the RLR's

My belly and some other things

2012-02-07T02:39:00.000-05:00

29 weeks! Please excuse my dirty mirror...

See how short my bangs are? And this is a couple weeks after the initial cut!

me and my clinging koala boy!

These pictures were taken a couple weeks ago. But I figured I should post them anyway.

*I am a little over 30 weeks now. Baby girl will be here soon!

*I feel huge. But I was huge with Zeke too. And I don't mind it.

*Zeke is still my little cling-on. We like to call him Ugg because of the guttural sounds he uses to communicate. I also refer to him as my koala (remember those little koala toys that you could attach to things?) He is very often attached to my left side. I wonder how he'll do once the baby comes. I think he is pretty much clueless and it will be an adjustment for him...

*Eve is going to be 4 this week. She is such a big girl. She is as talkative as ever, she has a huge imagination, she can be sassy and is very opinionated. Lately she likes to play that she is the mom and her name is SISSY. Then I am the daughter and my name is LILLY, Russell is the son named LAR and Zeke is another son named GOONKSURE. I don't know where she gets her names, but it is funny. She makes me laugh on a daily basis.

*Russell has been growing out a mustache and goatee. It's the first time in his life he has intentionally grown out and maintained facial hair. I told him he should keep it until the baby is born. I am not sure whether I like it or not though. I mean, he is handsome for sure, but after having him clean shaven for over 10 years, it has taken some getting used too.

*I cut my bangs a couple weeks ago. But, I cut them WAY too short and I feel silly with them. Luckily my hair grows somewhat fast. The funny thing is, is that I cut my own bangs all the time...I just totally misjudged it this time and whoa!! They are short!

*Idaho is great so far. There are those last several boxes to unpack that nag at me, but not enough for me to get them unpacked. We also have the garage to go through. Plus there's making curtains, arranging furniture, organizing random stuff and other things to do...just gotta keep plugging away. But, overall, we are getting settled and liking the area. We can see a few cows out our back windows and there are lots of open spaces around, which I love.

*I have done a crummy job of getting back into some of my routines. Mostly the cleaning and laundry. I still feel like we are moving in and settling in, but really we have been here for more than 4 weeks and I need to get back to my routines!

*Baby girl likes to kick! She can really get going sometimes. I love it though and we are excited to have another baby. 10 weeks and counting!

That'll do it for this random update!

Idaho!

2012-01-19T15:58:00.001-05:00

So, we live in Idaho now.

We got here on a Friday night and Saturday morning there was a thin blanket of snow on the driveway. This video is the kids' first encounter with snow. It is hard to hear but Eve first thinks it's sand before she exclaims that "It's SNOW!"

Eve wrote her name in the snow.

Then, yesterday it snowed all day. We got a few inches so after Russ was done with work we bundled up and went out to build our very first snowman!

Rolling the body

Adding the nose

Picking out arms

Daddy and Eve with the snow man which Eve named, "Sissy, the snowman girl."

After we came inside, Eve sat at the window singing a song about "Sissy, the snowman girl."

Meanwhile, we are trying to finish unpacking and getting settled in. It's still a bit weird to think that we live in Idaho now!

Goodbye Florida

2012-01-05T10:33:00.000-05:00

Goodbye to

Beaches

swampy rivers


alligators

and Ibises

Hello To

waterfalls

canyon rivers

deer


and maybe bears.

We leave tomorrow morning. It has been an interesting few days. Such a mixed bag of feelings.

It has also been different because we are living out of our suitcases at my in-laws house. It's like a mini-vacation. I have only had a little laundry to do and we have just been hanging around during the day. But by tomorrow morning we are going to get on a plane and take off. Whoa. It is crazy to think that after more than 10 years we are embarking a new and colder adventure.

Thoughts

2011-12-16T12:02:00.000-05:00

Love is a temporary madness. It erupts like an earthquake and then subsides. And when it subsides you have to make a decision. You have to work out whether your roots have become so entwined together that it is inconceivable that you should ever part. Because this is what love is. Love is not breathlessness, it is not excitement, it is not the promulgation of promises of eternal passion. That is just being "in love" which any of us can convince ourselves we are.

Love itself is what is left over when being in love has burned away, and this is both an art and a fortunate accident. Your mother and I had it, we had roots that grew towards each other underground, and when all the pretty blossom had fallen from our branches we found that we were one tree and not two.

Louis De Bernieres

I just found this on someone's blog and loved it. I had to share because it resonates in my heart.

I feel that Russ and I are one tree. And it is a beautiful thing to have that kind of love and strength together. I am so blessed. I have an amazing husband and beautiful children and we are growing this tree together!

The BIG MOVE

2011-12-12T21:36:00.000-05:00

We are moving!

From Florida to Idaho!

We leave in just a few weeks. Moving out of this house just after Christmas and leaving Florida the beginning of January.

This is a HUGE move for us. It has all worked out so well though and we are excited for this new adventure. Russ will keep his job and telecommute full time. We will be living in Kimberly, Idaho (just outside Twin Falls.)

After more than 10 years in Florida we are sad to leave all our family and friends. However, we look forward to a change in climate and being closer to other family.

I am so excited to be near my family but am a bit nervous about the cold. As much as I have missed cold weather, I have become acclimated to the climate here and know that I will probably be a sissy in the cold out west (at least for a little while.) It probably doesn't help that we are moving in the dead of winter...

Anyhow, that is our exciting news.

Sweetfield Farms

2011-12-10T23:18:00.000-05:00

We went to Sweetfield's farms this year. All sorts of fun stuff for the kids and a huge corn maze. Some animals, crafts, and pumpkins for sale. It was a lovely day.

These pictures are all out of order, but only a few people will actually look at them, so no biggie.

Beach Trip

2011-12-03T09:48:00.000-05:00

At the beginning of October we took a beach trip with the Robinson family. It was perfect. 

Labor Day

2011-11-05T09:32:00.000-04:00

We went to a park on Labor Day. It was warm out and we played a little wiffle ball with the kids, kicked around a soccer ball, let the kids play on the playground equipment and then ate some snacks. It was a nice family outing with Nana and Papa, Diane, Lance and John.

And here is my double stroller I scored for $13 at a garage sale a few weeks back!!

Sharing a swing with Daddy.

my little ones

2011-10-31T15:43:00.000-04:00

Resolution Rundown

2011-10-08T10:15:00.000-04:00

So, most of those that read this blog knew that I had this resolution.

My resolution was that I would not eat any sweets/desserts except for 7 days out of the 365 days of the year.

I had chosen a few special occasions as days to indulge.

So, here's a rundown of the days that I had sweets

Starting on January 1, 2011:

February 15- 10 year engagement anniversary

May 12- 10 Year Anniversary

June 9- My birthday

August 3- Zeke's birthday (also my chance to have a casco bar while out west.)

(And I do have to say, Russ surprised me with a cruise for our anniversary. During that week, we aren't counting anything. So basically the resolution was eating sweets on only 7 out of 350 days of the year.)

I was then planning to indulge on Halloween, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day.

However, my resolution took a turn downhill.

On August 17th, I ate a lemon bar. It was not because August 17th was a day I chose as an indulgence day but rather, that is the day I found out I was pregnant.

Despite my husband's efforts to encourage me to finish the resolution for the rest of the year, I made an executive decision due to the extenuating circumstances. I never imagined that when I began this New Year's resolution that I would get pregnant. And I KNOW that I would NOT have broken the resolution for any other reason. I had done very well. I believe I showed self-restraint and practiced self-discipline.

But with pregnancy, all bets are off.

So, that is my resolution rundown.

Important video! Must see!

2011-09-26T13:43:00.000-04:00

Trip Pics Part 4 (Mackay!)

2011-09-19T16:45:00.000-04:00

It's the long awaited post with all our pictures from our camping trip in Mackay!

Basically I am not even going to add captions to these photos. They are pretty self-explanatory. I am going to just let you enjoy looking through them.

Trip Pics Part 3

2011-09-08T22:37:00.000-04:00

So, here are some more pictures from our trip. After this post, I will finally post the camping pictures. These are all out of order. I am not even going to attempt to put them in order. I am simply going to add a caption to them and let you enjoy them.

Ericka holding Zeke and he giving her kisses at Grandma and Grandpa's house.

Us at the Falls

Zeke at Meg and Quinn's house. Just being cute

Zeke again, being cute again.

Zeke is the lovely grass at Granny's house.

Ahhh, soft, green grass. With a cute baby sittin' in it!

She likes to be aware of what she's putting in her body.

Awesome time with Cayden and Cooper. Jumping from the stairs onto the giant beanbag!

Cousins.

Action shot!

Wahoo!! Love this shot of Eve!

A deer down the road from Meg and Quinn's house.

Eric with his girls at Grandma and Grandpa's house.

Cayden, Eve and Cooper. Enjoying juice on Granny's lawn.

Cute Cayden and Eve.

Sleepy girl.

Grandma and Zeke. I LOVE this picture!

Grandpa Neilson on his lawn watching some of the grandkids play.

Zeke giving Cayden high five.

Zeke giving Eve high five.

Eve running with Kallie in Granny's back yard.

Zeke and I at Twin Falls park.

My good looking parents! Love them so much!

Trip Pics part 2

2011-08-31T12:44:00.000-04:00

It seems like Blogger is having a hard time uploading all the pictures I want to add. So, I am doing it in stages. First off are pictures of some of the people we visited while in Utah and Idaho. And a couple shots of us in the rental car.

Me in the Charger

Mim and I (we're matching!)

The Robinson and Tribe kids (minus baby Harper, who was sleeping)

SO CUTE!

Reyna, who is from Florida. She invited us over and made us a delicious lunch! So sweet.

My girl, Geidy. Who I like to call Geidy Sue. She is also a friend from Tampa. She now lives in Provo and is attending law school at BYU!!

Us with Grandma Robinson. Eve was not too happy.

Russ and cousin Branden.

Me with Uncle Scott and his wife Leah and their daughter Celeste.

Russ, Eve and Zeke with Scott, Leah and Celeste

Us with Granny Larson

Kim, Chris, Me, Rachel, Simon, Penny, Zeke, Eve and Kallie.

Us with Rachel (Lant) Willford and her bashful Lola bean.

Eve with her favorite couple, Candice and Jordon!

Me and my friend from High School, Tennille (haven't seen her for like 10 years!)and her little baby boy.

Russ and his old mission comp, Adam Richards. Good times.

Russ driving the Charger!

Zeke turns 1!!

2011-08-24T16:38:00.000-04:00

Zeke is 1! Whoa. Where did that year go? I still remember going into labor. My water breaking late at night and laboring at home through the early hours of the morning. I remember driving to the birth center. I remember being in the water and pushing Zeke out. He looked just like my dad when we was born. I remember that it took us 2 days to decide on his name.

 We were camping in Mackay, Idaho when Zeke turned one. I almost forgot to take his picture. So, he was all ready for bed when we took a few shots of our little guy. He had socks on his hands to keep them warm at night. He looks a bit goofy!

He is such a sweet boy. He loves his sister and lights up when he sees her. He is definitely still a momma's boy, but he is beginning to warm up to other people. He is such a cute, fun kid. We love him so much!

Harry Potter Party

2011-07-25T17:18:00.000-04:00

We were fortunate enough to be invited to an amazing Party to celebrate the release of the final Harry Potter movie.

It was hosted by the awesome sisters, Laura and Heather. They were aided by their mom and cook/decorator extraordinaire, Debbie.Plus had some brute strength behind em'.

Everyone came in costume and there weren't even any repeats. It was so fun. We had to leave early, but we loved being there for a little while.

Minister of Magic, Barty Crouch and writer Rita Skeeter

Banners representing each of the houses at Hogwarts

All manner of cool concoctions and magical potions

Magically floating candles in the great dining hall!

The scary and beautiful Belatrix and a Deatheater

Muggles!

One of the many Weasley boys and Tonks

Harry Potter and Fleur Delacour

VOLDEMORT! and Luna Lovegood

Dumbledore

A young Professor Mcgonagall and Hagrid

The Weasley twins

All the guys

All the gals

Thank you and goodnight!

It's actually a bummer that HP is now "over." That means, no more parties for movie releases. However, I submit that we should have an  annual HP party, just for the fun of it and to keep the HP magic alive. (don't know how the "Dickson" girls feel about that, but it would be great.)

Book Review

2011-07-23T00:10:00.000-04:00

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

My rating: 1 of 5 stars

"...if there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good-report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things." (A of F #13)
I will not finish this book. It is dark, it is disturbing, it is totally inappropriate and I do not want to pollute my mind with such filth. The language is horrible, the story is gut-wrenching, and there is nothing that is uplifting or virtuous about it.
There is part of me that has been sucked in and I really want to know how the story ends, but I will put the book down because I do not want to know the rest of the story bad enough to have to put up with all the horrible things in it.
The characters (even the protagonists) are sexually promiscuous, foul-mouthed, and disturbing. I know that the main girl character was subject to some major trauma in her life shaping her into what she is and what she does, but that does not justify her behavior to me. And don't even get me started on the antagonists. Holy smokes. They are awful, horrible and monstrous.
I love a good story, but the way this book gets under my skin and makes me feel so unsettled is not good. Therefore, I will not continue reading it.
And I do not recommend it to anyone.

View all my reviews

Chair project

2011-07-19T00:16:00.000-04:00

So, a while ago, my mother in law gave me these chairs she had picked up at some garage sales. I decided to refinish them. I began sanding, painting, and priming back at the end of February. I finished them the end of June. Yeah, talk about a long project. But anyhow, here are the pictures documenting the whole process...

First, I sanded them

Then I wiped them down with a damp cloth

Then I got some primer

And painted a thin coat of it on the chairs. And let them dry. I think I let them dry for a couple of weeks.

Then I got my Valspar free paint sample in "Summer Sigh"

and started painting.


I actually painted two thin coats of paint. Then I let them dry for about 3 months. And although I don't have pictures of it, I bought some of this polycrylic protective finish then applied one coat, lightly sanded, applied a second coat, lightly sanded and finally, applied the third coat to the chairs.

And, taadaaaa. They're done!

ps. I think they took me so long partly because I have limited amount of time in the day and my baby only sleeps for 30 mins or less during his naps and I have a million other projects I need to work on and keeping a 3 year old and a 7, 8, 9, 10 month old entertained while I was working on it was hard (graham crackers only hold them for so long...)

The Gift of Giving Life

2011-07-13T12:18:00.000-04:00

I am so excited to read this book. Being released in November!

Here's a chance to win a copy!

A Picture Riddle (PFMP POST #5)

2011-07-11T23:42:00.000-04:00

 Back in May, we celebrated our 10 year anniversary. This was the gift that Russ gave me...

It was a fun riddle to solve.

He's so clever!

11 months

2011-07-06T00:39:00.000-04:00

My little guy is growing up. He is 11 months now!

 He crawls around a lot. He has been pulling himself up on stuff for a while. He tries to crawl away during diaper changes.

He loves to eat, play peek-a-boo, clap his hands and give kisses. He also likes the toilet. You have to be quick to close the toilet lid or else he will pull himself up and play in the toilet water. Ewwww.

 He didn't want to sit still for pictures. He wanted to climb and crawl around. 

Oh, and he says "MAMA." I think it is safe to say that Mama is his first word. He's so cute when he says it too because he really pokes out his bottom lip when making the mmmm sound.

Busy climbing...not cooperating for his "photo shoot."

 Look at that smile! He lights up my whole world!!

 Here are a couple shots of the kids together. I love that they are blurry, it totally shows what the kids are like. 

I love them so much!

I love being a mom. Even when Eve is being defiant or Zeke is especially needy. I think I have said it before, and I will say it again, being a mom is hard. Actually, being a mom is not hard, but being a GOOD mom is hard. I only hope that my strengths outweigh my weaknesses and that these kids know how much I love them.

Toot Toot

2011-07-01T11:37:00.000-04:00

I know for some people, maintaining a healthy weight or losing weight may not be very difficult, but for me it takes a lot of self-discipline. I am not perfect at my eating and don't exercise everyday, but I am working on it and am really excited about the results I have seen so far.

I also know that a majority of people that read this blog are part of the Robinson family, so this won't be news to you. And others of you are on FB and may have heard me post about my weight loss. Or have talked to me in person and I have told you about my weight loss.

However, I wanna just toot my horn on this post

Since the beginning of January I have lost 23.5 lbs.

I now weigh about what I was when I got pregnant with Eve.

Which means, that I am lower than I have been in about 4 years

but it also means that I still have about 25 more pounds to lose.

So, maybe by the end of the year I will be back tooting my horn again.

(ps. Russ has dropped some lbs too. We are working on it together.)

Room transformation (PFMP post #4)

2011-06-30T00:22:00.000-04:00

Here are some pictures of our master bedroom. We painted it a while ago. It was a long process. Simply because we couldn't decide what walls to do which colors and also the amount of coats we had to paint to cover the existing colors.

Keep in mind, these are pictures from my phone, so not the best quality, but you'll get the idea.

Here are some before shots.

I did a lot of the work during the day. I'd try to keep the kids occupied but when Zeke got fussy, I'd strap him on my back and keep working.

Eve wanted to help and most of the time, I try to let her be hands-on. So, I gave her my little sample paint pan and a small sponge roller. And put her to work painting on primer.

Eve painting primer from a petite paint pan wearing panties

During the evenings, we would do more work and one night Eve started playing with Russ's tools. She made a bouquet of screwdrivers.

She also set them up by color and played with the dial caliper

So, here are the final photos

We painted a cool grey (pretty much white) and then two accent walls in a darker gray. The photos look a bit lighter than in real life.

We've got a few yellow accents and there are a lot of ideas I have to finish things up. Such as

* painting the side tables

*altering and putting on a bed skirt

*figuring out a headboard

*getting some art

*making new curtains

*possibly new/more pillows

*painting the dresser

*etc...

PFMP post #3

2011-06-24T11:11:00.000-04:00

The following pictures are of Eve. And I will let the pictures speak for themselves. Everything in the pictures represents Eve. She did everything in the pictures of her own accord. She is a hoot. And I love her!

walks, etc. (pfmp post #2)

2011-06-21T21:45:00.000-04:00

Pictures From My Phone post #2

A pretty tree in bloom in the neighbor's yard.

a BLIMP!

Eve and her friend sharing a walking stick!

We went to feed the ducks but they were across the pond and wouldn't come to our calls. However, these cool guys came and ate the bread crumbs.

Eve loves to go see this carved wooden angel down the road on our walks.

 The end. We haven't taken many walks lately, it's too blasted hot and humid. We spend more time in the pool these days!

butterfly (pictures from my phone post)

2011-06-18T18:31:00.003-04:00

(pfmp post #1)
I found this butterfly on our pool deck a while ago. It was sad to see that it was dead, but cool that it died in such a great position.

10 Months (a couple weeks ago)

2011-06-17T00:16:00.001-04:00

Little Zeke man is 10 months. (But technically he is like 10 and a half months. I am just getting my pictures from my phone onto the computer.)

He is a sweet. He is funny. When I get his diaper off, he loves to flip over and crawl away from me while laughing and squealing!

And boy, can this kid squeal. Woah buddy. He is loud.

Anyhow, He is starting to thin out a bit. He's getting a bit longer (taller) and seems not quite so chunky. But don't worry, he is still plenty chubby and loveable! He is growing so fast. 

Oh, and he says mama. Mostly just a repeated mamamamamama sound, but a couple days ago when we were in the pool he distinctly said, "Ma Ma." Don't know if he knows exactly what he is saying, but I'll take it. 

So, now that I have all my photos from my phone I have decided to post every day or two days to share the images I have captured over the last couple months. Hopefully you all will join me and comment on the cuteness of my kids and the awesomeness of my life!

for the sake of posting

2011-06-15T00:37:00.000-04:00

Here's some random pictures from May. I have been too lazy to get the few pictures we have from our cruise onto the computer from our phones. But, I looked through some pics from last month and saw some stuff I should have posted about. So, here are some pictures and a little bit of the happenings for last month.

This is Jordan. He is one of Eve's favorite people.

This is Jordan with his wife, Candice. She served a mission in FL a while ago and she and Jordan moved here last year. Recently, they moved back out west. We miss them a lot!! 

We love and miss them!(this picture might be an indication of things to come for them in a few years. they will be great parents!)

We went to a symphony at Raymond James Stadium where the Bucs play.


We met a nasty Buccaneer!

Zeke man was cozy in the sling. <3

My little munchkins are growing fast.


And we have been enjoying the pool. We have a raft we sometimes put in the pool for fun. We love having a pool, especially now that summer is here.

 Anyhow, more posting to come soon! 

Cruise

2011-06-04T22:21:00.000-04:00

We just got back today from a 5 night cruise to the Western Caribbean. It was great. We did lots of fun stuff and ate way too much food. I will be blogging about it soon but let me just say that I feel more seasick now than I did on the boat. I can't seem to make the room stop moving...and my head hurts.

WHOA! 

Weight and other things

2011-05-23T22:35:00.000-04:00

So, lately, I have started to work on losing weight. As a New Year's Resolution I decided to cut out "sweets" for the entire year, except for 6 specific days. That resolution was not necessarily to lose weight, but just to practice self- control. Anyhow, I decided I needed to do more to get in shape. So, I started using this app on my phone called My Fitness Pal. It is basically a calorie tracker. It takes work to stay within the allotted calories and to keep track of everything, but I have been losing weight! I am so excited. I have lost just over 20 pounds since the end of December!! When I first started with MFP it was tough. It still is sometimes. I am still nursing and would love to stuff my face full of food, but I am determined to be healthier, strengthen my back and lose weight.

In other news, here is some video of Z-man. He is my little chunkette-of-love.

ps. Did you know we are going on a cruise? Russ surprised me for our 10 year anniversary. We set sail next week!

10 Years!

2011-05-12T11:21:00.000-04:00

My anniversary surprise for Russell: a gift for each of the years we have been married. All wrapped up and ready for him when he came downstairs today.

Each of the gifts had a tag with the numbers one through ten on them.

On the back of the tags were significant events that took place during that year for us. Things such as places we lived and worked, pregnancies, trips, miscarriages, vehicles we got, and some church callings, etc.

I think Russ was pretty surprised. I could hardly sleep last night from excitement! I couldn't wait for him to see and open all his gifts. (They were mostly practical gifts, like a lunch box, t-shirts, grilling utensils, and some other things.)

I do have to say that these last ten years have flown by. So cliche, I know, but they truly have. It is difficult to explain. We have been together for a long time. It seems like we have always been together, yet it is still amazing to think that it really has been 10 years! We have had some wonderful times together. We have had challenges and difficulties, we have had fun and laughter and we have come out the better for it. I am so blessed to be married to such an amazing man.

9 months

2011-05-04T11:07:00.000-04:00

I can't believe my baby is 9 months!


He is increasingly mobile. Still not "crawling" per se, but definitely getting around.

He also started pulling himself up to standing.


He sleeps through the night. His naps are short unless I am laying with him. He loves to laugh at his sister and he has an intensely high shrill that he uses when he is excited. He normally has this kind of throaty, lowish voice. I think he takes after his dad. He is definitely a momma's boy. He eats a lot. He nurses a lot too. He is only 3 months away from being 1! WOW! Love my baby boy.

Picture Post

2011-04-28T00:53:00.000-04:00

 I am lame. I haven't posted in a while. I'm like my sister who didn't post for a few months because she didn't have the internet. The only thing is, is I do have the internet. My bro-in-law got on my case for not posting and so now I just spent the the last couple hour working on this post. 

Lots of pictures. Lots of fun. 

First up is John's birthday. He is so cute!

Eve had so much fun in the bounce house, playing with friends, getting her bum dirty and eating popsicles in the kiddie pool. She crashed on the couch after the party was over.

We went to two Easter Egg hunts this year. One was in our neighborhood and one was at some friend's house. Fun times. Eve is a candy fiend though. Man, she loves her jelly beans!

I just love Zeke's face in this photo. He is just fat and happy!

Earlier in the month we went to see my friend Anita. She is a teacher and had some chicks at her school. So we went to take a look. 


Zeke is at the age where he grabs everything. Well, he got a hold of the chick I was holding and squeezed it hard. The chick freaked out until we got Zeke to let go. Oops.

Just some pretty flowers in our side yard.

We have been enjoying the pool. The water is still a bit cold, but with warm temps outside, the water feels nice. Here are just some cute pictures of our fun times poolside.

And here's our little man just being his cute self.

The end.

I'm Featured

2011-04-06T13:31:00.000-04:00

Hey all. I was interviewed about my cloth diapering on the Well, Owl Bee blog. If you are interested go here to read it!

My loves

2011-04-04T23:40:00.000-04:00


Our little mister is 8 months old! He is as cute as ever. He finally cut his first tooth a few days ago. He eats some solid food but gets most of his nutrition from breastfeeding. He is a momma's boy for sure. He jabbers and grabs and rolls around. He is just as sweet as ever. He has the best smile and loves to laugh at Eve.

I realize that he is close to crawling and that he is growing up fast. He is my chunky little man and I love him to bits.


Isn't this the best picture ever? I LOVE my two little munchkins.

Zeke's got teeth

2011-04-03T13:22:00.001-04:00

...or at least one tooth.
This showed up the other day a bit before his 8 month mark.
Here's some pics of him checking out his tooth and some of Mom doing the same.

Zeke Eats

2011-03-25T12:18:00.004-04:00

o here's a quick vid of Zekeman.

1st course avocado-guacamole. That is a term in our household that Eve started. I hear this also doubles as a skin conditioner. That's probably why Zeke has it in his thigh rolls.

2nd course rice. He was really chomping at the fork on this one.

Enjoy the show, but only if you're willing to leave a comment.

chop chop 2.0 plus a cute baby

2011-03-14T10:36:00.000-04:00

Here's her hair before

and after


a spunky new haircut for my spunky little girl!

Isn't he the cutest little boy you ever saw?

He is a grabber. He is a squealer too.

And he is 7 months old already!!

He is just so sweet.

kid vids

2011-03-03T00:36:00.000-05:00

Haven't posted in a while. 

Thought I'd put up some videos of our awesome kids. 

Enjoy

My baby

2011-02-16T15:37:00.000-05:00

Eve had her birthday. Wow. She is getting so big.
She had a pink cake and pink candles.
We had some family and friends over for cake and ice cream and she got some great gifts.
Thanks everyone for celebrating with us.

She is funny and smart and dramatic and creative.

Love her so much!!

room transformation

2011-02-10T14:03:00.000-05:00

So, I painted a wall in our living room. It is bright and bold. but I love it.

This first picture is of the paint swatches and you can see what the wall looked like before.The colors on the wall are used throughout the rest of the house and looked fine, but I thought a change would be nice and I wanted to make it more our space.

I was so excited and nervous to paint. In all the years we have never painted any place we have lived, so when the owners of the house said we could paint I looked forward to doing it!!

I already knew what I wanted to do with the wall. I wanted to hang our family silhouettes up. I just had to decide on a color. I was gonna keep it a semi-neutral shade of green. But then I decided to just go for something totally different! AHHHH!

After we painted, I updated our silhouettes and hung them above the fireplace.

I scored this gray armchair at an estate sale for 20 bucks!! It's perfect! I also grabbed the pillows I originally made for Eve's bed (that now have a permanent home on her floor) and put them in the living room. One of which is on the armchair.

I love the way it turned out! I'd eventually like to get an armoir for our tv and stereo, but now I think it looks pretty good.

Super HAIR!

2011-02-08T22:34:00.000-05:00

Have flat, bORinG Hair?

Maybe you could ask Eve how she gets her SUPER HIGH VOLUME!!

And it's definitely not from a bumpit!

Our little man

2011-02-05T10:49:00.000-05:00

It's that time again.

Time for Zeke's monthly photo shoot.

He is 6 months now! Wow!

He is as chunky as ever. We love his rollie-pollie thighs. He laughs a lot for me. He still loves nursing, especially to sleep. He is all about grabbing stuff now and everything goes into his mouth.

He also started sitting up! About a week ago he began sitting up for quite a while on his own before falling down. I think the cloth diapers help to give him some weight on the bottom and hold him down. LOL. He still has not rolled from back to front, but he doesn't seem to have a lot of desire or need. When he's on his back, he just cries and we pick him up.

Anyhow, he's sweet and doing well.

Holiday Post a bit late

2011-01-11T15:54:00.000-05:00

Here are some pictures of the fun Holidays. Our activities included but were not limited to the following:

Caroling

Seeing light shows

Decorating cookies

Eating delicious food

Playing games

Going to parties

Nancy made a long post about it which you can read here.

Eve decorating cookies...video to come soon.

Christmas Baby!

Me and my little man.
We had a great time! Now onto the new year and getting ready to move!

The Little un'

2011-01-04T20:41:00.000-05:00

5 months!! 

 He's a chunker! 

And a sweetheart!

Reaching for the ball

Leaning into the ball


And down he goes.

(He hasn't quite gotten the hang of sitting up yet.)

Anyhow, he's a squealer! He is loud, he grabs at things, laughs at his sister, and still nurses like a champ.

We could just eat him up.

That time again

2010-12-31T14:51:00.000-05:00

Well folks, it's that time of year again when we all start some New Year's Resolutions. 

I am here to announce my resolution to go off of sweets. I did this a couple years ago and was successful for almost 6 months (the allotted time I said I'd do it.)

Well, this time I am going for the entire year. Yes, I said the entire year. 

That means that for the entire year of 2011 I will not have any sweets of any kind. No candy, ice cream, cake, pie, cookies, doughnuts, suckers, or chocolate, etc.

Now, there are 6 specific dates throughout the year that I will allow myself to indulge in a treat. 

Feb 15th-Anniversary of our engagement

May 12th-10 year anniversary

June 9th- My birthday 

October 31st-Halloween

November 24th-Thanksgiving

December 25th-Christmas

and I will allow myself ONE Casco bar when we are in Mackay this summer. 

And just so you know, I will still allow myself the occasional diet soda.

I will also occasionally use syrup on my pancakes or french toast (the plan is to not increase the amount of pancakes or french toast I eat, simply to be able to use syrup...)

So, at some point I will cut out all soda and maybe syrup, but for now, thinking about cutting out all the sweet treats and junk I have been consuming is enough to make me nervous. However, I have done it before and I will most certainly do it again. 

So, tonight at midnight I will kiss my sweetheart and say "adeiu" to sweets. 

(ps. I may or may not have gotten a couple doughnuts when I was at the grocery store today and eaten them already...)

I do have a few other things I'd like to resolve to do this year, but will not include those in this post.

Christmas Time is Here

2010-12-21T22:54:00.002-05:00

Christmas time is here
Happiness and cheer
Fun for all that children call
Their favorite time of the year

Snowflakes in the air
Carols everywhere
Olden times and ancient rhymes
Of love and dreams to share

Sleigh bells in the air
Beauty everywhere
Yuletide by the fireside
And joyful memories there

Christmas time is here
We'll be drawing near
Oh, that we could always see
Such spirit through the year
Oh, that we could always see
Such spirit through the year...

Besides the fact that the only snow we have is the cut out snowflakes pinned to our ceiling, this song is appropriate for right now. We have felt happiness and cheer while visiting with friends and loved ones. We went caroling tonight and definitely brightened a few peoples doorsteps. The next few days are certainly going to be fun for all...decorating cookies, going to a light show, reenacting the Nativity, reading the Christmas story, playing games, eating good food and sharing gifts! Merry Christmas everyone!

Four Months

2010-12-12T14:11:00.003-05:00

He's four months! Holy cow.

He's almost 17 pounds. He loves to nurse, blow bubbles, chew on his fingers and squeal.
And he has the fattest, softest thighs.
LOVE HIM!!

BIG DEAL!!

2010-12-10T07:44:00.003-05:00

I am so stinkin' excited!!
My dear friend Martha, one of the creative founders of InCircle Interiors, asked me to be a guest blogger during her Christmas Craft Countdown.
On her blog, you can see how I turned this...

Into this...

Go check it out and let me know what you think!!

november picture procession

2010-12-05T20:25:00.006-05:00

I didn't post much in November. So, here is a procession of pictures documenting the month.
First, look up at that face! Zeke is my sweet, chubby boy! He is handsome, just like his daddy!
I love him so much!

Zeke had his first Thanksgiving!
(Onesie, courtesy of Loretta Major and Chris Pierce)

Zeke is just so cute! Love his little striped hoodie!

Zeke cleaned his plate.

Eve continues to love wearing her "Wendy dress" from Halloween.

My adorable nephew helped me make the whipped cream on Thanksgiving!

The kids and I visited with the Saint, Loretta Major. She is an amazing woman. We love her so much! She is 90 years old and still drives to mass every single morning.

Sneaking a catnap with my cuddle-bug!

Eve wearing her favorite boots

Green icing! Mmmmm...

My little punkin' pie.

Here's the Clarks and our Thanksgiving table.

Thanksgiving menu!

Two of the desserts I made. Yum.

These are my little loves! I am so thankful for these two. I am also thankful for their daddy, my wonderful husband. I am thankful for family, both near and far. I am thankful for my life and the tremendous blessings I have.

Whopper

2010-11-22T00:05:00.002-05:00

So, remember that time that Donna came from Texas and surprised me at my baby shower?
And remember she was due 3 months after me?

Well, she finally had her baby!
A whopping 10lbs 9oz!

Congratulations Carlson family!

2010-11-16T09:36:00.003-05:00

This post is for those members of the family that will be here for Thanksgiving.

Namely, Nancy, Lance, John, Diane and of course my love, Russell and our kids.
I have been browsing around and getting ideas for desserts for Thanksgiving day.
Please leave a comment telling me which two of the following desserts you would like to have on Thanksgiving day.
Anyone who views this post and would like to join us for Thanksgiving (I'm talking to you Neilsons, Nelsons, Capsons, Woolleys, Carlsons, Robinsons...) you may also leave a comment with your vote.

1. Andes Cheesecake Supreme

2. Andes Layered Frozen Mousse Pie

3. Butter Pecan Pumpkin Pie

4. Layered Turtle Cheesecake

5. Pumpkin pie
either full size or individual size (see below)

6. Banana cream pie

7. Apple pie

A little note, I have never made the first four options. I think they look good though.
I have made 5-7 and the images are a true representation of what they look like when I make them.
ps. we could also consider my recipe for pear pie.

So now go comment!

Parenthood

2010-11-08T23:50:00.003-05:00

This parenting thing is harder than I thought it would be.
Seriously.
It's like no one told me how hard it was going to be.
And now I feel like I am not the parent I want to be. There are so many things I need to be better at as a person and as a parent. It is a bit daunting to think of where I am and where I want to be as a mother. Heaven help me.
But, I do know that sometimes my heart feels that it cannot contain the love I have for these two little people. Like it sometimes truly overwhelms me with it's power. It throws me for a loop.
I love them so much. And I hope that that love is enough to make up for all my shortcomings as a mom.

Things of late

2010-11-03T10:30:00.003-04:00

First off,

Zeke is 3 months old today!

Look how cute he is, and chunky too!

A couple weekends ago we went to a rocket launch. (We used to do that a lot back in the day)
Yeah, we're THAT cool!
I mostly sat and watched all the rockets while holding Zeke. Eve played around and helped her daddy with some rocket stuff. It was a nice family outing. The weather was beautiful and it was fun to do some people-watching too! There are definitely some interesting characters that participate in those launches. 

Here I am with my two little darlings! Yeah, they sometimes give me a run for my money, but that's part of life as a parent.

Here's my little munchkin!

Halloween

2010-10-31T20:57:00.004-04:00

Family Theme:
Peter Pan
Wendy: dress sewn out of woman's pajama pants from goodwill.
John: Nightshirt sewn out of white muslin. Hat, slippers and umbrella purchased. Glasses altered (by Russ) from hippy peace signs to black spectacles.
Peter Pan: Shirt, hat and shoes sewn from suede cloth.
Captain Hook: Coat fashioned out of a velvet sweater and pant set from goodwill. Wig, hat and shoes purchased from goodwill.

Yeah, we won, or tied rather, in the costume competition. Bradberrys gave us a run for our money as characters from Alice in Wonderland. (Their costumes were awesome!! And much better crafted than ours...)

Zeke's Blessing Day

2010-10-31T20:43:00.003-04:00

It's been a few weeks since we blessed Zeke, but I am finally getting pictures up from that day.
We had some of Russell's family there. We wish all of our family could have been there.
Zeke wore a tux with tails and all! It was the same outfit that all of Rachel's boys wore. He was so cute! It was a bit tight around his buddha belly but he still looked dashing.
He did cry pretty much through the whole blessing, and was louder than Russ, who had a mic.
Anyhow, he is super cute and getting so big. We are blessed to be parents and are grateful to have little man Zeke in our family!

day sixteen

2010-10-21T21:54:00.002-04:00

day sixteen: List 10 things you would change about your life.
in no particular order:

1. My location
2. My back (would that I would have a healthy, strong, normal back!)
3. My weight (might help with the back problems.)
4. My kitchen (someday I will have my dream kitchen!)
5. My sleep habits
6. The fact that all my siblings are spread out...I would love it if we all lived in the same town.
7. My car
8. The fact that my 2 yr. old won't sleep through the night.
9. The President
10. ?

Eve's craziness!

2010-10-20T13:40:00.002-04:00

So, lately Eve has been finding all kinds of interesting places to sleep. As evidenced in the pictures. She even fell asleep in our laundry basket inside our closet the other night!

CRAZY GIRL!!

day fifteen

2010-10-20T08:46:00.002-04:00

day fifteen: List 10 things you would not change about your life
in no particular order:

1. My marriage to Russell, my wonderful husband.
2. My experiences with infertility (the nearly 6 years it took to get pregnant with my first child.)
3. The blessings it is to be a stay at home mom.
4. My smile.
5. My calling as Young Women President.
6. My hair.
7. The fact that I have amazing in laws (parents and sisters-in-laws) whom I get along with!
8. The fact that I have awesome parents and siblings!
9. My children.
10. My freedom.

day fourteen

2010-10-19T08:46:00.002-04:00

day fourteen: List 10 things about yourself

1. I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
2. I am a middle child
3. I love the color yellow
4. I want to live in Idaho
5. I would like to have a home birth someday
6. I would love to be a doula
7. I make up songs a lot (mostly to sing to my children)
8. I love shrimp
9. I am outgoing
10. I love lilacs

day thirteen

2010-10-18T09:29:00.000-04:00

day thirteen: List 10 annoying songs (in no particular order)

1.Teenage Love-Katy Perry

2.YMCA-Village People

3.Bad Romance-Lady Gaga

4. Your Body is a Wonderland-John Mayer

5.Someday-Nickelback

6.I Wanna Talk About Me-Toby Keith

7.Cotton Eye Joe-Rednex

8. Man. I feel like a woman-shania twain

9. Who let the dogs out-baha men

10. Hero-enrique iglesias

Cargo Bike Coolness

2010-10-17T22:07:00.002-04:00

I dream of a Madsen cargo bike!

They're giving one away. I hope I win! You can enter to win one too. Just click on the picture and follow the directions.

day twelve

2010-10-17T14:18:00.001-04:00

day twelve: List 10 people who could make you laugh ANYTIME.
in no particular order

1. Hyrum
2. Russell
3. Eve
4. Rachel
5. Kathy
6. Nancy
7. Lance
8. Shannon
9. Martha
10. my dad

day eleven

2010-10-16T19:30:00.002-04:00

day eleven: List 10 things that happened this year

1. My daughter turned 2
2. My parents came for a visit
3. I beat Russell in mini-golf
4. We celebrated our 9 year anniversary
5. My friend got married and moved away
6. I delivered my second baby, a boy, in the water at a birthing center!!
7. My sister had her third baby, a girl, at home!
8. I chopped off my hair and donated it.
9. Went to the Keys for the first time
10. Threw up for the first time in several years (happened on a boat ride)

day ten

2010-10-15T09:22:00.002-04:00

day ten: List 10 of your imperfections/flaws. in no particular order...

1.Talk too much

2. Procrastination

3. Prideful

4. Crooked nose

5. Bad back

6. Bad sleep habits

7. Too open

8.pry too much

9.impatience

10. Overweight.

day nine

2010-10-14T10:07:00.002-04:00

day nine: List 10 of your favorite actors/actresses
in no particular order

1.Danny Kaye
2. Kate Winslet
3. Matt Damon
4. Gregory Peck
5. Kate Blanchett
6. Maureen O'Hara
7. James Franco
8. Bob Hope
9. Harrison Ford
10. Jack Black

day eight

2010-10-13T15:31:00.002-04:00

day eight: List 10 of your favorite singers
in no particular order

1.Karen Carpenter
2.Brandi Carlile
3. Neil Diamond
4. Bing Crosby
5. Missy Higgins
6. Josh Groban
7. John Mayer
8. Andre Bocelli
9. Ronnie Milsap
10. Lionel Richie

day seven

2010-10-12T10:21:00.003-04:00

day seven: List 10 things you can do best at
in no particular order

1. Cooking
2. Basketball
3. Singing
4. Labor and delivery
5. Talking
6. Making friends
7. Volleyball
8. Sewing
9. Breastfeeding
10. Being a dork

Day Six

2010-10-11T15:50:00.002-04:00

day six: List 10 items you can't go a day without
in no particular order:

1. Deodorant
2. Chapstick
3. Breastpads
4. Burp cloths
5. Swaddling blankets
6. Water bottle
7. Underwear
8. A shower
9. Hair tie/bobby pin
10. Computer

day five

2010-10-10T21:50:00.002-04:00

day five: List 10 songs you can't stop listening to.
in no particular order:
1. "Lullaby" Pedro the Lion
2. "Phantom Limb" The Shins
3. "The Story" Brandi Carlile
4. "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" the Beatles
5. "The Fox" Nickel Creek
6. "Meet In the Middle" Diamond Rio
7. "You're Amazing" Josh Kelley
8. "Tragedy" Brandi Carlile
9. "Bring Him Home" from Les Miserable (various artists have sung it)
10. "Play Me" Neil Diamond

day four

2010-10-09T09:23:00.002-04:00

day four: list ten relatives you love being with

in no particular order:
1. Mom and Dad
2. the Nelsons
3. the Neilsons
4. the Capsons
5. the Woolleys
6. Lee and Marlene
7. the Clarks
8. the Carlsons
9. Diane
10. Kathy

day three

2010-10-08T10:22:00.003-04:00

Day three: List 10 tv shows you miss from your childhood. in no particular order:
1. Smurfs
2. Punky Brewster
3. 321 Contact
4. the Cosby Show
5. Family Ties
6. Growing Pains
7. Doube Dare
8. Rainbow Brite
9. Carebears
10. Who's the Boss

day two

2010-10-07T09:24:00.003-04:00

Day Two: List 10 movies you never get tired of watching. in no particular order:

1. Fiddler on the Roof

2. Princess Bride

3. Willow

4. White Christmas

5. Nacho Libre

6. Man from Snowy River

7. Return from Snowy River

8. the Sound of Music

9. Persuasion

10. Napolean Dynamite

2 months

2010-10-06T11:15:00.003-04:00

That's right, Zeke is 2 months old.
He weighs in at a whopping 13lbs 9oz!
He is 23 inches long.

Eve loves her brother.
Zeke is still trying to figure out this little person that runs around him and makes lots of noise!
Zeke is sleeping about 6 hours at night before waking up to eat. I don't remember Eve ever sleeping that long of a stretch until she was much older. But, I am already forgetting what it was like with Eve (I should write things down before I forget completely.)
He likes to be held. He LOVES to be swaddled, mostly when he is tired. He is smiling now and doing great.
So yeah. That is that.
He is our little rockstar!

day one

2010-10-06T09:07:00.004-04:00

16 DAY CHALLENGE

Day One: List 10 people you trust the very most. in no particular order:

1. Russell

2. My Mom

3. Rachel

4. Jesus Christ

5. My counselors

6. Lynette

7. Heavenly Father

8. My sisters and sisters-in-laws

9. Chris

10. Marilyn

16 day challenge

2010-10-05T20:08:00.001-04:00

What the heck, I'm gonna do this

16 DAY CHALLENGE

Day One: List 10 people you trust the very most.

Day Two: List 10 movies you never get tired of watching.

Day Three: List 10 tv shows you miss from your childhood.

Day Four: List 10 relatives you love being with.

Day Five: List 10 songs you can’t stop listening to.

Day Six: List 10 items you can’t go a day without.

Day Seven: List 10 things you can do best at.

Day Eight: List 10 of your favorite singers.

Day Nine: List 10 of your favorite actors/actresses.

Day Ten: List 10 of your imperfections/flaws.

Day Eleven: List 10 incidents that happened this year.

Day Twelve: List 10 people that could make you laugh ANYTIME.

Day Thirteen: List 10 annoying songs.

Day Fourteen: List 10 things about yourself.

Day Fifteen: List 10 things you wouldn’t change about your life.

Day Sixteen: List 10 things you WOULD change about your life.

All about Zeke

2010-09-30T17:08:00.005-04:00

This post is ALL ABOUT ZEKE!!
The first picture is the best I could get of him smiling. It's a bit blurry, but he is starting to smile more and more. He has this HUGE open-mouthed grin that is too cute!!

He has this perfect little round head. His face and head look like a potato to me. He is oh-so-cute in all his potato head glory!!

This was in Key Largo. Look at those arm rolls!!

This was a few weeks ago. He is our little chubby boy.

Love this guy! He is so precious.
Life is going well. He sleeps about 6 hours for the first stretch at night.
He is getting big and chunky.
He is starting to smile and we are just loving having him in our family!

Zeke (and Eve)

2010-09-10T15:01:00.006-04:00

Have you ever heard about the theory that parents have a million pictures of their first baby and then like none of subsequent babies?
Well, it's sort of true.
We don't have many pictures of Zeke and a lot of them have Eve in them.
(I will have to remedy that situation.)
Here are just a few pictures from the last few weeks.

This was Zeke on his one month birthday. I hope to at least get a picture of him every month.
He was crying, because he was hungry and he also likes to be held. Neither of which needs were being met during the picture taking.

Eve loves Zeke. She loves to lay next to him when he is on the floor. She loves to hold him and give him toys and she is often heard saying things like "It's okay Zeke," "Don't cry buddy," or "You're okay my love." (all of which are said when he is crying which happens to be most often in the car.)

Did I mention that he was 11lbs 6.5oz at his one month checkup (he was 5 weeks old actually.)
But yeah, he is getting chunky. He hasn't gotten any longer (taller) since he was born, but has packed on the pounds. Check out that double chin!!

Life with Zeke is good. He takes a great nap during the middle of the day. He hasn't gotten into a solid nighttime routine yet. Sometimes his first stretch at night will be 3-5 hours and then it's every 2-3 hours after that.
Anyhow, things are good. He is a cute little guy and I get lots of compliments on the roundness of his head. Same thing with Eve. Our kids have some great looking noggins!