Plant a tree

Yesterday Nate called me while he was at work and asked me if Rachael and I wanted to come watch him plant a tree. He was about 20 feet away from our apartment so we just walked right over. Rachael was intrigued but I don't know where my camera is (story of my life) so I just snapped a few with my phone. She loved eating the dirt and picking up rocks, but also loved playing with the hose. I love watching her explore new things and I wish I knew what thoughts were running through that cute little head of hers.

My little scholar

There have been countless times I have heard Rachael talking in her room. I go to see what is going on, and there she is pulling books off of her shelf. It is so adorable! She loves books more than anything. If she is being an extreme fuss bucket, all I have to do is ask her where a book is, and she'll go get one for me. She'll just plop right beside me and turn the pages, point, and say "Oooh!" Pretty cute... She also loves that her daddy reads to her every night before bedtime (minus the bedtime part). It is very important to me that she loves to read. It is just so much better for a kid than staring at a T.V. all day (although there are some days when Bolt is the only way to go). And I don't have any problem buying tons of books instead of toys that get tossed away after 10 minutes of play, if that. If you see any screaming deals on books, let me know!

This time I put her there to read, she didn't climb up there with the huge book by herself, although she probably could and would do that now!

Caught in the act!

This is my friend Lacey reading to her before bedtime.

Bag Balm

Well, as some of you may know, Rachael has been having some serious diaper rash issues lately. Bleeding, screaming, the whole nine yards. No fun for any involved. As you can imagine, I'm over it. Desitin doesn't work, Penaten doesn't work, nothing works. Except for this. I had heard about mothers using something called "Bag Balm" that you get at a farmer's store. Farmers put this on their cow's udders (hence the bag, weird.) to reduce cracking. IT IS A MIRACLE WORKER! Seriously. I didn't want to invest in one more thing that doesn't work, so I borrowed some from Nate's parents (they have cows). I got it yesterday morning, put a teensy bit on every diaper change, and this morning the rash is gone. Needless to say, I went to the farmer store and got some for myself. Its cheaper than diaper rash ointment/cream too, and you don't have to use as much. So all you mothers out there, invest in this! (Oh, and there was a lady behind me buying some. We started chatting about it and she told me she uses it for her cracked heels. This is a miracle product!)

Area Rug!

Finally, I have found an area rug. I have wanted a rug since we first got married. They are just such a great way to change a room, but they are SO pricey! One of my new favorite places to find home decor is K-Mart. It may not be the highest quality, but really, by the time I have my own house to completely decorate with "good" stuff my tastes and the styles will most likely have changed. And besides, they have an AMAZING clearance aisle. This rug retails at $99, and I only paid $40 for it. I really love it. Even though this apartment is smaller than would be ideal, I am loving putting my own touches to it. Nothing too fancy schmancy, just something. (And the rug looks good-ish with my lovely couches, even though there isn't any green in it. I'm still loving it.) It may not be a complete necessity, but it just makes me happy. Sometimes you just need a change, and if a 40 dollar area rug does it, then by golly, do it!

I TOLD you it was true!!

So I discovered something today. Something amazing. Something life changing. Something too good to be true, only it IS true!! My sister texted this truth to me this morning, and I couldn't believe it. I had to look it up. It opens in Spring 2010.

Harry Potter Theme Park!!!

Its ok, you can cry. I almost did. It is called the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. They will have everything I've ever dreamed of. Honeydukes, The Three Broomsticks (butterbeer anyone?), Olivanders so I can get my wand (finally!), and of course you get to go to the castle. HOGWARTS!!! Can you believe it? I am so excited to meet Harry.

For all of the information and pictures go to http://www.universalorlando.com/harrypotter/

Needless to say, I am VERY excited to go to this wonder of wonders. One day.

Jealousy and waiting

So I just need to vent for a sec. I've been feeling very jealous as of late. I've been visiting with and seeing blogs and keeping in contact with a lot of my friends from elementary school, middle school, and high school. A lot (or most) of them are married. This is not why I'm jealous (obviously, I'm married too). And quite a few of those married friends have or are currently in the process of buying a house/townhouse. I am SO jealous. I know this is the perfect time to buy with the low market prices and the $8000 tax credit, so even though I am jealous, I really am happy for them. And maybe its not the fact that they have a house, maybe its the fact that they are settling down. They know where they are going to be. Forever. I am grateful that Nate and I are moving to tons of different places and getting different experiences, but now that I have a baby I would like some stability. My mom keeps telling me in the end all of this will work out for the best, and I do know that it will. Its just hard as I'm going through it. I hate that every month we are basically throwing over $500 down the toilet (minus we have a place to live, but you know what I mean). I feel like all I do is wait. I'm waiting for Nate to be done with BYU-I. I'm waiting for him to be accepted to grad school so we know where we're going next. I'm waiting to be done with grad school. I'm waiting to move to New York/New Jersey. I'm waiting to be done with NY/NJ. I'm waiting to know when we can finally have something that is ours besides a couch set and a croc pot. Wait wait wait wait. I know I shouldn't dwell and I'm sounding so ungrateful, but its hard sometimes.

Ugh...

I know that I got spoiled when Rachael was sent as my first child. She rarely cries, entertains herself, and eats mostly everything placed in front of her (more so when she was younger...). And another thing that I took for granted: she has never been sick, at least nothing I couldn't control with a little bit of baby motrin. The last little while has been a little tough for me. Rachael has had a constant diaper rash for the last three weeks. I called the pediatrician on friday and they prescribed a ointment (turns out to be for athlete's feet... weird) because they thought it might have been a yeast infection. I saw no improvement over the weekend so I took her in this morning. She has also contracted a rash on her stomach, chest, and back. It hasn't irritated her, but I don't like it. She is also cutting four molars. And after our check up today, we have discovered she has an ear infection. My life is one word. Joy. Really though, the diaper rash is giving her (and me) the most stress. The poor kid can't even sit down, and it doesn't help that she is still trying to walk and often crashes onto her bum. And changing her diaper is a chore!! It is so hard when I am by myself because she is squirming and thrashing, so Nate needs to hold her legs. It is so sad and I start to cry too because I HAVE to do it and get her bum so clean and put the desitin on. When I'm alone during the day I try to just pop her into the tub which she is not a fan of. It might even be worse. It is totally exhausting because she has been so needy. It is a strange emotion for me, I get so frustrated with her crying, but that is overpowered by pity and a desire for her to feel better. I can't do anything for her and I want to so badly. I hate giving her medicine but I know it helps her (don't worry, I don't pump her full of motrin, just when she can hardly move from the pain or at bed time). I hate even more that the doctor didn't tell me to do anything different. He prescribed an antibiotic for her ears (which I really hate...) but other than that I'm on my own. This whole having a sick kid is definately on my not-favorite list.