what are you working towards that you could use help with?

As a kid I assumed I would go to school, get married, and have kids. It seemed as though that is what everyone did, so it must be an easy plan. It has not turned out to be so easy. I guess school wasn't too bad. You know what to expect, for the most part, when it comes to schooling. Getting married didn't work out how I thought, however. I didn't get married until I was twenty-six. That's on the later end for girls in the LDS community. It was hard for me. I wanted to be married. I wanted to start my family. My least favorite question: "Are you dating anyone?" and when I answered no the response was even better, "Why?" Why would you ask someone why they weren't dating anyone? What answer are you looking for?

Well, I finally got the marriage thing sorted out. I found a really good one. Then the next step was to have kids, right. That shouldn't be too hard. Wrong again. First, I went on birth control when we first got married. That turned me in a crazy person. My periods lasted for two weeks, and I was an emotional nightmare. Poor Mister was probably wondering what he got himself into. I stayed on birth control for about a month or two, and then we decided to let fate take over. Well, fate decided to give us a lesson in patience. It took about a year and a half to get pregnant with Elle. I won't even start on the questions people ask about having babies and growing your family. Let's just leave it at this, there is never a need to ask anyone when they are going to start having kids, when they are going to grow their family, or why they don't have kids.

I know, I should consider myself blessed. Many cannot have children, or have to go to great lengths to make it happen. That doesn't change the fact that it was hard. Every month I had a frustrating reminder come and tell me that I was, once again, not pregnant. Some months I was sure I was pregnant. I drove myself crazy. Well, you know the ending to this story. Two years after we started trying for a baby we were blessed with Elle.

Now, here we are again trying to add to our family, and the timing is not what I would like. It's been over a year, and still no baby. I learned not to drive myself crazy this time though. According to my doctor, out of 100 couples only 50 will be pregnant after trying for six month. By the end of twelve months ninety percent of the couples will be pregnant. Mister and I are in the lucky ten percent. To make things even more fun, out of that ten percent, forty percent have a hard time getting pregnant because of female reproductive issues, forty percent have issues because of the male. Twenty percent can't get pregnant because of unknown reasons. That's us. We are the twenty percent out of the ten percent. We really should try for more lotteries.

For now, we have discovered that my Progesterone levels are low. I'm at a 1.9. The doctor explained that the preferred level is at least a 10. For now I try Clomid. This medication should hopefully raise my Progesterone levels and increase our chances of getting pregnant. It has some awesome side effects: ovulatory pain, hot flashes, night sweats, abdominal pain, nausea or vomiting, visual changes, headaches, abnormal bleeding, and the possibility of twins or triplets. For those of you who know me know that the idea of having twins is a nightmare. Oh well, I am willing to take the chance. Elle needs a sibling, and we want to grow our family. Hopefully it won't grow too quickly... Wish us luck!

how are you making a difference in the world?

Before I had Elle I was an elementary school teacher. It was the most rewarding and challenging job I have ever had. I loved teaching and I loved the students. I hated the hoops and all the people I had to please. I had to please the parents, the principal, the district, the state, and the list went on and on. Let's focus on what I loved. I loved seeing students light up when they finally caught on to a math concept. I loved seeing the pride in a child when they moved up a reading level. I loved seeing the surprise on a girl's face when she received 100% on a spelling test for the first time.

I loved the challenge of building a relationship with students that have been down on their luck for years -- who were known as the "bad kid". I have story after story of challenging students, and the transformation they had throughout the school year. I can testify that the children that are the hardest to love truly are the ones that need it the most. I also can attest to the fact that once you have earned their trust they will stay by your side forever. There are some students that will always have a piece of my heart. I won't ever forget them. I can't possibly forget them. They have helped make me who I am today. I never thought I could say that about nine and ten-year-olds, but it is true.

Although I am no longer a teacher, my influence on children remains. I have an influence on my own child, and hopefully future children. I have the opportunity to teach them how to be good people. I can show them the importance of integrity. I can prove to them that nothing feels better than honest, hard work. I can help them see that fairness doesn't necessarily mean equality. I can be an example of sympathy and kind-heartedness. I'm not a perfect parent, not will I ever be, but you better believe that I will try my hardest. The world needs that.

elle-isms

I know this sweet and innocent-looking girl may make it seem like we never have to deal with the typical toddler problems. For some reason I never think to pull out the camera while she's throwing herself on the floor in a limp pile while screaming at the top of her lungs. I wonder why that never crosses my mind? To be real, I feel as though we got lucky in the toddler department. She really is pretty good. That doesn't mean we don't have our moments though. Last night at Costco, for example, we were eating in the food court, and the peace didn't last long. I had cut up half of Elle's super large slice of pizza to cut down on the mess. She ate most of it, but as soon as she saw the ice cream Mister bought it all went downhill. I told her she needed to eat three more bites and she could have some ice cream. Seems pretty simple, right? Wrong. Meltdown city. I'm pretty sure all of Costco was staring at us. It is so hard to discipline a screaming, limp child in public. First off, reasoning with a toddler is an art in itself, but if they have already lost it - good luck. We ended up heading straight to the car. We do have some really great moments with Elle though, and that's really what I wanted to talk about.

Elle is very particular. She remembers which basket each of the toys go in without me saying a word to her. To be honest, I don't care which basket the toys go in as long as they get cleaned up. For a few days we were missing the top to a block train we had. Mister found it under the TV stand and set it on the ledge of the stand. It stayed up there for a day or two simply because neither of us really cared enough to put it away. I saw it the other day, and put it back in the box with the other train blocks. This morning, Elle was playing with the train. When she was done she cleaned up the blocks, but she made sure to put the top of the train on the TV stand because that's where it had been the last few days. It's funny to see what she observes.

Elle is working hard on learning the English language. She does pretty good considering that she's only been alive for two years. Here's some of my favorite Elle-isms to date:

Za-pee = Pizza

I carry you = Will you carry me?

Huh on = Take it off

Stin-y = Stinky or poopy

Pood Ke-ee = The kitty needs more food

Naow - Milk

No-man = Snowman

Luh you = I love you

Na-nite = Goodnight

Shash can = Trashcan

Serius = Cereal

Nummy = This tastes delicious

*Grunt or growl* = I do not like it

Me = Mickey

Beh = I'm tired, or I want to go to bed

Dunny = Bunny (her lovey)

Show = Turn on the TV stat

I love how quickly she is learning. It has been so great to have the ability to communicate with her more. Today's recipe would get a big grunt from Elle, but it is a favorite of Mister's and mine.

Bow Tie Chicken Caesar Salad

Ingredients

1 bag of Caesar salad mix (I absolutely love the Marketplace brand from Walmart)

            This mix should include lettuce, Parmesan cheese, croutons, and dressing.

1 cup of chicken (cooked and shredded or diced)

1 1/2 cups bow tie noodles (prepared)

1/3 cup bacon (crumbled - I just use bacon bits)

Instructions

Mix everything together and enjoy! We have used this as a meal, but it is also a great side or served at a party as an appetizer.

elf on the shelf ideas

I love Christmas time! Teaching made it even better. I loved being around excited kiddos that help spread the Christmas spirit. I'm not quite ready to start the elf with Elle, so I thought I would share some ideas from when I used The Elf on the Shelf in my classroom.

He started out on our Christmas tree with his book wrapped underneath. My students loved it! We named him Elfis. Here are some places that he decided to hide throughout the month.

The reading room with a book of Christmas jokes.

Making snowflakes by the school supplies.

Making snowflakes by the school supplies.

Dressed up like Harry Potter flying on his paintbrush.

Playing Candyland with Mr. Sock Monkey.

Hanging around the lunch count.

Some students were getting a little stinky and were choosing not to believe. Elfis didn't like that and decided to take their pencils for a dive.

 He also helped keep the classroom clean.

Elfis was so loved in our classroom that the students even made things for him.

Needless to say, it was a great way to add a little fun to the Christmas season, and it was also a great classroom management tool. I can't wait to start this tradition with Elle! Next year she should be a lot more into it.

project life: how to make a scrapbook page on your phone

Yesterday I mentioned my love for the Project Life app. It is my favorite way to document my family photos. I wanted to do a follow up post showing how simple it is to use. I will be showing you screenshots from my IOS phone. I'm not sure if they have an app for Android devices, but I know they are working on it.

When you open the app you will have the option to make a collage, create a page, look at your past projects, ask a question, or order prints. In this post will will be focusing on the blue quadrant, making a page.

The first thing you will need to do is pick a layout and a color pallet. To choose a color pallet, tap on the button at the top left (with three horizontal lines). You can also change the color of the background of your page.

When you tap on a square in the layout you have the option of placing a picture or a filler/journal card. The photo button will take you directly to your phone's photo gallery.

The filler card button will bring you to the card kits you have. You will receive a few free ones automatically, and the rest average between $0.99 to $1.99.  You do not need to use the same kit for each filler card on a page. You can mix and match if you would like.

The journaling card will give you the option to add text. You can manipulate the text in various ways. You can change the text color, font, size, line spacing, vertical offset, and justification.

Once your page is completed it will automatically save to the app. One danger to this is that if you lose the app, you lose your pages. Knowing this, you will most likely want to back up your pages on your computer or other cloud device. When you are ready, you can either choose to print through Project Life, or export the image and send it to another printing company. As of now, Project Life charges $1.99 for each 12x12 page with a flat $5.00 shipping fee. I love this new way to scrapbook. It has been a serious game changer for me. If you have any more questions on the Project Life app they have a bunch of tutorial videos on YouTube.

of pillow cases, big girl beds, & "luh you"s

I swear it was just yesterday that I spent the entire night waking up to every move my newborn sweetheart 
made. Tonight, that same sweetheart is sleeping in a toddler bed. It melted my heart to see her excited face 
as I handed her a pillow with the Minnie Mouse case my mom made. The same pillow case that was given 
to her for her first Christmas. I laughed inside when we opened it thinking, "We won't need that for a lonnng 
time." My eyes moistened as I pulled it down from her closet.

Don't let me fool you into thinking that we tucked her in, said our goodnights, and never heard from her
again. I lost track of how many times Mister had to go in and put her in bed. I finally had to take over to
save him from losing his mind. Finally, I heard her last "luh you." I hope I never forget the way she says that.

We still have many battles to win. I'm sure there will be a couple tonight during the bewitching hours, but
that's okay. It just reminds me that she really is still little. I need to stop blinking. She'll be grown and moving
out before I know it.

God loves families

I know this post is a bit late, but I can't push the feeling away that I should write my thoughts on this topic. A few months ago the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints came out with a statement declaring that children of same gender marriages could not be baptized into the church until they are 18.  I was blindsided on social media the morning this statement went live. I kept reading status after status about how unloving the church was. I was hurt but mostly confused. Why would the church turn down members? I then came across the explanation from the church and my confusion disappeared.

Missionary work is a very big part of the LDS faith. Something that is even larger than missionary work, however, is the family unit. God wants the home to be a heaven on earth. How can you have a heaven on earth if there is strife in your home?

Many of my friends took the church's stance as one of hatred. They viewed it as God not loving the children that are raised with same sex parents. This is false. God declared this statement because of his love for his children. All of his children. He wants family units to be unified. Even if that family unit came about in a way that God doesn't approve (The agency we have on earth is another example of God's love for us. He allows us to go against his will, and loves us anyway.). God isn't saying that they aren't allowed to be apart of his church. God is saying that when they get to the age of an adult they can make their own decision and be baptized into the church if they would like.

I feel as though this statement left a lot of people questioning their testimonies and views of the church I love. It strengthened my testimony. God is constant. God is loving. God is just, but God also shows mercy. I know that there is a prophet on the earth today that speaks to God and God speaks to him. He is the mouthpiece of the Lord. Follow the prophet. He knows the way.