And because no day would be complete without a good dessert...

Bottom layer: Peanut Butter
Middle layer: Chocolate Pudding
Top layer: Reddi Whip

Nutritious? No.
Deeply Satisfying? Absolutely!!

(This would probably be delicious with a little graham cracker crust.....mmmmmm.....I might be on to something in my pregnant state.)

Fill up those lamps, ladies!

If you have heard the Parable of the 10 Virgins (Matt. 25:1-13), then you know that we must all be constantly making sure we have oil in our lamps. And those were some pretty small lamps the virgins were carrying around. It's not as if they could drain a quart of oil into the lamp, and be all set. It must me carefully monitored, making sure there is enough to sustain. Semiannually in my Church, there is a world-wide Women's Conference. I admit I have missed it the past few times due to motherish duties (the irony, right?). But this time Wes lovingly watched Finn while I poured some more oil into my little lamp. I would like to share some of the things that stood out for me during one of the talks. President Dieter F. Uchtdorf gave an amazing talk (one of my favorites EVER) on our individual worth as women, and how we all posses wonderful and immeasurable talent (whether we recognize it, or not). His words apply to every woman. And every woman seems to have the unfortunate habit of comparing herself or her talents to others. (myself included). It seems we all naturally do it. "Her house is cleaner than mine." "Her children are way better behaved at church." "All my friends are married and I'm not." "Her (insert appropriate body part) is much better proportioned than mine." "She has the talent for (the arts, cooking, writing, mothering, managing, flirting, doing her hair, decorating, gardening, staying in shape, scrapbooking, blah blah blah), and I totally don't have that talent and never will."

I have good friend (who I hope doesn't mind that I am sharing this story publicly), had an experience that really struck me. She said she was having feelings of inadequacy because she was comparing herself to another mother who had a perfectly spotless home and seemingly perfect children. (I would like to note that my friend is a wonderful mother to three darling and energetic boys. Her house is always welcoming and much cleaner than she thinks it is! Really, not just for the sake of the blog.) So she decided that because she was feeling diminished that she would do what is actually not the easiest thing to do when you are feeling down on your self. Pray. She asked why Heavenly Father couldn't have just made her like the other mother—perfectly organized and totally put together. Wouldn't it have just been easier to make two of HER? And as she was praying about it, she got the most amazing personal witness that everyone has unique and individual things that they offer. And these things are exactly what make her ADORABLE to her Heavenly Father. What a wonderful realization, that we are all adorable not in spite of our unique and sometimes quirky traits, but because of them. (And man have I got some quirky traits.) How boring would it be if we all had spotless homes and robotically prefect children (hello, Stepford Wives)?!

In President Uchtdorf's talk, he states that we are all—every woman—daughters of our Heavenly Father with INFINITE WORTH. All of us experience feelings of unworthiness, even when we seem to be trying our hardest. None of our trials are insignificant, and there are ways to to find hope and peace and joy in times of distress. God's greatest happiness is our happiness. He actually says that every woman is critically important to God. Critically important!

We all have an inherent wish to create. When we create something from nothing, there is a deep sense of satisfaction and fulfillment. That doesn't mean we all are artists in the typical sense, or amazing chefs, or have other typically obvious, tangible "creative" talents. Some of us do have those abilities. But others have valuable and vital talents in some other capacity, and often we don't recognize them or cultivate them. We may excel at our career, or are very organized, great speakers, or peace-makers. Making a smile appear on some one's face is a creative talent. President Uchtdorf says, "Don't let fear of failure discourage you from creating." He says not to listen to the critics—whether that voice comes from the outside or in.

I know that women have great worth—that we are cherished and prized by our Heavenly Father. I will try better to admire, not covet, the talents of other women, and also recognize and work on more of my own. To hear President Uchtdorf's talk (much more powerful to hear it spoken than if you just read it), visit HERE for the broadcast.

I don't often post lengthy spiritual thoughts, but it's Sunday, after all! To read more about just how important a role a woman played following the Resurrection of the Savior, check out this link from the New Testament: John 20

As Wes would say, "Happy Sabbath!"

How do you score?

Want to test YOUR color IQ? Try it out HERE. (Watch out--it kind of makes you go cross-eyed.) I ended up with a perfect score. Hoorah! Design world, breathe a collective sigh of relief.

Good morrrrrrniiiiiing!

(orange curtains in our room cast the warm glow)

Couldn't resist

These are going around, so I thought I would jump on the band wagon. My wordle (I kept it simple):

Get your own HERE.

One more funny

Well, after the scarecrow excitement, Finn went to take a bath. Afterward, little Buck Naked thought it would be funny to PEE ON THE FLOOR. So we tried not to freak out too much, and at least say that peeing is a good thing (so as not to hinder future potty training efforts). So following the drama (Finn's still in the buff), I said in a serious tone "Finn...did you pee on the floor??" Big head nod from Finn, and a smile. Then, in an effort to completely divert my attention, he did exactly what WE do when we are trying to distract Finn. He pointed to the TV (super boring commercial), and said "WOW!!! HAHAHAHAHA!!! WOAH!!!!! HAHAHAHA!" (knee slapping and pointing included). Ahhh, sigh. So cute, yest so cunning.

Well, the association's off, but his heart's in the right place!

Finn has a few new words. He says "ice" (very clearly), and (get ready) MAMA!!!! He has NEVER called me Mama until this Sunday. And he says it in the most heart-melting sweet soft way. I just love it. I keep asking him to say it over and over. So now he's showing off and saying it to everyone, expecting the same squeals of delight.

Finn also started saying another name of note, completely out of the blue today. We haven't been practicing it, and I only said it once today, not expecting him to actually be able to say it back (Finn is pretty tight-lipped about new understandable words...animal noises aside, of course). So at lunch today he said "Jesus!" I was so surprised. And it was absolutely the cutest little "Jesus" you have ever heard. He said it a handful of times today. But the kicker was when Wes handed Finn a magnet, and Finn said "Jesus!" in his little slurred baby voice. What was the magnet? .....

A scarecrow. We cracked up!! Finn really hasn't seen many images of the crucifixion in his short 20 months. So I think he was actually associating the out-stretched, "welcoming" arms, and the fact that the scarecrow is sort of hovering over the ground, with a nice straw-filled resurrected Jesus. (It helped that the scarecrow magnet wasn't wearing overalls like the photo above. It was more of a long shirt, or "robe" effect.) :) It was so cute and hilarious. He promptly put "Jesus" in the magnetic corn field and finished his snack.

It's ON!

The NieNie Benefit Sale is officially underway. And a TON of stuff has already sold today. The sale continues through tomorrow. So visit the SITE to get your goodies!

Here we San Die-GO!

Retro Mama

I don't really consider myself a "retro mama" (I tend to go for "modern mama"). But I couldn't resist Retro Mama's Etsy site! Oooooo, delicious! I have my very own Retro Pear pin cushion on the way! I have needed a pin cushion since....well since I started sewing in highschool, so I guess it was about time! Check out her site here.

How I love a good trade!

I know I have mentioned it before, but one of the fun things about making banners/blog makeovers for people, is I often do it as a trade (remember those darling burp cloths?). So today I picked up my amazing turquoise necklace from Angela Henrie.

Isn't it fabulous? I love that the silver rose is made by Angela using precious metal clay. Who knew?! Check out her wonderful creations for big girls and little girls, alike, at: (click on buttons)

Do you Shamu?

We do! And we're back from a rather sunny and unexpectedly hot trip to San Diego (or as Anchorman Ron Burgundy would pronounce it, "San Diago"). Why do I travel? To get sick, apparently. I spent one entire Saturday in Urgent Care with Croupy Finn. Then the rest of the trip I nursed a bad head cold-turned-chest cold which still refuses to leave me alone. Then there was the cold stickiness at night accompanied by sunburned scalps during the day. But there was still fun to be had! And I have yet to upload any photos, so come back tomorrow for some photo-documentation of Finn greeting seagulls, elephants (aka "oophas"), and other San Diegoan wildlife.

On another note, I am HUNGRY! Do you know what that means? Do ya?! It means I am no longer NAUSEATED! I would never have been able to let myself get to this hungry state while the sickies were kicking in. I kept hunger (and some of the nausea) at bay by eating every few hours. So now I am blogging and enjoying my rumbly tumbly! Hooray for placentas taking over hormone production. Cheese quesadilla, here I come.

Oregon a la photographie

No time to chat—San Diego here we come!
See you in a week...

Off to Oregon!

We are off to visit Wes's Grandma in Oregon for a week. And with that, I leave you with these:

(Such a grand recovery, considering she'd just been dunked!!)


**These photos are personal and copyrighted. Please do not repost them—especially since I don't think the bride would be too pleased to come across these shots all over blog land...

A squeaky little *help*

I am having a moment of weakness. You know—where you look at everyone's blogs and think, "They have all had more babies than me and look impossibly thin." (Close the laptop. Look at the glowing apple. Open the laptop, continue.) Ugh! Why am I doing that? Do you do that? I think it's because I have about 3 things that currently fit, and I am only about 3 months along. What's going to happen to me in the next 6 months? I can tell you what! If it's anything like last time, I am going to be wearing the same blessed velour jogging suit with my ugly New Balance running shoes every • single • day during the last month, donning whatever t-shirt will stretch around me. And people will be fleeing the scene a la The Devil Wears Prada, when Miranda enters the building in that fateful first Runway scene (seen it?). I swear my co-workers were saying, "Just tell her how *cute* she looks! She might eat you..." I gained a lot with Finn. Please please please don't make me do it again (whining plea). Yes, I know I was able to shed most of those pounds, and some of you probably want to slug me for even posting this. Sure, I look basically not-too-pregnant, and relatively "fit," as one friend put it (the fit part, not the relatively part). But is it not true that no matter how good we look at any given moment, knowing your body is ballooning out of control for the next human gestational period might just lead to panic-stricken bouts of self-awareness? I think I am justified in my concern. And any other mother-to-be, size 2 or 12, is awarded the same priviledge. So say I. (Are my pregnancy posts getting tiresome? Then just remove me from your sidebar list, because it's likely there will be more.)

Little flutters? Yeah right!

I felt the baby move for the first time today! Right at 13 weeks on the nose. And these weren't gas bubbles like the book swears up and down. This was a definite "thump thump thump," "Here I am!" It went on for about 20 minutes. I don't know what changed between yesterday and today, but apparently this baby has gained some serious strength (which just begs a Breaking Dawn reference, doesn't it?).

**Still waiting for Wes to send me some of those "wedding party in the water" shots. I saw the shots. It's amazing how well the bride handled it. She used a blow dryer on her dress in the bathroom and emerged an hour later looking (almost) as good as new. It was remarkable!**