Did you burn your turkey?

If you did, maybe this cute guy showed up at your house! :)
Yep, that's my hubba-hubba-Hubby at work on Thanksgiving. Sonnet and I ditched him and drove up to Beaver early to be with my family since he was working a 72-hour shift. But he was kind enough to send me this cute picture of him and his crew today! :) He'll be here on Saturday... so we're waiting to have our big Thanksgiving feast then. Can't wait! :)

I bought myself a present.

Ten bucks for the cutest salt and pepper shakers ever! Could they be any more perfect? I smile everytime I walk in my kitchen.

Now I'm saving up for the cookie jar...

A Triumph!

Sonnet did so great in nursery today!

When she was about 14 months old, she started going to nursery even though they usually don't go until they're 18 months. But her little friends were going and she was just really excited about it. She'd run right in and she couldn't have cared less if I was there or not. I thought, wow that was easy! And then I stood outside the classroom and bawled my head off because my baby didn't need me anymore. (I really did. Slobbering, snotty, hysterical crying... so embarrassing). I decided right there that parenting is simply a series of goodbyes. And that realization broke my heart. BUT, I was so proud of Sonnet for being all social and independent, so I moved on.

Then, we moved back to Vegas, which of course meant a new ward. I totally didn't expect there to be a problem, because Sonnet is just such a happy-go-lucky kid and she's so laid-back and independent by nature. Well, I don't know if it was the newness of it, or the fact that she didn't know anyone, or maybe she was sensing my heartbreak at leaving my beloved Cotton Mill ward behind, but she just completely wigged anytime I tried to leave her alone in nursery.

So, either Nate or I would spend the last two hours of church sitting in the corner of the nursery room, while she played with her friends. She was totally fine as long as she could glance over once in a while and verify that her parent was still in the room.

Honestly, I didn't mind much, because hey, I've got a pretty laissez-faire approach to parenting--- I figure that things will work out eventually. I mean, what's the rush? She's only little once, and I should be glad that she wants me around. What's the use of leaving her there to cry every week? I never leave her during the week (seriously, she's never had a babysitter other than my parents since she was born and even that only occurs once in a blue moon (yes, I realize that's sorta sad) so of course it freaks her out when I just try to drop her off to some random person one day out the week. Besides, Sunday School isn't all that gripping anyways, so I don't think I was missing much.

However, I did start to worry that they were just going to assign me to be a nursery leader since I was there every week anyways... and that would be traumatic for me. So, I started to hope that since this helicopter-parent thing had been going on for 6 months, that she would eventually get used to things and that I could eventually sneak out without her noticing or caring.

Well, today was the day! Today was the first time that I left Sonnet in nursery, and they didn't bring her crying into Relief Society 10 minutes later!

At first, I tried to just drop her off, and she panicked a little, so I assumed my normal position fully expecting to spend yet another Sabbath worrying about the last time the nursery toys had been cleaned. But, after about 10 minutes, I decided to leave... and she didn't care! :)

I watched through the window and to my amazement, she sat in her chair and listened to the lesson! She sang all the songs in singing time! And she even ate some of her snack! Most importantly, she didn't cry!

And when I went to pick her up after church, she was wearing pink sunglasses, eating a sucker, and chasing a boy around the room (watch out, Luke.) :) She goes "Hi Mommy. You have fun in class?" I said, "Yeah, did you?" She goes, "Yeah. I play with the boys. I sing songs." ha ha! :)

Ah. I just want to breathe... I'm so happy that Sonnet decided to be normal today. I don't know if it will last, but I am so proud of her for being a big girl and having fun with her friends. And I'm glad I actually got to go to my class for once. :)

It's funny to me that we ever had this problem in the first place because Sonnet has never been a crier. She is not clingy or whiny or afraid of anything. So I never understood her issue with nursery. But, maybe, oh maybe, we're over it. And if she goes running into the classroom without so much as a glance my way next week, I don't think I'll stand outside and cry... much. :)

The End.

Cute, random photos I had on my phone...




(Notice how Blaze is in her car seat.) hahahahaha! :)

Today...

...I'm turning this:

Into this:

It's going in my mom's house. The whole queen set was $a.steal. on Craigslist. Cute!

We're even again.

Today was Firefighter Spears' birthday (or Brittany as he is known at the station). :) He turned a whopping 26!

Sonnet and I just love this guy. He is so patient and kind and hardworking and funny. Before we got married he used to quote that movie "Legacy" and he promised to make me laugh everyday. He's kept his promise. He's just adorable and strong and wonderful... I'm glad he's my husband and I'm so glad that Sonnet has such a good dad. And I'm glad that his mama decided to have lots of kids (Nate is #7 of 9)! :)

Happy Birthday YOU HANDSOME THING!

We're broke and boring folks so we didn't do anything great. Nate wanted a nap, a massage, a big Dr. Pepper, and his favorite watch fixed. He got all those, plus this lovely rag quilt you see here. Ha ha! Can you tell how thrilled he is? Naw, really, he likes it more than it appears- or at least he was good at faking it. :) I know it's corny, but it's super soft and super warm and since my cute little birthday boy is always FREEZING, I'm sure it'll get used.

We love you, F.F. N8! Happy Birthday.

LUVN8 TAKES TO THE ROAD...

I love my new firefighter plate! And I hate the DMV! The end.

Sew Crazy.

I cleaned out my office closet last week. I feel much more creative when thing are organized. I think that makes me weird. Anyway, I went through my fabric drawers and put all the decent size chunks of fabric in a hanging basket (if it's visible and easy to find, I'll use it) and nicely folded all the large yardages and put them in the drawer labeled "fabric" (see how that works?) :) I hung my cutting mat and all my rulers on the wall (not the best artwork, but again, accessibility is key). Then, I was ready to work. I finished two quilt tops that I had forgotten about...

This one is the star quilt I started in my first sewing class over a year ago. I finally finished it up. I have the backing and the binding... I just need some batting and someone who knows how to quilt (minor problem there).

This one is called the "stacked coins" pattern. My friend Lindzie made it a while back and I just love the design. Mine is soooo crooked and the colors are crazy, but I love it and it was a great was to use up all the little scraps that I had hanging around. It's going to have a black and white toile backing...someday.

A fellow fire fighter's wife gave me a whole bunch of quilt squares made from her husband's old t-shirts. Isn't that fun?! I also found some really cute firefighter flannel at the quilt shop in Beaver. I have big plans to make a fire quilt for Nate's birthday (which is next week). Happy Birthday Husband! (I know, just what every manly man wants: a quilt.) :) ha ha. It's not like I'm going to make him use it at the station. But, I think it'll be cool and I was gonna make it anyway, so the birthday thing just gives me a deadline.

In the meantime, I whipped myself up this crazy looking scarf with some of the extra squares. It's soft and unique and it took me all of 10 minutes to sew. What more could I ask for out of a project?

And then... I ripped the chair covers off my office chairs and I'm gonna go crawling over to my MIL's to get her to help me make some new ones out of black and white houndstooth. We'll see how that works out.

Stay tuned...

Photo Shoot.

What Doing, Mommy?

...Sonnet asks me this question all the time. It's especially great when she insists on an answer in a public restroom. "Going poopy, Sweetie. What are you doing?"

But in case you were wondering too...

I'm listening to Christmas music. It's so great! Who says I have to wait until Thanksgiving is over??? If the weather would cool down again, I might be tempted to put up my tree! :) In the meantime...

How cute is this?!!! I am totally going to spray my pizza pan RIGHT NOW! :)

In other news: 12 days with no soda! Look at me go. OK, I lied. I had a tiny sip of that sparkling water stuff because I wasn't thinking and I had something spicy in my mouth. But I'm not feeling too bad about it. A sip won't kill me. I know, can I say JUSTIFICATION? Anyways, it really hasn't been that big of a deal. The only time I was tempted to get a Diet Coke was when we went through the Wendy's drive-thru on the way home from Beaver. But since I'm giving up fast food (2 days down!) :), I don't think it will be a problem anymore. :) ONE STEP AT A TIME, PEOPLE! :) I'll be skinny before I know it. Ha ha!

Now, off to the bathroom...

Halloween Ctnd...

We spent the weekend in Beaver with my parents.

Nate's mom, Jealeta, who is a hoot, came with us. :)

Sonnet had Granny, Grandma, Pop Pop, and a slew of Beaver boys to entertain her! She loved it.

We watched the elementary school kids parade down main street in their coustumes and went to the ward trunk or treat.

Sonnet looked so cute in her "A dress" and the weather was beauitful!

She didn't really seem too interested in getting candy, or eating it, but she liked passing it out to other kids.

She does not seemed to have inherited my love of chocolate, which may or may not be a good thing.

I maintain that Halloween is the weirdest holiday ever.

But we had a good weekend!