One thing that always catches my eye is jewelry and I just can't seem to get enough of it. I've started buying colors of clothes to match the jewelry I want to get, which then gives me an excuse to get the jewelry. Vicious cycle. Good thing my good friend Dacia sells great jewelry and has great deals (Dacia's Lia Sophia blog). A few of my favorite purchases lately,
And of course my list goes on.
Big sigh of relief! I'm so glad to report that the Activity Days Dinner is over and went pretty good. Aside from my assuming that I would have no problem with my slide show I'd put together, everything went off without a hitch. The theme was Harvesing Blessings so I got to use all of my pumpkins. I don't know what it is about pumpkins but I LOVE them, I'm drawn to them. Anyway enough about my odd obsessions, These are a few pictures of what I did.
Invitations
Each girl had a table to display her projects she' done throughout the year
Tables
We served marinated chicken, baked potatoes, salad, and rolls for dinner and made applecrisp for dessert, it all tasted really yummy.
Girls treats
I found these pails at Target for $2.50 and couldn't pass them up. I made caramel corn to put in them and then got fake leaves and used rub ons to put their names on each.
I'm so glad this one's done. I'm feeling it today, my body is protesting. I feel like I have my life back and my house shows how much it's been neglected while I did this. The worst part about all this is now I've got to put it all away and redecorate my house. I'm excited to do my sisters baby shower, especially since I'll have extra help. Although I do have to say everyone last night was really great about helping clean up. Thanks to all.
So I don't know why I feel the need to do this but who can understand the workings of a pregnant woman's mind? Not me.
Foods I'm fixed on at the moment: apples and carmel dip, and not just any apples, Honeycrisp apples. They are the best, can't have any of those soft, mushy things. These are sweet, juicy, and crisp. Unforturnatly the store here only carried them for like two days and now I have to settle for Galas.
Next would be tuna fish sandwiches with pickles and sprouts. Again it has to be a certain kind of tuna, all white albacore. I sat down the other day to eat one and my kids were at the table and I think it was Ellie that said "ewww grass" to the sprouts coming out of my sandwich. Both boys turned to look and said, "mom you're eating grass?" Needless to say, I won't have to share my sprouts with anyone. And lastly, hot chocolate and toast with homemade raspberry jam. I know it is weird, and I'm sure that now you can all sleep better at night knowing what I'm eating. : )
On another note, I feel like this month is going to fly by. I have two parties I'm doing this month and am excited about both. First is my Activity Days Dinner that I'm planning and cooking for. I do have help, thank goodness, but I am a bit of a control freak when it comes to things like this. I want things done a certain way and I don't really trust many people to be able to do it like I would. So of course I have a lot on my plate with this one. Second is my sister's baby shower two days before I'm scheduled to have this baby. We came up with a great theme and I'm really excited to put this together. Again I have great help from my other sister and my sister's sister-in-law. I'll post picture of both events (if I can remember my camera) once they're done. I've been out collecting things for both parties and luckily will be rembursed for one of them.
So that's the ramblings of this pregnant woman, until I feel like sharing my dietary needs again. : )
Todd's five joys, fears, obsessions/collections, and surprising facts.
Five Joys (besides the obvious family joys):
1. Building things--the challenge of figuring out how to do it and seeing the finished product.
2. Bike rides with my boys.
3. My new bike--I love being able to ride my bike everywhere in Rexburg and am not looking forward to driving again when the snow comes.
4. Rubbing Tiff's belly.
5. Music--it invigorates me, makes me feel young again. I can do any task as long as I can listen to some music while doing it.
Five Fears (again, besides bad things happening to my family):
1. Not becoming who I am supposed to.
2. My bike getting stolen--everynight before bed I check to make sure it is still in the garage.
3. Needles of any kind
4. I am very good at imagining potential scenarios and random actions it might lead to and do my best to try and prevent that outcome.
5. I really can't think of any others not related to my wife and children. Nearly all my fears have to do with the first one.
Five Obsessions:
1. Music--everytime I find something new I like I have to listen to it over and over. Listening to other music during this stage, I find myself wishing it sounded more like what I am obsessed with at the time. Lately it has been the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.
2. Finishing school and not being poor anymore.
3. Cleanliness--not to the Matt extreme, but I love it when things are clean.
4. I love American landscape paintings/painters from the 1800s (Moran, Chruch, Bierstadt), modern art (random shapes and geometry), and Japanese wood block art of nature scenes. I would fill up my house with hand-painted reproductions if Tiff would let me.
5. I love to read and collect books, especially biographies of church leaders.
5 Surprising Facts:
1. I want to go to Law School to learn Tax Law but have no desire to practice law at a law firm. (I know, I don't really understand it either.)
2. I hate to buy something I know I can build, especially if it will cost less to build it and I know I can make it better. This really drives Tiff crazy because then there are too many things to get done and not enough time to do them and so nothing ever gets done.
3. I weighed 130 pounds when I got off a mission (and made the mistake of getting a new suit tailored right away that only fit me for a couple of months.)
4. My Scout Leader thought it would be fun to shoot his rifle at me, and did so, while on a week-long hike when I was 16. We were on the Washington coast and I was down on the beach and he was up on the trail about 500-1000 yards away. It wasn't a lot of fun with spits of sand shooting up around me (one actually nicked the toe of my boot.)
5. I have passed out three times: once during deacons quorum (we met in the baptismal font changing room, hard tile floor--I woke up to twelve heads in a circle around me); once in a doctor's office in Japan (they took blood and I was still lightheaded and told them I was not ready to walk back to the lobby. The doctor and nurse made fun of me and forced me out and I passed out halfway to my seat); and once during a birthing class before Quinton was born (they were showing drawings of episiotomy (not sure how to spell that) and I hit the floor. The teacher had never seen that before and Tiff was then very worried that she would have to be alone for the birth.)
Tags:
Sorry, I am not tagging anyone, so here are some bonus surprising facts:
6. I hate video games. I think they are just a huge waste of time.
7. I have had at least ten different hair colors.
8. I love sashimi (raw fish), especially tuna.
9. I would love to live in many different countries.
10. I would like to have a lot of land where I could have a field full of Aspen trees, a Japanese garden, a mountain bike trail, and room and means to build lots of different buildings.
A bonus post about my brother Konrad: I used to put my brother's wet towels in his sheets and then make his bed (we shared a room). He would get a big surprise when he went to bed that night. Amazingly, he quickly learned to put his wet towels back in the bathroom instead of leaving them on the floor.
I'm happy to report that all are well here at the Crabtree household, and I never did catch what was going around, thank heavens. I've had full nights sleep for the last 3 days and am feeling more like myself again. Of course one problem follows another, Ellie and her tantrums. Yesterday she had fallen asleep by noon due to the fit she through the half hour before. Of course I can't remember the reason and neither can she but she'd been in her room screaming and kicking and finally came out and lay down next to me on the couch and was asleep within 5 minutes. This happens more than once a day (not the nap part just the fit part) and my patience is being tested. I'm hoping this phase passes quickly and that we can get on with normal days again. Quinton still loves to go to kindergarten and everyday when he comes home he says "I learned something today" and then tells me what letter they learned. When they were doing the assesment testing a few weeks back he came home and said "I didn't learn anything today" (with a sad expresion on his face). Weiland of course is living everyday outside getting the most out of what I'm sure is the end of the nice weather days, he's miserable during the winter when he's stuck in the house most days. Luckily he'll have preschool to help shake things up. Todd is gone much more now that he's back in school and I'm having to readjust to the longer periods when he's not home. I took for granted his presence here and how him just being here helped my sanity. I'm in big trouble when he leaves for his inturnship. And so yes life moves along and I wonder what I've gotten done and what good thing I did.
Literally. Ok I need to know how to protect my home from "bring home from school" diseases. Quinton got sick last week with a fever for about three days and then a sore throat. Now everyone here has gotten it except for me, knock on wood. I don't think I've really slept for over a week with kids waking in the night and taking over my bed. When they're sick is the ONLY time I let them in my bed. Todd got it between Quinotn and Weiland and now Ellie is on day three and I swear the girl is going to put me into labor. With as clingy as she gets when she's sick, and wanting to be picked up all the time I've started having contractions. This is way too early for this girl to come, I need my mom here, and about a dozen other things done before this baby comes. Anyway there's a nice "Quarintine" sign on our door until this passes, which will hopefully be very soon.
On a happier note, I'm almost ready to get all my fall decorations out. I'm having a hard time letting go of summer since it seemed so short but we are about mid way into Sept. and I know I had them out by this time last year. I am looking forward to fall, it's one of my most favorite times of year. 
Hope all your families are healthy!
I just have to say thank you again to Alaina for getting the picture just right and my header looking fab! What would I do with out you great women. I love that I have family (even though it's my married into family) that are so willing to share their knowledge. I'm seriously considering getting photoshop now, I think I could have saved myself a headache or two with it, but then I would also need one of my cousin-in-laws or aunt-in-laws, or even sister-in-laws to take a trip to my house just to show me how to use it. (what a great excuse for a trip!) Thank you again both Britt and Alaina for helping me out. Now I just can never change a thing, well I can't make that promise, so be prepared girls. : )
