Weekend Recap Mon 30th

Wow! I can't believe it's the last day of September! Crazy. This month has gone by so fast. Actually this YEAR has gone by really fast. Wow... Anyway!

Nothing too exciting to report about this weekend, except for the fact we moved LW to a new room and a new bed... a toddler bed.

Yay for Cars :)

This bed has actually been up for a couple weeks. He has loved going into the new room and playing in it and on his bed. He even wanted to sleep in it before this weekend. The room wasn't quite ready yet though and neither were the hubs or I, so on Friday this is what I did to LW's old room (the nursery).

I took all his crib bedding out and put it away and replaced it with our baby girls things. (bumpers and sheet made by my sisters and mom and aunt, blanket with tassels made by mom-n-law)

LW didn't have practically any decorations in this room anymore. They were taken down a while ago by either me or him, so all I did was add wall decorations given to me by my sis that I call Sassy. 

LW walked in after I had put the butterflies on the wall and started laughing. It was funny. 

The room is not done yet, I still have quite a few things I want to do in there. A few decorations I need to finish and hang up. I also have a ruffle skirt to put on the crib as well. I'll post pics when the room is all finished.

I LOVE the girl theme of this room! I so needed a girl. Boy stuff is cute and fine, but girls are just SO FUN! I can't wait. Literally... I am so done being pregnant. Haha.

Moving LW to his new room and bed is really the highlight of the weekend. I know some moms are going to hate me for this, but it went great! Friday night we followed his same routine (after keeping him up all day/no nap) which usually goes something like this... Change diaper, get in PJ's, brush teeth (which he loves), read a book, family prayers, get in bed, and lately after LW lays down with all his blankets and stuffed animals he looks up at me and says, "Sing?" So I sing. We did all that, he was great. The hubs and I said Nighty Night and we walked out.

We stared at each other in the hallway after closing his door. He has slept with his door closed for a LONG time now so that wasn't any different. He was totally quiet. The hubs was making jokes about how in five seconds or something he was going to start screaming his head off, while I was going... "stop jinxing it, maybe he will be fine." About a minute later LW did start crying, but not screaming. 

The hubs and I walked into our room and waited with LW knocking on his door asking for "Mommy". Oh, what a heartbreak, but I was determined to do this and would not be swayed. He was doing pretty good so we let him cry it out for about 7 minutes before we walked into his room. We took him back to his bed, tucked him in again, I sang a short version of a long lullaby he loves and we walked out. He immediately started crying when we started walking away and was at the door seconds after we closed it.

I was prepared to do this for a long time if necessary. The hubs and I had agreed that after ten more minutes we would go in again. Five minutes later, LW was quiet. A half hour later the hubs and I were laughing in disbelief. Had it really been that easy?

Well, it had. LW slept the whole night and knocked on the door in the morning when he woke up at 8am. Saturday we went to a book signing to visit and support my sis-n-laws books! She is the author of the Seers Trilogy. It's amazing, just saying. :) We didn't get home until after 8pm, LW usually goes to bed closer to 7pm. He fell asleep in the car and barely budged when we transferred him to his bed. He was awake and asked me to sing so I did, but we walked out without any fuss and he fell straight asleep. 

 Last night wasn't quite as easy, but it was still good. We laid him down, walked out, he cried for maybe a couple minutes, then went quiet... then the hubs had to walk over to his bedroom door and he started crying again, but only for a few minutes then was quiet.

All in all, it is going really well. I look forward to the day when he doesn't follow us to the door after we leave, but I will take what we have over what other people go through any day. :)

Now I know baby girl isn't due to arrive for a while, but we want LW used to his bed before she makes her bebut. She wont be sleeping in her crib right away, but we also don't want him associating "losing his crib" with her. All in all, it's just easier this way and he is obviously ready enough for it.

Now... to try naps today... :S Wish me luck.

Until Next Time!
Spicy

Five Friday Favs

LINK UP!!!! YAY!!!!

My first link up since being back to blogging! It's a fun one too! Woot!

Welcome too.....

1. FALL/AUTUMN!!! I may be a little obsessed.

PB Pumpkins - via pintrest

via pintrest

via pintrest

via pinterest

I could post a million pictures of things I love about fall/autumn time so I'll just leave it at that. I'm obsessed with long sleeves, sweaters, boots, and all things pumpkin. :) I LOVE cold weather! Everyone here has been complaining about the sudden weather change, it went from 80 degrees to 50 degrees in two weeks(we even had a SMALL amount of snow on our playground in our backyard this morning), but I am loving it! Bring on the cold! :D And it's been super rainy and I love that too. I just love it! :D

2. Planning. Another thing I may or may not be obsessed with.

I love planning things out. I love having things to write in my day planner! Right now I'm currently obsessing over workouts and running and eating healthy. I want to wright it all down! But I have a rather small day planner and I don't like using pencils... so then I have to cross stuff out and then it looks messy. Maybe I should just get over my "no pencil" thing. ;)

3. Creativity.
      Do I really need to explain this one? I have a blog. I'm a writer and aspiring author. I draw. I have had a blast coming up with ideas to decorate our baby girls room (a lot of them I can't do because they would cost to much). Creativity all around is amazing.

4. BOOTS!!!


I may or may not be obsessed about these as well. I only have two pairs of boots... I need more!!! XD

5. Running.

via pinterest

via pinterest

via pinterest

via pinterest

via pinterest

via pinterest

I WANNA RUN!!!! I want to scream that at the top of my lungs! I miss running! Why did I ever stop? Oh ya... I got injured. I could have gotten back into it though, before becoming pregnant and then I could have continued running throughout my pregnancy, but starting to run in your third trimester after not running for ... a long time... is not smart or safe. I can not wait to hit that pavement after this baby girl comes and I've been cleared by the doc. :)

So if you are out hitting the pavement or trails or even the treadmill, run a little for me please! :D And I'll do the same for you when I can. :)

Happy Friday! :D
Enjoy the weekend!

Until Next Time!
Spicy

Thankful Thursday

So I thought I was going to be all original and come up with Thankful Thursday and be like, HEY Link Up with me! Then I was browsing a ridiculous amount of blogs and saw someone doing a Thankful Thursday link up, bummer. To bad I don't remember which site it was, otherwise I would be linking up right now.

I am Thankful for...

        1. The ability to move! I want to say run or walk, but moving is appropriate. There are a lot of people out there who can not move, they can't walk, they can't run, and I am so very grateful that I can. I found this site www.whoirun4.com and I am thoroughly inspired. I want to be paired up with someone, but I feel I should be 'not pregnant' before I do so. That feeling may change, but that is just how I personally feel. I can't wait though!

        2. Love. I am so very thankful for love. A life without love is no life at all. The hubs has given me the greatest gift of all. Love. I find more of myself everyday I am with him. He loves me for me. He is the one person on this entire planet, in this entire universe that truly knows EVERYTHING about me. He is my best friend. We miss each other so much when he is at work and if we have a day when one or the other is extremely busy and we don't get to see each other or spend time with each other very much, it's very hard! A little while ago we made a deal, a promise. It may be silly to some, or even ridiculous to others, but I love it and I love that he loves it too. We as a couple, are going to do everything in our power to NEVER be apart, even for one day. Hours, fine, that's inevitable, but a full day... even the thought makes us both sick. I LOVE that we LOVE to be around each other. I LOVE him.

         3. Inspiration. I came across something this morning. More like it fell out of my pen while I was writing in my journal and then made me feel bad. I found something inside of me that I have known is there for a long time, but it was kind of just in the back of my head. I didn't think about it much because it made me feel terrible. Let me give you a little insight to what I'm talking about.

I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints -- many call us Mormon, but that isn't our name. Part of our beliefs is that our body is a temple, a gift from our father above. Now... I'm going to get real personal here for a moment... I am in NO WAY trying to offend anyone, this is just how I FEEL. With that said... What on earth have I been doing to my body? I am overweight (not thinking about the fact that I am pregnant right now, I'm talking about non pregnant me) boarder-line obese. In what way is that treating my body like the temple it is? I should be doing everything in my power to take care of my body! Talk about a slap in the face considering I was pigging out on cookie dough last night while dinner was cooking(no it didn't have egg in it). Ouch. With this new found thought/inspiration I took a new approach to today. I've been kind of watching what I eat and how much, but I haven't let it consume me... Today, I have been eating extremely healthy, minus the cup of Hot Chocolate I had this morning, but it was 59 degrees in my house and I needed something warm! Yeah!

Sorry, little too much attitude. :P I went on a walk today with LW even though minutes before I had decided not to do it. It was cold, I was tired, I needed to clean, but in reality I was sitting on my butt not really doing anything. Then LW went and grabbed his shoes and put them on his wrong feet, came up to me, and said, "Walk?" I told him no. He was upset. I grabbed something to put away(half cleaning) and said maybe we would go after I was done cleaning. That changed very quickly and I changed my clothes, threw my hair up in a ponytail, and was ready to head out the door. LW even grabbed MY shoes for me! (they were the wrong ones and he was very upset when I went to put them away, but then was happy again after he saw I had grabbed another pair).

We came home and had lunch and LW wanted a few goldfish. I gave him a few and was about to grab a rather large  handful when the thought, "My body is a temple" came to mind. I put the goldfish away and grabbed almonds instead. That may not seem like a huge deal to some, but it was for me.

I've been making little goals here and there and two of the three I've set in the last month are quickly becoming habits. I'm making another goal, a challenge, to myself (you can join too if you want!).

found on pinterest

My challenge to myself is to view and treat my body like a temple. To build it up so it can withstand anything and keep it pure. I'll be starting a new page, I don't know what I'm going to call it yet, but it will be a journey to building my temple. I'll post pics of food I eat, write down choices I've made, and post pics of my ever developing temple there as well. I'm competing with myself to build a better me.

Until Next Time!

Spicy

32 Week Tummy Update

It's been quite some time since I did a belly update so things have changed a lot!

Ready for the pic?

I have a belly! Well, I did last time too, but it was much smaller. Sorry there isn't my awesome white board ;) but I didn't feel like it. :P Now a comparison from last time I was pregnant...

I wish these pics were more similar so you could see more of a difference, but if you can't tell. I'm carrying very different and I'm smaller. I know some people might not see much, but I see a ton! like those shorts I'm wearing in my 1st pregnancy picture, fit me great then, but this pregnancy... I don't wear them much, partly because it's getting cold here now and also because they are big on me! My arms are still smaller then they were last time. And my face is thinner, but that is hard to tell because in the current pic I have my hair down and the older pic it's up which makes your face look thinner. My hair is also longer now, but that's besides the point, haha.

Okay! Belly update stuffs...

How far along? 32 Weeks
Total weight gain/loss: I'm no longer answering this question, I will tell you when I'm done being pregnant.
Maternity clothes? Mostly! I still have some of my non maternity stuff that I'm wearing, crazy right?
Stretch marks? No new ones, and the old ones aren't really showing up, yay LOTION! But really got the stretch marks last time around 36 weeks so we will see. I'm lotioning up like crazy though to keep them away as long as possible.
Sleep: Bah, bad question. I wake up multiple times a night. Not really for any reason, just because. I seem to be constantly restless and I can't get comfortable. 
Best moment this week: Um... ?
Miss anything? A good nights sleep! Being comfortable. Serious working out and running! I want to run so bad!!!!
Movement: YES! Like crazy! She likes to kick the hubs when we are going to sleep, hahaha.
Food cravings: Not to much anymore, but when I do crave something it's usually sugar or chocolate which is weird because chocolate isn't really something I love. I mean I enjoy it, but I would rather have other things. Unless it's a reeses, but then we are getting into chocolate and peanut butter and that's a whole different story.
Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope, not anymore.
Have you started to show yet? Um... yes
Gender: GIRL!!!!!!!
Labor Signs: Some Braxton Hicks/Contractions nothing serious.
Belly button in or out? Officially out. Weird... That's another difference. With LW I never had an outy because of my extra fluff. I don't have as much this time so I have an outy. Weird.
Wedding rings on or off? On :) I only take them off at night because my hands swell when I sleep, but then in the morning they go right back on! :D YAY! I had to stop wearing them early on with LW because of swelling.
Happy or Moody most of the time: Usually happy. But LW and his toddler tantrums definitely make that hard... really hard.
Looking forward to: Not being pregnant anymore. I'm so done, being a mom of a busy body toddler definitely makes this whole pregnancy thing a lot harder. Plus, I want to workout HARD and run and run and run and not be in pain. I think the relaxagin (or however that is spelled and said) is making it's way around. I have old injuries flaring up that cause me daily pain. Both my shoulder and my ankle. Not fun.

YAY! Only 8 more weeks to go, two months! Yikes! And only 5 more until I'm full term. :D YAY!!!! 

Until Next Time!
Spicy!

Weekend Recap

This weekend we took care of mowing our lawn and cleaning the kitchen. Done.

Just kidding!

I found a new trick on Saturday!

... Of course... it was after LW woke up and had dried blood all over his face. :(

Poor kid had a bloody nose sometime during the night. It was on his cute little pillow, his sheets, his pajamas, and even his stuffed Pooh Bear. I walked in to get him up in the morning and he held out his hand and said, "OH NO!"

LW is a clean freak. Even at two years old. He gets it from his Daddy. What two year old BOY hates being dirty? Isn't that in their job description? To be dirty? Anyway, he had dried blood on his hands. I was terrified when I walked in the room because before I turned the light on... I was SO worried he had made a nice present for me in his diaper and then got his hand in it... ew. That would have been really bad to have all over his face. I'm glad that hasn't happened and I'm knocking on wood that it never does.

Now, I've had a few people ask, why do you think he had a bloody nose? Well.... both the hubs and I are unfortunately very susceptible to bloody noses and living in a dry high desert like Utah doesn't help. As a kid I had them all the time and thankfully they slowed down as I got older. Then I moved here and both the hubs and I have one probably close to once every two weeks. They aren't bad ones, but they are still bloody noses. Sorry kiddo...

Anyway, back to the story.

I quickly grabbed a wet wipe and tried to get some of the dried blood off his hands, but if you don't know... dried blood isn't the easiest thing to get off or out of things! The hubs and I agreed it would be best just to stick him in the tub. SO we did. He had a nice bath with the hubs while I stuck his sheet in the laundry.

THANKFULLY he didn't get any on his blankets, which really surprised me because he cuddles with those things like crazy. Yes, multiple. He has two that he will not sleep without.

Unfortunately though, it was all over his pooh bear. He loves Pooh Bear, or as he calls him "Pooh Pooh". Cute kid. I snatched the poor little stuffed creature away and hid him while I did some research.

How on earth do you get blood -- old, dried blood -- out of stuffed animals? I couldn't just throw Pooh Bear in the wash, he'd get ruined and LW would be devastated.

I was getting so frustrated because I found other people asking the same question and TONS of people kept saying, "EW! Throw it out!"

I'M NOT GOING TO THROW OUT A TEN DOLLAR STUFFED ANIMAL!

You can do that, I'm a penny pincher and that is just ridiculous, it's a little blood. It happens. Get over it and clean it, oh brother.

Sorry, I'll get off my soap box now. ;)

I finally found someone saying, "Poor hydrogen peroxide on it, it's what nurses use to get blood out of their clothes."

My first thought was... 'won't that ruin the color?' So I tested it on the pillow first. I didn't want to poor the peroxide right onto the pillow though so I poured a little on a rag and scrubbed. It didn't hurt the color one bit and it came out great with some scrubbing.

Next... was Pooh Bear. A part of me wishes I had taken a before picture, but at the same time i don't want to remember Pooh Bear with blood all over him. That's just to sad. And I have a feeling this wont be the last time something like this happens.

I started with the rag and although it was coming out, I could still see where the blood had been. After a few minutes of frustrated scrubbing I finally poured the peroxide right on the spots of blood in little amounts at a time.

It fizzed...

It bubbled...

I thought I was ruining my childs favorite (well, one of his favorites) stuffed animal.

Then it cleared.

And this is what I saw.

Nothing but a slightly wet Pooh Bear!

Hydrogen Peroxide wins! I was so happy! And once he dried, LW was more then happy to have his little stuffed Pooh Bear back. It all came out beautifully and left Pooh Bear still looking the same as before. No crusty stuffed animal fluff. Just a good old stuffed animal.

Yay! Best Mommy Award goes to me! And the peroxide, haha.

Thanks Hydrogen Peroxide for bringing the smile back to my little guys and pooh bears face. ;) Haha

And here's a picture of his royal cuteness just for your enjoying pleasure.

Until Next Time!

Spicy

Weekend Recap

What did I do this weekend?

Saturday I woke up and changed a struggling, fighting, screaming two year olds diaper and said, "I'm done! We are SO potty training you this week!" See, I don't have anything going on this week besides the grocery shopping I did this morning so it is perfect! He fights me every time I change him, but Daddy changes him and all is good. Ugh. Sometimes I wish HE was the stay at home parent and I could be the one to come home to a suddenly happy, loving toddler.

Then we went out to lunch with a bunch of family to celebrate the onslaught of birthdays we have in September. We went to Sizzlers, I had the Malibu Chicken and LW ate most of my fries. :( Then I stole some from the fry platters in the center of the table and all was good. Ha!

On our way to lunch

Saturday night, the hubs and I set up a toddler bed. Dun, dun, dun..... LW LOVES it! Until he realizes we are serious about him sleeping in it. Saturday night he crawled right in and we thought, "Wow, well... if he wants too okay." We weren't going to have him sleep in it Saturday. Well.... he didn't. The second he realized we were actually going to put him to bed in the toddler bed he jumped out of the bed. So into the crib he went.

We will be putting him in there soon though and it's going to be... fun... The room isn't quite ready yet, so the bed is just sitting there all together with all new Cars bedding and he can get in and out of it as he wishes. This new bedroom is bigger and we did not want to move the crib. I've heard a lot of people say to put the toddler bed right where their crib is... that's not going to work for us. Baby is coming in a couple months and we want him in HIS room before then. A.S.A.P! I also don't want him associating "losing" his current room with the new baby, we don't want any more resentment then what a first child already goes through when the second one comes along.

Sunday was a big day of relaxation, lots of cuddling, and family time. :) And it was much needed.

It feels good to be back to blogging. I know this is only the second post I've done this month, but it does feel good. I had forgotten how much I loved it. :)

Until Next Time!
Spicy

Where Did September Come From? Is Fall Here Yet?

Oh Wow! I can not believe it is September already! What?! Where did the time fly? Then at the same time... CAN FALL GET HERE ALREADY!?

Who else has fall fever?

I can't wait for...

Long Sleeves

Boots

Fuzzy pajamas

Sweaters

Blankets

Boots

Hot Chocolate

Sweaters

Pumpkin EVERYTHING

Boots

Sweaters

Pumpkin....

Did I mention Boots, Sweaters, and Pumpkin!? OH! I love fall/winter! Just get here already!

Well, I couldn't help it and I dove right into fall with THIS recipe from At The Picket Fence.

picture courtesy of atthepicketfence.com

I feel like I'm terrible at food pictures so I'm using her's. It just looks so good! :D

 Now, as per Spunky and my religious beliefs and personal choices, neither of us drink coffee. Which posed a BIG problem when I was craving this delicious hot pumpkin flavored with coziness and love drink. Until I asked one of my other sisters... let's call her... Sassy, who worked at a coffee shop, for some help. Thanks to Sassy's advice I was able to make this without coffee and substitute a few other things to really make this drink my own. 

Pumpkin Pie Latte (coffee free)

Ingredients:

2 cups White Hot Chocolate

1/2 cup half and half

1/2 cup Vanilla Almond Milk

1/4 - 1/2 cup Pumpkin Puree, per taste (I really like pumpkin so I added a little more then half cup, didn't keep track, sorry)

1 1/2 tsp. Pumpkin Pie Spice

Whipped Cream

Directions:

In a small saucepan, combine half and half, vanilla almond milk, pumpkin puree, pumpkin pie spice and bring to a low simmer while whisking. Be careful not to scorch.

Divide White Hot Chocolate between four mugs (or don't and keep it all for yourself ;) ). Slowly add pumpkin mixture. Top with whipping cream and a dash of pumpkin pie spice. Drink up! 

I also added a crumbling of graham crackers on top of the whipped cream. Delicious!

I guess I'm not waiting for fall to come to me. I already caught it and I'm not letting go!

Until Next Time!

Spicy