Answers to Questions

I've had a few questions about the last couple posts and thought I would just answer here...

First off- the rice krispie treat pumpkins. Make the rice krispie treats how you normally would, but add the orange (or yellow and red) food coloring before you add the rice krispies. I use a small tootsie roll as the stem and then soften some green tootsie rolls in the microwave for about 5-10 seconds and shape them for the leaves. So easy!

Next- a few people asked if they could share the poem Jon wrote. Yes!!! We would love to spread the message, so if you would like, feel free to post it on your blog or forward it on through email.

Okay, so maybe it was only two questions...it just felt like more. Anyway, hope that helps!

Flashback Tag

I have seen this on several blogs and think it is so fun. So, here goes. The sixth picture from my sixth picture folder.

This is Jon with Emma when she was 5 months old, the same age that Matthew is now. Maybe it's just me, but I think Emma and Matthew look SO much alike. Either way, a cute daddy daughter picture.

Weekend Update

A few highlights from the weekend...

We had an unexpected 3 day weekend this week. Jon wasn't feeling too great Friday so he stayed home. It was so nice to have him home and be able to get stuff done. I finally got our oil changed and was able to run a couple other little errands without the kids. He was feeling better by the afternoon so we grabbed some picnic dinner foods and went to the park. The weather was perfect and the park was so pretty. It goes right up to the bay and the water is gorgeous. It was such a fun night.

Saturday we took the kids to the family/friends screening of Madagascar 2. We all had fun, and Emma loved that she got popcorn and soda. She is still talking about it.

Saturday night we went to our ward Halloween party. Lots of sweets and treats and fun games. Emma was happy and looked adorable, but hot, in her ladybug costume. They had the party in the gym and it was so hot in there, we ended up taking Matthew's costume off. But he looked cute in it. I'm hoping it cools down a little on Halloween.

We went to church yesterday morning and within the first hour Matthew threw up all down the front of me and then had a blowout. We didn't have any extra clothes so I decided to take him home so we could both get cleaned up, and then I was going to go back and get Jon and Emma. So, we made it home, got changed, and then I left the house. As I shut the door I realized I had just locked my keys in the house. I tried for awhile to break into our house but I couldn't. I called Jon to let him know and he found someone to bring his keys to me so I could go get him.

This isn't the first time I've locked myself out of the house, so you would think I would have learned my lesson. Obviously not. So, tomorrow I'm going to get copies of our house and car key made and put them where I can get them next time I lock us out.

We made lots of Halloween decorations and treats. It feels so fun and festive here now. I love it.

We got this idea from my sister, Rachel, a couple years ago and it has become tradition. I think they are so cute.

Emma really was happy, she was just annoyed that I made her pose for a picture before she could eat it.

We each drew and colored pictures to hang on the wall. Jon is our resident artist and should have just done them all, although Emma's were really cute.

The collection of masterpieces

Two Little Birds

Jon wrote this poem a few months ago and has recently been making it into an animation. I thought the poem was especially insightful given all the changes in the world lately and the important decisions we are all having to make. This picture is part of the animation.

Here is the poem:

Two little birds sittin on a wire
watching the world as it burns, on fire.
Fire of greed and fire of lust, Fire
of hate, of contempt, and distrust.

One little bird leans to the other,
"Excuse me my friend..."

"What is it my brother?"

"I was just thinking, how odd it does seem,
how all of these people just hate and are mean.
Why so much quarrel, why go to war?
Why the disdain and mistreatment of poor?
I sit here and watch from my perch on this wire,
the world of mankind whose outlook seems dire."

"Perhaps there's the issue."

The bird was cut short.

"If you don't mind to hear it I have a retort!
As long as we sit here up on this high wire
our comments do nothing to put out this fire.

What's happened to virtue, what's sacred and true?
It's inside us my brother, inside me and you.
The going and doing is like rain to this blaze,
commenting is useless, it just thickens the haze.

So let's up and at 'em! Let's do what we can.
In actions not words, lies the future of man."


I have been really impressed with all the effort that people have been putting into important issues that are up in the air right now. We can each make a difference, even if our efforts seem small. I think this poem can be applied to every aspect of life. It has really gotten me thinking about what I am doing to make a difference in this world. I am really going to try to complain less and do more. The future really is in our hands, so let's all do everything we can to make it the best we can.

Emma

I was listening to Emma play last night while I was doing something and it just hit me how much I'm going to miss having her this age. She has really gotten into the imaginative play lately. Her dolls and cars and other toys are always having conversations and doing different things together. It is so cute to hear her squeaky little voice playing out these different stories. And someday I'm really going to miss it. I'm going to miss her cute innocence, her little voice, the way she laughs, and her sweet prayers. I may even miss the way she pinches Matthew and colors on everything with blue crayon and her dramatic fake cry when she wants candy for breakfast and doesn't get it.

But really, she is such a sweet, funny girl. And she gets funnier every day. And I just realized that this is the first time that I've sat back and realized how much I'm going to miss having Emma at a certain stage. I love watching her learn and I love how the simplest things are so entertaining to her. I love how she's so eager to help and to please and how she is genuinely excited when Jon gets home.

I am excited for her to keep learning and growing and I know that life will always be fun with Emma. I just hope I can make the most out of our time now and be the best mom I can be. I love my Emma!

Here are just a few of the things that Emma loves...

Going outside and wearing this pink hat (it's size 6-9 months and getting tight but she won't wear anything else). Oh, and she loves pushing strollers.

She loves movies, maybe a little too much. And you can't have a movie without a bowl of popcorn and some footie pajamas. This is her idea of a good night. :)

Baths with Matthew in the duckie bath with every bath toy we own. It's a tight squeeze but they make it work.

Have I mentioned being outside??? She loves it. And she loves climbing up the slides at the park.

Just Another Week

Miracle of all miracles...both kids are sleeping at the same time. Woohoo!!!

This last week went pretty fast and we stayed pretty busy. But I didn't get any pictures. Well, I should say I didn't get any good pictures. We took a whopping 2 pictures of Emma. One looks like she's picking her nose and the other looks like she's putting her hand down her pants. So, no pictures today.

Monday we went with some friends to a pumpkin patch. We had been excited to go there, but really it was just okay. We rode a little train and Emma got to pet some goats, but after that everybody was ready to go. It was really crowded and really hot, so we grabbed a couple little pumpkins and called it a day. There are tons of pumpkin patches out here, so we are going to try and go back another day.

Tuesday I was able to go to the temple in the morning. A bunch of girls in my ward go to the temple once a month to do initiatories. There is a stake center on the temple grounds, so half of us babysit while the other half go to the temple and then we switch. It works out really well and is a lot of fun.

Wednesday Jon volunteered to watch the kids in the evening so I could go shopping. We had the Madagascar 2 premier party on Saturday and I needed something nice to wear to it. I really don't enjoy shopping but after 2 hours at Sears, I was loving it. Seriously, I haven't been to that store in years and now I feel like I've been missing out all this time. They have great stuff and tons of really cheap clearance. So, I ended up getting my dress on clearance for $10. And a skirt for $3. And a really cute shirt for $5. And some jeans that fit perfectly for $17. It is so fun to go shopping when you find stuff that fits, looks cute, and is inexpensive. So, it was a good night.

Thursday I went with the kids to a cooking group with some other girls in my ward. There were lots of people, lots of fun toys for the kids, lots of good food...all around a great time.

Friday we met up with a couple friends at the park and then went and had lunch with Jon. We love Fridays, love that we are able to go spend time with him, and love the free food. :)

Saturday was our big party day. We cleaned the house (well, Jon cleaned the house...thanks Jon!) and then we went out to his parents house. They were kind enough to watch the kids for us so we could go to the Madagascar 2 party. We hung out there for awhile and then went to the party. We watched Madagascar 2 first. It was cute. If you liked the first one, you will probably love the 2nd. Jon was pointing out all the stuff that he did while we watched. I really am so impressed. There are so many tiny little details and so much work involved. He is so talented. And it's so cool to see his name in the credits. After the movie we headed over to the party. It was on the top floor of a mall in San Francisco...not sure if that makes any sense. The view of the city was beautiful. The rest of the party was okay. Some good food, lots of drinking, really loud music, and lots of people. So we went, got our food, talked to a couple people that Jon knew, and left before everybody got really drunk. I'm pretty sure we were the first ones out of there. :)

So, all in all it was a good week. Nothing really dramatic or exciting, but sometimes I like it that way. We are getting excited for Halloween...I can't wait for the kids' costumes to come! And I'm especially excited for the elections to be over. It all feels so contentious to me. The debating, arguing, and finger pointing have all gotten really old. Anyone else feel that way??? So, I've got my vote by mail ballot (I love that we can vote by mail) and am getting it sent off tomorrow.
I am curious to see how it all turns out.

Well, this has gotten really long. Hopefully I'll have a more exciting post next time. :)

Our First Project and Some Other Pics

We got some remnants of fabric at WalMart last weekend and decided to make some rice bags with them. For anyone who doesn't know, you sew the bag, fill it with rice, and heat it up. It's a great way to warm up your feet, neck, etc. They are SO nice and really easy to make.

I started and made the Cars one. Not bad from far away, though I really need to work on sewing straight.

Jon wanted to get all fancy and make a neck pillow. In his own words, "It may not be beautiful, but it's functional". That about sums it up. But really I'm impressed that it turned out. And it cured both of our headaches. These things really are awesome.

This was the "trying to make it look nice" picture

This is the neck pillow in all it's "beauty"

We went on a walk last weekend between conference sessions. There were some gorgeous flowers along the path. Here are a couple shots that Jon got. I love this first one.

And why not finish up with a blackmail picture. Sorry Matthew!

The Latest and Greatest Around Our House

Here is a little bit from the last couple weeks. I really need to post more regularly because I can't remember anything we've done. But, here are a few of the pictures that I've got.

Emma in one of her many forts.

A cute one of Matthew

The highlight of our week...we got a new sewing machine! Jon got a gift certificate from work for working on Labor Day. We got to choose where to use it and had a hard time choosing. We were debating between going practical or splurging. After much debate we decided on a practical splurge and got the sewing machine. Neither of us sew (yet) but we are excited to learn. It took us almost an hour to thread the bobbin and the machine so at the rate we're going it might be a while before you see any of our creations on here. :)

Why is it that these hooded towels make babies look SO adorable?

Emma took the lids off of some glitter glue pens and put them on her fingers. She thought it was hilarious.

Emma was sick last Wednesday. It was just a little 24 hour bug, but it was nasty. She slept most of the day(which I admit was nice) but I was glad she was feeling better the next day. I ended up getting the bug Saturday while we were at Jon's parents house for general conference. I couldn't sit or stand up without throwing up so I ended up sleeping most of the day. While I don't enjoy being sick, it was nice to get some much needed sleep and they took great care of the kids.

This is Emma sleeping when she was sick. Poor, tired girl! She actually started on the couch and slowly slid down.

We are loving the beautiful fall weather here. This week has been so nice. The weather is definitely one of my favorite things about California.

I think Matthew is teething, which makes life fun. Hopefully we see some teeth soon...

We just found out that Jon gets a whole week of paid vacation the week of Christmas! So, that was a nice little bonus. If only we had a bunch of extra money to actually go somewhere. Oh well, we will definitely enjoy our time with him and will hopefully be able to do lots of things around here.

Anyway, that's about it for now. I'm off to bed!

The New Do

By request, here are pictures of my new haircut.

I actually kind of like how it looks in this picture. If only this were the only angle you could see it from...

I kind of like the style, just not on me. Maybe when it's longer.

And just in case I complained too much or sounded really negative about the whole thing, here are some good things about my new haircut:

-Matthew can't grab my hair anymore
-I will use a lot less shampoo
-It's a lot faster to do in the morning
-It's made me grateful that I have hair at all
-It was free
-It will be that much longer before I have to go back for another haircut
-It will grow back
-When it does grow longer, I really think I will like it.

All right, enough about the hair. Thanks for listening. :)

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas

I was walking downtown yesterday with the kids, doing a little window shopping on our way to the library. I was thinking how crazy it was that it was the last day of September and that Halloween was coming up so fast. I realized how excited I am for Halloween this year because Emma is finally old enough that she can enjoy it (at least I hope she will). So, as I was thinking about Halloween and how cute the kids are going to be in their little bug costumes, I looked up and there was a big CHRISTMAS tree in one of the store windows! Then I looked across the street at a children's clothing store and they were all decked out for Christmas too. Do I just have my months all wrong??? Did October and November fly by so fast that I just missed them? Seriously, Christmas trees in September???

On a completely random note, I got the WORST haircut of my night last night. One of those where you're sitting in the chair bawling because it's so bad. Note to self: never let someone who can't speak English cut your hair, even if you show them a picture of what you want. (Not that I really had a choice...she was the stylist available when I went in) My hair was just below my shoulders so I told her to cut an inch and add some layers and showed her a picture of it. She cut it right below my ears. Another stylist came and finished the cut and tried to salvage what is left of my hair. Crossing my fingers that my hair grows out really really fast.

Happy October everyone!