Monday, November 30, 2009

T.H.A.N.K.S.G.I.V.I.N.G.

We had a nice past Thanksgiving week, and as I hardly touched my computer all week, I have a lot to blog about!  

T is for Turkey Dinner!  We were blessed to have some other families in our ward without family plans for Thanksgiving dinner, and so we all got together for a fun meal.  We missed being with family (this is our first time experiencing Thanksgiving without family) but we were glad to be with friends that we like so much!  I got to make my favorite Thanksgiving foods for the potluck dinner - pomegranate salad, The Pioneer Woman's yams, Grandma Klingler's rolls, and of course, banana cream and lemon meringue pie.  Katelee talked all morning about going to the "feast," but once we got there, she was so excited to play with the other kids outside in the 65 degree sunny weather that we had a hard time getting her to eat at all!  It was a delicious feast, though, and we are grateful we had such a fun people to share it with!

H is for Hammond's Candy Factory!  We were looking for something special to do as a family on Saturday that was free, and since the mint was closed we ended up visiting Hammond's Candy Factory.  They give a free tour where you can watch the candy being made, free samples, and free hats to the kids.  And if you are a candy fan, their shop is tons of fun!
A is for a.m.  As in 4:00 a.m.  As in the time I got up to go shopping on Black Friday.  I've never done this before.  In fact, I really don't think I've ever gone to a store at all on Black Friday before.  But I went with my friend, Laurie, and we had a lot of fun!  I got a good deal on a few things at Wal-Mart, but I'm really excited for the flannel we bought at JoAnne's.  $1.49 a yard equals $3 homemade blankets for baby gifts for this upcoming year - awesome!

N is for NO SCHOOL!  Gerald didn't have any classes all last week, and although he had to go to campus a couple of days to work on projects, it was AWESOME to have him around so much and to have his schedule be so flexible.  This was by far the best part of last week.  And we only have 2 weeks left of school and he will be officially done with his first semester!  Happy day! There are definitely some perks to be being a student - such as the month (yes, month!) Gerald gets off for Christmas break.  I can't wait!

K is for Katelee (of course!) and the silly, funny girl she is.  We had so much fun hanging out this past week!  Here she is sporting her stylish 'lamp hat.' 
S is for Sewing Projects.  I've been doing a lot of sewing with my few days off.  My pride and joy is the Christmas dress and matching headband I made for Katelee.  This is by far the most elaborate sewing project I've done yet, because it has both sleeves and a zipper!  (Special thanks to Laurie for helping me understand how to do a zipper!)  I know all my sewing friends are probably laughing so hard at the fact that I am calling this very basic dress elaborate, but for my simple skills this is huge.  Katelee chose the fabric and was excited about every step of the process.  She loves to twirl around in her new 'sparkly' dress, as she calls it.  I figure I made the whole thing for about $12, so not an amazing deal, but not bad, and I'm glad I'm learning more sewing skills in the process.

G is for Gratitude Journals.  We made these gratitude journals at a Relief Society activity a couple of weeks ago.  This is the first Relief Society activity I've been in charge of since I got my new calling, and I think it went well.  I've been keeping a gratitude journal for a few months now, and I have to say that I really think it is making a difference in my life.  I love it.  I have been so much more aware of the hand of the Lord in my life than I usually am.  I think everyone should keep some sort of journal where they write down how the Lord has blessed their lives on a regular basis.  The results for me have been enormous.  Anyway, we want every sister in the ward to have one, so I spent a great deal of time over Thanksgiving break making dozens of extras of these journals to give out next Sunday.  The most popular scrapbook papers were already taken, but still I think they are cute.  This is such a fun and easy project, if you are trying to think of inexpensive gifts or a fun project night idea!

I is for Infinite Blessings.  We truly are so blessed.  It was wonderful to take some time this past week to count and reflect on our many, many, many blessings.

V is for Very Fun!  We had some friends over for a game night last week, and we had a lot of fun!  We love to play games and really need to do it more often.  Our friends have a little girl almost exactly Katelee's age, and they are so cute together!  We dressed them both in their matching P.J.'s for the game night, and they had a 'pajama party' together!  What cute friends!


I  is for Incredible Decorations!  Okay, so maybe they're not exactly 'incredible,' but I had to make this work for 'I' somehow!  ;)  We did decorate our house for Christmas this past week.  It makes our home feel so cozy and festive, and I love having the decorations up!

N is for Nativity.  We found a children's plastic nativity this year for a decent price at Deseret Book, and couldn't resist buying it.  We introduced it last week as part of our Family Home Evening, and Katelee loves playing with it.  She calls it "an activity" (instead of nativity) and plays with it every day.  I love hearing her act out the story of Jesus' birth with the characters, even if her imagination sometimes leads to unexpected twists in the Biblical events . . . :)  My favorite is when she's done playing, she always sets up all the characters like this.  When I asked why she did that, she said, "Because they are all looking at Baby Jesus, Mom." 


G is for Garage!  When we moved in our house, we were here for 3 days before Gerald started school and we traveled back to Utah that first week for a wedding.  To make a long story short, we never were able to get around to cleaning out and organizing the garage.  Gerald hasn't really been home for a weekend since school started, so Thanksgiving break offered the first opportunity to get this job done.  Gerald did most of it, and he did a great job!  It is great to have everything organized and best of all to be able to actually park the car in the garage!  Hooray!
Well, that about sums up our last week.  If you're still reading this, I have to say:  Wow!  You are either a very loyal friend or you don't have much else to do right now.  :)  Thanks for sticking with me, even though this post was about the length of a novel!  We hope your Thanksgiving was a wonderful one!

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Preparing for Primary

I realized today that I can count on one hand the number of weeks that Katelee has left in nursery.  And my heart sank.  Literally.

Katelee loves nursery.  Always has.  She talks about it during the week.  It's the most effective bribery tool for good behavior in sacrament meeting.  She looks forward to Sundays, because it's the day she gets to go to nursery.

And I'm scared she isn't going to feel that way in primary; when suddenly the toys, free time, and snacks are gone.

I may be wrong.  She will probably have an amazing teacher and lots of friends and she'll think primary is the greatest thing in the world.  I'm hoping.  But, just in case she isn't instantly in love with primary, I'm asking for advice.

What did you do to help your child(ren) prepare for primary?

Gerald and I have been talking about it with Katelee, and she knows the change is coming, but I don't think she understands what it really means.  So, we're trying to make the change seem like an exciting rite of passage.  For instance, for Christmas this year we are giving her her own scripture bag and her own Book of Mormon, which I embellished to look like this:


Isn't it cute?  Wish I could say this was my idea, but yeah, right.  I don't ever think of things like this on my own, I just copy other people's ideas.  :) (If you are interested in seeing the original tutorial that I used to make this, click here.)

But beyond this, I'm unsure what to do.

What other ideas, tips or advice do you have to help us prepare Katelee for this big change?

Monday, November 23, 2009

A Recommended Purchase

Today I finally made a purchase that I have thought about making forEVER.  

It was inexpensive, useful, and helped solve a very real problem in my life.

Here is the problem:
No matter how I try, I can NOT keep up with the overflowing grocery sack problem in my house.  I use them for bathroom and office trash cans, Gerald uses them to take his lunch to school in, etc.  But we always have grocery sacks coming out of our ears!!!  I feel a lot of guilt about throwing them away; I used to recycle them when I lived in Lehi, but the recycling program here in my apartment complex leaves a lot to be desired.  So, to make a long story short, I FINALLY got around to buying some of these:

And, after using them once, I am officially in love.  I bought 5 bags for $4, and (packed carefully) my entire week's groceries fit nicely in the five bags.  And guess what else?  I could literally carry twice the amount of groceries into my house in one trip with these!  I also feel that my groceries arrived home in better shape than usual - no cans rolled around my trunk, my bread wasn't crushed, my produce wasn't bruised, and no plastic bags split in half and dumped my cereal boxes onto the sidewalk (a recent experience I had).  Not to mention the positive effects for the environment.  

All that for only $4 - I only wonder why I didn't buy them sooner.

If you are like me and have been sitting on the fence for a long time about buying some of these bags, I totally recommend that you take the plunge!

Blanket

I like to crochet, but I don't do it very often these days.  A close friend of mine, however, was expecting her third baby, and I really wanted to crochet her a blanket.  She has always had crocheted blankets for her other boys and attached them to these special blankets, so it seemed like the perfect baby gift for her.  

I really like how this blanket turned out.  I didn't follow a pattern, just did the 'mountain-valley' stitch that I do often and that is so easy ... Only this time I added stripes of a different color.  I did this on a whim, but I'm really happy with how it turned out.  I think the stripes add a lot of character to the blanket.


I recently had a friend ask to learn how to crochet.  It is soooo easy.  Seriously, if you are interested in learning (anyone) I would be more than happy to teach you!

Sunday, November 22, 2009

Elmo Cake

Happy Birthday, Lucy!

Don't you just want to bite Elmo's nose off?

Saturday, November 21, 2009

Embracing Emotions

I've been thinking a lot lately about the different emotions we experience in this life.  

Earlier this month I had a very real and unexpected reason to believe I was pregnant.  For five glorious days I walked around with a constant smile on my face and this swelling hope in my heart.  It was the first time I had felt that hope in a long time.  I kept trying to crush it, knowing I was going to be bitterly disappointed later.  I argued with myself - after three years of trying, multiple fertility drugs and doctors, why would I suddenly be pregnant out of the blue?  But I couldn't help it.  The hope overwhelmed me and I gave into it, making plans in my head and torturing myself further, like I'm known to do.

Well, I'm definitely not pregnant.  No big surprise there, right?  But still, I was heartbroken all over again.  I was so, so sad.  And again (just like with the hope) I tried to fight it off.  I tried to tell myself I had no right to be sad, because I had no right to be hopeful in the first place.  I tried to remember all the reasons I have to be happy.  But the fact remains, I was (am) sad.

And this experience is what led me to thinking about emotions.  This life is a time to experience what it is to be human, to have feelings.  Why do we try so hard to fight off and hide some of our emotions?  In the end, I gave into my feelings of hope, and while it led to a bitter heartache, I don't regret it.  I also came to the conclusion that I needed to embrace my sadness.  It is okay to feel sad.  It's part of life.  And I am grateful that I get to experience this feeling called sad, because it helps me really appreciate happiness.  And once I stopped fighting my sadness, I was able to get through it and start healing.

There's no shame in feeling sad or lonely or stressed . . . I find that when I'm honest with myself about my feelings and their sources, I can deal with them for what they really are and move forward.  I'm also learning that when I am honest with myself and with others about how I am truly feeling, my relationships with others are strengthened.  I am being true to myself; I stop pretending.  I learn who my real friends are.  I feel closer to my Heavenly Father.

And that makes me happy.

Thursday, November 19, 2009

And the winner is....

...the DVD player.   It has officially died.  Yup, that's the third electronic/appliance that has died at our house in the last three weeks.  See, I told you the Rule of Threes was real!  ;)  Now at least we don't have to wonder what's next.  Hee hee hee!

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Girl Band

Last week we babysat our friends' three girls. Katelee was thrilled to have them over to play. They were playing in Katelee's room, and I could overhear their conversation. They were all wanting to play Katelee's Barbie guitar; then they began discussing having a band. They turned off the lights (because for some reason a band performs in the dark) and were situating themselves when one of the girls came and asked me, "Do you have any more instruments?"

Do I have any more instruments?!? Our house is full of instruments!

So, we got out the keyboard, the drum, and a bucket of rhythm instruments for the girls, and set up their 'stage' in the family room. They had a ball! (The baby loved the maracas.)  They sang and performed for us most of the night, and insisted on performing for their parents when they arrived, too.

This brought back fun memories of me and my sister and cousins making up dances or other performances when we were around that age. So fun! So, here is one of their 'top hits' for you to enjoy!

Sunday, November 15, 2009

today's thoughts

Church was cancelled today because of the snow.  I love going to church, but oh, it was so nice today to stay home as a family.  I honestly can't remember the last time all of us were home in the morning.  Gerald made waffles and hot cocoa for breakfast, and we played board games and read the lesson out of the Relief Society/Priesthood manual together.  Katelee treated us all to a tea party, and she made the most delicious strawberry-hot dog-chicken soup and pepperoni-milk drink I've ever tasted.  

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Do you believe in the rule of threes?  A week or two ago, I broke our TV.  Then yesterday our very old dryer finally gave out.  Now I can't help wondering what's next.  Our DVD player is acting up, and our camera is still working only when it's held together by duct tape...  In the words, of Michael Scott, "I'm not superstitious.  I'm just a little stitious."  

Oh, man, that makes me laugh every time!
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Today for lunch we used some leftover ham we had and made a new soup recipe given to me by my sister, Melissa.  I'm in love.  You haven't lived until you've tried this soup.  Try it, try it, please!  And please note, this picture just doesn't do it justice.  Not even close.  It tastes a lot better than this pictures looks!

Best Ham Soup Ever
  • 4 c. water
  • 5 red potatoes, cubed (leave the skins on)
  • 4 carrots, cut into slices
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 3-4 tsp. salt
  • 1 tsp. pepper
  • 1 bag of frozen broccoli
  • 3 c. cooked ham, cubed
  • 1 stick butter
  • 1/2 c. flour
  • 3 c. milk
  • 4 c. shredded sharp cheddar cheese
Combine the water, salt, pepper and all the vegetables except the frozen broccoli in a big pot.  Bring to a boil.  About 5 minutes before the vegetables are done, add the broccoli.  Cover and boil until all the veggies are done.  Meanwhile, in a separate pan, melt the butter over a medium heat.  Add the flour slowly, whisking constantly to make it smooth.  Add one cup of milk.  Continue whisking.  Add another cup of milk.  Still whisking.  Add half the cheese.  Don't stop whisking!  Add the last cup of milk.  I hope you're still whisking!  Add the last of the cheese.  Keep whisking until the whole mixture is perfectly smooth. Re-attach your arm.  Now pour the cheese mixture into the cooked vegetables.  DO NOT DRAIN THE WATER from the vegetables - you definitely want this still.  Stir until well blended.  Turn to low heat and add the cubed ham.  Leave on warm heat and stir a bit until the ham is warmed through.  Serve and enjoy.
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Finally, here is the random question of the day: Do any of you know someone who lives in Antimony, UT?  I'm very curious if you do... Please let me know!

Friday, November 13, 2009

SiLLiNeSs

The other night after taking pictures of our Thankful turkey, we began taking silly pictures as a family.  They're not cute, but they're funny!  Here are some of the silliest.  





Thursday, November 12, 2009

Thankful Turkey

Monday night for family night, we made a thankful turkey.  I really love him!  He makes me smile every time I look at him.  Gerald, Katelee and I took turns naming something we were grateful for and writing it on the turkey's feathers.  Here is our list, in no particular order.  Can you tell who named which things?

friends
family home evening
mommy loves me
grandmas & grandpas
scriptures
hot cocoa
my toys
Jesus
mommy & daddy
Denver
parties
candy
modern appliances
The Denver Transplant Center
food
school
long, warm showers
holidays
books 
my blue sunday dress
sunshine 
our new ward
music
snow days
Katelee
Gerald
Jennifer
prayer
Lehi
time when Gerald is home
bed 
computers
car
Heavenly Father
clothes 
the temple

It's good to sometimes list the things you are grateful for; once you get started you realize that you could go on forever . . . we are so blessed!

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Under the Sea

Last week, a lady in my ward asked me to decorate the cupcakes for her son's 10th birthday party.  When asked for a theme, she told me that her son was getting his scuba diving license for his birthday - something he was thrilled about!  I thought and thought about how to fit a scuba diving theme on a small cupcake, but couldn't figure it out.  So I made my first cupcake cake.  Do you read Cake Wrecks?  If you don't, you should.  Seriously.  Anyway, reading that blog has really made me anti-cupcake cakes (CCC's), for good reason.   Still, I think this turned out alright, and it definitely fit the theme for the birthday!  My personal favorite part are the little white shells on the sea floor and the green seaweed.

Monday, November 9, 2009

Silly Sleeper

Katelee has had a few silly sleeping incidents lately!  

About 3 weeks ago, I put Katelee down for nap.  After awhile, I went into her room to check on her.  I couldn't see her anywhere, but I could hear her snoring!  I finally located the source of the snoring - under her bed!  She had built herself a little nest of blankets and was sound asleep!  What a silly girl!
Another funny habit that I have seen her do a few times in the past few months is she'll take her pillow and put it over her head and then fall asleep.  It was dark, and Gerald and I are quiet, so it's not like she needs to block out the sound or light . . . maybe this 'burrowing' makes her feel safe?
The final episode took place last Thursday afternoon, and it really scared me!  I was teaching piano lessons, and unfortunately, Katelee was having one of those rare days when she isn't going to sleep well.  I could tell she was soooo tired, and she really needed her sleep.  I couldn't take the time to stay in her room and help her fall asleep because I was teaching, so I told her to go to her bed and stay there.  She went, crying, and I continued teaching hoping she would cry herself to sleep.  After a few minutes she stopped crying.  I let more time pass and then decided to go and peek in at her and make sure she was asleep.  I looked in her room and couldn't see her anywhere.  Of course, I immediately looked under her bed, and she wasn't there either.  Giving my piano student another song to play, I started looking in my bedroom and in the family room.  I looked everywhere two times and then I started to get panicky.  I began calling her name, all the while starting to imagine all the crazy, unlikely horrible fates that could have befallen her!  I FINALLY found her - under my bed.  She was completely hidden by our bedskirt.  And she was sound asleep.
Sigh.  

Thanks for the heart attack babe!  I'm glad she was safe and sound, and now I know to just look under any bed around if I've ever lost a sleeping Katelee again.

Sunday, November 8, 2009

Ballerina Girl

Gerald and I have been very aware lately of trying to give Katelee quality time and attention, in an effort to help ease the difficulty of our recent life changes.  As a part of that, we decided the other night to give her a gift.  We chose to give her the ballerina tutu I mentioned in a previous post.  She looks so cute in it and loves to dance around!  Here are a few pictures of our little ballerina, and a silly dancing video, too, for your viewing pleasure!


Saturday, November 7, 2009

Sunshine and Kindness

The sun is shining today (really it has been all week!) and it is probably 70 degrees outside.  

I had a date night last night with Gerald, the first since we moved here three months ago!

Katelee and I went and did some Christmas shopping this morning, since Gerald is at school all day; I love Christmas shopping!  

People left nice comments on my blog.

I am going to sit and read a book this afternoon while Katelee naps - something I haven't done in a really long time!

My dad was officially accepted to the Denver transplant center!

These are all reasons why I am feeling significantly more cheerful today than yesterday.  Even though my homesick feelings are very real, and I'm sure I'll feel them some more, I want to write today about how glad I am to be here in Denver.  

Already I have met so many good friends, and some of them are already of the kind that I know I'll keep forever.

I am really enjoying this ward; it is truly an amazing ward.  I love my calling and I admire and love the people I serve with.

My visiting teachers are very kind and have already visited me!

People have really reached out to us and helped us feel welcome.  

Allow me to tell one little story to demonstrate how nicely we have been treated.  Friday, October 30 our ward had a fun Halloween party.  We had a great time visiting with others and 'trick-or-treating.'  Of course, about every little kid there had the same orange pumpkin candy bucket that Katelee had, and at the end of the evening we found that someone must have mistakenly taken hers home - it had her Cinderella crown, gloves and bracelets in it, and she was heartbroken.

Because we wanted the rest of her costume for Halloween the next night, we sent out an email when we got home explaining the situation and asking if anyone had found the things when they got home.  The family who actually had accidently taken the pumpkin home emailed us that night, and we went and picked it up.  The crown was never found, but everything else was there and Katelee was happy and all was well!

A couple of nights later, a sister from our ward showed up with a small gift for Katelee - these little animal pet shop toys.  (Photo by Katelee.) Aren't they cute?  Katelee adores them!  When asked why in the world she was bringing Katelee a present, she responded that she felt so bad about her lost gloves and crown that she wanted to do this!  Wow!  We explained that we had found the items, but she insisted that Katelee keep the toys.  How nice! 

Two days later, my first piano students knocked on the door and handed me a set of play jewelry that they said had been laying on my mat.  The set included a crown, necklace, earrings, wand, and so forth.  It had no name on it. Katelee was beside herself with joy!  Two presents!  And she loved her new jewelry.
So, really, I feel so blessed to be surrounded by so many thoughtful, caring, kind friends, even if I don't know who exactly they are.  Talk about going the extra mile!

We really are so blessed.

Friday, November 6, 2009

Homesick

Yesterday afternoon was so gorgeous that it found Katelee and I playing at the park in our short sleeves.  It was a beautiful day, but I felt a little lonely.  Someone else's child reminded me of a boy from our neighborhood in Lehi.  Suddenly the homesickness hit me, hard.  I drove home crying as I admitted to myself how much I missed my old friends.

Lately Katelee has begun sucking her thumb, something she never did before.  She cries more often.  She throws tantrums like crazy, and asks several times a week when we are going to move back to Lehi.  When will this end, I wonder?  We've been in Colorado for three months...

This morning, at a different, park, I sat and visited with some other moms from my ward.  Everyone was friendly and kind, as always, but I found myself feeling impatient with the "Where are you from? How did you meet your husband?" kind of conversations that are inevitable when you are new.  My heart longed for the meaningful, uplifting everyday kind of conversations that only come with other women that you know and love.  I miss those conversations.  A lot.

I am coming to terms with the fact that when you leave a place and people that you love, there is some mourning that is necessary.  It's interesting to me that even though we moved three months ago, my homesickness is worse than it has ever been.  Is that normal?  Maybe...  And maybe I've just been too busy being 'okay' for Gerald and Katelee that I ignored my true feelings.

The fact remains that even though Colorado is a nice place, and everyone has truly been overwhelming kind to us, I am homesick.  This is not home, at least not yet.  I find myself daydreaming about attending last Tuesday night's bookclub, holding Tiffany's new baby in my arms, having meetings with Wendy, Juli, and Markel, visiting teaching Lisa and Jordan, having lunch with Kara and Jennie, or just hanging out in the cul-de-sac...

And then I remember that I have been through this before.  And I think that this homesickness is part of the healing process.  It just takes time.  And I'm not known for my patience.  Still, I want all of you to know . . . I miss you.  I really do.

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Winter PJ's

I wanted Katelee to have some especially warm jammies for this cold Denver winter, but I also wanted them to be nightgowns, because when she is wearing footie jammies or pajama pants and she has to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night, she doesn't put the pajamas back on.  So I thought warm flannel nightgowns would be the best bet.  I couldn't find anything like that at the stores, and so I decided to make them.  Don't be too impressed; this is about the most basic pattern ever.  But this was the first time I used a pattern all by myself and it worked perfectly, so I was pretty proud of myself!  

Katelee took this picture.  She really wanted to take a picture of me sewing her pajamas.
The 'berry' nightgown.
The dolphin nightgown.  Katelee picked out this material, and she is soooo in love with the fact that there are dolphins on her pajamas!

Sunday, November 1, 2009

I think I need a taller refrigerator

Look what I caught Katelee doing yesterday.




Yup.  Things around here just aren't as tall as they used to be.