Bucket List

I made some revisions to my bucket list. In three years, in January of 2015, I will have {hopefully} completed 50 of these 100 things. Then I will add new ones to the list and start over again. It's just super fun! Can't wait to begin! 

[Sorry about the formatting of the list. 

It got messed up when I pasted it in.]

1.     Write a novel

2.     Make a complete book of short stories

3.      Publish a book

4.      Kiss behind a waterfall

5.     Take a random trip

6.     Jog along the beach early in the morning

7.     Build a snowman

8.     Go to the snow

9.     Watch the sun rise from my roof

10.   Play with the pigeons in Italy

11.   Learn to sew

12.  Give a Book of Mormon to a complete stranger

13.   Get scuba certified

14.   Start a mini-business

15.   Donate money to a good cause

16.   Get married in the temple

17.   Swim with dolphins

18.   Attempt surfing

19.   Overcome a big fear

20. Go parasailing

21.  Raise a family

22.Learn some ballroom

23. Buy a cute outfit at a thrift store

24. Take an old decoration and make it cute, fun and new

25. Be published in a magazine

26. Go to the Bahamas

27. Go to a temple dedication

28. Graduate from college

29. Learn to make bread and jam

30.  Organize a fundraiser

31.   Ride an elephant

32. Teach something to a group of people

33.  Visit 4 continents

34.  Join a writing club

35.  Start some sort of group

36.  Read 52 books in a year

37.  Turn my house into my dream home

38.  Have a library in my home

39.  Celebrate a holiday every day with my children one year

40.  Take a picture every day for a year

41.   Dress up in nice clothes then have a mud fight

42. Go out in the middle of the night and chalk someone’s driveway…as an adult

43.  Learn to build something

44.  Help someone accomplish a lifelong dream

45.  Set foot in all 50 states

46.  Attend a book signing

47.  Be on The Ellen Show

48.  Go on an African safari

49.  Do the 12 days of Christmas for a family in need ending with a present    nice for each family member on Christmas morning

50.   Meet and talk with 25 published writers (7)

51.   Dye my hair some form of red

52. Have a Disney movie marathon day with my hubby and kids

53.  Have a vintage photo shoot

54.   Own a vintage suitcase, typewriter, camera, and kitchen scale

55.  Put a booth in my kitchen

56.   Write for 6 hours straight

57.  Visit every small bookstore I find in the East Valley

58.  Have a day of random acts of kindness with Ryan

59.   Learn the rules of football

60.  Handmake holiday décor for all the big holidays

61.   Throw a party for no reason other than it’s fun

62.  Spend an entire day doing nothing but what my kids want

63.   Grow my own cilantro

64.   Read the Book of Mormon in a month

65.  Repaint my piano a fun color

66.   Eat only real, whole foods for a week

67.   Pack for a long trip with only carry-ons

68.  Finish my year supply

69.   Use a home management binder

70.   Start a brand new family tradition (non-holiday related)

71.   Make milestone books for all my kids

72.  Create my own manual of sorts filled with things I’ve learned

73.   Decorate cupcakes with my kids

74.   Attend a writer’s conference

75.   Learn to use DSLR camera

76.   Attend a blogger meet up

77.   Participate in Nanowrimo

78.   Organize pictures

79.   Bake cupcakes from scratch

80.  Tour my own city

81.   Go on an overnight girls trip

82.  Organize paperwork

83.   Take a Zumba class

84.   Try lobster or crab

85.   Learn basic Spanish

86.   Do a zipline canopy tour

87.   Watch a full show with Jess on the history channel

88.   Visit a spa

89.  Do something to make my own money

90.   Learn about my family history

91.   Read 10 classics I’ve never read

92.  Do abs 6 days a week for 3 months straight

93.   Learn to repair something on my own

94.   Read a novel with Jess

95.   Learn to tie a tie

96.   Come up with my own recipe

97.   Make a dream playhouse

98.  Visit penguins not at a zoo

99.  Write in a one sentence journal every night for a month

100. Do something brave

What's on YOUR bucket list?

Friday Laughs

Please, please watch this video if you haven't already.

Even if you have seen it, please watch it again.

You will DIE laughing. I know I did.

Funniest thing I've seen in a long time. It totally made me day!

And while we're on the subject of funny things, take a look at this. So cute and hilarious!

Happy Friday!

Book Review...Picking Your Battles

Picking Your Battles

Author: Bonnie Maslin

Genre: Parenting

Description: A parent herself, Maslin combines her knowledge of children with practical, tested advice to help other parents raise well-behaved children. She first teaches developmental stages and why children do the things that they do. This information helps parents understand that, "No, my child is not trying to annoy me. He is simply trying to figure out the world and this is the only way he knows how." Then, she lays out a few things parents should implement into their homes to prevent battles including creating a family policy (routines, rules, responsibilities, and rituals), having a commonsense parenting philosophy, and figuring out your bad go-to-in-a-dispute parenting habits and learning to eliminate them. Finally, she uses common and practical situations to teach how to act and react to children's misbehavior.

Rating: 5 stars

Thoughts: This is one of the best books I've ever read. I'm not sure exactly what it was, but this book really struck a cord with me. Maslin has great advice for parents! She doesn't suggest things that are impossible to implement because she is a mother herself and recognizes that parenting is hard. I highly recommend this book to any parent of young children! In fact, I checked this book out at the library but I have to go buy a copy for myself because I'm sure I'll be referring to it frequently. Too bad it isn't available on Amazon Prime...

Happy Reading!

New Year Blogging Party

I went to a party! A virtual gift exchange party, that is.

And I was lucky enough to be paired up with the adorable Sue from Hello. Also, I love you. 

My favorite thing about her blog is her section 101 in 1001. If you haven't heard of this, basically she chose 101 goals-dreams-wishes-call-them-what-you-want to complete in 1001 days. I LOVE her list!

She recently got married on November 11, 2011!

Oh, and she currently lives in Japan!

And here is her cute package that she sent me:

It's all from Japan! How cool is that?! I was a bit thrilled about that fact. Especially all the Japanese writing on the tags. Saweeeet!

1-Japanese candy

2-Hello Kitty chopsticks

3-Adorable heart pillow

4-Shopping bag

5-Make-up bag

6-Note from Sue herself

7-Japanese chocolate cookie things

Thanks so much, Sue! I love the stuff!

This Week's Faves

Pins

Chalkboard Pedestal Frames

Car Book Holder (there was no link with this image)

Chalkboard Homework Station

Slow Cooker Honey Sesame Chicken

Balance Quote

Random Craft Tutorial Generator

Weight Loss Inspiration Jars

Moon Pictures

Blogs

Coolest Playrooms

Balance

Love Is All You Need Decor

50 Fun and Cheap Date Ideas

Have a happy friday!

Random Ryan Cuteness

Ryan is just the sweetest baby boy in the world. Now I might be a tad bit biased {just a tad though}, but he really is too sweet! He'll randomly run and give me and Jess hugs and kisses. So precious!

 Yesterday we had two really cute experiences with him:

1) Out of nowhere Ryan runs up to me, grabs both my hands, and starts dancing with me. It was the cutest thing in the world! He would sway from side to side and then walk in circles with me. He even did a spin. I have no idea where he learned to do it all, but I don't mind it!

2) Me: "Ryan, what does the doggy say?"

Ry: "Woof!"

Me: "What does Nash say?"

Ry: "Woof, woof, woof, woof, woof, woof, woof, woof!"

Jess: "Nash just won't be quiet, will he?"

Me: *Laughs*

Classic. Our dog barks way too much. He's barking right now as I type this, in fact.

Here are some other recent cute Ryan experiences (please excuse the crappy phone pics...):

Look at how grown up my baby boy is getting! I can't even believe how old he looks in this pic! He is one happy boy eating his fave breakfast consisting of scrambled eggs, bananas, and cheerios. But let's face it, any meal with bananas is his favorite. He'd eat only bananas if I'd let him!

I'm convinced that this is the most precious thing in the world. Love!

We had a play date and invited a couple friends over to make caterpillars. It was an experience for sure!

We also discovered that Ryan LOVES to walk Nash. The dog on the other hand...not such a big fan. But this moment was priceless! Ryan kept pulling in the leash and Nash wouldn't budge. He'd pull and pull until he finally fell over. Then he would try to push Nash to get him to walk. Hilar.

Trials

On this blog, I try to focus on the good things. The positive. The things that make me smile. The portions of my life I want to remember because they are the ones I most cherish.

But I also think it's good to share some of the not-so-good. Not to dwell on these moments, but to simply share them from time to time.

That way, years from now, I can see what I've gone through and realize that I can get through the tough times.

Also, I think it's good to show my readers that my life isn't perfect. I'm not {in any way} perfect. I'm a real person. I have flaws. My house isn't always perfectly clean. In fact, it's messy the majority of the time. I'm almost ALWAYS behind on laundry. I lose patience with my son at times. And I have stashes of random things I was too lazy or busy to put away in the first place hiding in a few {or more} places in my home. 

And I'm okay with that. It makes me normal. It makes me me. 

Ever since Ryan was born, I've struggled with a couple different health issues. Well, to be truthful, both these health issues were present before I gave birth to my son. But both of them have gotten significantly worse in the past 16 months since he was born. And they are continuing to get worse day by day.

And I, the girl who hates going to doctors and dwelling on her own pain, finally said, "Okay. It's time to figure this thing out."

And we're getting both of them worked out slowly. But it's a struggle trying to figure out exactly what is wrong and how to fix it. 

It's also been really hard on me emotionally dealing with these issues. For multiple reasons.

Number one: They are both holding me back from being the wife and mother that I want to be. Among other things, I find it hard to get on the floor and play with my son as often as I would like. The pain is just too strong.

Number two: They have both contributed to weight issues and have made it extremely difficult to lose my post-baby weight.

Number three: This one has been perhaps the hardest for me to deal with. And I'm still struggling with it. These two issues have made a second pregnancy a thing for the future. My plan was to try to get pregnant again this February/March. But my doctor advised me to wait awhile, perhaps even one year longer. And I, with lots of thought and prayer, have agreed with this. In fact, I'd been feeling this way before my doctor even brought it up. I was just too scared to admit it to myself. I love being a mom. I want to be a mom again. I want to expand my family. Being a mother is what I'm here to do. And the thought of not being able to have another child now is heartbreaking. But I know it's the right thing to do. And who knows? Maybe these issues will get resolved sooner than I think and I will only have to postpone pregnancy plans for a few months. Maybe not. But I do know that things happen for a reason and what's meant to be will work out. 

These three trials associated with my health have caused me to reflect on how sometimes life isn't fair. How is it fair that some women lose their pregnancy weight a few weeks later without even trying while others diet and workout and can't even lose a few pounds? Why is it fair that I have to change my plan for my family--the plan that I've had perfected in my mind with the perfect age difference between my children? Why does it have to be this way?

But then I had a complete change of heart. It's true: sometimes life isn't fair. But that's okay. We're all given different trials in life. And those girls who instantly lose the weight after popping out a baby have trials that I'll never experience. That's just the way it is.

And these trials that I have are meant for me and me alone. They are the trials that I need to go through to take me from the person I am now to the person I'm meant to become. 

I know that everything is going to work out. And I'm grateful that I have my family, friends, and the atonement of Jesus Christ helping me through this tough time.