Whine, Cheese and Chuckles

Coraline Carys

2010-10-25T17:36:00.000-07:00

soooo I had another baby ... like 6 months ago. and i've never posted anything about her on my blog, how sad. I love you miss coraline carys! she was born april 30th, 5 lbs 14 oz. she is such a happy baby.

finley loves to swing

2009-07-27T12:07:00.000-07:00

more old pictures of finley ... she's just too darn cute!

finley loves to suck on baby feet

2009-07-07T22:17:00.000-07:00

finley loves to suck on baby feet ... whether they are hers or a baby doll. (and actually if she gets a hold of my feet, she'll suck on those too!)

recipe wednesday - microwave enchilada casserole

2009-06-10T21:46:00.000-07:00

it's summertime and i was craving enchiladas, but i didn't want to fire up my oven. to the rescue ... my MICROWAVE. oh how i love cooking in the microwave! (i took a recipe and changed a bunch of stuff ... ENJOY!)

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makes: 4 servings

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ingredients:

1 lb. ground beef

1/4 cup chopped onions (robby requested more next time)

1 can (8 oz) tomato sauce

1/2 cup water

2 tsp chili powder

(add some: garlic powder, oregano, cumin, onion powder ... sorry i didn't measure these)

8 corn tortillas

1 can (4.25 oz) sliced olives (although robby says to add another)

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1/4 cup sour cream

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directions:

1. microwave meat and onions in a 2 quart microwave dish on HIGH for 4-6 minutes or until meat is no longer pink, stirring every 2 minutes. drain.

2. stir in tomato sauce, water and spices. microwave for 5-9 minutes or until slightly thickened, stirring every 4 minutes. transfer to a bowl.

3. place 2 tortillas in 2 quart microwave dish; top with layers of one quarter each of meat sauce, olives and cheese. repeat layers 3 times. microwave 2-5 minutes or until heated through. let it stand for 5 minutes. top with sour cream ... and chopped tomatoes would be FABULOUS!

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next time i think i'll try adding a can of refried or some other kind of beans and more spices ... i didn't measure them, but it needed more!

aidan loves to share

2009-06-05T10:59:00.000-07:00

aidan loves to share with his sister ... and sharing all his yo gabba gabba characters is a BIG deal!

finley loves baby cereal

2009-05-21T12:14:00.000-07:00

finally ... i have been trying for awhile, but fin has finally decided that she'll eat solid foods!

recipe wendesday - homemade green cleaners

2009-04-29T11:45:00.000-07:00

***homemade cleaning recipes (via down to earth)
***natural cleaning recipes (via green living ideas)
how to make a non-toxic cleaning basket (via care2)
non-toxic home cleaning (via earth easy)
non-toxic cleaning recipes (via women an environment)
green cleaning recipes with natural ingredients (via the daily green)
diy houshold cleaners (via the green guide)
do-it-yourself cleaners (via better home & gardens)
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gorgeously green all-purpose spray
ingredients:
32 ounce plastic spray bottle (recycled)
2 cups water
1/2 cup distilled white vinegar
1 tsp pure castile soap
3/4 cup hydrogren peroxide
20 drops tea tree oil
20 drops lavender or lemongrass essential oil (lavender is lovely for the bathroom and lemongrass for the kitchen)
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simply fill a large 32-ounce plastic spray bottle with the water. add the vinegar, castile soap, hydrogren peroxide, tea tree oil and essential oil.
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suitable for acrylic, ceramic tile, wood, marble and granite.
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green window cleaner spray
ingredients:
3 Tbsp vinegar
1/3 tsp pure liquid vegetable soap (like castile soap)
2 cups water
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pour each ingredient into a recycled spray bottle.
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veggie cleaner spray
ingredients:
1 cup water
1 cup distilled white vinegar
1 Tbsp baking soda
20 drops grapefruit seed extract
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combine all ingredients in a spray bottle with a pump. spray mixture on produce, and rinse thoroughly after 5-10 minutes.

recipe wednesday - chicken broccoli stuffing casserole

2009-04-29T11:11:00.000-07:00

ingredients:
1 package (6 oz.) stuffing mix
1 1/2 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 can (10 3/4 oz) condensed cream of whatever soup
1/3 cup sour cream (or milk if you don't have sour cream ... but it wont be as creamy)
1 bag (16 oz) frozen vegetables (whatever you have, robby prefers broccoli), thawed, drained
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
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directions:
1. preheat overn to 400 degrees.
2. prepare stuffing mix as directed on package, set aside.
3. mix chicekn, soup, sour cream and vegetables in a 13x9 inch baking dish (sprayed with cooking spray for easy clean-up); top with cheese and then prepared stuffing.
4. bake 30 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.
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if your chicken is already cooked, cook for 25 minutes at 350 degrees.
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robby's favorite, and it makes EXCELLENT leftovers
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it needs a better name ... any ideas?
chickchee stuffibroc?
cheechi broccotop?
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it needs something good ... like ...

music downloads

2009-04-28T10:47:00.000-07:00

i was chatting with my sister and brother on friday night and somehow the topic turned to music. i asked scott what he thought about the new all-american rejects album, his response "what new album?!" so i headed over to my mom's mac and went to my favorite music download site and played him so clips. he comes over to check it out and then noticed the price of the songs.
and then he got mad that i've never told him or blogged about it before. (in my defense i KNOW i've told him before ... everytime him and his wife talk about downloading from iTunes ... and the link in the sidebar on my blog --- towards the top even). regardless i promised him that i would blog about it.
so check out MP3Search.ru ... only 9 CENTS (and if your purchase the whole album it is further discounted 10%). you can get the WHOLE all-american rejects album, "when the world come down" for only 97 cents ... less than what just ONE song would cost you other places.
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you're welcome ... enjoy!

finley is 7 months

2009-04-22T11:50:00.000-07:00

holy moley ... i meant to do an update when she hit her 6 month mark ... and yet another month has flown by.

she's now 26" long and weighs in at 17 pounds ... both of which are in the 75 percentile for her age.

she has finally decided that she likes solid food ... which lets me not stress as much when aidan drops/throws his cheerios on the floor.she gave up nursing at 4 months and prefers bottles ... heated ... it has to be just the way she wants it. oh well. (and she loves to lay on the floor with her feet straight in the air ... pretty much since day 1!)she started rolling over at 4 months (like ... exactly!) ... that day she decided she could do it, both ways, tummy to back and back to tummy ... it hasn't stopped her since. she rolls all over and can rotate 360 degrees ... so if she sees something she wants she'll get to it.
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this morning she decided that rolling around wasn't as productive and has graduated to army crawling around after aidan.

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it's gone by WAY to fast. overall she's a happy baby, an angel straight from heaven. i'm so happy she's joined our family.

have you met [magic] jack?

2009-03-30T06:53:00.000-07:00

what? you've never heard of magic jack? ... well i hadn't either ... until i was nursing finley one night and was flipping through infomercials.

we were a cellphone family, until i got a church calling which requires TONS of phone calls and my cell phone gets HORRIBLE reception and drops calls ALL the time (as nicole can attest, it personally despises her). i had been doing research on phone services and was looking into vonage ($9.95 a month for the first 3 months and then $24.99 thereafter) ... and then i stumbled upon magic jack ... it's like $20 per YEAR ($40 for the actual jack and first year of service ... and while checking out will offer you 5 years for a great deal) ... i think like $50 more dollars). yes, you read that correctly, and you can call anywhere in the US and Canada.

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you have to have it plugged into you computer, and you have to be connected to the internet and the program running to receive and make calls ... but we generally have our computer running 24/7 anyways. personally, i LOVE it, and i love it even more since it is a great deal and we wont have to pay another bill for it for 5 more years ...

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i've been meaning to blog about it for AGES [we got it in november?] ... and last week i was talking to nicole (who just moved to utah ... sad for me, great for her) and we were talking about house phones and i mentioned it and had to tell her more. she called me a couple days later ... "i'm talking on my magic jack" she proudly said ... you're gonna want one too!!

my nails

2009-03-26T06:00:00.000-07:00

sooo ... my nails were getting long and i figured i better document it before i broke them. of course after i took this picture i ripped 3 the next day!! UGH!!

(they look like i don't know how to trim them straight ... i promise i do ... they just curl when they get long)

EWWW!!

2009-03-21T17:10:00.000-07:00

so ... i was sewing the other day. after cutting out some things in the living room, i was headed towards the dining room (where my sewing machine currently is taking over our dining room table) and look what greeted me!

i immediately went to ask robby to kill the creepy looking bug ... instead he caught it, made me take some pictures, then proceeded to look it up online. apparently it is just a house centipede ... and they are harmless and eat spiders and termites (so they are probably good to have around) ... but they are CREEPY looking. i asked robby to kill it, he let it go outside. UGH ... i've never seen them before we moved into this house.

doesn't that just want to make you come over and visit?

aidan loves oreo cookies and milk

2009-03-04T06:50:00.000-08:00

aidan LOVES oreo cookies and milk ... just like his momma ... and c'mon let's face it, who doesn't??

recipe wednesday - fiesta lime chicken

2009-02-25T13:42:00.000-08:00

fiesta lime chicken -- one of my all-time favorite recipes. it's a copycat from applebee's. it takes some time and you have to plan ahead (for the marinade) but it is completely worth it.
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marindade:
1 cup water
1/3 cup teriyaki sauce (or substitute: 1/3 cup soy sauce and 2 Tbsp brown sugar)
2 Tbsp lime juice
2 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp mesquite liquid smoke flavoring
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground ginger
4 chicken breasts
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mexi-ranch dressing:
1/4 cup mayonaise
1/4 cup sour cream
1 Tbsp milk
2 tsp minced tomato (i omitted this)
1 1/2 tsp white vinegar
1 tsp minced canned jalepeno slices (about 3-4)
1 tsp minced onion
1/4 tsp dried parsley
1/4 tsp tabasco pepper sauce
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp dill weed
1/8 tsp paprika
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
1/8 tsp cumin
1/8 tsp chili powder
1/8 tsp garlic powder
dash ground black pepper
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1 cup shredded cheddar/monterey jack cheese blend
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directions:
1. prepare marinade, combine all ingredients in bowl, add chicken, cover and chill for 2-3 hours.
2. make mexi-ranch dressing by combining all ingredients. mix well, until smooth, cover and chill.
3. preheat oven to high broil. preheat bbq/grill to high heat. cook breasts for 3-5 minutes per side or until done.
4. arrange cooked chicken in a baking pan, spread mexi-ranch dressing on chicken, with a 1/4 cup cheese on top. broil for 2-3 minutes or until the cheese has melted.
5. serve chicken hot and over a bed of crushed tortilla chips.

Twist Tie and Wrap Dress

2009-02-14T13:10:00.000-08:00

Here's the latest project ... a twist tie and wrap dress. This versatile dress can be worn in multiple ways ... I've only just shown three. It features an a-line skirt (30" from seam to hem) with a 12" band and 2 LONG straps. The band can be folded and pulled over the bust, or worn at the waist ... etc. The straps can be wrapped, twisted and tied however you can dream it.

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It was in the shop for 2 hours and got 37 views and 3 hearts and then it sold.

sneak peek ... new colors coming soon!

2009-02-10T20:39:00.000-08:00

New colors coming soon ... pictured above is charcoal grey. We will also be offering a soft orange, a kelly green and a robin's egg blue. I'm soooo excited about all the changes coming to jocole. Hence all the not-posting on my blog.

aidan loves to run in the sprinklers

2009-02-04T16:45:00.000-08:00

in august when hannah and adam were visiting my parents aidan joined them while running around in the sprinklers. he had a great time ... and then even more fun after he pooped in his swim trunks and we had to hose him off.

recipe wednesday - microwave popcorn

2009-01-28T06:53:00.000-08:00

i was craving popcorn and wanted it with real butter without messing with the stove or buying an expensive popcorn popper. i promise when you try this you will never buy packets of popcorn ever again!
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INGREDIENTS:

3 Tbsp unpopped popcorn kernals

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DIRECTIONS:

1. pour kernals into a small paper bag (lunch size is perfect) and fold the top of the bag over twice to close (each fold should be 1/2" deep; you need room for the kernals to pop) and seal with a piece of tape (alton brown says you can use 2 staples to secure ... i'd rather not take the chance).

2. place bag in microwave on carousel. cook on high 2-3 minutes ... until the popcorn pops are 5 seconds apart.

3. open carefully and pour into a bowl (or shake it up in the bag ... it's your choice - i like to reuse the bag after popping) top with your favorite toppings and cover with a lid and shake shake shake!

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CLASSIC BUTTER TOPPING

1-2 Tbsp melted butter

1 tsp salt

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PARMESAN GARLIC TOPPING

1-2 Tbsp olive oil

1/4 cup parmesan cheese

1/2 tsp garlic salt

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TACO TOPPING

1-2 Tbsp melted butter

1 Tbsp taco seasoning

1 tsp cumin

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KETTLE CORN TOPPING

1-2 Tbsp vegetable oil

1 Tbsp white sugar

1 tsp salt

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try sprinkling on ranch dressing mix.

ENJOY!!!

CSPIA ... a.k.a. "national bankruptcy day"

2009-01-25T09:43:00.000-08:00

i've just been assuming that everyone else knows about this ridiculous law that is going to be effective on february 10th. then i was chatting with my mom and sister last weekend and realized that not everyone reads blogs and forums regarding manufacturing or selling.
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not sure if you will be affected? if you manufacture anything for children under 12 .... if you sell anything for children under 12 ... if you BUY anything for children under 12 ... basically this affects EVERYONE!
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the law will require anything intended for those under 12 to be tested for lead. it sounds good, but the reality is that it will negatively affect many businesses. protecting our children is important, unfortunately cspia will not accomplish that.
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You can read my favorite article at Boutique Cafe, and here is the 2nd article in the series ... Please please please spread the word!
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UPDATED: new information from etsy
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What can you do?
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1) Email or call the CPSIA - the office of the CPSC ombudsman 888-531-9070.http://www.cpsc.gov/cgibin/newleg.aspxComments on Component Parts Testing accepted through January 30, 2009.mailto:Sec102ComponentPartsTesting@cpsc.gov.
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2) Email or snail mail your representatives. (sample letter!! super super easy!!)http://capwiz.com/americanapparel/issues/alert/?alertid=12274476
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3) Call your representatives. For their contact information just enter your zip code.http://capwiz.com/americanapparel/dbq/officials/
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4) Make your voice heard by voting on this issue. The top 3 in each category will be presented to President-elect Obama.http://www.change.org/ideas/view/save_handmade_toys_from_the_cpsia
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5) Sign the petition.http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/economicimpactsofCPSIA/index.html
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6) Spread the word! Write about this on your blog. Tell others about this issue and encourage them to do the same.
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7) Join others in fighting this cause.
Facebook group
Twitter search
Save Handmade
Amend CSPIA
http://cpsia-central.ning.com/notes/Notes_Home
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Join the etsy community in the virtual chat with CPSIA Small Business Ombudsmen or send a handmade children’s item that will become “hazardous goods” as of 2/9/09 to Bobby Rush, founder of H.R. 4040.http://www.etsy.com/storque/craftivism/handmade-childrens-items-unintended-consequences-consumer-pr-3056/Etsy Thread
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9) Read more about this legislation and its ramifications:
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You can do your own reading, here are some places to start:
Etsy Forums
California Residents
Change.org - Save Small Businesses
Smart Mama
Fashion Incubator ... Coping with Crisis (how it will affect large and small businesses, plus links to other artcles kathleen has written), CSPIA Requirements, National Bankruptcy Day
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Fashion Incubator
Handmade Toy Alliance
National Bankruptcy Day
YouTube video
YouTube Video
YouTube Video
5 Minutes for Mom
Cool Mom Picks
The Smart Mama
blogher
Apparel and Footwear.org
Toy Association.org
Cafe Mom
Safety and Compliance
Zrecommends
SleepingBaby.net
Freshly Baked Blog
TimesCall

finley is talking

2009-01-19T23:17:00.000-08:00

finley is all smiles these days, the other night she was talking like crazy, so i grabbed my camera and this is what she did ...

it cracks me up that you can see her looking at the camera and me, going back and forth! i can't believe she's almost 4 months already!

pantry organization

2009-01-06T11:52:00.000-08:00

ok ... some of you know and some of you don't ... i signed up to sell tupperware. one of the main reasons why i did was because i want to organize my panty! the modular mates are amazing. seriously. but here's the kicker ... they are on sale in january for 40% OFF.

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if you live close i can come over and check out your pantry and help you pick what you need and i'll come over and help you organize your pantry when your order is shipped ... if you live far i can still help you through emails or phone calls ... and have them shipped directly to your house.

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email me at jodijeanbaird [at] yahoo .com ... or give me a call!

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did you have ants or bugs last year? did you throw away any stale cookies or cracker? are your cupboards a disaster? did you buy something and then come home to find the *same thing* "hiding" in your cupboard?

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an average "total kitchen" is generally around $430 ... at 40% off it would be $258. you don't have to do your whole pantry ... but after you do some of it, i bet you'll wish you had.

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here is a before and after of a pantry.

check out some more of the "after"s ... these pantrys look AMAZING ... let's get organized in 2009!!!

christmas pajamas

2009-01-06T11:06:00.000-08:00

our family has a tradition of only opening ONE present on christmas eve, and it's always pajamas. this year i decided to make the ones for the kids. started and completed on december 22nd ... have you noticed a trend of me waiting until the last minute yet? the kids looked SO cute ... never got a picture of both of them ...

digital delights

2009-01-01T17:37:00.001-08:00

here is what i've been up to since christmas ... the newest jocole creation ... pdf stationery!! printable cards (folded or flat) and gift cards or tags. all you need is paper! you can print as many as you like, for you, or give as a gift!

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This stationery set features a picture of abstract swirly carnations in white, cream, pink and green and is currently for sale in my etsy shop. (more designs will be listed soon!)

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Folded Note Card: 4.25" x 5.5"

Flat Note Card: 4.25" x 5.5"

Folded Gift Card: 2.125" x 2"
Flat Gift Tag: 4.25" x 2

finley's blessing day

2008-12-22T23:03:00.000-08:00

on sunday, december 21st, we blessed finley jean!

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i started *and* finished her dress on saturday ... nothing like a deadline to get me moving on a project. everything turned out lovely. she looked beautiful (of course there were things i would have changed ... but overall i LOVED it.) we were surrounded by friends and family who truly care about our little family. robby gave a beautiful blessing ... overall it was a FABULOUS day.

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here is a picture of our little family.

here is our family with robby's mom, who joined us for the blessing, then headed off to her church to sing ... then joined us again for food after.

finley with my parents. pictures of finley ... i mean is *was* her special day. i sure think she looked cute!close up pictures of her outfit ... headband (all of the flowers are on hairclips ... so they are removable ... and finley can wear them when she gets older and grows more hair)diaper cover ... nicole called them "boy shorts" they looked soooo cute on her under her dress.some close-ups of her dress.and the baby shoes that i made totally completed the ensemble! i absolutely LOVED how they turned out ... and the flower clips just made them 100% cuter!

EDIT: the white fabric was some of the 90/10 cotton lycra knit that i use for my modest clothing (http://www.jocole.net/), the white netting was leftover from the curtains in my living room (http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/90111980), the headband was made from some nylons.

men in her circle: robby, my dad, scott, tj, my grandfather, and chad kelland ... patrick was supposed to be there, but couldn't because his wife and daughter were sick.

aidan loves his great-grandparents

2008-12-19T16:53:00.000-08:00

aidan loves his great-grandparents, g-papa and gigi (ya know ... "G"reat-"G"randma.) yup ... he loves 'em ... and balloons ... let's not forget balloons ... he points them out in stores, on tv, while driving in the car.

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last weekend my parents watched aidan while robby and i attended his work christmas party. my parents had planned to attend a retirement party so they took aidan with them. he was the life of the party saying "hi" and patting them to everyone he saw. all of the sudden he yelled "papa" and started running away from them. my mom tried telling him that "papa" was with her (my dad is called "papa" and was standing next to her). he continued to run. as my mom made her way through the crowd her found aidan. he was at the feet of his great-grandfather and was patting his legs, motioning he wanted to be picked up and excitedly saying "papa" over and over.

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i LOVE that aidan knows his family and is excited when he is with them! when my mom was telling me about what happened it brought joy into my heart. this is why we are so lucky to be able to live close to family.

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updates for this week:

first words the nursrey leader said to me on sunday as i went to pick up aidan ... "what did you feed him for breakfast?! pixy stix?!" apparently he was more exuberant than usual.

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aidan's vocabulary is amazing me everyday. he can now count to 10 and uses sentances (6 words so far!) sheesh! he's growing up so fast!

aidan loves his paci

2008-12-08T08:47:00.000-08:00

aidan loves his paci. we've been trying to limit it, sometime is works sometimes it doesn't. these 2 pictures CRACK me up. he's silly even when he has a paci in his mouth. and yes he really does walk around with 2 pacifiers in his mouth.

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head on over to the jocole blog ... i'm talking about clothing personalities this week (on monday, wednesday and friday)

recipe wednesday - parmachoba chicken

2008-12-03T08:18:00.000-08:00

parmachoba chicken
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ingredients:
4 chicken breasts
1/4 C Ranch Dressing (prepared)
2/3 cup ritz crackers - crushed (or bread crumbs, potato flakes ... etc.)
2/3 cup parmesan cheese
1 Tbsp dried basil
1/4 C butter, cut into pieces
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directions:

1. preheat over to 400 degrees.

2. marinate the chicken in the ranch dressing, at least for a half hour.

3. in a shallow bowl combine the crushed crackers, parmesan cheese and basil.

4. dip the marinated chicken into the cracker mixture to coat.

5. arrange chicken in a 9x13 baking dish, and place the pieces of butter on top of each piece of chicken.

6. bake in preheated over for 25 minutes, or until chicken is no longer pink and the juice run clear.

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the chicken is so tender and flavorful, robby said this was the best chicken i've ever made.

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yes i realize the name is ridiculous ... when i was telling my sister about my made up recipe she said it needed an awesome name, so there you have it: "parmachoba chicken". ENJOY!!

are you wearing the right size?

2008-11-25T09:02:00.000-08:00

i haven't been posting to the jocole blog in AGES!! that blog was created to discuss what was new and going on with my business and also to just talk about clothing and thing related to clothing and dressing in general.

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today i'm discussing correct bra sizing ... so head on over there and check it out. i'm also working on a series to help you clean out your closets.

aidan loves to color

2008-11-17T09:27:00.000-08:00

aidan loves to color ... i, on the other hand, don't like trying to keep him contained while coloring. he hasn't learned yet that we ONLY color on paper. he likes to try to color on clothing, his hands and arms and the couch!! yikes. (on saturday he found a pen at my moms and colored ALL over the tablecloth on her coffee table ... sorry mom!!!!)

i couldn't sleep

2008-11-15T13:37:00.000-08:00

on wednesday (11/12/2008) i couldn't sleep while the kids were napping, so i decided to be productive instead.
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i was having groceries delivered (i will be working on a separate post) that morning, so i cleaned out and reorgainzed BOTH fridges/freezers to make room for the incoming food.

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i put away ALL of the groceries (usually there are a couple bags that hang around on the counter or table) (i don't know if you can tell from the pictures ... but it was ALOT of food)

while i was trying to put away our food in the pantry i decided that it needed to be organized, so i pulled EVERYTHING out and then putting it all back.

all my spices are in the 2 plastic containers so i can find everything easily and they are moved out of the way to get to the things behind them easily

while everything was out of the pantry i realized that my counters could use a good cleaning, so i cleaned them entirely (like COMPLETELY moving the microwave, etc.) while i moved the microwave ... realized it was nasty and scrubbed it super good.i also reorgainzed 2 cupboards to fit everything better (you know all the plastic bowls and containers that always go crazy ... plus all their lids)

i even had time to make dinner ... ranch chicken (similar to my butter chicken) and roasted potatoes

aidan kept himself entertained by watching yo gabba gabba and imagination movers ... plus playing with fashion. he's very into socks right now ... especially MY socks. these ones are pink with silver crowns ... haha! and he has foam blocks on his arms (he sitck his arms through the holes) it reminds me of popeye and his huge forearms!after the kids were asleep i went to target to return some items, did some dishes (i haven't had any dirty dishes on my counter for a week ... we've been trying to empty the dishwasher immediately and put the dirty ones IN the dishwasher ... what an amazing concept!)

then i sat down on my sofa, flipped on the tv and worked on my new project (which requires a separate post!)

just thinking about it makes me tired. my feet were aching by the end of the day, but my kitchen looks great and i feel better when i'm in there cooking or whatever.

aidan loves his momma

2008-11-10T08:34:00.000-08:00

aidan loves his momma ... he loves giving me hugs and kisses ... CONSTANTLY!! check out my one arm camera skills, while holding 2 children!

finley's first bath

2008-11-06T07:37:00.000-08:00

finley had her first real bath on october 13, 2008, she was really good. i could tell she was not very happy about it as she sucked on her hand as if he life depended on it, but she never cried (aidan used to SCREAM the entire time i gave him a bath). she smelled SOOO good after it.

a conversation

2008-11-01T08:42:00.000-07:00

this will be my only post about proposition 8, i know that everyone in california are blogging about it. so here are some of my thoughts on the subject, though not nearly ALL my thoughts.

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"Make no mistake about it, brothers and sisters, in the months and years ahead, events are likely to require each member to decide whether or not he will follow the First Presidency. Members will find it more difficult to halt longer between two opinions. President Marion G. Romney said, many years ago, that he had 'never hesitated to follow the counsel of theAuthorities of the Church even though it crossed my social, professional orpolitical life.'" This is hard doctrine, but it is particularly vital doctrine in a society which is becoming more wicked. In short, brothers and sisters, not being ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ includes not being ashamed of the prophets of Jesus Christ. . . . Your discipleship may see the time when such religious convictions are discounted. . . . This new irreligious imperialism seeks to disallow certain opinions simply because those opinions grow out of religious convictions."Resistance to abortion will be seen as primitive. Concern over the institution of the family will be viewed as untrendy and unenlightened....Before the ultimate victory of the forces of righteousness, some skirmishes will be lost. Even in these, however, let us leave a record so that the choices are clear, letting others do as they will in the face of prophetic counsel. There will also be times, happily, when a minor defeat seems probable, but others will step forward, having been rallied to rightness bywhat we do. We will know the joy, on occasion, of having awakened a slumbering majority of the decent people of all races and creeds which was, till then, unconscious of itself. Jesus said that when the fig trees put forth their leaves, 'summer is nigh.' Thus warned that summer is upon us, let us not then complain of the heat."

--- Elder Neal A. Maxwell

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my husband and i both feel very strongly about proposition 8.

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that is not to say we have anything against those who are homosexuals, we actually have a close family friend who recently was married to his partner, i guess you could say "husband" now.

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that being said, we don't think it's a behavior that we can condone or say it is ok, and we don't want to teach our children that it is. as we lead by example, we are voting YES on proposition 8. we've done our research on both sides of the argument, and prayed about it. and we feel we are making the right decision.

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we've been advised to join the conversation on the proposition 8 that is on the ballot in november in california which will protect traditional marriage, if it does not pass then same-sex marriage will continue to be legal in california. the following is a real conversation that i had with my sister heidi, who lives in utah.

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7:58pmJodi
yeah i know ... i was just rubbing it in that i live in cali ...
although rob and i talked about moving up there someday today
7:59pmHeidi
no way
you guys, the never, no way, no how guys
7:59pmJodi
all b/c of this prop 8 madness ... and not being able to let our kids ride their bikes down the street without our supervision
not anytime soon, but ... it might be a possibility ... someday
8:00pmHeidi
it is nice to let the kids run the neighborhood and play outside and not stress
8:02pmJodi
yeah .. that would be one nice thing ... although the con list is much longer than the pro list
8:02pmHeidi
maybe, maybe not
utah isn't as bad as it used to be
trust me
8:03pmJodi
haha ... and thats why it's moved to a "maybe" position instead of a "no way" position
you're so lucky that you live in utah so you don't have to hear about prop 8 every 5 seconds!!! i'm SOOOO sick of it
8:04pmHeidi
i still hear about it every 10 seconds through proxy
8:07pmHeidi
and frankly i think the whole thing has been blown WAY OUT of proportion
8:08pmJodi
i do and i don't ... the more i think about it, the more i realize that is HAS to pass ... and if it doesn't there will defiantely be more talk about moving out of state, or putting aidan in private school
8:09pmJodi
right now most people are only focusing on one point ... but i think it's like throwing a pebble into a pond and we cannot fully comprehend all the ripples that one small pebble will make
8:09pmHeidi
short answer, why is that?
or what makes you say that now?
8:10pmJodi
i think most states view california as a trend setter ... and if we legalize it, more will follow ...
8:10pmHeidi
definitely
but more already have
if it passes in cali, it's only a matter of time before it's a federal issue
8:11pmJodi
and i also think that legalizing it will make it more mainstream and people who wouldn't have "tried" it before would be more willing to, since it would not have the negative-ness to it
8:11pmHeidi
maybe, but it will always be a big minority
8:11pmJodi
for sure ... it will most definately be a federal issue .. and if cali legalizes it, it will have more credibility federally
8:12pmHeidi
yep
i know that's why so many are making a big deal on both sides
but i have to say, i see the equality/rights angle
8:12pmJodi
sure ... but minorities still exist ... i have friends who have to explain to their 2nd graders why a fellow student in their class has 2 mommies ... it's just gonna get worse
8:12pmHeidi
i know
that's the hard part
8:13pmJodi
i see the equal right side ... BUT, passing prop 8 WILL not take away rights that they currently hold. they already have civil unions which are EQUAL to marriages ... they just don't have that title currently the marriage license application no longer says bride and groom ... it says party 1 and party 2 ... how SAD is that?!
8:14pmHeidi
yep- that's the part i don't understand- as far as arguments (both sides) go
8:15pmJodi
this is about preserving MARRIAGE ... marriage is between 1 man and 1 woman
8:15pmHeidi
yeah, i know
8:15pmJodi
exactly ... there is a couple in cali who are refusing to sign their license because it doesn't say bride and groom
8:15pmHeidi
that's why i would vote yes
8:15pmJodi
exactly
8:15pmHeidi
drama drama drama
8:16pmJodi
i don't think the world will end if gay marriage is legailized ... but i do think there will be many consequences that we can't forsee
8:16pmHeidi
i think we should make drunk vegas weddings illegal to preserve the sanctity of marriage
8:17pmJodi
well, yes, that too ... i agree, there are problems with marriage , how it is now ... but does that mean we should make the problems WORSE?
8:17pmHeidi
oh, i was just kidding
but, yes, the point is...
marriage in america is pretty sad in a lot of respects
8:18pmJodi
i agree ...
8:18pmHeidi
and the divorce rate is a joke
so what's adding one more dysfunction??
8:19pmJodi
so ... why try to save something thats broken? just throw it ALL away?!
8:19pmHeidi
no, of course not, i was just joking
but the point is that those dysfunctional problems affect the good ones how, really??
8:19pmJodi
hehe ... that's the no on prop 8's argument ... that gay should have the right to be as "miserable as the rest of us"
8:19pmHeidi
it doesn't take anything away from what we have, does it?

equal misery for all
8:20pmJodi
this problem affects my child in school ... divorce and affairs do not
8:20pmHeidi
and whoop there it is

how do you pick?

2008-10-29T14:16:00.000-07:00

how do you pick out your pumpkin for halloween? this is how aidan does it

the second we got there aidan found some loose chickens running around, so he ran around with them.

this is the face aidan makes when you ask him to smile for the camera ... i love my silly boy!

aidan was really interested in the rides that they had, unfortunately him momma and daddy weren't.

here he is checking out some pumpkins

aidan loves finley

2008-10-24T13:30:00.000-07:00

aidan loves finley ... he loves giving her kisses, sometimes he loves her TOO much! but it's really sweet.

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finley turned 1 month old yesterday. i can't believe it, it went by so fast. to celebrate she slept 8 hours straight (she might have slept longer, but i woke her up to feed her). unfortunately, she didn't go to sleep until 1 a.m. ... and aidan decided to wake up at 6:30 (he usually gets up around 7:30) ... so i didn't get to take advantage of the 8 hours ... bummer!!

heidi loves my blog

2008-10-22T15:23:00.000-07:00

Heidi said she loves my blog and asked me to do this! I love to read other peoples, so here is mine!

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i am the last of my siblings to do this ... yikes! check out heidi's, nicole's and scott's

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1. Where is your cell phone? sitting on the charger next to me

2. Where is your significant other? in the office (the man cave) playing warhammer ... ignoring me as always

3. Your hair color? Brown with bleach streaks

4. Your mother? one heck of an amazing woman, if only i could be more like her

5. Your father? an fantastic man, an example to everyone

6. Your favorite thing?

7. Your dream last night? yeah ... i don't dream. only when i'm preggo ... so no more. plus it'seven harder when you have to get up every couple hours.

8. Your dream/goal? for jocole.net to actually become successful

9. The room you're in? my living room, sitting on my new couches

10. Your hobby? sewing, pattern-making

11. Your fear? not being good enough

12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? happy and healthy, playing with my kids and husband

13. Where were you last night? hanging with my family at my parent's house ... then home to put aidan to bed and watch some tv with my hubby

14. What you're not? domestic

15. One of your wish-list items? hmmm ... i never know what i want

16. Where you grew up? in ontario, california. in the house my parent's still own ... i LOVE going home.

17. The last thing you ate? in-and-out, hamburger - animal style and fries - crispy

18. What are you wearing? a t-shirt and some comfy knit pants

19. Your TV? on ... with general conference playing, listening to Elder David A. Bednar ... LOVE him

20. Your pet? too many fish to count, and monty (the ball) python

21. Your computer? dell precision m90

22. Your mood? sleepy

23. Missing someone? my family ... i don't get to see them nearly as often as i would like ... especially the ones who live FAR away!! MOVE CLOSER!! my kids want to play with their cousins!!

24. Your car? 2000 honda civic

25. Something you're not wearing? shoes

26. Favorite store? target

27. Your summer? we should have gone to the beach ... poor deprived aidan

28. Love someone? yup ... my hubby and my 2 beautiful children ... and my family

29. Your favorite color? pink ... all shades ... although, i've been totally diggin' aqua/turquoise blue

30. When is the last time you laughed? earlier today, while robby was making aidan laugh

31. Last time you cried? the day we came home from the hospital after i had finley

robby made dinner!

2008-10-17T07:59:00.000-07:00

robby made me dinner. he caught the bass himself. then decided to cook it for me. he also made rice pilaf and some steamed broccoli. it was some good stuff. i hope he decides to do it again sometime ... delicious!!

what's in your bag?

2008-10-09T21:20:00.000-07:00

finley's 2 week appointment: 7 pounds 3 ounces and now 21 1/2 inches long (yup ... she gained 3 inches in 2 weeks!!) go finley go!! and a picture, since i know everyone just wants to see her ... who cares what i write about anyways?

here is what the directions say on the side of the can: "for use on cows, thoroughly was treated teats and udder with separate towels before each milking. to avoid contamination after each milking, bathe the udder with plenty of hot water, strip milk out and dry skin. apply bag balm freely and massage gently with this proven ointment twice daily."

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this is my personal favorite for diaper rashes. it helps treat rashes and prevents diaper rashes from returning. i know it sounds bizarre, but it really works. my friend (thanks amy!!) gave it to me at one of my baby showers when i was pregnant with aidan. i recently decided to do some research online to see what other uses it could be good for and here is what i found out ...
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~ helps treat eczema (i'm testing this one out currently!!) aidan suffers from eczema pretty badly on his legs. the eczema cream we were using just wasn't cutting it. so i've been slathering it on his legs before i put him to bed every night. (then cover with pants ... it is pretty greasy) robby does not condone this behavior, as bag balm is not intended to be used like this. we actually got into a pretty heated discussion about it. i didn't listen and smothered him in the yellow goo anyways. and i must say that his legs have NEVER looked better ... seriously! it's like 99.9% gone after 3 days ... the only patch left is the really stubborn one on his ankle! HUZZAH!!!

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other uses that i haven't tried myself:
~ great on chapped, dry skin and lips
~ smother on your cracked heels, cover with socks and your feet will be velvety smooth in the morning.
~ good for treating acne (and acne scars)
~ reduces the appearance of scars
~ good overnight moisturizer on long dry hair
~ helps heal cuts and burns
~ cold sores
~ post-tattoo skin soother
~ sunburns
~ athlete's foot

~ jock itch
~ nursing nipples
~ soften cuticles
~ psoriasis
~ blisters
~ insect bites
~ stretch marks
~ wind burn
~ cradle cap (ya know, the dry scaly stuff on baby's heads -- nicole is going to test this one out on baby caleb!)
~ removing splinters (put a glob on splinter and cover it with a band-aid overnight, the splinter will be out and lying on the band-aid in the morning) it's like magic. (i almost want to give myself a splinter so i can see if this really works ... ALMOST)
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you can read some testimonials how some users have used bag balm in their life.
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it was invented in vermont in 1899, and is made from only three ingredients - 8-hydroxyquinoline sulfate 0.3% (an antiseptic, providing protection against bacteria and fungi) in a petrolatum (prevents further moisture loss) and lanolin base(a replacement for the natural skin oils that get washed away. lanolin is a natural oil extracted from the wool of sheep without causing any harm to the animal. it is one the oils closest to the human sebum, making it an excellent moisturizing ingredient). it's thick and greasy (but easily spreadable), and a bit stinky (slightly medicinal, but the smell seems to dissipate semi-quickly).
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keep some by your changing table, in your medicine cabinet, next to your sink, on your nightstand, in the first aid kit in your car, your emergency pack, your office desk drawer, etc. you never know when you will need it and it has so many uses!!

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it's super cheap and one 10 ounce tin lasts FOREVER!!! up until last saturday i had only used about 2/3 of my tin in aidan's 19 months. unfortunately while i was napping today, robby was watching aidan in the living room and he dozed off for about 10 minutes. in that 10 minutes aidan found a purple crayon and drew on a few things (including my couch), spread baby wipes all over the living room, and got into the bag balm tin. he smeared the balm all over his hands and feet, and head ... including ALL over his face, and of course on my couch ... UGH!! yeah ... greasy hand prints ... any tips on getting it out?! needless to say robby gave him a bath ... but i no longer have 1/3 of my tin left. so i had to go out and purchase some more.

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then on monday robby called me up and asked if we wanted to buy some couches from some friends who were moving (rookie cookie) ... since our couches were NASTY ... and now had greasy bag balm handprints all over them, i said yes. check it out ... i LOVE them!! thanks whitney ... i'll miss you, but think about you everytime i see your couches!

finley's arrival -- my version

2008-10-04T20:49:00.000-07:00

my sister nicole lovingly posted about fin's arrival (ya know, since i was in the hospital and couldn't do it myself!)

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we were a bit scared about inducing me ... because of how it didn't work last time. if the induction didn't work, then we would have to do a c-section. but my doctor was really positive that everything would turn out fine.

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we checked into the hospital on september 22nd, 2008, at 7:00 p.m. at 8:00 p.m. they started me on cervadil. we watched the heroes season premiere (but not on my laptop ... nicole assumes that since she only watches tv on her computer that everyone else does as well ... haha! just kidding nic ... don't be offended.) at 4:45 a.m. on september 23rd, 2008, they started me on pitocin. i asked for my epidural around 5:30 ... i didn't get it until 7:30. at 8:00 my doctor checked on me and ruptured my water. finley's heart rate was dropping every time i had a contraction and my nurse was pretty concerned, so at 10:00 she put a monitor directly in finley's head to more closely monitor what was going on with her. they assumed it was just the cord wrapped around her head (which it wasn't), but wanted to be sure she was okay. i was only dilated to a 5. as she was leaving she said that finley would probably arrive somewhere around 12 or 1, but if my contractions got worse or i started feeling pressure to let her know. i tried to go back to sleep and get some rest.

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around 10:30 i had a pretty big contraction and LOTS of pressure. so i called my nurse and she came in to check me. i was then informed that i should NOT push, laugh, sneeze, cough, etc. and that she was going to go call my doctor immediately. my doctor got there in 15 minutes and i was all prepped and ready. after only 2 contractions and 5 pushes finley arrived at 10:55 a.m. (robby said if i didn't have to breathe so much, i could have done it in less pushes).

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here she is, only 5 hours old!!

she was perfect. we all (robby, me, my friends, my nurse, and my doctor) assumed that since aidan was 7 pounds 2 ounces at 1 week overdue, and she was early and i had gained less weight, that she would be in between 5 and 6 pounds. so we were all delighted when she was 6 pounds and 5 ounces and 18 1/2 inches long!! she had no breathing problems. she had no problems nursing (a half hour after birth she nursed for 20 minutes!!). not even a problem with jaundice! she's an angel. i mean, aidan was a good baby, but she is phenomenal!! she sleeps and eat and poops and that's it. she barely cries, and only when she really needs something. (it's the cutest little sqwak ever!) and she really does have dimples ... we just can't seem to get a picture of them since she is ALWAYS sleeping (which isn't necessarily a bad thing).

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besides the blood pressure, my recover has been super easy! i feel great. the rash has passed (it was only here for like 3 days ... who knows what it was from. it came a few days after i got home then vanished as randomly as it appeared.). i'm up and about and feel almost back to normal.

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check out that cute bow ... thanks lindsey!!

holding daddy's finger

her coming home outfit

sleeping ... what she does best

sleeping with daddy while he watches tv

aidan loves to read in the car

2008-10-03T08:51:00.000-07:00

aidan loves to look at books while we are driving all over town.

update on life with 2 kids

2008-10-02T08:20:00.000-07:00

well i had a doctor appointment yesterday. my blood pressure has actually increased since i had finley, so it's official and i am now on medication to try to correct the problem. hopefully it'll go down in the next couple weeks and it wont be a permanent thing.

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i've also noticed a strange rash that started on my arms and has now spread to my chest and neck ... who knows? hopefully that goes away soon as well.

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on another note that will make everyone hate me. i've lost 16 pounds and am back into my jeans (after 3 days)! yes i know ... i am a FREAK OF NATURE!! i'm sorry people.

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and finley slept for 8 hours straight last night ... unfortunately i had a hard time getting back to sleep after she woke up ... UGH!!!

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aidan is doing fairly well to the adjustment from only child to older sibling. he loves to give finley hugs and kisses. the first thing he says when he wakes up in the morning is "baby" and wants to go and see her. he loves to stick his finger in her hand so she can hold it (that's what i was trying to get a picture of in the first one). but he has a hard time when i am nursing her and can't give him what he wants *that* second. he gets frustrated. he has his good moments and his really bad moments, which i'm sure is completely normal. he'll adjust and we'll all be fine.

alternative names

2008-09-30T09:32:00.000-07:00

recently my sisters (nicole and heidi) have done alternative name posts ... so here are my family's alternative names ... you can get some too, and feel free to put your silly alternative names in the comments.

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rap names:
jodi: Sweet J Jodi Jammy a.k.a. Lo Force
robby: Mista Diesel Robby R
aidan: Capital Sugar Aidan Glide a.k.a. Stealth Swoop
finley: Jiggy Finley F Velvet
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gansta names:
jodi: Stanky Left-Hand Monkey Smuggla
robby: King Retardo
aidan: Fly-ass Ass Grabba
finley: Green Egg Tang Chasa
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pirate names:
jodi: Keel-Haulin' Kathryn Bonny
robby: Dancin' Booker Cooke
aidan: Cowerin' Randal Cutler
finley: Apathetic Deb Teach
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mexican wrestler names:
jodi: Canadiense sin Pantalones
robby: Tio sin Pantalones
aidan: Pirata Loco
finley: Pantera de Goma
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mafia names:
jodi: Fancy Pants Luisa
robby: Hot Knife Carlo
aidan: Al Bruno
finley: Lana the Brain
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superhero names:
jodi: The Fatale Hurricane
robby: The Supreme Tsunami
aidan: The Absolute Dude
finley: The Dynamic Vixen

finley jean's first day

2008-09-23T19:49:00.000-07:00

introducing ...

2008-09-23T12:00:00.000-07:00

finley jean baird

born on 23 september 2008; at 10:55 a.m.

weighing in at 6 pounds and 5 ounces

measuring 18 1/5 inches long

Jodi was trying to take a nap this morning (you know how that goes in a hospital)...when she started feeling some pressure. Called in the nurse, who called in the doctor, who told her to push. 5 pushes later - new baby girl baird was born! Mom and baby are both doing well - just tired. Finley Jean has dark hair, that looks to be curly. And one confirmed dimple, with a suspected second. Robby is so proud of his wife - and her "easy delivery". Talked to her briefly - she's so happy, and exhausted, and hungry. More later!

all is well!

thinking about the baird family...

2008-09-23T08:26:00.000-07:00

This is Nicole - Jodi is in the hospital as we speak. I haven't heard yet from them this morning.

Last night, she was in good spirits...ready for baby to be born! Jodi and Robby were watching "Heroes" on her laptop; and she was hooked up to the requisite million monitors. The doc had sent her to the hospital because her blood pressure was still too high. Good thing: she'd started contracting on her own. [Aidan got to have a sleepover at Gr'Ama and Papa H's house.]

Needless to say [but, i'll write it anyway!], Jodi will be very busy for the next little while. She's asked me to keep y'all updated with her blog. So, that's what i'll attempt to do.

Keep this little family in your thoughts and prayers - and so far so good!

one last project

2008-09-21T07:44:00.000-07:00

well here is one last project for ya' before i start posting only about the arrival of #2 and every post centers around her cute face!!

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i offered to make a blessing outfit for caleb (my nephew, he belongs to my sister nicole) well, i figured i better make good on that offer before my life becomes consumed with #2. yesterday our ward had a "super saturday" and i opted not to sign up for anything since it was so soon to my due date and i didn't know if i would be able to participate. well i ended up going anyways, and i toted along my sewing machine, and my serger and all the things that need to some along with that equipment. (which was a blast 'cuz a couple of my friends brought their machines and we all worked on our projects)

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the outfit is actually very similar to the one that i already made for him (check it out, in case you forgot). instead of a normal t-shirt collar i made it kinda like a polo (which i think turned out ADORABLE considering it was an experiment), the booties are a new and improved pattern, so i hope they fit better!! and the tie is reversible, backed with the same fabric as the grey pants, which means he can totally rock the white shirt and the grey pants and wear the tie with the grey side out!!

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i think it turned out totally cute, and i hope nicole likes it as much as i do. pretty good for a satruday, huh?!?! it makes me sooooo excited to make #2's blessing dress ... i have so many ideas, i need to narrow it down and figure out what i want.

oh and the whole thing is made 100% from recycled materials!! (ok, not 100% i purchased the elastic, but does that really count??!!??!!) so it's a totally "green" blessing outfit. yeah for helping out the environment.

baby legwarmers

2008-09-18T10:36:00.000-07:00

look at what i made for #2 ... i did three pairs in about 20 minutes. soooo easy ... i bought a three pack of socks on sale at target for $4.88, that sure beats $12 per pair at babylegs.net. i'll be posting a tutorial on craftivision on how to make them for yourself ... but i HATE the pictures i took, so now you'll have to wait until i can go out and buy more socks to cut up. sorry!!

this is what they look like on babies ... SOOOO dang cute.

Here are some reasons why you'll LOVE them:
- they make for quick and easy diaper changes and make potty training easier. (there is no need to completely undress them!)
- they protect your little one's sensitive legs from chill, or a light "extra" layer for under pants on cold winter days.
- they protect knees while your crawler roams on hardwood and rugs.
- feet remain free to allow for successful crawling, walking and running.
- help to keep sock on.
- one size will fit newborns to pre-teens.
- can be used on legs AND arms, protecting from cooler weather.
- extends the length of pants when baby is in a carrier, car seat or stroller (covers those exposed ankles!!)
- small enough to keep in your bag at all times, easy to put on in sudden temperature changes.
With so many innovative uses for this item, you'll want to have a few pairs on hand at all times. So be prepared to want to make LOTS of them.

newest member of our family

2008-09-18T07:41:00.000-07:00

haha ... made ya look!! welcome "monty" short for "monty python" to our family. monty is a ball python. he joined out family at the beginning of july. robby's been wanting a snake and so we got one. aidan LOVES it and runs into the office hissing daily.

pregnancy update

2008-09-16T11:46:00.001-07:00

negative ghost rider, the belly is still full! i had my appointment yesterday and my blood pressure was a little high during the appointment, and she checked me and things are progressing. she wants me to keep taking my bp everyday and call her on wednesday and go into the hospital if it gets over a certain number. then robby asked her a question about the bp monitor i purchased, so we got it out and she took my bp again. then she said to go to the hospital right away and take some more tests and make sure everything is going ok. i asked her if i could go home and grab some stuff and she said no to go directly to the hospital.

...

so off we went. they ran some labs on my blood and urine and took my bp every 10-15 minutes. my bp was kinda all over the place, sometimes high and sometimes lower. but all the labs came back good (except i have another UTI .. ugh!!) so my doctor released me with the same instructions to keep track of my bp and call her on wednesday. my next appointment is scheduled for monday morning and she told me that she will probably induce me that day. so, still no baby, but most likely next monday we'll be having her (which i think is a good thing, 38 weeks is better than 37 weeks!!)

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so now you know. and here are some pictures. nicole came up last weekend for a visit and took some pictures of our family, i think they turned out great

jocole logo

2008-09-15T10:16:00.000-07:00

i'm sure you're wondering what logo i decided on ... since i haven't updated after adding the poll. i was surprised by how many people voted ... 37!! sheesh i didn't know that many people follow my blog, since i've never received that many comments. for those of you who were curious as to the results ... here they are!

before i even posted the poll i was already pretty much set between #2 and #3 and then before the poll closed i decided on #3. i think it's interesting that design won ... although that isn't why i chose it. thank you to everyone who voted!!

belly thoughts

2008-09-12T07:48:00.000-07:00

here are some random thoughts about this pregnancy:

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#2 likes to be on the right side on my belly, which often makes it lopsided! seriously ... if you push on the left side of my belly it is soft, and the right side is as hard as a rock.

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i've gained 20 pounds so far, and the circumference of my waist is 38 inches (and growing).

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my favorite compliment lately: "you don't look pregnant, except from the side" or "you can't tell you're pregnant from the back" ... meaning i've only gained weight in my belly (or that's how i take it anyways) i've been lucky enough to not gain any weight in my ankles or face or anything. i just have a little basketball under my shirt ... hehe!

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#2 isn't much of a kicker ... she's more of a pusher, or a stretch and hold it kind of gal.

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robby is still holding tightly to that 20% that it's a boy. he thinks the ultrasound technician was incompetent, and tells me if he starts laughing histerically in the delivery room ... then it's a boy.
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i've had 2 UTIs so far ... luckily it never progressed to my kidneys like it did when i was pregnant with aidan -- THAT was painful, and i had to be on antibiotics for the remainder of my pregnancy.

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i only threw up a total of 8 times!! huzzah!

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aidan loves to hug and kiss my belly ... and try to stick pacifiers and cheerios into my belly button!!

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i take 9 pills everyday: (1)iron (2)magnesium (3)calcium (4)fish oil (5+6)cranberry [for the UTI] (7)mega antioxidant (8)chelated minerals (9)tylenol

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i had a doctors appointment on wednesday (9/10) and my doctor is REALLY concerned with my blood pressure, and i now have to take it twice a day (which meant i had to go out and purchase a blood pressure monitor). if my blood pressure is still high at my next appointment (monday 9/15), she'll want to deliver #2 that day. YIKES! keep me and baby #2 in your prayers!!

introducing ... craftivision

2008-09-10T08:46:00.000-07:00

i LOVE looking up tutorials and how-tos for various crafts and diy projects ... i've decided to share them all with you in one easy location!! i've created craftivision ... my new blog which will be a source of projects and inspiration. check it out ... it will be updated OFTEN (i'm gonna try for a new project every weekday)!!

an outfit for #2

2008-09-08T13:27:00.000-07:00

so i was really bored on saturday night ... but i didn't feel like cleaning or re-organizing anything (i needed a break!) ... i needed a creative break!

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so i drafted up some patterns ... finished completely demolishing the shirt that i started to cut up for caleb's pants ... and here is what i came up with ... i think it's pretty darn cute!!

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i think it's great that out of 1 t-shirt i got a pair of pants, a dress and a diaper cover!! i also think i could get a pair of booties ... but i haven't tried to cut those out yet ... maybe tonight after aidan goes to bed.

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the ruffles on the butt of the diaper cover came from the same fabric i used to make this and this.

are you bored of my sewing madness yet??

welcome to my nest

2008-09-05T14:37:00.000-07:00

ahhh ... i'm totally nesting ... i guess it was bound to happen since i only have 4 more weeks until #2 is due to pop out.

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WARNING: the before pictures are scary ... and quite frankly i'm a little embarrased to post them, but how can i show you how much i accomplished otherwise? you've been warned.

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things i accomplished this week(in no particular order) -- yeah for LONG naps (for aidan) and late nights (for me):

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10 loads of laundry (washed, dried and put away) (3 loads of towels, 1 load of aidan things, 4 loads of whites, 2 loads of darks)

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4 loads of dishes (washed, dried and put away)

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my bathroom completely cleaned and reorganized. (i had to move all my makeup and hair stuff onto the counter because aidan thought it was the funnest game to empty my makeup drawer (the LONG skinny drawer) -- and hide products, some of which are still missing -- even after what the next part of my plan was!!!!!)

after i showed robby the bathroom ... i mean c'mon people i was pretty proud of it ... he commented, "but the question is, how long will it stay like this?!" ... OOOOO ... motivation, now i have to prove him wrong, so i'm gonna try to keep the counters clutter free!!
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next ... my bedroom completely cleaned and reorganized. there were just piles of CRAP everywhere (i've noticed i have WAY too much clothing, maybe after #2 pops out i'll try to get rid of some of it!!) ... where in the world was #2 gonna sleep? so it needed to be done. i think it looks a million times better, and i'm really proud of all that i accomplished.
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this is the left side of our bed ... yikes!! when i got out of bed after it was all cleaned it immediately brought a smile to my face, what a great way to wake up in the morning!!

this is the right side of our bed! (the storage bins now hold all the clothing that i want to go through -- 3 of them (i have a stack of 3 more on top of those ... waiting for organizing baby things), and 2 of them (on the left) hold knit clothing that no longer fits robby or me and will be turned into other things via my trusty serger!!)

when aidan woke up this morning and ran into my room to play, he was disappointed when he saw the bins ... he couldn't get into anything anymore. poor kid!! haha! those 2 rolling drawer carts hold all of what we have for #2 right now. organized and ready to clothe her when she pops out!! now all we need is something in here for her to sleep in. and i'm gonna try to get robby to move the changing table back into our bedroom, hopefully that happens on saturday.
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i also reorganized my closet ... i know it doesn't look like much, but believe me ... its WAY better. before i had piles of madness in front of it, it was hard getting to the clothing actually in the closet, and i moved things around. (sorry ... no before pictures, but i'm sure you're scared enough as it is) i think this configuration will work well. the top shelf is all my purses (yikes ... i have a bunch!) the second shelf has my pants and my boots. then on the left side of the closet hangs my skirts (on 4 tier skirt hangers, from target ... LOVE them!!), then dresses, then my shirts, and then i have a hanging thing that holds my shoes (tennis shoes, slippers and flip flops!) and then under my shirts i have 2 rolling drawer carts that hold my undergarments, socks, swimsuits, lingerie ... etc. and this is behind my bedroom door, i LOVE this. my nice (church) shoes all lined up in the pockets and my jewelry ready to be worn. it makes me soooo happy! this is front of robby's side of the closet. as you can tell it needs reorganizing, but i'm leaving that to him (well at least i'm hoping he'll take care of it!)

this is my pile of laundry that still needs to be done ... YIKES!! (this pile has since shrunk since i took the picture ... but there are still probably 3 more loads to do -- definately more managable)this is on top of rob's dresser ... it just seems to accumulate all kinds of crap!!! (all of which is mine ... not his)our headboard ... another dumping ground!!

tiny recycled/reconstructed baby clothes

2008-09-03T13:44:00.000-07:00

look at what i made for baby caleb. tiny 0-3 month clothes ... when i showed the outfit to robby the little booties were his favorite. i mailed it off to caleb (care of his momma: nicole). she promised to take pictures and pass them along -- which she did (isn't he adorable?!). the outfit looks soooo comfy i wish it was in my size and i would lounge around the house in it everyday!!

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i love the giant pocket on the front of the shirt, the red shirt i cut up had it and i thought it would be perfect for the shirt. i don't know what it could be used for (to hold a pacifier, maybe?) but i love it anyways. and i love the booties ... i think the part that covers the toes needs to be a little longer (so it reaches the ankle) ... but i really like how everything turned out.

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jealous? want some of your own? hold your horses ... i'm still tweaking patterns and testing designs. i'll let you know when stuff is up for sale in my shop.

can you tell i'm loving my new serger? (i've pretty much convinced nicole that she wants one too ... i'm going to let her borrow one to see if she likes it)

what would you do?

2008-09-01T14:01:00.000-07:00

what would you do if you were home all alone and bored out of your ever loving mind?

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i'll tell ya what i would do ... i would get out random flannel from my stash and make a pile of receiving/swaddling blankets for #2 and matching burp cloths. (9 blankets and 18 burp cloths to be exact). the blankets measure around 35"x37" and the burp cloths are 8"x18".

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isn't that what everyone does when their husbands leave them to go play video games, and the kid is asleep and there is nothing good to watch on tv??

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hmmmm .... no? ... just me?

(the blankets are LARGE ... i took pictures of them folded in quarters)

personal mosaic

2008-08-29T15:22:00.000-07:00

my little brother and sister just did this and i thought i would play along ... anyone else is welcome to do one too!

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Concept:

1. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.

2. Using only the first page, pick an image.

3. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into fd’s mosaic maker. (choose four columns and three rows, also choose individual URL's)

Questions:
1. What is your first name? (jodi)

2. What is your favorite food? (chips and salsa)

3. What school did you go to? (brigham young university - idaho)

4. What is your favorite color? (pink)

5. Who is your celebrity crush? (ewan mcgreggor)

6. Favorite drink? (chocolate milk)

7. Dream vacation? (caribbean cruise)

8. Favorite dessert? (oreos and milk)

9. What you want to be when you grow up? (fashion designer)

10. What do you love most in life? (robby and aidan)

11. One word to describe you. (round)

12. Your nickname. (flowerhead)

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UPDATED: my other sister played along (and in a timely manner as well, i'm impressed). and my mom asked me to help her do it tonight (8/31/08), so we did -- great lessons in making links to other webpages and inserting pictures. she caught on fast and then did another post all by herself after i left. GOOO mom!

etsy's handmade kids challenge

2008-08-27T15:28:00.000-07:00

vote now for your favorite items in the handmade kids challenge. voting closes septemeber 8. you can vote in all seven categories ... but i URGE you to vote in the handmade kids clothing category ... my friend becky has an item that is featured. you must be a registered member of etsy to vote. it's easy and free to join, sign up here.

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sooooo ... go check out the handmade kids clothing ... becky's item is the blue tie onsie and her seller name is corduroyscloset. please vote for her. THANK YOU!!

a new shirt for aidan

2008-08-25T15:55:00.000-07:00

i've been wanting to make some recycled clothing for aidan (and start making some clothes for #2 before she pops out). so i've been drafting some patterns. since i don't have a newborn around to try out those patterns i made a shirt in aidan's size to test out my patterns. what do you think? i made one, then tweaked the sleeves a little. i had enough fabric from one of robby's shirts to make 2 for aidan!!

check out that smile and the shirt matches his eyes! i think he's happy with the results. (sorry about the drool, the boy never closes his mouth) -- i set him on the couch and told him to smile and he totally listened and did it ... he's getting TOO old!!

i'm making some things for caleb to test out my 0-3 month size patterns. i'm actually really excited about this.

sorry about not posting lately ... i've been in a slump ... but i just wrote and scheduled 10 posts (scheduled for every other day) so there will be more posts coming ... i PROMISE!!

great customer service

2008-08-19T22:42:00.000-07:00

all throughout my pregnancy with aidan i used burt's bees "thoroughly therapeutic honey and shea butter body butter" on my expanding belly. and when i got preggo with #2 i continued to use it. then one day when i opened it, this is what greeted me!! EWWW! the whole top was covered with mold ... so i scraped off the mold and stirred it up and smeared some on my belly. then the next time i tried to use it, there was mold growing all throughout the product. double ewww!

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so i emailed the company. not really expecting anything, i just figured they should know.

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i got a prompt reply, telling me to discontinue use of the product (DUH! like i would want to smear mold all over my growing belly) and then they asked me for my address to mail me a replacement and a gift.

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the replacement got here last week, and the gift was a "head to toe starter kit" what a neat surprise. i wasn't expecting it.

i can't wait to try out these products. i LOVE burt's bees.

jocole news -- plus 15% off

2008-08-15T19:57:00.000-07:00

there is stuff happening with jocole right now. i've been pretty much neglecting my business since i got pregnant with aidan -- seriously neglecting!! recently i've had a surge of creativity in the tyvek things and have been posting those on etsy ... and then i thought to myself why aren't i focusing more on the modest clothing?
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so ... i've been working on patterns for new styles. i have a phone number for a new sewing contractor to get some more shirts manufactured (i'm hoping to call on monday). huzzah ... new color options!!

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i was recently contacted by an online lds website that wants to carry my clothing as part of their inventory. just one more outlet for people to buy my stuff, and for me to be able to expand. i'm really excited about this new venture and hoping that it leads to more. (one order through them so far!!!)

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the new venture gave me another push and has motivated me further. i finally updated my website, and am working on adding the tyvek things (most are still only available on etsy right now). i figured out how to handle keeping track of my available inventory, so i now have product actually for sale on my website. and i'm offering a promotion for the month of august.

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hopefully i don't lose all this momentum when #2 decides to arrive.

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and now i know what you're thinking ... WAIT!! i thought you mentioned something about 15% off??

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yup ... that's right folks. in order to try to clear out some inventory to make room for more ... i'm offering 15% off your entire order of $50 or more. all you have to do is enter the promotion code: Jocole15 during checkout. but this special promotion is only through august and ends on the 31st. and as always through jocole.net: FREE SHIPPING!!

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and if you want to order a tyvek creation that isn't currently available on jocole.net, send me and email and i'll try to get it up asap.

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so tell your friends and family, and pass along the savings.

which logo is your favorite? (POLL)

2008-08-12T10:43:00.001-07:00

alrighty people!! the very talented and creative megan of knuckleheaders is working on creating a new logo for jocole ... and i just LOVE all her designs. i need outside opinions. please vote in the poll (on the left sidebar) and leave comments on what you like and what you don't like. seriously people ... i NEED your help!

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yes ... i know some numbers are missing ... i've already narrowed down the logos a bit. (and i'm leaning towards one of them ... but i don't want to make you biased)

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Design #2

Design #3

Design #4

Design #10

are you addicted?

2008-08-09T09:06:00.000-07:00

how addicted to blogging are you?
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80%

i'm still alive

2008-08-08T17:14:00.000-07:00

i got a call from my sister today wondering if i was still alive, since i hadn't posted in a while. i was doing pretty good posting regularly. but stephanie meyer's book "breaking dawn" was released on august 2nd.

i had pre-ordered it on amazon.com ... and it didn't arrive until the 5th. so for the past three days i've been absorbed into the twilight world. i read half of it on the 6th, and then a quarter on the 7th and aidan took a 3 hour nap today, so i finished the last quarter today.

so ... sorry, i am still alive. i've just been hiding from blogs (since everyone else has already read it) and then too busy to post as i was spending all my spare time reading.

i'm done reading ... so my life can return to normal.

i must add that i liked this book the best of all the twilight books ... the things that bothered me in the other books were not present in this book ... and it was interesting to read it at the point of my life i'm in right now. her writing style still BUGS me (c'mon steph ... edit more please!! EDITED: not necessarily typos or grammatical errors -- although there were some -- but she just uses too many dang words and over describes things. the book did NOT need to be 754 pages!!!) but over all i was pleased.

i now return you to my regular scheduled blogging!!

super adam

2008-07-31T10:09:00.000-07:00

he's getting ready to save the world and fight off the bad guys! he's so dang lucky to have an autie who buys him the coolest birthday presents. you could be cool and get one for yourself ... or someone you love too! check out: superflykidz.

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i got to pick what colors and what design i wanted for it. it's yellow (his FAVE color) with a blue circle and a big red "A" on the back. aidan was loving it too ... i bet he'll get one for christmas.

last week's sewing projects

2008-07-29T07:29:00.000-07:00

last week my sister was up visiting from san diego. she and my mom had a couple sewing projects for me to do while we were hanging out.

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the first was my mom had an oversized shirt that she wanted re-fit so it was more flattering on her. she is going up to girl's camp this week ... and her camp name is wheaties!

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here is the before.

here is the after ... looks much better, doesn't it? i'm glad you like it mom!!

the second project was for nicole ... she saw this awesome baby wrap (thanks whitney for letting us look at it, and for showing us how to wrap it SOOO many times!!) and wanted me to create her one. the first prototype was awful ... the second prototype was much better, but was a little snug for her (but fit me better, so #2 will have a new wrap to keep her all cozy in!)

here i am with caleb all snuggled up!

the second one came together pretty easily ... and i'm fairly certain that i'll be sewing up some more and putting them up in my shop. caleb LOVED it and slept happily all bundled up on my chest for an hour and a half. i finally had to take him out because aidan was getting jealous and needed some attention from his momma!

tagged -- memory lane

2008-07-26T22:26:00.000-07:00

i've been tagged twice on this one ... so here i go ...

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Let's take a trip down Memory Lane ... Do you remember when?

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Here are the rules:

1. As a comment on my blog, leave a memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you know me a little or a lot, anything you remember(it can involve the family or even my husband too)! You do not have to have even met me in person.

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll be sure to write one about you.

3. If you can't say something nice, don't say nothin' at all!

4. Consider this a Tag: if you've read it, you have to do it!

fresh tomatoes?

2008-07-25T08:04:00.000-07:00

what would you do if you were given a bag of fresh homegrown cherry and pear tomatoes??

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i know what i would do

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slice 'em up and sprinkle on some salt and pepper and DEVOUR them. halfway through the bowl remember to take the picture. then finish it off. i even was gracious enough to share a bite or two with robby. it was DELICIOUS ... probably would have been better if i had an olive oil to drizzle a little. but were just perfect without anything but some salt and pepper.

you got jacked...

2008-07-23T17:34:00.000-07:00

this is nic - hemi didn't sign out! hahahaha! i pirated your blog!

so glad to be up here hanging out with you! love ya!

recipe wednesday - strawberry banana smoothie

2008-07-23T09:59:00.000-07:00

ok ... bad picture, but soooooo delicious!!
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ingredients:

1/2 cup orange juice (my favorite ... but you could use any flavor)

1/2 banana

1 handful of frozen strawberries (or whatever fruit you want ... i use frozen because i like them kind of slushie ... but you could use fresh!)

1/2 cup yogurt (any flavor will do)

4 ice cubes

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directions:

blend it all up!!

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obviously you could tweak this anyway you want ... this is just my personal favorite combination.

train stop shirt dress GIVEAWAY!!!!!!!

2008-07-21T18:59:00.000-07:00

Train Stop Shirt Dress GIVEAWAY!!!!!!!
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go check out this blog ... this lady is giving away the cutest little girl's dress EVER!! seriously! so dang cute ... i can't wait to have a girl so i can dress her in cute things like this .. heck i can even start making cute things like this.

lovebirds -- tagged

2008-07-20T12:35:00.000-07:00

Well, amanda tagged me and told me to get on it, so here I go!

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1. Where did you and your husband meet?

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i met robby when i was 13 years old through a friend in my ward. he was 15 -- you know how lame a 13 year old following you around is? ... needless to say he was not impressed. but i hung out with the other guy in attempts to try to hang with robby. i dated the guy for 2 months. and then we were all just friends. robby and i had classes together in high school (he would copy my geometry homework ... and we have a mural that we designed and painted [8 feet tall by 16 week wide] in a senior living center in ontario). after high school he went on to join the marines and a year later i went to college in idaho -- we lost touch.

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after i graduated i was back home for a bit. i heard about a party for a guy who just returned from his mission so i figured i would stop by before heading to my friend's house. when i knocked on the door i was greeted by the RM's parents and while i was standing there i see this guy kinda standing/crouching behind them ... i take a second look and realize it's robby. he stands up and give me a hug (lifting my feet off the floor). we talked in the kitchen for the rest of the night ... even after the rest of the party people left. (my mom says we haven't stopped talking since). we exchanged phone numbers and planned to hang out.

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when he called to hang out the next day (which was a sunday) and i told my mom who i was going out with, she commented: "he's a dork!" she said this because she knew i had always liked him and that he had never given me the time of day. she didn't want me to get hurt. so he came over and picked me up and headed to in-and-out. i had already eaten dinner and i didn't want to order anything (pesky little 10 commandment) -- but i munched on his fries while we talked.

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he went back to camp pendelton (he was only home on leave for christmas) and we returned to just phone calls. i got a job opportunity working for a girl from college who was trying to start a modest prom dress company and needed at patternmaker ... she was located in san diego (only 20 minutes from camp pendelton -- way closer than the 1.5 hours he would later be driving to see me after the job was over). i broke up with my boyfriend of 2 years (the day he broke his jaw ... poor guy, it was wired shut and he couldn't even defend himself!) called robby and told him i was coming to san diego and that i broke up with tim.

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2. First thing said?

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who knows ... it was AGES ago!!

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3. First date?

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do you count while we were "hanging out" while i had a boyfriend ... our first date after i broke up with tim ... i called robby after i got off my first day at the prom dress company (january 14, 2003) and got directions to camp pendelton. i went and picked him up (he didn't have a car at the time) and we went and got some fast food (wendy's i believe). then we went back to his barracks and watched "super troopers".

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4. First kiss?

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while we were in his room watching "super troopers". i HAD to do it ... i had been wanting to kiss him forever, but he wouldn't do it while i had a boyfriend, and he was unsure if i wanted to so soon after breaking up. it was great!

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5. When "I Love You's" were first said?

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who knows ... it was really soon after we started dating, i think like 2 or 3 weeks. i know we were saying it by valentine's day (a month later).

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6. Long or short courtship/engagement?

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SHORT ... we dated for 4 months, and were engaged for 2 months (to the day!)

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7. Where did you get engaged?

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on may 5th, 2003, we headed to disneyland. i knew he was going to do it, i just didn't know where. he kept faking me out all day! then we went on the mark twain (the paddle boat that goes on the rivers of america -- i could point out the spot on the river!!) it was great. i said yes ... the ring was PERFECT (he picked it out all on his own -- we never looked at rings. he asked me what i wanted and all i told him was "not a diamond". it's a triangle cut pink sapphire with little diamonds on the sides and i LOVE it). no one around us on the boat seemed to notice or care (which was a great relief to robby, he would have been so embarrased if anyone had said anything)

8. Where were you married?

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on july 5th, 2003, we were married for time in the creekside building in ontario. and on october 10th, 2004 we were sealed for time and all eternity in the redlands temple.

9. Where did you go on your honeymoon?

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we went to catalina island ... off the coast of california. it was great. we were kinda wanting to go back to celebrate our 5th anniversary ... but i didn't want to go on the boat while being pregnant (not fun). maybe next year.

10. Where did you make your first home?

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well for the first month after we got married we house-sat for a little old lady. then he deployed for 8 months (iraq and other places) and i moved in with my sister. when he got back we moved to hawaii and lived by kaneohe bay on oahu for 6 months. then in with my parent's for 2-3 months, then 2 different apartments in ontario ... and now renting a house in rancho cucamonga.

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ok, so now I tag anyone who reads this and wants to do it!!

newest modest shirt design

2008-07-18T10:44:00.000-07:00

my newest modest shirt design. i did the pattern on tuesday and cut it out in the fabric and sewed it last night. (only took me 15 minutes to sew it ... LOVE LOVE LOVE my new serger!) it still needs tweaking ... i think gathers under the bust where the empire seam is would look much more flattering. but i LOVE the idea. one side has a cowl neck where the other side has a high neckline (but it's totally reversible ... you could wear the cowl in the front or the back!) i also think i want to make the cowl more pronounced. is it cute enough to worry about trying to fix the pattern, or should i move on to another design??

i think it looks cute on my bump though ... and can you see my belly button just wanting to pop out??

i got press

2008-07-15T20:23:00.000-07:00

i met a girl on the etsy forums and she was interested in doing an interview with me and featuring me on her blog! holy moley!

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you can read all about me on her blog, it's kinda flattering, no?

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she makes the cutest camera straps i've ever seen, check out her etsy store for yourself.

my newest tyvek creation -- baby wipes case

2008-07-14T11:07:00.000-07:00

here is the prototype for my newest tyvek creation ... a baby wipes case. wouldn't this make you happy every time you had to bust it out to use it? i know it sure would make me happy. i know all of you will just be waiting on the edges of your couches until you can purchase one for yourself!!! sorry, you can't have this one ... it's for nicole and baby caleb's bum!! (and she LOVED it!) ... head on over to my etsy shop to buy one of your own!

my bump

2008-07-10T18:48:00.000-07:00

so ... i'm sure some of you are curious as to how i'm progressing ... so here's a picture of my bump. i had my hair and makeup all done for church on sunday (7/6/08 -- 27 weeks) so i made robby take a picture of me (much to his chagrin).

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NOTICE: objects in picture are much bigger than they appear!! (my bump is bigger than this picture makes it out to look, or maybe it's just my perspective) maybe if i was holding the hem of my shirt tighter??

i'm so proud of ...

2008-07-09T17:11:00.001-07:00

my sister!! she's amazing. you can read all about what she's been going through ... here and then here. she had caleb on july 4th and it just seems like things got worse and worse ... and now they are getting better. he's still in the nicu, but he no longer has any tubes (ivs, feeding tubes, etc.) and is getting better everyday.
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i'm just so proud of how nicole is handling the whole situation. i know it has to be rough on her. having to drive to visit her baby in the hospital (and not being able to drive ... so she has to rely on her husband or others).
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i admire her strength. i admire her calmness. i admire her ability to see positive in what most would only see negative. i admire her thinking of other people's needs and wants. i admire her ability to bite her tongue when it is needed. none of these qualities i posses, but i try.
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i admire nicole, she's amazing. and i just thought i would share that with all y'all! she's my best friend, my CEO (chief emotional officer) and i LOVE LOVE LOVE her.

happy 5 years!!!

2008-07-08T17:29:00.000-07:00

well saturday was our five year anniversary, so we figured we better go out and celebrate. we called up rob's mom and she graciously agreed to babysit.

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we headed off to market broiler ... our absolute favorite restaurant. and since i'm a crazy blogging person, i took pictures ... enjoy!

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this is us waiting for our food, enjoying their sourdough and a shrimp cocktail (no pictures ... we devoured it before i could grab my camera from my purse!!)

then our food arrived ... i opted for threasher shark (with lemon pepper seasoning ... we love that you can request certain seasonings!!) cheesy mashed potatoes and a side of cottage cheese ... YUM!!

robby opted for a trio: thresher shark (with jamaican lime seasoning), salmon (with lemon pepper seasoning), snow crab legs with rice pilaf and steamed vegetables.

i cleaned my plate (well robby said i didn't because i had cottage cheese left over, but i say that doesn't count!!) i almost always only eat about half of my shark and half of my potatoes (leaving me a yummy lunch the next day) but i ate it all ... it was delicious!!!

and this is us all happy and STUFFED ... oh it was soooo worth it, absolutely delicious!! i wish we could go there more often. afterwards we went and saw "the incredible hulk" ... GREAT movie!!

oh, yeah and look what robby bought for me for our anniversary ... a new iPod ... 80gb silver video ... oh the happines, i was getting tired of seeing this sad display on my old 20bg photo ipod

peaches 'n' cream

2008-07-07T10:36:00.000-07:00

oh yummy!! i received a bag of peaches from a sister in my ward, and this is what i've been doing with them. slice them up, sprinkle on some sugar and pour some milk on top (it would be better if i had cream, but oh well!!)

introducing caleb derek shelby

2008-07-04T20:06:00.000-07:00

introducing ...

caleb derek shelby

i'm an auntie again, my sister nicole had her baby today!! caleb derek shelby was born at 11:08 a.m. on july 4th. he weighs 7 pounds and 1 ounce and is 19 inches long. both baby and momma are doing good!!

aidan's dictionary and update

2008-07-03T21:20:00.000-07:00

he had a well baby check-up on thursday (6/26) and he weighs in at 26 pounds 4 ounces, and is 33 inches tall and his head circumference is 18 1/2 inches. for weight and height he's in the 75 percentile. he's now 16.5 months old!!! he's my BIG boy and i love him (although ... he's getting so heavy and that wears me out!). on friday (6/27) he had some blood drawn just to make sure everything is going well (and it is, we got the "normal" phone call on 7/3). it was so sad to have to hold him down like that while they took 2 viles of blood from him -- he screamed.

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here are some of the words that aidan can say (although most you wouldn't recognize if you heard them) but he uses all of these consistently. these are in no particular order, i have no idea when he started saying what. but dada was his first word, followed by mama. but he called me dada for the LONGEST time (up until about 3 weeks ago) ... even though he could say mama.
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daddy = dada

mommy = mama (also uses this word for gr'ama)

please = psss

thank you = key koo

uh oh = uh OOOH!

fish = pish (one of his earlier words, ya know since we have 'em EVERYWHERE in our house!)

cracker = kaa kaa

wiggles = gee gee

bye bye = buh bye

hi = i

hello = beau

go = go

bottle = baa baa

yogurt = yo go

cheese = ch-sss

baby = bee bee

dog = ya gee ya gee, or gaa gaa (which he always says when he sees one, or hears one barking)

birdie = dee dee

duck = kaka

scott = cott

amanda = da

papa = papa (one of his FAVORITE people ... when we pull up in front of my parent's house he always immediately starts saying papa, he LOVES my dad)

dora = door

hannah = haa ya
ball = baa

phone = poon

spoon = poon
hello = hey-o

shoes = shoo

jaws theme song = da da da (while playing with his stuffed shark, HAHA!!)

blanket = key key

pillow = poe

diaper = dee da

juice = joose

jo jo = yo yo

banana = baa baa

cheerios = chee-yo

night nights = nigh nigh

shh shh = shh shh
keys = keys

all gone = aa on

yummy = num num

woof = oof

push = puu

show = sooo

milk = mooe

drink = kink

beep = eep

honk = hon

oh and on friday (6/27) aidan figured out how to say "la la la" and he thought it was great and did i all night long, finally he can say the "L" sound.
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aidan, what does a dinosaur say? "rooaaar"

what does a car say? "booom" (vroom)
what does a duck say? "kak kak kak"

what does a monkey say? [shakes his finger at you] ... meaning, "no more monkeys jumpin' on the bed!"

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he can point to his head, hair (he pulls it), eyes, nose, mouth, tongue (sticks it out), teeth (chomps 'em down), ears, toes, hands

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i'm trying to teach him baby #2's name before she pops out, so far it's not going so well (i say the name, he just says "bee bee" back to me). we're also trying to teach him to be soft to my tummy, which is going pretty well. he often comes over and hugs and kisses my belly button.

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his favorite tv shows are wiggles, doodlebops (but i haven't put that on lately, waaay too annoying) and most recently jo jo's circus and backyardigans. although he still enjoys watching oprah and anything with music and dancing (hairspray, hello dolly, etc.). he prefers live people to cartoons (hence wiggles and doodlebops ... although he's getting better about that ... hence his recent attention span for jo jo's circus and backyardigans).

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he now has 10 teeth, 4 on the top in the middle, 2 on the bottom in the middle and 4 molars that have all broken through. (you can see his back teeth in the second picture!!)

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and he's VERY into high-fives right now. if he's getting into something (like climbing on top of tables to do jigs ... i can ask him for a high-five and he'll get down and come give me one)

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and i must say i really apprecite great friends in my ward who are willing to watch aidan when i need it, whether its watching him for an hour until robby gets home so i can go see wicked (thanks kristi) or watching him for 2 hours while i go to do my glucose screening test (thanks wendy). i have the best friends, plus our kids get along great so it makes trading kids easy.

WICKED!!!

2008-07-01T17:36:00.000-07:00

ok, so i've been meaning to post about going to see WICKED ever since i went ... but i kept hoping i could post more pictures. unfortunately they are being held hostage. my sister insisted we take the group pictures with her camera (something about more pixels ... plus she just bought it) ... unfortunately even though i've asked her at least 10 times to send me the pictures she ignores the request. (and i know my mom is bummed she wont share because mom forgot her camera, so she has NO pictures!! nicole tells me to forget about 'em ... and that heidi never ever shares her pictures no matter what ... so i've given up hope.)

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oh, well! i can't put it off any longer. (i mean over 2 weeks is long enough!!). on june 13th (haha ... friday the 13th). i went to go see WICKED. there was a whole group of us, my sister heidi came down from utah and brought along her bff, kemari, and my parents and my brother scott and his wife amanda, and her parents.

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i dropped off aidan at my friend kristi's house so she could watch him until robby got off work (thanks kristi, i really appreciated it!!), then i headed to meet everyone at my parent's house.

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when i got there heidi was just finishing getting ready and as i sat on her bed and caught up with her she mentioned casusally

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her: "now you have you ticket, right?" (she had purchased all the tickets so that we would all be sitting together).

my response, "haha ... you're so funny. you have my ticket."

her: "um, no i don't. it was mailed directly to you at your house."

me: "WHAT?! but i never check my mail!! why didn't you tell me this before, isn't that an important detail?!" (seriously we pay all our bills online and check the mail like twice a month ... a bad habit ... i know!)

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so i had to drive back home to dig through my mail and try to find my ticket. fortunately robby was home and dug for me and met me halfway to deliver my ticket. then i headed back down to meet everyone for dinner (mmmm .... islands). then we headed out to hollywood to see the show.

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my friend, wendy, had been talking the show up and i was expecting a LOT from what i had heard from everybody ... and it EXCEEDED my expectations. it was FABULOUS!!! i thoroughly enjoyed it and would recommend it to anyone.

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i also scared everybody sitting around me during the intermission. while walking down the stairs i tripped and fell down them!!! it totally freaked everyone out ... but i didn't get hurt at all (just my pinky where it got caught on the iron railing!)

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heidi, me and mom mom (getting ready to go find our seats and taking in the sights of the pantages theater ... amazing!!)

me ... all dressed up. (i even put on my pearls ... just for you nicole ... no opera gloves or tiara, sorry!)

me and amanda holding our playbills, we're soooo excited!!

a shot i got of the stage before the show started ... i got yelled at for taking this picture! OOPS!

thats all i got folks ... i wish i could post a picture of everyone who went ... but oh well, live and learn, next time i wont listen to heidi when she insists to use her camera!! because i now know she never learned to share.

pass the butter

2008-06-29T13:37:00.000-07:00

my mom sent this to me ... i LOVE butter. and here are more reasons why you should too!

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"This is interesting"

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Margarine was originally manufactured to fatten turkeys. When it killed the turkeys, the people who had put all the money into the research wanted a payback so they put their heads together to figure out what to do with this product to get their money back. It was a white substance with no food appeal so they added the yellow coloring and sold it to people to use in place of butter. How do you like it? They have come out with some clever new flavorings.

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DO YOU KNOW.. The difference between margarine and butter?

Both have the same amount of calories.
Butter is slightly higher in saturated fats at 8 grams compared to 5 grams.
Eating margarine can increase heart disease in women by 53% over eating the same amount of butter, according to a recent Harvard Medical Study.
Eating butter increases the absorption of many other nutrients in other foods.
Butter has many nutritional benefits where margarine has a few ... Only because they are added!
Butter tastes much better than margarine and it can enhance the flavors of other foods.
Butter has been around for centuries where margarine has been around for less than 100 years.

And now, for Margarine...

Very high in Trans fatty acids.
Triple risk of coronary heart disease.
Increases total cholesterol and LDL (this is the bad cholesterol) and lowers HDL cholesterol, (the good cholesterol)
Increases the risk of cancers up to five fold.
Lowers quality of breast milk.
Decreases immune response.
Decreases insulin response.

And here's the most disturbing fact.... HERE IS THE PART THAT IS VERY INTERESTING!

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Margarine is but ONE MOLECULE away from being PLASTIC.. This fact alone was enough to have me avoiding margarine for life and anything else that is hydrogenated (this means hydrogen is added, changing the molecular structure of the substance).

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You can try this yourself: Purchase a tub of margarine and leave it in your garage or shaded area. Within a couple of days you will note a couple of things: * no flies, not even those pesky fruit flies will go near it (that should tell you something) * it does not rot or smell differently because it has no nutritional value; nothing will grow on it. Even those teeny weeny microorganisms will not a find a home to grow. Why? Because it is nearly plastic. Would you melt your Tupperware and spread that on your toast?

sneak peek

2008-06-27T22:51:00.000-07:00

here is a sneak peak of one of my new designs that will (someday) be available at http://www.jocole.net/. i love it!! it's comfortable (not too tight and not too loose) and extra long (as all jocole shirts are) and long sleeved. oh how i love me some long sleeves when it's cold outside. i can't wait to play with this pattern and make some more changes!! overall, i'm really pleased with how it turned out. it will be perfect starting point to change the neckline into anything, and change the sleeves. a perfect basic pattern. i LOVE it. here is betty modeling it ... i haven't been able to teach aidan to take pictures ... YET ... so none of me!

i took one of my own patterns, converted it into a pdf and uploaded it onto burdastyle.com just to see how it would turn out back in january. i love the idea of offering some of my own patterns on my website, so stay tuned. i'll be working on some more, i'm sure. but for now, check out the square bottom bag, currently available for download over at burdastyle.com

happy birthday mom!!

2008-06-26T00:12:00.000-07:00

it was my mom's birthday last week, and i had to wait until i gave her present to her to blog about it (ya know, since she reads my blog). here it all is, i hope she's happy with it. i told her i was making her tyvek stuff, but didn't tell her what. and the pattern was a surprise as well. enjoy mom! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

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scripture covers, one for her bible and one for her triple combination.

a new coin pouch and wallet

the coin pouch features a zipper change pocket in the back ... oooooo fancy!!

a new makeup bag with matching mirror (she's been needing one of these, her old one was one of the first ones i ever made ... the design was hand drawn on with permanent markers and it wasn't lined) this was her one request. all the others were surprises.

babylock price

2008-06-25T23:08:00.000-07:00

ok, i finally found a website with a price for my new babylock, although its in pounds not dollars.
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http://www.sewingmachinesdirect.co.uk/baby_imagine_info.htm
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according to dollars2pounds 649 pounds is equal to $1,276.71 ... but i'm still not selling it. oh how i LOVE it.

recipe wednesday - brownies

2008-06-25T11:04:00.000-07:00

brownies
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ingredients:
2 cubes butter (softened)
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup cocoa powder
4 large eggs
1 cup flour
1 cup walnuts (optional)
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directions:
cream butter, sugar and cocoa in a medium bowl. in a small bowl, beat eggs, add flour and blend mixture. add the eggs mixture to the butter mixture and blend. stir in walnuts, pour into a greased 9x12 baking pan, bake at 350 degrees for 40 to 45 minutes.

aidan loves dora

2008-06-23T09:09:00.000-07:00

dora is my parent's dog. she's a german shepherd-labrador retriever mix. and she's perfect, she's mild mannered, almost never barks and in all the years of being around kids has never lost her temper while the kids poked and pulled on her.

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aidan LOVES her. he doesn't say very many people's names, but he says dora (well, his version of the name dora). he follows her around my parent's house trying to hug her and kiss her.

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yesterday while we were at my parent's house he was playing with his uncle tj and lost his balance and he accidentally gave dora a prostate exam (yup, stuck his finger up her ...) EWWWWWW!!!!!

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needless to say neither dora nor aidan were very happy about this. dora headed for the back door and aidan cried. robby quickly snatched up aidan and washed his hand like 20 times.

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later on when aidan needed a diaper change i asked robby if he would do it, and he responded "i already changed his finger today!" HAHA!! needless to say i changed his diaper, i figured rob had earned it.

aidan loves mashed potatoes

2008-06-21T18:54:00.000-07:00

we were eating mashed potatoes (and roast and carrots) at my parent's house the other day, and we let aidan feed himself. he was LOVING the mashed potatoes ... and found a better way to get them to his mouth than the spoon that 'ama gave him.

after dinner, and he was all cleaned up, he decided that he wanted to cuddle with great-grandma hendrickson and see what she was doing. it was really sweet.

aidan loves playing in the blinds

2008-06-19T16:39:00.000-07:00

aidan loves to climb on our window seat and play in the blinds. the other day he climbed up there and slid between the window and the blinds. i sternly asked him to stop and get down. he froze and acted like if he stayed still i couldn't see him. it was the cutest thing ever, so i grabbed the camera and snapped some pictures. then i pulled him out.

aidan's hair cut

2008-06-17T20:05:00.000-07:00

on monday, june 16th, i was at my mom's house and we were talking about how aidan needs a haircut. and i said i've been planning on it, but just haven't had the time. next thing i know amanda is holding him and my mom has sissors in her hands and i run to get my camera. all his curls are now gone!! here it is all short ... no more curls. he looks so much older!!here he is with my mom ('ama) ... while she was cuddling with him after he bashed his eye on saturday. this is one of my last pictures of his curls.here is the best picture i could get of his black eye. poor little guy!!

aidan loves to splash (part 2)

2008-06-15T22:29:00.000-07:00

(i don't know when i originally wrote this post, but it was FOREVER ago. this video was done on november 2, 2007) aidan has finally decided that he likes bathtime. he used to hate it, but instead he's discovered the wonders of splashing. i think he's outgrown his baby bath, and much prefers the big boy bathtub -- i don't have any videos of him in the big tub, but it's just as funny! (well i found a video of him in his big tub, but it was sort of indecent and i figure you've seen enough of my son or one day!! but splashing is still very much a part of bathtime.)

aidan loves to splash

2008-06-13T16:29:00.000-07:00

yesterday instead of going to the park we decided to go to victoria gardens and play in the water fountain. aidan was LOVING it and was much braver than i would have thought. he was being really cute, he would play then turn around and wave at me, then play, then turn around and wave at me. he had a blast running around and getting soaked.

oh, and on sunday (06/08) my mom discovered that aidan was getting more teeth. she noticed something white peeking through his gums on his upper right side. so we did some more investigating and discovered that he's working on getting 4 teeth. so far, only 1 has broken through, but the other three and really close. poor little guy!

MY new toy

2008-06-10T23:22:00.000-07:00

look at what my husband let me buy ... it's a babylock imagine ... which features air-jet technology ... meaning it basically threads itself (which if you've ever used a serger know what a hassle threading is!!) i haven't had a chance to REALLY play with it (and i've had it since the sturday before mother's day!!) i need to go cut some fabric and make me some shirts. maybe i'll have some free time next week.

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i got a GREAT deal on it ... $400. now that might seem like a LOT to you, but they retail for somewhere around $2,300 and the buy-it-now price for used ones on e-bay were $1,200. (i tried getting some links, but there weren't any on e-bay right now, and all the sewing supply places said "call for pricing") sheesh!! robby said i should sell it and get the profit ... but i want to use this baby!! now i can start pumping our some sample designs for jocole. HUZZAH!!

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i'll show ya some new designs when i have a chance to sit down a play!!

aidan loves to play (part 2)

2008-06-08T14:08:00.000-07:00

(more older pictures) aidan also likes playing with the rest of his toys. especially right after i've cleaned them all up ... it's much more fun to throw them out of the container on the floor!!! it's also fun to throw all the toys out of the container, and then climb into the container!

aidan's been laying down whenever i take his picture lately ... i think it's adorable!

aidan loves the piano

2008-06-06T20:15:00.000-07:00

aidan loves to play the piano!!! he's figured out how to open the lid and climb up on the bench and tickle those ivory keys to his hearts content. at least when he's playing i know where he is, and not trying to get into trouble. he also thinks it's fun to play the piano while at church ... ya know while someone is up front giving the lesson. i have to watch him, because he used to not know how to lift the lid ... but that doesn't stop him anymore. trying to pay attention in class is a joke, so we usually end up going to nursrey and i hang with wendy! 11 more weeks until i can officially just drop him off there! (not like i'm counting down or anything!)

introducing elliott faine

2008-06-04T22:50:00.001-07:00

my good friend rachel (ya know, the chick who cut my hair!!) had her baby girl today.

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elliott faine arrived at 3:19 p.m. and weighed in at 8 pounds 2 ounces. we're so glad that she's here! and rachel did it all without an epidural (not by choice!) ... you go girl!! i just know elliott and our #2 are gonna be buds. oh ... and we're setting up elliott and aidan, how many cows do you think she's worth??

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seriously, these pictures do not do elliott any justice. she is sooooooo beautiful!!!

(sorry no pictures of rachel, she wouldn't let me ... which is understandable, but she looked great too!!)

aidan loves to play

2008-06-04T15:56:00.000-07:00

(more older pictures) aidan loves to play with this wooden bead roller coaster from his great-grandma.

my sister's keeper, by jodi picoult

2008-06-02T17:02:00.000-07:00

i just finished reading "my sister's keeper" by jodi picoult. it was the book chosen for our book club last month (yes, i realize i'm a slacker and i should have finished it a month ago!!). i really liked it actually and would recommend it to anyone interested in reading.

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here is the synopsis from the back of the book: "anna is not sick, but she might as well be. by age thriteen, she has undergone countless surgeries, transfusions, and shots so that her older sister, kate, can somehow fight the leukemia that has plagued her since childhood. the product of preimplantation genetic diagnosis, anna was conceived as a bone marrow match for kate - a life and a rold that she has never challenged ... until now. like most teenagers, anna is beginning to question who she truly is. but unlike more teenagers, she has always been defined in terms of her sister - and so anna makes a decision that for most would be unthinkable, a decision that will tear her family apart and have perhaps fatal consequences for the sister she loves. a provocative novel that raises some important ethical issues, "my sister's keeper" is the story of one family's struggle for survival at all human costs and a stunning moral parable for all time"

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it does say the f-word more times that i would have wished, and there is a lesbian character, and i HATED how the book ended (although, now that i think about it, i cannot think any other ending would have been better). having said all that, i would read it again, and i thoroughly enjoyed it (c'mon i read it all in 2 days!!)