Makin' a muck

What have I been up to lately...?

just makin' a little of this and that:

Makin' healthier meals.

beef stew and fruit smoothies

Makin' myself exercise everyday...

I need to make myself go tanning too!

Thus makin' my jeans a little more loose!

Makin' forts with Tanner...

and cleaning the mess he's makin'!

Makin' Tanner take a gymnastics class!!

Too cute.

Makin' cards and crafts.

Makin' generic Jenga blocks into pirates!

Makin' lots of fun!!

deprivation

I'm being deprived of too many things lately,

and here is proof:

I cried during this commercial today.

No treats AND no baby is a bad combo.

I know how to fix my deprived tummy, that is my choice not to feed it JUNK!

(german chocolate cake sounds so good)

But what about a deprived

heart?

I still can't manage to heal it.

ingenious

Not a cowboy belt.

Nope, not a black belt either.

Utility belt you might ask? Still no.

Is belt even the right term.

You tell me.

You're in control!

Watch your thoughts, they become your words.

Watch your words, they become your actions.

Watch your actions, they become your habits.

Watch your habits, they become your character.

Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny!

Too fast, and too cute!

I hope they don't mind, but I just have to share this...

My little bro and his beautiful wife had their first baby 4 weeks ago and he has

ALREADY rolled over!

Tanner didn't roll until he was 4 months old.

I still remember the moment, chillin' in our basement in Logan, Tanner was wearing a little white turtleneck onesie and he rolled from his stomach to his back!

It was monumental!!!

Anyways, check out this CUTE and CLEVER clip my bro made. It's only one minute. Too fun!

GO BOSTON!

click HERE

School days

The Comparison.

Tanner's pre-school picture from this year is so adorable!

(so was last years of course).

When I was comparing his pix to last year I couldn't believe the difference.

He has grown so much! He is SO cute I can never get enough of him.

(bottom left corner)

He did such a good job smiling. I was so proud.

I'm going to go sit in the corner now and sob while I watch

my baby evolve out of

my baby!

New Beginnings

All the YW girls were "purse"onally invited to our New Beginnings last Wednesday

(youth church program).

I made these purse invitations for each of them.

I asked our stake YW President, who happens to be in our ward, to come and speak on the new scripture theme for the year:

1 Timothy 4:12

Be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.

She did a great job.

The annual calendar was reviewed,

"purse"onal progress was discussed,

and I ended by tying in the whole

PURSE

theme and made up a little analogy about the different purses and bags we need throughout life, and how we can liken them to ourselves!

On the table I displayed just a few of my "purse"onal selections of purses and bags that I use...

grocery bag, diaper bag, small purse, big purse, beach bag, etc.

I have multiple "purse"onality!!

I talked about using different purses in the many stages of our lives, and how it's fun to have different styles of bags/totes/purses that adapt to our individual needs at the time.

Take for instant the cute little pink Beijo purse I have on the table. I used that during excursions while on our cruises. I didn't want to tote around a huge purse, but wanted a few essential things, thus the small purse was perfect to hang around my neck!

The big blue and brown Vera Bradley bag is what I use for a carry-on every time we fly. I jam it full of Tanner's toys, food, DVD player and again my essential items I will be needing at all times.

Each bag differs from the other and serves a better purpose on certain occasions, but the one constant about them all are the essential items I would transfer from bag to bag as I needed them.

(ie credit card, drivers license, lip gloss, gum, compact mirror)

We are like the purses...our outward expressions and actions change from experience to experience, yet we must always keep our essentials inside that remain the most important.

The essentials inside us are what we are learning and developing in the YW program.

Learning, internalizing, and applying these values will build and strengthen the core of who we are and help us gain a more clear realization that we are

Daughters of God.

If we believe this and carry this essential truth forever, we will always have what we need at all times!

YW VALUES:

Faith

Divine Nature

Individual Worth

Knowledge

Choice and Accountability

Good Works

Integrity

Virtue

We ended by giving each of the girls a little tote/purse I found at Bath and Body works

($8 each, but I got them 90% off...$.80 each!!)

and filled them with lotion, lip gloss and the new church CD for the youth, by Jenny Phillips!

Our dessert were cupcakes adorned with these toothpick toppers I made looking like

PURSES!

"Purse"onally

I thought it was a great night!

reversed psychology

What I'm looking forward to this week:

1.another week with

NO TREATS

of ANY kind

(KILL ME NOW!)

2.exercising

EVERY SINGLE BLASTED DREADED DAY

3.my husband gone on a business trip all week

4.cold weather

*****

What I'm looking forward to this week:

1.not gorging myself with wasted calories and feeling dumpy

2.slowly trimming centimeters off my body while wearing new cute workout clothes

3.alone time to clean the house and surprise my husband

4.hot chocolate, cute jackets, adorable scarves and bundling up in my warm fuzzy blankets to watch American Idol

There...that sounds A LOT better!

Hope you have a reversed week too!

infertility etiquette

Chances are YOU know someone that is infertile!

Ha, obviously if you are reading my blog you know ME and that I am infertile.

But you probably know others, or maybe not (which is rare), but know someone who knows of an infertile person/couple.

This is for them/you.

This is for anyone that cares about me.

This is for EVERYONE.

Mrs R just posted this on her blog and I am stealing it.

The plain hard truth is anyone that has had a child DOES NOT understand infertility.

That's fabulous!

Luckily you don't have to wonder day to day if you will ever have a family.

It's a reality for you, a possibility, that isn't for some.

Take the time to read the article if you are interested in learning how to be sensitive to someone with infertility. It's a daily battle for us...a silent undercover heartache that people choose to judge instead of sympathize.

THANKS!

Here's a part from Mrs R that is also very sensitive for me too:

Don't Complain About Your Pregnancy

This message is for pregnant women-Just being around you is painful for your infertile friends. Seeing your belly grow is a constant reminder of what your infertile friend cannot have.

Unless an infertile women plans to spend her life in a cave, she has to find a way to interact with pregnant women.

The number one rule is DON'T COMPLAIN ABOUT YOUR PREGNANCY. I understand from my friends that, when you are pregnant, your hormones are going crazy and you experience a lot of discomfort, such as queasiness, stretch marks, and fatigue. You have every right to vent about the discomforts to any one else in your life, but don't put your infertile friend in the position of comforting you.

the fateful "rut"

I'm in it.

The fateful blogging rut.

I've been obsessed with blogging,

and still am, but am kind of in a

rut: a routine or pattern of behavior or activity that has become dull but is hard to change.

Maybe it's because my life has been pretty uneventful lately. Nothing too exciting to look forward to either. Just enjoying the day to day life...and there's nothing wrong with that...but that makes for a boring blog.

Not much to share, but here's the latest going on in my world.

I taught my YW (church youth group) last week and one of the snippets I shared was how they need to

"bloom where you are planted,"

enjoy the season of life they are in and make the most of it.

I know, easier said than done!

I remember when I was 19, I just wanted to be married.

Then when I got married, all I wanted was a baby.

Then when I got a baby, I wanted another.

I got that other baby (for a short time) and remember thinking all of my responsibilities were somewhat overwhelming, and maybe it would be nice to be 18 and single again! HA!

Why is it so hard to enjoy the phase we are living in!?

One thing for sure that's inevitable is change.

Make the most of where you are NOW!

I had this cute cross stitching my adorable friend Nancy made for me...and then made these flower pots from suckers for each of the girls. They were really easy to make, and it was fun.

I've been doing some major outlet shopping and finding

FABULOUS

deals. We have 110 outlets here, kind of similar to Park City...and in the winter no one comes to Missouri so the SALES are BIG and the merchandise is available!!!!!

MY PARADISE!

I got all these adorable baby girl shoes for my lil sis who just had her first girl.

Aren't they to die for!!

All 75% off.

Lastly, just been lovin' up on my BOY.

He is the light of my world! He melts my heart everyday!

I love it when he says he

"can't wait to marry me!"

He's everything worth living for...even the boring days!

the answer in life

“You are here on earth for a divine purpose. It is not to be endlessly entertained or to be constantly in full pursuit of pleasure. The Lord is intent on your personal growth and development. When you trust in the Lord, when you are willing to let your heart and your mind be centered in His will, when you ask to be led by the Spirit to do His will, you are assured of the greatest happiness along the way and the most fulfilling attainment from this mortal experience. If you question everything you are asked to do, or dig in your heels at every unpleasant challenge, you make it harder for the Lord to bless you”.

~Elder Richard G Scott

Fabulous choice of accessory.

I asked Tanner to

please go get dressed,

put your jacket and shoes on,

and come out when you are ready!

(Yes, we are still working on complete independence.

I am his enabler, I just want to help him do everything.

He's got it down now though).

Heeeeeee's ready!

Mr Cool Cat!

Red crystal light mustache and all!

I LOOOOVE EVERY BIT OF IT!