2 weeks of dinners

My life has been a fury of insanity over these last few weeks. The Divine Cupcake has RSV, so I have had many sleep deprived days and sleepless nights...and the Little Diva is into EVERYTHING...she now knows the meaning of the word "no" (she still isn't talking) and throws a proper fit every time that she hears it and knows that we mean it...its so tough to be 1...

Because my days are so hectic, I am awfully glad that I take the time on 2 Saturdays a month to come up with 2 weeks of dinners so that I don't have to think about what to make...I happily can just look in the morning and voila! I am a dinner master!

I had some friends and family ask me if I would start posting my meal plans...I realize now that not everyone plans 2 weeks ahead and saving themselves from the dinner "blahs" can seem like an endless battle between "I'm too tired to cook" and "I have no time to come up with ANYTHING."

Don't worry darlings, I am here to help.

I am also doing Weight Watchers with a friend, so many of this set are Weight Watchers recipes, and if not, I have ways that I am planning to lighten them up.  Here is the list of meals that my family will be using between yesterday and 2 weeks from yesterday with links to the recipes. If the recipe doesn't have a link, its my recipe and I will be loading the recipe (hopefully, with pictures) after I cook it...think of me as Pioneer Woman Ree Drummond, but not (I will never be as wicked awesome in the kitchen as she is...but I can pretend!)

Meal Plan

Dinners:

1.   1. Cola Chicken: LINK *Note, I will be making this in the crock pot instead of the oven 

2. Prosciutto and Chicken Alfredo Stuffed Shells

3. Vegetarian Pitas

4. Slow Cooker Tikka Masala:  LINK * I have some changes in mind to this recipe. I will write about them after I've done it. :)

5. Chili Lime Chicken LINK 

6. Korean BBQ LINK

7. Pizza Rolls

8. Pasta with Tomato Cream Sauce LINK

9. Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas  LINK                                                                              

10. Alice Springs Chicken LINK

11.Cracker Barrel Grilled Chicken

12. Da Vinci Pasta LINK

13. Cowboy Beans

14. Scooter’s Spaghetti LINK

I will post reviews of recipes, changes, and my recipes for this group as the 2 weeks go on. 

Last night we had Scooter's Spaghetti. Its a favorite of my family. Not necessarily the most healthy of meals, but you could easily make it with ground turkey or chicken and cut the fat and I used the 1/3 less fat cream cheese instead of regular (its creamier and easier to mix anyway). Its fairly quick and easy, and most people will have all the ingredients on hand. If you have any type of pasta (I used egg noodles because we were out of spaghetti last night), cream cheese, and pasta sauce, you can make this dish...and EVERYONE will lick their plates clean. SO SO yummy...and super nice when you're in a pinch and need something fairly fast. We'd had a long day in Logan yesterday taking Cupcake to the doc and running errands, and we were BEAT when we got home. This recipe on my meal plan list was a total and complete GODSEND.

Bon Appetit, my darlings!

Writer's Block

I haven't written yet this week because, to be honest, life is pretty boring around here. I've been struggling trying to get my voice studio and photography studio up and running here...I did that one shoot and had a TON of likes to my Facebook page, but, alas, some chick here saw my prices and after I post a discount or ad in a public forum (like the yard sale and classified ads on Facebook) she immediately undercuts my price by $5-10, posting her ad minutes after seeing mine....still trying to figure out what to do...I've decided that I will wait until its warmer and do a call for portfolio models and do free shoots with 5-7 images on a disc in mini sessions and have them be all on one or two Saturdays at a pretty location here in Cache Valley. Hopefully, that can drum up some business...in the meantime, I will have 2 weddings to photograph (which I'm super excited about) and I have 1 count her ONE voice student...hopefully, my numbers will improve. I've thought about lowering my prices, but I will wait until summer. I think I may offer a summer voice lessons package or something...*sigh* the life of a stay at home mom who must do artsy things to feed her soul...LOL

Since I can't really think about much else to write about than the things that are irritating/inspiring me right now...I will give you a picture that will describe my life right now (since its worth a thousand words...)

Faith has decided that she likes being a girlie girl, she is happiest in a tutu and a necklace and Phillie has decided that teething sucks...and that's how I've been spending most of my days over the last week or two...

Oh...and the Little Diva even sits still for me to do her hair now...aren't I a lucky mommy?

Hugs and loves until next time, darlings!

Making Adjustments

Often times, it feels like life moves like you're on a high wire- 2 steps forward, one step back...carefully keeping balance as you go.

My life as of late has been this same way.

Moving back to Idaho was a rapid change, like riding a unicycle across a high wire (a unicycle that had been rigged for complete safe passage, but it still looks dangerous to the spectators.)

We're here, we're adjusting to life in my in-laws' house, and living out of boxes for an undefined amount of time.

Our original plan was that we would stay until April when a family member was going to have a house open up and we could rent it from them until we either decided to buy it from them or find something else, but that changed when my mother in law told us that she wanted us to stay longer. In fact, she said she wants us to stay as long as we want to.

While this offer is so humbling because there is so much love behind it, I know me. I know I will get tired of having to dig through boxes to find something I'm missing, and I know that I need my own space. Its hard to live in someone else's house and not know if something you're doing is going to upset them because its not the way that they would do it.

So, we went house hunting...however, we made the mistake of going house hunting before we'd been pre-approved for financing, so we really didn't know what we'd qualify for. We are fortunate because Idaho does have a home loan program that allows the buyer to pay 0 down and, if they make arrangements with the seller, include closing costs in the cost of the loan.

We thought we'd found "the house".  It wasn't EVERYTHING we were looking for, but it was perfect for what we absolutely needed and for the price it was better than anything we'd been looking at so far. We were so sure that we would be approved for enough to buy this house because we'd talked to people that have this same loan and because we'd talked to a real estate agent who frequently deals with them...well, we didn't account for the fact that our student loan debts would put us $100 a month in bills OVER the amount that we would be allowed to have in bills to qualify for enough to purchase the house.

Dejected, we left the loan office finding that we would be qualified for $20,000 LESS than we would need to get the house. We didn't even take the application because we needed to regroup and figure out what we were doing.

Bless my husband's heart. He called the family member with the house immediately because he felt it was our next best option.

I had been hesitant to purchase this family member's house. Not because I think it is a lemon or that it is unkempt  The outside is actually beautiful...the big problem is that its only 2 bedroom, and as we would need to be in the house for a while, I worry about having room to expand our family.

There were tears. Tears because I was sad to miss out on the house that we'd found, and tears because I thought it was all my fault. Most of the debt we are in is because of my student loans.

Of course, even though I was trying to hide my tears, Jeff is astute. When I mentioned this thought to him he, in essence, told me to shut my mouth. My education is a huge blessing, even if I'm not using it to contribute much to our family income right now (still trying to get my studio up and running again, its slow, but I have made some progress and have a few confirmed students. I'm also having some luck with my photography business. See my latest shoot HERE. I think it turned out SUPER CUTE!) He reminded me of the fact that if anything bad ever happened to him, we would need it and he's glad I have it. Also, because of the education I have, I am blessed with the opportunity to stay home with my babies and make money doing things like my voice studio and photography.

I've spent the week focusing on blessings that we have in our lives right now. We are so blessed to be back in Idaho, close to family and in the area that we love. We are blessed to have a roof over our heads and wonderful family members who have been willing to help us out in so many ways, and most of all, we are blessed to have one another.

I truly believe that everything happens for a reason.

Maybe "the house" wasn't "the house"....perhaps we are being spared from some major financial hardships? Maybe, if it had worked, a week or so after the sale was final the plumbing could have gone out, or there could have been a flood, or something horrible would have happened that wouldn't have been covered by our insurance and we wouldn't have been able to afford the repairs without going deeper into debt...maybe one of our kids could have gotten hurt in the neighborhood...you never know why things happen, but if my life has taught me anything its this:

We can have all the plans in the world for ourselves, but they will NEVER be as good as Heavenly Father's plans for us.

So...we adapt...its a heck of a lot easier than letting Him drag us kicking and screaming from one blessing to the next. I'd rather walk along side Him and trust His judgement.

So...we are adapting. Making plans and waiting to see how they pan out. We are going house hunting again this weekend and looking in the price point that we were given at the loan office and we are working on filling out the application since it could take a while to get full approval for the loan...and we're making decisions. If we don't find anything we like, then we are planning on moving forward with the purchase of our family member's house. We have been told that renovations may be possible using the loan money if we can make it fall under the category of "repairs". The loan officer seems very willing to help make that happen...so, we add on a room or two onto the back of the house (since the family member is willing to cut us a deal on it and we would have enough money leftover to do something like that.), and have room to expand and grow into the house and add equity to the house in the process. That way, when we are ready to find our "dream house" we can have some actual money for that dream house...

Everything is still up in the air...and that is okay. Since God is the one in charge, that is probably for the best. Sometimes having no plans is the best plan that you can make. It leaves you open to possibilities, and the opportunity to see what He has in store for you if you're willing to work with Him.

Hugs and loves until next time darlings!

Topsy Turvey!

Things have been INSANE for the Nielson clan.

When I last wrote, I said that my husband and I had decided to move back to Idaho, job or not.

Well, after that post, my husband decided he wanted to be responsible and that we would stay in Vegas if the job in Logan didn't pan out.

Needless to say, we were on pins and needles waiting for them to call.

When they didn't call on Monday after his interview, I started to get nervous. By the end of Tuesday, I was a crying emotional wreck. I was in tears on and off for most of the day and while I was crying I was praying and throwing a 4 year old tantrum to Heavenly Father..."I don't want to be here! Please don't make us stay."  (Don't get me wrong, I love all of the people and friends that I have made in Henderson, I am just not a "big city" girl. I wanted to be home in Idaho with my snow, my mountains, my country farming areas, and most importantly, my family.) Tuesday night, I bitterly accepted that we were likely staying in Vegas. I cried myself quietly to sleep and prayed for faith to accept Heavenly Father's will and apologized for being so stubborn.

Wednesday afternoon, Jeff forwarded an email to me. He had gotten the job!

Thursday and Friday were spent making preparations for our move...some of which I wasn't too fond of  (I'll get to that later...)

The plans were made for Jeff's brother to come Sunday night from Idaho with a trailer for us to load...which meant Friday and Saturday were spent in overwhelming, crazy packing mode. By Sunday afternoon/evening, as we waited for Jeff's brother to arrive we were spent. I was in tears cleaning my kitchen, and realizing that no other cleaning was going to be done before I left...I was feeling VERY overwhelmed and frustrated.

To make matters worse (remember how I said I didn't like some of the plans) I was trying to prepare myself for being separated from Jeff for 2 weeks. Because I knew that I couldn't live in a house with no furniture with 2 babies for 2 weeks, the decision had been made that Jeff would drive us with a load of immediate necessities (like pack and plays for the girls to sleep in, clothes, medication, etc.) and leave us in Preston, ID and then drive back to finish out his 2 weeks of work for JT3... I hate being away from Jeff. I don't sleep well without him next to me to snuggle up next to and he is my partner in parenting. I am fully aware of how much difference his help makes when it comes to taking care of the girls...and I was afraid of him being alone. What if he were in an accident, or got sick and ended up in the hospital? How would I get to him?

Let's just say the Brittany of Sunday, January 20 was a wreck!

To add to my frustration, my brother in law showed up an hour earlier than expected and we had no way to get the word out to our ward members who had said they would help other than Facebook.  We moved most of the stuff down to the trailer without help...me, Jeff, Jeff's brother, and our nephew...it was a long hour. People showed up when things were about done, but it ended up being a good thing they showed up when they did. Jeff's brother said we could fit our beloved couch and ottoman in the trailer...a feat we didn't think would be possible, so we had pending buyers waiting to come pick them up. Fortunately, I had numbers for the buyers so I texted them to let them know that we had changed our minds about selling. They were very understanding and wished us luck in our move.

After about 20 nail biting minutes, they figured out how to get the couch down the stairs. (It was amusing to watch the men at work figuring it out...suggestions such as putting it over the balcony while some of the menfolk stood beneath to catch it were being thrown around when I suggested taking the legs off the couch... which ended up working...)

Of course, this left us with a conundrum. When everyone was gone and Jeff's brother had taken off to head back towards Idaho, we realized that we had been planning on sleeping on our couch while the girls slept in their pack and plays...our only option was to sleep on the floor (or, not sleep on the floor as it turned out for me. My hips started to bruise so I ended up using my pillows to make a make-shift couch and sat up watching old VH1 reality television shows on Hulu... Phillie wasn't liking it much either- she HATES sleeping in her pack and play)

The next morning, I corralled the girls into our old bedroom while Jeff went for breakfast. He came back, we ate, we packed the last of what we needed, waited for the garbage man to arrive and headed to one last appointment with the pediatrician...and then, by 10:30, we were off.

I couldn't help but bubble over with excitement as I realized that this would be the last time I would have to drive on the Las Vegas freeways (unless we decided to go for a vacation...I HATE the traffic on the freeways...white knuckles all the way!)

We arrived in Idaho late Monday night. Faith hadn't eaten and was crying inconsolably. I tried to feed her before I put her to bed, but she just sat in her high chair and cried. Jeff quickly put her pack and play together, we got her into some jammies and put her to bed without dinner. (I made sure she had an extra large sippy of chocolate milk! )

Tuesday morning, Jeff left to head back to Vegas. He said he was going to try to see if they would let him off a week early because he didn't want to be there alone. Thus started the longest 3 days of my life.

Jeff's mom is awesome, but she has adjusted to Jeff's dad being away in North Dakota working in the oil fields by keeping very busy outside the house. Between her workout group and working in Jeff's sister's boutique, I rarely saw her so I was alone...props to single moms. I was ready to curl into a crying ball after 3 days of parenting alone... on top of trying to take care of an almost 5 month old and a 15 month old, I was trying to unpack and get what I could out of my mother in law's way. (Needless to say, I wasn't super successful, but I did manage to organize the boxes downstairs and get them out of the way and only in one half of the family room... that took me ALL DAY on Thursday)

Jeff called on Thursday and said he'd worked it out so that he could come home on Friday! I was so happy I started to cry. I needed him...I needed a snuggle, a kiss, and his support... however, it made the rest of Thursday and all day Friday VERY long days. Jeff had to work for 2 hours on Friday, he worked it out with our property management company to check out of our townhouse that afternoon, and then he hit the road a little earlier than we'd expected. :)

I thought he was going to be home around 10. He called around 9:30 and said that he was in North Logan and my heart skipped a beat! He was almost here. About two minutes later, the door to our room opened, and there he was. He had tricked me...that tricksy hobbit!  We snuggled up for a bit and then Faith woke up. As soon as she realized daddy was home, she refused to go back to sleep...and that week had been so fun as far as sleep and Faith had been concerned since ALL the rest of her teeth had decided to come in at once (some are still working their way through...let's just say she hasn't been as cranky as I would expect her to be with that many teeth coming in at once- we're talking at least 10 teeth coming in at once...- but she has definitely not been her usual easy self.)

So...since Jeff got here, we've been working on doing what we can to get things out of his mom and dad's way as best as we can. Our original plan was to stay here until April when one of Jeff's brother's rentals comes open, but now things are shifting again. My mother in law is lonely with my father in law being gone and has said very emphatically that we are welcome to stay as long as it would take to save up a down payment for a house.

I'm not sure I will want to stay that long, but we will see how it goes. Jeff and I agreed to stay as long as we haven't worn out our welcome...and we've made that clear to my mother in law. I told her that BEFORE it becomes something that irritates her, to please tell us that we need to find a place of our own and we will be happy to do so.

So...here we are... home in Preston, Idaho.

I went shopping with my mother in law on Wednesday last week. It was 38 degrees outside. I had on a light jacket and I was fine...I told her it was just more proof that I hadn't acclimated to weather in Vegas...

Jeff managed to make it back right before a HUGE snowstorm hit and plowed us with over a foot of snow. Needless to say, I am in heaven! I've missed having seasons, and it just seemed odd to have winter with no snow... its funny to be back in Idaho with everyone complaining about winter and how it needs to be over and I'm here thinking how blessed I am to witness it.

Well, here's to the next chapter of life. Jeff is super excited for his new job. He has warned me that he likely won't be able to shut up about it when he gets home. I am working to try to get my photography business up and running and to try to get my voice studio up and running as well...

As always...I will tell you everything as it happens...because I'm awesome like that.

Hugs and Loves until next time Darlings!

Faith in Every Footstep

Well...

After a very, VERY hectic New Years and crazy Christmas, my husband and I were forced to make some slightly scary decisions for our little family.

We had a flood in our apartment...thankfully, we have renter's insurance that will cover most of the damages (the jury is still out on how much because we've been told 3 different things by 3 different agents. One said NOTHING would be covered, one said ALL would be covered, and one said that only the damage to the townhouse below us would be covered.... we are just going to let people make claims and let the chips fall where they may. So far, we know that the damages to the townhouse below us were covered.) and after the flood, came the flood...

Our neighborhood, while being a gated community, has progressively been getting a little scarier. Lots of youngsters have moved in (I sound so old right now...youngsters as in single people in their early 20s) and they drive through the neighborhoods of our little gated community like bats out of hell! Well, one of them finally did something REALLY stupid and they rammed their car into the building across the street from us. Looking at the skid marks, if they had turned the wheel the other way, it would have been us having to pack to leave our apartment at 4:30 in the morning because our building wasn't structurally safe to be in instead of our neighbors...after that, we made the tough decision to find a new apartment. We've had issues with the property management company since a few months since we moved in and have had issues getting maintenance done when we've needed it...so we decided it was time...

Well, once we put in our 30 day notice, on a whim, or maybe following some inspiration, Jeff started applying for jobs back "home".  Our Christmas visit had broken our hearts. Poor Faith, who RARELY does the stranger danger thing, was in tears every time an aunt, uncle, cousin, or grandparent tried to pick her up. Phillie, being smaller, wasn't as affected, but it definitely got us thinking about the fact that our girls are growing up and they don't know their family... as we drove home to try to fix what we could of the flood situation, we talked about our desire to move back (so maybe that is what drove Jeff to apply for other jobs...)

Well, Jeff found several jobs and applied for them. He's had interviews for two of those jobs that he has applied for so far. One in Logan, UT (close to where he grew up in Preston, ID) and one in Idaho Falls, ID (where I grew up...well, for the most part...we moved a lot.) The company in Logan immediately wanted him to come in for an in person interview, but it wasn't working to schedule it since it is a new year and Jeff doesn't have any time off built up...We were serious enough about him wanting the job, though, that we were willing for him to miss out on a day of pay to do the interview...however, I felt prompted to tell Jeff to ask if they would be willing to do a Skype interview instead...and lo and behold, they were willing to do so because he was so qualified for the position.

The phone interview with the company in Idaho Falls went so well that they told him point blank that he was the most qualified candidate they had interviewed and that they were willing to wait until we moved back at the end of the month for him to come in for an in person interview (in essence, they were saying it was his, but he needed to have the in person interview for personnel reasons).  After that interview, our decision was made...

We'd been going back and forth...should we just find a new apartment and keep waiting for Jeff to get his clearance...living in a city we hate (We love the people, we just don't like the "big city"...we miss our mountains, forests and "country areas" with vast acreages of farms), or should we bite the bullet and move back, job or no?

Hearing from two companies that he was highly qualified and desirable for the positions he was applying for kind of cinched it for us....Jeff immediately went to see how many more open positions there were for someone with his degree and training and there were several more that he hadn't applied for yet. We decided that, barring Jeff getting his clearance before he puts in his 2 week notice, which would mean he could actually WORK as opposed to sit in a warehouse all day doing nothing(which is highly unlikely since his case number isn't even up for review yet) we would have some faith and move back, because we know in the long run that this is what will be best for our family. We want to be close to our family, we want our girls to know the people that love them and we definitely don't want a repeat of this Christmas next year with Phillie (because everyone deserves the warmth that a Phillie smile brings into their lives...) We are going to have faith that Heavenly Father wants us to be happy and that he will help us find the right job and be able to provide for our family.

It may sound pretty dumb that we'd be willing to leave a job that pays $52,000 a year and has amazing benefits...but we've learned that you can't put a price on having family close by...

Since we've made that decision, things have seemed to start to fall into place to make the move easier.  Jeff's Skype interview yesterday went very, very well! It ended with them checking that Jeff was alright with the pay and benefits package they had to offer and today they emailed and asked for his references because in their own words they "feel very good" about yesterday's interview...So, hopefully, God is going to be good to us and we won't have to move back with no job in place.

To those of you that have been praying for my little family as we've been making this decision and as we've been struggling all I can do is say thank you. We have felt your prayers, and I know they have worked. I feel presumptuous to ask you to continue your prayers on our behalf, but we're not out of the woods yet...and we're still trying to figure out a budget that will work given what Jeff would be making at this new job, but we are going to have faith because we know this is what our little family needs.

Its a scary thing to let go and let God take care of things, but it is a beautiful experience to see his blessings in your life as you move forward...even when the decision you make is the scariest choice you could make...

Hugs and loves until next time darlings...

The Power of Pants, or Why I Have the Best Husband on the Planet

Its been bothering me for a while...

Everyone that has ever had a baby knows how frustrating it is to seemingly watch all your friends who had babies around the same time that you did fit back into their pre-pregnancy size with no problems...

Well, when I found out I was pregnant with the Cupcake when the Little Diva was 2 months old, I gave up any and all hope of being able to fit into ANYTHING that I wore being pregnant. I owned exactly 1 pair of jeans that we had purchased about a month after I had the Little Diva...and somewhat begrudgingly pulled out my maternity clothes again...

We did buy 1 pair of maternity pants because it seemed like all of my maternity stuff was actually too big during this pregnancy. In fact, I was still wearing maternity items that I'd had to put away after about week 28 of pregnancy with the Little Diva...I was holding out hope that I would shrink down even more after pregnancy with the Cupcake...especially because the one pair of jeans I'd purchased after having the Diva, still fit (they were tight, but they fit).

I didn't end up that lucky.  I thought, however, that since my one pair of jeans was VERY loose that I was squarely into one size.  Some friends of mine were having a yard sale and decided to let people go through all their leftover items for free at the end of the day. I scored 6 pairs of pants in that size, along with some cute tops. I went home excited to finally have a wardrobe again...only to be met with defeat. Only 1 pair of those pants fit...and they were TIIIIIGHT.  I was in tears and frustrated. My sweet husband reassured me and reminded me that I'd just had a baby 2 months before and I needed to be gentle with myself.

My frustration mounted. I only had 3 things that fit on the bottom (all the shirts I snagged fit great)...2 of those things happened to be the same skirt in different colors...it was getting tiresome to not have enough clothes to wear. Faith has started into her toddler stage, so let's just say that any outfit I wear doesn't exactly stay clean all day...

I'd become the mom I swore I would never be...wearing pajama pants most of the time because they were the only things I had that fit well. Its been like this for the last 2 months...I've been trying to lose weight to fit into those pants I got for free because I knew that it would be much easier on us financially...and I'm cheap, veery, veeeery cheap... All of them are in really good shape, so it was hard to justify buying anything else even though they didn't fit...but trying them on just made me even more sad and feel more desperate.

Finally, yesterday was the boiling point. I didn't want to wear pajama pants again...I just couldn't do it. I was sick of feeling like a scrub...I had ONE clean skirt and I was wearing it! I didn't care that it was only 50 degrees outside! I was trying to get everyone ready to get out of the house and head to the grocery store and decided to change the Little Diva's shirt. She had gotten chocolate milk all down her front. I pulled out my bottle of homemade spray and wash to douse it to get rid of the offensive chocolate specks and drizzles that were taunting me...only to have the bottle explode on me, leaving LARGE wet marks where the spray and wash had hit it. Here's the thing about the homemade spray and wash...it takes FOREVER to dry because there is no water in it...I knew that my hopes for looking not like a scrub at the grocery store were dashed...to add to my frustrations, I found that I also had no clean pajama pants in my drawers. I remembered folding some and stomped into the living room to grab them.

Jeff was so patient and loving. He tried to grab me to comfort me in my town tear stained state (yes, I was crying over pants) but I pulled away and said through clenched teeth, "Just let me get dressed, please."  I immediately felt bad for displacing my stress on him. I went back, grabbed him and kissed him and said a quiet and penitent, "I love you."  He smiled and said, "I love you too."  I went into the room and sobbed a little more as I begrudgingly pulled the pajama pants on and changed my shirt (can't exactly wear a frilly blouse with pajama pants...)

We got into the car and started to drive. Jeff didn't turn where he should have to head to the grocery store...he kept driving down the road....I had no clue what he was up to.

We pulled into the strip mall that has our usual Target and a few other stores. The whole while I was thinking, "What do we need at Target? I thought we got everything...

I asked Jeff what we were doing. He just said, "You'll see."  He pulled into the part of the parking lot that was in front of Ross Dress for Less. He turned to me and said, "We aren't leaving here until you pick out 3 things."  I kissed him, hugged him, and sheepishly thanked him and reluctantly started to shop (I'm cheap...I admit it. I HATE spending money...)  I grabbed pairs of pants in two sizes that I thought I may fit into and went into the dressing room. I was flabbergasted to find that one of the smaller size fit and one of the bigger size fit...but the smaller sized pants were $30...I haven't spent $30 on a pair of pants since I was 16...that is pricey to me. I kept looking for other pants...I tried on every style of pant that they had in the size that I thought would fit best and still only ended up with the two pairs I'd found initially. I started looking at other things and jokingly said, "Well, you said 'three things' you didn't necessarily say that they all had to be pairs of pants...) we looked through the lingerie section and joked with one another and then I said, "Well, what do you think?" He said, "I think we have two things, but we can go."   We paid for the pants and left the store.

It seems so shallow that a trip to the store and a few pairs of pants could totally change my mood...but Jeff knew I'd had all that I could take.  I am so blessed to be married to a man who is so patient with me, even when I have outburst about clothes like a pre-teen/teenage girl.  I'm even more blessed that he is willing to put aside his ultimate goals with what money we do have (right now we are trying to save for a trip to Idaho for Christmas, and we also would like to pay his brother back some of the money we owe him...) so that I can feel a little bit better about myself.

This morning, I laughed to myself when I thought about how excited I was just to put on a pair of new pants that actually fit...I wasn't going to have to pull them up every 5 minutes like I do when I wear the other pants I have from last year...and even though I'm not the size I had hoped to be at this point, it definitely changes your outlook on your body shape when you get to wear clothes that fit.

Bless my husband for putting up with me...bless him for being thoughtful, and bless him for loving me through all my "ugly" times.  I love him so much...Its amazing the power a pair of good-fitting pants has on your confidence...but its even more amazing how much power a sweet, loving husband has ...I only wish that I had changed my attitude sooner, I wish I wouldn't have pulled away to let myself be angry (especially because I wasn't angry at him, and I worry that I made him feel like I was)...I don't need him to buy me things to make me happy, that is for sure...but the gesture of perfect love that was made by trying to show his wife that he cared and saw her needs (no matter how shallow they were at the time) was definitely what I needed.

and that's all I have to say about that...

Hugs and loves until next time darlings!

Too Many Changes

My kids need to put on the brakes!

There are too many changes happening in my house and this mamma just can't keep up. I suppose tons of changes happening all at once is a blessing. It means that I don't have time to sit and be sad that they are growing up and getting bigger.

In the last month, the Little Diva has begun to walk. It was slow going. Jeff thought she would be walking sooner, I thought we had another month of her coasting along furniture...it has ended up being in between the two predictions. She is getting better at walking and now can get up to stand and walk without anyone helping her or finding a piece of furniture to pull herself up on...

You would think that walking would be enough for this kid, but you're wrong...

No, she now insists on feeding herself and gets very testy if what she is eating isn't the same as what mom and dad are eating. There is no tricking this kid either. Last night we had pizza from Little Caesars... I was trying to keep her away from the pepperoni...I gave her a bowl of Spaghettios. She happily chomped on them, until she looked over and saw the pizza...she then started dumping her bowl out and tried to throw it on the floor as she whined. I cleaned her up, insisting in my head that if she didn't want to eat what I gave her, then she could just have a bottle and go to bed...well she walked over and whined as daddy took a big bite of his pizza slice...we caved and let her eat bites of the cheesy parts and finally Jeff gave her a crust to gnaw on...and then another (this kid has an appetite!)

If that wasn't enough...she found some crayons and a coloring book that her Grandma Nielson had given her (we were saving it for until she is older because, at the time, she just didn't get it...), she brought them to me. I sat down on the floor and tried to show her how to color again...she picked up a crayon and started lightly marking the pages with various colors....it was just too much!

Let's add to that the developmental milestones of the Divine Cupcake...she now smiles...at EVERYONE and EVERYTHING...and she is my little piggy (literally, she makes little piggy grunting noises when she is hungry). Everyone comments on how small she is, but compared to Faith at this age, she is a gargantuan!...This morning I made the sad realization that its time to pull out the 3-6 month clothes...I only convinced myself to put the newborn stuff away last week!

In short, this mommyhood thing is going all too fast.  I admit with sadness that my girls are growing, but then there is that part of me that is cheering them on as they learn how to do new things.

Faith is getting to be so "fun", for lack of a better word.  She still isn't talking but is very expressive with her gestures and loves to play. She thinks that I am the funniest person on the planet and laughs every time I even remotely attempt to be silly...I work my hardest to remember these little things because one day I know she will think I am lame and embarrassing...and it seems like that day is coming all too soon.

I guess I just need to find a way to stop time from moving forward...gee, where is Einstein when you need him? (I'm sure there are several moms out there that would love to hear if I figure that secret out...) In the meantime, all I can do is try to take pictures (mental and on my camera) to remember these little moments that are so full of wonder for two special little spirits.

Hugs and loves until next time darlings...