Giving Thanks--Day 23

{Wednesday}
Today, I am thankful for music.Music can be so awesome.in good an bad ways.And just like I love a bad movie sometimes....sometimes I love a ridiculously dumb, bad, but awesome song. LOL. i'm a nerd like that.I love everything though....country, rap, pop, hip-hop, classical, christmas, classic rock, 80's, etc.Music can make you feel better, it can lighten the mood,, energize you, pump you up, or...it can help when you are sad, need a good cry or someone to understand what you are feeling. {even if they never even know it}There's almost a song for everything.Music has brought my hubby and I closer...I have mentioned he plays guitar, right??yeahhhhhh...and he sings, writes songs. you know... all that super hot stuff.That guitar won me over. lol.He is super awesome and legit to begin with, but when he started to sing...wow!He learned to get the girls, and he got the girl with it! lol.I have a list of like 20 songs I want him to sing to me. we will see how many he actually learns/plays over the years. but my favorites are the songs he wrote. they always make me tear up. i'm a big sobfest when it comes to him singing significant lyrics. Hopefully, our kids will be able to be just as musical as he is {he wants our kids to be this whole band! lol} if not, hopefully they can be like me and know a wide variety of songs, most of the lyrics and the artists.{but can sing better, like him! seriously...i need lessons and I could be good, but still}
<3

Still Around....

Just a quick note....

I'm still alive.

The family is good.

I will post the rest of my days of thanks soon {only missed 2, i think}

We went on vacay to Star, ID and I don't bounce back well from leaving.... lol.

not really, but you know....

And....

I gave up caffene about 3 weeks ago, thinking it would help to rid my body of it and I wouldn't get the headaches I was getting {kind of like withdrawl headaches-viscous cycle if you've ever been in it -- i have, many times}

BUT....I am still getting headaches.

Daily.

They suck! Reall bad.

Being preggo with K made them go away...this one....not so much! :/

I am all up for suggestions

But I have tried....increasing my calcium intake, increasing my already massive amount of water intake {seriously 70-90 oz, pretty good, right?} I've also tried tylenol, and I take a baby asprin everyday {prior ob ordered it with k because of the high # of stillbirths in my family--ok, I think it's only 2 but still--and I am continuing it with this pregnancy because I'm paranoid.}

I am almost willing to try anything.

I'm at my wits end....it's so dang frusterating!!

anyways....Hope you are having a good day, Hope to blog again soon.

<3

Giving Thanks--Day 22

Today, I am thankful for my ability to cook.I love finding recipes and making them. I usually always alter a recipe, adding more of something, or by just adding a new ingredient. I love doing that!I especially love to bake cookies!I alter just about every recipe that I make, and somehow it turns out super yummy still!Last week I made this shredded beef and hash casserole. It.was.so.good!The recipe got kind of bad reviews on allrecipes {didn't see that until after I started to make it} but I altered it and it was FAB! The best part?? I used leftover beef from a pot roast I made like a month ago! Yea, the two and a half of us can't eat a whole roast, so it gets frozen in about 1 lb bag sizes so we don't waste food. Then, we have easy access to meat to quickly thaw and make into tacos, enchiladas, whatevs! Tonight, I felt like bringing some baked goodies to our Thanksgiving Day destiation. I thought making awesome choc chip cookies that we love. But the butter needed to be softened.So, I made some peanut butter chocolate chip cookies and some chippy cheezys!!YUMMMI took lots of pics and will be sharing after we get back from our trip! sorry, have to wait.I also want to add a page to the blog with a central location for all the recipes I make! Sounds like fun!!Look for that soon...you know....before christmas sometime! lol!{hopefully!} Hope you are all well and travel safe this thanksgiving week!<3 

Giving Thanks--Day 21

 Today, I am thankful for my education and the knowledge I have to be an ultrasound technologist.I was accepted to a 22 student program at Montgomery College for Diagnostic Medical Sonography in 2004. It was hard to get into, I was actually not accepted and put on a waiting list until they got a copy of my transcripts {I was in tears, convinced i wouldn't have a chance to get in} But luckily, someone backed out or didn't fullfill another requirement and I found out I was IN!!! SO freaking excited!School began and I felt like I knew what I was doing. I was blessed that I had a great understanding of the topics taught and that I picked up the techniques quite quickly.I loved to help out my classmates and "tutor" them in a way.In 2006, after tons of classes, many hours driving to and from clinicals {beltway traffic isn't so fun!}, and hundreds of hours logged in for scanning I graduated with an Associates of Applied Science--with honors!yeah, that's legit!I love being an ultrasound tech!I love finding things that are wrong with someone--not that I like that there is something wrong--just that I found an answer for them, I helped, I might have helped to save a life {indirectly, but still}You might think it's just taking pictures....it's not. you have to know what you are taking a picture of, at the right spots, you have to tell a story with your pictures. Then, you have to be able to know/see if there is something wrong and evaluate that....take more pictures, measurements and check for things such as blood flow. Seeing a baby's heartbeat and watching them move, blink, suck a thumb, or even give you the finger is pretty amazing.It's not all glitter an rainbows though.It involves blood, needles, condoms, unpleasant smells, painful positioning, and grim findings. This comes up today because I got a message from an old coworker, there was an article in the paper where we used to live in MD on a family who found out after their 20 week ultrasound that their baby had a very small chin {micrognathia or sometimes called mandibular hypoplasia.} It is usually involved with a syndrome and they found out after her birth that it was cerebro-costo-mandibular syndrome, a rare condition most often results in infant death. Today, Abby, just turned a year old and you can read her story here.**I did her ultrasound**In 2010 the office I used to work at recieved a very nice thank you letter to the tech taking the images. It is often a hard diagnosis to make and I am so happy that I found it {it always would terrify me that I could miss something.} When you can help someone in such a big way....it really makes me so happy. I am so glad that they are doing so well, and I get to now follow their story {I usually wonder what happens to patients that I see--i'm nosy like that :)}It's a hard job, and I am thankful that I can do it!
<3

Giving Thanks--Day 20

 {Sunday} Wow! I can't believe that Thanksgiving is THIS.WEEK!!!wowza!time went by way fast.i guess the trip to AZ really made things go by much faster. This 24 days of thanks is also much harder to do than I thought. Well, like I said AZ really threw a curveball for me. Then I just got lazy. lol.Today, I am thankful for the class which we get to teach, as a couple, every sunday.It's called the Marriage and Family relations class.We LOVE it!It has given us an opportunity to get to know people better and has allowed us to be more open and share things with more people--other than just "small talk."We talk about difficulties with parenting and teaching your children. But we teach first about marriage and how important we need to be to each other, unity, the proclamation to the world, communication, prayer, forgiveness.Then we talk about children.Today's lesson was on Guiding Children as they make Decisions.It was a great lesson. We have a great class, with great people who come. Sometimes we might only have 6 people, sometimes...we might have like 14! But it is great that they do come. I love eveyone in our ward and am so thankful that I have had the opportunity to teach these wonderful lessons. They have helped me as well as helping them {well, I hope they've helped them}I have learned so much and it has helped to reinforce some things which we already knew we wanted in our marriage, just hadn't exactly stated them in those terms, or in certain situations.One of my favorite lessons was on the sacred roles of mothers and fathers:part 1...the father's role. We also included a talk from that prior confrence weekend by Elaine S. Dalton, the Young Women's General President called "Love Her Mother" I LOVE LOVE LOVE that talk {since we have 1 daughter and 1 on the way, it's perfect for our situation} *But I highly suggest you read it if you haven't already!*We are almost done with our 16 week course, and will probably just start it over again....Here is a copy of the Table of Contents for the Marriage and Family Relations Participant's Study Guide with links to the whole lessonsIf you want to read through the Instructor's Manual, you can as well...it's very different and has more quotes and stories. it's a great addition to use just for you and your spouse, if you have kids, or not.   

Part A: Strengthening Marriages
Lesson 1	“The Family Is Central to the Creator’s Plan”
Lesson 2	Developing Unity in Marriage
Lesson 3	Nurturing Love and Friendship in Marriage
Lesson 4	Responding to Challenges in Marriage
Lesson 5	Responding to Challenges through Positive Communication
Lesson 6	Strengthening Marriages through Faith and Prayer
Lesson 7	The Healing Power of Forgiveness
Lesson 8	Managing Family Finances
Part B: Parents’ Responsibilities to Strengthen Families
Lesson 9	“Children Are an Heritage of the Lord”
Lesson 10	The Sacred Roles of Fathers and Mothers
Lesson 11	The Sacred Roles of Fathers and Mothers
Lesson 12	Teaching Children through Example and Instruction
Lesson 13	Teaching Gospel Principles to Children
Lesson 14	Teaching Gospel Principles to Children
Lesson 15	Guiding Children As They Make Decisions
Lesson 16	Family Prayer, Family Scripture Study, and Family Home Evening

  

Giving Thanks--Day 19

 {Saturday} I am thankful for coupons and other ways to save money.So we went to albertsons today...we spent a total of 70ish dollarsbut we saved like $50!!!seriously!They are having some super awesome sales on canned goods ($0.67 for campbells cream of chicken and mushroom, and del monte green beans and corn!) super sweet! If only I had coupons for those too, huh!?! That's ok. They had other deals and I had coupons for those :)I wish I could be all extreme like those exteme coupon people you see on TLC....but really??Yeah I don't have the time or the space. {space is the biggest issue, if we had a huge basement with room for food storage......}and seriously....who needs 30 bottles of mustard?? They do expire.it's sort of ridiculous.I understand the thrill of it, the excitement, the feeling of superiority...but i would never go extreme with it. hopefully....lol! I am also thankful that I had the money to pay for food....I know there are many people out there who are less fortunate...kids that only eat at school, not at home. breaks my heart. I am thankful for the ways we can provide for ourselves and our family. and hope that we can help where needed as well.  

Giving Thanks--day 18

 {Friday} Today I am thankful for Fridays and the weekend!They are so awesome.It's nice to have the hubby home, to stay up late, to maybe get a date night in, to watch movies and hang out.We have friends over and go places that we don't have the time to go to....like the mall, grocery store, the white place flea market, or do things like go fishing or take trips.Its our family time. and it's lovely.Plus drew gets to sleep in since he doesn't have class :) he loves that.We were supposed to have snow all weekend. but it just flurried a few times, nothing major. awesome!there is still snow leftover form the few times before, and it's pretty cold out, but it's nice to not hae a big blizzard to deal with over the nice weekend! 

I was featured!

yep! I was featured! ME!

super awesome.

I can't believe it!

it was for this post on my new scarf storage.

Oh....I also got an award!

I will blog about that soon..... :)

Have a delightful day!

Giving Thanks--Day 17

Yesterday....I was thankful for.....The Internet!
I LOVE IT.I might spend too much time on it sometimes, true.but I don't know where I would be without it!sad? maybe. but I use it for everything....need to prove a point: google it...need to see if the caretaker in Captain America is in deed Mr. Filtch from Harry Potter: imdb it...need to find a recipe: allrecipe itOR....the money go-to for recipes and crafts, laughs, photos, tutorials, printables, ideas, and organization {plus SO much more!}: pinterest!!{need an invite?? I can send you one!}plus...there is facebook, where you can keep in contact with friends and family {or stalk them}
Of course....BLOG-LAND!! oh my...you know i follow like 200 blogs. or more. seriously.pathetic? maybe....but I've found SO much inspiration, motivation, honesty, humility, or encouragement with in blogland. Plus, there is sadness and heartache, but in a way that makes me want to reach out and help. helps to make me realize and see that I still have it great. No matter what troubles I may be going through. My daughter is alive and healthy. I am able to get pregnant, and haven't had any complications so far. My husband is healthy. We are all happy!My heart aches for those who I know {or don't know} that I enjoy reading their blogs and they are having trouble. I always wish there was more that I could do....more to do than just leave a comment, send an email, or make a phone call.It saddens me when people are mean {and there is a surprisingly high number out there} and they leave mean or ignorant comments. 
With the internet we are also able to watch netflix or hulu streaming through our TV! nice! Hulu is great for newer shows that we miss--like glee or the New Girl...Have you seen the new girl??Oh.MY. love this show. I love Zooey Deschanel anyways...but now a tv show with her? such awesomeness!And...through the internet, we can play Black Ops or MW3 online, or with my brothers. It's like our family time that we can't have because we are like hundreds, or thousands of miles away! it helps keep us connected.As does Skype or Oovoo! Love Oovoo more, because skype tends to freeze ALOT on us! plus you can have more than one caller. last night, we had us, the smiths in provo, and mama lawrence in waldorf....all talking at the same time.....FOR FREE!!awesomeness!
<3

Giving Thanks--Day 16

On Wed. I was thankful for my sister-in-law, Amber.

i took this pic

So when we landed in SLC, Drew was driving still (had class that day.) So Amber came and picked us up! She is like 37ish weeks preggo herself -and i swear she has more energy and looks better (it's her first-I blame it on that. lol.) But...yeah...1 large luggage with the carseat attached, and another suitcase for her later, and we were off. We went to Gateway in SLC. We went and got dinner and carmel apples and hung out while we waited for Drew to come and pick us up.She is a lifesaver.#1 I couldn't do another 3 hours or so in an airport.#2 I didn't want to drive all the way down to her house in Provo (an hour away) just to drive all the way back through slc to get home. I hate backtracking, and I just wanted to be HOME already.
She really is the best Sis-in-Law a girl can ask for {be jealous}And not just for picking me up at the airport.She is funny, humble, nice, great to talk to, and so much more {like i said, be jealous!}She is a great aunt for K, and the best sister for Drew. We are SOO very excited for her to have her baby soon!!I am very thankful for her and all she has done for me and my family! 

Giving Thanks--Day 15

Sorry, I've been gone for so long...I was in the middle of traveling with no internet access, then I was home being lazy and trying to recover from my vacation.BUT....I did keep track of my thankfulness {hence the laziness-no motivation to actually put it on the blog! lol}
So for Tuesday, I was thankful for....Airport Play Areas!!They seriously saved me on this trip! On this day-our return home-we had to drive almost 3 hours to the airport {meaning I was up at 5am!}then, we got there at about 930. and our flight doesn't take off until 240pmsuper sad face!!!My parents' flight left at like 11 so they were right on time, but we were so super early!We got rid of our bags and the car seat and spent about 2 hours wandering around exploring terminal 4 of Sky Harbor International Airport {ohhhh my back, and my feet!}We then ate lunch and went through security.Then....we still had about an hour and a half still until we even began boarding. So we walked....more.K loved the people mover thingys. (moving sidewalks?) We spent some time on those going here and back....until........YES!!!We found a play area!!!!!!!
THANK YOU!
this mama belly could sit down and rest. and the child could play and play {with NO ONE else around!}

can you spot jessie?

There was another little girl who decided to join us later and they had so much fun together!

It was great!

Then we went to board...k was not in a good mood this whole time. She was up at 6 (usually up about 730-8) and no nap yet.

So we had a bit of a cranky pants. She didn't nap on the plane ride, but there was enough to keep her occupied and basically "good' on the 1.5 hr ride.

Then we landed, and as we were taxi-ing to the terminal i look over----

yes, she fell asleep!

For like 5 min, of course. poor baby.

Giving Thanks--Day 14

Today I am thankful for my brother!He's pretty awesome.I just got to see him again when K and I went to visit family in AZ. (Drew had school, so couldn't come)My brother makes some awesome ribs! seriously....they were yummy!!Even K ate them like crazy--she was so greasy after it was cute.

We got to hang out a lot, did lots of shopping and goofing off.

We even went out for sushi :)

yum yum yum

Yes, I know, sushi isn't recommended for preggo people.

The only risk is the raw junk....if it's not handled properly it can have bacteria and make MOM sick. And the risk for baby is if MOM gets dehydrated after getting sick. 

Japanese women eat it all the time, no problems. 

There is no chance {to my knowledge} with the bacteria that can be found on mishandled sushi that it can cross the placenta and make the baby sick {i.e. listera} and that nasty bug can cause fetal death.

SO please, no negative comments. 

Anyways.....done with that PSA...

We had tons of fun. always do.

K likes to hit him as she walks by him. They pick on each other a lot. it's funny.

He has always been there for me and helped me out where he can. And I love him so much!

I hope one day we can give the girls a brother like him {and the other brothers we have in our lives-they are all also awesome!}

Oh--my brother also got us Modern Warfare 3 {it's a video game, if you didn't know}

and it's fun, we can play each other online and it's so much fun!

Giving Thanks--Day 13

  Yesterday I was half-way done! WOW! sweet! Today, I am thankful for my phone & that it's working againIt's awesome.Without it--oh boy.....The Man & I-our relationship started out as one long text messageseriouslyevery.single.day we would text each other. I would be in MD, working or doing whatevs. He would be at school-many, many miles away. But we would have this very long conversation--over text. Right now, as I am in AZ and he is home, we text, send pics, or talk all the time. i miss him so much...like i said in my post about him--everything is better with him here. Plus, I have one of those {dumb} smart phones...So I can get on facebook, play some texas hold 'em, look and see what the baby is up to this week, take videos of k, check the weather, look at the news, watch some youtube junk, get directions to anywhere, or...tons of stuff.probably more stuff than i needbut that's ok. when I have NOTHING to do, my phone still can't occupy me enough. 

Giving Thanks--Day 12

I heart nap time!

It's the best ever!

when k gets a good nap, I can be very productive.

Cleaning, blogging, sewing, cooking, or baking.

you name it. I've done it...

including nap also!

It's the best 3-4 hours of my day (for the most part)

It's mommy-time. Or mommy & daddy-time (when he's home for lunch)

I can recharge from this BIG ol ball o energy I call miss k

Sometimes, she will sit in her room and just read every book she has on her bookshelf and make a big mess before falling asleep.

Sometimes, you can hear her howling a bunch before she sleeps.

Sometimes, I wonder if she even sleeps....is she just being really quiet? who knows.

sometimes, it's just quiet time. and that's ok.

She has that time to herself, to do what she wants and she learns how to do things without mommy or daddy.

A nap is a BIG plus though....if not, we will have one whiny, cranky girl on our hands

NO FUN!

When she is awake we are busy busy busy again with kiddo stuff.

we love it when she wakes in a happy mood too! awesome!

Giving Thanks--Day 11

 Today---I am thankful for the wonderful men and women who serve(d) this country.This includes a long list of just my family members (I will forget someone-so I won't list you all, sorry!)But there are a few special ones that are close to my heart.I am especially grateful for those handicap ones! LOL!! (please, if you don't know me, or them, don't be offended! I LOVE them dearly {more than others, actually}...and we all kid around in this family, so don't take it the wrong way!)They make it so I can park closer in busy areas ;) that's awesome for a big preggo like myself!But really though, thank you for all you have done and all you continue to do.You are our own true superheros and we all look up to and respect you.You don't know the impact you have had on my life and the lives of those who surround you!To those deployed: be safe, we pray for you always!<3

Giving Thanks--Day 10

  Today (yesterday) I am thankful for Hotels!They are such a luxury---ok there are some baddd ones but, I am in some pretty nice ones.As I type this--my bed is being made and the trash taken out! yep!they have free wi-fi and tons of other legit stuffthe breakfast I had this morning-I am still full from it! Let me tell you! yumm-o!I love it!!I am thankful for my parents for providing this place to stay (and the ticket to get down here) so they can see us and we can all spend time together as a family.because that's what life is all about--family! I do miss my hubby terribly though!more than you know...he had to stay back, he has school and other responsibilities (he has to teach our class when I am gone! lol)plus he gets to go fishing and play black ops--you know MAN stuffI won't let him play modern warfare 3 yet....I want to play too! lol. What are you thankful for??<3 

Giving Thanks--Day 9

Today I am thankful for a vehicle and our safety

we just drove about 4 hours today so we could get to the closest major airport....fuuun!

(sense the sarcasm?)

Yeah. It's a long drive.

But we make it safely due to a great vehicle, good driving, and good company always helps :)

k slept for over 2 hours! super awesome! 

 So I might not be quite up to date on the blogging this next week.I will try to, from my {sorta}smart phone but I might be busy!We are leaving the temps that are a high in the 30s to a high in the 70s! HOOray!!LOVE LOVE LOVEplus going to see awesome family!So much to be thankful for! <3

Scarf Storage

Have you seen this on Pintrest???

                                                                        Source: apartmenttherapy.com via Hannah on Pinterest

I was in LOVE!! 

 BUT....where do I put it? My closet doesn't look like that, I don't have a small space like that....anywhere. well, none that I could use for this.

Then, as I was closing my door last night.....I saw it!!

this spot behind our bedroom door! it just has a picture and some other things just thrown there!

i was almost giddy with excitement!

I get to get rid/clean up this pile of scarves that I had so neatly stored when I didn't need them!

{don't judge}

so today, I made the hubby stop by walmart on the way home from class and pick up 4 of these bad boys! He said it was like $19...or about $3 each....uhhhh...are you sure?? yeah, something like that. lol. 

now it looks like this!!
I even put k's scarves on there too!
notice our 3 gryffindor scarves from halloween!
I <3 it!!
it's so fab!!
I can even fit more if I need to! YAY!
Here is another picture....my before and after!! :)

For my hubby

                                                                  Source: leloveimage.blogspot.com via Cici on Pinterest

Giving Thanks--Day 8

Today...it's cold and cloudy and bleh looking.

But I am thankful!

thankful we have another day!

I am also thankful for miss k being fully potty trained....and it taking like only a day or so to complete.

HOOORAY!!!!

How did we do it??

We had originally tried to go straight to panties with k many times. not too much fun. she didn't make it. she had a couple pee accidents and there was a poop incident on the floor (tmi? oh well!)

so we waited. tried to buy more panties, k took them out of the cart, many times and threw them on the floor. lol. she literally thought they were the root of ALL evil! 

silly girl!

So we kept getting potty books from the library and reading to her about it, talking about it, encouraging it. we knew when she was ready it would take no time at all.

tried the pull-ups, nope, they're just prettier diapers!

My good friend Krystal suggested the singing potty...k was scared of it at first, lol! but she did get used to it, eventually...

We saw on another blog (i forget which one....sorry!)  they switched out their little boys' size 5 diapers for size 1 (maybe even a newborn size!)

That didn't fit him! So he had gown to be such a big boy that he could only wear undies....

hmmmmmm..... i thought we could do this!

seemed like such an awesome idea!

But we didn't get a chance to do that either!

We ran out of diapers on a sunday night, after she was already put into her pjs. 

So the next morning....there wasn't any diapers for miss k!

too bad!

She had no choice! Panties it was!!

and she was completely ok with it!! yess!!

We have to cart the potty around with us where ever we go....it's literally in every room. 

I think of it as a step by step process. First she learns to just go on the potty, and it's close by so she can make it...reducing accidents.

Once she gets used to that and trains herself to hold it longer...then we keep the potty in the bathroom and she can go always in there....then we will move/upgrade to the big potty. 

it makes sense in my mind. 

i think it does for k too.

we used to have so many issues with her refusing to poop and then getting yeast infections and then pain and more refusing to poop, making it all worse.

YUCK, i know!

But now! No more problems! yayy! she goes on the potty. 

it's quite funny to see her do her little potty dance. 

YAY! so like 4-5 more months of no diapers..then the next one comes! 

have a good day everyone!

<3