2016 Resolutions

I like to start each year with a couple of resolutions, but I don't like things that are vague (be nicer, save more money). I like having goals that I can count, and definitively cross off the list as done.

In January I decided this would be the year that I finally learned to really play the organ. I have been playing in church off and on for the past 10 years, but at my best, I'm mediocre. But then I got released at the organist, and I decided I wanted to focus on something a little more useful.

I decided that I wanted to read more, so I set a resolution to read 52 books this year. The subject didn't matter, it just had to be a book.

I am at 82 books right now, and counting! 9 of those books were audio books (audio books are not cheating), the other 73 were on my Kindle. All but 3 of the books were checked out from the library (no late fees, it's free, I don't have to leave the house - win, win, win!).

I was going to type a list of the books, but... I'm lazy. But I do have a few reflections:

1. Reading makes me a terrible homemaker and mother. When I really get into a book I don't want to stop reading! I have stayed up half the night, let Jules watch TV for 3 hours, and not made dinner because I was "finishing a chapter".
2. Reading makes my mind happy. I have been exposed to so many new ideas! I love being a mom, but it's not the most mentally stimulating thing in the world. I feel like I can bring more to a conversation now than just what happened on Doc McStuffins this week. 
3. Violence and strong language don't bother me in print. This is surprising, because they really really bother me in movies or real life. This isn't always a good thing, I probably need to raise my standards a bit! 
4. Some audio books are terrible, and some make the book more enjoyable. My personal favorite audiobook of the year is Dad is Fat by Jim Gaffigan. Least favorite was Mary Poppins. 

My new job?

Well, I'm officially unemployed again. I'm going to miss working, but I'm not going to miss tears at daycare drop off, not having time to cook or mop, and having to wake up in the morning!

I've been trying to think of a new job, to keep me busy. I have a lot of skills, but none of them are very marketable. Here's what I've come up with so far:

1. Personal Target shopper
2. Pinterest board coordinator
3. Mattress tester
4. Cookie dough critic
5. TV babysitter
6. Professional napper

If you see any openings in these areas, please let me know! 

Peaches, Green Chile and Erasers

We had our first thing stuck up the nose experience yesterday! I honestly never thought it would happen.

I was in the kitchen making dinner when Jules came in and told me something. I couldn't understand her, so I just put on Sofia the First to entertain her while I was cooking (yep, I'm expecting my Mom of the Year award any day now!!). A few minutes later she came back looking a little panicked, and somehow I figured out that she had a pencil eraser in her nose. I tried to get it out, but was unsuccessful. Of course, this was at 5:03, and our Dr office closes at 5! I didn't want to wait until morning, so off to urgent care we went.

It only took them a few minutes to get it out, and Jules was totally calm the whole time. She got a Sofia sticker and two suckers for her trouble! Hopefully she didn't learn that when she sticks things in her nose she gets candy...

Oh, and if you're wondering what would happen if you canned 25 pounds of peaches, and then skinned and seeded 25 pounds of roasted chile, started dinner, and then went to urgent care before you cleaned up...

Now you know. You're welcome.

Our Summer

It's been a crazy few months around here. I went back to work in April, I thought it was a good decision, but it turned out to be a little too crazy! Or maybe I'm just lazy... Anyway, I'm counting down the days until my contract is up!!

We were still able to have some fun times this summer:

We kicked off the summer with a trip to Galveston for Memorial Day with Sarah and Sean and their kids. It was Jules's first time at the beach! When we first got there, I set her down in ankle deep water, and immediately a wave came and knocked her down. She was NOT happy about that... It took another hour or so to get her back in the water, but by the end of the day she was loving it! Jules and Anna are finally able to do stuff together, I'm excited for them to be BFFs! As the only two girls in the family, they need to stick together!

In June Auntie Manda came home from her mission! Jules went on her 5th airplane ride. This time was more fun, because she actually knew what an airplane was, but it was also harder, because she could run around! I didn't get any pictures of Manda in the airport, I was too busy crying and giving hugs, but trust me, it was a good time! While we were home Jules became better friends with Yaneli. Yaneli is the only person that she would let do her hair! Thankfully, she started letting me do it a few weeks ago, it was getting pretty crazy! It was so fun to spend time with everyone, even though we really missed Adam and Amy and the boys. 

Later in June Cayden and Courtney came with Grandma and Auntie Manda. I can't believe this is the only picture I took! The girls are so much fun, and it's so nice having them around! I tried to convince them to stay with me, but apparently the would miss their mom or something... Maybe next time! Jules and Courtney are soul mates, they have been besties since the first time they met! I'm already planning all of the fun things they're going to do together every summer!

For the fourth of July we went up to Vanessa's for the weekend, and Jules got to spend some more time with Anna! It was SO HOT, but we still managed to have a great time! Jules is obsessed with fireworks now, she talks about them all the time!

 Later in July we went to Georgia to see Adam and Amy! We had so much fun! The week went by WAY too quickly. Jules got to play with the boys, and even made friends with the dog! We ate way too much, and I finally got to see Savannah! It was everything I imagined it would be! It was a long trip, but I'm SO glad we did it. Jules has asked a couple of times to go to Zaiden and Brian's house. She was pretty sad when I told her it was too far.

Other than that, we've just been hanging out at home, going to the zoo and Six Flags and trying not to melt!

Jules has started only wanting to wear dresses. We had to go buy her a few more so she would have enough to last a week! She is also talking up a storm, and is almost ready to start potty training! (Actually, she's probably already ready, but I want to wait until I stop working to start).

She also go her second hair cut!

It's been an eventful summer, we can't wait to see what happens next!

Getting Started with Composting

I have always loved the idea of compost. Ok, maybe ALWAYS is an exaggeration... But since gardening has been on my radar, I've loved the idea of compost. You throw garbage into a pile, and it turns into dirt! Amazing, rich dirt! When we moved into our house I just assumed that we would have a compost pile to feed our amazing garden. A girl can dream right?

When we started the garden I started researching composting, and the information made my head spin. You had to have the right ratio of greens to browns. You could add worms, or not. You could have a bin, or open air, or covered. It should be moist, but not too moist. It should be warm, but not too warm. So overwhelming! So my overwhelm turned into procrastination, which turned into nothing, especially not a compost pile!

Then I read a great article (I wish I could remember where it was so I could link to it) that was so straightforward it made me wonder why I hadn't thought of it before! It said that the ratios and temperatures and blah blah blahs were important, but you didn't really need to worry about it. Basically, just put some leaves and lawn clippings and fruit peels in a pile, and eventually nature would do its thing. Worst case scenario, nothing happens and you have to throw some stuff away that you would have thrown away anyway.

So we started. Steve raked leaves into a pile, and we started adding vegetable and fruit peels and rinsed egg shells to it. I didn't pay much attention to it, every once in a while I put some leaves on top of it if the fruit flies started to get bad. I would spray some water on it if I remembered, but mostly I just left it there.

Last week I put in our Spring garden, and I decided to see what was going on under all the leaves. And look!! Compost!!! Only the bottom two thirds of the pile had composted, but I was able to flip it over and add some rich soil to our little raised bed. I underestimated how much we would need, so I'm not sure if it really helped, but it was so exciting to see!

I also realized that composting has become such a habit for me. We ate at McDonalds on our way to Arizona a few weeks ago, and Jules got an orange with her kids meal. As we were cleaning up I realied I was saving her peel to compost! As "healthy" as McDonalds is becoming, they still didn't have a compost pile out back, and I'm not crazy enough (yet) to put all of our compostable trash into a bag to bring home.

If you've ever wanted to compost, but didn't know where to start, this is my advice: Just start throwing things in a pile, maybe something will happen.

Two Years!

Two years ago today Juliana was born and totally turned our lives inside out! I may not get as much sleep as I used to, but she makes up for it in other ways!

She loves her daddy, eating chocolate and cheese (sometimes together!), wearing Mommy's shoes, singing, dancing, and drawing on any available surface (including a brand new cookbook, and her rocking chair!).

Happy Birthday Juliana!!

Throwing Away All the Things!

I get into moods where I just want to throw everything away. Since Steve is a serial keeper, and I am a serial throw away-er, I try (try!) to stay away from his stuff. One place that I'm always trying to keep streamlined is my closet. I have 40 of those fancy hangers in my closet, and I try to keep my entire wardrobe fitting on those. (other than sweaters, which are folded on a shelf, and pjs/workout clothes/socks which are in drawers) Which means when I buy something new, something else has got to go! I'm ruthless. If something isn't working for me, or I haven't worn it for a while, it goes into the donate bag. (I should state here that I don't really have Winter/Summer clothes. I live in Texas... I have one long sleeved shirt... Obviously this would be harder if I had two separate wardrobes to deal with.)

Buuuut...

I am a scarf junkie. I love scarves, even if I don't really get a chance to wear them a lot in the Texas heat! When I find a vintage scarf I love for a good price, you better believe I am getting it. I tried to declutter my scarves, but I couldn't do it. I even have a few that I have only worn once, but I just can't get rid of them.

I used to think I was just being silly. After all, ALL the articles on decluttering say to get rid of things you don't use! And I love throwing things away! And think how much cleaner my scarf hangers would look!

But then I decided, forget the experts! I like scarves. They don't take up much room, and looking at them makes me happy.

So I made a new #1 rule of decluttering. If you aren't using something, but you like it, and don't want to throw it away, keep it!

So Cloche!

I haven't done a lot of yard sale-ing since I moved to Texas. Maybe it's the heat? But I saw a sale being advertised in our neighborhood this weekend, so Jules and I walked over to check it out.

I found a few pairs of shoes for Jules, and also a cloche! I've been wanting one for a while, but I'm cheap, and paying $15 or more for one just wasn't going to happen! But $3 seemed right! The lady selling it was so excited that I wanted it, she said she loved the bird pattern. I didn't have the heart to tell her I was going to paint it... 

I looked up some tips for painting over ceramic, but there was way too much information, so I ended up just jumping in. I had some white and grey acrylic paint in my craft stash, so I started out with that. I figured if it didn't work I could go spend some money on the right stuff. First I sanded it a bit to rough up the finish. The first coat of white looked bad. Really bad...

But I let it dry for a few minutes and added another coat. And another one. And another one. It finally started to look good!

After it was pretty well covered, I started with the grey. It looks green in this picture, but it's grey, I promise.

After three coats of grey:

I roughed it up with some sandpaper to let some of the white show through. The sandpaper I had wasn't fine enough to get it just like I wanted it, but I didn't want to go buy some (I'm cheap, remember??) so I left it.

 Nothing like a good before and after! I'm so excited with how it turned out! Not to bad for $3 and some elbow grease!

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. 

Six months

Jules is already half a year old!! It's crazy how time flies. 

This month was a busy one! She started solid food, and figured out she can get places by rolling. She also went to her first football game! 

I was afraid the stadium would be too loud for her, but she didn't seem to mind. She loved watching all the action, especially the huge screen. 

She's still a huge daddies girl. When Steve and I are sitting next to each other, she practically jumps out of my arms to get to him! 

At her six month check up today the doctor said she wished all the babies were as calm and happy as Jules is! She is such a good baby, we really hit the jackpot!!

To celebrate her six month birthday I gave her a pedicure. I know, I'm a bad hippie. She actually held still pretty well, and I'll be soaking her feet in the tub tonight to get all the extra polish off her skin. 

Happy birthday baby girl, I hope you had as much fun as I did!

 

A Bad Day

It's always rough for a few days after I see my family. I'm super homesick and lonely and wanting to be back with them. So I was expecting yesterday to be a little rough. It ended up being more than a little!!

First my eye was swollen. 

I thought maybe it was an allergy to something in New Mexico, but it kept getting worse! I couldn't wear my contacts, and wearing glasses always makes me feel a little bit off. So I was muddling through my day, trying my best to be productive and I kicked Jules's bouncy chair. It hurt!! I thought I was just being dramatic, so I tried to stop thinking about it and hoped it would stop hurting. Apparently I should have been more dramatic and put some ice on it because in a few hours is was swelling and purple!

 

Poor pinky toe. 

Then to add insult to injury, I got a stain on my pants. I don't even know where it came from.

I guess some days are just like that. 

The good thing about bad days is that they eventually end, and they make you appreciate the good days that much more!

Eating!

Jules finally got to eat yesterday! 

I was going to wait a few more weeks, but I had an avocado hanging around, and she had seemed a little extra hungry, so we went for it!

I was expecting her to get excited or make funny faces or something! But she acted like she had been eating her whole life. 

She even grabbed the spoon a couple of times to feed herself. 

I was a little disappointed I didn't get any good faces, but maybe she's going to be a non picky eater just like her mom and dad! 

She did enjoy getting messy and wiping avocado all over her face and the bumbo. 

Five Months

Jules is five months old today!!

I feel like she has learned so much this month. She started talking up a storm, but then she stopped for two weeks while she was learning to roll over. Now that she's mastered the roll, she's back to chattering away! 

Speaking of rolling over, Jules finally decided to roll while I wasn't there!! My mom and Tyler were visiting, and Mom watched Jules while we went to Six Flags. That's when she decided to roll from her tummy to her back the first time! Then while Steve and I were celebrating our anniversary a few days later, she rolled from her back to her front. I guess she would rather perform for Grandma than Mom!!

She wants to eat SO badly. We put her on the table in her Bumbo when we eat dinner and she reaches for our food and smacks her lips. We went out to eat last week and when the food came out she looked so sad. Poor baby still has to wait a whole month before her mean momma will feed her!

Jules is such a good baby. We cart her around everywhere and she never seems to mind. She didn't even fuss when we kept her in her carseat for 10 hours on our way to New Mexico. 

Happy birthday baby girl!!

Twenty-Nine

I turned twenty-nine this week! I can't believe it. It's not that I think twenty-nine is old, but I still feel twenty-two most of the time!! It still freaks me out a little bit that I'm doing adult things. I'm married, have a baby and own a home. Shouldn't I have passed a test or something before someone let me do this?? I really feel like I'm going to get life audited someday and they will realize I've just been pretending to be responsible this whole time. 

I've also realized there are some important life skills a thirty year old should have that I am lacking:

- Putting my hair in a french twist. I've tried to learn before, but this time I'm serious. Seriously. 

-  Keeping the floor clean for more than two days. What is so hard about vacuuming? Nothing. Nothing is hard about it. But I still don't do it consistently enough. 

- Remembering to take my car for an oil change/tire rotation/tune up. Actually, scratch that. I got married so I wouldn't have to think about that. Don't worry. There were other reasons too. 

- Not freaking out when I see a bug. Seriously, what do I think is going to happen? It's a bug, not a bomb. Hit it with a shoe and move on with your life woman!!

So if you need me in the next twelve months, you know where I'll be. In the bathroom watching youtube videos and practicing my french twist. Because that's what grown ups do.