30 for 30

To celebrate my 30th birthday, I decided to throw away 30 things. Because, obviously, I know how to party it up!

I decided to start with the bathroom cupboards. Jules has been loving taking everything out of the cupboards while I get ready in the mornings, and having to put it all back every day was driving me nuts. Please tell me I'm not the only one that hoards old beauty products. Because you never know when you're going to need the last bit of that scrub, or the eye shadow you wore once and it made you look mostly dead (which is slightly alive), right?? I was ruthless. It all got thrown away. I even made room to move some of my makeup that I don't use every day, but still use, into the drawer. Ah. I'm feeling better already. And I threw away 18 things! (I counted a lot of the old make up as one thing, otherwise it would have been way over 30 already!)

Next I moved into the kitchen. Another spot in the house that always seems to attract clutter. It's funny what you see when you are really wanting to throw stuff away. I found three empty boxes, just sitting on top of the toaster oven since who knows when... 19, 20 and 21, in the trash! Actually, the recycle bin. I'm 30 now, remember? I can't go totally crazy. A plastic frog from Easter (22), an old wedding announcement (23), and two old (and empty) cans of wheat (24 and 25). I'm starting to feel young again!

Next comes the living room. I found a gold mine of trash sitting on the organ. Three grocery receipts (26), a stack of old Primary lessons and coloring sheets (27), and a few business cards (28). On the piano there was some junk mail (29).

I decided number 30 better be big. Something that would really make a difference. Then I spotted the three diaper boxes in the hall that I had put out last week to help me remember to enter the Pampers rewards numbers (it didn't work, obviously, and I had been walking around the boxes for a week, why do I do this??). So I entered the points (it took two minutes, why did I put it off??) and the boxes got put in the recycle bin!

Ahhh. I love the feel of open empty spaces. Happy birthday to me!

Gardening!!

After almost two years if being in this house, I finally started a garden!! And I haven't killed anything yet!!

We didn't plant much this year, just two tomato plants, pickling cucumbers and green beans. I didn't want to buy a bunch of plants, kill them all off and then hate myself for spending the money! But so far, so good!

Future tomatoes! 

 A tiny cucumber!

Future green beans!

Steve did an awesome job building the raised bed. He also went to the brush recycling center to get mulch, and went to home depot a million times for things I kept forgetting... I'm so glad he puts up with me!! The bed is 18 inches by 14 feet, so we have plenty of space for more stuff next year!

2013: A Year in Review

Seriously, what happened? How is it the last day of the year??

2013 was quite the year! I had a baby (while getting cut in half), quit my job, had an identity crisis (or twelve) and finally started acting like a grown up (just kidding).

Some awesome things that happened this year:

• We introduced Juliana to all four of her great grandmas! 
• Jules and I took a week long trip to Utah sans Steve. This was where she met Great Grandma Call, and we also got to see Jalenna graduate. Not only was it a great trip, but it gave me a lot of confidence in my mothering skills. If I can make it through the airport with a two month old, what can't I do?
• I started working in the nursery at church. At first, I hated it, but again, it helped me realize that I can do hard things. I'm moving up to teach a class of five year olds in January, and I'm actually going to miss it! Mostly because the older kids don't get snacks...
• I learned how to make a pumpkin roll. If you don't think this is awesome, then you've never tasted one!
• We had Amanda come visit for six weeks before she left to Brazil. It was so much fun, but it also made me miss her that much more!

So how did I do on my resolutions? Let's see...

1. Have a baby. Nailed it! I don't want to brag, but I have the smartest, cutest, sweetest, funniest, best behaved baby ever. And I am only slightly biased. But seriously, she rocks. I can't really take credit for it. Thank goodness she acts like Steve and not me!!!
2. Plant a garden. Ummm... not so much. I have a mental block for some reason. I think I'm afraid to fail! But I did take a gardening class, and I pinned a bunch of stuff to my Gardening board on Pinterest, so there's that...
3. Start running again. I tried, I really did. But after my third knee injury, I had to give it a rest. The doctor said it could be my shoes, or could be that my ligaments haven't completely gone back into place after pregnancy. So maybe I'll be ready to try again this year. But maybe not. We'll see. 

My resolutions for 2014 aren't earth shattering, but I like them:

1. Make meals more of an event. I get stuck in the rut of throwing things on the table at the last minute, and eating the same old things over and over. This year I want to try new foods, and actually use a serving dish once in a while! I also want to make breakfast and lunch better. Most of the time I don't plan anything, since I'm just feeding myself and I end up eating a slice of bread, 15 Hershey kisses and 3 grapes for lunch. And then I wonder why I'm grumpy by dinner...
2. Start a garden. No seriously. This is the year.
3. Work on my housekeeping skills. And I don't just mean keeping the house clean, although that's part of it. I want to actually keep a house, to make it a home. I want to create a place where people feel welcome. So really, this is a personality enhancement as much as a habit!

Grateful

It was cold when I woke up this morning. The kind of cold that makes you want to stay in bed. I was in a funk. My to do list was glaring at me, and I was missing my sister. So I laid there thinking about all the reasons my life was hard.

Then Jules woke up. I sighed, and went to get her out of bed. I changed her diaper, apologizing for my cold hands, and then snuggled us both back in my bed to nurse her. As she ate, I wondered how people in truly cold climates kept their babies warm. And then I thought about all the people who couldn't keep their babies warm. Who weren't sitting in houses with heaters and blankets and pantries full of food, but woke up this morning much colder than I was, and worried about what they were going to feed their babies.

The gratitude hit me like a tidal wave. I have SO much. I never worry about where my next meal is coming from. And even though I wince when our electric bill comes, I still keep the temperature in my house comfortable. I have clean diapers, plenty of food, and lots of clean blankets to keep Jules clean, dry, fed, and warm at all times.

Gratitude is a cliche in November. I sometimes feel like it is being thrown at me from every direction. Facebook posts, church talks, grocery store signs all remind me that I should be grateful for what I have. And since I hate being told what to do, my inclination is to run the other way, to list everything that it seems everyone but me has.

I wish I could say my moment of gratitude snapped me out of my funk. It didn't. I still glared at the dirty kitchen floor (seriously, can't it learn to mop itself??) and mentally whined when I had to go grocery shopping. But it was a good reminder that I am truly, unfairly, inconceivably blessed. And I am grateful.

Halloween

Halloween was really fun this year! We dressed up as The Flinstones. The costumes were Steve's idea. I wanted to do something more witty and less character-y, but I couldn't think of anything. Plus, we make really good Flinstones! 

I made all of our costumes, and I was really happy with how they turned out! I'm sure anyone with real sewing skills wouldn't be impressed, but since I don't have any I was proud of myself! I even made Jules's bone headband from salt dough.

We also carved pumpkins! As always, Steve's were amazing. Amanda's turned out really well. Mine was ok. In my defense, I rushed through it so I could get back to sewing black triangles onto Steve's costume. 

 

We also let Jules finger paint her pumpkin. It took her a while to figure it out, but once she did, she has a blast! 

We went to the ward's trunk or treat on Halloween night. There were a ton of people there, so we started to run out of candy pretty quickly. So we closed our trunk and walked around to see everyone's costumes and say hi. A few people wanted to give Jules candy, she had fun playing with the wrappers, and we had fun eating them when she was done! Oh, and one funny story. Someone gave Jules a pack of chewy life savers. She loved chewing on the wrapper and it was dripping in baby drool. I noticed that it was gone, and then I realized I must have put it in someone's bag!! So to the trick or treater with the moist life savers, I'm really sorry.  The candy inside should be ok!

I'm already excited for next year! I don't know how many more years Jules will let me dress her up in what I want, or how long she'll think its cool to have family themed costumes, so I'm going to take advantage as long as I can! 

Eight Months

I can't believe Jules is already eight months old! Where does the time go??

Jules is more fun every day! She is all smiles and laughs. She has also slept through the night for the last three nights! Here's hoping that's a permanent thing! 

She still doesn't have any teeth, but she has been acting like she is teething for a while. Maybe one of these days she'll pop one through! 

She says mama and dada, along with lots of other babbles. Sometimes I swear she knows what it means! She has started clapping, and she can usually clap at the right time when we sing If You're Happy and You Know It. 

Happy eight months Jules!

Seven Months

Well, it's been three weeks since Jules's seven month birthday. Not only do I keep forgetting to post, but I also forgot to take a picture. Sorry Jules. Luckily Jalenna took one. It's no glamor shot, but it will do!

As a side note, these shorts crack me up. They have actual pockets in them. What see they expecting a baby to need pockets for?? Loose change? Chapstick?

We were once again out of town for her month birthday. We were in Phoenix enjoying some sister time. It was so fun to see Jules with Cayden and Courtney. Court is just a little mama, she loved playing peekaboo and helping me feed and change Jules. 

Jules has started eating lots of different foods, so far she has had avocado, sweet potatoes, green beans, carrots, peas, applesauce, peaches, pears, bananas, oatmeal and blueberries. It took a few tries for her to like bananas, but everything else she has loved. 

She is getting to be more fun every day. I am 100% sure that she is the smartest, cutest baby that has ever lived. And I'm only a little biased.