These Days

1. Happiness at Ikea (she was about to eat her ice cream cone)
2. Mother-Daughter photo shoot (you can hardly see it, but June loves putting on her costume jewelry)
3. Curling hair and playing dolls at Grandma's (We're still trying to figure out how to curl her hair better! It never turns out as planned.)
4. Gilbert Temple (They have a visitor's center, it's worth going.)
5. The most amazing cat sweater I've ever seen. (I'm still kicking myself... I should have gotten it for you, Sarah and/or Daphne.)
6. June had a fever for a couple days. We stayed home and watched dog movies all day. My girl loves her dogs.
7. Playing at Barnes and Noble... it's got everything for June (books, toys, puzzles) and everything for me (air-conditioning, a quiet atmosphere, magazines, benches).
8. My first green smoothie... We scored a Vitamix (thanks again David!!) and we love it. It's the best thing to happen in this house since half-priced donuts at QT.
9. Splash Padding it up... June loves her summertime.


Follow me: @jennybsnaps

Things I used to think

I used to see adorable girls in adorable big bows and I thought, "That's adorable, but not for my girl."

I changed my mind...

... but only sometimes. I still prefer the tiny bows.

I also used to think that my child WILL NEVER watch television before she's two years old.

This didn't last long. June loves her Elmo and her newest favorite, Yo Gabba Gabba. (I have to admit, I really like some of the songs and dance moves on that show. DJ Lance Rock knows how to party.) I did however, limit her television-watching to 30 minutes a day, usually when I need to get something done.

I'm also trying to teach her how to be a good reader. Her favorite is 'Pat the Bunny'...

...especially the part where you play 'peek-a-boo' with Paul.

The last thing I used to think was that babies who have chubby cheeks are the cutest babies.

I was right.

Kids in a Candy Store

William owns a gum ball machine at our local Water & Ice. This means two things:

1) Every 3-4 months when we retrieve our quarters, we get to purchase a delicious treat. Water & Ice is STOCKED.

2) We get to see the latest candies (Did you know that Mambas have a gummy version? And there is also a candy/sucker/toy called 'Pop n Lock'.)

William, one day we should spend all our machine quarters on treats and soda.

Pop n Locks fo' life!

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Listening to: Monsters of Folk... I wish they would make another album.

Annoyed: at flight fees. Nobody buy plane tickets from U.S. Airways anymore. That'll show 'em.

Reading: a book about gardening in small spaces. We are getting close to putting in our yard.

Purchased: plenty of produce from Superstition Ranch Market today. Now the race is on to eat it all before it goes bad.

Wearing: maternity pants. No, I'm not pregnant nor have I gained weight... it's just been that kind of day.

Weekend

June is falling in love with the drums:

She's finally learning to hit all the parts of the drums, not just hitting the two drumsticks together. This is a great start to our little drummer girl.

This is what else happened over the weekend:

- Lunch with family at Rosa's

- Dinner with friends at Natalie's

- Birthday Party at Debbie's

- Lots of baking, should have been cleaning

- Errands (getting the boring stuff like mouth wash and shaving cream)

- Time Machine in Primary - this was the highlight. My good friend, Carly, teaches Sharing Time and she built a "time machine" (out of a refrigerator box) to transport a scriptural figure to our Primary Room. (This was something my mom created when Carly and I were both wee little primary children.) So William dressed up as Noah (thanks to my mother-in-law's awesome costume closet) and it was hilarious. My favorite part was watching "Noah" stumble out of the time machine and seeing the kid's faces in shock.

- Steak, potatoes, and cake for Sunday dinner.

You'll notice that watching the Super Bowl isn't on the list. Yep.

Hello, February.

This month means love and Arizona. I can't wait for the celebrations of each.

Today wasn't the most tranquil day. June didn't get a good nap, and she let me know it all day. Going on a walk, eating pears, and watching Elmo helped to calm her down for the most part.

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Listening to: Elliot Smith, especially this song.

Purchased: our plane ticket to Utah... excited, but sad to see Daniel leave on his mission.

Listing: new projects everyday. I want to tackle ones that look like this and this.

Watching: second season of Downton Abbey. I realize I'm one of the last people to ride the Abbey road, but it's worth mentioning.

Reading and Re-reading: this quote. I hope that one day this will apply to me... especially the station wagon part (preferably with wood paneling).

Staple

I feel like I've been lacking in the recipe posts lately. I'd love to try to make at least one new thing each week. The cookbooks I checked out at the library are slightly overwhelming, since we don't always stock fresh herbs or buy fancy cheeses.

I think I've just been too busy with our "staple" meals, which are super easy, require no recipe directions, and always turn out delicious.

Here's what we usually eat: spaghetti, pancakes and eggs, grilled cheese and soup, fried rice and pot stickers, and bean burritos with homemade salsa (plus all the fix-ins)...

I guess they're not the healthiest of meals, but I'm trying to get better at eating more of the veggies than the main course.

Now pass me those chips...

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Listening to: this song by Cookie Monster. Seriously, listen to the lyrics. It's so cute and Cookie Monster singing it is THE BEST.

Decided: to try painting. I need to hang some art in my house, and unfortunately for my house, this is the cheapest way to go.

Absolutely delighted: that this inexpensive pizza oven alternative exists. I don't have to wait for William to build me an actual brick oven. Now to find me the perfect pizza dough recipe...

Cracking up: at this face and hair--

Love my girl.

Blackbird

I finally jumped on the Twitter bus. I don't know what took me so long or what changed my mind... I guess I just felt like I was missing out.

Anyway, I feel like the new kid in school (which I hate), so can you let me follow you around? (Leave a comment with your twitter name, please.)

You can follow me too: @JennyBtweets

I went to the library with every intent of checking out some novels.

I walked out with 4 cookbooks instead.

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Listening to: Wilco, 'A Ghost is Born'. Specifically, 'A Muzzle of Bees'.

Reading: 'Hourglass' by Myra McEntire. I need to return it very soon... I think to you, Connie?

Also Reading: one of my cookbooks from the library called 'Mad Hungry'. Its focus is feeding your family, especially families full of men. Since William does most of the eating in this house, it's perfect.

Making: Valentine Garlands... they're just made with streamers, no biggie.

Eating: this salsa. I really need to try a different recipe, but I just can't break from this one.

Happy Birthday to my twin brothers, Joe and Jay! Let's go to Carolina's.

And a Happy (late Birthday) to my brother-in-law, Daniel! Let's go to DP Cheesesteaks.

June is super proud to be an American, so I made her the above U.S. map out of fabric scraps. (Sorry to leave you out, Alaska and Hawaii.) This was my inspiration. No, I didn't sew each state on the canvas. It's called Mod Podge and it smells icky.

There's something wrong when you wish your bedroom was the nursery. I think it's finally time that I start decorating my own bedroom.

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Listening to: Mumford and Sons. I boarded their train and I dig.

Changed my mind: on paint colors for my bedroom AGAIN. I went from wanting to paint it dark gray to a lighter color when I saw this bedroom and this bedroom. Choosing a paint color is an annoying battle that I fight with myself.

Drinking: Hot chocolate and whipped cream.

Studying every detail of: this trailer. I can't wait.

Elated: that June is loving Sesame Street. I can't wait to get her a Cookie Monster doll.

Just go to the record store, and visit your friends...

This is our humble pile of records:

Most Saturdays, William and I listen to records while we work. We have a small but sensational record collection. Some we found at thrift stores. A few we bought brand new. William was generously GIVEN those Beatles records. We're lookin' to collect more.

In addition to these resolutions, I've made a few mental goals as well. One thing I aspire to do is build something.

Of course I need to start small, so I'd love to build something that houses our record collection. Something like this, or this.

Seeing Spots

(Playtime in June's room)

Yesterday was one of those days that started off amazing, and quickly took an ugly turn. My list for the day included: work at the office, Activity days (my new calling at church, I can't tell you how excited I am about it), clean the kitchen and bedroom, deliver cookies and make dinner.

In the morning, I dropped June off at my mom's and went to dad's office to work. As I was driving back, I noticed I was seeing spots,and I thought it was my contacts. Within 10 minutes of getting to my mom's house, I went from having a minor headache to feeling like my head was going to explode. Then the nausea came. I thought I knew what a migraine was, but this was a whole new level of nasty. I was thankful that I was still at my mom's... she let me sleep and watched June for a few more hours.

I didn't like yesterday at all. I only got one thing done on my list, and because of the nausea that wouldn't go away (even after my migraine did), I wasn't the most lovable mom towards this little bean:

June, I promise I will be better today... because today we're going shopping with Grandma. Nothing beats a migraine hangover like shopping with Grandma.

Here's to another day of not getting my list done. Happy Friday the 13th.