Awaiting News...

New blog Update!

2010-03-14T20:48:00.000-06:00

So it has been a while!!

Daisylyn is now 11 months old and time is passing away!

I have started a new blog and I no longer will be updating this blog. If you are interested in my new blog send me a message with your email address and I will send you the link.

I have decided to make my thoughts semi-anonymous to the world out there. I hope to use our family blog for cute picture updates of our cute little Daisylyn.

A month or so from now I will make this blog private and you can get updates from my family blog (see sidebar) or message me for my new blog address!!

I am loving the spring weather and can’t wait to get a garden planted!

Nine Months Pictures

2010-01-15T21:11:00.001-07:00

Little Miss Sweety Pie is Nine Months Old today!

We ventured outside to the backyard to take some pictures. Our first outside photoshoot together. She was most interested in the leaves. She was a good sport for sitting on frosty ground part of the time.

Some of the new things she has started doing over the past month:

-Crawling. She started doing this a few days after Christmas. She has grown so much since she has been able to really move. She loves exploring all over the house, every nook and cranny.
-She is talking more and more. The new sounds she started yesterday is a 'g' sound deep in her throat. She also does these sounds: bababab, gagagaga, mamama, bupbup... There are others I am sure. In the morning she sings in her crib until I go to get her out.
-She now can clap and likes to move ot music.
-She now is up to seven teeth, four on top three on bottom.

She is an overall fun active girl with quite the personality.

Projects, Projects....

2010-01-03T00:16:00.000-07:00

I have had a number of projects lingering over my head. I would get them started and then something else would lure me, then another project would come about.

I made myself put the new ideas on pause to finish a couple of projects.

A year ago my in-laws gave us a mantle as a house warming gift. I was so happy to have something to put above our fireplace. It took a year to get it painted and placed. Yeah!!

Toy box. I found this at DI for $15. I thought it would make a great toy storage. It is a really dark brown, but hard to tell by the pictures.

Some of the other projects on the list, hopefully I will get to them this week:

-New carpet and paint at the rental.... let's get this baby rented!! Anyone looking for a 3bed 2 bath in West Boise??

-Sewing some new diaper covers, from a jacket. I will have to post about this one, it is my latest experiment with the cloth diapering fun.

2009 in Review.....

2010-01-02T00:35:00.004-07:00

What a great year! Here is the recap of the fabulous year of 2009….

January: I had discovered in January that one of the things that triggered my sickness while pregnant was chocolate. It was guaranteed to make me feel terrible and usually resulted in throwing up. I was so grateful to figure this out, even though it was one small thing to avoid, to feel a little better. I was also seeing a Nature Pathologist to maintain sanity in health, which was very helpful in the pregnancy.

February: My niece Sydney was born one month early, a sweet addition to the family. Daisylyn got hiccups for the first time in-utero towards the end of the month when I was 33 weeks along.

March: I started feeling much better mid month. I was feeling so good that I started enjoying food for the first time in many months. Daisylyn was a wiggle worm day and night. I thought she might come early. I had a really fun baby shower with family and friends and got tons of really cute outfits for our sweet little one that was soon on her way. We also took a road trip with the Croff side of the family to Rexburg. A cousin of Brinton’s was getting married. The Rexburg Temple is simply beautiful.

April: Dream come true, I am finally a mom!! Our little sweetheart made her grand entrance into the world on her due date, which was wonderful! I can truly say each day gets better and better and I love her more and more every day! A rough ride, that resulted in the most beautiful little girl.

May: Loved staying at home with my little darling. I had to return to work mid May to complete my last month of teaching school. I am so grateful we have made a way I can stay home. Thank you Brinton for taking good care of our family and allowing me to stay home. Dasilyn had a difficult time gaining back her baby weight. She threw up nearly everything, and had troubles pooping too. We started her on Soy formula and we saw great improvements. Brinton passed his first section of the CPA, one down and three to go. Wahoo!!

June: Celebrated my first wedding anniversary by blessing Daisylyn. Took Daisylyn on two road trips where we camped. Both campouts were rainy, the second at Bear Lake we had tornado like winds and ended up packing up and staying in a motel in Pocatello. Nothing like trying to take care of a tiny baby and hold down the fort (literally). Our tent was blowing away so we had to sit in it to hold it down until we came up with a better plan. Thank goodness we had family with a trailer there, so my cousin-in-law Valerie took care of Daisylyn while we took down camp and packed up. Daisylyn finally surpassed her birth weight, and we started her on reflux medication, and saw even greater improvements in weight, mood and sleep.

July: No big events other than celebrating 4th of July with a combined party for my 94 year old grandmother’s Birthday at Dean’s house. I ventured out in trying out cloth diapers with Daisylyn. We had her first continuous laugh at 14 weeks old.

August: Ison Family Reunion in Caldwell. A great time with family near and far. I love getting together with my cousins. I have lots of great cousin-in-laws and really am blessed. Daisylyn started solid foods.

September: Started babysitting a little guy a month younger than Daisylyn. We have a great time and they really enjoy one another’s company. I learned how to can and preserve food. That has been a fun adventure. Daisylyn started rolling over and has been mobile ever since!!

October: Finally got around to taking family photos. Daisylyn turned six months and I thought it was about time to get a shot of all of us, so I could fill the empty frame that had been on our living room wall since March! Daisylyn cut her first teeth (the bottom two, the same week).

November: Took a fabulous cruise to Mexico with Brinton’s parents, sisters and their spouses. I loved the Extreme Canopy Adventure we took. Great memories were had. Daisylyn mastered sitting up on her own.

December: Had a wonderful happy Christmas holiday. Brinton was able to take the week of Christmas off, which was fun. Christmas brought in Daisylyn’s two front teeth putting her at six teeth (four on top and two on bottom). She also learned how to crawl a couple days after Christmas. Brinton and I spent most of New Year’s Eve at his parents place watching bowl games. We left about a quarter to the New Year and the traffic was the least we have ever had between Eagle and Boise, it was great. We got home three minutes before the New Year, with just enough time to celebrate at home with a fire in the fireplace, sparkling juice, cheese ball with crackers and a romantic holiday movie.

Happy New Year. I look forward to the adventures of 2010!

Merry Christmas and Happy 8 Months!

2009-12-16T22:58:00.003-07:00

Daisylyn's 8 Month old photos wearing her new Christmas Upcycled Outfit

(see next post).

Merry Christmas!

Upcycled Wool Sweater

2009-12-16T22:38:00.004-07:00

Here is my latest project. I got a cute skirt for Daisylyn at the Other Mothers Quarter Sale. I was going to go out and try to find a black sweater. I didn't want to go on a sweater hunt really. I then remembered I had bought an adult size black sweater at a thrift store a couple of months ago. I had already felted the sweater to make a diaper cover so it was ready to cut up and do a project.

I made a pattern out of one of her sweatshirts that is a bit too big so there will be room to grow. I used the bottom ribbing for the bottom of the baby sweater.

I had to get creative for the sleeves. I wanted to use the adult sleeves to make a pair of wool longies for under the skirt. So one of the sleeves has a seam down the outside as well as the inside because I just didn't have enough fabric.

I also had to get creative on the collar. Part of it comes from the adult collar and the other part comes from some of the excess ribbing at the bottom of the sweater.

It was a fun project and surprisingly only took a couple of hours.

Top Ten of What's Keeping me Busy in no particular order...

2009-12-04T23:38:00.010-07:00

Top Ten of what is keeping me busy .......in no particular order.
This is basically a catch up blog. Things that deserve separate posts, but will be satisfied with just one.

10. Constructing a padded headboard for our bedroom. Something that has been on my to do list since we moved into our house a year ago. I have wanted to do one of these for a long time. I still need to attach it to the wall and do a little tweaking. But overall I am satisfied, even though it isn't perfectly square.

9. Organizing and cleaning. Brinton and I wanted to be able to park in the garage for the winter so we got our garage semi-organized. I say semi because as you can see there is still a mountain of stuff, the great feat is that it is all stacked at the back of the garage. But there is room for two cars. All we need to do now is get the garage door opener working properly!! The cars were parked in there when we were on vacation, but haven't returned there since.

8. Refinishing project. This will be our toy storage when I get it completed. So far I have sanded and will be priming and painting next. We’ll see if I actually get pictures up on the blog when I get it done.

7. Loven up our little munchkin, I mean Turkey. This was her Thanksgiving duds!

6. Cruised to Mexico and back. We took a great family vacation with Brinton’s parents, sisters and their spouses. We had three stops, Mazatlan, Cabo San Lucas, and Puerto Vallarta. The weather was wonderful and warm, almost a little too hot. It felt like summer all over again which has wonderful! We went on an “Extreme Canopy” tour. It started with an hour boat ride. After our smooth ride on the water, we entered a mix between a hummer and a jeep and took a bumpy ride up into the jungle canopy. Next we rode mules up more windy trails. Then the exciting part where we rode back down out of the jungle by zip lines and repelling. In our group of around 15 I was the first one to go on nearly each platform. The first zip line was around 150 feet above the jungle ground. It was thrilling and ended far too soon. Three quarters of the way through we got to the waterfalls where we repelled down. Well at least we repelled down the first. The second they told us to go over the edge, then free fall and they would catch us on belet. ?sp?? We then stopped suddenly before hitting the pool of water, they took our picture, then all of a sudden we were dropped into the water. It was a wonderful memorable adventure. The last cruise I went on I didn’t accompany my friends on the canopy tour and regretted it, that is one reason it was a must for this trip. I would post pictures from our excursion, but really they are a little too revealing, ya know with the tight harness and all.

5. Baking Bread. I am learning how to become a home maker. It has been fun. Each week or so I try out a new bread recipe. So far I have tried four different recipes including Sister Hinckley’s. They are all good in some way or another. So all of you who have yummy whole wheat bread recipes pass them my way. I would like to give them a try. I have two or three more before I run out of recipes that I have stumbled across. The picture is from today's batch. I even experimented with making cinnamon raisin bread.

4. Food Storage. This is in combination with couponing, I suppose. I have been subscribing to five Sunday papers so that I can get five sets of Sunday coupons so that when there are sales I can stock up on items. It has been a lot of fun. There are some things I need to continue to get for our storage. But over all we have a great start from what I have canned and gathered. Costco had a great sale on their 45#s of wheat. I stocked up and purchased seven. On my to do list, I will make a fabric cover to cover all this wheat. As you can see, in our garage clean up we finally set up both of our Shelf Reliance. I still need to work on filling the second unit, but we will get there. One of the big things we still need is a way to store large amounts of water. Anyone have any thrifty resources for barrels?

3. Managing our rental. Our renters are moving out at the end of the month. We are grateful that they have been good renters for the most part. There has been a couple of late rents, but over all they have gotten us the money. We are so grateful!! So keep you ear out for us. We have a three bedroom two bath in West Boise with a fireplace, washer dryer, fenced yard, two car garage for $850+deposite. It will be available Jan 1st.

2. Working Out. After having a baby, lacking sleep and going on an all you can eat cruise. All I can say is that my body is in desperate need of some TLC. I have been using the elliptical that was gathering dust and Brinton’s TKO machine which was gathering even more dust. I put Daisylyn in the doorway jumper and she has a great time “dancing” to the music as I workout. It is great to have a punching bag to work out any frustrations.

1. Cutting back on Holiday shopping. Typically I thrive on getting good deals and shopping. Brinton and I are trying to cut back on our spending to focus on more important things in life. I did however have to do one Black Friday shopping trip. I got a gift for Brinton and one for Daisylyn at Kohls. It was fun to hear the stories of those who hadn’t been to bed yet and had been shopping since 11pm the previous evening, at the time it was 10:00 in the morning. They were complaining. I was thinking, why on earth are you doing this to yourself????? I love getting a good deal and I don’t mind getting up super early for the deal if it is really that important to me (which I must say it has been many years since I have done any early shopping on Black Friday). If I do, I sure hope you don’t find me whining as I wait in line to buy something for someone (or myself) that they probably didn’t need that bad!

Now I know why I don't blog very often. It takes way too long to convert my pictures to a smaller file for the internet so it is essentially faster when I upload them, but it took me well over an hour to do this post.

Daisylyn is Seven Months!!

2009-11-19T17:07:00.003-07:00

For more pictures and milestone update go to our family blog here!

We are so in love with our little girl!!

Wool Longies Tutorial

2009-10-16T23:29:00.007-06:00

(Pre-felted sweaters)

This is a rough low down of how to make a wool longie cloth diaper soaker..... Sorry there are no measurements. I was winging it.

Find a wool sweater that you no longer are using. Or one that you accidentaly shrunk in the laundry (this is a good wonderful thing. I found my sweaters at the Youth Ranch Thrift Store. Now that it is cooler out I had a greater selection than when I went shopping in the middle of summer.

(Felted Sweaters, can you tell a difference?)

I washed the sweaters in hot water, this is a process that is called felting wool. I did not do this initially on my first wool soakers and I learned it is a must if you want to prevent leaking. You also should lanolize the wool. I will do another post someday to teach you how to lanolize wool.

So after you have felted the wool sweater you cut off the arms. For this project we are using the sleeves for the longies.

Trim across the sleeve at a slight slant.

Take the scrap that you just cut off of the sleeve and cut it into a diamond shape.

Measure down about five inches and cut the seam out of the sleeve on both sleeves. When I make my second pair I will probably go down another inch or two so the finished product will cover the cloth diaper better.

Pin the diamond (with right sides together) to the sleeve where you just cut.

I used a zig-zag stitch, then later re-enforced with a straight stitch.

Sew diamond piece to the cut edge where you just cut down 5"

Pin other side from top of waist to top of waist back and sew.
Then finish off the longies by creating a casing for the waistband and add elastic.

The finished product. Not fancy or professional, but functional.

They look more uneven than they really are. Poor photo positioning I guess.

Now we are ready for the cool fall weather!

How about a tea party for two....

2009-10-16T23:09:00.003-06:00

I had Jackson and Lizzy over this week and we had a little tea party. Lizzy brought her fancy princess bear and they had fun chatting and "eating" together. It just just toocute!

Bear all dressed and ready for the tea party.

Lizzy being the great helper momma.

Cleaning up.

Jackson wasn't to interested in tea partying, but sure liked watching Toy Story 2.

Happy Six Months Little Darling!

2009-10-14T21:01:00.004-06:00

Yumm....

Singing in the tub...OOOO, don't worry, OOOO be happy, don't worry be happy now!

All Smiles (it is hard to catch a smile on camera, she usually just likes to look at it curiously)

Tomorrow Daisylyn is 6 months old. It is hard to believe that time can go so quickly. Oh how I have enjoyed each and every day of it!! One of my favorite things is when I go in to get her in the morning and she just beams with sunshine giving me the greatest smile and the brightest eyes.

Here is an update of her daily grind!

Food: she still prefers to eat every 2-3 hours when she is awake and usually drinks an 8oz bottle at each feeding. She has the cutest rolls all over as evidence. We have tried to feed her solids and it has proven difficult. We were using plastic take and toss spoons and they were not going well. I think she really disliked the texture of the edge of the spoon. I know she likes the food, because I have diluted it and given it to her in a bottle. I found some softer spoons at a consignment sale last weekend and she has been eating much better. I know she would be happier with more solids and probably sleep better, but it has been hard to get her to take them. Tonight we had rice cereal and peas and it was the most she has ever eaten by spoon.

Sleeping: Daisylyn has slept through the night one time. It was a great miracle about a week or two ago. She has a terrible time with sleeping last week due to we think teething. Two nights ago we decided it is time to let her cry it out and get to sleep on her own. A month or so ago we cut out the middle of the night feedings and have just been going in and comforting her. Well she is liking the middle of the night party too much. So on that first night she cried for an hour, where a good portion of it she was screaming. We just laid in bed sleepless and tired from about 2-3am. Last night I am happy to report, went much better. She woke up several times and cried a little, but no screaming. She was able to put her self to sleep and I only went in one time to put the blanket close to her cheek, give her her binky (which she is losing interest in) and cover her again with her blanket. I was so grateful to wake refreshed and rested. It is a rare treat!! Hasn’t happened much since her birth. I am eager and excited to have her sleeping through the night!!

Play time: Daisylyn loves to watch people, young or old. She is an avid observer and has been since her first months of life. I can tell she is soaking in things like a sponge. When she watches me brush my teeth she open her mouth and moves around her tongue and sometimes attempts to move her mouth like I move mine. She loves playing with our little friend Baby J. that I babysit. She will lie next to him and hold his hand or foot or ear or what ever is nearest. They will watch each other and smile, she is a bit giggler if you get her at the right moment. She is losing interest in her swing and bouncer and wants to be constantly moving, either bouncing on our lap (or the Johnny Jumper) or kicking her legs. Her newest joy is rolling. She has been rolling over and propping herself up for a month now, but just this week she is venturing what her daddy calls, the barrel roll where she rolls consecutively across the room until she meets an obstacle larger then her. She is now interested in grabbing and pulling things. Cords, table trays, papers, food we are eating, you name it! She loves to stroke and hold my hair, lately it has turned into grab and yank. Which is a great excuse to cut my hair short again. Which I am hoping to do soon.

The other day she was propped up on her hands and thighs/knees and she was looking at a toy about four inches out of her reach. She studied it intently and then would plunge to her belly and reach for it. She did this over and over. It was fun to watch. She was not able to get the object until I moved it a little closer, but oh was she determined and focused. What a sweet soul!!

Teething: Last week her first two teeth came in. We were anticipating it soon with all the knawing and slobbering. They are the two cutest little teeth.

We are loving watching our little one grow!! The pictures are from a few weeks ago. I will be taking a six month old shot here soon!

For more pictures go to our family blog.

Vinyl Giveaway

2009-09-22T17:26:00.001-06:00

My college friend/2nd cousin is doing a giveaway at her vinyl blog. Go check it out here. Looks like fun!!

Fresh chunky Salsa yumm..

2009-09-16T21:09:00.001-06:00

See post below for more canning details...

This is what happens when you don't use a large enough pot...

2009-09-16T21:00:00.003-06:00

After measuring I was just sure the pot would be big enough, I ended up transferring to a larger pot before things got too disastrous!

Pictures from my first batch of freezer jelly.

Canning Frenzy

2009-09-16T20:36:00.003-06:00

Five days ago I started on a canning fritz! It has been great fun and learning. I have never canned before, unless you count when I was a little and my mom used to can. That was ages ago though.

It all started with picking some grapes from the back yard. They are pretty sweet right now, I hear that they will get sweeter after the first frost, but I just couldn't stand waiting any longer. Besides they are dropping and turning into raisins on my back patio.

So I made freezer jelly first 7, 12 oz containers, then later 5 pints. I experimented with regular jelly and no sugar added jelly with a "special" pectin. The regular jelly turned out great. The no sugar added is a little on the soft blob side. I haven't tasted it yet. The next batch I plan to use splenda and see if that turns out any better.

The next day I got a phone call from a ward member who offered us a box of tomatoes. I had already put the bug out to borrow canning supplies and Rebecca thank you for lending me your water bather. It has been put to good use.

So that evening I canned 14 pints of salsa.

Sunday at church another family knew I was gathering interest in canning so they offered me another box of tomatoes. At first I was hesitant, knowing how much time and work it would take to put them to good use. It resulted in 10 quarts of pasta sauce, which I slaved over the stove today.

I have also canned 2 quarts and 5 pints of apple sauce, as well as 2 quarts and 7 pints of apple-pear sauce.

Over all it is 52 jars of home grown goodness!
Thanks to my grandma for donating the majority of the jars and rims. Thanks to my apple trees for producing a delicious sweet apples, despite the little wormies who liked them too. Thank you to the two families at church who so graciously shared their tomatoes. Thanks Rebecca for the water-bather loaner.

Picture soon to follow!

September Visiting Teaching Message

2009-09-10T19:58:00.001-06:00

Sunday Beauties

2009-08-30T21:39:00.003-06:00

Amidst a world of turmoil there are so many beauties to celebrate. A list of a few of today’s beauties:

-Cool summer evenings. I love that it is finally starting to cool off. Last night Brinton and I went up into our loft to watch the cool lightening storm that lit up the sky.

-The Sabbath day. Today was a wonderful day at church. Brinton has gotten a new calling, ward clerk. He is already a ward missionary with me as well as stake auditor. He is wondering when he will get released from the other callings. He is my super man, I am sure he can handle all the jobs! We had some great lessons on the Holy Ghost and personal revelation. I am so grateful for the gospel of Jesus Christ. It brings me so much peace and joy.

-My sweet little daughter, my handsome husband and my beautiful grandma.

Friday I went to my 94 year old grandmothers house to spend the afternoon and just chat. It was a wonderful visit. She is my daughter’s only living great grandparent. It was fun to watch her swoon over Daisylyn and give me tidbits of wisdom. When I got to her house she was outside chatting with the Chem Lawn guy who had come to spray her lawn. I am not sure how long they had both been outside, but I got a feeling it had been a longer conversation than the guy had intended. But he was friendly none the least. Before we went inside Grandma mentioned that she needed to get the mail. I almost offered to get it for her, but then I realized that this is probably the most she gets out of the house. Her little walk down the sidewalk to get the mail. She commented as we got inside at all the junk mail. “All I get is a bunch of junk mail and bills. A whole lot of junk and bills.” I know she would appreciate hearing from any of you via mail!!! She treasures her letters. We had a wonderful visit. It was hard to leave. Grandma asked me what I want of hers. I felt a little strange and didn’t know how to reply. She would like to make sure all of her treasures go to people in the family who want them. I am going to go over again in a week or two to help her with some organizing, I will be updating all of you when we get things organized and fill you in on the details. She loved the reunion and said it was just perfect!! Oh how I love my grandma, she has been my greatest support and example through my life. I wish I could just bottle her love and wisdom!

-Beautiful Fruit! My backyard has two beautiful grapevine trellis’, one green, one purple. I love it! We also have two apple trees. We didn’t spray the apples soon enough so they are all buggy. Oh how I wish we could grow apples in this region with out chemicals! We will spray next year so we can have good fruit to can. I was able to spend a couple of hours in the yard yesterday trimming bushes, picking up apples and pulling weeds. We are so blessed to have a beautiful yard.
Amidst this world there are so many beautiful things to celebrate. I am so grateful to be at home with my sweet little girl. Tomorrow school starts and I am so happy to be able to stay home. I am starting a babysitting job for a coworker from my school. Her little guy is a month younger than Daisylyn. So even though I am not going back to school, a new adventure begins!!

Montana Town Hall Insight.. Yikes!!

2009-08-28T08:39:00.001-06:00

An insight from a cousin of Brintons who lives in Montana.

Hello All,

By now you have probably heard that President Obama came to Montana last Friday. However, there are many things that the major news has not covered. I feel that since Bill and I live here and we were at the airport on Friday I should share some facts with you. Whatever you decide to do with the information is up to you. If you chose to share this email with others I do ask that you DELETE my email address before you forward this on.

On Wednesday, August 5th it was announced locally that the President would be coming here. There are many groups here that are against his healthcare and huge spending so those groups began talking and deciding on what they were going to do. The White House would not release ANY details other than the date.

On about Tuesday Bill found out that they would be holding the "Town Hall" at the airport. (This is only because Bill knows EVERYONE at the airport) Our airport is actually located outside of Belgrade (tiny town) in a very remote location. Nothing is around there. They chose to use a hangar that is the most remotely located hangar. You could not pick a more remote location, and you can not get to it easily. It is totally secluded from the public.
FYI: We have many areas in Belgrade and Bozeman which could have held a large amount of folks with sufficient parking. (gymnasiums/auditoriums). All of which have chairs and tables, and would not have to be SHIPPED IN!! $$$$$
During the week, cargo by the TONS was being shipped in constantly. Airport employees could not believe how it just kept coming. Though it was our President coming several expressed how excessive it was, especially during a recession. $$$$$

Late Tuesday/early Wednesday the 12th, they said that tickets would be handed out on Thursday 9am at two locations and the president would be arriving around 12:30 Friday.

Thursday morning about 600 tickets were passed out. However, 1500 were printed at a Local printing shop per White House request. Hmmmm......900 tickets just DISAPPEARED.
This same morning someone called into the radio from the local UPS branch and said that THOUSANDS of Dollars of Lobster were shipped in for Obama. Montana has some of the best beef in the nation!!! And it would have been really wonderful to help out the local economy. Anyone heard of the Recession?? Just think...with all of the traveling the White House is doing. $$$$$ One can only imagine what else we are paying for.

On Friday Bill and I got out to the airport about 10:45am. The groups that wanted to protest Obama's spending and healthcare had gotten a permit to protest and that area was roped off. But that was not to be. A large bus carrying SEIU (Service Employees International Union) members drove up onto the area (illegal)and unloaded right there. It was quite a commotion and there were specifically 2 SEIU men trying to make trouble and start a fight. Police did get involved and arrested the one man but they said they did not have the manpower to remove the SEIU crowd.
The SEIU crowd was very organized and young. About 99% were under the age of 30 and they were not locals! They had bullhorns and PROFESSIONALLY made signs. Some even wore preprinted T-shirts. Oh, and Planned Parenthood folks were with them.....professing abortion rights with their T-shirts and preprinted signs. (BTW, all these folks did have a permit to protest in ANOTHER area)

Those against healthcare/spending moved away from the SEIU crowd to avoid confrontation. They were orderly and respectful. Even though SEIU kept coming over and walking through, continuing to be very intimidating and aggressive at the direction of the one SEIU man.

So we had Montana folks from ALL OVER the state with their homemade signs and their DOGS with homemade signs. We had cowboys, nurses, doctors you name it. There was even a guy from Texas who had been driving through. He found out about the occasion, went to the store, made a sign, and came to protest.

If you are wondering about the press.....Well, all of the major networks were over by that remote hangar I mentioned. They were conveniently parked on the other side of the buildings FAR away. None of these crowds were even visible to them. I have my doubts that they knew anything about the crowds.
We did have some local news media around us from this state and Idaho. Speaking of the local media...they were invited. However, all questions were to be turned into the White House in advance of the event. Wouldn't want anyone to have to think off the top of their head.

It was very obvious that it was meant to be totally controlled by the White House. Everything was orchestrated down to the last detail to make it appear that Montana is just crazy for Obama and government healthcare. Even those people that talked about their insurance woes........the White House called our local HRDC (Human Resource and Development Committee) and asked for names. Then the White House asked those folks to come. Smoke and mirrors...EVERYTHING was staged!!!!!!!!!!!

I am very dismayed about what I learned about our current White House. The amount of control and manipulation was unbelievable. I felt I was not living in the United States of America, more like the USSR!! I was physically nauseous. Bill and I have been around when Presidents or Heads of State visit. It has NEVER been like this. I am truly very frightened for our country. America needs your prayers and your voices. If you care about our country please get involved. Know the issues. And let Congress hear your voices again and again!! If they are willing to put forth so much effort to BULLY a small town one can only imagine what is going on in Washington DC. Scary!!

Kathy
Bozeman, Montana

To compel a man to subsidize with his taxes the propagation of ideas which he disbelieves and abhors is sinful and tyrannical. Thomas Jefferson

Making baby food

2009-08-26T13:08:00.005-06:00

From this beauty.....

With a little steam time in the microwave.....

To this....

My newest adventure.... pureeing baby food and giving Daisylyn solids. It is super easy, a la natural and fresh. I am making several batchs then freezing them. Today I pureed peas and acorn squash. You can make your own babyfood for the fraction of the price of premade babyfood!! If you are using canned veggies, be sure to check the label. The peas I purchased have added sugar and salt. Next time I will use frozen instead.

See my family blog for the details.

Beloved.. Ode to My Laptop!

2009-08-24T22:58:00.001-06:00

I think my laptop is about to die. I had a brief stress out session tonight as it wouldn't power up. I unplugged it and plugged it back in then it turned back on. I am afraid that if I shut it down, it may never come back to life. I have had to leave it on standby for the past couple of months for the most part. It has been dying a slow death.It has been my dear friend for nearly four years.

It has traveled the ocean blue and visited islands of Central America. I almost dragged it along on my backpacking trip to Europe, but I decided it is to old and dinosaur heavy to lug in my backpack. It traveled down the Oregon Coast more than once and took a few trips to Seattle.

It has been on bike rides, walks, train rides, ferry boats, a large ship and many a road trip. Oh how I hate to say good bye!!

There were the days with my roommates where we all sat out on the couch in the living room with our laptops at we wrote away or search the internet for the latest vacation destination. We teased how nerdy we must look.

It got me through my second bachelors and through four years of teaching.It is the trusty file cabinet of all of my pictures and journal for the past four+ years. I backed it up shortly after Daisylyn's birth but I need to do it again. I don't want to lose all the photos of her first four months.

Oh how I do not want to part with my old friend!! I hope it lasts me many more days!!

Take Two: With a TTV Filter

2009-08-20T16:36:00.003-06:00

This is one of the things I was trying to do to my 12x12 scrapbook page that I had forgotten how to do, add a TTV filter. Let me know which you prefer. This post's mosaic or the post below.

Free 12x12 digiscrapbook page at Walgreens 8-21-09

2009-08-20T16:02:00.004-06:00

All week long Walgreens has been giving away free photos. Each day there is a different freeby. I heard through the grapevine that there will be a free 12x12 scrapbook page tomorrow. I decided I had better get on Photoshop and whip up a 12x12 scrapbook page so I would have something to print for free.

I decided to do a photo mosaic of my pregnancy with Daisylyn. This is something I have wanted to do for a while. I wasn't able to exactly what I wanted to, but I suppose I am somewhat pleased with my overall result.

Adventures in Cloth Diapering: Wool Soakers!!

2009-08-19T20:36:00.005-06:00

I have had trouble with the diaper covers I currently have. They leak.

I have done a lot of reading and research on wool diaper covers. Essentially this is a cover made from 100% wool that has been treated with lanolin (lanolized). Wool is a natural breathable fiber and is an alternative to synthetic covers. Wool will absorb up to 30% of their weight in moisture before feeling wet. They also help regulate body temperature keeping you cool in the summer and warm in the winter.

Lanolin which is naturally found in wool is also an antibacterial agent. You only have to wash these wool covers every few weeks when you re-lanolize them.

With that being said, I decided venture out and try to sew my little darling a set of “woolies”. There are several ways you can make a wool diaper cover. You can knit one or even crochet one. But the modern way to make a wool soaker is to sew one by using an old wool sweater or any other wool article for that matter.

These are the important tidbits I learned in my research:
-look for articles that are 100% lambs wool
-sweaters that have been pre-washed or pre-shrunken are supposed to work great because they are already “felted”
-you don’t want a holy sweater (for obvious reasons)
-you must felt your sweater then lanolize it

So I decided to hit my local thrift store and find some wool articles for my new adventure. Let me tell you, it is difficult to find wool sweaters when it is 100 degrees outside. I did manage to find a wool vest and a wool skirt. The vest was sweater material and the skirt was felted wool.

So here are the directions for making a simple wool soaker:

Isn't she such a cutie!!

My overall results:

So I made this handy cover, but I did not felt the wool. I guess you felt the wool by putting it in really hot water so it will shrink and become felt like. I did however lanolize the cover. The cover works if you wear it alone with a little shirt like Daisylyn is modeling. If you cover it with a onesie or pants the wetness absorbs through. I still have yet to figure out the diapering world.

I also made a second cover out of this same sweater vest. I will try to get the cover I made out of the wool skirt posted some day. I have had a hard time getting caught up on my blogging. I need to get back into the groove of things.

August VT Message

2009-08-19T19:12:00.002-06:00

Photo taken at Stanford University, PaloAlto, Caliornia

President Thomas S. Monson: “Beyond our study of spiritual matters, secular learning is also essential. … I urge you to pursue your education—if you are not already doing so or have not done so—that you might be prepared to provide if circumstances necessitate such.
“Your talents will expand as you study and learn. You will be able to better assist your families in their learning, and you will have peace of mind in knowing that you have prepared yourself for the eventualities that you may encounter in life” (“Three Goals to Guide You,” Liahona and Ensign, Nov. 2007, 119).

July VT Message: Qualify for and Partake of Temple Blessings

2009-07-23T23:03:00.003-06:00

Thought for July Visiting Teaching message.

President Gordon B. Hinckley (1910–2008): “Every man or woman who goes to the temple in a spirit of sincerity and faith leaves the house of the Lord a better man or woman. There is need for constant improvement in all of our lives. There is need occasionally to leave the noise and the tumult of the world and step within the walls of a sacred house of God, there to feel His spirit in an environment of holiness and peace” (“Of Missions, Temples, and Stewardship,” Ensign, Nov. 1995, 53).

Photo of the Snowflake, Arizona Temple among the lavender. Taken last year on my trip to Arizona with Brinton.

Photoshop fun

2009-07-22T21:25:00.005-06:00

I took a online photoshop class from Jessicasprague.com.

I have learned so many fun things. Here are a couple of my fun projects:

Photos for the Ison reunion auction

Doors in Switzerland

This last photo has always made me laugh. It is of my roommate Amy and her husband the night they got engaged. They were posing like people did in old times. I just doctored the color a bit. Good times, good times.

Kellogg's Fuel for School Rebate

2009-07-22T15:07:00.004-06:00

Here is the latest savings I have taken advantage of. I don't always get the super crazy deals like some bloggers out there, but today's savings seemed worth it.

I did my shopping at Winco.

After rebate I will have spent 1.99

Go here for the rebate form

http://www2.kelloggs.com/FamilyFocus/contentcta.aspx?id=1320

Rasin Bran: 1.98 x 6 =11.88
Coupons: -1.50 x 3 = 4.50
7.38/6= 1.23each
After rebate: .23 each
1.38 total

Special K Bars: 1.98
Coupons: -.75 = 1.23
After rebate: .23

Eggo Muffin Tops. 1.95 x 2 = 3.90
Coupons: -1.00 x 2 = 2.00
1.9/2 = .95 each
After rebate: FREE, .10 money maker

Keebler Crackers 1.48
After rebate: .48

Total out of pocket with coupons before rebate: 11.99
After rebate: 1.99

Not too shabby.

Daisylyn is 3 months

2009-07-15T21:25:00.003-06:00

I just added pictures of Daisylyn to our family blog. Today she is 3 months old. We set up a little studio in our family room and had a photoshoot! She is such a sweet girl. When ever I get the camera out to photograph her, she doesn't smile as much.

Go to:

http://brintonandambercroff-abc.blogspot.com/

to see the remainder of the pictures.

Free Huggies at Rite Aid!!

2009-07-15T12:43:00.006-06:00

I have been doing some couponing since I have been an at home mom. This is a deal that I couldn’t pass up. I use two websites for couponing that are local to the Boise area. Both of the links can be found on the side bar of my blog. Fabulessly Frugal and Krazy Coupon Lady.

Even though I am using cloth diapers during the day. I still use disposables during the night and when we are out and about, so I am always looking for ways to save.

Here is how I got six packs of Huggies diapers for .52 cents

I have been collecting coupons through the newspaper and registered at Huggies.com and they send you coupons periodically. So far they have sent me three batches of coupons. This last batch had two $3.00 off coupons. Usually the coupons are only $1.50 off which I have some of.

Rite Aid also has three rebates this month that apply to Huggies diapers.

1. Rebate #53 $2.00 back
2. Rebate #800 Buy any five packs of Huggies, receive a coupon for a 6th pack of diapers free.
3. Kimberly Clark Rebate: Purchase $50 worth of participating products and receive a $25 Rite Aid gift card

They also have two other promotion right now.
1. When you transfer a prescription to Rite Aid you receive a $25 gift card. I got one of these gift cards when I recently got Daisylyn’s reflux medication.
2. $5.00 off $25.00 purchase at Rite Aid. This coupon is found at coupons.com. Technically I could have done my purchase in two transactions and used two of these coupons and would have made money ($4.48) in the end. I didn’t check my coupons close enough and I had expired coupons. I luckily had printed another one the day prior to my big purchase so I was able to still use one.

One more thing this week the mega packs of diapers are on sale for $14.99 rather than $18.99.

So here is how I did it…..
3 packs at $11.49 =34.47
2 packs at $14.99 =29.98
Total 64.45
- $10.50 in coupons
- $5.00 off $25.00 coupon
$52.52 including tax

-Used my $25.00 gift card
-Submitted the rebate online for another $25.00 gift card
-$2.00 rebate checkAnd… the 6th pack of diapers free rebate

By the time I get the rebate back the total cost= .52 cents

For all of you moms with kiddos in diapers, gather your coupons and get to Rite Aid this week for great savings. This also works with Pullups. I have coupons for those that I will not use if you are interested in them I can send them your way. I will also talk you through it if you need help. The rebate only took 30 seconds online.

Week One Cloth Diaper update...

2009-07-10T21:18:00.004-06:00

We made it through our first week of cloth diapering. Over all it has been a good experience. To begin with we are typically just using cloth when we are home. When we are out and running around we will use disposables. At least for now until I get the leaky problem resolved. We are also using disposables at night. The Fuzzi Bunz diapers work great most of the time, but they leak too if they are on too long. In the future I am going to experiment with adding soaker layers to the diaper, this should help my leaky diapers.

I have been doing a lot of research and reading up on how to sew diapers and diaper covers. I am going to attempt to sew some wool diaper covers. I took a walk yesterday to a thrift store a mile or so from my home in search of wool clothing to "upcycle" into cloth diaper covers. I am sure I will post more info on this when I actually venture into the sewing process. I purchases a wool skirt and vest to experiment on.

I also have been looking into buying more pocket diapers similar to Fuzzi Bunz. I made a purchase on Ebay. Posted is the picture from the distributor I am purchasing from. I hope they are decent diapers. I got a really good deal because I wasn't out bid. For $21.00 (that is including shipping) I am getting Five pocket diapers and ten soaker inserts. They are coming from China, so we will see if they are worth it or not. The color is a surprise too.

Stay tuned for more diaper updates.

You know you are a new mom if......

2009-07-05T19:01:00.005-06:00

On Saturday nights I lay out an outfit for Daisylyn for church so I don't have to think too much for our early church. Brinton and I try to be 20 minutes early for church so we can get the programs there before the masses arrive. This morning Daisylyn woke up especially early around 5am and was restless and didn't really go back to sleep. I tried to sleep longer, but it wasn't restful sleep. I went to church a little on the groggy side.

I enjoyed all of the testimonies in my ward and in Sunday School. Daisylyn was fussy during Relief Society so we spent time in the hall way listening to my old ward's Testimony meeting. As I enjoyed listening to my old acquaintances, Daisy eventually drifted asleep. As people loafed through the hall way I reverently looked down admiring all the trendy shoes out there of today. Colorful heels, red and yellow, high heels up to 4 1/2", gladiator style sandals that have returned from the 80's, flip flops, and one older gentleman had some very interesting shoes on. They were black leather dress shoes on top and had springs for heels. I wanted to stare and see if he would bounce away like Tigger. I had a quick thought about the flip flops I had worn to church, they were especially comfortable and breezy for a hot summer day.

After the three hour block was over I waited in the foyer for Brinton. A gentleman from our old ward asked me from across the crowded corridor, "Did you make your shoe selection on purpose?" I replied back, "yeah." Then lifted both feet to look at my shoes. Then I mumbled, "Oh.... maybe not."

Maybe I should lay out my Sunday clothes too on Saturday night.

Our little firecracker

2009-07-05T18:45:00.003-06:00

She is just soo cute that I had to post some 4th of July Pictures. Lil miss cutie pie!

First Hair Cut

2009-07-05T18:02:00.003-06:00

To build skills and to save money I have given my first haircut to Brinton. Not too shabby for a first timer.

I like Fuzzi Bunz.

2009-07-01T09:26:00.001-06:00

So far using the fuzzi bunz I haven't had any leakage. Too bad I only have seven of them :-(

Cloth Diapers: Day Two

2009-06-30T20:46:00.005-06:00

What I have learned in my second day of cloth diapering.....

1. When going on outings, don't forget to stock the diaper bag with plastic bags for the soiled diapers.

2. So far the diapers I have are leaky. The cloth diaper must be completly covered and well in the diaper cover. Even with that she has leaked nearly every diaper change. I don't mind using them yet, but hopefully we can get the leakage under control.

I have another type of diaper that I purchased. So for the next 24 hours we are going to try these diapers out:

Fuzzy Bunz Pocket Style Diaper. It has the same PUL covering, snaps to fasten and an absorbant liner made of microfiber. The inner part of the diaper is made of fleece. Daisylyn has had it on for an hour now and so far so good. I hope they are not as leaky.

Here are the specs from their website:

The FuzziBunz® One-Size Diapers are the most adjustable and innovative one-size cloth diapers on the market today! Adjust the diapers to fit babies 7-35 pounds and get a snug fit every time with the button-adjusted waist and leg casings. The leg casings adjust to 8+ settings and the waist adjusts to 4+ settings. Never before has a pocket-style cloth diaper been SO adjustable!
And the great thing about FuzziBunz® is that they always use sturdy snap closures which will withstand 3+ years of use and elastic that is easily replaceable if it ever fails making it a long standing and dependable diapering system for years to come.
Choose from eight fun colors!Introductory Pricing 18.95.

Cloth Diapering 101

2009-06-29T22:45:00.002-06:00

Cloth Diapering Day One: Daisylyn's First Cloth Diaper

So many friends and family have asked how the cloth diapering is going. Well until today I hadn’t braved the new frontier. As I was again asked this afternoon how the cloth diapering was turning out, I was inspired to get moving. So the next diaper change I dug out the diapers I had gathered so many months ago when I was pregnant.

I found some diaper covers on Craigslist that go over the traditional cotton diapers that were used back in the day. Daisylyn was just too little up until the past week or two. She is now starting to fill out her clothes and has actually outgrown one of her newborn outfits so I decided to take the plunge and begin today.

I have gathered a bunch of diapers, covers and snappies, but something I didn’t take into consideration is where I am going to put the diapers after they have been used. Sure, I thought about this months ago as I was researching and gathering materials, but I never did find that something I was looking for.

So lesson #1, don’t begin cloth diapering until you have a place to dispose of them, until laundry day. I will have to figure this one out tomorrow. For now they are piling up on her changing table.
Lesson #2, put the right size diaper on the poor kid. The first diaper cover I put on her was a size medium. Needless to say, it was too big and she had a very leaky first cloth diaper experience. I have found the size small and newborn diaper covers that I have and now hopefully they will work a little better.

The fastening of my first Snappi

The first diaper/cover we are sporting is made of PUL fabric, which is a waterproof material. This cover has Velcro to hold it in place. Since a traditional cotton diaper must be used with this type of diaper cover I opted to use a snappi, in place of diaper pins. So far so good, actually so far okay. I think it is going to take some practice to get these to work as planned. I looked all over to find a place I could purchase snappies locally. I wasn’t able to find any so I turned to ebay. I was able to purchase a package of 10 for $1.00, with shipping it was around $7.00. Which is good because they typically cost $4-6 a piece. Here is a diagram of how a snappi works. A bit tricky, but much easier to maneuver than diaper pins.

Stay posted to see how things go as I try it out over the next little while.

I am not sure how Daisylyn feels about all of this cloth diaper experience... you fill in the blank_______________!

Daisylyn 2 1/2 months

2009-06-29T22:18:00.005-06:00

The days seem to be flying by. It has been fun to watch our little girl grow each and every day. Here are some pictures from today.

What she has been up to.....

-She is about 9 1/2 pounds now and had graduated from newborn to size one diapers.

-She is beginning to smile more and giggles when we talk to her.

-She enjoys exploring with her hands. She waves them around and often hits herself in the head for the chest and give us a furrowed brow, wondering who has been hitting her. She also likes to stick her hands in her mouth and attempt to chew on her fingers.

-She lost a lot of her hair a couple weekends ago when we were camping due to having a hood on the whole time. It was chilly!

-She finally has some tiny rolls on her lets and arms and her face is beginning to fill out.

-She is on soy formula and has had trouble with digesting food/pooping and spitting/throwing up. This has improved, and she is gaining weight just fine, but still has some troubles.

-She is sweet natured and a happy child and we are so grateful to have her in our lives!

My New Toy

2009-06-29T22:02:00.005-06:00

I have a new lens for my camera that I look forward to using. I got it specifically for portrait photography. So let me know when you want to go out and get your picture taken. It is supposed to have an auto focus feature, but apparently it doesn't work with my model of Nikon. Good and bad. Good because a true photographer doesn't rely on auto focus. Bad because I have to pay closer attention to what I am doing and it is going to take some time to get out of my bad habit of auto focus.

I will post some pictures that I took of Daisylyn today.

Update

2009-06-10T09:44:00.007-06:00

Busy Times

I haven’t had a chance to blog for a while. We have been keeping busy at our house. Last week I wrapped up my job teaching and this week I am finalizing paperwork, sending off files and getting my classroom all packed up. I am hoping by this afternoon I will be all packed out and ready to turn in my keys.

It is such a nice feeling to be done teaching. Five wonderful years… but ohhh, such a wonderful relief to put it behind me and begin a new chapter, as a mom at home. We have already had so much fun.

Here are some of the things that have been keeping us busy:

A picture to illustrate that Daisylyn was once smaller than her doll.

Doctor Visits:
For the first month of life Daisylyn was visiting the doctor bi-weekly, then weekly until at seven weeks of age, we finally surpassed her birth weight of 7lbs 3oz. At that point we have started seeing the doctor every two weeks. On her last appointment she weighed 7lbs 12oz. We have another appointment in a week. She is doing pretty good and we are grateful she is starting to gain some weight. We have had some troubles with throwing up and reflux, but with supplementing with soy formula with a little rice cereal added, things are getting better. Daisylyn’s over all nature is very sweet and cheerful. She has her moments, but she is a great baby.

Ending the school year:

My half packed classroom.

I had three weeks of work after returning from maternity leave. It was a busy tired time. My sister Alisha and her daughter babysat Daisylyn the first two weeks and my Mother-in-law watched the last week of school. I am so grateful for family that is willing to help out with our little one. It was much easier to go back to work knowing that our little one was in good hands. It was also easier to go back to work knowing there was an end in sight. I am still working on packing things up and have already taken one car load of things home. I am hoping the next car load is much less. I am so grateful to be home now and feel a great sense of relief knowing that I won’t be burdened with stacks of paperwork in my daily life for now.

Ward Campout:

All Snuggly in the tent.

We took Daisylyn on her first campout last weekend. Our ward went to Three Island Crossing State Park. Although the drive was short she did well until we pulled into the camp ground where she screamed and hollered until I took her out of her car seat and fed her. It rained hard until we got to the campground, then it let up for just enough time to get the tent up and for it to get dark. It rained the whole night and into the next morning. The campground had a big group shelter, which was nice for socializing with the ward in the rain. This weekend we are headed on a longer road trip to Bear Lake for the Waite family reunion. We hope the car ride goes well and that there is a little less rain.

Baby Blessing:

Daisylyn was blessed by her father on Sunday. He gave a beautiful blessing. She has many great days ahead and we are so blessed to have her in our home. We gathered with family after the blessing at our place to celebrate and have lunch. It was so much fun to have family gathered. We were blessed with a beautiful sunny day.
Shopping:
I have been researching for the past couple months about couponing and saving money. Although I have much to learn. I decided that once I was an at-home mom I would start clipping those coupons and saving money for our family. I have been trying to organize our food storage and start getting it under control. It all seems to be balled together. Stocking up on stuff, as well as saving money in the process.
Here are my latest purchases from Albertsons and Target.

Albertsons: Purchased in three transactions totaling: $15.86 Total Savings: $32.61 (13 items)

Target: Purchased in two transactions totaling: $8.80 Total Savings: $11.74 (11 items)

I saved more than I spent so I am satisfied with my purchases. I am trying not to buy things that we don’t need (I learned if you bring your husband along, you will come home with more items than you were planning on, brining the total spent higher than anticipated). The things that are a really good deal or nearly free I am trying to think about before purchasing to make sure it is something we will use. Sometimes I think we end up spending more on things just because they are a “good deal”. I think I will enjoy getting our meals planned and emergency storage stocked up as I seek out the bargains.

Two Weeks Old.... and photo shoot

2009-04-29T21:52:00.005-06:00

Our little darling is now two weeks old. She is a sweetheart. We are still trying to figure out life as parents. She is curently fussy at the moment, but she is such a sweet joy in our lives. We think she is the most beautiful baby ever!

When she was five days old we had these pictures taken.

Daisylyn Croff has arrived!!

2009-04-18T20:08:00.004-06:00

We had our baby on April 15th at 7:37am. Her name is Daisylyn, she weighs 7lbs 3oz and is 19 inches long. She is a sweet baby.

On the 14th I had a doctors appointment and had my membranes stripped in hopes that this might send me into labor. Earlier that day I went to get a pedicure which I had heard can induce labor, so I thought every little thing can help.

Later that evening Brinton and I went to dinner at CostaVida for spicy food (okay, so it wasn't really spicy, but it sure was good!) and went over to the school to walk laps. From dinner on out I had had some mild contractions.

As we walked around the field a few times we decided to walk around the perimeter of the school due to the cold wind. The weather had turned from nice, to cold and we were only wearing light jackets. Each thing left Brinton commenting, “Maybe this will send you into labor??” As he commented, “Maybe the cold will send you into labor?” He was convinced that she was to be born on April 15th, her due date, Tax day and the Tea party day.

When we got home it didn’t take long before I was ready to head to bed. The contractions were not consistent enough to make me think that labor was soon in the works. I had had several evenings that ended on this note, where I was contracting but no consistent pattern. So it felt like I had experienced before. Although they were not consistent, I had hoped that I would go into labor. I was ready to have this little baby here.

Both Brinton and I really thought it would be nice if we the baby was born on or near her due date as close as possible. I had already began my maternity leave and I really didn’t want to spend too many days baby-less, and in waiting. Brinton had a conference that we really wanted him to be able to attend on Friday, and if the baby hadn’t come by then, he wouldn’t be able to attend. He also has some work classes he needs to attend next week. When I made my visit to the doctor I was still only dilated to a 2 ½ so no change had taken place over the past week. She made an appointment with labor and delivery to induce me on the 24th at 7am if I hadn’t had the baby by then. When I told this to Brinton he told me I had to move it back later because that is the date of his conference he needs to attend for work. I told him I was not moving the date and I just hoped that she came sooner so I wouldn’t have to be induced.... thus our busy evening.

So here’s what ended up happening…..

I awoke at 1am and my water broke, I started timing the contractions and they were two minutes apart and getting stronger by the minute. I called the doctor at 1:45 and asked if I should come into the hospital and they told me to head in. We got to the hospital at 2am. I waddled into labor and delivery between contractions. Brinton managed to bring most of our “many” bags on the first load (that is a whole different blog entry!). They quickly got us checked into a room and asked all the routine questions. My initial plan was to go as long as I could with out an epidural, then if I was feeling it, I would go for it. At one point in my life I thought it I would really want to have my children a la natural. My views have changed over the pregnancy. I really didn’t have any desire to put myself through any more torture than I already had through the pregnancy. I was opting for the comfort version of labor.

After two hours of laboring and not being able to hardly catch my breath between contractions I was happy to have the anesthesiologist accompany me in the labor room and come to my rescue. It took a couple of tries to get the epidural in the right spot. It may have been my wincing as I loudly groaned out every vowel sound, trying to breathe through contractions.

3:30am The drugs were taking effect. I was so grateful. I was only dilated to a 4 at that point.
4:00am they told Brinton and I to sleep for a while so my body could get ready for this birth.
6:00am as they came in the room to check my stats both Brinton and I were grateful for a couple of hours of lofty sleep. I was then dilated to a 9 ½ so they called the doctor and let her know that things were in the works.
7:00am I wouldn’t be able to top off this pregnancy with out a little more nausea. I threw up at this point, and of course it made me feel better. It also gave them indication that the baby was on her way out. They then said I could begin pushing. They got the room prepped and waited for doctor before I started pushing.
7:15am doctor arrived and I started pushing.
7:37am baby Daisylyn made her big arrival. I actually think she got here just after 7:30, but as she was coming out there was all sorts of excitement due to the cord being wrapped around her neck twice that by the time the announced the birth time, it was actually a bit later.
NICU was called into the room to monitor her. She was having a difficult time “transitioning”, so they monitored her and kept her in the warming bed on the other side of the room for two hours. Eventually she showed signs of improvement and I was able to hold her at 10:30am.

Mommy and Daddy are so happy and proud to have their new little girl healthy and happy. She is a good eater and is happy my milk has finally come in today. We are so pleased to be parents and can hardly believe that this day has finally arrived. It is amazing how quickly life can turn. Just one year ago this week we got engaged to be married and here we now have a little family!!

Gardening Fun...

2009-04-11T23:04:00.005-06:00

I have been thinking about gardening a lot lately and I purchased seeds and a composting bin a few weeks ago and I have been anticipating getting things started.

I had my nephew Treyson come over a week ago to help me finish raking up leaves that were in our play area and start filling the compost bin. We also did a little weeding and prep in the front yard. With my research about compost bins you have to have so much brown waste (leaves) and so much green waste (grass clipping, and certain kitchen waste) along with heat and the right amount of water to get things moving.

I still have more research to do on composting yard waste, but I look forward to the learning and using the compost in the future in our flowerbeds and our garden beds.

Today I got out in the garden beds and got a good start at weeding. I need to go over them again before we plant our seeds and starter plants. I imagine if I don’t have the baby soon I will be out doing more yard work if the weather permits.

Starting seeds…

I am all about being thrifty, as I was searching some gardening blogs I came across a blog that gave suggestions to spend little or no money to get a garden started. It gave suggestions to start your own peat pots out of toilet paper rolls and sharing seeds with others.

Every year I end up buying new seeds. This year I am passing along my extras so they will go to use rather than to waste (although I have re-used seeds the second year and that usually works too).

Pictures from my garden starts:

Recycled Peapots....

Cut toilet paper rolls in half.

Cut 5-6 slits

Bend in, to make a base.

And tape.

My recycled green houses for my seedlings. Lettuce box and an Applebees to go box.

I used a pencil to poke the seeds into the soil.

Cilantro for my "salsa" garden.

Onions for my "salsa" garden

Other seeds I will plant directly into the soil. I can't wait to try out the colorful carrot variety. I ended up planting a few lettuce seeds today as well.

So is it Nesting, or Trying to Induce Labor???

2009-04-11T19:01:00.006-06:00

Last Tuesday night I had some pretty strong contractions into the night. I decided to go to work the following day because I didn’t want to just sit around at home waiting for labor to start. The next afternoon I had contractions as I was at work. I decided by the end of my work day to go on maternity leave a little bit early so I wouldn’t go into labor at school.

(I am not sure why I am bending my knees!)

Baby’s Room….
As the nature of the beast goes, I take time off work and all contractions seem to stop for that day. I made a list of things that needed to be done and started getting to work. I started in the baby’s room. I had put off getting it cleaned up and it was still a storage room for boxes I didn’t know what to do with. I started in the baby’s closet and cleared out all of Brinton’s clothes and moved them to the office closet after hanging a new rod.

Then I attacked the boxes and at least got them out of the main room and stored them stacked in the closet. Next was to go through all of the baby clothes and sort by size. I have done this a few times already, but now that I have more clothes I wanted to take inventory and see where we are at.

I filled the first two dresser drawers with all the newborn and 0-3mos clothes and stacked some 3-6 month clothes in the third drawer. The rest I sorted by size and put in a large tub in the closet and did the same with the hanging outfits.

I also worked on getting the “changing table” ready and a book shelf cleared off so I can use it for storage.

I laundered all of the cloth diapers I have collected and practiced folding the diapers on a doll. We are starting off with disposables, but I am also going to supplement with cloth diapers as time goes on. I have a few different kinds I am trying and I am sure I will share how that goes when the time comes.

Cleaning….
I have worked on getting the house a bit cleaner. This last month has been best month for me health wise, it has been a great. I still haven’t had enough time to get caught up cleaning around the house. So I steam mopped the tile floors dry mopped the wood floor and vacuumed the carpet. I got a little bit of other cleaning done too.

Exercise…..
For the longest time, even just a brief walk would give me contractions. So I spend many months not moving much. So the first thing I did Friday morning was hop on the elliptical and get moving. No results in getting things moving. I also went to the mall and walked the whole place and window shopped. No luck.

Gardening…

(More to soon Come about gardening)

Worked on weeding our two raised beds as well as planted seeds inside.

So I have tried to keep myself moving in hopes to get me contracting again and moving into labor. I have had several mild contractions, but nothing kicking me into labor. I have many things keeping me busy, which is great. But we sure do hope this baby comes soon.

Baby Shower Fun!

2009-04-03T21:06:00.005-06:00

We had a baby shower a couple of weeks ago for our new little one. I wanted to be able to have people over to our new house so I had it here. It was a collaborative effort put on be family and my good ol' friend from way back in 4th grade: Amy. It was fun to gather and be with friends and family.

We received so many cute outfits and wonderful useful gifts as well. It is an exciting time. I can't wait for this little one to get here. I have had some contractions today, but nothing major. My doctor says it could be any day now.

The Cute Decor......

The Yummy spread.....

The matchy match game...

The mom to be...

Friends and Family.....

Gifts galore!! Thank you everyone for your generosity!!

We are ready for this little one to come!!

37 weeks

2009-03-26T20:11:00.001-06:00

New post on my family blog of my newest neices and my 37 week picture. You can see it here.

Pregnancy Update.... 34 weeks

2009-03-05T21:01:00.004-07:00

We are now 34 weeks along. I am happy to say that I have hit a benchmark today. It may seem small in some peoples eyes, but I have gone two weeks without throwing up. A wonderful and great blessing. I have come close to two weeks a few times, but since I have been six weeks pregnant, this is the longest I have gone with out throwing up. I have entered a new phase, Wahoo!! My goal is no more re-visitation of my food for the rest of my pregnancy.

The newest pregnancy woes... Heartburn. I can't even drink water in the middle of the night without having a few TUMS to keep the acid from crawling back up. A new adventure I must say. Much, much better than throwing up. I still have to take anti-nausea pills and digestive enzymes, but it is so worth being able to eat most all foods (except chocolate for some crazy reason).

Last night Brinton and I took the Breastfeeding for Beginners class through the hospital. Another pre-baby prep thing to check off the list. It turns out we were the only couple that showed up for the class, so we had a nice little private session. Kind of hard to get out of asking questions when you are the only ones there taking the class.

My belly is getting so tight. I woke up early this morning and little baby girl Croff found a nice warm cozy spot under my ribs, she has been there all day. A bit uncomfortable, but fun to feel her little bum sticking out. It left me rubbing my belling and grimacing most of the day. It had one of my coworkers asking if everything was alright. All is well, just things getting tight in there. Bending beyond a 45 degree angle is getting challenging and uncomfortable. At work I have been getting the kids more involved in helping me pick up things from the floor. I spend much of my day working on the floor with the kids, it is getting harder and harder to maneuver.

Tomorrow we are headed on a little road trip to Rexburg for Brinton's cousins wedding. Honestly the past week or two have been the best for me energy wise in this pregnancy. I am so grateful!! I hope my body cooperates with the lengthy drive.

Tomorrow is also my 31st Birthday. I have to say the past year has been the most adventurous ever! I have experienced so much LIFE! Here I am nearly a mother, I am so blessed.

It is nice to be feeling better, it helps me see the world in a better light. My mind spins.....I have been dreaming about how it will be when I am able to stay home with our little baby.... the garden I hope to get planted, researching how to take a better photograph/portrait, beginning to read books again, completing all of the paperwork stacked up at school that is going quite well at this point. It is amazing how one's brain can buzz when they start feeling semi-normal.

Now if it would just begin to stay spring like, so the birds and the rest of us wouldn't be so confused. Woke up to snow this morning and I have been chilly for the past five hours since I got off work. I can't wait for the green to return!! I love spring.

Welcome Sydney!

2009-02-22T19:56:00.004-07:00

Sydney Two weeks old, contemplating life!

Mom, Grandma McKinley, Great-grandma Ison and Baby Sydney

My brother Tim and his wife had their baby girl, Sydney a month early. We had a combined baby shower for Tawnya (who is due the first week of March) and Karen on Friday night. She is a little sweety!

We are Growing!

2009-02-22T19:45:00.003-07:00

27 Weeks

28 Weeks

33 weeks

Here is the latest belly shot. I am now 33 weeks. I am so grateful I have been feeling much better. I really look forward to the next seven weeks flying by, they are going to be busy!!

25 Random Things

2009-02-01T17:03:00.002-07:00

Since the new thing on facebook is the post about 25 random things I thought I would post my list here too.

25 Random things about me.

It takes me 4 minutes to do my hair in the morning. The one blessing of having thin, fine hair.
I love to dig in the dirt and garden. I am really looking forward to working in our new yard and see what comes up this spring.
Since high school I always wanted to ride my bike down the Oregon Coast. I was able to live this dream summer of 2007 with three friends. We did a 125 mile portion of the coast. I would love to do it again, or to try a different stretch sometime.
Valentines is one of my favorite holidays. I love that you can write people random notes of kindness.
My husband Brinton likes and craves chocolate more than me. Chocolate makes me sick right now as a pregnant person. So I do without.
I love to bake, but I hardly ever do it. I tend to like to eat what ever I bake so the best solution is not to bake at all.
I have visited 8 countries, Canada, Mexico, Belize, Honduras, England, Switzerland, Italy and Germany.
I have a goal to publish a book.
I have had over 28 roommates.
Aside from roommates I have lived with 16 people who were outside my biological family members (step-family and families I have nannied for).
I walk to work.
There is a hawk that frequents my back yard. We have seen it three times this winter.
I love riding rollercoaster’s.
My equilibrium has changed as an adult. Any spinning rides make me sick. As a child I loved to spin and get dizzy. Now I can’t even watch things spin because it makes me sick.
I am not a pet person. See below.
Last year I had two pet hamsters in my classroom. Right before Thanksgiving break they started attacking and mauling each other so I took them home for hospice care. One died over Thanksgiving break. The other died over Christmas break. That happened to be the same day I went on my first date with my husband. I remember checking the cage right before Brinton came over. I was shocked to see that she was dead in her wheel. I hurried and took her out to the garage, to the garbage and put the cage in the garage so I didn’t have to have a date ask questions about my pets that were dead. Well… as I was preparing for our annual family yard sale this summer I found a bag full of stinky mush of flesh and bones at the side of the garage behind a box. I guess in the panic of making sure I got the hamster out of the house, I didn’t quite make it to the garbage with the dead hamster. Ewww.
I have a strange obsession with maps and reading maps.
I have another strange obsession with numbers and number patterns.
I used to really enjoy reading. College ruined it for me. I can’t really enjoy reading as a pregnant person, it makes me sick. I know, weird.
I love to research. I do most of my research on the internet now that it is so readily available.
I would love to become a professional photographer someday.
I am not really into politics and it was reflected in my grade in Political Science. In college I flunked it the first time I took it.
I have been keeping a journal since my childhood.
I have been teased by my family members since I got my license that I am a grandma driver.I don’t really wear jewelry

Family Blog update....

2009-01-18T14:11:00.002-07:00

We have just posted part three (July, August, September) of our 2008 year in review on our family blog. Click here to check it out.

100 days... until my due date

2009-01-05T20:49:00.003-07:00

Another benchmark..... I have 100 days until my due date. That means starting tomorrow I will be in the double digits, Wahoo!!

Brinton and I have done our 2008 year in review. We are just posting three months at a time because the entries are long. So swing by our family blog and check out our "He Said, She Said" point of view of 2008. April, May and June are soon to come.

Today I returned to work and planned out my meetings for the remainder of the school year. A task that took well longer than is should have, but I am grateful to have a jump start.

Today we got dumped on again in the snow factory. For Boise, we have gotten a lot of snow this year. I am just grateful I don't have to drive much and I get to walk to work. It is wonderful!

Back to Bloghood

2009-01-02T21:20:00.003-07:00

I suppose it is time to update the blog since it has been well over a month.

Life is busy as ever. The weekend following Thanksgiving Brinton and I moved into our new house. We are finally now a month later, feel like we are settled in enough to feel comfortable.

So a few things that have been keeping me busy over the past month….

Laundry: We went a few weeks without a washer and dryer. The pair we ordered were on backorder. When they finally arrived I was excited to listen to their new hum and get things caught up. At the end of the washing and drying cycles we are greeted with a friendly song. It is much better than hearing an alarming buzz or beeping sound. I love my new washer and dryer!

Living in a fish bowl: Our home when we bought it was full of windows yet, blindless. We covered our bedroom windows with blankets, but left the rest open until we were able to put up blinds. We are on a corner lot kind of tucked away, so it didn't feel too intrusive. Brinton and I started the blind project together and helped with around five of the fifteen windows we covered, then Brinton finished the project. It is nice to be able to roam the house now with out having to think about which windows you are going to run by. Shopping: As I have been preparing for the baby I have attempted to buy some things. You know some of the big things: crib, stroller, carseat, etc. I am discovering this may be harder than it has ever been. For the first time in my life that I no longer really enjoy shopping. It is quite the change for me. I usually love going from store to store bargain hunting. After this move I have come to the realization I have more stuff than I really need and I am ready to simplify my life and done collecting bargains. I even made a quick stop at the mall today to make a Christmas gift return. I couldn’t even find one thing that I wanted to purchase with the store credit I had received. I suppose the shopping bug will return when I am no longer pregnant and feeling a little better. I have still yet to purchase any baby items, it is a good thing I have a little time.

Returned to work/school: After the Thanksgiving break I returned to school after being off for three weeks with my wonderful morning sickness. It was nice to see the kids again. I had one child report to his mom each day that I was back again. He really was sad that I was gone such a long time. Now I have been home for the Christmas break for the past two weeks and it has been wonderful to have time to get things unpacked and settled in. I am ready to go back and get back into a routine. Brinton also took off the past two weeks, it has been nice to have the lazy days together. We have watched several movies and slept in many mornings and he has watched many bowl games.
25 weeks, Baby’s growing and so am I: I now really have a pregnant belly. The baby is active and some evenings moves and moves. She loves music and seems to dance to certain rhythms. I have been feeling much better. I still struggle with nausea and throw up 1 or 2 times a week. But it has been such a blessing to be able to eat and keep most all of my food down. My energy has been much better and I have gained a good portion of the weight that I lost. In desperation in mid November I went to a nature pathologist to see if she could aid me in getting through the pregnancy sickness. I was referred by a coworker who has seen wonderful results with her health issues. Maybe I will go into more detail on another post of the process this has been. But basically she has put me on several kinds of enzymes. The first batch was to cleanse my kidney’s and liver and a few other kinds to help me digest and deal with the nausea. She also has done some acupressure. It has been quite the journey. I would love to say that I feel wonderful and that I am glowing in pregnancy, but I am not quite there yet. I have come to terms that I may be somewhat sick the remainder of the pregnancy. All I can say is that I am so grateful that I feel much, much better and that I am able to function as a person now.

Watching wildlife: Since we didn’t have blinds for a month I spent a lot of time watching creatures in the back yard: little birds, ducks and squirrels mostly. One Saturday I spent quite sometime watching the little birds converse with one another. The next day Brinton and I were sitting down to lunch together when we spied a larger bird. I have not been able to look up the bird yet, I believe it might be hawk (anyone know??). We watched the bird for 20-30 minutes as this bird of prey feasted on one of the little birdies I had admired the day before. Sad for the little bird, but I was fascinated to see such a sight right here in the middle of Boise, in my own back yard. In an odd sense, a beautiful sight.

It's a Girl

2008-11-21T13:18:00.003-07:00

We had an ultrasound on Monday and as far as we can tell we are having a baby girl. It is exciting to know a little more. She is healthy and is exactly where she should be.

When ever Brinton comes home from work and we are chatting, the baby goes wild. She moves and wiggles. I think she knows his voice, I feel the most movement when he is talking. It is fun.

I have been pretty sick this week, Brinton and I keep praying for a miracle that the morning sickness will subside and I will be able to return to work. I have been home for the past two weeks and will be off another week with the hopes that I have shown improvement after Thanksgiving and will get to get back into the swing of things. It has been quite the challenge for both of us. But we are hopeful and keep trekking along.

Aside from feeling sick, it has been a busy time. We closed on our house yesterday and now are free to move. I am so blessed to have such a great family. I have had several family members over this week to help me pack we have covered a lot of ground which is nice. There is a long way to go, but we need to gather more boxes before we get there.

13, 16 and 18 week pictures

2008-11-12T18:28:00.004-07:00

13 weeks pregnant

16 Weeks Pregnant

16 Weeks

18 Weeks Pregnant

18 Weeks pregnant

I thought I would document with pictures how my belly grows every few weeks of pregnancy.

18 weeks and moving...

2008-11-09T21:11:00.000-07:00

Two weeks ago I had my last doctor’s appointment and I was down another 5 lbs from the week before. I had now hit the point of loosing 25 lbs. Both my doctor and I agreed that this trend has got to change. I told her I thought I should get another IV to see if I could get my body back in balance. The choices were the ER or outpatient hospital visit the following day. I opted for the outpatient visit.

I am happy to say the IV is just what I needed. I have been able to eat more food and my energy has improved. I still throw up every few days (for various reasons), but things are headed on the upswing. I have also gained two pounds in the past two weeks.

One week from tomorrow we have an appointment to find out the sex of the baby. For most of my pregnancy I have felt like I am having a girl. Now I am having second thoughts. So really I don’t know. I am excited to find out though.

I have been feeling the baby move over the past couple weeks. I wasn’t sure what it was supposed to feel like initially. I have had so many stomach issues I didn’t know if it was the baby or my stomach being crazy. Now I have a better idea, although my stomach is still sometimes crazy.

House hunt.

Brinton and I have been house hunting for about 2 ½ weeks. We started looking on the Boise Bench so we could be close to his work and on a bus route. Most of the homes on the bench are older and charming, and close to schools but either need updating or are missing something we really would like in a home like a garage or a dishwasher.

Last Sunday was Fast Sunday and since we have been house hunting, my prayers on Sunday were that we would be guided to a home where we can raise our family and be where the Lord would want us to be. Also taking into consideration all the little things on our list. I didn’t realize everything would happen so quickly. I had a strong impression that I needed to look at one of my sister’s friends houses. The home has been for sale for well over a year and I know that the family is probably ready to get rid of it. I got a hold of our realtor on Monday and made an appointment to see the house on Tuesday afternoon. We loved the house. We wanted to go home and think about it before we put in an offer. The next day I got a call from our realtor and she told us there was another offer on the house and if we wanted to have a chance at it we would have to move on it that night.

So by 10:30 that night we had an offer prepared to submit the following morning at 8am. It turns out that the other offer was a higher offer but a lease-purchase. They countered our offer and we raised to our cap in budget. We knew they wanted more, but if this is the house the Lord wants us in, somehow our offer would work for the sellers. To shorten the long story, the ended up accepting our offer and it looks like things are going to work out. Kind of crazy.

We feel blessed and grateful. We are a block from my school and will be moving next door to some friends we met in our branch. The house has everything we hope for on our list, plus more. I just hope I can keep enough energy to pack and prepare for the move with out getting too sick. The Lord is aware of each of our wants and needs, and I am grateful for that.

We are Buying a new house!

2008-11-08T17:57:00.002-07:00

Brinton and I have put an offer on a house and the offere was accepted. We are hoping to close on the house by Thanksgiving. It is a really fun house with room to grow and the most wonderful yard. There are a few pictures I have posted on our family blog, go check it out!

One of the tags, I have recieved...

2008-10-20T21:59:00.004-06:00

I Have Been Tagged...
What I was doing 10 years ago...
1. Working in a special ed preschool as an assistant.
2. Contemplating going to college to get my degree
3. Head over heals for a guy 9 years older than me.
4. Working with my first Autistic kiddos
5. Having the time of my life living on Belmont St. with my first roommates: Kim, Gloria and Aimee

5 things on my to-do list today...
1. Make it through a work day with out getting sick!
2. Complete all the paperwork on my desk!! I did it!!
3. Doctor's appointment
4. FHE
5. Deliver cookies to a neighbor

5 of my favorite snacks... (right now... nothing. When I am not pregnant...)
1. cottage cheese with flavored crackers
2. string cheese
3. chocolate chip cookies
4. almonds, before I became allergic
5. ??? hard to think about food right now

5 Jobs I've had...
1. Security Guard for US Bank
2. Waitress at an Asian restaurant
3. Nanny on both sides of the US and Hawaii
4. Special Ed Assistant
5. Special Ed Teacher

5 things I would do with a million dollars...
1. Buy a new house
2. Set up trust funds for my children
3. Take a vacation to somewhere warm
4. Food Storage
5. Give some away

5 things that made me laugh this week...
1. Laughing with Jennifer and Suszan, remembering fun times last year
2. Reading friends and families blogs, keep up the great writing
3. Voting for the President: What do you do when you don't like any of the choices, laugh
4. Laughed at Brinton a few times, for various reasons.
5. Had a few crazy dreams that made me laugh.

5 people I tag, to answer these same questions....
Anyone who feels like sharing!

Sorry So Hard to Read..... Nearly 15 weeks...

2008-10-20T21:15:00.004-06:00

I am having some formatting issues. I am sorry if my blog is a drag to read!

Life is busy and crazy as ever. I had a few good days a week or so ago and last week was pretty rough again. Being pregnant is a lot of work. I am now on a weekly basis of seeing the doctor for either a visit or a weigh in. I decided I should keep track of the time I spend waiting. Today I just went in to get weighed and waited 55 minutes. I gained three pounds in the past week. It helps that I was wearing a huge bulky sweater and heavy shoes, but ya know it still counts.

Last week my doctor said to me, "Being pregnant just isn't good on your body. You arn't planning on having a big family are you?" I replied with a sigh and no comment. Something we will have to wait and see about. I am still not feeling wonderful, but I feel blessed that I usually am only throwing up once a day at this point.

Feeling better at 13 weeks...

2008-10-08T20:51:00.001-06:00

Blessings of today!!! My last post I was in despair and quite worn out. I am so grateful for faith, prayers and modern medicine.

Sunday as Brinton and I were watching General Conference I was still feeling sick and beginning to feel even more fatigued from lack of food and constant throwing up. I could not keep anything down, nor had I for almost two weeks. It was beginning to wear on my emotions as well as my body. My prayers were for some way to overcome this stage of pregnancy. During the break between sessions of conference I had a feeling that I needed to get fluids soon. I decided to call the on call nurse at my doctor’s office once more to see if the ER was really the next place I should be headed.

Not long later, Brinton and I packed a bag preparing to sit and wait in the ER with the hopes that they might have a solution to my constant throwing up and dehydration. Surprisingly the wait wasn’t long before we had the attention of medical personal at the hospital. The visit to the ER was a first for both of us. Apparently Sunday afternoon is a good time to get attention of ER staff. We weren’t there long when we were checked into a room and had the nurse asking questions as she took vitals, along with a CNA taking my blood pressure in various positions (sitting, standing, laying down), and the ER doctor in for consultation.

We had a private room with a TV so we turned on conference and we were able to watch a couple of talks.

It took about an hour before they got my hooked up to an IV with electrolytes to get my blood back to a good healthy level. They also administered a new drug to me: Reglan. A drug that makes your stomach contract so you can begin to digest foods. That is something I noticed a few weeks back. Even if I was able to keep food down, it wouldn’t digest like it should and I could hold it down for up to six hours and then throw up everything I had eaten six hours previous. That only happens a couple times before you become quite choosy about how much and what you put into your body. Thus, my diet of soup or potatoes for the past six weeks.

I have been on four medications thus this pregnancy, none of which have really done me much justice until the Reglan. I even have been put on the miracle drug Zofran at its highest dosage, which didn’t seem to work any miracles for me.

Our hospital stay turned out to be just under four hours. The staff was helpful and friendly. I would say if you have to make a visit to the ER, it was a “good” visit. I walked away feeling much better, but I still had that wonderful nausea, I seem to live with.

The next day I had a weight check at the doctor’s office. I was a little concerned because it had only been a week and I was pretty sure I had lost more weight from my last visit. It turns out that my total weight loss was pushing 20 pounds since my first doctor’s visit six weeks prior. The doctor wanted to meet with me rather than send me on my way. She told me that I am basically starving. Which by this point on Monday I could feel the effects, my brain was getting foggy and my thinking was fragmented. I really have been feeling desperate for help at this point. You are not supposed to loose 20 pounds in your first 13 weeks of pregnancy.

The doctor gave me an ultimatum: check into a hospital for an overnight IV, or get an out patient IV. Both options I was not thrilled about, although my body was lacking the nutrients it needed for basic survival. She assured me that the baby will get all the nutrients it needs; I will be the one who suffers. I asked the doctor if I could have a third option: not do either and continue to take the Reglan with the hopes that I am able to start digesting food and begin eating again. That is the miracle I was hoping for.

I must say I am so grateful. Yesterday was my first day where I was able to eat food and digest it! And the first day in weeks where I haven’t thrown up, which is a great blessing. Today is day number two with actually eating food and digesting it without throwing up. My energy has multiplied and I feel so blessed and so grateful. Thank you for all of the prayers and faith surrounding me. The Lord has truly blessed my life.

12 1/2 weeks...

2008-10-04T17:07:00.000-06:00

I was really hoping to start posting again when I started feeling better. Well since that day hasn’t come yet, I will post any how.

I am now 12 ½ weeks along and still experiencing the woes of the first trimester. I am sick every day and it has turned into an all day event. I throw up most every thing that I eat and feel lousy most of the day. My best time of day is when I first wake up, that first minute before I move and hormones begin pumping. From then on it is a roller coaster until I go to bed. I have had many moments of despair and sadness, but I have been trying hard this week to keep my head held high and keep a positive attitude. Needless to say it has been difficult. Each day I dream of calling in sick and staying home to rest it off, but I continue to endure going to work to save up my sick days for when after the baby comes since that is what I get for my sick leave.

Some things on a positive note.
-After the months of grief and pain, it results in a beautiful baby.
-I have been able to have ample energy to make through the day at work with out being exhausted. This is unusual for me on a day to day basis as a normal/unpregnant person.
-This can be looked at as positive in a sense… I have lost 15 pounds since my first weigh in at the doctors office six weeks ago. Granted, I gained 10 pounds after getting married and within my first month of pregnancy. I am going into the doctor for weekly weigh-ins. I don’t know what they will do if it continues??
-Brinton has been very supportive. Initially when I would get emotional he would say, “Don’t cry.” Now he has learned it is all part of the hormonal package and says, “Don’t hold back, let it out”. He comes home each day to a tired and exhausted wife who has expounded all of her energy at work with the kids, who sits on the couch and sits very still, is constantly throwing up or is sleeping. It is challenging for both of us.
-I am nearly done with the first trimester. I look forward to days ahead, where I dream of not feeling nearly as sick and where my body will actually be able to digest food once again. But knowing I still have another six months, it seems forever away.

Two weekends ago I flew up to Cour’delane to spend the weekend with Brinton. We had a great time just being together. It was like a mini second honeymoon, with morning sickness of course. We spent an evening in Spokane and took a nice walk through River Front Park. I lived in Spokane 12 years ago for a summer before I moved to Hawaii. It took me a while to find the house where I lived and attempted to show him where I worked. I tried finding things from some back roads and it took us on a scenic route of urban Spokane. It was nice to be able to see each other while we he was away working for two weeks.

This morning I enjoyed the messages of General Conference, so many words of hope and peace at this time where the world feels so much turmoil. I look forward to hearing more tomorrow.

101 days!

2008-09-16T22:14:00.003-06:00

What a journey it has been in the past 101 days. 101 days ago Brinton and I got married. We have had a passel of things happen in the past 101 days. It has been especially a busy time of life for me. Here is a list of things that have been keeping me busy over the past 101 days.

-Got married 06-07-08.
-Honeymooned in the Idaho mountains, stayed at the beautiful Ashley Inn and had cooler weather than typical in June with 2 inches of snow one morning.
-Got Brinton all moved into our home.
-Began a summer school program.
-Had a huge annual yard sale with my family: sold my tandem cruiser bike, two sets of furniture and made over $700.00.
-Spent 4th of July with family and watched fireworks from the train depot down town with friends Irene and Dave.
-Lost my old roommate and childhood friend, Christina Farnsworth Mourant. She died suddenly on July 8th. I was fortunate to re-connect with her the day prior to her death. She was a wonderful person who is solid in her faith and mission as a mother.
-Lived a month furnitureless in our living room.
-Closed up my summer school session where I taught the districts homebound (for medical reasons) students and 3 year old preschool transition students. Always a great adventure.
-Traveled to Arizona for the Flake family reunion. Met many new cousins and relatives. Enjoyed taking drives to Woodruff, Pinetop and Lakeside where my grandparent spent their early years.
-Got pregnant.
-Watched Dean’s kids for a week.
-Spent a week up in the mountains at girlscamp. Enjoyed the temperate weather and a summer thunderstorm while we were on our hike.
-Got half of our new couch, we don’t know if we will ever get the other half???
-Started my fourth full year of teaching special ed preschool.
-Watched Kyrick for a weekend.
-Currently enduring 3 weeks of morning sickness, with lovely throwing up every day.
- 2 ultrasounds
-Sent Brinton away on a business trip for two weeks, I am going to fly up and meet with him this weekend so we don’t have to spend the whole time apart!

Life will always continue to be adventurous and fun.

Baby News!

2008-09-08T18:23:00.002-06:00

For those who have not heard, we are having a baby.

Well we had an official ultrasound today to get a more accurate date of when our baby is due. I was estimating that I was twelve weeks along due on March 30th. Wishful thinking perhaps, dreaming to be out of the first trimester a little sooner I guess. It turns out that I am eight weeks five days along with our due date actually on April 15th. I guess two and a half weeks off isn’t too bad. I just wish I was further along into the first trimester. For the past two weeks I have been sick. Throwing up every morning and evening. Finally in searching for relief today I searched for what ever ginger products out there. I found some ginger ale and ginger licorice at World Market. I am not a huge fan of ginger, but I am ready and willing to try what ever I can at this point. The licorice actually worked well enough that I could actually eat dinner today. It only lasts for about an hour. I can’t really see my self constantly gnawing on the chewy spicy treat. I am really tired of visiting the porcelain god. Moments ago I just heard back from my nurse and she just dial in a prescription for anti-nausea. I hope and pray it is the solution for now.

So we will keep you posted on our baby news!

PS: before I posted this blog I made an emergency run to the bathroom, up-came dinner. So I guess the ginger wasn’t real effective. As terrible as it is that I have not been able to keep a meal down today, I feel a little better. This is going to sound bad... Mac & Cheese doesn’t come well through the nose. I think I am going to run to the pharmacy to get that prescription real soon!

54 things you may or may not know.....

2008-09-07T21:26:00.002-06:00

1. What time did you get up this morning? Later than usual, I was sick and didn’t go to church
2. Diamonds or pearls? Diamonds
3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? It has been a while?? Bucket List Maybe?
4. What is your favorite TV show? Most stuff on HGTV and TLC
5. What do you usually have for breakfast? Eggs of some sort.
6. What is your middle name? Waite/never had one until now.
7. What food do you dislike? Most things that once lived in water
8. What is your favorite CD at the moment? Jem
9. What kind of car do you drive? Suzuki wagon
10. Favorite sandwich? Turkey
11. What characteristic do you despise? Selfishness
12. Favorite item of clothing? Right now, anything that isn’t too tight on the midsection
14. What is the color of your bathroom? Clouds on the ceiling, red, taupe and white walls. I went wild with paint when I bought my house
15. Favorite brand of clothing? Stuff from Ross
16. Where would you retire to? Somewhere temerate
17. What was your most memorable birthday? 30th, a huge surprise party put on by my family
18. Favorite sport to watch? Not much into sports
19. Favorite saying: Forget yourself and get to work!
20. When is your birthday? March 6th
21. Are you a morning person or a night person? Usually a night person, but lately I have been going to bed very early.
22. What is your shoe size? 7 1/2
23. Pets? My last ones were all class pets, two hamsters (who are now dead and a class frog that now is living at the Smullins
24. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share with us? I am pregnant and due March 30th Crazy I know!!
25. What did you want to be when you were little? A mom and a teacher, lucky me!
26. What are you today? A teacher and soon a mom to be
27. What is your favorite candy? Peanut M&M’s
28. What is a day on the calendar you are looking forward to? March 30th, my due date
29. What church do you attend? Hampton LDS Ward
30. What is your full name?
31. What are you listening to right now? Night traffic outside my house and my computer fan
32. What was the last thing you ate? A cookie.
33. Do you wish on stars? Many years ago.
34. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? Bright green, but lately it makes me nauseous. It is weird what can make you feel sick.
35. How is the weather right now? Cool evening!
36. Last person you spoke to on the phone? Tyrel, he needs soda crackers from me. He is sick too!
37. Favorite soft drink? Grapefruit Shasta
38. Favorite restaurants? None lately.
39. Hair color? blond
40. Favorite day of the year? The first signs of spring when it is breezy, warm and the trees are budding and life is coming back to the earth.
41. What was your favorite toy as a child? I mostly just liked playing in the yard with my best friend Sally
42. Summer or winter? Summer, sunshine to my soul.
43. Hugs or Kisses? Both
44. Chocolate or Vanilla? Vanilla
45. When was the last time you cried? Last night, I was super sick and hormonal
46. What is under your bed? Spare sheets and a blanket.
47. What did you do last night? Continued to throw up after being sick all day long!
48. Favorite smell? Fresh baked bread or cookies
49. What are you afraid of? Being sick for longer than the first trimester of pregnancy
50. Plain, buttered, or salted Popcorn? I like kettle corn or air popped with a little seasoning
51. How many keys on your key ring? 8, I think
52. How many years at your current job? 3 1/2
53. Favorite day of the week? Friday
54. How many towns have you lived in? 6:Boise, Spokane, Honolulu, Rockville, PaloAlto, Meridian

Name Change

2008-09-04T20:23:00.004-06:00

When it comes to getting married and the whole name change ordeal, it can be a lot of work. I do have to say I was quite excited to bump up closer to the beginning of the alphabet. There were a few relationships I just had to say good bye to in my 20's because the guys last name was just too close to the latter letters of the alphabet.

What a process it can be to change your name. Starting with the marriage licence, then go to the Social Security office where you get the joy of sitting, waiting and waiting, next the DMV again waiting and waiting. I made two trips there. On my first trip I didn't bring the official marriage certificate with the stamp.

After you get the big things there are all of the little things: bank accounts, credit cards, w-4's, work log ins and emails and the list goes on. I should have kept track of the hours I spent waiting between all of the places, I know it was many.

Wednesday with great joy my name plate was changed outside my classroom to Mrs. Croff. With a lot of new staff and teachers changing rooms I had seen other name plates around the school mysteriously moving and being replaced over the past two weeks. I wondered if I would be included in on the fun.

This is my third year at my school and nearly all of last year and the year before my classroom title outside my door was: Mrs. Johns, the name of the previous teacher. It didn't really bother me, but it drove some of my coworkers crazy. I was pleasantly surprised to see that the change occurred so quickly.

This school year I have seven students returning to my classroom. Thankfully, they don't have to re-adjust to a new name for me. They call me "Miss Amber", which sure simplifies that situation.

Where has the summer gone??

2008-08-15T16:14:00.005-06:00

What a busy time this summer has been. I taught summer school through the Middle of July. The week that summer school ended Brinton and I headed to Arizona for the Flake Family reunion. It was fun to visit the part of Arizona where both of our roots come from. We went ASU where Brinton went to school and took a road trip up to Snowflake, Arizona where the Flake family originates. My grandparents are from Lakeside and Pinetop, Arizona which isn’t too far from Snowflake. My great grandparents are from Woodruff, Arizona and we also took a little trip there as well. The picture above is a picture of Robert and Louie's home in Woodruff with the petrified wood fence.

After returning home from Arizona I spent a week with Micaela, Jackson and Lizzy while their parents were away in Oregon. We stayed part of the week at their house and then the later part of the week at my house. We had fun dressing up for pioneer day and for Treyson’s birthday party.

Micaela loved her pioneer outfit. We were going to go to the ward celebration but we could not find the church it was at. We went to three different chapels and didn't find the right one until it was really too late to go.

Lizzy ready to drive....

Last week I was in Grand Jean, Idaho for Girls Camp. I went up to assist our wards camp director. All of the women in young women’s are pregnant or just had babies so they were in dire need to have someone that could go up the whole week. It was a fun adventure, but I sure came home tired and ready to sleep in my own bed again.

This week, back to work. I had an all day class on Tuesday and have been working in my classroom the reminder of the week catching up on loose ends that need to be taken care of before school officially is back in session next week.

It is no wonder our house still is not in order. Anyone who says teachers have it easy because they have summers off has no idea how most teachers live.

Blogging is for Bragging about Bargains

2008-07-29T13:07:00.011-06:00

I have visited several blogs where ladies are documenting the bargains they find. I am always up for finding a good deal. I am always happy to find items for under a dollar.

Here are today's deals:

I found that Rite Aid had the best bargains today with the help of the Sunday paper coupons.

Lady Speed Stick 25 cents + tax

Sale Price 99 cents, coupon 75 cents off I also had a second coupon for 1.00 off of two, so I was able to stock up and purchase three for $1.25, about half the price of one.

Colgate Toothpaste 50 cents + tax

Sale Price 99 cents, .50 off coupon

Irish Spring Soap 3 pack 70 cents + tax

Sale Price 99 cents, .30 off coupon

Soft Soap 64 cents + tax

Sale Price 99 cents, .35 off coupon

I found another deal at Grocery Warehouse.

Men's Rockport Dress shoes, retail price regularly $70-100

I found this pair for $10.

Memories, Memories....

2008-07-20T10:20:00.003-06:00

Good Ol' Days As a Belmont Girl in Boise

1997

Amber, Aimee, Gloria and Kim

I got this from my friend Aimee's blog, so I thought I would do it as well. I had so many fun memories with her and the roommates we had when we were the "Belmont Girls"
Happy Posting!

1. Leave a comment on my blog, one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you.

A Day With Kyrick

2008-07-06T22:43:00.013-06:00

Last Saturday Kyrick came to spend the day with Brinton and I. I wanted to add some photos of our adventure.

The day started with Kyrick finding a use for Brinton's ice cube tray collection. They make great train cars. I heard a bunch of clickty clacking in the kitchen and this is what I found....

We swung on the hammock....

Had some cereal....

Played on the Love Sac...

Pretended he was "Duck in the muhh" (Stuck in the mud)...

Played on the Love Sac with Cousins: Treyson and Abree...

Read books with Uncle Brinton...

To mention just a few things. We had a fun day he sayed busy playing in the living room and ended with a long nap before dad came to pick him up.

Brinton and I ended the day by having a BBQ with our new little grill we got for our wedding. We enjoy the most delicious tender steaks that Brinton prepared.

My First Ward Outing As A Wife....

2008-06-27T21:55:00.009-06:00

Bunt Cake Turned Wrong!!

Sunday at church they announced a dessert auction for a girls camp fund raiser for the Young Women in our ward. I thought Brinton and I could use this opportunity to meet some of the other families in the ward and donate a dessert to help fund girls camp.

Naturally, today snuck up on us quickly so I rummaged though the kitchen for ideas of what dessert to make. I found a cake mix and some frosting and decided to make a layered cake to take. It turns out that Brinton and I ended up spending most of the day doing errands together; going to banks changing my name, adding him to my accounts, getting my ring re-sized and a final stop at Bed Bath and Beyond to pick up some items from our registry.

With all the running about, we were cutting it close on time to get a cake baked and cooled enough to frost. When I went into our spare bedroom to find the round cake pans, I found a bunt pan more quickly, so I decided to try out baking my first bunt cake.

Well needless to say, it wasn’t a bunt cake for long. Plans quickly changed.

I took the bunt out of the oven at about 6:25. Around 6:30 I decided to put the cake on a plate to finish cooling so it would be ready to go for our 7:00 dessert auction. I asked Brinton to come help me in the kitchen to avoid any bunt mis-haps. Blame it on wonderfully moist Pillsbury Cake mix or not a well thought out plan. Before I knew it my to be auctioned dessert was all crumbling in my hands, and I had to come up with plan B really quick with only minutes to spare.

Broken Bunt

I rummaged through the fridge for other finds. I decided in a flash that I would make a mock Trifle. I was limited on my whipping cream with only about ¾ cup to whip up. I managed to find some left over shortcake. I combined the two on a pie plate and enlisted Brinton to chop up some chocolate kisses (thank you for helping out Brinton!!!).

Brinton chopping away with only minutes to spare until the activity was to begin.

The dessert ended up getting bid for and purchased, so I guess the blunder worked out okay.

Dessert Blunder Turned Mastery

We are Married!!

2008-06-20T22:59:00.011-06:00

Here are a few pictures from our big day. I will have to add more when I gather a few more from family and the photographer. I don't happen to have any pictures of just Brinton and I in this batch.

The Waite Clan

My Mom and I

An attempt with all of the nieces and nephews we could gather at that moment.

(Ashlyn is missing)

My Sweet 93 year old grandma and I.

All of my siblings and their spouses, Tyrel: your day will soon come. I can relate, really!

Wedding Flowers

2008-06-06T16:52:00.008-06:00

Today we did the wedding flowers, for my wedding tomorrow. Mom did the bulk of the work, Irene helped with some of the frills for the corsage's and I did most of the bouquet. Tawnya and Kyrick even came by for a visit.

It was fun and things are simple, just as I like them.

I am excited for the big day tomorrow. I am currently cold, it is in the 61 degrees. Not your typical June weather! It should be slightly warmer tomorrow (65).

Bike to School Day

2008-05-31T01:22:00.006-06:00

I love my Trek!!

One of the joys of living near my school is taking advantage of walking and biking as much as possible. I have had so many errands to run and things on my plate lately that I haven’t spent as much time as I would like riding to school.

I am a part of a committee called Safe Routes to School. The purpose of the committee is to come up with safe way for the children to walk and ride their bikes to school. It is something I am passionate about and feel it is important for children to get proper exercise and recreation, so it is fitting for me to participate.

Today was our spring Walk/Bike to School Day. We handed out prizes to all of the children who walked or biked to school. I usually ride my beach cruiser to school since I am only a mile and a half away, but today I had to ride my road bike due to a flat tire on my other bike (and I haven’t taken the time to fix it). After riding my cruiser so much this spring, I have forgotten how wonderful my road bike is. It just is such a smooth ride. I love it!

Many kids were ambitious to get to school this morning to get their prize. I passed a pack of about ten children who were also riding their bikes from my neighborhood this included a student who is a “little person”. It is just awesome to see so many out enjoying the weather and the opportunity to ride and walk to school.

The prizes we gave out this round: Bandannas, pedometers and also in the picture the yield sign, which was last falls prize.

Happy biking everyone. If you are into riding give me a call. I am always up for a ride!

You can always tell when I ride my bike to school, I have a serious case of helmet hair! I even had this problem on class picture day!

Boise Water is Highly Chlorinated!

2008-05-26T23:39:00.003-06:00

This is what happens when you water your Hydrangeas with Boise Tap Water. It kills them in less than a week! I was so sad. I was going to use these flowers for my wedding, but no luck now. Scary thought… if it does this to flowers, what good is it to drink and bathe in the water. Some days this early spring I have turned on the faucet and it smelled like I was at the pool. I have even gone to work smelling like chlorine. I must live awfully close to the treatment plant.

It's A Jungle Out There!!!

2008-05-25T11:04:00.009-06:00

My front flowerbed and "June Bearing Strawberries", which I put netting over in hopes to keep the birds from eating all of the berries, which they did last year.

Q. So what happens when you take a special ed teacher with a cold and allergies, who is an ending school year, that involves multiple parent meetings that require hour upon hour of preparation for IEP’s and amendments, who is also engaged and preparing a wedding that will occur the week school gets out?

A. Neglected household duties! #1 the yard and garden.

Typically I find great joy in working out in the yard and planting a garden. This year I have made some efforts but I have put off many things not only because I have been busy, but also because the weather has been crazy this spring. As far as I remember this seems to have been the coldest lasting spring I’ve experienced. We were still getting frost at the beginning of May, which helped me delay actually planting the garden. We went straight from freezing to 90 degree weather which is a shocker on the body and yard. For the past couple of days we have been blessed with real spring weather in the 70’s. I usually get a good start in the yard over spring break. Since I was away in Europe this spring break that delayed things a bit, which I suppose is fine because we were still getting snow flurries in mid April. I decided to tackle things yesterday.

My back yard has been a jungle of long grasses and over grown dandelion puffs. I have been meaning to work in the yard more and have managed to mow the front yard twice. I did manage to do an initial mowing of the back yard. It took me over an hour to get go over and over the long grass. It is a bit uneven still, but that will be taken care of on the next mowing.

The Jungle yard (before picture)

When I bought my house summer of 2005 I was so excited to finally have a yard of my own and I was even more excited that it was nearly a quarter of an acre. The first year was fine and I had a great time pruning trees, pulling out unwanted bushes and clearing weeded flower beds. The lawn was beautiful and well cared for, until I got the water bill. I couldn’t believe how much it cost to water a yard. Over $120 a month to have a nice looking grass. I couldn’t fathom spending so much on green grass. I played around with the sprinkler system to cut back on water the next year. It started out looking fine. I also had “John” around to help me out. John was the guy I was dating at that time. Well, sort of dating, he was more like the guy that kept coming around for a free meal and conversation, who I happen to like. He liked mowing lawns, so he took care of me the first few months of spring into early summer until our pseudo-dating relationship ended. I honestly have to say after having someone be passionate about taking care of the yard, and it actually looking good, I lost the love for mowing the yard. I really loved having someone else take care of that.

The jungle yard post mowing picture.

I learned at my bridal shower last week that Brinton’s favorite household chores include yard work. I asked him when those duties kick in. He told me they fall under husband duties not fiancé. I really look forward to sharing the load of yard work with someone and getting things looking better.

John the lawn boy, 2006. Flowerbeds prior to plants and rocks.

Two weeks ago I got a small garden started. I went to D&B to pick up some plants. I had previously purchased seeds, but with things in other aspects of my life being so busy I felt like I had missed the window of good planting for some of these items so I went the cheater way of buying starts, except for my zuchinni (in the picture on th far left). I purchased a type of small sweet watermelon, cauliflower, onions, chili peppers, yellow tomatoes, red tomatoes, and an artichoke plant. My plan was to produce enough goods to make salsa. I also bought some marigolds to border the garden. They seem to help keep the pesky bugs away.

The start of my garden.

Front flowerbeds: Salvia, Columbine, Dianthus.

Lavender and Clematis

I planted everything but the tomatoes, artichoke and marigolds. I had to prepare a different area in my yard for those. I remembered to water them until the second hot day. It dried them out completely. I guess I will be making another trip to pick up more plants.

Dead Plants!

My fruitful herb garden with rhubarb in the back.

My herb garden and front flowerbeds are coming back nicely. Some of my returning plants include: sage, thyme, rosemary, marjoram, oregano, lavender, chives, strawberries, rhubarb, lilacs in the back yard. In the front flowerbeds: Salvia (the purple flower) Columbine (Swan Blue & White and Winky Red & White), Pixie Star Dianthus, Firewitch Dianthus, Lavender, Marguite Daisy and clematis . I planted most of these flowers in 2006 and they have come back beautifully. Each year there is something that doesn’t survive. This year it was the English daisy, maybe they are not a perennial like I thought they might be.

I hope to be able to settle into life once I get married and into teaching only part time this summer. Lots of wonderful changes and things to do!

Loosing my mind!!

2008-05-15T22:59:00.001-06:00

I didn’t know I would be loosing my mind along with preparing for marriage. The funny thing is, that I actually feel pretty normal, aside from having a nasty cold and beginning to lose my voice.

A list…. some of the things that confirm I am beginning to loose my mind.

-Today I went to Walmart to pick up some things for the end of the school year and to prepare for next year. I purchased several things, I left half of it in my car to take to school in the morning. As I was unpacking I noticed that I was missing one of the items (which I will not mention, because it is a gift for one of my coworkers). I ran out to the car to check and see if it had rolled under the seat or was in one of the other bags. No luck. I even got out my receipt to see if I paid for it. Sure enough I did pay for it, but it was no where to be found. I was bummed that it might mean another trip to Walmart (not my favorite place to hang out). Ten minutes after returning home I was running out the door to go to a meeting, I gazed at an unfamiliar object at the foot of the couch, behind the coffee table. It was my lost item. I have no idea how it got in the living room. I had not even gone in there with my purchases. I went straight from the garage to my bedroom. It must have rolled out of the bag somehow. After going to the car three times checking for the lost item, I had confirmed that I was indeed going a bit crazy. Happy to find it though!

-The meeting that I went to was at the church. For some reason I had convinced myself that I didn’t need to dress up for the meeting. I decide to ride my bike and take advantage of the wonderful weather and try to get some fresh air to clear my stuffed nose. I get there and realize the meeting is in the chapel and I am one of a few who didn’t get the memo that we were supposed to dress up. OOPS!

-Another blunder. I got a call from Brinton right at 7:00 when the meeting was beginning. He asked me where I was, it then occurred to me that he and I arranged that we were going to go together and he was picking me up. OOPS! It totally slipped my mind. I was so excited to ride my bike that I completely forgot!

-Even last night things weren’t going quite right. I went to the temple and after changing into my temple clothing I rushed to put my clothes in a locker to meet up with the remainder of the branch. When I went to retrieve my clothing from the locker I found my skirt and shoes and somewhere had lost my shirt and sweater. If you thought I was worried, think of the temple workers who found my clothing and wondered how someone managed to leave with out their upper clothing! Yikes! I was able to quickly find them in the lost and found. What would we do with out lost and found??

-I also forgot to print one of the documents that was the purpose for my meeting yesterday at lunch. But forgetting bits here and there at work is a common occurrence.

-It isn’t only me, my assistants are suffering with me. Today we all sat together worn out and tired from what ever germs we are battling in a daze. The clock seemed to pass by in slow motion. Needless to say, it was a really long day for all of us.

Well I must get this tired body to bed, so I can rise early for a 7:45am meeting at work!

Alleluia it is Friday

2008-05-09T16:44:00.002-06:00

Alleluia it is Friday!!!

My favorite day of the week. This weekend's Top Ten!! No particular order!10. The kids are back home with their parents and I get the weekend off.
9. The weather is absolutly beautiful!! I love spring. Blossoms, birds chirping, breezes, fresh smells.
8. I am just about to hit the gym to meet up with Brinton and do our routine eliptical time.
7. Then we are then meeting up for dinner at the temple.
6. Then we get to go do a temple session together. :-)
5. I get to plant my garden this weekend.
4. Will celebrate Mother's Day with family on Sunday.
3. Watch 27 Dresses with Brinton, his idea. What a sweetheart!
2. Hit up the gym in the morning, for my last Boot camp workout.
1. Clean my house. I am really looking forward to this one!!

One month, 31 days... but hey who is counting.

2008-05-07T22:29:00.002-06:00

Brinton and I are getting married in a month from today. We are both really excited. Time is passing by quickly! We got our recommends from our branch president tonight. It is nice to get the details sorted out. It was also fun to meet with President Rawlins and be encouraged for this choice and new step we are taking. In a way Brinton and I credit him for our relationship even having a chance to begin. He has been encouraging and supportive with every turn.

It is such a busy time. I have been really trying to be organized and prepared for all the events over the next month. I have so many charts and spread sheets going here and there, between work and wedding plans, it is miraculous...it is actually working! I feel somewhat organized and prepared to end this school year, and I feel like the wedding plans are really falling into place and coming together. Ending the school year organized, is a first in four years of teaching!! Today I had a sub in my classroom so I could conduct some end of year meetings with parents.

I held four meetings, and I am completly done with the paperwork for each of the meetings which is a miracle within it self. Often it takes me weeks to get all the peices/time to pull the documents together. I feel so blessed!!

Day Five:

2008-04-30T01:01:00.004-06:00

Friday March 28, 2008
Day Five Train ride to Italy

pictures: #1 Interlachen
#2 The view of the Alps from the train ride

When I arrived at the train station that morning I was informed at the ticket booth that the trains in Italy were on strike and that there are no trains coming in or out of the country until 5:00 in the evening. I was determined to get from Switzerland to Germany that day. I told the man selling tickets that I needed to leave today. He then told me that he would check a few other trains to see if there might be a possibility I could catch one of them. I had actually heard before I left that the trains are always on strike, but they continue to run. That is why I persisted, so that my journey could continue.

Sure enough, I was able to get on my scheduled train, but the train would only take me as far as Milan which is the first largest city once I got into Italy. I decided I would take the risk and go for it. It was a very long train journey. I passed through the Swiss Alps. They were breathtaking. Passed by the beautiful mountain town of Inter Lachen.

The Milan train station was dirty and smelly. I missed my first train to Vicenza, which was a blessing in disguise. I was meeting up with Nancy and it turns out she had to take her son who was quite sick to the doctor and they ended up waiting a couple of hours and actually came straight from the doctor to come pick me up.

Nancy was so kind to let me stay with her. It was fun to re-connect after all of these years. She and I went to elementary school together and were in a ward and were in a ward together around five years ago. I have always enjoyed reconnecting with my childhood friends.

That evening we went to her husbands Battalion dinner. I was relieved to have an opportunity to have conversation again (see previous blogs).

I also waited up late to speak with Brinton on the phone. It was wonderful to be able to talk to him again. He had already started some of our wedding plans and so he was anxious to speak again so we could do some more planning together. He was very sweet to get start getting things organized while I was a several thousand miles away.

n

Day Four:

2008-04-30T00:52:00.003-06:00

Thursday March 27, 2008
Day Four Bern and the Swiss Temple

I awoke early to do a session in the temple. It was a beautiful and wonderful experience. I felt so blessed to have been able to do so. The session was in Italian and there were over five languages represented in the room. I received answers to my prayers, while attending the session, it was a treasured experience.

That afternoon I took a train into Bern and explored this beautiful town. I enjoyed walking all over the place. Again the architecture was just beautiful. I purchased some Swiss chocolate to bring home to share and a coveted Swiss made SIGG aluminum water bottle (which I could have purchased for cheaper here in America, I am sure). A wonderful afternoon with beautiful mild weather.

Day Three:

2008-04-30T00:41:00.003-06:00

Wednesday March 26, 2008
Day Three Bern/Zollikofen, Switzerland

Pictures: The Beautiful Swiss Temple, My Hostel in Schaffhausen with snow through the trees.

By the time I arrived in Bern the skies had cleared and most of the snow had melted. It was a beautiful day. I took the train straight to Zollikofen where the temple is located. It was so nice to be guided to the temple by the spirit. I didn’t know where it was and I prayed for direction. I felt blessed to quickly find the beautiful temple. I felt like I had arrived at home to see such a familiar structure. When the clouds lift, you can see the Swiss Alps from the front door of the temple. It is a beautiful sight. I am so grateful for the opportunity to have been able to go there!!

I did some bargain shopping Swiss style and bought a sweatshirt and a shirt. It was fun to browse their discount stores. Not too different that what we would find here.

I went to bed early this evening, because I was exhausted. I stayed at the temple hostel which was next door to the temple. There were six beds in my room and I had one other person staying in there with me the first night, a woman from Italy. There were many people at the hostel from Italy. I had hoped some of them might want to engage in conversation. I found that most of them didn’t really speak much English.

Day Two:

2008-04-30T00:33:00.004-06:00

Tuesday March 25, 2008
Day Two Schaffhausen, Switzerland:

Picture #1: My Hostel I stayed in
Picture #2: Outside Sally's house in Germany. Her daughter Elli, getting into the car to take me to the train station.

Took a train from Gartringen, Germany to Schaffhausen, Switzerland. A snowy morning that was crisp and cold. Grateful for the rundown Sally’s husband gave me on the train ticket system. Sally gave me the run down on the ticket machine and showed me how to purchase my first ticket and print out the timetable and train changes. On my first train ride I only had to switch trains twice.

Arrived in Schaffhausen 2:15 in the afternoon. Wandered around the train station and the blocks surrounding for about an hour before I wandered upon someone who gave me a hand and helped me find a bus that would take me to my “Castle” hostel. It turns out that the bus ride was short and the hostel was only a mile or so up a hill. I walked into town a couple of times while staying there rather than taking the bus. Another snowing afternoon. Loved the architecture of the beautiful old buildings. Schaffhausen is close to the border of Germany and was actually mistaken for a German town in WWII and was bombed.

Day One:

2008-04-30T00:26:00.003-06:00

Monday March 24, 2008
Day One Gartringen, Germany:

Picture: The quaint town to Gartringen

Arrived in Stuttgart,Germany around 5:30pm which was 10:30am Boise time (Via: San Francisco, London England.. A really long flight, but not too bad. Ate dinner with Sally and her family and headed to bed. Tired from all of the travels and lack of sleep.

Europe Update!!

2008-04-30T00:25:00.002-06:00

I decided to add some posts from my Europe trip I took over Spring Break.
Hope you enjoy!
amber

We are engaged!!

2008-04-21T00:14:00.006-06:00

The word has spread like wildfire! Brinton and I are getting married on June 7th in the Boise Idaho Temple. We are excited and thrilled that we are finally moving on from singlehood. It has been quite the journey for the both of us. We feel blessed and grateful to have found one another.

It came official last Monday with ring and all. We actually choose a date in Mid March before both of our travels, but we tried to keep it on the down low (for a month) until we were able to both be back in town. Thank you to all the family that helped keep our news low profile until we were "officially" engaged... in other words with a ring.

So our story in short form:
We met last summer briefly at a mud volleyball game at my brother Tyrel's house. No sparks or even interest in each other (we both had our eyes on other people). We later became better acquainted in our singles branch in the Boise Central Stake. Our first date was in December and everything seemed to move quite quickly from there on out. It is amazing how things can change in a matter of months. On our initial meeting neither of us were not even slightly interested in each other. In fact he kind of drove me crazy, prior to our first date. My have things changed. We balance one another and have become best friends. It is just crazy and wonderful.

...My intentions were to get the blog updated and add my story of my Europe trip, which I still hope to do, but with trying to get a wedding planned in a short period of time, I have all of a sudden become consumed!! Plans are coming along nicely though.

So nice to be home! Some things I learned....

2008-04-08T06:04:00.003-06:00

I had a wonderful two week trip away while in Europe. I was happy to return and felt so grateful to sleep in my own bed, shower in my own shower and get back to work yesterday. Now all I need is Brinton to return home from his business trip in Lewiston! :)

My goal is to add some pictures and a caption from each day of my trip. Don't know exactly when that will occur!

In the mean time here is a list of things I learned while in Europe....

-Germany's homes do not have closets. They are counted as a room and make a home more pricey.
-There are three main languages in Switzerland: German, Italian and French. I encountered mostly German and Italian speakers.
-All the big cities in Italy (and Germany)have different names in English. This can be confusing initially. But one learns to adjust quickly.
-I thought that I would encounter more English speakers that wanted to engage in conversation.
-The exchange rate for Euros it BAD right now, and only supposed to get worse.
-They have their day light savings a different time than we do here in the US, it occurred on March 31st this year.
-Each of these countries are rich with history and beauty!!
-Italy's train stations were the dirtiest and they had the oldest trains.
-Switzerland had the cleanest train stations and trains they have a very user friendly ticket purchasing system.
-There was much more country side in Germany than I had imagined.
-The Swiss temple is located in an industrial/residential area (Zollikofen) outside Bern and you can not see the temple from the train station. I was instructed that I would be able to see it just up the street. I was blessed and it didn't take me too long to find it.
-Many castles were not build in medieval times
-The Smart car is all over Europe
-There is a speed limit in many areas on the Autobahn in Germany.
-and... European cars are made to go fast!!

Venice, the city of love...

2008-03-30T06:29:00.002-06:00

Yesterday I spent the day in Venice, Italy. What a beautiful mystifying city. I would have to say that it is one of my favorite cities in the world, if not my favorite. I could have walked around for days and days exploring. I loved seeing the gondolas drifting between buildings, the architecture was amazing and the people watching was great entertainment. I took over 100 pictures. I am now at about the 500 mark of taking pictures, I look forward to downloading them onto my computer when I get home and sifting and organizing them. Eventually I will add a few to the blog.

It was a beautiful sunny day and perfect for playing tourist. I did things the Italian way: ate a big piece of flat pizza that you fold in half and had some gelatto, which was yummy. I also purchased a painting from a street vendor artist, bought an "Italian" purse from one of those men who come out of the woodwork when it starts to get dark at night and carries around large garbage bags full of illegal goods. Rode the city's water taxi, enjoying the view from the waters edge. While I was on the boat I put my new zoom lens on my camera (thanks Tim, for getting it for me!) and experimented with how close I could get into people on land. In a sense I was spying on those who couldn't tell I was spying on them. It was fun!

I had a wonderful time and hope to bring my sweetheart here someday. The man I bought my painting from told me Venice is the city of love. It is true there were lovers everywhere, people kissing and having a wonderful time.

Today I am taking advantage of the day of rest and kicking back and resting up for another big week. It is wonderful, I love Sunday!

It is nice to come to Italy for a little conversation...

2008-03-29T03:13:00.003-06:00

I am now staying in Vicenza, Italy with my friend Nancy. I arrived here yesterday evening just in time to go to the base with her and enjoy a dinner with her husbands Army Battalion. (Her husband is deployed right now in the Middle East)

It was so nice to talk again. Anyone who knows me knows I love to talk, about anything and everything. I was excited to engage with others who actually knew what I was saying and I could understand. Many of the people I have encountered at the hostels, train stations and the temple speak just enough English to communicate how much money is needed for a purchase or what platform I should head to to catch the next train and so on. Even then it involved a lot of pointing and bewildered looks at one another. I have become one of those foreigners who grins and pretends they know exactly what everyone is talking about, but really completely clueless. Until I arrived at the Army base here in Italy I haven't had a conversation in almost five days. I think it is a record for me! Man am I grateful for opportunity to talk again. Who knew it could be such a challenge for me!

I can't even tell you how difficult a seven hour train ride from Switzerland to Italy is when you are surrounded by people but don't know any other language to communicate. Needless to say I have done a lot of smiling at others, writing in my journal and trying to brush up on some German, Italian and French. But, oh so happy for the experience!

Next time I travel to a far off land, I am going to be a little more prepared in know at least some of another language!

Nancy has a Vonage phone so I waited up until after midnight to talk to Brinton after he got off work. One of the wonders of being on the other side of the world with seven hours between us. Oh boy did he get an earfull! We nearly talked for two hours. It was wonderful to catch up on some things.

Over night in Germany now I am Swiss Bound...

2008-03-25T01:16:00.002-06:00

I got to Europe about 12:30pm London time yesterday (6:30am Boise time) and arrived at the Stuttgart, Germany Airport at 5:20pm Germany time and 10:30am Boise time. I enjoyed a great nights rest last night after only sleeping on the airplane for about 2 hours.

I am currently at Sally's house enjoying getting to know her two daughters Elli and Abby. They have a beautiful home in a small community outside of Stuttgart. We are just about to eat breakfast.

I will be taking the train to Schaffhausen, Switzerland here in a couple of hours. Currently it is snowing and I am excited for the next treck.

A Common Sight this Spring!!

2008-03-21T00:20:00.002-06:00

Slaving Away for the Lovely CPA.....

Working hard!

Spring is in The Air, 3-20 Welcome Spring!!

2008-03-20T23:32:00.011-06:00

Spring is in the air and I am so excited that it is starting to show outside. Love is blossoming, my daffodils are about to break free of their tight buds, and the robins are returning. Gardening is just around the corner and it is time to clear out and prepare the soil.

The best part of it all..... Spring Break!!

There are some wonderful perks to being a teacher, this is one of them. A week away from work to enjoy life. This year I am extra lucky, two weeks away from work en route to Swiss Country side, the Alps, German Castles and my best childhood friend. I think I am living a dream!

Today's news.....

I didn't go into work today because I had a weird crazy bump on my head that I thought was a spider bite, so I went to the doctor today to have her check it out. Turns out what ever it is, it's now infected and making my eyes swollen and puffy. Hopefully I won't be too frightening to the little one's when I return to school in the morning! I sure hope things clear up quickly!

Happy Birthday DAD!!

Yesterday was my dad's birthday. Dad, Brinton and I all went to dinner at Kyoto's Japanese Steak House. It was fun to watch the chefs work their magic, right there in front of us. After dinner Dad and I caught a show at the cheap seats, 27 Dresses. My dad is the Sweetest Dad to go to a chick flick on his own birthday. He had acutally already seen it and thought I might enjoy it.

Brinton and Amber

2008-03-16T18:05:00.002-06:00

Brinton and I.....
Some of the reasons he is dear to me....
He listens and is reflective.
He is a lover of learning and values education.
He is ambitious and goal driven.
He is my dearest friend who helps me laugh at the little things in life.

Pictures...

2008-03-10T23:44:00.002-06:00

Some day when I find the time I will actually attempt to figure out the blogging world, and learn how to post pictures. For now I guess this will have to do! :)

The Big 30!

2008-03-10T23:24:00.003-06:00

For some reason I have been so excited to turn 30. I have been talking about it for months. So last week on Thursday the big day came. I had dinner at my sister Alisha's house and we celebrated with cake and dinner with her family and my dad.

One of my good friends from the Branch also shares the same birthday so we decided to throw ourselves a party on Saturday at my house.

What I didn't know is that my younger brother and sister were the works of throwing me a surprise party, which occurred on Friday night. They really got me! I can not believe that nearly every person in my life was able to keep it a secret, with over a month of planning and inviting and secrets floating all around me. The party was attended by some old friends, many new friends and even some of my closest coworkers as well as all of my immediate family. What a wonderful celebration.

Tyrel compiled a video where he interviewed friends and family where they shared memories and what they appreciate about me. I am amazed at the out pour of love of all who surround me. I am so blessed. I am a little embarrassed at some of the stories that surfaced and were shared with 70+ people in attendance. But hey, life is all about adventure.... right??

Thank you to all who contributed! What a wonderful birthday it was. I really look forward to this year as a 30 year old woman!!

Check out my Slide Show!

2008-02-26T18:06:00.000-07:00

The Latest.....

2008-02-26T00:57:00.003-07:00

So life is always full of adventure in my neck of the woods.

Just to share and catch up what I have been up to I thought I would do a brief overview of where I am at.......

Work:
I am continuing to teach Special Education Preschool in Boise and preparing to teach summer school again this summer. I have a "full" class load of 22 students. They are all very special kids and keep me on my toes. Each and every day there is something new to laugh about. Although what I do is exhausting, I find joy in working with the little ones.

Church:
I am currently attending a singles branch. They dissolved my singles ward back in September and I was so excited to return to a family ward. I was happy to start in a new place. I was in the family ward for two months before they created a singles ward within my stake. I was asked to attend the singles ward, although it wasn't what I really wanted I did pray about it and I felt guided to attend this new branch. It wasn't where I wanted to be, but I learned that first week it is exactly where I should be. Since the organization of this branch, I have witnessed many miracles in many peoples lives. It is refreshing to see so many prayers answered and lives blessed.

I teach gospel doctrine and I am the ward web lady. I love studying the Book of Mormon and teaching from it. It has strengthened my testimony and brought a special lift and spirit to my life.

Travel:
Last summer I had two childhood friends move to Europe. Sally is in Germany and Nancy is in Italy. I decided since I have a passport with no stamps in it, it is time to get moving and see the other side of the world. I came up with this idea at teh beginning of the school year. As you can see from my first post I didn't start off the school year with the best attitude. I was exhausted and tired before it even began. So initially I planned to take next summer off and go to Europe and travel around for a month. Irene and I had such a great time riding our bikes down the Oregon Coast, we thought this next adventure would be in order.

For several reasons I have decided to hit up Europe earlier, so I am going for Spring Break and the week following. I will be going to two countries: Germany and Switzerland. I am still in the process of planning my agenda, but I am very excited to see this new land I have not yet visited.

Turning 30:
I decided in celebration of thirty years of being single, I needed to have a deserving birthday present... another reason to go to Europe. To celebrate 30 years!

Dating Life:
Alas...nearly 30 and still dating strong. It is funny how in a young single LDS girls life, you don't imagine being 30 and single. Honestly I am grateful for all the wonderful opportunites I have had as a single adult. I have been blessed and there are so many wonderful adventures I have pursued. Really, I am ready to move on and step forward in other areas of my life....

Recently I have started dating a young man I met in my branch. He is quirky, kind, fun and makes me laugh. Our relationship is the most unique thing I have ever experienced. Which is a nice change, yet still so frightening to me. I look forward to the days ahead and seeing what is in store!

Snowshoe

2008-02-26T00:14:00.005-07:00

Since I did end up starting this blog so many months ago, I decided it was time to do something with it. So here I go.....

So I went snowshoeing last week and the nordic side of Bogus. It was a fun adventure and a beautiful sunny afternoon. A great way to spend Presidents Day!

I went with Irene, she is always up for a good adventure which makes it so much fun. She makes a great travel partner. She and I were planning on going to Europe this summer. I decided to go sooner and take a solo trip instead. I am sure I will have more to share about that coming up.

1st time Blogger!!

2007-08-15T18:25:00.000-06:00

So here I am newly returned from vacation of the Pacific Northwest and I am ready to take another vacation. Currently tired.

I returned to my classroom this afternoon after taking a three week hiatus and I came to realize how much I needs to be done before I am ready for the little ones to come toddling back to school.

Rather than the excitement of a new school year, I was feeling dread. The same dreadful feeling that clouded over me as I exited the school year. So much to do, and not enough time to get it all done!

After a couple of hours of rearranging furniture making to-do lists and putting toys in their spot, my classroom looked much better. The dread even lifted a bit, well at least until I received a phone call from one of my district supervisors. She needed some information about one of my students who will be attending a new school.

She asked me, "Are you ready?"

I replied, "No, not at all."

She seemed surprised, how could she. Doesn't she know I have another week of "summer vacation"?