September 2011 craziness

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

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!

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

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!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"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

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

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

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

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

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

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 :)