Ask me why I'm smiling!

Go ahead, ask me why this mama is smiling! I am smiling, because tonight, my husband is staying downstairs with my pretty little daughter, while mommy gets to sleep. ALL. NIGHT. LONG. Hooray! I am so happy! Lately, I've been freezing all the milk I pump for when I go back to work, and there is quite a bit in the freezer I might add. So I have been hesitant to let Kris stay up with the baby and use the milk, because I want to keep up a good stock in the freezer. But, however, I am quite satisfied with my stockpile, and tonight, Marin gets to hang out with dad :)

Today was good! Kris has today and tomorrow off, so we've been washing my shamefully dirty car. It was pretty gross. I am so embarrassed. Now, however, it is quite clean and shiny, and I don't feel like a trashy person driving around the pretty cars in Vegas, and there are some pretty cars out here.

Not much on the menu for tomorrow. Just hang out. I've been thinking about doing legal nurse consulting, a job you can do from home, so I need to do some research on that before I delve in, so I'll be doing that tomorrow. Maybe I'll hve some pics to post.

Postcard Baby :)

Here is Sunday, again. It's amazing how quickly the weeks go by! Pretty soon I'll have to go back to work! :( Even though it won't be full time, the thought of leaving my little girl is very difficult to swallow. I've only been away from her for a few hours here and there, and she'll spend the day with her papa when I do go back to work, but even still. I miss her when she takes a nap (although that's not to say I don't appreciate the break). I must say, even though I said so last night, the weather is WONDERFUL out here now! I am so happy now! Kris thinks I'm silly. We went to Wal-Mart last night and he was muttering aout how cold it was. I, on the other hand, am happy as a clam to have nice cool breezes and chilly nights. I feel much more at home with the autumn weather here.

Church was nice. Marin was awake for most of it, so I had a hard time paying attention. I see now why parents spend more time studying their scriptures at home (besides setting an example for their kids), they don't get to pay attention in church, no wonder!

Tonight is our friend Josh's birthday, he and his wife had their baby 8 days ago, and we're getting together around 5 tonight. So, when Kris gets done with work, we'll be headed out. I need to mak something to take, not sure what, but I'll think of something.

Not much this week, here are some pics from today, her little outfit is SOOO cute!


This is from last night actually, Marin was hungry and looking for food. Not much on daddy's chest though!

And the cat, she was trying to get the camera strap while I was taking the picture.

L:Marin standing up with her dress on

Below: I tried propping her up on a pillow, but she kind of flopped to one side. She stands up great though! And supports her head too!

L:This on is my favorite. Her hat on and a cute little smirk on her face, she really is such a doll!

Below: A full shot of her outfit, and a smile too!

My day? Ask me later.

Today has been, well, long. I think it started last night. I let her sleep a little too late, just because I was enjoying havaing a quiet evening with my husband (that never happens anymore), and so I had a little trouble getting her to sleep. We went to bed at midnight (with some diffculty as I said) and she woke up at 3:45, 5,6, and 7:30 AM. The day started off with 2 sleepy girls. Marin usually takes a nice long nap in the morning, around 3 hours, so I can get stuff done. Not today. She ate and fell asleep on me, but only for 20 minutes, right arond the time I needed to get ready and dressed. She cried the whole time I got ready and I fed her, and she stayed awake. I put her in her bouncy chair and bounced her and she slept for 15 minutes, so we tried the swing with no luck. I fed her again and ate something myself while she bounced (awake). Then she just couldn't be consoled. Just an irritated, bored cry. I put her in the jeep carrier, and we went for a walk. It was beautiful outside by the way, in the upper 60's and windy, so Marin needed to snuggle into me to keep her little face warm. We walked around our little housing complex 4 times, about a mile or so total, and she slept, until I put my key in the lock to get into the house. Awake ALL day long. I'm tired.

So, we are keeping her awake now, soon to get into the shower. Tomorrow I'm going out to look for a cheap halloween costume for Marin. I want her to be a little pea! A sweet pea of course!

Ok, baby is crying and SUPER ready for bed. Here are some pics from this morning, isn't she getting SOOOO big?! I can't believe how fast she is growing up!

Sore muscles

So, Tuesdays and Thursdays there is a stroller class at the YMCA Kris and I have memberships at. It's nice because it's a class that Marin comes with me to work out (well, she stays in the stroller), and I can get a workout! I think I had mentioned that it's actually qute rigorous, and Tuesday was no exception. We went through a park that has a little ampitheater with a hill people can sit on and very steep paths on either side. We did a few rounds around on the hill, then quite a few lunges and plie (like the ballerina, but I can't make the little accent with my computer, it sounds like plee-yay, you know what I mean!) squats, and regular squats, then worked out with some exercise bands with our arms. Oh-my-gosh. I woke up yesterday SOOOOO sore, my legs were wobbly, I couldn't bend down halfway, or I would collapse! What a great workout! I love that sore feeling, knowing my muscles are strong, and my jiggly fat is going away. I seem to be having a hard time getting past this little weight plateau, yuck. Marin seems to be getting chubbier though, so that means at least some of my fat is going away right?

Not much on the menu today. Maybe a nap for me if Marin will permit, we'll see. and I HAVE to clean up the bedroom, it's a nightmare. It's the one place no one else see's, so it's last on the list to clean, and by the time I get done with the kitchen, the living room and downstairs, the bathrooms and carpets, I'm tired! I don't want to clean anymore! But, tonight, I going to make dinner for my friend Jody and her husband Josh, they had their baby on Saturday, so I figured that dinner would be nice. Not sure what I'll make, but cooking is always a fun distraction for me anyway.

Marin is napping, so I need to do a few crunches on this still flabby belly and steal a quick shower to rinse off the sweat from this morning's workout. Have a good Thursday, and smile, for us at least, tomorrow is payday! Yay!

A camping we will. . . went!

Ok, camping. We actually went last night instead of the night before, and it was. . . an experience? I guess? We ended up leaving the house yesterday around 4, and went to Valley of Fire state park, up north about 45 minutes. A wonderful drive once we got off the freeway. The road was curvy and went all over the place, up and down, very reminiscent of what my family calls the "whee road" in NY. Our campsite was tucked away in it's own little open face cave almost. Very cool rock formations on 3 sides (mostly chosen so that other campsites wouldn't be able to hear a crying baby as much).

We set up our tent and had tin foil dinners. I was soooo excited for them, and they were wonderful! I ate almost my whole dinner! Not usual for me now that I have lost my appetite thanks to, having a baby I think, I still don't know. But anyway, VERY tasty. Then we made s'mores. Yay! I love s'mores, and haven't had them in so long. I only had 3, but I felt sick afterwards, I think it was just too much food.

And how did Marin do, you ask? Well, OK, maybe. We went to bed early, and I listened to her grunt, all. . . night. . . long. She is a noisy sleeper anyway, but myabe i was just ultra sensitive being in a tent, because I didn't get much sleep. Then she started waking up every hour, and then at 4 am, I finally layed her (crying) on Kris and rolled over. The dutiful guy he is took her into the car to sleep so mama could get some sleep. Then he made breakfast! Pancakes and eggs :)

Camping was great, but I think we need to wait until Marin isn't so high maintenance. Ok, so LOTS of pics for you. I know some people like looking at rocks, so here you go!:


Oh, this is a scary hole up in the way back
of our campsite. Something lives in there
I think, ready to chew off one of your
body parts.



This morning Marin taking a quick snooze
on daddy's shoulder:)

Left: This has become on of Marin's favorite spots to hang out, belly down on mama's left arm.

Below: A birds eye view of our little campsite.

Left: Kris standing waaay up on the rocks in our campsite, where I took the above picture from.

Below: The back of our campsite. These rocks were CRAZY funky, all hole-y and cool.

The above pic, I think the very top rock looks like a dinosaur head!

This is the campsite across from ours. luckily empty, because Marin did some crying.

This is the last one! I think that's plenty of rock pictures for a few months at least, right?

Away we go?

Today is Monday, and it's Kris's Friday, so, last night I was just thinking to myself that we should go camping or something like that. And this morning, before Kris left for work, he actually suggested that we go camping. It's so funny how much Kris and I are on the same wavelength. So, I think today I'll look up someplace to go and pack some stuff so we can get out of here by the time Kris gets home. Everytime Kris and I go camping, we always make tin foil dinners. I LOVE tin foil dinners! Ever since I made them at girls camp waaaay back when, I just love getting any opportunity to make them (which is camping). If you've never made them, you have to try them, and the only way to make them is in an open fire. Some people claim you can make them in the oven, but they just aren't the same. They don't have that smokey flavor. Anyway, here's what you do:

Tin Foil Dinners:
You need: Ground Beef
Carrots
Potato or 2
Onion slices
Package of Lipton Onion soup mix (dry stuff)
a little sliver of butter
a tablespoon of water

To Do: Make a patty out of the ground beef (or balls if you wish!)
Top with some onion slices (they need to be in the middle so they don't burn)
Put your potato and carrot chunks on top
Sprinkle on the soup mix, place butter on and pour in water
I should have mentioned that all of this is going onto at least a double layer of tin foil.
Wrap up your package securely and place meat side down in the hot coals, turn and flip until done, usually around 20 minutes or so.
ENJOY!


So, I should have some pics when we get back:)

Sunday, Conference Sunday!

I am so glad for conference! I remember I used to hate conference weekened when I was younger. The only thing that was good was getting to sit in a dark chapel and chatter with my friends, and the dish-to-pass in between sessions. Now it's much different, I love listenting to all of the great advice our general authorities have to offer. They really do care about the members of the church, and the people of the world. The words they speak are meant to uplift and bring peace to everyone's mind. They are not meant to belittle or persecute or judge. I think things change so much when you have a child. I look at my daughter and want her to make such good choices. I want to be with my family forever. I couldn't imagine being without her in the eternities. I can't be with her if any of us don't live up to our potential. That makes my responsiblity so much greater, to teach her the things she should know to make those choices. Before, it was just me, and then it was Kris and I. Now, it's our family too. I know how much it irritates me when other people try to give me advice on what's wrong with my baby if she's crying, or how I can fix it. I can only imagine how frustrated our father in heaven gets when we try to tell HIM what the best way is to teach His children. Our children are just in our care, they are really HIS children. This is why I have grown to love conference more and more. It helps put things into perspective, and make me a better person, a better wife for my husband, and a better mother for my little girl.



Since Thursday, the weekend has been pretty quiet. A little bit of grocery shopping on Friday. I am sick of going to Smith's and spending crazy amounts of money for food (no offense, they are a wonderful store). When we lived closer to the city, I would buy my bulk items at Sam's club, and everything else at Food-4-Less, a store in the same company as Smith'. but MUCH cheaper. Mostly I think because a lot of the store items are packaged in Spanish. I don't care about that. Kris speaks spanish, problem solved. So sonce we've been way up in the NorthWest side of town, we don't have a Food-4-Less right down the street. I went to one anyway on Friday, and was very happy to have purchased a bunch of produce and other items for about 30$. That's my kind of shopping:) I can spend money like everyone else, but at heart, I'm a penny pincher! Well, maybe it's the other way around.



Today I edited some pictures for a frame I bought for Kris, to put on his desk at work. They look really nice, and he needs some family pics at work to make hime smile. I think he likes us! ;).



Lots of photos for you today!:



Here is Marin taking a snooze in her bouncy seat today, in her little dress. So cute! The only problem is the top part, it flips up in her face.

Sitting on the futon watching conference. It's a no-makeup day, yikes!

Taking another snooze, this time with mama.

Marin's first nap in the swing. She usually hates the swing, but she slept for 3 hours in it! Sunday's are usually sleepy day's for her anyway. I think she just goes home to visit Heavenly Father when she sleeps.

Last night, Sadie was under the coffee table, playing. The pictures are a little blurry though, she's pretty quick.

She loves hiding and then pouncing (what cat doesn't like that?!). So I played with her last night.

Marin last night under her jungle gym. Kris was playing with her, and here he's maiking the little duck squeek.

She loves looking at the colors and hearing the noises.

I kept moving from one side of her to the other to get a pic of her face, and she kept turning the opposite way, little stinker!

Here's Marin still playing with daddy!

The weather has FINALLY cooled off enough to my satisfaction, I am SOOO happy. It's probably in the mid 80's right now. Very nice and cool for Las Vegas. this morning it was in te low 70's, brrrr! Isn't that sad, at least for a north-eastern girl!

Last night we went to see our friends, they just had a baby (and can you believe, she was 7 pounds 4 ounces and 20" long too! Just like Marin!). Coming out of the hospital, it was CRAZY windy and much cooler than the day. That evening, we had a pleasant surprise. RAIN! We never get rain, so I was sitting by the window and heard water hitting the window. I thought it was the broken sprinkler (it's a total ferrell sprinkler, shoots like a garden hose!), so I told Kris to go look at it, and he opened the door, and it was really, honest to goodness raining. Not the sad little sprinkles we always get, but real, hard rain. And it rained for about half an hour! It was wonderful. Ahh well, enough of that, Enjoy Conference everyone!

Oh what a night:(

For anyone hoping for pictures, sorry! None today! I was hoping to get some from Tuesday afternoon. Kris and Marin and I went out to Red Rock Springs, a place I had not been before, to do some hiking and eat a picinic (kind of) lunch. I really wasn't up to making any food, so we just picked up food on the way. The place we went was really nice! We had been to Red Rock Canyon quite a few times before to go rock climbing, but this was a turn off about 2 miles ahead, still up next to the rocks, but it must get more rain, because it's greener. They had some shaded picinic tables where we ate, then a raised walking platform around a little field. It was cool, and I saw some water! And I didn't have to pay to see it! I always joke with Kris that if you want to see water in Las Vegas, you have to pay to see it. This time it was free, bonus! Even though it was just a little tickle, it's more water than I get to see the rest of the year. Anyway, I took the camera, but the battery was dead. Figures. So no pictures.

Yesterday was a littl rough. I had a great pilates class at the YMCA in the morning for an hour. It was called a "prop-o-lates" class because they use a small ball to help prop yourself up. Very good workout, I love pilates anyway, and I'm nice and sore today, I LOVE that feeling. But I digress. Marin started getting fussy around 2 or so, and we thought maybe it was her belly. She was really struggling! She would be nursing and just squirming around and whimpering while trying to eat, it was so hard to console her. We tried some gas drops and rubbing her belly, and then we took her in the shower, because she loves that. It calmed her for a few minutes, and then she really started howling, so we took her out. I had noticed earlier in the day that she kept having eye boogers from her left eye, and I didn't know if she got something in her eye. In the shower, we both noticed that her left eye was swollen a little and she had more gunk draining from it. I was a little bummed, I really didn't want to deal with pink eye, but her eye wasn't red, and I wouldn't know until the next morning (today) if it was pinkeye. So we put her in her jammies and gave her some infant tylenol and some dinner and put her to bed at 5. She was ready, poor girl was just tuckered out.

The night was rough though. She was up about every hour or hour and a half, and I, am, exhausted. Blah. I think I got maybe 3 hours of sleep. I had made an appointment with the doctors office for this morning at 0930, because I was almost certain I would wake up (or more, discover) to a crusty swollen sealed shut eye. I was very happy to find it was much better :) So, I called to cancel and Marin has been napping most of the morning (busy night for the poor little bugger!) and I have been, awake. I'm hoping to get a nap in a little bit though.

Not much in store today, just make sure little one's eyeball is getting better. Maybe pick up a few groceries. Have a good Thursday!