She Photographs Tuesday....from LAST Tuesday

I am SO late with this post but we have had such a busy busy week, which I will post about later but I had to get my SPT in from last Tuesday because I have been so inspired everyone's posts...and by Earth Day, and by my husband.

We recycle cans (just earned $8 with an Earth Day special) newspaper, magazines but we could do so much better with our waste. We have been looking for a good recycling system to put in our kitchen or garage and would love ideas. It needs to be a really great system because there is no pickup in our city (at least for our townhouses).

Darin (my husband) is very energy conscience and always looking for ways to conserve. He is a engineer so he is also always on the look out for alternative energy ideas...reading articles, watching programs, it's very inspiring to me. With every appliance we replace we try to get the most energy efficient replacement, we drive small cars that get good gas mileage, we keep our home on an efficient temp year around, use compact florescent bulbs etc. One of Darin's many (many many many) dreams is to build an eco friendly house, or at least remodel a home to be as energy and water conservative as possible. He took me to the Utah House about a year ago which has so many great ideas to have a beautiful home while conserving energy and water. A few of my favorite parts were the counter tops made out of recycled glass, solar tubes which brought sunlight in without using electricity (you could control the amount and the natural light was so serene) central level living, window placement, and home flow which kept need for air conditioning and heat low. Darin of course liked the more technical details of the home, the materials used and such, but I fell in love with how beautiful it was. I don't remember what flooring they used, but we both love the look of bamboo and cork flooring. We plan to use bamboo when we redo the bottom floor of our townhouse (the picture shows the darkened hand scraped type that we like the best). We also just signed up for Rocky Moutain Blue Sky where some of the energy we purchase comes from wind power. Just some things to look into for anyone who is interested.

Good Mail

I received some very good mail last week. A beautiful Spring fairy card from Amanda- paper crafter extraordinaire (some seriously cute ideas). A nice note from Laurie, who should be blogging. She is my, I think 2nd cousin? I am not sure but her branch of the family tree needs some representin'. Nanci, my hometown friend sent a wonderful card after we had a long phone conversation all about parenting insecurities (among other insecurities). Thank you everyone!

In the card Nanci sent she included this quote that has been on my mind ever since.

"Praise each child individually, help him or her escape our cultures obsession with comparing, competing and never feeling good enough"
-Elder Jeffery R Holland

If we can keep from comparing ourselves and our children to others....oh how happy we would be. I really want to be able to help my children overcome this "obsession" of comparing and competing. I remember when I was little I was so open to the world. I loved everyone, and there was no doubt in my mind that everyone loved me, or would love me once they met me. My parents did a great job of making me feel special and loved. And then, I lost it. Not completely lost it, but I think every year of school knocked me down a notch on the ole' self esteem scale. The crazy thing is, I actually had lots of friends, and did really well in school but I remember comparing my accomplishments to others and it seemed whatever I could do was never good enough (just as Elder Holland said). I need to go re-read the talk to see if I can get some insights on how to stop comparing myself to others, and then how to keep my kids from falling into the trap. In the mean time, does anyone have any ideas of how to get over this?

The New Kid in Town - NOT my new kid

All you Dixie girls (and hygienists) who read my blog, here is Mirissa's new little boy! They named him Charles Harrison and will call him "Charlie". He is long, lean, and very sweet. Ris is doing great, still in that new mom haze but loving her little guy.

Warning: Long and personal documentation of current pregnancy.
Holding Ris's baby makes me excited and NERVOUS for our boy to get here. I have a good three weeks to go, and if the past is any indicator I will be going over that. However, from the very first month, this pregnancy has been so different from my first that I am not sure what to expect. I gained 30 lbs with Miriam and was SO active-running the whole first trimester, aerobics and weight training the whole second, walking and doing the stair stepper the whole third. I have gained 1 lb with this pregnancy so far (keep in mind I went into it 30 lbs over weight so I am not some skinny minny), and have only walked sporadically and done some belly dancing the whole pregnancy. My doctor is not concerned because the baby is growing great and both of our vitals are very healthy. I am not dieting...I repeat I am NOT dieting! Darin can affirm this. Crazy.

Miriam did not kick often or very hard. I remember being so excited with every movement I felt, and that we had to be patient for Darin to feel one. This little guy is kicking and pushing and shoving me to death! It feels like he stands on my bladder, to grab hold of my ribs. His movements stopped being amusing a few months ago. Also, until I went into labor with Miriam I felt absolutely no pain. The Braxton Hicks were nothing, just some tightening in my belly. I knew when I was in labor because I felt actual pain. For the last 2 months my belly has been tightening at random making me very uncomfortable. Because of this, my belly muscles have been sore for the past 2 months and in the last week I have started feeling waves of hard cramping (like menstrual cramps). My doctor said his theory on that is that my body is remembering what it needs to do and is getting ready. It depresses me to think I may be having these waves of cramps for 3 more weeks.

My emotions are also different. I was watching Miriam dance the other day and just started crying thinking that our relationship is about to change and she has no idea. Who we are together is going to be different...better because there will be someone new to love and to give love back but I am still mourning the end of "us". I don't think I did the same mourning over the Darin and I "us" with Miriam. Perhaps because I didn't realize how much it would change. Maybe my mourning happened after the fact with Miriam, and there will be less tears after this guy comes than with Miriam. I cried a lot that first week. I don't remember feeling sad or depressed but I didn't stop crying for an entire week.

I believe I need to stop worrying about it and go clean my fridge (and mop my floor, and organize baby clothes, and do laundry....)

Random Things

Look! We did it! We collected all of the dolls, but we could never have done it without help. Thank you to everyone who looked for, offered and sent us dolls. My mom, sister Sarah, and sister-in-law Kelly all found dolls I needed, and unbelievably TX Girl's mom found the precious Glenda I was looking for (in Seattle!) along with some others. My Aunt Ruth offered to break her collection to send me one, and Kara, a blogger I have never met offered to track some down. Blogging is amazing. As it stands I have a Tin Man and a Lion fully packaged extra if anyone is looking for those two, I would be happy to send them anywhere to share the love. Thank you to everyone!! Miriam LOVES them, and so do I.

We had fun visitors last week! Shauna and James spent their spring break in Utah and stopped by for a visit. It was so fun to spend an evening with them and Miriam loved the attention from Aunt Nonnie. We hope hope hope to see you guys this summer!!

This last photo is just for me. I had to get a picture of this suit before it gets all faded and worn out (Miriam and I have been going swimming once a week). This suit was Miriam's Easter gift and I ADORE it. She calls it her Fancy Nancy suit. I saw it in a boutique before Miriam was born and fell in love. I could never NEVER have spent what it cost, but last Fall it was 75% off!! Meaning it was still more than I would have spent normally but just look at those polk-a-dots, and that collar, it was worth it. By the way if anyone has girlie girls at their house, Fancy Nancy and Fancy Nancy and the Posh Puppy are must reads.

How Can I Decide??

Oh man...there is so much I want, so much I NEED I had a difficult time deciding what to use my virtual $100 on! I want a Baby Bjorn, I would love some silky nice pajamas to wear in the hospital, new running shoes, a cute workout outfit, bare minerals foundation, a new swimming suit, and summer hats (durned mask of pregnancy!). I also recently read 'What Not To Wear' and would like to scrap my entire pre-pregnancy wardrobe and just start over!!

So what did I decide??






At 8 months pregnant, I am not feeling my prettiest these days. At this point, no matter how cute my clothes are, I am not going to feel great. I would not only love to have very cute toes and nails, but I would LOVE to have them both massaged. I am fighting to keep myself from becoming the waddling, complaining, tired looking typical pregnant woman but I have to be honest, this pregnancy is getting OLD!

The Egg report

We colored and used the rest of our "egg mosaic" shells to decorated the eggs.

They are SO messy.....

but turn out really cute. We made these eggs on Thursday and left Friday for Price. Darin stayed home. I think he lived on boiled eggs and crackers.

We really missed having Marcus and Madison around last weekend. Ali and Josh were with their other cousins so, five adults (me, Julia, Sarah, Mom and Dad) watched as Miriam found her 7 Easter Bunny left eggs Saturday morning. Very exciting. Us girls went to Ali's Tea Party (see post below) while Dad worked his tail off. We literally went to see a man about a horse (a pony that my dad would like to have at my Grandpa's farm for the grandkids to ride), and then had dinner at Pizza Hut. Sunday morning my parents drove Miriam and I back home in time for our church and stayed to have Easter dinner/lunch with us. It was so fun to have them here. I wish I would have taken pictures of our walk to church. Miriam had to be holding hands between two adults at all times. Thank you mom and dad for coming to spend the Holiday with us.

I forgot to take Miriam's picture on Sunday in her Easter finery so I made her wear it again today for some staged pictures (minus the cute socks since they were dirty). I love how simple and sweet this dress is. Our bishop's wife stopped by out of the blue one day with a bag of clothes and asked "do you do hand-me-downs?" I said "You better believe I do" and this gem was in there. I actually remember coveting this dress last Easter but not getting it because Miriam already had a very cute dress to wear. That is righteous living for you.

Two VERY Cute Parties

Simon turns 1

Cute Simon (my friend Fiona's little boy) turned one last Friday and had an Easter picnic to celebrate. The birthday boy napped while the rest of us ate lunch which included adult and kid food, and then the kids went on an Easter egg hunt. All the kids were allowed to find 10 eggs, and when everyone finished they were free to hunt down any lingering eggs. Miriam had a blast and there was not one tear shed by any of the 10 + children there. These eggs were filled with good stuff too...not jelly beans that taste like play dough, starburst, and Jelly Belly beans, M&M's and chocolate eggs. Yes that is a train cake made with the Williams Sonoma train mold. Fiona said it took forever just greasing the thing (with q-tips) but it was well worth the effort. The kids just stood around it drooling. Simon woke up from his nap just as the egg hunt was dying down to open his gifts and then the kids were free to pick a train car (there were also 2 dozen cupcakes all decorated cute and then ice cream). It was the closest I have come to a Willy Wonka experience. Great Job Fi (hope you got that nap in).

Ali turns 4

On Saturday Ali made Miriam's dream come true by having a tea party birthday. The little girls had Kool-Aid, heart shaped PB&J sandwiches, and the cutest cupcakes on a real glass tea set. Miriam LOVES tea parties. She made Sarah, Julia and I practice the night before with about 5 tea parties in a row, but still hadn't had her fill by the party.

The darling little girls.

The cute food table (really good chicken salad sandwiches for the adults).

There was also a big kids table, decorated just as cute, but no real tea set. Josh has a zillion girl cousins on Kelly's side of the family so he either participates or sits around with the adults. He is usually up for whatever.

Not only did Miriam get to have a tea party with little girls (rather than her mom), but we guessed how many jelly beans were in a jar and she won a Strawberry Shortcake tea set herself. Actually, I hear that Kelly's brother Joey guessed closer, I hope he isn't too upset. The set couldn't have gone to a more tea party adoring girl. I am TEA PARTIED OUT at this point. I am so tired of spilled water all over the place, but Miriam is still enjoying the set. Great party Kel!

My Big Brother

I missed posting on my brothers birthday, my only excuse is that I am 8 months pregnant. I think that should cover it...I am big and tired. Happy Late Birthday Big Brother! It's sad that this is the only picture I have of him, they have another little girl now and Josh & Ali (kiddos) are much much bigger.

Erik is one of a kind that is for sure.
He is HILARIOUS but he doesn't really like to socialize so only a blessed few get to experience his humor.

He is so smart...again since he doesn't socialize much you would only know this if #1 you saw all the books he has read and is currently reading or #2 you spent a great deal of time with him, which is unlikely because he spends all his free time playing and teaching his children.

Erik is a great writer, I have read some of his college stuff and it is really great.

Erik has these quirky OCD things that are so funny. For instance he can't stand to watch people bite into a banana, he shutters if he sees a banana touch someones lip. The only way for him to eat one is to break off a piece and toss it into his mouth. There are many other little things like that that crack me up!

He doesn't like crowds or being too close to people. Exception, his children who are constantly climbing all over him. I think at times people have thought him shy, but he really isn't. He just doesn't want people to invade his space. He can have all the friends he wants, but I think he is pretty happy with his family and doesn't need much more.

Speaking of children, he is great with them. All of them, and especially his own. He knows how to play.

He is good at his job. Being smart helps, and articulate, but he is REALLY good with people. I know that seems funny when he doesn't seem to really want people around. It's an anomaly.

He can get people to believe anything he says. He has told me a few whoppers that could have changed the course of my life had I not been clued in by others. I admit I can be gullible, but he has convinced more than just me of things.


This picture is in honor of my first memory of Erik. We are only 18 months apart so we played quite a bit as children. When I was about 3 and Erik 4 I distinctly remember having a fight over the record player. I wanted to listen to my book on record "The Rescuers" (remember those? before we could even rent Disney videos?) and Erik wanted to listen to Kenny Rogers "The Gambler"....at 4 YEARS OLD! For some reason I think that just fits him..

I love you big brother!

Our Weekend

This has been one of the best General Conferences I have had in a long long time. Mainly because I was able to listen to so much more of this Conference then any in the last 3 years. Miriam has been pretty needy during other Conferences and I have ended up entertaining her during the two days and really hearing about 3 talks. This time around, my plan was to be armed with tons of distractions for her, and to totally wear her out during the 2 hour intermission.

Saturday morning session

Paint, color, cut, glue..she made about 6 "art projects". Helped mom do the dishes (thats why she isn't wearing a shirt, it was wet).

Between Sessions:
We met my friend Erin, and her cute family at the zoo for her little girls 1st birthday party. Erin was one of my companions on my mission in Boston. I had amazing companions my whole mission (the odds of that are very slim), and this girl was one of the very best. So many laughs, Erin is just such an original. She loves pioneers, making pottery, vintage homes and decorations, men with red beards (she found one!), playing basketball, and has more friends than anyone else I know. Darin and Miriam at the zoo, it was so novel to have him with us we had to take a picture.

Second session: We listened to Conference during the 30 min drive home. Once home, I have to admit I napped, I have no idea what Miriam did.

Priesthood Session:

We went to McD's to get another Wiz o Oz doll, I called around and we have missed completely the Glenda Doll. I thought I just needed to go to McD's once a week, but each franchise just gives them out until they are gone and moves on to the next doll so you have to go EVERY DAY to find out what they are giving away. I really need to let this obsession go I can not compete with the world power that is McDonalds. I still want the tin man, scarecrow and lion, I can't help myself I have a problem. I know I could find them on ebay, but if they are more than $3 it really isn't worth it since Miriam plays with them all the time, she loves them (notice Dorothy's hair). I haven't kept them in the original packaging or anything. We stopped at the Red Box and rented Fairytopia for Miriam (I was shocked it was in) and The Holiday.

Sunday Morning Session: Miriam watched Fairytopia, and then we made oatmeal craisin cookies.

Between Sessions:
We started our Christ Centered Easter activities (thank you G'ma for the book) by going on a nature walk to collect things that remind us of the Easter story. The walk took us to the nearest elementary school where Miriam ran and played hard (which was the point).

Sunday Afternoon Session: Miriam watched Fairytopia AGAIN which we usually wouldn't let her do but it was so nice to have her occupied. I have to admit, again I did some napping (I am not sleeping well at night). Miriam came down and fell asleep herself while conference was finishing. It was a wonderful weekend for me. So many of the talks seemed to relate directly to things I have been thinking about, and working through the last little while.

I finished a new baby project that has been on my 'To Do' list for awhile. Shirts for Miriam and her friend whose little brother is due in two weeks (but could come at any moment). I originally wanted to have them embroidered, but thought the $10 each shirt was a bit much. I went to buy velvet iron on letters and could find them only at Hobby Lobby. After driving to the nearest HL store, they just happened to be restocking the entire iron on section and didn't know when the letters would be out so I settled on the bling bling. I think its cute, even though the rhine stones may fall off after the first wash. I am clueless is $10 a shirt a good price for embroidery?