I keep a record...do you?

I don't know why it's always been important to me...for some it might seem like a chore. But for me I enjoy it...I like keeping a journal and actually look forward to writing (or typing) down something that I did that day. I'm grateful that I've done it and it's fun and sometimes embarressing to go back and read some of the entries. Some I'd like to burn but for the most part, I love to look back on how I've changed. I got to do this last night....

On one of the message boards where I post my scrapbooking layouts the group is doing a huge scrapbooking challenge that last 6 weeks. Each week is a different challenge and you have to follow certain requirements that are layed out in the description of the challenge. Each layout is on a point system and the most points each week you can accumulate is 10. By the end of the 6 week period the person with the most points wins this HUGE prize! This week on Monday started Challenge #1 and it was to create a layout using a senior portrait and memory of your senior year!! Well, I never scrapbooked my high school years. Not because I didn't want to but I took a ton of pictures and the thought kind of overwhelmed me. I also was in the stage of scrapbooking where I cut them all up and made a collage out of them. How do I salvaged that! That makes me cringe now!! Oh, how my scrapbooking style has changed...and for the better if I do say so myself! AND, although I have a huge chunck of my high school pictures..so does my old bedroom at home! Well, when this challenge came up I was stumped! I didn't even think I had a studio picture of me...my mom did! Before I go any further I found some graduation pictures of myself with my family, and etc. so I am going to use those pictures! Anyway, this is where the "thankful for journals" comes in to play. So I start DIGGING for pictures...I found a slew of stuff that I had forgotten about but NO Senior pictures. I thought maybe Chris would have something since he was on his mission while I was a Senior but even he couldn't find anything.....well, in the process of all this digging, I came across about 10 journals starting in 5th grade going through Ricks, and the whole time Chris and I were dating and engaged. Unfortunately, the journal I have now is the one that I wrote in when Chris and I got married! I still haven't finished it! Close but not quite....and my blog has a lot to do with that! :)
ANYWAY!! Since all these journals had been stored away I hadn't read alot of the entries in a really long time. It was so fun to go back and read some of the stuff that I did. Alot of it I didn't even remember so it was nice to have my journals to refresh my memory! A walk down memory lane is always fun and I'm so grateful that I took the time to record all of those things in my life!

So, all I'm trying to say is I love journals..I love journal writing! I love scrapbooking (my other form of journal writing!) and I hope I can pass this trait on to my children!
My thought for the day!

New dresser, New Struts, and One Home Remedy....



So we paid our car off about 5 months ago....SO happy to not have that note anymore....I'm sure I'm jinxing myself by saying that but it was a huge accomplishment for us. SO many times we wanted to trade it any for something else...but we resisted the urge and trudded along. Our car has been good to us....we had to know that as soon as we paid it off there were going to be some major consequences for that!! Nothing too bad, just routine maintenance since we have had the car for 5 years and only had to replace a couple of tires and get the oil changed. Back in December we put $500 into completely new brakes. A few weeks ago I got a flat tire and we took the car to Wal-Mart to replace it and went ahead and got 2 new tires on the front- $150. And now today....New struts. Every time we take the car in the repair guy mentions the struts...wearing our tires unevenly, blah!, blah!, blah! FINALLY, Christoher said they had to be done and it didn't matter how much it cost! I think he was all talk until they gave him the estimate of $750 {wince!} So, today while I was working Christopher and Elodie took the car to Sears and spent the next couple of hours playing in the mall playground and sitting in a movie theater. Elodie had a blast! Of course because she has no clue about money yet and didn't know what was going on! Hopefully though, this is the end of it (jinxed again!). I would like to think our little civic will give us a little break! Just a small one!



In other news, we went out and bought Elodie a dresser from Ikea! She has been needing one for sometime now. We were using these credenzas I had gotten from the GAP while I worked there. They are actual fixtures that are used on the floor. I'll post a picture once I take one so you can see what I mean but they are deep drawers that were used as the back room storage on the floor in BabyGap..that way we didn't have to walk to the back to see if we had a certain size or what not. It was a cleaver idea but the customers caught wind super fast and started digging through them themselves, or hiding merchandise for a later date. So stupid! ANYWAY! Because they were meant for baby clothes, they worked out perfectly for Elodie these first 2 years of her life. Now that she is getting bigger and accumulating more clothes, she has outgrown the cradenzas. PLUS, the credenzas stack on top of each other and have no legs to stand on AND aren't tacked to the wall at all. When you open them they become front heavy and want to tip over....a couple of days ago Elodie figured out how to open the drawers and that was the end of that!! I knew it wouldn't be long before we were headed to the emergency room because the cradenza fell on her! Just the thought makes me cringe! Anyway, those trusty cradenzas served their purpose and off to storage they went..maybe for another baby or just for scrapbooking storage in a different house.



I have been eyeing Elodie's bedroom set from Ikea for a while now.....she is still in a crib and I'm not about to wean her from it so we just decided to buy the set a little at a time. I love the dresser and in her white room it doesn't look all that great but in a new house with freshly painted walls it will really stand out. The bed is great too but like I said it will have to wait! Elodie thinks it is so cool! She keeps opening all the drawers and taking a peak. Because the drawers are so deep the bottom one now houses blankets and diapers..It's nice too because I can just tell Elodie to bring me a diaper. Before they were left in the box and she couldn't get them out. I have to have atleast one perk while she is still not potty trained! I'll enjoy this one for a while I think! The best part about this dresser and the whole bedroom set is that Elodie will be able to use it for a really long time! Atleast for the next 10 or so years! So it may be a little big for her right now but she will definitely grow in to it so it was a nice investment! I'm not sure what I will put on the top of the dresser. Just some random pictures right now. Since Elodie can't reach the top I may make some craft stuff. The wheels are turning! And this dresser stands on four legs and has a bolt attached to the wall! There is no way this one is falling on Elodie! {Sigh!} On the way home from our trip to Ikea we experienced another first. Elodie loves to chew gum (you can tell already where this story is going) she has been getting gum for like the past year and we have never had a problem. She will even put it in the trash if she is done with it. This being said we have always given her gum and even in the car she can have a piece. Well , on the way home from Ikea she started saying things like "My hair is really sticky" and "My gum is really stuck". I turn around to see that Elodie has stuck her gum in her hair! Planted it right on the side of her head and now trying to pull it out which is only making it more stuck! We convinced her to leave it alone until we got home and figured out how to get it out. I knew I definitely did not want to cut it out! She doesn't have that much hair as it is and I definitely didn't want to damage what she did have! So I got on the internet and found that peanut butter will do the trick! So I lathered her hair with peanut butter and waited a few minutes before tackling the mess! It wasn't fun but within a few minutes it had definitely worked and pulled all the gum out with only a few strands of hair along with it! I was impressed and so grateful that I didn't have to cut her hair! Another disaster avoided! And since Elodie loves Charlie and Lola, I put a dvd in and she was a good sport during the whole process. And I know it had to hurt getting pulled and tugged on! Well, that was our adventure for the day! Lots of money spent and the truth about a home remedy. If you ever get gum stuck in your hair remember to use peanut butter!

Food Storage...



I know the importance of food storage..having something set aside in a case of an emergency..I've heard it all my life and more now that I'm the parent! I buy my food storage..and the church has made it so much easier by offering kits that have enough in them to last you one month....but I only buy my food storage to relieve the pressure of not having something. I don't really know how to use it or how to rotate it..I'm much more the type to save it and if I don't use it then I'll just throw it away and buy some more..sad but true!

That was all until this afternoon when I was getting ready to make my king cake. I found the recipe online and was all excited to make it. Went to Wal-Mart this morning and gathered all the ingredients I was going to need to make my king cake..including the purple and gold sprinkles in honor of LSU! :) Mardi Gras colors are purple, gold, and green..but I just wanted to do purple and gold.

I got home, pulled out the recipe and realized I didn't have any flour! NO FLOUR! Who doesn't have flour! We usually buy ours at Costco so we are never out! Well, today we were. My first thought was SHOOT, now I have to run to Target and grab some flour. Only problem was I had already set my yeast in warm water and it could only sit for 10 minutes. No way I could leave and come back in time. And since I had never made this recipe before, I wanted to follow it to the tee. My next thought was, I'll call Audrey a friend in my subdivision..she's bound to have some flour. And she did, so me and Elodie set out to get the flour. About half way there I realized WAIT A MINUTE!! I Do have flour! For about the last 6 or 8 months I've been getting food storage and each kit has 2 cans of flour..which means I have about 10 cans of flour just waiting for me to ROTATE!!! I rushed straight home and VOILA there was my flour in the boxes we had never opened (how sad that we buy food storage and never take it out of the box!)I didn't really ever know what was in the kits either until today- did you know there is sugar, flour, rice, beans, and pasta! I'll never need to buy any of those things as long as I am buying food storage!

Then I started to think about how wordly I am...how sad that my first thought was I needed to rush out and buy some more..which with most other things that would have been my only option....and how sad that my second thought was to call a friend....and what's worse is I didn't even think about my food storage until after both of those thoughts! It's definitely a mind set....now I'm just encouraged to think about my food storage! I actually rotated my food storage! ME!! I had to call both Chris and my mom..Chris wasn't too impressed but my mom was happy for me!

As for my King Cake..it turned out great....6 hours later..very time consuming and I even did a strawberries and cream cheese filling! Yum-O! Chris was impressed with the results! :) And it fufilled my homesickness for Louisiana! I don't think I'll ever make one from scratch again but it was fun to make and it was fun to say I made one....I think I was more proud of myself for using my food storage than the way my king cake turned out! LOL!
Happy Food Storage everyone! I'm a new woman now!

One more...

I stole this lift from my friend Shanna's blog (www.mynextthirtyyears.com) She is an amazing scrapbooker and her layout fit perfectly for these Valentine pictures of Elodie! Thanks Shanna for your inspiration. I always love a good scraplift! :)

I've been busy in the last 2 days....I thought I was catching up but found a slew of pictures that needed to be scrapped! Yes I'm missing a "B" on the last layout. My LSS only had one packet of the letters and inside only had 2 letter b's.....I'll have to wait until they get more in. Loving the circle look..I think it's my new thing. I love the dimension it adds to my pages! The last layout: the pictures were taken in March of last year and the middle layout: the pictures were taken last May and the top layout: the picture was taken in June. Crazy how time flies so fast! Elodie has changed into such a big girl now and it makes me a little sad that she is leaving that baby girl look behind! {Sigh} TFL!

Top 10

10. I don't have to work tonight..or tomorrow night!

9. Good Tivo I mean tv night tonight! :) American Idol- Girls Night Tonight! Friday Night Lights, AND Medium!! Good night!

8. Got some scrapbooking done while Elodie has been napping. Will post results later- now I'm waiting for Elodie to wake up so I can get my brown stampin' up marker out.

7. Started the book "Wicked"..mmmm....

6. Decided not to go to Girls Camp this year...our friends Audrey and Derek offered to take Elodie for the 5 days I would be gone....but it's more than that....It's just not the right time for our family. And besides, I know I will have plenty of opportunities in the Young Women's Area once Elodie gets to be that age.... Oh heaven help me not think about that one right now! Elodie in Young Women's...YIKES!

5. Had a great chat with a great friend today.

4. Had to buy diapers at Costco yesterday....we stopped the potty training. I just don't think Elodie was getting it at ALL! She just didn't seem to care and I was getting really frustrated. Time to take a breather. I definitely want it to be a good and positive experience for all of us and I just didn't feel like it was going that route. Lots of people I talked to said I was starting too early. Maybe in a couple of months she will be ready. Maybe this will be our last box of diapers. If and when it is our last box of diapers, I'm definitely taking a picture and scrapbooking. Diapers- $40 Wipes- $20 Elodie potty trained- PRICELESS! Won't that be a cute one! :)

3. Speaking of scrapbooking...christopher brought something to my attention that is SO true about scrapbookers. We were at Wal-Mart the other night (shocker!) and I was in the scrapbooking isle (another shocker)...I found the CUTEST Mickey Mouse 8x8 album that would be perfect for our end of the year trip to Disneyland...I also found a princess one too! I told Christopher that now we HAVE to go to Disneyland because I need this Mickey Mouse album in my life. Christopher replied, "Ya know, most people take a vacation and then decide to make a scrapbook...you take a vacation so you CAN scrapbook it!" I had to laugh because how many times have I (and you too) posed Elodie a certain way or in a certain outfit only because I have the perfect scrapbooking title or the perfect paper to match! Funny what we will do for a scrapbooking page. And yes I am already thinking of Disneyland poses for my Disneyland album!

2. To Do List done for the day- and it's only 4:30pm! Woo Hoo!

1. Such a pretty day outside! Elodie and I are headed to the park when she wakes up from her nap! Happy Wednesday!

Anyone's opinion...

I'm hanging 3 12x12 frames that will display my scrapbooking layouts as I complete them (thanks to my cousin Tania for the idea) and I thought it would be really cute to have a vinyl saying above the 3 frames....these are my top 9 and I'd like to know what anyone thinks...pick your favorite and help me decide....

- Home is where your favorite memories are

- Home is where our story begins

- Memories are but a journey we take in our minds, but relive in our hearts

- These are the moments we'll remember all our life

- Every mile a memory

- Recall it as often as you like- a happy memory never wears out (this is my favorite)

- Time is made up of captured moments, things shared, and time spent together. It becomes the memories that the heart never forgets

- We do not remember days, we remember moments

- What we keep in our memories is ours forever.

Happy Mardi Gras!

It's crazy that today in Arizona, it's just another day....but in Louisiana....all the families are enjoying a 4 day weekend...most businesses in La. recognize Mardi Gras as a State Holiday and the schools definintely do!! Crazy! Just another day in Arizona. We were never big Mardi Gras fans..I've NEVER gone to Mardi Gras in New Orleans....in high school the band did a bunch of parades that we walked through, and I can remember going to a couple of parades with our church youth group....I'm not one for clutter so the idea of bringing home a million beads isn't all that exciting to me. {You know your in Louisiana when you go to a garage sell and the owners are selling beads by the bundle- and usually for like a buck or something silly!}

My favorite part...the King Cakes! So good! Strawberries and cream cheese were my favorite! I can remember my mom and I going to a little part in Gonzales to a grocery store to pick up king cakes...so good...maybe I'll call mom and ask her to ship one out to me! Or maybe I'll find a recipe for one....hmmm....

Just wanted to have a moment of silence for Louisiana and the place I grew up....I don't miss the state but I do miss home...my family....I think it would be fun to jump back 10 years and spend a day back home....things were pretty simple...school, church, friends, and family... Maybe I wouldn't like it so much but I'm atleast grateful that I can look back on my growing up years fondly. I use to think I was from the biggest town...now visiting I realize just how small our little Central Community was....and not much has changed...and since change and I don't get along, I like that about our little town. Christopher and I were talking the other night about the difference between the south and the west....I'm grateful for the south....I am who I am because of where I was raised and I'm proud of it!

So Happy Mardi Gras everyone! Maybe I'll got buy some beads and see if I can't find a king cake...Happy Times...{sigh}

Oh Pampered Day!!!

Today has been a great day!! Christopher and I had our big date night tonight so I wanted to make sure I got all dolled up for him! I started my day with a hair cut....FINALLY! I've been needing one for a while now and it was getting rediculous! I don't know why I kept putting it off. Chris' cousins wife cuts my hair and she always does a great job..I left with light and flowing hair! :)

Christopher picked me up and we headed to the mall to get the oil changed at Sears and do some shopping...we had lunch at Paradise Bakery, I left with a new pair of capri's and a shirt, and Christopher got a new bag for his school books...he sais carrying a backpack into the office makes him feel dumb..so we got him a nice across the chest type messenger bag. Lots of fun when everyone gets something new....Elodie even got a new Strawberry Shortcake DVD while I was getting my hair cut.

When we got home from shopping, Elodie layed down for a nap and I headed out to get a pedicure! Christopher put a gift certificate to a local nail salon in my stocking at Christmas time and I just now found some time to use it..and it was the perfect day to use it since we were going on our date later that evening! I'm ashamed to say that I'm 26 and have NEVER had a pedicure..it's sad looking back because I enjoyed it SOOOOO MUCH! The lady that did my feet did such a great job and since I had just gotten my March Creating Keepsakes Magazine in the mail today, I was in hog Heaven! Literally! I got french tip with a cute little glittery line underneath each tip...so cute! It was a great experience and because of Christopher, I am hooked! It's all his fault! I did tell him when I got home that I'm going to take him to get a pedicure for his birthday..there was a guy sitting a little ways down from me that looked like he was totally enjoying himself! Great way to spend my time....I know what I'm getting every girlfriend for her birthday now! Forget making them a scrapbook or something crafty! They are all getting pedicures.....and I'm tagging along! :)

When I got home it was time to get ready for our date night. We had watched a friends 2 kids last night so they were going to take Elodie for us tonight. We hadn't ever eaten at PF Changs before and even though the wait was super long (next time we are definitely going to have to make a reservation) it was really alot of fun! The food was great...the company was fabulous...and even though we love doing everything with Elodie, it was so nice to have a night without her! Very nice and definitely too far in between!

We had a great evening out and I love Chris so much! It's so crazy we will be married 6 years this year...it has gone by so fast! We have accomplished so much together in the last 5 years and I am excited to see where the road leads our little family! Hope everyone has a great valentine's day with their hubbies! Mine is definitely worth a scrapbooking page!

One more thing about Valentine's Day...



I was just thinking about this as I was wiping down my kitchen counter....last on my "to do" list...I didn't mention what I got for Christopher for Valentine's Day. Last year I did "14 things I love about you" and I put each reason on a slip of cardstock and made this cute pocket...then after I gave it to Christopher I made a scrapbooking page of it with a picture of us...
I loved it, he loved reading everything and overall it was really sweet! So this year to go with my "14 " tradition I did "14 days of Valentine's"...so everyday starting February 1st, Christopher got a small gift from me...at first he was like "what the heck" but by day 5 or 6 he was really getting into it and wanting to know when he was going to get his next gift. We're not rolling in the money so everyday was somthing small...socks (because you know the best gifts are usually the ones you need the most), gum, beef jerky, the new Justin Timberlake cd, candy, chocolate, etc. It was really fun. And yesterday he got his big gift...a copy of all the primary hymns. He wants to learn to play them so as Elodie gets older they can sing them together to the guitar. How sweet is that! Just wanted to make sure I shared this...it was a lot of fun and I know Chris really enjoyed it! Alrighty, enough about Valentine's day....with the exception of our date night Saturday! 'Cause you know I have to post about that!

Random Happiness


So Valentine's Day was a huge success.....I have a friend who just recently moved here and is having a very hard trial in her life right now. A couple of friends and I decided it would be nice to get her flowers for Valentine's day and surprise her with a card that we had all written a little message in...this was a huge success because all 5 of us live in different states and the card made it all the way around! Since Chris and I are celebrating Valentine's Day this Saturday we thought it would be fun to take the flowers to her and then go to dinner (dinner I mean Taco Bell- come on, it's Valentine's Night and we had Elodie with us.....we weren't up for waiting at a resteraunt)

My friend was totally surprised and was so appreciative.....it made me feel really good that I was able to be apart of something that brought her happiness during this trial in her life. I told her not to read the card until after we had left and she called me a few minutes after we left crying, telling me how much she appreciated what we had done for her....it was really sweet and made me appreciate my friendships with all these girls so much more! There is a funny story behind these roses too! I've never bought flowers for anyone before..I knew they were expensive but we all chipped in $10 each and I thought that would be plenty. So I call a florist close to my friends house and ask how much a dozen roses in a vase would cost.....$100...can you believe that!! I said, well, what if I have like a $50 budget...she told me I could get a dozen red roses wrapped in celephane with no fillers for $64...cough! cough! I thought to myself..let me check Costco first! And this is what I found...16 roses in a vase for $40!!! I couldn't believe my luck...and they are GORGEOUS!! One more reason to {heart} Costco! I couldn't believe how expensive they were trying to sell those roses for...and I know it was mostly because it was Valentine's Day....Costco is never out to hurt anybody! I love them! Costco was my valentine yesterday for sure! :)

Another funny story from yesterday....after I got off the phone with the florist I called Christopher to tell him thank you for not getting me flowers for Valentine's Day...and I wasn't joking...I'd much rather spend 100 bucks on a new outfit or a new pair of shoes! Long pause from Christopher......."did you get something today?" was finally what he asked after a few minutes. "NO, I didn't get anything!"..of course he thought I was joking but I wasn't..I seriously hadn't gotten anything!...apparently Christopher had gotten flowers for me but the florist hadn't delivered them yet...and the sad thing is he ordered them a couple of days ago and they were promised to deliver on Valentine's Day..by 5 o' clock I had to leave to pick him up so we could go see my friend and he was totally disappointed that "nothing" had come in for me! I wasn't bummed because I didn't get flowers, I was more bummed because Christopher was so disappointed! He kept saying how he wanted this day to be special but it got ruined! I didn't think so..I'm getting PF Changs on Saturday! With no Elodie! That's present enough! Christopher spent the rest of the evening trying to get ahold of the florist but kept getting sent to an automated message saying they were too busy with orders to pick up....yeah, their not busy enough to pick up when you want to place the order...and they were super quick to take Chris' money...but when you want to cancel the order they are no where to be found! Go figure. Needless to say, Christopher cancelled over the internet and no flowers today either so they must have gotten the message..now to get them to credit our checking account! Christopher was so sweet though...he called me into the computer room after Elodie went down and asked me if I wanted to see my flowers....YES!.....so he put them as our screen savor!
Now I get to look them all the time and they will never die! How sweet! We had a great night and I'm excited for this weekend when we get to go on our date night! It should be really fun! As for today, Elodie is sleeping (isn't that the only time I post?) and I have enrichment tonight...should be fun...ours are quartely as everyone else's should be and so this is the first one that the new Presidency has put together..crazy we have been out of the RS Presidency since October! Time flies! And it's already time for Christopher to register for next semester and get all his paperwork together for scholarships and financial aid! Our last time to do that! Crazy and very exciting!
-A

Happy Valentine's Day!! Love, Elodie

Of course with every holiday brings the seasonal outfit and matching bows. Valentine's Day is no exception! So today me and Elodie had a little photo shoot...she is starting to get to the age where you can put her in a pose and she will stay that way for a nano second! She is such a cutie...a bit of a ham but that just comes with her personality!
We bought Strawberry Shortcake Valentine's a couple of weeks ago and she has been walking around telling anybody "I've got some valentine's for my friends!"...sounds more like "I'b got some valegnfkdos for my bends!" :) Gotta love the 2 year older jibber jabber!
We have passed them all out now and she has been so excited each time to hand over the little baggie that had a few pieces of candy and her strawberry shortcake valentine card inside. So cute....her friends included Ryanna, Jacob and his brother Isaac, Seth and his little sister Maryn, and Isaac M. All little kids from our ward in our subdivision. And if you ask her who her friends are she will mostly list these little kids. SO cute! I love this girl more and more everyday!

This one is my favorite! The real smile and no cheesing for the camera!

Here is my little cheesy poser!

Top 14 reasons I love Chris (In honor of Valentine's Day)

I did this last year for Valentine's Day but since I didn't have a blog last year, I'll make a new list. I'm sure some of my reasons are the same but that just means they are stronger this year than last! :) P.S- In no particular order until you get to #1! For obvious reasons! :)

14. I love Chris' love for sports...it sounds weird coming from a wife but I love that he has so much interest in it.....I think it's mostly that I enjoy watching him relax and watching sports is his favorite way to unwind from a long day or a busy week. It's his thing and I'll never take it away from him...I wouldn't be able to, we have TIVO!

13. I love his talent for music....right now Christopher is very much into the guitar and he plays it quite a bit...it can be a little much at times but I love that he decided he wanted to learn to play the guitar, he put his mind to it, and now he is really good. It really inspires me....

12. He has a testimony of the gospel and knows the importance of setting that example for Elodie.

11. He loves my cooking! :)

10. I put more pressure on myself to be a good "homemaker" than he does. He is always telling me to relax!! It's a good balance to my "to do list" making self who feels like I have to check everything off before the end of the day...no matter how long my list may be! I care more that the kitchen has dishes in the sink than he does...

9. He is patient with my scrapbooking and always has a minute to "ooo" and "ahh" over my pages!

8. Which leads to his patience in my picture taking....he sometimes pitches a fit when I want a picture but always appreciates the end results! I know secretly he doesn't mind all the pictures..he just has to put up the front so he can reign me in occasionally!

7. He doesn't mind walking the mall with me, but we have learned the scrapbooking store is pushing the limits of his ability! It is pretty much off limits and what's sad is it's taken us 5 years of marriage to figure that one out!

6. He is a good father.

5. The boy is smart...I mean REALLY smart....it's amazing to me! A civil engineer major at ASU and he has been on the deans list for the past 4 semesters with straight A's....he has a 3.8 GPA....and because of that has allowed our family so many opportunities career wise...everybody wants him! It's such a blessing to have a husband who takes his college education seriously. Who from the very beginning knew exactly what he wanted and has pursued it! I could go on and on but I am truely so proud of him!

4. He takes his church callings seriously...

3. He provides for our family and wants me to be able to stay home with Elodie....

2. He loves his family and I know he would do anything for them if they needed him.

1. He love me!! He took me to the Temple and made a committment to me! He is attracted to me and tells me all the time how much he loves me! I'm a lucky girl!

Happy Valentine's Day Chris! I love you!

P.S- We won't be celebrating tonight. We swapped nights with Audrey and Derek so they are going out Friday night and we are going to watch their kids and then we are going out Saturday night and they are going to watch Elodie. We are planning a night to PF Changs and probably a little shopping. It should be a lot of fun!

My dry spell is over!

I got a call yesterday from a mom whose daughter is getting married in March and they want me to do their wedding cake! Christopher's cousin Ann referred them to me and I am so excited! I haven't done any kind of cake since the first of January so I'm itching to do another cake. And this would be the whole reason why I don't have a professional business. I do just enoug cake making for it to be enjoyable to me and to keep me excited about doing another one! Plus the money is nice! :)
I sent the mom and bride to be an email with all my information so I'm just waiting to hear back from them now.....so fun! I love doing wedding cakes!

Check out my Slide Show!

Potty Training: Day....what day is it now?

I'm losing track of how long it is taking us to potty train Elodie....I'm questioning whether or not she is ready for this...does she even comprehend what she is suppose to do here? I'm bummed and annoyed and frustrated...I really want to make this a positive experience for all of us and I'm started to wonder if it will be....then again I'm not sure if the best alternative is to stop completely and start back up in a month or so...any advice would certainly be appreciated! As for today Elodie has been in big girl undies all morning and had an accident like 5 minuts after I took her off the potty.....she is asleep now so I'll start back up once she wakes up! Thankfully we have all tiled floors and the mess isn't that bad to clean up! My frustration would be 10 fold if we had carpet....icky!

In other news, last night a member from the stake called and said my name has been submitted to attend girls camp this year as one of the leaders...I think it would be a fun opportunity since I haven't been back since high school but then again it's 6 days in the mountains and I have no clue what I would do with Elodie...I have a few days before I need to report back..Christopher is no help because he wants me to do what I want to do....MEN!

Then, at 2:30 this morning I was awakened by the sound of my husband puking his guts out in the bathroom! You have to know that Christopher's claim to fame is the fact that he hasn't thrown up since he was like 5...and this is a huge deal seeing as he had to deal with me for 9 months while I was pregnant and puking my own guts out the entire time! His little streak ended last night..sad but true! He skipped work this morning but went to school at noon....I just got off the phone with him and he sounded fine..crazy....hopefully I don't get what he had....throwing up brings back memories of being pregnant...but then again those memories are what keep me from getting pregnant again! :)

Happy Monday everyone! -A

Top 6:

My cousin Tania tagged me to name 6 weird things about myself....here I go...and note this is post 100... woohoo!

6. I wash my sheets once a week (every Monday to be exact) and make my bed everyday....

5. I don't eat tomatoes.....I'll eat pizza sauce and spaghetti sauce..and I love marinara sauce but I won't eat a raw tomato. Ever since I was a kid!

4. I love Taco Bell....and it's rubbing off on Elodie..if you ask her what she wants for lunch she immediately sais Taco Bell..and she can spot one a mile away! It's terrible!

3. I don't drink tap water....I'll dehydrate before I drink tap water..my favorite is dasani but we have sparkletts delivered to our house. It started when we moved to AZ. from Louisiana...I couldn't ever get use to the taste of tap water out here....but I grew up on tap water in La, it is definitely better than the tap water out here! Blah!

2. I love clorox wipes! I use them all the time! Their in my house, my car, Elodie's diaper bag...you just never know when you will need a clorox wipe!

1. I wash my hands all the time...(it could be because I use clorox wipes all the time). I hate having dirty hands and if I feel like it's been a while since my hands have been washed I immediately have to wash them...I think I might have a mild case of obsessive compulsive disorder when it comes to my hands being clean. :)

Girls day and Day 6

I can't remember the last time I had a girls day...it's been a while and when my friend Sarah invited me to a movie and lunch for today I was ALL over it! We went and saw the movie "Because I said so"...it's got Mandy Moore and Diane Keaton in it....great chic flick!! We both loved it and I definitely recommend it to everyone! I think it's PG-13 so it's got a foul word or two but overall definitely worth a date with a girlfriend. It was funny too because everyone that was in the movie theater were women. It's like everyone had the same idea we did.
After the movie we went to Olive Garden for lunch. Great times....I have some really sweet friends here in Az. and it's so fun to hang out with them.

Day 6 of potty training wasn't really a day at all...Chris had some running around to do while I was gone so Elodie spent all day in a diaper....we were taking an unintentional break if you will....Monday I'm back on the wagon full force! Hopefully we didn't take too many steps back by postponing over the weekend.

Other Saturday activities included a trip to Wal-Mart (wouldn't be a Saturday without atleast one stop in at Wal-Mart) and then later in the evening we had our Ward Valentine Activity...lots of fun with some families in our ward that we hang out with outside of church. We truely have the best ward....it's made up of ALL student families so we are all in the same boat....young families, wife at home, husband in school and working. It's great too because all us girls hang out together quite a bit and know exactly how the others are feeling about this time in our lives. Although I am super anxious to be so close to graduation and done with this chapter...it really has been a great experience for us and I know we will look back on this time in our lives with great memories. Ahhh the memories!

Potty Training: Day 4 & 5

I would have posted day 4 yesterday but we had the scrapbooking group last night at my house. We made valentine cards and it went great. Had about 10 women over and everyone had a good time. That's what the interest groups are all about so it was a success.

Nothing new to report on the potty training. I had some errands to run in the morning yesterday so Elodie was in a diaper for half the day..the other half went fine..still no potty in the right spot but she won't have an accident in her panties either..Go figure! I am convinced she is holding it because she knows she will get a diaper on for naps.....sigh, sigh, sigh!

This morning we had play group so again Elodie was in a diaper in the morning but we came home and put big girl undies on and no accidents. She is sleeping now with a diaper on and as with the last 4 days I'm sure she is quite comfortable! She did pitch a fit about having to put a diaper on for naptime..she wanted to keep her "My Little Pony's" on.....that's some progression! No rush though....everyday is a new day and gets better! She'll do it! Atleast, I hope she does it! :)

P.S- Happy Birthday Devon! Our nephew is 6 today!I can't believe he is 6! Chris and I weren't even engaged when he was born.....I have a picture on my fridge of Chris holding Devon when he was just a newborn! Life goes too quickly!

Potty Training: Day 3

Sigh, Sigh, Sigh....Day 3 of potty training with Elodie and still nothing...this morning she got right into her panties no problem...but again nothing in the toilet. I'm convinced at this point that she is holding it! She has to be! Or I'm not catching her soon enough in the morning! Either way, I'm not loosing hope but just one potty in the toilet would give me the motivation to keep with it...I have to keep with it now..I've dug my hole already! No turning back now!

Today shouldn't really count though because I had some errands to run and Elodie had to come with me..which means she was in her diaper for a couple of hours....although when I took her out of her diaper she hadn't done anything there either! WEIRD! And she is sleeping now so I'm sure she has already relieved herself and will go back to holding it once she gets her panties back on. I told her after her nap that we would go to Target and pick out some new undies..she told me she wanted purple ones...so hopefully we can find them and she will be 10 times more excited to go potty!

I got a useful tip from my friend Sarah...I've been sitting in the bathroom with Elodie trying to distract her so she will stay on the potty longer....Sarah told me her sister-in-law would give her kids alone time on the potty..maybe this will help seeing as she will go in her room to potty....maybe she is lacking some privacy! So, I've tried it twice today..the first time I came back into the bathroom to find toilet paper all around the toilet and a huge chunck in the toilet! And I was gone long enough to clean her high chair tray and put it back in the corner....The second time I left her alone for a few minutes she screamed for me to come back in..."WAIT FOR ME MOMMY!!" was her exact words! Sigh, Sigh, Sigh! Hopefully the trip to Target will help motivate her..obviously the Strawberry Shortcake DVD on top of the entertainment center has lost its value! :)

In other news....my errands today included a trip to the bow store to get those lost elastic pieces I needed and lots more ribbon and elastics for our Bishop's new baby...his wife is a sweet friend and she wants me to make some for their baby..I made her a bunch when Abby was first born but she is getting bigger and the ones I made have outgrown her head! That's my weekend project so I can get them to her on Sunday....

Elodie and I also stopped by Chris' old office to pick up his W2.....I miss Chris working there....Bob (Chris' old boss) told me to do what I had to to get Chris back....he told me he would give him a substantial pay increase and his own office if he would come back...If it were up to me, Chris would have never left.....but I'm supportive and know Chris needs the experience in other areas of engineering! When I told Chris what Bob told me he just laughed and said he thought it was funny...no Chris! They are being serious! :) Bob also told me they got season tickets again for the Diamondbacks baseball and if we ever wanted to go this year we could always use the tickets...(they got season tickets last year and we went a bunch...it was fun because we got to bring other couples with us and Chris' parents went a couple of times with us too....a couple of times Chris went with the Schneiders and brought Elodie with him- she LOVED the games and was always so good during them- that's how it came up, Bob had made the comment about how good Elodie was...) That's the Schneider's for you...SO nice and always wanting to help us. I love them! Sigh....

Going to the cooking group tonight to learn to make chocolate truffles. We are also going to be dipping those chocolate truffles in chocolate..yumo! Will post the recipe once I get it so everyone who wants to wow their husbands for Valentine's Day can do so...I also have the easiest and best recipe for oreo truffles...if anyone wants it let me know and I'll post it with the chocolate truffle recipe! Then again, you may not want it..they are sinful! The girl who is over our cooking interest group graduated from culinary school a couple of months ago..she is amazing! She and I talk cakes all the time....love cake talk!

Potty Training: Day 2

So we are into our second day of potty training...sigh....yesterday went good....if I can call 3 accidents, 3 pairs of panties, and no successful potting in the toilet "good"...but it was good for me..I was patient and by the end of the night Elodie was showing her panties off and actually wanting to sit on the potty....one day at a time right?
Today was a huge improvement....this morning I asked Elodie if she wanted to put on her big girl panties and she said "YES!"....she has worn the same pair of panties all morning with the exception of one accident before naptime....(I was trying to keep a good eye on her..I knew we were close but she just wouldn't go!! Grrr!!! She decided the time was right in the corner of her bedroom not even 2 minutes after I had sat her on the potty!) We also tried the whole sit on the potty in front of the tv for like an hour and a juice box...nothing!! But today was an improvement from yesterday and I have to be excited about that! I didn't expect it to happen all in one day....by the end of the week would be nice though! :) I did get the cutest "picture of the day" of Elodie sitting on her potty in front of the tv watching her favorite "Charlie and Lola"...I'll save that one for a scrapbooking page and not post it here....it is cute though! :)

In Scrapbooking news....QVC has had their craft fair for 15 hours today..(this is probably why I have been so patient while picking up poo off the floor after Elodie-I'm sure no one wants the details but remember, this is more for me than you...plus some scrapbooking pages!)..woo hoo! I have been a good girl and not bought anything, even the "Today, Special Value"....but I did make a list and email it to Chris...hoping for some new stuff for Valentine's Day...

Weekend Update....and the first day of potty training...


This weekend was such a blur for me! It went by really fast and didn't feel like we did much at all! Either way, it was a weekend, and like all of them, it was great! Friday was playgroup in the morning...there were a ton of women there from our ward and it was so nice for all the kids to play together! Great fun...afterwards, lots of errands. Costco twice, once for gas, then again on the way home for more fruit and misc. The bow store for lots of ribbon and headbands so I could make bows for our new niece. We got Chipotle for dinner and then I worked from 6-10pm.....


Saturday morning I woke up and went back to work...usually I don't work friday AND saturday but for some reason I worked both days back to back....it was really weird going back in after I had just been there the night before. It went by pretty fast...Christopher and Elodie enjoyed some quiet time together....Chris said he took Elodie to the park and with how beautiful the weather has been here, I know she had a great time! Saturday night.....we went to AppleBee's for dinner, a quick trip to Target and Walmart (I know we live fabulous and adventerous lives!)
and then home to watch a movie while I made my bows.....only when we got home I found that the elastic headbands were NOT in my bag....I paid for them but I didn't get them..this is the first time this has happened to me and of course it would have be on a night that the bow store was closed and I needed the bows for the next day!! GRRRRR! Thankfully, I had some leftoved elastic hanging around and I was able to make quite a few...I still have 5 though that need headbands! Thankfully I called the bow store this morning and they knew exactly what had happened..they told me to come in with my reciept and I could pick them up! I love making hairbows and I love making newborn bows!! So fun and cute....


Here is a picture I took of all the bows I made for little Anistyn...I would have made more but I had already spent $25 just at the bow store...and I still wanted to buy her some new outfits....you can see the ones that still need elastics....my favorite is the ladybug bow of course! But the green one was a close second!


Sunday we woke up (NOTE: My trusty blow dryer of 5 years finally gave out on me...of course I found this out AFTER I had already showered!....I turned it on and it started smoking..not good...sigh...it was a great blow dryer! Just wish it wouldn't have picked TODAY to go out on me) and headed out for Snowflake to meet the new addition and watch the SuperBowl with the family....GASP!...yes we watch football on Sunday....it's just one of those things in my house that I never tried to fight against..my husband LOVES sports....it's his thing and I hate to take it away from him..plus I don't mind it so much either! Happy to see the Colts won! :) The trip to Snowflake is about 3 hours from our house....it took us longer because Elodie threw up in her carseat....YUCK!!! It is not fun to be in a car with a baby who is puking! And of course I didn't bring a change of clothes for her..(with the exception of her pajamas she would put on after her bath for the ride home)...I've never needed them! So we had to stop at Wal-Mart...thankfully there was even that!! The trip from Phoenix to Snowflake is ALL mountains with little in between...thankfully, she chose to throw up just as we were getting into the only big town between the two cities....and it's sad to say that "big town" only had a walmart! We were saved none the less and you have to be thanfful for WalMart!

We had a great visit with the new baby...she is SO cute and tiny...I will admit that it made me a bit baby hungry....but that's only because I'm human and anyone would get baby hungry around a tiny baby that didn't cry and I wasn't the one having to feed her!

Of course here are a few pics....she is still a bit jaundice but that's expected with most babies..thankfully, she didn't have to stay extra days in the hospital like Elodie did....so cute in my favorite bow! The other picture is of her in her valentine outfit and the valentine bow I made for her..they matched perfectly! She is so tiny and it doesn't help that I don't know how to make a small bow! Those bows make her look even smaller than she already is!

We took one of Elodie and the baby but it came out blurry...bummer too because Elodie was so smiley in the picture....oh well, I'm sure we will get many more pictures! So cute! Shortly after the game was over we packed up and headed home..those one day trips are a bit tough but it's so worth it when you get to sleep in your own bed...plus Chris had to be at work this morning so we couldn't stay anyway! Anistyn is being blessed in March 4th so we will see her in about 4 weeks..and I'm sure she will change a bunch by then!

Today is back to normal (sort of)....playing catch up with laundry and such...But the big annoucement of the day is that today we are officially potty training Elodie! I started her this morning....I put the big girl panties on her, even though she pitched the hugest fit, (it's amazing how much of a distraction the Disney Channel can be- I turned it on and she immediately forgot that she wasn't wearing a diaper).....since this morning I have been taking Elodie to the potty every 15 minutes..every trip got a little easier and by nap time she actually wanted to keep her panties on..gasp!...but of course both times she went she had an accident in her pants..thankfully we have tiled floors so it's not the hugest pain....it's the first day so accidents are going to happen..I'm sure alot of accidents will happen! But I'm committed and I'm hopeful that we will be potty trained by the end of this week....She is sleeping now in a diaper but come on! It's the first day! Hoping we will get atleast one potty in the right spot..if she goes then she has a HUGE treat waiting for her on top of the entertainment center..we got her a Strawberry Shortcake DVD over the weekend and put it where she can see it but not touch it....she keeps asking for it but I keep reminding her that she has to go potty before she can watch it! So far everything has been pretty positive! Hoping for the best!

-A

What she is REALLY thankful for....

Elodie is getting old enough now that she understands kneeling for family prayer and now she can say her own prayers. (Really she repeats everything you say but that in itself is a huge deal!) So last night we were kneeling for prayer and I asked Elodie if she wanted to say it...she told me yes...so we started our usual way..."Dear Heavenly Father....We are thankful for this day".....and then all of a sudden, by herself she sais "Thankful for Seaberry Beach!"

{Seaberry Beach is a Strawberry Shortcake DVD- she had just finished watching it before it was time for prayer. And besides that, the girl LOVES Strawberry Shortcake...}

It was so funny and she was so serious! That was her only input to prayer...after that she just kept repeating everything I said...She is so cute!!