random stuff i like lately

/2 Comments/in /by

now – it’s all stuff that doesn’t really matter… but it’s fun… some of those little happy things.
hmmmm… looks like most of it is food.

Sorel Tivoli Boots at half-price. Will love for years to come.

Homemade Caramel & crisp Fresh Apples

Just wish these Buddy Fruit Snacks cost half as much.  I like the pomegranate.  The kids like the orange.

Coconut oil… can you believe you can apply it on your face & it won’t cause a break-out? I love it for skin care… plus Janers tells me it’s good for me too.  I do have to say that though the refined isn’t quite as pure, I love that the smell isn’t as strong.  I really want to get buckets of it for cooking & food storage. Supposedly it lasts longer that vegetable oil in storage. The only problem is it’s $$$$ in large quantities.

Really love this color for fabrics and paint… I’m totally getting a charcoal tablecloth. The only issue with Gray is that I know my winter will be filled with gray skies. I’ve really appreciated blue skies here and there.

I’ve purchased my year supply of mini candy canes from target. I love a bit o’ peppermint in hot chocolate.

Because I totally bought all of Christmas on Amazon. Really. It might be dumb, but I’m soooooo not shopping in stores with 3 tots under 3. Thank you Amazon Mom for my free Prime Shipping.

Getting excited for Cutie Season… which also means Scandinavian Fruit Soup will be made this holiday season.

well… isn’t that fun?!

/2 Comments/in /by

Today I decided I ought to try and open my digital Simply Fresh Designs shop for the holidays. It might be a really bad idea since I’m a wee bit busy these days, but the thought of CREATing and making a few $$ is a pleasant thought.

Jimmy tried to turn the SFD shop back on, but it was malfunctioning due to a compatibility problem with the e-commerce plugin (that’s the word I got from my tech-support hubby anyways!). So I decided to dive into Etsy again. It’s easy-peasy-lemon-squeasy.

I added 8 new prints and thought I’d just see how they sell.

And you know… when I was all done loading the listings and images, I realized I had already sold something.

“Well, isn’t that fun?!” said I.

And I ran upstairs to tell Jimmy (who was sleeping soundly) that I sold a custom listing for $20 to a stranger from Indiana. So – who knows how it will go, but it’s a start, isn’t it?

I wanted to note my new favorite listings:

Jimmy and I were talking the other day about how we need to read the scriptures one-on-one with our kids in parent/child chats… and also encourage them to read on their own. Hannah and Abe are both getting old enough to have personal scripture study. Of course my brain jumps into gear and wants to create a fun Reading Chart for them to have in their room. I’ve created several over the past few years, but this is my favorite. Nothing too exciting… but fun colors.

and then it SNOWed

/2 Comments/in /by

The song that came to mind last night when i looked outside and saw SNOW. A fun memory… driving home to Idaho with Alison and Jenni… and Johnny Mathis… and Winter Wonderland. We sang and sang and sang. This verse was our specialty.

Since the snow is here to stay, I suppose we’ll have to try and enjoy it.

On the agenda today: put up our indoor Christmas lights and garland… after we do all the bleh-blah housework, that is.

Have I Ever Told You?

/4 Comments/in , /by

This is a repost from 2008.  I wanted to revisit this idea to remind myself to keep going with these books. The main idea was to share fun stories from the past with our children… to teach values… and share lessons learned.

A few years ago Susan Tanner gave a great talk . Part of it reads:

“Almost three years ago, one of our daughters got married and immediately left with her husband for medical school in a distant city. She was leaving the security of the nest to begin a family of her own. I wondered: “Did I teach her everything she needs to know? Does she know what is most important in this life? Is she prepared to build a happy home?”

“As I watched her drive away, I remembered a little journal I gave her on her 17th birthday. It was entitled “Did I Tell You . . . ?” In it, I recorded counsel I had often given her in our late-night conversations. I thought of three additional entries I wanted to add to that little journal to help her make a transition more important and challenging than that of crossing the country: the transition to starting her own home and family.” April 2003 Gen. Conf.

The rest of her talk is a bit of that advice. I loved that idea of starting a little book of advice for my kids.

My sister-in-law Lisa made a little bedtime story book of stories about her and her husband. And then each year she would add cute little stories about the kids so it became a little personal history stories for the family.

Soooo, a few years ago, I started a book that combines a little of each of these books. Jimmy and I both wrote some fun memories of our childhood but also moments like about our temple sealing, the day we were baptized, and other special moments. And then I also wrote a few blurbs like about how I gained my testimony and other things I’d learned that I wanted to share. We added a few pages about the kids like about the day they were born and cute things about them. We put it in a half-size binder and laminated the pages so it could be a bed-time story book for the kiddos. It’s a ‘Have I ever told you….’ book.

I was reminded of all of this from this new book coming out by Lisa Bearnson. I love the idea behind it:

“This scrapbook tells what’s really important in life. It gives advice and wisdom and the honest to goodness truth. My goal for this book was for it to be a comforter, adviser and teacher for anyone looking at it–long after I’ve departed from this life.”

So whether you scrapbook or not, it’s easy enough to sit down for a few minutes every now and then to type:

a few things you’ve learned,
a few things you’ve cherished,
a few lovely memories,
a few things you believe,
a few silly or embarrassing moments…

the things your kids would love reading about. And maybe someday they’ll realize you were a totally normal person that felt alot like they do… and they’ll be strengthened somehow. You just never know… but maybe you’ll be strengthened by reading your own thoughts too.

These are a few we’ve started:

Fantastic

/3 Comments/in /by


I mean – it’s really true.

or not.

but didn’t it make you laugh?

I sure did.

recovered

/2 Comments/in , /by

I think it took an entire week to recover from last Sunday. I had a bit of a bleh week not wanting to deal with the bleh things in life… like dishes and biting 2-year-olds and such.

But this week, I’m recommitting to Home, love, family. My goal: do all I can to help our family have the Spirit in our home so we can be filled with the Love of God.

Oh – the best news is that today Tru was so good at church. Since I shared last Sunday’s disaster day… Let me share the good about today.

Jimmy decided to let Truman finish his nap and then bring him to church. Perhaps not the best option for a long-term solution, but a needful idea for today. I was honestly so scared at the very thought of taking Tru to church. So it worked out. He woke at 1:00 and they came soon after. They couldn’t find us in the chapel so they sat in the gym.

And you know what… Tru quietly sat on Jimmy’s lap the entire time… no snacks, books, anything. Quiet. And he happily went to nursery. After church when the fam came to find me, Tru held my hand and then he kissed it. Yes – kissed it. Blessed child – at least for a moment.

So – it’s onward and upward this week… at least that’s the goal.

p.s. I’m grateful that my children still adore me even when I look like this:I showered at night and slept on wet hair. AWEsome! And can you see the bruise on my upper arm from last Sunday’s episode. Don’t you love fabulous photos like this when everyone has their eyes closed. Tru was about to break into his cheesy closed-eyes smile. I just plain had my eyes closed. Ha-ha!

11.11.11

/1 Comment/in /by

I have a love for the number 11. So today’s date was a delight.

Why do i like 11? It has something to do with this time of day.
Whenever I see this time on a digital clock, it gives me a little thrill and a smile. It’s so much cooler than 10:10 or 12:12. Go 11’s!

What were you doing at 11:11 this morning on 11.11.11? I think I was feeding Eliza her bottle and listening to Max and Truman cry, cry, cry. Wow – what a time! It’s hard to meet 3 littles needs at once.

Tonight at 11:11, I hope to be sleeping sweetly since last night Truman barfed and we were all up half the night.

In other news… today is also Veteran’s Day. Thanks to all who have defended our country & freedom. These are pictures of my Grandpa Nelson who served in the Navy. Handsome young chap. And what a beauty Grandma Ruth was. Sometimes I want to go back in time and live a day in every decade just to experience that culture. Would I miss the conveniences of TODAY or would I enjoy the difference…. simpler times with less craziness in the world perhaps?

p.s. here is a new video from the pianoguys.
a happy tune for a Friday (listen to the piano near the end… happy!)

meet the day singing

/0 Comments/in , , /by

Came across this poem today.I know I ought to greet the day singing…
being grateful for life … family … opportunity.
Yep – Need to work on that. Mornings aren’t my specialty.

Yesterday I was so super tired. I’m not sure why, but my body was drained. All I wanted was a nap.
At the end of the day, this scripture came to mind.
There is so much good to be done – if I can just keep going.
Today I’m recommitting myself.
The dishes and laundry need some attention.
My tots could use some one-on-one time with a nice mom.
I need to get on top of my game with Relief Society stuff.

Onward and Upward!

moving on

/2 Comments/in , /by

perhaps i ought to hold off on my ‘life is hard… and then you die’ journaling thoughts for 24 hours before posting.
though…someday it will come in handy… like when truman is a dad wondering why his 2-year-old is so awful.

i found a big purple bruise with red bite marks on the upper part of my inner arm from yesterday.
ouch.
those teeth went through a t-shirt and a thick chunky sweater.
oh… and a scratch on my cheek.
mean baby.

a co-worker of Jimmy’s told him that Truman was a completely normal 2-year-old.
He also said that from age 13-18, teenagers revert to 2-year-old ways.
That’s reassuring.

Not.

but… there is good in this child.
this morning we were doing dishes together and he leaned over and kissed my arm.
and then i remembered that I never stopped loving him.

this kid is so cute. like really cute…
when he is nice, that is.
what to do with little Tru?
sigh…

worst sunday ever

/8 Comments/in /by

i’ve had some doozies, mostly when abe was 2 and 3 years old, when we lived in Tennessee.
i left church crying with crying kids on several sundays…
generally it was when Jimmy was out and about with his stake calling.

but today honestly beats all.

it was seriously unreal…
i couldn’t believe this was really my life…
that I could have a child scream so much, so loud, for so long.
and the thrashing, hitting, biting, scratching…
seriously?

if i talked to him, he screamed.
if i held him lovingly, he screamed.
if i was firm with him, he screamed.
if i ignored him, he screamed.
if i offered to take him inside to sit with the family, he screamed.
(we were out in the parking lot at this point.)

initially Truman screamed at Abe in the middle of the sacrament… like really loud.
he was mad that his sacrament cup didn’t get put in the tray.

i had to take him to the foyer…
and he kept screaming at me so i had to take him in between the doors…
and he kept screaming so i had to take him outside… only it was cold.
but i couldn’t take him back inside because he seriously wouldn’t stop screaming.

can we just say that Tru really needed his nap today.
1:00 church is killer for toddlers.

next week he’s sitting with jimmy.
i get eliza.
the problem is that tru somehow thinks he only needs and wants me.
but only on his terms, obviously.

i was trying to send telepathic messages to jimmy so he would know i needed him
(and needed the keys to the car).
but he didn’t catch my brain waves.
luckily my friend was in the foyer and heard us and came to help.
she got the keys from jimmy in sacrament meeting and i finally took that screaming child home.
he even screamed at me when i tried to tuck his blanket around him.
tired child.

it’s pretty much ridiculous that the r.s. president missed church because her child was so awful…
and i was bawling my eyes out wondering why he was so hard and wouldn’t be reasonable.
i couldn’t contain my tears enough to trade places with jimmy so i stayed home while tru napped.
oh dear.

this is my go-to thought when i’ve had a hard sunday.
it somehow comforts me to know i’m not the only mother out there
who might struggle with a screaming 2-year-old at church.

dealing with a toddler isn’t even the biggest ‘blow of life’
but it’s still nice to feel understood by other moms.

i made it through Abe as a toddler… he’s much better now.
please tell me I’ll survive Tru.
please.

p.s. and this comes after I firmly resolved yesterday to give Tru a chance… to be more positive in how I speak about him to Jimmy … to focus on what he does well… to give him positive attention for his sweet kisses and snuggles. I guess he decided to put me to the test. sigh…