The Rasmussens

The Birth Day

2012-01-30T13:16:00.006-07:00

Here is the official birth story, though in the future I might remember a few things and change it around, so stay tuned. :)

It took me many days to write this whole thing. It is such a huge experience mentally, emotionally, and physically. It is hard to put into words everything that you feel. My birth experience was, I felt, mostly mental and emotional. The physical part was the least profound in my mind. So, I don't remember times and the order things went exactly. Hopefully this story has good constitution and the way I've expressed myself is relatable. Either way, here it is. Enjoy!

I have looked forward to writing this birth story for a long time. Just a week ago I was so excited to experience what my birth story would be and wondered how it would play out. Now that our little girl is here I can’t believe that my birth experience has happened and that I now get to share it.

For about three days prior to Hazel being born; I felt myself relaxing. My body was telling my mind that birth was coming close and my mind knew what to do. I was calm and my mind was free from worry or doubt. My muscles (which are chronically tight) were relaxed and I was peaceful. Fear releases pay off.

Saturday morning I fully woke up at 8, after about an hour of surges that were pretty consistent. There wasn’t much physical evidence that today would be my baby’s birthday, but I just knew that this was it. I asked my husband to time the space between my surges and it was about 4 minutes. I thought that was pretty close but the surges weren’t very uncomfortable so I figured I would stay there for a while.

That morning seems like a blur in my mind. There was excitement all around me but I had already gone into my birthing body and didn’t want to feel any emotional sway from outside sources. I can see now that my relaxed attitude was a little misleading to my husband. He would ask me “are you sure your really in labor?” and I would lazily say “mmhmm” and I suppose he just went with it because that’s the only information he had to go on. I even mislead myself a little bit; I was so relaxed and feeling good that I wasn’t sure when to call my doula, Laura. Thankfully, Carter (my husband) told her to come at the right time.

My wonderful midwife, Janee, came when I told her how far apart my surges were. She wanted to make sure she had everything ready because the general consensus was that this labor would go fast. She arrived and she and Carter filled up the tub. I was sitting in the birthing room circling my hips on a birthing ball. I would breathe through my surges as they came, though I felt they were fairly low in intensity. It felt so good to breathe through them. Janee’s assistant, Emilie, arrived not long after.

Once the tub was full and ready I got in. I’ve always been one for bubble baths and swimming, so I knew that the tub was the place for me. I was excited to get in and get laboring.

The tub felt so amazing. Carter had lined it all with pillows so it was like a combination bed and bath. I would live in there if I could. We dimmed the lights and lit candles. I had chosen rose water for the scent in the room. It was raining outside and I had music from The Birth Year playing. I was so happy that I had taken the time to make this room my birthing sanctuary.

I laid in the tub on my left side, my head on the pillows and just melted into each surge, going deeper into my birthing body.

After about 20 minutes I felt like I had to throw up. I didn’t want to get out of the water but it had to be done. So, I went to the bathroom and threw up the only food I had eaten that morning, one baby pear.

Once I got back into the tub I felt a little “pushy” with each surge. Janee asked to check my dilation at that point. I agreed, though I was nervous that I would be at a 4 and have some of my relaxation broken because of disappointment. That was the first time in my pregnancy that I was checked for dilation. The news was good; I was at 8.5. Hooray! My baby was coming and soon.

It was around this time that I became mostly unresponsive. I was at my deepest level of relaxation and coming up from that took way too much energy and loosing my focus wasn’t worth it. Once or twice I’d come up to answer a question or say something and then I’d think “why did I just do that?” Carter became my translator, thank goodness for marital telepathy.

Laura arrived and was instantly by my side, breathing with me through surges and doing shoulder press and light touch massage. Everything she did worked wonders. She would stroke my hair and repeat affirmations. The intensity of the surges was picking up and she was my birthing angel.

The time between Laura arriving and when I started really bearing down with each surge is a bit of a blur. I changed positions in the tub a few times, Janee wanted to check for a cervical lip and I had to change positions to laying on my back (I was actually floating on my back). I do remember her asking if changing positions was all right and I said “yes, well no… but ok”. I got into that position and there was a little bit of a lip. She had me sway my hips back and forth with the next surge and that took care of it.

Once I was in that position I stayed there until right before the end. Surges became intense and I was bearing down with all I had. Laura was there to remind me to “ahhh” my baby down, relaxing my cervix. My waters ruptured during one surge. I wasn’t sure if it had before that time, but there was no mistaking when it did. It was a great pressure release that felt really good, if only for a few moments.

After a little while of bearing down, Janee started checking Hazel’s position in the birth path. Having her hand there gave me a direction to push into and I made the best progress when she did that. I just couldn’t come up from relaxation enough to tell her that I liked the direction. Janee has such a sweet way about her, she didn’t do anything to break my concentration and she let my body do what it needed to do. She also followed her instincts for what would be the best help during this birth.

A couple times during pushing I thought “it’ll only be ten more minutes” and that helped my brain wrap around the fact that I needed to keep going. I don’t want that to be confused with “I can only go ten more minutes” because I really did feel fine, I wasn’t in any pain, it was just a “big” feeling. Birth is big, physically and emotionally. Everything in your world is right there and your focus is so singular to what you are doing in that moment. I think the mind might like to switch to a different focus or just take a break for a minute, but keeping your focus and relaxation is key. Having some way for my mind to cope with the intensity made it easier.

I was visualizing Hazel and where she was in the birth path. I felt a connection to her as we birthed together and I could see her happy as she was making her way. We made a good team. I didn't realize it then, but the way I saw her is exactly how she looks.

I was worried that at some point during labor I would have the momentary lapse and ask to go to the hospital or decide that I didn’t want to do this anymore. Though I never did have that moment, I did have the thought during one of my surges “I bet it’s too late to go to the hospital” and then I laughed at myself.

My perception of time is completely skewed. My husband tells me that I was pushing for about an hour and a half. So, I’m guessing that it was after about an hour I could feel the mood in the room switch to concern that Hazel wasn’t making much progress past the last bit of my pelvis. She was posterior and in military presentation, one of the most difficult positions to birth. Had we been at the hospital, they would’ve “strongly encouraged” a c-section.

I wasn’t worried, Hazel's heart tones were perfect, but I could tell that my ladies were thinking of the next step to take.

Janee asked me to stand up, putting all of my weight onto Carter, and lift my right leg onto the side of the tub and take some surges in that position. In my head I thought “umm, what?” but I knew it was best, so, I somehow ended up in that position. I honestly don’t remember how I got there.

I took one or two surges in that position, then they had me squat down into the tub. After just a couple surges there, Hazel slipped past the last part of pubic bone and was ready to make her debut.

Carter was still holding my weight with my arms around his neck. He would stroke my sides and whisper encouragement. I loved having our baby come into this world with her father whispering sweet things to her mother. Yesterday, while talking with some friends, my husband described Hazel’s birth as romantic, and I will forever love him for that.

Hazel was all the way out in two surges. I don’t know that anyone will ever be able to describe the feeling of receiving your baby into the world. I doubt any language has words to encompass it. It happened so quickly and in slow motion at the same time. My baby was here in my arms and the scene was exactly how I had pictured it so many times in my head. She was perfect in every way and that moment was perfect.

My previous birth was a conventional hospital birth, a.k.a.: induction resulting in exhaustion and then an epidural. One of the moments I remember from that birth was making the decision to have the epidural. I knew I would need to sleep before I could push and so I had to make the decision, though I didn’t really have a choice. It was everything I didn’t want and in that moment I remember feeling completely stripped of my right as a woman to birth my baby the way he was entitled to be birthed. Though that birth was “perfect” on paper, it left me feeling of little worth and with incredible self-doubt.

Through preparation for Hazel’s birth I healed that self-doubt and birthing Hazel has awakened within me what all women are entitled to. A supreme love and appreciation of the power of the female body and realization of the limitless capabilities we have in all aspects of our lives. A line from one of my favorite old movies has been playing in my mind all week. It describes so perfectly what I think birth should ignite in women:

“A magnificence that comes out of your eyes, in your voice, in the way you stand there, in the way you walk. You're lit from within. You've got fires banked down in you, hearth-fires and holocausts.”

However you decide to birth, this is how it should make you feel.

The Big Reveal

2012-01-09T10:28:00.004-07:00

If you remember, from the very last post, I posted a teaser picture. Well, the secret project is finished and ready for it's big debut on the blog! Wa Hoo!

And so.....

Without further ado.....

The completely refurbished car seat for my sweet Hazel Jane!

I accomplished this project with many hours of labor from myself and my wonderful mother, two borrowed sewing machines because they kept having issues, THIS tutorial, and a wee bit o' stress that she would come before it was completed.

But, it is now complete, she hasn't arrived yet, all sewing machines are in proper order, I will never do it again, and I am in love with it. :)

I should show you a before picture...

It's all boy, AND it was falling apart. I was amazed as I unpicked the whole thing how terribly it was put together. That's what happens with assembly-line products I guess.

I feel much safer with this craftsmanship.

And so, today I have more projects of course! Hair bows and a car seat tent. Woo hoo! I'm excited with the comparative simplicity of today's projects.

And here are a few other projects that have been keeping me busy this weekend:

Last-minute "girling-up" of the crib

Thank-you's for my wonderful birthing companions (doula and midwife and their assistants) and for anyone who comes to visit Hazel once she comes.

And this is has actually been all C, he's been so sweet to get the birthing tub all comfy and ready. This thing is awesome, it's all lined with pillows and a bed sheet (and plastic lining of course), I could sleep in it. And on top of that, he's been sanitizing the entire house. ~Flash backs of when we had Will during the swine flu craze. C wouldn't let anyone touch him without sanitizing, possible rubber gloves, and those paper hospital masks.~ Not joking. He's a sweetheart. :)

So, after today, we'll be all ready for our little one's debut! I am sooooo excited for my home birth experience.

Of Things To Come

2011-12-28T22:42:00.003-07:00

It has come to my attention that I have at least one avid reader out there who cares about the frequency of my posts (you know who you are). This was quite a big shock.

So, as it is late, I am posting a quick blurb and teaser picture for everyone to wonder about.

Blurb:

It has also come to my attention (just today) that January is quickly approaching. Much quicker than I previously thought. January is this Sunday.

3 days.

While this may not be of great importance to most of you, I must explain why it is quite significant in my life this year.

I'm pregnant. And due. January 12th.

But, the full moon is on January 9th. And my body is prepping as we speak.

So that big bright moon might just be what my little girl needs to throw in the towel and decide to make her debut into this lovely world.

That's 12 days from now.

And there is much to be done.

One of the "much" is this secret project teaser below.

Teaser:

Happy guessing!

And now I am off to dream of my sweet baby girl and if she will have the blonde curly hair of her older brother, or if we'll get a surprise brunette.

Domestic Goddess Dress Up: Quick (and AMAZING) Thanksgiving Appetizer

2011-11-21T22:45:00.010-07:00

As I was getting my Thanksgiving cooking done today (I've got the easy stuff this year, the make-ahead kind) I thought "I should do a little last-minute tutorial for Thanksgiving." And so I've decided to share one of my favorite recipes ever. And I mean EVER. I could eat it all day. But, since cranberries are only available this time of year, it is extra special. So, without further ado, here is the recipe, and pictures of course.

Cranberry Salsa Appetizer

1-12 oz. bag cranberries

1/4 C. cilantro

1/4 C. green onions

1/2 C. sugar

2 small (or 1 large) Jalapeno

2 Tbs. fresh ginger - I just do 2 inches, depending on how thick the ginger is.

2 Tbs. fresh lemon juice

2-8 oz. bricks cream cheese

Crackers

Directions:

This recipe can be very quick, or very time consuming, depending on how you do it. I suggest you do it the quick way (blender or processor) or you can do it by hand... just mince everything.

Put the cranberries (rinsed) in a blender or food processor. Put in enough water to lift the berries off the blades.

Blend until pieces are very small (this is salsa, and I usually like bigger chunks of tomato and all that. But this salsa is cranberry, and a big ol' chunk of cranberry isn't the best surprise)

Pour into a strainer and let drain while preparing the rest. Like how it's dripping onto my counter? :)

Tip: make cutting up ginger lots easier by "scratching" off the skin with the back of your knife. It's easier and saves more of the ginger than cutting the skin off.

Put the remaining ingredients (EXCEPT cream cheese and crackers) in the blender.

Blend

Mix in (or put in the blender and blend together) the cranberries.

Cover and put in the fridge for at least 4 hours (though it will be tempting to just eat it right then). And this picture doesn't look too fabulous, but it's actually quite festive with the red cranberries and green cilantro pieces.

Place cream cheese blocks onto serving plate and spoon cranberry salsa over the top, covering all the cream cheese. Serve with crackers.

I'll update with serving pictures once I serve it. :)

Another tip: I always cut the jalapenos last so I can hurry and get the capsaicin off my fingers. And here is the best way to do this:

Take kosher salt and water and scrub scrub scrub! For about 3-4 minutes. Make sure you get around and under your fingernails. *Happy bonus* this is also a great way to get all the unwanted extra nail polish around your nails off and it makes your hands super duper soft. :)

Domestic Goddess Dress Up: How to Distress, Bleach, Dye, and Basically Transform Any Pair of Jeans

2011-11-15T19:58:00.016-07:00

This tutorial may have the most pictures of any tutorial yet.

It all started with a pair of jeans.

This pair, to be exact.

I recently inherited this pair of maternity jeans, as we all do when we're expecting, from a dear sister-in-law. Now, maternity clothes are a bit more finicky than other clothes. Every woman is shaped differently, and when we're pregnant those differences are magnified. But, these jeans actually fit quite nicely. Hooray!

The only problem became my insufferable picky-ness. When it comes to the stain of a jean, I'm sensitive. Just ask the hubbs.

I don't do light stains.

White jeans, sure.

Colored jeans, awesome!

Medium stains, no problem.

Dark stains, love 'em.

But a light wash, nu-uh.

And these jeans were just a little light, and a little too blue, for my liking.

So I took matters into my own hands.

Between these three colors of dye, I made me a good lookin' pair of jeans. (Though I could've done with just two. You'll see.)

So, here are directions for dying any fabric with Rit dyes, stovetop method.

Disolve your dye in two cups of hot water.

Fill a pot with enough hot water to allow your fabric to move around freely. Put on the burner on high heat.

For cotton fabrics, add a cup of salt to help the dye stain darker.

Add the dye to your pot.

Wet your jeans with hot water.

Carefully place your jeans into your dye. You want to do this slowly so air doesn't get trapped, resulting in having to get the air out, which will undoubtedly result in a bubble splashing dye all over. P.S. wearing an old apron, painting clothes, or a garbage bag would be well worth your time.

Let your jeans "marinade" in the dye for about 40 minutes for full color. You'll want to reposition your jeans often so the jeans get an even dye (you don't want one part of your jeans to be lighter than the others), you'll also want to stir them around (not just push them down into the dye) so the dye gets everywhere and you don't end up with tie-dye looking jeans.

When you're done, transfer jeans into a bowl.

Rinse your jeans in hot water, gradually getting cooler as you rinse.

Once the water is cool enough and the dye is faded enough, you can use your hands to rinse and ring out. Your fingers will get lightly dyed, but it only lasts through 3 or 4 hand washes. You'll want to rinse until the water runs clear. Throw those puppies into the dryer and wait for the results!

And voila! The color you want! Now, I must tell you, it took me three dyeing sessions to get the color I wanted. I started with just plain navy blue, but that ended up being just that-plain blue. It was like cobalt 60's homemade jeans. Nope nope nope. So then I got smart and went onto ritdye.com and found their wonderful color combo grid and used a mix of teal and black for my next dye, but it was still too blue from my first dyeing, so then I added a bunch more black to the teal/black dye combo and that did the trick. (There's some wisdom to keeping your dye until you're sure you won't have to dye again.)

How to Distress Your Jeans

I thought I would distress my jeans, but for a few reasons I ended up leaving them be. But, if you would like to go that route, I strongly suggest practicing different techniques on a pair of scrap jeans so you get an idea of what you want to do. This is actually quite fun.

Here are a few things I tried out.

(I must note, I didn't rip that big ol' hole in these jeans, that's just how hard the hubbs is on his clothing, not joking.)

Items listed from left to right:

Sandpaper, block of wood, old steak knife, pepper de-seeder, fine cheese grater, gloves (if you're going to be using a lot of bleach, I would use these), measuring cup, bleach and foam brush.

Other things you can use: Power tools, pumice stone, anything you can think of that might destroy cloth. *There's a difference between distressing and destroying jeans. If you want to destroy some jeans, just take everything I've done to a major level and you should get the results you want.

The block of wood is quite important. My wood is actually a piece broken off of my son's toy train which I will repair... soon.

Place your wood inside your jeans in the direction you want your distress lines.

Rub your knife along the edge of the block until you get the amount of wear you want.

Here's what the knife wear looks like (moderate amount of wear).

Here's the same method using sandpaper.

It wears less dramatically along the edge of the wood but makes a hole fairly quickly if you go over the edge of the wood block.

Next is the "whiskers" look.

Fold your jeans into a "fan" pattern where you want your whiskers.

Keep holding the jeans folded (I didn't because I need a hand to take the picture). Dip your brush in bleach and make sure you press ALL excess out so you don't get blotchy lines. Run your brush over the tops of the folded jean.

Here is the result of bleached whiskers. You can make it more dramatic by letting it sit longer. *Note: dyed jeans will react more dramatically and quickly to bleach because of the dark color. To deactivate the bleach, douse with white vinegar.

Here I used he same "fan" fold whisker method, but I used sandpaper instead of bleach. These makes the lines much smaller and subtle. I have found the easiest way to get lines close together is to fan and bleach or sandpaper, then release the fan and fold between those lines you just made and bleach or sandpaper those lines. (So, the first third and fifth lines were made first, then I went in-between and did the second and fourth lines, if that makes it any easier to understand...) If you try to fold lines close together, you'll end up really frustrated.

Next up: General Fading

I tried two different methods of large-area bleaching (if you want a faded look on the front of your jeans, like thighs and knees).

This first way is the more cautious way (I always like cautious). First, mix bleach and water 1 to 1 and spread that all over the area you want to fade, tapering out on the edges. Then, take straight bleach and spread that in the middle of your bleaching area for a brighter bleach in the center, taper this off towards the edges. You can add more bleach if you've waited a while and want a stronger fade.

This takes a little more time, depending on your fabric. But I'd say it's definitely worth being careful.

The area that I bleached is the first lightened area from the bottom, on the left side of the jean.

This second way is probably obvious. Just straight bleach. You can still taper off the fading, as long as your fabric is thick and resilient. If you have stretchy fabric (like the jeans I dyed), it's really hard. Real denim will be the best option for all fading and distressing.

You can see the area I bleached is above the whiskers on the left side of the jean.

And, here are the jeans all done. The picture is yellow and since I had to set up the camera and use the picture-taker-timer, it's from a low angle, making me look more puffy that I actually am. Oh well.

And Tedi, these belly pictures are just for you. As requested.

I feel really weird taking a "bathroom mirror" type picture. But, when you're the only one in the house, there aren't many options...

And there you go. All kinds of ways you can "new" your old jeans! For a lot more ideas, this is a great page.

Go wild!

Christmas To Do's

2011-11-15T17:21:00.005-07:00

Today I saw a "Christmas Bucket List" on Pinterest and that got me thinking "I want to make one". Mostly I needed to make one for two reasons:

1. I finished all of my Christmas projects and shopping last month for the very reason of being able to enjoy the wonderfulness of the Christmas season, and I would forget all of the things I want to do if I didn't write them down.

2. The list I saw on Pinterest had some things I don't really want to do and doesn't have a few things I really do want to do.

So, my very own Christmas To Do List was born. Go ahead and steal it if you'd like, or make your very own with the blank template!

Domestic Goddess Dress Up: Making Your Very Own Yogurt

2011-11-13T15:31:00.009-07:00

Now, I've been wanting to do this for quite a while, but now I've actually done it. Yogurt.

I don't know how many of you are yogurt lovers, but I most definitely am. Give me a bucket of Brown Cow Maple Cream Top Yogurt and I will finish that thing in a day. DE-lish. (If you haven't tried it, you must.)
My only problem is, a bucket of that a day really takes a chunk out of my wallet, which is why I only allow myself to buy one and make it last for at least 2 days. But for a while I have wanted to make my own yogurt (I'm easing my way into cheese-making) and I tried it once on the stove, but that experiment came to a tragic end. Tragic meaning when I was done, I had wasted a quart of milk and there was no yogurt.

What I had decided that I needed (for many reasons) was an Excalibur dehydrator. One of the best in the biz. With temperature controls. Pretty snazzy stuff. And I had decided that I needed it for my birthday. The only problem is that I had spent all of my pennies on Brown Cow Cream Top Maple Yogurt and the like. :)

Anyway, long story short, I would have to wait for a while before I could get my precious dehydrator until *angels singing* my hubby brought one home. the sun had shone upon my yogurt-making dreams. I guess someone having a yard sale decided that they didn't want their fabulous Excalibur dehydrator, but more than that, they didn't want to SO MUCH that they put it in on the "free" table! Can you believe that?! I sure can't.

So, my husband, knowing that I wanted a dehydrator for a VERY BIG and EXCITING project that I have coming up (don't worry, I'll post it, but it's about two and a half months down the road) and knowing that he didn't want me to use his precious dehydrator, picked it up for me. Isn't he the sweetest thing? Actually, when I saw it on our counter and started hyperventilating he was confused, and after being notified that it's WAY better then his dehydrator, he is now trying to claim it...

And that's the story of the Excalibur dehydrator that started this yogurt-making endeavor. I don't know if was worth reading through to get to the actual tutorial. But, let's move ahead.

Yogurt making is amazingly easy and takes about 10 minutes of actual labor, as long as you follow the instructions. You can use a lot of different methods. As you know, I went the dehydrator route, but some people just fill coolers with a lot of bottles of warm water, or you can go stovetop, or buy a yogurt maker. In my mind, buying a dehydrator makes a lot more sense than a yogurt maker, because you can use it for hundreds of other things as well. Anyway, however you decide to do it, the recipe and instructions stay the same.

So, here it is:

Ingredients and Supplies:

1 quart milk (any type). Though if you want it to be cream top yogurt, it cannot be homogenized.

1/4 cup dry milk powder, for a thicker product (optional)

1 Tbs. thickener, such as carrageenan, pectic, or gelatin (optional; use as a substitute for or in addition to dry milk power)

1 packet yogurt starter or 2 Tbs. yogurt with live cultures

Large pot

Thermometer

Containers with lids

Easy. You really only need milk and plain yogurt (I did use milk powder as a thickener because that's how I like it)

If you want to flavor your yogurt you'll want those things handy. Maple syrup is my very favorite, honey is another delicious one. You can add chocolate syrup or an extract like lemon, almond, or vanilla (1 tsp.), your options are really endless. Just remember yogurt isn't inherently sweet and if you want it to be sweet, you'll have to add a sweetener, though many flavorings are sweet in themselves. You can also do "fruit on the bottom" style and put jam, peanut butter, or chocolate syrup in your cups, add the milk-yogurt mixture and then ferment as normal. If you're flavoring with any type of fresh, canned or dried fruit you will have to add that after the yogurt is made, as some fruits are acidic and will curdle the milk and prevent proper fermentation. I add all my flavorings after the yogurt is made, just to be sure I don't mess anything up and so I'll have a starter for my next batch of yogurt (your starter yogurt should always be plain). Starting out, I suggest you make your first batch plain, and then after that start experimenting with fun flavors.

Directions:
*Note: The actual instructions that should be used with every fermenting method will be red. The instructions that are black are the ones I've added for the dehydrator method.

Take all of the trays out of your dehydrator.

Get your dehydrator to the right temperature (116). This picture is looking through my dehydrator door at the thermometer inside, and the resulting reflection of my camera and hands.

Combine the milk, milk powder (if desired) and thickener (if desired) and flavoring. Heat the mixture to 180 degrees Fahrenheit. I thought I had taken a picture of this step.... but I guess not.

Let the milk cool to 116 degrees. Add the starter (or yogurt); mix well.

Pour into containers and cover (I use ramekins with lids). Keep covered, at 116 degrees for at least 6 hours (mine takes 8-9 hours), or until set to the consistency of thick cream. This is where the dehydrator comes in.

Refrigerate and serve cold. This will keep, refrigerated, for up to 2 weeks.

Domestic Goddess Dress Up: Pregnant Goddess Edition

2011-11-05T11:27:00.013-06:00

I know, I know, the "Which Post Would You Like To See Next" poll is closed and the winner is clear. Meaning I SHOULD be posting my Baked Pumpkin Doughnut Tutorial right now. But I am just too excited and this can't wait. But I promise, as soon as I get my act together and buy some eggs, I will be making and posting the doughnut tutorial.

This post is actually TWO tutorials. That's right. Jackpot.
Last night I woke up at about 4 am (not out of the ordinary) with a brilliant idea. For about 6 or 7 years now I have been madly in love with Starbuck's Vanilla Bean Frappuccinos with raspberry syrup. It's my guilty pleasure (because of the surprisingly high calories... if you add the whipping cream) and one of my favorite desserts. So, this morning I woke up thinking "why not make my own tea frappuccino... and why not make it Red Raspberry Leaf Tea?

If you are unfamiliar with red raspberry leaf tea, it is extremely good for women, especially pregnant women, and, being pregnant, I've been drinking it every day for quite a long time.

Now, I love tea, I'm a big tea fan. However, I'm not a big iced tea fan, and so I've been drinking my RRL tea the regular hot way every day. It's getting boring. Now put that fact together with the information above, and you can see why I was so excited about this idea.

Lying in bed, I came up with my game plan. Then I got up and ready and went to work. It took all of about 20 minutes.

First, I needed some raspberry syrup. Luckily for me, I had seen a tutorial recently on how to make various flavored syrups, so I whipped some up.

Tutorial #1: Raspberry Syrup

Ingredients:

1 Cup Water
1 Cup Honey (the recipe called for sugar, but I have access to lots and lots of honey. Here's why, if you'd like to know. Plus, the whole idea of this endeavor is to keep a healthy body, so honey it was. You can use whatever you would like, the measurement stays the same)
3/4 Cup Raspberries (preferably fresh, I used some I had picked last sumer and frozen. And I used my whole bag, which was about 1 1/3 cups for more raspberry flavor with less sweet)

Directions:
Combine the honey, water and raspberries in a small saucepan.

Heat the mixture over medium-high, stirring occasionally, until the honey has dissolved. Reduce the heat to low and let simmer, about 10-15 minutes.

Remove from the heat and pour through a fine mesh strainer to remove the berry solids.

Side note, muslin is too fine... as this picture below clearly shows. You won't get anywhere.

Let cool. Store in the refrigerator.

Now how easy is that?

So, I had my syrup, now I just needed to make the Frappuccino. Which brings us to...

Tutorial #2: Red Raspberry Leaf Tea Frappuccino

First, I had to grind my tea a bit. This is the way my tea comes (I buy in bulk, not in the regular baggies)

So, with my trusty Vitamix, I ground it down to a fairly fine powder. Like so.

Then, I just googled the recipe and followed it.

Ingredients:
1/2 teaspoon RRL tea powder (This didn't seem like I'd get enough tea goodness, so I tripled it to 1 1/2 tsp. Next time I will do a bit more, I think 1 T. would be perfect)
1/8 cup hot water (I don't know why they say 1/8 cup, it's just 2 tablespoons)
1/2 cup milk (raw milk... that post is coming up too, get excited)
1 tablespoon sugar (honey)
1 cup ice (I guess I added about 1 1/2 cups...)
a blender in which to throw all these things
2 T. Raspberry Syrup (I just eyeballed it because this wasn't in the recipe)

Directions

Start with the hot water and the green tea powder and wait for it to dissolve before pouring it into the blender. I also put the raspberry syrup in at this time, and I just put them into the blender and stirred them up a little bit, letting the tea steep for a few minutes.

Next, add the sugar (honey) and (raw) milk to the blender.

Mix it all together by running the blender for a few short bursts.

Add the ice and then blend until you get your preferred texture. You'll probably want to stop short of completely blending it so that you get a milkshake type feel to the frappuccino.

And behold: The wonderfully delicious concoction. It really is good, and I'm looking forward to many more months of drinking it! And thinking about it, the only things added to the regular way of drinking this tea are: raspberries, raw milk, and ice. I usually sweeten with honey anyway.

*Update*
I've started adding frozen strawberries to my frappuccinos, I don't know why I didn't think of it right from the beginning. It's that much more delish.

Pregnant women around the world, you're welcome. :)

It's Autumn Time

2011-11-01T22:03:00.008-06:00

I haven't posted in a little while (but Christmas projects took some precedence), and I know everyone is waiting with baited breath for the next tutorial post... but I thought I'd take a little break and share some snap shots of what we've been up to this glorious fall.

We got to visit this beautiful place (the Palasades) with C's sister and her family. We stayed in a cute little cabin and roasted marshmallows and drank hot chocolate.

We took some walks... on which there were too many sticks to choose from. Will would find one and hold on to it until he traded up to a better one. Unlimited sticks and dirt? Heaven.

We walked around the shore

And threw rocks into the lake.

Will's birthday morning! Just look at that sweet sleepy face!

Birthday pancakes. Nummy nummy.

I can't believe he's 2. And a disclaimer on the cake... (though I had delusions of grandeur) it was a whip-it-up situation. But it was delish!

Just look at that cutie! I can't get enough of him.

And in this one you can see his one dimple.

He's getting to be quite a pro at unwrapping gifts.

The Buzz was pretty exciting (as was the Woody doll, just didn't get pictures of that part).

And he LOVES fish. Grandma got it just right.

The next pictures are of us at Staheli Farms in St. George. It's a pumpkin patch with lots of other activities.

The treehouse with cousin "Nor"

This almost got ugly... but they worked it out. Driving the truck with cousin "Vi"

Fun bouncy bubble with daddy.

The swings were the favorite part. Go figure.

And the whole way there he was saying "sheep!" I don't know where he got the idea that there were sheep at the farm, but somehow he knew! He was very excited until it came time for daddy to put him down and pet them... that never happened.

Well, the last month has been busy busy busy, as only October can get in our family. Between seven birthdays, three anniversaries, one holiday and lots of parties... we survived it yet again. And somehow I did get all of my Christmas projects done for this year. Now bring on Thanksgiving, moving, Christmas and having a baby! :)

Bonus pictures! (Some with me actually in them)

Here are a couple pics of the family this summer in Pennsylvania, before the baby bump was too big.

Our Honey Home

2011-09-25T15:15:00.008-06:00

This year we've become apiarists, also known as beekeepers.
I can say "we" because I do play a part in our bee activities, however, I've never actually taken apart the hive or anything. I leave that to my big strong man.

The Big Strong Man

I am quite proud of our first year's fruits. We got about 45 pounds of honey and a whopping 1 WHOLE POUND of beeswax (the wax is my area of labor.) And if you know a thing or two about beeswax, you know that this stuff is the second most expensive wax on the market. We're talkin' big money... but I'm not selling it this year, so no money. We have sold a little bit of our honey though, mostly to our new insurance agent. :) It's mighty tasty stuff.

This is a 2 pound bottle and an 8 oz bottle, and some lovely wax.

I just had to share how much fun we've had this summer with our bees. Sadly, my second-most fun part is not documented with pictures because Carter wouldn't let me take any. He was stung by his eye and the resulting puffing-up of the whole right side of his face was quite amusing, to say the least. I had to make this my second-favorite part because I don't want to give off the impression that my husband's suffering is the most amusing thing in my life, just second-most. ;)

I'd have to say that my most favorite part has been my wax.

And for the sake of Pinterest, I will explain how to get you from comb to cube.
If you're not going to be doing this any time soon, or ever in your life, you can just skip down to below the picture. :)

Take your honey comb and place in a pan or crock pot with water (depending on how much wax you have, you'll need more or less water.) Warm up to about 180 degrees (do not get above 200 degrees). when you see that all the wax is melted, take off heat. Now with a mesh strainer of some kind, scoop off all of the yuckies floating on the top of the wax. you won't be able to get all of it, but just get the majority. Leave wax to harden on top of the water.

Once the wax is hard you can lift it off the water (see how all the honey that was in the comb sunk down to the bottom? Beautiful separation!) Once you have all your wax (I had a couple "plates" of wax from different honey harvests) melt them down again (no water.) Once they're melted, strain through a piece of muslin into a bowl. Now you can pour this beautiful pure and clean wax into small molds, or leave as a large piece of wax from your bowl.

*NOTE* whatever you are using as your final mold, use silicone, or a plastic that is designed specifically for use with beeswax, so the wax will pop out easily. I use a silicone muffin "tin". This stuff sticks and will never ever come off. Also, for this reason do not use your regular crockpot, pan, mesh strainer, or bowl. Once you use them for beeswax, you won't get them back to regular kitchen clean. I bought a crockpot at Savers only for beeswax processing.

It doesn't look like much, but it does take some labor to get it looking like this. Isn't it B-E-A-UTIFUL?!

My intention is to use some of this in lotion bars for Christmas (which, of course, I will document and post at a later date.) I also have a lot of recipes for lip balm and some other goodies. Bring on moist and supple skin! Woot Woot!

Honey, especially raw, local honey, is so very very good for you. And bees are amazing! Talk about all things as a witness that there is a divine creator. The more you learn about them, the more you want to know. Awesome awesome.

Domestic Goddess Dress Up: Making Liquid Soap

2011-09-20T09:16:00.007-06:00

This tutorial is a little different, mainly because what I did may not work for you.. it's quite a fickle project. But not to worry! The product you get will be hand soap just the same, and quite possibly better than mine.

This is a great project for people with super sensitive skin who have only found bar soaps that are gentle enough for them, and we all know how much we hate bar soap. It gets dirty and all cracked and slips out of your hands. No good. This soap can be used as a sink-side hand soap or as a body wash.

It's SUPER easy and well worth the time. I always make sure that the time I put onto my projects is worth the money saved, and this most definitely is.

What you need:

A large pot, a jar for extra soap shavings, containers for storing soap, a spoon for stirring, measuring cups and spoons, a grater and bowl, a soap container with hand pump, glycerine, and a bar of soap. Some of these things are not in this lovely picture.

1 Cup of Bar of soap - Any brand should work, I've heard Yardley's works really well but I've never even heard of that brand and as you all know I love my Mrs. Meyers, so that's what I used.

1 TBS of Glycerin - you can get this at any pharmacy. I got mine at Target and they keep it behind the counter, so you'll just have to ask if you don't see it on the isles. One bottle will last you AGES.

10 Cups of Water

And there's your ingredients.

Directions-

First, shave your bar of soap with a small grater ( I bought a special "soap grater" and am now wondering why I did, it's not like the soap gets it dirty and unsafe for using with food...)

Isn't it so cute and curly?
Note: Mrs. Meyers bar soaps are quite a bit bigger than the regular size, so how much you get out of your bar will vary. I got about 4 cups of shavings, compacted. I put the extra soap in a jar for next time.

In a large pot, combine water, soap flakes and glycerin. Turn on medium-low and stir until soap dissolves. This happens fast, just a minute or two. Let the soap cool completely and use a funnel to pour into your soap container. That's it! Unless....

Your soap is still looking really watery. This happened to me, so, being the over-doer I am, I doubled the recipe (except the water.) I put another cup of soap and another tablespoon of glycerin. This helped a little bit, but not nearly enough, so I went to bed and let it sit overnight, giving it a chance to cool and thicken up. And in the morning.. it had only thickened up a little bit. So, I went to the trusty worldwide web and found another thing I could do. Blend.

And I blended.

And it worked. (insert another praise for the extremely versatile Vitamix, haha)

It thickened right up in about 2 minutes. It's still a bit runny, but it's works great, and in the couple weeks since I made my soap it has gotten thicker still.

You can see in this picture that it's still quite runny, this is right after I made it. Now it's much much thicker, almost to "store bought" consistency.

Now, following the recipe I did, it said that I would get about 2 quarts of soap.... I ended up with more than 4. Good thing I had containers on hand (you need to as well.) So really, I used half of my soap (about $2) and 2 tbs. of glycerine... (maybe 20 cents?) and got 4 QUARTS of hand soap. That will last us quite a while, talk about savings!

Next time I think I will cut down on the amount of water I use and see if that makes much of a difference. But that won't be for a while, I've got soap coming out of my ears.

And the last wonderful thing about this project... the cleanup. Everything is all soapy already, so you just have to rinse and dry! Ta da! I hope you try and like this great project. Enjoy!

Domestic Goddess Dress Up

2011-09-13T09:59:00.009-06:00

As promised: Homemade dish soap!

I must tell you, this has been a life saver for my dish washer.
Once upon a time there was a dishwasher that was average, to say the least. It required a lot of love to work correctly and get it's dishes clean. Until one day, it just couldn't keep up with all the hard water that was building up on it's basket and spinner. Try as it might, it couldn't keep all that lime from getting on the glasses and fogging them up. And the glasses kept getting worse and worse.
Until one glorious day, fairy housekeeper decided to try not just cleaning the little dishwasher, but using a soap that would help keep it lime-free!

Is everyone excited?! I am!

HOMEMADE DISH SOAP

Ingredients:

2 cups Super Washing Soda
2 cups Borax
1 cup Kosher Salt
2-12 oz. containers of LemiShine

Use White Vinegar as a rinse aid. Just put in your "JetDry" dispenser. If you don't have one of those just dump in the bottom of the washer, or in the cup with the soap and watch it bubble. :) I have white vinegar in my rinse aid dispenser and I put a little extra in the detergent cup for good measure.

Borax, Super Washing Soda and Lemishine will all be in the laundry/dish soap isle. Kosher Salt will be in the baking isle.

Now, the original recipe I had called for 2 cups of LemiShine and one 12 oz. container holds only 1 1/2 cups so I had to go back and get another container and decided to dump the whole thing in because our water is SO bad. After I added the second container it made all the difference. If you don't have very hard water, you probably won't need as much.
Use a heaping tablespoon with each wash. I just use a spoon that is going onto the dishwasher, not an actual tablespoon, and I separate that amount into the pre-wash and wash cups.

Mix all ingredients together in large bowl. Because of the citric acid in the LemiShine, everything sticks together and becomes as hard as a rock. The best thing to do is keep it in the mixing bowl on your counter for a day or two and stir it a few times a day. Doing this will help it stick together in smaller clumps and not become a big rock in the container. After those couple days you can put it into a big container.

Another solution would be getting a few ice trays, measuring out serving sizes into each little cup and letting it harden onto serving-size cubes, then put those in a big container and using one clump per wash. I think I will try this next time.

You see the huge clumps? Yeah, those are from me getting too excited about putting it in the container and then having it harden up and THEN I had to use my husband's screwdriver to break it up and get it out. Save yourself the headache and just leave it in the bowl to stir.

In the final container.

Now, working up to using the fabulous soap, you need to prep your dishwasher.
Taking a close look at my washer, I noticed that everything (including baskets) were covered in lime. So, taking a page out of Mrs. Meyer's cleaning book aka My New Cleaning Bible, first, I took white vinegar and a cleaning toothbrush and cleaned around the soap cup and the along the bottom of the door (those places had a lot of buildup from soap) then, I ran two wash cycles to clean it through. The first one I just put about a cup of white vinegar and ran it empty on hot wash, for the second I used another cup of vinegar and some CLR (Lime Away works the same.) You may not need two cycles, but I decided to take abrasive action. I recommend running a plain vinegar cycle maybe once or twice a month for upkeep.

If you aren't yet acquainted with Mrs. Meyer's and her wonderfully amazing cleaning methods and products, you need to check her out.

Once I was satisfied with the cleanliness of my washer, I started using my new soap with amazing results!

I love before and after pictures, so here they are!

YUCK.

YUCK.

Now take a look at this, as if just lime wasn't bad enough, the washer would leave crusted soap on most of the dishes, which means that I would have to wash all the dishes by hand after scraping, rinsing, and going through the washer. So, instead of being a time-saver, the washer was just backing up my dish washing production.

You can't tell, but this is an action shot.
I should mention that I always run my washer on heavy cycle and I no longer use the heat dry, I just let it drip dry.

BEAUTIFUL! It almost brings me to tears. ;)

So, after fighting the battle for so long, the war has been won!

Stay tuned for the next Domestic Goddess Dress Up post: Turning one bar of hand soap into over 3 liters of liquid soap! Amazing and thrifty!

Christmas Project Preview

2011-09-09T15:20:00.004-06:00

Here's a sneak peek at two of my Christmas projects I'm working on. I'm pretty excited about them.

What super heroes wouldn't want their logos to be this cool? Are they called logos?...
I'm actually quite proud of these creations, they're just felt and pure talent. Tee hee hee.

And stay tuned as I transform these (fairly hideous) second-hand picture frames into something awesome. (actually, one is for me :)

Playing Domestic Goddess Dress Up

2011-09-05T15:07:00.012-06:00

The other day I thought to myself "my poor blog is so sad and lonely, I should cheer it up with a lovely post." However, it sat for a while more before I took some initiative. Because that thought wasn't so much "the other day" and it was "the other month."

In celebration of Labor Day, this morning we got up at a reasonable hour and went berry picking in Mapleton, Ut. This berry farm is so delightful, I could go there every other day. It's called McBride's Briar Patch for those who would like to have a fun little outing.
Now, I've been picking raspberries a time or two and have come to expect lots of mud and thorns. But not so! Every row has grass in-between so.. no mud! Hallelujah! As for thorns, you can wear gloves if you would like, but they do have several varieties of raspberries, at least one of which doesn't have may thorns (so I was told by my Dad who was picking off those bushes.) I didn't have gloves and picked the thorny variety and only got a little scratched, you know the kind of scratch that makes you itch a little.

Anyway, there's my plug for this quaint little farm of happiness. Here are the pictures I got of Will having a ball, but I didn't get any pictures of him actually picking and eating berries along the row with Carter... however that did happen.

Now it may look like I let Will pick up this random apple off the ground and eat it, however... I didn't let him actually eat it, jut pretend eat it. He's catching onto pretend play and I'm loving it.

Now to the berries!
Aren't they b-e-a-utiful?! It only took us about an hour to pick 5 pounds ($3 per pound) and that includes "running after Will" time.

Any time I get berries for that swell price, it's freezer jam time. And to make this post even better, I've decided to do a tutorial. And to make it even better than THAT, I have a new AMAZING product to tell the whole world about.

It's called ULTRA GEL. Yes, not the most enticing food product name... however is magnificent.

For those of you outside of Utah, it would be easiest to order it online from their website. For those in Utah, you can find it in the canning section of Harmons and the Bosch kitchen centers. I've heard you can find it at Macey's on occasion too. It's a Utah-based company, that's why there's more availability here.
It is a modified food starch that can be used to thicken hot and cold foods. Like thickening soups, gravies, etc.
But (one of) my favorite thing about using Ultra Gel in freezer jam is that it cuts the amount of sugar in more than HALF. That's right, your read correctly. MORE than HALF.
Another wonderful thing worth mentioning: you don't have mix with water and bring to a boil, like you do with fruit pectin. Which equals less dishes to clean up!

With Sure Gel you use 3 cups smashed fruit and 4 cups of sugar.
With Ultra Gel you use 4 cups smashed fruit and 2 cups of sugar.
Amazing right?

So, on to the tutorial..
P.S. I do everything in my Vitamix (another product I am passionate about... and this tutorial may just make you want one:)
If you don't have a super blender, you'll have to smash your fruit in a bowl, then transfer into your mixing bowl.

Rinse your fruit (it can be any fruit you'd use for jam) You'll have to take the tops off strawberries (unless you have a Vitamix, then you can put it all in there and it will blend it all up and you won't even notice!)

Blend or crush your fruit as much as wanted. (in the Vitamix you can let it blend just a few seconds longer to crush the seeds into tiny bits so it's not the typical "super seedy" raspberry/blackberry/whatever seedy berry jam.) It'll end up being similar to fig newton filling with those crushed seeds.

Add your sugar and lemon juice. Blend.

Add Ultra Gel. You want to add this very slowly so you don't get clumps of it, this is especially important if you're mixing by hand. In a blender just add a bit at a time until it's all in there. You'll see it start to thicken immediately and you'll have to turn up the power on your blender to keep it swirling on top. You can see a little wisp of white swirling in the second picture, that's my amazing action shot of the gel being mixed in. :)

Disclaimer: in these pictures the lid is off of my Vitamix while it is running, the Vitamix company warns you never EVER to do this.. so don't ever do it and blame something bad happening on me. :)

Let the jam sit for 5 minutes and let it gel completely.

Pour into containers (more neatly than this picture, it's hard to pour with one hand and take a picture with the other)

Freeze!

Now how easy was THAT?!
From 5 pounds of berries I got 15 - 8 oz. jars. Perfect for gifts!

Stay tuned for my next Domestic Goddess Dress Up Post: Homemade Dish Soap - and how much better it is than store bought!

*UPDATE* Here is a list of places Ultra Gel is available, but the list for Utah isn't complete.

The Haircut

2011-04-16T08:46:00.004-06:00

Yes, this was a hard day for me, but it had to be done.

All those sweet little curls.

And then we took some GQ pictures. :)

William LOVES reading with his teddy and rabbit.

And this is our "Happy Easter" picture. Classy, I know.
Nothing says Easter like a velcro duck around a (onesie wearing) baby's waist who is holding some Cadbury Eggs.

... HAPPY EASTER!

Picture Update

2011-03-02T15:22:00.005-07:00

Here's what Will has been up to for the last few months:

I have to be really quick putting wet clothes in the dryer, or this kid takes over.

Will is now in the mural business, and this particular piece of art has become bigger since these were taken. His mommy's artist heart is so happy, her housekeeper heart, on the other hand...

I went to fold laundry one day...

The Skuttlebutt

2010-12-08T22:51:00.011-07:00

Thanksgiving was spectacular.
Will has been contemplating becoming a full-time walking man, but the verdict hasn't come in yet.
Carter is finishing up the fall semester. Smarty pants.
Katie blew up her computer. It's all OK now. Hence this post.
Christmas time is rockin'. Oh Yeah.
Life is magnificent.

And now we can get to the pictures (the main draw, I know.)

Will's time is mostly spent figuring out all the cords.

My Cake. I turned twenty and four.

Will's Cake. Arrgh.

I was proud of my boy, he dug right in... once he figured out it was cake.

Presents! Huzzah!

That terror of the seas Ms. Nora...

... and her cohort Cap'n Soggybottom William Kent!

And here are some of our family pictures. Even in the untimely wing and rain, they turned out lovely.

Grandpa

2010-11-03T07:44:00.003-06:00

I was thinking about my Grandpa Woolley this morning, as I usually do this time of year, and I decided he's too good to keep to myself. I'd like to share a few thoughts about him.
Grandpa was someone everyone loved to be around, and he knew just about everyone. On a family trip to the Spam Museum (that wasn't the final destination) we were joking that he always runs into someone he knows, or someone who knows someone he knows, and even at the Spam Museum it would probably be the same. It was. Lo and behold, there he was talking and laughing with someone. He never forgot a name.
He was someone you wanted to talk with, you wanted to have a new joke or story just to tell Grandpa. When you had his attention you felt like the most important person in the world.
He loved jokes and to play tricks. He loved tennis and golf, and racquetball, and a lot of other sports. But mostly he loved Grandma. They have one of those perfect love stories, the kind that could be a movie. They were best friends, and they still are.
When Grandpa passed away Nov. 5, 2006 I thought the house would feel different, kind of half empty, but it doesn't. We know he's with us when the family gets together and that he takes care of Grandma. We can still feel Grandpa. We know he's busy doing all kinds of work on the other side, but he loves his family and will always be around.
I love my Grandpa very much and I am so excited to be with him again.

Family Photos Sneak Peek

2010-10-25T00:01:00.001-06:00

Tooting My Own Horn

2010-10-18T17:49:00.002-06:00

I am feeling kind of braggy and that's not my favorite way to feel, but I'm excited about this so...
We had family pictures taken with Carter's Dad's family (crazy day, I'll tell the story later) at the beginning of October. And let me just back up and say that I LOVE family pictures, but it seems like nobody ever likes them as much as I do. So, I was SO excited to see that the photographer posted one picture from the entire family photo session on her blog, and it was a picture of us! Hooray!
But I've decided that it's just because William is the cutest boy that has ever existed. It obviously has nothing to do with Carter and I, we're not the most photogenic twosome.
Anyway, I feel very gratified that someone has finally been as excited about our family photos as I am.
Muuuah!

The "day of the family photos" story and actual family photos coming soon.

The Summer

2010-09-18T09:47:00.008-06:00

It has been MUCH too long since this blog was last updated. So, here's the run down of our summer in pictures.

Will made a new friend.

He discovered how fun laundry is (you will see that this has grown into quite a hobby)

I made a practice cake to teach my new assistant the ropes.

And another cake for Cami's baby shower.

Will found Grandma Woolley's wall outlets and air vents (not shown) at our sleep over.

He also found the joy of toilet paper rolls.

Carter and I celebrated our 3 year anniversary in Park City.

And went to an IMAX at the planetarium

And had fun at the gift shop :)

I made this wedding cake...

.. AND this wedding cake in one day. Thank goodness for assistants.

We went to Farm Country at Thanksgiving Pointe with Rob and Renee. After seeing pictures from this day I gave up eating refined sugars... I don't know if I've lost any weight yet but a feel a lot better at least.

We fed the llamas.

And Will rode his first pony.

Mom had her birthday, and loved her presents.

And her (fabulous) cake.

And the lovely birthday glasses.

Eve loved the glasses too.

William likes to play laundry pirate.

And loves his new toy from Serafina and Paolo.

Besides this being a fun "laundry boy" costume, this was an attempt to keep him from grabbing already-folded clothes. It works better when they're a little bigger and you tie the socks together (I know this because my grandpa used to do it to me). As it happened, it worked for about 30 seconds and then Will just shook them off.

Ah, dirt. It would be cute if it was chocolate of some sort.

The washer is all the rage.

As are boxes. He climbed on top of this, around it, knocked it over a bunch of times, and then decided to play inside of it.

He's getting to be a little mover and climber. He'll climb up anything he can (he gets that from me, dangit) and is constantly re-arranging the kitchen chairs. They'll be spread all over the kitchen and I have to put them back around the table, and then an hour later they're all over again. It's good walking practice. I caught him trying to scale the oven the other day. he stepped up on the handle below the oven and then grabbed the oven handle, which made the oven open and he fell backwards. The oven is now always locked and I had to take off all the knobs for the stove. We almost blew up the other day because he turned on the gas and I didn't see it. Ah the joy of parenting. :) He's grown up so much this summer, I don't realize it until I look at these pictures.

2010-06-02T21:03:00.011-06:00

Hey y'all, Will again. It's been a while since I posted. I've been busy perfecting my sitting and crawling, and falling with finesse. We just got back from St. George. It was a pretty crazy weekend.

I took a nap on the way, I knew it would be all play and no sleep down there. Sheesh.

I thought the life jacket would totally throw off my groove and it took a while to get used to, but I ended up totally rockin' it Lake Mead style.

Got to hang with uncle Kyle... he taught me new phrases like, "that's so sick" and "dude that's sketchy".

Nap time

Dad, uncle Kyle and uncle Sam, Grandpa was driving. Needless to say, they didn't land this so well.

Cousin Nick, we're destined to be best friends. I'm trying to play it cool but I'm pretty sure I busted my cover by laughing hysterically at whatever he did. That kid's pretty sketchy.

Yeah, I'm pretty

Check it, sittin' up in the tub. What up.

Sun Dried Tomatoes. Tutorial.

2010-05-21T22:57:00.004-06:00

I was telling my sister how I make my sun dried tomatoes a few weeks ago and figured I'd do a tutorial for fun. They're easy, quick and a lot cheaper than buying the bottled kind.

You'll need (quantities can change depending on how much you want):

9-10 Roma Tomatoes
Olive Oil
Kosher Salt
Black Pepper
5 Cloves Garlic
Basil
Rosemary
Balsamic Vinegar

I prefer using fresh herbs, but dried work too.

Cut your tomatoes into 12 pieces each, 3 out of each quarter. You want the pieces to be pretty small so they dry quicker.

Take all of the slimy seeds out. Amazingly, they never ever dry. Put your slices into a large bowl.

Salt, garlic, olive oil, pepper, balsamic, basil.

Mince your garlic, if you have a hard time peeling the skin off, just crush the clove with your blade. It will pop and then you can get the skin right off. Easy peasy.

Put your ingredients in with your tomatoes, enough oil and balsamic to coat the tomatoes and not too much more. Mix together thoroughly.

Line a cookie sheet with foil and line up the tomatoes. You can squish them pretty close together.

Pour the oil mix left in the bowl over the tomatoes.

With the oven set to 170, bake the tomatoes for 8 hours. I usually do this at night. I put them in, go to bed and take them out in the morning so I don't really time it.

Put them in a tupperware in the fridge. They last for a long time.

These lovlies can be used for so many things. Chop them up and put them on salads, on pasta, in sauces, puree them and make delicious tomato bisque or eat them plain! I like to take french bread slices, put cream cheese mixed with rosemary and bake them, then put the tomatoes on top for a yummy bruschetta. You can pretty much put them in anything because they're so delish. Enjoy!

Eat. Sleep. Crawl?

2010-05-21T22:49:00.003-06:00

The new favorite sleeping position. I risked a lot to get this picture with the flash.

Baby. Sitter.

2010-05-04T22:36:00.003-06:00

This whole sitting thing seemed to come out of the blue, but actually we've been practicing for the last month or so. It just happened that this last weekend he got really good at it. He was doing good for the last two weeks, but now he can reach to either side without toppling over. So hooray for baby! Isn't he just the cutest little lump?

How the Time Flies

2010-04-26T20:22:00.002-06:00

Will is 6 months old today. Holy Molie. He is growing so fast, it seems like he learns to do something new every day. Some of his new tricks include sitting up and eating solids. A few weeks ago he found some consonants rolling around in his mouth and decided to let them out, he's now a very big babbler. He's figuring out his toys, what things spin and what things stretch and is getting very quick with his hands. He loves to touch and feel people faces, I love it when he gets both hands on my cheeks and checks out my face. He also gives me kisses when I rescue him from his crib (as long as I don't take too long). Needless to say, he's growing too fast. We are excited for all of the new discoveries to come! Happy 6 month birthday to my baby boy.

Hail the Conquering Hero!

2010-04-23T23:05:00.005-06:00

Mom graduated today! We are all so proud of her, she's an inspiration to us all. I was on the verge of tears all day, what a boob. Anyway, here are the pictures, I know that's what you're all here for.

We let off poppers and put all the streamers on her head... she's a good sport. :)

We're all so proud.

Will is so proud too :) Yay Grandma!

The cake in progress...

Steph making the Ti Leaf lei, she's amazing.

The finished products.

The Cake

Cake

Cake

Hangin' with Daddy

Cutie

I like all the movement in this picture, it's not flattering to anyone, just kinda cool.

Sisters, sisters, there were never such devoted sisters....... I LOOOOOOVE having her here! This was taken a split second before we we noticed what Will was up to... :)

Practice makes perfect

2010-04-05T20:36:00.003-06:00

Contrary to what the title may imply, this is not the perfect result from practice. Rather, this is the first practice of what will eventually be perfect...hopefully.
I took a cake decorating class a few weeks ago, so I do have some training.....I am making a wedding cake for a friend in May, so until then I will be making all kinds of cakes for every event imaginable. I made this cake on Saturday (it helps keep the general conference sleepies away) for an Easter/conference family dinner on Sunday. I called it a pre-wedding wedding cake because at that dinner we got to meet two soon to be in-laws! My cousin Grant is getting married to Jenny on June 19th and my other cousin Ashley is getting married to Jason on June 5th. Love is in the air.
Anyway, so here's my first go at cake decorating and it's a total BLAST, I love it. So, if you need any fun or fancy cakes just let me know! I'd be happy to whip something up! If you have anything against the taste of fondant you've had, come and taste my home-made fondant, it's DELISH, not joking. It will change your mind right around.
Keep in mind that this is not fondant, it's butter cream, which amazingly makes it look better. I do realize that these flowers are much too big for this cake, but on Sunday morning, it's a bit too late to do anything about it.

Snaphappy

2010-03-24T17:12:00.004-06:00

My last post didn't have pictures, which is quite annoying, so here's the Photo supplement.

Let's pretend that's rice cereal, and then it's just funny.

He knows what he wants.

Cousin Eve thought this was so great. A REAL baby in her stroller. As you can see, Will is a very patient boy.

Smarty.

Just a Moment

2010-03-24T15:32:00.002-06:00

The laundry is an unscalable mountain that has been getting higher at an alarming rate, the dishwasher needs to be unloaded, the living room has been sprinkled with toys, jumpers, burp cloths and blankets, the bed is half-made, and the items that are normally in my purse are spread out over the kitchen table after an unsuccessful search for...something...I don't remember what. But I am sitting here blogging, I think I have convinced myself that if I finish a post, I will have some super-human energy to tackle all of my chores that I have been putting off for about 3 hours.

William will be 5 months old on Friday, I can hardly believe it. He's one month away from being half of a year old. *gasp*
Since he turned 4 months I've just been in my own little world thinking he's just four months, which is very unlike me. I'm usually the one counting the days and thinking "he's 3 months, 2 weeks and 5 days old" because when you're this new, every day counts! So you can imagine my shock this morning when I realized that this Friday is the 26th of March, making my little Will a whopping 5 months old!

He's starting to get very good at sitting, he can go about a minute before toppling to one side or the other, and he's starting to realize how much better life is from higher up. He LOVES his Jumperoo, he would be happy jumping in there all day. He's at the squealing stage, and is teething like a son of a gun. The little bump on his bottom gums has been slowly getting bigger but for the last week or so it's been growing fast and the poor little guy has been out of sorts.

Our pediatrician (who we LOVE) told us at his 4 month checkup that his neck muscles on the right side have been shortened because he's constantly looking to the right (stretching the left muscles, if that makes sense). So we went to a pediatric therapist on Monday. What he has is called Torticollis. William doesn't have a bad case of it, but we now have a whole slew of stretches that we have to do every day, plus an hour of tummy time daily. Adding the stretches to the teething and it hasn't been a very happy week. Happily we can do most of the stretching while he's eating so he doesn't put up too much of a fuss.
Speaking of eating, we will be starting solids in the next few days, wish us luck and I will be posting fun messy dinner-time photos I'm sure.

Carter only has a few weeks left of school, hooray! It's actually a really big hooray because he's taking the summer off of school. He's been going to school non-stop since we got married and he's ready for a three month break. He only has two semesters left, wahoo! So this time next year he'll be finishing up his last semester and graduating! I'm so proud of him, he's worked so hard. He'll be graduating with a Bachelor's in Business Management with a minor in Economics, he'll also be getting his Real Estate License (he's taking a real estate class that counts as RE school, so that's handy). So get ready everyone, I'm already planning the graduation party of the century. :) I'm also planning a graduation party for this year, for my wonderful Mother. She's walking next month and we're all SO PROUD of her. I'm looking up how to make those nifty leis....

I handed in my Interior Design final project which took upwards of 90 hours to finish *holy molie*. I haven't heard back from the school yet though so until then I'm on pins and needles. If I have to do it all over again I think I might have a heart attack.
I have also started my Wedding and Event Planning course and am flying through it, actually, I've flown through the first fifteen lessons and there's where I've stopped flying and now will be slowly and meticulously working through the last eight lessons. You see, I have now started my virtual internship and the assignments are quite difficult and time consuming, so I'll just let you know when it's all over. :) I am so excited to jump into the Wedding and Party biz. I was telling my friend Jessica that hopefully my event planning business can fund the events that I plan for myself. :) I do love entertaining and come up with excuses to have parties. Last week we had a St. Patrick's day get-together, but we didn't do anything St. Patricks' day-ish. I thought about it but decided against it. Next month we'll be having an Easter party, I think we'll dye eggs even though it will probably be after Easter, maybe we'll find a hill close by to roll them down. Or maybe I'll just make deviled eggs.... ANYWAY, I do have a party planning related disease and I might as well profit from it.

And now I have worn out my welcome on my own blog and the laundry mountain is looming, so until next time...

Will's Blessing and Valentine's

2010-02-14T12:07:00.005-07:00

Wow, it's been a very crazy week and a half. Last Sunday was Will's blessing, which was so wonderful. Thank you everyone who came and supported us.

It was sooo windy and cold, and as you can see I haven't lost all my baby fat yet.

Getting ready...

We had a luncheon after the meeting, which went very well I think. We made a plethora of food and didn't have too much left over (yay!)
I was in a daze for the two days after that though, my brain just needed a break I suppose.

Tuesday and Wednesday I worked on school (which will be finished THIS WEEK). I got everything for my final presentation except I had to order some carpet samples, but they will be in this week and I will be DONE.
Friday we had a Valentine's Day dinner with some couple friends, Bryce and Jessica and Zac and Cami. I set up a little "photo shoot" like high school dances and we had fun taking pictures.

I like Valentine's Day being on a Sunday because then it becomes a whole weekend instead of just one day. We went to dinner last night and gave each other presents. Carter got a mattress topper that is DIVINE and I got him the red expansion pack for Killer Bunnies and the game Bohnanza. This morning we made heart shaped pancakes :)

Will is enjoying his Jumperoo now but he gets tired after about 15 minutes.

We put him in his crib last night, the first time we've done that, and he slept through the night! That's the first full night's sleep I've gotten in three and a half months! It was incredible. :) I woke up at 7 and got so excited and then I got worried about him (of course) so I went in to check on him and he was just fine and still asleep.
He's starting to teethe a little, he's drooling a ton and has gotten really needy. He chews on his hands and tongue (hilarious to watch). I can feel a little bulge on his gums where the incisors are... he might look like a hill billy. :)

The Halloween Costume That Never Was...

2010-02-04T13:57:00.004-07:00

Will was 6 days old on Halloween and his "newborn" size frog costume didn't fit. Now it's a bit squishy on him but I had to get pictures of him in it so this adorable costume wouldn't go to waste!

And my very favorite...

The Completed Shelves and More!

2010-01-31T22:22:00.007-07:00

I know you've all been on the edge of your seats waiting for the completed shelves, and you haven't waited in vain, I think these puppies are pretty fabulous:

Empty (almost)

With all the stuff

So there you go, but wait! More pictures!
Today was a pretty nice day (in a sub-zero kind of way) so we decided to go on a walk on the path by our house. Here's the photo documentation:

Before the walk

At the beginning...

About 5 minutes in...

This last stage didn't last long... :)

Look at these thunder thighs!! They're just so juicy!!!

Remember this onesie? Well the model now fits into it! (when I made it he was about the size of a grape)

So, my goal for finishing school by the end of January didn't come to fruition, I decided to not loose my mind and relax a little this weekend (relaxing meaning painting the shelves and re-organizing all closets in the house). But Tuesday is the day that it will all be done! I figure February 2nd isn't bad. Oh, I also signed up for the Wedding and Event Planning course, one diploma down, one more to go. I think I must be crazy, but I'm still excited to get started on it, and then finish it in record time... haha. I do have to give a huge THANK YOU to my wonderful mother for coming over to watch Will while I sit at the kitchen table and study and finish my school projects. She's the biggest life saver.

Coming up next: The REAL finishing of school, Will's Blessing, and random cute pictures of Will :)

The 3 month old

2010-01-27T23:35:00.002-07:00

Yesterday Will hit the 3 month mark. It seems like yesterday that he was born, but then again it seems like he's been here for such a long time. He is a little chatter box in the morning and will smile and laugh non stop. He's filling out so he's extra squishy and fun to cuddle. He's starting to laugh at some games (like blowing raspberries on his tummy). He's in the 95 percentile for height, wowza. He loves sucking on his hands and singles out his thumb quite naturally (dun dun dun). That's about everything we're up to, but really this picture says it all:

Pure contentment :)

Happenin's

2010-01-25T22:57:00.003-07:00

Well, the shelves in the wash room are about 78% done I'd say. Here's a preview *ooooh aaaaaah*

I actually took this picture before they were calked, so imagine a white line around all of it. :)

Carter's been so good to me, I've been asking for these since we've moved in and he's so busy, but he had Bryce Mortimer come over and help put these up. All that's left to do is paint! I can't wait to get all of my soapy/clothes-y items up there! Actually, the main two reasons they're important are:
1. Will is going to be mobile in the foreseeable future and all my cleaning products are on the bottom shelf of my bathroom linen closet and...
2. The hall end closet (my "Office") is full of things that could be on those shelves, like the iron and my stock of hand soaps and body washes that I get at the half yearly sale at Bath and Body works (that's a sale that I can never pass up). Amazingly, I need more room for my school and office things.

So, I'm sure you're all so interested in this post, but if you're wondering what happened last week at our house, there you go.

But wait, there's more!

Our good friends, Zac and Cami Anderson told us on Monday that they're expecting in August. WA HOO! Couple friends with a baby!!! I had to keep it on the down low, but then Zac's dad (in the sate presidency of the stake that we grew up in) announced it over the pulpit in Stake Conference yesterday, so I figure I'm safe posting it on a blog that about 5 people read.
Anyway, we're SO excited for them (and for Will to have a little buddy).

Also, I'd like to announce that by This next Saturday I will be DONE with my Interior Design course! I've been working my little hynee off this month to get it done and over with. I did my new years resolutions differently this year, I made a goal for every month instead of the whole year, that way I don't get sick of the resolution by the middle and January and eventually forget about it until next new years. :) So, January's goal was to finish school and I didn't realize it would take so much time BUT the good news is that I think I can do it. The laundry might be a big heap on the dryer and the dishes may be stacked up in the sink, but I WILL get school finished! :)

Will is doing so good. He's laughing and smiling lots and is starting to arch his back and kind of turn over, which is exciting. He gets cuter and chubbier by the second, he's so fun to cuddle.

Anyway, it's time to go.

Stay tuned next time for the finishing of the shelves and the completion of school!

2009-12-29T23:30:00.003-07:00

Deer in the headlights. :D

What We've Been Up To

2009-12-22T17:44:00.005-07:00

Now that Carter and I have made a significantly cuter person, all pictures on this blog will be of him. :) I just have to show you all what we've been up to this month, from Will's perspective (which isn't a whole bunch of exciting things, but he looks cute so that makes it interesting.)

I have been looking adorable in my bunny suit (which is now a bit squishy on me and mom is sad)

My neck is getting so strong, this picture was taken a few weeks ago and I'm even stronger now. hooah!

I have made two visits to Great Grandma Harward's house. This is the first time we met, I was a bit out of it.

I LOOOVE my daddy. When he walks into the room I don't let him out of my sight. Taking naps is something we like to do together.

I am an expert smiler and am getting better at laughing too. I like to smile during diaper changes, so here is a picture of the pretty end of that activity.

Baths. I have mixed feelings about them. They're fine until we get to the face and neck.

I look adorable in hooded towels.

I also look adorable when I'm all ready for bed with my jammies and soothie.

Well, that's all we've been up to. You can see in these pictures how much he's grown over the past month and a half, it's happy and sad at the same time. My mom always told me not to grow up, and now I know where she was coming from. Oh well, c'est la vie! We're having so much fun watching Will discover new things, like his hands, which he now stares at all the time and sucks on non stop. He's getting better at sleeping through the night (wa hoo!) and is eating lots. We are looking forward to Christmas and hope you all have a very merry one as well.

That Blogging Feeling

2009-12-03T22:30:00.004-07:00

I'm giving notice right now that this post has no pictures, so it might be boring...

For the last few days I've wanted to post something, but I didn't have anything in particular to write about. I still don't have anything to write about but I'm writing anyway.

Two days ago I realized that William can now smile because he's happy, not just because he has the toots. He was also laughing in his sleep today and it was adorable. *This is where I could post a picture of him smiling, but I don't have one since they're a little unpredictable and he hasn't been very happy because of this next part...
I'm filled with guilt because I took some medicine and William got a rash from it. My friend Season said that a big part of parenting must be feeling guilty and I think she might be right.
So, Will has a diaper rash and we're all sad about it, but it's starting to look better. However, I don't know the average life span of a diaper rash.

This Thanksgiving was a little different. All the food was great (except the things I made, but that's a different story) and it was
great to be with family, but Dad Rasmussen was really sick with a cold and flu and by the next day about 4 other people in the family had it, one of those people being Carter. So, for the next few days Carter had the cold/flu and Will and I stayed away from him.
Turns out that we didn't stay quite far enough away because now I'm getting it. Luckily not the flu part, just the cold (that's why I took the fateful medicine). Will hasn't gotten sick and I don't think he will (the miracle of breast feeding) but I'll keep you posted because I know you're all very interested.
We did take advantage of some Black Friday deals at Best Buy. We adopted a TV.. and a Wii. This is an invitation to anyone that would like to come and play with us, we'd love to have you! I can guarantee that you will beat me.

It is now time to wrap up this haphazard post with a wish for all of you to have a very happy holiday season! We love you all!

Will's First Walk

2009-11-16T16:26:00.007-07:00

Well today was a gorgeous fall day outside, (this means the sun was shining, not that it was warm in any way) so Will and I decided to go for a walk. We've been bumming around the house for the last three weeks and so this outing was long overdue. This technically isn't Will's first walk, we've gone in the stroller up to the clubhouse quite a few times, but I don't count that as a real walk, it takes less than a minute to get there. Anyway, the Provo Canyon trail is just outside our door so we figured we might as well use it. What I didn't know is that there are three different marked trails going around the Riverwoods! So we came across the trail head sign and decided to do a 1.13 mile walk, it's good for starters. Most of the trail went right along the Provo River (see picture below) and it ended right at our doorstep! How perfect! We had fun crunching the leaves under the stroller, even though it got kinda loud at times and disturbed the one of us that napped through the whole thing.
I have a goal to not only reach my pre-pregnancy weight, but my pre-"dating Carter" weight, which is pretty lofty because before I started dating Carter I had no life and spent 2 hours a day at the gym... so we'll see. But we have a gym and pool being put in at the clubhouse so that'll help. I'm very excited to get back into shape and I have enough time before next swimsuit season! Hooray!

Introducing William Kent Rasmussen

2009-11-12T21:57:00.009-07:00

We just got our proofs back from our first family photo shoot and they turned out amazing! Mandi was so great to work with and she does such an amazing job. Check out her website!

Absolutely Beautiful

2009-10-31T13:34:00.002-06:00

In my looking for a newborn photographer web browsing, I found this beautiful slideshow. I never thought about having a photographer in the delivery room, but if I looked this good during delivery I just might consider it! Needless to say I cried through this whole slideshow :) and I chose this photographer! Newborn pics of precious William are coming soon!

The Birth of a Sweet Little Girl from Mandi Nuttall on Vimeo.

Another Work Project

2009-09-01T21:48:00.002-06:00

Hey everyone! It's been much much too long since I last posted, life just keeps getting busier!
We lost our camera for a few weeks and I can't post without pictures, so we've been post-less. But the good news is that we got the camera back and are ready to rock & roll! Anyway, all I have pictures of are projects that I do for work, so I'm posting pictures of one of my favorite projects so far, a reading chart with extra "umph". Enjoy!

New Job Description

2009-07-21T12:47:00.004-06:00

To make it easier after the baby gets here, my job description has changed at Oh My Crafts. I still assist the owner, but I'm also part of the design team, creating things that either kids can do, or that feature kids! I am SO excited!!! Anyway, all my stuff is going to be on the company website and blog, so I decided to post them on this blog too! After all, they're my creations. So, as the first installment I used the new Hello Kitty dies from Sizzix to create a few fun things. Since I am the Hello Kitty lover of the office, I was assigned to it. So, here they are!

More Baby Projects

2009-07-18T12:32:00.003-06:00

Here are some pictures of more projects I've done for baby. The first one is just a little tag blankie with all kinds of fun ribbons to suck on to his heart's content. And then mom and I made a bumper and some fitted sheets for the bassinet, I made it a neutral color because there is no way we're doing that for every baby, it was quite the project. But they're all finished and I'm so excited about them!

Oregon Family Reunion

2009-07-15T19:32:00.010-06:00

Hooray for family reunions! Last week was our first "Harward Family Reunion" - meaning my parents and their kids. We've grown big enough and live far enough away from each other to merit a reunion! That's a happy and sad thing. Anyway, we got together and had a four day party. :) The only thing that kept us from being in total bliss was that my sister, Cami, and her family got stuck in the Chicago airport and couldn't make it any further west because we all flew standby and nothing was available. I was about in tears when I heard that they wouldn't make it. But we have another reunion for my mom's side of the family this Christmas, hopefully they can make it to that, they're the ones that live the farthest away.
We went up to Oregon where my brother has a vacation cabin right by Mt. Hood. the weather was BEAUTIFUL and everything was green! There's many pictures to be posted, so let's get started!

Us at Multinoma Falls, it is SO beautiful. We were going to stop there on our honeymoon but ran out of time, but there's no time like the present!

Trillium Lake. It's an amazing view of Mt. Hood... and of my big ol' belly in a swimsuit! :S

Grant and Megan out on the canoe with Carter where he told them the story of the swamp monster which they didn't stop talking about the rest of the trip.

Rand looking surprised without any hands during the "variety show".

Mom and Dad's 40th anniversary surprise cake! We all look funny because we're in the middle of singing.

Grandma and the kids on the treasure hunt!

Grandpa helping dig up the buried treasure.

Hooray for the loot!

Grandma playing with the kiddles.

All the adults dominated the playing balls. This is the part where we're looking nice, but out of the picture there are four siblings aiming plastic balls at our heads and four nieces and nephews crying from getting hit with balls that were aimed at their parents. :)

In line for the Indy Carts

Rand and Colin passing me

McKell, he's probably passing me too.

Carter and Liam. Cuuute.

McKell on the bungee trampoline. I wanted to do it, but I don't think it would've been good for baby boy.

Carter zipping down the alpine slide, he got the fast carts with 4 wheels instead of 2. Lucky duck.

Carter and Colin ready to head down the slide!

Me and Megan. She wanted to ride the ski lifts all day until I convinced her to just try the slide.... she changed her mind :)

Uncle Rob and the kids on the trampoline, he later recruited help from the other uncles to even things out.

Onesie Fun!

2009-07-01T14:51:00.003-06:00

Hey everyone! I've been having so much fun working on a few baby things, but I only have pictures of this one onesie so far. I'll post more pictures as I get them. Baby things are just too much fun to make!

It's a...

2009-06-04T18:09:00.006-06:00

Hey Everyone!
We had a special treat today, the doctor called and moved our ultrasound appointment up to today instead of tomorrow! Yippee!
So here are the pictures, they tell all. :)

This is the best profile we could get because the little stinker wouldn't move, even though the nurse was going at my stomach from every angle. Ouchie.

Look at that adorable little face.

You can't really read what it says, you can see this is the arm and hand and it says "Thumbs up!!"

And if you can't read those two, it says "It's a Boy!" Hooray!

Everything looks good, he's about 14 ounces and 10 inches long and the due date is still October 19th. What a happy happy day! :)

Alaska!

2009-06-01T09:28:00.004-06:00

Hey Everyone!
Sorry I'm not very good at updating our blog, I'm sure within the next few months there will be more to blog about. But, here's something fun, Alaska! For work I helped put together crafting classes on an Alaskan Cruise. It was a lot of work and a lot of fun!

At the Red Onion Saloon, quite the fun place. And I love my hat.

These hats were amazing! That's probably why we got in trouble for taking pictures of them...

Amazing King Crab! These crabs actually come from the ship on Deadliest Catch! How fun is that?!

On the Mendenhall Glacier. We got to take a helicopter up there, land on it, and explore a little bit. It was sweeeeet. This is Dave (one of the scrapbooking instructors) and I walking on a big ice puddle and not sinking, crazy feeling.

I also have pictures from Memorial Day at Lake Mead, yay! I'll be writing about that soon, along with Carter's birthday on Wednesday, jury duty, and the big Boy or Girl question! There's only 4 days until we find out! Yippee! It's a big week for us, as you can see.

Pregnancy Lesson #1

2009-04-10T21:29:00.002-06:00

Forget your inhibitions of throwing up in public toilets. I've been taught a lot of things in the last 12 weeks, but this is just the first lesson that I've been taught more than once. Thank goodness I haven't been taught not to care about throwing up without a toilet...

Shanghai

2009-03-08T10:55:00.005-06:00

Hey Everyone!
Tonight is my last night in China. Here are some pictures from the last few days. Most of them are from the Yu Gardens in Shanghai. I actually found a piece of carved wood from a roof that had fallen to the ground... so I kept it for safe keeping. ;)

One of my very favorite pictures.

Polishing Pearls. This bowl vibrates and swirls the pearls and peach pits. (These pearls are pink, I wanted her to put white ones in but she couldn't understand me)

Pearl Fields, sorry it's blurry. The bottles mark the rows.

Dinner with Walter, the owner of Lucky Square restaurant. Amazing food and LOTS of it! See how big the lazy susan is? It was packed with food by the end of the night.

Baby & Hong Kong Day #1

2009-03-05T05:47:00.004-07:00

Hello Everyone!
I am so sorry for this neglected blog. But, I'm posting now so yay!
If you haven't heard, we are having a baby! I'm about 6 weeks pregnant and we couldn't be more excited! The baby is due in late October.
Right now I'm in Hong Kong for work/foot massages. Here are some pictures from today. The first ones are from going up to The Peak. There's a tram that goes STRAIGHT UP to the top on Hong Kong island and you can see the whole city from there. You can't tell from the pictures how steep it is. It's very beautiful, unfortunately is was all fog this morning so we couldn't see anything further than about 20 feet in front of us, but the rain forest is very beautiful. I also was lucky enough to get a picture with Jackie Chan! ;)

CHA

2009-01-19T16:13:00.003-07:00

Hello Everyone!

This Saturday I'm headed to the CHA convention (Crafts and Hobby Association) in Anaheim. My very first business trip! Wahoo! I just started working for Oh My Crafts!, an online distributor of scrap-booking supplies. And since I have such a crafty family, I thought some of you might be interested. This convention is one of the two biggest craft conventions in the US. I'm going to look at all the displays and find new crafty things that we'd be interested in selling. So, if anyone has anything they've heard of that they'd be interested in hearing more about, let me know! I'll also be posting when I get back and let you know all the neat new things I've found! Yay! Love you all!

Black Friday

2008-12-02T10:58:00.002-07:00

Well, this year Black Friday lived up to it's name! This really isn't a good picture because Carter took it on his phone, it was rainy and misty as you can see. I was on my way to work and got into a big crash, no fun. :( But the good news is that I'm alive (thanks to my seat belt)! Hooray! The paramedic actually said that it literally did save my life. So I have a totally new perspective on life and I love you all so so so much! Carter has been so sweet and has taken such good care of me. I hope you all have a wonderful day!!

-Katie

Update

2008-11-01T23:10:00.002-06:00

I am so sorry everyone, we still don't have internet and that's my excuse for not writing more, but we've been so busy lately, I doubt I would have anyway.So, quick update... Carter is finishing up the semester and will get his Associates!!! WAHOO! He's doing FANTASTIC in school. Here's a cool story: Carter is in a college success class (mostly for freshmen but Carter needed a class at that time for the credits), they were discussing how different people learn. Carter said that what he does is thinks about what the professor is saying and analyzes it to see if it makes sense, if he understands it, he remembers it. So, his teacher said that some of his colleagues are doing a study on this subject and what they have found is that people who learn that way (the way Carter does) are the geniuses. So, long story short, Carter is genius (which I have known since high school because Carter never studied and always got better scores, which is really annoying. But now there's scientific proof). Anyway, hooray for Carter and school! He's also still working at Boss Engineering (which is where we are right now) and they still love him. Thank goodness that they still have work and new contracts coming in. They work with government and commercial companies for the most part, thank goodness.
As for me, I'm working is Husband and Wife and I am loving it. It's in American Fork, which is a bit of a drive, but soon (I don't know how soon, but I'm hoping ASAP) I will be managing a new store in Orem! Yippee! Much closer and better pay.
We're loving our little basement under Alesa and Jake. They just had their sweet baby Nora two weeks ago and we're having a ball being able to see her just about every day! She was such a cute little skeleton for Halloween! :)
This month (November) is our family temple month! Wahoo! I'm so excited. Every day this month, someone in our family will be in the temple. I've been trying to go every two weeks, and so far I've done it. It is so wonderful to be able to leave the world behind and feel total peace for a little bit, most times I don't want to leave.
I've been thinking about Thanksgiving that's coming up and how much we have to be thankful for. Lately I have thought a lot about the knowledge that the gospel brings into our lives. With the challenges we face and how crazy the world is getting, the Gospel is what keeps me hopeful. Everything is under control and if we are faithful we have no need to fear. So, this month I invite everyone to think about things that we are truly grateful for, things that can't be taken away from us.
We love you all.
C&K

Temple in Rome, Italy

2008-10-05T12:35:00.003-06:00

Hello everyone!
I'm so sorry I haven't posted forever, we don't have the internet at our apartment yet. But I am writing to comment on the announcement that a temple will be built in Rome, Italy. I can't even begin to express my feelings. A few things went through my head when the announcement was made and I am just too excited not to share them. First, I thought of my families and friends there. The gospel isn't prominent there, most people haven't ever heard of the church, not even rumors or anything about polygamy. I am hoping that my friends will be able to visit the temple grounds and feel the spirit that is there. I want so much for them to feel the love the Savior has for them.
Second, I thought of my wonderful branch and all the members in Italy. The closest temple is in Bern, Switzerland. It's only about 5 hours from Milan, but for them, that's a very long way (distance is perceived differently there, my host grandma Rinna has never been to Rome because it's too far, it's about 4 hours away). What amazed me when we got to Bern were the members. It was like we were all part of a family. The Church owns a hostel about 20 yards away from the temple that everyone stays in. We walked into the kitchen and everyone came to hug us and welcome us. They all knew each other. They came from all over Italy, from Sicily to Naples to Venice. They all glowed and the spirit was so strong around them. I never thought that the term "brothers and sisters in the church" could be so literal, they love each other and love the Lord. The love they have for the temple is overwhelming and I can't being to imagine their joy to have a temple close by.
The third thing I thought about was ROME. Rome, Italy, the center of the Catholic church, the Vatican. Rome has been a huge contributor to world religion for centuries. It was the center of Paganism until the reformation to Christianity by Constantine the Great, and now the Vatican state is within it. Finally, the truth will be established there. How big a difference it will be from the grandiose halls of the Vatican to be on the temple grounds and feel the quiet peace and love the gospel brings.
I'm sure this isn't of great importance to most of you, I just needed to share my feelings and gratitude I have for the gospel and how excited I am for the truth to be declared with more power to a people that I love very dearly.

Thank Yous

2008-07-25T11:27:00.002-06:00

From the company blog:
There are so many people to thank when I think about what it has taken to get me to where I am. This may seem a little overboard since I'm just setting up a company, not accepting an award or publishing a book. But this is a big step for me and I would be very ungrateful if I didn't take just a minute to give recognition to some of the people who have helped me through the years.
First, I am so grateful to my parents for giving me the opportunities to grow and stretch my creativity. They never discouraged me in any dream I've had. Dad is the one that said "Katie, why don't you go into interior design? You critique people's houses already". And I could never ask for a better mom, she has always been there for me no matter what. I could write all day about how wonderful she is. Any creativity I have, I got from her.
My wonderful husband Carter. There are so many things I could say to his credit. He knows who I can be and what I can accomplish, and his encouragement has changed my life.
I am blessed with the most wonderful family. All of my brothers and sisters and in-laws. I look up to every one of them and will never be able to thank them enough for everything they have done and continue to do for me.
I have had wonderful teachers and influences through the years. Mary Reeder, Lonnie Grater, Edoardo D'Angelli, Giuseppe & Guiseppina Fassina, Paolo Pizzinelli, Serafina Fassina, Lucia Muscardin, Cristina Baccella, Monica Riedel, and Marla Snow, just to name a few. My experience with each one of these people has had a huge impact in my life and has changed me for the better.
Finally, I would like to thank Chase Palmer for everything he has done to help me get this business set up. He has helped me with the ideas for the logo, the setup of the company, and has spent hours oh yahoo messenger with me, taking time from his work answering questions and being excited with me.

GRAZIE MILLE.

Update

2008-07-23T15:54:00.003-06:00

Hello everyone! It has been ages since I've posted anything, so sorry! Life has been busy. Since I wrote last we have moved, Carter has gone fishing in Alaska, I have set up (almost all the way) my design company, and we have THREE tomatoes on our tomato plant! YES! So, from the top, we MOVED! I never thought it would be such a tiring thing! We didn't even have to pack up all of our stuff, it was already in boxes and we just moved and unpacked and it was still so tiring. But, the good news is that we're all moved in! (photos on this post will be coming probably on Friday because we don't have internet at our new place yet) We are loving our new place and invite everyone to come over! I just found out that Catherine McAllister Shapiro is in our new ward! WOW. I am so excited because since kindergarten I've always looked up to her, she was always happy and full of energy, and she went on a foreign exchange to Belgium and from that time on I had a goal to go on one, and then I did! So anyway, I am so happy that I'll get to rub shoulders with her.
Ok, next, Carter went fishing in Alaska with all the boys in his family. I haven't heard all the stories from the trip, but from what I do know, it was lots of fun and definitely an experience. They each brought home 44 pounds of fish, so if anyone has some good halibut recipes let me know! From the pictures, Alaska looks absolutely gorgeous.
I am setting up my company! the name, Sera Lucia, is being registered with the state as we speak and I got my EIN. YAY! I'm going to go over some things with my boss to set it all up just right (it is so handy working for a lawyer). AND I started a company blog www.seralucia.blogspot.com . I am so excited to get the show on the road! Thank you everyone for your business name suggestions! I know I'm going to use all of the runner-up names for other purposes within the company. I think I'll explain the name I chose, since I wanted the name to be something that has meaning to me, not just a pretty name. the name Sera Lucia comes from my two Italian moms, Serafina and Lucia. I didn't really pay attention to design and architecture before I went to Italy, but over there, design is so important to them, it's such a huge part of their culture, and I really came to love their style. Anyway, I thought it was fitting for the company to be named something Italian, and Sera Lucia just sounds good.
Last but CERTAINLY not least, we have 3 TOMATOES!! I am so excited. I have been taking care of my little plants with no results. but finally yesterday I was looking and there they were! Three beautiful little green roma tomatoes. Carter is not as excited, but I was just giddy.
I'll be uploading pictures soon.
We love you all!

Tagged

2008-06-12T09:16:00.003-06:00

Tedi tagged me!

JOYS:
1. Carter
2. Family
3. Creativity

FEARS:
1. Something happening to Carter
2. Something happening to any of my family
3. The world my kids will have to grow up in

GOALS:
1. FINISH SCHOOL
2. Have a family
3. Have a successful business

CURRENT OBSESSIONS:
1. Country time strawberry lemonade
2. Thai and Korean food
3. Blogging

RANDOM SURPRISING FACTS:
1. I've never seen It's a Wonderful Life
2. I have come into contact with the Italian Mafia
3. I got to leave the Sistine Chapel last and turn off the light.

I tag Steph, Anne, & Lis.

The Birthday Boy Cont...

2008-06-04T18:30:00.004-06:00

The birthday boy!

Mom and Dad

STRAWBERRY PIE!!!

Yesterday Was Carter's Birthday and we had a nice night at home. I broke my "not taking pictures" streak, as you can see.
Thanks to mom for the amazing dinner! We had kabobs a la Janell Peay, potato salad a la Aysha Harward, spinach salad a la mom, and AMAZING strawberry pie a la Jim Brady! :) Then we had an exciting game of rook that I fell asleep in the middle of because I had taken Benedryl. :O I don't remember much of the rest of the night. So, in the picture I looked drugged, and I was. :)

Birthday Boy!

2008-06-02T20:35:00.005-06:00

Well, tomorrow is Carter's big 21st BIRTHDAY! Woo hoo! We had our "Carter's birthday/our engagement anniversary" dinner. How that happened was: Carter's birthday was on a Sunday last year and we were going up to his mom's for dinner, but I wanted to make him a dinner too, so we did it the day before. What I didn't know was that Carter was going to propose that night too, so there you have it. We had the same dinner of steak and shrimp fondue with mashed potatoes, yummy carrots, rolls, etc. yum yum yum!
I have been such a horrible blogger lately, mainly because I don't like to post something without a picture, and I haven't taken any pictures lately! We've done such fun things these last two weeks and I just haven't gotten the camera out. But I suppose I can fill you in with what we've been up to. Well, two weekends ago was Memorial day and we headed down to sunny St. George. We had lots of fun with everyone there. We swam and ate and talked and relaxed, just what memorial day should be. This last weekend we went up to the Anderson's cabin to celebrate Zack's homecoming! It was so much fun to be with everyone from Carter's old neighborhood. We played games and rode the 4-wheelers and had a great time. I shot my first shotgun, well, my first any kind of gun and hit a clay pigeon, I am still pretty proud of myself. :) I don't know how I didn't get any pictures of any of this. tisk tisk.
Anyway, that's what we've been up to. Carter is in school this summer, we're hoping to get his bachelors next fall and then he might go on to get his MBA, which would be a really good thing. My boss put me in charge of all the advertising/marketing for the office, we're opening a new office in Ephraim so she really wants to get our name out there. Since this added responsibility, things have been really hectic at work, but I really love doing it. I created a logo for us that rocks (in my personal opinion) and I am also working on logos for two other companies as well! fun fun fun! We'll be moving to Provo in early July we think. I just realized that it's about a month away, where does the time go?! But I am SO excited for it. To have our own living space again will be awesome. Mom and Dad have been more than great and we'll miss all the rook. :) We hope everyone is doing wonderful and we love you all!

Haircut Picture

2008-04-18T17:23:00.003-06:00

I didn't think people would ask to see the haircut, but they did. So, here it is! Even though it's not that short, it was a big cut for me :)

Haircuts and Sunny St. George!

2008-04-17T21:14:00.004-06:00

Kyle, being Kyle

Pool Tag, you can see Autum screaming in the background...

The "match game" in the hot tub

Cute one of Court & Ali

Courtney & Ali dancing

Ali dancing (the flash was off so it's kinda blurry, but I think it looks cool)

Well, this last weekend we had another great trip down to St. George. I swam most of Saturday with the kids and got a nice little burn, didn't hurt but I got nice and pink. We love to see our family down there. It was Abby's first birthday so Renee's parents came up from Arizona, which was a bonus! I also got a haircut, which isn't exciting for anyone else but me, and I'm WAY excited about this one, probably because it's my first "big" haircut since 2004. Haha. I got it cut about a week ago, but it wasn't quite what I had pictured, so I got more layers and highlights yesterday and now I love it. This is making me sound kinda shallow, but I guess I'm just that excited. Carter got his hair cut yesterday too! I love clean cut hair! Yay! Anyway, I got some pictures of the pool fun. We usually listen to Greatest Hits by Elton John, hence why I put Tiny Dancer first on my playlist. Ali loves to dance for us, she's really a doll. So listen and enjoy!

Topaz Mountain

2008-04-01T21:55:00.003-06:00

The Camp

Bryce & Jessica

Digging for Geodes

Carter's Geode, not in focus, but it is very awesome

The boys fixing the tire.

This last weekend we took a little trip down to Topaz Mountain with our friends, Bryce and Jessica Mortimer. It was our first run of all the camping gear we got for our wedding and Christmas, Thank you EVERYONE, everthing worked GREAT. We went down to look for, of course, topaz, and geodes as well. We camped on Friday night and Saturday was the big rock hunting day. Jessica was so excited to get down there, we finally got to our camping spot and got out of the truck, stretched, looked around, and Jessica was already halfway up the road digging for rocks. Haha, she was pretty excited about being there. We had tin foil dinners and talked and had a good time that night. By the time we got up the next morning, Jessica had been on top of the mountain chiseling for topaz for about an hour. As far as topaz, you only find little pieces, but we found some really neat geodes. Carter found the first (and the best) one, the pictures doesn't give it justice. To get to the layer where the geodes are, you have to dig about 4 feet into the ground. We just found holes that someone else dug and kept digging. :) There's a layer of red and white clay down there and that's where you find them. It was a lot of fun. Saturday we drove about 70 miles of dirt road, and when we finally got onto a paved road about 10 yards, the tire blows out. :( Poor Bryce and Carter had to get under the truck and use the incredibly awful jack (it was one that just has a little socket for a bar and you twist it up kind of like winding up a jack-in-the-box). The bad part was that with each turn the jack went up about 1/4 centimeter). So, the poor boys, after shoveling and pick axe-ing all day, spent a good 45 minutes twisting the thing. But, they were so tired they were giggling about how much their bodies hurt the whole time, which I guess is good, but makes me feel bad at the same time. Thank goodness for husbands is all I have to say! But, all in all, we were back in the road in about an hour, made good time, and the trip was still lots of fun!
P.S. to Demanie - I'm SO happy that I was the one behind the camera this time, the camera isn't friendly when you look like death warmed over with no makeup ;D

Spring and Name Changes.

2008-03-24T19:40:00.006-06:00

Well, today was an exciting day! I FINALLY got my name changed legally! Yay! Until now the only institutions that had my name as Katie Rasmussen was our bank and the church records. But now I've got Social Security and my Driver's License all updated. Yahoo! Now all I need to do is taxes....... :(
We had a great Easter weekend. Saturday we colored eggs and flew Carter's plane a bit. Then we had dinner with Carter's old roomate, Cam. Sunday we had a great family dinner at grandma's in Bountiful.
Spring is in the air and it's about time! I started spring cleaning today with the car. I vacuumed, scrubbed, and Armour All-ed the poor thing to death, I even hung up a new Scentsy car candle, mmmmmmm. Now I just have to tackle my work desk (oh my).
Carter got some exciting news from his school counselor the other day. He's one semester away from his Associates in Drafting! Yay! I'm excited for him, he really works hard. He's excited to be half-way to his Bachelors. :) He's thinking of getting his Bachelors in Business Management, which I think would be really good for him.
We were thinking the other day about how lucky we are to have such a wonderful family and amazing friends, we are so blessed and we'd like to thank all of you for being so great. You're in our thoughts and prayers! We love you all and hope to see you soon!
Bacioni! (BIG kisses!)
C&K

Happy Easter!

2008-03-21T14:07:00.000-06:00

Happy Easter Everyone! We love you all!

Dixie Fun!

2008-03-17T09:36:00.005-06:00

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This weekend was lots of fun for us. First we had Chelsey's graduation from Bon Losee beauty school, CONGRATULATIONS CHELSEY! Then we took a little trip down to St. George to be with Mom and Dad. Saturday morning we went out with the wheelers and had a blast. :) Then Sam and Lacey came over and we talked and sat around in the hot tub, ahhhhhh. Ali is the cutest little dancer and put on a show for us, she's really good at her ballet positions. Now it's back to trying to loose the St. George pounds that we always put on! Thanks for the wonderful weekend everyone!!

Linkin Park

2008-03-09T13:31:00.004-06:00

Saturday night was the Linkin Park concert (Carter's Valentine gift). We had really good seats (not in the mosh). It was a lot of fun, besides being SO tired Sunday morning and then realizing that we went onto daylight savings and were late for church. Thank goodness for Sunday naps :)

A Baby!

2008-03-08T15:59:00.001-07:00

Today was one of my very best friend's baby shower! Nicole will be having baby Kaydence Alee in about a month and a half and we are all excited! It's been so long since we've all been together and it was so fun just to chat with the girls from the old neighborhood. :)

My Office

2008-02-29T15:17:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone! Today my co-worker and I had to give a presentation at Spanish Fork High about being Legal Assistants and we made this little video of our office (just pictures of different rooms and such, nothing too exciting). My co-worker wanted to show it to her dad so he could kinda see what the office looks like, so we posted it on youtube! :) Anyway, if you're interested, here it is!
Enjoy!
Katie

Mom's New Blog

2008-01-12T15:16:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone!
Today I helped my Mom make a new blog for music that she's written. The music is mostly for youth. She has had some requests for one of her songs "Take A Stand" since the song goes along with the theme for the Young Women this year, "Steadfast and Immovable". She decided to make a blog where she can post her music for anyone who wants to use it. So, if you want to, check it out! www.musicforyouth.blogspot.com

Templates!

2008-01-05T18:16:00.000-07:00

A step by step way to make your blog super cute! :)
http://sjhblogdesign.blogspot.com/

2008-01-04T19:22:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone! I hope your holidays were great, ours sure was. It was so great to see everyone. This Fall we went down to St. George for some family pictures, so I thought I'd put them on here. Well, updates.... Carter just had his first day of Spring semester today, he had three of his five classes and said they were ok, his teachers will take some getting used to. He's still working at BOSS Engineering and is liking that. I am working at Marla R. Snow & Associates as a Receptionist/Assistant, within amonth or two we will be expanding the office and getting a new receptionist and I will be an assistant to two lawyers (in short, getting a raise, cha ching!). Anyway, I am really having a good time there, the people are great. I am also continuing with school and will hopefully be done at the end of February and then I will start my design firm (if anyone has suggestions for a name, PLEASE let me know). I am SO excited to get going on that. I mentioned the expanding office, my boss has put me in charge of the interior design and construction design of the office (we're knocking a big whole in the wall to combine two offices) anyway, I've been drafting and planning that, we start construction at the beginning of February, which will be really exciting. Other than that, we're just having a good time. Carter built a stand for the TV in our room, which has been great (kinda rustic looking, but it works great and will be great in our future garage). Well, we love you all and hope to hear from you soon!!!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!

2007-11-28T20:24:00.000-07:00

We hope everyone has the very happiest of Christmases! We love you all!
C&K

Hot Water

2007-10-05T23:12:00.000-06:00

Ok, before we got married I totally took hot running water for granted, but then we moved into our apartment which had problems with it's water heater. Anyway, so, long story short, we've been heating water in pots and putting it in the tub. UNTIL TODAY... dun dun dun......... Ok, so a man came today and fixed our heater. YAY!!! About an hour later I took the first hot shower in two months! HOORAY!!!!!!!!!! So, that made my whole week or probably month. :D :D :D Anyway, just thought I'd share the good news!

Wedding/Honeymoon

2007-10-04T23:15:00.000-06:00

Well, next Tuesday we'll be married for two whole months! Woo hoo!! Lol, I know it's not much, but we're working on it. ;) Just so everybody is up to speed, Carter and I got married on August 9th in the Salt Lake City LDS Temple, the best day of our lives! We spent our honeymoon in Salt Lake City, Lincoln City on the Oregon coast, and a cabin by Mount Hood. It was the greatest vacation ever. About a week ago we got rid of the last stray boxes around the apartment and are officially moved in! yay! We're both doing good with work and school and church. I was called to be the 4th Sunday Relief Society Instructor and taught my first lesson a couple of weeks ago; Carter hasn't recieved a calling yet and I'm telling him not to get too comfortable, he'll be snatched up any minute now. Needless to say, we're on the run most of the time. Well, I better go, I'm all ready for bed and in about 15 minutes will be out like a light. :) We love you all and can't wait to hear from you!!