etsy shop

i have been working on this for months and i have finally opened my etsy shop!

i also have a blog for the shop that i will update when i have new items in the shop.

so you can follow the blog for updates! click on the links below

Shop:

Blog:

help me spread the word =)

this soon-to-be-stay-at-home-mama's got to find a way to help pay the billz!

i will be doing a giveaway soon to help promote my site so stay tuned!

(there is also a link to my shop under my blog header at the top of my blog)

 

 

UltraSound

we had our first (and more than likely last) ultra sound on Monday

it was so fun to see the little thing in there just hangin out growing away.

it was also nice to see that things are forming and growing properly

we didn't find out the gender and won't till it comes!

crazy i know =)

we only got a few pics and they all seemed to be the same but here is one of them.

 i also have a little video so maybe ill add that later (i don't have it with me now)

thats our little baby!

its so crazy.

i know that women go through pregnancy and have babies every day but its just so new to me that i feel like its unreal and that im the only one experiencing this lol

it's hard to explain but it just seems so weird that right now millions of women are experiencing the exact same thing i am.

anyways, after the u/s we had a mini photoshoot in front of the birth center.

i wanted to get some of my growing belly but didnt get any good ones.

i'll try again soon =)

i got a new camera so that will help me be better about taking photos

the baby decided to start moving around like CRAZY that night and now i KNOW what i am feeling in there! it's so fun!


i'll be 20 weeks this friday....which means HALF WAY THERE!!

whoa. its kinda freaky that in 5 months we will have a little human to take care of. OUR little human!
5 MONTHS!!!
holy crap

Additional Relief Society Meeting: Bee Keeping

A couple months ago we learned about bee keeping

There were some ladies in our RS that were interested (including me!) in learning about how to keep bees. If brock and I hadn't sold our house, we were going to start this this year so it was fun to learn more about it.

I asked Luke from the ward who has some hives of his own to come and teach us all about it.

He did an amazing job and shared so much information and at the end tied it in to the gospel with the general conference talk about bees

Be Anxiously Engaged by M. Russell Ballard

that was my favorite talk from that conference and I was so excited when he referenced it and tied his lesson together perfectly.

I wanted to keep with the theme of bees for the food so I made scones with different types of honey.

There is a honey shop near us that had fruit enfused honey so I got a raspberry enfused and a mango enfused honey. They were really yummy.

I asked them how they do it and all they do is get DRIED fruit from like whole foods or trader joes and chop it up into small peices and mix it in then let it sit for a week.

I also had normal honey and some syrup and podered sugar for the scones.

I had a bottle of honey for each of the sisters to take home.

Just got those at the dollar store.

 The wooden honey dippers were from the same honey shop for a couple bucks each.

I found the prints on google and just printed them off and framed them in white thrifted frames


The rest of the decor I just had at home

Luke brought a bunch of bee keeping supplies to show us how they are used

We learned a lot and it was nice to have an activity that someone else did the teaching other than me =)



Kyles Graduation

 

 

 

last friday we had the privelage of being a part of Kyle's graduation night.

 

he graduated with his MRED (masters in real estate development)

 

amber and grant met up with us later for pizza from the pie and blue bell!! yum.

 

 

 

 

 

I look up to this little family so much.

cole is missing in this pic.

4 year olds have way more important thing to do than pose for pics =)

 

in the words of brock

"we are very pleased with your accomplishments kyle" =)

 

 



Additional Relief Society Meeting: Soap Making

I am a few months behind on posting my additional meetings.

a few months ago I tought the ladies how to make hand soap, and laundry soap.

something I have been doing for about a year and a half.

i tried two recipes in the begining and stuck with them because i loved them and wanted to share them with the sisters in my ward.

We had a light lunch and then

 I did a demonstration for them on how to make it and had a recipe for each one for them to take.

I have included the recipes I use at the bottom of this post.

I also gave them the price break down to show them how much savings is possible when you make your own soap
unfortunately I didn't get too many pictures.

 

 

I made a batch beforehand so that each sister could take a bottle home.

I found super cheap bottles here

They ended up being about 46 cents per bottle including the pump!

 

 

here are the recipes I use



How I told brock we are pregnant

 

 

This is how I announced to Brock that we were pregnant

 

 

I found out the day before (blog post here)

and too the next day off to come up with a way to tell him.

that, and I was way to excited to sit at a desk for 8 hours

 

 

Here are some more pics and the video

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Heart Beat

 

 

i had an appointment with my midwife yesterday.

THE appointment.

the one where we get to hear the heart beat.

 

i have been anxiously awaiting this appointment because something paranoia had me convinced that i was no longer pregnant.

 

so much so that i had already invisioned the text/blogpost/calls that i would have to make saying that we had lost the baby.

 

so much so that as much as i wanted to have that moment of hearing the heart beat on camera, i couldn't bear to have on camera us finding out that we had lost the baby. so i didn't bring the camera.

 

so much so that i had already invisioned calling in sick the next day because how could i possibly go to go into work the next day like everything was normal,

when in reality i had just lost a part of me, a part of us. our baby.

 

this was a real fear that i did not want to be my reality, but i knew that i had no control over it.

so we made it to our appointment, brock got off a couple hours early so he could make it with me, which i was/am very grateful for. again, becuase i was so scared that i wouldn't hear the heart beat and the thought of being there all alone when that happened was unbearable.

sadly, these were my very real thoughts.

 

but i am so relieved and ecstaticly happy to say that we heard that little heart beat beatin away!

it was music to my ears.

i didn't realize the severity of what that little sound would do to me.

 

immediately i felt an immense bond with the little life that is growing inside me.

immediately this all became REAL.

immediatley amisdt tears, i was so releaved that our baby was in there moving and thriving.

immediately i felt gratitude to my Heavenly Father who has made this miracle happen and

has given us this amazing opportunity.

that little swooshing heartbeat brought on a flood of emotion and excitment and gratitude.

 

there is a baby growing inside me guys!!!!!

 

brock was so sweet and just as excited to hear that little heart beat. he keeps reminding me what it sounded like and will make the sound =)

he told me thanks for being a good momma and gave me a sweet hug in the parking lot after we left the office.

what an amazing day and an amazing gift we have to be women and mothers and carry babies!!

 

i am so relieved to have heard the heart beat and to now be in my second trimenster (15 wks today) where the risk of miscarriage is much much lower. i will not waste any more of my time worrying that i have lost my baby and will soak up every moment of this pregnancy till this baby is here (headaches included i guess) all the while keeping in mind that Heavenly Father has control over everything and he knows what is best for me and my sweet husband and our little family.

 

we will get to see the baby on the 13th of may when i have my first (and only, unless there are any complications or need) ultrasound! that will be another trip, actually being able to SEE the little thing in there!

 

 

another picturless post =( boo. i will be better about taking pics. brock-help me k?

 

 





I've got a bad case of the pregnancies!

 

growing a human is hard work!

on the forefront (or should i say forhead!): headaches!
i spoke too soon last week when i said i am so lucky i haven't gotten any headaches yet, which was an automatic expectation for this cronic headache girl.
but then they came. and boy did they come!
its usually on the left side of my head. peircing pounding pain.
and don't tell me i can take tylenol for them, cause i know. and i have. and it does NOTHING!
i have been using essential oils as well and sometime it helps (as in eases it maybe 15-25%) and sometimes the smell just makes them worse!
the pain was so bad the other day it made me physically sick =(
i am to the point where i feel like i am always on the verge of another debilitating headache all the time so i dont want to make any sudden movements or look at bright lights just to try to avoid one.
please tell me this is like a first trimester kinda thing.
man.alive

the other joys of growing a human
two words:
back pain.
another shockingly horrible surprise.
i did NOT expect back pain this severe this early on.
its just as bad (luckily less frequent) than the headaches!
two saturdays ago i had a RS activity to help put on.
after about 5 hours or work, i limped into the house and went to the bed immediately thinking that getting of my back would help.
i laid down and my sweet husb brought me some frozen peas so i could alternate hot and cold.
by the  time he came back in the room, i couldn't move.
i couldn't pull myself up, or to the side or even roll over.
Brock pulled me up and i immediately screached out in pain saying back down! put me back down!
so i laid there and cried like a little baby. it hurt!
 i've never experienced any sort of back pain like that.
needless to say, i have had back pain on and off since then (and a little before just not as severe)
i think it is my sciatic....based on stuff i have looked up on the internet.
i've been tryin to pin point the stressors that quickly spin me into old lady limping but i just can't figure out if it is when im on it too much, or im not moving enough.
either way, it suUucks

lets see, what else..

oh. my face fuzz (aka peach fuzz on my face) is growing like crazy.
 boo. gross. boo.


ive been wearing maternity pants for like 2 weeks now and i am fairly certain i will wear them for the rest of time. so comfortable!
that and maxi skirts! we had a girls night with the sil's and we made maxi skirts.
i made a black one and love it! i have 3 more to make so if anyone wants to come over and make them with me please! come!
for realsies

then there are the rest of the normal things like smells.
everything brock eats pretty much makes me leave the room.
and pizza. just the thought is enough to send me into a heaving heap of hot mess.
y.u.c.k

and pee. tmi?
oops
i have to go SO much and its starting to effect my sleep. 3 times a night is the record so far and it is freaking annoying. i just want to sleep!
i know you are all murmuring "get use to it!"


i will be in my second trimester at the end of this month and i can't wait!
i am hoping that after that (and my next apt where i will hear the heart beat) my crazy thoughts of "is my baby still alive in there" will ease a bit. maybe not, but i am hopeful it will after those two milestones.

in other news, we are selling our house and moving to bountiful!
YAY!!!
we just countered our first offer today so pray for us that it will all go through without a hitch!


p.s i think i will do the occasional pregnancy update, just to document and remember the things i am experiencing here on the blog, but don't expect a weekly bump update!
lets face it, i looked 3 months pregnant before i even got pregnant so the bump wont be too exciting till its a real bump. not just a im fat bump!

yaknowwuddimean?

p.p.s  sorry for this pictureless boring post. i have been sadly horrible at taking pics lately.
also a i need to post about how i told brock we are preg. i'll get that one in the works here soon.


p.p.p.s although growing a human is hard, and there are some not so fun things about it, i am so grateful for all the symptoms i am experiencing because each one just means there is life growing inside me, and i am able to experience this amazing blessing that i know so many struggle with.

ok im out.

12wks 1day

baby brash: this is how it all went down

warning: this post has period talk in it!
 

brock and I started trying back in august. from the begining I always felt like I would get pregnant right away. and for most people 6 months is right away so I can't complain.

my dr. told me it would take about a year for the first time so that was in my mind.

I wasn't going to worry until that time.

my last cycle included an iffy period. I had some spotting for the first couple days then nothing.

that was unusual because my periods are always the same, never any surprises.

but my first thought did not automatically go to "I must be pregnant"

I just thought it was weird and kept telling Brock that it was weird.

finally after 5 days of no regular period I decided it was time to take a test.

but it was sunday. and I didnt have one!

so i had to wait until mondady.

I stopped by Harmons on my way to work and took it when I got to work.

yep. all by myself!

it was a surreal experience to say the least.

the test was immediately positive.

and I couldnt believe my eyes.

a bunch of things went through my mind.

the first was gratitude.

then i collected myself and left the bathroom, pee test in hand and sat at my desk and stared at it.

then i relized i was having all these thoughts and emotions so i opened up a bog post and started jotting down them down in a draft.

here is the list in raw form lol

"holy crap"

"im shaking"

"my heart is still pounding"

"is this for real?"

"of course im preg, i didnt start my period"!

"how do people keep this a secret for so long"!

"how am i going to tell brock"!

"I cant concentrate or focus"

"I keep looking at the test"!.

I probably looked at the test 50 times in the first hour.

then the following jotted feelings:

"the plus sign has faded its been about an hour.. now i am wanting to test again just for that confirmation."

"I dont want to get my hopes up for something that might have been a false pos. but they are pretty much already up now."

I went and picked up three more tests different brand this time from all-a-dollar.



"just took another test (a different kind) still pos"!! =)

then I decided to have a little fun with Brock!

I sent him the following email:

 

 



then I started scheming how I was going to tell him. that got me even more excited!

before we even started trying I knew how I wanted to tell him, but that didn't end up working out because my source moved to California and it would have taken a few days and I couldn't wait that long to tell him so I came up with a new plan. I will do a seperate post on that.

 

So here are the deets:

I will be 10 weeks on friday.

we couldnt wait to tell people. At first I wanted to wait till 14 weeks to tell people, Brock is all about telling people and I really wanted to also cause we were/are so excited but I was worried about miscarriage of course.

then I started thinking about it and thought you know what, if I do have a miscarriage, thats whats supposed to happen and people deal with that everday. I will handle it regardless if people know Im preg or not.

so there.

 

my due date as per google.com is Oct 3.

I have my first visit on Wed Mar 6th so we will see how far off that date is!

 

I will do another post about my birth plan (yes I alreayd have one, and have had one for months! I have been reading so many books since we started trying and have chosen the right path for me and our family.)

 

so thats where we are at!

 

Posts to come:

how I told brock

birth plan

 

wooohoo!!

 

oh ps. an explanation of "baby brash"

on the norton side all the marrieds have celeb names like "branjalina" (brad and anjalina)

 

ours is brash (brock and ash)

 

hence "baby brash"

 

 

 

 



and baby makes three!

 

well we are pregnant!

obviously i have a ton to blog about, and plan on it sommmmeday but with no internet at home its kinda hard. hopefully i will get around to it soon.

until then,

here is a vid of us announcing to my sisters that we are pregnant!

best reaction ever!

love them!

 

 

additional RS meeting: pancake party!

 

here is a link to last months A.R.S.M a get to know you night with an owl theme.

 

this month for the additional RS message I did a pancake party.

 

we had a bunch of pancake mix left over from a summer breakfast that the ward did, so in attempts to use what we already had, I came up with a pancake bar.

 

I just gathered some frames from around the house and created some some chalkboard typography, which is all the rage in pinterest land, and for good reason. It's super cute.

 

I thrifted the three silver vases? buckets? (I don't know what they are called?) for 5 bucks and filled them with stuff I found outside.

 

Unfortunately I forgot the table cloth, so everything looks a bit unfinished but other than that it all came together nicely. (sadly I did not get a pic with the pancake platters. they went in that big empty space) 

 

 

 

I made 4 different kinds of pancakes:

buttermilk

pumpkin

cottage cheese

whole wheat

 

 

sadly I didn't get any pictures of them on the table.

 

 

 

for toppings I did

blueberries

raspberries

choc chips

powedered sugar

 

 

along with

syrup

honey

strawbery jam

raspberry jam

 

 

 

 

I bought the sqeeze bottles (98 cents each) from walmart and made some labels.

the jams and stuff were in mason jars with labels I made.

 

I found this birdcage (I have been wanting one forever but havent found anything inexpensive till now) at ross for 7 bucks! I was happy about that find. I think I am going to spraypaint it for my house now that I have used it for this (i didn't purchase it for this specific thing, it was just good timing as I have been looking for one forever)

 

I had bought the two metal baskets at a thirft store for 2.50 and put some moss in there for the jars.

 

I added a couple candles and a goard (sp?) for some filler and that was it.

I put the pancakes on silver platters in the big empty space on the table =)

and a water jug on the end of the table (after the pics were taken)

 

 

for the thought/lesson I talked about visting teaching.

I wanted to give the sisters some fun cheesy ideas to use when they visit teach just to break the ice and have some fun with it.

 

I had three bottles of soda each with the saying "We're soda-lighted to be your visiting teachers"

and 2 packages of grands rolls with the saying "We think you're GRAND. Love you visiting teachers"

I gave them to the first 5 sisters that got to the meeting, to give to their visiting teach-ees

 

 

 

I also found this really cute calling card on pinterest that I printed off for everyone to give the sisters they visit

 

 

FREE DOWNLOAD FOUND HERE

 

 

I also had a poem for them that I printed off and cutified  (did i just make up a word?)  with some scrapbook paper:

 

 

 

 I created a free download here for you to print your own!

If you would like to use any of these, feel free to comment and I can email them to you!

 

 

 

 

 



the fair

 

i LOVE the fair.

 

the people watching.

the corn on the cob.

 the funnel cake.

our personal favs

 

 

not sure what's with the spots on the pic?
 

and now for a very flattering pic of me stuffing my face with corn on the cob.

its tradition



 

we watched a dive show. kinda cool to see the divers dive from the verrrry top platform..

.allll the way up by the top flag

 

 

 



the rest of trek

 

 

our family

and i'm sure that the pioneers had cool stunna shades just like us.

 

this last pic is at the very top, where i was fairly certain i was going to kill over and die.

 

right after this we read letters that we had written to eachother and brock's didn't dissapoint.

he is perhaps the sweetest husband in all the land.

 





trek

 

brock and i were called to be a ma' and pa' for our stake trek this summer

 

they did it at this is the place monument.

 

it was a fun experience that i hope i dont have to experience again ;)

 

 

"this is the place" is SOOOO quaint and beautiful.

they have a whole pioneer world set up up there!

 

while people were eating, 
i took a little walk around by myself

just as the sun was setting.
 it was so beautiful and peaceful.

 

i want to live here.

likeforreals

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Girls night out

 

renee was in town for a few days for the doterra convention back in sept so i decided to set up a girls night out with the sister in laws.

 

we headed out to provo to eat and get some bluebell ice cream!