{The Simple Life}

How'd I Do... January Goals

2012-02-01T21:25:00.004-07:00

So, where did January go? That went by really fast. I was able to get quite a bit done on the home front though; probably mostly due to being trapped at home with sick kids for half the month. So let's check in:

January's Goals:

Homemaking -

~~Pack away Christmas decor~~

Sort through Christmas boxes and purge unused decor

~~Organize toy room with new toys~~

~~Deep clean laundry room~~

~~Paint laundry room~~ - Finally, two and a half years after moving here, the laundry room is painted.

Cooking -

~~Try three new recipes~~ - I tried some really good ones last month... I'll have to do another post on those.

~~Gather recipes for family cookbook~~ - I've started compiling recipes.

Mothering -

Take Ella on a date

Patience, Patience, Patience

Creating -

Begin organizing craft closet

Financing -

~~Work out 2012 budget~~

Enriching -

Read a book

~~Give myself permission to take a nap when I'm tired~~ - Finally catching up on some much needed sleep after pulling several late night/early mornings in December.

February's Goals:

Homemaking -

Finish up laundry room

Finish touching up paint in basement stairwell

Finish decorating toy room

Clean out master closet/dresser

Cooking -

Stock the freezer with some meals again

Finish my part of family cookbook

Try new recipe each week

Mothering -

Spend more one on one time with Cameron

Date with Ella

Creating -

Make some art work for toy room

Financing -

Start saving money for new camera

Enriching -

Read a book

While The Cats Away, The Mice Will Play

2012-01-24T11:15:00.002-07:00

Sorry that I just sort of disappeared. The hubby was out of town all last week and I decided to take advantage and get a few projects checked off my list. But first, the weekend before Andrew left he helped me to demo the laundry room. Yay! That means my laundry room has to actually get done now... we can't just talk about it anymore. Of course since he was heading out of town and the laundry room only got torn apart, the house was left in major disaster mode. We've tried cleaning up a little bit, but the guest room and bath have been taken over by laundry stuff. Not such a big deal, except for the fact that my sister and her fiance were visiting last weekend. Hehe... sorry Caitlin.
Anyways... back to the projects... the minute Andrew left for the airport, I headed down to the basement and started moving furniture to the middle of the room. That's right, the toy room finally got painted. I'm not even sure that I mentioned the toy room had been moved to the basement in June, but we, and by we I mean I, decided we needed to utilize some spaces better in our home. The basement wasn't being used at all except as a large storage dumping ground and we were always climbing over our guests down there to get to anything including the food storage room. Since we have visitors a lot, it was kind of a big deal. So the guest room got moved to the old toy room on the main level, which has worked out much better and the toy room went downstairs. It really has been win win. Unfortunately, I didn't have time or energy to decorate the toy room, but just getting it painted and the furniture arranged was a huge undertaking in and of itself. So without further ado... here is what we have so far...

This was in June when we were moving stuff around.

Freshly painted... I love the color.

Unfortunately, the lovely pink carpet stands out that much more now.

The file cabinets in the corner of the picture here actually need to go in the storage room, but that room has to be addressed before there is room for these file cabinets.

The kids spend hours cooking food in their kitchen... it makes me happy. They also love to race those strollers.

Nice and organized... I just need to make up labels.

They also love the chalk board and their table. I found this table with the four chairs at the DI for $35 a couple summers ago. Score! Unfortunately, three of the chairs have been broken... I'm still hoping to be able to fix them though. I think it would be cute to paint the chairs some fun colors.

And of course, the horse, the very fancy horse.

Once the toy room was done, I moved onto the laundry room. I'm convinced that the previous owners really liked to put holes in the wall. They were also really big fans of wall anchors (I kid you not, there were wall anchors for small picture frames) and toggle bolts (oh please shoot me). The laundry room was no exception, in fact I'm pretty sure this was the favorite room for this. I don't even know how many holes I patched, but it was a lot. After I finally got everything patched and sanded and patched and sanded again, I was able to paint before Andrew got home Friday night. Now we just need to get the new shelves built and installed and then I can decorate. I'm so excited to have a nice laundry room.

One of the few times the laundry room has been clean and organized.

These pictures are actually two years old... I forgot to take pictures before we started tearing things out. The room was actually a huge disaster before we started and the washer and dryer had been buried for at least two months... when I did laundry I just moved the huge pile to the couch and brought it back to the washer when I was done. Yes, that is embarrassing to admit. We're working on it. Don't judge.

Cameron enjoyed helping.

Just imagine all the holes from that shelving unit... half of which were in toggle bolts.

Ella thought it was pretty cool that she could touch the roof.

It was so hard to find a paint color for this room. Everything looks like some variation of concrete on the walls.

I think I'm happy with the color. It's certainly better than the yellow that was in there. I also got a new light fixture for in here. I'm excited for this to be done. Hopefully everything gets finished up on Saturday.

Laundry Part 2

2012-01-06T15:24:00.003-07:00

As part of organizing the laundry room we need to make our entryway uber functional so that it can be used for coats, shoes, backpacks, etc, which will free up tons of space in the laundry room. Our laundry room is just way too small to be used as a mudroom/laundry/storage room. So thanks again to pinterest, I've found some great inspiration for our entryway.

I love this chest of drawers, the rug, the mirror, the chairs and that glass vase.

Love the red door and entry table.

We need hooks...

...lots of hooks

I love the railing with hooks and kids art.

I love this way of displaying the munchkins art work. I'm pretty sure Ella would love to help with this project.

Laundry Love

2012-01-05T14:56:00.001-07:00

I have three organizational goals for the house this year... 1) makeover the laundry room, 2) revamp the kids closet and 3) organize the storage room. Now, the kids closet should take priority, but I'm really wanting to do the laundry room first. After all, I walk into and through that room countless times a day. So after scouring pinterest (oh, how I love pinterest), here is what I've come up with for the laundry room.

I love this serene wall color.

I love everything about this room... the wall color, the mirror, the wire basket and the light fixture.

I need these shelves above my washer and dryer.

Shelving for the opposite side of the room.

Love the glass containers for laundry soap, stain removers, vinegar, etc...

How'd I Do... December Goals

2012-01-01T23:10:00.001-07:00

My goodness, I can't believe 2011 is over. 2011 was a crazy busy year for us. I'm hoping that 2012 will slow down a little, but we'll see. I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas... We had a great time in California visiting grandparents, aunts and uncles and cousins. The munchkins loved it and had so much fun playing with cousins. We were sad to leave family, but it's always so nice to come home.
So let's review December's goals:

Homemaking -

~~Decorate for Christmas~~

~~Deep clean before Christmas~~ - I was pretty to happy to actually get the house cleaned before our trip. It was well worth the frantic cleaning spree the day before leaving to come home to a clean house and fresh sheets.

Cooking -

Make a fabulous cake for Ella's birthday party - Bummer... I did make some cute cupcakes though.

Try three new recipes - I've gotta be honest... I could have tried three new recipes, but I don't remember.

Christmas baking/goodie plates - I had the best intentions, I even bought the stuff, but then I just ran out of time.

Mothering -

Take Ella on a date - January is the month. It was kinda hard to do this since we were so busy and when I was planning on shopping it was for Christmas.

~~Remember to read Christmas stories with the kiddos~~ - The kids loved unwrapping a book each night to read. Definitely need to do this again.

Creating -

~~Finish all the homemade gifts I've planned... there are a lot~~ - With a lot of late nights, it all got done.

Sew a scarf for me... I need something for my stocking too - Nope, but I've got plans for one or two.

~~Finish the flowers and gift bags for Ella's birthday party~~ - Yep and they were adorable.

Financing -

Figure out a new budget for 2012 - This is on the calendar for this week.

~~Plan budget for the month of December... there is a lot to cram in this month~~ - I actually stayed in budget.

Enriching -

~~Read two books~~ - I think I did this, but like the recipes, I just can't remember.

~~Host our Cooking Group~~ - We had so much fun.

~~Have a date night with Andrew... it is our anniversary this month after all~~ - We actually got to go out a few times this month. We especially had a great time in Santa Monica.

Let's look at January:

Homemaking -

Pack away Christmas decor

Sort through Christmas boxes and purge unused decor

Organize toy room with new toys

Deep clean laundry room

Paint laundry room

Cooking -

Try three new recipes

Gather recipes for family cookbook

Mothering -

Take Ella on a date

Patience, Patience, Patience

Creating -

Begin organizing craft closet

Financing -

Work out 2012 budget

Enriching -

Read a book

Give myself permission to take a nap when I'm tired

As you can see, there are quite a few homemaking goals this month. Our house has kinda become a disaster in the last few months and it's time to address that mess. What better time than the beginning of a new year.

{Merry Christmas}

2011-12-24T21:28:00.001-07:00

Merry Christmas to all and to all a goodnight...

Happy Fancy Birthday Ella Bella!!!

2011-12-14T15:57:00.001-07:00

Ella's birthday was actually on the 7th, but we celebrated on Saturday with a Fancy Nancy birthday soiree. We invited over five of her little girlfriends to make fancy bracelets, paint nails and eat yummy treats. The little girls all came wearing their fanciest ensembles. They had so much fun and Ella absolutely loved it. We love you baby girl! Happy 4th Birthday!!!

The girls all got to go home with cute little bags that had nail polish, a nail file, lots of jewelry, a flower clippie and feather boas.

They loved the pink sugar.

Strawberry mallows

Yummy strawberry cupcakes with pink sugar and pearl sprinkles.

Pink popcorn... I couldn't stop eating this.

Cake Batter Truffles

Chocolate Chip Truffles

I thought it was cute that the little girls had such a look of anticipation as Ella blew out her candle.

Time to eat yummy treats.

Eight Years

2011-12-13T23:23:00.003-07:00

Happy Anniversary Babe!!! Thanks for eight wonderful years. I have so many great memories because of you. We've been blessed with three beautiful children that bring so much joy into my life. I have so much fun when we're together and am so lucky to have you as my best friend. I look forward to many more memories and many many more years. I love you!

A New Baby

2011-12-07T10:01:00.001-07:00

No, not for me. This baby is for Ashlynn. For her first birthday I wanted to give her her own baby doll. But, I didn't want just any baby doll. I wanted a cozy cloth doll. Since Missy loves to cuddle so much, I thought she should have a doll that she could really snuggle with. So after searching several stores, I decided that they just don't make what I wanted. So off to Etsy I went and I actually found what I wanted after several searches, but then I looked at the price. Whawaawaaa! The price actually wasn't that bad (more than I like to pay, but I probably would've paid it if I didn't have any other options), but considering I have two birthdays, an anniversary and Christmas to pay for all in the span of 25 days, it just wasn't going to happen. So I drew up a pattern and started sewing. I will say that in this case the third times the charm. This is a direct quote from my hubby regarding the first attempt, "It looks like E.T." So, yeah... onto attempt two... much better, the body and legs were good, but, the head was too small. So for attempt three I actually just cut the head off the second doll, sewed a new head (the right size) and then attached it to the body. Perfect! I was so excited that it actually turned out. The picture makes the head look funny shaped, but I promise it actually looks okay. Now onto the rest of the homemade gifts for Christmas. I actually have several more gifts that I've already made and several more that I need to finish, but I can't post them right now since they're going to people that read this blog. I guess I have to show those after Christmas.

I'm linking up to the NewlyWoodwards Dare to... give homemade gifts party.

Happy Birthday Ashlynn!!!

2011-12-04T21:42:00.001-07:00

I can't believe my baby girl is already a year old. Her birthday was actually the first, I'm just a little late posting this. It was a crazy busy day and we actually ended up having a late dinner (that the poor girl didn't end up liking), I made a pitiful excuse for a cake as I was preparing dinner and then I didn't even wrap her gift. I know, I know, I'm a terrible mother. But, she seems to have not even noticed and so all is well. I'll make up for it in future birthdays.

Seriously cute!

She was more than happy to dig in.

She looks wasted on chocolate... I think she was just savoring each bite.

Of course Ella was all to happy to celebrate her sisters birthday... she insisted we have party hats.

And then there was this little man, who I think was really only in it for the cake and balloons.

Here is Ashlynn's new baby doll that I made for her. She loves it, although Cameron keeps taking it from her.

And here is her special present from her birthday twin, who is really a friend of mine from church, loves Ashlynn and just so happens to share her birthday. Thanks again Sallie.

It was a nice low key birthday celebration for a one year old that has no idea what's going on. We love you Ashlynn Rose and can't imagine our family without you. You're such a joy to all of us.

How'd I Do.. November Goals

2011-12-04T09:37:00.001-07:00

Once again, where did the month go!?! Heck, where has this year gone? Even the last few days of December have gotten away from me. I meant to post this on the first, but the first was Ashlynn's birthday and anyways, no more excuses. Let's move on. I actually did pretty good for the month of November.

Homemaking -

~~Finish winterizing the house~~ - There a couple things that didn't get done, but the main things are done, so we're calling it.

~~Pull out annuals~~

~~Plant tulips for spring~~ - We've been so lucky. Up until just a few days ago, we've actually had fall, so I was actually able to get the tulip bulbs planted for next year. Lets just hope that they grow and let's really hope that I didn't do to much damage to the existing tulip bulbs while trying to plant the new ones.

Cooking -

Try a new recipe each week - Well the cooking was a big fat fail this month. But, I did come up with an amazing recipe for cranberry sauce that I was pretty excited about. It was so good on those turkey sandwiches too!

Organize recipes - This is just going to have to wait for January.

Gather favorite recipes - I've got to do this so I can start working on that family cookbook.

Mothering -

~~Patience~~ - I'm always working on this, yet I always feel like a failure still. I guess we're not always going to be patient with our kids.

Take Ella on a date - We had to reschedule this one to December. Fortunately, it was actually because of something she had to go to and she doesn't even seem to remember.

Take fall pics if we get another nice day - I'm so sad I didn't find the time for this.

Plan Ashlynn's first birthday - Well I win "The Worst Mother of the Year" award. :) I didn't even make a cake until dinner time and then I didn't have time to let it cool before attempting, attempting being the key word here, to frost it. The cake looked awful, I didn't even wrap her present and she didn't really like dinner that night. So big fail on my part. Ashlynn I promise I'll make it up to you in years to come. I will say though that I made her gift and it turned out pretty freakin' adorable.

~~Have Cameron completely potty trained by Thanksgiving~~ - Yes, Yes, Yes!!! Hallelujah, this is done! He's is actually pretty good at night even.

Creating -

~~Make a tie for Cameron~~ - Oh my goodness cute!

~~Craft night with the girls~~ - We had so much fun crafting cute little girlie bows and flowers for our girls hair.

Make the hair clippies for Ella's birthday party - Agh, I've gotta get these done. Her birthday is next week. I guess I know what I'll be doing tonight after the kids go to bed.

Financing -

Figure out a budget for the month - Yeah, lets not talk about this.

Enriching -

~~Read a book~~ - Check... I just love a good mystery.

Okay, so not quite as good as I thought, but not to shabby either. I'm over it. Moving on.

December Goals:

Homemaking -

Decorate for Christmas

Deep clean before Christmas

Cooking -

Make a fabulous cake for Ella's birthday party

Try three new recipes

Christmas baking/goodie plates

Mothering -

Take Ella on a date

Remember to read Christmas stories with the kiddos

Creating -

Finish all the homemade gifts I've planned... there are a lot

Sew a scarf for me... I need something for my stocking too

Finish the flowers and gift bags for Ella's birthday party

Financing -

Figure out a new budget for 2012

Plan budget for the month of December... there is a lot to cram in this month

Enriching -

Read two books

Host our Cooking Group

Have a date night with Andrew... it is our anniversary this month after all

We've got another busy month ahead of us so I guess I should get off this computer and start working now.

{Christmas Is In The Air}

2011-11-28T18:13:00.001-07:00

Now that Thanksgiving is over, I'm officially allowed to get out all things Christmas. After skimming through my beloved Pottery Barn magazine, I just had to share some of the things I'm loving this year.

So many gorgeous tree ornaments as usual.

I love the new velvet stockings they have this year.

Look at this gorgeous pillow... this would be so easy to make.

I'm loving this entryway... the bench, the picture wall and lets not forget about that glass light fixture.

As usual, they've got some great seasonal fillers for all those glass jars.

I love the acorns and glittered pinecones.

A simple berry wreath for the windows maybe?

Another pretty pillow that would be so easy to make.

What a great tree.

And you can't forget a cozy sherpa blanket or two... the pup is kinda cute too.

2011-11-24T10:30:00.001-07:00

I have so much to be grateful for this year. I'm married to an amazing, hard-working and dedicated husband who loves me and we've been blessed with three beautiful, happy and healthy children. We have a beautiful home that keeps us warm and comfortable. We get to spend the holidays with family. I'm so lucky to stay home with my kiddos and as frustratingly busy as it is sometimes, I'm grateful that my husband has such a good job that allows him to support our family.

I hope everyone else is having a wonderful holiday and that you get to eat some amazingly yummy food too. Happy Thanksgiving!

Stepping Out

2011-11-21T13:25:00.001-07:00

So onto more updates... guess whose walking like crazy?

That's right, this little lady is all over the place now. She started toddling around about a month ago and for the last three weeks or so she just hasn't stopped. She loves that she can chase her brother and sister... she even growls as she does it. It's currently their favorite game.

I could just eat those cheeks up...

Yes, she likes to eat her brothers trucks and yes, he does get mad.

Weekend Road Trip

2011-11-16T07:00:00.000-07:00

A couple weekends ago we took a little road trip up to Rexburg to see my sister. This is her first semester at BYU Idaho, so we got to take the tour of campus, check out her apartment and meet her roommates. It was nice to visit with Aunt Caitlin and soon to be Uncle Brian. The kids had so much fun and were really excited to stay in a "fancy hotel". The hotel had an indoor pool, which was of course a huge hit with them.

Aunt Caitlin and Uncle Brian got engaged last weekend, so we're super excited for them.

Congratulations you two!

Halloween 2011

2011-11-15T08:14:00.001-07:00

Ella kicked off Halloween with a costume party at Preschool.

That's the cutest little witch I've ever seen... too bad I couldn't find a hat.

Everyone had fun trick or treating and got way too much candy. It was also really nice that we didn't have rain, snow or freezing temps this year.

Pumpkin Carving

2011-11-15T08:01:00.001-07:00

Cameron really enjoyed driving through all the pumpkin mess.

Pumpkin Picking

2011-11-15T07:39:00.001-07:00

I know, I know... this is a little late, but here is a little recap of October. The week before Halloween we headed out to our usual pumpkin patch. The munchkins were very particular about what pumpkins they picked out this year. Of course Ella was more than willing to "help" everyone else pick out their pumpkins, but don't try to help her. Funny girl.

This looks like a great pumpkin for Ashlynn

Fortunately, this little one still doesn't mind her sisters help.

It's getting harder and harder to take pictures of them all together.

We were so lucky to have gorgeous weather through October.

The munchkins had so much fun picking out pumpkins this year. They literally had been looking forward to it since last Halloween.

Pinterest Challenge

2011-11-02T10:55:00.002-06:00

Today I'm joining in on the Pinterest Challenge over at Young House Love. The rules are simple... Create something using inspiration from Pinterest. Easy peasy. I've actually got two things that I've made recently. Here's the first:

Inspiration via Dear Lillie

I love the idea of a giant ruler to mark your children's height as they grow. And if we move we can take it with us.

I'm so happy with how it turned out and it was so easy to make. If you go to her blog you can follow her easy tutorial.

My second inspiration photo was this awesome costume:

via

Super cute! But, I just can't bring myself to pay $150 for a costume.

So I studied the pictures for a while and thought about it for a couple of months and decided to just go for it and attempt the costume myself. Now, hands down the inspiration is better constructed than mine and a little cuter, but I'm absolutely thrilled with how mine came out, especially considering I only spent $15.

Such a cute Wild Thing!

How'd I Do... October Goals

2011-11-01T18:15:00.001-06:00

Another month has come and gone. Halloween is over and Thanksgiving is quickly approaching. Only 54 days until Christmas and I've barely even begun to do my Christmas shopping. My goodness this year is going way too quickly. Lets see how I did for the month of October...

Homemaking -

~~Clean up the garden for fall~~

Weed the flower beds for fall - I guess this will be a spring project.

~~Start wintering the house~~ - We started getting stuff done, but we've still got a few things on that list.

Cooking -

~~Try three new recipes~~

Try making french bread

Continue organizing recipes

Can some applesauce and apple butter - I just couldn't get myself to do this.

Mothering -

~~Continue with the patience thing~~

~~Squeeze in a few last play dates while we still have nice weather~~

Visit the farm... fall pics - Sadly, this just didn't happen.

Creating -

~~Finish the Halloween costumes~~ - They turned out so cute.

Financing -

~~Stay in budget~~ - Technically no, but it was only by $7... so I'm gonna count it.

Enriching -

Personal scripture study

~~Read a book~~

November's Goals:

Homemaking -

Finish winterizing the house

Pull out annuals

Plant tulips for spring

Cooking -

Try a new recipe each week

Organize recipes

Gather favorite recipes

Mothering -

Patience

Take Ella on a date

Take fall pics if we get another nice day

Plan Ashlynn's first birthday
Have Cameron completely potty trained by Thanksgiving

Creating -

Make a tie for Cameron

Craft night with the girls
Make the hair clippies for Ella's birthday party

Financing -

Figure out a budget for the month

Enriching -

Read a book

Happy Birthday To Me!!!

2011-10-18T21:47:00.002-06:00

Today is my birthday. I'm not that big into my birthday. It's really just another day, except that I realized I'm only two years away from the BIG 3-0. I'm so not ready for that. Good thing I have two years to prep myself mentally. This last year has been a busy one. Maybe the busiest that I can remember. Most of the time I kinda feel like life is spinning out of control and I'm just trying to hold on. I suppose that is how life goes though, especially as you get older. This last year was actually the first time I felt my age and at times even older. I actually had to change my skin care regime this year because my skin decided to go all adult on me and suck every ounce of moisture right out.

Anywho, thanks honey for a good birthday. I loved my present and dinner. I'm looking forward to this weekend when we have a little more time to spend together as a family and maybe do a little shopping.

An Afternoon Walk

2011-10-11T23:27:00.004-06:00

We're trying to enjoy the little bit of fall we have around here. So we took a little walk this afternoon. It already snowed once last week, but fortunately fall came back and will hopefully stick around for a few more weeks so that we can continue to enjoy more afternoons like this.

We've had a lot of rain the last week, which means lots of puddles...

Probably should have had the munchkins wear their rain boots.

They were just having way too much fun.

They enjoyed every minute of this.

How'd I Do... September Goals

2011-10-04T23:00:00.001-06:00

I realize this is a few days late, but life happened and there has just been no time to blog. September ended up being a pretty awful month at our home. Three weeks ago, I picked up a puking Cameron from nursery at church, only to have it make the rounds that week. Then just as we all got over that, I ended up with a virus that made me want to die and lasted for two weeks. I'm actually still coughing from it and occasionally my throat and ears will start hurting again. I personally think the strep test was wrong and that I did have strep, but whatever... all I can say is it was the worst throat and ear pain I've ever experienced. So yeah, nothing got done in September. So let's take a peek...

Homemaking -

Paint toy room - Fail

Hang shelves in master bathroom - Fail

Cooking -

~~Try three new recipes~~ - Sweet and Sour Meatballs - yummy... I'll have post this recipe, Steak Salad - this was so good, Dripping Beef Sandwiches, Cinnamon Sugar French Toast Bites

~~Organize online recipes~~ - I started while I was on the couch dying, but didn't get far.

Organize/purge recipe box/binders - Fail

Mothering -

~~Patience... especially with a certain two year old~~ - This is really hard to do when you're sick.

~~Take the munchkins camping~~ - We had a great time.

Take the munchkins to the aquarium - Nope. We've hardly left the house for the last three weeks.

Do an art project with Cameron - He's done lots of coloring and sidewalk chalk.

Creating -

~~Start working on Ella and Cameron's Halloween costumes~~ - I got the materials and I've started on Ella's costume.

Financing -

Plan my budget for the month... I have lots to fit in this month - Let's not talk about it.

Enriching -

Personal scripture study - Fail

Find some alone time each week - Fail

Go get pedi's with the girls - Fail. I've gotta do this soon, my Groupon is going to expire pretty quickly.

Here's October's goals:

Homemaking -

Clean up the garden for fall

Weed the flower beds for fall

Start wintering the house

Cooking -

Try three new recipes

Try making french bread

Continue organizing recipes

Can some applesauce and apple butter

Mothering -

Continue with the patience thing

Squeeze in a few last play dates while we still have nice weather

Visit the farm... fall pics

Creating -

Finish the Halloween costumes

Financing -

Stay in budget

Enriching -

Personal scripture study

Read a book

We've Got A Winner!

2011-10-03T16:24:00.001-06:00

Congratulations Ricki!!! You've won the My Memories Digital Scrapbooking Software. I've already sent you an email. Enjoy making lots of fun new things!

My Memories Digital Scrapbooking Software Giveaway!

2011-09-26T04:00:00.000-06:00

I recently had the chance to try out a really cool digital scrapbooking software from My Memories. I was really excited to try it since I used to love to scrapbook, but haven't found the time for it in years. I've wanted to try digital scrapbooking for a while now, but the chance just never really came up. So when My Memories contacted me about trying their digital scrapbooking software I jumped at the chance.

One of the things that I don't like about regular scrapbooking is the time it takes to drag everything out. It seems like you have to carve out a huge chunk of time to devote to scrapbooking once the mess is out. And if you're like me, you just don't have the time to do that, not if you want sleep anyways. And if I were to attempt to scrapbook with my children awake, that would just be another disaster all in itself. Plus I just can't be creative under that kind of pressure.

With My Memories digital scrapbooking software though, it was so easy to work on projects when I just had a few minutes to spare here and there. The software was really easy to learn and it was a lot of fun to see the different creative possibilities. I also really like that you can create things other than just scrapbook pages. I made some really fun printables for the munchkins rooms, some tags for the Christmas goodie plates we make each year and Ella's birthday invitations (which, by the way, turned out so cute!!!).

So I promise I'm not telling you all of this just to rub it in. They want to give one of my lucky readers a free copy of their software as well. Yay!!! I promise you will love it. There are so many free paper and embellishment options that come with the scrapbooking software, plus they have a whole online store with really cute paper packs and layouts that you can purchase for really reasonable prices.

Now don't worry if you aren't the lucky winner, because they are also giving you a coupon code for a $10 discount off the purchase of My Memories Suite Scrapbook software, plus a $10 coupon for the MyMemories.com store. So to purchase your own digital scrapbooking software use my coupon code upon checkout: STMMMS17573

So, here's what you've got to do to be entered in this giveaway.

1. Go to the MyMemories.com website, find a favorite paper pack or layout and then come back here and leave a comment telling me which one your favorite is.
2. Follow my blog.
3. Spread the word about this giveaway via Facebook.
4. Spread the word about this giveaway with a blog post of your own linking back to my blog.

Don't forget to leave a separate comment for each entry. Entries will be accepted through Sunday, October 2nd. I will draw a winner on Monday morning and let you know if you've won. Please leave your email address in your comment so that I can get a hold of the lucky winner.

Sunday Inspiration

2011-09-25T16:16:00.002-06:00

"The more you trust and rely upon the spirit, the greater your capacity to create."

Dieter F. Uchtdorf

It's That Time Of Year Again

2011-09-23T17:30:00.000-06:00

Canning season is in full swing here in my neck of the woods. Unfortunately, I've been sick the last two weeks and haven't done anymore than seven measly jars of spaghetti sauce (one of which broke while in the pressure canner and another that we've already eaten), but I plan on doing more if I ever get healthy again. I've got more sauce to do, hopefully I'll get some more peaches done this year, I'd also really like to do some apple pie filling just because I think it would be fun. Some salsa would be great too since we practically drink salsa around here. And, I'd really like to get some pear-apple sauce made again. I made it once a couple of years ago and the kids LOVED it.

I was really glad it was a clean break and that it didn't shatter and also that it broke while sealed up in the canner, cause otherwise that would have been a really awful mess to clean up.

Yum!

Introducing...

2011-09-22T10:20:00.000-06:00

I've been thinking for a while now that this little ol' blog of mine needs some freshening up. See, when I first started this blog I just wanted to start blogging and while I tried to think of a clever and witty name, it just never came to me. So I just put down what kept coming to me, which happened to be Home Sweet Home, although I've never really been happy with that. Anywho... I'm finally ready to change that.
So, here we go. Drum roll please... Introducing... The Simple Life. Maybe this is my subconscious way of simplifying my crazy, stressful and insanely busy life. But, whatever it is, I like it. So, what do you think?

End of Summer Camping Trip

2011-09-15T09:31:00.000-06:00

For Labor Day weekend we decided that we were in need of some serious family time. So we loaded everyone up and headed to one of our favorite campgrounds at Bear Lake. We left Friday afternoon and stayed through Tuesday morning. We had a great time and most importantly we got to relax as a family. Just a heads up... there are a lot of pictures in this post.

Cameron was helping me pack :)

Woof Woof doubles as a travel pillow

On Saturday we went into Idaho and found a fun little park that the kiddos loved.

There was even a very large sprinkler going that they had lots of fun running in.

We also toured the Paris Tabernacle in Paris, Idaho.

We did a little swimming too... not a whole lot of pictures... I didn't remember until we were done swimming.

We went into Logan one day to get sleeping bags for the kids because it was sooo cold at night even with a down comforter, heavy fleece blankets, thermal jammies and the Mr. Buddy tent heater. It was so cold at night, but beautiful during the day. Anyways we drove around a little bit and I found this house that I loved and wanted to buy. It was gorgeous inside... at least what I could see peeking in the windows.

We had a lot of fun roasting marshmallows and telling spooky stories around the campfire. We also did a little night "hike" around camp. The first night we tried this and the kids were too freaked out. But, the second time they had their glow sticks to keep those monsters away.

This vest was way too small on Cameron, but we had to try it on since it was Andrew's when he was little.

Playing hide and seek

The vest fit Ashlynn much better. She wasn't too happy.

Much better. Just give her brother's milk.

We had lots of fun renting this family bike thing.

The kids loved the rolled hay bales

And the cows

We also spent quite a bit of time at the playground.

Andrew and the kids enjoyed this fire show a little too much. We really were safe even though it doesn't look that way. :)

The last night there it started raining just after we got our campfire going, so we spent the night in the tent eating cereal for dinner and playing with glow sticks.

They loved their new sleeping bags.

We didn't go to the lake at all since the day we were going to try and find a beach the weather didn't cooperate. Plus the lake is so full right now that there aren't really any beaches.

How'd I Do... August Goals

2011-09-01T08:30:00.000-06:00

Well August didn't end up being as productive as I was hoping. For the first half of the month I felt like I was trying to get sick so I spent most of my days just lounging around trying not to get sick. And then life just got really busy. It seems that life will never slow down again. So let's recap here...

Homemaking -

Paint the toy room - Fail

Hang shelves in master bathroom - Fail

~~Organize the storage room~~ - I did manage to get this done a couple of days ago.

Clean out the pantry - Fail

~~Finish decorating the living room~~ - It's as done as it's gonna get for now.

Cooking -

~~Try three new recipes~~ - Done. Stuffed Taco Shells, Chicken Enchilada Soup, Cheesy Chicken Lasagna.

~~Have a freezer cooking day~~ - I didn't quite have a full day, but I stocked the freezer with ground beef, taco meat, sloppy joe mix and some meatballs.

~~Have a freezer "baking" day~~ - Again not a full day, but I did make a large batch of some delicious chocolate chip banana bread.

~~Make a monthly menu using stuff we already have~~ - Done.

Mothering -

~~Have more outdoor activities~~ - I tried to play outside more with the munchkins, but this month has been so hot. The munchkins haven't even wanted to play outside.

~~Take a daily walk~~ - We walked everyday for the most part. :) We did miss a couple days, but that's alright.

Creating -

Sew nursery curtains - Fail

Make shelves for master bathroom - Fail

Financing -

~~Stay in budget this month~~... eek, this will be hard - I went over a tiny bit, but just a tiny bit.

Enriching -

~~Blog three times a week~~ - I did really good until the end of the month, but in all fairness there just hasn't really been anything to blog about the last week and a half.

~~Read a book~~ - I actually read a couple of books and I started on another one.

Holy schmolly... I can't believe it's already September. Where has this year gone!?! Well, here we go...

Homemaking -

Paint toy room

Hang shelves in master bathroom

Cooking -

Try three new recipes

Organize online recipes

Organize/purge recipe box/binders

Mothering -

Patience... especially with a certain two year old

Take the munchkins camping

Take the munchkins to the aquarium

Do an art project with Cameron

Creating -

Start working on Ella and Cameron's Halloween costumes

Financing -

Plan my budget for the month... I have lots to fit in this month

Enriching -

Personal scripture study

Find some alone time each week

Go get pedi's with the girls

First Day of Preschool

2011-08-22T10:20:00.000-06:00

Guess who started Preschool today?

That's right... Miss Ella Bella and she was so excited.

She's pointing out the "oo" sound. She likes the "oo" sound.

And of course we had to take a picture of the backpack. I know it looks ginormous on her, but that was the one she wanted.

How We Roll...

2011-08-21T09:32:00.000-06:00

Many people have asked how I grocery shop with three small children. Well here are my secrets. I rarely shop with them if I am doing a coupon shopping trip and need to focus. If I do this I try to go on the first day of the sale, have a list of exactly what I need with all my coupons ready to go and I go in with a game plan. I try to get in and get out. If I don't stay on task and I wander to see if there are any unadvertised deals on things I use all the time (this is certainly not uncommon of me to do), well, I pay for it dearly. The majority of my couponing trips are for stock up items and not so much our everyday menu items. So for our everyday menu items I prefer to shop at our local grocery store. And let me tell you they are fantastic and totally kid friendly. We usually start our trip with the kids complimentary ice cream cones. If I'm feeling generous and we have the time a.k.a. Ashlynn isn't going to start screaming to eat in the next hour, then we'll sit and eat ice cream, otherwise we eat it on the go. Note: Always bring wipes. Also, they have the car carts that my kids love. I feel like I'm driving a semi, but it keeps them all contained. From that point on I shop as quickly as possible all the while bribing the kiddos with free balloons and candy. Yes, on top of the free ice cream, they get suckers or smarties at checkout and then at customer service they give the kids free balloons. I usually try to limit the freebies to only one thing of their choosing, but sometimes we've got to pull out all the stops.

So for your amusement and my memories, here is a little laugh for you...

Yummy Ice Cream

We usually start with Ella in the cart

Until Cameron commandeers both steering wheels

So this is usually how we end up, but Ella is good about staying with me. Now if only I could get her to not touch everything in site.

Sleeping Bebes...

2011-08-21T09:12:00.000-06:00

Weekend Recap... Part 2

2011-08-15T23:35:00.001-06:00

Our weekends aren't usually so full of photos, but this last weekend I just happened to have the camera with me at all times and was able to get some fun pictures, sooo... you'll just have to bare with me here.

After the aquarium, we headed home to enjoy our back yard and do a little yard work, but only after grabbing a slurpee first. :)

Ashlynn just might end up being the best tackler of the bunch. She managed to wrestle Ella to the ground. I think she's been watching Ella and Cameron a little too much.

So Pretty

The Munchkins love helping mow the lawn...

Let's just hope they keep that enthusiasm. Oh, and look who was running around in big boy underwear all weekend (except when we were out... I'm not ready to deal with that yet).

Cameron loves the edger. I need to find a play one to go with his mower.

The kids were having so much fun running up and down the hill. They of course thought it was hilarious when daddy started chasing them with the lawn mower.

After a few hours of yard work and some delicious dinner... we thought we should end our day with popsicles and bathtime.

Mmm... give it to me mom!

As soon as we got outside though it started to rain, but just a little bit, so we huddled under the trees to wait it out.

Ashlynn was so distraught that she couldn't have the popsicle.

How can you say no to that face!?!

Well, you can't. She's still a little upset here.

And just to get one more laugh, I took it away again, plus I wanted at least a few bites.

Pure contentment

And there's the glare I got from the hubby. Remember kids, mom is the nice one that gives you popsicles. :) He didn't think it was so cool to give Ashlynn a popsicle.

Yes, she did lick that stick clean.

Ella decided that they had to do a little dancing before bathtime and bed.

And there goes Cameron... yes it does feel like he is really moving this fast all the time... going from mess to mess accident to accident.

Andrew was a good sport to go along with her demands.

Even Cameron gets in on the action when Ella gets bossy... especially when it comes to dancing.

What better way to get a sticky and dripping baby clean before heading to the bath.

Roxy was more than happy to help out.

David, these last few pics are really for you. :)

Weekend Recap... Part 1

2011-08-15T23:03:00.000-06:00

For my own journaling purposes I want to start writing up a little recap of what we did over the weekend. Most weekends I'm sure won't be too exciting, but it's kinda fun to look back and remember. Also, if I can just have a mommy moment, there are several pictures I take of the kids and they seem kinda silly in there own post, but if they're included in a "what we did over the weekend" post, then I can show off my adorable munchkins and the grandparents get to see what we're up to. Win win!

We finally got the bubble machine out.

They were more than excited about it.

Ella adores her baby sister

She'll be a good mommy someday... or a really bossy older sister.

They love each other

Friday night our ward (church group) got together up in the canyon for a picnic/skits/games for the kids night. It's an annual tradition that we always look forward to. Ella for having lots of fun shooting the bow and arrow.

And there's Cameron sneaking off with the arrows.

They were super excited to help put out the campfire

On Saturday we went to the aquarium. The kids love going there. Ashlynn even enjoyed it this time.

Here fishy, fishy, fishy...

Cameron loves driving the fishing boat

Ella has recently become very interested in helping do things for her sister. Pushing the stroller is at the top of that list. Ashlynn really doesn't mind, but you'd never guess by looking at her scowl.

Cameron likes to help push too... that of course is a little bit of a problem

The kids love spending time with their daddy

They love this frog. Cameron likes to ride it while saying "giddy up froggy". Funny boy.

Ella's Swim Lessons

2011-08-11T12:01:00.000-06:00

Ella started her first set of swim lessons this week and she loved it. We were super excited for her and have spent the last few weeks talking it up so that she would be excited too. We were a little nervous though since she has never really been a fan of the water and bath time is certainly not her favorite... at least not the hair washing part. She did great though and was very cooperative for the teacher even when that meant sticking her face in the water to blow bubbles. Of course she did stick her face in the water a little too much one time and walked right out of the pool to me to wipe her face. It was kinda funny and luckily she walked right back in and sat down with her class again. No tears, no freaking out, nothing. We are so proud of her.

This is where her swim lessons are. It's a really cool indoor rec center with a great swimming facility.

Waiting for class to start.

It's so nice that the kids area of the pool is sloped like a beach.

She actually went through the tunnel with the waterfalls.

Ashlynn was chilling and eating her puffs... shhh, don't tell the lifeguards. No Food Allowed.

Oops, a little too much water in the face.

Andrew was so proud of Ella.

One Of Those Days... No, Weeks Really

2011-08-10T12:42:00.001-06:00

Enough said.

Family Photos

2011-08-08T07:53:00.000-06:00

A few weeks ago we were lucky enough to find an amazing deal on family photos. A local photographer who wants to get more into lifestyle photography was offering a one hour photo shoot with everything included for $40 to the first few people to comment. I was lucky #1. It included a CD with all the pics and copyright. Um, yes please. I think she did an amazing job and I'm thrilled with how the pictures came out.

Feelin' Blue... In A Good Way

2011-08-07T09:30:00.001-06:00

I finally did it! I painted my door and it looks awesome! I took advantage of Sherwin Williams 40% off paint sale a couple of weeks ago and picked up some BM Stratton Blue. I was inspired by the Cottage & Vine front door a year ago when Rene originally posted about it, but was a little too nervous to go painting anything on the exterior of my home. Needless to say I finally mustered up the courage and went for it and now I'm kicking myself for not having done it much sooner. It look so good. Of course now I need to finish sprucing up the exterior of our home because it is looking kinda shabby in comparison. I think that'll be our fall home project this year.

Before: Last Summer (this was the best before pic I could find)

The Incident that took place... lets just say that a certain two year old that was supposed to be napping came downstairs while I was in the kitchen and decided to paint the floor... thank goodness for rubbing alcohol.

After

Isn't it so pretty!?! Now all of that brass really needs to be changed. I see some ORB in my future. Or should I go with satin nickel? The light fixtures also need to be updated... we've got some serious mid-90's going on out front. But, progress is slowly being made.

We Love Cousins

2011-08-07T08:09:00.000-06:00

A couple of weeks ago my sister and her two munchkins came for a visit. We had lots of fun doing some serious thrift shopping, fireworks for Pioneer Day, Ikea, finger painting, eating and playing, playing, playing.

The munchkins loved watching the fireworks

Gotta love those sparklers

My handsome little man

They thought it was great fun to summersault down the hill in our backyard

Cameron had to get in on that action too

He also liked helping push Tessa down the hill on his bike

Roxy is such a good dog... she loves the munchkins

Ashlynn loved her Aunt Brittany

Such a cutie, even when she's dirty and sweaty

We tried to get pictures of the gathered cousins (we missed Landon and baby Nolan - Due to make his appearance in December)

Unfortunately, someone, cough*Tessa*cough, wouldn't cooperate

So this was the best we got... next time pictures are the first item of business when munchkins are still happy and not sleep deprived

I sure have a cute little niece and nephew... at least Dublin was having fun visiting

This happy girl is totally mobile now

Finger painting... I made this Homemade Finger Paint, but should have paid a little more attention to the directions cause it turned out to be more gel like than paint like

They still had lots of fun though and we've got some artwork for the toy room now

We finished off our visit with some yummy chocolate chip cookies

Thanks for a great visit guys. We had lots of fun. Hopefully you get to visit again soon.

How'd I Do... July Goals

2011-08-01T14:55:00.000-06:00

Is it really August already? I can't believe how fast this year is going. So, I think I did pretty good last month, but let's take a look.

Homemaking -

Clean, sort and organize storage room - Fail... just no time, but maybe in August.

~~Decorate guest room~~ - Well I got a good start on this. Good thing too considering we had three rounds of guests in July. I have a few finishing touches to put up and I'd like to change the paint color at some point, but it looks pretty so far.

Cooking -

~~Try three new recipes~~ - Slow Baked Mac and Cheese, Baked Creamy Chicken Taquitos, Angry Bird Cupcakes

~~Make special treat for Andrew's birthday~~ - I love how the Angry Bird Cupcakes turned out.

~~Find someway to use 5 dozen eggs~~ - Lots of scrambled eggs, hard-boiled eggs, baking and recipes that needed eggs.

Mothering -

~~Patience, patience, patience~~ - This is an ongoing goal.

Creating -

~~Make some art work for the toy room~~ - The kids had a lot of fun finger painting with this homemade finger paint.

Sew curtains for nursery - Let's not talk about this one.

Financing -

Eat out only once a week - I'm pretty sure we blew this one, which is kinda surprising actually since we don't usually eat out much.

~~Buy winter clothes for Cameron~~ - I was able to find a few things, but I still need to find some long sleeve shirts and another pair or two of jeans.

~~Start buying school stuff for Ella~~... Agh, I can't believe she starts preschool next month - She got to pick out her own backpack. Of course it's a Princess backpack.

Enriching -

~~Catch up on blogging~~ - Mostly done.

Continue working on organizing iPhoto - Fail...

~~Read two books~~ - Yay, I actually read two books. I really do love to read and could just sit and read all day if I didn't have three small children to take care of. And I would like to read at night, but usually prefer a little bit of sleep.

Let's go to August now...

Homemaking -
Paint the toy room
Hang shelves in master bathroom
Organize the storage room
Clean out the pantry
Finish decorating the living room

Cooking -
Try three new recipes
Have a freezer cooking day
Have a freezer "baking" day
Make a monthly menu using stuff we already have

Mothering -
Have more outdoor activities
Take a daily walk

Creating -
Sew nursery curtains
Make shelves for master bathroom

Financing -
Stay in budget this month... eek, this will be hard

Enriching -
Blog three times a week
Read a book

August is going to be quite the ambitious month, so wish me luck.

The Infamous Scowl

2011-07-28T12:45:00.000-06:00

Has been passed on and is now perfected by my two sweet girls.

Baby Ella 2008

Baby Ashlynn 2011

Eight Months

2011-07-25T18:19:00.001-06:00

Ashlynn is almost eight months old now. Where does time go!?! So I thought I would go through some old pics to see where the munchkins compare in looks again. Not very interesting to most people, but kinda fun for me.

Ella ~ 8 Months

Cameron ~ 8 Months

Ashlynn ~ 8 Months

Happy Belated Birthday!

2011-07-20T15:43:00.000-06:00

We celebrated Andrew's birthday a few days ago with some Angry Bird cupcakes.

Happy Birthday Honey!

We love you so much.

Living Room Inspiration

2011-07-19T14:31:00.000-06:00

I've been feeling blah about my living room lately. I've had an idea of what I wanted and I've gathered a few pieces, but nothing has really come together quite like I was hoping for. So this morning while my children were blissfully playing outside and I was blissfully catching up on a few blogs I came across Erin's House of Turquoise blog. And lo and behold what was her post on today? None other than this gorgeous living room from Cassity at Remodelaholic and Roeshel at the DIY Showoff. Both of whose blogs I read and love. I was so excited. It's exactly what I've been envisioning and just haven't been able to put together. And lucky for me the pieces that I've been collecting are pretty similar to what they've used. Holy heck, how often does that happen!?! Not very often I tell ya. Anywho, I'm pretty excited because I have motivation to finish up my living room again and I think the only thing I need to get is a little bit of red paint. Agh, I'm excited! Time to get to work. We have family visiting next weekend and then again the following week, so there's my motivation.

I love the pops of red and turquoise.

I'm loving the wood crate end table... and these lamps, well mine aren't the exact same, but they are the turquoise glass and the shape is the same and the lamp shade is the same. I knew I wasn't going to regret buying those.

I'm definitely a fan of the beachy theme. We've got the same sort of theme going on at our home.

I love everything about this room!

Our Little Dancer

2011-07-09T01:05:00.000-06:00

Ella has been taking a little six week dance class and absolutely loving it. She was a little shy the first class, which was surprising because the class is with all of her little girlfriends, but after the first ten minutes or so, she was totally into it. I even went and found her some tap shoes and leotard to go with her tutu. When this is over we just might have to enroll her in a dance class.

Fourth of July Weekend

2011-07-08T17:06:00.000-06:00

We had a great weekend! We got to spend lots of time together as a family. Saturday was a busy day working around the house and running errands. Sunday was a typical day, lots of meetings for Andrew and church in the afternoon. That night we sat in the front yard and watched fireworks while visiting with neighbors. Ella and Cameron were pretty excited to stay up late watching fireworks, but they were even more excited to have a campout under the stars with their daddy.

We started the day off with some red and white striped pancakes.

Then we lounged around all morning watching cartoons and netflix.

After that we played "tackle daddy".

After a day of lounging we went to IHOP for dinner. Isn't she cute?

She is a total daddy's girl.

I love this little guy.

Cameron thought it was pretty funny to take his crayons for a swim.

After dinner we had a summer storm and got this pretty rainbow.

We also did a little bike riding.

Cameron really likes Ella's bike...

And so his bike usually sits like this or Ella rides it if she is willing to share her bike with her brother.

Ashlynn loves to watch her big brother and sister.

My boys.

Once it got dark we had a neighborhood fireworks show with some great friends.

Ooh, aah...

Ashlynn even enjoyed watching them.

It was pretty cool to watch since aerial fireworks are legal now.

Our show lasted for about an hour and a half and we still didn't get through all the fireworks that everyone brought.

Good thing July 24th (Pioneer Day - a Utah holiday) is right around the corner.

Thanks for an awesome show guys.

Let's Wrap Up Our California Trip... Part Two

2011-07-07T07:08:00.000-06:00

For the second week of this trip we spent time with Andrew's family. We got to spend some time with grandma and grandpa, great-grandma, Uncle Zach, Auntie Em, Uncle Jonathan and Aunt Polin. Then we made our way to the OC to see Uncle Keith, Aunt Vanessa and baby Morgan, our first cousin on this side of the family. We spent a couple days there and then headed to Santa Monica where Uncle Jonathan and Aunt Polin got married. They had a beautiful wedding and Ella loved Aunt Polin's princess dress. We would have loved to have stayed for more of the reception, but to say that Ella and Cameron were done with the day and having a meltdown would be an understatement. On Sunday we were finally able to just relax and enjoy some time at grandma and grandpa's before heading home on Monday.

Lots of bike riding.

Ella has gotten really good on her bike this year.

Lots of bath time. Bath time is sort of Grandma and Grandpa's thing... I don't understand why they like it so much, but it works out great for me.

Look at that super cute girl.

Checking out the water.

Uncle Keith & Ella, Daddy & Cameron - Cameron did not enjoy the pool.

Oh good, Andrew's driving again.

Welcome to California. Ugh, I hate traffic.

So does Ella apparently.

She also likes to take pictures. Hmm... Christmas present maybe?

Ella and Aunt Polin

Uncle Jonathan and Aunt Polin

Ella and Daddy

Ashlynn and Grandpa

Cameron was exhausted.

Stretching our legs in Baker.

Hello Nevada...

We played in Henderson for a while. This was a great little park we found.

The kids had a lot of fun.

Arizona... not much to see there.

It's good to be back home. We missed you Utah.

Roxy really missed up too. She got to stay at Great Grandma and Grandpa's and play with her BFF Pepper. Thanks for watching her grandma and grandpa.

Let's Wrap Up Our California Trip... Part One

2011-07-06T22:26:00.003-06:00

Okay, so here is a very abridged version of our trip to California.

Leaving town... everyone's still in good spirits.

We made it to Great Grandma and Grandpa's... Cameron loved sitting on the four-wheeler, but was way too scared to go for a ride.

After staying the night, we were on the road again the next morning. We did manage to get in a few short (and I mean short) naps.

Don't I look happy to be driving. Andrew is the designated driver for road trips at our house. Unfortunately, we're not independently wealthy and he had to work, so he flew down a week later. Yes, I was in California with my three small children without him. And yes, I did survive. Fortunately, Aunt Caitlin flew up so that she could drive down with me. Thanks again Caitlin!

One of Cameron's brief happy moments. He really liked screaming on the drive down. *Note to self: Always bring a spray bottle on road trips. Cameron will immediately stop screaming upon being sprayed. :)

Just happy to be out of the car seat and have a full belly.

Lunch time in Vegas.

Amazing how happy one can be over a juice box.

During our lunch break, Cameron spotted some old guys who were traveling on motorcycles. They were nice enough to let Cameron check it out.

Another twenty minute nap.

We finally arrived and were so excited to play with two of our three cousins on my side of the family.

Aunt Brittany - Tessa is distraught that her mommy is holding someone else and Ashlynn is looking like she's about to start eating her.

Happy Girl

Ella was pretty happy to wear Aunt Caitlin's lei from graduation.

Cameron, Me, Mom, Brittany, Caitlin, Dad, Dublin, Aubrey - only missing eight people

While we were there Ashlynn got to meet her grandpa (my dad) and her other great grandparents for the first time. We also did a little bit of shopping. The munchkins got in lots of play time with cousins and I was able to do a lot of visiting with my mom, sisters and grandparents. I also helped mom do some cleaning out of her craft room. :) I came home with some fun stuff. We had a great time visiting and look forward to visiting again. Thanks for another great trip everyone. We love you guys.

How'd I Do... June Goals

2011-07-02T23:43:00.000-06:00

I can't believe it's already July. Where is this year going? Well June was a crazy month for us. We spent the first two weeks in So Cal visiting family. Since then we've tackled a few projects here at home. I still need to blog about it, but lets just say that we pulled a little switcheroo. We've also been doing a lot of work outside getting the yard in tip top shape since summer has finally decided to grace us with its presence. Anywho, with all the craziness of last month my goals sort of went out the window, but there's no use whining about it. Time to move onto July, but first let's take a look at June.

June Goals:

Homemaking -

~~Swap out munchkins winter clothes for summer clothes... finally~~.

Finish spring cleaning - Maybe I'll get it done in time for fall cleaning. :)

Cooking -

Try three new recipes - I hardly cooked at all last month. We ate out way too much the last two weeks of June. So I definitely didn't try any new recipes.

Make a batch of baby food - I bought the produce, but just haven't had time to make up the batches of food yet.

Mothering -

~~Survive a week alone with the munchkins~~

Creating -

Sew something - Fail

Financing -

~~Stay in budget~~

~~Thrift shopping while in California~~ - What a let down this was. I think I bought three little things for the munchkins.

Enriching -

Catch up on my blogging - Obviously this didn't happen. Wish me luck for July.

~~Start organizing my iPhoto~~ - I started deleting pics which is a start.

So here's to July:

Homemaking -

Clean, sort and organize storage room

Decorate guest room

Cooking -

Try three new recipes

Make special treat for Andrew's birthday

Find someway to use 5 dozen eggs

Mothering -

Patience, patience, patience

Creating -

Make some art work for the toy room

Sew curtains for nursery

Financing -

Eat out only once a week

Buy winter clothes for Cameron

Start buying school stuff for Ella... Agh, I can't believe she starts preschool next month.

Enriching -

Catch up on blogging

Continue working on organizing iPhoto

Read two books

Congratulations Aunt Caitlin!!!

2011-06-22T17:17:00.000-06:00

Part of our trip to California was to see my younger sister graduate from high school. We're so proud of you Caitlin. We're also super excited for you to go to BYU Hawaii in the fall ~ lucky girl. Congratulations! We love you!

Auntie Caitlin

Mom and Dad

Grandma and Grandpa

~ The sisters ~

Aubrey, Courtney, Caitlin, Brittany and Me

Happy Birthday Little Man!!!

2011-06-21T23:47:00.000-06:00

This is really late, but Happy Birthday Cameron! My little man turned two on June 3rd. We were lucky enough to be in California visiting family for his birthday so he got to have two birthday parties.

I just love this handsome little man!

He already doesn't like it when I love on him... too bad.

Don't get between him and chocolate frosting... he just may bite your hand.

Yum!

Look at the suspense as he opens his present.

Poor little guy finally got a bike for his birthday. Of course, he has decided he doesn't want to ride it.

Me and Mr. Handsome

Stuffed Cars Toys... at least if he throws these at his sister they won't hurt.

Whoa... another photo of Cameron and I... not really sure how that happened.

It's amazing how sweet he is when he sleeps and isn't terrorizing anyone or anything.

Speaking of terrorizing things. Poor bird.

Cameron you are such a special little boy. We love you so much and are so lucky to have you in our family. You certainly challenge us and keep us on our toes, but you are also one of the sweetest little boys I know. You adore your baby sister and totally look up to your older sister. If Ella does something you are always right there tagging along. Someday this may become a problem, but I hope not cause you two are best buds. Of course you fight just as much as you get along, but I love watching you play together. You are so smart and have started talking so much more lately. You love to share your blankie with your baby sister (which just shows how much you love her, since nobody is allowed to touch your blankie). Your nursery leaders say you are the only one in nursery to always say please, thank you or sorry and they think you are the sweetest little boy. At home you are always the first person to say excuse you when some sneezes. Of course you think it's hilarious if you toot and you like to tell everyone. You have the most awful scream/growl that you like to constantly torment us with, but you sure have the sweetest voice when you use it. You love to be outdoors and in the dirt. You love trucks, balls, trains, airplanes, The Foot Book by Dr. Seuss, The Shark In the Dark book, the movie Cars and Beauty and the Beast (really you just like the Beast... I think it's just to torment your sister). You also really love to make messes and do things you're not supposed to while looking us in the eye and then rolling those little eyes while laughing your mischievous little laugh (how are we supposed to get mad when you do that?). All in all your sweetness and handsomeness totally outweighs your rottenness and mischievous ways. I love you so much little man!

Happy Father's Day!!!

2011-06-19T12:03:00.000-06:00

Happy Father's Day to my wonderful hubby, our amazing dad's and some awesome grandpa's! We love you and miss you already.

Take One

Take Two

I give up

And we're done now...

How'd I Do... May Goals

2011-06-01T23:15:00.000-06:00

Well just as I predicted May was an incredibly busy month and June isn't slowing down any. So here is a quick run down of how my goals went for the month of May:

Homemaking-
Start re-arranging rooms - Fail
Hang frames for gallery wall in reading room - Done, Done, Done... I've even got them filled with pictures already, so I'm really feelin' on the ball with this one.

Cooking-
Try three new recipes - Done... Lemon Infused Red Potatoes - yummy, Cafe Rio Pork Barbacoa Salad - oh my heavens!!!, Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Truffles, Cake Batter Truffles, Easy White Cake - these last three were for a baby shower... I don't just keep this sort of temptation around the house normally.
Start gathering recipes for family cookbook - I've thought of a few I want to add.

Mothering-
Work on ABC's, 123's and sound recognition with Ella and Cameron - Fail
Practice Patience (you can never have too much patience) - Let's just say we have our good days and bad days.

Creating-
Host a baby shower - Done and if I ever get a second I'll post pics.

Financing-
Stay in budget - I was $2 under budget this month :)

Enriching-
Finish catching up on my magazine pile - Still working on this... there are a lot of magazines.
Blog twice a week - Big Fat Fail... I was doing so good and then as usual life happened, but I have so much to blog about.

June Goals:

Homemaking -
Swap out munchkins winter clothes for summer clothes... finally.
Finish spring cleaning

Cooking -
Try three new recipes
Make a batch of baby food

Mothering -
Survive a week alone with the munchkins

Creating -
Sew something

Financing -
Stay in budget
Thrift shopping while in California

Enriching -
Catch up on my blogging
Start organizing my iPhoto

{My Pride and Joy}

2011-05-07T05:00:00.001-06:00

Since it was pretty chilly here on Easter, I didn't get a chance to take any good pictures of the kids in their Easter outfits. Well today we had gorgeous weather and I knew I had to take advantage. I got a ton of great pics of Cameron, a few good pics of Ella and some cute ones of Ashlynn. Unfortunately, Ashlynn was not cool with the sun in her eyes, so I had to take her pics in the house and Ella just wanted to give me her cheesy smile. So I had to try and get her to talk to me for a little while why trying to take pics. Of course by the time I got her to mellow out, Cameron was running loose in the neighbors yard and Ashlynn had decided she wasn't cool with sitting in the sun, so that didn't last too long. I'm hoping that I can get a few more decent ones on Sunday when they're dressed up for church. Overall though I'm quite happy with the pics I was able to get and at least I have new pics for the hallway now.

Who knew that our old (and in desperate need of new stain) fence would make the perfect photo backdrop.

Woohoo For Curb Appeal

2011-05-04T22:53:00.000-06:00

We did quite a bit in the two and a half years that we lived there. So lets start with the front. When we first moved into our home it looked like this...

In fact this is the picture from the MLS listing.

Here is a picture that we took on one of the many walk throughs. As you can see the planters were overgrown with who knows what (whatever it was was stinky when it got wet) and the house lacked any sort of curb appeal.

Slowly making some progress. We started by tearing out the growth and railroad ties.

I love my boxwoods!

Clean and simple with a nice pop of color.

The tree in the front yard was my favorite... Ella and I used to lay underneath this tree and play when she was a baby.

Starting to look good.

The shutters helped a lot.

What we finished with. There was so much more I would have loved to do if money wasn't a concern... a new door, maybe a porch, different railing, new concrete, new roof, blah, blah, blah... We did do quite a bit though... new windows (sniff, sniff, I still miss the brand new windows), house numbers, light fixture, mailbox, shutters, planters... sigh...

I Can't Believe It's Already Been Two Years

2011-05-02T16:43:00.000-06:00

I don't think I've ever blogged here about our first home, but today seemed the perfect time to do so. Two years ago today we moved from our first home (which we still miss) into our new or not so new anymore home. We needed to move for many reasons, the biggest of which was that we needed more space. The home was also fifty years old and in need of some serious love (which really just means lots of money). We talked many, many times about doing some serious remodeling and adding a large addition, but the reality was that with our neighborhood we would never get our money back out if we needed to sell for any reason. So when I was pregnant with Cameron we started considering the possibility of moving, but never found anything that we were happy with until one day we saw another home that would work for us, it had the space we needed, it was in the area that we wanted to stay in, in fact it was the same neighborhood just two streets over. So we decided to put an offer on the home a couple of days later. Five weeks later, we sold our home and four weeks later we moved into our new home. It was kind of a crazy time for our family to move especially since I was eight months pregnant, but, we managed to get through it. So here is a little tour of our first home.

Welcome to Our Home

Living Room

I sure miss the hardwood floors.

Dining Room/Breakfast Nook

Kitchen

Upstairs Bathroom

Miss Ella's nursery

Master Bedroom

Yes, I installed this closet organizer too.

My old craft room

The Basement

Our backyard was huge and had a lot of potential to be great.

I'll be back tomorrow with pictures of my favorite projects.

How'd I Do... April Goals

2011-05-02T13:43:00.000-06:00

I meant to do this post yesterday, but Sunday's are sort of a crazy and exhausting day around here and I was determined to go to bed at a decent hour last night. My kids actually slept all night too, so I got a full eight hours of uninterrupted sleep last night. Pure heaven is all I have to say about that. I couldn't believe how good I felt when I woke up. Anyways, I don't know where the month of April went, but I can't believe it's already gone. So here we go with another month down:

Homemaking-

Re-arrange rooms. I feel like this is going to be a huge undertaking. Here's the plan:

Toy room becomes guest room

Guest room becomes food storage room

Basement living area becomes toy room

We didn't get the rooms re-arranged last month, but that's okay. I knew it was going to be a huge project. We did manage to get the basement living room mostly cleaned, the guest room cleaned and the food storage closet as organized as it's going to be for now.

~~Re-arrange front room~~ - This room looks so much better now. We re-arranged the furniture, added a rug (finally) and got the new desk. Now I just need to finish off the gallery wall.

Cooking-

~~Try three new recipes~~ - Creamy Bacon Fettucine, Three-Cheese Baked Spaghetti and Double Lemon Poppyseed Cake

~~Clean out inside freezer~~ - It's Finally Done!!! Let me just say there were some gross things in there.

Make three freezer meals - This definitely didn't happen. Most days I was lucky enough to get dinner on the table.

Mothering-

~~Practice patience~~ - I really tried, but oh I need some more practice.

~~Sign Ella up for preschool~~ - Done! This was really sad to do. It made me realize how big my baby is getting.

~~Have an art project once a week~~ - We didn't get a big art project done each week per se, but we got a couple of Easter projects done and the kids did lots of coloring and played with lots of play-doh.

Work on ABC's and 123's sight recognition and sounds with Ella - We'll work on this in May although she's getting pretty good already.

Creating-

Sew nursery curtains - Big Fat Fail!

Sew matching skirts for my girls - One of these days when I have free time to sew something other than a straight line, I'll attempt this.

Financing-

~~Finally get our new desk~~ - Yay, it looks so good! Pictures coming soon.

Figure out the cost of shelving in the food storage room - I need to do this so I know how much to plan on, but this project won't be happening for another few months anyways, so no rush.

Enriching-

Read a book - Fail

Go to the gym twice a week - Fail

Catch up on my magazine reading - I got started, but never finished.

So there's the month of April. For being such a busy month, I was able to get quite a bit done. May isn't going to be any better though, so I'm going to keep my list short and sweet.

April's Goals:

Homemaking-

Start re-arranging rooms

Hang frames for gallery wall in reading room

Cooking-

Try three new recipes

Start working on gathering recipes for family cookbook

Mothering-

Work on ABC's and 123's sight and sound recognition with Ella and Cameron

Practice Patience (you can never have too much patience)

Creating-

Host a baby shower

Financing-

Stay in budget

Enriching-

Finish catching up on my magazine pile

Blog twice a week

Great Fashion Advice

2011-04-28T07:31:00.001-06:00

With the big wedding tomorrow... Will and Kate of course... I thought I would share with you my love of Kate's style. Her style is classic and timeless without being stuffy and she always looks so put-together. I love that a good pair of jeans seems to be an essential in her closet (being a jeans and t-shirt kinda girl myself). I also love love love the tailored trench coats. Anyways, here are some of my favorite outfits from the soon to be princess.

Love the button up shirts... they've always been a fave of mine, but lets just say they don't work so well when you're a nursing mom :)

Love the layered look

And the riding boots... I really need to find a cute pair of riding boots and jeans to go with

Agh, that belt and dark jean and blazer with a simple white t-shirt (also a favorite of mine)

Jeans, white t-shirt and a cardi with a cute bag... what more do you need

Oh yes, the sunglasses... Anyone that knows me knows that I have a love for sunglasses and I don't go anywhere without them

Cute skirts and sweaters seem to be a staple as well

I love these dresses, especially the pink polka dot one

Nice, but comfy

Aw, the trench coats... I'm convinced I need to add a few to my wardrobe now along with more scarves

Love the pink

Perfect shade of grey

I love all the navy blue she wears

I love the fact that she knows what she likes and she knows what looks good on her. One thing I noticed while perusing pictures of her was that she is consistent with her style, such as that plunging v-neck that seems to be a signature look of hers or the white layering t-shirt or the jeans with riding boots and a cardi or blazer of some sort. She knows what is flattering on her and she goes with it rather than forcing a style that's less than flattering. I like that. I look forward to seeing more of her fashion picks as we get to know more of Kate.

Gallery Walls

2011-04-19T04:00:00.001-06:00

A couple weekends ago we did some re-arranging of our front room/reading room which freed up a large amount of wall space. When we moved into our home a couple of years ago we put a large bookshelf against a large wall, mostly because I was intimidated by the large vaulted wall (we moved from a small 1950's rambler that didn't have high ceilings or a lot of wall space). Of course, I'm much more comfortable in my ability to decorate our homes spaces now and I think it would be great to add a gallery wall to showcase pictures from our various travels. We've already done this in our stairwell and on one of our living room walls (on a much smaller scale). I've been thrilled with how they turned out and I'm excited to tackle the wall in our front room/reading room.

Our stairwell (I actually tackled this project a year ago and I thought I posted these pics, but then realized I didn't)

The view from our kitchen

A small display in our living room... these pictures really need to be updated.

Here is our blank slate...

Here are my "research" findings

(Pottery Barn)

(Young House Love)

Let's Do A Review

2011-04-08T10:05:00.000-06:00

A few weeks ago I got an email from Deseret Book about reviewing a few products for them. I of course jumped at the opportunity since I love love love getting stuff from them. When we got back from San Francisco I was pretty excited to find a package waiting for me with a couple of great things. So you wanna see what they sent me? Okay, I promise it's good.

The first thing was this amazing CD.

Now you know from my post a couple of weeks ago that Josh Wright has some seriously unbelievable talent. Of course the rest of his music was just as good as 'La Campenella'. He even has one of my favorites, Clair de Lune. I love that he takes classical music and blends them with Sunday hymns to create an absolutely gorgeous musical arrangement. Now if only he would create some musical arrangements for Canon in D and the Moonlight Sonata, I'd totally be in love {just kidding honey... I love you!}. Anyways, I highly recommend this CD if you're wanting some beautiful piano music with a unique arrangement. This has actually become my favorite for Sunday mornings. It has a nice calming effect which is much needed at our house on Sundays. If you're interested in learning more about Josh Wright feel free to visit his website Josh Wright Piano. Also, if you want you can purchase the CD from Deseret Book.

So the other item I was really excited about was Hilary Weeks new book and CD 'Bedtime and Naptime... and Bedtime and Naptime'.

This is a wonderful book that celebrates motherhood and reminds you how important mothers roles are while adding a little humor to help you get through those less than perfect days. I find that if we are having a rough day at our house I put this CD on to help me remember to laugh. It helps me to remember the "simple joys" of being a mother and to enjoy this time with my munchkins while they are little, cause they're growing up so fast. It's a great little reminder. Here are a few clips from You Tube that are fun...

Again, if you're interested you can get this book/CD from Deseret Book.

{4} Months

2011-04-06T22:47:00.000-06:00

Ashlynn is four months old now and the older she gets the more she starts looking like her siblings. I had a few free minutes tonight so I started looking through old baby pics of Ella and Cameron when they were four months. Kinda funny how our children look like triplets. :) Pretty cute I think!

Ella - {4} months

Cameron - {4} months

Ashlynn - {4} months

How'd I Do... March Goals

2011-04-01T05:00:00.002-06:00

March was an incredibly busy month, so not a whole lot of "extra stuff" got done. But, I did manage to get a few things done. So here we go with March's goals:

Homemaking-
Decorate the toy room - The plan for the toy room has changed and we're going to be doing some re-arranging of rooms, sooo the toy room decorating is on hold until rooms have been re-arranged.
Finish decorating the munchkins room - Almost done.
Tweak a few things in the living room - There was absolutely no time this month to even make a trip to IKEA.

Cooking-
Clean out the freezer - I got the outside freezer clean, but not the inside.
~~Prepare three different freezer meals~~ - Meatloaf, Sweet and Sour Meatballs, Taco Meat
~~Try three new recipes~~ - Gorgonzola Stuffed Chicken Breasts, Grain and Nut Whole Wheat Pancakes, Creamy Italian Chicken and Orzo Skillet

Mothering-
Take some time for myself each week to go and do something I want to do - Hit and miss... this last month was really busy.
~~Practice Patience~~
~~Go on a walk once a week~~ - When the weather permitted we made it out.

Creating-
Sew something - Not one single thing was sewn last month.
Alter one piece of clothing in my closet
Sew curtains for nursery

Financing-
Get our new desk - How pathetic that we haven't even had time to go and pick up the desk. It's already picked out even... we just have to go pay for it.

Enriching-
~~Blog once a week~~ - I did really good this month. I didn't blog while we were away in San Francisco, but I think I more than made up for it with my San Fran posts.
~~Read a book~~ - Haha... I actually got to read a book this month. Of course it ended up not being a very good book, but I actually got to read again.
~~Spend some time with my hubby~~ - We've been really busy this last month, but it was so nice to spend some time together in San Francisco.

Let's move onto April's goals:

Homemaking-
Re-arrange rooms. I feel like this is going to be a huge undertaking. Here's the plan:
   Toy room becomes guest room
   Guest room becomes food storage room
   Basement living area becomes toy room
Re-arrange front room

Cooking-
Try three new recipes
Clean out inside freezer
Make three freezer meals

Mothering-
Practice patience
Sign Ella up for preschool
Have an art project once a week
Work on ABC's and 123's sight recognition and sounds with Ella

Creating-
Sew nursery curtains
Sew matching skirts for my girls

Financing-
Finally get our new desk
Figure out the cost of shelving in the food storage room

Enriching-
Read a book
Go to the gym twice a week
Catch up on my magazine reading

A Little Getaway... Part 3

2011-03-30T23:48:00.000-06:00

I promise this is the last post about this trip. Here are the pics from the Botanical Gardens. We were able to squeeze this in the last morning we were there before our flight left that afternoon. Lucky for us the rain stopped that morning and we were able to get out and enjoy a little bit of the gardens in Golden Gate Park.

A Little Getaway... Part 2

2011-03-30T23:36:00.000-06:00

While traveling up the coast we stopped at several spots. We stopped in Jenner to eat some delicious food and see some amazing ocean views. We also stopped in Point Arena to see the lighthouse, which was really cool... we actually got to go on a little tour and go all the way up to the top. We stayed in a really cute Inn in Mendocino where we had our own little cottage with our own private yard and hot tub. We also managed to travel up to Fort Bragg and visit Glass Beach. Here are the pics from our little road trip up the coast.

Amazing claw foot tub

Isn't it just the cutest little cottage!?!

Here was our private little yard. Unfortunately, it rained a good portion of the time we were there so we didn't get to spend too much time outside, but I could totally picture eating breakfast out there on a sunny morning.

Our little traveler

Glass Beach... a long, long time ago they used to use this beach as a dump until someone got smart and realized that they shouldn't be dumping into the ocean. After that they cleaned the beach up, but of course all the little pieces of glass were left behind. Through the years the glass has been tumbled from the ocean and now the beach is covered in tumbled glass and rocks. It really is so pretty.

A Little Getaway... Part 1

2011-03-30T23:18:00.001-06:00

Last week we left Ella and Cameron with Andrew's parents and Andrew and I, along with Ashlynn, snuck away for a week in San Francisco. Neither of us had been there, which we both found surprising since we both grew up in California. We've really wanted to visit and the opportunity presented itself when Andrew's mom offered to come watch the munchkins for a week and Andrew's brother who lives in San Francisco offered to let us take over his apartment. So even though I was very anxious about leaving my two older munchkins (this was really the first time I'd ever left them except when I go to the hospital to have a baby, but even then I get to see them every day), Andrew and I decided that it was a great chance to get away and spend some time together. Of course Ashlynn and I are sort of a package deal and don't really go anywhere without each other so she got to come with. Fortunately, Ashlynn proved to be a great traveler and I was even more thrilled to find out that at least one of my children sleeps while on vacation. While we were there we pretty much did all the touristy things like the Golden Gate Bridge, Baker Beach, Fisherman's Wharf, Pier 39 Sea Lions, Ghirardelli Square, Alcatraz, Botanical Gardens, drove up through Napa, rode the Cable Cars, visited the Cable Car Museum, lots of shopping and we ate lots of yummy food. We also took a couple of days to go up the coast to Mendocino, which was gorgeous. Surprisingly we still had some downtime to rest as well. So there are a lot of pictures and I'll probably actually have to do a few different posts. Okay, here it goes...

Mmm... sourdough bread

Have You Seen This?

2011-03-17T16:12:00.000-06:00

You have got to watch this video. It is amazing! I don't have a lot of musical talent, but I can definitely appreciate other peoples musical talent. Josh Wright has a new CD coming out soon and I look forward to hearing more of his music. I've heard he has a music studio in Salt Lake where he teaches music lessons. I wonder how long the waiting list is...