Everyday Happenings

I am finally feeling back to normal and getting back into the swing of life again. Here are some instagrams from the past couple of weeks.

Screen Shot 2015-10-13 at 9.35.35 PMWe had a playmate with some friends who were in our Jersey ward and are out here in Utah.
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More fun with dad

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Eva is in love with her baby brother. It is so sweet!

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We went to Glen Park with cousins one afternoon after school.

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Eva really loves going to music class each week!
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Here’s our Diva Eva being adorable.
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One Saturday we went to Thanksgiving Point to check out some big pumpkins.

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As big as Eva!

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We celebrated our niece’s first birthday with family.

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The Tonight Show

Remember that one time where I actually won tickets to The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon? It was the same day as finding out we were having a boy. I’m not sure which was more exciting, finding out the gender of my baby or getting the tickets… haha… jk… definitely the baby…?

Well, the day finally arrived for the show and my friend Hannah came in town. I actually said to her when I got the tickets that if she could get herself to NYC the ticket was hers. Twenty minutes later she had booked a flight. I think we are a bit obsessed with our pal Jimmy. But rightfully so!

The show was kind of an all day commitment because we had to pick up the tickets, wait in some lines, wait in the studio and watch the show being filmed but I loved every minute of it!  It was so exciting to be in the studio (ON THE SECOND ROW, may I add?), watch the Roots, see Charlize, Tom, Death Cab, and of course, JIMMY! It was a fantastic day.

You can watch the clip below to see us! Start around 5:50 and we are right behind the girl who dances with Jimmy. I was shaking, my cheeks hurt from laughing so much, and my heart almost exploded as he walked towards us to pick a dancing partner! AH! It feels like a dream now haha! And don’t worry, TJ loves him just as much as me!

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Matilda the Musical

TJ’s parents were in town this week, but before I post about that I have to post about the show we saw last night because I can’t stop obsessing over it. We saw Matilda and I’ve wanted to see this show since we moved here but no one wanted to see it with me! I think people think of it at the kid’s book/movie (which I don’t know why that’s a problem because it was seriously one of my favorites growing up). But it was so much more than that, although I think Roald Rahl would have been extremely proud of this rendition! The music was phenomenal, choreography fantastic, I laughed, I cried… I didn’t want it to end! Go see it when you ever have the chance! Until then, here are some Youtube clips to hold you over, although they’re not as good as the live version on Broadway.

More Broadway Posts:

Wicked
Cinderella
Phantom of the Opera
Les Mis
Once the Musical

Friday Five

Here are some links I’ve saved on Facebook that I found interesting/entertaining:

  1. This baby announcement that went to the Fresh Prince theme song
  2. This alternative view on how we should treat businesses who oppose same-sex marriage.
  3. This girl’s reaction when a manatee swims next to her.
  4. These pretty sketches featuring conference talks.
  5. How to make your own dole whip… must make soon!

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Friday Five

  1. The one time I come to Texas is the one time it decides to have terrible weather. But 40 is much better than 15… so we still have gone outside some.
  2. Last night, Eva and I giggled in bed for so long doing shadow puppets. I looked at her and thought, I never want to forget this moment.
  3. Eva got into the preschool we had hoped she’d get in to for the fall! Yay!
  4. Can someone make these cookies for me? Or some type of M&M cookie? I have been wanting them since V-day!
  5. This song has been in my head for a while now:

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End of February

LAST WEEK OF FEBRUARY! Can you tell that I’m excited? We did it! WE DID IT! Yesterday was sunny and 45, melting all the snow right away and it sure gave me a taste of Spring. I almost wanted to open the windows when we got home from church, but I held off, 45 really isn’t THAT warm.

Really not much has been going on, but just in case you aren’t on Instagram, here’s the latest happenings:

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Weird Pinterest activities

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Eva has been taking a bath nearly every afternoon in her swim suit for a little pool time.

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My friend Laura from Provo came to town and we met up at Brookfield for some lunch.

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Eva has been wearing a toilet seat around the house.

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Before Ashley moved, we went to see Phantom of the Opera!

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Here’s Eva all dressed up (w/ lipstick of course) for Vday!

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The outside of the theater may not look like much but the inside is AMAZING.

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Here’s Eva with her Vday bag at playgroup. Eva didn’t quite understand that you had to deliver each valentine in everyone’s bag, she wanted me to do that part while she guarded her bag.

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Ladies’ Night Out 🙂 I’m grateful for good friends and delicious pizza.

Three noteworthy things I want to remember for journaling purposes:

  1. I played piano yesterday for choir and did not mess up ONCE. Not one note. I was so nervous about the ending! So grateful to be the pianist at church even though sometimes it’s a lot of work.
  2. I also taught the Beatitudes and Matthew 5 yesterday in our gospel doctrine class and it really was great lesson for me to study. I’m amazed at how the teachings of Jesus Christ from 2000 years ago are still so applicable in our day. Let your light so shine!
  3. So many people have been looking after me and making an effort to reach out to me since Ashley has moved. It’s truly amazing and I just feel so blessed to have good friends and family. My neighbor has brought me dinner TWICE, a friend from church babysat Eva for a couple hours one morning, my visiting teacher from church invited me to come to Costco with her one night, a couple girls went to see a movie with me on Saturday, my husband brought me flowers and has played with Eva lots since I haven’t had much of a break… the list just goes on and on. And a new family moved into our ward pretty close to where I live. My prayers have truly been answered and it just shows me over and over again that God really cares about the little things in each of our lives.

Done with Winter

I wrote this long post complaining about Winter. But instead, here’s a mood board to get you even more excited for Spring. Warm weather, I’m ready for ya! Please present yourself ASAP.

 

Passing the Winter Time

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Valentine Cookie Making

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Liberty Science Center

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Lots of coloring/painting/playdough time

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Kidville Open Play

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Sesame Street Exhibit at Lincoln Center

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Big Bird!

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Snow days

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Car rides are very special since they rarely happen.

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Valentine’s Gifts from Nana
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Shopping Carts are also a treat since the kids usually are in their strollers.

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Date Nights

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Broadway Lottery Busts… tonight we are going to see Phantom though to send Ashley out of NYC with a bang!

February is half over… March and WARM WEATHER are right around the corner. I can feel it! I CAN’T WAIT!

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Friday Five

  1. I loved this article that was being passed around Facebook this week called, “When Did Being a Good Mom Turn Bad?” When you think of being a mom as a full-time job, just like in the workplace, you want to continually work hard and try to be the best you can be. We also should encourage others to be that way. Instead of being negative when they seem to go above and beyond, just congratulate them and tell them they’re doing a great job!
  2. Eva had been putting up a fight on the whole going to bed process last week and I was going to lose it! I also hated her going to bed after us yelling/threatening/crying. I’d much rather my child going to bed peacefully after giving me lots of hugs, wouldn’t you?! So, I decided to make a chart for the week. She got a sticker each time she finished something on the list, such as brushing teeth, reading books, going to bed with three books without asking for more (she had been calling me in her room over and over again asking me for more, but refused to read the same one she had read within the same week!). All of the tasks had to be done without any whining or crying. Each time she would cry, she would get a “crying sticker” and if she got more than three crying stickers through the week, she wouldn’t get a prize on Friday. Well, it really worked! The first two nights she got crying stickers and TJ was very skeptical of the system, but the third wasn’t filled so today she gets a prize! It made putting Eva to bed SO much easier this week and more fun for Eva. And the prize? An ice cream sandwich! She’ll be so excited!
  3. My beautiful bestie Danica is having her baby any day/minute back in Utah. I can’t stop thinking about it and am constantly texting her for an update. She wrote a blog post yesterday about pregnancy style and since I have a million friends that are expecting right now, you all should check it out! Come on, Baby Holdy… we are all so ready for you to come!image1-767x1024
  4. We finished the Friends series on Netflix, please don’t try and calculate how fast we finished it. I watched the whole series through back in college, but it was fun to watch it again since we are in NYC (even though it wasn’t really filmed here). But now that that is finished, what show should TJ and I watch on Netflix now?
  5. Here’s another post I saved on Facebook called “Are You Lonely, Mama?” I’ve been thinking about this post a lot. I’ve always been someone who likes having a social life, so I continually try and make friendships. But next week, one of my closest friends here in Jersey is moving away. I’m trying to come to terms with her moving and just be grateful for the wonderful times we had together, that we both moved in at the same time, and that we could learn to love this place and call Jersey City our home. It’s just hard to lose friends, isn’t it? And it’s even harder to FIND new friends, close friends. Especially as mothers. So this article put a really great twist on it, reminding me that this is the time for me to focus on my family.

Mama, I know that you’re lonely too. It’s ok. Just remember that this is a season and it is the most sacred season you will ever have the honor of experiencing. This is the time when your babies need you and want you and enjoy having you around. This is the time when they will cling to your legs as you try to leave the house without them and run into your arms when you come home as if you’d been gone a lifetime. You will never be more loved and wanted and needed as you are right now…in this moment.

That’s it! I hope you have a great weekend! And didn’t this week go fast? If only the rest of February goes this fast, we’ll have beautiful Spring in no time!