"Tight Wad Crafts": garden mirror

I found this plastic wicker mirror at D.I. for $5. It was cream-colored, really dirty, and in dire need of some tlc. Still at first glance I thought it was quite pretty!

First I took out the glass part and cleaned the wicker with a damp rag. It was a little time-consuming but well worth it! Then I cleaned the glass with some spray. good as new :)

Jonathan spray painted (he always does this part, I hate spray painting because of the smell) the rim a metallic caramel color.

I really loved this color for the mirror. It goes well with our decor and looks great at the end of the tiny hallway that is the only hallway in our apartment.

It even shimmers a little!

love it!

On another note, a friend told me about this home decor store a few streets down called Real Deals. It's only open Thursdays and Saturdays during select hours of the day, so I went on Thursday and was blown away! It is the most awesome hole-in-the-wall decor outlet ever. I dragged Jonathan in there with me today and he bought me a wall clock as an early birthday present. Our kitchen is sort of french themed, so it fits perfectly.

I just can't believe that this store has existed so close to us for all this time and I've never been in it until this week! I will be visiting frequently from now on :D

good news

You know how sometimes in Relief Society someone announces it is "good news minute" and who would like to share theirs? Well I never raise my hand because either I think my good news only qualifies as such to myself, or I'm worried people will think I'm bragging. But on my blog I don't really care what people will think...haha. So, here are my "good news moments" for the week.

1. Finally it has arrived! These babies are on back order from Phil & Teds, but on AMAZON (a godsend for sure) there are about 8 of them from various retailers in the U.S. I snagged one up in a jiffy and it delivered super fast! Talmage is happy, too :)

He especially loves to make messes in his lobster. Especially if those messes include chocolate-chip pancakes!

2. After 19 months of being up to our necks in debt we are finally debt-free! This is mainly due to our tax returns :) We are going to more closely manage how we use our credit cards from now on, and as for now they are tucked away in a secret place where we won't be tempted to use them! We will probably only use them for medical emergencies now, since I don't have Health Insurance and Jonathan's isn't the best. It truly feels like a weight has been lifted! I don't even care that we can't afford some of the luxuries I wish we had because at least we don't owe anyone money!

3. Talmage is almost one year old and for some reason this makes me very excited. I will be able to say that I have a TODDLER instead of a baby. weird. but exciting!

4. Remember when I said that I have lost 10 lbs. since starting my workout? :) strangely my mom has ALSO lost 10 lbs. while training for her last marathon, and even MORE strange is that now we weigh the same! This is good news to me simply because it is cool. ha ha.

5. Jonathan got a job for the summer! He will return to work for the Forest Service as he did last summer, with a possibility of higher pay and more time on the river. We were so relieved when they called to tell him. For a while it was up in air because they weren't sure they would have the funding for a seasonal hire, but they promised if they did they would offer the position to him. We weren't completely hopeful that they meant it, but sure enough they must have seen something in Jonathan last summer that they liked! I am so proud of his good work ethic-without it our family would not be this blessed :)

Anyone else have some good news?

all things pink

Last weekend I threw a baby shower (along with a friend named Rachel Garland!) for a wonderful mother of baby girl twins. I had some fun ideas for it, and they turned out pretty good!

The theme was "two little dresses" because Amy (the momma) was in dire need of dresses for her gals. I remembered that craft stores had those darling little mini clothespins, and knew I had to use them on the invites!

If you look closely you'll see the dresses are glittery. let me just tell you how fun that was. After all, "glitter is the herpes of craft supplies."

My clever friend and I covered the diaper cake with removable hair pieces for the twinners. There are tiny flowers and great big ones!

The jars, you ask? Why yes, I was getting to those! These were my favorite things ever! I found this tutorial and flew with it! Inside are Jordan Almonds- perfectly pastel and babyish, also perfect for a Spring baby shower. and yummy :)

To top it off, we had each of the guests help create a scrapbook page for Amy with pictures of the twins in the NICU. We used lots and lots of adorable paper. It made me very baby girl hungry...

right on the mark!

When I first read from my pregnancy book that it takes one year- on average- for a mom to get back to her pre-pregnancy weight, I was mortified. A whole year seems like a LONG time. I only gained 25 lbs while I was pregnant, and while breastfeeding I lost a lot of that, but there was still about 10 lbs. still left on my post-partum self. Well, I am pleased to say that FINALLY- after a year!!- I am normal again! Maybe normal is not the right word...I still have baby flub on my stomach and stretch marks from here to there, but my weight is what it was before I got pregnant :) this makes me so happy!

This is me shortly after having a baby.

me today.

I should mention that my "normal" weight is not my "ideal" weight, but at least I made it to this point. Now I can focus on losing another 5-10 lbs to achieve that ideal number. :)

I don't know if it was just time that did it or if my workout helped any, but either way I hope I can keep the extra weight off until our next baby (which is no time soon). This is the workout routine I'm on, and I'm at week 5 of 6. It breaks up into a series of 3 workouts, one for every 2 weeks. They each get harder than the last. I can hardly keep up with the last of the 3, but I'm trying to go at my own pace and not overdo it.

As far as eating habits go...I am a little ashamed. haha...I eat way too much junk. I have tried to stop but I've barely managed just cutting back. I just LOVE ice-cream and cheesy rice cakes and cream cheese and cheesecake and....I just realized most of those are cheese-based...and anyway the point is those kinds of foods are my stress-relief. When I've had a tough day with Talmage they get me through it! so I guess there's not much else to say about that.

Even if I don't keep this weight off, it was all worth it. Stretch marks and all!

***as a side note, Jonathan is on phase 2 on P90x and his results thus far are incredible! He has toned up, lost most of his pudge, and changed his diet completely. He is my inspiration :) way to go sweetie- keep it up!

by far the scariest moment of my life.

I need to post about this so that I never forget. If I never forget, I'll learn from my mistake. This is what happened.

Today after church I had Jonathan run a quick errand for me. He went to our friends apartment to borrow a pot. For the three minutes he was gone, I prepared a snack for Talmage that consisted of fruit cocktail- the kind from a can. Usually I chop everything he eats into small bites, but this time I thought all the fruit was small and soft enough for him to chew (he has FIVE teeth now ps). I gave him his fruit then turned my back to do dishes. A few moments later I hear his feet kicking vigorously in his highchair. He does this often just to be silly so I didn't think much of it, not bothering to turn around. KICK KICK KICK KICK BANG BANG BANG BANG. The kicks got more rapid and loud, so I turned around quickly to find my sweet boy's face a dark purple, his mouth open and gaping for air. He was choking. I panicked. The first thought I had was, "Why isn't Jonathan here? He knows how to handle this and I need him." As fast as I was humanly capable I threw the tray off of the highchair-fruit flying everywhere. I pulled him out, sat down, put him down on my leg, and started the pounding. I was taught a long time ago to pound with the inside of the bottom of your palm, where its hard and connects to your wrist. I knew where to pound (thank goodness) and so that's what I did. I swear it felt like eternity before the lodged piece of fruit popped out of his mouth. He cried for a long time. He was traumatized, surely. So was I...I was sure that I had bruised his back severly (by the way- I have not yet noticed any bruises). Jonathan walked in just as the two of us were recovering, holding one another.

"Did he fall out?" Jonathan aksed.
"No...he was choking. Really choking."
I walked around the living room, holding Talmage close as he cried pitifully into my shoulder. He felt so limp and weak...and tired. I held him until he stopped crying.

After puting Talmage back into his his highchair, I tried to cut up his fruit so he could finish his snack, but my hands were shaking and I nearly cut my finger off. Jonathan was still standing bewildered, waiting for an explanation of what had just occured.
"I didn't know what to do, so I just took him out and started..." I motioned with my hands the pounding because my eyes were swelling with tears and I could not talk. Jonathan gave me a big hug and told me it was okay. It did not feel okay. Thanks to my neglect and stupidity I almost killed our child. He took over while I went into the bathroom to sob. I cannot explain what fear, anxiety, and guilt I felt in that moment. To be truthful, the one thing I always feared most with having a baby was what to do when he/she choked. It just seems so inevitable. Kids shove food into their mouth in large quantities all the time- so why wouldn't it happen?

I guess this post is depressing, but I had to share. Parents, please please watch what goes into your babe's mouth...don't be careless like me. In this instance it was a small squishy grape, but it could be anything. Take caution...and pray for the Spirit to always be present. I'm sure that had it not been for the safety of that Holy Spirit in our home that I would NOT have the brains to act as fast as I did.

by far the scariest moment of my whole life. period.

my addiction

can you tell?

I want to put these on a long necklace.

I made this one with satin ribbon. much harder to keep together. (don't look at any of these too closely....you'll see all the hot glue spots :)

If only spring would come already and I could get out of this cave of an apartment :)
On my list of things to do when its warmer:
1. Take stroller (and baby of course) to park.
2. Push Talmage in the baby swing.
3. Visit Snoasis. frequently.
4. Use the tent shade for...something?

ps- this is the tent shade. its like one half of a tent. We are pretty excited to use it somewhere sometime for something.

On a separate note...

I know I've been blogging a lot about crafts lately, so I'm gonna mix it up a little. Today I want to share with you this book:

Because I know my blog audience is all married, I feel it most appropriate to share my feelings on this awesome book. Right now I'm borrowing it from a friend, and its truly opened my eyes. It is written by a priest and his wife, and its about sex relations/intimacy with your spouse. It is very informative and thorough. I believe all married couples could benefit from it in some way, and I've known bishops to recommend it to some engaged couples as well (I think they have to be at the right level of maturity though...) If you live here in Rexburg you can pick it up from the Deseret Bookstore for $8. So give it a whirl :)