Spring Fever!

I've come to a conclusion - I am a weather-whiner!! Remember when I moved to Arizona and I cried because I missed seasons SO bad? I also thought I would die of heat the first fall when the rest of the country was cooling down and we were still into the 100s - until November. So now I'm back in a climate with seasons and, I pretty much hate it. I've decided that seasons are overrated. Friday it was in the 60s and and I was so HAPPY, but today it is cold and snowing again and I kind of want to cry. I pledge that if/when we move back to AZ (please,please,please) that I will appreciate it for what it is!! I have had spring fever since December 26th and it's getting worse every day.

What's a girl to do? How about shop for some fun springy clothes. Here's a few things that have made it onto my wish list recently:

Old Navy
Old Navy

Target

White House Black Market

Anthropologie

Boden

Aaahhh... I feel better already. Clearly my budget cannot handle all of this at once but a few things *might* already be on their way to me!

Come on spring!!

Hello beautiful....

where have you been all my life?!?

And thank you Zappos for the *nearly* instant gratification.

{Be back soon with a more meaningful update... or not}

I want this...

tank top for Makenna:

I saw it on a photography blog and fell in love. It says: Peace, Love, Lipgloss and is all cute and blingy.

So I did a quick google search. You too can own one for a mere $70 from Neiman Marcus. I'm not exactly practical when it comes to clothing my children but even this is WAY too much for me. Do you think I could make one myself? {Sigh}

Diaper Bags

A couple people commented on my diaper bag on the last post so I thought I'd take some close up shots so you can fully appreciate its cuteness. I have TWO bags this time around, one that my sister gave me and the other that I picked all the fabric for way back in September. My mom was going to sew the bag for me but decided to hire my sister's friend (who made the dotty bag) to do it for her! I love my bags and am always getting lots of compliments on them!

Dotty bag:

Floral bag:
Inside:Her stuff is SO well made and reasonably priced. Check out her website: Hanna Belle Boutique

Answers

You guys posed some tough questions! So here are the answers, as of right now.

1. Jenni wants me to come clean about being done having kids.

I don't really have a great answer for this one except that I WANT to be done. Three kids feels really good to us right now. I guess this is subject to change in the future but as of right now I think we're done! I feel like I can be a good mom to three kids but think four might push me over the proverbial edge.

2. Marie wants to know about my TWO root canals.

I'm actually in the midst of this situation right now so I can't tell the final story. Here's the rough synopsis. I haven't been to the dentist since right before we left CT. Kind of irresponsible but I had a clean bill of health in CT and we knew we would only be in WA for a year so we never found a dentist there. When we moved here, we tried to get some dental work done, only to find out after the fact that we had chosen horrible insurance through Al's work that hardly anyone in the valley took. So we changed our insurance for this year and I got into the dentist just a few weeks after Addie was born. It's a long story but during my appt. the dentist told me I needed TWO root canals and that it would cost me somewhere between $4-5K after my insurance. Needless to say, I freaked out. In the process we found out that even though the dentist technically takes our insurance, he is not a contracted provider with our company. So, I decided to go for the 2nd opinion and found that I MIGHT need 1 root canal and that the cost of everything including the possible RC would only be about $700. So I am now the poster child of:

a. don't skip your annual dental appts and

b. ALWAYS get a second opinion.

My appt. is next week so I will fill you in about whether or not I needed the RC at that point!

3. Hilary (who has a private blog) wants to know my foot care routine.

My feet are always dry since I don't think I've worn socks once since I've lived here in AZ (and I'm not complaining about that fact).

a. I scrub my feet every morning in the shower with my pumice stone, mostly just to get them nice and clean

b. I slather my feet every night before bed with Aquaphor cream. My dad has used this for years on my moms feet (my dad has given my mom a nightly foot massage their entire marriage - sigh-lucky lady ;)) You can get this at drug stores and the huge container lasts for a long time.

c. I use the GLORIOUS ped egg foot file a couple times a week. I've had this for a few months and can't believe how great it works on my feet. I think you can order it online but I got mine at Bed, Bath and Beyond for $10. It's the best purchase I've made in a long while.

d. I spring for one professional pedicure a month. I love it, it is one of my only indulgences and it's so nice to have someone else take care of me for an hour (plus, their massage chairs are heavenly). I wish I could go twice a month but practicality wins in this case.

4. Hilary also wants to know my stance on sleeveless clothes for my girls

My stance is only that I don't allow my girls to wear sleeveless to church. If I buy a sleeveless dress I layer a tshirt underneath or put a cardigan on top in the cooler months. This summer I'm buying less sleeveless but I don't have too much issue with it. Al has a bigger problem with it than I do. But I grew up wearing sleeveless and had no problem wearing sleeved clothes when I went to BYU/served a mission/got married. That said, the scary hoochie clothes that are popular now were NOT in style when I was a teen. I remember being absolutely MORTIFIED if my bra strap ever showed as a teen. Now, its commonplace and expected to have straps hanging out. My girls will not dress like that ever. This stance is also subject to change!

5. Kristi and Andrea want to know how WW is going.

It is going really well! I was planning on only updating once a month so this didn't become a weight loss blog. I've only weighed in twice but the first week I lost almost 4 lbs. I got a little smug after that first weigh in. The 2nd week I worked out a TON and didn't even eat all of my daily points and I only lost 1 lb. My WW leader told me that I HAVE to eat my daily points in order for my milk production to remain up so that's what I've been focusing on this week. I haven't found WW difficult this time but I attribute that to the fact that I get a lot of extra points while nursing. My best guess is that I'm down another 2-3 lbs. this week (according to my home scale) but have to skip my weigh in because Carter's spring concert is this week during my normal meeting time. I have to give HUGE props to Al because he is doing it with me. Blessed husband! It is a lot easier to do together (even though he doesn't really need to lose weight). I feel REALLY good though and that is what really counts.

6. Andrea wants to know about my new blog banner.

I created it in Photoshop. A huge thanks to Mindy who always holds my hand through my photoshop and blog woes. I've also been working on my sister Nicole's blog. This isn't the finished look but we're getting closer. Luckily for Mind and my other Photoshop expert friends I have am starting a Photoshop/Digital scrapbooking class next month!! I'm so excited!

Whew! This has taken a LONG time to write out so I will try to be better about answering questions in the future!

At least I'm consistent?

I've been eyeing this shirt at Target for a few weeks and finally took the plunge and bought it a few days ago. I LOVE the color of it (that green is for sure one of the "in" colors this season). I showed it to my friend that same afternoon and she agreed that it is adorable and even Al said he liked it. Then I went to hang it in my closet and saw this hanging in the green shirt section:that I purchased last spring at American Eagle. I'm not really sure how I forgot that I already have the EXACT same shirt, in green no less, purchased about 10 months ago. I don't really think you can tell how similar they are from these pictures. For the record, I like the green in the Target shirt better but I will be returning it. Obviously, I don't need the same shirt twice. I guess it means that my style hasn't changed in the last year.

Yum!!

Boden has their spring sneak preview online. Don't my chubby girls need this cuteness?

This outfit has been added to my bag for moi (post baby, obviously). Isn't that skirt just FANTASTIC!!:

Sigh.... I love it all.. I just have to narrow down the rest of my purchase. Holler if you want a look at the email (20% off plus free shipping/returns until the 15th).

I've been sucked in...

I've always thought Crocs are, well, pretty ugly. And I have sworn up and down that I personally wouldn't be caught dead in them. Then... I was on their website trying for the zillionth time to order the Mary Janes for Makenna and saw the Alice Shoe and decided I could see myself in these. I ordered them at the same time I ordered Makenna the Alice Kids (because after all, as ugly as crocs are, they are truly the best invention ever in kids' shoes). Both pair came in the mail this week and I must admit that I've been sucked in. Now, I have my eye on the Celeste Canvas for me (in red and pink) and the Batman Cayman for Carter. Just as a warning, the shipping from Crocs.com is outrageous. I'm hoping I can find these locally so I don't have to order online again. (sorry I can't post pictures from the Crocs website, you'll have to peek). My mom will be so proud. Crocs are a proud Colorado company and she has been trying to get me over to the dark side for a long time.

As an aside, am I the only 30 something woman out there that has trouble with fall/winter footwear?! What are you all wearing on your feet these days? Stacy and Clinton insist that if you're over 30, chunky footwear is a big no -no. I'm not a big fan of the ballet flat look, though it is very slowly growing on me. Boots are are little ridiculous in my current climate, these have been my staple in past winters in colder climates. So ladies, weigh in here. Whatcha wearing?

The Motherload

Today I hit the Gymboree Circle of Friends sale. I came away with the motherload of stuff for the new baby. I have been itching to buy layette stuff for over a year but have held off until now. I'll obviously return the half I don't need after we find out what we're having on TUESDAY!!

For Boy:

For Girl:

I actually would have bought more if they would have had more summer lines out. I also got 2 outfits for Makenna and one for Carter (none of these were on sale). The grand total? $206 -- when you split that between the 13 outfits, 1 blanket and 1 swimsuit I purchased, it ends up being just over $15 per outfit. Considering what I can resell these for on ebay, I'm fairly certain I'll break even. Love that!

Enabler Alert!

Most of you know my love for kids clothes and Gymboree. Well, Gymbo just came out with a brand new store called Crazy 8. Prices are on par with Old Navy and the clothes are really cute. They only have a few retail stores open right now but I just placed my first online order and will let you know the quality once they arrive. Here's a sampling of the cuteness:

Happy Shopping!!

Happiness in a box.

Good mail day today. I got the first shipment of my Boden order. What? You've never heard of Boden. Let me formally introduce you. www.bodenusa.com

I love these clothes. I was first introduced to them about a year ago. They are an English company and their clothes are DELICIOUS (as far as clothing can be). And they are beautifully made. They are kind of pricey so you wouldn't want to buy your entire wardrobe from them but a few key signature pieces each season are great. I bought a few things for winter from them and get so many compliments every time I wear their stuff. So this year I sprung for a couple dresses, a swimsuit and a couple skirts. I love that their stuff is young and trendy and modest. They also have amazing customer service. Also, if you sign up for their email list you can get invited to their sales (which is when I buy all of my stuff).

Feast your eyes (and don't blame me when you fall in love and have to buy something).