Spiritually Reignited

I wouldn't say I'm a bad person, but I haven't been the best person lately either. Ever since switching to the morning weekend anchor schedule at work I've loved having less sleep, and more time with my family, but my church life has suffered tremendously. It was my #1 worry with taking on the new schedule and sadly, it's taking the toll I feared it would.

I get a long break during the same time as sacrament meeting. So if I dress for church, I can rush over, meet my family, and enjoy one of the three hours of service before rushing back to work. The only problem is the moment my daughter sees me, she immediately wants to nurse and begs and screams until I take her to the nursing lounge, which usually results in me missing sacrament and/or listening to all of the meeting from the speakers in that room. Now, add in my husband's new busy schedule, and my weekend break hour is a good time for him to squeeze in an extra hour for studying, so add in going home, changing and taking her to church with me before taking her back and heading back to work. I'll admit, I haven't been that dedicated.

I've promised myself I'd read the scriptures a half hour a night to make up for missing Sundays but that's easier said than done. I've just been happy we still keep up with family prayers.

A prayer for a chance to be reignited was answered when my grandmother told me her choir was coming to my town! She's in Glady's Knight's Saints of Unified Voices choir. It was a chance for my husband and I to hire a babysitter, and go on a date together, but also a chance to feel something I've been missing.

We recently went and it was more amazing than I had imagined. Not only was it awesome to see my grandmother on stage with a musical icon, but it was a great spiritual experience. And awesome to hear Sister Knight's testimony. Oh, and to hear gospel music and loud beats boom through our LDS chapel. We weren't used to that.


It was also an excellent missionary opportunity. People of all shades came and some people who had never stepped foot in an LDS church sang along in praises to gospel songs they knew shouting "AMEN!" in affirmation, clapping, and standing when they felt moved. It was incredible.

They are touring the country and if you have the chance to see them I'd go. It's free and unbelievable.

I left and kept saying to my husband "Doesn't that make you want to be better?" "Doesn't it make you want to do better? I want to be a better person."

It's often how I felt when leaving church on Sundays (well, before having my daughter, since then, I've started to hate Sundays as they've been utterly exhausting, and I'm excited if I catch the topic of the lesson).

This was amazing, and just what I needed. I'm not a horrible person, and I'll never be perfect. But I can be better, and I will.

Things to do Before Baby #2

I know I want more children, but I'm not exactly sure when. I do know I'm loving spending time with my only daughter, and my husband as the three of us (and Snoop). One happy family.

For now, I want to cherish these moments and live them to the fullest before we become a family of four. Which by the way, if you happened to pop over to BabyCenter today you may have read my guest post on convincing him it's time for #2. No, I'm not doing any convincing right now, we are both happy and content with just one for now. But I wrote about this here before Lil' J was conceived and y'all were able to laugh with me so I thought I'd spruce it up and share it with the rest of the world.

Now, see you here who read my blog get me and my sense of humor. I'm not exactly sure what's up with these BabyCenter moms but they can't take a joke. I can't bare to read any more of them comments because I keep smacking my forehead and shacking my head in disappointment. I hope they aren't that serious all the time.

My dress: eShakti (use code "BMM0811" for $20 off); Her dress: Tea Collection

Anyway, the first baby bucket list I made was a pretty bad fail. I didn't accomplish most of the things as my baby fever overtook me. So no GRE, no graduate school, no traveling the world, and I can't even remember what else I wanted. This time I'm going for more realistic, and mostly aiming for things I'd like to work on and go do with my family. If I do it all, cool. If not, it's ok too. But this will be a way to keep my mind on my growing little girl without thinking too much about the future.

Comparing my two lists I can't help but laugh. Boy, how things change!

I'll cross these off as I accomplish them.

To do together as mother/daughter, or family:
1. Go on a bike ride.
2. Take swimming lessons.
3. Take a dance class with hubby.
4. Feed ducks.
5. Visit a pumpkin patch.
6. Take a trip to the zoo.
7. Get a mother/daughter pedicure.
8. Go kayaking as a family (with Snoop too).
9. Go to the circus.
10. Go to a concert.
11. Shop at the farmers market.
12. Take a stroller strides class.
13. Visit our state capitol.
14. Visit our local black history museum.
15. Complete a sewing class.

My dress: Ruffle Cascade Dress via eShakti (use code "BMM0811" for $20 off); Her dress: Tea Collection

Other to do:
1. Establish a regular date night with the hubs for AT LEAST once a month.
2. Teach my daughter how to fold her arms when we pray.
3. Make my will (I know, it's horrible I haven't done this yet).
4. Open Lil' J's savings/bond/college account.
5. Open our 401K.
6. Be cooking dinner (non-frozen meals) at least 3 nights a week. <--- This may never happen.
7. Take a creative writing course.
8. Get a 50mm 1.4 lens (for new newborn pics!)

Anything else I should add? What have you enjoyed doing with your families?

"All eyes on me in the center of the ring just like a circus!"

I couldn't get that song out of my head up until we went. That, and songs from the Yo Gabba Gabba Circus episode. I guess I thought the more I exposed her to songs relating to the event she'd get what was going on when we got there. I'm weird.

It's a whole new world, looking through the eyes of my daughter. When I noticed a free ticket to the Piccadilly Circus stapled to her daily sheet at school I couldn't resist. It was as if SHE was asking me to take her there.

So I did.

I read some reviews about the circus before heading out and got worried I wouldn't like it so much. I had been to Barnum and Bailey before; years ago with my husband. But we had such bad seats it was hard to see. This one stuck out to me because it was open seating, so if we got there early enough we could get front row seats. They were coming on a Monday and Tuesday which coincided with my days off.

My husband had to work (and I knew he probably wouldn't want to come) so I got tickets for the earlier show time and invited a good friend of ours and her little girl to come with us. After she said yes, I felt guilty and asked my husband if he wanted to come. I pretended to beg to make sure he didn't want to go before letting him know he couldn't anyway. I'm evil.

When we arrived we went straight to the petting zoo. I bought some food for the animals and let Lil' J at it. She tried to feed me, instead of the llamas but after watching me feed them she seemed to realize how it was done. Boy did they love her! And she loved them. I have a fearless child. I'm not sure if that's good or bad.

We sat down on the front row and watched the elephant go back and forth in front of us as people took their elephant rides. I debated taking her on it but we ended up missing our chance.

I kept telling her "Elephant! Look at the elephant!" And she'd look in the direction of it. She caught on pretty quick.

Then one time, all of a sudden we look over and the elephant's trunk is coming over the side bar to say hi! It was the craziest thing. Her trainer brought her over to say hi. I helped Lil' J pet it but she wasn't too sure what to think. I assume she preferred watching Dumbo's mom from afar. The look on her face seeing that, in itself made the trip worth it.
During the show there were motorcycles in a ball, clown shows, juggling and balancing acts, and two more elephants doing some tricks. It was cute.

You can tell from the pictures she had a blast, and slept well that night. So did I. Just another fun experience for the memory books, and to cross of my list before baby #2. We're on a roll.

Mini Mod #6: Pretty at the Park

Welcome to Mini Mod! Where each week I showcase some of my favorites in kid fashion and you can share your favorites too. Who doesn't love showing off their kiddo? If you posted some photos on your blog this week, let us know where you got his/her outfit and link up below so we can stop by and visit!

We're slashing at our "To do before #2" list. We went to the circus last week, fed ducks this week, and will be starting some sewing lessons next week thanks to a dear friend, who is helping this lost soul out. Guess it really does take writing it down to get at your goals!

Lil' and I went with some friends to feed the ducks at the park. The last time I had done this was almost 7 years ago, right after I got married. Lil' J had never seen ducks before and, like any other animal, she was pretty intrigued. She would throw them bread and watch them eat it. Then her friend would try to feed her like one of the ducks and we were one big happy bunch.

Towards the end she even held out her hand of food toward them. I did it too to make sure they weren't biting and they were pretty gentle.
Before anyone reprimands me... Yea, some lady at the park made a point to tell us bread isn't good for the ducks, so next time I'll bring vegetables.

Afterward we went to the park and she found her new favorite thing: Slides!
Her dress is from Adelaide's Boutique. I just ordered my 4th dress from there and my addiction is getting ridiculous, hence the need for sewing lessons.

Her shoes are from Cambria Laine, and her bow is a cheapo from Halo Heaven.

I loved looking at last weeks' Mini Mod links (still looking and stopping by). I just had to show you this little Carnival Diva from Hartlyn Kids! How gorgeous is she?

Visit her and show this cutie some love! And link up below so you can blog hop! Hopefully we'll get more every week!

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DIY Play Dough: What I'm Makin' Monday

I'm once again reviving my Domestic Diva section of my blog. I'm determined to try new things, make new things, and show it off so you can all tell me how awesome I am.

Ok, so making home made play dough isn't exactly putting me in the ranks for the Martha Stewart network. But I've never done it before, and thought others may find this tutorial helpful. First, prop your kiddo in the kitchen so they can see how it's done. But give them some food or something fun to play with so they're entertained from below and not too close to the heat on the stove.

Here's what you'll need. (I forgot to add the Mr. Oil to the photo shoot so I drew him in).

2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup salt
2 (4gram) packages of kool aid
2 cups boiling water
3 tablespoons oil

1) Boil 2 cups water on stove.

2) While that's starting to boil, in a large bowl mix flour, salt and kool-aid until it's blended. (spoon works)

3) Add oil to boiling water and; remove pan from heat.
4) Add everything from the bowl of dry ingredients to the pan of water and mix until cool enough to knead.

5) Knead (roll, pinch, fold in half repeatedly) until it's blended well. Add extra flour as you need until it isn't sticky. I usually use at least a half cup flour on the counter to start.

VOILA playdough! (You may have to let it cool for a half hour or so to be safe).

PLAY!

I washed out one of my old face wash pad containers and stored it in there. Lil' J helped me decorate the label.

*Store in refrigerator (as there are no preservatives or chemicals) stores for several months.

A big thanks to Cambria Laine for the idea.

What do you think? Lil' J wasn't sure what to think at first, but once I started making it into shapes she got into it. Snoop wanted to eat it at first but is a good boy when you tell him to "leave it." He did sneak one of the play dough balls away while I wasn't looking and took it to the livingroom, but luckily it didn't get smushed into the carpet.

And there you have it! A new toy!

A friend of mine is giving me a sewing lesson today. I bought a pattern to make a dress for Lil' J and she said she's translate it for me. If all goes well, I'll show it off next week. Of course it won't be a tutorial, but just a show off session.

Made anything lately? Craft, recipe, tutorial, etc? Show it off an link up below! Grab my button if you like or just link back here to keep the hippidy hop going.

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Sumos Sweet Stuff

Happy 15 months my little diva child!

My Sweet Daughter,

I wondered what all the hype was about being a mom. I wondered if mothers exaggerated how fun it was and if I'd feel the same way. Now I know for myself they weren't kidding.

Shirt Number via Sticky Bellies; Boots: Target via Ebay, Embellished tutu: Cutie Pa Tutu

Another month has gone by and you've grown bigger, smarter, and more beautiful.

You are totally adjusted to your school now. You no longer cry when I drop you off and it's a huge relief. I know you love it there. But you're still overly excited when I pick you up. I'm loving all of your art projects but need to find a way to store them, or keep my favorites.

Lately I've been trying to take you to fun things I know you'd enjoy, but it's not too difficult. You pretty much like doing anything outdoors.

You love to dance, and talk. On the way to school you like to play with your Talking Tom app and it's so cute.

One thing that's really cool is that you're picking up on so many things. When we say quiet down you put your finger up to your mouth and say "shhhh." You also do that when you hear the wind outside.

Today, when you were trying to eat flowers I told you how to put them to your nose and smell them and you copied me. Speaking of nose, when we ask you where yours it you point to it. It's so cute! I'm trying to teach you other body parts now.

I'm trying to remember what words you're saying now. You say "cracker" "Mama" "Daddy" and you pretty much will try to repeat small words we tell you. Oh, your teachers told me you're also saying "baby" and a couple of other words.

You're getting to be more interested in toys and things, which makes me realize I need to start getting you more. I'm planning a trip to the Salvation Army with you soon to see what deals we can find on things you like.

I'm having so much fun, and every month with you seems to be more exciting and go by even faster.

I love you and am so proud of you. So excied about our good times ahead.

Love,

Mommy

Poop in the Tub: He Says/ She Says

Taken before this conversation

Funny how many of our conversations revolve around poop these days. Here's our most recent one...

He says: And by the way, thanks for leaving poop in the tub. I noticed it when I took a shower.

She says: It wasn't mine.

He says: I know but it was still gross.

She says: Well I tried to scoop it up but I must have missed some.