Guilty Pleasure- 1/2 Price Day at the Thrift Store

On the last Tuesday of every month, the Volunteers of America Thrift Store has everything in the store for 1/2 price. On the last Wednesday of every month, Ohio Thrift has 1/2 price on everything at their stores. Its like a treasure hunt. I love it because there are always a few things that you'd like to have that you don't exactly need that are nice to pick up on these days. Like right now, I'm picking up a few extra sweaters for the winter. And I love getting Will's shoes there. I have him stocked up for the next few sizes and its so nice only paying $1 for shoes instead of $12 at Target or Walmart. You always come out feeling like you've just conquered the shopping world.

Black Friday- Carters

Due to the struggling economy, many store are opening at midnight Friday morning. Normally I don't really care about these things, but there is something about going shopping in the middle of the night that is intriguing me. And honestly, I kind of like the idea of shopping by myself, even if it's dark and 23 degrees out. I'm still throwing around the idea of heading out, and I think I'm going to do it just for the sake of experience and me-time. I'm only going to Carters and I can't imagine there will be ladies in quilted vests ready to bang down the door at midnight, you think? I would think everyone would be lining up around Toys R Us and Best Buy. Anyway, everything in the store is 50% off with an extra 10% off between midnight and noon, and an extra 20-25% off coupon. They're practically giving everything away! I love Carters clothes because they wear so well and I'm thinking of getting Will's winter clothes for next year. Good luck to all of you venturing out to buy the hottest toys for your kids at the wee hours of the morning. I'm glad we're not at the stage in our family:)

Here's the coupon if anyone else is intersted...
http://wl2.peer360.com/b/D5q5QuL69D2aSFT85XMy/main.asp?hl=-1&utm_medium=email&utm_source=peer360&utm_campaign=112508+Black+Friday+Sale&utm_content=Holiday+Sale+%2D+Nov+11+2008+12%3A55PM+copy+%2D+Nov+19+2008++9%3A02AM+copy+%2D+Nov+24+2008++3%3A51PM+copy

Happy 7 Months Will!

Will, in a word- you're a handful. But we love you that way! You are on the go non stop. Frequent sayings in our house:

"Will, are you getting into trouble?"

"Will, pulling mommy's hair really hurts her"

"Will, can you let go of the extension cord?"

I truly believe families are designed in heaven and you were the perfect little boy for us in every way, but you definitely keep us more busy this month than you did last month!

• You crawl like a champ and are very deliberate about it. You don't just glide across the room, you stomp on your hands and knees across the room.
• You usually dart across the floor to any shoes because you love to untie shoelaces.
• You love being naked and it makes you noticeably happier (if that were even possible)
  
• You're really starting to 'play' with your toys and its very fun to play with you- after we've pulled you away from the diapers, remote control, cords, and all other electrical devices.
  
• You can't hold still. I'm afraid you're destined for ADHD. The only way we can get you to settle down and sit still (for feeding, changing, and getting dressed) is if we sing to you. Needless to say, Dad and I know at least 12 verses for Old McDonald and The Wheels on the Bus.
  
• You can pull yourself up on everything.
  
• When I come to get you in the morning and you see me, you shriek and do the loudest power crawl ever because you're so excited. Whap! Whap! Whap! It makes me feel so loved!
  
• You absolutely love eating solid foods. You haven't really but up any resistance to any of it, but you consistently eat peas, carrots, applesauce, bananas, and squash.


• You still put everything in your mouth. Everything.


• You have a death hold grip. You get you finger on one thing and it takes us forever to pry your little fingers off it.


• You're pretty self absorbed in that you LOVE to look at yourself in the mirror. We have a big mirror in the hallway and you can sit in front of it and look at yourself for at least 5 minutes. That's like an hour for normal attention spans.


• You can say your D's, B's, and G's- all signs of good development.


• You're getting slightly chubby legs and a nice pillow layer off fat on top of your feet. Cute!


• You're very ticklish now. In every place.


• You still love your exersaucer, but you mainly like it for its jumping capabilities. You also love your Jolly Jump in the doorway and whenever you are not in those 2 places, you still want to jump. Especially in Dad's groin area.
  
• You're starting to get more into books. When you don't have them in your mouth, I can usually go through 2 or 3 books with you before you lose interest.


• You are starting to 'watch' TV and I love that you sit in my lap and watch the Barefoot Contessa with me when we get a chance.


• When Dad and I are playing on the floor with you, our bodies become an instant jungle gym and you start crawling all over us.


• You make really funny faces when you poop.
  
• Still a great sleeper and very thankful for that.
  
• You made it through your first BYU football season. The first of many.


• You still love your binky and I'm pretty sure you're going to be one of the kids in nursery with your bink, and I'm totally fine with that. It makes you happy and quiet during church.


• You like it when we kiss you and sometimes after we kiss you, you'll put your face up to ours so we'll do it again.
  
• When Dad is holding you, he puts his head down and you start slapping his bald head and laughing. It's like your personal drum.


• I still swaddle you to get you to sleep sometimes and I love that. I'll be so sad when I can't do that anymore.


• You're wearing some 12 mos stuff and that kind of makes me sad. I just love the little clothes.


• You continue to be the mascot of the Fisher College of Business and whenever I bring you to school, you usually block a hallway because there are so many people excited to see you.


• You're constantly doing all the cute baby noises. Blowing bubbles, clicking your tongue, and cooing.

I honestly can't believe how big you're getting and it seems like you're coming up on all of these milestones so fast! You keep us on our toes, you have an awesome personality, and we LOVE being with you. Can't wait to write next month!

Chewy Granola-goodness

This is the granola bar recipe I made the other day. AMAZING! And I'm pretty sure this is going to be my Christmas goodie to give out this year, FYI.

http://www.recipezaar.com/Chewy-Granola-Bars-20184

Demin: Found

From the comments I got earlier, it sounds like I'm not the only one needing some new threads... My friend Christy suggested I visit a store called Red Planet X. It's like Plato's Closet, but specializing in jeans. I went there the other day with Will and he lasted less than 5 minutes in the store. Gotta love that kid, but he's getting harder to take to places. I was able to go back that night while Cort watched Will, but I only had 40 minutes before the store closed. I tried on probably 20 pairs of jeans, and found a solid pair of Citizens. I need to take them in a little bit in the waist (I have junk in the trunk) but according to What Not to Wear and Tim Gunns Guide to Style, most everyone should be tailoring their clothes, but nobody does. While I was checking out, I saw a whole rack of Seven's that I missed and made the mental note to go back sometime. I conned my friend Christy into coming with me tonight and holding Will while I tried them on. Fit great, loved my butt, and handed over my debit card. I bought 2 pairs of jeans that retail for $200 and only paid $35 each and the Sevens still had the original tags on them. So for all of you Columbus-ites, pay a visit to REd Planet X. You only really have to go to one store and you get every possible demin brand and you're bound to find something.

They Totally Want My Body (I hope!)

A couple of weeks ago, my neighbor told me about a job posting she had found for Abercrombie and Fitch. The title was "Fit Model" and my first thought was, "I'm definitely not a model, and I'm not very fit", but it turns out that clothing companies hire 'normal' people to come in and try on the clothes they are making so they fit the average buyer. Because how can they make money if their jeans only fit the size 2 models? The only catch was that you had to have the right measurements... I had to take a full length picture of myself wearing jeans and a t-shirt, then email them with my measurements. Then I waited. They sent me a mass email saying that they had so many people apply, they would only be contacting the people they 'wanted' and since that was more than 3 weeks ago, I figured they had found someone more 'normal' than me. Until today!!! I just got an email asking me to come in for measurements on Friday. I'm assuming they bring in a bunch of candidates and take their measurements (to make sure no one was lying on their email) and then hand out the gigs. So, potentially I COULD be an Abercrombie model! And how cool is it that I could just go and try on clothes a few hours a week and get paid!?! Special K for breakfast every day this week! Cross your fingers for me:)

Desperately Seeking Denim

I'm on the hunt for some new jeans and need your help. The last pair of jeans I bought was from American Eagle, and I loved them but I think due to too many washes, or maybe a growth spurt, they are slightly too short. Previous to that, I was a Gap Long and Lean kind of girl. However, I went to the mall this week and tried on both and they just didn't do it for me, or didn't fit quite right. And, of course, I'm on a budget... $40. So if any of you have had success with a certain brand of jeans, let me know! Finding a good pair of jeans is a great feeling, you just feel like everything is right in the world.

Stake Conference Notes

This past weekend was Stake Conference and (pat ourselves on the back) we made it to the Saturday night session! Truth be told, I had no idea there was even a SAturday night session of Stake Conference until I was in college. Although I think its a great idea to have a session just for adults, what are people supposed to do with their kids? And doesn't paying a babysitter so you can go to a church meeting seem so un-Mormon? I digress. I was very excited that I went and I learned a lot, but it made we question that thinking about having more than a small infant.

Anyways, by far my favorite part of Stake Conference was from the Presiding Elder Hardy. He was talking about his family and how his parents created a Gospel culture in their home. He emphasized that by no means were they religious fanatics, nor 'weird' mormons, but a strong loving family who surrounded themselves in the Gospel. The thing that stuck out to me was when he said, "I didn't learn anything at church- that I hadn't already learned at home."

Cortney and I have been talking about this a lot since last weekend and have decided that is a really great goal that we have set for our family. As Cortney and I try to immerse ourselves in the Gospel, hopefully we can set the example needed for our home to have a "Gospel Culture".

Clubs

For some reason when you're married and Mormon, you join all these clubs as reasons to hang out with friends, get a break, and sometimes learn new things. And I'm ok with that. I am currently in 4 clubs.

Freezer Meal Club- 7 of us get together and exchange freezer meals so we all have something to throw in the oven on days that's its just too hectic to cook. Each person makes 7 batches of one meal (ie corn chowder) freezes it in a ziploc bag and then all the other person has to do it heat it up.

Card Club- my dear friend Kim organizes this and she teaches us how to make a new card and then each of us brings homemade cards to everyone else and we exchange. Truth be told, I seriously feel so bad for everyone getting my cards. They are so plain compared to their masterpieces of scrapbook paper and trinkets!

Book Club-This just started this month, so the jury is still out. Maybe this is something to be concerned about... I joined a book club last...

Quilt Club- I just joined this one too so I could learn how to quilt. Each month the host chooses a quilting square pattern and teaches everyone how to do it, then everyone goes home and makes one square out of the host's fabric, then we bring it back to the next club meeting and the host will get all the squares to make a quilt from.

What clubs are you part of?

Aurick

This is my neighbor, Aurick. He is 3 years old (2 weeks older than Emma) and I get to babysit him every weekday morning from 8:30-11:30 am while his mom studies (she's a PhD candidate). We have a lot of fun and I feel so blessed that I can have this job where I can still take care of Will and it isn't too taxing on me.

Aurick has an older sister, Liesel, and combined, they are some of the smarted kids I have ever come across. They can tell you about any animal and Aurick can tell you about any dinosaur. We spend many days going to story time at the library, playing the toys at the toy store, watching Scooby Doo, and of course playing with Will. Aurick is such a good helper and when we get Will dressed each morning, Aurick gets to help pick out the clothes he wears and get the diaper and wipes for me. One time I asked him if he would get Will a new diaper and he said, "Yeah, I'll get him a good one." Aurick is also quite into whether Will has pooped or not.

About once a week, we make a treat together while Will takes his morning nap. Today we made homemade granola bars, which were incredible and I'll post the recipe later. When they came out of the oven, I told Aurick they were still to hot to eat or cut into squares and he said, "Well, the bad news is the granola bars are still too hot, but the good news is you don't live with a Komodo Dragon."

Thanks for putting that into perspective, bud.

MoTab

When I was younger, I really didn't like the Mormon Tabernacle Choir or understand why they were such a big deal. In my home ward, there was a lady named Kathy Brooks and she was a trained opera singer and I always just thought that MoTab just sounded like a bunch of Kathy Brooks' aka a bunch of old ladies singing. Although I have slightly matured since then, I still didn't have very much appreciation until this last conference. The choir sounded amazing and it was probably my favorite part of General Conference. And now, thanks to Directv, we get BYU-tv and we can listen to Music and the Spoken Word while we get ready for church. What an incredible pool of talented people! There really is nothing out there like it! I'm happy to say I can call myself a convert to MoTab.

My new favorite picture of Will.

Will puts anything that is in his hands in his mouth... he got Dad's tie this time. It was soaking wet by the time we wrestled it out of his hands. Good thing I have a coupon for the dry cleaners!

Do you think my son has an abnormal relationship with food? He always gets so excited when we get the cereal box out...

Just after bath time. I am waiting for the day that I can put a little gel in Will's hair and spike it a tiny bit.

Nap time. The little green thing under Will's arm is Ralph- his stuffed alligator. They always take naps together.

Happy Halloween!

Our Little Lion.

A 6th Grade Dream Fulfilled

A few weeks ago, I heard on the radio that The Smashing Pumpkins were doing an acoustic sold out concert in Columbus on Halloween. Angry that I had no idea how I could have missed such an incredible opportunity, I called Cort and said that we had to find a way to get tickets. I scoured Craigslist every day hoping that I could find a god deal on tickets. Sure enough, as the concert date grew closer, people were getting desperate and prices dropped. We gladly picked up tickets the day of and left Will at a friend's house while we went to see Billy Corgan Inc.

I have loved the Smashing Pumpkins since I think about 6th grade. Siamese Dream came out when I was in 4th grade and I think for a solid 2 years I heard my brother, Jared, blast "Today" while he was getting ready for school. And that's where it began. I even developed a secret crush on Mr. Corgan himself and in recent years have learned I wasn't the only one (Kim and Tara:)

The concert was at a venue called the Newport, which is right across the street from campus. It only holds 1700 people, so its prefect for intimate concerts. We were literally 30 feet from Billy and I'm 99% sure I lost some of my hearing that night, but I didn't care. The inner heavy rock lover in me came out and I just relished in it. I think my jaw was dropped for most of the show because it was just so incredible. Every time I go to a concert, I am reminded that Heavenly Father gave all of us special gifts and I was privileged to be able to see people with such incredible musical gifts.

Halloween let me check another great band off my list of "To See Before I Die".

My Emmitt Smith Year

I turned 23 a few weeks ago, again sorry for the late post. Cort equates birthday years to famous athletes numbers. So at 22, it was my Emmitt Smith year, and I've moved onto MJ (Michael Jordan), which I might add, Cort says is destined to be a very important year, because it's MJ's number. So in saying adios to 22, I thought I would take a minute to write about the good things that happened to me this past year of life.

I DEFEATED pregnancy and gave birth to an incredible baby boy who continues to light up my life.

I celebrated my first wedding anniversary. Marrying Cort was the best decision I ever made.

I traveled to Portland, Seattle, Indianapolis, Gettysburg, and Hershey- all places that I had never been and absolutely loved.

I attended almost 3 BYU Football games. The 'almost' part was for the Las Vegas Bowl last Christmas. My angel dad-in-law bought me a ticket, but I puked the whole drive to Vegas. See bullet point #1. But we did make it to BYU v. Washington and UCLA v. BYU- which were both great games.

I moved into the 21st century and got TIVO.

I supported my husband through his first year of grad school, and more often than not having food on the table when he got home.

I have been on a very tight budget for the last year and I have the satisfaction of knowing that I can sustain my family without hardly anything 'lacking' with a very small amount of money.

I have 2 jobs and am usually still sane at the end of the day.

I have developed incredible friendships and have felt closer to friends here than at any other time in my life.

I saw Bruce Springsteen in concert.

I went to my first OSU football game.

I visited Kirtland, OH twice. I love that place.

I moved into a bigger apartment and am loving the extra space.

I quit breastfeeding and have no regrets.

I learned how to find a coupon for anything.

I can think of a few more accomplishments that happened this year, but they are really only accomplishments in my mind. So for now, we'll leave it at these and thank my Emmitt Smith year for a lot of incredible memories.

Guilty Pleasure- NPR

I apologize for not being better about posting lately. 2 jobs, 2 kids to watch (I babysit my neighbor) and keeping the house together has gotten the best of me and I feel more busy than any other time in my entire life. So my postings tend to be very brief and multiples at a time...

I LOVE NPR! I think I listen to it 80% of the time I'm in the car. I learn the most interesting things from it and I count it as my continuing education at this point. The other day they were talking about kids music and I thought I would share this blog. Kids music has come a long way from "If you're happy and you know it" and many former bands we used to listen to are now doing kids music. Anyone remember They Might Be Giants? Yep, totally doing kids music now.

http://www.zooglobble.com/