Just so you can see Katie

She seems to be getting bigger and more grown up all the time, so I thought I'd post a quick video to show off some of her new skills :) Some of her signs are a little off, like doing "food" when she says "more"("Moe-e" lol, so cute!)...but since she usually is only asking for more food, we know what she means :)

It's that time of year again...

Resolutions!

Everyone else is doing it, so I figured I might as well write down and make my resolutions for this year public as well :) Then I'll feel more accountable or something :p

So, this next year...

Our family is going to work on reading the Book of Mormon. I've created a scripture wall where we are trying to create visuals for each chapter to hang up. We are also keeping a reading chart where we can put stickers to see how well we're doing, and we have a monthly goal written down with a reward for finishing it...this month, it's to get though first Nephi and we'll have a root beer float party at the end.

I want to do (finish) something at least once a week that makes me smile. This week, I'm going to work on this little flock of birds. I made one to see how it would turn out the other day. At first I thought I should have enlarged the pattern, but once I got it stuffed, I fell in love! The one little guy I have makes me smile HUGE! I'm excited to see what a flock on a branch over the computer desks will do. I have a small list of sewing and art projects that I'm really excited about, and I want to feel like I'm getting through them this year instead of continuing to add to them...I'm tired of feeling like I'll smile someday...I'm going to start creating my smiles on a more regular basis. Plus I'd like to get my craft blog going and I hope this will help me breath some life into it.

I'm going to be better about keeping the house cleaner....at least clean enough that I feel we can function in it. I've never been very good at keeping a clean house, and I don't see that changing overnight...or even over the course of the year. But I'd like to focus on doing better...things like keeping the kitchen clean enough that I can cook in it without needing to clean part of it first, and making sure that the clothes we need are at least clean and dry when we need them. I know that may not seem like a huge goal, but it will be a big improvement on my stress level if I can stay on top of it better then I have.

I'm going to work on being more patient with my kids. I'm going to focus on answering their questions better instead of saying "*sigh* don't worry about it". I'm going to tell them "later" much less often. And I'm going to take the opportunity to stop whatever I'm doing to let them show me what they are doing every time they ask.

I'm going to find a way to be more active. Last year I tried to start running...but I can't start with the hills around our house, so it felt like a big production to get out and go to the park to run...a 30 min run would turn into an hour and half of my time, and it fizzled out pretty quick. Right now, I'm walking Betty to and from school daily, and that helps, but I'd like to get some more exercise. I'd really like to get an elliptical, but we'll have to see if we can fit it into our tax return budget. So, right now, the exercise goal is in the planning stages, but I'll do whatever I can to make it happen.

So that is my list of goals for this year. I hope to keep on top of them.

My husband's mind

So, people always post cute and silly little things their kids say...well, here is one from Chris. This is an email he sent me from work....

I just had a hangnail that was bugging me, so I grabbed my fingernail clippers and took care of it. Fascinating I know. Then as I was putting it away, my mind wandered to flight regulations and improvised weapons, and then it jumped to Samson killing 1,000 people with the jawbone of an ass (yes it literally jumped from killing people with fingernail clippers to killing people with the jawbone of an ass).

Which of course derailed for a minute when I had to ask myself again, “how the Hell (or maybe Heaven in this case) could the jawbone of an ass last long enough to kill 1,000 warriors that were armed and presumably armored?”, and, “Did he just carry one around knowing that it wouldn’t be viewed as a weapon?”.

So anyhow, back on topic, I know of 1,000 people that have been killed with the jawbone of an ass, but I know of zero people that have been killed with fingernail clippers (though I have to assume that there has been at least one). So if I went to board a plane with the jawbone of an ass in my bag, (which as we now know has more deaths attributed to it) would they confiscate it as an improvised weapon?

What if you were an ass farmer (ass rancher? Whatever it is called, I don’t want to have it as my title)? Would it make you less likely to have the jawbone confiscated?

Just thought I would share my thoughts and musings with you.

First Snow and Halloween

We had our first snow the other day, and the girls were very excited to go play in it. How cute are they?!



Not long after that, Katie spent a few days sick...fever, throwing up...overall not feeling well. She had slept all morning on my lap, so during her regular naptime, I didn't figure she would sleep, so I put her in front of a movie...where she fell asleep, poor thing. but I got a cute sleeping baby picture out of it :)Tonight was Halloween. The girls had SOOOO much fun. We are used to having a Church party sometime before, then not doing much on Halloween itself..well, we didn't do anything big, but we did trick-or-treat around our neighborhood. This is the first time we've lived in a neighborhood where we could do that. It was great fun, and we all enjoyed the brief socializing we got to do with our neighbors. Aimee wanted to be a fairy, Betty a cheerleader. My sister-in-law, who is the most amazing shopper, went out and hunted down costumes for them...even came back with that adorable chicken outfit for Katie. I was so grateful for her help (especially because with Katie sick, I had been less then motivated to get stuff together).

Katie is really hard to get a picture of right now...you turn the camera her way, and she charges for it to see herself on the screen.
The first house...Katie's first time trick-or-treating...She really was confused about the whole thing for a while. Before long she figured out that people would come to the door and put stuff in her bag. She'd push though her sisters to help knock on the door...then she was very "businesslike" about the whole thing. By the time we were done she was trying to say "Trick-or-treat" (which sounded a bit like "Eeee-eee") and "bye-bye" when we were done.

At the end, I had them knock at our door so I could get a good picture. Overall, it was a fun night, and they pulled in a good haul...I made them put all the candy in one bowl that we will all share. (notice the bags? I think next year I may make some halloween themed ones just for trick-or-treating...they were perfect for it!)

Pumpkin patch festival

So, I've been bad with pictures mostly because my camera had been broken. Then my dad got me a new one for my birthday! Yay Dad! Then, I got sick, so I haven't taken many pictures...but now I'll do better...

So last night, we went with Chris' sisters and their family to a pumpkin patch. We had a great time and were so glad they called us to join them!
They have evenings were there are booths and hay rides and they play Charlie Brown's Great Pumpkin in a big field. We had dinner while we watched.

Then we went on a hay ride. Not a lot of great pictures because it was pretty dark by then.
At the end, the girls got their faces painted. Betty wanted a black cat...Aimee wanted to be pink lol.

It was a really fun night. We didn't get pumpkins last night because there were so many other things to do.

Pictures of the bags

So here are the pictures of my new grocery bags. I must say, I've discovered that having pretty grocery bags is truly one of life's simple pleasures. I love little things like that that make me smile...and it's so much better having made them myself! I've used them 3 times now (yeah, I forgot things that many times...good thing we have stores that are close...) They guy at wal-mart said he liked them cause they fit really well in the loading area, unlike the ones that you can buy at wal-mart. (he just slid the handles right where the holders were for the plastic ones). The lady at the store tonight asked if I'd made them and said they'd turned out really nice. I also like how sturdy they feel when they are loaded with groceries. And, I keep them in a little stack (gotta find a good place to keep it) and then I can slide my ongoing shopping list inside the pocket of one...that way I'm less likely to forget them when I go to the store and I have a place to keep a list of things we need. Oh, I'm so going to have to make more of these, so I can get a whole week's worth of groceries in them. And I was thinking they'd make great bags for the girls for Sacrament meeting...maybe with slightly longer handles....hmmmm...now where did that stash of fabric go??? :)

Yay me!

So, for a while now I've been wanting some good reusable grocery bags...and I've secretly been coveting really pretty ones(like these maybe or These...). But so many are so expensive, and I couldn't see spending a ton on grocery bags. So, I looked up a pattern and found this one. I've made 3 now. Mine are a little...lumpier, then the one here, but they are so pretty, and I'm so proud of myself for how they turned out. Especially since I don't sew very much. Plus, I spent only $9, and have lining for 3 more(and fabric for more if I could find it...), so I think I did pretty good. And I think mine are prettier then the other ones. Of course now Chris has put in a request for some that are a little less..."girlie". we're going to take them out shopping and see how we like them today, then maybe I'll throw some more together...

I'd post a picture, but my camera is broken, so I'll see if I can get Grady to take one for me later.