In response to requests I've been ignoring...

Almost 31 weeks!

Happy Birthday!

Today is Landon's 27th birthday, which he is celebrating all alone up in Oregon by taking a law school final.

We love you, miss you and hope you have a happy birthday!

Why my Mom never bought Bambi for us when we were little

Because how to you explain why Daddy shot Bambis and hung them in the garage?

(Just sorting through old pictures and had to post this one for my mom!)

And the winner is:

Thank you for all your suggestions! It's given us a lot more to work with...

but as I was looking through these names, there were a couple that I REALLY liked. And Landon hated. So I decided to give my prize for my favorite name I won't get to use!

And the winner is.................

Brenley, for Scarlett!

I absolutely love it. And, as aforementioned, Landon hates it. :) So expect your necklace and bracelet in the mail!

Honorable mention goes to Christie and Tara, who both suggested Cameron. You guys will get a bracelet soon.

Thanks everyone, for participating. I feel loved!

P.S. I've had a few requests for orders of either the bracelet or the necklace for gifts. If anyone else is interested (since I don't have my shop up and running this year), I will be taking orders for either or both through the 7th of December. The necklace with silver-plated clasp is $13, with sterling silver it is $15. Bracelet with silver-plated clasp is $7, with sterling silver is $9. More specific details on the products can be found on my business blog.

We have a winner!!! And it can be you!

So on one of the blogs I frequent, the author was doing a give-away of sorts. She is pregnant, and wanted a list of baby girl names, so she offered a prize to the one she liked best.

We are stumped. I have tons of boy names, but girl names? Not so much. I'm just not crazy about anything. So I could use some suggestions. AND just because I feel like it, I too will be offering a prize! Who would like to win my floating pearls necklace AND bracelet (a $20 value and by FAR the most popular item I ever sold)?

Makes a great gift, or keep it for yourself....either way, if I pick your suggestion as my favorite, I'll ship this little package your way.

Leave comments, please! Even if you have never commented on my blog, or you are just a friend of a friend of a friend (or family of a friend), or you've stumbled upon my blog randomly. (Though if I don't have your email, please leave it so I can contact you if I choose your suggestion.) I'll be taking comments for this until next Friday, I'll choose my winner over the weekend, and ship out your prize on Monday, the 30th. (Note: if more than one person suggests the same name and I choose that name, the prize will go to the first person to suggest it. Unless I'm feeling generous/have time to make another set.)

Thanks in advance for all the beautiful suggestions!

(Second Note: I will be picking my favorite from the suggestions, but that does not guarantee that come February, I will actually be naming our daughter that. We don't choose a name before the baby actually comes. We go to the hospital armed with a list, and decide after child makes appearance. If I actually name my daughter your suggestion, I'll send you a surprise prize in February!)

I really like online shopping....

So since it's that time of year again, and everyone is trying to think of Christmas gifts for their loved ones, I thought I'd give a quick plug for mom-preneurs and Etsy sellers. You can find some terrific, creative, one-of-a-kind gifts by shopping through them. For example, I was browsing on Etsy...and here are some of my cool finds.

One of my favorite indulgences is bath products. Bath fizzies, scented soap, and my personal favorite: the bubble bar. Seriously, soaking in the tub is SOOOO much better with big luxurious bubbles. A couple of my friends (you know who you are) introduced me to Lush over the summer....and I LOVED the bath fizzy and bubble bar I got from them (the soap I didn't love so much). BUT! I discovered this Etsy seller who specializes in such yummy things. I bought a pumpkin spice bubble bar and a honeysuckle bubble bar yesterday...I can't WAIT for them to come. Her products are more affordable than Lush, and her shipping prices are some of the most reasonable I saw for bath products. Not to mention, she has 100% positive feedback. And for those of you Twilight fans out there, she has an entire line of Twilight inspired products.....

I also have a thing for hats. I bought this adorable beanie (or rather, Landon bought it) for me for Mother's Day. The seller was great to communicate with, and I LOVE the product. I get so many compliments on it anytime I wear it...and now that winter is upon us, a hat like this is perfect. I think the below is my new favorite of her offerings.

Also found some very cute cloche hats...this one is my favorite.

And who doesn't love slippers? I think a pair of handmade cozy slippers are a perfect gift...here's my picks:

And of course, we all know I love jewelry. And there are treasures to be found in that category!!! Etsy has TONS of jewelry, and you can find something in every price range. I found one seller I particularly like. For all you Eugenians out there:

She also has a number of simple yet elegant sterling silver hoops I like:

So those are just some fun ideas for Christmas gifts...I like to show my support for other sellers like myself! (And no, my shop is not up for Christmas....though I might be clearancing out some jewelry....stay tuned, I'll let you know.)

Hail the Conquering Hero!

I did it.

Remember that fabric swatch I showed you for baby girl's bassinette? Well, I did it. It's finished.

I did it, without any pattern or any help from anybody, including my mom. Given, the gathers are a little uneven in spots, I bent a sewing machine needle and too many pins to count, my seam ripper and I spent way too much time together, I yelled at my son when he came near the thing, my fingers have so many pinpricks in them they look like swiss cheese (slight exaggeration) and I swore four times, twice in my head and twice outloud (but it came out in a whisper, so my son didn't hear it).

(Which brings me to another topic.....my husband has never sworn in his life. His whole life! He says those words just don't pop into his head. Would that I were him, seeing as the incidence of them popping into my head is directly correlated with my level of frustration. I've decided he must just be better than me....like innately better. Not that this is anything new.)

So back to my story: I did it!!!

It happened.

First time this pregnancy....I'd kind of forgotten it could happen.

I sneezed full force....

and my bladder leaked.

C'mon, ladies who've had babies, confess, did your bladder leak?

The state of things...

Fortunately, my boys are on the upswing now.

Unfortunately, it's my turn.

Sometimes you just need a little love.....

......when it's one of those days......

Well, I guess I'd be negligent if I didn't post......

I've had fun reading all of your posts about Halloween....and seeing your cute kids (I have to say, first of all, the monkey and banana were my favorite, Michelle, and second of all, Shar, I have NO idea who Optimus Prime is!). So I thought I should let Dallin have a guest spot of my blog today. Because he was pretty cute.

His candy stash consisted of six pieces of candy...we figured six houses was enough for a two year old on his first year of treat or treating (which, by the way, he thought was AWESOME).

Thanks to my mother-in-law Sally for sending us the vest and bandana, Chelsea for finding us the hat at a thrift store, and Value Village for having the pants for $2.99!

Just have to share...

Okay, so baby girl doesn't get a room of her own. Or a space of her own, really. She gets a bassinette that will move between our room and the office for the remaining few months we have left in Eugene after she is born.

That being said, somebody gave us the bassinette when Dallin was born, and it's been in storage in my parent's ginormous extra garage since then. So I decided I wanted to make new bedding to replace the old dated kinda dingy original bedding. My mom is in town to help me, fortunately, so we headed up to Portland yesterday on a fabric hunt. We went to a huge fabric store, the Fabric Depot. It was pricey, but wow, they have EVERYTHING (I thought of you, Kristin, you would LOVE it). And I LOVE the totally expensive fabric we found. So just a preview, here is the swatch:

The rains came down and the floods came up

It's that time of year again.

The time when you return from outside, and inevitably the cuffs of your pants are soaked and uncomfortable.

The time you live in that ugly hooded waterproof jacket (because my cute Ann Taylor rain coat doesn't fit over a pregnant belly, so I get to wear the muu muu raincoat).

The time you're constantly saying "You don't have your boots on...no splashing without boots," and wondering why in the world you forgot to put the boots on your toddler.

The time groceries need a towel-down after they make it inside.

The time the only light you see is the lamp in your house.

The time the sky is grey and gloomy and WET.

A co-worker at Landon's firm in Salt Lake went to law school in Oregon as well, and he has a favorite joke: "It only rained once while we were in Oregon. It started in October and ended in May!"

Unfortunately, it's not really a joke.

And you know, the funny thing is, I LOVED rain! Or at least I thought I loved rain....and then I moved to Oregon.

Anybody want a two year old?

Adorable, big eyes, distinctive hair, charming smile.

Also shrieks in stores and throws himself on the wet ground while you're trying to carry groceries in.

I feel like blogging...

These are a few of my favorite things....

For my parents...

We hit the pumpkin patch on Saturday with some friends while my sister was here visiting, and my parents really wanted to see pictures.

Happy October!

Well, I know which load is going into the washer next...

In other news, Landon almost broke his ribs playing basketball.....

He couldn't laugh or cough without wincing in pain. I don't know how he does it, but he somehow seems to get hurt at least a few times a semester playing ball.