Something to do...

I am constantly on the look out for things for Rachael to do during the day that will just keep her busy. My sister works at a Pre-School, so I asked her if she had any fun ideas. She did, and she would tell me about how she would do them with our nephews, ages 7, almost 4, and 2. She would say, "The boys LOVED it," and I'd ask, "Did Liam (the two year old) like/do it?" Her response? "No." Bummer, I guess its just the tough age where attention spans are non existent (except watching a movie) and they just like to follow mom all day saying, "Mom... Mom... Mom... MOM!!" "What??" (She holds up a spatula) "Wow." Yes, that is my world currently, lol. So, in the hopes of finding a suitable creative activity (and to satiate her love of coloring), I have been wanting to make her a chalkboard out of a plain, old, ugly piece of wood and some chalkboard paint. Well... what did my wonderful sister find at the D.I.? Some amazing old cabinet doors for $3 each!! So, blessed woman that she is, bought me one (or should I say bought Rachael one) and even let me use some of her chalkboard paint. Now I have an uber cute chalkboard for my little scribbler to use. She loves it, but I've taken it away for a couple of days to some of its novelty comes back. I usually do that with all of her toys, keep them in separate bins and only take one bin out each day. (Although the other day she was really driving me crazy so I literally took out every single toy she has, along with all of her books, and put them all on the floor of her room. Two minutes later, what does she come to show me? All of the wipes she pulled out of the container. Of course.) So, here's to imagination filled activities! (and please feel free to share any genius ideas you might have!!)

babyshower4jess

So this last Saturday the 25th, my friend, Marissa, and I threw our friend, Jessica, a baby shower. Jess is due on Halloween, which is also the daddy's birthday. So cute! We themed the Shower around Baby Roslyn's UBER cute nursery (see it here and try really hard to not be jealous. I can't help it. I'm pea green with envy.) which is brown and pink and onesies. I was (mostly) in charge of decor, and Rissa was (mostly) in charge of food. Riss made some UH-MAZING chicken salad for the croissants (seriously, the best I've ever, EVER had) and some de-freaking-lectable strawberry frosting for the cupcakes. I got the inspiration for the ruffle decor here and it turned out so cute! The rose-ball was also a tutorial, only I don't remember where I got it from... Both projects turned out so cute, but they took such a long time!! I'm glad I did them because they made the shower that much cuter, but I will not be doing them again until I have a room to decorate. I plan on selling these decorations for 5-10 bucks on Craigslist to pay for the crepe paper because there isn't anything I can do with them... Oh well, they were really cute! Congrats Jess and Jerem, I am SO excited to meet baby Roslyn!!!!

Double Conundrum...

I'm currently struggling with two dilemmas.
1) Rachael is in that awkward stage between taking a nap but staying up later, or staying up all day (with sporadic bouts of Narcolepsy from the 6-8 p.m. hours) but going to bed like a princess at 8:30 and sleeping until 8. I do love my ME time during the day that I get to spend cleaning or crafting or reading (sleeping? yes.), but I do also love time with just me and Nate in the evenings, to watch a movie or play a rousing game of Yahtzee. Hmmm...2) This may have had something to do with Rachael's lack-of-nap yesterday, but I didn't spend my day fretting over tiny little messes and picking up her toys as the day progressed and I really did enjoy my day, built a few forts, scribbled on the chalkboard, it was a lot more relaxing. However, at the end of the day, the apartment was a mess. Not a disaster, a mess, and I was too tired/lazy to tidy it up (hey, playing all day with a crazy two year old wears you out). Hence, when I woke up this morning, the Cleaning Fairy skipped my home (again!) and it was still a mess.

I just don't know what to do!!

Strange Child...

This is a picture of dinner the other night. Spaghetti Pie and broccoli (and juice). Which bowl is empty? Yep, the broccoli bowl. Rachael. Loves. Vegetables. A lot. Seriously, this kid is a veggie eater like no other. If she had her way, she'd eat broccoli and green peppers ALL DAY LONG. The other night I made chicken caeser salad wrapped in a home made pita bread wrap. Delicious right? Right, its my new favorite (I love anything caeser salad). Rachael ate all of the lettuce. Not the cheese, not the chicken, not even the delicious wrap. Just the lettuce. Tonight I made AMAZING sweet and spicy pork tacos. Rachael picked out all of the iceberg lettuce, ate a few slices of green peppers, and was done. No pork, no cheese, no tortilla. And she finished off her meal with a nice heap of... iceberg lettuce, plain (and some green grapes, what's with the green??). Seriously weird. Not bad, and I'm not complaining, just weird.

(On a side note, Nate and I both hate tomatoes (we've tried them, we just can't do it.) but we want our children to like them because they're so good for you. Rachael wants nothing to do with them. I also hate, hate, hate beans (except for green beans and jelly beans). This nutritionist we went to told me to try a bean dip for Rachael so she could get iron and protein and stuff. I only gagged twice while I was making it (seriously) and Rachael put the chip and dip in her mouth, gagged, and pulled it out. No bueno. She really is my child, as Nate keeps reminding me.)

Amazing Luck!!

So we were all out shopping today, grocery shopping to be more specific, and we had 2/4 stores done (yes, we hit up all three grocery stores PLUS Wal-Mart to get all the sales, we're starving students, sometimes literally) and were about to walk out of "Fresh Market" when over the intercom comes the announcement, "Attention customers, this is just a reminder that we will be having our nightly drawing of a $100 gift card in about 20 minutes, so put your name in the box on aisle three!" Well, Nate and I can't turn down a chance to win $100, so he put our names in (triple folded our papers so they would be easier to grab) while Rachael and I went on a stroll for 15 minutes. We came back (after I said a few little prayers, we could really use that money) and what do you know... they didn't call our names. Ah well, what can you do... JUST KIDDING!! They totally called my name! I was (needless to say...) PSYCHED!! So I did a little jig up to the register, showed my driver's license, received my card, had my picture taken (I almost gave the card back when they told me about this part) and let my little princess pick out a treat. (Well... daddy helped her pick a "clean" treat, Skittles) I'm still loving my luck today!

Here is Rachael enjoying her good luck! (She didn't finish the whole pack, in fact, she put about 1/4 of it into her mouth, sucked it into a big ball, then put it in my hand. Motherhood is full of little joys like that)

Why We Love Children

My grandma sent me this e-mail, and I thought it was funny so I'm sharing my little chuckle with you. I don't know if kids really said these things, but they're so funny!I'm excited for when Rachael says silly, innocent things like this.

NUDITY
I was driving with my three young children one warm summer evening when a woman in the convertible ahead of us stood up and waved. She was stark naked! As I was reeling from the shock, I heard my 5-year-old shout from the back seat, 'Mom, that lady isn't wearing a seat belt!'

KETCHUP
A woman was trying hard to get the ketchup out of the jar. During her struggle the phone rang so she asked her 4-year-old daughter to answer the phone. 'Mommy can't come to the phone to talk to you right now. She's hitting the bottle.'

MORE NUDITY
A little boy got lost at the YMCA and found himself in the women's locker room. When he was spotted, the room burst into shrieks, with ladies grabbing towels and running for cover. The little boy watched in amazement and then asked, 'What's the matter, haven't you ever seen a little boy before?'

POLICE # 1
While taking a routine vandalism report at an elementary school, I was interrupted by a little girl about 6 years old. Looking up and down at my uniform, she asked, 'Are you a cop? Yes,' I answered and continued writing the report. My mother said if I ever needed help I should ask the police. Is that right?' 'Yes, that's right ,' I told her. 'Well, then,' she said as she extended her foot toward me, 'would you please tie my shoe?'

POLICE # 2
It was the end of the day when I parked my police van in front of the station. As I gathered my equipment, my K-9 partner, Jake, was barking, and I saw a little boy staring in at me. 'Is that a dog you got back there?' he asked.
'It sure is,' I replied.
Puzzled, the boy looked at me and then towards the back of the van. Finally he said, 'What'd he do?'

ELDERLY
While working for an organization that delivers lunches to elderly shut-ins, I used to take my 4-year-old daughter on my afternoon rounds. She was unfailingly intrigued by the various appliances of old age, particularly the canes, walkers and wheelchairs. One day I found her staring at a pair of false teeth soaking in a glass. As I braced myself for the inevitable barrage of questions, she merely turned and whispered, 'The tooth fairy will never believe this!'

DEATH
While walking along the sidewalk in front of his church, our minister heard the intoning of a prayer that nearly made his collar wilt. Apparently, his 5-year-old son and his playmates had found a dead robin. Feeling that proper burial should be performed, they had secured a small box and cotton batting, then dug a hole and made ready for the disposal of the deceased.
The minister's son was chosen to say the appropriate prayers and with sonorous dignity intoned his version of what he thought his father always said: 'Glory be unto the Father, and unto the Son, and into the hole he goes.'

SCHOOL
A little girl had just finished her first week of school.. 'I'm just wasting my time,' she said to her mother. 'I can't read, I can't write, and they won't let me talk!'

BIBLE
A little boy opened the big family Bible. He was fascinated as he fingered through the old pages. Suddenly, something fell out of the Bible. He picked up the object and looked at it. What he saw was an old leaf that had been pressed in between the pages.
'Mama, look what I found,' the boy called out.
'What have you got there, dear?'
With astonishment in the young boy's voice, he answered, 'I think it's Adam's underwear!'

Its Like Ridin' a Bike

So I have been searching the entire planet (or Rexburg/Cedar City) for a used toddler bike seat for cheap. And I found one, for FREE!! Yep, on freecycle.org, I have been given the bike seat AND a beautiful lamp for free. Amazing. Well the reason for the bike seat is that Nate typically takes the car all day (which is good for me because I usually spend money if I take the car) and there isn't much goin' on this side of town because Rachael refuses to play at the playground at our complex (because of the sand, she is not a fan) and we just need OUT! So the last two days we've had some little excursions, you know, going to the Elementary School playground after hours, hittin' up Arctic Circle for a 60 cent cone, those fun things. Rachael loves it and even loves her helmet, and she looks super cute in it! Much to my dismay, however, going up hill is killer on my poor legs, especially with the 31 pound child on the back. Ugh. But its good for me, right? Right? Right. And its good for Rachael to get outside. Here's to more happy pedaling!!

She was complaining about the shoes, not the helmet, contrary to her body language.

I love this classic Rachael face

I can do hard things

A friend shared this blog with me and I was literally bawling as I was reading their story. Find their blog here, and be prepared to cry. (The link is only the most recent on Preslee, read the older posts, or try to scroll to the beginning)
Their story is about their little girl, Preslee, who fell into a canal in Rigby, ID, about 10 minutes away from Rexburg. She was life flighted to Idaho Falls, and then to Primary Children's. Preslee was about the same age as Rachael, which is why this story hit so close to home. As I was reading this, my own sweet little girl was over in the family room crying for something, and at first I started to get annoyed, but then I remembered what I was reading. I stopped, went to help her, then brought her to the computer with me where she was doodling on my lap. As I was bawling, my sweet little angel would gently caress my face or give me a little kiss, which made me cry harder. I cannot imagine what this mother is going through. I hope and pray that I will never have to go through something like this, because in this case, I don't think I could do the hard thing. I would break. My little princess is my entire world (not saying Preslee wasn't to her mother). This story has given me a new outlook on motherhood. It will always be hard, but I would rather do it than not.
(Even though I say I couldn't do it, deep down I know I could. Because of the Gospel and because of Jesus Christ, but I don't ever want to find out if I can or cannot)

Camping!

Camping this weekend was tons of fun! We got up to my parent's trailer on Friday afternoon, and long story short, my parents had left their trailer in a sweet spot (totally allowed) and some bums came and parked THEIR trailers and four wheelers all around it. So annoying. Anyways, my brother came up and found a spot and we all set up camp. Nate, Rachael, and I stayed Friday night and Sunday night but not Saturday cuz Nate had homework to do, lameo. It was nice to get a break and a bath though :)

Here is my cute hubby settin' up the tent. My dad was shocked when he found out we didn't even have an air mattress to sleep on. Yeah, we roughed it. It was Nate's first time camping this summer so he had fun starting fires w/OUT matches, reading, and going on the four wheelers.

On Saturday we went to Bryce Canyon, so beautiful!

Rachael and Liam. About 30 seconds after this was taken Rachael was on the other side of this barricade. Ugh! The stinker. She literally doesn't stay still for more than 10 seconds.

We also went on a spur of the moment 1.3 mile hike. Our little family had half a bottle of powerade, Shane and Laura had one bottle of water, the Morgan's had a big bottle of water, and my poor parents had didilly squat. Good thing I had some gum to share :) Nate went temporarily insane and had Rachael on his shoulders the whole time, and even practically ran the whole way out. No thank you, I walked and almost died.

Then we got some ice cream with Curt and Mel's family. This is Rachael rubbing her belly saying, "Mmmm!!"

Back at camp, Rachael and Liam had a sand throwing war. Her tub that night was seriously dark brown when she was through. The next day my sister in law, Laura, told me Liam started playing in the sand and she told him not to throw it and he said, "Yeah, no no, Rachael, no dump," because she literally was dumping buckets of sand on his head. Poor Liam was still camping and didn't get a bath, just a hose down :)

This was the only shot I could get of her filth, and it doesn't even do it justice.

It was a great weekend, and it is SO much nicer camping with Nate, especially when Rachael wouldn't stop crying for like 30 minutes last night and I could ask him to get me stuff. What an adventure :)

Labor Day!

Well, we're off on a Labor Day camping adventure up Cedar Mountain. We'll be visiting Bryce Canyon, which I'm so excited about because Nate has never been there and it is a pretty dang cool place, and quadding, and eating s'mores, maybe a trip to the lake. Its time to rest from our labors (do parents ever really get to do that?) and have a bit of fun!! See you next week and so long summer!