daring again.

 it's that time of year again. 

(see last year's post) 

okay, so i have only done this once before but i feel totally awkward when i do things like this. i'm a rather private person on some accounts and i'm really not one to toot my own horn or draw attention to myself. part of me wishes i could just submit these and then let you know how it goes, or if it even "goes."

but here we go: toooot. tooooot. 

last year i entered 

shabby apple's dare to design contest 

(click to see their blog and read about the contest)

and i was a semifinalist, so i figured i'd try my hand at it again. 

the colors at the top have been on my mind lately, so my dresses all have them.

i'm not loving the colors i used on number 2, so i decided to include the unfinished drawings.  

(can you tell that i did these late at night after my tornado baby finally fell asleep?)

with this last one i like all the colors, but pink best of all. maybe having a little girl growing inside me makes me love pink more, i don't know. the last design is my favorite in general, too.

anyway, check out their blog for updates (but i'll be sure to let you know, too). 

and if you're in need of a beautiful dress, this one is one of my favorites.

the blessed day.

(singing the popcorn song: "... surprise!")

hallelujahs were heard world-round as this little booger stepped into nursery for the first time.

it had been a long nine months of wrestling a fully mobile baby. i can't lie, it was mostly daddy who had to wrestle since i was tied up teaching kids. these past few months she has been a tiny tornado. who wants to sit still when you're in a giant room with plenty of space to run, anyway? 

she loved playing with toys and didn't even notice when i left the room for a few minutes. she also followed the lead of the older kids after playtime and sat quietly around the table, waiting for snacks. she didn't want to leave the table for the lesson, though, because she wanted more food to show up in front of her. 

her hair even stayed in little pigtails the whole time. 

(this hairdo - and mine - brought to you by yo gabba gabba. it keeps her mesmerized enough to let me mess with her and content enough that i can get some things done. let's admit it: if church was a cartoon on tv, life would be much easier.)

some thoughts on a tuesday.

on sunday, some guys in a band stopped by church. they're on tour and just happened to be in the area for the weekend. husband talked with them a little and found out they knew a lot of people from our "previous life" in provo.

we told them, "they haven't ever seen us like this."
they especially haven't seen me in a dress, six months pregnant, holding a squirmy toddler and wearing a backpack full of diapers, scriptures, crayons and toys.
(incidentally, it was ellie's first week in nursery. i'll give you some pictures of my big girl tomorrow.)

i can't stop thinking about how much has changed in just a few short years.

i often find myself thinking
"if anyone told me five years ago that this was going to be my life, i wouldn't have believed it."

not that my life isn't what i wanted, it just would have been impossible for me to comprehend all the things that have happened between then and now.

this song always makes me think of parenthood, of marriage and of life in general. it's simply beautiful and beautifully simple, as most good things are. it is 100% appropriate for how i feel.

putting all the vegetables away
that you bought at the grocery store today
and it goes fast
you think of the past
suddenly everything has changed


driving home, the sky accelerates
and the clouds all form a geometric shape
and it goes fast
you think of the past
suddenly everything has changed


putting all the clothes you’ve washed away
and as you’re folding up the shirts you hesitate
then it goes fast
you think of the past
and suddenly everything has changed

(my favorite song by the flaming lips, covered by the postal service)
(i couldn't find a very good video of the flaming lips version)

dinosaur park on a stormy morning.

there is a lot of cranky boredom going on around here, caused by molars, toddlerhood and hot summer days (oh, and naughty, noisy birds living in our chimney - yeck!). we've been trying to get out of the house almost every day. we have a pass to the huge park nearby, so a couple of days ago we took off during the cool morning hours before the rain started.

can you think of a better place to play than a dinosaur tot lot? 

we took a very short walk around the boat docking area and ended up drenched with sweat in the humid air. a good day in the park always makes for a good nap, though.

(taking pictures was hard - as you can see by the quality. i had to wipe off the lens almost constantly because it fogged up in the humidity. any tips on how to keep that from happening?)

five ways to tell that your baby is no longer a baby:

 (she is making the baby and dog kiss in the first picture, she is kissing the dog in the second picture - and kind of biting him.)

1. you pull a ball of grilled cheese sandwich out of her ear after lunch.

2. you ask her if she stopped playing and came out of her room because she has a poopy and she says "yeah." then she covers her bum and runs away.

3. you have to put her and her doll stroller in time out after she tries to stand in it for the hundredth time ("that's a no-no!").

4. she can point to her ears, mouth and eyes when asked. when it comes to her nose, she knows where it is ... but she somehow can't keep her finger out of it.

5. she hides behind a chair and quietly colors on the windowsill with a pen. when caught, her response is to giggle and run. in fact ... giggling and running is her response to most everything.



toddlerdom. ready or not, here we come.

major score.

just had to share my thrifty luck.

pottery barn duvet cover and shams: $6.98

that's right. you heard me.
used, yes, but nothing a little wash with my favorite lavender-scented gain wouldn't fix.

i love them. ellie loves them. i don't think husband loves them, but he can't complain. they were practically 95% off. he did mention that the cover was "soft" last night, so maybe he likes them after all.

i also got a lovely banana republic cowl neck sweater and a sweet merona dress.

i don't even feel bad about bringing more stuff into the house because i donated a dog halloween costume, some old curtains, a weird ceramic pot and some other my-trash-someone's-treasure items before i shopped.

i have been blessed with the patience to sift through absolute garbage and find something great. i've also been blessed with "the eye" - i can easily spot something with potential amid the castoffs. i truly love good days at the thrift store. it's in my blood.

(when it comes to furniture, though, i can't find anything reasonable out here. even garbage is $30+.)

oh, and i'm almost finished sprucing up bean + boo's room. most of the stuff in there was thrifted, too, and it is turning out to be the perfect place for little girls to spend time. i'll post pictures of that eventually.

 (why, yes, she does have a handful of candy wrappers in her little mitts. and yes, that is why she is smiling. not because she ate the candy, but because she thinks she is being naughty and she loves it.)

little people, big personalities.

the past couple of days, ellie has been making a lot of decisions about her personal style. 

she picked out her first entire ensemble. she brought the boots to me and brought the slip to me (after unsuccessfully trying to put it on herself). 

i thought she looked kinda like she belonged with the hillbilly family on the simpsons, but still pretty cute.

 via this guy

then yesterday, i dressed her to go run errands and she begged for the boots again (she sits on the floor and gets frustrated when she needs help to get them on). she topped it off with her princess crown. it was the absolute perfect combination to express who she is. needless to say, i let her go out like that. 

i think she may have gotten a little bit of attitude from her newfound confidence, though, because she spent the whole afternoon trying to stand up in the cart or climb out of it. she wanted to help me push the cart because big girls that dress themselves don't ride in carts - duh, mom. 

(had to sneak this one in, even though it's not the greatest picture. 

she stomps around in those boots like no one else can.)

in other kid news, baby boo is shaping up to be a real firecracker. of course, we'll have to wait and see what she is like when she gets here, but i have a feeling we're in for double trouble.

so far, she doesn't like to just kick. she does somersaults instead, over and over. we actually watched her do it when we had the ultrasound. it actually makes me a little sick sometimes, like too many rollercoaster rides. 

any kind of soda pop is sure to make her wiggle. i have also been craving queso ruffles after i ate some at a family party and she nearly jumped out of my stomach. 

i don't blame her for starting early with the attention seeking. she's going to have to hold her own with an ellie in the house and that isn't going to be easy.

here's what i'm looking like, since we most likely won't be seeing boo again until she's actually born:

(yes, unless i'm leaving the house i'm usually wearing sweatpants ... or no pants!)

she likes it!

you may recall about this same time last year when i put a camouflage onesize on the baby?

needless to say, she was not amused.

well, i guess camo is like some foods - you might have to try it a couple of times before you decide whether you like it or not. 

while cleaning her closet we found some boots her aunties got for her. they're still a little big, but she insisted on putting them on.

i hope they're proud. she is lovin' her some deer huh-in' boots. 

and pretty sure babies + boots + shorts makes for one of the most adorable things i've ever seen. 

try it. you'll see.

freedom food.

pizza, waffles, hash browns, loaded baked potato soup, sausage, ham, eggs, queso ruffles, doritos, biscuits, watermelon, french onion dip, baked beans, potato salad, steaks, hot dogs, fruit salad...
oh! and apple pie, cherry rhubarb bars, chocolate cake, chocolate chip cookie cake, and two kinds of ice cream with magic shell, oreos, reeses, m&ms, walnuts and caramel topping.

hmm.
just listing off some of the food we've eaten over the long weekend and trying to decide if we hit most of the summertime classics along the way. all-in-all, i think it was a success.


fortunately/unfortunately, when any sort of holidays roll around i have a deep desire to make and eat lots of wonderful food. something about special food makes the whole day feel special. luckily, we have plenty of people willing to share our food (and share their food with us) and that's what really makes the food special. we were able to spend time with friends and family, although we didn't even get to see everyone we had planned on seeing.

the fourth of july has always been on par with (and sometimes bigger than) christmas for my family. it's the "high holidays" of the summer, the culmination and celebration of all the things we love most about good weather and fun and family and God and country and freedom. and food and fireworks, of course.
it's one holiday that doesn't need gifts, because just being able to live where we do and enjoy ourselves is good enough. 

here's to life and liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

oh, and can you see those molars?!

storytime.

remember back when i found ellie reading? 

i finally got the video to work. 

she's a pretty quiet girl in public, so i'm excited to show you what i get to see every day.

have a wonderful weekend!

we're halfway to baby boo tomorrow - 20 weeks. new pictures of a bump coming soon.