not much to say...

So I'm obviously in a blog rut at the moment. I know it happens. Things got a little crazy two weekends ago (right after my last post actually) when my 7 year old came home from school. Sick. Sicker than a pig actually (that's a saying in my family). Anyway, she ended up dehydrated and we spent a night in the hospital with an IV and lots of fluids. And then I had lots of laundry to do when I got home and I just haven't had time or motivation to blog. And nothing really to say. Something will spark my interest soon and I'll be back - or leave me an idea or two in your comment.

***FAVORITE THINGS FRIDAY***

Woke up to the sound of pouring rain - there was a major lightning and thunderstorm starting around 5 am and I'm not used to getting up that early. But I do like a thunderstorm every now and then.
I got this shirt yesterday. Nothing that special about it, just really liked the way it looked when I tried it on and since I'm a t-shirt and jeans type of girl, I figured it was perfect for me. By the way, when I looked for a picture of it online, I couldn't find it under "t's" or under "shirts." Hmm, finally found it under "tops." What makes this a top but not a shirt or a tee?
Today, Rachel is 18 months old and to celebrate, she got her first haircut. I brought the bink fully expecting a tantrum or at least a few tears but she totally loved it!
After switching to the kid cape, we got down to business.
What a big (cute!) girl. And those are my favorite things on this beautiful Friday. Have a great weekend!

For any problems... click here

If any of you aren't busy enough with the demands of motherhood, my friend Lori introduced me to a new website that you will hopefully find helpful (or at least funny).

• Need ideas on how to start preparing your 8th grader to get into BYU? Look here. If your child should eventually be accepted, find a list of what to send to school here.


• Want ideas on how to prepare your kids to serve missions? Here you go.


• Searching for ideas for freezer meals? Grocery lists? Piano practicing charts? Weekly chore charts? Calendar & filing systems? This page fills all your needs and MORE!


• A chart for Christmas planning (starting in September) can be found here.

A lot of this information actually looks very helpful and I could use ideas in SO many of these areas. But for some reason, it also sparks a little anxiety in me. Hope y'all find something of use!

Yea bread!

For anyone who doesn't already know, we're dealing with some food allergies around here and through a series of events too long to detail here, I ended up yesterday at Whole Foods. My kids LOVED the food samples and I found something worth it's weight in gold. BREAD:

Not just any bread, bread without yeast. Bread that my little boy can eat. He had a turkey sandwich yesterday (his first sandwich in over 6 weeks!) and two pieces of toast with his dinner. And yes, another sandwich went with him to preschool today. Bread. It's a beautiful thing.

What not to wear

Do any of you watch this show? We recently got a DVR and I programmed this show in and now I'm watching it EVERY DAY and I can't stop! What's funny is, I totally want to be on the show, but not to throw away my current wardrobe (although I probably should) or be humiliated by my lack of style or fashion sense, but for the $5,000 shopping spree in NYC. What's not to love about that? Plus, tips on how to dress MY body, from Stacy and Clinton themselves - pure heaven!

Where would I be?

Have you ever had something really, really hard happen in your life? Or had a major change that took months or even years to adjust to? What got you through it?



I was thinking recently about our move to H* and how that first year I thought we had made the wrong decision and how much I HATED our first summer here (maybe because I was pregnant and I don't think I felt cool for 4 months straight). How much I just wanted to leave and go back to life as I knew it before - completely surrounded by family and friends. You know what got me through it? My husband, my kids and my church. I honestly don't know how people in the world move - especially to a totally new place with NO friends, NO family, NOTHING - without the church. We have an exceptional ward, I'll admit. Maybe because most of us are in similar stages of life (young-ish, with young families, LOTS of little kids, and almost all of us are transplants and here without family nearby). But my first week, a girl sat by me, asked for my email address and I got my first email from her that night inviting me to an activity. We're still friends. I got invited to a "girls night out" a few weeks later and really debated going, but I went and had a lot of fun and had my first tiny inkling of "belonging" here. Six months after we got here, I remember a baby shower that I attended for a girl who had just moved in and was about to have her first baby (see, I told you our ward was great - no one knew her but someone threw her a party and everyone came to tell her that we would embrace and love her!) and a girl in my ward said she was happy to see me there and gave me a hug. It still brings tears to my eyes to think about what that meant to me.



So, someone I know is going through a hard thing and when I called her friend yesterday to see how I could help she said, "you know what? There has a been a flurry of calls and so many people are helping right now, I don't know what to tell you to do." Aren't we lucky to be part of something like that? When I was in Young Women's I was not excited about turning 18 and becoming a part of "Relief Society" but now I know better. I could not have survived some things in my life without it and the sisterhood and friendship it has provided for me.

I loved General Conference!

Something about Conference reminds me of all the trips we made to Utah as kids so my dad could attend in person. We loved staying in hotels (especially if there were elevators!) and heading to Deseret Book during the Priesthood Session. It also reminds me of the times I went in person while I was a student at BYU. Even if we didn't get into the tabernacle (yes, those were the "good 'ol days" before the Conference Center) we would sit outside on the beautiful grounds and just listen. Fun times! CJ said Priesthood on Sat. night was awesome and one of the best sessions he's ever listened to. And I (along with probably half the women in the church) LOVED Elder Ballard's talk yesterday afternoon. I missed President Hinckley but I'm excited about President Monsen too - wasn't he funny? I feel ready to face a new week.

***FAVORITE THINGS FRIDAY***

Got this email from Boden a few days ago and thought the dress was so cute - looks comfy too. Plus, $15 off when you spend $75! Have a happy Friday!

Three Cups of Tea

So last night my book club met and we talked about this book and it was a really fun discussion for me. For anyone who's interested, the book is about a guy named Greg Mortenson who attempted to climb K2 in Northern Pakistan in 1993 (he made it within 600 meters but never to the summit). On his way down, he got lost and stumbled into a poor village where the locals nursed him back to health. Before he left he saw children without a school or teachers and promised to come back with resources to help those kids. Long story short, he has now built 55+ schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan where over 55,000 children are being educated. It's really an amazing and inspiring story of what one person can do to change the world.

I think my favorite part of book club is that I end up reading books that I might never have picked up (this being one example) and talking about it with other women who share my basic values, but with totally different backgrounds, cultures, ideas and opinions.

That's how I know...

In the movie Enchanted, Giselle sings a song called "How will she know?" that our family loves! She asks,

Does he leave a little note to tell you you are on his mind?

Send you yellow flowers when the sky is gray?

Does he take you out dancing just so he can hold you close?

Dedicate a song with words meant just for you?

Her point is that a guy has to find his own little ways to show his girl that he loves her or she won't know for sure that he does. So this post is about CJ and how I know that he loves me. A few weeks ago, he "held down the fort" twice so I could go to Book Club on Wednesday night and then again for Bunco on Friday night. I had a blast getting out and seeing my friends - it was just what I needed. Again, last week, some girlfriends took me out for my birthday and tonight is Book Club again (I'll have to post later on about this book too. It was REALLY good). He is a great husband and dad and I appreciate it so much when I get to take some time off and enjoy something selfish that's all for me.

That's how I know!