Today

We had our friends Sarah and Olivia over for a little while to play today. The girls had a fun time playing and I loved chatting and catching up with Sarah. (We miss you guys!) Sarah has much better pictures on her blog.

What cute friends!

Also, here's a picture of Hannah being a little dramatic! She was "crying" or pretending to cry, with her head down and hands over her face. Oh, brother! Then when she saw I had the camera out she started saying "eee" (like cheese) and smiling.

Canning!

Whew, its a lot of work! But you know what makes it worth it?... Hearing the popping sound of the jars being sealed!

Yesterday, I went up to my sister, Ashley's house and we canned like crazy! We did both pears and peaches. It is so nice to have someone to work along side. Thanks Ash! We did it! (And thanks for emailing me the pictures.)

Sunday Walk

On Sunday we drove up to Canyon View Park and had a nice Sunday walk! Hannah loved seeing the ducks, running down the hills, and of course swinging and going down the slides. There weren't all the fall leaves yet, that I was expecting, but the weather was beautiful. I love this time of year when the colors are deep and the air is just a bit crisp. It was nice to spend the time together as a family. I loved the father/daughter pictures I captured.

Bounce'n Baby Boy

Thought I'd give a little update on how my pregnancy is going (more for myself than anything). People ask me all the time how I am feeling... Good! Besides that I am feeling 7 months pregnant which means I am tired all the time, can't get comfortable, don't sleep very well, my back hurts, I have sciatic nerve pain, my belly feels so tight and ready to explode, I have to go to the bathroom every 30 minutes... I could go on. Now after saying all that... I really do feel pretty darn good! This pregnancy has been so, so much better than with Hannah! I really am feeling very blessed! My iron has been low, which attributes to the tiredness and weakness. But if that is the worst of my worries, I'm doing pretty good!

I had a doctor's appointment on Tuesday. Now I start going every 2 weeks. I am 32 weeks along, (just under 2 months to go!) and I am measuring at 30. Our little guy is getting ready. His head is down and has been for over a month. He is kicking and moving quite a lot still. Sometimes I think he's going to bust right through.

No,we haven't done his room yet. But we've been moving the office downstairs for the past week. So hopefully we'll start soon. We are sure excited for our little boy to join us!

Like a Princess

Yesterday I asked Hannah what she wanted to wear. She said "A DRESS!" Then went to her closet and pointed, "This one!" I decided there was certainly no harm in letting her wear it, especially since she doesn't wear it very often (Nic's not a fan of it). The dress is particularly fun though because it came with a matching doll dress! When we put it on her, she was all smiles! She said, "like a princess!" and "sooo pretty." We put her baby Megan in the matching dress and Hannah danced around. She then got to watch part of "the princess movie", Cinderella, while I showered and got ready. We ran some errands and of course baby Megan came along. Everyone thought Hannah looked so pretty which only sparked Hannah's delight! Later in the day we danced with some music and played outside for a bit, which I took as a photo op. What a fun little girl I've got... already wanting to be a princess!

When do you find the time?!

Its nearly 7 am, but I'm ready to go back to bed! After waking up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night , I could never get back to sleep. At least I've gotten a few things done this morning: written a letter to Lisa, looked up prices for ink cartridges, found a Christmas poem to go with my jam, finished cutting a rag quilt I'm working on while watching Saved by the Bell, and got my scripture reading in. These early mornings seem to be when I've been doing my scripture reading lately.

As far as scripture reading goes, I need your help... when do you do it?! I have a hard time setting aside the time and getting it done daily. We always read as a family, but lately I haven't been as consistent with my personal study. Its easy to do little projects, check blogs, etc... but my mind only has to be half there during most of those things. I can still be watching Hannah... But with reading the scriptures I feel like I need to be focused 100%! I read at night sometimes too. But night is hard, because I'm so tired. So I need suggestions! What have you found that works, when do you do it?!

Sky Spectacular

On Saturday Hannah and I went to Spanish Fork's first annual Sky Spectacular or Kite Fest. Nic was working on some basement projects. (What a good worker.) So Hannah and I just went for an hour. Spanish Fork recently installed some windmills for power, so this is their way of celebrating and bringing attention to them and other environmental issues. There seemed to be lots of things to do, so we'll have to spend more time at it next year. Hannah and I wondered around looking at all the flags, kites, and spinners, then we were able to watch a little kite water show on the reservoir. There were two wave runners that each had 5 kites flying off the back. It was pretty neat.
On Monday night for family night we decided to have our own Sky Spectacular! We went to a near by elementary school and flew our own kite. It wasn't very windy, so we had to keep running to keep it up in the air. But Hannah thought it was cool. (The pictures are blurry... but you get the idea.)

Big Bed!

I had to document Hannah's nursery before the room changed so here it is:

August 26th:
Hannah got her new big bed yesterday! She was so, so excited! In fact giddy! She couldn't wait to go to bed. When we were getting it all set up she kept wanting the light off and door closed and asked for her blanket... After scriptures and prayers, we brush her teeth but she ran straight to her room, wanting to get into bed! When she got in she had a little squeal with delight and a huge grin on her face! When I left the room she was quite and went to sleep. However at about 10:30 Nic and I had just gotten into bed and were watching the end of the news and we heard a clunk and then a cry! She had fallen out of bed! One side of her bed was right up against the wall... but I guess today we'll go get a railing for the other side! Nic went in and calmed her down. Then I went in and laid with her for a bit and put a couple pillows on that side of the bed. I was mostly worried that she would be afraid of her new bed and not want to sleep in it again. She woke up very happy... so hopefully that's a good sign for tonight!

September 8th (2 weeks later):
I got some pictures of Hannah sleeping in her bed the first night. She's all over the place... no wonder she fell out! We did go and get a railing for her the next morning before nap time. Don't worry she hasn't fallen out again! And then I also got some pictures of her the second morning (note the railing!) when she woke up. She's as happy as can be. Two weeks later, Hannah continues to LOVE her "big bed." I have never seen or heard of a little kid being so excited about being able to sleep in a big bed. She really is giddy about it! We talked about how she was going to get a big bed soon for months beforehand. I think that really helped... guess we didn't have to talk it up quite so much! Hannah went bed shopping with us, I talked about it as I made her quilt for her new big bed, she saw her cousins with big beds, etc. Now she loves sitting on her bed reading books and playing. She thinks its such fun place to be. She's always saying, "Come on, Mom. Play big bed!" as she takes my hand. One thing I'm enjoying (we'll see how long it lasts), is that she doesn't get out! She can! But in the mornings and after her naps, she'll stay in there singing and talking for quite awhile then she'll start calling for me, "Mommy, awake now!" I am so grateful the transition has not only gone well but has been a highlight in Hannah's life! Wahoo!

(I'll take some more pictures of the whole room after I've got it all put together. I'm still painting a bookshelf for the room.)

Hannah's going on a mission too

Just a quick story to share:
The other day Hannah said, "Bye!"
"Where are you going?" we asked.
"On a mission... with Lisa."
She proceeded to wave goodbye and walk to the door. Later that evening, she did the same thing again.

Math Class

Thursday our ward had a "back to school" Enrichment night. We had mini classes: Seminary (about the importance of the scriptures), Literature (going over good books-children's and adult's), Lunch (dinner), Home Ec (a homemade bread making demo) and Math class, which I taught. I'm glad I didn't really have to teach math. My class was about saving money by bargain shopping! I was so nervous about this simple 15-20 minute class and prepared quite a bit for it. I enjoy teaching, but when I was up there my voice was shaking... silly. Oh, well. I feel like it turned out pretty well.

I'm sure you all wish you were there! So I'll give you the recap/outline. (This may be way more information than any of you want... its mostly for journaling purposed, so feel free to skip the rest.) I had some clothes displayed that I had gotten at Children's Place and Old Navy for some great prices and the class played "guess how much I paid." Then talked about these basic things:

Save On Clothes, Etc.
1. Shop sales (end of season sales)
2. Online shopping (watch for discount codes)
3. Sign up for mailing list for places you shop
4. Buy used (thrift, yard sales, craigslist, etc)

We then played the "guess how much I paid" game with groceries and household item: cereal, dressing, spaghetti sauce, crescent rolls, diapers, toothbrushes... This is where most people were amazed. Without going into all the details, we talked about these 10 ways to save money on groceries:

Save On Groceries
1. Coupons
2. Store Brands
3. Buy in Bulk
4. Never, never grocery shop when you're hungry and always shop with a list
5. Making your Own Baby Food
6. Freeze Food
7. Gardening and Canning
8. Plan Menus
9. Leave the family at home.
10. Stock up.

I then talked specifically about coupons and how they can save $100s each year, but you have to know how to use them. You can't just use a coupon because you have it! (Example: There's a sale going on at Albertsons this week. I bought 100 items, paid about $87, saved $179.22 by shopping the sales and promotions, and saved $58.55 in coupons! So my bill would have been about $330 if I had bought those same items at regular price!)

1.Combine coupons with sales
2.Know coupon policies
3.Accumulate coupons
a. Obtain multiples
b. Printables:
www.boodle.com
www.boxtops4education.com
www.coupons.com
www.smartsource.com
4.Organize coupons

When I was asked to do the class, I thought '15 minutes? What am I going to say for 15 minutes?!" However, I could have talked about it for hours! I really do enjoy bargain shopping and saving money. I told one sister in the ward, this is my "job." Its a way I can "earn" money, per se, for our family... or at least stretch our money as far as possible. Also its helped with our food storage! Store what you eat, right! Anyway, I'm glad the class is done! All in all, it went really well and people were amazed by the prices I had gotten things for.

(Most of my info and the site and refer to the most is www.pinchingyourpennies.com)

Holding Attention

I received this stackable Russian doll as a gift from a friend back in high school. Hannah found it in the closet the other day and played with it for an hour and a half straight! I then left for Enrichment but Nic said she continued to play with it the rest of the night. Usually things don't keep her attention that long. She loved opening and closing them, and putting them inside of each other, over and over again! Its amazing how some of the simplest things, or things that aren't designated as toys, can offer the most enjoyment, interest and learning.

Let's See...

My cousin Lindsay tagged me to share 6 random things about myself, so here goes…

1. I love color! My two favorite colors are probably red and yellow. They are so bright and cheery. I have a couple red walls in my kitchen, Hannah's room is yellow with two walls having green and yellow stripes, she also has bright red dressers, our bedroom in blue, our soon to be playroom is aqua... and I'd probably have more color if I could. I think color, whether it be on the walls, in a painting, with flowers, or whatever, sure makes life brighter and happier.

2. I'm reading Dave Ramsey's book "The Total Money Makeover." Its a great book about getting your finances in order, getting out of debt, and saving for retirement. No, its not a get rich quick book. There are some corny parts, parts I skimmed or skipped over, but I would still highly recommend it no matter what your financial status may be.

3. I don't like to be tickled! Of course its fun to tickle others... Hannah to hear her giggle and say more. I always would tickle my brother, Todd, growing up. (I felt pretty special, because I was one of the only ones who could really 'get' him.) But don't try to tickle me! I'm warning you now, I have no control over where my fists might end up! Beware!

4. I've been making homemade bread lately! Are you impressed?! I have tried several different recipes through the years without much success... after practice and finally finding one I really like, its been successful! Yum.

5. I really don't like cleaning the bathroom! Once I get going, I'm okay. But to get the motivation to start?! Well, I'd just rather not! Any volunteers?! Thank goodness for Clorox wipes and disposable toilet bowl cleaners.

6. I can fold my tongue in half... How's that for random?! Sorry no picture! But really I can! Not like the rolling your tongue way (hot dog bun), but length-wise. Its kind of cool. I know, you're jealous.

The Rules:
1. Link the person who tagged you.
2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. Write 6 random things about yourself.
4. Tag 6 people at the end of your post and link to them.
5. Let the person know you tagged them on their blog.
6. Let the tagger know when you've posted.

Now I'm tagging Molly, Jennifer L., Ashley M., Rachael C., Sarah P., Sarah C. and anyone else who wants to play! I'm sure some of you have shared random things before... but you've got to think of more!

"Dooning"

I just wanted to record some of the funny things Hannah is saying these days. She really is quite a crack up!

-"What are you dooning, Mommy?!" Hannah sayings doing like "dooning" or "dune-ing." She asks this question ALL the time.

-"Guess what?" The thing is, she really doesn't know what this means. I'll say, "what?" back... but she has no response. She just heard me say it once and now she says it.

-"...really?!" This is another one she's repeating from me.

-"So!" Then she smacks her lips several times! I swear I don't so that. I don't know where she picked it up.

-Whenever some thing is red, she always makes reference back to Nic's truck. "Its red, like daddy's truck."

-The other day she said "I love it." I asked, "You love what?" And in a very matter of fact voice, she said, "I love books."

-"See?" She always wants me to "see" what she is doing, something in her book, etc.

-Ever since her birthday at the beginning of July, she has been singing Happy Birthday to herself. She'll say, "Its my happy birthday!.... Eat cake!" Then she'll sing "Happy birthday Hannah, Happy birthday Hannah, Happy birthday to Hannah."

-She's so good at telling us we are nice. She'll often say, "Daddy nice." But then she'll say it for me and herself too. Also when Nic tells her she's cute, she'll say, "Mommy cute too!" Isn't she nice!?

-"Daddy home soon!" She often says this first thing in the morning. She loves her daddy and wants him to get home soon. Hannah will get so sad when I tell her "No, daddy won't be home soon." Once when she said it at breakfast, I told her he would be home for dinner. She said, "No, Daddy home, Golden Grahams!" (We were obviously eating Golden Grahams for breakfast that day. She didn't want to wait until dinner for him to come home!)

I'm sure there are others, but that's the list for now. She is learning so quickly. We got a babysitter the other day and after wards Hannah said, "Rachel was here for 2 hours." She was here longer than that...but still it was quite the sentence and comprehension! Nic is always amazed at the words she knows. She said something was sour and he was like "How does she know what 'sour' is?!" I told her I taught her what it was. She is taught or hears something and remembers, which also means we have to be careful what she hears and is taught! We were at the grocery store today and she heard one of the associates say, "oh, crap!" Hannah then repeated it over and over for several minutes until I could think of something else more fun for her to say. "Bubble gum" is what I came up with. What a fun age! Hannah is developing and growing so much. We sure love her!

(Picture: What a crack up! Hannah had been 'helping' me make rolls for dinner. She kept eating the flour I used to roll out the dough!")