry ate his cookies.

This year, I decided to make Valentine cards for Henry since I just got a Pazzles (die cutting machine).  Some of those Valentine’s you can buy at Target or Walmart are just awful.  Plus, the school won’t let the kids bring candy anymore, crazy huh?!?  So, I decided it would be better if we just made something super cute to make up for the candy embargo.

I saw a great tutorial at Craft Monkey for little boys' Valentine’s.  Of course you could use the idea for girls too, but I thought it was great for my little monster. 

I took a picture of Henry in the backyard and printed it up from my computer.  I used the card option in Elements.  Then, I cut out 25 mustaches on my Pazzles and put them on the card with glue dots.  I bought the foam hearts at Michael’s and used glue dots again to secure the picture to the heart.  I tried double sided tape but it didn’t adhere at all.  Since the kids can’t have candy, I figured it would be fun to pull the mustache off the card and wear it for fun.  I’m sure his teacher is going to love me for this one.  Anyway, I hope its a hit. 

I had so much fun making Valentine’s decorations etc. this year.  I’m definitely going to try to keep the crafting up for the next holiday – President’s Day, watch out!

Christmas, better late than never

 

Yes, I am finally getting to my Christmas pictures.  But, as I said in the post title, better late than never!

We celebrate Christmas at our house on Christmas Eve.  I love to make Christmas Eve dinner.  Its so much easier than Thanksgiving!  We do the traditional prime rib and all the trimmings.

 

I know I look like a dork here but he wouldn’t take a picture of the food without me in the picture – bleh.

All the immediate family came over.  I do love the holidays because we are all able to get together, talk, and have fun at least a couple times a year.

Julia and her Deda

Cade and Henry playing as usual

 

Me and my brother

The kids got so many presents this year.  I thought we kept the amount down but all the relatives bought them so much stuff.  They made out like bandits.  It was like hyenas attacking the sick wildebeest.

We got the boys a bunch of camping gear for scouts.  We wanted to get them stuff they could use throughout the year.  Almost every Christmas they get a bunch of toys and 2 weeks later they are all broken.  So, this year we got them useful presents.

Cade was so sweet and got Victor an awesome tool belt.  It was such a thoughtful gift as he is always fixing something around the house.

I made some capes for the boys based on my friend Lynn’s awesome tutorial.  You can see it below.  He’s wearing it while riding his new bike in the house no less.

Julia was into everything.  She obviously didn’t know what was going on other than there was lots of pretty paper to rip up.  We did get her a baby doll in a stroller.  She was SO cute with it.  I love to see her play with and nurture her baby.  It really brings home to me how important it is that I am able to be with her everyday and how she is modeling my mothering.  It makes me feel so blessed.

 

It was an awesome day but I must say I’m glad all the Christmas craziness is over.  Now, its time to do some Spring cleaning!