goodies.

Today, my friend Cat invited me for a thrift store raid. I had in mind some vintage mason jars, embroidery, vintage sheets and so on, I'm not a big spender. She spent $50, and regretted it afterwards, I spent $25 and feel like a lucky girl.

Joe has been wanting a sideboard to go under the hanging flat screen in the den. However, quality danish sideboards are outrageously expensive and totally not Contente budget friendly.
We liked this one:

(source)
cost=$2395

We found this danish sideboard/vintage record player at a church yard sale:


I asked Cat to pull over quickly because I saw it on the church lawn, we weren't planning on stopping. I saw my friend Tammy and asked her how much it was and she said name a price, took a pic with the iphone, sent to Joe, he loved it, I offered $40 the man said $10....I repeated really? and he said yes. $10 bucks my friend, 10 bucks.


I saw this candle holder at Anthropology:

Loved it. Comes in quite a few colours and sizes. However, $48 for a candle holder, yea no thanks.

Found these at Kings thrift for .50 cents a pop:

A new paint job & just as great as anthro and a fraction of the price

As we were walking in, I saw these old chair frames. I thought of how much fun it would be to redo them. A lot of stuff I liked in the store, was unpriced and we couldn't get a price until their lovely manager priced them. So I figured the chairs were included in that, but no....they were free. I snatched this one:

and Joe said he would love to refinish it for me and paint it for me. I'm going to knock out the torn back and use matching fabric there and on the seat, perfect for my front room. I just bought a new area rug for my front room & I think this Alexander Henry fabric would be perfect to go with it:



It is Irish Linen, and obviously Noah's ark, but a more feminine twist on the story. I'll be framing this & hanging it in London's re-done room. $1

Also, from the same place, is this owl painting:

I heart owls, and this was painted in 1975, I doubt thats accurate but I thought it was adorable.$3


Among the others, I found new embroidery circles for .25 a piece, I bought 6 in descending sizes, perfect for the nesting dolls I am making for London, and they will hang perfectly on her wall. Another to the list, was a very pretty green crochet doily thing, it will look perfect with my christmas decorations, and a bunt cake pan.....I didn't have one, and bunt cakes are fun to make let alone pronounce.

OH, I almost forgot. Cat bought a lamp. Then she regretted it. I loved it because the bottom is intricate, and I thought of repainting it in a shiny lacquer paint in a bright colour for my front room. Her cost $4.50, mine = free. Thanks friend :)

see you later....

is what I said to the 5 lbs I lost this past week on Weight Watchers!
my jeans that were a little loose, are extremely loose and now I am seriously down to 1 pair of pants. I know it's July, but I still wear jeans. My shorts I bought a few months ago, are a size 12 and they fasten but if I slouch the slightest, total muffin top still.
Using WWonline, helped me realize HOW MUCH I EAT! gosh. I don't really eat bad foods, like fast food or fried stuff but I still eat more than a portion size. My free week trail has expired, but I am going to sign up again for a month and see how it goes. The program they use is so simple, and there are so many delicious recipes to choose from or you can enter in one of your own and it suggest way to cut down the calories. It told me the truth about some dishes I actually considered healthy.
These tips helped me this last week:

1.Use a salad plate for meals
2.No second servings
3.Drink a glass of water with every meal

I didn't do the Jillian Michaels work out this week, I was feeling really down most of the week and couldn't muster up the energy to do anything. Thanks to an off and on visit the past month from Aunt Flow. I made an appointment for Aug. 3rd to have the IUD removed and have a full physical. Maybe when I can get to a regular cycle and not have months of on and off, I'll feel more energetic and not so blue. TMI? I dont care...it's my blog ha. Also, I might loose more weight because I'm a water retaining sea cow right now.
Here are so photos to compare to my swimsuit post, I've gone from looking 4 months pregnant to 3. I don't really see too much of a difference, but with my jeans....YES!

oh and please don't mind the messy boys room, some how their room is the only one with a full mirror

morning thus far.

we started with a tea party & grapes for breakfast
(oj for london, coffee for me)




Rowan had some banana yogurt for breakfast, then I rinsed him off in the shower and he got a haircut. Joe said he had a mullet this morning, so it was time for a trim. Let me add, it is quite difficult to cut a 18 month old boys hair, they do not sit still. But i have found that if I put him in the bathroom sink with his toothbrush and an copious amount of toothpaste, he will entertain himself quietly and play with the water faucets giving me just the right amount of time to trim his hair. Beauty school my senior of high school has become very resourceful as a mom.


Rowan displaying perfect manners while enjoying yogurt & pre-trim:


Handsome boy post-trim:


He has some stray hairs behind his ears, I'll have to get them when he falls asleep for a nap. The nice thing about Rowan having curly hair, is that his uneven sides appear more forgiving when he refused to sit still towards the end of the haircut.

Mason took all of the cushions off the couch to make into a pile to jump on, but I guess he tired out because I went in the den to see how it was going and he was on the floor reading his new magazine. He pointed out a bug that was pooping out bubbles in the water, or as London would say "burping". By the way, when does the fascination with bodily functions end for boys?


Last by not least, London got to wear her favorite shirt today. It is not my favorite shirt of hers, but she loves it....


I made it work though, with this adorable nesting doll hair clip


Well, this has been our morning thus far and it is only 9:13am. Now, I must start my lovely housewife duties because as Joe's Va told me,
"no one else is going to clean your house"
I love Frances.

sick day.

We called in sick today.
Since I am a stay at home mom, that means: no housework, no laundry, just cartoons, pajamas all day, tylenol & extra cuddles.
London woke up with a tummy ache, she started to feel better around 11
Made some PB & J sammiches. delish.
Laid the kiddos down for a nap, Rowan refused.
I picked him up to rock him to sleep, burning with fever.
Went to the kitchen to get some Tylenol, couldn't find a medicine dropper. I can never find them when I need them, does that ever happen to you?
Attempted to get some emails sent out while the kids were napping, but that failed because Rowan was too restless.
But I am grateful, that he is now feeling a bit better after the tylenol, London is sleeping off her ickyness and I am truly grateful that not all three of them were sick with tummy aches.

I get some funny comments from people when I tell them I'm 24 with 3 kids, you know like the " are you crazy?" or "wow you must have your hands full" or my FAVORITE is "haven't you heard of birth control"
I don't think having 3 kids is that hard. I'm proud of the fact that I have chosen to have a family while being in my early twenties. I was made to be a mom, this is my job and I love it. And yes I have my hands full, and yes I am busy, but it is the good kind of busy. I told my grandma about 6 months ago, the hardest time ever is when all three have the stomach flu. And I stand by that comment.

And yes, my 18 month old son gets a warm milk bottle when he isn't feeling well...or whenever else I choose to give one to him, don't judge me.

burps.

i love photo booth

I have been so busy these past couple of days.
For people that really know me, know that I am a messy person. Now, don't mistaken that with dirty, just messy. But I have been so diligent lately about keeping everything picked up, and let me tell you, picking up after myself is fine, picking up after 3 kids and a husband, is full time work.
But my house looks quite lovely thanks to it.

Also, London is always burping. I mean, I rarely ever hear her burp but she is always saying she has and I hear her from my room saying, excuse me I burped. Then she was in the tub and farted super loud it vibrated off of the tub and make tons of bubbles, looked up at me and said "excuse me, I burped". So London doesn't burp a lot, she farts a lot. I kind of like that she says burp instead, a little more lady like. She has also learned a lesson from throwing tantrums, she has turned them into to polite protests full of "no thank you mommy!" "Will you please leave me alone" yup she's a smart one.
She is also the most loving of all of my 3 children, always happy to hand out kisses and hugs and always says i love you first.

Rowan had started saying more full sentences, like "look at that", " my Bizz (buzz lightyear", " yea no tanks", "i do it" ,"get down","go way". He is also climbing on everything and has decided that he no longer likes to sit in his booster seat at the table, but prefers to sit on the table to eat. Fine by me except at dinner. Like really, who cares if he sits on the table to eat french toast or have a sandwich? So not a big deal. He has also discovered how much fun it is to jump on the bed.

Mason came back from his dads house for the week. My gosh, he looks like he has grown 6 inches. He is such a handsome little man. I totally got his school dates mixed up with the pre-k class at MIQ. He is actually starting August 18th instead of Sept. 1, which completely breaks my heart, so not ready for him to grow up. sigh. He also watched sandlot for the first time. He has declared that it is the coolest movie ever. At first I was a bit hesitant to let him watch it, and now I know why.
Mason: London you have buffalo butt breath!
London: Mason said I have uffalo butt!
ME: Mason you play ball like a girl
Mason: well thats because i'm only 5 years old.
Then I realized that he didn't get it, that I was just repeating the next line in the movie and that I had hurt his feelings. I then had to reaffirm that he is a great ball player and does not have any feminine qualities other than the pouty lips he inherited from me.

shame.

I love playlist. I use it probably every day if not every other day to listen to while I'm cleaning, cooking or doing whatever around the house. Right now, I have 4 playlist on there with about 150 ish songs. I realized while looking through them, wow I have really good taste in music! And then I went to the next play list and was like, wow this is my shame list. Yup the shame list. I know we all have music we like, but we don't want people to know that we like it or that we know the words verbatem because it's embarassing or "uncool". I have actually two of them, one is country music and the other is gross ghetto radio hip hop
My shame list includes the following:

Britney Spears
Missy Elliot
NERD
Justin Timberlake
Kelly Clarkson
Kelis (yes, the milkshake song)
Terror Squad
many many more

Now I kinda like country, especially Allison Krause, she is amazing and has the sweetest sounding voice. But on my shame list, is that song "Rain"....you know the one that goes, Rain grows corn, corn grows whiskey, whiskey makes my girl.....get a little frisky"
I know, it's gross.

But amongst the shameful, there is a 90's list, yes 90's is my favorite genre of music....the cardigans, the cranberries, garbage, alanis morisette, smashing pumpkins.....the list goes on forever. love it.

Then there is my great list, Cursive, The Avett Brothers, The Gaslight Anthem, She and Him, Regina Spektor and so on.

Don't judge me, I know you have one too.

have your cake & eat it too.

If you don't like gooey chocolate cake, then don't make this. Now you can definitely go the long route and make this from scratch, but for an easy & fast super good cake, this is what I do:

1 box of Moist Deluxe Devil's Food cake mix
1 package of chocolate pudding mix
4 eggs
1 cup of vegetable oil ( I never said this was low fat)
1/2 cup of warm water
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 containers of chocolate frosting
1 milk chocolate hershey bar, this big ones.


Preheat oven to 350* (I use 2 9in cake pans but a bunt cake pan works great too)
Mix the cake mix, pudding mix, eggs, oil & water well, then put under the mixer till smooth, about 2 min. Fold in the chocolate chips, pour into 2 round 9 inch pans. Bake for 30-35 min, use a toothpick to check if finished.

Let the cakes cool, then remove cakes from pan. Choose the least smooth of the cakes to be on bottom and smoothest on top. Frost, then take a vegetable peeler and shave the hershey bar onto a paper towel then transfer to the top of cake. bon appetite!

because I wanna be Jennifer Hudson...

I posted a little bit ago about my fatty-ness. I went camping, it was so flippin hot the whole time, that the kids and I did zero hiking. We lounged in the pool and stayed in the shade. I got no exercise. I came home, weighed myself....gained 7lbs. I literally sobbed. Fail. Total Fail.
Whats so strange is that in 2 days after that, I lost 9lbs. I guess it was water weight? I don't know. These past couple of weeks in yosemite I have been like a crazy water buffalo...couldn't wear my wedding ring, cankles...I looked like a woman in her third trimester of pregnancy.
So I guess in all after that, I lost 2 lbs?
Whoopty flippin do.
So to do something about it. I busted out the double jogger, I've been walking 2 miles every morning with the kids, I am doing Jillians 30 day work out every other day.
Lost another 1.8lbs
total count 3.8 lbs
blah.
Food is my issue, carbs. They will be the death of me, or the making of cellulite on my thighs, whatever.
I joined online weight watchers! tomorrow, day 1. I am doing a week long trial, to see if I can stick to it.
Jennifer Hudson was super convincing in the commercial.

school time.

I am so going to do Red Velvet Art's online Home-Ec class.

Rachel makes the cutest things. She has a great vintage retro style that I love. I can't wait to take this beginners sewing class to learn how to properly make things so that way I can make things for my kids, and clothes for myself!

My great grandma June passed away June of 2007. She was an avid seamstress as is my grandma Sharon, who bought me a sewing machine 2 years ago for mothers day. Back to the point with June, she used to make quilts. And when we were going through her things when she passed, I found an unfinished one. At the time I was pregnant with my daughter, London Rose, and I thought that this quilt could be something that I could finish for her to have for her room. Well, I didn't get around to it, and now London has a stupid matchy matchy room from target and I really want to get this quilt done so I can decorate her room the way it should be. I'm sure once I finish her quilt, I will have a total emotional breakdown.....I really do miss her.
Here is the unfinished quilt:

I took the photo with my iphone, so you really can't see the detail, but it's an abstract pattern with fabric of tiny red flowers.

A few months ago I found this cute vintage fabric at an antique store and bought it. I am going to make her a pillowcase from it:

I think I am going to paint her room a light teal/robins egg blue walls, similar to this room:

(click on photo for source)
And then I am going to do some embroidery to match this:

(click on photo for source)

and she has wainscoating and chair railing on the bottom half of the walls in her room that will remain antique white. She has antique white furniture too. So cover up her current pink walls with tealish blue paint, accent with red and white bedding with lots of cute vintage wood toys, and nesting dolls with be my "theme" for London. I have nesting doll sets I played with as a child that I am going to put up on shelves in her room. I love that I can incorporate things from my childhood into my daughters. I have all of my books from then too that are now resting on her bookcase, and she loves to look through them.
And then one day, I'll be able to teach my daughter how to sew.

homeward bound.

well not quite, but tomorrow at 6:30 am.
i miss my home.
I miss my shower
I miss my bathtub
I miss cooking my in kitchen
I miss buddha & sofie
I miss my washing machine and dryer
I miss my dishwasher
I miss my bed
I miss my kids having their beds
I miss my home.

but.
I had a blast here, the best 3 weeks (give or take a few days) with my kids. we spent so much time together, it was unreal.

because I can....

I have a pretty stellar husband, Joe.
I'm really lucky to have him.
I'm lucky that he loves me no matter how flawed I am.
I'm lucky that he is extremely attracted to me no matter how flawed I am haha
He is a great dad to his kids, you know that when we first started dating he told me "I just want to be Mason's friend"
pretty awesome stepdad too.
Before I am even awake, he gets me coffee every Saturday morning from Rocky's, he knows the perfect cream to coffee ratio for me.
When we get in the car, he grabs the ipod and puts on music that I love, even though I know he doesn't care for it.
When he gets home from work, he starts helping me with the kids without me even asking.
He has made our home, a lovely home.
He has made it possible for me to be a SAHM.
Most of our dates include a coffee and a walk through Lowes....that what happens when you love making your house a home.
He calls me multiple times a day.
He writes me emails on his breaks.
He tells me he loves me more than I can count.
I'm a lucky girl.
I really am.

revelation.

I love reading old posts (and new) by Stephanie Neilson. Call me a blog stalker, who cares, because I don't. This woman is a ah-maz-ing. Little insight if you don't know about her. She and her husband, live in Provo, Utah and were almost killed in a plane accident over a year ago. She was badly burnt and has had a roller coaster of recovery. They have 4 young children, and come from huge families, both are devout LDS. I have to give them some street credit, or eh blog credit? They have the family thing down pat, even after all of this tragedy in their lives, the things she writes about her children I love, and I am absorbing it like no other. I am uplifted by her devotion to God, and her family and church. I am going to copy and paste part of one of her posts that really hit home for me.

Nur.ture
1.take care of young things
2.encourage somebody or something to flourish
"Mothers Who Know Are Nurturers To nurture means to cultivate, care for, and make grow. Another word for nurturing is homemaking. Homemaking includes cooking, washing clothes and dishes, and keeping an orderly home. Home is where women have the most power and influence; therefore Nurturing mothers are knowledgeable, but all the education women attain will avail them nothing if they do not have the skill to make a home that creates a climate for spiritual growth. Growth happens best in a "house of order," Nurturing requires organization, patience, love, and work. Helping growth occur through nurturing is truly a powerful and influential role bestowed on women".

in·flu·ence n 1. the effect of something on a person, thing, or event 4. somebody or something able to affect the course of events or somebody’s thinking or action
"Mothers Who Know Are Leaders Mothers who know are leaders in equal partnership with their husbands. They plan for missions, temple marriages, and education. They plan for prayer, scripture study, and family home evening. Mothers who know build children into future leaders and are the primary examples of what leaders look like. They do not abandon their plan by succumbing to social pressure and worldly models of parenting. These wise mothers who know are selective about their own activities and involvement to conserve their limited strength in order to maximize their influence where it matters most."

pre·pare v 1. vti to make something ready for use or action, or for a particular event or purpose 2. vti to get ready or make somebody ready for something
4. vt to plan something in advance
"Mothers Who Know Do Less They allow less media in their homes, less distraction, less activity that draws their children away from their home. Mothers who know are willing to live on less and consume less of the world's goods in order to spend more time with their children—more time eating together, more time working together, more time reading together, more time talking, laughing, singing, and exemplifying. These mothers choose carefully and do not try to choose it all. Their goal is to prepare a rising generation of children who will take the gospel of Jesus Christ into the entire world. Their goal is to prepare future fathers and mothers who will be builders of the Lord's kingdom for the next 50 years. That is influence; that is power. Mother’s Who Know Do Less."

that was taken from this posting


As a mom, it is so easy to get caught up with how stressful kids are, how they drive you crazy, how badly you need a glass of wine, or the whole bottle. or how you can't get your housework done, or how you cant deal with all of the fighting or bickering or can't get any alone time. The list can go on and on about the hardships of being a mom, but what about the list of great things?

Do you ever stop to think of exactly what you did with you kids all day?

I have 3 little ones. I am guilty of putting up the kiddy gate and the disney channel on the tv and then getting my housework done, facebooking it up, reading, whatever it is, then comes lunch time, put together a easy meal, clean them up, put them down for a nap, then repeat of what i was doing while they were being babysat by the tv, then they wake up, put the tv back on, get dinner ready, joey comes home (this is a massive run on sentence, i dont care) we eat dinner, the kids play a little more while I clean up, take baths, go to bed. Wow. I have tears just typing that out. I have to admit, I have been doing much better. The tv has been mostly off during the day, and my house has been a mess because of it, haha oh well. My kids and I are loving it.
Going forward, I can honestly say I am trying my hardest to nurture my children, and be a more relaxed mom.
I am going to start dedicating the mornings to my children, playing, reading, conversating. The housework can get done while they are napping, or at the table doing a craft or coloring. Maybe I can even try getting the kids to help me with some of it, and make a game out of it, who knows. Another new decision, Joe and I have made the decision to homeschool London Rose for preschool, I am ordering the class material from Sonlight and we are really stoked on it. I am hoping this will not only enrich London, but also help me with my perspective on time management with my children. I think this 3 week camping "adventure" we have been on has really helped me have a blast with my kids. I am the type of mom who wants their kids to be quiet in the grocery store, at restaurants, display perfect manners and so on. I don't know why or how I became so uptight, I mean yes children should have manners, but I am 24....why have I been acting like a miserable old lady? I am really trying to ease up. Today, Rowan climbed up on the table and ate his snack up there, I went to tell him to sit back down in his seat, but he was so happy up there I just let him stay. And then came bedtime, they kids were all tucked in but I could hear them giggling. So instead of yelling go to sleep or be quiet or else, I grabbed the flashlight and we ran around in the dark "being shpooky" as London was saying, screaming and laughing so hard. I even let them jump on the bed without freaking out that someone was going to fall off and break an arm. And you know what? I can't think of anything stressful about today or anything to complain about.......at all, and you want to know why? because I had fun.

I am excited for the new me, and I think my kids are too.
P.S. sorry for the longest. post. ever.

amigas por vida.

must have.

I love etsy, don't you? always super cute things. my husband designated this folder on our desktop called "nichole's random shit" and that folder applies to all of the hundreds of photos i drag off of etsy to keep for further inspiration for my own craftiness. of course i buy lots of stuff from there, but sometimes, why buy something that you can seriously make yourself?
I have been super into embroidery lately, so I have been searching for cute ideas for patterns for pillows, and wall hangings.
if you haven't checked out rachel denbow @ , you should. some of these ideas came from her site. she is amazing and she is a mom of 2 little ones and still has the time and energy to make adorable things.

single digits please.

I've been reading 2 or 3 other blogs of moms who just had babies like a few months ago that are posting about their weight and getting back into shape. Well, I'm a little...well a lot past the just had a baby stage. But I want/need to lose 30lbs. The baby weight from two pregnancies back to back has pitched a tent on my gut and decided to stay for 18 months. I've lost 20 so far, 30 more to go. I wear double digits....a 14 to be exact (yikes) and they are finally starting to get loose. My goal is to be an 8. My BMI is also at a 28 and I want it to be at 25. They say 5 lbs makes your jeans loose, 10 lbs makes you go down a size, so 30 lbs should do it.
I have cut dairy out of my diet, and I am going to go vegan until this weight is off, and hopefully I will stay vegan after it is gone. I rarely eat meat as it is, but now I am definitely done. My typical day is soy yogurt & granola or cereal and almond milk for breakfast, artichoke or a salad for lunch. Dinner is the most fun, you can make basically any meal vegan other than a steak. We eat enchiladas, or pad thai....yummy stuff so the family doesn't mind the diet change at all. I have never restricted my children from eating meat or dairy when they are out places with people or at our family's houses, but at home we have pretty much stuck to a vegetarian diet since I was pregnant with Rowan. I know a lot of people think that a vegetarian or (vegan) diet is boring, but it's not at all. There are so many great delicious recipes and I find that we eat more protein now then we did when we were eating meat. Eating out can be challenging, and that was always my downfall. Also, eating out isn't the best thing to do when you are trying to lose weight plus I can save all of that money and buy a purse :) I am going to stick to mostly fruit and veggies and I am just staying clear of anything fried or carb bound. This week we are headed off to the mountains again, I am bringing my bike along with mason's and the bike trailer for the babies and we are going to ride along the paved bike trail around yosemite. I saw ton's of other moms doing it this last week, and they all had fabulous figures, and I thought hey I can do that too. I also stocked up on veggies & fruit, so we are going to grill artichokes, corn and kabobs. I'll do quinoa or risotto (skinny version) as a side. The kids love un cooked veggies & fruit, and I'll do lots of pb&j for them or banana & peanut butter sandwiches, their favs. It's so nice staying in an RV up there, with a full service kitchen....we even baked the last time. I got some great recipes from www.cuisinenie.blogspot.com and the kids and I are going to try them out this week.
I bought the 30 day shred by Jillian Michaels. I will be starting that when we get back, but since I will be doing a ton of walking and bike riding this week, I figure
that is good enough to start out with. I went swimming today at my mother in laws, so I thought I would take a before photo with photo booth on my macbook of me in my swimsuit (vomit) and be brave and show what I am starting with on my adventure to lose weight. My youngest will be 18 months old, and I still look 4 months pregnant. I can't believe I let myself get so out of control, but the great thing about weight it's not permanent.


So there it is, in all of it's post baby grossness. I'll post when I get back and weigh myself and see if there were any changes, wish me luck :)

yosemite.

My husband is supervising a project in Yosemite. It started two weeks ago, and has another week left. We took the RV up to Groveland, camped out the first week with the kids, the second week just the two of us, and the whole clan back up again Sunday.
The RV park has a swimming pool, playground and full hook ups including Bravo, so I got to keep updated on my reality tv obsession while the kids were napping. The RV has bunk beds inside, plus a queen size bed, a full size bed and a twin.....sweet deal for the 5 of us. While Joe was at work, we played, swam, explored, painted & colored. I had so much fun, probably just as much as they did. On the week that it was just Joe and I, I did some hiking up to the waterfalls, and around the park. It is so beautiful there, with great weather. We also saw a bear every single day we were in yosemite. There is a meadow there that the brown bears love to be in. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get any good pictures of them. There was a sign that said that last year, 29 bears were killed in yosemite by cars, so sad. But I did get some great pictures of the deer we saw, so beautiful. A baby buck came right up to me and started sniffing my shorts. I didn't touch him, because I was afraid to scare him but it was amazing. Totally hit home how disgusting it is that people shoot these creatures for fun. sick.
But here are some photos from my phone from our trip, I don't have very many of the kiddos on here those are on the camera and I don't feel like dealing with it right now.