Crafty

Dear Blogging world:

Why does everyone have to be so crafty and have such amazing ideas? I mean come on, they find amazing DI/yard sale finds and turn it into such amazing pieces of work!!! Now I have to admit, my house is completely full of hand me downs and great yard sale finds. The only pieces of furniture I have purchased in my 7 1/2 yrs. of marriage is my couch and kitchen table that I bought to fit my house in Missouri and do not exactly go with the new house. So why can't I turn all this ugly looking, hand-me-downs into beautiful masterieces and have an amazingly cute, just to die for furniture?????

One word: Creativeless (okay so that probably isn't a real word, but you get my point!)

I think all you crafty chicks just need to take a trip down yonder to my house and take an inventory of all my yard sale finds and tell me what to do to turn them into something FABULOUS.....A.S.A.P.!

Mini vans and weekend plans!

Okay so here are some random pictures from the last couple weeks. I finally remembered to have someone take a picture of the belly. However, I was having a very lazy day and that day and didn't do my hair, or make up, and I lounged around the house all day in my grungies. Sorry that I don't look quite so fabulous!

So this is me at about 21 weeks. I don't think the picture really does much justice, my belly feels a million times bigger than it looks!!! I think I was a little bigger at this point in my last pregnancy, but that might have something to do with the fact that I weighed 15 lbs. more when I started my last pregnancy than this one. It has definitely helped me this pregnancy to start out in really good shape, but I must say, all my muscle has turned to flubber! Just more motivation to get back in shape in the baby comes!

The last few weeks have been pretty easy going, except the weekends!!! For the last three weekends I have traveled up North for some quick little trips. The first weekend I went up it was just for fun and to hang out with the sistas!!! The second weekend I went up was because I had my ultrasound, I also wanted to see my cute niece perform at the Davis High winterguard competition. Being a past guard girl, I haven't been to a competition since, I don't know, probably 7 years ago. Anyway, it was really fun to see her perform and all the guards in the state as well. Some things have definitely changed but for the most part, it's all pretty much the same!

The last weekend I went up was originally just going to be a day trip with my in-laws to see the Riverdance performance. My mother-in-law wanted to take all the girls and she got us some pretty awesome tickets!!! It was a lot of fun! I actually saw Riverdance in Missouri about 5 years ago, but it was definitely better this time around. Mainly because I was in better company and it was indoors! We were at an outdoor theater in Missouri and it was so hot, humid and muggy!

Anyway, back to my story...my quick day trip turned into a weekend trip when I found a minivan for sale at the last minute and decided that this might possibly be the one for our family! Yes that's right, a minivan!

So ever since I became pregnant last fall I've known that a minivan purchase would be in the near future. For those of you with children, you know very well that three carseats/boosters do not fit in the back seat of a little car. Especially our LITTLE car!!! We have a little Saturn that we have had since we first got married, and let's just say that two carseats fit in the back, and nothing much else! I was hoping we could go one more year before we had to upgrade to a van, but I guess the good Lord had other plans.

I have been searching online for months for just the right van and let's just say that it hasn't been easy. First of all, I was very particular in the make and model of minivan I wanted. Second, we had a very limited budget to spend. Third, I was hoping to get pretty low mileage and a little newer than our current vehicle. Fourth, I live in Richfield, a.k.a. little rural town, 100 miles from any major cities with a lot of used car lots.

When I started looking, I found a few vans that I was interested in, but the miles were just a little too high for me. As months went on I started to get really frustrated that I just wasn't finding what I wanted. I even test drove one van, really liked it, but not very comfortable with the sales guy and the little used dealership. I tried to test drive a few other good prospects and was treated very rudely by the dealers, who apparently weren't interested in selling the vehicles because they wouldn't give me the time of day!!! Their loss!!!!

I was totally ready to just give up my search until I absolutely needed a van (August). Then, I got really bored last Friday afternoon before I was going to be going up North. Rayden was playing at his friend's house and Ryker was napping and the house was pretty quiet. I decided to just check a few different van models that I hadn't really looked at before to see if I could find something. I found one that looked pretty promising, but I still wasn't quite willing to give up the idea that the van I really wanted was out there. So I checked one last time and found a van that someone was selling privately out of Syracuse. It had only been posted online for a few hours and the price was just a little bit out of my range. Secretly hoping they were purposely listing it for higher than they would go, I jumped on it and asked if they would come down a little bit. The guy emailed me back instantly and said yes! Better yet, my sister, who lives in Syracuse, had the day off and stopped by to check it out! She drove it for me and said everything looked good and it drove good. There was a little bit of body damage but not too noticeable.

So, my quick weekend day trip suddenly turned into a long and stressful weekend of buying a vehicle!!! It was only stressful because I was nervous about making a huge financial decision without my husband and I also had a little bit difficult time meeting up with the seller, but that was mainly due to my miss-communication. All in all, it all worked out and I ended up finding the perfect van for our little family! Or should I say, growing family!

Turns out, I also got to see my niece perform one last time at the state championship competition. It was fun to hang with my mom and reminisce on past times in the colorguard! Those were some really great times in High School, probably the only thing that made High School worth going to. Well, that and the boys!! But don't tell my niece that I said that, I keep trying to encourage her to stay away from the boys, they are just immature! LOL!!! I guess of course so was I!

It's nice to have the car situation taken care, my life is a little less stressful now! It will also be good to get back to my church calling that I've almost had a month off from! I spent the day getting my visual aids ready to teach the next song in primary! Wish me luck! Of course I'm going to gone again for a week at the end of the month for some more fun! Easter celebrations, doctor's appointments, and BYU Women's Conference!!!! I'm so excited I just can't wait!!!!! Now, if only it would stop SNOWING!!!!! AHHH!!!!! Oh, one last thing, I cut my hair!!! I thought 6 inches would be pretty drastic since I've had pretty long hair for the last few years. However, no one has seemed to notice the last few days except my really close girlfriends who knew I was going to cut it. I guess going to my shoulders wasn't short enough. Enjoy the pics! Sorry they are a little blurry.

Baby!!!

I had my ultrasound on Friday and I was so amazed at how with each baby I have the technology just gets better and better. With my first baby, we didn't find out what we were having and the ultrasound was just really quick and I only got one or two pictures that were similar to the first picture I just posted (just the head and top of body shot). At that time, which was about 6 or 7 yrs. ago, you had to pay a ton extra just to get it recorded on a VHS.

When I had my second baby, we decided to find out what we were having and got a ton of pictures of the baby, but they were pretty blurry and it was a little hard to figure out what I was looking at. It still cost a fortune to have it recorded so I never bothered with either child.

Well, with this baby, I was totally amazed at how clear the ultrasound was! On the screen I could see every little detail so well! The baby was moving around so much and I just loved it! I also thought it was so cool that all I had to do was take an empty DVD and they just popped it into a machine and recorded the whole thing for free! However, I didn't get a ton of pictures this time like I did with my second but that is probably because I didn't want to find out what I was having.

So, what is it with everyone getting mad at me and complaining that I need to find out so I can be prepared? It's not like it's their baby, it's mine and it's my decision! It's really getting old. All I have to say to all you people is....TOO BAD!!! I have the essentials I need to take care of a newborn and all it takes is one trip to the store to buy some girl clothes if it happens to be a girl. So, please respect my decision and let me enjoy my surprise!!!

We took the boys with us so they could see the baby and they are both really excited!! It was fun to have them there so they could see the baby moving and hear the heart beat. Both of them keep saying they want a baby sister but I still want to have another baby boy! The baby is measuring a day early (no surprise there, I always have big babies) but they didn't officially change my due date. Still set for Aug. 14th! I don't think I'll make it all the way through the summer without going crazy so wish me luck!

Life's Little Blessings

Cheese!!!! Look at my teeth! I was taking pictures of Rayden's teeth and Ryker wanted to show off his too!

Rayden has lost three teeth over the past week bringing the total to 5 in one year!!! He also has been getting his 6 yr. molars in the back. Poor kid, his mouth must be hurting!!! But, he loves when the tooth fairy comes!!!

It's been a busy month for us! One fun thing I did this last month was go on a girls weekend to a friend's cabin in Midway. It was definitely an experience we will never forget!!! I won't spill all details but let's just say it was a crazy day getting up to the cabin which ended in a snow storm through the canyon and a run in with a police officer. Everyone was all safe, no accidents, it was just a crazy day! When we got to the cabin we had to trudge all our stuff (and let me tell you we had a lot of stuff!) in the dark, through the snow to get in! Then we had to learn how to light a fire and get the heat going so we didn't freeze. Come to find out, the hot water pipe had froze and broken so guess what? No hot water the whole weekend! It was just like camping!!! We woke up the next morning to snow, and without hot water to shower we just decided to stay indoors all day scrap-booking and eating junk food all day instead of shopping the outlets! All in all, it was a great weekend full of great food, treats, chick flicks, laughing and best of all NO KIDS!!!! Well, actually my one girlfriend was nursing so she of course had her little one, who ended up getting pretty sick, but he was a pretty pleasant sick little baby compared to my kids! It was just great to be away from MY kids for 3 days!!! Randy was such a good sport to watch the kids. My mother-in-law also helped out during the day, she is amazing!!!!

All our "STUFF" was lined around every available spot on the wall!

More "STUFF"

My AMAZING Girlfriends!!!

We also just finished with wrestling season! It is a lot shorter for us than most wrestlers in this area. We aren't quite ready to take Rayden to all the weekend tournaments all over the state so we just stick to the clinic and tournaments that Richfield High School does for the boys. Rayden has a lot of fun with it, and it has been fun to see him learn and grow over the years. They usually give the boys all medals every year even if they don't win 1st, 2nd, or 3rd and Rayden loves it! This year he actually got a silver medal because he came in Second place in his division!!! He is learning so much and can actually do some real moves instead of just laying flat on his belly or chasing his opponent around. I can't believe my little boy is getting bigger! In a few years I'll have Ryker in there wrestling too!

Look at my cool SILVER MEDAL!!!!

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It pretty much as been a crazy last month now that I'm feeling a little better and getting out a lot more. If you haven't heard yet, or seen my big belly, then I guess it's time to say that I'm pregnant!!! I'm about 18 weeks along and getting bigger every day!!! We don't want to find out what we're having so unless somethings happens during my ultra sound in two weeks where we accidentally see, then we won't know until the baby pops out!!!! We didn't find out with Rayden and it was so much fun that day in hospital to hear the doctor say "it's a boy!!!" It was also fun knowing what we were having with Ryker but I think I liked it better not knowing. It's also funny to see how mad people get when we tell them we aren't finding out, even when they are complete strangers!

I was really sick the first trimester and I have still been a little sick into the second. I still have to throw up every morning before I eat breakfast and eat pretty regularly throughout the day. I also still get pretty sick in the evenings and have to just take a unisom and go to bed early every night. Now, believe it or not, my belly is starting to get bigger and bigger and it is already getting uncomfortable to wear clothing, walk, sleep and bend over! I'm curious to see how big the baby is at my ultrasound! I told Randy that each time I get pregnant it gets worse and worse, so I'm not sure how many more times I can do this! We'll see how I make it through the summer since the baby isn't due until mid August!! I'll keep you updated with pictures to come!

To add to our craziness, a few months ago, the Relief Society Pres. called me and asked me to put a committee together and plan the Relief Society Birthday Party. I was sick at the time and a little out of it and just said yes not really knowing what I was getting myself into! Luckily, I picked some amazing ladies to help me plan and it really ended up being not so difficult. The hardest part was coming up with the initial plans and getting the Pres. to okay every thing. She wasn't too fond of our first draft of ideas so we had to re-plan everything. It was a little frustrating but we made it through. At the same time as all this was going on, I was also trying to do scouts, pretty much by myself since Randy was so busy with school and his practicum. He showed up to the the den meetings physically (not mentally) but I had to plan, prepare, and do everything! On top of that, I was called to lead the music in primary and Randy got called to the Elders Quorum Presidency for a while before they could release us from scouts. So we were doing double and triple duty for a little bit!!! Keep in mind, I rarely see Randy because he has been working 10 hrs. a day and studying like crazy this semester because he not only has a practicum where he has to work 10 hrs. a week without pay under a school councilor, but he also has to work his regular job, attend regular Tuesday night class which includes writing papers, studying for quizzes, reading text books, etc. I kind of felt like an over worked single mom who is pregnant and sick all the time!!! Let's just say it has been really rough and I don't think I would have survived the last few months without my great friends and my mother-in-law who has helped out with the kids a lot!

Now, the R.S. Birthday party is over, I have been released from scouts, the weather is getting warmer where I can send the kids outside to play for a little bit, I am feeling a lot better, and Randy is almost done with his practicum hours!!!! He actually had some great news last week and is able to get his practicum hours at work, working on a project that the courts received a grant for but that is for the school! Confusing I know, but the main important thing to know is that he is back to working regular 8 hr. days which means he isn't quite so tired by the end of the day and has a little more time to study. Now he can relax for a tiny bit at times and talk to his family and play with his kids! Which means, I get a little bit of "me time" every now and then! There is light at the end of tunnel for me!!!!!! Hurray for sunshine!!!!!!! Now if the spring will just wipe out those pesky little colds that keep taunting my boys we will be A-Okay!!!! Thanks all who have helped me through the last few months, you will be eternally blessed!!! And now onto the next month, who knows what little surprises it will hold!!!

Is it spring yet?

I'm really LOVING this warmer weather we've been having lately and I'm really trying hard to ignore the storm that's rolling in as I type this. I have to say that the sun and semi warmth has really healed my cold and tired body!!! I just feel like a new person!!!! Even though I had a really lazy day yesterday and didn't do a single thing, I have really gotten so many things done lately!

For instance, I finally cleaned most of the junk out of all the corners of my bedroom that have just been piling up since we moved. I organized the boys bedrooms and boxed up some of the toys that they have grown out of. Now I can finally fit most of the toys in the closets and there is much less to clean up after a hoard of kids come over to play (actually I'm just hoping that is the case, since we haven't really had a hoard of kids over since I cleaned).

Next on my list of things to do later today, or probably tomorrow: organize the hall closet where all the winter snow gear just gets thrown and anything else I'm too lazy to put away, and organize my bathroom closet. The kids like to hide in the closets when we play hide'n'seek and all the stuff just gets pulled off the shelves and then shoved back on again. It really won't take much time to re-fold towels and blankets but it's something that i never think to do and really drives me CRAZY!!!!

Ultimately, my goal is re-organize the basement and storage room but I don't think I will be attacking that project until it is a lot warmer!!! The basement is just a little too cold for me right now. I did actually make a dent in it the other day while I was boxing up toys, but there is still so much to do!

When we moved into our new home last summer, I was having too much fun playing out in the sun that I never really organized my home the way I wanted it. I just kind of put things away just to get them out of boxes. I promised myself that I would get it all together in the winter when it was too cold to go outside. So, I guess I had better keep working on getting it together because as soon as the weather warms up I'm going to be outside in the sun! Okay, I'm getting a little too excited about warmth, and the wind blowing against the house right now is pulling me back to reality.

So, this afternoon we are headed off to sign up Rayden for wrestling. It starts next week and goes for about three weeks. I really wish Richfield would have a little bit bigger wrestling season but oh well. I just don't feel like traveling to North Sevier, where wrestling is a lot bigger, just for practice. Maybe when he gets older if he's still interested then we will cross that bridge. We also have baseball sign-ups which I am totally excited for, but Rayden says he doesn't want to play because it is too hard to play on the Wii!!! I think I'm just going to make him at least try it this year and if he doesn't like it then we'll find something else. He's not really the sporty type. I think he would rather just be inside playing lego's all day. But oh well, the kid has got to get some exercise right?

Anyway, I better get back to my organizing before I burn out. I hate leaving projects half finished! Here' s to a new me and an organized home!

Brrrrrrr....

I have to say, I was really starting to get out of my winter blues feelings the other day!!! Towards the end of last week the weather was a little warmer, the sun was shining, the snow had finally almost all melted, and I didn't feel like I had to walk around all day with a million layers!!!!! I even went to the grocery store at 8 o'clock in the morning with only a sweatshirt! That is a record for me. Usually when I go out I have to have a long sleeve shirt, a sweatshirt and a coat. So things were really looking up last week and I was even starting to think of some projects that I could work on to get me out of my winter blues. Let me just say, when I really put my mind to it I came up with quite a few projects that need to be done that don't cost a single penny! I was pretty proud of my thinking abilities!

But then this awful thing happen: IT SNOWED!!!!!! Okay, so I know I need to be grateful for the snow because it brings water and moisture to our desert, but let's just face it, I am not a person who likes to be cold one bit!!!! So while I'm grateful for the snow, I am unhappy for the coldness that comes along with it!!! All of my hopes of getting many projects done have diminished!!! I have thoughts and dreams of spending every waking moment at the beach or on some tropical island! I am even going so far as to planning a cruise I want to take (but probably won't because of $$) the second my husband graduates from Grad School!!! Just thinking about it and planning it helps me feel a little warmer!

So, I'm back on the couch with a million blankets just waiting for this weather to warm up! I did happen to get one project done, which was really needed and fairly effort less! Now I don't feel like a total couch potato! I also have managed to always make sure there is plenty of food in the fridge, dinner done and on the table when the hubby gets home from work, and I have pretty much kept the dishes under control! Oh, and I FINALLY cleaned those darn bathrooms!!!!!!!

Now, if only I could magically come up with a way to get my children to just get a long I think I will officially be over these winter blues! I didn't realize how nice it was in the summer to just send them outside to run around and play! Being cooped up in the house they find more things to fight about!!! Right now as we speak, I have to lock myself in my room just to get a few moments of quiet!!! They are now running out front in the freezing cold and ringing the door bell constantly! I guess it's time to put them to bed for the night! Wish me luck!!!!

Winter Blues!!!

I always get the winter blues after Christmas!!! It always seems like Nov. and Dec. are so busy with holiday festivities and family and it goes by so stinking fast!!!! Then January hits and suddenly time comes to a screeching HALT!!!!! It's freezing cold, nothing is happening, and time just seems to stand still. I always tell myself I'm going to do a project to help time go by but I just can't seem to get it together and come up with a project that doesn't cost a fortune!!! So, sadly I have to say that my life has been very boring lately. You know, just the usual stuff going on: cleaning house, doing dishes, taking care of the kids, breaking up arguing children constantly, spending a few hours on the weekend with my hubby, and then starting the week all over again!

To add to our boredom, Rand started his second to last semester of lectures for graduate school!!!!! Then he has a year of internship after that. I am seriously counting down the days he has left of this! While it is still somewhat overwhelming how much he has left, he has really accomplished so much and we're finally on the home stretch!!!! However, this semester will probably be the worst of it so if I can make it through May I will be so happy! Not only does he have his regular Tuesday night classes and tons of homework all week, he started his practicum where he has to get 150 work hours (which are unpaid)!!!! So basically he leaves before I get out of bed in the morning and gets home around 6, we have dinner, and then he is either in class, studying, or we are doing our church calling! It's Saturday before I actually get to spend some time with him, but then he leaves for several hours during the day so he can study where it's quiet! So my weeks are pretty boring sitting home with the kids all day!!! It's too freezing cold to go out so we are just holed up in our house watching truck/tractor movies all day! Isn't it just great? So if any of you are bored at all, feel free to stop on by!!!

Other than school and winter blues, nothing else seems to be happening at the Riddle home. I've started to teach Rayden a little of piano. He was excited at first but after two weeks he's already saying that it's too hard and doesn't seem to want to practice. He is such a little smarty pants, I just don't know what to do with him! He's learning to read at school and he is doing so great!!!The teacher had to skip him ahead in the books he brings home because they are way too easy for him. I guess that's partly because I held him back a year from starting kindergarten but I still feel really confident that I made the right decision! I'm thinking I'll do the same thing with Ryker but I'm not quite sure yet. Ryker is such a rough'n'tough little guy!!! He is so wild and crazy and he is kind of a little bully to his older brother! For being four years younger, he sure can cause a fuss with my soft-hearted Rayden! It's just so interesting for me to see how different my two boys are, but at the same time, they are very much alike! I love watching them grow and learn and play! They truly are an amazing blessing in my life! As much as I complain about how long and stressful each day is trying to raise them, I wouldn't trade it for anything else!

Well, stay tuned for pictures soon. I was really hoping I could put up some Christmas pictures, but wouldn't you know it, right when I finally decide to (and my 6 yr. old isn't hogging the computer) my picture program is updating and it is taking FOREVER!!!!!I know I am quite the slacker but don't give up me!!! It's rough having to compete for computer time with a 6 year old! He thinks he owns the thing!!!! So, you'll just have to wait probably another month to finally see our Christmas!!!