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Friday, May 9, 2014
Jer and I have found a new calling in life. Look for our new album, "Songz From Da Crib" coming soon.
Thursday, May 8, 2014
Remember that part of my blog where I'm supposed to cook and craft? Well I've been doing a lot of cleaning, and moving and baby-ing. So I'm just going to keep going with this mushy stuff, ok?
I have two sisters. It was my brother and then us 3 girls right in a row. All 3 of us live in Utah which is a dream come true. My mom visits at least once a month these days (can you say Grandma?!) and the 4 of us are best friends. Really.
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I have two sisters. It was my brother and then us 3 girls right in a row. All 3 of us live in Utah which is a dream come true. My mom visits at least once a month these days (can you say Grandma?!) and the 4 of us are best friends. Really.
We even match without trying! (haha)
One of my favorite things to do with my mom is shop. We have always loved shopping together. On her last visit to Utah we went to TJ Maxx to get sippy cups and of course spent $100. Most expensive sippy cup I ever bought. I saw these shoes:
Find them here.
And immediately thought of my sister, Anna. I told my mom we should get them for her. There was only one pair left and they were in my size. (We are about a half-size different but when it is the perfect shoe, what is a half size, am I right?) I realized I really liked them too and tried to find another pair, I had seen a bigger pair earlier and went back to find them being tried on and carried off by another lady! Grrrr. So I chose a different pair in Anna's size and decided to let her pick and I would keep the one she didn't choose.
Anna picked the above shoes. I really did like both pairs so I was OK with it.
Later I told my sister Katie the whole story and how it was a bummer that we couldn't both get the green shoes.
The next day, my mom, Katie and I went to a movie together. When I got in the car, my mom had the beautiful green flats waiting for me. My sister had relayed my disappointment to my mom, those two sweeties had gone to the TJ Maxx in Sugarhouse, scouted out my size and got me the shoes I had wanted!
As I thought about this small but very sweet gesture, I realized that Mother's Day celebrates the motherly love in all of us. Whether it is past, present or future. I'm so grateful for my sweet loving mother and the example she is to me each and every day of what a wonderful mother should be. And for my beautiful sisters who emulate that motherly love even though they don't yet have children of their own.
Tuesday, May 6, 2014
Well, it is my hubby's birthday today, and it seems that on birthdays and holidays I always get to thinking about all that we have been through together. And then I realized that I really don't think I have ever blogged our story before. I think today is the perfect day to write about Jer since his birth is one of the best things that ever happened to me :o).
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Rewind 8 years to Heritage Halls and BYU, 2 days before fall semester was to start. We had a mutual friend that I had met at BYU Summer Dance Camp and Jer went to high school with. She knew we were meant to be. I remember what I was wearing: Camo t-shirt (totally in at the time). Jer was wearing: FOL T-shirt. We hugged and I gave him a little extra squeeze, as was my M.O. at the time (so embarrassed.) I think I startled him a bit. But boy was he dreeeaaaamy.
Two days later we went to see Cars at the dollar theater and he turned to me and said, "Can you hold this?" I looked down and he was holding out his hand. I definitely rolled my eyes, but promptly took his hand. That same night, he kissed me on my doorstep.
From that moment on, we were inseparable. We became best friends. He was such a gentleman, like no one I had ever encountered in Santa Barbara. We had so much fun together, constantly laughing.
When spring came, we decided we were in love. Jer had his mission call to Taiwan and while he was beyond excited to go, we were both wondering how things would pan out in our future. I admit that I had already imagined marrying Jer, of course I imagined our kids, I thought about a future with him and I knew that I would be happy.
Jer asked me to "wait and date." We wrote each other almost every week with the exception of a few lost letters on their way to the mainland. While I dated a lot and had a blast, no one I met could quite match up to Jer Bear. I look back and still can't believe we survived those two years, it was a long haul.
In July 2009, we finally reunited by chance at a car mechanic shop. We were planning to meet later that day but as I was gassing up my car across the street, I saw him. It was pretty much like a movie. :o)
We got engaged that November.
And on July 13th, 2010 (almost exactly one year after his return from his mission) we got married in the Los Angeles temple.
9 months of dating, 2 year mission, 4 months of dating and an 8 month engagement and we were finally MARRIED! That was THE perfect day. Literally nothing went wrong.
We rented our first apartment.
Traveled to Thailand, Vietnam, Taiwan, Nauvoo, and Hawaii together.
Jer had knee surgery.
We went broke.
We got un-broke.
We saw a LOT of movies.
Jer had knee surgery again.
We graduated from college.
We went to Disneyland.
We made some of the best friends.
Jer hurt his knee again.
We played LOTS of board games.
We bought a house.
And then, we had Scotty...
If you read my birth story, you know that our experience was less than easy. Never have I seen someone so attentive, loving and selfless as I saw Jeremy when his son was born. The most amazing part was his ability to care for both Scotty and I with equal love and concern at a time when others could have gotten emotionally overwhelmed.
From the moment I met Jeremy I knew he was special. I mean that. I remember telling my mom that when I first met him. He was exceptional, and I knew he would not disappoint as a husband and especially as a father. And he hasn't. He has exceeded my expectations and continues to be that special boy (man) I met 8 years ago. I'm so grateful he was born and that he chose me to be his best friend forever!
P.S. Does this count for Father's Day too? ;o)
Happy Birthday Jer Bearest!
Sunday, May 4, 2014
I'm going to detail this side of the room today:
Some of the items you see:
-Letter "S": Michaels Crafts, and I just covered it with some scrap fabric from his bedding. Super easy and added some fun color to the wall.
-"I am a Child of God" printable here. Thank you Pinterest!
-Canvas: Costco c/o my hubby
-Changing Table: Wayfair-Used, same one here. Had green baskets and I replaced them with the ones pictured from Michaels (50% off, score!)
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-Letter "S": Michaels Crafts, and I just covered it with some scrap fabric from his bedding. Super easy and added some fun color to the wall.
-"I am a Child of God" printable here. Thank you Pinterest!
-Canvas: Costco c/o my hubby
-Changing Table: Wayfair-Used, same one here. Had green baskets and I replaced them with the ones pictured from Michaels (50% off, score!)
Rug: Target. here.
Laundry Basket: Target here.
I want to go over the striped wall in more detail and how we made the stripes even and straight.
1. Measure your space. Make sure you subtract any crown molding or trim that will be on the wall. Then decide how many stripes you want. We decided to start and end with the grey to contrast from the baseboards and trim. We wanted a wide stripe, so ours were about 10" tall.
2. Choose your paint colors. We went with Behr in Pewter Vase for the grey and then Silk Pillow for the white. We painted the whole wall in the silk pillow first and then went in with the grey for the stripes.
3. Measure. We first used a laser that helped us snap our first stripe line. Then we just took the tape measure and went to several spots along the wall and marked 10" up from the snap line. We did this for each stripe.
4. Tape. We learned a trick to tape nice and straight without going crazy, but you need two people. One person should take one end and stick it on the first mark, the other should pull the tape as tight as possible and stick it to the end mark on the opposite side. Then you go in and tap the tape with your finger across the whole langth. You can then smooth the tape down going up and down not side to side.
5. CYA. Aka, make sure the paint doesn't bleed. The trick for this is to paint a thin coat of your base color (Silk pillow) along the tape lines where your grey will go. This will seal the paint down so you don't have any bleedage. Let that dry.
6. Get painting! Depending on the coverage of your paint, you probably want to do two coats.
7. Remove Tape. WARNING!! You should probably remove the tape before the paint dries. This will help with any peeling that might happen. A great tip we learned was to pull the tape off with at at least a 45 degree angle so you don't pull the paint right off. So if the stripe is above the tape, pull the tape DOWNWARD. If the stripe is below the tape, pull the tape UPWARD. (Very important, learned this the hard way.
And there you have it! We got this done in a Saturday, and we love the interest it adds to the nursery.
And in other news, I am starting the "Meltdown Challenge" tomorrow. It is a 6 week fitness challenge, the first one I have ever done and I'm kind of nervous! I am really motivated to get this baby weight off though, so I think it will work! I will probably be sprinkling a few progress posts in among all the home-reno craziness. Wish me luck! And if you want to join, send me an email and I will send you an invite. :o)
Friday, April 25, 2014
This is, by far, my favorite part of the nursery. Who says you have to save the best for last? I knew from the get-go that I wanted a reading corner for Scotty. I have seen lots of different kinds of reading corners with lots of great ideas. I think every kid needs a cozy little place to have some quiet time. I also think it is important to emphasize the value of books and reading to children, especially in this day and age. Here are the pictures of "Scotty's Library" as my dad would call it. :o)
My friend Alison came over and helped me put this together, she is such a gem. I would not have gotten it done without her motivation and help. It really didn't take too long for us to put it together, just a little longer than normal with a busy 1-year-old and a needy 5-month-old.
Details:
-Shelves: The room is too small for an actual bookcase so I went with "Picture Ledges" from Ikea. Go here to see them online. They have two lengths so I broke it up with two smaller ones on the second row. I didn't want the shelves to be too low but low enough so that when S gets a little older he can pick a book off the shelf.
-Figurines: Alice Lane c/o my mom.
-Pouf: Target here.
-Chair: Repurposed from my Grandma. It is a wooden kids chair that was pink. I just got some spray paint at Hobby Lobby and sprayed it yellow! I'm really happy with how it turned out.
-Books: We got lots of classics at our baby showers, and we will continue to collect more. I love that with the picture ledges you can overlap the books but still show off the covers.
-Letters: I got little wooden letters at Michaels Crafts and painted them yellow with acrylic paint. I was debating between "BOOKS" and "READ." I think both are cute.
I love the location of the reading corner because it is tucked away and cozy. I can totally see S and Jer snuggling up with a book before bedtime.
Details:
-Shelves: The room is too small for an actual bookcase so I went with "Picture Ledges" from Ikea. Go here to see them online. They have two lengths so I broke it up with two smaller ones on the second row. I didn't want the shelves to be too low but low enough so that when S gets a little older he can pick a book off the shelf.
-Figurines: Alice Lane c/o my mom.
-Pouf: Target here.
-Chair: Repurposed from my Grandma. It is a wooden kids chair that was pink. I just got some spray paint at Hobby Lobby and sprayed it yellow! I'm really happy with how it turned out.
-Books: We got lots of classics at our baby showers, and we will continue to collect more. I love that with the picture ledges you can overlap the books but still show off the covers.
-Letters: I got little wooden letters at Michaels Crafts and painted them yellow with acrylic paint. I was debating between "BOOKS" and "READ." I think both are cute.
I love the location of the reading corner because it is tucked away and cozy. I can totally see S and Jer snuggling up with a book before bedtime.
Tuesday, April 22, 2014
As I embark on this journey to share with you some of the details of our "Extreme Home Makeover," I am most excited to reveal the nursery! I have literally been working on it since I found out I was pregnant (aka over a year ago.) I have slowly collected all the little things I needed to make my vision become a reality. I made some things, bought some things, improved upon things and got lots of hand-me-downs. Today I am just going to post the "big picture" photos for you and starting tomorrow we will go over the details. I will tell you where I got everything and include tutorials when appropriate so you have the tools you need if you would ever like to do something like this. So, without further ado...
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Monday, April 21, 2014
We had a very restful (much-needed) break from working on the house this past weekend. We got to go up to Kaysville and spend time with Jer's family. It was so fun to be able to actually have a Saturday doing fun things and spending time with each other. Di got a lot of great pictures and I wanted to share.
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Then we headed to the park for a lovely picnic. We relaxed on a blanket, played frisbee, and Scotty's aunts fed him frosting. (That's what aunties are for after all.)
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Saturday morning started off with a ward Easter-egg hunt. DiNana and Baba took Scotty. He loved looking at all the kids running around and the colorful eggs. He and Nana had fun swinging afterwards.
Scotty took an awesome nap and then we headed out to feed apples to the horses of some the Bartons' friends. Scotty was pretty intrigued, and was even reaching out to them.
Uncle Cam took Scotty for a stroll around the park. Scotty sure loves his aunts and uncles, I know he can feel how much they love him, too.
The Easter Bunny visits the Barton home on Saturday so Scotty got to go through his basket and thoroughly enjoyed each part! I couldn't believe how excited he was about it. He really does change every day.
He especially loved the real carrots the bunny left.
Our little family with our basket.
On Sunday we attended church with Jer's family. It was fun for Jer to get to show off his sonny boy to all his home-wardies and I even got to attend my MIL's fabulous RS lesson on the restoration! It was the perfect week to join them.
We had a wonderful dinner prepared by Di with a little help from everyone. Baba (aka FIL) was nice enough to do all the dishes (by hand, mind you.) And we finally got a sweet picture of him with Scotty.
We always enjoy our time in Kaysville with family, it seems extra special now that we have our little munchkin who is such a joy to everyone. We are so grateful for wonderful family, and feel blessed that we have so much support around us.
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