Time

I'm seriously having a hard time wrapping my head around time these days. Owen's 26th birthday was yesterday. It's December now...really?...wow! Before I know it Christmas will have past, my baby will be two (how did that happen?!!), it will be 2010 and I'll have two kids in tow! Here's to hoping I'm still sane after the whirlwind the next three months are bringing my way! Oh, and that I don't have too many emotional breakdowns in the meantime.

Dressing Up Like Daddy

I have a feeling this is just the beginning...






...I guess I'd better start looking for good deals on dress-up items and a container to keep them it!

Gold Digger

Miriam found Owen's wallet.




Enough said.

I'm Bringing Home a Baby Bumblebee

And she didn't even sting me!




Miriam had a blast going from trunk to trunk on Halloween collecting "canny" but was less than impressed that she didn't get to eat it all at once. Her bucket was almost overflowing, so I'm hoping to make it last for a long, long time. She begs for more every time I open my closet (the hiding place that she unfortunately caught on to -- at least she can't reach it!) but I'm a mean mom so I turn her down 95% of the time. Next year should bring some fun challenges for me!

*And for the record, she actually begged to have her harness on. We very, very rarely use it, but she walks around the apartment with it all day long because to her, it's just her monkey. She likes to have him snuggled on her back. Go figure.

A Sweet Tradition

One Granny Smith apple.
Smother in caramel.
Dip in milk chocolate.
Roll in Oreo crumbles.
Devour with caution!

Calling In a Sick Day

Miriam woke up with a fever in the middle of the night. She's been doing a lot of this today:




Pretty pitiful looking, huh? We've had lots of snuggle time, whining, and sleep. Poor babe.

Homemade Jammies

I'm not sure about all the other moms out there, but I have this little thing about most store-bought pajamas. They are pricey and usually cheap quality. And a lot of them have characters* on them (another little thing for another day).

I have looked and looked for decent quality second-hand pajamas in Miriam's size with very little luck (probably the cheap quality playing in here). So, about six months ago, I decided I was sick of buying them because I felt like I was wasting our already small budget on something that wouldn't last as long as I need them to. So I added "make homemade pjs" to my craft to-do list. It stayed there until my mom came home from Nigeria and kicked me into gear. And by kicked me into gear, I really mean that she did all of the work. :) Thanks, Mom! For the record, though, I did cut fabric and sewed a couple of cuffs.

The morning that we planned to go fabric shopping, my Mom had the brilliant idea of checking her boxes and boxes and boxes of fabric first. Good thing we did! We found enough for three pairs of pajamas: two of the jumpsuit style and a shirt and pants set.

The jumpsuits are both finished and I plan to make the other all on my own. They turned out super cute and will hopefully last a good long while.



*Oh, and I do realize they are Hello Kitty pajamas. Hey, the fabric was basically free! At least it's not Dora or a Disney princess; I probably wouldn't have used it then, free or not! A girl's gotta have standards, ya know. But Hello Kitty isn't so bad, so I'm okay with it.

What Works for Me: Cleaning the Bathroom

I love learning how others manage their homes and make life work for them in general. I often glean new ideas in the process and am able to streamline my time so I can do more of the things I want to do instead of only doing things need to do. What Works for Me is a blog series where I share my home management routines so others can see how we run things at our house.


My bathroom routine really isn't anything special, but finding a way to keep the toddler away from the chemicals was a challenge at first. I guess I could sacrifice my precious nap time, but...wait a minute...sacrifice nap time?! Yeah, right!

So, here's my secret. Clean the bathtub sometime during the day when Miriam is busy elsewhere. Then closer to her bedtime, give her a bath. Add bubbles so she's entertained for more than 2 minutes.




Now, go clean your bathroom. But be quick!! Even the bubbles will only last so long. I clean every week, so upkeep is really easy and fast. My mom taught me that trick. It's genius, really.

What a Day!

After a day like today, (read - a day where Miriam had more energy than usual and ran me into the ground) there is nothing sweeter than peeking in on my angel baby sacked out in bed.




A little recharge and I'll be good for another go around tomorrow.

One Last Hurrah

Summer is definitely over here. And Autumn? Well, it's hit and miss. We've already had a pretty good taste of Winter, but today was rather nice...for October in Idaho, at least. We decided since this might be our last chance to play outside without being completely bundled, we'd better take the opportunity while we could. So off to the "big" park we went.

The swings were the definite favorite.




She loved the slide and the leaves too. And really, any place Miriam just gets to run and run is a hit with her anytime.

Mmm, Mmm, Good!

Miriam loves tomato soup.




So much so that I think Campbell's should be paying her to be this cute while eating it!

Like a Little Kid at Christmas

Owen inherited a very abused and teeny tiny bike (for him, at least) from a friend this past spring. When we moved close to campus again he was determined to bike to and from class every day, but this bike just wasn't cutting it. Unfortunately, a newer, bigger bike just wasn't in our budget, so he's just been trucking along without complaint.

Awhile back, Owen's mom offered to buy him a used one if we came across a good deal. Since then, we've just been watching and waiting, but nothing had come up. Then this past week we found just what he was looking for.




A nearly new Cannondale F7 in electric blue. Big. Sturdy. Great condition. Awesome deal. Perfect for Owen!

He loves it! And I love that he has something that will work for him! Oh, and the amazing deal it was...definitely love that part too.

Snore

Before I put Miriam down to bed at night we read stories, say prayers and sing songs together while we snuggle. Usually she is pretty good about calming down and getting ready to sleep during this time. The other night was a different story. She tossed and turned and wiggled around on me. It doesn't take me long to get fed up with bedtime play so I told her I was going to put her in bed if she wouldn't calm down and try to sleep. A few seconds later she snuggled up to me and said, "Ahh, shoo. Ahh, shoo. Ahh, shoo."

New Shoes

We're big supporters of soft-soled baby shoes and up until recently that was all Miriam has worn. But, her last and biggest pair finally gave out. She's active enough that we knew she needed some big girl (hard-soled) shoes. She helped pick out a cute pair, we let her test them out at the store and she walked around like a newbie would on ice. She was so stiff-legged it was hilarious to watch and we're mean enough parents to laugh at her. We decided she'd just have to adjust and headed home with our new find. At first, she was not impressed. Not at all! She'd whine when we put them on and pull them off every chance she got, but eventually, she gave in and now she seems to like them just fine.


Isn't she adorable? I sure love my beautiful girl!

Surprise!

So, I mentioned we've been busy. Between chasing Miriam, working on a mountain of projects and keeping up with general housework, this is what I've been doing...




Growing a baby, of course! It's been exhausting this time around. I don't remember being this tired when I was pregnant with Miriam. I probably wasn't! I didn't have her to keep me so busy then!

Similar to last time though, I've spent my fair share worshiping our porcelain throne. I feel I handled the sickness better this time, but it was really hard to be so sick all the time while trying to take care of a toddler. I try to avoid taking most medications while pregnant (and in general really), but next time around I may cave and get a prescription. It's hard to take 10 weeks to be mostly nonfunctional when I've got other people to take care of. Lucky for me, Owen is amazing and stepped in to pick up my slack. We made it through the tough part though and now we're to the fun!

I'm halfway there, which means we even know the gender...



We are so excited to have another girl in our home!!

So now you know the truth behind my blogging absence. My sleep has just been a much higher priority. But now that I'm feeling worlds better, settled and organized in our apartment and like we've got a nice routine going, I plan to blog much more frequently!

We're Alive!

I promise we still exist. I haven't forgotten to blog either. We've just been busy. My parents are home now, we have moved to our own place again and things have been all around crazy for a couple months. But, life seems to be slowing down a little and I finally seem to have a little time on my hands. Yay!! Look forward to hearing from us soon.

Let the Countdown Begin!!

My parents have an official return date from Nigeria and it is ONE MONTH FROM TODAY!!! Can you believe they are going to be home so soon?! In some ways it seems like it has gone so slowly, but in other ways, fast too. I'll just say I'm beyond excited for my missionaries to come home.

Here's to the next 30 days!!!!

Today Was a Great Day!

Here's why:

First, these were found.


I can't even recall the last time I felt such relief. After being lost for nearly a week and a half, Owen finally located my beloved wedding ring and watch. I remembered placing both in my pants pocket for some reason (cleaning up something icky, I'm sure...probably dishes) and then later I had put the pants on the floor by my bed while I took a nap. Some time in between those two instances, the jewelry went missing. We searched high and low and we were just about to the point of desperately combing through the garbage to see if they might be there. Luckily it never came to that (and we would have turned up empty-handed anyhow) because Owen took all the cushions off the rocker in Miriam's room and there they were. I was one happy girl.

Then, this arrived in the mail.


Woohoo...it's official; I'm a college grad!

Also, today was sunny and beautiful most of the day. And after over a week of nearly constant rain, this was a welcome change. Although I will admit I love the rain too...it makes everything so pretty and green and it is definitely helping my parent's yard bloom and flourish.

And last, the sun must have perked up my rained-out-motivation because I accomplished a bunch of things today. In my book, that always makes for a great day!

If I Were a Toddler...

...where would I hide my mom's wedding ring and watch?

The Story of a Busy Blogger

I can hardly believe it's already June, but then again, May was just a whirlwind month for our little family. We've been busy, busy, busy, although I look around the house and it sometimes seems like I've gotten nothing done! But, in case you're interested, here's a quick recap (minus the beginning of the month because it was mostly not noteworthy):

• From the 14th to the 25th we got to test out having two children. My brother and sister-in-law left for a cruise to celebrate their upcoming 15th anniversary. We kept their youngest little Katie-girl. She's 7 months! What an experience that was! It was fun, but not much other than watching kids was accomplished. So, in case I ever think it will be a good idea to have children 10 1/2 months apart from each other...just tell me I'm crazy and slip a birth control pill in my water. Only kidding, but seriously, tell me I'm crazy.
• On the 26th we celebrated my 23rd birthday! Holy smokes, I'm only 2 years from being a quarter of a century old. How does that happen?! We had a hip hoppin' good time by restaurant hopping. We started with an appetizer at Texas Roadhouse, then went on to share a delicious turkey burger at Red Robin. We had planned to finish up with a scoop of ice cream at cold stone, but we were so full by the time we started at Red Robin that we knew there was no way it would happen. Plus, our server at Red Robin was kind enough to gather every server in the restaurant to sing a nice embarrassing song to me. Owen even helped out...awkward. This included an ice cream sundae that we somehow managed to squeeze in.
• This past week has been filled with getting back into a nice routine with just one child. I've been digging in the dirt a lot and deep cleaning the kitchen cupboards. I'm hoping to get some good organizing done so that when my parents return, the transition between us going and them coming is nice and smooth. And, I just want things pristine when they come home because they deserve it.

So, now, here we are. June is here and things will still be busy, busy, but I hope to be blog, blog, bloggin' it up in the meantime.

Just For Mom

Although we've had a couple weeks of gloomy and blustery weather, spring has definitely come to Idaho. My Mom's beautiful daffodils are in full bloom and the tulips are getting there. Since my Mom is missing two springs in a row, she has mentioned that she's missing her flowers. And, what better time to share some pictures for her to enjoy than Mother's Day?! I hope these help brighten your day, Mom! And if they don't, maybe me telling you "you're the best mother a girl could hope for" will.

Love,
Haylee Sue

Answers to Questions

It's been nearly a month since graduation. Has it really been that long already?! Since then (and even some before) I have been asked the same two questions numerous times, although sometimes in different forms. In an effort to curtail the mysteries, here are my answers:

Are you going to teach this fall?
Alternate questions: So, what are your plans now? Are you looking for a job?

A reasonable question with a simple answer. HECK NO! said as a drawn out response for added emphasis -- if I were the swearing type I might even replace the heck with something less attractive. But I'm not, so I don't. In fact, I've never actually said this to anybody yet, but I've thought about it.

*And yes, I realize that "Heck no!" really doesn't work as a response to "So, what are your plans now?" but the rest of the response does...so just keep reading.

I guess I've done quite well at masking my complete aversion of the public education system over the past couple years, because people are asking this question in the first place. But really I'm always amazed to be asked this question anyhow. I guess I can blame it on our society that has come to accept moms working and sending their kids to daycare, so me following suit wouldn't surprise anyone. I imagine this question was not so common forty years ago. In any case, I am not looking for a job and although I never plan to use my degree to teach within the public schools, this is not the reason I have such a strong natural response to this question (in any form).

The truth? I believe mother's belong at home with their children. This belief is ingrained so deeply in my core that I felt strongly enough to write a research paper on this very topic when I was only a freshman in college. That's five years ago, folks! So, this is no young mother epiphany. This is just me.

I could drone on and on about how I feel the lack of mothers in the home has led to the downfall of society and moral fortitude, but I'll save that for another day. Put simply, I plan to be at home actually teaching and learning with my children, and not just when they are "school" aged. Who says "education" has to wait until age 3 or 4 (pre-school) or even age 5 (kindergarten)? Miriam and I talk, sing, dance, eat, sign, cook/bake, clean and play all day long. This is the perfect education for a 16 month old and most young mothers do these things naturally...it's just part of being a mom. But if I'm not home, I can't do these things with her. And if she's at a daycare or being watched by someone else, then someone else gets the benefit of my baby's short childhood while I miss it. Plus, Miriam won't be learning through authentic activities and experiences, nor getting all the attention she deserves.


Are you wondering what to do with all your time now?
Alternate question: Bored yet?

I want to chuckle every time I'm asked this. I usually answer a simple "no, I'm plenty busy." Meanwhile I silently think to myself, "Uh, hello?! Have you forgotten in the short 3 or 4 years since your kids were this age how active toddlers are?!" Goodness, gracious! All the child does is go, go, go! But, even more than just keeping up with Miriam, here is a list of things that am able to do with all of my "free-time" now (HA!):

• Nurturing my family and marriage
  
• Having personal scripture study
• Actually seeing Owen on a regular basis
  
• Exercising!
• Working to improve our family's provident living and self-reliance
• Bargain hunting -- including grocery deals
  
• Cooking real food (as opposed to the frozen pizzas we were eating during my student teaching -- yuck!)
  
• Keeping the dishes done and kitchen clean
• Washing the laundry AND getting it put away
• Puttering around the mansion to pick random things up and put them away(which were usually displaced by Move-Everything-Around-Miriam or Leaves-Things-Out-Owen)
• General housecleaning (dusting, vacuuming, sweeping, moping, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera)
• Working on personally-fulfilling projects (crafts, organization, blogging, etc.)
  

Get the idea? These are some of the many things that I either seriously slacked on, didn't have time to do at all or was too exhausted to even think about for the last two semesters of my undergrad education.

So, at the end of the day, know this...I don't plan on working outside our home anytime soon...and I'm plenty busy.

No More Baby Here

Miriam's nightly routine is very predictable and well...routine. We like it that way. We eat dinner, she takes a bath and plays a little. She gets her teeth brushed, then we read stories, say prayers and I sing primary songs while she nurses. Then it's off to bed and she snuggles up with her bear, her quilt and two pacifiers (yes, two -- one in the mouth and one in her hand...they'll be gone soon). This is what we've done for months and months now. Even before that, (when she was really little) the only parts that were different were no dinner (she nursed right before bed) and no teeth brushing (no teeth to brush). A couple weeks ago, she decided she wanted to change the pattern. No nursing.

She usually asks for milk ('dak' when she says it -- it's a good thing she signs so I actually know what she's saying) right before I put her in her crib, but she didn't. I offered anyway and she squirmed and wiggled and refused. So, I put her in bed without it. I figured she'd eventually start whining and ask for milk. Nope. She fell asleep. The next night, same thing. No milk. It's been two weeks with very sporadic nursing so I suppose it's safe to assume she has weaned herself. Sad day.

Well, I suppose they all have to grow up some time, but I guess I wasn't expecting this so soon.

Our Growing Family

April 14th brought a fun surprise to our little family...and it has nothing to do with a baby (hehehe, gotcha with the title, huh?).

Still in my groggy stupor, I sat on the couch by Owen as he opened an email from my parents. It was an announcement that my brother, Adam, had tied the knot the previous Saturday (the 11th)! It came as quite a surprise to me and I'll admit that I was a little sad at first. Not sad that he was married, because I'm quite happy about that. I also really like my new sister-in-law, so that part didn't upset me either. I was just sad that I didn't get to be there to witness it happen! I quickly got over it and now that the official pictures have been released, I'm pleased to announce the newest member of the family....

Eileen

She's a beautiful Filipino woman who Adam met at UNLV while he was earning his MBA. They have been together for a couple of years now and the family loves her so we were happy to see that she'll be around for a good now.


Congratulations, Adam and Eileen! We are so happy for you!

Three is My Lucky Number

Owen and I have now officially hit the three year mark. Some days it feels like we've been married forever though (in a good way) and other times it seems like just yesterday we met. Either way, since three is my lucky number (I didn't make this part up just for the post title) I know this year will be a good one! But since the last three have been amazing, I don't expect things to change all of a sudden anyhow.

I love this picture. This pretty much sums us up.
He He He. I'm soooo glad that my brother-in-law, Josh, caught this blooper on camera. Otherwise, I might have forgotten! It's a good thing I really, really loved him when this happened. It's also a good thing that he didn't rip my dress. My little prankster; always making me laugh...even though I'm pretty sure this was an accident and has more to do with his clumsy tendencies. He still makes me laugh everyday!


Now, this picture is more of what you'd expect from wedding pictures. Aren't we just the cutest couple?
I sure love my Snuggleface!! Happy anniversary, Babe!

It's a Race!

The Pay It Forward (PIF) Exchange is based on the concept of the movie Pay it Forward. I will send a home-made gift to the first three people who leave a comment to this post on my blog requesting to join the PIF exchange. All the gifts will be made and sent out 'sometime within the next year'. How exciting to not know when your surprise package will arrive! What you need to do in return, is pay it forward by making the same promise on your blog. This Exchange is only open to those with active websites or blogs.

Ooh, I can't wait to see who my lucky three are.
Okay. Ready? GO!!

*I will gather addresses sometime later; no need to give out all your personal information in my comments section. :)

No Time For Blogging...

...'Cause I'm doing laundry*!!!!


*If you are confused with my excitement of doing laundry, see here and here.

Dinner Fit For a Fool

I love celebrating holidays and special occasions with family traditions. We started a new one this April Fools' Day that I hope to continue for years to come.

We invited friends over to share all the food and surprised them with this luscious cake for dinner.


Then topped it off with a bowl of spaghetti for dessert.


Yes, you read that right...dessert for dinner and dinner for dessert.

Oh, but don't worry, the "cake" is really round layers of meatloaf with ketchup glaze filling between the layers, "frosted" with mashed potatoes and garnished with cherry tomatoes.

And the "spaghetti"? It's a cake. I baked it in a Pyrex bowl, then transferred it to the fancy white bowl and piped it with lightly yellow tinted buttercream frosting. The "sauce" is strawberry glaze with a couple tablespoons of frosting added to make it opaque and then colored with one drop of green, blue and a couple drops of yellow. This helped remove the candy-apple red color. The "meatballs" are Ferrero Rocher truffles and the "parmesan" is just grated white chocolate.

It made for a fun night full of laughter.

Would You Take a Look at That?!

I can't believe how big Miriam is getting so quickly. She already has enough hair for full piggy tails! Something about her amazes me every day. And although I may be a bit biased, I think she's adorable with (and without) pigtails.

Two Stories

Miriam is still the sweetest little girl I've met, and everywhere we go she seems to charm anyone we meet. The following stories are two adorable excerpts that I don't want to forget about my angel child.

Story One
[Setting - Immediately following my graduation's convocation ceremony where Elder Neil L. Anderson spoke, Linda and I went to the restroom while the men waited with Miriam in the hallway.]

When Elder Anderson came out of the chapel, he saw Miriam and commented to Owen about how pretty she is.
Miriam, matter-of-factly replied with a smile and her cute little "Hi!"
Elder Anderson was so charmed that he then shook her hand and said "Hi!" back. Imagine that?!! A one-year-old getting to shake the newest apostle's hand!


Story Two
[Background - It is quite common for Southerners to choose original nicknames when they become grandparents rather than just being Grandpa ________ and Grandma ________. Owen's parents are known as Grammy and Grampy to their grandkids.]

For months we have been trying to get Miriam to say either Grammy or Grampy, with no such luck. The other night I thought I'd try one more time to get her to say Grampy. She didn't say anything, but rather, gestured the sign for 'grumpy'. Not noticing at first, I kept prodding her to say "Grampy" and she just kept scrunching up her little hand in front of her face. Once I realized what she was doing, I pointed it out to everyone else and we all had a good chuckle. Hopefully Grampy doesn't take it personally and think that Miriam finds him grumpy, because he certainly isn't.

18 Days and Counting....

Bruce (the washer repairman) came today. Bad news. Had to order another part. Cause and effect. The barrel of the washer is suspended by two springs, when one breaks the other usually stretches. Not the problem...this was already anticipated and he ordered new springs to replace both. The problem...when the spring broke, the barrel landed on, and broke, "the boot" (Layman's terms: something to do with lots of water/hose connections. Still confused? If we were to run the washer with this part still broken, it would likely flood the entire laundry room... and if we were really lucky, the rest of the house too).

I'm just thrilled!! Can't you tell?! *read with deeply entrenched sarcasm*

You want to know the worst part? I actually thought it was going to be fixed today. Honestly and truly, I did! I had everything separated out. My list was ready to go. First, diapers (because I'm desperate for these...see previous laundry post for 'sposie diaper rant). Then whites, mediums, darks. Rinse and repeat (because we have that much stacked up). Then, depending on how exuberant I was feeling after tackling seven loads of laundry, I'd move on to towels, towels and more towels (Did I mention I had two loads waiting to be washed when the whole fiasco started? Good thing my parents have linen closets stacked full, cause there is no way I'm going back to the laundromat to wash towels there. In the meantime, we'll just keep swapping out news ones and eventually --sometime in the next year at this rate-- they'll all be clean again. But I digress...) Oh, sheets too. Luckily, I had those cleaned and stacked neatly in the linen closets too.

Wait? That was so long I forgot what I was talking about....Oh, right! My list. I was ready to go, and then the news came. At first, he said he would be able to tape it up and we'd at least be able to wash some loads. So, I figured I'd cut back the list to only the necessities...diapers...then a load or two of clothes.

Nope. Shot down there too. No diapers. No whites. No nothin'! Taping would work. So, here I sit instead, dreaming of laundry heaven (think neatly folded stacks of laundry, crisply ironed shirts hung with their respective colors, drawers full of socks, etc.) while I sit in laundry hell (no explanation needed). I have a feeling it's going to be a long four (to five) days...pray that it's four....please!

Proof!!

I graduated Friday morning and just to make sure you'd believe me, we took hundreds of pictures. Just kidding, we actually took pictures because we're a picture-happy family and we wanted to share the day with people we love. So, here are some favorites, because there seriously are hundreds to choose from. (Our new camera is awesome, and Owen loves to use the continuous shoot option. It makes for some awesome candid shots...and some not-so-awesome ones too).

How about we start with one of the not-so-awesome ones?

Not only is the graduation get-up one of the most tacky things ever, but it is obnoxious too! I was messing with it the whole day and happy to finally have it off after the events.

Alright, now that that's out of the way...a cute mom and daughter shot.

Our cute little family.

That's the face of a very happy girl!

I'm so happy to be finished! Thanks for all who have sacrificed, supported, and encouraged the culmination of my undergrad degree. For those who have wondered, "So, now what?"...more to come on that later, but suffice it to say, I plan to be the super-mom/homemaker of a kind and conservative homeschooling family.

Happy Easter

We have had a joyous Easter weekend filled with an egg hunt, delicious Easter dinner (ham, cheesy potatoes, asparagus, deviled eggs, and rolls...yum), homemade chocolate covered marshmallow eggs (tradition!), a spirit-filled Sabbath day and a beautiful, Earthly reminder of our Savior (see pictures below).

But, without further ado, a play-by-play of the egg hunt:

At first Miriam was just excited to run around in the grass but she quickly discovered the brightly colored treasures and started gathering them.

She inspected the eggs. Outside...

...and in.

She didn't want to put the eggs in the basket, but we're bigger than she is and we wanted her to move on and pick up the rest, so we convinced her otherwise.

She was a happy girl toddling through the grass.

And when she was finished, she led us all inside.

The next two pictures show the beautiful full arch, double rainbow (although the second rainbow is quite difficult to see) that came after last night's rain storm. I felt they were appropriate for Easter because rainbows always remind me of the Savior's Atonement and Resurrection.

What a miraculous and important event that was from history! It completely changed the world and my knowledge and testimony of it has changed my life. I love the newness that rainbows represent after a good rain and this is the feeling the Atonement and Resurrection can bring each of our lives as well. I am so grateful for this knowledge and for a loving Heavenly Father and Savior to provide this healing power and strength for me.


When I am Baptized - LDS Children's Songbook, page 103

I like to look for rainbows whenever there is rain
And ponder on the beauty of an earth made clean again.
I want my life to be as clean as earth right after rain.
I want to be the best I can and live with God again.

Mount Washmore - 10 ------- Haylee - 0

We currently have a laundry crisis taking place at our house. Now, just to clarify, I do not use crisis flippantly like our fearless government leaders who have convinced many that a trillion dollar bail-out was necessary because we are in crisis. Nope, this is the real deal.

I currently have 10+ loads of laundry that need to be done. I understand that you may be thinking "Haylee, get off your big, lazy behind and just get it done!" and I assure you, I'd love to. Really.

I actually quite enjoy doing laundry (Bathrooms too...It's an illness, I'm sure. Dishes, not so much. Anyone up for a trade? Hmm...back to the point). Laundry. The separating, switching, folding, etc. all make me very happy. I even enjoy ironing and putting it all away. So, why hasn't it been done already? I'm sure you've already caught on, but just in case you really need it spelled out...our washer is broken. That's right...broken.

broken \ˈbrō-kən\
to become inoperative because of damage, wear, or strain

It has been now for two weeks....TWO WEEKS, YOU HEAR?!!

Once we realized that something was seriously wrong we called a repairman (Oh, and by the way, the fiasco began with the first load I had started for the week...and I still had at least three to go!) He didn't actually come to inspect the damage for another four days and came just to tell us that the whole problem was a broken spring. He had to order the part and it would be four to five days...if the part was in stock!!! It's now been seven business days, plus two weekends making a grand total of eleven days since he came!

We've already been to the laundromat once and spent $12 on four loads that received a mediocre wash while I sat convinced I was going to leave with some sort of dangerous communicable disease. I doubt we'll do that again.

And I've been making do with disposable diapers. Gasp!! I can now reiterate my absolute loathing of disposable diapers. They stink. They leak. They take longer to put on. They stink. They swish when Miriam walks. They literally make me throw my money away. They stink. They leave Miriam with a diaper rash. They have to be changed at least twice as often as our bumGenius diapers (or else they leak and cause rash...not to mention the lovely little gels they leave all over her little bum). And, they stink!

But for now...we wait...and I may break down and call a neighbor and beg them to let us borrow their washer before I lose the last ounce of sanity left in me.

*Oh, and for those of you unfamiliar with FlyLady, Mount Washmore is one of the laundry references she frequently uses when discussing the Laundry Quandry.

Potatoes are Done; People are Finished

So, I suppose I should say I'm finished....but I'm from Idaho and supposedly that makes me an official redneck, so DONE it is.

I'm DONE!!!!!!!!!

My final day of student teaching was Friday and I officially survived my three month sentencing in a public school classroom. Today I presented my student teacher work sample and skirted through an online religion final. Graduation is Friday and I'm elated!

Full of Emotion

Tomorrow is my first day of student teaching. These words describe some of the many thoughts swirling around in my head at the moment.

Dread. Angst. Excitement.
Stress. Guilt. Surreality.
Eagerness. Sadness. Impatience.
Exhaustion. Apprehension. Hope.

So, here goes... Wish me luck!

p.s. I have been incredibly busy and don't see things slowing down anytime soon. This considered, blogging may be sketchy for the next three months. In fact, I still have Christmas and birthday fun to post about. Hmm...we'll see if that gets done before April.