A tag or two or three...

Quirky Tag

I've been tagged (by Corinne) to type 6 unspectacular (otherwise known as quirky) personal qualities about myself. Here are the tag rules.

1. Link the person who tagged you
2. Mention the rules on your blog
3. Tell about 6 unspectacular quirks of yours
4. Tag 6 fellow bloggers by linking them
5. Leave a comment on each of the tagged blogger's blogs letting them know they've been tagged.

Here are my 6. (It took me quite a while to think of these, not to say that I'm not quirkly, but I just don't notice these things unless I'm looking for them.)

1. I count things weird when I'm baking. For example, when I'm counting the cups of flour or sugar I'm putting in, I will think ahead to the next number or I start thinking about how it's divisible by a certain set of numbers and that I could just count those sets a certain number of times. I have to be really careful so that I don't lose track of the number I'm really on, or I have to start all over or guess. It drives me crazy, but I can't seem to stop! I also count the cookies as I'm taking them off the cookie sheet and I arrange them in a pattern and if one doesn't fit quite right on the cooling rack, I eat it.

2. I can't have cold feet when I go to bed or I can't sleep and I stay cold all night, but I hate to wear socks to bed, so sometimes I will wear them until my feet are warm or they start to drive me crazy and then take them off.

3. Sometimes I'm afraid of the dark so bad that I want to call my mom. I get these weird memories in my head from first grade when the second graders would play bloody Mary or whatever it was in the bathroom and I can't look in a mirror when it's dark either.

4. Light switches that are in a group have to be pointing the same direction when all the lights are off. I will walk the extra steps to make it so and have done this since I was young.

5. I love lists. I make lists all the time. Most of the time I should just get to work doing the stuff I'm putting on my list and then I would be done instead of just making the list because usually I put too much stuff on the list and then I feel overwhelmed and don't even start on my list. But I love it when I find an old list and go through it to find that I actually did most of the stuff on the list, just not in the time frame I had in mind.

6. When I am at home or with my husband I make funny noises when things happen. This is a hard one for me to explain. I think it started when we were dating, but I have different noises when things happen that I don't like and things happen that I do like. They rotate through a variety, but usually don't cross over if that makes any sense. If not, don't worry about it because I usually don't make the noises in public so you won't need to interpret them ever lol!

Picture Tag
4th file, 4th picture. Actually, I can't do that because I have files within files within files, so I just picked a random picture. This one is on my birthday last year. Chris and I went to Bubbas BBQ with some of my greatest friends. It was a blast! Little did I know that I was prego at the time...

Fours Tag (from Reagan)

4 jobs I have had:

1. Librarian
2. Waitress
3. Hostess
4. Secretary
   

4 movies I have seen more than once:

1. Enchanted
2. Mulan
3. Ice Age
4. Sahara
   

4 places I have lived:

1. Rexburg
2. Blackfoot
3. Florida
4. Mississippi
   

4 TV shows I watch:

1. The Office
2. LOST
3. Bones
4. House
   

4 places I have visited:

1. Grandma's
2. Chihuahua Mexico
   
3. Rexburg
4. Alberta Canada
   

4 celebrities I have met:

1. Jeffery R. Holland
   
2. Boyd K. Packer
3. David A. Bednar
4. Dallin H. Oaks
   

4 of my favorite foods:

1. French Fries
2. Corn Dogs
3. Hamburgers
4. Rainbow Chip Cake with Rainbow Chip Frosting
   

4 places I would like to visit:

1. Spain
2. France
3. Japan
   
4. Italy
   

4 things I'm looking forward to this coming year:

1. Losing weight
2. Sewing on my new sewing machine!
   
3. Ivy's first birthday
4. Making a jean quilt
   

I will tag anyone who hasn't had a chance to do these yet because I've been seeing them around, but can't remember who has and hasn't done them. Have fun!

I love this little flower!

This is my little halloween flower garden and the best part is....NO WEEDS! Maybe a little spit up, a dirty diaper or two, and lots of drool, but not weeds :) Isn't she cute? Thanks to my mil for sending it to us!

New Do...

I needed to do something with my hair so that it would be easy to do because I have been feeling like a scrounge. Anyway, I had some time today because Chris is a sweetheart and let me get out of the house for a while. Here's what happened...

It turned out better than I had hoped for, so I'm excited. Now to get rid of that double chin...

Apples, Apples, and more guess what...Apples

Last week, from Wednesday to Saturday, I went to Idaho to help my mom can apples. We did pie apples, applesauce, and we also dried apples and experimented with fruit leather. We also made a denim quilt for my brother Grant. It was fun to see my parents and also some other family and a few friends as well. Ivy slept on the way there as well as on the way back, so that was a relief. She started getting really fussy the last couple days, but was pretty good for the most part. All in all it was a good trip, but we were really glad to get back home.

Our happy little helper.

Eating good food (Bubba's BBQ) with great friends.
Meeting up with new and old friends.

And just for fun, here's a recipe that I got from my grandma while I was there. It's really yummy :)

Apple Cakes

Ingredients:
4 C chopped apples (about 7 med. apples)
2 C sugar
1 C shortening
3 eggs
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
3 C flour
1 C water
1/3 C oatmeal

Directions:
Mix sugar and shortening. Add eggs and mix. Add the rest of the ingredients. Bake 45 min. at 350º. Can bake as cupcakes or in a bread pan like banana bread. Frost with brown sugar frosting or eat plain.

Ivy's New Favorite Passtime

Look Alikes

So I think that Ivy looks a lot like Chris and his side of the family, but this is a picture of my mom when she was younger and I think there's quite a bit of resemblance, what do you think?

Thanks!

Ivy and I want to say thanks to our friend Barb. Ivy says thanks for her cute cute new outfit and I say thanks for taking me out to Cold Stone and for being such a great friend!

I want to say thanks to Jonesy for being there when I really needed it most and for making the trek out to visit us. You are also a great friend!

I want to thank Chris for letting me leave the house for a little bit each day so I can keep my sanity, and also for being the best husband EVER!

Tag

So Tara tagged me with this a while ago, but I'm just now getting to it.

Rules: list 3 joys, 3 fears, 3 goals, 3 current obsessions, and three random facts about yourself. Tag 5 people at the end.

Joys
1. Being a wife.
2. Being a mother.
3. Being a friend.

Fears
1. Being a bad wife, mother, or friend.
2. Losing someone I love.
3. Falling down the stairs, especially while holding Ivy.

Goals
1. To finish my unfinished projects one day.
2. To pass my French Praxis one day.
3. To lose my prego weight if not more.

Obsessions
1. Cosmic Brownies (they were on sale 10 for $10 and I was hungry)
2. Sleep because I'm so deprived these days.
3. Watching Kitchen Nightmares.

Random Facts
1. I have a birth mark that is just like my mom's.
2. I not only speak Spanish, but also some French.
3. I now own a small tree named Filbert.

I tag
1. Corinne
2. Tamara
3. Lynette
4. Tenise
5. Erica

Update

Ivy's 8 Week Checkup
12 lbs 6 oz
24 inches
(close to 90th percentile on both of those)

She's growing like a weed!!! I can't believe it!
She loves to be held and rocked. Also, we got a new bouncy seat and while I wouldn't say she loves it, I think she enjoys it some of the time. I am loving it because I can bounce her without my arms getting tired :) Sometimes she'll "talk" to me now, which is sooo fun! And if you notice her gloves in the picture above it because like so many babies she keeps scratching herself. (Thanks Lanette for lending the mittens to us!) She slept for 5 hours straight the other night which was awesome!!!!! Her diapers have begun to explode on occasion, usually while in my lap...thank goodness for stain stick! She also peed on the changing table in the mother's room at church because her mom (yup that's me) wasn't fast enough putting the new diaper under her. Thanks to my angel for the day, Paulette, for helping clean up!

I'd love to hear how you other mothers get stains out and also how you help your child enjoy tummy time. Leave a comment if you have any advice :)

Ivy's Blessing

What a wonderful and exhausting day. Thanks to all who could come!

Two years already!?!?

Yup, it's already been two years! I can't believe how time flies when you're having fun. I just want to say HAPPY ANNIVERSARY to my love and best friend. Thanks for hanging in there with me through all my emotional breakdowns and for being the best husband in the world! You're perfect :) Love you!!! (And I'm excited to go eat at Benihana's!)

One month already!?!?

Ok, so it's not the best picture in the world, but it's what you get for now. I can't believe that a month has gone by already! The last month of pregnancy felt like it was a year long and this last month has flown by like it was a week or even a day!!! Anyway, I'm happy to report that she's growing like a weed and she'd better well be since all she wants to do is eat. Anyway, we love our little baby bean and are sooo glad to have her in our lives and in our family.

It's amazing what people can do!

The Correct Way to Weigh Yourself

My cousin just sent this to me in an e-mail and I thought it was hilarious!! If only it were true :)

Two Week Checkup

I can't believe it's been over 2 weeks already! Time is just flying by! When Ivy was born she weighed 8 lbs 11 oz and was 20 in. At her 2 week check up she weighed 8 lbs 13 oz and measured 21 1/2 in. I can't believe how fast they grow!!!!!

Some things I've noticed about Ivy are that she fusses just when she needs something. At night, she'll wake up to be fed and changed and then go right back to sleep (let's hope that continues). She's had some smiles that reach her eyes already. She loves to be bounced. She likes to stare at the ceiling fan. She's really strong and started holding her head up from day 2. She loves to look in the mirror while being changed. You have to be super quick when changing her diaper or you might get a surprise. She loves bath time as long as she has a full stomach and until she gets cold.

Some things I would like to remember about her birth are that her daddy was very brave and watched everything and then cut her umbilical cord. When she finally was out and crying they laid her on top of me still juicy and everything. It was the most beautiful sight I've ever seen and we cried together. We were supposed to be induced Thursday morning, but they gave me a little pill the night before that did the trick and we didn't even need the pit. My water broke around 1 am and they were quick to give me an epidural (love it!) then, around 6-6:30ish I was really feeling like things were progressing and I needed to be checked on, but waited till 7:30 a.m. The nurse checked me and I was ready to go, but they just kept telling me to wait and that they were waiting on a nurse. I was soooo frustrated until I found out that there were 6 women all ready to give birth right then and only 2 nurses. There was a crisis, a cesarean, and pretty much chaos. We were finally able to push around 9:30 or so and lets just say that that is not my favorite activity. I watched in a mirror until they decided that they needed to use a vacuum because her heart rate wouldn't stay steady. I should have been pushing my epidural button way more, but was sooo glad that she made it. There's more to the story but I'll spare you all the gory details and just write about it in my journal.

I am loving being a mother even with it's trials and my emotional ups and downs. I'm so grateful that I have a patient and loving husband who will sit with me and read to me even when he would like to be doing other things. He gives me the encouragement that I need and I feel so much more love for him as the father of my daughter then I ever thought possible. Babies really are miracles.

An Angel Named "Mother"

My mom is an angel. (It must run in her family...here's a post about her sister.) She not only came and helped with Ivy but she helped us move. She came the day Ivy was born, helped clean our old house, drove back home (3 hours away) to take care of things there, drove back down the next week and unpacked boxes in the new house. If it weren't for her, we'd still be living out of boxes and I wouldn't have made it through my nervous breakdowns. I don't know what we would've done without her! Thanks Mom!!! You're the best!!

An overdue update...

Here's my last prego pic (Man was I ready for her to come!) along with a pic of some of our boxes and stuff at the old house. So glad that both of these things are now in my past!

My mother in law sent us some really cute outfits. This one is my favorite because of the cherries on the bum :) She also came to visit us. She was the first of the family besides Chris and I to see Ivy. (We're retarded and didn't get any pictures of her with Ivy.) Thanks for coming Mom!

Then there's a picture of Ivy with her Daddy while still in the hospital. He fed her a little bit of formula through a small tube taped to his finger. She's quite the little eater! Not very good at burping yet, but hopefully with a little practice she'll get better.

Here's one of little Ivy sleeping in her bassinet at the hospital. She loves to be swaddled tight and will sleep really well if she is.
And one of Ivy at home just chillin' in her crib. She loves to sleep like this or with her hands up under her head or by her face. She also loves to sleep in my arms and will sleep for hours that way. It gives me time to sleep also as long as I'm somewhere like the couch where I know she won't be rolling away or I won't roll over and squish her. I've also been able to get some reading done. Thanks Tara and Lisa for supplying the reading material!

Ivy was a little jaundiced when we first brought her home, so she had to get some photo treatment done. Luckily it was something we could do at home. She had to wear a silly thing on her head to protect her eyes and it made her look like a fly so she was our little tanning fly queen for a day. (Tanning because it looks like a little tanning bed.) She actually did a lot better with the treatment than I expected and only had to do it for one night. The blood test that they have to do was brutal though. They pricked her heal and had to scrape it and squeeze her leg and stuff to get her to bleed into this little vile. Her little cries were heart wrenching. I'm not looking forward to when she has to get her shots.
Here's one of my dad loading up his truck with all our stuff. I couldn't believe how much he fit in the truck, and it all made it safe and sound to the new house :) Thanks Dad! Also, thanks to my brother Caleb who also came down to help with the move! And a big thanks to our friends Alex and Lanette for letting us store stuff at their house so that it would be easier to move later. You guys are the best!!
Here's one of Ivy and me worn out from moving and sleeping on the couch.

The cat was really freaked out by the move. It all started when we wouldn't let her go down to the basement at the old house. She had a hiding place down there that we couldn't reach so we locked her up stairs and she was meowing and running around. She knew something was up. She didn't eat for a few days and would just cry and cry, but she's doing much better now. She'll even go outside by herself again :) There's a little field of weeds behind our house that she likes to go hunting in.
Here's a funny story for you, the first night in our new house Ivy was having a hard time getting to sleep. My mom had mentioned earlier in the day that the swamp cooler in the old house probably helped her to sleep. I was at my wits end in the middle of the night because I knew she was sooo tired but was fighting sleep. Then as I was pacing, I walked past the bathroom and thought to turn on the fan. What a small but significant miracle for me! She was out within two seconds of me turning it on!!! However, the fan wasn't loud enough to reach her in her crib, so I emptied a box and put some blankets in it. She slept in the box in the bathroom! lol!! The next day we found our small fan and plugged it in by the crib, so she doesn't sleep in the bathroom anymore :) We do use the box as a portable crib though.

Anyway, sorry this update has taken sooo long. I can't believe how much time a baby takes out of your day, but it is all worth it, especially when you look at them and they look at you and your heart swells and overflows with love for this precious little being who has come to join your family.

How's that baby doing?

Our daugter, Ivy Ann Thatcher, was born on Thursday July 24th - here are some pictures so that you guys don't have to keep bugging us for them.

Here's Ivy falling asleep in her mother's arms.













And this is what happens when we try to burp her half the time, it seems to be a good way to get her to fall asleep.











Stay tuned!

...

Well, here we are, one day to go and nothing's happening! I went to the Dr. today and she is going to put my name on a list at the hospital to be induced a week from tomorrow. So unless this little girl comes on her own before then, we'll be having our daughter's debut next week. It seems like time is taking forever to pass especially since we have so much to look forward to. My house is being taken over by boxes and seems so full of boxes but so empty at the same time. We've taken down decorations and are trying to pack as much as we can before our bundle of joy arrives. The next few weeks should be interesting to say the least. Wish us luck!

My Ward is sooooo Nice!!

Today my visiting teachers threw us a baby shower and invited ladies from the ward. They were sooo nice!! I'm feeling a little more ready to go ahead with this whole thing. There are only a few other things we need to pick up. Here's a picture of my ward's generosity. The blanket/quilt is hand made! I really love our ward and will miss them when we move. Thanks everyone!

We're moving!

Here's a picture of our new house...or what will be our house barring any complications. I don't really know what to say other than that I'm excited and nervous all rolled into one. Having a baby and buying a house all in the same month is a little crazy if you ask me!

Trip to the Zoo

I'm also way behind on blogging about my trip to the zoo with my dear friends David and Lisa and their kids. We had a blast! Here are a few pictures for your viewing pleasure. Sorry they're not the greatest quality, I took them with my phone. In the one with the kids, they're saying "Zoo!" so their lips are all puckered cute. They were so excited to ride on the train too, but I forgot to get pictures of that. Anyway, here you go.

The silver thing on the side of the building is a drinking fountain!
One of the elephants (not this one) is pregnant. Man am I glad that I'm not an elephant! 22 months gestation just is not sounding very appealing! I'm glad that we're almost done with just 9!!

This peacock was just roaming free! No cage or anything!!
Don't you love the kids' hats!? An elephant and a monkey (or "oo oo"). His favorite animal is a monkey, but apparently only if it's stuffed or a cartoon. He was sooo scared of the real ones we saw but he loved the crocodile and kept asking to see the lion! He's so funny.

These turkeys were hilarious!! They were gobbling in competition or something! So those were some of my favorites from the zoo trip. Thanks again David and Lisa!!

Baby Shower

So I'm behind on getting this up, but my SIL threw me a baby shower a couple weeks ago. It was really fun to get together with friends and family (THANKS to all who could come!). We played a couple games and usually I'm not the gaming at showers type, but they were actually fun! We played tape the diaper on the baby and this matching game with some fun candy bar prizes. We had snacks and my SIL who loves to decorate cakes brought the cutest cake I've ever seen!!! Here's a picture.
Isn't that sooo cute!?!? She also made our wedding cake and here's a picture. Seriously, this girl is amazing! All I did was give her a picture of what I wanted it to look like!! Anyway, I received some wonderful gifts and am soooo thankful for everyone's kindness and generosity. Here's a picture of the gifts we received.
Once again, thanks to all who came and helped and just hung out. It was a lot of fun!

I love Kid to Kid!

I have been searching and searching for a baby crib bumper, but all they sell these days are sets that come with a bumper, dust ruffle, sheet, blanket, curtains, and stuff that I didn't really want or need and didn't really want to dish out $60-$150 for. We just wanted a bumper. So the other night we decided to stop in at Kid to Kid to see what they had and we found this really cute bumper with dust ruffle from the Pottery Barn for just $15! It was awesome! And it's machine washable and matches the sheets I already bought! Needless to say I was/am pretty excited. Here's a picture with a couple of the blankets I got at my baby shower last Sat. (More to come on that later.) I think it all turned out way cute though. :)

A cute gift and an update...

Well, here we are in another week. I am starting to be anxious to be two separate human beings. It's cool to feel the baby, but sometimes I just want to hold her or be able to put her down so my back can rest. Anyway, I had a check up today and the Dr. said things are still looking good. I see her again in 2 weeks and then we start going every week. I'm also starting to get SUPER nervous about the whole becoming two individuals part, but am just really glad that Chris won't have to go out of town for work any time soon. A while ago I had a nightmare that he was out of town and I called 911. They told me to go sit in the bathtub and then proceeded to explain to me how I was going to give birth to the baby by myself! I totally couldn't handle that. I'm so glad I'm not a pioneer either. But enough of that. We got a cute outfit (picture above) in the mail from my Aunt Ethanne. I love it and it's sooo soft! I'm also excited because my brother Grant will be moving down here this week!! I'm excited for him and the new adventures he's embarking on. Good luck Grant!

My Brother's Wedding and Things

My brother Adam got married this last weekend so Chris and I went to Idaho for the occasion. We had a really nice weekend packed full of visits with friends and family, good food, games, and just hanging out. We got some more fun gifts for the baby thanks to Tara and Lori!! Tara made a blanket, bib, and burp cloth for us (ours is the purple camo one) and Lori got us a noisy toy for the baby to play with later on. And, our friend Lisa lent us a ton of little baby girls clothes!

So here's a funny story for you along with a crazy video. We were hanging around after the sealing while pictures were being taken. All of a sudden, I'm being told by the photographer that my brothers are going to pick me up! She proceeds to show me how the whole thing will go by having my brothers pick her up. She, needless to say, is not 7 months pregnant, was wearing pants, probably weighed at least 50 lbs. less then me and had no trouble whatsoever lifting her leg for the boys to pick her up. I was really hesitant, but decided that I trust my brothers and that I would just go along with it...Chris, my loving husband, got the whole crazy escapade on video with our digital camera, so here it is for your viewing pleasure (or um, displeasure...) I hope you get a couple laughs from it anyway. I totally scream at one point and my dad has to run in and fix my dress, but then I think things are ok. What a crazy photographer! Adam, the one in the tux who got married, was holding my belly and he said that the baby was going nuts! I'm sure it was a bit of a ride for her and it was a riot for the rest of us to say the least. I only have 2 more months to go before the due date and I'm totally huge. People keep asking me if I'm having twins. Personally, I think it's just the late night ice cream cravings that are doing me in, so I'm working on that. Anyways, I hope you enjoy this because it's pretty embarassing!

My silly cat

Here's a video of my silly cat that I just love. She keeps me company during the day and can be so entertaining at times. She is very curious about little things, but they don't hold her attention long as you'll see in the video. Please keep in mind that I'm no photographer and that I'm just using out digital camera to take this video. (and don't look at our jungle of a lawn/flower bed. Our landlord is supposed to mow and hasn't, it's pretty embarrassing. If the mower were here I'd do it myself. As for the flower bed, I'm just not motivated and this way it matches the lawn :) ) Enjoy!

The Garden that wasn't meant to be...

I was under no uncertain terms going to plant a garden this year. It just wasn't happening. I got so frustrated last year with powdery mildew, the morning glory that has taken over the plot, and I couldn't seem to get the whole watering thing down. It was just one frustration after another after another. So I thought to myself, "Self, you really don't want to do a garden this year. You're pregnant and won't want to weed or deal with the same frustrations as last year. DON'T DO IT!" Then, earlier this spring, onions started coming up where we had planted them last year!!! We thought they had died because the tops turned brown and fell off, but we didn't dig them up. Same with the carrots (you can see them back by the fence) and the red beets. I'm not sure how great our carrot crop will be because I never thinned them. They'll probably be pretty scrawny, but maybe I can use them for something. So our garden made a reappearance from last year and then, my friend Lucy from our ward (who has got to be at least 80) decides that we need to grow tomatoes this year. She does her own starts and gives them away like they're going out of style. I told her one or two tomato plants would be fine, and she begged me to take three. I agreed to that, but when she dropped them off at the house (I didn't answer the door because I was napping like pregnant women who don't have other children get to do as they please) and she left seven!!! Anyway, I sent 4 of them to Idaho for my mom and got the other three planted today. As you can see from the picture, they are pretty petite. I put milk jugs over them to help them stay warmer and to hold the water in better, so we'll see how it goes. I just couldn't say no to Lucy. She's one of the sweetest people I know and she couldn't ever have kids of her own and sometimes calls me her "adopted daughter" because we sit by her in church every week. I just hope that I don't kill them. I would hate to disappoint her. Luckily, wikihow has a nice article about growing tomatoes so I'm going to try a few things and see what happens. Wish me luck!

Some AWESOME gifts!

My great neighbor gave us a car seat and a crib! She's super nice. Also, my good friend Steph made us the CUTEST little quilt!!! I totally love the colors and John Deer, I mean I am a country girl at heart! So cute and soooo nice!

Flexibility

So pregnancy is totally limiting my range of motion these days. I will be so excited to be able to move when this is over, but for now, I just watch other people do it. Check out this CRAZY video of this gymnast in the 1972 Olympics! I couldn't ever move like that and don't think I'd want to, but it sure is fun to watch!

Kitty Pictures

I wish that her attitude came through better in pictures. She's so funny. The first picture she's a little curious about what's going on and why there's a flashing light. The middle picture makes her look sleepy or something but I like to think that this face means something like, "What in the heck are you doing and why are you involving me?" Then the last picture is her turning around saying, "I don't want any part of whatever it is..." She totally cracks us up. I'm hoping that someday we can get a video of her when she gets CRAZY and runs wild through the house (especially when Chris is chasing her) and then all of a sudden flops on the ground. Or when she arches her back and dances around for no reason at all except that you walked in the room. I also love that she attacks lint balls like they're going to take over the house if she doesn't teach it what's what (and usually ends up eating them). This last week she's been very entertaining!