She's Crafty.....

Okay, this is one of those "hold me accountable" posts. A lady at my church offered to teach a quilting class. I LOVE quilts, there is something so comforting about them. One of my prized possessions is a quilt my Granny made for me when I was little. It's made out of scraps of my mom and my uncle's old clothes. This little quilt is so tattered and loved that it is a shock that it is still in one piece. That being said, I went to this class and after we all were talking we decided to do "baby steps". This lady is amazing at quilting and there is no way that I could measure up-especially since I haven't used my sewing machine in 4 years! So, I am going to attempt to make a quilt for baby Reese. We went to the fabric store today and let's just say, when I am pregnant-I am REALLY indecisive-so much that it gets on my own nerves much less those around me (poor Kris). So this was a big task. Luckily I found the colors/patterns I wanted, and ALTHOUGH THIS MIGHT CHANGE, I am think about doing Reese's room in the colors red, chocolate brown, and creme, maybe in a "monkey" theme.

Here is the material I picked out.




I really, really hope that it turns out well, but I do not have high expectations of myself on the first one. We will see. I will post the progress, and remember to be kind because I am highly emotional at this point :). Wish me luck!!!

Look Out American Idol........

I have missed most of the American Idol try outs this season. Kris HATES to watch them. He has to leave the room because he gets embarrassed for the people. I on the other hand, only like to watch the try outs. Anyhoo- I am thinking if they can make it to try outs (you know who "they" are if you watch), why can we with our self written new song "Clean Diaper"?

New "Members" of the Family........

Let me back up a little, at our church Christmas party, Santa made a visit (you may remember the video). Abram received a present from Santa-it was a "bless your heart" kind of present. It was a buffalo. Abram wanted nothing to do with this toy, so he found a home under the seat of my car. I was cleaning out my car last week and putting his toys and books in a basket to go through. That is when he saw him. It was weird really, I don't know why I missed the song "Reunited" in the background. He picked up that buffalo and started hugging it, and kissing it, and petting it........and named him "Bo".

Abram has NEVER been a stuffed animal kid. He has a few very adorable (expensive) stuffed animals we have tried to get him to like-which are now sitting in a box. However, something about this dollar store toy-which got a hole in it the first day he started playing with it-has mesmerized him. I mean seriously people, Bo had to go to the grocery store with us, and see and smell all of the fruits and vegetables, Abram shared his food with Bo, Abram had to brush Bo's teeth after breakfast, Bo went to time out yesterday for hitting, if Abram gets a kiss-you guessed it-Bo gets one too, maybe I would like him better if he wasn't so ugly-don't judge me, you are about to see a picture. Moral of the story? I think I am heading to the dollar store this week and hoping there are a few more "Bo's" on the shelf.



"Bo and Dice" and yes, there is a loose string on Bo that I am not willing to pull or cut for fear the whole thing will come apart.


Then there is "Dines". Whenever we go to Target, it's a bit of a drive. SO while I look around, Kris takes Abram to the toy section to play and run around. Last night was no exception. We meet up and Abram is carrying 2 dinosaurs. It was really cute the way he was playing with them. He even went up to a little girl and yelled "RAR! Boom Boom Boom! (as he stomped his feet toward her)" which made me think, "Yep, Abram is going to be that boy that picks up grose things to scare little girls, and right now I am okay with that. ANYWAYS, we in the toddler department and he sits down on the floor and starts playing with them. I look at Kris and say, "We should get him one, in fact I don't think we'll have much of a choice." Than Kris tells me how much they cost, so we "accidentally" lost one on the way to the check out. So then "Dines" (named by Abram) joined our family. In fact, "Dines" had to have his own bed and blanket last night because he wasn't allowed to sleep with Abram. You should have seen the tears, the flailing, the hyperventilating he was crying so hard. Nevertheless, "Dines" needed his own bed, and eventually he went to sleep. When Abram woke up, it was the first thing he asked for. Although if "Dines" falls apart or breaks, he might have to really be extinct, because dinosaurs are pricey. Bizarre, why is he growing up so fast?

You Know When.........

You have one of those "inspiring" moments? Well I just read this quote on a friend's blog, and it made me happy.

"I don't want to drive up to the pearly gates in a shiny sports car, wearing beautifully, tailored clothes, my hair expertly coiffed, and with long, perfectly manicured fingernails. I want to drive up in a station wagon that has mud on the wheels from taking kids to scout camp. I want to be there with grass stains on my shoes from mowing Sister Schenk's lawn. I want to be there with a smudge of peanut butter on my shirt from making sandwiches for a sick neighbor's children. I want to be there with a little dirt under my fingernails from helping to weed someone's garden. I want to be there with children's sticky kisses on my cheeks and the tears of a friend on my shoulder. I want the Lord to know I was really here and that I really lived."

--- Marjorie Pay Hinckley

I think I am feeling a bit inspired, who knows what I will be up to tomorrow......

Just Call Me "Super Mama"........

If you have ever been around kids before you might appreciate the meaning of one of these.....


and if you are familiar with one of those, you may know that this is your arch enemy......



So even though you may have told your "little muffin", "Don't let go, no really, don't let go, we won't be able to reach it." and yet he does......

and then the tears start. You try to ignore them, but you also know that after he put on a 20 minute show at the local Chick-Fil-a upon getting this balloon, after trying to steal an old ladies' birthday balloon (another story). That every single person knew in that restaurant how happy this child was when he got the balloon with all of the dancing, and "yay"-ing, and "da da da da!" (save the day superhero call)-ing and all of the "orange boon! so happy! orange boon!"-ing, that this child was indeed in love with this balloon.

So you invent this.........



and when you get the balloon, your 2 year old screams "Mama! Da da da da!!" Your superhero anthem, that you-yes you, have in fact saved the day. I am thinking about a copyright.....and maybe a costume :).

I'm Wondering......

What do people do in Alaska in the winter to entertain their children when they are stuck inside everyday all day??? I consider myself a pretty creative person, however, I am feeling quite large and unmotivated. Any suggestions? Websites I can get ideas from??? HELP!!!!!

P.S. keep in mind with your suggestions that there aren't a ton of "kid-friendly spots" around here. THANKS!

Confessions......

I have some confessions to make:

Over the weekend I just so happened to be having a great hair day. So there I was, admiring my just flat ironed hair, when something shimmered in the light. Upon looking at it closely I FOUND THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Okay, "THIS" wouldn't take a very good picture, so you will have to use your imagination. Picture amongst thick red hair something as WHITE AS SNOW people. That's right a huge WHITE HAIR!!!!!!!!!!!

No, this wasn't my first. My first was on my 21st birthday. I was working at a daycare and one of my kids came up to me where I was sitting and announced to everyone I had a gray hair. When I told her she was crazy, she pulled it out and showed it to me.....awesome. AND BEFORE I GET THE "POOR BABY, SUCK IT UP" comments, let me just argue the fact that I have just come to love the color of my hair in the last ten years. I have ALWAYS wanted a different color. NO ONE wants to have red hair when they are little AND when someone jokes about "the red headed step-child" and you actually ARE a red-headed step child, things aren't so funny. One of the things I was looking forward to is the old wives tale about red hair being the last to go gray (I might have made that up). Plus, I am pregnant, so everything is ultra dramatic and I am scared TO DEATH of dying my hair, much less dishing out a fortune for someone who actually can do it correctly. Oh the drama (placing hand on my forehead)!!

Secondly, I think I am addicted to vacuuming, no this is not a joke. It started in Alabama and I brought the addiction here with me. I vacuum 3 times a day and then when something gets on the floor I obsess about it. I love the lines on the carpet after I am done. I think I am going crazy.

Thirdly, I am also obsessed with making and eating the majority of chocolate chip cookies WITH WALNUTS. If they don't have walnuts and aren't home made you can forget it. Wow, (insert sarcasm) can't wait to see what that's going to look like in 3 months.

Fourthly, I almost threw up when I saw on the counter I have 98 days until my due date. I am under 100 and for some reason that feels really close. Yikes, scarrrrryyyy!

Fifthly (I am making up words now I think) I am ready for a new blog look again. This was calming, but now I don't feel calm, so I will explore my options-don't be surprised if you click on this site one day and it has bright, crazy, give you a headache colors on it, because that is how I am feeling right now.

On the upside, Kris, Abram, and I had a dance party last night, and it was the funnest ever. It's been way too long since we have done that.

Okay, that's all I've got for now. Are you scared? You should be, you have to stick it out with my craziness for 98 more days-and don't get me started on post baby blogs!!

A Story for You.......

Once upon a time there was a family who just moved. The had THE cutest little boy ever. One morning they got bored and the little boy found and unopened green bubble wand in a box his mommy had brought out to dig through. This little boy had many obsessions you see-one of them being bubbles. So all morning long the little boy begged to open the bubbles. His mommy and daddy promised that we would open them at the park. And so they went, and opened the bubbles.........


and his mommy and daddy blew more bubbles, and the little boy was so happy.....


But then he decided that he was big enough to do it by himself, so the boy blew some bubbles.....



.....and more bubbles....


And even MORE bubbles.......


Until the little boy got distracted by his dog and started chasing the dog, with the open bubbles. The bubbles spilled everywhere! So when the litle boy tried to blow more bubbles.......


....he became sad, and angry, and threw down the bubbles!


Not to worry, the little boy is still little enough where sometimes distractions work magic......


and the family played so much that he needed to take a little rest ......


.....before screaming all the way to the car.

THE END.

25 weeks and 1 day......

The counter on the side bar makes me laugh "only" 104 days to go. Although I must say I am thankful-this pregnancy seems to be flying by and it's making me a bit nervous....

I Did It!!!!!!!!

That's right, let the "Dora music" start......Okay, I found a new website that offers free backgrounds (see side bar) and I found this one. I really like it, it calms me. However, if you put rain instead of snow, brownish green grass, and an always cloudy sky with cow fields all around-that's what it really looks like here! :) I don't mean to sound so negative, it's just hard to start over. And the weather can really get to you. Although today I am feeling optimistic since the sun has been shining through my windows, I have made a couple of new friends, and my little boy has been cracking me up all day, even if we are inside. We might get a little defiant when he wakes up and go outside anyways. I mean, really, the sunshine could do us both some good. I hope that you all are having a beautiful sun shiny day too!!

Under Construction.........

SO I am figuring out a new "blog look"..........it might take a while. Oh and

P.S. I am so thankful for a day of sunshine after a month of rain.....
(insert sarcasm) my little boy picked the perfect day to be sick, ugh.

Heartbreak Part 2

Again, to distract from the sobs this evening(which so far are not like the afternoon-watch I just jinxed myself) I will share a story and a cute video. So today we are at church in sacrament meeting. We are praying to bless the bread before it's passed. And Abram shouts out (please note that this is during a prayer-meaning everyone is silent except for the one praying....well, and Abram) "Daddy's seeping (sleeping)!!!" and I whispered, "no, Daddy's praying" and Abram keeps yelling over and over but it starts to sound like "Daddy's peeing!!! Daddy's pee pee!!" It was all I could do not to bust out laughing, I was shaking because I was holding it in, Kris's face was so red, it was awesome.

Now for the video-while Kris was at church tonight, a superhero came to protect the house. Listen for the da da da da!!


And yes, people have been shooting fireworks out here since New Year's Eve.

Today I Broke My Son's Heart............

I am so sad. As I type I am listening to the cries of a broken heart in the room across from mine. Today, we decided to break Abram from his pacifier. Abram only uses it to sleep-period. But after talking to the pediatrician (uh......2 1/2 months ago) and talking to Kris we decided it was time. Time is starting to go by really fast-meaning my pregnancy-and Abram is in for many big changes in his life. I knew the longer I waited regarding the beloved paci, the harder it would be. So today after church, we came home, ate lunch, changed clothes, and it was nap time. He got in ready mode paci in mouth and blanket in arm, and to the trashcan we walked-that's right people-cold turkey. He threw it in the trash can like I asked him to, and then immediately broke down. I can stand to listen to my child cry-like if he is in time out or whatever-but when he is hurting-I swear my heart brakes a little with his.

These "big changes" I was referring to? Well the paci comes first. Then, because his bed (crib) was broken during the move and is now totally rigged together, the next step is a big boy bed. Then, his little brother will be here in April-again turning his world upside down. THEN, I will worry about potty training. Which he isn't showing signs of being ready yet-unfortunately, and fortunately. UGH! This sucks.

In the meantime I keep chanting to myself- it'll be better for his teeth, and his speech, he won't be five years old wanting to take his paci to nap time in kindergarten, SURELY the crying will stop.....eventually, right? I'm not even in the mood to tell the funny story from church today-that'll have to wait.....at least until the sobbing stops.

Christmas Videos.....

I am trying to update and have no idea as I am downloading what order these will appear, so bear with. I know that this post will be a little "video heavy" and that probably only my family will watch them all-but they are quite entertaining if I might say so myself-being the bias one that I am.

My mom had surgery the week before Christmas. I didn't blog about it because it's one of those "personal family things" that you don't necessarily want the world to know about. She is doing much better now, but Christmas was a lot different this year-obviously. We celebrated our Christmas when we got home and put a train around the tree-one of Abram's latest obsessions-here is his reaction:


Santa also decided we needed more "music" in our house......wait until you hear the harmonica. This was his first attempt, I will video his concert performance soon :)



And a t-ball set........



Just as a side note: what you didn't hear in the video was Kris saying he was afraid this was going to turn out like one of those "America's Funniest Home Video Crotch Hits" lucky for him it didn't, but dang that would have been funny, and yes-I would have posted it.

Complete Slacker

1. I am glad the holidays are done.
2. I am a blog slacker.
3. I am not too fond of the new background, and it won't stay long-I just need to get the holiday one off.
4. I have so much to blog and not enough time.
5. It's funny that I am a slacker and have the nerve to be irritated that some of my friends are blog slackers as well because I would rather read than post.
6. I have made the decision that 2009 is going to be awesome.
7. My house is getting bearable.
8. I am alive, and my little Reese cup is kicking like a wild buck.

That is all for now......too tired....must take a nap. I hope everyone has had a great New Years, and I can't wait to read about your resolutions!!!!