Stamps of Approval

I know, I know...

2011-07-05T21:04:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted forever. This has been pointed out by a few people in the last few day. There is a long list of reasons I won't go into but here are a few:

1. Karas is home from school. She loves school and so does her mom. I just can't keep her stimulated enought during the day. She has been a naughty girl the last few weeks. I won't go into details but lets just say I have never washed this many walls in my life.
2. Lack of pics. My still camera is broke. Dropped one too many times by some crazy kids that like to play with it.
3. New part time job.
4. Keeping my kids entertained for the summer. I did a really good job the first couple weeks but I'm finding it hard to find the motivation to take them to the park or anywhere else for that matter. It's just easier to stay home. I know I need to get out of that rut! I'm just a mom doing the best I can.
5. Wedding plans....I haven't done much to help but Jacob and Angie's wedding is Saturday! Hooray! Can't wait for a weekend away in the trailer, the first of the year. Idaho here we come!

Sorry, I'll come back soon!

Stampin' Up! retired stamp sets sale

2011-06-08T05:58:00.001-07:00

Here are all (over 200) stamp set I have for sale! To look at them larger you must right click each page image and download it to your own desktop.

Remember: I can not hold any sets, first come first serve. Once you email me what you want I will email you a PayPal

invoice, everything NEEDS to be paid through Paypal. Once the Paypal goes

through I will set those sets aside for you.

When ordering please email me the name of the set and what page number it is found on.

All sales are final, items are as is. I will ship the cheapest way possible but shipping prices will varyby order.

Thanks! Kira

New "It's in the Bag!" Website!

2011-04-10T15:30:00.000-07:00

Check out the new website! You can now check out the monthly projects, sign-up and pay all in one place!

http://itsinthebagsewingclasses.com/
Also check out the Concealed Carry Permit class I am hosting. Sign ups there too!

Speechless!

2011-02-21T19:47:00.000-08:00

Tonight Karas looked at the flag out front for Presidents Day and I finally got her to say the Pledge for the camera.

Simply Sewing 101

2011-01-20T18:45:00.001-08:00

Here are the next three months of Simply Sewing: sign up now, my classes are filling up fast. Refer back to HERE for all the class details.

Wednesday, February 9th @ 6:30

Jewelry Pouch

A little pouch for traveling. Pockets for rings and earrings and the center for necklaces and bracelets. It gathers closed for safe keeping. My mom made me this one a year ago and its awesome! You will learn buttonholes and sewing in a circle.

Wednesday, March 9th @ 6:30

Girly Skirt

(Don't mind the one in the picture, it's way cuter when its ironed but I didn't have time for that today) This is a easy little girls skirt, you will learn gathering and waist elastic casing. My pattern rage sizes are 6-12 months up to 10 years old. Just in time for Easter Sunday!

Wednesday, April 6th @ 6:30

Hooded Towel

This is a quick project, great for baby gifts or taking to the pool with you! You can make two of these in one class. You will master top-stitching with this one!

Simply Sewing 101

2010-12-27T19:52:00.000-08:00

January Class: Wednesday the 12th at 6:30, only $10, bring your own supplies and machine

This make up pouch is crazy easy. The class is not full yet. Let me know if you want in!

Just some things to make you giggle!

2010-12-21T18:52:00.000-08:00

PS. I am not a great blogger lately, but Angie, my "Soon-to-be-sister-in-law" is. Head over to see our trip to Vegas!

Christmas Spirit...

2010-12-15T17:38:00.000-08:00

I have been debating on writing this post for a couple days. For some reason this year my "Christmas Spirit" is wavering. I am usually the one on top of the gift list, cards out early, presents wrapped, neighbor gifts out and things ready for the big day. The last few days I have been in a funk. I have so many things on my "To Do" list. So many things I wanted to make or sew for friends and family. They will never be done in a week. Working three days a week has put a cramp in my style, I am going to be lucky to get my kids things in order. (Kudos for you women who work and keep it all in check. I never could)

John was in an accident this morning, he rolled his truck on the ice. He is fine, sore and getting sorer but this has got me thinking about my family. How many Christmas' do we have? For this purpose I am writing this post.

You may be one of my dearest friends or family members and not receive a trinket from me this holiday. I am getting my priorities in order and those things are my kids and my sanity. The gift to myself this season is to tear up the "To Do" list, sit on the couch, drink hot chocolate and watch Polar Express with the kids. Listen to Karas sing Jingle Bells as many times as I can get her to sing it. Read a Christmas novel and remember my Savior.

I plan on making it up to you throughout the year, hopefully, but for now I am going to enjoy the season, my husband, my kids and family including a new nephew coming tomorrow.

Merry Christmas!

Digital Scrapbooking!

2010-11-22T18:04:00.000-08:00

So remember all those post about me loving my digital scrapbooking program, My Digital Studio from Stampin' Up!?

Um, ya, so.....its 50% off this week!

Only until next Tuesday. With tax and shipping it's only $46.57! Crazy awesome deal and after you get it, install it and play with it a bit I will have a free class to show you the ins and outs of the whole program! I will be making the order on Monday, let me know if you want one!

Veteran's Day

2010-11-05T07:04:00.000-07:00

I found this post this morning and it got me crying. Veterans Day is next Thursday. How can we thank the men and women that fight for our freedom while we continue to fight politics here on the soil they fight for? Here are her ideas:

9 ways you can show support for our military members and their families

Stand up when the National Anthem is being played or the Pledge of Allegiance is being said and put your hand over your heart. The National Anthem isn’t a time to cheer for your team. It’s a time to show respect for the good ol’ USA. Keep your eyes on the flag and your thoughts on the soldiers who died and those who continue to fight to protect it.
Teach your children about REAL heroes. They may not play a sport on TV and make millions a season, but when was the last time a home run killed a terrorist? Uh….never! Children need to know that heroes aren’t found in Hollywood or on the ball field. Think about it…freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction!
When you see a veteran…thank him. They aren’t looking for your thanks, but they’ll sure appreciate it. Imagine putting your life on the line for your country and watching your buddies die for it and watching the world around you forget about it. Veteran’s don’t forget. Neither should you.
Display a flag in your yard. Investing in a big flag pole is not only patriotic…but it looks great, too! Convince your neighbors to do the same.
Send a card to a deployed soldier. It’s not hard to get an address. I think just about everyone knows somebody in the military. Soldiers love to know that the people back home are behind them 100%. You don’t have to be in favor of the war(s). Politics don’t play a role when it comes to standing behind our military men and women.
Military wives look really strong on the outside but they hide their fear well. When you see a wife whose husband is deployed, ask how you can help. She’s scared and sad and worn out. The answer she will give you is “I’m ok!” but help her out anyway. A note telling her how much you support her husband and appreciate her families sacrifice means more than you can possibly imagine.
When you see a service member at the airport…stand up and cheer for them. There’s not nearly enough of that. Shake their hands. Tell them “thank you”.
When a unit nearby is deploying or coming home…go out and support them. Take your kids. Life is hectic and busy…I realize that. The soldiers will appreciate it, but I promise you that you will get a lot more out of it than you bargained for. It’s hard to get caught up in your own problems when you witness a soldier saying goodbye to his/her family….and nothing can lift your spirits more than seeing them reunited!
Remember during this holiday season that there are thousands of deployed men and women who would give anything just to be with their family. Spend a little more time with yours. Do a service for someone. Let your children experience how much joy they can get from bringing happiness to others.

Remember that the cost of freedom is high but Americans have always paid it. Do your part. If you can’t serve, support those who can!

Halloween 2010

2010-11-02T16:46:00.000-07:00

I just could not get a good shot where all three of the crazies looked cute so rumage through these few and piece together how dang cute they are!

Cruella DeVille

One of the 101 Dalmations

And the dog catcher

Simply Sewing 101

2010-10-18T18:00:00.000-07:00

I've been throwing this idea around for a while now and am just biting the bullet and starting it. I'll work the bugs out while I go, I guess.

I will now be teaching a monthly sewing class here at my house. Simply Sewing 101 is great for beginners through advanced sewers! We will sew one project a month including receiving blanket, bag, purse, beginner quilting, hand binding, and children's clothing. You will learn basic sewing skills as well as more advanced skills like elastic waistbands, zippers and quilts.

Details:
* once a month class, held on the 2nd Wednesday of every month
* $10 per class, includes pattern and instruction sheet
* no contract, come one month or every month
* you supply you own materials; including fabric, notions and thread
* bring your own sewing machine and basic sewing kit
* pre-pay is required one week in advance to hold your spot in class

I would also like to open it up to teaching private classes. Get you girl friends together, at least 10 to teach at your location. I would also like to get into Relief Society groups and craft clubs.

What do you think? Sounds fun, right? Tell your girl friends and sign up!

My first class will be held Wednesday, November 10th at 6:30
Self-binding Receiving Blanket *Great for beginners!

December Class: Wednesday, December 8th

15 Minute Table Runner

January Class: Wednesday, January 12th

Measuring Tape Pouch

Email or comment here and leave your contact info and I'll get you the details!
Kirastamp@sfcn.org

Look what our Karas can do!

2010-10-01T07:22:00.000-07:00

This speaks for itself! Such a huge accomplishment in her life. She can also say parts of the Pledge of Allegiance but we haven't been able to catch that on video yet.

9th Anniversary

2010-09-29T17:17:00.000-07:00

For our 9th Anniversary this year we spent the day low key. Kailtyn was awesome and watched the kids all day. John and I packed a lunch, loaded the horses and headed to 5th Water in Spanish Fork Canyon for a ride. The ride was so much fun. Here is a video I tried to take of John and Lerp. A few seconds into it see if you can see what went wrong!

John is so comfortable on a horse, he's only been riding for as long as we've been married. He looks great on horseback with chaps, don't you think?

John and I still haven't mastered the taking our own picture things but it's ridiculous to try it on two moving horses! Orange really isn't my color but it is hunting season and I didn't want to be mistaken for an Elk!

Check out that view, of the SMOKE! from the Thistle Fire.

After we got home and put the kids to bed, I made a steak and warmed the leftover potatoes from the night before. Not very fancy but right up our alley!

Every year I set up all our wedding stuff, this year I finally brought my wedding dress home from my Mom's house. It's not been cleaned or even out of the bag since the wedding!

This is the fake ring John proposed with.

Our rings on the ceremony pillow.

Wedding album, veil, headpiece, sign in book and pen.

We went low key this anniversary so maybe we can go big for the big 10! next year. Any ideas?

Off to school we go!

2010-08-27T18:26:00.000-07:00

Karas was so excited for school to start. I think maybe she was just really excited to wear new school clothes. {She's a girl after my own heart!} She loves new clothes and was most excited about her new silver shoes. She kept pointing her toes and saying "pretty new shoes"

Hatch had decided to go all cowboy! He told me that he didn't want me to buy him anything that wasn't cowboy. No comfy basketball pants or shorts but I did talk him into hiking boots instead of wearing his cowboy boots everyday.

I caught this picture mid stride, Karas running to her bus!

Stay tuned for more first day pics!

New Pics!

2010-07-28T19:21:00.000-07:00

Get ready for picture overload! It was time to get Hatch's birthday pics done (it's the big 8 this year!) and because I hadn't done Karas and Thayne's birthday pics in May I figured we might as well do all of them. I can't choose, there are so many cute ones! Thanks Megan!

Mirror, Mirror on the Wall...

2010-07-17T13:22:00.000-07:00

who's the prettiest girl of them all?

Look what Karas let me do last night. She was sitting still watching a movie so I took the chance to get these classic pick foam rollers in her hair.

We didn't know how long they would last but she went to sleep with them on and woke up with all but a few still in.

Here's what we ended up this. Cute, huh?

She loves it and keeps saying how cute she is and that "Mommy did it!"

Gateway Fountain

2010-07-13T19:22:00.000-07:00

Kaitlyn and I trekked to the Gateway fountain a couple weeks ago. Thayne and Kinley weren't huge fans but we couldn't get Hatch and Karas out! Fun place to visit.

Karas New Obsession

2010-07-13T19:20:00.000-07:00

Karas found the shelf with the bandaids in the food storage downstairs. The pics say it all!

A Day at the Zoo

2010-07-13T19:19:00.000-07:00

While the weather was still cool I figured we better get our yearly visit to the zoo in. We went in June right after the kids got out of school. Karas was so fun. She is starting to react to her surroundings more and more and could name almost every animal there. Although, we never saw lions, tigers, or bears. Weird.

The carousel was a big hit, They all wanted to ride again, but man that's expensive!

Hatch liked the snakes.

So did Thayne.

These monkeys were eating their lunch and the kids thought it was the funniest!

If I let her Karas would have climbed right in.

This was the highlight of our day. This little lizard followed Thayne where ever he went. He followed Thayne's finger all over the glass. Thayne couldn't stop giggling and saying "Sand Pile". This lizard plays in his "Sand Pile" just like Thayne plays in his.

This was Hatch's favorite part. The American Flag and the eagle. He is turning out to be quite the patriot.

This was my first big outing with the all three "crazies" all by my self. It went better than I expected. Thayne and Karas are getting good at staying close and Karas even tells Thayne to "Stay Close, Baby!" They are all growing up and soon enough won't care about going to the zoo with mom. I'll cherish the days while their still here.

Summer!

2010-07-13T17:59:00.000-07:00

Nothing better than a popsicle with cousins on a hot summer day!

The Four Day Wonder Quilt

2010-05-28T14:08:00.000-07:00

I love to make quilts. Easy as that. There is not one step I dislike. Cutting, piecing, borders, hand binding. Love it all. My sister in law has just gone through some major health issues and just this week is getting back to the swing of things. I have felt for the past few weeks that I just can't do anything to help. She has plenty family and friends to help with the kids. We live in the same ward and people have been so nice to help with meals and our mother-in-law (super women) lives next door.

I don't know why it didn't hit me earlier to make her something but the idea hit me last Wednesday. So, I found a pattern in a book I have, trekked to Gracie Lou's, picked out the brightest, cutest fabric in the place and headed home. Here is how the time line went:

Thursday: cut blocks, piece blocks

Friday morning: cut applique flowers and sew them on, add borders

Friday night: (it wasn't really in the budget this week to have it quilted by some one else, so attempted in myself) pin the top, batting and back together

I have quilted quilts before, one in high school and one for my Grandpa Thomas as he was dying from cancer, but that all. So I had these nice curved safety pins that hold the fabric sandwich together while quilting it. I remembered about an hour into the quilt why I don't do it very often. It's a lot of work. But after it was done I felt really accomplished and think maybe I'll try it again.

Saturday morning: trim the quilt, make binding strips and sew them on

Saturday night: start binding it by hand. Which I have to admit is my favorite. I love to curl up on the couch with a coke, watch a movie with John and sew. There is something so relaxing about it.

Sunday: complete the hand sewing, wash and dry it.

Here is how it turned out. I love it. I almost thought twice about giving it away but I knew it was headed to a home where it would get a lot of love.

Monday morning: visited Sami and left it with her. Since then she says she has curled up with it at night and loves it. I told her, as I tell everyone that receives a quilt from me, to please USE it. It is not meant to be hung on the back of a couch and never touched. I want it to fall apart because you use and wash it so much. A quilt is meant to be loved and bring love. I hope it reminds her how special she is and that it brings her joy on dark days.

Bag Ladies Class at Gracie Lou's

2010-05-28T13:42:00.000-07:00

So I have this really fun side job. I am the resident "Bag Lady" at a quilt store in Salem. Gracie Lou's is one of my favorite places. They have so much darling fabric and projects that you can never leave without something. The ladies are so fun there and I love teaching. May's bag class was no different. We had so much fun, like always. We had 6 ladies, some regulars and some new faces. Everyone finished their bag or had only one or two steps left. One lady even got done so fast she headed out before we could get a picture.

This is June's bag. Isn't she cute?! You can make her with the folded side that snap or leave the snaps off and she expands. Really easy bag, we will defiantly finish her that night. We are not sure on the date but call me or stop by Gracie's to sign up!

Schools out for Summer!

2010-05-27T19:04:00.000-07:00

{I hope you sang that rock song when you read the title!}

Karas has officially graduated Pre-school. We had no graduation program like in Hatch's pre-school so I was a little emotional on the last day when I took a treat and thank you's to Karas teachers. These five women, Karas' teachers for 2 years now, have made a huge impression on Karas, she knows all their names and hugs them everyday when she get on the bus to some home. She even calls me Miss Stacy once in a while. Which made me kinda sad until the teachers told me they get called Mom quiet often at school.

(top left) Miss Shannel, Miss Stacy, Miss Ruth (Karas' speech therapist)

(bottom left) Miss Sherrie, Miss Suzie

I can't tell you how important good teachers are to kids like Karas and to parents of kids like Karas. To know that when I sent Karas off to school she was being loved and taught is a huge weight lifted off my shoulders. I knew I had to come up with something good to show my appreciation for them. Here is what I came up with. I did something like it for Hatch's pre-school teachers a few years back.

A Gerber daisy flower plant with a thank you note in it.

Gotta love that "My Digital Studio"!

Don't they look so professional?

Hatch's teacher was a little different. Mr. Ekker has been a great teacher for Hatch but man thank you gifts are not easy. I finally came up with a bucket full of his favorites. Hatch told me he has a can of Diet Mt. Dew on his desk everyday, he eats microwave popcorn in the afternoons and brings chips and salsa back from lunch most days. So we filled a bucket full of them and Hatch made him a thank you card.

Here is a picture of the

"Three last Cowboys left in Santaquin"

{as told by Hatch}

Hatch's teacher wares boots and wranglers to school most days and the other fellow is Mr. Goudy, the school janitor. Hatch, Mr. Goudy, and all the school maintenance crew have become really good friends. I think it's because Hatch spent so much time with my Dad, the BS'er of the family when he was little; so Hatch can hold his own in the BR'ers circle. Mr. Goudy has a farm and the men are construction guys so Hatch fits right in with their crowd. All of them have started taking their lunch at the 1st graders time so they can sit with Hatch. Hatch even talked to them about Grandpa White's new gun selling business and took them V-Bar Guns and Ammo business cards.

I know every mom says this but I can't believe my kids are so old. I have a 2nd grader and a kindergartner. Before I know it we'll be sitting at Hatch's graduation. Scary thought, but for now I am going to enjoy the summer. I'm trying to keep our summer on somewhat of a schedule, for Karas' sake. She behaves so much better when she's on a schedule. But we'll see how long that lasts.

The New "IT" item in our backyard!

2010-05-26T08:20:00.000-07:00

This year for the kids birthdays, Grandma Carter had the great idea of giving the kids one big summer birthday present because all their birthdays fall in summer months. So we asked Grandpa and Grandma White if they would go for it too and this is what we pooled our money for.

The kids have had some much fun with it so far. The net really makes it so much more safe than they were when I was a kid. I think Karas is the most in love with it, maybe it will help use up some of her never ending energy. John and I have even had a good time. The kids want to go play, Karas says, "Come jump wif me" and we have been on it every night before dinner. Hatch wants to sleep out, but we told him he'll have to wait till it stops snowing! (could you believe waking up to snow on Monday?) He says the net will keep all the wild animals out.

Grandma Carter even got in on the action Sunday night.

A camping we will go!

2010-05-25T16:59:00.000-07:00

We packed up and headed out for the first camping trip of the season last weekend. We love the our trailer, the poor thing. We bought it used when Karas was a baby and its just gone down hill from there. It has water damage on the outside and it looks kinda tired and sad. But the inside is great {although its 90's teal and rose floral couch and wallpaper is so Grandma trailer, it was meant to be a snow-bird trailer and even has washer and dryer closet and hook-ups} it fits us great and we enjoy it.

This is where I found Thayne playing while loading the necessities into the trailer. Yes, that a toy 4 wheeler sitting half on a real 4 wheeler. I just about died. Hatch just looked at the picture and said "That is so not safe!" No kidding.

Thayne and Karas waiting for us to get the trailer set.

Setting up the grill. We do most of the cooking outside. John is one heck of a dutch oven chef!

Now here's a story. All weekend Hatch worked at gathering firewood and piling it up. He propped a branch up in a hole and thought maybe he could hide and wait for a bird to land on it then he would jump out and shoot it.

It kept him busy all weekend and he had fun. So what the heck, I guess.

Sunday morning I finished the breakfast dishes and laid down on the couch while John and the kids played outside. I fell asleep so John took the kids for a walk up the road to the Diamond Fork Ranger Station. When I got home and went through the pictures in my camera, John had got some great shots of the kids.

I love this one. So artsy-fartsy!

This is Hatch's hand next to an elk print.

We have so much fun in the trailer and can't wait for the next trip.

The BIG 5 on 5/5!

2010-05-25T08:39:00.000-07:00

We can't believe our Karas Rae is 5! Karas was born on 5/5/05 so this 5th Birthday was a BIG one.

Karas had her first friends party this year. We figured that she understands more this year and she {but Mom mostly} was so excited to have a girly party. We started planning a month before and this is what we came up with. Karas loves her Fancy Nancy books and all of them are well loved and almost torn to shreds. Get ready for picture overload.

Here is the spread before the giggly little girls got here. We had tea (apple juice), strawberries and grapes, and little tea cakes. Homemade by SaraLee and cut down into bite-size pieces.

Karas all fancied up for the party. She waited by the front door for all her friends.

Mrs. DeVine came and read us the Fancy Nancy Dictionary so we all knew how to be at our Fanciest behavior for our tea party.

Tea Anyone?

Fancy Nancy and Mrs. DeVine

This is the invitation sent to all her friends

Later, for dinner I made Karas' favorite dinner. Corn Chip Pie.

Then we opened a few gifts. The "puterer" is still a big hit.

Then we had a cupcake while Karas sang Happy Birthday to herself.

"Happy Birthday to Me"

We can't believe how Karas has grown this year. She is so smart and surprises us everyday with something new she can say or do. This year has been a good year, we got some answers, we found some hope and most of all Karas is progressing and we are loving watching every minute of her!

Love You Baby!

So much to post and not enough time.

2010-05-23T08:54:00.000-07:00

I have so many things to post and just not enough time to do it. Here are some things to come:

*~~Karas' birthday~~
*~~The new "IT" item in our backyard~~
*~~Some major sewing projects~~
*~~Karas last day of Pre-School~~
*~~The only 3 cowboys left in Santaquin~~
*~~Bag Class at Gracie's~~
*~~First camping trip of the season~~

Was that a good tease or what? Hopefully this week I can get everything caught up!

The Terrible Two's!

2010-05-18T15:03:00.000-07:00

I don't think our sweet little "Thayner-Man" could ever really hit the Terrible Two's!

Thayne's 2nd birthday was Saturday, May 1st.

He woke up to a new Buzz & Woody trike and couldn't be more excited to take it for a "wide" (ride.). Thayne is talking a bit now. Truck, ride, car, outside and "Det" (blanket) are the major major words we hear. I usually ends up translating for others. Thayne and I seem to have our own language. He also knows when someone says "school" he says "bus". We think maybe Thayne thinks Karas and Hatch get on the bus in the morning and don't really go anywhere, they just get off the bus and come home in the afternoon. We're not sure if he knows they go to a place (school) and then come home on the bus.

Then on Sunday we had cake and ice cream at Grandma and Grandpa White's. McKinley gave him some "dars and tucks" and Uncle Jacob and Angie's singing card was a big hit.

I can't imagine our home without John Thayne! He brings so much joy and laughter here. After Karas being such a hard baby and toddler, John and I seriously thought maybe 2 kids was good for us. John and I both prayed and prayed about what to do. We sat in the Temple one night and talked about it. I had a feeling, the Lord told me he would send us one of "His Angels". And he certainly did. We couldn't have asked for better. We can't wait to see more of Thayne's cute personality to shine out and love watching him grow into a darling, thoughtful, caring little boy!

We LOVE you Mr. Handsome!

Easter 2009

2010-05-03T07:27:00.000-07:00

We started Saturday night coloring eggs and watching a movie. Thayne wanted to drink the dye, he kept calling it juice. Karas doesn't understand. The eggs take to long in the dye and she looses interest. We then watched "Where the Red Fern Grows." I remember my Dad reading this to us when we were little. It was his favorite book as a child and we read it a couple times together as a family. The new movie version is great and I cried at a couple parts of the movie. Those little red dogs get me every time.

Here are the Easter baskets before the kids got their hands on them. They got a new spring outfit, which they haven't even worn yet, a month later because of the crazy weather. New sandels, a pinwheel, of coarse, they are a staple in our easter baskets. Bubbles, sand toys and treats.

Here the crazies are in their Easter Sunday new church clothes. I made Karas' dress and love it so much. There is tuele under it and wish I could get away with wearing it too! Thayne got his first big boy church shirt and tie. He love them! Hatch has had the suit for a bit but got a new spring tie. The suit by the way is a huge hit, especially with Grandpa Von. Von still wonders if he'll ever see John in a suit (John has never had a suit, ever) so it does a Grandpas's Heart good to see Hatch love his suit.

The Sunday after Easter we had the Carter party complete with a hunt. Karas and Thayne had so much fun chasing eggs! Thayne most tricky one was hid in one of Grandma Carter's tomato domes. His little arms could barely reach it.

Who loves digital scrapbooking?

2010-04-30T08:32:00.000-07:00

ME!

The kids birthday's are this week. I usually have a scrapbook page done with their new birthday pics and a blank page for family and friends to write a little note on and sign. Last night I realized I hadn't even thought about it. Here is what I came up with! So cute and they both took me only about an hour to do. I just emailed them to Jmart publishing in SF and they are printing them up as we speak! So easy and so much less stress for me.

Crazy Karas Rae!

2010-04-17T20:26:00.000-07:00

This picture was taken in January of 2007. Karas was just 20 months old. We are on the beach in California, it was this trip to Disneyland for a week that tipped the scales of our thoughts that there was just something not right with our Karas Rae. (I didn't think this post was going to be hard to write but already sobbing and get ready it's going to be a long one!)

Karas was a hard baby, as most of your know. She was not a good sleeper, she was pretty grouchy most of the time and threw up a lot. Almost everything I put in her. We changed he over to lactose free formula at about 8 months and that seemed to help a bit, but something was off. She was a struggle. This is where our journey to answers started.

We started early intervention program the May she turned 2 and have been so taken care of since. Great teachers, great speech thereipsts, and occupational thereipsts. But no one had any answers to what was off with Karas. Since that time we have been to Primary Children's for tests: one xray for her thowing up. Everything fine there. A neurologist and a MRI on her brain, everything fine there, thank goodness. A genetist in January who was stumped because Karas' physical apperance is perfect. There are no outside signs of a disorder. He referred us to a Developmental Pediatrician at Primary's.

From the moment this doctor met Karas I new there was some hope for this appointment. She studied Karas like no other doctor had before. She zoned in on her and I could see Dr. Jolma going through a mental checklist of symptoms. She spent 20 minutes talking to me and watching Karas interact with me then played with Karas for about half an hour. After we were done. Dr. Jolma looked at me and said "Karas has whats called PDD: Pervasive Developmental Delay, Atypical Autism." I could hardly believe it, finally a name. Something to call it, a path to follow. She explained it to me a little and handed me a book that said "Autism Spectrum Disorders" and suggested I have Karas go through the proper autism test given by a child psycologist. I scheduled the two appointments needed for the three hour long test and we headed home. There was a sence of relief. We know what she has but now what to do about it. I studied it on the internet a but over the next two weeks but theres not a lot of info there, especially about the prognosis. One site said that kids with PDD should be expected to have a life like a high-functioning Down Syndrome child. On one hand this was a great thought Karas would grow up healthy, hopefully be able to hold a job and John and I would have a side kick for life, on the other hand I started morning the fact that Karas may not have the things we hoped for her. An education, a job, a husband and family.

(Wait don't start crying, I'm getting to the good, NO GREAT part.)

This Thursday was Karas' first appointment with the psycologist. He was a fun guy, loved Karas from the minute they met, (but who doesn't just love her from the moment they meet her big smile and non-judging spirit). Dr. Peck started the IQ test and Karas did OK with the verbal part, she is talking a lot these days. But a little into the memory part she was not doing great. He stopped the test put everything away and we started talking. He happens to be a specialist on PDD. I know, what are the chances. He said that he is sure that Karas has PDD. Theres not any point in doing the autism test because she is NOT autistic. They place PDD on the autism scale but they are really totally different diseases. He said it might be more productive to spend our 2 housr appoinment talking about what PDD is, what the treatment is and the prognosis. Fine with me I would love some answers, so I got my note book out and started taking notes.

Here's where it gets good:

PDD is not a language disorder, it is a social and communication disorder. Which means (here's where I started to cry, yes, right in the appointment.)

99% of PDD kids are fully caught up on speech and language problems by age 9!

By age 9 Karas will talk and speek like any other 9 year old! Thats only FOUR years away. PDD kids don't start talking till about 3, then till 5 its hard. Then from 5 to 9 they blossom! Karas turns FIVE in a couple weeks. Dr. says that her speech is going to shoot up, we are over the hard part in speech. AMAZING, GREAT NEWS.

Wait there more. By 2nd or 3rd grade Karas will be in a regular classroom! She may have some trouble with reading and math and might need some resource help but she'll be in a normal classroom. Great!

Here's the kicker! Most PDD kids grow up to be normal adults. Hold jobs & have families! From what the doctor says no one will ever be able to tell that she has the disorder when she is an adult! Hope for a great life for Karas has returned!

Areas we need to work on with Karas: social situations and communication. She may be a little off with these items but can be taught the skills. He is sending us some paper work on how to help Karas learn stranger danger, personal space, the difference between family and strangers, eye contact. How to play with friends, not just next to friends, which she does now. She gets more intrested in what everyone else is playing and watching them instead of her playing with them. Later, conversation skills, the back and forth of a conversation. Answering questions properly and so on. All these things can be taught. He says to enroll her is dance or tumbling to force her into these social situations. I have been reluctant to do this but now I'm going for it.

Well, thats our GREAT news at the Carter house! It has been a great week. It's been four years coming but we now have a path to follow and hope for our Crazy Karas Rae!

Swimming in Paper!

2010-04-01T17:46:00.000-07:00

Do you ever feel like your swimming in paper! Remember all the talk a while back about becoming a paper-less world? What happened to that?

Today has been a paperwork day here at my place. Here are a few of the paper piles I've made my way through today.

Bills. Coupons. Homework.
I have filled out a mortgage sheet to re-work our mortgage. I have filled out Medicaid Disability forms for Karas. I have filled out papers for our new dental insurance. I have filled out papers for Karas' summer school. Yikes all in one day! My head might explode.

Gone through 200 Grand Parade Entry Forms. I can't believe its time to start thinking about this already.

Studying for my big exam. Ok so its not an exam but Karas' Kindergarten Special Ed IEP meeting tomorrow is a big deal. In attendance will be: Karas' special ed pre-school teacher, her new kindergarten teacher and an aid, principals from both schools, Nebo school district Special Ed rep, speech pathologist, occupational therepist and ME. I feel like low man on todem pole here but I know Karas the best and I am her best advocate. John and I went to a conference last week for families of kids with special needs. We took a class just on how to get through an IEP meeting, it taught us how to stand up for Karas, make the teachers accountable and how to make the most of Karas education.

Today I put together a binder of Karas paperwork: {I have more papers dealing with Karas than I know what do to with, . They have been scattered all over the house and now are in one spot and portable}Included are past IEP papers, school evaluations, all her health history, a letter from her new Developmental Pediatrician (more on that visit later, yahoo, a final diagnosis!), speech therepy notes along with all other resources I have collected from Karas' many doctor visits, and special ed resourses. (Notice the Coke, I needed it to get through all this stuff!)

Another paper pile driving me crazy today these. Patterns. I have no system and need one!

Help! Paper is taking over my world! Do you have any systems for mail, bills, homework, patterns? What works for you?

A little bit of nothing

2010-03-23T07:16:00.000-07:00

Not much has been going on around here so here are a few pics of Karas' latest thing...

"Take my Picture!"

(This is an elephant she brought home from school the other day)

Her new thing is anytime she puts something on on her head, in her hair or on her body, she says, "Take my picture" I have a ton of shots of Karas nothingness. Love them!

What a bunch of sweeties!

2010-02-22T07:39:00.000-08:00

The pics say it all here! John brought three roses for Karas on Valentine's Day! One for each of the boys that LOVE her. All week Karas has called the roses "Smell Me"s! She barries her face in them and won't let go!

P.S. Mom also got some flowers and a HANDMADE card from her sweetie!

Shhh, don't tell him I told you that he made it himself!

2010-02-16T11:12:00.000-08:00

Just a hunch....but I don't think toes are supposed to be purple!

L.O.V.E

2010-02-09T07:24:00.000-08:00

Here is what I love right now, in this moment:

THAYNE!

My Thayne is the cutest thing I have ever seen. His personality keeps us going around here. His laugh, his smile, his fun attitude! John and I have recently come to the conclusion that Thayne was sent here by our Heavenly Father just for us. I believe that Thayne was saved for us. He is just what we need. He is the comic relief when Karas is putting my make-up brushes in the toilet for the second time today, pouring the whole
bottle of dish soap out on the tile after I had just mopped the floor, coloring on my walls,shoving things down the heat vent in her room. You get my idea. We love, love, love our Karas but she is most definatly our daily trial. Thayne has turned into my saving grace. His fun loving attitude and laughter brings me back to realize that Karas has an important role in our lives. He has recently started to take care of her. When she doesn't do what I ask, he picks up her slack, puts her clothes in the dirty hamper when I ask her to, he holds her hand and bring her too me when I am yelling to her to come to me to change her bum. I see the caretaker coming out in him. There is a part of his character that is growing from having a big sister like Karas.

KARAS!

We are seeing such leaps and bounds with Karas. Last week we were all in the car on our way over to my parents house, and Karas started singing, I instantly started to cry. She was singing "I am a Child of God". It was the cutest thing we have ever heard. She was saying walk beside me over and over again but we could tell what she was singing. Sorry about the weird video but she would stop singing as soon as she saw the camera.

She is right, our Heavenly Father does walk beside HER everyday. She is so special. She is here for a reason. I recently saw a short movie called Butterfly Circus (it's 20 minutes long but worth every minute). The greatest line I have ever heard. "The bigger the trial, the greater the triumph." This is our Karas, I might have this cut in vinyl and hung on my wall. She might have a few trials, but either she or I will come out a better person at the end.

HATCH!

Hatch is such a great kid, He truely wants to be good, and tries hard to do the right thing. He is so kind, loving and helpful. He will do anything for anyone. He is not worried about the way people dress, the color of their skin or surface stuff, he is genuinly concerned for people. He loves Karas and Thayne so much. I find him doing little things for them all the time. Helping Karas get her shoes on, getting them rounded up when its time to eat and just playing with them. Hatch is such an old soul. I think that comes form hanging out with my Dad so much when he was littler. A few weeks back, Hatch was cleaning his room, I heard a familier song coming from him so I made him sit down and sing it for me.

So much to LOVE this time of year.

My True Love Gave to me:

2010-02-02T11:59:00.000-08:00

So my best friend, stampin-sista, Shelly, had this great idea of doing "The Twelve Days of Valentines" for our husbands. We have been working on it for about two weeks, I only have a few things left to do. I was going to post one a day, the day John gets the gift but lots of you have asked for them all. I made these up with John in mind so some of them might not work for you, but feel free to copy anything you want.

On the first Day of Valentines, My True Love Gave to Me: Footage in a Bare Tree (put a movie in a bag, going to tie it to a tree in the yard and hand him the paper, we'll see if he figures it out)

On the 2nd Day of Valentine's, My True Love Gave to Me: two leather gloves

On the 3rd day of valentine's, my true love gave to me: three packs M&M's

On the 4th day of valentines, my true love gave to me: four loving words (I printed a picture of the two of us and wrote "I Love You, Babe" on the back)

On the 5th Day of Valentines, my true love gave to me: five minute massage

On the 6th day of Valentines, my true love gave to me: six pack of coke

On the 7th day of Valentine's, my true love gave to me: seven coupons for spending (I made up seven coupons, he can tear them out, and give them to me anytime, I made sure I showed you the G-rated one!)

On the 8th day of Valentine's, my true love gave to me: eight blades for shaving

On the 9th day of Valentine's, my true love gave to me:

you'll have to use your own imagination for this one, no way am I telling the world on my blog!

On the 10th day of Valentine's, my true love gave to me: ten songs of singing (I found a new CD with 10 songs on it, you could also download 10 songs to their ipod and name is the Valentine's Mix)

On the 11th day of Valentine's, my true love gave to me: eleven hearts with sayings

I cut out 11 hearts and wrote on each one trivia about past Valentine's and put them in a little envelope.

ie:

1. what movie did we see on our first date, which was on Valentines day?

2. Valentines 2004 we had dinner at Strawberry Ressavior with Grandma Thomas

3. Valentines 2003 was on a Cruise in Mexico

4. What did I make you for dinner on our 2nd Valentine's day?

On the 12th day of Valentine's, my true love gave to me: 12 "Ruby River Fish" a swimming ( handmade card with a gift card for dinner at Ruby River, we love their shrimp cocktail.)

So that's it, I tried to get a mix of gifts, things he needs and services. I start tomorrow with the footage in a bare tree. Lets hope he likes it.

P.S. the coupon book and all the tags were made with My Digital Studio from Stampin Up!. Man was that a good investment. Love that thing!

Awesome new recipe!

2010-02-01T14:40:00.000-08:00

So this recipe was floating around on Facebook and everyone that tried it was giving it RAVE reviews so I tried it... SO GOOD! I love when a recipe is so good you now it's going to be put into the daily repitoir. This one is easy and delish!

Here it is:

Creamy Blackbean Salsa Chicken

4 chicken breasts
1 c. chicken broth
1 c. salsa
1 can corn, drained
1 can blackbeans, drained
1 pkg. taco seasoning
1/2 c. sour cream
1 c shredded cheddar cheese

Place chicken in crockpot {who doesn't love this invention}. Combine broth, salsa, beans, corn and taco seasoning, pour over chicken. Cook on low 6-8 hours. Remove chicken, shred with two forks. Add sour cream, chicken and cheese back to the crockpot. Heat through ans serve with warm tortillas or over broken tortilla chips.

Next time I make this I'm going to make that yummy tomatilla Cafe Rio dressing to go over it. YUM-O!

P.S. Stay tuned for an Valentine's day project that kicked my butt, a lot of work, but my John-Boy is worth every minute. Starting Wednesday, The 12 Days of Valentines! SHHH.. he doesn't know, its a secret!

please help...

2010-01-31T20:31:00.000-08:00

I am totally re-thinking this blogging thing. Maybe I'm just on burn-out but I am having serious thoughts of stopping all together. I never get comments, I know this is supposed to be something for me, and to chronicle our crazy lives, but I need some positive reinforcement. Please comment if you are reading this. Depending how that goes, we'll see. It's just something else giving me guilt about not getting done, along with the laundry, cleaning the bathrooms and making dinner.

My John Boy

2010-01-28T13:13:00.000-08:00

This is one of my favorite pictures of John. This is one place he loves to be, on the back of Lerp. I love that I can see the smile in his eyes. His eyes that smile is one of the first things I noticed and fell in love with.

Today is John's 31st Birthday. He is not much into birthday's, they were not really a big deal at his house growing up, but if you know us, the White's, birthdays are a huge event around our place. John thinks I'm nuts, always trying to make his birthday a big thing. I succeed at making the kids days special but John for some reason won't let me make his into a production. I have in the past had a surprise party for him, drove to Salt Lake and filled his truck with balloons and made him breakfast in bed. All of which he doesn't care for. This year when I asked him what he wanted for his birthday, for a present or what he wanted to do, he told me, "I want to go out for dinner and eat something that bled once". After I laughed my but off, I realized that this is totally my John. Meat and potatoes, simple night out, peace and quiet. Perfect, I found a sitter, (thanks Dad), and we're off to a quiet, bleeding dinner out. I don't know where yet, John hasn't decided. Then home for a piece of Snicker bar brownie with chocolate ice cream on top.

Happy Birthday John-Boy!

I Love you, Babe.

January Stamp Club

2010-01-20T15:22:00.000-08:00

Here is a HUGE invite for my monthly stamp club. We have so much fun stamping and chatting!

We are meeting Tuesday, January 26th @ 7:00; here at my place.

This is what we're making this month: 3 cards and 3 little Valentine's items

These are super simple, everything is cut and ready to stamp and assemble.

There is no requirements to come, the cost is $10 or $5 if you make a Stampin' Up! purchase.

No sales pressure! It's a pretty cheap girls night out and you leave with finished projects ready to give to friends and family!

Please let me know by Sunday the 24th if you want to come so I have enough stuff prepared!

Hope to see a ton of new faces!

Featured on Little Birdie Secrets!

2010-01-07T14:19:00.000-08:00

Just a heads up that I am going to be featured on Little Birdie Secrets TODAY. I am giving away two diaper wallets from my "It's in the Bag!" blog. Also, I have some darling bags there, if you need a new church bag or purse check' em out, you can purchase right from my blog now!

Merry Christmas!

2010-01-06T13:01:00.000-08:00

Christmas was so fun this year, the kids are all at great fun ages!

Here are a couple of the highlights!

Christmas Eve: we spent Christmas Eve with my parents this year. The traditional eblescheevers dinner and pj's! The kids had a ball and Hatch finally got to open a gift. He had been asking me for two weeks if "Can I just open one today?" Santa even took a short break with us and gave us all a small gift that was just a sneek peek of what would come the next morning.

Then it was home to lay out the stockings and cookies and COKE! Santa drinks coke at our house!

These cute things are our new stockings. I made them the week before Christmas and match the tree skirt I made last year. The only problem is I didn't get the monograms for them cut out. Hatch fixed that right away. He wrote every ones initials on a post-it and pined them to the correct stocking. They are now packed away with the other Christmas things with the post-its and the remaining fabric from making them. Here's too getting the monogram tags done next December.

Christmas Morning: We were up early, about 6:30. We always make the kids stay in our room until we get all together and change the diapers. It hasn't been a problem in years past but this year I think Thayne caught a glimps of what was coming and here is him banging on our door to get out.

Thayne and Karas both found their toys from Santa right off. A 30th anniversary Cozy Coupe and an art desk. Hatch on the other hand was searching ans searching under the tree for something with his name on it.

He completely walked by brand new shiney blue "Gear Bike"! John and I had to point it out. Man, was he happy!

We took our time opening gift from Santa and each other and then... we laid around in our jammies all day. It was so nice. We let the kids run-a-muck or so you could say. The house was a disaster! You couldn't take a step without stepping around a toy. John and I watched movies and let the kids nap and play. Later we headed to Spanish Fork for ham and cheesy potaotes. Then we played Uncle Jacob's new Wii, Grandpa and Hatch are pros already!

We had such a great holiday season, we were so blessed to be around family.

The real meaning of Christmas... get the tissues

2009-12-16T19:51:00.000-08:00

How cute are these boots?

2009-12-09T19:39:00.000-08:00

Does anyone love these cute Gap commercials as much as I do? I love the blonde screamer in the middle!

"I love my comfy sweater. How cute are these boots?"

In Thayne's words, "no" (snow)

2009-12-08T19:01:00.000-08:00

Beanies.....

2009-12-08T18:51:00.000-08:00

the newest hit breakfast accessory~!

John has a thing with this camo Standard Plumbing beanie. When he's home, its on. I'm not sure what it is but he loves it. I have even woke up in the middle of the night a few times to see him sound asleep with it on. Oh well. It could be worse I guess. Other than the kids have caught on. I now have one or more child with a beanie on at all times. This was the scene one Saturday morning at the breakfast table. What could be better than pancakes and beanies.

a tribute...

2009-11-11T15:49:00.000-08:00

I am so thankful for the men and women who currently serve and have served in past years to keep my freedoms intact.
Thank you to Grandpa Thomas who served on a Navy ship in the Pacific. I don't know how long he served, he never would talk about it, the only thing I know is he had a deep hatred for rice. Said he ate it everyday for way too long.

Thank you to John's Dad, Von, marine. The picture says it all. So handsome in his dress blues.

I have a deep love for my Country and because of great soldiers I can. A few months back, I took on a little side job, I delivered phone books for a few days, that is a totally different story, another time maybe. On my route I delivered to a National Guard building in Provo. As I walked in the door, there was no reception desk, I walked down the hall and was met by three handsome young men in uniforms. I handed them the books and turned around to leave, one of the men asked, "Wanna be a soldier?" I turned a little caught off guard and said "No, but I thank you for being one." They all just nodded their heads and I left. That says it all. No thanks, I do not have the courage you do, but I apprieciate you serving for me.

More Scrapbook pages

2009-11-08T16:51:00.000-08:00

I told you I'm addicted. I have almost half of 2009 scrapbooked already.

2009-11-06T14:40:00.000-08:00

I am addicted to Stampin' Up!'s new digital studio program! It's so easy to use and so fast. Here are my Halloween pages all done. I just might get my scrapbooks caught up after all.

The pictures say it all...

2009-11-04T16:52:00.000-08:00

A few snapshots of what our "Thayner Man" has been up to. He is 18 months this week, and for those of you who know, NURSERY! Sigh... I love church with nursery. Thayne is a hoot! He is saying Hi and Ha (Hatch) and a few other sounds but for the most part talks in his own little language. He is my little buddy, with the others in school all morning he is my little side kick. He is getting great at running errons and love to visit the fabrics stores with me. Gracie Lou's always has a cookie for us when we leave and he knows, he waits at the cash register for his. How can one little monster be so much fun to have around!

Who could resist a good ol' fort?

2009-10-27T18:13:00.000-07:00

Not Mom! We haven't done this for a while around here but in an effort to keep Karas and Thayne off my newly swept and mopped floor this is what one tired Mom came up with. It was a Friday afternoon and I has been trying, unsuccessfully to get the floor mopped all day. One of them would run across the wet floor, slip and fall, cry, Thayne played in the mop bucket twice, I fished 2 books and a barbie out of the water bucket, Mom was done. Short of locking them in their rooms, this is what I came up with. It worked like a charm! I heard a little giggling, an occasional BOO! and "I'm hiding" come from under the mounds of quilts once in a while but they stayed put and I got the chores done. It was so much much fun we left it up until Hatch got home and he turned it into a sleeping tent.

Now, once in a while I get the "Mom, remember when we built that cool tent." Not too tough, I need to remember how fun it is to change up the day with something unexpected. Day by day things can get a little stale around here. Any suggestions about crazy, fun and inexpensive things your kids love (especially now winters coming)?

New Bags at "It's in the Bag"

2009-10-12T13:40:00.000-07:00

Head on over to "It's in the Bag" to see what I've been working on lately.

Soup weather

2009-10-12T13:33:00.000-07:00

I love fall...I love sweaters, hoodies, wrapping up in a quilt, cold toes in the morning, the smell of the crisp air, the colorful leaves, and the comfort food!

This is a delish EASY Minestroni soup that is so fast to put together. When it got boiling it smelled so good and I didn't have any bread to dip in it. So, here is the shocker...I made homemade rolls! I am so not a cook or baker. I really don't enjoy cooking and don't have a great track record with baked goods. So I tried this easy bread recipe they gave us at Relief Society and it worked great. My Bocsh sure came in handy. I forgot to get pics of the finished rolls but they were good. A little heavy, but I'll keep trying and get it! John was so impressed.

Another one bites the dust...

2009-10-12T13:29:00.000-07:00

one more tooth out! This one came out while eating his pizza pocket at school last week. I love the "lithp" this one caused! He is growing up so fast and I still can't believe we're in the tooth fairy stage of parenting already!

#8

2009-09-22T12:14:00.000-07:00

John and I celebrated our 8th Anniversary yesterday. John stayed home from work, hunted in the morning then we had lunch together, caught a movie and I made dinner at home for the two of us.

Excuse John's facial hair. He "gets" (like I really have any say in the matter) to grow a full beard during hunting season.

We had chicken tacos, garlic rice and beans, John's favorite. We waited til after the kids went to bed and ate outside, it was so nice and quiet. I even had to put a jacket on, I love the fall.

All we could talk about was that it doesn't seem like we should be old enough for an eight year anniversary but at the same time it feels like we've always been together. I have definatly found my partner for eternity. We talked about how this year has been the roughest so far, economy and kids wise, but I think we are closer beacuse of it. We still laugh together and always go to bed at the same time. Two things, I think, that are some of the most important. Love you Babe!

one sentence:

2009-09-22T12:08:00.000-07:00

I just don't think black heels are the proper accessory for camo binoculars.

Our Thayne has a shoe fedish: if its out he puts them on

Randomness....

2009-09-16T12:39:00.000-07:00

Not much going on around here...

I am already a hunting widow. When John and I set our wedding day we chose the only open day in September, my Mom thought we were crazy because it was only 2 1/2 months away. Our reasoning was... Septembers too soon, I don't want an anniversary in October because of hunting and November was etirelly to long to wait to be married. So this year John is hunting in... SEPTEMBER! What happened to the anniversay? Hatch is even old enough (says Grandpa White) to go this year. Hatch and Patch are becoming quiet the pair. He is even riding without a lead rope most of the time. Look how big Hatch looks here.

Anyway, I have been working on some projects late into the night. With John not home I turn into a night owl.
Here are a few:

Raspberry Jam...oh so good. But I still can't reclaim my kitchen from the fruit flies they brought with them.

My nephew Canon was baptized a few weeks back and his Mom, Bobbi asked if I could come up with a bag for his new scriptures. You bet! I even found a stitch on my machine that looked like the stitching on a baseball.

Back to Purse of the month... I'm back to teaching the Purse of the Month club at Gracie Lou's in Salem. Here is the bag we'll be making in October. Cute and different with the two short handles. Come check it out at the store and sign up! We always have so much fun.

I have been working on a big project for Karas' room make-over for a couple months now. My cute cousin Chelsea inspired me with this cute room for her "Juicy" daughter Ainsley. You'll have to wait a few more weeks for the finished product but here is a really quick project. I found this little stool/chair at TJ Maxx in St. George a while back and it needed a little something. I glued the ric rac around the edge of the lid and used wonder under to apply the flowers to the top. Get you excited to see the rest of the room?

We've been cutting the boys hair for a few months now, remember this post? Well, I decided I could finally atempt Johns. Scary, but it turned out great. He said it was almost as good as Chris, the barber, ya right! I told him not to expect a straight razor shave like Chris does any time soon.

Our favorite go to dinner: everyone has one of those recipes that you always have the stuff to make it. Well, ours is German Pancakes! Love them. We usually have to make two pans, Karas could eat a pan herself if we let her. Look at those little eyeballs wide waiting for her cut!

Here is the easy recipe:
6 tbl. butter
6 eggs
1 cup milk
1 cup flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking powder

Cube butter, place in a 9 X 13 glass pan. Place in oven when you turn it on. This way its melted and the oven is heated by the time your done mixing the pancakes.

Beat eggs well by hand, pour in remaining ingredients, can be a little lumpy. Pour into pan with melter butter. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 min and serve with syrup. Yum!

Play along! Post on you blog your favorite go to recipe, include a picture if you can, come back here and comment that you posted and I'll choose a winner recipe and send a prize. Handmade, for the kitchen or cook! Hurry! I'll choose a winner in a week, next Wednesday.

Horray for School!

2009-09-03T12:19:00.000-07:00

I know, I know I'm a total slacker! Here are the kids first day of school pics, a couple weeks late.

Hatch is in the big FIRST GRADE! After the first few days I asked him what he likes the best about first grade, his answer was "It's all about the lunch!" Is that too funny? We have cut a deal about school lunch, it is now $1.75 to eat school lunch, I know it doesn't sound like a lot, but it really cuts into the budget! He gets to choose, but he takes home lunch at least two times a week. It has worked out so far so good. He really likes his teacher, Mr. Ekker. Hatch says he's "kinda a cowboy" and sounds like he is a lot of fun. He bought his finance' to school last week to meet the kids.

Karas got back to her school routine a week later than Hatch. She loves it and so does Mom. Karas gets on her bus at 3 minutes before Hatch so Hatch escourts her to her bus then takes off to his bus stop. Karas is doing good, we think, she surprises us almost everyday with a new skill or word. Yesterday it was counting, all I have to say is the word "count" and she takes off. "three, six, eight, ten" and yesterday she even added "eveven" (11). I couldn't help myself, I tyred up a little. It may not be in order but she knows that count means numbers and those words she says are numbers! It may not seem like a big deal but in our life with Karas it's huge! She has also recently grasped to the concept of "on top", "behind", "under". Here are her pics, the bus was here and she wouldn't hold still for a good shot.

On a cute little side note: we miss Hatch around here. About 2:00 I start watching the clock for when Hatch gets off the bus, which is not until 3:45. Karas always meets him at the door with a big hug and won't leave his side for a good 20 minutes after he's home.

Thayne was a little confused the first day they were both gone. He watched them both walk out the door then stayed looking out the sidelight until Karas' bus left. Then he kinda wondered for 10 minutes, not really knowing whats going on. He's gotten into the swing of it though. Here is where I usually find him...

Rock Springs

2009-08-18T16:28:00.001-07:00

What is there to so in Rock Springs? Well, not much! At least the weekend we were there. John and my Dad have drawn out to hunt antalope there and needed a scouting weekend so the girls and kids tagged along. We left late on Friday, stopped in Heber for a "Train burger", stayed in Little America parking lot that night, and made it to Rock Springs about 8 am Saturday just in time for a down pour. It rained most of the day, the boys went for a ride to find a good camp site and hunting grounds and Mom and the kids and I stayed at the trailers at the KOA. It was a relaxing day full of nothing. I even got a little nap in. We had yummy steaks and canyon potatoes for dinner. I have never been to Rock Springs so we drove around town, found a Cold Stone for dessert and the Boot Barn (we White's seem to have a magnetic pull to western stores). We left at 11 am Sunday morning. It was a whirlwind trip but its always fun to hang out with family.
The weather did break long enough for us to play on the KOA playground. The kids had a blast and it is definatly the best campground playplace I've ever seen. See if the big painted tires brings back any memories for you, it did me.

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

So, not such a great post, I know. Let's make it a little funner, shall we, leave me a comment about a childhood memory of a playground. What was your favorite things there, did you get hurt on the playground? Anything to do with playgrounds. I'll randomly choose a winner on Friday and send you something great!

Seven on the 7th!

2009-08-18T14:16:00.000-07:00

Hatch's big seventh birthday was August 7th! He had FIVE days of celebration!

FRIDAY: His real b-day; I was at convention that day (I know, I know, I should get the mother-of-the-year award for missing it) but Hatch had a fun day hanging out with his Dad. They went to Red Robin for lunch and spent the afternoon cutting down a tree at my Dad's place with a chainsaw, right up Hatch's alley. Then Aunt Sami saved the day and brought over cupcakes for him.

SATURDAY: I brought presents when I came home. He got a new lunch box, because he's a big 1st grader this year. He also got a tackle box and fishing stuff, he has become quiet the fisherman this summer. He and Grandpa Carter have spent a couple days out on the lake.

SUNDAY: We had cake and ice cream with the grandparents. Grandma and Grandpa White brought Hatch a new "Gus" straw hat, like Grandpa White's, of coarse. Two new cowboy shirts and a John Wayne & horse figure.

MONDAY: Jacob came over and brought a gift from him and Angie. Angie got Blue Stone, world famous rodeo star to sign a poster for him, and some awesome boy stuff; arrowheads, animal teeth, claws and a leather pouch from West Yellowstone. Jacob brought a new nail gun. Jake got a kick out of Hatch wearing the safety glasses!

TUESDAY: Hatch chose to go swimming for his party. We took one friend, Brock to the pool in Nephi. We had lunch and swam for a few hours. Look at the two of them on the chase lounge!

What would we do without Hatch? He is such a big help around here. He is such a good big brother, he loves and takes care of Karas and Thayne. I love to see Hatch and John together, John is teaching Hatch how to work hard and play hard. Hatch loves to hang out with Grandpa Carter and is learning the building trade, most days I get a call or knock on the door from Grandpa Carter asking if Hatch can come out and play! Grandpa Carter insists that Hatch is a huge help around the job site. I can see the great influence of both Grandpas in Hatch. I love that Hatch wants to dress like my Dad and says something that is totally my Dad, it makes me giggle.
Love you Bug-a-Boo!

Convention 2009

2009-08-10T13:00:00.000-07:00

I have been a demonstrator now for 5 Years! Crazy that it's been that long, but I hardly remember a time when I didn't do it. I walked the stage this year and got a 5 year pin for my anniversary.

Convention is such a fun time for me. I get to feed my creative side, I always come away with so many ideas and never have time to get them all made with paper.

But my all time favorite part is the friendships I have with a great group of girls! These are my stampin sistas. I know I have blogged about them before and it never fails that we have so much fun together. =""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5368429089245852594" />
Staying up late-stamping, talking, laughing until we pee our pants! We eat good food that I don't have to make or do the dishes afterwards, I get to have a shower with no one pounding on the shower door, no one to put to bed, no floors to sweep, I think I love being responsible for just me for a couple days.

Thanks girls for a great week, I loved every minute!

I love living in a small town!

2009-08-03T08:58:00.000-07:00

It dawned on me this weekend while going to all the fun Santaquin Orchard Days events that this may be my kids home town! I want my kids to have memories from here like I have from my childhood. My home town is Spanish Fork and I have very vivid memories about Fiesta Days, parade at Grandma Thomas' house, walking around the park finding the best thing to eat or snack, three nights of rodeo and carnival. I still love to visit SF Fiesta Days but Santaquin is our home now and after being involved in and going to most of the events this weekend, I love it here even more! The people here are so great, I love the small town feel! The events were great! I had so much fun I didn't even pull out the camera, so here is just a lot of rambling with no pics!

The parade was crazy, a lot of prep work and Saturday morning was nuts but I think it turned out great! Our little parade had 86 entries, more than ever before! The council has asked if I would chair it again next year and after a few days of of thinking about it, you bet! I had a lot of fun, got to know some great people here in town and that work at the city office. There are definitely some things we need to work on, but how can anything get worked out if someone different is in charge every year. I think I'm a glutton for punishment. Von had an entry in the parade and the kids got to ride in the dump truck through the parade.

Saturday afternoon, after a little rest and a coke, we headed to the park for the car show, craft booths, bounce houses, and a snow cone. We had so much fun, the crowds weren't bad and I even got a free massage.

Later we headed to the rodeo! Our little town puts on a great rodeo, the grounds are gorgeous, the grass is beautiful, there is no seating, you just throw out a blanket or camp chairs and relax. It is so laid back, the kids ran around and played with the other kids, no one cares, they are not made to sit still and never move. We brought our own snacks and drinks. The cowboys were great, the clown was funny and all the cowboys, pickup men, announcer, judges were all wearing pink shirts in support of breast cancer. Their slogan is "Tough enough to wear pink!" What a great cause! After the rodeo, they put on a great firework show! I think it was better than Spanish Fork's.

Sorry for the rambling, but here is my plug for the Santaquin Orchard Days. Love it, I will never miss it from now on!

By the way, here is the link to my appearance in Good Things Utah.

I'm a BIG boy now...

2009-07-20T14:13:00.000-07:00

Thayne may as well be going on his mission by the way I reacted to his new hair cut. John got the first pass cut and I told him to put it back I wanted him to stay little. He looks so grown up and definitely not like a baby anymore. John and I had to tag team him most of the time and he kept looking at John trying to figure out what the heck he was doing. John ran the clippers and I finished it up with the shears. Not to shabby for the first haircut, not to mention the first home haircut.

Here is the before shot:

The whole ordeal:

And After:

Pretty Handsome!

Current Projects!

2009-07-14T19:24:00.000-07:00

I have so many irons in the fire. I know I have put it all on myself and I do work better under the gun but this is a little ridiculous!

Here are a couple things I've completed:

*a baby quilt for a friend here in the ward. I found this little quilt in a magazine and thought it would be an easy, quick thing for Katie and her 3rd baby boy, Jack Rigby, (cute name, huh?). It turned out cute all in polka dots and blue polka dot minky on the back. I hope cute little Jack gets good use out of it and like I tell everyone I give a quilt to, "use it and wash it until it falls apart. what good is a quilt if its not loved?"

*some new bags for the blog
Go check 'em out!

*apple aprons for an appearance on Good Things Utah

I am the chairman for the Orchard Day Grand Parade, here in my little town of Santaquin (don't ask how that happened). Jody works at the city office and is my partner in crime on this big project, we are getting ready for an appearance on Good Things Utah on Thursday, July 23rd. 10 am on Channel 4. We will be making a yummy apple dessert and plugging all the fun things we have planned for our hometown celebration including parade, rodeo, buckaroo rodeo, car show, cherry pit spit, talent show, art show, baby show, home-run derby, movie in the park...tempt you to come down to the south end of Utah County yet? We're a little nervous but will be cute in our Orchard Days apple aprons no matter what happens on camera.
PS-I am looking for a little help the morning of the parade. I need some extra hands and eyes for parade line up time. If you live close and would be willing to help, I would appreciate it more than you could even know. I'll make it worth your while, I promise!

*sewing machine cover

my sewing machine, Sylvia, has been a little ignored lately with everything going on. So I showed her some love with a quilt of her own. My mom found this cute sewing machine cover pattern and it worked up so fast. I decorated it with left over fabric from a ironing board cover I made a while back, now if I ever get a real sewing room, things will match.

Thats about it for now. My "to do" list just keeps getting bigger and longer by the minute. Maybe I'll post it here, maybe that will keep me accountable for everything on it. We'll see if I get that far.

Special Delivery!

2009-06-30T17:40:00.000-07:00

This little gift was in the mailbox last week addressed to Karas!

Pinned to the envelope were these cute crocheted socks with beads. Karas thinks they are awesome. She has worn them more than once this week already!

We don't know who her cute little fairy is but if you out there in "Blogging-land" : Thank you very much, you made her week!

A couple weeks in review...

2009-06-18T17:12:00.000-07:00

Get ready for picture over load and a really long post. I have so many thing going right now, I just can't find the time to post everyday, so here is the past couple weeks in review:

Thayne is walking!

All over! It is so cute and he loves it. Sometimes he still gets down and crawls because he can go faster that way. But has a huge smile on his face whenever he makes it from point A to Point B!

Hatch's swim lessons

Hatch has been in swim lessons for three years now and is getting pretty good. He catches on fast and shows the other kids how its done.

White Girls Weekend in St. George

We had so much fun this year, just the girls. Karas and Kinley were saints. They sat in the stroller during the long sessions of shopping and played at the house during the long sessions of sewing. I got a quilt done for Karas' bed, Mom worked on a quilt and a sewing machine cover, and Kaitlyn made a bag and a wallet. And Mom surpised her with a new Bernina sewing machine to use. I got my Bernina (Sylvia, is her name) for Christmas my senior year. We are two spoiled girls!

A visit from Uncle Jacob and Angie

Angie was down from Idaho last weekend and they came to visit Saturday night. The kids talked them into having a piece of chocolate cake. Then Thayne entertained us with Karas' sunglasses for a while. The kids just love Angie, she had one of them sitting on her lap all night. Then we had a birthday dinner for Angie Sunday night! Happy Birthday Angie. Thanks for spending the weekend with us.

Corn on the Cob

This weather is crazy. It has stormed for two weeks here everyday, but look what I found in Payson on Tuesday. It's California, not Utah, corn but when it's this good who cares! Nothing is better in the summer than pasta salad, roast beef sandwiches and a couple ears of corn (or "porn" as Karas called it, we need to work on that "c" sound week)

Our Little Graduate!

2009-06-02T20:19:00.000-07:00

Hatch's Kindergarten Graduation was such a fun day! Hatch was so excited and was preparing for his part all week. He sis such a great job and by no surprise to us, had no problem getting up in front of a huge crowd. Here is the video of his part and favorite song. It's a little long so I won't hold a quiz for the song, only the speaking part. JK

Uncle Jacob even made it down from Idaho in time for the big moment. (P.S. Jacob got laid off a couple weeks ago and is back in town. The kids are excited to see more of him. He got a job in Salt Lake and started Monday) This picture scares me a little, all I think of is a flash forward 12 years form now when Hatch won't have to stand on a chair to be taller that me. He is on his way! We wish him luck in everything he tries in the nest 12 years! We're behind him every choice he makes and every step he takes!

2009-05-28T13:01:00.000-07:00

This past weekend, I had my good friend from high school Megan Stilovich take some family pics of us. She lives in Tezas now and was up visiting family. The rains parted just long enough on Saturday night to get some great shots. Here are a handful of my favorites, she took over 200! Let me know if you love them and would like Megan to set you an appointment next time she makes the trek to Spanish Fork! Help me decide which family one to make into a 11X14 for my family room.

And this last one just about sums up our life. Who and the heck knows what the kids are doing with John and I in the middle of it all, just trying to keep a smile on our face.

What do ya think?

Enjoying Laundry? Are you nuts?

2009-05-18T15:15:00.001-07:00

My cute friend here in the ward, Kaydee, posted this this morning:

Somebody Stop Me!!!

I think at the same time she was having this miracle I was taking this picture of my laundry room, getting ready to post it here and thinking

"I'm never getting through this alive!"

I think it's all attitude! What do you say?

A trip to Primary Childrens

2009-05-18T10:16:00.000-07:00

We have started the steps to find a diagnosis for Karas. We really want to find a cause for her troubles to help her the best we can. Karas had an appointment with a neurologist a couple weeks ago, she wanted us to get an MRI on Karas brain. The doctor says that she is a tough case because she is perfectly normal on the outside. If she had a physical symptom, like one side of her body doesn't work right or if she walks with a limp or sideways she would be an easy diagnosis but there is nothing that shows on the outside. So John and I made a trek to Primary Children's last Wednesday to have the MRI on Karas. She was so cute and bubbly on the way up. She was talking and trying to sing. John thought is was kinda funny and told her to laugh it up because she wouldn't be feeling that great afterwards.

We brought Karas' blanket along for a little comfort but she didn't even need it. She was such a good girl. She let the nurses do all their tests and didn't put up a fight. The nurses there are so great! They we so sweet with her and really good at their jobs. They put an IV in her hand for sedation (they had to sedate her, can you see our Karas holding still for 30 minutes in the MRI machine, now that would be funny) she didn't even cry when they put the needle in, the nurses were so soft and sweet to her. Even after the IV was taken out, there was no bruising on her little hand.

Karas has gotten smart to the doctors office, she knows that she gets a sticker there and asks for them the minute we walk in. The nurse laughed and said "We do much better than stickers here" After they got the IV in she brought Karas a cute little beanie baby bear. Karas thought that was great!

I took my iPod and Karas got to watch a little cartoon I had downloaded for her. It kept her entertained for a while before we went into the MRI room.

She went to sleep really fast and I know it was harder on Mom than it was on her. I started crying when they wheeled her in. It was scary watching them take her in but the biggest part of the tears was the huge feeling of how blessed we really are. There are so many sick kids there and our Karas is so healthy. When the nurse was going though Karas' medical history they were shocked and kept asking us if we had missed anything. They wanted to know if she had a shunt, pacemaker anything like that. They acted like it was a shocker that she didn't have any of these devises because it's rare to have a perfectly healthy child there. John and I feel so blessed to have healthy kids. After she went in all we could say is that even if we never find out what her problem is, she is healthy and happy. That is all that matters.

After she came out of the sedation she was a little loopy. She kept yelling at us, I think just to make sure we remembered she was there.

Even in the car on the way home she was a little crazy and stared off into oblivion.

The nurses said that all afternoon she would probably sleep and be a little groggy but that is how different our Karas is. She was bouncing off the walls, jumping on the beds and couches, and didn't take a nap.

I talked to the doctors nurse this morning and the results are: there is nothing wrong in her brain, there are no malformations, everything looks normal. Thank goodness she is fine, but now what? What is the next step? We have an appointment with her pediatrician next week and we'll see.

Classes at Graie Lou's!

2009-05-05T21:27:00.000-07:00

I recently was asked by my favorite quilt shop, Gracie Lou's in Salem to teach some bag classes. This is what we came up with:
Wallet class: Thursday, May 21st @ 6:30

You can choose any fabric you want. Gracie Lou's classes are great because their FREE! Crazy? Here is how it works: when you sign up it's $20, then you can transfer that $20 to each class after that or use it as store credit to towards your supplies. This project is pretty cheap, all you need is 2 fat quarters, interfacing, zipper and thread.
Crestwood bag: Tueasday, May 12th @ 6:30
This is a fun bag, the gathers are great! This one is definitely not for beginners but is a good challenge.

Head into Gracie Lou's and sign-up, they have some darling new stuff right now.

Happy Birthday Karas Rae!

2009-05-05T21:10:00.001-07:00

Karas had a busy, crazy 4th birthday today. She started off the day with a cupcake and candle, served with the best Happy Birthday to you song that Hatch and I could muster-up. She looked at me like I was crazy. I gave her a glass of milk with the cake so we're covered right, eggs and milk?

Then she had a little present to open. She has recently found and fell in love one little miss "Fancy Nancy"! She loves the books and loves Nancy's feather boa's, crowns and heels. So she got "Fancy Nancy" A-Z of fancy things, a crown, feathered purse and fancy sunglasses.

She then went to school, had so much fun there, she took the cupcakes and came home with this cute apron from her teachers and classmates.

After lunch we packed up and headed for Lehi pool, Karas loves the water, she is a fish, what better way to celebrate her birthday than letting her go crazy at the pool. She had so much fun. Phil, Sami, Emma, Corbin and Ezra met us at the pool and the kids had a blast playing, it was not crowded and the kids got right on the slides, no waiting.

Afterwards, wile waiting for everyone to dress, I caught this pic of her, this is one of her famous faces. We think that because she didn't talk for so long that she used facial expressions to get her point across. This face is one of our favorites.

We then made it to Arctic Circle for dinner and ice cream. She was completely worn out by the end and had a great day. Happy Birthday to our "Crazy Karas"-life would be boring without you! Love You!

Happy 1st Birthday!

2009-04-30T21:15:00.000-07:00

Like I say every month, I can't believe our Thayner is 1! This year has gone by so fast, but I can't imagine a time that he wasn't here. He is such a light in our home. My favorite time with him is when he wakes up, I go into get him from his crib and am always greeted with a huge smile and hug. Here are a few snapshots of Thayne through the year. He is waving now, has 3 teeth, and loves to play with Karas and Hatch. We love you Thayne!

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Easter Pics...

2009-04-22T19:24:00.000-07:00

I am so busy, I feel like I am running around with me head cut off. I have a ton of bag orders, I am getting ready to teach a bag class at Gracie Lou's (Salem Quilt Shop), I am trying to get my house whipped into shape so that we can use it as a open house for the business, Janiel has been here all week helping me; cleaning windows, cleaning out closets; the kids have been sick, I think my boys are both cutting teeth, including fevers and runny noses. I had card class here last night. John has been working overtime and putting in a sprinkler system down the street for a little extra cash. Crazy, but at the end of all that we feel so blessed to be busy, to have work, to have a nice home and for the most part healthy kids. So for this reason all you get are the pics for Easter, I think you can figure it out.

Thayne's First Haircut

2009-04-18T17:56:00.000-07:00

I'm really getting a shove into reality with my baby getting his first haircut. Thayne was so good. He just sat on my lap and watched quietly. What a saint!

The Young Women's President Susan Shertliff did the honors and her daughter, Shelby, one of my Beehives was there to take these cute shots. Thayne was such a charmer.

He looks so big. We just cut the ends, over the ears and evened up the back. I didn't want him to have a little boy haircut. I'm not quite ready for that yet.

So here is the question for the day: Do you keep your children's hair from their first hair cut? What about their baby teeth?

Super-Mom I am not...

2009-04-17T16:37:00.000-07:00

So, just a quick note of inadequacy. Meet my Mother-in-law Janiel.

Today she watched my kids while I, the selfish mother that I am, went to have a facial. (My parents gave me a whole set of spa treatments for Christmas, great present!) Janiel called this morning and wanted to know if it was OK to watch the kids here at my place. No problem then they don't mess up her immaculate home. Then my mind goes into the "oh, Janiel is coming over." I cleaned the bathroom and kitchen, made the kids speed clean the living room and made sure the microwave is clean. We have noticed that whenever Janiel is here watching the kids, she brings a little microwave cleaning fairy. I love it but its a little embarrassing.
So I was gone three hours, when I pulled into the driveway, Janiel was weeding my flowerbeds. Thayne was down for a nap, Karas was getting some much needed time outside to play, Hatch and cousin Kaiden (who Janiel is watching over spring break) are helping with the weeds and cleaning out my window wells. I come into a clean house and a half a turkey breast cooking slowly in the crock pot. How does one woman do so much in a day when I think its a miracle to get all the kids dressed and a cereal breakfast in the morning? The other day Hatch ate toast for breakfast here then went over to play with Kaiden, when he came home he told me that he had also had breakfast at Grandma's house, french toast, strawberries and hot chocolate, on a Wednesday! Who has time for that on a Wednesday? I don't know how she does it, I forgot to mention that she was up early to wash all her windows, upstairs and down, inside and out, on the 9-foot ladder; catch my drift? I just don't get it. I have told John over and over again that he didn't marry his mother, but today just drove that fact home for me. Love you Janiel, thank you so much!

He is going to be smarter than John and I before we know it...

2009-04-10T08:37:00.000-07:00

Hatch is such a good little reader. He is leaps and bound ahead of his grade level. His teacher says he is reading at the begining of a 1st grade level. He is great at math. He caught on to his adding and subtracting so fast. He figures things out in his head, and I love to watch his face as something clicks in. Here is a little snipet of him reading a book from school (mostly for the Grandparents, of coarse).

General Conference Sunday

2009-04-09T11:32:00.000-07:00

We love General Conference Sunday, mostly because of two things:

1. church in jammies
2. "We're makin' waffles!" (in the voice of Donkey from Shrek)

This was Thayne's first conference Sunday waffles, and we think it's his favorite holiday already! He ate a whole waffle just by himself.

I can't believe my baby's ONE!

2009-04-01T12:34:00.000-07:00

I can't believe Thayne has been here for a year! But I also can't remember a time when he wasn't here. He is such a joy to have in our home. He is so quick to smile and laugh. He is all over the place and keeps us on our toes. We have made some changes around the house this month. We now have to keep the bathroom doors shut, there is something about that cold water and long rolls of white stuff, it's magnetizing. I have cleared the baby proofing shelves at Walmart. Cabinet door locks and plug covers. He love the Tupperware lid drawer and Hatch's toy closet. Hatch is learning to keep that door closed as well.
Thayne is eating everything under the sun. Mac and cheese, anything we give him off our plates, Thayne even joined John and I for Chinese food last week and loved it.

I finally got a great shot of the teeth. Aren't they cute? He has a top tooth breaking through now.
I can't wait to see him dig into his Birthday cake this weekend.

Happy 1st Birthday Thayner! We love you!

(APRIL FOOLS! Did you think you had lost a month somewhere? Did you think I had fallen off my rocker? Thayne is 11 months today! I shouldn't try and make him grow up faster than he should but I couldn't resist! Everything else in the post is the truth. Scouts honor! HaHa)

Grocery Smarts Class

2009-03-31T15:16:00.000-07:00

Just a reminder about the Grocery Smarts class tonight at my house. 7 pm. It's free! Come learn how to save bushels on your grocery bills!

Randomness...

2009-03-30T14:43:00.000-07:00

A few random things...

KWerner Design Color Challenge:

I really liked this one. I have put these colors together before and loved them then. Here is what I came up with this week. I love these "Trendy Trees" stamp set from Stampin' Up!

Thayne is all over and has learned to open my kitchen cupboards and drawers:

New bags on "It's in the Bag!"

Tutorial in the works for the Fabric Flowers:

Crazy Lady...

2009-03-24T14:10:00.001-07:00

I have officially become the crazy lady in the ward that sews all her family Easter clothes that match! I remember being one of the kids of one of those crazy lady's.
My Mom made Kaitlyn and I matching dresses every year, Easter for sure and sometime Chritmas. We always had the cutest dresses around and I love to see the Kiddie Kandits pictures with us all matching.

I vowed that I would not be the matchy-matchy Mom but I am busted! I have been known to match the family for church. For Christmas we were all in browns and tans. So sad. Well, I found this darling dress pattern and wanted to make it for Karas.

When I went to find fabric for it I found this line from Moda and fell in love! After I got Karas's picked out, the wheels started turning and a just had to buy enough of the blue toile to make me a skirt. Karas and I are now two of a kind!

The thought crossed my mind, (very quickley, mind you) to make ties or vests for the boys! Someone help me! I have fallen over the edge!

I even made a fabric flower for Karas's hair. Call the Utah County Mental Hospital!

Couponing?

2009-03-24T11:39:00.000-07:00

So, I never have believed much in the couponing thing to save alot of money. I thought it could save a couple bucks but usually more hassle than good. I have been proven wrong! I was introduced to Grocery Smarts by Kaitlyn and her sis-in-law, Tori. I went to a free class and used the free website and look what I did today!

This is what $350 worth of groceries look like and I walked out of the store for $212! I even got two huge packs of diapers! Can you believe that? Pretty good for my first time. I plan on getting better and better on learning how to work the coupons. I love it so much I asked Tori to come teach a class here at my home.
Tuesday, March 31st at 7 pm.
It is FREE, you don't have to buy anything, she does sell the newspapers at a discounted price if you don't get the newspaper coupons already. They website is FREE! Come let her teach you all her coupon tricks to save you a ton of money! She is saving about $400 a month on her family of four. Her grocery bill every month is about $200 including two kids in diapers!

Pretty in Pleats

2009-03-20T17:55:00.000-07:00

Here is the newest purse added to the "It's in the Bag!" blog.

Is it the cutest thing you have ever seen? Get a load of that fabric flower and covered button!

This one was confiscated by someone who loved it the first time they saw it. Who was that again? Oh yea, me. I can't let this one out of my hands but I'll make you one if you want. Head over to "It's In The Bag!" to check out the details!

The Toothless Wonder!

2009-03-13T09:58:00.000-07:00

Hatch has had a pretty exciting week. The FIRST lose tooth! He noticed it on Monday and by Wednesday night, John could just not handle it any more...he pulled it out. It was ready but it scared Hatch a bit.

He was all smiles after and could not wait to look in the mirror.

He of coarse had to call Grandma's and Grandpa's.

I can't believe my Hatch is old enough for lose teeth, it seems like he just got those baby teeth. On to another step of parenthood, The toothferry Era!

Side note: Thayne got his first two teeth this week. Out with the old-in with the new! (Thayne won't hold still enougth for me to snap a pic of the new choppers, I'll keep trying and post a good one when I get it.

Sixlets!

2009-03-08T21:53:00.000-07:00

I remember these little sweets from when Kiplyn and I used to ride our bikes to Oil Spout or to the Spanish Fork pool on a hot summer day. They were cheap, fun to eat straight from the package, the colors and there is something different about the yummy chocolate and hard shell that just makes me smile.

They have been one of my favorites for all these years and now I have passed that to my kids. Our favorite "Coke Stop" is Conoco on main in Santaquin. I pick the kids up from school on Tuesday's and Thursday's and this is a must stop on our way home. Mom gets her a coke with lime and the kids all get a Sixlet pack. The girls at the window know exactly what were there for now. The kids are devastated if by some crazy reason we don't have time to stop or Mom doesn't have some change that day. I think we all need a treat once in a while and now the next generation is hooked on this blast-from-their-Mom's-past!

Thayne's first taste of the sweetness of sixlets.

P.S. I have posted some fun new bags on the "It's is the Bag" blog, check'em out!
Follow this link: "It's in the Bag!"

10 months game-

2009-03-04T08:03:00.000-08:00

Can you see the two things in common in all these pics?

1. He will not hold still!
2. Whats with the tongue?

Thayne is a hoot! He spends all day with his tongue out and trying to find things to get into. He still has no teeth but I swear I can see them under there. Thayne is all over the place and I find myself, several times a day, stopping what I'm doing to search the house for him. He can usually be found in the kids closets playing with their toys, digging in my scrapbook supplies or pulling baby wipes out of the case. He is eating "human food" (thats what we call it around here) like pancakes, bread and french fries. He is quickly growing out of his 12 months clothes and jammies. He is still a great sleeper, all night and two naps a day. Thayne has learned that when he raises both his arms high over his head, someone, anyone will say "Big Boy!" and he'll giggle to his hearts content. He also loves to play peek-a-boo. Love that! I don't know what we would do without him around here. Love you Thayner!

New Venture?

2009-02-23T16:46:00.000-08:00

Hello, I am starting a little something new. With the crazy economy right now I have been racking my brain to figure out how to add a little extra to our family budget. So, I am debuting my new blog. It's a blog/store. I have recently gotten into making bags/diaper bags/purses and have fallen in love with them but I can't keep them all for myself. Whats a better way to make money than doing something you love? Visit my new blog at

http://itsinthebagmadebykira.blogspot.com/

to see what I have for sale there. I hope to have more done and posted by the end of the week. I also can take custom orders. Please pass it along to anyone you may think would like a handmade designer bag! Thanks so much for your support.

Who wants pancakes?

2009-02-23T14:58:00.001-08:00

Purse Swap

2009-02-17T16:28:00.000-08:00

So my Mom got me started on this swapping thing. I did a Christmas apron swap and NEVER received my apron. What a rip-off. I swore I would never do another one but... then a friend of mine, Suzee in Spanish Fork hosted a Amy Butler bag swap. So I of coarse could not resist. My Mom and Kaitlyn signed up too. I got my partners, Cassie from Montana, done a little early so instead of letting it sit around here all week, I just sent it off. She got it last Thursday and they didn't even have to be mailed until yesterday. She emailed me and was totally happy and shocked to get her's so early. Here are some pics of the purse I sent her. She wanted a purse big enough for a wallet and magazine but not so big that she could carry the whole world in it. My Mom had this pattern and I loved to sew it. My Mom talked me into covering the buttons for the purse. I thought she was crazy because I remember covering buttons in high school for my Make-It-With-Wool contest vest and I vowed I'd never do that again. But, they were so easy and they made all the difference. It was easy so I made a few little accessories to go in it.

The little case is for business cards and was a pattern I found on Amy Butler's website.

Cassie is a very creative sewer, she has things for sale on Etsy and does beautiful work so I also made her a little sketch notebook from some of my new Stampin' Up! loot. I love this little bird. Cassie has a cute bird on the title on her blog so I thought it would fit right in.

I'm patiently awaiting my package, I'll post it when it gets here.

Two words sum it up....

2009-02-16T19:30:00.000-08:00

Oh No!

Thayne is on the move and getting into everything!

I {hEaRt} Valentine's Day

2009-02-16T08:32:00.000-08:00

I think Valentine's Day ranks up there with Christmas. I love it. I love the cute handmade hearts from Hatch. I love my husband trying to be sneaky. Here are some shots of our quiet Valentine's day at home.
First, John got up early, made me stay in bed ( I was terribly sad about that, NOT!), and made dutch-oven breakfast. Yum!

The kids and I made and frosted pink-a-licious strawberry cupcakes. We delivered them to the neighbors, but we managed to save a few for ourselves.

When I asked Hatch what he wanted for a special Valentine dinner he wanted sloppy joes. So we had a romantic dinner for four with sloppy joes, shrimp chip dip, chips and red raspberry jello. Complete with heart goblets filled with sparkling cider.

For dessert we had chocolate fondue with pretzels, juju hearts and strawberries. Karas thought I was crazy, she just kept looking at me when she was going to dip something like, "Are you sure, Mom. I'm just gonna make a mess." She was so cute with chocolate all over her face.

Innocent until proven guilty?

2009-02-12T12:42:00.000-08:00

The other night when I was getting the kids ready for bed, Hatch was jabbering about something, all I heard were the words suspect and jail. When I came out with Thayne from the tub Hatch had "the suspect" in handcuffs and in jail.

The suspect had been robbing banks. Hatch was so serious and wouldn't let John take the cuffs of.

Hatch came out for a paper and pen. He wrote a few things then asked for some tape.

See if you can figure out what it says.

Let me translate: Jel rools (Jail Rules)
no sefons(no cellphones) in jel )(in jail) and teevee (t.v.)
John said eveytime he tried something Hatch would write something new on the list. He tried to text me, hence the no cellphones and then tried to watch tv.
Hatch would just sit and stare at John. John asked Hatch what he was doing, he said, "Waiting for you to make your move" "What move?" asked John, "Any move." replied Sheriff Hatch.

A new do...

2009-02-07T13:37:00.000-08:00

So every couple years I think to myself, I need to try long hair, last time I did it was for our wedding. I have been growing my hair for about a year. This is what it looked like on Thursday when I visited Mom's quilt shop.

I like long hair for a while then its just no fun and looks the same everyday. So this morning I CHOPPED IT! Every time I go back to short I wonder why and the heck I think I can go long. I am just a short hair girl! What do you think about the new do?

It's a little shorter than I thought I wanted to go, but give it two weeks and it will be just right! Here is the picture that I took Kim to show her what I wanted. Pretty darn close!

I've caught the quilting bug

2009-02-06T17:20:00.000-08:00

So, my Mom has been quilting for years, and I have made a few over the years but I have officially caught the bug. I made a cute star Christmas tree skirt in November and loved it so much I adapted it to make a baby boy quilt for my best friend, Kellie.

I made it from four different fabrics and alternated them so the star stuck out. I added little blue rick-rac on the border and put brown minkie on the back. I love the way it turned out, after it was washed it was so soft and cuddly. I picked out the fabric because Kellie is a matcher and this matches her cute baby carrier. I loved the little sock monkeys and the frogs. I hope she loves it and uses it til it gets holes in it. That's what quilts are for.

Here are the pics of Kellie, Mike and cute baby Wyatt. He was born last week and weighed in at a whopping 10 lbs. 11 oz. Congrats Kellie and Mike, what a darling little family.

Here's Wyatt all bundled up and ready to head home from the hospital.

Three of a kind!

2009-02-04T14:45:00.000-08:00

So, I got thinking today about my three kids looking alike so I went back through my pics and here are shots of all three at about 9 months old. What do you think? Same of Different?

Hatch Deloy

Karas Rae

John Thayne

I think they are cookie cutters of eachother.

9 months!

2009-02-02T19:45:00.000-08:00

Nine months already! Thayne is just too cute. He has been sick all week. I think he is just getting to feel better today. He ate a whole jar of baby food and kept it down. I hate when my babies are sick, they are just so miserable and can't tell you whats wrong. But...our Thayne is so good. He has such a sweet disposition, even when he;s sick. He was happy the whole time, we could tell he just didn't feel good but he was still quick to smile and communicate in his own little ways with us.

He is up and all over the place. I need to find a new place other than the couch to fold clothes, he pulls them off faster than I can get them folded. He loves to explore the house, has fell in the tub head first, once without water in it and once when I was bathing Karas, got a huge bruise on the forehead from that one! He loves when he finds something new. Today he crawled to the laundry room door, which is always closed, he could hear the clanking of the dryer. Well, when the door got shut it didn't latch, when he pushed and it opened he let out a giggle that stopped us all in our tracks. He hit the jackpot! Piles of clothes to climb through. Oh, the simple pleasures in life. He is just to fun right now and worry for the day when he is walking.

Scrapers weekend!

2009-02-01T11:24:00.000-08:00

I was lucky enough to have an awesome-much-needed-weekend away. Shelly, my "Stampin' Sista" and I had planned this weekend about two months ago. Then John had surgery and I just didn't know if it was going to be possible to go. But, John was awesome and helped me, he lined up his sister Sheri (thanks Sheri!) to watch Thayne and Karas. Hatch and John stayed home and had a nice boys weekend in.

Shelly and I headed out for St. George early Friday morning. We had so much fun, we ate, scraped, we even went to a movie (Bride Wars. It was so funny.) on Saturday afternoon, scraped, ate some more, stayed up late ans scraped! It was so nice to be in a quiet, clean house and just do whatever the heck we wanted.

These are our first pages completed, the first of a long line in the book.

We put up a sign to tally the pages done total and we both ended up with about 23 pages done-each! So great, I have half of 2008 scrapbooked!

These are all of our completed pages, we sat them up on the couch so we could admire our fine work all weekend.
Thanks to my Mom and Dad for giving up one of their weekends at the St. George house for us to have our little get-away! And of coarse, thanks to Shelly, who has been an awesome friend to find. We have only been friends for 2-3 years but I feel like we have known each other forever. I am so lucky to have her and my other Stampin' Up! friends to hang out with. We are like 6 peas in a pod!