Shabby Apple finalists

Have any of you been following Shabby Apple's "Dare to Design" contest? I really like Shabby Apple dresses although I don't actually have any. I just think it's fun to check their site from time-to-time and see what they're offering. Especially since I think it's so hard to find modest dresses. Anyway, the 15 finalists are posted and you can go vote for your favorite here. You can only vote ONCE so I'm narrowing it down between these 3 but so far I'm still undecided. Whichever design wins will be a part of the Shabby Apple spring line and the designer will get 3% of the profits from the sale of her dress. Cool eh? Check it out and let me know which one you're voting for.

I have to agree..

I think I need this for Eric.

Only $7.99 at gap.com

(plus an additional 15% off with code GAPSTYLE1)

Austin

We're here - in the great city of Austin and so far, so good. But please remind me (if I ever consider moving again) how much I REALLY hate unpacking.

Go Brigham

“As I have often told my sisters in the Female Relief Societies, we have sisters here who, if they had the privilege of studying, would make just as good mathematicians or accountants as any man; and we think they ought to have the privilege to study these branches of knowledge that they may develop the powers with which they are endowed. We believe that women are useful not only to sweep houses, wash dishes, make beds, and raise babies, but that they should stand behind the counter, study law or physic [medicine], or become good book-keepers and be able to do the business in any counting house, and this to enlarge their sphere of usefulness for the benefit of society at large (Discourses of Brigham Young, 216–17).”

I hope to someday enlarge my sphere of usefulness for the benefit of society, but for now it's my season to sweep houses, wash dishes, make beds, and raise babies.

I just finished...

Book Six.

Again.

Cannot wait to see the movie.

J.K. Rowling is a genius.

Watch a trailer here and here.

America the Beautiful

"Oh, beautiful for heroes proved in liberating strife,

Who more than self their country loved, and mercy more than life!

America! America! May God thy gold refine,

Till all success be nobleness, and every gain divine."

(America the Beautiful, verse 3. Words by Katherine Lee Bates, 1859-1929).

We sang this in church today and verse 3 made me cry. I'm so grateful to be in this country and for the sacrifices that make our freedom possible. I know I don't appreciate it as much or think about it as often as I should.

"...Long may our land be bright with freedom's holy light.

Protect us by thy might, Great God, our King!"

(My Country, 'Tis of Thee, verse 4. Words by Samuel F. Smith, 1808-1895).

Cuties on my bed...

Lots of times when I lay Eric down somewhere, Rachel will run over to lay down right next to him. I think it's cute (when it isn't annoying me) that she has to be so close. I wonder if he ever wishes for a little more personal space with all these siblings in his face all day?

Calling all Target shoppers

I've been looking for a "maxi dress" like this for awhile now and saw this at Target.com. Looks pretty cute and comfy and I want to buy it, but it's out of stock. So if you see it at your local store, could you grab one for me (in either a M or a L please)? I'll pay you back plus shipping.

Thanks!

What the what?

Is anyone else as bugged as I am that Wes is still around? How dumb can Jillian be? I mean, it's really nice of her to give him the benefit of the doubt and to trust her gut and all, but he's already told two other guys about his girlfriend. I can't wait until the "men tell all" episode - I really hope they show her face while they play the clip of him talking about how he's already made it six shows and he's so excited about all the publicity he's getting and how his manager told him it would be a great opportunity for his band. Ugh! Sick of him. He's giving Austin a bad name!

I felt bad for both of the guys that got sent home tonight. Poor Michael. I'm excited that Ed's back though - I really liked him and I knew she was gonna keep him around. Can't wait for next week's installment. For some reason, I think I'm pulling for semi-neurotic Reid. There's just something about him. Still like Kiptyn (despite his unfortunate name) and Ed though. But I'm ready for Jillian to kick Wes to the curb already.

Here's what our summer looks like

We started the summer off with daily swimming lessons for two weeks. Hannah just gets better and better. And Charlie is turning into a little fish.

And Miss Rachel started dance lessons. She is adorable and loves going to dance with Miss Stephanie.

I know my photohgraphy and camera stink and these are taken through the window, but can you see her there on the left holding her teacher's hand?

And last but not least, Hannah and Charlie started karate. They both love it. Maybe too much. I frequently have to remind them, well Charlie mostly, that his teacher has asked him NOT to practice on his siblings without their permission.

What does your summer look like?

I think I must have WAY too much going on...

WARNING: If you hide a Tupperware bowl of carmel popcorn in your oven and then turn it on later to preheat for dinner, this is what will happen:

Oh well, one less thing to move, right?

I think we finally bought a house...

We spent the weekend in our new hometown, Austin. It was H.O.T. But it wasn't very humid, which I loved (even though I was H.O.T.)

And believe it or not, we finally bought a house. Here are a few photos. Right now we're scheduled to close on the 17th of July. Which is in 4 weeks, give or take and I can't believe how soon that is. I better get busy.

Do I love that there's tile in the family room? No. But if I've learned anything in the past 4 weeks it's this: buying a house is a compromise. And our huge entry way rug really needs to fit in this room.

I'm really excited for all the cabinets in the kitchen since we're leaving an amazing pantry here in Houston. The wall of cabinets on the left will hopefully hold most of our food storage. And I'm wondering how hard it might be for my dad to change the light fixture in the kitchen because I really hate it. What do you think dad?

Today is CJ's first day at his new job. I'm nervous for him (who knows why since he isn't nervous for himself but I always hated starting a new job). We'll miss him, but we're excited to go visit later this week. And eventually, we'll find (and close on) a house in Austin so we can join him.

The University of Texas at Austin is dedicated to improving the quality of life of the people of Texas and the United States. We are a leading provider of education and research with a depth and diversity of resources unmatched by most other public universities. As an enduring symbol of the spirit of Texas—big, ambitious and bold—the university drives economic and social progress in Texas and serves our nation as a leading center of knowledge and creativity. (Taken from the UT homepage)

Did y'all know that in 2002 UT was recognized by Sports Illustrated as "America's best sports college"? I didn't either.

Hope you have a great first day CJ!

Oops!

Today after church (and a late lunch) the doorbell rang. We weren't expecting anyone, but CJ answered and it was a family with a real estate agent who were here to see our house. Since we weren't expecting them, we asked if they could come back in 15-30 minutes so we could wake Rachel up, straighten up a bit, and get out of the house. They said sure. But about 5 minutes after they left, the agent called and said they wouldn't be back.

When I checked my cell phone later, the agent had called to schedule the appointment and I just didn't get it. D'oh!

Another agent called to schedule a showing tonight from 7-8, but about an hour later, she cancelled too.

3 people have scheduled to see our house since we put it on the market, but none have actually seen it yet. And today's mix-up was my fault. I'm sure the agent figures there are plenty of houses on the market so we don't have to show ours if we don't want to. Lesson learned: next time someone shows up to see the house (whether we know about it or not) LET THEM IN!

If this house ever sells it will truly be a miracle.

Food should NOT make me this happy...

I'm still blaming the "extra" weight on the baby, but chicken flautas with guacamole at 11 p.m. can't be helping...

YUM!

School's out...

Guess how we spent the afternoon?

Licking the bowl...

4 Months...

I know this picture is blurry but do you see the pure joy in that baby's face? He loves his Bumbo seat. It was a little spendy, but worth it. If you want to get one, look here.


Eric officially turned 4 months old last Friday. We were on our way to Austin - more about that eventful weekend later - so I didn't post. But today he had his 4 month well check. He weighs 13 lbs. exactly (25th percentile) and he's in the 50th percentile for length (or height I guess).

He's at such a great age. He's sleeping well - I usually only have to get up once in the early morning to feed him. He laughs and squeals and spits to get our attention and I just can't get enough of him. He is honestly the best baby I've ever been around. He endured the trip to Austin better than our older kids and spent countless hours in his car seat without even a tiny bit of complaint. He just looks around and squawks until he falls asleep. He's starting to grab toys too although he mostly just bonks himself in the face with 'em. I am so grateful for these past four months and for the happiness this baby has brought to me and my family.

Happy 4 months Ricky!

Charlie's haircut

Wishful thinking...

I took my kids to the nearby outdoor mall on Wed. to play in the water. They had a blast and it was really fun to watch them having a good time. When they decided they were finished and I got them changed into dry clothes, I decided to stop in and check out the Fossil store. I should never have gone in! They had the cutest stuff! Here are a few of my favorites. By the way Em, they also had the belt you featured on your blog recently and I loved it. I had an orange shirt on that day and the aqua bag looked SO cute with it. Too bad my birthday is already over and so is Mother's Day. How long until Christmas again???

You can thank me later...

If you want a treat (and I usually do), try this idea I got from a friend. Make your favorite chocolate chip cookie dough, but instead of adding chocolate chips at the end, add 1 c. shredded coconut, 1 c. chopped pecans and white chocolate chips, then bake as usual. Yummy!

For Ellen

Several years ago, after my sister Ellen had her oldest son, Luke, she found this cute little outfit for a baby boy and got it even though Luke was too big for it. She figured she would just hang on to it until she had her next baby boy. Well, 3 girls later, I guess she has given up hope because I got that outfit in the mail after finding out that I was pregnant with a boy. Anyway, it's almost too small for Eric now so I decided I needed to take pictures of him in it before we have to pack it away (you know ,to save for our next baby boy - hahahaha!) You can't see it in the picture, but it has these darling little sailboats on it and it's so cute!

Thanks Ellen! I'm trying to appreciate it like I know you would. And Eric says it's his favorite outfit!

Love your mother...

Happy Earth Day!

Girls trip!

Thursday morning, Hannah, Eric and I are on our way to Colonial Williamsburg, VA!

Several years ago (pre-kids), CJ and I spent a few days there and absolutely loved it. So interesting! We actually toured the mansion pictured below and literally took notes on our favorite features of the house. You know, for when we eventually build our own historical mansion/plantation.
We're hoping to attend a witch trial one night and go on a "ghost walk" on the next. I am SO looking forward to this trip and some girl time with Hannah, Misty, Alex and my mom.

So thanks for inviting us on this trip girls - we can't wait to see you! And thanks for letting Eric come along too even if he'll be the only boy. Someday, he'll be so embarrassed that I took him on a girls trip!

Easter

This was my family Sunday morning, after the Easter egg hunt and before church.

Sheesh, what a day. CJ was sustained as a counselor in the bishopric and as he walked up to the stand, Rachel had a little meltdown and I had to take her out. Luckily, a friend came and sat with my other 3 kids so I didn't have to take them out with me. And I realized that Rachel is the only baby I've had without CJ serving in a bishopric (or being called shortly after the baby arrived). This is the third time for him (he keeps joking that he must not be getting it right) but the sad thing for me is now I have to sit alone each week but with 4 kids this time around. Woe is me, right? I'm sure I could have worse problems and there are lots of girls in my ward who do that alot. And single parents or part-member families do it all the time. But I've had 3 wonderful years of having CJ at my side every single Sunday. And he was home in the morning before church, helping me get kids ready and packing the diaper bag. And home after church helping feed the kids and getting them changed and down for naps of whatever. And now (too late) I realize how spoiled I was. I've had lots of offers from friends to help out during sacrament meeting and I'm so grateful to be in this ward where I know that help will be available to me - and believe me, we will need it. Okay, now I've vented a little and I'm going to much more positive about the whole bishopric thing - yay!

Hope you had a Happy Easter!

Tick-tock

I love clocks.

I went into a clock store almost 10 years ago to buy a cuckoo clock for my husband who was graduating from medical school (and specializing in psychiatry - get it?) and I had to drag myself out of the store. I love the sound of a clock chiming on the hour and since our cuckoo clock broke, I miss hearing that little bird announcing the time. So I loved this idea for my entry way wall. It's been 3 years since we moved into this house and I have agonized over what to put in this huge space. But it's finally done. Almost. Now, I'm looking for a piece of furniture to go below the clocks. (Thank goodness for tax returns or that part would still be on hold.) I'm thinking about this from ZGallerie. It's even 10% off right now. What do you think?

Adam, Prince of Eternia

Anyone remember He-Man?

Charlie was playing today and he put the baby's bumbo seat on his head and I told him he looked like Ram-Man. He had no idea what I was talking about, so I did a google search to introduce him to He-Man, Teela, Skeletor, Evil-Lyn and Cringer (He-Man's green tiger that he rode on - remember?) I used to watch this cartoon every day after school and my brother had a bunch of the action figures. I even found a clip that confirmed a vague memory of mine: He-Man was "with" Teela or at least he had feelings for her. Anyway, it was a funny walk down memory lane. I'm off to search the web for full-length episodes...Charlie is hooked.

Missionary Man

See how good I'm being about posting on my blog? Hahahahaha! Whatever... I really must not have much to say or maybe I'm just feeling a little busy lately. Anyway, we took these pictures of Eric almost 2 weeks ago and I had to post them to show you how adorable he is. And I need CJ's mom to see them - she's the one who sent us the onsie!

Does he look like his dad?
Click on the picture so you can read the "nametag." Funny no?

I am SO in love with this kid!