this is the garden: colours come and go

September 2011 craziness

2011-09-28T12:20:00.007-07:00

I know, it has been a REALLY long time since I've blogged, but I feel like pregnancy and a newborn are an excellent excuse to take some time off. Andrew is three months old and I feel like I'm finally getting back into the swing of life. We had two big events happen in our family this month: Ashlee's baptism and Andrew's blessing. Luckily, they were spaced out about 3 weeks apart to give me some time to recover. Did I mention that we took our first family vacation with all four kids in between all of that??
Can I just say that I can't believe my little Ashlee Skye is old enough to be baptized??? It seems like I was just holding her in my arms and cooing her to sleep. Ok, so that might be a little bit of a lie since Ashlee rarely fell asleep in my arms. She has preferred sleeping in her own bed from day one. I digress....back to Ashlee's baptism. I felt so blessed to see my daughter make the choice to join the Church Of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. We were also blessed to have both Adam's and my entire families there.

In between our family events, we took a few days to have a family vacation to Sun Valley, Idaho. Besides Adam and I's crazy allergies, we had a great time. We found out that Andrew does indeed travel well and it was just nice to get away for a little while.

Last, but not least, we blessed Andrew this last sunday. That little boy has been such a blessing in our lives and I'm so grateful for him. I have to admit that Heavenly Father definitely knows what He is doing, even when I'm being obstinate and ungrateful sometimes.

This blessing outfit is very special to me and not just because all three of my boys were blessed in it, but, because my Mom made this outfit originally for Alex from leftover scraps of my wedding dress material. My Mom is pretty amazing.
There, now you've been caught up a bit on the Talbot family's latest comings and goings.

Confessions

2011-02-10T20:49:00.002-07:00

I confess that: I'm tired of....
*being tired!!
*adam being out of town because, really, isn't this tiredness all his fault anyway?
*my back hurting already. i fear that it is going to be a long pregnancy.
*erik starting to not nap anymore. i'm not ready for him to give up naps yet. I need that peace and quiet lol
*max and ruby. sure, it's a cute show, but that's about all Erik will watch. I'm ready for him to branch out and watch just about anything else.
*being hungry all the time. I'm going to be HUGE this pregnancy if my appetite continues to be this crazy.
*not knowing what to say to people when they tell me their problems. Being relief society president is overwhelming sometimes.
*not having enough money. How on earth are we going to afford a minivan?!?!?

I'm not tired of:
*my beautiful, wonderful, amazing children. They have been so helpful and supportive during this pregnancy.
*reading. I just finished Battlefield Earth L. Ron Hubbard and it was fantastic. Of course, I didn't understand most of his math and science, but what a fun story.
*my husband. I'm so blessed to be married to a man who actually understands me and still loves me.
*Coke Zero. I'm still amazed at how wonderful it tastes. I know it's the pregnancy talking, but oh how i LOVE this stuff!
*sewing. I finally finished Ashlee's Christmas dress just in time for Valentine's day. I even made her a headband and a purse to match.

it's another boy!

2011-01-28T13:51:00.003-07:00

We had an ultrasound this week, and it's another boy! I have to admit that I was a bit relieved because, as much as i love my ashlee, she's a bit of a challenge sometimes and the thought of raising another girl was giving me some stress. I was very worried about how Ashlee would handle the news, but she took it with great stride and was very happy to just be a big sister one more time. There weren't even any tears shed. Her only stipulation was that the baby still sleep in her room and, since we don't have anywhere else to put the baby, it was easy to meet her requirement.
Now, we just have to come up with a name. Good thing we have 23 more weeks to figure that out! Adam really likes Jason or any combination of Cory and Steve (such as Cost, Story, or Coreve), we've always kind of liked Seth and the kids want Jack Cody. SO, do we stay with our vowel-only theme or break out and do something crazy like start this kid's name with a consonant?? Erik was almost Tyrod, so this kid could be Trevardo!

i'm on a roll

2011-01-22T13:23:00.002-07:00

I heard this particular quote today:

“…We ought to be content with the things that God hath allotted to each of us. If, indeed, the things allotted to each of us have been divinely customized according to our capacity, then for us to seek to wrench ourselves free of our schooling circumstances could be to tear ourselves away from carefully matched opportunities. To rant and to rail could be to go against divine wisdom, wisdom in which we may have concurred before we came here. God knew beforehand each of our coefficients for coping and contributing” (Neal A. Maxwell, Ensign, Feb. 1979, 73).

I know I've been ranting and raving about how my life has been going lately. Sometimes, I need that reminder that Heavenly Father KNOWS what is best for me. I should not doubt His wisdom in the direction my life takes, even if I don't think I'm up to the challenge. I am very very blessed with 3 1/2 amazing children, a husband who knows me, understands me, and still loves me anyway, parents who live in my basement and who are always willing to help me out, a sister who literally lives 5 minutes away and is my best friend, and the gospel. I am grateful for this reminder today that Heavenly Father loves me and is trying His best to guide me in the direction that He knows is best for me.

pumpkins!

2011-01-21T10:44:00.006-07:00

Dad grew a bunch of pumpkins this year. Unfortunately, they did not ripen until recently. I moved three of the sugar pumpkins and two of the large pumpkins into the house at the end of October, in the hope that they would ripen quickly. I was sadly mistaken. Adam keeps bugging me to do something with those pumpkins that have been hanging out on our counter, so I finally decided to use one yesterday.
On ourbestbites.com I found a recipe for making pumpkin puree, toasted pumpkin seeds,and pumpkin chocolate chip muffins, so I gave them all a try. I did change the pumpkin seed recipe around because I've made them before and I know that I like them with just a little salt.

i haven't actually fallen off the face of the earth

2011-01-16T21:47:00.002-07:00

So....yeah...i'm very very behind on my blogging. The last six months have been crazy, but, isn't everyone's life crazy? I have to admit that this surprise pregnancy has really thrown my life for a loop. I'm still kind of in denial about the whole thing, but, at least, the kids are very excited. I'm sure that I'll be excited too, once I'm holding that new, sweet baby in my arms. Until that moment though, I may be moody, grumpy, and in various stages of denial. I don't deal well with this kind of unplanned surprise. I'm finally over that whole puking, feeling really crappy stage, thank goodness!! I have had a head cold the last ten days tho--i just want to feel better, darn it!!! It made the holidays really rough at our house and it didn't really help that the kids were off-track all of December. Luckily, I'm blessed with an absolutely wonderful husband who helped decorate the house, wrapped every single Christmas present, cooked a lot of meals, kept the house picked up, and made sure that I followed through on some of our family traditions. I'm not quite sure what I ever did to deserve Adam, but I'm so grateful that he is my eternal companion.

Due to this pregnancy thing, my sewing has really taken a nose-dive. I did manage to finish the kids' Christmas pj's, but I still haven't finished my sister's kids' pj's or Ashlee's Christmas dress. Hopefully, I'll get those projects done before February....maybe....lol Maybe i'll actually buy some maternity jeans too before I bust out of my old jeans. Ugh, I had given away all of my maternity clothes because we were DONE!!

a long over-due confessional

2010-06-13T20:11:00.003-07:00

I confess that....
I've never liked any book by Charles Dickens that I've ever read. I didn't like Great Expectations, Bleak House, or A Tale of Two Cities. I even tried to reread Great Expectations recently and still I loathed it. It's so depressing.
My sister's book club decided to read David Copperfield and my sister encouraged me to read it because I haven't before. She loves this Charles Dickens book, but, after my recent Great Expectations fail I really had no desire to pick it up and read it. I had all sorts of excuses: I'm reading other books, I don't own a copy, Mr. Dickens is depressing, etc. You get the picture. Still, Erin continued to suggest I read it. I finally caved and bought a copy at Barnes and Noble two weeks ago. It continued to sit on my pile of books I want to read. I finished A Room with a View and the 3rd book in the Thief of Eddis series.
SO, finally, out of excuses, I picked it up and started to read it this weekend.
I have to confess that that I am really enjoying it so far. Even though I'm only to page 97, I am having a hard time putting the book down. I want to know what happens to this lovable boy, David Copperfield, and how his life turns out.
Thank you, Erin, for suggesting and then persisting that I read this book!

sewing, sewing, and more sewing

2010-05-22T21:55:00.007-07:00

sometimes i get in moods: sewing moods, cooking moods, reading moods....you get the idea. lately i've been in a sewing mood and not just any sewing mood. I've been trying to refashion. So far, a fair amount of my refashions have been fails, but I'm learning and getting better. Here's a few of the things i've been working on that I'm not too embarressed to post online lol

I made this apron as a gift for a friend. It's the first apron I've ever made without any sort of pattern and I am happy with my results.

This shirt started out as a dress i made a few years ago, but never wore. I cut it down into a shirt and then added some ruffles on the front. I still don't know if I'll wear it in public, but it looks a lot better than it did as a dress!

I made this skirt out some old fabric I had and the waist (which you can't see) is a part of a t-shirt. It is sooo comfy!!

This is my last refashion: the skirt is some scrap fabric I had and the bottom of my skirt is a bedskirt ruffle that I cut down. I love it!! I've got some shirts cut out to refashion and a few other things up my sleeve. we'll see how they turn out--maybe i'll post them :)

yet another confessional

2010-03-28T13:25:00.003-07:00

So, Adam's been gone half of last week and he'll be mostly gone for the next two weeks. What do I do while he's gone? the logical thing for an English major: read! (There's the confessional part)

I read 4 books last week instead of :cleaning, doing all that Relief Society president stuff, playing outside when the weather was decent, blogging, getting things ready for Easter, getting things ready for our vacation towards the end of this month, or sewing.
Did I read anything philosophical or even mildly mind expanding? NOPE!!
I read the last 2 Percy Jackson books, The Apothecary's Daughter and Lady of Milkweed Manor by Julie Klassen.
At that point, I was feeling a bit of guilt, kind of like I was slumming it, so I picked up Great Expectations by Charles Dickens.
I haven't read that one since high school. I think the creepy movies put me off of ever reading it again.
I'm about 1/4 of the way through it now and I must confess that I'm not really enjoying it, but I will see it through to the end.
I'm conditioned to like the classics, but I've always been put off a bit by Dickens.
I've got other books staring at me on my bedside table (thanks to that big order I had placed to Amazon.com a few weeks ago) but I'm going to hang out with Mr. Dickens this week and try to understand how he saw society.
Maybe i'll even clean, act like the Relief Society president that I am, and play with my kids this week too.
I really miss my husband!

confessional #4

2010-02-24T14:01:00.005-07:00

Woot! i'm on a roll. this is the most consistently i've ever blogged, so i doubt it will last lol

anyway,

here goes...

I let ashlee go to school looking like this today:
she picked this outfit all on her own. the floral jeweled shoes, heart pants and stars shirt are her own creation.
she also always wears a white undershirt that usually sticks out of the bottom of her shirt.
don't forget her penguin earrings either.
Is it wrong to let your 1st grader go to school dressed thusly?
I laughed and laughed and laughed.
i love ashlee and her unique sense of style.

confessionals week 3

2010-02-19T21:45:00.002-07:00

Ok, so i kind of missed tuesday, but it's been a busy week. By tonight, I'm tired and just trying to stay awake til 10 pm lol
I confess....

that i am so excited Cory and Heather are taking Ashlee and Alex overnight tomorrow.
I feel a little guilty that I'm sending Alex there with a cold.
He's had a low-grade fever all day and a snotty nose and I kept him home from school in the hope that he will be better enough by saturday to go to cory's.
I hope that his cold and his horrible cat allergies won't be the death of him and then he'll come home sicker than when I sent him.
Sigh....the parental guilt never really ends, does it?
I want to send them so badly tho. I really really really could use the break from my children. I love them. I really do. I'm just exhausted from life.
Adam, Erik and I can go to dinner tomorrow and I won't have to share my sushi or pay for a babysitter. Erik isn't always the best to take to dinner, but at least he won't keep trying to swipe my sushi lol
Plus, on Sunday, it will only be the 3 of us to get ready. I love 9:30 am church, but it's a bit tricky getting everyone ready and out the door. My bag will be so much lighter with only stuff for Erik in it.
Then, I will get sad sunday afternoon because the house will be so quiet and I will be ready to go get the kids.
I am grateful that my kids have cousins that they love so much and want to spend so much time with.
Thank you so much Heather and Cory!!!

Tuesday Confessional week 2

2010-02-09T22:08:00.002-07:00

I know, it's scary--a blog 2 weeks in a row! Here goes....

I love love love most Korean food.
Too bad it's so stinky or I would eat it a lot more often.
I always feel guilty when people get into my proximity range a day or two later after I eat Korean. Someday I'll eat it before Ward Council so that maybe my stink will end our meeting a little sooner.
It's hard to get home and get the kids ready in 15 min. Tho adam tries his best! but, I digress...
no matter how much I gargle, brush, rinse, shower, scrub, I still stink.
I hate it when Adam eats Korean food, but I didn't because he smells so bad.
It took me 2 years to like Korean food--I'd never eaten anything so spicy in my life!
I probably would have cried except Adam and I hadn't been dating very long and I was too proud to let it show what I really thought of the food.
my favorite Korean restaurant is Ejo--it's on 3300 S. and 9th East--they also serve sushi which is a double bonus. Ejo is expensive, but so worth the money!!
My favorite dish is the spicy pork and tofu. Yum!! I love all the banchan or sidedishes too.
My least favorite dish is anything with squid in it. I had a bad run in with squid and korean food in college and haven't been able to stomach the thought of squid since.
Can you tell I'm craving Korean food?? bring on the Kimchi!!!

Tuesday Confessional

2010-02-02T20:31:00.002-07:00

My sister got the idea from glamazonmormonmom.blogspot.com/ . She does a friday confessional and I thought, "hey, that might be fun to do." I didn't have any free time on friday though, so it turned into more of a tuesday confessional this week.

I highly highly doubt I will make this a regular tuesday thing. I blog much too sporadically to have a set day.
I love cheeseballs. Not the kind you use chips with. The cheeseballs that are a chip. Those orange round fluffy balls of transfat that melt in my mouth. Best if eaten stale.
I am shocked and amazed at how much I love my ballet class. I am completely uncoordinated, lacking in grace, never taken dance in my life, and am completely inflexible. Yet, 3 days a week, Erik and I go to ballet class where I proceed to really enjoy myself. Hopefully, I'm getting better shape and becoming more graceful too.
I am highly addicted to teen novels at the moment. My favorites of the moment are the Percy Jackson series and the Artemis Fowl series. I love the teen novels because there isn't anything that will shock my poor senses in them.
I cannot stand the sound of cotton tearing. Please never rip a cottonball around me. It's worse than nails on a chalkboard.
I'm addicted to londonport deli roast beef from Harmon's. I could eat that stuff for breakfast, lunch and dinner
I hate to drive at night. I don't see very well in the dark and I'm always freaked out i'll miss some car coming at me and get in an accident. It is a little ironic because none of my accidents have ever been at night.

there ya go. a few confessions out of me :)

The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery

2009-12-31T15:37:00.002-07:00

"Thinking back on it, this evening, with my heart and my stomach all like jelly, I have finally concluded, maybe that's what life is about: there's a lot of despair, but also the odd moment of beauty, where time is no longer the same. It's as if those strains of music created a sort of interlude in time, something suspended, an elsewhere that had come to us, an always within never.
Yes, that's it, an always within never.

Don't worry Renee, I won't commit suicide and I won't burn a thing.
Because from now on, for you, I'll be searching for those moments of always within never.
Beauty, in this world."

I need to read more books like this one. They challenge my intellect and make me ponder the wonders of life in an entirely different way. I highly recommend this wonderful book.

pre-christmas craziness

2009-12-22T20:42:00.003-07:00

Usually, Christmas is, by far, my favorite time of year. I love the music, smells, food, presents, decorations, pretty much all of it. This year though, I've had a harder time getting into the Christmas spirit. Maybe it has to do with Adam being gone for 2 of the weeks in December, or maybe it has to do with my general feeling of being overwhelmed with my calling. I'm blessed to be in the best presidency (Heavenly Father really knew what he was doing when he sent those women my way), plus I'm blessed with a very supportive, wonderful bishop, but, I still feel overwhelmed and underqualified. I have felt some of the blessings of this calling though, don't get me wrong. I'm definitely becoming better at hearing and following the promptings of the Spirit and it was been wonderful to interact with so many women. I really am trying.

However, I have been so behind in my shopping, baking and sewing for the holidays this year. Today, finally, the Christmas spirit has really hit me. Adam and I wrapped all the presents today and I'm almost finished with the jammies. I've been blasting the Christmas music and just feeling the general excitement of the season.

I do feel so blessed to have the gospel in my life. What a joy it is to celebrate the birth of the Savior. I have really been counting my blessings today.

I'm grateful for:

-a husband who knows what I'm really like and still loves me anyway

-3 wonderful children who have taught me so much

-having my parents live with us (yes, it truly is a blessing!)

-a warm home and snuggly blankets

-food on my table and in my fridge all the time

-adam having a job that supports our family so I can stay home

-the ability to read and write

-my sewing machine

-the internet

-college football--GO BUCKEYES!!

-my dogs, even though they drive adam nuts

-having my sister and her family living 5 minutes away from me (who knew my entire family would eventually migrate to Utah???)

-living so close to so many temples

--most of all, my Savior and Redeemer

Merry Christmas everyone!

on my mind

2009-11-16T19:42:00.004-07:00

So, what's been on my mind lately? What would I do if Alex came home with a blue mohawk. Not a fauxhawk, or a half hearted mohawk, but the true thing--1 foot high and bright blue. ok, so this isn't quite one foot high, but it's the best i could find for hardly looking hehe you get the idea tho.I've pondered once in awhile how my children will rebel and test limits when they become teenagers. My mom would have loved to have had me come home with hair like this in high school, but i was much to timid to ever do anything this wild and crazy. I decided to rebel in other ways instead--my poor mother! After much consideration, I decided that I would laugh my head off if one of my children decided to sport this 'do or one similar to this. Then, I would take lots and lots and lots of pictures, so that, someday, when they came to their senses, we could all have a good chuckle.
Ah, they look so sweet and innocent here.

Recession Hits Home

2009-11-01T18:05:00.004-07:00

Sadly, the recession has finally hit our house. We got rid of all Erik's binkies and I was sure we were free and clear. Erik, however, had different ideas. We told him that the binkies were gone and that we didn't have the money to buy new binkies. Christmas is coming up, and well, we need to buy toys not cheap plastic sucky things. Oh wait, maybe toys are cheap plastic thingies too.....anyway, Erik had to get creative. Who knew that there were alternative uses for outlet covers??

sewing, binkies, and life in general

2009-10-27T18:04:00.006-07:00

Well, I've been on a sewing kick lately. I finished ashlee's princess leia out, alex's jedi outfit, a dress for me, and a skirt for me. I can't unveil the halloween costumes til halloween, but I can show you the dress that I made. I'm not really sure how I like it, Adam says it looks like a cross between a pioneer dress and a Korean Hanbook. I'm not sure that's a compliment, but, here, you can decide for yourself....

Cute Alex had a piano recital last week. I don't think I've ever seen that boy so nervous and there were only about 20 people there. Alex takes lessons from my sister's neighbor, April, and she only have 4 students at the moment, so the recital was nice and small. Alex go SOOOO itchy but he didn't have a rash, hives, or even any redness. Just lots and lots and lots of itching. By the time we got home from the recital, the itchiness was completely gone. Alex did a great job--I was so proud of him. I am still amazed at how much he loves piano.

Last, but not least, in our excitement for the week is the fact that we have taken Erik's binky away. I was dreading this and kept putting it off and putting it off. Alex and Ashlee gave up their binkies at 16 months. Erik just turned 18 months and i still really didn't have any intention of taking it away. Heck, it was my lifesaver during sacrament meeting. I had plenty of excuses: let's wait til he goes to nursery, let's wait til after vacation, how will he sleep without it? how will i survive long car rides, church......Adam, very nicely, pointed out the fact that I was more addicted to Erik's binky than Erik was. I scoffed at him, but, come to find out, Adam was exactly right. This is the second night in a row that he's been binkyless and it was gone so smoothly. He asked for it once last night and I told him to just cuddle his doggie instead. so....

Farewell Binky!

the talbot family update

2009-10-15T12:17:00.007-07:00

Ok, so it has been way too long since I've posted. Good thing Erin just had a baby or she'd be lecturing me about my infrequent blogging as of late. Good job Owen--distracting your mommy for me! Life has, of course, been a bit on the crazy side. I have no idea why Heavenly Father thought this was a good idea, but, about 3 weeks ago, I got made Relief Society president. So, for the past 3 weeks, I've been feeling mostly overwhelmed and underqualified for such a big responsibility. Luckily, I have some kick butt counselors and a fantastic secretary. At least the Lord knew where I was lacking! Also, the kids went off track at the end of september, so I've had little ones under foot. October is my favorite time to have them off track tho because the weather is usually gorgeous and we can go do lots of fun things.

Like, go to Sun Valley, ID

Gardner Village

the Hogle Zoo

I live for October!! This is the time of year where I miss Ohio the very very most. I love the changing of the leaves, the fresh apple cider, the smell of fall, the football (GO BUCKEYES!!)

I've been working hard at sewing Halloween costumes and the house is as decorated as I'll let Adam do hehe

and then, there has been my time sucker, otherwise known as Erik. He has started walking, climbing on tables, climbing in drawers, screaming, hitting, pinching, and basically needing constant supervision. oh yeah, and did i mention we are cutting molars?? the boy wears me out!

Yes, folks, this the face we see most often from Erik recently. Good thing he's such a cutie!

August so far

2009-08-19T08:34:00.004-07:00

So, I was looking back over my August calendar and realized that I have absolutely NO idea how I have survived the month so far! Here's a Talbot family recap:

1. I taught my first relief society lesson in, oh, 9 years or so
2. Dad fell off a ladder breaking his shoulder and 6 ribs. thank goodness because it could have been so much worse!
3. Ashlee turned 6 and had a friend party--wait, my sweet baby girl is 6?? where did the time go??
4. My sister is 9 months pregnant and due at the end of the month. i'm worried that this pregnancy is going to do her in for good :(
5. Adam was gone for an entire week
6. I got a much needed hair cut and color--yay, i'm back to dark :)
7. oh yeah, the day after ashlee's birthday party, we had a family bbq for her at our house. i don't think my house has quite recovered yet from all these parties.
8. Dad and Ashlee share the same birthdate, so we celebrated with him too....well, as much as he can celebrate at the moment.
9. took over some of dad's gardening duties....whew
10. then there's the usual stuff: dance, piano lessons, cubscouts

what the rest of the month will bring for us:
1. cleaning the church on saturday, yep Amy, i didn't forget lol
2. doing the rest of my visiting teaching
3. Erin having her baby--YAY!!! i can't wait to meet the little guy!
4. taking Alex to his first Temple Dedication
5. getting to see greg shumway--our family friend of 20 years, at heather and cory's house
6. going to quilt group and learning how to Applique
7. maybe cynthia will be successful in teaching me how to make bread....
8. on sept 2 is the first enrichment meeting that i'm actually in charge of--YIKES!!! i should never been given this kind of responsibility--the Lord should know this lol

phew, maybe i shouldn't have listed it all, i'm tired already lol

so, if i look a little crazy, can't remember your name, or fall asleep at the drop of a hat, remember, this is more than my average amount of stress :)

the continuing adventures of suzy homemaker

2009-08-06T19:31:00.007-07:00

I know, it's been a long time since I've blogged, so, you'd think that I'd catch you up on Alex's baptism, Dad's accident, the first day of school for the oldest two, or any of the other moments in my life over the last month. but, no, I'm in the mood to blog about my most recent homemaking adventures!

SO, here we go:

I made another purse and I like this one a lot better. The fabric is cute. I just need to figure out how to make a closure that I like and am capable of doing because my sewing abilities are limited. Please excuse the messy counter :)

Next on tap was a Cincinnati Bengals apron I made. Why the Bengals you ask? Well, I went into Hancock Fabrics this week and this fabric just called out to me. My nostalgia for Ohio strikes again! I got the pattern from http://katesgreatkitchen.blogspot.com/ She has such a fun and inspiring website. I took a few liberties and changed the pattern and I was really pleased with the result. It fits WOOHOO!

Does it stop there? oh no! My neighbor Richard gave me a LOT of apricots and I was wondering what in the heck do I do with all of these things! I was trying to eat as many as I could, because, they are soooo yummy, but we still had an overabundance. Mom happened to remember that she has a dehydrator, so we got it out, read how to use it, and away I went!

I also cooked and froze corn and shredded zucchini.

As most of you know, we also have an overabundance of squash. So, I made some zucchini bread today too. I'm hoping to get some more baking in tomorrow, but we'll see. I can only do so much homemaking before I start to go crazy. If you notice that I'm pulling my hair out in a few days, you'll know why!

my susie homemaker adventures

2009-07-07T18:24:00.004-07:00

Lately, I've been a bit domestic. For the 4th of July, I made star studded mini pies from http://www.ourbestbites.com/2009/07/star-studded-mini-pies.html. They were delicious and sooo easy. So easy, in fact, that the kiddies helped me make them. (I don't know if I've ever mentioned ourbestbites.com before, but, seriously, everything I've ever made from their website has been delicious! Thank you Amy for showing it to me!)

Here is a pic as they are waiting to be transported to my mother-in-law's house to be devoured by ravenous children!

And, here is a pic of why the children were so ravenous!

My next homemaking project was making a purse. I've never made a purse before and was a little nervous about the whole thing, but I found another great tutorial http://vintagericrac.blogspot.com/2008/01/1-hour-bag-tutorial.html I had to tweak it a little because I didn't have buttons or a magnetic clasp, but I think it turned out to be pretty cute. I got the fabric from Pine Needles at Gardner Village. I also got the cutest model out there to pose for me :)

Alex attended his first scout camp this week and managed to lose, in the first day, his inhaler, his belt (seriously, how do you lose a belt???), and my water bottle carrier.

Good thing Alex is such a cute scout! Here is a pic of him before he lost everything LOL Well, he lost the water carrier on monday, but on wednesday we are going to Lagoon and I knew we needed one. It's hot in Utah in the summer and I don't want to shrivel up and die so I need my water! Ah, yes, as usual, I am digressing. I found yet another fantastic tutorial http://makeitandloveit.blogspot.com/2009/05/water-bottle-sling.html and I made 2 water bottle holders in about 30 minutes tonight.

Here are my favorite models sporting their new water bottle carriers! I might just survive Lagoon tomorrow! I am hopeful that someday I might just yet make it as a domestic diva!

a near perfect morning

2009-06-09T19:46:00.002-07:00

Disclaimer: notice I said near-perfect, not perfect. the perfect morning would have me sleeping in until 10 am, then a nice long soak in the tub while listening to my mp3 player and then being able to get ready and eat breakfast uninterupted. This may not happen until the children are fully grown.

This morning the baby started wailing at 6:30 am. I groan, roll over, and hope Adam wakes up to deal with the little guy. Nope, darn the bad luck, so I finally can't take the crying and go get him. Erik is NOT a cuddler in the morning. He will cuddle with you at any other time of the day except for first thing in the morning because he wants his breakfast NOW!! You'd think the baby would be huge for the amount of food he eats. So, I lumber into the kitchen, strap him into a chair, let the dogs out, throw some cheerios on Erik's tray and go lay on the couch for a second. I realize that you are thinking, "this sounds like a crappy morning to me..." It does get better, I promise.

At this point, I remember that Ashlee has to go to school early. Another groan. My Ashlee is NOT a morning person. In fact, I'm dreading when she enters the first grade because I have absolutely no idea how I am going to get her out the door, fed and looking cute all by 8:20 in the morning on a daily basis. Luckily, she comes snuggling up to me--yay, that means I don't have to wake her up. Then, in rolls Alex so I get everyone breakfast, remind them of our busy morning and go rush to get ready myself while they eat. Breakfast ends and we race to get everyone else dressed, teeth brushed, and gather their things for school. sweet, everyone was cooperative, so I can finish getting me ready and even change Erik for the day. I love it when they are cooperative. We read scriptures, say our prayers and out the door we go.

I drop them off to school, run home, read my scriptures, read the visiting teaching message for the month and put Erik down for his morning nap. I look at the clock--holy cow, it's only 9 am. I decide to exercise, cause, for some reason it seemed like the logical thing to do at 9 am. I decide on pilates so that I don't sweat up a storm since I already have my make-up on. Quick clothes change and mom and I are out the door by 9:30 headed to my visiting teaching appointment. Yes, I am lucky enough to have my mother for my companion, plus we visit teach the 3 sweetest ladies!!

I have to admit that it is nice to have one morning go smoothly because they are few and far between. Most days, i'm not even dressed by 9 am as my neighbor Richard can attest to. He's seen me in my pj's more than anyone rightfully should! Therefore, I felt very accomplished this morning. Here's to tomorrow!

my love/hate relationship with Utah

2009-05-28T11:36:00.003-07:00

Usually in the autumn, I start to feel a little heartsick for Ohio. Utah just doesn't have the vibrancy of fall colours that I grew up with and the trees change so quickly here. Lately though, I've been feeling those pangs of heartsickness again. Maybe it's because I haven't been back in almost 3 years and I'm overdue for a visit. I'm not really sure what it is. I honestly never thought that I would end up living in Utah. In college, I even tried to avoid dating Utahns and Idahoans because I always wanted to move back to Ohio and all those Utahns I met were deadset against ever leaving their beloved state. Then Adam swept me off my feet, married me, we played rock/paper/scissors to decide where to live, Adam won, and so we made Utah our home. Part of me loves it here. The mountains are amazing! I like the contrasts in southern Utah. I really like how the sky is blue all winter--in Ohio the winter is mostly overcast and gloomy. I love how both my family and Adam's family all live so close by. Sometimes I want to scream, "Where is all the green???? What on earth am I doing living in a desert?" Then I look around at all of the things that I love: my family, my friends, the mountains, my green backyard and, I think to myself, "I can be happy anywhere because I have what is most important: my family."

My Front Yard

2009-05-22T11:04:00.005-07:00

Let me preface by saying that my dad is an amazing gardener. My dad really should have been a professional landscaper instead of working at American Standard. Growing up, we always had amazing yards, vast gardens of fruits and veggies, and paths. When my parents moved into our basement five years ago, our yard was terrible. The people who lived here before us really wanted a nice yard (there were signs of this) but just had my gardening skills (not a good thing!). So, Dad really had his work cut out for him.

Last summer, Dad told Adam and I that he was ripping out all the grass in our front yard since it was all crabgrass anyway and putting in gardens. I have to admit that Adam and I had our doubts about this one, but, everything I've ever seen my dad do has turned out beautifully, so Adam and I agreed to his crazy plan. We now have no grass in the front yard. Last summer, Alex and Dad started by putting in a concrete walkway in a sunburst pattern. I'm amazed that Dad let Alex help w/ the concrete!! Anyway, I'll just post some pics because my description cannot encompass how incredible my front yard is looking.

When you walk out my front door now, this is the what you will see. Since it is still spring, the seeds haven't started growing in the boxes yet, but soon we will have vegetables. Sunflowers are growing in front of this part of the fence and to the left is lavender and to the right are rosebushes. Everything will smell soooo good!

Here is a better view of the path and the planter boxes. Also, Mom and Dad are hard at work planting seeds. We'll have 12 different kinds of squash, 3 types of peppers, 2 types of carrots, turnips, garlic and a ton of tomato plants. Along this part of the fence is a grape vine, 6 different clematis and a rose bush. I'll post updates as the summer goes on. I thought it turned out really incredible tho--go Dad!

PS. Erin, are you proud of me? 3 blogs in one month lol

Ashlee's 4th of July dress

2009-05-18T12:08:00.003-07:00

For whatever reason, I like to make Ashlee a new 4th of July dress every year. I just finished it last week and thought i'd post a few pics of her twirling around in it. I will really be sad on the day that she doesn't want me to make her dresses anymore. She absolutely loved this dress because 1. it has blue in it 2. it is perfect for twirling!

Erik's love of dirt

2009-05-07T21:00:00.003-07:00

I know, it's been a really long time since I blogged, so, you think i'd catch you up on life in the Talbot family. Heck no, I'm going to describe Erik's new love: *drumroll* DIRT aka potting soil! you've got it! Dirt! I have a large potted plant in the front room that Erik is very attracted to. Every time I have set him down today, he immediately crawls over to the plant, and stuffs the dirt in his mouth as fast as he can. It's SOOOOO gross! I run over, grab him, and then he starts to scream and cry and scream and cry and scream and cry until he has made it back to the plant. is this what having a 1 year old is like????

Life as we know it

2009-02-25T21:16:00.010-07:00

This has already been a crazy week and it is only Wednesday!! So, I thought I would recap a bit. First of all, Erik is obsessed with two things this week: twisting his tongue and army crawling as fast as he can to get into everything! Here is a picture of him doing a combination of his favorite things.

Monday was a crazy day. Alex woke up with a black eye. He seriously has no idea how he got it either. I'm not sure how you get this bad of a black eye without realizing it, but, he's 7 and in a world of his own. Here's a pic with him with a black eye and practicing the piano. He tells me that he is an artist because he plays the piano! That's my boy!

We are going to disneyland at the very end of march and we decided that we should get the kids Nintendo DS's (yes, we bought them each one so we wouldn't have to listen to fighting) so that they would be occupied as we drove. For those of you who read my blog, please please please do not tell my children that we are going in March. We have them believing we are going in October so they aren't constantly bugging us about it. Don't spill the beans!! Anyway, for FHE this week, we decided to give them to the kids so that they could practice before our trip. We didn't want to be 5 miles down the road and hear "Mom, help me, I can't work my DS!" The kids were SO excited. Ashlee told me, "Mom, how did you know this is what I always wanted??" and Alex wrote us a thank you note at school today. It is nice to feel that your gifts are appreciated :) I've been playing Super Mario on Ash's and I have to say that I'm also loving our DS's!!

Erik got a haircut.

Last, but not least, my poor dog Sadie had some facial nerve issues. We took her to the vet today and he told us that she probably wouldn't ever be the same, but, on a bright note, we still have her in our lives. My dad came with me to the vet because I was too scared to go alone. I was fearing the worst, so I was relieved that she is still able to function and will be ok. Her face will always look weird now, but I'm ok with that.

She has been in our lives for 7 years now and she is a fantastic dog. Her only faults are that she barks at everyone and she does not like tall people. It's probably because she lives in a family of shorties!! This pic was taken the day before her face had issues.

I forgot to mention that Adam got pneumonia and I sent him to the doctor on monday. luckily, we caught it early, but he's on 5 meds atm to clear everything up.

There is the Talbot week in review! I can't wait to see what the rest of the week has in store for us!

Sprouts

2009-02-12T21:25:00.007-07:00

Ashlee and Alex love bean sprouts. I buy them almost everytime I go to Reams. I was reading someone else's blog about how easy it is to grow bean sprouts and I thought to myself, "Self, it would be so fun to grow bean sprouts. The kids would love it and it would be a great opportunity to teach them a little about growing stuff." Then, Mary Jane Butters posted this article in the SLTrib and I it reinspired me to grow some sprouts. I ordered them online at http://www.sproutpeople.com/ I couldn't believe the choices! I decided that my first sprouts would be

their San Fransisco blend. You soak the seeds for 8-12 hours. Then you rinse and drain every 8 hours for about 5 days on this particular blend. The kids loved shaking the jar and watching the daily progression of our sprouts.

After 5 days our sprouts were ready to eat. They were

delicious! Sweet and crunchy with a bit of bitterness at the end. I couldn't believe the difference in taste compared to the oh-so-bland sprouts I had been buying at the store.

We will definitely be doing more sprouts! Yummy!

ME MIA

2009-01-25T08:27:00.002-07:00

Well, my computer got a virus and Adam had to completely reformat it this week. I was slow to take all my info off the pc and i've been even slower putting it all back on. I haven't meant to be negligent in blogging, and will do a better blog later this week! (sorry Erin!) I also started playing Wow again this week--yeah, yeah, i know, i swore i'd never resume that addicting game again, but i've really been having a lot of fun playing with Adam. It's something we like to do together. I've also decided to only refashion clothing until March '09 which means that I will not buy any new clothing, but, instead repurpose what I already have. I got the idea from nikkishell.typepad.com/wardroberefashion --it's a fun website where people post what they refashioned. I'm not committed enough to make the pledge yet, but someday I will! Also, the kids go back to school on wednesday, so maybe i'll finally get caught up on all my housecleaning!

The slippers

2009-01-13T21:58:00.006-07:00

I decided to try sewing something new and, when I bought a pattern for my Christmas pajamas, on it was a pattern for slippers. I am a lover of slippers! So, here is the progression of the slippers. First, I cut them out and I used some fun flannel that my mom had given me a long time ago.

Here they are after I kept sewing them incorrectly and had to rip out my stitches twice. Now they are ready for the final sewing.

Here are the final slippers! Woot! There are definitely a few things I would change the next time I make them, but, I'm proud of myself for trying something new.

Ashlee and the Snuggie

2009-01-08T22:21:00.006-07:00

On Sunday, Ashlee saw a commercial for a snuggie. What is a snuggie you might be asking? Well, a Snuggie is a blanket with sleeves. "The Snuggie™ keeps you totally warm and gives you the freedom to use your hands. Work the remote, use your laptop or do some reading in total warmth and comfort!" (www.getsnuggie.com)
Ashlee became obsessed with owning one of these blankets with sleeves. I have to admit, I think snuggies are pretty silly--plus, we have a TON of blankets around the house. She has 4 on her bed alone. I told her that she did not need a snuggie and to go curl up with a blanket instead. My daughter is a bit on the persistent side and kept bringing it up and bringing it up. So, I decided that we would make her one instead--she could even help me sew it up. She thought that this was a genius idea (chalk one up for the momma!) and downstairs we trekked to pick out some fabric. Of course, she picked blue flannel (yes, yes i realize that snuggies are fleece, but Ashlee doesn't so no one tell her, ok??). Luckily, I had some blue flannel because Ashlee knew that snuggies came in blue and blue is her favorite color. Phew! It took me two days to make a snuggie, mostly because I don't have a pattern for anything like that so I winged it with a nightgown pattern I had and some very helpful suggestions from my mother. Yay for Mom! I even added a pocket for storing all her favorite items.
I finished it up yesterday and proudly showed it to my daughter today who proceeded to tell me that her snuggie needed to be sewn up the back kind of like a dress.....Sigh.....so i drug back out the sewing machine and tried to fit it to her specifications. Nothing like sewing for a persistent 5 year old LOL I finished it pretty quickly for me, because last night she told me that if she had a snuggie so could hug me before bedtime, but, since she didn't, she couldn't hug me because her arms were just too cold. Little stinker!
So, here is Ashlee and I's version of a snuggie! It looks very much like a hospital gown, but she loves it and that's the important thing. She was even warm enough tonight to give me a hug, silly girl!

Happy New Year

2009-01-01T21:16:00.005-07:00

I hope that everyone had a wonderful Christ-filled Christmas and a fantastic New Year! During this time of year, I can't help but reflect on all of my blessings. Sometimes, I am amazed at how much Heavenly Father has blessed me with.

1. A wonderful family--everyone is happy and healthy

2. the gospel in my life--the gospel fills my life with hope, my days with patience, and my soul with peace.
3. my parents live with us in a mother-in-law apartment downstairs--some people may not see this as a blessing, but my parents have kept me sane, especially with Adam traveling as much as he has been lately.
4. A husband who loves and cares about me and who is an especially caring father to our children. We have so much in common--we even share similar nerdiness factors--yes, i know, it's scary! I appreciate that my husband provides for our family, so that I can stay home with our children.

5. A warm home and plenty of food to eat. As we all know, I like to eat!
6. a sewing machine--i know, it's kind of a weird thing to be grateful for. Sewing is a great stress reliever for me and I find that I like to have something to show for my hobbies. My sewing isn't great, but I'm finally to the point that some of what I sew can even be worn in public; for example, the Christmas pajamas that caused me so much stress this year! 7. I am blessed to have my sister and her family live only 5 minutes from my house. What a joy it has been to spend so much time with her and her family! Our kids play well together and I can go and bug her whenever I feel like it. Good thing our hubbies get along!!
8. I am also grateful for time; time to enjoy and love my family, play games with the kids, sew, cook, read, and do the other things that I enjoy.

I am grateful for this time of year to really reflect on life, on who i am and who i want to be. I have been giving a lot of thought lately to where I want to go with this new year and, hopefully, i will be able to accomplish the majority of my goals. Here's to 2009 and all the possibilities that come with a new year!

Ashlee loves snow

2008-12-16T20:30:00.004-07:00

On Sunday, Ashlee woke up and was so excited to see that it was snowing. While I was getting Erik ready for a bath, she put on her coat, hat, mittens, and boots and out into the back yard she went. Luckily, I caught her before she headed out the door (she didn't want to tell me what she was up to because she thought I wouldn't let her go out) and I made her put on a scarf. It was 9 am and 16 degrees out. She played outside, by herself, for over an hour when I finally made her come in so that she could get ready for church.

They should have been twins

2008-12-13T21:23:00.003-07:00

Evan and Ashlee really were meant to be twins, but Heavenly Father knew that neither Erin nor I could handle both of them, so one of them was sent to each of us. They have very similar personality traits and they love each other dearly. They live in a world all their own.

This is the most recent picture that I have taken of the two of them. I was getting ready to take them both to school, however, Ashlee and Evan had an agenda all their own. I'm scared to think of where Ashlee would have driven them to! Maybe to Copperton park or to Dunford bakery to get some donuts or to the ocean because Ashlee is sure that she is going to be a mermaid and Evan is going to be a merman when they grow up. No matter where they were going, they were having a great time. I'm glad that they are such great friends!

My little sister

2008-12-07T21:54:00.004-07:00

Well Erin, you requested another blog so I decided to write one about you! Muhahahahaha! alright, i'm all done with the evil laughter and now I will get down to the business of writing!
Erin and I were lucky enough to live in the very isolated suburb of McCutchenville, OH. I jokingly call it a suburb--we lived 3 miles out of town, however, the town only had a population of 500 people. Needless to say, Erin was mostly my only playmate....tho we did have dogs and cats....Erin was more fun to play with than the animals. Growing up, we did most everything together because we didn't have anyone else to play with. This was good for our relationship and we remain best friends to this day; I think that had a lot to do with our upbringing. Also, Erin is the biggest peacemaker I know. I tried to pick many, many, many fights with her and I was usually very unsuccessful. Remember the time I put flour in your drawer and tried to blame it on you? Mom saw right through my ploy, darn it LOL We played my little ponies, polly pockets, barbies, and all sorts of imaginary games. We moved into Tiffin when I was 11 and Erin was 8, but I still took Erin everywhere with me. We swam in the quarry, played GI Joes with Kevin and Joyce, and rode our bikes all over the place. Then we moved to Main St. in Tiffin where Erin and I continued to rollerskate together, play badminton, share clothes, have horrible hairdos together (seriously, what were we thinking???? I'm still mortified that we had mullets!), and go to football games.
Then I graduated high school and went to Idaho to college. We still called each other at least once a week. I got married, but luckily, Adam agreed to take Erin as part of a package deal. Even after she ran out of "Independence Day" screaming with her pillow! Yes, she brought her pillow to a movie! Adam kindly left the movie with us since Erin refused to go back into the movie theater because of her fear of aliens. Yet, Erin will watch Star Trek. I don't think Adam will ever let her live that one down! She was also very angry at first that she and Adam share a birth date--Sept 9th. Don't worry, she forgave me :)
Then Erin got married, we both had kids, she moved to California, moved back, moved to Price, moved back to West Jordan (thank goodness) and now we see each other almost every day. Through all of our life changes, she remains my best friend. I don't know what I'd do without that girl!! So Erin, this blog is for you!

because I really do love my sister, i took off that picture :)

Firsts for the little guy

2008-11-28T22:44:00.006-07:00

Erik has had a lot of firsts in his life in the last two days. He had his first thanksgiving during which he had his first taste of mashed potatoes and he loved them. However, he did NOT love the metal spoon I used to feed him with. He hated the spoon so much that he cried and cried.

This is a picture of him prior to the metal spoon.

The kid really hates spoons of any type--he would much prefer if I would feed him from my finger. I don't like doing that though because, well, it's kind of gross, makes mealtime very lengthy, and, at some point in his little life, he's going to need to eat from a spoon!

Adam was determined that Erik would eat from a spoon! I don't think Adam won that battle lol Erik is very stubborn, in true Talbot form!

Erik also got his first haircut. Now all the men in my family have the same haircut, except that they all style their hair differently. Erik was a real trooper through the entire process and just kept trying to eat the cord on the trimmers. Yum?Here's the little guy post haircut. I thought Adam did a pretty good job considering Erik is such a wiggleworm!

Here is a cute pic of my little pilgrims. I feel so blessed to have such a wonderful family! This thanksgiving reminded me of how much I have to be thankful for.

Go Buckeyes

2008-11-23T20:36:00.003-07:00

As most of you know, I'm a pretty big Ohio State Buckeye fan, especially with football. Erin and I grew up watching OSU football--almost every year we had a big party with the Gernert family. Poor Tom is a Michigan fan. It was always a lot of fun and a lot of great food. The Gernerts made buckeyes--a tradition that I bug my sister-in-law Heather to continue every year. ( I was lucky enough to have one of my best friends from childhood marry Adam's brother.) How I love those little chocolate covered peanut butter balls....*drool*. That reminds me that I need to see if she will make me some more for christmas...anyway, I am trying to continue the tradition of watching OSU football with my children. Adam doesn't like football at all (his only fault!) because his dad is from England so they watched boxing *shudder*. Unfortunately, Adam is out of town this weekend but I still held the party, albeit a small gathering.
Here are my cute kids decked out in their OSU outfits. My Aunt Annette kindly supplies us with OSU clothes for christmas almost every year. I am proud to say that Ohio State really spanked Michigan this year 7-42! go Buckeyes!!

Erik's first taste of banana

2008-11-18T21:27:00.005-07:00

Poor Erik has had a rough week so far. He got sick saturday night--fever, lost his voice, nasty cough. He was finally (thank goodness) feeling better so I decided today would be a great day to try out a new food. Ashlee and I chopped up some banana and popped it into his mouth. He sat like this for about 4-5 minutes before he finally put his tongue back in his mouth and ate his piece of banana. He's such a goofball!

This is completely irrelevant to the title of this blog but one of the things I miss most about Ohio (besides my family and friends) is autumn there. Utah tends to be kind of blah with the changing of the leaves, but my dad took a beautiful picture of our grape vines that reminded me a little bit of Ohio. There is a roadside stand in Ohio that makes the best apple cider ever. Also, on Saturday is the Ohio State vs. Michigan football game--Go Buckeyes!!

Ashlee's obsession with presents

2008-11-11T20:08:00.008-07:00

If you know me, then you know that my daughter, Ashlee, is a quirky little gal. Her most recent obsession happened last week when Walmart, ever so kindly, sent us their toy catalog in the mail. Ashlee looked through that catalog until it literally disintegrated. She circled each and every girl toy and told me that she was going to ask Santa for every girl toy. I tried all week to dissuade her. I told her that Santa will only bring her 5 toys because other little girls needed toys from him too. I suggested picking out toys to get her brothers. Yet, she still loving turned the pages and looked at the toys. On Sunday, it was Target's turn to put a toy catalog in with the paper. Ashlee found it and began the exact same process as with the Walmart catalog; circling every girl toy and signing her name on the toys she just couldn't live without. There are apparently many many toys that she cannot live without.

This catalog is so well-loved that she even took it in the bathroom with her when she took a bath. And, yes, she did open it to her favorite page.

This unhealthy desire for all toys girlish had me a bit concerned. When did my daughter become so worldly? and at such a young age too!
Tonight, I decided to try to end the obsessiveness and we wrote our letters to Santa. I know it is a bit early for that, but I'm starting to get tired of looking at the toy catalogs because they are the only books that she wants to read. I am hoping that our letters end the obsession or at least curb it. We only allowed her to ask Santa for 5 toys and it took her over 1/2 an hour to decide which were her favorites.
We will be mailing off our letters tomorrow and, hopefully, Santa enjoys reading our letters as much as we enjoyed writing them!

Halloween

2008-11-08T20:58:00.008-07:00

Yep, I know, I'm a little behind the times, but I still thought that I'd post a few pics of my cute little family at halloween. We went trick or treating with my sister, Erin's, family. It was an absolutely beautiful night for halloween and we had a great time.

Here's my scary evil skeleton and the tooth fairy. Who knew that they hung out together?

What a crew! the avatar, the tooth fairy, a dragon, a frog, and a skeleton. Look out world!

Erik really isn't quite sure what to think of Halloween.

Didn't know I could be so angelic, did you?

Snow Day

2008-11-05T20:37:00.004-07:00

We got our first real snow of the winter today. Ashlee wanted to go out and play in the snow immediately after she woke up (7:30 am), so I let her go. After a few minutes, I realized that she was really serious about playing outside, so I brought her back in and bundled her up a bit. I made her come back in at 8:15 am so I could run Alex to school, but, as soon as I got back home she was back outside and she played out there for another hour. She was looking fairly damp, so I forced her to come back inside and take a bath to warm up.
Here is my sopping wet girl. She sure did have fun making snow angels tho! It reminded me of what childhood is all about--doing what you love to do and not being practical about it!

my 6 oddities

2008-11-03T20:48:00.002-07:00

Amy tagged me a little while ago, but I've been a slacker about responding. Sorry Amy! better late than never, right?? The six things you might not know or want to know about me...

1. I hate hate hate the sound of cotton tearing. You want to really upset me, tear up a cotton ball when I'm around. For me, it's worse than nails on a chalkboard!!

2. I love to cook, but I don't like to cook for others. I have a deep fear that people will not like what I'm cooking. I know it's something I need to get over. I absolutely dread when the relief society calls and asks me to bring a meal to someone. I agonize over it! So, if you haven't been invited to my house for dinner, don't take it personally, it's just my paranoia rearing its ugly head.

3. I don't like it when people wear sweats out in public. I think sweats should only be worn in the privacy of your own home or at the gym. No one looks good in them and they scream the fact that you were too busy/lazy/slovenly to throw on a pair of jeans instead.

4. Smokers drive me insane. Do it in private, where I don't have to breathe it in and have an asthma attack! I don't want to be sick just because you chose to blow some smoke my way.

5. Whenever I sew, I eat fruit, usually apples. I have no idea why I think that apples and sewing go together, but in my world, they do. I also have to have the TV on when I sew. I don't even watch whatever's on, but I like having the background noise. So there I am, eating an apple and listening to the tv as I sew to my heart's content.

6. I have to put away my clean dishes in a certain order--bowls first, then tupperware, plates, pots and pans, and, finally silverware. I don't let the kids help me do dishes because it messes up my order. I guess that we all have a little OCD in us, right?

well, now the world knows that I'm a little crazy, but, hey, aren't we all?

I got tagged

2008-10-29T19:02:00.005-07:00

Ok, i got tagged twice actually, so I'll answer Erin's tag today and Amy's tag tomorrow :)
I am supposed to go to my 4th folder and post the 4th picture. Erin this one's for you:
This picture is from Evan's 3rd birthday party. I think that look says it all!

Hmmm.....the only other person I know who reads my blog is Amy, so Amy, I tag you :)

my addiction to books

2008-10-27T19:54:00.004-07:00

I love to read, no doubt about it. That's even how I ended up getting my degree in English--I just kept taking all these literature classes, and, the next thing I knew, that's what I was closest to getting a degree in. I really can't remember a time I didn't read. Mom says I started reading Ten Apples Up on Top at the age of three and I haven't stopped since then. I really had to slow down my reading after the kids were born because I suddenly didn't have enough time in the day to take care of them and read. Since Alex and Ashlee are both in school now and Erik naps in the afternoon, I've started to read a lot more again. Plus, I've been trying to watch less tv lately in the evenings so I've been reading then too. When I read, I read voraciously. I don't want to do anything else until I have finished that book. I had a book reading binge this last week. Adam had an unexpected business trip on wednesday and wasn't able to come back home until saturday night. I was depressed that he was gone--especially since it was unplanned. I had New Moon on hold at the library and Mom watched the kids wednesday night so I could go down to the library and pick it up. I haven't been to the library without the kids in a long long time, so i browsed and ended up w/ 5 books. I read them all in the time Adam was gone. Sometimes it's nice to do that because it reminds me that I have hobbies and interests still. I love being a mother, especially a SAHM, but it's nice to know that I haven't completely lost myself either.

Soccer

2008-10-20T20:35:00.004-07:00

Saturday marked the end of soccer season for Alex. The day was pretty nice considering it was towards the end of October. Adam was home sick, so I left Erik and Ashlee home with him and I went to cheer on my little guy. The other team was short some people so Alex got nominated by the substitute coach to go play on the other team for the first half.

Here's Alex looking peeved that he had to play against his own team. In fact, that was the worst I've seen Alex play all season. He tried to be helpful, but he felt guilty that he was playing on the other team. Ah, yes, my competitive little guy.

Alex hadn't scored a goal yet this season and I was beginning to get a little concerned because, for Alex, it is a really big deal that he score one goal per season. I think he just wanted to add to my suspense because in the last minute of the game, literally, he scored his one goal of the season! I was so proud of him!!
I wasn't so much proud that he scored a goal, but I was more proud that he played his best!
Go Alex!!

Gardner Village

2008-10-15T12:44:00.008-07:00

As most of you know, Gardner Village (www.gardnervillage.com) is one of my favorite places to go. It reminds me a bit of Ohio with that quaint small-town feel, cobbled pathways, and yummy eateries. I am also a huge fan of small eclectic shops because my parents took Erin and I to many similar shops when I was growing up. Apropos in Wadsworth, OH was one of my favorites! Anyway, the kids and I took our usual jaunt over to Gardner Village last week to look at the witches. The kids think it's great, though, I know Alex is getting bigger because he said to me, "Aren't these all the same witches we saw last year, just in different spots?"

I almost convinced Alex that if he drank that magic potion that the witches were brewing, he'd turn into a frog!

I told Ashlee to give me her best witch face!

It was a freezing, cold day, but even Erik was having fun.

It is nice that Alex is finally big enough to take a decent picture, so I actually make it in one every once in awhile!

Overcoming Fears

2008-10-08T19:18:00.003-07:00

Ashlee has been in swim lessons, on and off, for 2 1/2 years and has yet to really put her face in the water. She is deathly afraid to put her face under and I've never tried to force her because I don't want her to become even more scared than she already is. So, I've been letting her learn swimming at her own pace. Though, this summer I did move her up to the lvl 1 class instead of the toddler class. I also bought her some goggles in the hope that she would put her eyes in. As my typical stubborn Ashlee, that didn't help one bit. At least, not until last week. Her teacher is an older woman and not the usual high school boys she has normally had. Ashlee has a way of batting her eyes and getting her way--she is a very good flirt. Her flirting doesn't work well on an older lady LOL This amazing teacher has done what no other person has done before *drumroll* gotten Ashlee to put her entire head underwater, willingly! I don't know what magic voodoo she used on her daughter, but I worked. I am so proud of my daughter for overcoming one of her big fears.

my daughter the soccer player

2008-10-03T21:33:00.003-07:00

I often thought this year about signing Ashlee up for soccer. For a long time, she told me that she only wanted to dance, but i thought that soccer might be good for her. I was so very, very wrong. Tonight we decided to go out in the back yard and play some soccer. Alex was on my team and Ashlee was with Adam. Earlier that day, Ashlee had somehow suckered my dad into raking leaves with her to make a leaf pile that she could jump in. Unfortunately for her, there aren't enough leaves on the ground yet to make a good leaf pile.
see, it's a pretty pathetic leaf pile....
As Adam is trying so hard to get her to play soccer with him, she lays down in her leaf pile and makes leaf angels! I really wish I'd been able to get a picture of her doing that! Anyway, so Adam tells her to go get the ball. Ashlee proceeds to get up and get the ball and then goes back to her leaf pile and jumps around. Where's her team spirit? LOL
Needless to say, I'm glad I didn't waste the money putting her in soccer. She is right, dance is definitely her thing.

poor Erik

2008-09-24T19:56:00.004-07:00

I have to admit that, when it comes to Erik, I like to let things slide a little. Maybe it's because he's my last baby, or because life's so crazy, I don't really know. The kids finally talked me into feeding Erik some real food this week. They always thought that they would be able to help feed Erik, but Erik, being a stubborn Talbot, refuses to take a bottle. Ever since, the kids have bugged me to start feeding him food. I have to admit that I've been very reluctant to do so because I am lazy. Feeding a baby food is so much more work at first and I just don't want the mess and hassle of it. Plus, deep down, it means my baby is that much closer to not being a baby any longer. This friday, Erik will be 5 months old. I started Alex and Ashlee on food at 4 months old because I wanted them to sleep through the night. Of course, that didn't work with either of them, but I was a sleep deprived mother and willing to try anything except letting them scream through it. Ah well, I am digressing. This week, I finally fed the cute little guy food. Alex and Ash were there helping every bit of the way.
Erik loved it. He loved sitting in his high chair for the first time....
but, mostly, he loved licking the spoon!

My Fab Five (I've been tagged)

2008-09-17T19:25:00.003-07:00

10 Years Ago I...
1. Was working at Dynatronics.
2. living in Murray, UT.
3. was in the nursery for my church calling.
4. was still having nightmares that I didn't really graduate from the U of U.
5. cheering on the Ohio State Buckeyes every saturday.

5 of my favorite jobs I have had (going from easiest to hardest...)
1. receptionist at Dynatronics
2. sales clerk in the crystal and china department of ZCMI's.
3. quality control at American Standard aka official toilet flusher!
4. cashier at Wendy's
5. MOMMY

5 places I have lived...
1. Tiffin, OH
2. in the suburbs of McCutchenville, OH
3. Logan, UT
4. Rexburg, ID--the only place i've ever lived where it got so cold my nose hairs froze
5. West Jordan, UT

5 snacks I enjoy...
1. Cold StoneIce Cream
2. Fudge
3. Erin's apple and blueberry pies
4. Strawberries
5. Sunflower Oat Honey bread

5 things I would do if I were a millionaire...
1. Get out of debt
2. Buy a '69 red Mustang convertible
3. travel, travel, and more traveling
4. Invest for college, missions, etc.
5. Help out my loved ones

5 things on today's "To-Do list"...
1. Help in Alex's class
2. Go to Alex's soccer game
3. Bug my sister while Alex is at piano lessons
4. Fold that mountain of laundry
5. Make yet even more pear sauce

5 favorite Holidays...
1. Christmas
2. Thanksgiving
3. Flag Day (it's Alex's birthday)
4.Easter
5. New Year's Eve--even tho I can barely stay awake til midnight

5 favorite Movies of All Time
1. So I Married an Ax Murderer
2. The Man Who Knew Too Little
3. The Chronicles of Riddick
4. Pride and Prejudice
5. Transformers

5 favorite T.V shows...
1. The Office
2. Futurama
3. Paula Deen
4. House Hunters
5. Jon and Kate plus 8--always makes me glad that I only have 3 kids!

5 favorite vacations...
1. Trip to Maine when I was 9
2. Going to Disneyland with my kids
3. Amish country (every time I get to go)
4. Moab, UT
5. Catalina Island, CA

I'm sorry Erin, I'm too lazy to tag anyone, but, hey at least i filled it out ! MUHAHAHAHAHA

Rules: Each player answers the question themselves. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5 people and posts their names, then goes to their blog and leaves them a comment letting them know that they've been tagged and asking them to read your blog. Let the person that tagged you know when you've answered the questions on your blog.

My genes just might prevail!

2008-09-04T12:08:00.004-07:00

As most of you have probably noticed in my children, the Talbot genes are very strong ones! My children don't look much like me or my side of the family. I had some hope for Erik, but, when he was born, he was the spitting image of Alex as a baby. Good thing those Talbot genes are cute ones! Anyway, I had Erik in this outfit the other night :

And my mother says to me, "Jenn, Erik looks just like you did as a baby!" I, of course, laughed at her. Then I dug out my baby pics and what do you know? He does look like me!

Who knew??? Actually, my sister-in-law Katie has been telling me all along that Erik looked like me--and she was right! Now, I'm not sure if I should feel bad for Erik or not since he may just turn out to be the masculine version of me!

my 5 year old photographer

2008-08-21T14:07:00.004-07:00

Ashlee decided today that she would like to take some pics so i let her have free reign of the camera. So, what does she take pics of?

1. Her feet
2. Our garbage

3. Her leftover lunch--ah yes, healthy food

So, will i let her continue her photographic endeavors? Definitely!! It was a completely new view for me of my house!

the intro

2008-08-20T15:57:00.000-07:00

alright Erin, really this blog is for you!! yes, you should be feeling really special right about now :) I don't even know if anyone else will ever read this.

Adam and I have been married for 11 1/2 years--the big 12 year anniversary is coming up on December 20th. We have 3 beautiful and fantastic children--Alex (7), Ashlee (5), and Erik (3 months). We are also the proud owners of 2 dogs and a rabbit. The children keep us very busy, but I wouldn't have it any other way. I'm lucky enough to be a stay-at-home mom and Adam is a telecom manager. From the picture, you can see what a cute family I have!

From my point of view, I'm blessed with a great life! It's a little crazy at times, like last week, when both our cars died in the same week and I'm often sleep-deprived...but I wouldn't have it any other way.