Money Mondays Stuffed Animals Edition.

I still really love the little stuffed animals from http://www.curlyqcuties.com/ They have a new site where you can go and design your own stuffed animal. I love it. They are $25.00 I always want to get them for people and the other day I was wasting time on their website and I realized I really just want them for myself. I don't know if it is normal for a grown adult to want piles and piles of stuffed animals but Danielle seems quite happy to throw herself in piles of pillows and stuffed animals. I still don't have a pile big enough. Don't you think John would feel really loved if I designed him his very own stuffed animal monster?
Well I taught Relief Society this Sunday. I was super nervous which is surprising- I just don't know these women as well and it makes teaching scarier than usual. Claire came to visit earlier in the week (she left before Sunday) We have no photo Evidence. (at least not on my camera) I used my mad paintbrush skills to prove that we spent some time together. Claire got a green shirt and I got a blue one and Danielle got a cute pink dress she wore to church. She is in nursery and she really likes it- it is weird to have her go to a class and be happy and not really know what she did. She seems to really like it but the new feeling will take some getting used to. (don't get me wrong- it is a super good feeling). Claire and I worked on some really cool designed baby onesies. Claire and I were a pretty formidable baby onesie decorating team. I also wanted to make one with a little tie on it but Claire doesn't like those. I have never had a boy so maybe she is right. Overall it was a great week, despite baby Danielle gets sick and throws up all over her crib time. It's pretty shocking when you are going about your life and then your baby wakes up early from her nap with a stinky diaper and throw up all over her and all her crib stuffed animals and everywhere. I guess that just wasn't really in my picture of mommyhood- and who do you tell that at first you just wanted to walk back out and wish it all never happened. I would never do that of course but I realized how much I have come to expect certain things of the baby routine and unpleasant surprises are not welcome. Poor baby Danielle- she threw up a few times and I was so worried! Turns out she had pulled a little sunscreen stick from a toy bin by her bed and eaten it. Throwing up was good so she didn't get really sick but I didn't know that. I don't know if the lion will ever look the same after his visit to the washer, but Danielle is better now. Hopefully.

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Things That Make My Life Better.

My life is awesome. One of the things that makes my life better than most is pictured here. I have been pretty involved in cutting out coupons and using them and I was pretty thrilled when I learned that part a two year supply is also cleaning supplies. Some of the shaving cream I got for less than a dollar!
Every time I use a bin it ends up on top- but this organization was from the original set up. You can't see the bathroom cleaner in this picture. I decided to have a set of cleaner in each bathroom. Does this make me more lazy that I don't want to carry the cleaner from one bathroom to another. Also how specific should the first aid bin be? Maybe I shouldn't post these things online.

Oh why is the Container Store the best place on earth? Everything in my life is organized these days.
Maybe I need more outside friends.

Maybe I just need more bins.

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My disgusting little Toddler

I think little kids can be pretty dirty creatures. When they aren't trying to grab the dog's tongue or bring you a dirty diaper they are throwing food all over the world and dumping anything they can on themselves. Also Danielle likes to carry around her toilet seat. and today she dumped her yogurt drink on her plate with the ketchup and stirred it up, then put the hot dog in the container. After mashing it up she wanted to share. This is probably just bad karma for daring to feed my daughter a hot dog.
This from the child that cries if she has to walk outside without shoes on.

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Peacemakers

This summer we got to go on a lot of cool trips. Trips that I kept hidden from the world. Maybe out of fear. One of the most relaxing trips was to Bellingham WA. I love Bellingham. Some of the highlights included visiting Calhan and Liz. Ok that's about all we did but we got to go hiking and see stuff- all with Calhan and Liz. You might not know Calhan Ring and Liz Hart (fantastic names). They are my friends from high school and they live in house in Bellingham and have lots of good books and chickens in the backyard. I really liked the paint in their kitchen and I wanted to stay and read all the books. We did lots of cool things and we got to eat Rocket Donuts. I recommend the rocket donuts to everyone- especially the apple fritter that is as big as your face.
I haven't really stayed in touch with anyone from high school except for a little thing called facebook that was invented. Liz is quite good at keeping in touch with people which could be motivated by her good penmanship. I would probably be better at writing people letters if mine was that good just so I could look at my own letters. Then again I might just keep them to read again and again. It would probably be really important to write your husband love notes if you have good penmanship because then you can read them occasionally. Liz also has forgiven me for stealing her book in high school called "Please Understand Me" about the Meyers Briggs Personality test. Once in high school someone gave me a piece of steak for my birthday. Not from a cow- a ceramic one that was painted. I believe I still have it and I always attributed it to Liz but this trip she said she had no idea what I was talking about and that she never took ceramics so this trip brought mystery- who gave me that excellent present?
Liz is a social worker and Calhan is a mediator and sometimes John would recognize Calhan smoothing over conflict. I think some people are natural peacemakers. I am not one of them, but they really are fun to hang out with. Our visit made me think about the peacemakers I know in life and realize that it is quite rare to have that gift. Sometimes I wonder if I really would want to be a peacemaker- I really dislike people who are phony and some people pretend everything is OK at the expense of honesty. People who cave under pressure or just agree with you because they don't enjoy conflict are the most likely to stab you in the back. Peacemakers just naturally invite people to look outside themselves.
I am still not sure what it would mean for me to want to be more of a peacemaker. But one thing I do know- I love donuts. A lot.

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Money Mondays Famous Edition

Well this Monday I bought something that was really thrilling. I bought the CD from someone I know. Kasey Anderson. You can check out his website at kaseyanderson.com and then I bought his CD on iTunes. He has two CD's that you can buy on his site and you can even get a shirt. I was pretty excited to learn that you can buy his music on iTunes. I really like iTunes and I feel like being able to buy it on iTunes means that he is pretty famous. And we went to high school together. I am friends with someone famous. You should buy his CD now. It is "country alternative" and has a slight Bob Dylan feel.
He has lots of press on his site- here is some of it.

"[The Reckoning] delivers on the promise of 2004's Eric Ambel-produced Dead Roses -- and then some. A versatile and confident songwriter and singer, Anderson nails these hard-luck tales with grit and gumption."
No Depression

"[The Reckoning] is a rough, visceral collection of songs that rip through a personal landscape of love and loss."
The Chicago Sun-Times

Cost on ITunes?: $9.90
(or get a physical CD for $15.00)

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