Don't You Hate It When...

you let your own fears and insecurities stop you from possibly getting something that you might love?

Backstory...I was sitting at the lab waiting to get some bloodwork done (standard pregnancy stuff, no biggie) and I saw a lady with a fantastic bag (one that could also double as a pretty chic diaper bag if needed). It was orange, and leather-ish (it could have been real because I was in La Jolla after all, but it might have been synthetic) and was just perfect. I was coveting it...I could even picture myself carrying it. I should have stopped and asked her where she got it, but I didn't. Why? Because I was worried that she would think me too weird or too forward or psycho, so I kept my trap shut. Instead, I've spent the last 45 minutes on the internet googling as much as I could to try and find a similar bag, all to no avail. I do this all the time...and I kick myself every time it happens. I see someone wearing a cute top, or a cute dress or a cute pair of shoes and I don't ask. Grrrr...curse my insecurities.

Anyone else do this, or am I the sole, lame, tongue-tied person secretly coveting what others have rather than just asking and possibly getting it for myself?

Mama's Holiday Wishlist

Mama’s Holiday Wish List Meme

TodaysMama and Provo Craft are giving away a sleighful of gifts this holiday season and to enter I’m sharing this meme with you.

1. What 5 items are on your holiday wish list this year?

• new digital camera
• a bigger car (although this is soon to be more of a necessity and less of a wish since my current car won't hold 3 carseats)
• the beaba babycook baby food maker (I murdered my blender last year making camden's food and this would just be so handy)
• a finished master bathroom
• wood floors/new carpet in the appropriate areas of my house (I can really dream about this one)

2. What is your favorite handmade gift you have received?

• two favorites are the handmade ornaments that AJ's grandma makes for us each year with pictures of the boys in them (and all the ones from AJ growing up),and the blankets that my mom has made for my boys

3. What handmade gift have you always wanted to tackle?

• there are way too many on my list, like making an advent calendar for my kids, felt food for my kids, a tree house/clubhouse for the boys, and lots of home improvement ones

4. What was the best Christmas gift you received as a child?

• the Cabbage Patch dolls that we all got one year (our cousins included). I remember how the adults walked each of us into the room one at a time and gave us the coveted doll.

5. What items are on your kid’s wish list this year?

• Keegan just informed me today that he wants a dinosaur book, but other than that, he hasn't said much. He's pretty chill. Camden probably just wants whatever Keegan gets, so it makes things pretty easy. I'm sure the lists will grow as they get older.

6. What is your favorite holiday food?

• My grandma's rolls with homemade strawberry jam, ham, and scalloped potatoes and peppermint ice cream (that really probably should have been first...I buy way too much of it the moment it becomes available in the stores).

7. What will you be hand-crafting for the holidays?

• some gifts for the boys, homemade soap for Keegan's friends and a couple of things for family that I can't really share

8. What is your favorite holiday movie?

• I can't say that I have one, I'm horrible, I know, but I do like "Miracle on 34th Street" (the newer version)

9. Favorite holiday song?

• "O Holy Night" by Martina McBride and "Song for a Winter's Night" by Sarah McLachlan and my boys Christmas Lullabies CD (although it gets played year round at our house)

10. Favorite holiday pastime?

• looking at all of the Christmas lights, curling up with a good book and peppermint hot chocolate (Stephen's is the best), making sugar cookies with the kids, decorating our tree and the rest of the house and just having the extra time with my hubby

To enter to win all these cool prizes below simply answer the questions in this meme, make sure to post links back to TodaysMama.com and Provo Craft (use this link: http://bit.ly/4ikY3c ) and tag your friends!

Tag you're it!

Steph, Mary, Jennette, my siblings (I won't double tag, but I do want to know your answers) and anyone else inspired to share what's on their wish list.

This is why....

a ladies night out was exactly what I needed. I got to see "New Moon" (c'mon, give me a break...I never saw "Twilight" in the theatres and I know there is no way that AJ will watch this with me, so I had to take the opportunity to see it when I could, and I don't regret it. I liked it...it was good...and it made me fall a little bit in love with Jacob. What more can I say?).

Anyway, I digress...because not only did I get to enjoy some adult-time (which was fabulous and very much needed right now), but I also got to catch up a little on my up-coming movies (my pocketbook will not be thanking me later).

Like this one:

(seriously, I "heart" Kirsten Bell...especially as Veronica Mars, but this role just might do nicely)

and this one:

starring Amanda Seyfried, whom I first liked as Lily in "Veronica Mars" (do I need to tell you how much I loved that show?), but who I really started to admire in "Mamma Mia" (yes, I've watched that movie, and yes, more than once...Pierce Brosnan singing is highly entertaining, and I like Abba, what can I say...plus, I saw the show when it was in Vegas so I of course had to see the movie).

I'm pretty sure that this just means that I'm still a 15-year-old girl trapped in a 32-year-old's body (I did like "New Moon" afterall). Oh well! So, who's in the mood for a movie? I'll bring the popcorn and treats.

Dear Life...

Dear Chick-Fil-A,

Thanks for bringing back your Peppermint Chocolate Chip milkshake. I've been thinking about it since the last time I had one last year, so I'm glad that it's finally back. It made my not-always-happy-with-food belly quite happy with you. I have a feeling I will be consuming lots of you during your "limited edition flavor" offerings (much to the detriment of my goal for a reasonable pregnancy weight gain).

Dear Little Baby,

Time to let your mom not be sick in the mornings, ok? and in the afternoons and the evenings. And especially no more of this "let's feel great for days and then WHAM...get hit by the mack truck of morning sickness". It's time to move on from all of this and get on to the good stuff about pregnancy...you know, insomnia, heartburn, weight gain. Hmmmm, maybe I need to rethink my stand on morning/afternoon/evening/all hours of the day and night sickness?

Dear Anything and Everything Peppermint,
Thanks for making things a little easier on me right now. The smell of you can get rid of any other smell in the house, and the taste of you helps calm a very unhappy belly. Good thing it's winter and the smell of peppermint isn't a novelty.

Dear Brach's,
I'm so looking forward to consuming large quantities of your wonderful green and red holiday mints this year, so please make sure that they are available in abundance at all of my local retailers (and not just one store, in a limited quantity like previous years). As a side note to all my friends and family who read this, if you come across some, please feel free to let me know where so that I can purchase them or feel free to pick some up for me and I will pay you for your troubles.

Green with Envy...

In December, AJ gets to go here:
(Dubai)

and here:
(South Africa)

He's traveling with the USA Rugby 7's team, and I'm officially jealous. It was bad enough when he got to go to Hong Kong, and then to England and to Australia, but now....DUBAI and SOUTH AFRICA...seriously, I'm so green I could give Elphaba a run for her money (and you'll only understand that if you've read and/or seen "Wicked").

I wonder if there is a suitcase big enough for him to stow me away in?

Arrrrgh, it's Halloween...

I know, I know, I'm a little behind on things.

Keegan and Camden were pirates this year (I was simply the mom who was stressed because she waited until the last minute to finish the boys costumes). It was pretty funny watching Camden chase after people with his sword raised in the air. If you ask Keegan what a pirate says, his response is usually "Arrrrgh", although you will get the occasional "walk the plank" and "hands in the air" as he points his sword at you. We went to Sea World the week before Halloween and did a little trick-or-treating there, but it was a little too crowded for us, and the boys wanted to see the animals more than anything. Our ward had their Halloween party on the 31st, so we went to that. Keegan loved going from car to car saying "Trick-or-Treat" and then saying "thank you" after (finally some lessons are paying off). The best was, there was a guy passing out apples instead of candy at his car. It was the only thing that both Keegan and Camden were interested in that night. Once Keegan got his, he was done getting anymore candy because he wanted to go back inside and eat his apple and Camden got mad at me when I took his from him so that I could eat some of the skin off of it first. Thankfully, for the most part they have forgotten about all the candy they scored (it's out of their sight, thankfully, so it's out of their minds most of the time).

We didn't do our usual trip to Bates this year, to pick out our pumpkins, which made me super sad, so I will make sure we do it early next year and I've already started thinking about what the boys are going to be next year (despite swearing up and down to AJ that I wasn't going to make them again and that we were going to buy them from now on). It will partly depend on what this little baby turns out to be and whether or not Keegan and Camden realize that they have a say in these things (the longer I can keep that fact from them the better). Now it's on to Thanksgiving and Christmas. Hopefully, I can be a little better organized.

And The Hits Just Keep on Coming...

(and by "hits", I mean GOOD things...hopefully no one takes this negatively...we are super excited about our good news)

Through the Eyes of a Child...

Apparently, I'm slacking in the getting myself ready each day category. Here's my favorite conversation with Keegan yesterday.

Keegan (while standing in the hallway outside the bathroom): "You straightening your hair mommy?"

Me: "Yep, buddy, mommy's straightening her hair."

Keegan: "Oh, we going to church today?"

Me: "No buddy, we aren't going to church today. It's not Sunday."

Keegan: "Oh...why you straighten your hair then?"

Me: "Just because buddy."

Sadly enough, Keegan's observation was spot on. I usually only straighten my hair on Sundays, and lately I haven't even been doing that. My poor husband and kids. They have to put up with so much...including a frumpy-all-the-time Mom/wife. Talk about a kick in the butt. Guess I need to start looking out for me a little bit more from now on.

Saying Goodbye

Losing someone is never an easy thing. I am lucky. I have not had to face losing a loved one very often in my lifetime. In fact, I can count on one hand the number of close family members that I have lost. Today, I have to add one more to that total.

*

(what a handsome man he was, huh?)

My Grandpa Peterson passed away this morning, a little over one week away from what would have been his 97th birthday (I was born the day before his birthday and while I have always loved having my birthday close to both of my grandpa's this year it will be a little hard to celebrate). While we have known for a little while that his passing was near, hearing the news this morning has been hard. I wish that I was in Utah with my family. It is a bittersweet thing knowing that he is gone from our lives here, but also rejoicing in the knowledge that he is once again with his family and his loved ones who have already passed on. He is finally back with his beloved wife, my grandma, who passed away when I was 4 1/2. I can't begin to imagine how hard and how lonely the last 28 years have been.

*

(this is one of my most favorite pictures of the two of them, and she's just beautiful in the picture of just her)

He was an amazing man. I will miss his gigantic bear hugs that just wrapped you up so completely in his arms. I will miss hearing his greeting of "Howdy doo" whenever he would call on the phone or when we would arrive at his house in Utah. I am sad that my kids will never experience their great-grandpa and all the love that he had to give. He knew who each of them were, in his own small way, and I love that he kept track of them all on a piece of paper. My mind is full of memories (of family reunions in Yosemite, of sliding down his stairs in sleeping bags, sliding down the grassy hill on the side of his house, and oh so many more) and a couple of regrets. Regrets of not having spent more time with him when I was up there and not getting pictures of him with both of my boys when we were there for Ben and Karen's wedding (at least I have one of him with Keegan). I felt like I didn't have the time, and I knew that we would be back at Christmas, and in my mind, I truly thought that my grandpa would live forever and always be there. If nothing else, I have learned to not wait to do the important things and to make the most of the time you might have with your loved ones.

(not the greatest picture of all of us, I know, but it's all I have and it's better than none at all)

I don't quite know how to handle grief, since I have such a limited experience with it. I am happy that he is finally at rest, but it is so hard to let go. I will try and so this is how I will start to say my goodbyes to my grandpa. I love you, I miss you, I wish I had been there to kiss you one last time and to let you know how wonderful and amazing I have always thought you were. I am glad that you are finally at peace. I love you!!

*sorry for the blurry pictures and the flash spot in two of them. They are pictures of pictures, because I don't have a scanner.

Weekend Conversation...

Me: "Keegan, what color do you think mommy and daddy should paint their bathroom?" (because we hadn't totally decided on a color yet, you see, so why not get a 2 1/2-year-olds opinion).

Keegan: "ummm....ORANGE!"

Me (and AJ at the same time): "Orange, huh, buddy? Why orange?"

Keegan: "Orange happy color. Makes you happy."

Me: "Hmmm...ok. Then what color do you think mommy and daddy should paint your bathroom?" (not that it will be happening any time in the near future).

Keegan: "Ummmm.....(and he really thought about this before answering)....ummmm, PURPLE!"

Me: "Really, purple? How come purple?"

Keegan: "Purple happy color too."

Me: "Okay buddy, you got it"

I should probably note that this conversation took place in our bed Sunday night at about 10:30 p.m. where AJ and I were laying there totally exhausted and Keegan was fighting going to sleep (the kid was completely wired) and we couldn't put him in his room and risk him waking up Camden. Seriously, where did this kid come from? He is so entertaining.

Congratulations to the Bride and Groom

Ben and Karen Leach

Married July 25, 2009

Draper, Utah

Keegan-isms

In the effort of not forgetting things that happen in my day to day life, this post is dedicated to the cutest little 2-year-old I know.

*Yesterday, while we were eating dinner before we left to spend our FHE at the zoo (I love that they are open until 9 pm for the rest of the summer), Keegan decided that apparently I had been bad, and that I needed a time out, so he put me in time out. He told me that I needed to go sit on the red couch and with the help of his dad they set the timer on the microwave for 2 minutes and Keegan told me that I wasn't allowed to move until the microwave beeped. Then, with a little encouragement from AJ he also told me to "Be Good, Momma" and "No hurt Baby Camden". Once the timer went off, I was allowed to come back to the table and then a few minutes later, Keegan put Camden's panda bear in time out and then decided that he needed to sit on the couch with him, because they had hurt Baby Camden. I guess things are sinking in more than I thought, and apparently my consistency is paying off, even if it's not necessarily in the way that I had thought it would.

*Before we left for the zoo, AJ gave Keegan a lollipop (they are his favorite treat as of late) and told him that he could have it after we were done with the zoo, but that he had to be good while we were there. Keegan had a death grip on that poor little lollipop the whole two hours we walked around the zoo and kept telling us that "after zoo, eat my lollipop" just to make sure that we hadn't forgotten the deal that we had made with him. Well, sure enough, the second he got through the zoo exit, Keegan stopped, looked at AJ and me and said "eat my lollipop" with the biggest grin on his face that a little boy could have. He took AJ's promise literally and as soon as we left the zoo, he hate his lollipop. Our ride home was littered with the soundtrack of an exhausted little boy eating his blue lollipop and saying "nummy nummy nummy". Cutest thing ever!!

*I love that to Keegan the best part of an ice cream cone is the cone itself. He couldn't care less about the creamy, yummy deliciousness that is ice cream and will literally eat the cone from both ends (we usually get waffle cones). Needless to say, he's a huge mess because of the dripping ice cream out of the bottom of the cone, but whatever makes him happy works for me.

*Keegan has turned into a little parrot...seriously, I love the things that come out of his mouth. although it has made me more cautious of the things that I say and the words that I use. I really need to just carry around a tape recorder with me all day long just so I can catch the things that he says. I no longer have the radio on in the car because the running commentary come from the back seat is far more entertaining. He points out the library, the fire trucks, the ambulances, the trash trucks, the back hoes, and what ever else might be outside his window as we drive around on our errands. It amazes me, too, that we can drive on a certain street and he instantly knows where we are going (especially if we are going to Grandma and Grandpa's house).

*I love that Keegan is AJ's shadow...anything that AJ does, Keegan can do as well. That's why he is currently sporting a scrape on his chin from trying to stand up on his skate board (just like Daddy) and why I have pictures of Keegan digging in our garden with his shirt off (because that's what Daddy does). It's great. So for now, he's a surfboard rider, a skateboard rider, a baseball player, and a race car driver who goes "super fast". Just ask him, he'll tell you all about it.

*Keegan has recently learned to count to ten, although he seems to have something against the number 7 so he likes to leave it out. Listening to the way he says "one, two, three, etc." can put a smile on my face no matter what kind of mood I might have been in before.

*Everyone (and everything) is referred to as "these guys" and "those guys" and they are all usually considered "funny". Apparently the world is here to entertain my little 2-year-old.

There are a million and one other things that he does and says each and every day...these are just the things that seem to stand out the most and that make me smile. I really don't think that I could love this little guy any more than I do right now.

"Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary, How Does Your Garden Grow.."

In our case it's with snow peas and green beans and tomatoes and corn and squash and zucchini and avocados and lots of other yummy stuff (at least we hope it will, provided that everything grows as we want it too). With lots of love, water, "worm tea" and an insane amount of luck, we are hoping to have a great harvest this year.

Plus, we have a secret weapon...the cutest little "farmer" (and to be honest, the whitest one) that San Diego has ever seen. We can't possibly fail, right?

Progress is being made...

In just a few short weeks, we've gone from this:


to this:


Progress is such a beautiful thing sometimes. There are still some things left to do, like getting shower doors put in and picking out a counter top and sinks and sink faucets and the color on the wall is going to be changing, and then all of the little touch up things that need to be taken care of, but I *almost* have my bathroom back...and after a year and a half that is a beautiful thing.

London Calling

AJ's off to London...and I'm a little jealous, but in the scheme of things, it's better that the boys and I didn't take the trip after all. Besides, there will be plenty of other opportunities for world travel, and I really need to be here for now, because our bathroom is FINALLY getting finished this week. I'm so excited (although I do wish that AJ was here to supervise the whole process, but such is life...and this way I get to make decisions on things like sinks and shower heads and faucets and he can't change my mind!). Hopefully the majority of the work will be done before AJ returns on Monday.

On a side note...with the warmer temps, it was time for some little munchkins to get some hairs cut. Aren't they cute?

Camden's hair is so blonde and fine, and he looks more like a little boy and less like a little baby now, which makes me sad. I'm hoping his hair grows back in a little fuller before we go beach camping in a week and a half. Keegan so didn't want to get his hair cut at first, but after seeing Camden get to sit in the airplane chair and eat animal crackers and get a dum dum , he caved (personally, I think he just didn't want to be shown up by his little brother...and the blue dum dum and the firetruck chair were the icing on top of the cake). Both boys did great. Now it's just up to AJ to maintain the cuts. After the hair cuts, it was time to eat some yummy corn dogs and cherry lemonade and then run through the water fountains for a little while. I've decided life is grand when you are a two-year-old.

Honeymoons and Siblings

I've been reading a lot of books lately. My library card is starting to look almost as worn out at my zoo pass and my debit card (the two most used cards in my wallet these days). I've always been a reader...thanks to my mom, but lately, I've really gotten back into it again (much to the chagrin of my husband, I'm sure, since I usually stay up late to read instead of going to bed like the responsible adult that I should be). I read books on all subjects - vampires, potty-training, romances, historical figures, wars, you name it, I've probably read a book on it at one time or another (being an English minor helped this effort to some degree).

But I digress...this post isn't about all of the books I've been reading...it's more about one particular book and all of the memories and thoughts that this book has inspired. The book that I just finished is titled "Honeymoon with My Brother" by Franz Wisner. It's been on my "to read" list for a while and when I saw that the library had it, I requested it right away. The book is a memoir of the time that Wisner spent traveling around the world with his younger brother, that he didn't really know, after he was left at the altar by his fiancee. During his travels, Wisner learned a lot about himself, about his brother and about the world in general. While I will never have the opportunity to take 2 years of my life to travel around the world visiting 53-different countries, I have had the pleasure of spending some time seeing the world with two of my sisters (at different times) and this book brought those memories back to the front of my mind and made me want to dust off the old passport and pack a backpack and see the world some more (so for all my siblings who might be reading this...if you want to go, let me know!) :) The fact that AJ has been doing a little globe-trotting for work lately (and is getting ready to leave for another 5 days in London) hasn't helped the situation much, either, because lately I've been reflecting on the three "honeymoons" that I have been able to take (so far) in my life.


The first "honeymoon" I ever took was with my sister Cynthia. Like most siblings, growing up Cynth and I had our differences, but as we moved away from home and got a little space and perspective (and maturity) we've managed to forge a friendship along the way. When she asked me if I wanted to travel with her around England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales shortly after she graduated from BYU, I jumped at the chance. While our trip wasn't inspired because of something like being left at the altar, on my part at least, it was inspired by the need to do something more with my life. I was turning 25, I still wasn't done with school, I wasn't necessarily loving my job (and I had a lot of vacation and sick time that needed to get used) and I was just generally looking for a break...a vacation from the rest of my life. It was the best time of my life...I loved being able to spend long hours on trains actually getting to know my sister. I loved that I got to see her relationship with my brother-in-law from the very first stages of "eternal bliss". I loved watching her in the act of falling in love and being able to see that side of her, as we searched for "Alice in Wonderland" postcards in Oxford so that she could send them to Ryan (it's one of his favorite stories, if I remember correctly). I loved getting the chance to connect on an adult level, away from all the pettiness and hormonally-charged emotions of teen angst. It was great discovering that even though we have differences of personality and opinion, on some levels we are still very much alike. I would never trade those two weeks for anything and I'd do that trip all over again, in a heartbeat, if she asked me too, because on that trip my sister became more to me than just family, she also became my friend.


After being bitten by the travel bug, the following year, I was able to experience my second "honeymoon" and spent a week in Paris, France (one of my "must-see before I die" places in the world) visiting my younger sister, Valerie, while she was there spending the semester studying abroad. This time, a lot of this trip was spent on my own. Val had the place where she was staying for the semester, so I had my own hotel room, and while she was in class (doing the student thing) I was able to explore Paris on my own (something that terrified and yet excited me at the same time). I spent the better part of 3 days exploring the Louvre and all of the art and treasures that it has to offer. I wandered the streets of Paris, checking out the sights and the sounds and the smells of one of my favorite cities (I don't care what most of the world might think to the contrary). I perused museums, bookstores, shops, parks, churches and was even asked directions by other tourists (and I was actually able to respond and send them in the right direction), and I got to learn a little more about my sister because not all of my time was spent in solitude. Some of it was spent enjoying some ridiculously yummy hot chocolate at Angelique's (right by the Louvre) and amidst the gardens and gilded halls of an amazing palace and in coming to the realization that my little sister was no longer "little"...she was my equal, in many ways, and in some ways, my superior. She is daring and brave and adventurous and intelligent and absolutely amazing. She listened to me talk about "the one" and heard all of my fears about an acquaintance that was on the cusp of becoming something more (and that eventually turned into a proposal, a marriage and two kids and that is so much more than I could have ever dreamed "way back then"). She inspired me to be willing to take risks and to go after something more. Once again, my sister became something more than just family...she also became my friend.


The third "honeymoon" of my life was the one in the most traditional sense of the word (after all, a honeymoon is a period of blissful harmony). It is a honeymoon that still continues to this day and I have never been happier. I've been able to explore this life, wherever we might be, with my most favorite person of all time. I have grown, matured, and experienced life with my best friend, and I can't wait for our honeymoon to continue for an eternity to come.


So here's to honeymoons (whomever they may be with) and family and experiencing all that life has to offer. Anyone up for an adventure?

The Legacy...

Boys - 3; Girls - 5

It's taken a while, but the boys are slowly gaining on the girls. I love when all the cousins get to see each other (especially since it means that all of my siblings are together which is fantastic).

This is what happens...

When Keegan spends the weekend surrounded by all of his girl cousins:

At least he didn't put on a dress...and he did spend quite a bit of time "shooting bad guys" with his cousin Finn (the only boy cousin he has so far), and he had spent quite a bit of time playing with a baseball bat, golf club and a slew of wiffle balls.

But still, I can't help but wonder how much this is going to cost me in future therapy bills.

USS Midway

Since I made a goal to become more of a tourist in my own city and enjoy all that living in San Diego has to offer, the boys and I made a trek the other day down to San Diego Bay to see all the boats that are there (and possibly catch a glimpse of the gray whale that's decided to hang out there). It was a beautiful day...not too hot and not too cold, so it was perfect to be that close to the water. I put the boys in the stroller and just kind of walked along the waterfront looking at all the different boats that are there. Keegan saw the USS Midway and wanted to go up and see the airplanes that were on the "BIG boat". Since I had never been on it (and it was stroller friendly), I decided to take the tour. It was a lot of fun, and there were places where you could actually climb up into the cockpits of some of the airplanes or sit in one of the helicopters. For as much as he talked about the airplanes, when it came down to actually climbing up into one, Keegan became a little scaredy-cat. He was fine just looking at them, and then driving the "cars" that they had on the deck as well . At one point, as we were walking around (and after having just listened to how they land the planes on the deck) one of the volunteers asked Keegan if he was ready to land a plane there and, of course, being the super-confident kid that he is, he nodded his head and said yes. Someday, maybe, we'll just have to see, I guess.

I was a little disappointed in some of it, mostly because the majority of what you can see is on the flight deck and in the hangar area. There weren't a lot of other areas that you could go and see (at least not easily with the stroller) but I didn't mind it too much since a few years ago AJ and I were able to go and see another aircraft carrier that a friend used to be on and have a more private tour when everyone was on shore leave. Plus, Keegan and Camden didn't seem to mind much at all.

She's Crafty...

Since I've managed to slack a little on the whole blogging thing, I figure I better catch people up on what I've been doing so that you don't think that I'm a complete slacker on all things blogging and journaling.

Lately, I've been trying to be better about working on my goals for the year, and one of them that I had was using my mom's sewing machine (since I've had it for 2+ years at this point) to make things for the boys and for me and for family and just for fun. I've managed to make (although I wouldn't say master) a couple of pairs of pajama pants for both of the boys, with a couple more still left to go. Then, I made these for my niece's birthday (Julie, I guess you are getting the preview of K's pj's ahead of time after all):


They are a kimono style pajama, and for my first time ever making this pattern, I don't think they turned out too bad (hopefully my niece will like them). It took me a little longer than I wish that they had, but it was a lot of fun picking out the fabric and making them.

I've also started making jewelry again (and can I just say, thank goodness for a library that has a lot of different books on the subject so that I can get ideas for free!!). This bracelet was for another niece's birthday:

It's got little princess charms on it (since she is currently obsessed with all things princess, as every young girl should be in my opinion). I've also made a couple others that I'm trying to decide if I want to try and sell somewhere or if I'll just give them away to friends and family as gifts or just because.