Look what we got!!

Our Disneyland Package arrived yesterday afternoon- about an hour or so after my waiting patiently post! WooHoo! We are so excited and can't wait to get to Disneyland! I can't believe we have been planning this trip for a whole year and it is finally time to go..almost. Kind of sad in a way too. I told Chris I need to start planning our next family vacation as soon as we get home from Disneyland! His response? "Let's just get through Disneyland first!"

Here's to the happiest place on earth and to one happy family super excited to go!

The Waiting Game...

We are scheduled to get our Disneyland tickets delivered today UPS. Only problem is his scheduled drop off is anywhere between 8am and 7pm. Total case of the cable guy. I did call UPS and they narrowed it down to between 10am and 2pm. It is now 12:10pm and we are waiting patiently...kinda.

Book Suggestion

I've been reading "Into the Wild" by John Krakauer. It's a true story about a kid who ventures out into the wilderness of Alaska to live off the land. Christopher listened to it on cd and really raved about it. It's 200 pages long and I've got about 60 pages left. Really a great read so if your interested, pick it up the next time your at the library. Or in my case, put your name on a list and wait 4 weeks to get it! The movie is PG-13 so be forewarned of a few unnecessary words here and there.

Something about the holidays always makes me want to curl up with a good book and a blanket!

'Tis the Season

Last night we put our Christmas tree up. I usually do it either Thanksgiving night or the day after but with the crazy week I had it was all I could do to get it up on Sunday! Christopher and Elodie did most of the work and I think we all enjoyed getting our house all ready for the holidays! I love my Christmas tree...we bought all of the ornaments, tree skirt, and stockings from Pier One the second year we were married. Back when we were both working and could afford to spend our money on ornaments, tree skirts, and stockings. I'm glad we did though....it's a special memory of mine and I love my all matching tree and decorations. Still a few last minute decorations to go up but for the most part bring on the holidays!

Back to my regularly scheduled program...

Well, my wedding cake is completed...this crazy week has come to an end and I am exhausted! Next time someone wants me to do a wedding cake the same week as a major holiday I will most definitely be charging a fee for that! Thankfully, I managed my time pretty well and had no gliches other than having a hard time finding the reception! And when that was found, everything else fell into place! If your ever wondering why wedding cakes are so expensive, I'll just break it down for you.....I started baking on Monday....3 days of baking....$100 in supplies (which included about 4 trips to Wal-Mart, Michael's, a cake decorating store, etc.)....a total of about 10 hours of just decorating! Travel time to the reception (twice)...homemade fillings and frostings plus time putting sheets cakes together....and nobody charges for stress!! This on top of keeping my 3 year old out of the kitchen and trying to keep my house in order so it doesn't bite me in the butt the next week AND working Friday night until 1am and Saturday morning until 2pm! Yes, I'm crazy but there is certainly something thrilling about juggling so many things at once..I wouldn't want it all the time, but it's nice to spice things up a bit..Anyway! All of this in hopes that your bride falls in love with the finished product! Which she did and that's all that matters! But never complain about the price of a wedding cake....we could definitely charge more!

Now back to my regular job of being a mother, wife, housekeeper, grocery shopper, and preparing for the next big holiday! Oh yea, and planning the Ward's Christmas Party, graduation and Disneyland! December is seriously going to pass in blur! Wake me up when it's time to go to Disneyland!!

Black Friday...

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving...we enjoyed a relaxing day in Snowflake...a COLD, relaxing day in Snowflake. So relaxing that I only ended up with 2 pictures! 2! Certainly unusual for me so I'll just blame it on the turkey! Which was deep fried of course like us southerners like to do it! My father in law can cook a mean turkey! We got in late last night and have enjoyed another relaxing day watching LSU football and ordering pizza for lunch. Sadly, I have to work tonight so I'm trying to enjoy the relaxing part as much as possible. Which would explain why I'm not working on my cakes!

Anyway, since I missed yesterday...6 blessings...this is really getting tough....

-Shade shirts....I seriously wear one everyday! Definitely the perfect solution to keeping everything covered up..if you know what I mean! No need to worry when I bend over! LOL!

-Having a 3 year old during the holidays...Elodie and I ran into Santa at the mall on Wednesday...really...they were setting up Santa's Workshop and Santa was all decked out! He talked to Elodie for a few minutes and gave her a cute little duck toy. She talked about him the rest of the day and even said she couldn't wait to sit on his lap. Maybe this year we won't get a crying picture with Santa!

-3 weeks...that's how long Chris has until graduation and how long we have until DISNEYLAND!!

-Time with family...I miss my family in Louisiana, especially around the holidays. But it's so nice too to be able to spend some time with Chris' family and let Elodie hang out with her cousins!

-The INTERNET...one more of those blessings I can't believe I've waited this long to talk about...it's my link to the outside world somedays and I can definitely appreciate having it! Not to mention it's the best way to keep in touch with family and friends! Gotta love a good email!

-The Holidays...I'm so excited for the holidays. I love the christmas music, our tree, lights...everything gets me so happy! And it's double the fun now that Elodie is getting old enough to get excited about it too! We have been so blessed this year and I'm thankful for holidays that give us the opportunity to reflect on that and give to others!

Thanksgiving Eve

-My kitchen aid. I got it 2 Christmas' ago from Christopher, shortly after I started doing cakes. I had to burn through 2 hand mixers first so my kitchen aid is my life saver! It got a ton of attention this week with all the cakes I baked, and I still have icing and filling to make on Friday. Seriously my best friend during cake week!

-Cell Phones. I will turn around and go home if I've forgotten it and if I'm too far from home to turn around I seriously get weirded out just waiting for something bad to happen! Sad, since I didn't have a cell phone until I was a senior in high school and didn't think twice about it! Of course along with everything else, some tend to abuse the cell phone privilege...namely those who have those stupid ear pieces....mostly I'm talking about in case of emergency...NOT so someone can be reached at all times!

-Power locks on my car. I'm a little bit paranoid..Christopher would say alot paranoid...but I really like to have my doors locked at all times when we are in the car. I see nothing wrong with this habit but if you want to call me paranoid, that's just fine with me! It's so nice with the push of one button, all 4 doors are locked! Sadly, you can only do this from the driver side in the civic so I'm constantly having to remind Christopher to do it....it pretty much annoys the heck out of him and we have definitely agreed that our next vehicle will have the power lock feature on the passenger side too!

Thanksgiving Recipe

I'm making this for tomorrows feast and thought I would share with everyone. It's a great recipe for any holiday but especially Thanksgiving, since what is Thanksgiving without cranberry sauce!

Cranberry Jello Salad:

Base:
1 3 ounce package vanilla pudding
1 3 ounce package lemon jello
2 cups water
1 cup heavy whipping cream

Topping:
1 3 ounce package raspberry jello
1 cup boiling water
1 16 ounce can whole cranberry sauce
1 16 ounce can crushed pineapples, drained

In a medium saucepan combine vanilla pudding and lemon jello, add 2 cups water and bring to a full boil. Remove from heat and refrigerate until partially firm.

Whip heavy whipping cream and fold into cooled pudding mixture. Pour into a 13x9x2 inch glass baking dish. Refrigerate until set firm.

Dissolve raspberry jello in 1 cup boiling water. Add cranberry sauce and drained pineapple. Pour over the base and refrigerate until set.

ENJOY!

Gratitude Tuesday

- Online Bill Pay: I can only think of one thing we don't pay online..tithing....and I guarantee you it won't be long before that changes too! Wouldn't that be awesome to pay your tithing online? LOL!

-The latest fashion trend: I know I've talked about the latest fashion for girls is baby doll tops...now that I'm pregnant I am totally scoring in the clothes department! I can get a top at Kohl's for like 10 bucks...head over to Motherhood and you pay double! It's fabulous! And on top of that, I actually feel like I'm still halfway in style, even though I'm pregnant!

-And finally, I'm so thankful for Elodie's little prayers...so sweet, innocent, and sometimes so funny! During our breakfast and lunch prayers if Elodie is saying the prayer I often have to remind her to "bless daddy as he is away from us". Today at the dinner table Elodie said "bless daddy that he'll go away from us!" LOL! So funny! Chris and I just snickered under our breath but it was so funny!

Thankful...a great way to start the week!

- Holiday weeks...with Thanksgiving on Thursday, Christopher only has class today and tomorrow. AND, he only works through Wednesday. It should be a really relaxing week for Chris but it won't be for me. I work 4 nights this week and have a wedding cake due on Saturday. Not to mention we will be in Snowflake all day Thursday! Craziness..so it looks like for me, NEXT WEEK will be a holiday. Even still, I'm happy to have Chris around the house longer than just the weekend.

-Speaking of cakes...it's something I really love and I'm just so grateful people actually ask me to make cakes for them. They are few and far between but I think any other way I probably wouldn't like it as much. Not that I'm scrapbooking much these days but it's kinda like scrapbooking. The idea of owning my own scrapbooking store or being on a design team sounds like a dream but in reality I'd probably dread it more than anything because of the deadlines and such. My cakes come just at the right time and far enough between that when I get to do one I look forward to it and I feel like I give it my 100%.

-Friends...I can't believe I'm this far into the month before I mention how grateful I am for my friends. Old friends, new friends, family friends...all of them are so important to me and really make me a happier person! I'm so grateful that Elodie has friends and her friends mommies are my friends. It's another win/win situation. Elodie gets to play with her friends and so do I! So thank you to all my friends who brighten my day and help me be a better me!

New guy on the block...

Christopher started his new job today....his official after graduation job! It was nice of his company to let him start so soon and not make us wait until after Christopher officially graduated. We are thankful and now Christopher feels alot more permanant than he did before. No more interns! Woo Hoo! One step closer to feeling like grown ups and not just young married college kids!

Gratitude Saturday and Sunday..

Saturday:

1. List- I love to make list and check things off of my list. It's such a great feeling when you get to the end of your day and everything you wanted to do got done! When I was in college I would do something that wasn't on the list and then I would go back and write in on my list just so I could check it off! Sadly, I still do that occasionally!

2. Elodie's manners- for a while I felt like all I was doing was hounding her about being polite! Well, it's starting to pay off. Gradually she has needed less reminders to be polite and it is so sweet to hear her say "Mom, would you please get my some pink milk?" or "Dad, can you please help me with this?". Especially rewarding when no reminders are needed! The only down side is when she comes into our bedroom at 6:45am and stands at the side of our bed and sais "Mom, would you please get me some pink milk and a piece of bread?" And at 6:45am I would much rather roll over and tell her to give me 15 minutes! But because she asked so nicely, how can I deny her? Plus, it's not such a bad way to wake up! She then proceeds to follow me into the kitchen bragging about herself saying "I know how to ask for pink milk and a piece of bread SO nicely huh mom!?!" Now we just have to work on being humble!

3. I can't believe I've gone this long in my gratitude journal without mentioning COSTCO!!! Oh, Costco! How I love Costco! Sadly, when we revamped our budget, my costco amount got cut in half! Half people! It's not such a bad thing...I just love being there! And I'm happy to report that after the first of the year my costco budget will get increased! I've already made sure of that! P.S- Costco has the best pies for Thanksgiving!

Sunday:

1. Childhood friends...My dear friend Randa came for dinner last night and it was so nice to see her. We live about 35 minutes apart so we don't get to see each other all that often. Not to mention she works nights and sleeps during the day. But we had a few hours with her last night and it was so fun to see her! We have been friends since the 2nd grade and it's so crazy that we have kept in touch so long!

2. Christopher cleaned the kitchen....I think I told him thank you like 50 times! By the time we finish dinner it is all I can do to muster up the strength to clean the kitchen. I hate going to bed with a messy kitchen and the thought of waking up to one is even worse! But Christopher saved the day and I'm really thankful for that! It doesn't happen often, but it definitely happens at the right times!

3. Disneyland is paid for!!! As of Friday, yes I'm behind, we have officially paid for disneyland, made all the reservations needed, and now we just get to wait and GO! I have to admit that even though I am super excited to go to Disneyland, when it came time to pay all that money and see my checking account drastically go down, I had some serious second guessing about whether or not we should go! SAD HUH!?! Thinking of all the ways we could be spending that money instead of going on a vacation! I must being getting old and more responsible or something! But it didn't last long! If anything is important, it's making memories with my family and I know we are going to have a nice relaxing week away! We better!

Gratitude Friday..

Back to being grateful because it does no one any good to be a complainer!

- Adjustable waist pants. I really can't buy Elodie jeans unless there is an adjustable waist. You use to only be able to find adjustable waist pants at the GAP but now even Target sells them. It's a wonderful thing when you have a 3 year old with no waist, no fat meat, and no bum!

- Sparkletts Water. Ever since we moved to Arizona we could never get use to the taste of the tap water. So for the past 4 years we have been getting water delivered from Sparkletts. It's wonderful! A tall glass of cold water really hits the spot! Plus, I always get Sparkletts to deliver an extra 5 gallon container, over time we have built up a little supply and now we have our water storage! Again, a win/win situation!

- My mother. Yesterday I got a suprise package in the mail from her. Victoria's Secret Love Spell perfume! Heavenly! It's my favorite, and her's too. I miss my mom alot and wish we lived closer. She always knows just what to do to make you feel special! She has taught me how to be a hard worker and take care of my home and family! Just a wonderful example to me!

- BONUS! Friday nights! Not cooking, no plans, with every intention to hang around and relax!

Hope everyone else has a great weekend too!

Tired of being grateful...this heat is killing me!!!

Phoenix 7-Day Forecast
Fri Sat Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu

81° 83° 85° 86° 81° 71° 70°
57° 56° 59° 59° 54° 48°

To some of you, these temperatures look down right heavenly...but to me, IT'S HOT!!! STILL HOT! And we are in the middle of November! I am running my air conditioner right now! UGH! I know it could be worse and it beats the 115 degree summer heat but it's just not good enough! I could blame some of it on my pregnancy but I don't think that's it! Even Louisiana got a freeze warning last night!

Why oh why do I live in Arizona! Too much sunshine!! I guess that is why it is called The Valley of the Sun! It's enough to depress someone and it certainly doesn't help my holiday spirit! Especially since our average high last year this time was 75 during the day...Thankfully we are headed up to the White Mountains for Thanksgiving where we are sure to find temperatures 20 degrees cooler than the valley! Ah! I can put Elodie in a cute sweater...just the thought brightens my day!

So if your enjoying a crips cool fall think of me..PLEASE! And sit outside and enjoy it for me too!

Sincerely,
Too much sun in Arizona!

Thankful Thursday...

Thanksgiving is just a mere week away! Holy Cow where has this semester gone to! It's crazy how fast we are moving along and I'm already so far into my pregnancy...pretty scary stuff!

Today I am thankful for...

1. Really nice smelling laundry soap...it's come along way! So many choices and ways to make your clothes smell SO good! It's enough to brighten anyone's day...as long as you aren't the one folding the laundry! Ha! Ha!

2. Rainy Days...some might say rainy days might get you down but I believe otherwise. Here in Arizona we don't get very many rainy days and it's really nice to wake up and not see the sun shining! A little change of scenery does a person good!

3. My blow dryer...I use it everyday and would go to the store with wet hair if I needed a new one. Also my flat iron..I even use it in Elodie's hair..it does wonders for thick hair...mine is starting to go out on my (this is where if Chris is reading he should be adding a flat iron to my Christmas list!) so I'm in need of a new one soon but I'll live until it completely burns out, it's the best!

Gratitude Wednesday...

1. 4 weeks...that's how long Chris has until he graduates! I am so thankful for 4 weeks!

2. Cooler weather..it's not exactly COLD but we here in Arizona will take what we can get..it's a nice relief from the hot summer days! The heat can get depressing!
This morning (as in Thursday morning because I'm a day behind on my gratitudes) when I woke up the sun was NOT out! Not as in I woke up while it was still dark but as in the sky was all dreary and grey..it was a beautiful sight to see!

3. Our cars....I was driving along the other day and saw a woman trying to get on the bus with a load full of groceries and 2 kids...I don't think I would have even attempted this but she did. I'm so glad that we have 2 vehicles that get us where we need to go (knock on wood). No matter what kind of car you have, be thankful for it! Just to be able to get out of the house during the day is a reason to be thankful!

Gratitude Tuesday

1. Elodie cleans her own room....it's taken us a long time to get her into the routine of keeping her room clean and knowing that when she makes a mess it's going to be her job to clean it all up. She knows where everything goes and even though it may take her an hour every morning to clean her room, she is always SO proud of herself when she is done. It's so nice that there is one less room I have to worry about, of course she can't dust or clean her floors, but it's nice to see her room in tornado form and know that it isn't my responsibility to clean it anymore! Plus, I know how good it is for her to have a job that she is in charge of. And I feel it really important that she understant that all day isn't play time, we all have jobs that have to get done, and Elodie is no exception to this. Not to mention the fact that the hour it takes every morning to clean her room is an hour I have to busy around in all the other rooms! It's a win/win situation folks!

2. This is so funny because my cousin Randa had the exact same blessing for today...THE DOLLAR STORE! Seriously people, it's therapy for a girl on a budget! Elodie and I go atleast once every other week and it's so fun to pick out a few things and STILL spend less than 5 or 6 bucks! And the dollar store has come a long way! You can get some fun stuff there that you definitely would pay more for..even at Wal-Mart! Or you wouldn't even be able to find somewhere else! Lots of fun preschool activities, stickers, puzzles (I found some great strawberry shortcake puzzles there that I would have paid atleast $4 a piece for at Target or Wal-Mart)....you name it and you can score a good deal at the dollar store. We got Elodie this little Cinderella doll a few weekends back..afterwards we went to dinner and it wasn't until after we left the restaurant that Elodie realized she had left her doll at the table...BIG DEAL! We paid a buck for it! It's a beautiful thing! I think we are in need of a therapy session this week!

3. My job...this is really a love hate blessing..I love the money that I earn but I'm not a huge fan of leaving my family...granted it's like 12 hours a week which comes out to 3 nights a week but still...I would much rather be at home with my family....on the other hand I'm so happy that I've been able to contribute to our family. There have been times when we really needed the money I was earning and for the most part it's been so nice to put that money aside and save for something we are all really excited about. We were talking about the other night how it would be so nice to have that extra money to blow each week but in the end we wouldn't have anything to show for it...now with alittle bit of self control, we are super excited about a great trip to Disneyland! This was suppose to be my last week of work...I wanted to stop working before the Holiday's got too crazy and I knew the store wouldn't let me have all that vacation time during December for Chris' graduation and a vacation. But when I went in to talk to them about my last week, my managers told me I could have the 3 weeks off in December that I wanted if I would stay till around th 12th of December and come back and work all through January! It's going to work out nicely! Plus the extra money will be nice!

Gratitude for Monday

Man, I'm struggling to keep up here!

Here are my 3 blessings from Monday...

1. Holidays...Christopher didn't have school today because of Veteran's Day and only worked until 1pm. On Monday's he usually doesn't get home until around 7pm so it was a real treat to have him home. We took Elodie to see the Bee Movie and we had a great time!

2. Organization...these last couple of weeks we are trying to plan ahead and weed through things we aren't using, grown out of, junk..just to make it easier to move in January as well as breathe a little easier in a clean and organized home. We have cleaned out both (as in me and Chris) of our closets and it feels good to rid our lives of unnecessary things!

3. Schedules...I have got mine down pat and everyone knows exactly what is being done each day. I'd say it took me about a year to get on track after Elodie was born so I'm almost dreading throwing a new little person into the mix....hopefully the second time around won't take as long as the first time because I am really loving my schedule.

New Recipe...

I made this recipe for Book Club on Saturday..my mom gave it to me and it turned out super good. Just thought I'd share since I'm nice like that! Even if nobody else is sharing their recipes! HINT! HINT!

Monkey Bread...AKA Gorilla Bread...AKA Sticky Buns

18 Frozen Rhodes Rolls
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons cinnamon
1 and 1/2 cups melted butter
1 small package nuts (any kind you like, I used pecans)
1 small package of butterscotch pudding (NOT INSTANT!)

Mix sugars and cinnamon together. Take your rolls, dip in butter, then coat in sugar mixture. Repeat until all your rolls are coated. Line your rolls into a bunt pan. You should end up with 2 layers of rolls. Cover with nuts and sprinkle with dry pudding mix. However much butter and sugar mixture you have left sprinkle over the top.

Cover with damp cloth and let rise over night. About 13 hours. In the morning set oven to 350 and bake for 30 minutes! Let stand for 5 to 10 minutes then flip your bunt pan onto a plate!

Gratitude x 3....

I kinda slacked on the gratitude journal over the weekend....oops...

Friday:

1. Playgroup....we didn't have it for a while and now it's started back up. I love taking Elodie down to the park to play with her little church friends. And I love that I get to enjoy time with my church friends too!

2. Barro's...it's become quite the hangout for us SAHM's! Not only is the pizza the best in Arizona, they have this awesome little play area for the kids. So we went straight from playgroup to more playgroup at Barro's today. Elodie was in heaven!

3. The Temple. On Friday, Christopher and I got to go. It was so nice to be there with him. I hate that everything can get in the way of going but once we are there it is a huge sense of relief and peace! We are hoping to go alot more before the baby is born!

And a bonus....

4. Great friends...thanks Audrey for watching Elodie for us so we could go to the Temple! It's so nice to have great friends I can rely on!


Saturday:

1. Book Club. I'm so glad that even though we aren't RS related, we still get together every single month! I love the women that come to book club and appreciate the conversation we get to have! Not to mention the food! We always have the best food!

2. I'm grateful for lazy Saturday afternoons when we don't have anywhere to be, any obligations, and we can just relax around the house!

3. Wal-Mart....sadly I am grateful for Wal-Mart. Christopher and I went to Frye's Saturday night to use our gift card and holy expensive! Because I'm so familiar with Wal-Mart prices, I recognized everything that was super overpriced. Even with the VIP card! I didn't want to buy anything and the funny part of that is we were using free money!!! I love that Wal-Mart price matches with all the other stores AND still have super great deals! Sorry Melissa, I know how much you love Frye's. I just wasn't all that impressed!

Sunday:

1. My calling. I'm the Ward's Activity Leader and I am really enjoying my job! It's alot of work to plan activities for the ward, not to mention it can get pretty expensive. Thankfully, Christopher is the financial clerk and I get my reinbursement checks pronto! We are in the process of planning our Ward Christmas Party, the biggest, most expensive party of the year! Let's just say I'm dreaming about Santa and decorations right now!

2. Roast, Potatoes, and Carrots. One of my many memories of home! Nothing beats the smell of dinner when you walk into the door after church! Everyone can't get out of their church clothes fast enough! Top it off with some buttered rolls and you've got yourself a feast! My mom has the roast mastered and everytime I make mine I think of her!

3. Lazy Sunday afternoons. When neither of us have meetings or home/visiting teaching obligations. Sunday's are a fabulous exuse to change into your pj's and enjoy being together as a family!

If you can't tell we had a lazy weekend at home! Which is probably why I was so lazy about blogging! We are all rejuvenated for the week ahead!

Gratitude...

1. Enrichment- just got back from our's tonight and I have to say how nice it is to get together with women and enjoy great food and conversation! We had a nice time and I really love getting to know the women in our ward better. It's bitter sweet to leave in a few months..I've really grown to love this ward we are in..both through serving and just enjoying being a member. It's been great and I hope I can take with me what I've learned so I can be a better wife, mother, and sister in the gospel!

2. Christopher called me earlier today and told me he got a $100 gift card to Frye's from work for Thanksgiving! Holy Blessing! Gotta love free food! How nice of his work to do that even though he is leaving in one week...

3. Being pregnant...Shocking I know! It's been a more positive experience this time around and for that I am thankful. There is hope for more babies in the future! I have for a while been able to feel the baby kick and just recently, Christopher is able to feel it too! It's amazing and such a blessing to be a mother again!

Oh how the years go by!

Before reading...click to enlarge pictures but excuse all the little specks my scanner left behind. I tried to clean it off but that just made it worse!

I just got back Elodie's 3 year pictures we got done in October. As I was taking down her 2 year photo and replacing it with this one, I was in shock at how much different she looks! As parents I think you get the unfair advantage of seeing your kids everyday and it takes looking at pictures of when they were younger to see just how much they have grown! I'm even in shock over pictures taken 6 months ago.

She has definitely lost her baby look. Her features are starting to become more distinct and she really looks like a little girl...no longer a baby! A little sad but I love watching her grow up! Can't have them small and grow at the same time!




So in honor of our little lady I thought I'd take a minute and jot down some fun facts about Elodie...the must knows!

-She loves fruit....it's like candy to her. Don't give her fruit with her dinner because she will eat it all and then ask for more without touching anything else! Hard for us parents I know!

-She is very aware of what is right and wrong...it doesn't mean she will always do the right thing but she definitely calls you out. Today while waiting for her pictures at the studio, a little boy was misbehaving and not listening to his mother (shocking I know). Elodie leaned over to me and said "He is NOT listening to his mommy!"

-Which leads me to my next must know..she is my little mother. I don't know how many times when we are with friends I have to tell Elodie to "let their mommy take care of them!" She has great intentions but is always on patrol!

-She is also very aware of the differences between boys and girls and what is right for girls and boys to do. Boys do not play dress up or watch Strawberry Shortcake...girls do not like spiderman and play with trucks. It's funny the things they pick up on without you teaching it to them. I certainly didn't ever sit her down and tell her what she could and couldn't play with!

-She loves Strawberry Shortcake..I mean LOVES! It's so fun for me because I loved Strawberry Shortcake at her age too. In fact a few weeks ago my mom sent Elodie my old Strawberry Shortcake Doll and one of her friends (who I couldn't recognize) and my old Strawberry Shortcake lunchbox (you remember the ones made out of tin-total classic). She was so amazed that when I was a little girl I loved Strawberry Shortcake too!

-She loves playing dressup and prancing around the house.

-She loves to shop. Today while running through Wal-Mart she was shocked that we didn't need a cart! I only needed dog food and face cream...when it was time to check out with just those 2 things, she told me we couldn't leave yet because we hadn't bought enough! We have ruined our child! Sadly, she has no idea what a budget is yet either! Wouldn't I just love to stay at Wal-Mart until my cart is full!

-Speaking of shopping..she loves Costco like her mom and knows which way to turn out of our subdivision to get to Target..sad but true. This isn't new either. When she was younger and we would pass either store she would immediately say the name of the store, ("There's costco mom!") start pointing, and would pitch the hugest fit if we didn't stop! Again, we have ruined our child!

-Pink is her favorite color..rightly so.

-She loves to read and can spend hours at the library!

-She loves Tinkerbell right now

-She is a fabulous sleeper and still takes 2 hour naps during the day.....

-She hates for me to fix her hair but loves the way it looks when I am done.

-She loves nursery

-She can't wait to go to school. She has a little backpack her Grandma Yarn gave her and she carries it around the house telling me all about school. That makes me sad!

-She is still a huge pink milk fan! The girl can put down some milk! And most of the time we just put the milk in a pink cup so she can't tell it isn't actually pink and she still drinks it!

-She still loves Charlie and Lola and has even developed a little Lola accent. It's pretty fun. Party pictures here...


-She loves her mom and dad but has never had any problems leaving us. When we go out without her she has already made herself at home where ever we dropped her off before we have even left! We usually have to yell for her to come back and tell us bye! It's pretty funny.

-She can eat 2 whole pieces of Barro's pizza all by herself..sometimes 3! It's amazing!

-She is very particular about what she wears!

-She loves Ginger and they have such a sweet little bond!

-She is going to make a great big sister and we love her so much!

Gratitude Shmatatude....

Day 3 of counting my blessings...

-My blog....did you know you can turn your blog into a BOOK! My dear friend Lara has a friend who is in the process of getting her blog published! Isn't that cool....I don't know how it works with pictures, and I'm sure you can't save slideshows but eventually this would be something for me to do....and besides the fact that I can turn my blog into a book I love how convenient it is to keep in touch with friends and family....if you don't know what's going on with my family it's not my fault!

-Clorox wipes...need I say more...my friend Melissa told me that you can get sick from using too many clorox wipes because then your house is too clean and you don't get exposed to as many germs but I'll take my chances! Clorox wipes are my best friend when it comes to everyday cleaning.

-Our subdivision...it's nice and quiet and Elodie and I love to take Ginger for walks to get the mail. There is a playground not too far from our house and we pass it on the way to the mailbox. It's nice to be outside and let Elodie enjoy the swings and slide.

It's official!

Out of the 3 interviews Christopher got 2 offers and as of today he accepted one of them! We are staying here in Arizona and Christopher starts his new job on the 19th of this month! 2 weeks! He will still be part time because of school obligations but it is such a relief to have a job lined up and so exciting to know where we are going to be living...I'm most excited because Christopher has been stressing over these 2 offers for the last few weeks and so it's really nice to have a decision made and a much happier husband!

Congrats Chris! You deserve a million offers!

And now to my 3 blessings for the day...I've been thinking about this more now that I'm committed to coming up with 3 a day...it is suprising what the Lord has done!

-Elodie's naps...she still takes a good 2 hour nap during the day, goes down around 9pm and sleeps until 7:30am. It's fabulous! She has always been a good sleeper and we all have to thank Chris for that! I could find every reason not to relax during the day...with the exception of blogging of course!

-INSURANCE...we just found out that our new insurance plan will pick me up no problem! What a relief. We were really concerned that with the job switch right in the middle of my pregnancy that it may cause an issue with the new insurance policy. We found out today that their will be no gap in insurance and for that I am hugely grateful!

-My November issue of the Ensign...just got it in the mail yesterday. I love all the conference talks and I'm seriously committed to reading and studying each talk. I'm so glad that not only do we get to hear the words of the prophet from the comforts of our own home but we also get to read them!

If you haven't already started your 3 a day it's not too late! It has really put me in a better holiday mood!

I've been served and Gratitude Countdown

On Friday I got the mail and guess what was in it? I've been called to jury duty! I've never done it before but the funny thing about it is it's the same day as Chris' graduation! HUH!? I'm not missing my husbands graduation! Hoping to get out of that one! Christopher got called to jury duty a few months ago and got out of it no problem because he was in school....pray that it's that easy for me!

AND...



In honor of Thanksgiving and with the example of a friend I thought this would be fun to do! Each day I will post 3 things I am grateful for....join me if you want! Here are the rules and side effects....


* The challenge is to come up with three ORIGINAL “things” each day. Try not to repeat entries.
* Your entry should be sent by midnight each night. If you miss a day or two, no biggie, but you have to make it up, no skipping! (Note: For some of you, this may require accessing your blog account on a more regular basis.)

WARNING OF POSSIBLE SIDE EFFECTS!!
Please note that challenge participation may result in any or all of the following:
- you will be surprised at all the Lord has done for you.
- angels will attend
- you will feel help and comfort
- you may find yourself singing as the days go by
- your doubts will fly


Here are my first 3:

1.- My camera! Holy Cow where would I be without it! Christopher would be happy and Elodie probably wouldn't have a permenant fake smile...aside from that it would be sad! I'm so thankful that in one second a moment can be documented forever!

2.- Weekends...I love Christopher home all day, just the 3 of us, hanging out together. I'm not too picky about what we do...it's just nice to know you have the whole day together! It really makes me happy!

3.- Thursday night television...Seriously, could tivo get any better on this night? The Office, Smallville, Survivor, CSI...it takes us atleast a week to watch everything that comes on Thursday night..it's a beautiful thing!

Elodie Moments

Just some funny things Elodie has said that I want to remember....

-While singing I am a Child of God...."Has given me an earthly home with CARROTS kind of weird!"

-Tonight before bed..."Daddy, what are you? Chris replies, "I'm a human being." Elodie then sais "I don't like human beings!"

-In the car the other day out of no where..."Mom, tell me all about it!"

-At church while trying to keep her reverent..."Elodie, please be reverent and get ready for the prayer to Heavenly Father" Elodie then sais "But Heavenly Father isn't here...he only comes to nursery!"

-Also at church...."Those boys in nursery are NAUGHTY! They yell too much!"

-After having a playdate with a friend...E.-"I want to go back to Ryanna's house!" M.-"But Elodie, we need to go to our house" E.- "But I want to live at Ryanna's house!" M.- "But you can't because you live at our house and Ryanna lives at her house with her family." E.- "Well then I want to be in Ryanna's family!"

Birthday Fun

So my birthday was on Saturday and boy was I spoiled the whole weekend! Christopher treated me to dinner Friday night, lunch Saturday, and dinner Saturday night! After weeks of budgeting and not eating out we were all spoiled by this!

Christopher and Elodie treated me to an ice-cream cake from Baskin Robbins plus a whole pint of my very own favorite Jamoca Almond Fudge from Baskin Robbins too! I didn't really think I needed both but Christopher insisted that everyone needs a cake on their birthday! How could I tell him no!


I also got a tiny shopping spree at Kohl's and scored 3 new shirts and an outfit for Elodie...sorry, I couldn't resist getting something for her too!

And to top it all off, LSU won Saturday night..I counted that as my birthday present from home!

Overall, the big 27 was fabulous! Thanks Chris for making me feel so special and loved! You and Elodie are the best!!!

The last of our October fun...

I can't believe October is over! We enjoyed one final fling before the month ended by going to our ward's trunk-r-treat. We had such a great turn out and everyone had a super time! Such a relief when your in charge of something to see it work out and everyone have fun. Of course there were some things I would have done different or better but I think that can be said for everything! And I think you can drive yourself nuts playing the shoulda, woulda, coulda- overall it was fun! And unfortunately we are already planning our ward's christmas party! Crazy as it seems it will be here before we know it!

Elodie loved trick-r-treating again. She was feeling fine last night and really enjoyed wearing her costume and hanging out with us and her friends! Christopher showed up a little late coming from work but still came with plenty of time to take Elodie around to all the cars. Unfortunately, this little bug she's got is not making itself known. Although she didn't eat anything yesterday, she didn't throw up, and never had a fever. She was playing and jumping around at the trunk-r-treat...this morning however, she woke up and after 2 bites of pancakes threw up all over me...weird! And then told me she felt fine! It's annoying because I can't tell if she is sick or not..the only thing I do know is occasionally she is throwing up! Other than that she is playing and acting herself. A big bummer for this weekend because it's my birthday and although she looks fine I would hate to leave her with someone and all of sudden she throw up! Or get someone else sick! BLAH! ANYWAY!
As always, pictures to share!

Hope everyone else had a great Halloween!