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Monday, November 14, 2011

Quilting is sew NOT fun!!

So, i'm sure you've heard, but I bought these cuddle soft/ minky quilt kits to make for the girls. And i bought them last year. How sad. I literally started making them last week. You make it using the "sew and flip" method, which meant nothing to me until I saw a video of it on youtube. Anyways, I finally started and got everthing ready to sew... and nothing. I couldn't do it on my machine. It was too think. I had the backing, the batting, plus two strips trying to be sewn through. Well, I basically gave up on them and was ready to throw the whole thing away.

Then, my friend Audrey (who make/sell paci-catchers, check out her site at www.paci-catchers.com No, I was not told or paid to say that), anyways, she's amazing! She told me to bring over my machine and we'd figure it out together. Well, long story short, it didn't work on my machine. Something about not having a walking foot that make it easier to quilt. So, I used her machine. It went so smoothly that I finished a half of one quilt in one afternoon! Plus it will take me even less time on the rest because I actually know what I'm doing and can get started right away!

these are gonna look so good, here are the pictures of the first quilt, half way finished!


 finished side plus a little of the backing
 Its sewn through both sides
You can see the lines where I sewed through!

Isn't this just the cutest fabric ever? The other one is just as cute!!

Thankful catch-Up Post

Sorry, I promise to be better about this!!

Day 14: Today I'm thankful for a good friend who had graciously offered to show me how to use my sewing machine to sew the girls' cuddle soft blankets!

Day 13: These past few days 5 friends have told me that they are pregnant! I'm very happy for all of them and grateful for all the little babies that will be born next year! I love babies!

Day 12: I'm grateful for the sound of my children's laughter! They have their moments, but most of the time they love playing the teasing each other!

Day 11: I am so very thankful that I opened my inbox today and received an email saying that our application to our top choice of apartments was available again!!   Their other applicants fell through and it was ours! Its a awesome furnished, 4 bedroom place that is close to campus! So very thankful!

Day 10: I'm thankful for my little brother, Dave who asked me to take pictures of him in his cadet uniform! They turned out so great, and it was a real confidence booster! (check out my post below this one, there is something for you to do, if you want!)

Day 9: I'm thankful for food today! I love love love food, and being a diabetic its sometimes hard to stop eating when things taste so good, but you know they will raise your blood sugars too high. I'm learning self control. Anyways, food rocks!

Sunday, November 13, 2011

Photography

I've been playing around on photoshop lately and sprucing up a few pictures of the kids. I've download some actions from a few blogs (such as http://www.thecoffeeshopblog.com/ ) They have tutorials and teach you how to do certain things to your photos. Its really cool. I have to admit, I'm addicted to Pinterest, and it was from there that I found the tutorial sites that have really helped me with photoshop. I've been recommended by a friend to do the New York Institute of Photography correspondence course. I will be starting that as soon as Toby does his internship (and we actually have money). Until then, I do some shoots for friends, some for family and others just for fun. Most pictures are of my kids. I do have a photography blog, but have never given out the address.

I've been thinking about starting a facebook page, but I don't know if I'm confidence enough to do that. I've been thinking of the name callmeSamm photography. It really is my favorite. Its already my email, and it works really well, because my maiden name is call, plus you can call me Samm, or call me, Samm. hehe, I love it. anybody agree.
Also, if I get 10 people to comment on here and tell me I should start a FB page for my photography, then I will. If not, I guess I'm not popular enough to even warrant likes.  So there you have it, your first challenge. (or mine).  Here are some pictures I just finished:


Like 'em?

Happy Veteran's Day!

So, its a little late but my pictures kept taking forever to load and slowing the internet, so now here it is:

I come from a big military family. My Dad served, a couple of Uncle's served, my grandpa serve, my older brother enlisted, and my little brother is in the ROTC program. Also, my father-in-law served. I grew up military. Its almost all I know.
I've heard a lot of stories about different wars and different experiences. I am grateful and proud for everyone who has served and especially those who have died while serving. A great friend of mine was KIA last February. It was a really hard thing to deal with. I am grateful for his service and sacrifice.

Just yesterday I got the privilege of taking some picture for my little brother who just got his uniform for the ROTC program. Doesn't he look dashing?




Thank you to all who served, are serving or will serve. You have my deepest respects!

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Its only a few days late....

I decided that I wanted to to the 'month of thanks' doo-hickey-thingy. I'm only a few days into the month, so I'll back track from today.

Day 8 - Today I'm Thankful for waterproof mascara. I have over active tear duct so every yawn, every breeze, every little thing makes my eyes water. Today it was so stinking cold up here and chilly that I was practically crying on my way to class. I never wear eyeliner in the winter because it WILL run. But my eyes still look pretty good with my mascara. its amazing!!

Day 7 - I'm grateful for Toby today. He came home after class so we could get out housing applicaiton sent off, then decided to stay and help me with the house and kids before going back to work on campus after the kids were asleep. He is such an amazing guy, I'm so glad he takes the time to be with us. Also, he brought the family together for FHE, which we do on rare occasion. I love this guy!

Day 6 - I'm thankful today for the nursery leaders and primary leaders to take care of my kids. They say my kids are good, but I know better, haha. No really, its so nice to have the kids in nursery!

Day 5 - My thankful shout out goes out to my Uncle Rob and his wife, Bonnie. They let me and the kids stay with them friday and saturday while I apartment hunt. They were always helpful with the kids and I even got my own room away from the kids! They even let me use their GPS to visit my sister-in-law! Amazing family I got here!

Day 4 - I'm grateful for the fact that I left one of my credit cards out of my wallet. I just so happened to leave my wallet at a Rite Aid off the interstate on my way down to Utah to look for apartments. If I didn't have this one card that I accidentally forgot to put back then i would be in major trouble. My car tank was on empty and I didn't have anything to pay for the gas! My friend Hannah offered to fill me up, but luckily she didn't have to waste her money one me! (Yes, I did get my wallet back, on the drive back up to Idaho).

Day 3 - I'm thankful I didn't really have class today. It nice when you have practically a week until your next class. And that its 2nd half of Book of Mormon. And that its your only class. And that its the last class you need for graduation!

Day 2 - I'm grateful today for Netflix. Its so easy to watch shows while I clean. Thats my new rule, that I have to be cleaning while I watch. Or I just sit on the couch all day.

Day 1 - I'm very thankful that my kids are so cute that they get tons of candy on Halloween. Its nice when they share with mommy. Its even better if they never find out they shared!

SuperHeroes are super fun!

Ben is obsessed with superheroes lately! he was Spider-Man for Halloween and he got a sticker book from the store for being good. He's been asking all about the Hulk lately and Toby taught him how to hulk, SMASH! We even showed him a clip from the movie. Here is Ben doing the smash, the the whole family doing it, even the girls.. even though their smashes might just be a little soft.. hehehe

Autumn Fun

Its been awhile since I updated, but life has been super crazy.
1. We've been anxious about being accepted into Graduate school, and about getting close to graduation!
2. WE'VE BEEN ACCEPTED INTO GRAD SCHOOL!!! (Its true that after the trials come the blessings).
3. We've moving to Utah.
4. We found a place that we like, and we're waiting to hear if we got it or not.

We went to the Straw Maze for FHE a little while ago. The kids loved it so much. We had to carry the girls for the most part because they were so slow and wanted to just stop and play in the straw. Even when we carried them, they would try and reach for the straw anyways. Ben loved running around but I was always scared we'd lose him, so I tried to keep a close eye on him, which wasn't easy. Anyways, here are some pictures of the cutesy kiddies!








Did you guess right as to which girl was which? Addie is in the blue peacoat and Peyton is in the red one. Aren't they just so adorable in those coats?!?! When we go out, the love to carry their shoes and coats to me to put on for them! Such girly girls!

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Things to do before we move!

We had a small (ish) list of things we wanted to do before we moved out of this area. One of those things was going to visit Yellow Stone National Park to see Old Faithful. So, we loaded up our car with babies and food and lots of warm coats. It wasn't too bad driving out there because the girls slept for the most part. It was actually kinda fun and very beautiful driving out. We got to Old Faithful and had to wait for over an hour before it was expected to go off again. We walked around the gift shop and bought our traditional magnet (we buy a magnet for every place we visit). We then walked over to where Old faithful was and ate our picnic lunch.

I do have to say that I've never seen/ heard so many foreigners in one spot (other than overseas, of course). I rarely heard conversations in English! It was so nice and cool to hear German, Chinese, Swedish, and a few others, but it was so awesome!


Then we FINALLY got to see Old Faithful erupt. It was so pretty! And then we realized that thw wind was blowing directly at us and all the mist and water spray covered us and our view of the geyser. Oh well, we got to see it for a few seconds. All the people around us scattered but Ben thought it was the coolest part of the whole day.

On our drive back from Old Faithful, we stopped by the Paint Pots. Its bubbly, boiling mud with  beautiful blue pond of boiling water.. aren't they pretty?

 Here is our family standing in front of Old Faithful. Thank you random stranger for taking the picture for us!!


 
Of course, you can't drive through Yellow Stone without seeing some wildlife. We saw some elk, a bison, and a whole herd of bison.



 Plus, some cute shots of the kiddos!!
 Peyton
 Addison
Ben

Sunday, October 9, 2011

Adorable Addison

She climbed up there all by herself, yet she's terrified to climb down. Its just too cute!

Friday, September 23, 2011

Trial, trial, and oh, gues what? MORE TRIALS!

Its pouring so hard here, we might as well be in a hurricane. Category 5. (Excuse my analogy if you've never been through a hurricane.)

Not many people knew, but when we found out about the diabetes it was because it was my first doctors appointment for my 3rd pregnancy. :)  It was a huge surprise, the diabetes that is. We had been trying to get pregnant, so it was so much fun, finally being pregnant.

However, things rarely turn out as we want them. Yesterday I miscarried. I started bleeding the previous night and I must say I wasn't really surprised. I guess it was just a gut feeling that I'd had. I later learned that Toby had had the same initial feeling. We opted to do a d&c just to get things over with, but that meant day surgery and not eating for 8 hours, which as you can imagine for a diabetic is next to impossible. SO i had to go in about 4 hours before I needed to just so they could hook me up to an IV and monitor my blood sugars that way. Not so much fun. Anyways, the surgery went well and I'm doing great physically.

Like I said before, we're really not very surprised that I miscarried. I guess I'd been prepared like I was when the girls came early, but I just didn't want to admit it. There were a few signs I was ignoring, like the fact that my hair was still falling out.. A LOT, and with the past pregnancies, it never did.

Anyways, I guess the point of this post was to let everyone know that we're doing ok. Not so much today, because I totally broke down today. Not because of the baby, really, just a combination of everything that has been going on. Its been really hard lately with my health problems and dealing with so many huge changes in our lives. I'm just waiting for the blessings to come, the sliver linings to appear, and the sun to start shining because I'm almost gone. I'm reaching the end of my rope. God carry me, because I'm not sure how much further I can go.

Monday, September 12, 2011

Whew

yeah, its been a few weeks. Its been kinda hard adjusting to my new diet and things. When I was diagnosed, my sugars were really high, and now that I'm on insulin, I'm having troubles keeping them up. Its hard for em to eat enough and keep my levels good. I end up eating a bit of sugar to get them to get up to where I want them to be, but thats still not good because I'm gonna start gaining weight. At least I'm being responsible about it.. sort of.

On to other things...

Its getting colder here.. I've already brought out my Autumn decor. I didn't post it last year, but I made A-U-T-U-M-N blocks. I'll have to put a picture up of them on here for you to see. I'm really proud of them! I a sucker for decorations that go with holidays!!

We've been thinking about moving in the past couple of days. Why, you ask? Because (long story short) the gas Co. found that CO2 was leaking into our house because the water heater wasn't venting properly. Great. And its back my the kids' rooms. Luckily we usually keep the door to that bathroom shut, which is where is was leaking in. It wasn't super bad.. yet.... but the Landlord is fixing it today. Or else he better, because my greasy hair is going to frighten anyone else off!! yuck.

More other news: Addison is walking about 98% of the time, when she isn't lazy and wants to get somewhere super fast.. she'll crawl. Peyon is walking about 2% of the time. She just hasn't found the need to get anywhere that isn't faster by crawling, but she is starting to walk a little. We're so proud of here. She also cut her 4th tooth. Now both have 4 teeth, except Addison's are top and bottom front teeth but Peyton had her two bottom front, one top front and a top canine. Kinda funny.

Ben is obsessed lately with Mario Kart Wii. He's actually doing pretty good at it. He's coming in 1st on some races. I'm so proud.

In other news: My little brother is up here for the semester, going to school. Its been super nice having him around to hang out with. Ben is in heaven and even the girls have warmed up to him.

Monday, August 29, 2011

The Diagnosis

So, we found out why I haven't been feeling good these past few months. It all started back in April/May when I had a few episodes of low blood sugar. Then it started getting worse. Remember about my eyes, when I had that bad driving episode? Well that got better, but my health didn't.

Lately, its gotten worse, and the past few weeks I've felt so awful that I hated getting out of bed or doing any kind of activity. I was drinking like crazy yet thirsty all the time. Anyways, we finally went into the Dr. and talk to him about my symptoms and they drew blood.

All the crap I've been feeling is because I have diabetes. I am a diabetic. It sucks. I hate it. I'm such a sugar-aholic. Yes, thats what I am. What I was. not anymore. apparently.

My blood sugar was so high. Almost 400, where as a normal person's is less than 100. (I tested Toby's and it was 68.. stinker).

SO I spent the day being educated on diabetes and not really learning anything other than checking my blood sugar and giving myself insulin. Yep, I give myself shots of insulin.

We talked to a specialist that my Dr. referred me too and he talked with me about how my life will be like from now on. He said I'm not Type 1 but I'm not type 2 either. I'm sort of in between. I have markers from both, but I'm not as dependent on insulin as type 1, but I'll probably never be fully able to control it without it.

I'm seeing a counselor and dietician tomorrow and hopefully they will help me figure out what to eat. The internet is full of contradictions and I'm not sure what to think. I know basics, but I seem to be spiking my blood sugar every meal. It'll be nice to know exactly whats going on with my body.

On another note, Ben is learning a whole new vocabulary. He is constantly asking me if I need to test my blood sugar. its quite funny. He  mentions all the time that he doesn't want to check HIS blood sugar, just mine. funny funny.

Life will never be the same again. Maybe its for the best. Maybe not. Probably Not. Definitely Not.

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Don't read this...you'll thank me later

Yes, you'll thanks me for not posting pictures with this post. Today was a bad day. As in, terrible , horrible, no good, very bad day. Wanna know why? I know you're dying to know!

Well, my morning started at about 230a wen I awoke to the sound of Ben crying in my ear. I couldn't make out what he was saying until hi walked out into the living room and I hear him puke everywhere. That certain woke me up. Its a weird sound only because he's never thrown up before. Poor boy didn't know what happened, just that his tummy hurt pretty bad. Poor baby. I walked him into the bathroom and told Toby to keep an eye on him in case he needed to throw up again, while I cleaned up the mess in the living room. Lucky me, we're out of carpet cleaner, so I do my best, then spray sanitizer on it, which did not kill the smell enough for my taste.

Something I forget to mention is that Toby has a very sensitive gag reflex. He can't go anywhere near it, or Ben because he smelled. ( I remember that he used to hide whenever I got sick when I was pregnant because he can't hear someone throw up either). Anyways, I cleaned up the floor and the boy then put him back to bed with instructions to get to a bathroom if he needed to throw up again. He did; while trying to get to OUR bathroom. In the living room again. guess who cleaned that up, too? And Ben. Again.

I then put Ben back to bed in our room, but he didn't like that. So I moved him to the couch. No ok.. so he went back to his room. No further problems arose, other then him crying wolf once. ugh.

Oh, you thought my day was over? Nope not even close.

The girls slept ina  little bit this morning so when I went to get them, they were covered in puke. I don't know which one did it or if it was both, but they were both covered in it, dried in their hair, oh and they had blow out poop diapers. great. Bath time for both babies who had to be scrubbed down and I had to pick dried chunks out of their hair. Not a great day for me.

The rest of the day I felt like I smelt puke everywhere, even after I shampooed the carpet and cleaned their bed. What a treat that after nap time, they have thrown up again. Luckily it was only on their clothes and legs and didn't require a full body cleaning.

After all the puke and poo I was feeling pretty queasy the rest of the day. Excess body fluid smells will do that to you. Toby felt so bad that I cleaned up everything that he is cleaning the rest of the house for me. If I had the choice, I would definitely pick cleaning the rest of the house.

But this work too.  By the way, did you get to the end? i told you not to read!! I just had to record this for later when I feel bad and need to know that life can't get worse.. lol

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Tired Little Ladies

Since the girls are almost 2, I can't really call thim my babies anymore. We now call them little ladies. They are such little cuties.. especially when they fall asleep at the dinner table. They do things together. Can you tell?

Peyton
 
 Addison
 Twinners
Passed out in her green beans

Homemade Diaperbag

Yes, you read right. I made my own diaper bag. I have a diaper bag already but it broke and now its sitting outside in the rain and heat and everything. Whatever. Anyways, I've been trying to find a diaper bag online that I like that was quality and less expensive. No so easy to find. I might end up buying a new one anyways, but for now, i love this one!!

 I started with this side.. I cut out all those squares then sewed them together.
 I was going to do the other side like the reverse side, but it took too much time.. and effort.
 The two sides are the same green and brown
You can also see the top "hem" that I did to cover up the craziness and make it uniform
 The inside is all one fabric, brown with blue flowers and green stems, it all matches
Here is the backside again
 The straps were both supposed to be the blue and brown but I ran out of fabric, 
but I kinda like it this way
Oh, and this is the wipes case I covered. (inspiration from makeit-loveit.com)

I know there are flaws in it, sewing mistakes and a few rips. I wish I did the top "hemming" better, but oh well. Its really nice and I love it.

Friday, July 29, 2011

A few weeks with my momma

A few weeks ago, my momma came to visit me. Its a long way since she lives in VA. I took the kids down to SLC to pick her up. Unfortunately, our A/C went out and its super hot here. The kids were not impressed. It was hotter in my car than it was outside. Yuck.

I stayed with a good friend overnight since my mom's flight got in around midnight. Silly girl got her am/pm mixed up. Can't say that I blame her, I get confused some times with it, too. Anyways, the next day we had a luncheon with a few friends that we knew in VA. We made chicken salad croissants and had fruit salad and punch and pasta salad. It was al so yummy.

One funny thing we noticed was that with all the kids and everyone that there were two people there named Sam, two named Noah, two named Wyatt, and also two sets of twins (mine and Lisa's). Super funny.

The next day we drove back to ID and back to my place. Having my momma here was so nice. (Now that its over, I can say this next part without being scared who sees it...) My husband was gone for 6 weeks for a class where he was camping during the week and home on the weekends. Pure torture for me because I was NOT feeling good at all and taking care of 3 kiddos by myself was really hard. Having my mom here for a last bit helped so much. She was there to play with the kids, wash some dishes, and mostly be there for me to talk to. Its hard being by yourself all week with no grown-up talk.

The second week she was here, we took a trip to visit my grandparents. My grandma had fallen a few weeks before and her physical therapy was making her pain worse. We stayed with my Uncle Allen and mom got things done for her momma. They also hadn't seen the girls since they were about a week old, so it was nice for them to see the girls and Ben again. It was hot and the kids were cranky, but it was good seeing them all again. We got my grandma into a rehab facility, thankful, and they can manage her pain and get her the help she needs.

When we came back, we spent out time hanging out, going to the park, and the Splash park, even the new water park. Its was so much fun having her here.

She was here for Ben's 3rd Birthday and helped me get everything together for it. She and my dad got him skated and a helmet plus safety pads. Also a Spider-man outfit. He loved all of it.

Thanks mom, for coming and spending time with me, even though it was probably mostly to see her grand babies because she misses them.

Thursday, July 28, 2011

Goals, schmoles

This year we set come pretty intense goals for the year. We wanted our house to be a House of Order, and a House of God. If you know me, you know that I'm not necessarily a tidy person. It can get out of comtrol pretty easily, I'm sad to say. Its getting better all the time, which is good.

Another goal was to have FHE every monday, scriptures and prayer as a family every night. We decided the other day that this goal is pretty much taken care of. We incorporated into out bedtime routine for the kids. Its works out great. We read about 5 verses a night, sometime more, or less depending on when the chapter ends. We are already in 2nd Nephi. I'm so proud, it really is a big accomplishment for our family.

We started new goals to work on, and they include: personal scripture study before bed, couple's prayer, individual prayer. 3 days in and we're doing good. I feel lots closer to Toby, spiritually, then we have. It has brought us closer together.

One thing I have noticed is my attitude towards... well, everything. I am much more in control of my mood and much less likely to explode at my kids. I am doing much better and keeping a tidy house, or rather, having the motivation to do so. Its really nice. Its amazing what reading the scriptures can do for your life. I highly recommend it.

We are much closer as a family and we are getting goal set, done and checked off our list. Its only took us half a year, right? But at least its getting done. I love my family and I'm starting to love myself. What more could I ask for?

Saturday, July 23, 2011

Can You Canoe?

Can-oe canoe? get it, like can you, can-oe? lol I know, I know, I'm funny. We went with some friends to Shoestring Lake in Wyoming. It was so much fun! Well, not at first, the kids were awful the first part. The girls hated and i mean HATED their life jackets. Too bad, huh? Here are some pictures from our awesome, awesome day!!












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