|| Books || January

January 29th 2012

As part of my New Year's Resolutions... I am going to 'check up' on myself once a month.

See how I am really doing with all those goals that I set for myself.

I've already modified/adjusted some of them so that I can really accomplish what I want.

Two of my goals were to read.

1 spiritual book

1 'other' book.

I did this to push myself to read more. 

I felt like at the end of last year I really hadn't read that much.

And I love reading.

So this month, here are the books that I've read.

The Brothers by Chris Stewart

I counted this as my spiritual book for the month,

 though it is not an in depth discussion of spiritual habits or direction, etc.

My Thoughts: I really liked this book. It is the 'story' of life before we entered this earth. I looked at it in this light, and therefore was not offended by ways that he presented things that we really don't know. It was heart-breaking in the beginning {I cried and had to put the book down}... but he then goes into all the happenings and chaos that might have happened in the pre-mortal life. Very interesting, and it did make me think about ways that I allow Satan to tempt me.

Recommend? Yes

The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey 

by Trenton Lee Stewart

This is the second book in a continuing series. 

My thoughts: I love light, easy reads. And the first book captured my interest, so I decided to give the second one a chance. I think it was better than the first. The characters develop more as you go along, and there are pieces of the story that are so much more funny because you know the characters more. This is by no means a 'deep' read, it is a children's book. But that is what makes it so fun and enjoyable.  

Recommend? Yes

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford

This is the book that was picked for book club for February

My thoughts: First word, Heart-wrenching. I was rocking back and forth on this book like a person who gets sea-sick. You have these periods of pure bliss, that then turn into the bitterest of memories. It was so fascinating, and yet devastating. The title says it all. It will really make for an interesting book discussion that is for sure. In the end, I really did enjoy this book. It was mesmerizing. I couldn't put it down once I started. If you are looking for a book with some romance, a little intrigue and a bit of history {it's set during WWII} than this is a good place to start. 

Recommend? Big YES

The New Strong-Willed Child by Dr. James Dobson

Recommended to me by my parents because of the strong-willed nature of my little man.

My thoughts: I haven't totally finished reading this book. I will admit that I have been gleaning information here and there to apply to the situations that we have been in with Eithan recently, but all in all. Wonderful Information. He has filled this book with examples and explanations. There are many studies that validate his points, and he is constantly re-explaining why he thinks the way that he does so that if you don't really 'get it' one way... you will for sure get it later on. I am going to continue to glean from this book. But if you are looking for child-rearing advice {especially when it comes to discipline and punishment} I believe this to be a good place to start. Especially since he does focus from birth to the adolescent years. 

Recommend? Yes

I am going to do this every month so that I can check-up on how I am doing. 

I will also be doing this periodically with other goals that I have set. 

I hope that those of you who do read this will find some of this information interesting. 

If not, OK. 

Now, I'll have a way to go back and see what I've read for the year. {smile}

snowmen on the balcony

January 23rd 2012

Yesterday, I was really ill.

So sick, that I couldn't take care of our little Eithan at all.

Thus, the job fell to Collin to do everything.

{Thank goodness for husbands!}

While I was sleeping, Collin decided to take the little rascal outside for a while.

To see if he would calm down with some air.

It worked.

But Collin became a little distracted by all the beautiful white snow himself.

He decided it was time to build some snowmen. 

Small snowmen.

In fact, a snowmen family. 

Our Family.

{Aren't they precious? For some reason I'm the tallest one, 

because Collin liked the nose of the one of the far left for himself.}

I had to take a picture of them.

Because we did have snowmen on our balcony for a short while

Little did Collin know... {or myself for that matter}

that Eithan would take it upon himself to destroy them.

{Ok, I'll admit it... he needed something to do so I let him out on the balcony. smile.}

So, our little snowmen family went from that lovely picture above to this...

{He attacked all of the noses first, but he did try to put them back on...}

I just thought all of this was funny.

But in all seriousness.. how could I resist such a sweet face as this??

Boyish and New...

January 19th 2012

Shopping for a boy is hard for me. 

I don't want to buy things with characters {spongebob, uh no way!} on it.

Or some 'dumb' saying that is pointless.

Or spend $20-35 on a T-shirt at Baby Gap.

Thus, shopping is difficult for me.

Because I want to put my little man in something comfortable, functional, and yet good-looking.

So, the other day when we went shopping, 

I was really excited that The Children's Place was having a sale.

I found this boyish, yet functional and good-looking outfit for $10.

I'm a little proud of myself for that one. 

I just can't resist a baby hoody. I love them! 

And this is just a reminder, why do we buy them toys?

P.S. He is doing a lot better today. The rash is almost gone. And he has been much happier already.

I think we're almost well again! 

{But we're still staying home today just in case. sigh. Being a mommy is hard sometimes.}

Oh the weather outside is frightful...

January 18th 2012

... too bad I don't have a fire to make it delightful. {smile}

This is the lovely scene we woke up to this morning. 

I know it doesn't look too bad, but it is still coming down. 

And that little drift by our door is getting bigger.

Every time I look out there... it's bigger.

The wind is blowing.

It's snowing.

And I am NOT leaving this house.

But, of course, while all this lovely weather is happening.

This is happening too...

My poor little guy is having an allergic reaction to something.

We introduced a few new foods to him in the last few days.

So now we are stopping all of those.

And trying hard to keep him clean and rinsed off.

We don't have any ideas yet as to what it is.

But Baby Benedryl is helping... and also making him sleepy.

I'm hoping we'll be able to figure something out... so that I really don't have to go outside.

We can go tomorrow. 

{Hopefully it (the weather and his rash) will be better by then??}

You know those days...??..

January 16th 2012

When nothing you do for your little one seems to work

When they cry a lot {it seems like all day} for no apparent reason at all

When they are happy for a split second, and then screaming bloody murder at you

{which makes you think they are bipolar}

When they need to take a nap, but refuse to do so even when being coerced with food and drink

When they want you to hold them, but then don't want you to hold them all at the same time

...

Well, we have just had one of those days.

Can I just say that I am so glad my little one is in bed right now?

But in all of that... I was having fun with my new phone, 

and I was able to get some cute shots of the little man.

So, this is a reminder to me.. that even when I have one of those days...

There are still moments like this.

Isn't that face just precious?

This is a common place for him to be when we go shopping.
And he really does enjoy it... even though it doesn't look like it.

Experiencing the great joy of McDonald's French Fries and Chocolate Shakes.

Now, it's time for me to go to bed.

A few happenings...

January 10th 2012

My friend Brittany and I craft a lot. 

And she had the wonderful idea of  making a wreath.

{I've never made one before.. so I really need to give her all the credit.}

In the end, it turned out wonderful, and it completed part of my master bedroom.

I have been slowly working on piecing it together.

You'll see a glimpse of the new furniture in these pictures. 

The wreath was made by using some plumbing tubing,

taping it together, and then wrapping it in yarn.

Simple enough, but it still took all day.

Then you simply add some beautiful flowers. 

And you have this lovely creation.

I am really pleased with it.

{Soon I will show you the rest of the furniture.}

January 1st 2012

I haven't posted about this until now because... where is the time?

Eithan received his FIRST haircut on January 1st 2012.

I forgot to take 'before' pictures or 'during' pictures... so all we have are some 'after' pictures.

I've decided this is alright, though.

We have plenty of other pictures of him from before.. so these will suffice.

He looks so grown up with his new 'do'.

And I love it.

No more whispy hair strands flying all over the place being unmanageable.

I just hope now that it will all grow in evenly.

{It will right?}

Those are the few 'happenings' in our life.

I'm sure there are lots more, but it already took me an hour just to do this post.

I'm going to call this good.

New Year's Resolutions

January 1st 2012

I have been thinking a lot about New Year's Resolutions.

I've been thinking that I really need to write some down. 

Goals, Ideas, Things that I want to accomplish this year.

I want to see if I can actually do some of the things that I say I will but never do. 

So... I made myself a list.

I only allowed 10 items.

{though now that I'm thinking about it 12 would have been better... tackle 1 a month.}

I am going to do my best to accomplish the following 10 items.

{I wrote these in pencil, in case I need to change the 'grandness' of the goal.}

These are in no particular order...

 just things I would like to improve upon this year. 

*************

1. Spend an hour {or more} every day playing with and teaching Eithan.
2. Have Family Home Evening every week.
3. Lose 15 pounds... and KEEP it OFF!
4. Exercise at least 3 times a week.
5. Read 1 spiritual book a month.
6. Read 1 'other' book a month.
7. Research/Discover ways to incorporate more healthy foods into our diet.
8. Scrapbook once a week for at least 2 hours.
9. Organize our home.
{find ways to 'find a place' for everything we own}
10. Find ways to have some 'me' time.

**************

Click here to print this for yourself!

P.S. I'm not smart enough yet to be able to put 2 on a page... so you'll be able to print one... flip it over and then print another one if you would like!