My latest Steal

So I went to a garage sale on my way to the gym on Saturday. I found this talking Dora kitchen and for those of you who don't know, Cheyenne is OBSESSeD with Dora. She loves her. Anyway, I had been wanting to get some sort of kitchen set, but was planning to wait until we could finish our bonus room, so that our house wouldn't be overflowing with toys.

I asked how much they wanted for it, and they said $25. I looked at it and it was a little dirty, like it had been sitting in a garage for about 5 years... but it was full of mini pots and pans and food and stuff. I was having the hardest time deciding whether or not to get it. We really didn't need it, but I knew Cheyenne would love it. I asked if they would be willing to take $20, and they said sure, so I bought it.

I went to the gym and thought about it the whole time and was regretting making such an impulsive buy of something we really don't need. I probably would have taken it back if it was a store and not a garage sale, but obviously that is not really possible for a garage sale item. I brought it inside and cleaned it all off and washed all the mini dishes and food. Cheyenne LOVES it! I replaced the batteries and all the talking buttons work. Cheyenne has been playing with it non-stop ever since.

I was still feeling really guilty for buying it though, until last night I decided to look it up to see how much it would be worth and I only found it on Amazon and ebay. It was $300 new!!!! I couldn't believe it! The cheapest I could find it was for $77 used with shipping. I also found a listing for the food pieces for $14 and the pots and pans for $80. Even though we really didn't need it, at least I don't feel guilty anymore! I am now so excited about our great deal and feel like if we really wanted or needed to, we could sell it and at least get our $20 back. Although, I don't think Cheyenne will be letting me sell it anytime soon!!

Purple President's Day

The girls and I wore purple today... did I mention that I love to match?

On a side note, Jeff got the day off of school today- I love it when that happens!

Naked Baby

I was changing Berkeley's diaper and she had pooped on her clothes. When I got all her clothes off, she rolled over and I thought it was the cutest thing ever, so I had to get a picture. Berkeley is honestly the happiest baby ever. She smiles so easily and I love it, because whenever I make eye contact with her or talk to her she gets so excited. We just LOVE having her in our little family!

Christmas dresses

Our camera was broken in December, so we were never able to get a picture of the girls' matching dresses from Grandma Bennum. I knew Berkeley wouldn't fit in hers for much longer, so we had them wear the dresses on Sunday. I had to go to Ward Council, so Jeff got the girls all dressed up on his own! I think he did a pretty good job:) This is their only matching outfit so far and I LOVE it!! I am going to be addicted to matching them very soon, I can feel it.

I need to do Taxes....

I just had 3 cavities filled, and now I have to get a root canal. Combine that with the bill for Berkeley's birth, new tires, brakes and rotors for the truck, and new brakes for the Hyundai.... there goes our emergency fund!

Here's hoping for a big tax return!!

Growing up

Berkeley will be 4 months old next week.

Here is Cheyenne when she just turned 4 months:

Compare it to our new family picture.

You can definitely tell they are sisters, but they don't look exactly alike.

Here is Cheyenne one year ago:

She is just a little taller now with longer hair.

Our Happy Baby

Boys will be Boys

My older brother stayed at my house and a few days after he left I found this:

I had to laugh...

(it used to be "shoe")... and it is hanging in our bathroom.

Sleeping Beauties

The other night I came home from volleyball practice and Jeff said, "See if you can find Cheyenne."

I looked around and found this:

Seriously... so adorable

Here is another picture of them sleeping together.

Love them.

Valentine's Day

Well, I should be in bed, but I keep really wanting to write about my amazing Valentine's Day, and I never have the time, so I decided I better just go ahead and do it now before I forget all the details. I am totally skipping a lot of things that have happened that I will post about later (my gma's bday, etc.), but I had to write about this before I forget anything.

The day started out fun, because we went to Cheyenne's friend's Elmo themed 2nd birthday. Cheyenne had a great time and they fed us lunch and we got delicious cupcakes and goodie bags with sparkly play doh inside. After the birthday party, the girls and I headed to the mall. I had to get a bridal shower gift and a Valentine's gift for Jeff. Well, Jeff and I agreed not to get each other gifts, but I had something in mind I wanted him to have anyway, so I made it a gift. I was at American Eagle purchasing Jeff's gift (a new pair of nice, dark denim jeans and a really cool shirt that was a great deal so I threw it in), the girl was ringing it up and all of the sudden my leg felt really wet and warm. I said, "oh my gosh I think she is peeing on me (referring to Berkeley who was in the Moby wrap)" the 19-20 year old girl's eyes got huge and said "oh yeah she is!" There was an actual stream of pee coming from the side of the Moby Wrap! The poor girl's face was so disgusted, and I was really embarrassed. I promised her that she had a diaper on, but it must have already been full. I asked if they had a mop or paper towells or anything and she said she didn't. I know they have people clean their store for them, but who doesn't have at least a spill clean up kit at their business. Finally a guy came out and got some paper towels and said he would clean it up, it was only a small little puddle.

Anyway, we got home and even though Cheyenne was cranky, I made sure she didn't nap so I could put her to bed early. Jeff went grocery shopping after work and told me I couldn't look in the fridge, because he was making dinner! I made Cheyenne some Mac and Cheese, making sure he got the milk and butter out of the fridge so I wouldn't ruin the surprise. I put Cheyenne to bed around 7:00 and she went right to sleep and Berkeley too! Then he told me I couldn't go in the kitchen the rest of the night! That is like the best present ever right there! I went on the computer for a while, which is my favorite time waster, then I was done with that so I took a bath. The last time I had taken a bath was when I was in labor, so this bath was much more relaxing.

I got finished with my bath and took my time getting ready, like I was getting ready for a date. It was sooo much fun!! It really felt like we were dating again. I put on lotion, perfume, jewelry, a cute, sexy outfit (the bonus of eating in our bedroom instead of going out), etc. When I came out of the bathroom, Jeff had set up our smaller table in our room with candles everywhere. It was so cute! I was totally surprised, he had really put so much thought into it. He even made his own little playlist on grooveshark, with all these songs we don't have on our computer, so it was so romantic. I waited at the little table and he finally finished and knocked on the door (again, like a date). When he came in he had bread and salad. The salad was already on the plates with dressing already on it, so it was just like a restaurant. He also had ice water in fancy cups. The bread and salad were SO good! When he came in, I couldn't stop smiling, it was seriously the most perfect date ever. I wanted to cry, but I didn't want to be cheesy. Then he brought out the main dish which was sirloin steak and shrimp scampi with noodles. He even bought fresh shrimp and all the ingredients (like white wine and shallots) to make the scampi. It was so much food and so delicious, we had lots of leftovers. Then he said after dinner we would dance and have dessert later. It was so cute. For dessert he made Strawberry Shortcake, which was so sweet because it was totally a Valentine dessert. Plus, it was the BEST strawberry shortcake I ever had! I want more right now. Oh and I forgot to mention the sweetest thing about the shrimp is that I always order shrimp when we go out to eat (if it is affordable), because it is something we don't have at home much and I love it so much. So, it meant so much to me that he picked shrimp to cook, because he knows it is my favorite, and we don't get it much.

It was one of the best days of my life and I will never forget it. At one point, Jeff said, this is good to make memories like this, I completely agree! Afterwards, I helped him clean up, which he was going to do himself, but I figured I might as well help I wasn't doing anything else. We were about finished and we were going to watch a movie but it was 10:30, so we just decided to go to bed, when Little Miss Cheyenne decided to wake up. For the night. Jeff had to go to work in the morning so I stayed up with her... until 2 am!! It was awful, she also puked on me that night too... that is another story for another day.

I just love Jeff so much. I am so grateful for our life together. It is so perfectly imperfect, if that makes sense??? Like, it is not perfect, but I wouldn't want it any other way. I love our life together and our two girls who are perfect to me, even when Cheyenne is driving me crazy with her new found little attitude, or Berkeley is screaming from her gassy stomach, I still love them more than anything. It is so easy to take for granted all we are blessed with. I know a lot of people think that Valentine's Day is just for single people, but I think Valentine's Day is 10 times more important now than it was when I was single. When you are married you should keep the romance alive and it isn't always easy. It is great to have a day when you can count on each other making the best effort to do that. I honestly feel like this Valentine's Day made our relationship ten times stronger, I know it really made me happy and more appreciative of all I have.

Happy Valentine's Day everyone:)

Sharing time

January was my month to do sharing time.... I did these cookies for the lesson and the kids LOVED it! Of course, who wouldn't love getting cookies in primary?? It was the biggest hit with junior primary, they were so curious and excited, wondering what it was going to be that we were making. I had them guess and one guessed a loaf of bread and another thought it was scrambled eggs!! So cute. Then, when we had mixed it up, Chelsea (the primary secretary, a friend from the ward, and the photographer who took the awesome newborn pics of Berkeley) took the dough to the kitchen and brought back the cooked ones, a child said, "fried chicken??" It was so funny! I didn't put the raisins in because I don't like raisins, but I LOVE this recipe and didn't want to forget it (they are oatmeal cookies if you can't tell, we put chocolate chips in the ones we made at home).

Feast Upon the Word Cookies

3/4 cup _________“The words of his mouth were smoother than ____” (Ps. 55:21)
1/3 cup _________“Come unto me all ye ends of the earth, buy ____ and honey” (2 Ne. 26:25)
1 1/2 cups _________“To what purpose cometh there to me … the ____ ____ from a far country?” (Jer. 6:20)
2 _________“As one gathereth ____ that are left, have I gathered all the earth” (Isa. 10:14)
2 cups _________“And Solomon’s provision for one day was thirty measures of fine ____” (1 Kgs. 4:22)
1 teaspoon _________“Take thou also unto thee principal spices … and of sweet ____ half so much” (Ex. 30:23)
1 teaspoon _________“Ye are the ____ of the earth” (Matt. 5:13)
1/2 teaspoon _________“The kingdom of heaven is like unto ____ (Matt. 13:33)
3 cups _________“Nevertheless … ____ for the horse” (D&C 89:17)
1 cup _________“And they gave him … two clusters of ____” (1 Sam. 30:12)

To start, beat the first four ingredients together.

Next, mix in the remaining ingredients.

Then, drop the cookie dough by teaspoonfuls onto a greased cookie sheet.

Finally, bake at 350° F for about 10 to 15 minutes. Enjoy!

So, maybe it was because this lesson went so well, but Sunday SHOULD have been a terrible day for me. My teeth were hurting so bad and I was convinced it was going to be very painful and expensive to fix. On top of that, we were leaving for Bellingham in only a few days where we would be taking family pictures that most likely will not be replaced for another 10-15 years, and I tried to dye my own hair...(my new plan to save money... my sister-in-law does it and her hair is gorgeous, but she has lighter hair to begin with). Needless, to say it did not turn out so well... I have always done the cap on myself and hadn't had any problems other than not quite getting all the way to the roots... anyway, I tried the clairol version just to do on my roots and my hair turned out neon yellow with orange and brown spots... it looked sooo bad! I was so embarrassed because I had no choice but to wear it to church on Sunday since I was doing sharing time, and you have to wait at least 24 hours to fix your hair if you mess it up so it doesn't get too damaged. I felt like I was falling apart! However, I was so happy.

I seriously felt so happy on Sunday. I can't get over what dramatic things were happening in my life, yet, I felt so happy. That is why I love the gospel of Jesus Christ, it keeps everything in perspective. Five years ago if I would have been having this problem I feel like I would have been a wreck! Not that I didn't have the gospel then, I just feel like I have grown so much through Christ.

Plus, at volleyball practice, one of the parents came up to me and said they were so happy with me as a coach, they bought me matching warm-up pants to the jackets we have (I have been totally wanting to get them, but I decided it wasn't really a need and they cost $30, which we didn't really have to spend on pants for me). Plus, it makes you feel good as a coach, when the parents are happy and trusting you with their most prized possession, their daughters!

I ended up having to spend way too much money to get my hair fixed at a real salon, but they did it and I really like it now, so I am ready for the pictures. I figured out why the box color was no good for me... they aren't allowed to put as strong of a volume as I need to turn my hair platinum in the boxes because it would be too dangerous if misused. However, the cap kind is strong enough for me because they can put higher volume in since the cap is there to protect your scalp. Anyway, my hair will look great for probably about 3-4 weeks until my brown roots start to come in at which point, I don't really know what my plan will be. I want to keep blond hair, but I do not want to keep paying for it, so we will see what happens. Jeff really likes me with blond hair though. I like it better too, but I don't really mind having brown hair either.

Anyway, all is good now and I guess that is the reason why I was so happy on Sunday. Perhaps it was the spirit telling me that everything would work out and be okay. There was a quote by an apostle somewhere that said that Latter Day Saints should never have an attitude of desperation. I think it was Elder Oaks. With all the knowledge we have of life and life after death, we have no excuse but to have a positive outlook on life. Obviously, we must do our part to prepare for the future, but other than that, what good is it to worry?

Blessings

I have a lot to be thankful for! Holy cow the past several days my teeth have been aching so bad. I did some research online and it turns out your teeth are much more important than I thought. I mean, I have always wanted them to look nice, but apparently if you have a cavity and you don't get it filled, your tooth can become infected and you could have to get a root canal or an extraction, OR it can even become life threatening!! I had no idea I was taking such a risk by going without dental insurance so long or going without going to the dentist for 2.5 years after I already knew I had two cavities! Anyway, I have been convinced, because of the pain that I was going to need root canals in about 8 of my teeth. Online, it says that they cost anywhere from $500 to $1000 I was preparing myself to spend all of our savings and tax return and then some on just my teeth!! I was pretty much expecting to pay the cost of a car on my teeth. I was feeling so guilty to waste all of our family's money on myself. Especially, because since we signed up for dental insurance, they told us the first year the only thing that was covered was preventative costs.

I went to the dentist and a great friend was so kind to watch Cheyenne for me. While at the dentist, they took x-rays and looked at my teeth and it turns out the only thing wrong (so far) is that I have 3 or 4 cavities, 2 of which are very large. I have never been so happy to have cavities, I honestly couldn't have cared less if I had a cavity when I was expecting root canals in every single tooth! Usually when I hear the word cavity I want to vomit... oh btw did I mention that I have an EXTREME fear of the dentist's office?? I start to sweat and feel sick the moment I walk in. The worst form of torture to me is to have to have that shot in the mouth, be numb for 6+ hours and sit there staring at them while this smelly high pitch drill is spraying crap all over your face. As a child, I once had like 13 cavities at one time or something, and I don't think I ever went to the dentist when I didn't have at least one. Every time I get the shot I shake, sweat, my heart races and tears roll down my cheeks... it really doesn't hurt THAT bad, but I get HUGE anxiety.

Anyway, they said they would fill one of the cavities right then (the tooth had actually broken that morning, because of the decay). So they bring me over to tell me the cost. I told them about the waiting period on my insurance and they decided to just call and ask my insurance company. The company said there was no waiting period! I really don't believe it because I specifically remember them telling me there was, so I may still have to pay, but hopefully it is true that there isn't for some reason. I only had to pay $80 today (for the exam, x-rays and filling) and then when I go back in a couple of weeks it is only supposed to be $100 more!! If it turns out I don't have insurance then it will cost about $800, but that is still sooooo much better than what I was expecting. I seriously just feel sooo blessed!! I was praying all last night that the dentist would be able to fix the problem and that it wouldn't be too expensive. I really feel like this is a direct blessing from paying tithing, because my teeth were hurting soooo bad and I hadn't been to a dentist in about 3 years (aside from the simple cleaning I had in October). And I naturally just have weak teeth, so this is amazing! I have been thanking Heavenly Father all day!!! The numbness is finally starting to wear off and now my mouth is REALLY sore, but hopefully after a few days it will go away. YAY!