Every year since before I was born my family has had a tradition of buying apples from our favorite apple farm. The apples are absolutely declicious and usually around 50 cents a pound. (Which really makes it hard to buy mediocre apples for $2 or more a pound in the grocery stores the rest of the year!) This weekend we packed up our car and headed north to continue the tradition. We ate lunch at our favorite clam chowder spot, drove through beautiful canyons while enjoying the nice fall weather, bought lots and lots of apples, and of course, took photos!

I'm already looking forward to next year!

Every parent has expectations and ideas of what parenthood is going to be like. For me, most of these were gone long before Devan reached one week old. One of the biggest surprises for me was realizing that Devan was not me, nor John. I used to daydream about having a little girl that was just like me running around, and I very quickly saw that was not the case. There are definitely similarities, but for the most part Devan is a truly unique person.

Yesterday on the way home from the grocery store Devan informed me that she wanted a snack. I told her we were almost home and that I would get her a snack soon. She was not happy about this. She let out a VERY dramatic sigh that sounded like this "Uuuuhhhhh!" That was followed by this statement: "This is Ridiculous!!"

Later that night I was talking to my Mom on the phone and I told her this story. I then said something like "My little drama queen...". Devan overheard this and came running over to me and exclaimed " no, YOU'RE the drama queen!!"

Seriously, where did she come from?

I don't generally believe in bribing children. In fact I'm pretty against it. I believe children need to learn to do things because it's the right thing to do, and not because you get a reward. The reward system is called a token economy and here is a perfect example.

Take your typical "entitlement generation" high school grad. She thinks she should get a new car for graduating high school. Her parents agree. "Congratulations, Daughter!"She thinks, "Awesome".

Take your other typical high school grad, who was raised in an authoritative home (authoritative parenting has been proven to be the most effective type of parenting. Not to be confused with authoritarian). She was not raised in a token economy but thinks she should ask for a car for graduation anyway. Her parents disagree. "If you can't graduate high school, you're a dummy". She thinks, "They're right. But it still sucks".

Can you guess which example was mine? Okay, my parents didn't say that if I couldn't graduate I was a dummy, but they did say something along those lines. My high school graduation present was dinner at Macaroni Grill. And I'm still grateful for it, because I love that place. And I'm grateful that they didn't get me a car. I was a really bad driver back then.

So- back to bribing. I haven't bribed Devan with anything yet. Not when I stopped nursing, not when I took her bottles away, not when I wanted her to sleep in her own bed, etc. And she knows that she has responsibilities around the house, too. She will put her laundry away, throw away her diapers and put her toys away all without being rewarded. She's seemed to respond well to my parenting decisions, except when it comes to one thing: Potty training.

I have been potty training her for well over a month and I still cannot leave the house without a diaper on her. I had tried EVERYTHING. Keeping the toilet in the family room, putting a toilet seat on the big toilet, letting her put stickers on a chart, and giving her lots of salty foods and juice so she'd go more. Nothing seemed to click for her. The other night I was watching Jon and Kate Plus 8 and they were potty training. Kate gave her kids one M&M each time they used their toilets. I suddenly knew what I had to do.

I took Devan to the store with me today and bought a big bag of M&M's. We came home and I repeatedly asked her if she had to go pee. She always says no. She always says no until she pees in her underwear. So today after asking her for about 30 minutes, I decided to try a little bribe. "If you go pee pee, you can have one M&M". She immediately RAN to the toilet and peed. It was pretty amazing, really. She was so happy to pick out one M&M she said she had to pee again, but couldn't. I put the candy in a jar and on a shelf where she can see them and I have a feeling potty training is going to be a bit easier for both of us. And as long as I make sure that one M&M doesn't turn into a car for high school graduation, we'll be okay.

Yesterday I heard the babies heart beat for the first time. And just for the record, I'm predicting a girl. This is how it went.

Me: (after the Doctor found the heart beat) Is that it?
Doctor: It's not yours!
Me: It's fast.
Doctor: Yeah, it's fast.
Me: (thinking to myself) A GIRL!

I'm sure most people know that girls generally have faster hear rates than guys. This is absolutely the case with John and I. My resting heart rate is somewhere between 80 and 90. John's? Between 40-50. As he likes to say "My heart gets the job done with half as much effort as yours". Men also have larger hearts, for the record.

Back to the baby- Everything looks/sounds good. I'm afraid John might be a little disappointed that I think it's a girl. I'm not worried because we'll have more kids and I'm sure a boy will show up sooner or later if not this time.

A couple more reasons I love my doctors office: Every room has it's own private bathroom. And it's own digital scale. That means no more weighing in in front of the whole office staff. Towards the end of my pregnancy with Devan I'd get so embarrassed when I'd step on the platform scale and the nurse would start sliding the weights to the right and I thought she'd never stop! Now I get to be weighed in the privacy of my own room and without hearing those noisy weights sliding around. (Still not an enjoyable experience- either way your consistently gaining weight for 9 months straight!) Although I really can't complain. I realize that being pregnant is a total blessing and am grateful every day that I get to add to our family. I just need the next six months to go as quickly as possible!

Devan's finished product: (she made several. One for Daddy, Grandma and Papa).

My finished product:

I'm not sure how I feel about them above the TV, so I might end up moving it somewhere else.

So the other day I was at Target (imagine that) and I came across some really cute hair clips for little girls. I was absolutely SHOCKED when I looked at the price. Here is what I found:

10 bucks! I knew I could whip some up for way less than that. I decided to give it a try. I went to a beauty supply store and bought a pack of 20 clips for $2.99. I have more ribbon than I know what to do with so I just picked out a few scraps and went to town.

I used a hot glue gun and it seemed to work fine. And I love them. I know I will be making more. Probably Halloween/Christmas themed ones. Here is Devan modeling them.

For those of you who have been dying to take a trip to Orange County but are worried about paying too much for a hotel, I have your solution. Stay with us.


Orange County has much to offer. We have beautiful beaches, lots of fancy restaurants, car washes, hair salons and much more. We are right in between Los Angeles and San Diego and would love to show you around. We are also about 20 minutes for the Happiest Place On Earth. And have you heard? You get in free on your birthday. And all children under 3 are always free. Free is hard to come by here in the OC, just so you know.


The Strategically Placed Amigo Hotel has many amenities. We have a maid service that will pick up after you (me), an amazing chef who will cook three meals a day for you (me), a first class taxi service that will take you anywhere you want to go for free (me), free cable and internet, and your very own guest bedroom and bathroom that come with a fancy guest basket full of all the things you might have forgotten/need.



And if this isn't enough to persuade you to come visit us, let me remind you that you will ALSO get to spend time with the prettiest princess in all the land:

But seriously, people. We would love to have you. Devan has a queen size bed that she doesn't mind sharing. She'd rather sleep in our bed anyway.

This morning I was looking at my OB's website. There is a picture of my doctor on the site and Devan happened to walk by and see it.

Devan: "Mommy! That's the doctor that's gunna help your baby come out of your tummy!"
Me: "Yes, thats right!"
Devan: "He's gunna help your baby come out and then we bring her home and put her in a cradle!"
Me: "You're right".
Devan: "And then we give her a ba ba and rock her. She's so cute!"

Apparently we're having a girl. And apparently we've done a pretty good job at preparing Devan to be a big sister! I hope it won't break her heart if we end up having a boy!

Today I took Devan to the mall the play at the playground because it is SO HOT here! I had been waiting for summer to kick into gear, I just didn't know I had to wait till fall! Anyway- there I was walking around the mall when I approached Old Navy. My heart skipped a beat when I saw the big red clearance sign in the window. I quickly put Devan in a cart and began to shop. You can imagine my surprise when I found out that not only were the clearance racks 50% off- they were an additional 50% off!! Old Navy does this several times per year, but they don't advertise so I'm always excited when I show up and find a great sale.

I looked in the maternity section, but there wasn't much going on there so I started looking for larger sizes in non-maternity clothes. I found with Devan that it's better to plan ahead when it comes to maternity clothes, especially for me because I hate paying full price for anything. So I found some great deals. I mean great. Probably the greatest deal I've ever gotten. Remember the shirt I got for $.39 at Target? I did way better.

One shirt I found was marked down to $1.99. I was pretty excited because it was a plain white t-shirt and you can never have enough of those. When I went to pay, this particular shirt came up as $.05! Yeah. Five cents! The cashier checked it and said it was right so I went along with it. I also bought several other shirts for $.99, $1.97, and $1.49. And these are not some of the weird shirts Old Navy often has, or the shirts with "Old Navy" printed on the front. These were all plain colored t-shirts that you can wear with just about anything.

Unfortunately this sale was only on Mens and Womens. The little girls clearance section was the usual 50% off. The moral of this post is to get to Old Navy fast if you want to save some money!

And for those of you who will make fun of me for being so crazy about finding good deals, let me leave you with a quote from Brigham Young:

"If you want to get rich, save what you get. A fool can earn money; but it takes a wise man to save and dispose of it to his own advantage".

I think buying a new shirt for $.05 is disposing of my money to my advantage. You can't even buy a used shirt at a thrift store for that much. Or a garage sale. Believe me, I've looked.

Every Sunday the youth stand up and we all recite "The Purpose of the Aaronic Priesthood":

* Become converted to the gospel of Jesus Christ and live its teachings.
* Serve faithfully in priesthood callings and fulfill the responsibilities of priesthood offices.
* Give meaningful service.
* Prepare and live worthily to receive the Melchizedek Priesthood and temple ordinances.
* Prepare to serve an honorable full-time mission.
* Obtain as much education as possible.
* Prepare to become a worthy husband and father.
* Give proper respect to women, girls, and children.

I feel that I have done, and continue to do, all of these things, but one. Every time I hear "Obtain as much education as possible" I always feel a pang of guilt. I did well in High School, mostly without trying, and then went to UCLA and now I work full time. I am busy with work, church callings and a growing family, and I used those as an excuse to not go back to school.

But as I sat looking at my degree hanging on the wall, listen to the "Purpose" and think about the future I feel this pressing need to go back to school. I would love to have an MBA. I have procrastinated enough.

I long for the challenges of academia and the rigors of scholarly pursuits. It keeps the mind sharp and increases future potential.

OBTAIN AS MUCH EDUCATION AS POSSIBLE!

So my doctor told me I could take Tylenol and all it's derivatives during pregnancy. This includes Tylenol PM. Those of you that read my Car Wash post know that my mind doesn't stop, not even for bedtime. So I thought I'd give Tylenol PM a try. Last night I got a little curious and googled the question "How does Tylenol PM work?", not wanting to know how effective it was, but rather how it could cause drowsiness but still be OK to take during pregnancy. What I found was that most people were interested in how effective it was, and one response in particular made me laugh out loud.

I was looking in Yahoo answers where someone asked "How well does Tylenol PM work?" This got many responses, but this was my favorite.

Every time my car gets really dirty and it's time to get it washed, my mind explodes with all kinds of crazy thoughts. This is usually how it goes.

1) I start thinking about how I am so not a "car wash" girl. I am a "wash my car myself" kind of girl. I hate spending money on something I can easily do myself.

2) The problem with #1 is that I live in an apartment where it's a little harder to wash your own car. They have water you can use but you need to have your own hose. I know. Lame. Where am I going to keep a hose? Under my bed? So then I think that washing my car at my apartment/buying a hose is out of the picture. Which brings me to thought #3.

3) I can wash my car at my Mom's house. The problem with this is that I don't know when I'll be there next. Also, when we do go we usually take John's car b/c it costs half as much to fill up. So eventually I decide that washing my car at my Mom's will probably not work out.

4) Okay, I guess I can go to the car wash. I always spend the most time on this thought because I had a bad experience at a car wash in the past. A few years ago before we had Devan I had a brand new special edition civic that I LOVED. It was my first new car, and first non-American car, which made me love it even more. I decided to take it to the car wash on my way to school one day. The car wash was right next to our apartment and it looked empty so I thought it would be quick. To make a long story short, they drove my car into the car ahead of it while it was coming out of the wash! I cannot even begin to tell you how irate this made me. And the worst part was that they didn't even offer to refund me my money, I had to ASK for a refund! They paid for the repairs but that's all. If I owned a car wash and one of my employees did that, I would be offering the customer free car washes for life, at least!! One more reason why I hesitate to go to the car wash.

5) So once I finally decide to go to the car wash, like everything else in my life I try to find the best deal. I will collect all the car wash coupons I can find. Usually I find several in those money mailer things that come with your mail. So once I find a good coupon I check out the place first. For instance, the car wash closest to our apartment has a special on Wednesdays where every car wash is $2 off.

6)Tipping. I agonize over this. How much should I tip? This thought alone almost makes me back out of the whole thing. Part of me feels like they shouldn't get much because it's their job, and part of me thinks they really need the money more than I do and I have a van and it's hot outside etc, etc. And then I'm in a part of Orange County where the car wash guys are probably used to getting big tips. And then I feel bad because my car was a gift and theres no way I'd have this fancy of a car if I were paying for it and I don't want them thinking that I can afford to tip them more because I really can't! So today I tipped the guy $3. I felt like it was enough until I saw the girl sitting next to me with her claim ticket and a 5 dollar bill. And she had a tiny car. Oh well.

Have you ever wished you could just stop thinking for a while? I wish this every day but my mind just keeps going. How much do YOU tip the car wash guys??

The other day I was listening to Carrie Underwood's version of the song "I'll Stand By You". I have heard this song many, many times before, but this time it was different. All of the sudden it made sense- this song is clearly about a parent/child relationship! Maybe I missed this all along, but it's very clear to me now. I cant listen to it without thinking of Devan. It makes me cry every time. I think it perfectly depicts how every mother feels about their children.
(the video)

Foods I crave:

Otter Pops
Starbursts
Fruit Roll Ups
Smoothies
Subway sandwiches

Food aversions:

Anything else.

I guess I can't complain. My nausea isn't so bad that I can't eat anything- it's just bad enough that I can only eat certain foods. The good news on the topic of pregnancy is that I found a doctor I really like. He's from New York and comes from a family of OBGYN's and even has a cousin that practices in TO. His office is seriously nice(the waiting room has bottled water on a silver platter and a huge flat screen TV) and he has privileges at 3 local hospitals that are all within a few minutes from me and offer private rooms where your spouse can stay.(The hospital where I delivered Devan didn't offer this. I had a roomate which wasn't the most horrible thing, but I'm definitely looking forward to having my own room this time around). I tend to be a little picky about finding doctors that I like, so I'm really glad I got this one out of the way.

On a side note- like everyone else, we have TV guidelines in our home. Devan is aware of the fact that she is NOT allowed to watch Spongebob Squarepants. Apparently John didn't know this. Last night when I was at enrichment, John said he was getting sick of watching Devan's cartoons and asked her if she wanted to watch Spongebob. Devan shook her head and said "No, Mommy says no Spongebob!" I was so proud of her until he told me that a minute after that she asked to watch it and he said yes. The things they get away with when Mom's not around!

I don't normally drink soda of any kind, but my Mother swears that it helps nausea. She tells me the story of when my sister Quinn was serving her mission in South America she got so sick on a Sunday that her companion called the mission president. The mission president's wife got on the phone and told her companion "I don't care if it's Sunday- go to the store and buy her a coke!"

I heard the same story when I was pregnant with Devan. I couldn't remember if drinking coke helped or not, so I picked up a coke on my way out of the grocery store today. Devan took note as I took my first sip in the car.

Devan: "Mom, I don't like soda".
Me: "I know. I actually don't like it that much, either".
Devan: (placing her hand on her chest)"I am a little girl. I don't eat soda. It makes me sick".

She said it so matter-of-fact I couldn't help but smile. And the coke hasn't done much for my nausea yet.

So- anyone have any good tips on getting rid of nausea?

Here are a few more things I forgot to put on our Christmas lists:

Of course, we won't actually be needing any of this until April.

(Hope I didn't steal your thunder, Kim! Our parents are going out to dinner together tonight and I told my Mom she could tell her friends. Which means pretty soon everyone will know and I figured I should post about it here first!)

If you don't like it, stop reading! Just a warning.

So, we've been potty training. Devan has been doing great as long as the toilet is in her view and easilly accesible. We get VERY excited when she uses her little toilet. I've been letting her run around naked and moving her toilet a little closer to the actual bathroom every other day or so. This is usually how it goes. She will go pee pee on the toilet and then exclaim, "Mama!! I go pee pee!! Wanna see?" And I get really excited and tell her she's doing a great job. This is also the case when she goes number 2.

This morning she was cracking me up left and right. I was washing dishes and she was sitting on her toilet. I asked her if she was going pee pee and she said, "No, Mama, I farted!! Wanna see?!"

Then later she went pee pee again. After I gave her the usual "You're such a big girl!" speech, I took her tiny toilet bowl out to dump the pee pee in the big toilet and rinse it out. As I was walking to the bathroom she says "That's a lot of pee pee! Daddy's gunna love that!" I couldn't help but laugh. She has gotten into this habit of saying "Daddy's gunna looove this!" When I am cooking dinner it's "Daddy's gunna love this dinner!" Or when I'm folding John's clothes it's "Daddy's gunna love these clothes!" And now, even when he's not home, he loves when she goes pee pee!