I've found a better, cheaper replacement. You may remember my sandal conundrum a few months back when I ultimately gave in and went to Stride Rite. And I still really like Stride Rite, I just really don't like their prices. My Crocs discovery was actually by accident.



I have been wearing Crocs for a couple years now and really love them. Although my only complaint is that they are (obviously) not the most stylish shoes. I mostly wear them because they really are so comfortable. I've looked at Crocs for Devan several times, real and generic, and never felt crazy about them. Until now.

A couple days ago I was heading a doctors appointment. I stopped at Joann's on the way. While I was putting Devan back into the car one of her sandals fell off her feet and into the parking lot. I didn't notice. We drove to my appointment where the only free parking I could find was in a mall parking lot. (Who puts a hospital and a mall right across the street from each other anyway?) I noticed Devan had lost a sandal. I also noticed we had to cross a busy street, find the doctors office in one of many glass buildings that looked exactly alike, make it through my appointment and then make it back to the car. I didn't want to carry her the whole way and I didn't want her walking around barefoot, either. The closest store was a Nordstrom Rack. Like I EVER shop at Nordstrom anything! The sandal that she lost was from a pair I bought at Old Navy for 2 bucks. I quickly ran in and found the cheapest shoe I could find- the Mickey Mouse Crocs. They were $16, which I guess is good for Crocs, but I was still a little bummed about spending so much. Anyway- turns out we both LOVE them! Devan can put them on herself and they stay on, unlike her flip flops. And I really think they are so cute on little kids. I think I'll be sticking with Crocs from now on. Sorry, Stride Rite. I hope you understand.

I learned how to knit. I'm not quite sure how, but I love it. I've still got a lot to learn, but my first knitting project is coming along quite nicely.

I've also been sewing some festive holiday clothes for Devan. Last summer I bought this big flannel pink snowman sheet at a thrift store for 2 bucks. It looked brand new and I figured I'd find something to make with it. Well I found the worlds easiest tutorial for pants and whipped up a pair in no time.
I have SO much fabric left that I think I'll just keep it around to make some pajama pants every year until I run out. Unless anybody else has any great ideas for pink snowmen flannel.


I also made a Christmas skirt for her that she wouldn't touch. Maybe she'll change her mind and I'll be able to at least get a photo of it on her. I suppose I better go clean up my big crafting mess now...wish me luck!

You may remember that a while back I posted about inheriting my grandmothers bedroom set. Well, I have been in the process of sanding/painting it and have finally completely finished one piece. This is what it looked like before (but not a dresser, a nightstand).

And this is what it looks like now:
It will be going in Devan's room. You can see I've started sanding the drawers for the dresser. It's been so ridiculously hot here that I haven't wanted to be outside much lately, otherwise I'd probably have more progress. My Mom also has a desk, hutch and headboard but I don't think I'll be getting around to painting those any time soon.
Even though I'm happy that Devan gets to have a bedroom set that her great grandmother bought, and that almost everyone in my family has used at one time or another, I'm still excited for the day that I can buy whatever furniture I want!
And on the topic of buying stuff, we have made several offers on homes these past couple weeks. We are supposed to hear today or tomorrow on our favorite one so cross your fingers for us!

I have had a problem for a long while now that I need a solution to. We have a king size bed that I love. I love everything about it and cannot believe that we ever slept on a queen. I especially love it since we bought a foam mattress topper. But there is one problem: I cannot, for the life of me, find sheets that fit.
I have bought about 4 different sets of sheets over the past few years and NONE fit. I've bought "extra deep pocket" sheets and "fits up to 17 inch mattress" sheets all to no avail. I've measured my mattress, and it's not 17 inches tall. With our queen bed I could buy any sheets and have room to spare. And my problem has only been exacerbated since buying the mattress topper. Now, every single day when I make the bed I end up pulling and stretching, and pulling and stretching just to get the fitted sheet to fit! It is becoming the bane of my existence!

If anyone has any input, or knows of a particular brand that will actually fit a king sized mattress, please let me know! I would appreciate it more than you know!

I have been waiting for the weather to cool down enough to start making soup. Soup is probably one of my favorite things to cook. A couple years ago I found a great minestrone recipe and haven't abandoned it yet. It's very versatile and oh so delectable. Especially on a cold day/night.


I leave out a few things from this recipe, mainly the wine and spinach. I also used potatoes this time instead of noodles. I cook it in my slow cooker and always have leftovers. And since it's actually stayed cool for more than one day, I have been able to eat those leftovers which is always great. If you love soup, and minestrone, try this one!

Our Halloween was full of fun times for the whole family. Devan, my Mom and I went to the pumpkin patch together. Oddly enough I didn't get any pictures of pumpkins. We did, however, check out the petting zoo and continued our tradition of going down the big slide. Here is Devan clinging to my Mom because she's afraid of the goat.

Dev carving her pumpkin

We went to our friends house to trick or treat. We ate chili, trick or treated and handed out lots of candy. Devan had a blast! I think she might have had more fun handing out candy than actually getting it.

Me and my little chick.

Devan and her friend Blaine getting ready to trick or treat.

When we were walking past a group of kids, one of the mothers said to Devan, "Oh what a cute chicken!" and Devan said "Bock bock!" I was cracking up. She was the cutest chicken ever.

Halloween was great and I already got Devan's costume for next year! Now it's time to get ready for turkey!! I can't wait!

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.