Back at the Ranch

A gift of a better marriage.. who doesn't want that??!?

2011-12-01T12:58:00.002-07:00

I just wanted to remind you all, The Dating Divas awesome E-Books pre-sale (almost 50% off promo) ends today.

AND The Dating Divas Marriage E-Book arrived today soooo it will be sent out to everyone today! Woo Hoo! If you haven't already snagged both books for the special promo price of $27 I strongly suggest you go snag them now. You will not be sorry!

GO NOW!!!

Here is a little bit about each book:

THE A to Z GUIDE: 26 Ways in 26 Days to a Happier, Healthier Marriage

Since we can’t come to each of your homes & have a FUN Girl’s Night Out…..we decided to do the NEXT best thing! We’ve gathered our BEST marriage tips – the secrets behind the success in our own marriages and compiled them into a book to share with all of you! A collaboration effort by us, the Divas, we share touching, enlightening, and humorous stories to demonstrate each marriage tip. You will get to see a glimpse inside the marriages of a few of the divas. {Hang onto your hats!} By applying these simple, yet valuable tips, you will start to experience a different, happier marriage right away. This ebook will give you practical tools to literally transform your marriage.

THE ULTIMATE DATE NIGHT BOOK

You asked for it AND we delivered!! We gathered all of our TOP dates (voted by readers and Divas) plus fresh, never before seen or published date ideas…..and compiled them into our first DATE ebook! This is the perfect book to have on hand for planning date nights! We pretty much have your Friday Night Date Nights planned out for you! We did all the work, you can enjoy the results. Make a 2012 resolution to spice up the date nights for your marriage! {We also thought this would be the perfect book to give away as a wedding present!}

PRICING:

How much do they cost?

The A to Z Guide: 26 Ways in 26 Days to a Happier, Healthier Marriage {$9.97}
The ULTIMATE Date Night Book {$37.00}
Special Limited Time Offer – BOTH EBOOKS – $20.00 off!! {$27.00}

We have also found that SO many wives out there truly want to improve their marriage! These are books written BY women FOR women and they are making a difference! The ladies we asked to “pre-read” these books before our release have found that by applying the tips in the Marriage Book {The A to Z Guide} – they saw a definite difference in their relationship. The Ultimate Date Book is coming in handy for couples in keeping the spark alive in marriages throughout the weekend. Date Night has NEVER been so easy!

With the new year coming up... make 2012 the year you vow to do a regular date night. The Dating Divas make it so easy, even for the nights you need to stay in with kids in bed and not spend any money.

Can you tell I LOVE these ladies, I LOVE these books, and I LOVE LOVE working with all of them for such a wonderful cause that is near to my heart. I want all of you my dear friends and family, to have a wonderful time with your spouse and do it the easy and fun way. Seriously... these are great.

Happy Holidays!

It's Finally Complete

2011-11-09T22:44:00.000-07:00

Wow! Do I have a lot to catch up on from this whirlwind of a Summer, then Fall has already come and gone, and now Winter is quickly approaching. We are still alive and kicking... just have had a gazillion projects going on, and lots of family fun.

For now though, swing on over to my photography page, Nicole Martin Photography, and check out it's new look and a super fun GIVEAWAY going on starting today. I mean, who doesn't like FREE stuff!?! As soon as things slow down (hopefully soon) I will be able to catch up on life in general and share some fun stuff going on with us right now.

Free NAILS

2011-05-31T10:00:00.001-06:00

HURRY this will be gone very fast. You can head over to SAVEMORE right now and sign up. It's like a Groupon type site. You get a $10 credit for signing up and then, these darling Jamberry nails are on special for $7.50, so you get them FREE. My friend was just having a party for these in a week because she loves them and wanted to get some for free. So, I was really excited to get to try a pair for free first. They are very popular right now. So head on over and get some HURRY before they are gone!!

School Zone Workbooks

2011-05-27T13:35:00.000-06:00

Are you all wondering if all I do is shop online? LOL Well I don't I seriously do other things during the day. ha ha. I just had another find I had to share because I was SO excited about it.
Once in a while I buy the School Zone brand little workbooks for my kids to take in the car or lots of times they do them quietly during sacrament meeting Sunday or they love them so much they do them sometimes all in one day at home. They have really helped Kadence learn to love to learn and that it is fun. Well you know here in my community the only place to get them is good old Walmart. They are $3.27 at Walmart a workbook, and they have 64 pages. I thought that wasn't a bad price at all. Well it got even better, and just in time too.
Today Amazon is having a killer deal on many of their fun workbooks they are only $1.40 plus you get FREE 2 day Prime shipping. It gets even better! Lots of them are on special for buy 3 get the 4th free. SO you can get 4 workbooks for only $4.20 shipped. Awesome right!! Here is the link to them: AMAZON WORKBOOKS.
Now remember I said that only some are on the 4 for 3 deal. When you click on the book it will say "Special Offer" underneath if it is part of that deal. Even still the ones not part of the special are still $1.40 and that is an awesome price.

Kadence received all her homeschool curriculum yesterday for the 2012 school year. She is SO excited and has been begging to do summer school. LOL Kash was feeling a little left out he didn't have any cool books, so I actually had been planning on running into Walmart to get him some. Even better now I don't have to. I got him several for the summer and school year this fall & bought Kadence some too just for fun homework and travel. I did go a bit overboard. I bought 22 of them and they were $26. They were only $1.21 a piece average. Another awesome day of saving and getting some things I needed anyway. For 22 of them at Walmart would have been $75.54, and I would never have bought so many of them. For $26, I could have bought 6 of them.

Zoobooks

2011-05-27T11:55:00.001-06:00

I was so excited this morning when I was emptying out my huge email box to notice a Groupon email for yesterday that the Deal of the Day was Zoobooks!! I hurried over to look and see, and sure enough the deal had ended at midnight and I had missed it. I didn't even know they made Zoobooks anymore. I had Zoobooks when I was growing up. They are awesome! So educational, and they are so fun for kids. We have about 10 issues from when I was growing up that my kids seriously LOVE. We look at them several times a week. They are so hammered and I always wished I could get more. Well I tried to buy the deal anyway and it WORKED! So I am so excited. I just wanted to share in case anyone else loves Zoobooks or wants to try an amazing magazine for their children. There are different ones for different ages, which I didn't know. I bought 2 subscriptions. Zoobooks for Kadence and will get Zootles for Kash, which I have never seen before but on their website you can view a sample magazine and it looks really cute and geared for more Kash's age. Plus that will give him something to look forward to too.

Here is how to purchase it:
First go HERE and sign up for Groupon: It is free and I think you get a $10 for signing up.

Then because it is an old deal that isn't featured here is the link you will go to next to purchase: ZOOBOOKS. You will then click Buy and then enter in your info and puchase it. Then usually 24 hours later you will go to your account and "My Groupon" and "redeem" it will take you to the Zoobooks website and you will just put in your subscription and then it will be all set up. SIMPLE!

Here is the Zoobooks website if you want to check out the magazine before you buy it.

I LOVE Sales!

2011-05-25T13:24:00.000-06:00

I LOVE sales & saving money! Just yesterday I was thinking I need to get my kids a couple of summer outfits in case it ever warms up around here. Also, Kadence would wear a dress or skirt every day of her life right now and hers are tattered and worn out. Just in time The Children's Place comes through for me. :) They are having a $5 sale plus tons of other way cute things are only $6 and $7! How can you go wrong!? Especially buying for 3 kids.

And it just gets better! If you don't use Ebates already, you are foolish. No offense but you are. There is free money for you to get, and you just aren't. If you go through ebates for this Children's Place sale... you save 18% more off your ENTIRE order. It takes 15 seconds to do, so DO IT!

Step 1: Click HERE to go to ebates.
Step 2: Enter your email address and a password you want to use.

Now was that so hard? You just made $5 and you are ready to shop.

Next. In the top right corner of ebates type in "The Children's Place" in the search bar. It will bring it up and show you that it is giving 3% back right now. Click "Shop Now". It will open a new window bringing up the Children's Place website. Now you shop, shop, and shop.

When you check out use EBATES5C to get an additional 15% off your already awesome order.
Because you selected "shop now" through ebates they get an update on how much you spend at the different stores through them. In a few days you will get your couple bucks added to your account. Every 3 months you get a check for what you saved. It adds up quickly!

No go SHOP SHOP SHOP!! It's a lot more fun (if that's possible) when you are saving money and getting outrageous deals!!

Getting Back to Me

2011-03-20T17:11:00.000-06:00

Have you ever felt like somewhere along the way of kids, responsibilities, service, cleaning, housekeeping, wifely duties, jobs, callings, cooking, taxiing, more cleaning, hobbies, and laundry you just wake up one day and say Where did Nicole (you) go? You have just let yourself slowly get pushed to the side and eventually the back burner just because LIFE takes over. Well around this time of year, every year, I start to feel like this, and it causes some re-prioritization. It's probably a symptom of Spring fever along with the other long list of Spring symptoms, but never-the-less its important to take yourself back. My husband always says "A happy wife is a happy life". He says it usually in sarcasm as I am asking him to do something he doesn't want to do, but still it may be the smartest thing he has ever said. It's true though. As women, we do a better job as mothers and wives and the other million other roles we play if we take time to make ourselves happy. Take time from pleasing others to do something for yourself.

In addition to this I also must add Spiritually how do we stay in tune and influence others spiritually if we aren't taking time to ourselves to study and ponder as well. Sheri Dew said "Because women are innately nurturing, they will sometimes become so busy they don't make time for their own spirituality. In order to be effective ministers, Dew said women need to take time for themselves to be holy.

"If our lives are so busy that we don't have time for our personal worship, something needs to change," she said. "If we could unleash the full influence of covenant-keeping women, the kingdom of God and the world would change overnight."

My problem is I like to be organized and have things "just so". However lately I am spending more time trying to get organized than I am actually doing the things I am trying to organize. Then I get overwhelmed. I found an outline I liked that I tweaked to fit me, and I know I am going to LOVE it. I thought if there was anyone out there feeling at all like me then this might help you as well so here it is. One of my sweet and AMAZING friends Holly does this and she shared it.

Monday :: Order

1. FHE

2. Clean House

Wash bedding/clean toilets etc.

3. Meal Plan for the Week

4. Make Weekly Goals

5. Grocery Shopping & Errands

Tuesday :: Happiness

1. Free Day

2. Laundry

3. Craft with Kids

4. Organize Something small

Wednesday :: Beauty

1. Paint toenails

2. Zone Cleaning

(I downloaded my zone cleaning lists HERE.)

3. Read from the Ensign or other inspiring books

4. Light candles and make dinner a little more special

5. Take a bubble bath

Thursday :: Peace & Serenity

1. Paper work/ bills etc.

2. Look ahead to next week, prepare birthday cards etc.

3. go through the house to see if you can make it more welcoming in any way

4. if you feel like it try a new recipe

5. think about serving those around you

Friday :: Abundance & Joy

1. Any errands that need taken care of

2. Look at your budget: What are you spending??

3. Plan Movie Night/ date night or family activity with the kids

4. Make sure you tell your family you love them! Leave a special note or do something nice for your husband or one of your kids.

Saturday :: Freedom

1. Yard work/ Large jobs

2. think about dinner for Sunday

Any last minute trips to the store?

3. Set aside time to play

4. layout church clothes, diaper bag etc.

Sunday :: Spiritual Focus & Love

1. Make it to church on time!
2. Relax

3. Think about issues that our family needs to discuss for FHE on Monday

4. Think about the blessings in your life

5. Visit family

Monthly

1st day of every month:

Menu plan & look ahead for birthdays of special events

Plan one big project to accomplish during the month

Get visiting teaching done

Loot at what you are spending!!

My Goal this week.... is to stop looking & feeling like this. :)

So my goal to start this week is Organizing my organizing. :) Getting things straightened out so that I have a few spare minutes to start concentrating on myself. Also, I am excited because our local rec has a night Zumba class at 7:30 pm which is perfect for me. So even though I have to drive a little bit to do an hour of workout, this is going to be a great quiet time for me and a workout all in one. If you have something that has worked for you that you care to share about how you got yourself back out of a slump, feel free!

It only takes 3 seconds....

2011-03-02T11:12:00.000-07:00

Hi Friends, I am needing your help again. A few weeks ago, on a whim, I entered the Kid of the Year contest through Parents Magazine with some pictures of Oaklynn. I totally forgot I did it, and while checking my email Monday there was an email from them saying she was selected for this weeks contest. Well the only way for her to win is with votes, and while I hate to bug everyone to vote... its the only way to win. So would you all please go to this link and just select vote now and type in the little saying for spam prevention they have you do and your done. She went from 8th to 6th yesterday, she was in 4th for a while but she got bumped down. It has been a pretty close race so far, but she is behind 200 votes now so we really need to step up the voting. Tell your friends/family please and spread the word. Thanks so much!!

VOTE FOR OAKLYNN

I Need Help Friends

2011-01-31T09:13:00.000-07:00

I have almost forgotten how to run blogger its been a little too long since I have been on here. I need to do something about that, I know. But for today I am blogging to ask all of you, my friends, for your help. I have entered a contest with a really great photographer out of Utah Julie Parker. It is for a FREE spot in one of her upcoming workshops, that I would love to attend. All I have to do to win the spot is get the most votes. So would you all please take the 20 seconds it will take and go to Julie Parkers Blog. (starts at 10 am Monday ends Sat the 5th) Find "Nicole Martin Photography" and just vote in the poll. PLEASE!! I am probably the only one without a website on there, lol just my facebook page. My website is STILL a work in progress I wanted done by the end of Jan, but I guess that didn't happen. Thanks everyone for taking the time to do this and for your love and support!! Have a great week!

A few favorite things for this holiday!

2010-12-16T14:19:00.001-07:00

The Girl Creative has your recipe for Reindeer Food, along with a free printable for the top of the bag! This is one of those things that my kids love!

Mod Mum is having a BOGO sale (Buy 1 Get 1 FREE) it only lasts I think through tomorrow the 17th, but I could be wrong. They are already marked down as well. I LOVE LOVE my sling... in fact I have the exact one in this picture and I have used it tons. Its nice when they are newborn but I use it now even on my hip for Oaklynn now at 10 months. If you dont have one GET one, or this would make a great shower gift. You just buy one and then in the comments section put the one you want for FREE.

My next find is my FAVORITE thing right now!!!!

Sick of your babys socks falling off?

Stay Put Socks is a device that has been tested and proven to keep baby socks on. The device simply slips over your baby's socks and keeps them on all day. And the best thing about it is that you dont have to go out and buy any more baby socks. You can use the ones you already have to match your baby's outfits!

The device is a clear rubber ring that has a small blue dot for boys and a pink dot for girls. Now any socks can be non slip baby socks! Make sure to choose the appropriate color when you order Stay Put Socks!

They are only $3.99 a set and shipping is cheap. They are well worth it. Or you
can order a full set for $19.99 right now on SALE from $24.99.
If you ever want to do an all size package of 6 and pick any 6 sizes you can. So, if you wanted 2 size small, 2 size medium and 2 size large they will be happy to do that. Just order the all size package online and send them an e mail immediately and Kate (the owner) will alter the order.

Kate has told me I could offer you FREE SHIPPING through Dec 31st. Just enter the code
FREE SHIPPING when you checkout.
Exp. Dec 31st.

Click here to go to their site

These have saved me with Oaklynn... she hates socks and shoes on but its just to cold to have her bare footed anymore. Thankfully I found these and they have kept her socks on and her feet warm. They will be my new give to everyone baby shower present!

Meet Rock-It COOLEST thing ever!!!

2010-12-09T12:56:00.001-07:00

The most awesome part is... this is normally $50 but TODAY you can get it for only $25 HERE!!! I am so excited to take this to the lake next summer, camping, rodeos, ropings, and my kids will love it just in the car. What an awesome invention! I can't wait to plug my MP3 player in and start jamming out!

First Halloween Fun

2010-11-02T18:08:00.000-06:00

Isn't this the cutest little paint version of Bullseye you have ever seen in your life?

Hi mom!

Ok now GET THIS THING OFF ME!

It was so funny to watch her sit and pull on herself. I know it was kind of mean to laugh, but she is still a little wobbly sitting up, and she would jerk the hood so hard forward she would almost pull herself on her face. She sure is a cutie pie!

Look Who's Sitting

2010-11-02T17:35:00.001-06:00

My BIG girl. She was happy as a clam just laying on her back playing all the time,

but now she knows there is more to life. She loves her new found freedom. I definitely am

not pushing her to crawl anytime soon, I am sure that will come soon enough on its own.

Now you all know why she has no hair. Kadence brushes it out daily. :)

My baby is finally sitting! 8 Months has just gone WAY too fast!

She loves loves to eat. She is feeding herself, and ate her first banana yesterday whole from her hands taking bites. She is a cracker freak. Any kind she can eat it down. She is getting less and less interested in baby foods and more demanding for table foods. She likes anyone still and smiles at everyone. She LOVES her brother and her sister and her entire face lights up when she sees her Daddy. When he comes near us she pushes herself away from me to go to him. I don't mind though. She is still my angel baby, and I know I am sooo lucky to have her. She sleeps through the entire night still from about 8:30 pm to 8 or 9 a.m. then is content playing and cooing in her crib until someone comes and joins her in her crib or I go and get her. When we do go get her, she does a maniac "frog kick" we call it. She goes nuts and squeals. This is my water baby. Holy cow. Lay her town in about 5 inches of water and your entire bathroom is soaked in minutes. I bet you have never seen my bathroom cleaner. If you need to borrow her let me know. She lifts her legs straight in the air and slams them down as hard as she can and as fast as she can. It send water EVERYWHERE. We have laughed and laughed for hours over this and her personality. Our family is truly blessed to have this little sweetheart.

We Love You Oaklynn!

50% off Old Navy Deal! Hurry Friends!!

2010-10-26T13:52:00.003-06:00

Dear Friends, Today and tomorrow only 50% off ONE outerwear item at oldnavy.com using code OUTER50. There are some dang cute coats. Happy shopping. :) Also make sure and use ebates.com for your purchase! Oldnavy is normally 2% cashback but its 8% right now! Woo Hoo! 58% off outerwear. Ebates is free to signup! and... is awesome! You get $5 FREE just for signing up too.

Here is the link to sign up for ebates. It takes 15 seconds all they need is an email and password. I use it for ALL my online shopping and they pay you your cashback every 3 months. EBATES

Here is what my Account Summary says on Ebates about what I have earned over the years:

Account Summary
Member:Nicole
Member Since:2007
Email Address:sammi_nickel@yahoo.com

Cash Paid:$362.70
Cash Pending:$60.61
Total Cash Back:$423.31

Next Cash Back:November 15, 2010
Cash Back Via:Check

From Ebates:"Why We Ask You To Sign Up?"
You can earn cash back at any of over 1,200 stores any time you start your shopping trip at Ebates.com. There are no points to redeem, no forms to mail in, and no fees. Stores pay Ebates a sales commission for sending shoppers their way, and Ebates uses the commission to pay you cash back. All we need is an email address so we can notify you when your cash back has been credited. To date, our members have already earned more than $55,000,000 and you can join them today!"

"

Today I am thankful for....

2010-10-12T23:17:00.000-06:00

If you are feeling overwhelmed with change, challenges, or checklists, you may wonder how you can partake now of God's happiness and find your pathway to peace, hope, and joy.

With loving insight, President Dieter F. Uchtdorf addresses two attributes that contribute to our Heavenly Father's perfect happiness — the power of creation and service with compassion. As a treasured daughter of our Heavenly Father, you can develop those remarkable abilities as well as find happiness in the journey.

By listening to the Spirit, you can come to realize that creating is not just done with paint, pen, or pottery, and compassionate service is more than a casserole or a card. As you bring something into existence that has never been before and as you serve others — even in small ways — you cannot help but participate in the wonder that is God's joy.

In The Remarkable Soul of a Woman, President Uchtdorf's timely thoughts on creating and being compassionate will buoy you up, give you strength, and help you realize what a great power for good you truly are.

That is the description on Deseret Book.com. This is my description: Uplifting, inspiring, comforting, personal, and loving. My sweet friend Kristie gave this book to me for my birthday. I have read it 3 times since then, and I am sure will read it many many more. It is just the conference talk, but the way it is presented in the book just helped me get so much more out of it, than just reading it out of the Ensign. AND it just seems more personal coming from the cute little book. Who knows maybe it is just me, but today I am thankful for it and the message inside of it.

You have GOT to try this!!

2010-10-07T10:31:00.003-06:00

Since I am posting favorites lately, I cannot forget to share this.

Do you ever feel like you have no time for anything anymore? Do you have oodles of pictures of family, friends, kids, etc that you have no idea what you are going to do with them? Do you want to put them in a nice book but don't know where to start, how to go about it, are overwhelmed with how behind you are, and just don't flat have the time and money? WELL NO MORE!

Here is a little how my life went in this regard. When Kadence was born I had the un-controllable urge to take pictures of EVERYTHING!! So if I took a picture of something to do with her... there were 10 pictures of the event. Talk about overload. I also was staying home with her only, and what else is there to do with your 1st besides play, play, and hold and cuddle those little ones? So I scrapbooked. I became a consultant for Close To My Heart after seeing one of their amazing catalogs, and I started scrapbooking EVERYTHING. She has 4 full albums just of her first year and a half. Then baby #2 comes along. Baby #2 + 2 year old Kadence = no more scrapbooking. Kash was sick and a very high maintenence baby due to his health problems and then having a rambunctious 2 year old running everywhere too. I could no longer leave my scrapbook projects out on the table or my supplies unless I wanted Kadence to re-arrange them for me and snack on my supplies. I tried many times with very little success to get an album done for Kash. I started digital scrapbooking when I could, using another company's program and designing my own in my photo editing program. It was way easier for this busy mom. No mess out on my kitchen table for kids to get into, and it was faster for me. I also loved not having to print out photos before I could do my pages. They were already loaded on my computer and ready to go and it was cheaper for my tight pocketbook. Even though I hated paying $1.99 (which was the cheapest I ever found) per page for printing and then shipping on top of that.

Then came my new love. When I was pregnant with Oaklynn, last fall, Close To My Heart did what they always do... they came up with a cutting edge software to compete with the new digi rave. It was open for consultants to use so they could work out the bugs and get feedback before launching it to the public. When they first launched it, it was $12.95 for a 2 page layout + shipping. I wasn't all that excited about it... because I thought it was way too expensive for 1 layout. I never tried it the first few months it was offered. Then they gave consultants a discounted price on 10 layouts to get us to try them out and get them in our hands. So I thought, what the heck. IT. WAS. AWESOME. I loved it. Easy, Simple to use, quick, beautiful work. Did I mention Easy and Fast? I ordered all 10 of mine, and was even more impressed once I saw the quality. Then I was disappointed because I knew I wouldn't be able to continue the use for $12.95 a layout! Geez! THEN CAME THE GREAT DAY!!

Close To My Heart listened to their consultants like always and made Studio J even more awesome and MORE AFFORDABLE!!! I was sooo excited. Which sorry to all of you that have heard this 100 times, but this is a big deal for me. lol They started their members only program. It makes layouts only $6.50 (for 2 pages), FREE shipping, FREE digital kits (no more buying kits digitally and then trying to coordinate them and mix and match them with each other), FREE pre-made layouts, FREE page protectors for each layout, FREE jpeg files of each layout to store and make sharing easy, and FREE use of the software (you can crop, change color of photos and enhance). FREE, FREE, FREE...the list goes on. Of course like with every membership, you have to buy the membership. BUT they made that affordable too!! They give 3 options.

Full Retail
You’ve taken the photos—now keep the memories. In five easy steps, create beautiful 12" × 12" two-page layouts showcasing your stories. When the custom prints arrive at your door, slip them into your cherished albums. No one will guess it only took a few minutes to design them!

Purchase Option Price
Per two-page, custom-printed layout $13.00 US / $15.00 CAN
Shipping per box of up to 20 layouts $5.95 US / $13.95 CAN

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Membership
Save an amazing 50% off retail price by becoming a Studio J® member. Only members receive free JPG files of their layouts with each purchased custom-printed layout and also have the option to purchase JPG files separately. JPG files come in both high resolution and thumbnail sizes to print, share, or archive. Membership comes with other perks like exclusive patterns, kits, and free Memory Protectors®. On top of all that, members also get free shipping on their monthly order of 4 to 20 layouts in the continental US or 7 to 20 layouts in Canada and non-continental US shipping zones. For full details, see the FAQ.

Membership Option Price:

12-Month membership $99.00 US / $115.00 CAN
3-Month membership $30.00 US / $35.00 CAN
Per two-page, custom-printed layout $6.50 US / $7.50 CAN
Per two-page JPG file $3.00 US / $3.50 CAN
Minimum layouts per order for free shipping 4 (continental US)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

5-Pack
A 5-pack includes 5 two-page, custom-printed layouts, 5 Memory Protectors, and free shipping. Ideal for gift giving, or as an affordable way to try Studio J for the first time.

Purchase Option Price
5-Pack $55.00 US / $73.00 CAN

***So I will break it down for you: $99 a year for membership is what I did. Break it down, that is only $8.25 a month, for the software, unlimited use, access to all digital kits, embellishments, tempates, designs, etc. FREE shipping and FREE page protectors. Even another good trial for those of you that just want to see if you like it, the 3 months for $30 would be worth it and affordable. $10 a month for 3 months for all the same perks and the $6.50 member pricing. Then at the end of 3 months it will just automatically charge $10 a month until you cancel. So you dont have to front $99 if you dont want to. If you know you will love it, like I did... Then the $99 would save you $20 a year.

The 5 pack is another good starter option, it just makes it $11 a layout instead of the $6.50 a layout. So you would pay $55 for 5 layouts.

LAST but not least, you can try it for free and see if its even something you are interested in, but I warn you.... YOU WILL LOVE IT! To sign up or give it a FREE try go to my website: Nicoles Scrap Corner, Then you can either select "create an account" OR " I'm not ready to create an account. Try it out" Then it will let you access Studio J and create a layout.

Am I giving you a sales pitch? Yes I am. Do I love it? YES absolutely. Is it a great deal? Do the math and you decide. All the ways I have done paper layouts & digital layouts this is cheaper. Would I recommend this to my friends? ..... I Just Did!

Because of Studio J, I am totally current on Oaklynn, Kadence is done up to 4 years, and Kash is so excited. He has his very own album! Yay! I still have a lot to catch up on him, but at least I am not falling behind on everyone. I am able to do current things while they are fresh in my mind AND then go back and work on catching up. All from the comfort of my own bed, watching my favorite tv show, and in my pj's.

**For those of you locally who would like more information, tomorrow night at my mom's I am showing on the computer all the ins and outs and giving a little presentation of Studio J so you can see it for yourself. I also am bringing many of my completed pages for you to view the quality and beauty yourself.

Mom's house, 6:00 p.m.

Also will be a presentation at my house and in Evanston in the near future.

If you have any questions call me, or email me at sammi_nickel@yahoo.com. Hopefully, we will see you tomorrow at my mom's.

Still Here!

2010-09-27T23:25:00.003-06:00

Sorry for my lack of blogging. I am in the middle of a website design, blog re-design, being a mommy, mother, and ma, relief society counselor, photographer, babysitter, friend, house keeper, and in a spare minute a wife. We are doing fabulous, making lots of memories, and enjoying new milestones. We are headed back to Yellowstone and then life hopefully will slow down a bit. Nah... probably won't. Hope your all doing well and thanks for your patience!

This cutie turned 7 months!

This little guy turned 3!!

This darling is now my big 5 year old!

And these 3 munchkins ARE MY LIFE!

Cleaning.....Easy????

2010-08-26T10:00:00.001-06:00

Cleaning As Easy as 123....I thought Yeah Right! lol My house has A LOT of space to clean, I have to stay on top of it or it goes to pot very quickly. We don't even have the basement finished yet, and I still get overwhelmed by it all sometimes. As the kids get older it is surprising what good little helpers they can be at keeping up on everything. I have no idea how those people keep a huge house clean all by themselves besides it must be a full time job. I thought I would never be able to stay up on it without working my butt off to do it until......I found this.

Cleaning as Easy as 123.... For working moms and it is kind of based around moms that are working full time outside the home, however even though I dont have a "full time job" I still am pretty much working full time and I think most of you are as well. We fill our days with park visits, and swimming lessons, violin lessons, dance lessons, ranch work, yard work, crafts, projects, reading with kids, teaching kids, pre-school...... probably we work more than 40 hour weeks really and a lot of it takes place outside the home! AND then we get to come home and work some more just like mothers that work outside of the home as well. So I feel like all mom's really are working moms. Especially this time of year.

I loved this post from "Or So She Says" , it was a good push for me. I started doing this 1 week ago today, and I have felt such a huge sense of relief from lots of the stuff I was cramming into midnight hours. Even having a clean "shined" sink and everything vacuumed makes me feel so much less behind. Also at the very bottom of the post under the "If mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy" sign there is another little link to a more detailed post she did a while back.

I also am trying the whole flylady routine again. I signed back up on Monday and am doing the babysteps which is all about establishing good habits. And I love their zone idea which will help me so much with my house and I love the working top to bottom idea. So, if you haven't heard of flylady check it out, http://flylady.net/pages/FLYingLessons.asp . The website can be a little overwhelming that's why these smaller condensed posts from "Or so she says" (button is on the left side of my blog) make it a little easier.

If you have any great tips on how you keep everything looking livable, please let me know I would love any suggestions. Laundry.... now that's another story. :)

More favs

2010-08-25T10:28:00.002-06:00

This is my FAVORITE cleaner ever. I use it on EVERYTHING and I mean that literally. It is safe for my kids and kills every germ and bacteria under the sun. It is not strong smelling and I dont have to rinse it. How can you get anything better than that. I spray it on my kid's toys all the time and use it on my counters every other day. They also have an awesome antibacterial foam, lotion, wipes, soap etc. I love them all, but this is my true soulmate. You have to buy it from a consultant. Here is Lacee's website who hooked me up with it. http://twolittleangels.youngevityonline.com/ I am putting in an order to stock up for all the fall's sicknesses. I seriously swear by this stuff and know it has helped our family immensely stay healthier and my house stay deep down cleaner. And its safe.

My cute sister Elise gave me these for my birthday... I love them

and they are gorgeous. Now I just need to find something to put in them

to spruce up my kitchen.

I don't care who you are... you have got to love these movies. I

love the first the best, but they both are awesome. Kade and I had a marathon

the other night. Its fun to break out old movies. I also LOVE the music in them. My mom

use to play it on the piano when I was little, and me and my siblings would ride our

stick horses around in a circle in the living room while she played.
That is one of my many favorite childhood memories.

29 Favorite Things

2010-08-24T22:25:00.009-06:00

Since my birthday was last week (the 15th) and I turned the big 2-9, I want to really celebrate this last year I can say I am in my twenties. I know next year I am going to probably cry all day long. Birthdays really get to me sometimes...even my kids's really are hard. Bittersweet. On one hand I am grateful to continue to live and have my kids grow healthy and strong and change and develop BUT life just goes by so quickly. I am 29 years old. I have an almost 5 year old, a 3 year old and a 6 month old. I am happily married and I LOVE my life 99% of the time. I know I am blessed to feel that way, and that there are MANY people who don't. I just want to freeze time. I don't want another year to pass. I know age is just a number, and its not really about even getting older... its more about having another year pass that I will never get back. Kind of a negative/depressing way to look at life, I know. This year I have really tried to focus everyday on enjoying every moment. Stopping and pausing with my kids, not being in such a hurry all the time because I always have way too much stuff to do and not enough time. We have spent HOURS upon HOURS of time together as a family, and I just sit back and absorb all I can like a sponge. Take mental pictures, and wish I had a tape recorder in my brain where I can just keep all the funny and cute things and conversations we have together. For example: Driving home from the ranch last night, Kash was on my lap driving. Just me and him. A cute cottontail runs across the road. I say "Oh look at that adorable little bunny, he is running across the road saying hippity, hoppity, hippity, hoppity, please don't run me over." Kash says in his very monitone voice "Mom. Bunnies don't talk." I say "Oh? They don't?" Kash, "No mom. Bunnies don't say any fing. Rollercoasters and wood don't talk eee-ver. (either). I say, "Oh, ok bud" And we just keep driving. Rollercoasters??? hmmmm.

Anyway, I am celebrating and sharing some of my favorite things in my life right now. These things are not necessarily the most important things or even the most significant. Just things I enjoy or that make me happy and smile. Some make life easier and some are just things I plain love. Soo, this may be boring to you since these are my things in my life. Too bad. :)

I bought these DARLING towels for myself with some money my Grandparents

gave me for my birthday. My kitchen is teal and red and these go PERFECTLY.

I love, love love them. Kade told me that he would have bought me towels a long time

ago if he knew they would encourage me to keep my stove clean. lol

Kash's belt buckle button.

Kadence's long pigtails.

I love the short little ponytails on Oaklynn's.

You just HAVE to have some now right!?!? They seriously are so freaking adorable, they have glitter on them too so they sparkle, the pictures do not do them justice. Want to know where to get your own... she makes them handmade and they are awesome. All different seasons, holidays, occasions, custom..... every single one, ADORABLE!! Her name is Amanda Davenport, here is her towel blog http://alittlekitchenspice.blogspot.com/. Her prices are very reasonable, and she is pretty darn fast considering all the work I am sure these take. I cannot wait to get some Halloween ones... go to her October archive to see the ones she did last year. She is on facebook, and said she is starting them now and taking orders. Can you see why these are definitely a favorite!?!

More favorites to come this week.

Parenting: Touching the Hearts of Our Youth

2010-08-18T22:31:00.001-06:00

I love LOve LOVE this video! Sorry for the lack of blogging, but I honestly have spent more time this summer with my kids than I ever have. One on one time, family time, alone time.... its been so wonderful to just live and stay busy and enjoy one another. I am just so grateful to be a mother, and I am even more so grateful to have the kids that I do and the husband I do, and the little family that I do.

Families ARE Forever. :)

Don't miss this SALE!!!!

2010-08-04T14:07:00.004-06:00

2, 4, 6, 8, who do we appreciate? It’s YOU, of course! We are shouting from the rooftops how much we love and appreciate you! It only makes sense to pass along our appreciation with spectacular deals. So for 8 days, August 4 through August 11 (while supplies last), you can purchase select My Stickease® Assortments for only $2 US/CAN, My Reflections® Level 1 kits for only $4, and My Reflections® Level 2 paper packets for only $6 online. These deals are so great, we know you’ll want to shout for joy, too!
Tax, shipping and handling apply. Offers are while supplies last and available only on a MyCTMH® website. Go to my website: Nicoles Scrappin Corner, click on Shop Online and then click on th 2,4,6,8 Sale link on the left side and HURRY before all the good stuff is gone! This is an AWESOME deal!

2010-08-03T22:12:00.003-06:00

This is kind of a long video, but it was so hilarious. Last night Kade found Oaklynn's weakness for making her giggle. She has laughed out loud a little and giggles now and then, but she was bustin a gut over this. I wish I could have caught it on the video camera so the quality was better but at least you can hear her and that is the cutest part.

Note: Sorry for me in the background yelling at kids to be quiet because they were laughing and trying to get her to laugh too so you couldn't hear her. I am a mean mom. :)

Its been a whirlwind of a summer.......

2010-07-23T23:35:00.010-06:00

Getting ready for this cute sister's wedding on the 7th.

Some 4th of July fun!

Kadence caught a rabbit at the Woodruff Rodeo this year,

along with 2 chickens so far at the Evanston Rodeo Series, and a pig at the Testicle Festival.

We would have our own farm if we got to keep them all. lol

The darling bunny "Glitter, Sparkle, Cherry-pie, Monkey" AKA Glitter.

Kade and I helped in the hamburger booth this year so I didn't get many pictures.

I also missed pictures of her catching the bunny. :(

4th of July Parade (Woodruff)

Summer is not summer without a trip to Cherry Hill.

SEVERAL trips to Bear Lake.

Branding, branding, and branding
Playing with friends @ the branding.

A visit to Great-Grandma Cox

Oaklynn got to meet Grandma, they were BFF right away. :)

A visit to the Living Planet Aquarium

More Branding

Some stick horse barrel racing

A little pig chasin' (she caught this one)

at the Annual Testicle Festival

This cute sister of mine got married.

WOW.... no wonder my house looks like a tornado has went through it!!!!

Yellowstone Family Vaca 2010 Part1

2010-06-16T23:21:00.004-06:00

My favorite part of the whole trip were these guys. I am

fascinated by wolves. I loved seeing them and hearing them howl.
Old Faithful

Week 1 challenge

2010-05-26T17:04:00.003-06:00

We took a trip to Yellowstone last week for a family vacation. I had never been before so it was a totally new and neat experience for me. (pictures to follow) It was hard to be on vacation and be in the car for hours and hours though for my first week of the Wellness Challenge. I did pretty well though considering everyone around me was snacking and junking out all day long. Thursday, I completely and totally blew the no un-healthy snacks rule, so I lost that point. Other than that I did really good on the diet part. One night I also didn't journal so I lost 2 points total last week. I haven't found out yet though if we get a free day last week or not. Anyway, hope to be getting back into the swing of things around here again.

Wellness Challenge: Be the best YOU!

2010-05-06T20:40:00.003-06:00

I am joining in this great Wellness Challenge that starts May 17th, it is just going to be an extra boost and motivation I need to get fit and healthy this summer. It is open to anyone and only costs $10 to enter in it.
It has some awesome goals and plans to help you be a better you. Here is what you get points for:
1. Drink 48 ounces of water a day

2. 45 minutes of exercise (doesn't have to be consecutive)

3. No soda or alcohol

4. No sweets (desserts, pastries, candy, or sugary snacks) Sugar-free alternatives are okay.

5. No fast food, or unhealthy snacks (chips)

6. Consume 2 servings of fruits and 2 servings of vegetables

7. No eating after 8p.m.

8. Read 15 minutes of spiritual or uplifting text

9. Write in your journal (Daily blogs count, too.) Express specific appreciation, love, or praise in your journal...a goal of two or three items is a good goal!

10. Personal goal- each week make a personal goal for everyday or make a goal for the entire week. ( Like reading more to the kids, organize a closet, get 8 hours of sleep, etc...)

ONE FREE POINT PER AREA, PER WEEK..for example: only one day with sweets a week, only one day without exercise, one late night snack per week........or one whole day free.

Here is the blog with all the information, rules, points, rewards etc. It's put on by Kim Matthews and it has her contact information. Come join in the fun!! It is going to be awesome! http://youcanbethebestyou.blogspot.com/

3 months/blessing pics

2010-05-04T22:10:00.003-06:00

We blessed Oaklynn on April 25th, 2010, and the day could not have been more perfect. Kade's parents had just returned home from their mission 3 days prior and were able to attend. Also, we had a huge gathering of immediate family and friends; it was a lovely day. Kade did a wonderful job on her blessing, and we are just grateful we were able to get that done and she is now blessed. I can't believe she is 3 months already. Where has the time gone!?!? The kids still absolutely adore her and she has been such a fun gift in our home.

Look who is 2 months!

2010-04-17T20:41:00.005-06:00

My 4 Year Old the Commercial

2010-04-01T11:52:00.002-06:00

Kadence says with GREAT excitement, "Mom, I just saw this REEEALY cool shampoo that you need to buy me!! It's in a blue bottle and it's for flakes in your hair!! It even has a tingling sensation while you massage your scalp! It looks really cool, will you buy it for me?!? huh? huh?"

At least Selsun Blue convinced my 4 year old that she needs their dandruff shampoo. :)

More awesome offers!

2010-03-29T09:35:00.005-06:00

Artscow.com is having another photo special: 5, 11X14 photos $4.99 SHIPPED. I just ordered mine which was perfect timing for my new Easter pics of the kids. Woo Hoo! Offer code: 5PCSPRINTS11X14

6pm.com is having a really great sale on sneakers! Sketchers are up to 65% off.

Diapers.com
Because our warehouses are making room for new Pampers with Dry Max products, we are able to offer you a great deal on jumbo packs of original Pampers Swaddlers and Pampers Cruisers. Quantities and sizes are limited, though, so shop today for the best selection!

Remember, Diapers.com accepts manufacters coupons as well (you have to mail them in to them).

Diapers.com is having a Pampers blowout sale!!
$8.99 per jumbo pack PLUS:

Codes for First-timers:
Code: 10PERCENT 10% off first purchase excludes diapers, formula, wipes (can be stacked with other codes)
Code: PinchTen $10 off first purchase with at least one diaper purchase Can use even if the diaper purchase is below $10 (can be stacked with other codes). Min. order of $49 (includes free fast ship)

For those who are not first time buyers:
BCJUMBO free jumbo pack on orders >$49
Get double the credit for refering a friend...$10

So if this is your first time buying please use me as your referral. :)

Easter Pics

2010-03-23T20:21:00.014-06:00

I just want to add that I took tons of pictures of Kash like I did the girls... but he is at he age where you are lucky to have 1 good pic turn out. lol FINALLY Kadence is smiling her darling smile and not her cheezed out fake one. I love my kids.

Some Fun New Finds...

2010-03-22T14:53:00.003-06:00

I was getting some ideas from the FHE blog today and happened upon this neat website. Its a list of the Top Mom Blogs and there are some really neat ones. There also is a link for Top Baby Blogs as well, and a whole bunch of catagories on the right side with links. There just are so many neat people out there, and so many creative and inspirational ideas. I just LOVE it.

http://www.topmommyblogs.com/blogs/index.php

Also I am really working on Food Storage this year, just a little at a time and I am LOVING this website and their baby steps and especially their binder. What a neat little place for information! I will definitely be implementing this into our relief society activities.

http://foodstoragemadeeasy.net/

A Couple Good Deals

2010-03-13T18:13:00.003-07:00

First off on March 17th for St. Patricks Day use this Code: 34QDZ33 to get a FREE nights REDBOX rental.

Second: Artscow.com has an awesome deal right now where you get 5 8X10's shipped for $2.49 Total. I just ordered my 5 the other night and thought I would share. It is fast and easy, and makes it .50 cents for each 8X10 including shipping. Awesome. Code: 8X10249

I love good deals!

I found this great Baby Deals Blog... it has some great scoops on things!
http://babygoodbuys.com/

What have you missed???

2010-03-05T21:02:00.008-07:00

Happy Birthday to my Mom!
I sure love and appreciate you!!

This is what I woke up to a few mornings ago:

1. A whole box of Baking Soda dumped all over the floor.

2. This worried little face that he was in BIG trouble.

3. White streak marks all over the kitchen floor where he had skated around in it.

Girls Night Out: In December before Oaklynn was born Kadence and I went on our first Girls Night Out. I was craving pasta at Pizza Hut, but Kadence really wanted to go to the restaurant with the horse on it. (Don Pedros) So that is where we went.... where she ordered PIZZA, the stinker. lol She had saved up her money to buy her friends Christmas presents. She had about $15 and we went to Dollar Days where she thought that was the coolest store ever and wanted everything she saw for each of her friends. Then we headed to the movies where we saw "Princess and the Frog", which she loved. We had stopped off at Walmart for a few minutes before the movie and she saw a Princess and the Frog purse and shirt... and I let her splurge and get it. She insisted on wearing it OVER her sweater to the movie. It was a blast. We met Elise and Mom there for the movie and splurged on treats and drinks. It was so enjoyable to spend time with my first baby girl. She needed the mommy time too. What a fun memory we will carry with us from that.

A Story of Love

2010-02-17T16:23:00.002-07:00

Today I read the most amazing story, and I wanted to share it with you. Thanks Holly for sharing it with me. Its amazing to read someone's story, something they went though.... shared in their own words, and feel an inkling of what they must have went through. This especially hit home to me and my "just had a baby" heart. Its a wonderful story of unconditional, beautiful, love and I promise it will touch a part of your heart too. Grab a whole roll or TWO of toilet paper though. ( I never have tissues when I need them).

Enjoying the Small Things

Look who's 1 Week Old!

2010-02-14T11:25:00.005-07:00

Just a few things I want to remember about this last week. Thank you to the kind and generous ward members that have checked on me and shown concern and love for our family this whole last month. It will never be forgotten. Thank you to my two sweet sister in laws that have been good friends and support to us also. My kids have enjoyed the play time as well, you have been lifesavers.
The months of December and January were very unique and trying times for this little family. Most of it is personal, and I will write about it privately for myself, but I do want to add to this entry that we are so blessed!! I know that we can do hard things and go through hard things, and that we are truly blessed. Kade and I have spoken more of this in the last month of our lives than we have since Kash was born. I understand that sometimes even though we don't know what we need, Heavenly Father knows what we need, and its good to be humbled sometimes and feel helpless so that our faith can grow and to grow stronger spiritually. I am grateful for so many, many things that we have and the things that we don't have. Having a new life and spirit in your home always does help bring perspective and make things clearer, and that has just intensified my already deep gratitude I have felt for my Heavenly Father these last few weeks.

A few things about Oaklynn. This little, beautiful girl is THE sweetest, calmest, mellowest baby I could have ever even dreamed of. People keep telling me to enjoy it while it lasts, and I am. But again, I am grateful to have her, and the calm and peace she has brought to our home. Her contentment radiates on all of us and Kash and Kadence just love her and love to be around her. She has yet to cry. Its so crazy to say that, but she has not screamed or cried loudly since she was first born. She will squeak, and start to fuss a little when she needs me but even when being bathed or changed with cold wipes sometimes... she is just happy as can be. I have had her at the doctor twice this last week, and even being undressed and weighed and getting her check ups she still doesn't protest much at all. She is an excellent eater and sleeps like a newborn does... not as much as you would like. :) She has terrible acid reflux and is uncomfortable a lot of the time, it makes my heart hurt to see her squirm. Its the little things that are always forgotten, but are sometimes the most treasured and I just wanted to document a few of them right now while I had the chance.

With the Toone family and their tragedy with their 2 little girls, it just makes my heart want to burst with happiness for what I have. I am in awe of that family's strength and faith as they go through this horrible time in their lives. I saw the father making a statement the other night, and his composure and comfort was obvious all because of his faith in the atonement and Families are Forever. Anyway, I challenge all of you my friends and family to find gratitude in your hearts for all the things we have... the good and the bad, and hug those babies of ours a little tighter. Thank you all again for the overwhelming love and support you have shown us. Have a wonderful week ahead. :)

February 5th, 2010

2010-02-07T12:41:00.012-07:00

Leaving for the Doctor
My little sweet girl and super helper.
12:15 pm Oaklynn Kay Martin makes her arrival into the world.
With loud lungs and her full head of hair.

6.2 pounds and 18 in. long

Perfect.

Looks like she belongs in the family, huh.

Auntie Meg

Proud Daddy

Proud Grandpa

Minutes old with her sweet Daddy.

Mom's personal nurse and proud Auntie Leese.

Do you want to hold her? You must ask the boss...!

He is the "binky shover inner". As you can see, she loves it. :)

This is THE proudest big sister I have EVER seen.

You can see the love and joy in her eyes. She is finally holding her

sister she has waited, loved, and talked about for over 2 years now.

Welcome Home Oaklynn!

Just for fun....

2010-01-24T20:16:00.006-07:00

9/3/2007 (4 days before I delivered Kadence at my baby shower)

I was a big girl! :)

7/4/2007 on August 1st I had Kash.

(This is a awful picture but the only one I have of me prego with Kash)

January 21, 2010 35 Weeks

I thought I would post some pics of how I have grown lately. I am never good at taking pictures of myself and definitely not of me when I am pregnant and want the least camera attention ever. These pictures were taken last Thursday as Kade and I were headed out the door to the Doctor. I woke up having horrible contractions and the Dr. told me to come down. After a lot of sickness the last 3 weeks and a battle with food poisoning I have been fighting pre-term labor since 33 weeks. Thankfully, due to me staying down I dialated back down and have made it almost 3 weeks more. After 2 days in Ogden we came home Friday late afternoon and I am laying down again. I am in labor and have contractions but they are slow and spread out, I am just progessing at home with my kids and in my own bed rather than lay in a hospital bed and pay a ton of money for them to poke and prod me and tell me I am still moving slow. I am just praying hard that I know when its time to get going to the hospital; I sure don't want to be too far to get an epidural. lol Anyway, we are still alive things are just crazy and I haven't had internet for almost 3 weeks now. Hopefully life will be back to fairly normal soon. Thanks to all that have been concerned and all the help and kindness we have received. See you soon!

Christmas Overload

2009-12-31T20:22:00.015-07:00

Decorating the tree

He sticks his tongue out when he is concentrating... I think its adorable.

Ward Party Santa

Xmas Eve at Grammy's, he was WILD!

OK, they both were WILD!
Deseret Party, Kash didn't want anything

to do with Santa..... until

he opened his present and saw the awesome

dump truck.... then he ran to Santa saying "Tank you!"

Kadence showing Santa her dolly.....
Telling him thank you.

Christmas morning... Santa really delivered!!!!

Kadence's loot

Kash's load

Dad showing Kadence how her "lawnmower" works. lol

She got a little horse charm necklace she was thrilled.

His tools..... He was absolutely thrilled! His drill.... just like dad's!

Kadence and her armitias

Kash's armitias
Opening presents at my mom and dad's

More tools
A beautiful "princess dress"
Dad got a bit
My little man
Santa Grandpa
Dress up clothes from Grammy and Grandpa
Dad.... being silly.
Kadence and her wonderful daddy, she rode that around for over an hour. Its safe to say the Martin Family was very good this year, and we had a VERY good Christmas. We are very blessed and hope your Holidays are going as well as ours. :)

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-15T11:42:00.001-07:00

Family Pictures

2009-12-06T21:28:00.007-07:00

Things are very hectic for this little family lately, sorry for the lack of posts. Soon I hope I will get back in the blogging world, I have been missing everyone. Over Thanksgiving weekend everyone came up for dinner and we were able to somehow get everyone together for family pictures. Somehow we all made it out alive and most of us were still smiling, that is BIG for our family. lol Kash was a stinker the whole time and would not cooperate, we were lucky to even get him in the pictures at all.

I hope you all are having a wonderful Holiday Season!! Stay safe and take lots of pictures to share!

Pioneer Woman comes to Salt Lake City!!

2009-11-15T22:01:00.013-07:00

All the chaos over this beautifully, wonderful, cookbook. I paid full retail price for this

book in the bookstore the night of the signing. I would do it again in a heartbeat,

the pictures and cute things in this book are worth every penny. The recipes are wonderful and

fattening. I would STRONGLY recommend getting on Amazon.com and getting this cookbook for yourself if not as a GREAT XMas gift for someone you love. This is a guaranteed hit for

a gift for anyone. So worth the 5 hrs of standing and waiting and having my miserable pregnant

body screaming at me the whole time. Fun times!

This is the picture that PW posted on her blog. Notice my sister and

I sitting on the floor in the bottom left corner.

She is as genuine and sweet as she seems on her blog. Trust me, I got to talk
to her... and Missy, and Ladd's mother (PW's mother-in-law). All so so sweet.

When The Pioneer Woman arrived with Missy and her mother-in-law the room exploded with applause and loud cheers. The room was packed to the max! Ree spoke to the group and answered questions from the audience. She talked for about 20 minutes. A few of the highlights: she did her Ethel Merman impression, talked about wearing "spanks," and of course told a few funny ranch stories. She also told all of her kids names and MM's name. Someone asked if they
were a secret she laughed and said No. MM's name is Ladd, then her girls are Alex and ? and her boys are Todd and Bryce.

This was the crowd outside the bookstore WITH tickets.

This was the crowd in the gallery waiting for PW to make her appearance.

See the back of my head and my cute sister in the bottom left corner, we were right

in front of the pulpit, her shoes were right next to mine while she talked.

3 hrs. into her signing

Missy and cute Nanna.

I was ticket E... and E was too long for me. Let alone Z or L or whatever

the last ticket was. Wow. They passed out a letter for every 20 people. So their

were 100 infront of us and seriously 1000 behind us. Then people started even showing

up without tickets and they waited until ALL the letters were done. I have no

idea if they even got in.

You can read from Pioneer Woman's post here: http://thepioneerwoman.com/blog/2009/11/a_recap/

Cheap Baby Bedding... soo excited

2009-11-13T20:38:00.003-07:00

SoHo Baby Bedding is on major sale Here. You don’t always see prices this low. Save AT LEAST 60% off! I wasn't sure what I was going to do for this babies room, but I knew I didn't want to spend $200-$300 on it. These prices, I think, are totally reasonable and most of them are 10 piece sets! There are tons of cute boy AND girl sets. Now just to choose one. Decisions, decisions.

Leap Frog Alphabet Pal .49 cents!!! Hurry!!!

2009-11-13T15:48:00.005-07:00

If you have a Target near you.... you need to jump on this! Here is what you need to do....

Toys R Us will be having a 2-Day Sale this Friday and Saturday (11/13 and 11/14.) One of their doorbusters is the Leap Frog Alphabet Pal for $10.49. This doorbuster is good Friday 3PM – 12AM, and Sat 7AM – 1PM). Get your hands on the Toys R Us Sales flyer and then take that flyer to Target for their price match policy – go during the SAME hours. Use the Target $10 coupon printable (Target Coupon Generator) and get the pal for $.49!

If you are worried about being able to use a Target coupon and a price match, check out Nicole’s Post Here. I would print this when you go shopping. You can also email Target and ask them their coupon policy to have your own personalized copy when you go shopping.

If you don't have a Toys R Us ad from your paper, I just went online and printed off the ad for the 2 Day Doorbuster Sale. It shows the Alphabet Pal on the front page for 50% off From $19.99 marked down to $10.49. That should work for showing the price for Target to match. Then with the $10 off Target coupon makes it .49 cents total. Cool huh!! Also in the Target Generator there are TONS of other great coupons that may interest you for Xmas.

Target has Up and Up Diaper Wipes, they are $1.50 a tub, and there is $1 OFF coupon in the generator you can print as well making the diaper wipes .50 Cents for a tub. I have not tried the Up and Up brand but I surely am willing to for .50 cents.

** You might have to ask for a Manager to ring you up and everything, but this IS their policy the will match competitors ads but not their coupons. And the $10 off coupon is a Target coupon. Also per the email you can take in they will accept a price match AND the coupon together.

Woo HOO!!

Stock up on blankets Wow!!

2009-11-10T14:25:00.005-07:00

Plush Microfiber Down Blanket in 6 Colors. Reg $129-$149

on Sale for $59.99 Any Size!

Twin V 720-3023

Full/Queen V 720-3024

King V720-3025

Ever Soft Blanket in 6 Colors (these are on backorder

until December FYI at least the Fulls are) Regular $29-$59 on Sale now for $19.99 any SIZE!

However I did find if you want the twin size in a different catalog it is $14.99

Twin 66X90 V 720-3077 $14.99

Full 80X90 J 720-3078 $19.99

Queen 90X90 J 720-3078 $19.99

King 108X90 J 720-3080 $19.99

Plush Blanket & Throw

100% polyester microplush. Self-binding on four sides. Washable.

All Sizes $19.99

Twin J720-3017

Full J 720-3018

Queen J 720-3019

King J 720-3020

Throw 50X70 J 720-2000 $9.99

Ok I thought I would just quickly share with you what I just ordered because I am really excited about the great deal I got on everything. We don't have a ton of blankets in my house... lots of bedspreads and quilts but not warm blankets. I went to toss out a JC Penney catalog last week and noticed on the back that they had some way nice blankets ANY SIZE for $19.99. So I set it aside thinking I would look at it more later. Well.... its an awesome deal. I also bought a down blanket too. Like I said we don't have many blankets in this house and I took advantage of this sale PLUS there is more.....

Here is what I did... I ordered 6 blankets. 1 Down King blanket, 1 King Plush blanket, 2 Ever Soft Blankets for my kids beds and 2 Queen Plush blankets just to have on hand and for the extra bedrooms. Then I did a search and found a 30% off your entire order coupon code only good through Thursday. (FULL30) This is only usable if you use your JC Penney card. I had intended on just ordering using this awesome sale and then I have some Free Shipping offers. Then i found this 30% off code and couldn't not use it. However you cannot use a coupon code AND a free shipping offer. So I had to figure out which would be the best way to go which of course was the 30% off. Here is how I ended up. All the $19.99 blankets with 30% off ended up being $13.99. My down blanket went from $59.99 to $41.99. With the 30% off promo AND the sale on the blankets I saved $307.00!!!! That is totally worth rejoicing over. My shipping was $19, but with the 30% off it was worth paying shipping. My total for 6 blankets, shipping and tax was $138.26. I don't feel bad about that one stinkin bit.

Now I am not advertising charging and using credit cards or anything like that... I just know that sometimes when you have a store card it is well, well worth using it, but please be sure to pay it off ASAP and not accumulate debt because of me. :) Also for JC Penney card members.. after I had placed my order I found an email in that I had gotten for me to sign up for their rewards program. Its free. I signed up and they gave me a $10 off rewards code. I called the customer service dept and they applied that $10 credit to my order. Rewards CAN be used with other coupon codes. SOOOO I ended up really only paying $128.26 for 6 blankets. WOOO HOOO!!! Well really only $124 after my ebates cash back.

If you don't have a JC Penney Card this is still a great, awesome sale. You can still order the blankets and get FREE shipping using the code TREND49. You have to spend $49 or more to get the FREE shipping though. Also if you google JC Penney coupon codes you will get a bunch of websites with codes. There are quite a few 15% off coupon codes out there and depending on your order usinga 15% off code might save you more than using the free shipping code. Just thought I would pass this on.

Also if you need/want electric blankets all of them are 50% off. You can just go to jcpenney.com and search for them. The source code for the catalog that the best prices came out of is J9222 it will ask you for that so it knows what prices to reflect.

LASTLY: I know I am getting a little long here. If you have an ebates.com account don't forget to use them to put through your JC Penney order and you will get an additional 3% cash back from them on your next pay out. I saved a little over $4 more dollars through ebates. If you don't have an ebates account SHAME ON YOU... go get signed up right away. Its free money guys. Its free to sign up. Its silly not to have one. Go to ebates.com, or here is a quick link to the sign up page https://www.ebates.com/editUserInfos.do?navigation_id=18574. You just enter your email address and a password and it asks for who referred you. You get $5 free just for signing up! If you would, please put my email address down for the referral I will get $5 too. sammi_nickel@yahoo.com . Then you just start shopping. There are 100's of stores that you get credit for going through ebates. You just click the store and ebates routes you to their website then they can track your spending and send you a check every 3 months for your cash back that you earned. It adds up fast. Since I signed up over two years ago my cash back total is $327.59. There's the proof.

Happy Shopping!! :)

FREE Carnation Holiday Recipe Guide

2009-11-10T14:21:00.004-07:00

The FREE CARNATION Holiday Recipe Guide is themust-have resource for delicious ideas this season. Itincludes recipes for potluck, appetizers, brunch/breakfast,game day and even leftovers. Order yours today so you have it in time for your next get-together! While supplies Last!! FREE HOLIDAY RECIPE GUIDE. I just ordered mine you can download it or have it mailed to you. Either way it looks fun and its FREE. Also there are coupons online for Carnation milk and other things so take advantage of them as well!

I am so glad the Holidays are HERE!!! Yay!

Halloween 09

2009-11-09T17:36:00.005-07:00

Don't judge me, these 3 pictures are the only ones I took of my kids the whole Halloween night. What the heck is wrong with me!?!?

We had a fun first in our little family this year. Kade and I have been married going on 8 years now, and we have never carved pumpkins together or with Kadence either. We both had done it when we were younger, but never had the desire to do it together. We were always too busy going to haunted houses and other things when we were childless. This year my mom gave us two pumpkins from one of the hunters at Deseret, and then we decided to buy 2 more so that we could all do them as a family. It made for a very enjoyable FHE, and the kids and even Kade and I had a great time. The kids drew all over theirs and that was their funnest part. For Kadences, Kade ended up cutting out some of her actual drawings and it turned out to be a really cute pumpkin. The kids are now very sad that the pumpkins are wilting and needing to go to the garbage.

Kadence's, mine, Kade's, and Kash's.
Wow its great to be able to catch up a little on life for the past couple weeks. We have had a great October.. busy but great. The kids have had an absolute blast this month. We have filled our time lately with, ranch work, butchering beef, Hogle Zoo (went back to see the babies), a visit to Great-Grandma, a visit to the witches at Gardner Village, visits with friends, doctors appts, photography sessions, church callings, lessons, talks in church, pink eye, family picnics, Halloween trunk or treat, cookies, Halloween parties, and Halloween itself. Geez no wonder I was so exhausted all the time!! I was not sad to have Halloween over and get all the decorations put away. I was way burned out this year by the time we finished up with everything.

I have really slacked this month on pictures though.. I have no idea what my problem was. I hardly took any of Halloween night, my sister and mom thank heavens took pics at the trunk or treat, zoo, and Gardner Village. I have vowed to be better for the next upcoming months.

Kash wanted nothing to do with a Halloween costume. He only wanted to wear his regular clothes so he became a "cowboy" pretty easily. He carried his gun, stick horse, and rope around for the first 4 or 5 houses but slowly started leaving his accessories in the car. Kadence wanted to be Sleeping Beauty this year and she was darling. They both got way too much candy and had a great time though and that is all that matters I think.

Finally.... A Photography Blog

2009-11-09T16:53:00.002-07:00

Finally I have taken the time to set up what will be my photography blog. You can check it out at http://www.nicolemartinphotography.blogspot.com/.
Warning: It is very generic and boring right now. The blog only has about 30% of the pictures it will have and hopefully by the end of the year it will be full of what I have done.I hope sometime soon to be able to "beautify" it, but I have no idea when that will be. Thanks again or all your love, support, and encouragement.

Favorites: I love FREE print offers!

2009-10-22T22:17:00.006-06:00

See Here from Fuji is offering 100 FREE prints to new account holders (pay only shipping and handling.) This will cover all of your summer photos, I am sure! Sign up Here and start uploading those photos! Go to website then click "sign up" at the top and you will see that it will give you 100 prints.

Also there is a FREE 8X10 Canvas OR $55 OFF, offered Here (pay $14.95 for shipping – but that is less than how much a canvas itself would cost – these items are expensive.)

Canvas People allows you to upload your own photos to canvas. Shipping is $14.95 but to me that is totally worth it for a canvas of my little gal – I am so excited about this offer as I just got 3 weeks photos made of my daugther this past week. Once I get them back, I am jumping on this amazing deal! Consider this as a great gift too for the holidays.

With $55 off the current prices is as follows…
8×10 FREE
11×11 $3.99
11×14 $13.99
16×16 $23.99
16×20 $33.99 (Best Value!)
18×24 $43.99.

Also there is a $15 credit offer from Kodak, I just got mine I am going to use it towards a Xmas gift I have been working on. Go HERE to sign up for the credit. They are giving it to the first 100,000 people and then after that you will get a 40% off coupon. If you are the recipient of a 40% off gift code, you may come back to the promotion during the next phase to receive a $15 gift code. It is emailed to you and mine came to my junk/spam folder about 3 minutes after I signed up.

Don't you love all the cool offers that are out there to help you preserve memories!!

Making your blog a little safer

2009-10-18T18:50:00.004-06:00

I keep forgetting to share this with you, and while it was fresh on my mind I thought I would hurry and post it. I got this info months ago from Holly, and while it doesn't prevent all predators from your blog it does help that they at least can't save your images to their computer. If you have tried to copy words or pictures from my blog you will get a message that says "copyrighted material" if you want to add this feature to your blog here is how you do it.

**** UPDATE: OK this won't let me post the link for some reason, so here is what I will do. Its just a simple HTML code you add to your layout. If you want this code email me at sammi_nickel@yahoo.com Subject: Blog Code, I will reply back to you with the code. Then copy and paste the code after going to layout, add gadget, html, then paste, save and voila. Also it will leave a black space with a line on your blog like you have added something there, I added it to the bottom of my layout so there isn't a line just hanging out there.

Finally 1 project finished

2009-10-15T16:15:00.005-06:00

Last night I finally got to sit down and sew this skirt, that the material has been sitting out for over a week now. Its nothing fancy but it turned out pretty, darn cute. I love that I can go buy fabric and elastic, and sew something cute for like $3 you really can't beat that. Anyway its nothing fancy, but my 4 year old loves it, so thats all that matters to me. For my 3rd sewing project 3 hrs wasn't too shabby for this one compared to the stupid 4th of July one that took me like 8. I have a little bit of material left over; I might try and whip out another one for like a 6 mo. old. Anyway, its been fun to be home and relax with my kids... enjoy their company and not have a million things going on. However that ends next week. :(

I took these pics quickly of my kids this morning as we rushed out the door to (gasp) get the flu and swine flu shots. I know there is a lot of controversy over the sf shot and all I can say is make a decision you think is right and pray hard for confirmation it is right for your family. It has weighed heavily on Kade and I for a good 3 weeks now as we have 2 high risk individuals in our household. Me being pregnant, and Kash with his immune deficiency, are both prime candidates for the virus to effect us harshly. Poor Kadence has had to suffer and miss pre-school for 2 weeks now and primary, because we can't have her bringing anything home to us until we are all protected. A week ago I had decided we would not be getting it, that I would rather take our chances on getting sick than take chances on the vaccine. That is plain silly. There is a lot of information being passed around some of it is very scary. I think its good to stop and think about things before you do them. However, with some effort and research and prayer I found 95% of the info to be incorrect, blown out of proportion, and down right not true. I encourage you all to do your own studying and not believe everything media and even some health officials are saying. Dig deep and study what the CDC says as they have the accurate information and then you decide if the risks are worth taking. I know my decision is my decision and may not be right for you and your family. All I know is I will be sleeping better tonight than I have for weeks, and will be rejoicing in 2 weeks when all the shots are actually effective. Now to just stay healthy until then. :)

*** Here is a link off of my OB's website that has tons of links of good, accurate info. if you are interested in looking into it further. http://www.colwc.com/swineflu.asp. I trust my OB with all my heart, and he is one of the people that turned my opinion around because he was very concerned with his pregnant patients getting the shot. Good luck and I hope you all stay healthy!!

Kash wanted his pics taken too since I was taking Kadence's.

He is such a stinker. :)

Kadence started a dance/gymnastics class

2009-10-15T15:41:00.007-06:00

What can I say... she has my coordination. :)

This is my big handsome boy being so good while

we wait for sissy. He was way bummed he couldn't

dance with them. You have to be 3, so he watched

from the door.

She also started violin lessons today, and it is the cutest thing ever.

She loves it!! I will take some pics of her practicing and post them.

Dinosaur bedding set for $11 shipped!!!

2009-10-13T13:15:00.003-06:00

I just found this awesome sale!! If you know a boy that loves dinosaurs this would make a great Xmas present and its cheap!

Seventh Avenue has this Dinoland bedding set for $17.99. Includes sheet set, comforter, skirt and pillow sham. Bring your total up to $20 and use code: sa20 (lower case) to get $20 off a $20+ purchase. Shipping is $10!

Hurry while supplies last!!

UPDATE:

I just placed this order for me, I thought this would be a great gift for a little boy at Xmas when we do our secret santa presents this year. We always choose a family and buy gifts for them, it is the highlight of our season.

You have to have your order over $20 for the code to work and the bedding is $17.99 so I bought some cookie sticks for $2.99 (I will use the for marshmellow suckers) http://www.seventhavenue.com/catalog/product.jsp?productId=44390&categoryId=1426&pCategoryId=3918&gpCategoryId=481&productVariantId=127454&prefixCode=EB

That put my order at $30.98 and after the coupon code was entered at the end of checkout (it wouldn't work out at the beginning of checkout before shipping was added) the total order with shipping came to $10.93. NOT TOO SHABBY!! An$89.95 bedding set for Free. Pretty darn great.

Star Valley residents....

2009-10-07T12:08:00.003-06:00

For all of you that live in or near Star Valley I will be up there on October 24th, Saturday for the day taking family pictures. I am charging $50 and this includes the sitting fee, all editing of pictures, a CD with all edited pictures, and a copyright release. If you would like individuals of your kids in addition to the family pictures, and you have more than 1 child it will be $5 per additional child. I only have room left for about 3 families so if you are interested please contact me soon. You can email me at sammi_nickel@yahoo.com, or leave me a comment.

Thanks!!

A break this week...

2009-10-04T14:27:00.021-06:00

These will be cute for Halloween when I am done with them.

I have been sewing burp rags, Kadence likes pulling

the pins out as I sew.

Pumpkins made out of toilet paper
Glittered Pumpkins courtesty of Martha Stewart (of course)
Kadence is so excited about these! (Better Homes and Gardens)

I am dedicating this week to my kids. I have been so busy lately will odds and ends, projects, and responsiblities, and I just want to spend this whole week with my family and kids. I am doing stuff with them and decorating for the upcoming holidays. My house could use a little attention as well, but that is not my main priority so if I get to it... I get to it. I have several fun things planned for us to work on throughout the days and have added some pics for previews. I hope you have a wonderful week as well, and remember to take time for the things that truly matter.

*****************************************

Also this is what I have left from the craft fair, some of you were still wanting things so here is what I have. I do still have some supplies so I can probably still make you one of these things if you like, and I am taking orders on the Christmas Countdown calendars. Everybody loves them, and I must say they really are cute. I will put the prices under each thing, and most likely I can meet you or deliver the items. If I have to ship you will pay the shipping, but for the calendars it really isn't much at all. All the blocks and signs are really glittery and darling, the pictures don't do them justice.

The signs are $15

The green signs are gone.

The BOO blocks are $10

The Countdown Calendars start on Day 1 and countdown to 24

they have little sayings on each day.

The whole book comes put together and ready to use, the pages

are in protective pages so this book will last years and years.

They are $35 completed OR I will sell you a kit for $25 with all the

pieces for you to complete the full book.

Conference Packet: Fav 12/28

2009-10-03T23:55:00.003-06:00

Several years ago General Conference would not have been one of my favorites that I would be posting. After several years of growing up and getting spiritually refined, my testimony is still growing stronger and stronger every day.... I LOVE General Conference and now look forward to the weekend that only comes twice a year.
There are some creative people out there that make packets to entertain kids during these meetings and they are so darling. I wanted to share with you one place where I found a packet that Kadence is so excited to get to work on.
Its found here: http://www.sugardoodle.net/mambo/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=5105

Have a great, uplifting weekend. :)

Favorite 11/28 & Mark your calendars & Help please

2009-09-26T18:26:00.006-06:00

I am LOVING this sign... I decided I need one. THEN I got this great idea that I would make several for all my friends and also sell them at the CRAFT FAIR in Randolph, that I am having a table at again... COME SEE ME!!

RANDOLPH CRAFT FAIR

OCTOBER 3, 2009

SATURDAY
10-4 pm

Senior Citizen Center

I found this particular darling sign on one of my new favorite blogs http://naptimecrafting.blogspot.com/ which is darling and has some way cute ideas on it. Go check it out if you need inspiration to get your butt moving on some crafting.

**I am selling them for about $10 I think at the craft fair, and I have only made 6 so if you really want one and aren't going to be at the craft fair let me know and I will hold it for you. I have Orange, Purple, and Green (its a little darker green than this picture) and the witch is on a broom not stirring in a pot.

I will also have Close To My Heart scrapbooking product at deeply discounted prices. I am selling again my Countdown to Christmas calendars and will post a picture of the old version and new different color version this year. So two choices.
****************************************************
Photography Help
First off thank you to all my friends and family who have encouraged me and supported me in my photography interest. It has been such an enjoyable experience to me this summer to get to take so many photos and learn at the same time. I know I still have a ton to learn and look forward to continuing to improve. I am finishing September off with still taking the last few photography sessions for FREE, but I need to start charging to compensate all the hours and hours it takes me to edit and take the actual pictures. So for October I am going to start charging $35, this is where I need your opinion. Is this a reasonable price? Everyone keeps saying charge $50 for everything but I think that is too much???

For $35 you will get:

The photography sitting
All pictures edited and enhanced
A full CD of all the edited pictures
A copyright release for all images

I am so nervous to start charging so I really need to know if this is reasonable and if YOU would pay this money for pictures taken by me.

You can take the CD and order pictures at your choice of photo processer or I can order them for you and the prices are very cheap.

Second: I have 12 photo sessions already scheduled for October, which I am absolutely thrilled about!! The weather and scenery is absolutely GORGEOUS right now for pictures. Since I have all this business coming up, I need to probably get a license of some sort if I am going to collect money AND I need to come up with a name to watermark my pictures and set up a blog/website to view all the pictures. I need some NAME ideas. HELP!

Lastly: For all my blogging followers and faithful friends on here.... if you have me do any pictures in October or November I will give you 10% off my flat fee and any storyboards, collages, etc. 8X10's are around $2.50 if you order through me, to give you an idea on pricing.

Thank you for your opinions, interest, and encouragement again!

10/28 Its finally time for.....

2009-09-25T19:38:00.003-06:00

I know these don't look as pretty as the ones you buy

in the store. I didn't smoothe them out or use an ice cream

scoop. I smacked them on the sheet and called it good.

They taste the same and look like a mess when my kids get

a hold of them anyway.

My FAVORITE thing ever....

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip cookies. I know that this isn't a recipe blog, and I have been thinking about food alot but really I just can't help it. I can blame it on the pregnancy I guess, but even if I wasn't pregnant I would still be looking forward to these fabulous cookies. I know there is no rule that you can't make these all year long, but they just taste BETTER in the Fall. Silly I know. So I have tried about 5 versions now of these cookies. Several recipes and then of course the easy peasy Spice cake mix and can of pumpkin. They are all good... but tonight I tried THE absolute best recipe ever. My friend Marcy had this recipe its supposedly the recipe for the Maceys grocery store cookies. Who knows, but these are honestly just as yummy and soft and DELICIOUS. So here it is!!

Copied right from my Word Doc:

"The Pumpkin Chip cookie is by far one of my favorite treats. I first stumbled on it when I was in Utah at a grocery store called Macys. Yes, just like the department store only this place was an actual grocery store. A couple friends of mine were so kind to send me a plate of Macys Pumpkin Chip Cookies after I left. I have tried many recipes through the years with no such luck. They all came out too rich, too gummy, too wet, too cakey, not enough cakeiness. After a while I pretty much gave up. When I saw the picture on Joy the baker I decided to pull out the can of pumpkin that has been patiently sitting in the pantry and try it. All it took was one bite and I was satisfied. I had finally found the recipe.

The recipe calls to drop the dough using a 1/4 cup ice cream scoop but that amount produced enormous cookies. Next time I will try my 2 tablespoon scoop. I did not have nutmeg to grate either so I used ground nutmeg instead.

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup canola or corn oil (or I substituted the oil for butter (Nicole)

1 cup canned pumpkin
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup chocolate chips, or any chip you like such as mini chips, butterscotch or both.

Position a rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and butter the paper. (I used a plain greased cookie sheet and it worked fine)

Stir the flour, powder, soda, salt and cinnamon together in a medium bowl; set aside. In a large bowl, beat the eggs and sugar until smooth and light in color. Stir in the oil, pumpkin, and vanilla until blended. Fold in the dry ingredients until all the flour is incorporated. Mix in the chips.
Using an ice cream scoop with a 1/4-cup capacity, scoop mounds of the dough onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing the cookies at least 2 1/2-inches apart. You could also simply use a 1/4-cup measuring cup if you dont have an ice cream scoop. Use a thin metal spatula to smooth and flatten the rounds.

Bake the cookies one sheet at a time until the tops feel firm and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out dry, about 16 minutes. Cool them on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.

Dust the cooled cookies lightly with powdered sugar (optional). The cookies can be stored in a tightly covered container at room temperature for up to 4 days. "

Give them a try, you will NOT be sorry!!

I LOVE Fall

2009-09-21T17:57:00.006-06:00

I love fall and I LOVE decorating my house in the glorious colors. They are so cheery and warm feeling.... I keep pulling out more and more stuff. Soon my house will be completely Fall colors yay! We also have started using our wood burning stove off and on and that always warms the house in a cozy way.... Fall is here and its my favorite season!

Multiple Favs 8/28

2009-09-16T13:18:00.006-06:00

I finally had 5 minutes to snap some pictures of some more of my favorite things right now....

I LOVE my scentsy burners, and my all time favorite scent is Coconut Lemongrass. It makes my house smell clean and fresh, and is not too over powering. I only use about the size of a penny and it lasts plenty long. My friend Kristen sells it and you can contact her or order online at http://www.scentsy.com/kristenm. This is the yummiest ice cream ever!! And its cheap, I just got it at Wal-Mart.

If you don't have one of these, I have no idea how you even function or do your housework. This is a Pampered Chef mini-spatula and I bought 2 or 3 last year when they were on clearance for cheap. I started out using them for the traditional spatula needs, and then soon found they have many, many other uses. My favorite use ever is to scrape on the top of my counter. You know when you wipe your counter and there is always some dried junk or food from the kids that is dried on. Well just turn this handy-dandy spatula over, and it will scrape right off. It makes thinks much easier and doesn't scratch your counter. No more soaking rags on the dried stuff or scraping with your fingernails. It is also fabulous when I mop my floor to scrape things out of the corners or that are dried on there too. I used it a couple weeks ago when I defrosted my freezer and it helped so much. Anyway, maybe my house is the only one that has dried crud sometimes.... and thats ok. Even still I LOVE this tool.

Ok this is a totally NEW favorite for me. I had never had frozen grapes before. If you haven't had them either.... they are an EASY must try!! They are my new sweet treat when I am trying to avoid a bunch of candy. My kids love them, and I am excited to have a new idea when they are starting to get mushy, and we just can't eat them fast enough; I will throw them in the freezer to keep them longer.

1. Wash a bunch of grapes then lay them out on a paper towel or something where they can air dry completely.

2. Throw them on a cookie sheet and pop them in the freezer for a couple hours. It really doesn't take long at all before you have a sweet, refreshing, yummy snack.

3. Either snack on them a few at a time right off the cookie sheet, or I just throw mine in a ziplock back and keep them in the door of the freezer. Then we just grab some by the handfulls and toss them in sandwich bags when we want a snack. They are awesome.

Favorites 7/28

2009-09-15T19:14:00.006-06:00

I did this photoshoot recently of this little guy and his family..... he has been for sure one of my favorite things this week, I had to share him. It was a hard picture session (6 month olds don't really care to cooperate :), but I was so pleased that there were at least 50 pictures that they get to choose from..... and every picture made me smile so big.

Here is another favorite picture of my niece who is getting married soon.... isn't she the cutest thing ever?!? I am not biased or anything.

Another Fav...
What can I say..... pictures make me happy. :)

And...... he is definitely one of my favorites. :)

Sorry there is no one here to stop me. My 4 Year old, can you believe

I have a 4 year old? I still can't.

Sorry.... again, I love pictures and its hard to choose just one. Or two. Or three. Or four.

Ok..... and because I love pictures, I will share with you a FREE digital goodie that is only available through the end of the month so go download it right away so you can use it for your favorite pictures as well. Elemental Scraps is the sight and here is the link http://www.elementalscraps.com/shoppe/home.php?cat=252 Its the "Sew Cute" mini-kit you have to scroll down a little to find it. She also has some great $1 deals too, so check out the rest of her site. Happy Scrapping and Happy Picture Taking. :)

Favorite 6/28

2009-09-09T11:20:00.002-06:00

I thought I had better clarify for everyone that yes I am pregnant. I am halfway done pretty much if I go to 38 weeks, which is as far as I went with Kadence and Kash. I am due sometime the first part of February, my mom's birthday is the 11th so she thinks I should just hold off until that day. I am guessing the 6th or 7th but that is just a wild guess. I don't care so long as I have a healthy baby and I am crossing my fingers for no NICU this time around. We wait a while to tell everyone just because I have had several past miscarriages, and it really stinks to have everyone know and excited and asking you about it, then you have to tell them you lost it.

I found out the beginning of July and was totally surprised, of course we had decided to hold off until Fall sometime when we knew Kade would for sure have a job and health insurance. We also wanted to make sure we had Kash all healthy and figured out before we threw a new baby into the mix. Heavenly Father always knows best though and obviously he had plans for us sooner than we had for ourselves. Also apparently thyroid medicine makes you more fertile and that always moves things along. :) We of course are excited and it was a relief on Aug 24th to get taken off "high risk" status and get the ok to start telling family and friends. That was my last appt and my wonderful Dr. said if he had to guess that day he would say the baby is a girl....BUT he would not tell us 100% until my next appt. because Kash was a "late bloomer" and he thought he was a girl at first as well. So we still don't know for sure what we are having, Kadence has talked about a baby sister for well over a year now. Its a daily conversation and sometimes she cries because she misses her. We barely told Kadence on Sunday when we celebrated her birthday; she of course is very excited and its like a light bulb went on in her head as to why my belly is getting bigger. My next appt is September 24th and we are all going as a family this time. Kade and I think it will be fun for her to see the baby on the monitor and to have her there when the doctor tells us what we are having. Also, we hope if it is a boy that hearing it from the doctor will make her less disappointed and believe it too. So that is our news.

My favorite thing today is: I love when we have plans for ourselves and our Heavenly Father steps in and corrects things when we are wrong or in this case when our timing is off.

Back to Favorites 5/28

2009-09-08T10:16:00.003-06:00

I finally have internet back, and instead of catching up from the week I missed I will just start from where I left off. So for today I am sharing one of my favorite recipes that I have used about 5 times in the last month when I have needed something really yummy, that whips up in a pinch.

Really this is 2 of my favorites rolled into one. I LOVE this website and use it often for many things. Her recipes are amazing and I am so excited she finally has a cookbook coming out, but she also has many other informative sections of her website. Of course the Photography one is my all time favorite. :) So here is the actual link to her tutorial on making this recipe http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2007/06/the_best_chocol/ and I would advise not getting on her website unless you have hours to kill because you will get sucked in I guarantee you.

(This photo is taken from PW's tutorial and is hers)

"Pioneer Woman Chocolate Sheet Cake

The Best Chocolate Sheet Cake. Ever.

Combine in a mixing bowl:
2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
In a saucepan, melt:
2 sticks butter
Add 4 heaping tablespoons cocoa. Stir together.
Add 1 cup boiling water, allow mixture to boil for 30 seconds, then turn off heat. Pour over flour mixture, and stir lightly to cool.

In measuring cup, pour 1/2 cup buttermilk.
Add:
2 beaten eggs
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla
Stir buttermilk mixture into butter/chocolate mixture. Pour into sheet cake pan and bake at 350-degrees for 20 minutes.
While cake is baking, make icing:
Chop 1/2 cup pecans finely.
Melt 1 3/4 sticks butter in a saucepan.
Add 4 heaping tablespoons cocoa, stir to combine, then turn off heat.
Add:
6 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 lb minus 1/2 cup powdered sugar
Stir together.
Add pecans, stir together, and pour over warm cake.

Cut into squares, eat, and totally wig out over the fact that you’ve just made the best chocolate sheet cake. Ever. "

P.S. I have made it with & without the pecans and it is delicious either way.

I haven't forgotten....

2009-09-02T16:58:00.001-06:00

I haven't had internet since Sunday, so as soon as Verizon gets it fixed I will be up and running again to catch up again my favorites. I haven't forgotten and I am not slacking, just dont have internet. I am using my moms right now. See you soon!

Favorites 4/28 (caught up)

2009-08-28T17:37:00.005-06:00

This is the absolute BEST place to eat EVER!!!! It is located in Pocatello, ID and is a place Kade and I found when we went there for the Dodge Circuit Finals back in the Spring. I honestly don't get all that excited about food... but I can't not get excited about eating here. It is my FAVORITE all time place ever. They have 4 menu pages of food... and its all homeade and tastes wonderful. Even better, their prices are so reasonable and you get a ton of food. It was the perfect place for Kade and I to go for our Birthdays since we both LOVE it.

Also I am including some pictures that I took while waiting outside the restaurant..... there is always a wait and the place is always packed. That says something in itself. Good thing I don't live closer, my hips would not be happy with me. :)

Of course I also can't mention anything regarding my "favorites" without mentioning my kids, family, friends, church, and all those wonderful things in life that are just already known.
Kadence is now a ButterBurrs lover too because they have "Mickey Mouse pancakes, WOW!"
Kade was jumping up and down he was so excited. :)
The Birthday girl... only pic of myself on the entire trip. I guess that's what happens

when your behind the camera the whole time. :)
Matt + Kash = Best Buds Forever

Favorite Things 3/28

2009-08-28T15:08:00.006-06:00

$50 more in Lowe's cards making it $120 so far, and $500 Visa gift card
Look what came.... I wasn't expecting it yet they said 6-8 weeks for delivery,
and it approved August 3rd so that was much faster than anticipated. Woo Hoo!
$500 Wachovia Visa Gift Card. I profited easily $450 for 4 hrs of computer time.
Not... too... shabby!! I started my next $500 one on Monday, so I can have it in November sometime for Xmas shopping. I LOVE making easy money.

Here is the info again in case you want to try it now that you know it works.
http://moneysavingmethodsonlineoffers.blogspot.com/,
I did the one on the left under I-Deal that has a gas pump and says Gas Option
and then I also have now done the Twilight Saga one on the left side for $500 Visa
gift card as well. Just follow her instructions to the letter and feel free to email or call me
with questions. It will take about 3 hours to sign up for any of them. Also if you do the I-Deal
offers you can only do 2 a year or $1000 worth a year. So I won't be able to do any more
with that particular company. On the right side though those are Netblue and Nuitech
2 totally seperate compays that do the same thing and they are unlimited on how many you
can do. I will be doing them next as soon as I get the chance.

My favorite thing is when I can make money from home easily, and save money from
home easily by couponing and shopping wisely.

Just real quick also, when we were in Pocatello for the weekend of my birthday we went shoe shopping for my kids. Kadence has begged for sketcher shoes for months now. (Thank you commercials) Anyway I had a $20 gift card left for Target that I had gotten for $1.95, I wanted to go to Target first to see if they had any "sketcher" look alikes by chance that I could use

my gift card for, instead of spending $36 on sketchers for my almost 4 year old. So once in Target in IF we found these way cute tennis shoes that look just like sketchers for $10 bucks! She was thrilled with them! And because I had $10 left on my card we got Kash new shoes too for $13 and I only had to spend $5 out of my pocket (after tax) for 2 pair of darling shoes for my kids!!! Please tell me how that can get ANY better?? well ok if they were FREE. lol Pretty dang close if you ask me. Ok I will stop blabbering about my gift cards now. Sorry.

Favorite Things 2/28

2009-08-28T11:09:00.005-06:00

If you are a mother you MUST have these. They are the most inspiring, beautiful, books ever, but they also help you to feel not alone in the wonderful world of raising children. Its also nice to read about these amazing women who also have stinkers for kids sometimes, and have a hard time keeping patience.

Contentment: Inspiring Insights for LDS Mothers
By: Maria Covey Cole

The description of this book describes it to the letter: "This beautiful book provides a valuable perspective on the trials and joys of raising a family and the noble calling of motherhood by intertwining heartwarming stories, quotes from prophets and Apostles, and numerous scripture verses."

This is another book my mom gave me for Mother's Day and I have not finished it all the way through yet but I LOVE it as well. It is an inspiring book about being a mother and raising righteous children and makes me want to be a better mother everytime I pick it up.

A Mother's Book of Secrets: Keys to Making Motherhood Memorable, Meaningful, and Magnificent

By: Linda J Eyre and Shawni Eyre Pothier (Mother and Daughter)

This book is absolutely WONDERFUL. My mom gave this to me for Mother's Day and remember I had had my tonsils out over Mother's Day so I never really felt up to reading. However, I have since read through this probably 1/2 a dozen times, especially if I am having one of those days when I just want to run away. Also the pictures in this book are so heart warming and gorgeous, and since I love photography and pictures that makes this a Double 5 Star book for me.

And I will leave you with a thought from the book to ponder on for today.

"It's true that as a mother there is always a never-ending list of things to accomplish. Pay the bills. Check. Do the dishes. Check. Make dinner. Check. Do the shopping. Check. But are we successful if we didn't notice the look on our child's face when he learned to 'pump' on the swing by himself? Is it success if we got lunch done and put the kids down for naps in fifteen minutes' time so we could finish catching up on 'important projects' if we forgot to help the kids finish the puzzle we promised we would? Sometimes success is when we don't get through the to-do list but instead stop long enough to notice the little things. To savor moments. Not only to notice the delight in our children's eyes, but to help create it.

In her book Surrendering to Motherhood, author Iris Krasnow writes that the most important advice she could give mothers is to Be There. She says: '...Being There isn't about money or even about staying home full-time. It's about an emotional and spiritual shift, of succumbing to Being Where You Are When You Are, and Being There as much as possible. It's about crouching on the floor and getting delirious over the praying mantis your son just caught instead of perusing a fax [or filling the dishwasher] while he is yelling for your attention and you distractedly say over your shoulder: 'Oh, honey, isn't that a pretty bug.'

'It's about being attuned enough to notice when your kid's eyes shine so you can make your eyes shine back.' "

28 Days of Favorites! 1/28

2009-08-25T10:15:00.005-06:00

We have had a way busy August and someday maybe I can catch up everything we have done... but for now I thought it would be fun for me to post 28 of my favorite things. My birthday was on the 15th and I turned the big 2-8. I know I am old. So for the next 28 days I will share with you SOME of my favorite things, I of course have way more than 28. Anyway, this is late I wanted to start this on my birthday but that didn't happen.

So my favorite thing today is: My Dyson vacuum. We have had probably 4 or 5 vacuums since we have been married and this vacuum is by far the best one we have had and is worth every cent we spent on it. It comes with a 5 year warranty through Dyson and then we purchased an additional 4 year through Home Depot... so I am good to go with this vacuum for 9 years!! I have had it already for almost 2 years, and used it for ashes in our stove both winters.... it still works as well as it did the day we bought it. Where I live we have lots of dirt and a little of everything that comes in the house. Its so nice to see inside the vacuum how much cleaner my house is after I vacuum and I now LOVE to vacuum and that is rare I think.

Free nursing cover AGAIN!

2009-08-19T14:59:00.004-06:00

This is the email I received today:

Hi friend,I wanted to say thank you for ordering a nursing cover and let you know that we are now running a limited time promotion for 100% off ALL our covers (patterned and non-patterned)! You can get ANY of our covers for free ~ you just pay the S&H! We know that you support breastfeeding -so if you're not currently nursing, they make great baby shower and Holiday gifts. The promo code is "backorder1".Go to http://www.uddercovers.com/ , click on "Shop Now" where it will then display all the nursing covers we offer as well as other products and sets. Select the product you would like and you will automatically be directed to the center of the page where you can enter in the promo code! This backorder promotion will give you a $32.00 discount off your total order no matter what you put in your cart! This promotion code is valid once per transaction so order as many times as you would like. Let all your friends know too!Again, thank you! We could not have offered this discount without your past support!

I just ordered one of the gift sets that are on sale for $37.00 and only paid $13.95 for it with shipping. What an awesome deal!!

Where did my baby go?

2009-08-04T19:44:00.010-06:00

In the NICU 12 hrs. old.

In the NICU a few days before we got to go home.
1 Year Birthday
1 Year Old

I LOVE these pics of Kash and his Dad.

This is Kash's face when we were singing to him.

Yes my son got ANOTHER iron from Grammy.

Hey... he will be so prepared for his mission. lol

BUT he also got cars and he LOVES cars and trucks right now.

Does that make up for the iron?

You can see how excited he was about the clothes... on the floor behind him.

Its hard work opening presents.

My cute baby brother who turned 17 a few weeks ago.

We LOVE him.

Grandpa and Kashie Boy

Look Whos Two!

Kash's birthday was Saturday the 1st. Since I had my High School reunion that evening and Kade was doing other stuff as well, we celebrated his birthday Sunday after church. It was so enjoyable, and he just loved having everyone around. Kade made a fabulous dinner, the night really couldn't have been any better.... except of course if the rest of the family could have been there. Josh never got a cake on his bday, so when I was at the store we picked a little one up for him so we could sing to him as well. Thanks to everyone for all the cute presents, they sure have kept him and Kadence busy. I just can't believe my little guy is 2, it just seems like it has went way too fast.

Woo Hoo!

2009-07-21T20:00:00.002-06:00

OK, remember a couple LOONG posts back (your thinking they have all been way too long, I know it) well I told you that I was finally going to brave trying out one of those online offers. On June 17th I signed up for my first $500 Visa card offer. After some trial and error and a little bit of panic, all my offers finally approved today!!! Yay! So I am printing my Redemption Certificate and the W-9 that you have to send in as well, as I type this. I will send it off in the morning with delivery confirmation and then PATIENTLY wait for the Fed-Ex man to knock on my door. :) Then I will be $500 richer for about 5 minutes until I call one of the 200 doctors, hospitals, anesthesiologists, etc... take your pick and pay hopefully something totally off!! I will take a picture of it to show you that it has arrived in my hot little hands.

Here is what I have into it..

Approx. 6 hrs into it (1 of which is my own fault). Signing up took me 3 because I had to read every single word because I was so nervous about getting scammed. About 1 hr spent checking over and over, calling to cancel things, and mailing things back at the post office. Another 1 spent signing up for replacement offers because I was stupid and signed up for 2 that didn't count and had to stress about losing the whole thing all together.

I have $37.28 spent out of pocket, but one more thing to send back that will be around $5 I think. So I am estimating about $42 spent total. I will give you an exact dollar amount after I mail it and know for sure. This is the cost of shipping and handling to get things send to me and for the return postage of the things I decided not to keep. $9 of this was for the books I ended up keeping.

I received 3 Disney Books and 3 Dr. Seuss Books all are put away for upcoming bdays and Xmas. I got to try some new makeup, and sent some wrinkle cream to my mom because I didn't want to try it out. I got to see my credit reports 3 times and made sure I don't have a stolen identity. lol

All in all it really hasn't been that bad. Now that I have done one, I am not going to be so nervous about doing another and have my eye on one already. There are rules and guidelines about how many you can do in a years time by certain companys and you can't re-do the same offers in a 6 month time frame etc.

I figure a $450 profit in 6 hrs time isn't all that bad, for me just sitting on my bed in my pjs after my kids were in bed making money. I definitely will do it again.

Here is what I have received so far this month:

$70 for Lowes
$45 for Target
$25 for Starbucks

Soon to be.... $500 cash on a Visa card WOOO HOOO!!!! (may take 6 to 8 weeks)

Here is the sight where I read up on all the info., read everyone's comments about 500 times, and emailed this poor woman twice in a panic. The information is thorough and all there and she is very nice if you need help. Its called http://moneysavingmethods.blogspot.com. Then click on online offers. The offer I did was on the left side under I-deal and its the one with a gas pump that says Gas Option, Get a FREE $500 VISA gift card. Her site is very informative I look at it every day.
For the info on the Lowes, Target, and Starbucks cards I got that off of www.freesamplefreak.com. You can still do these offers, they were super easy. Here is the offer for $20 of the dollars from Target, https://www.greatfunsite.com/global/scripts/promo.asp?ref=GF23800FLOL0004&cm_mmc=email-_-email-_-20090331livewella-_-lwfeatures&cm_em= you sign up and try out their service for 30 days. They are actually a really cool company and have a lot to offer. You can continue the service they will just charge your card or call to cancel before your trial period is up. On he Lowes and this offer you will get an email from them (mine came the next day) that you fill out and re-submit for the gift cards. I did those two offers the same day and my Lowes ones came 2 weeks ago and my $20 Target ones came today. Here is the Lowes one, it is actually only $20 now (It was $50) but still a great deal https://www.completehome.com/secure/Promo.aspx#form, and its the same deal. Its a service to try out for 30 days and cancel if you don't want/need it and the cards are yours to keep. Just make sure and check your email to submit the form for the cards and cancel before the 30 days if you don't want to keep getting billed for the service.

Good luck, and feel free to contact me if you have questions. Read the directions on Money Saving Methods EXTREMELY well and you will be fine!! :)

A little of everything again

2009-07-13T14:05:00.008-06:00

These are all pics from the Woodruff fireworks.

Our 4th of July celebration was 3 long days of fun with family and friends. Started out Friday the 3rd and went through Sunday the 5th. We had out whole entire family together the whole time and it was so enjoyable. Friday and Saturday we spent our time in Woodruff at the festivities up there, watching the rodeos both days, the parade and fireworks. Kadence enjoyed the rabbit and chicken chase, but was crushed that she failed to catch one. Mom was happy about that deep inside - where no one could see.

Saturday evening Kash took a spill out of our swing face first onto our pine porch. It was nasty and it took forever to get his gums and lips to stop bleeding. It has been amazing to me how quickly the mouth heals, he was VERY miserable for a few days but is back to his normal, sweet, self already. The best news is his gums are no longer black, and we are crossing our fingers that his teeth will not turn black afterall. Saturday evening we went in to Evanston and sat with the Martin family as is tradition, and watched the fireworks. This year, the show was put on by a fireworks company and they were so AWESOME. The best I have seen in a long long time. Kash sat in the car and watched a movie, he wasn't too interested. Kadence had a ball playing with her cousins. Sunday after church we went and had family dinner at my parents house to celebrate Matt's birthday. The food was sooo good. We sat out on the front lawn on blankets because the weather was so wonderful. It was great to be together, and so nice to have us all grown and enjoying each others company.

----------------------------------------------

This is a way overdue thank you. These beautiful flowers were sent to me by my dear, sweet friend Kristie. Let me tell you something about this wonderful woman.... she listens when the spirit speaks to her. There have been multiple times that I have been in a slump, or in need of a helpful friend, and I have received a friendly phone call, or ran into her somewhere. In this case a flower delivery guy came right to my front door out in the middle of no-where, to which I told him he had the wrong house as he was walking up. As I opened the card and read " I hope these will bring some cheer to your day" and Kadence said, "Someone looooves you!" I really couldn't help but smile and know that someone truly did. Not only did Kristie, but also my Savior who works through us and uses us as tools if we will serve others and follow promptings that we have to do so.

Also, this wonderful friend brought me a "pampering" bag right before I had my tonsils out. It was complete with a loofa, heavenly smelling body wash, a fabulous book to read, and soft & fuzzy socks to wear... which I did nearly every day. Now don't get me wrong I LOVED her gifts she has given me, but more importantly her thoughtfulness and compassion is what has touched me over and over again, and I hope I can be more like her. I am so grateful to have good friends and family that bring light into my life and are wonderful examples of how I should be living as well.

-----------------------------------------------

Have you tried this????? If you haven't, repent for your sins and go buy some right away! You can thank me later!!!! I may or may not have gone through 3 jars ALL BY MYSELF in about a week and a half. There is a $1 off coupon in one of the smart source newspaper inserts from April. Thankfully all 3 of mine are now used and I can't bring myself to buy anything these days full price. I know my butt will thank me later.

Check out this sale!

2009-07-09T16:15:00.002-06:00

I sell Usborne books, but haven't done a whole lot with it lately. Anyway, I just got on my website to order a few books for Kash's birthday coming up, and they have some awesome internet specials 40% - 70% off good through Monday the 20th. So if you are a lover of books like I am or need to stock up on cheap, fabulous gifts get on and order ASAP. They are while supplies last. Some of the really good specials are on their adorable kid kits and they are great prices.

www.nicolesbookcorner.com, then Enter Bookstore, then on the right side click on Internet Specials. Happy Shopping!!!!!

Free Redbox Codes for any day...

2009-06-30T12:07:00.002-06:00

DEVRY6268
DVDATWAG (Walgreens only)
DVDONME
BREAKROOM
SPSTA61
M3ZZHQG
4CJQR2T
MDRMTHG
CONTROL
2FR2RKL
M3R5GWQ
WALGREENS (Walgreens only)
REDBOX (New customers)
THANK-YOU
GETRDONE
YESPLEASE
BRINGITON
RABBIT

I don't know when these expire, but I have used several of these and they work great. So HAPPY movie watching this weekend for the 4th of July.

Fellow Class of '99 classmates...

2009-06-26T12:44:00.002-06:00

The 10 Year Reunion is in planning mode... a blog has been set up with a poll on it for preferences on location. Class of '99 Blog Please participate in the poll, and check back frequently for a scheduled date, location, and time. Thanks!!!

Updated Suze Orman link to Will & Trust Kit

2009-06-25T15:24:00.001-06:00

Sorry I don't know why that link stopped working, but here is a new one.... thanks Bonnie!

http://www.suzeorman.com/igsbase/igstemplate.cfm?SRC=SP&SRCN=protectionhelp_login&GnavID=95&SnavID=113

Then click on GIFT CODE in Orange and then use the code PEOPLE FIRST

Good luck let me know if you still have problems using this. We have almost completed all ours and it has been great!

LOTS of randomness, sorry!

2009-06-19T13:02:00.013-06:00

Hello, my name is Nicole Martin. I am a blog slacker.

It has taken me some time to get back into the "swing" of things again. Taking 2 weeks off to lay in bed, and then all the family drama that has went on in our lives the past two months has really slowed me down. So here are some updates on all of us.
I started a babysitting job on Monday, that will be 3 days a week. I am so thankful for the opportunity to tend this precious 8 mo. old baby girl, and I can't begin to tell you even in the short time I have had her- the joy she has brought or home. My kids LOVE her. Kash jibbers like a mad man when he is around her. This will be my first Friday having her, and they are longer days from about 1:30-midnight or so. She is such an easy going baby; I am amazed by her and her little personality. Also, I finally got a medical transcription job... my equipment will be here this week, and then I will be on a trial/training basis. I really feel comfortable that I can do the work to the employers satisfaction, but it is still nerve racking to not HAVE the job for sure. So, I have now added two extra things onto my plate, but I am so so blessed to have gotten these jobs to help us make some extra money.

Kade's job, like all oil field jobs here, are not stable at all right now. We knew this time was probably coming when lay-offs and pay cuts would occur, but it still is hard to be right in the middle of it all. Kade is a manager and a very good machinest, so his job right now is pretty secure, but we have no idea what the next few months will bring. My biggest fear, more than the lack of money, is not having health insurance if he does get laid off. It has been good, to take a step back and look at our lives, re-prioritizing the things that really are important and the things that absolutely are not.

Also in April I started couponing and really sticking to a budget, and I have to tell you... I am sick to think how much I have spent foolishly over the last 7 years, because I didn't realize all the ways to cut money. If you don't coupon clip, sale watch, plan meals, price match, and build your food storage you are wasting money. I have saved from April 29th to now $817.18. AND my storage has doubled, and continues to grow weekly with only like $5 extra a week. I don't have the money to put into my food storage right now, but I can scrounge up $5-$10 right now to build up on things that we will use when they are dirt cheap and that is the key! I also have started doing a few other things to make money... after a few times of trial and error, I have found a couple dependable survey sites, I use a different search engine called swagbucks.com (use my widget on the side to be routed there and sign up for FREE) which is super easy. How many times do you google for something? Well swagbucks is the exact same thing as google only on a random basis you earn swagbucks (or get paid) to search. Then you can redeem the bucks for gift cards. My goal is to save them up all year long and redeem them for gift cards to pay for some xmas presents. I have almost earned my first $5 Amazon gift card, and it hasn't taken me long at all. Some people do the searches for the codes to earn the money I haven't done that, I just use that search box to open any website I get on to.

Do you ever get a pop-up that says earn a $500 Visa Card or $1000 in gas etc. and you just exit out because you think "oh yeah I bet!" Well thats how I was too. However I have learned from others that some of these offers are actually legit. Wednesday I finally worked up the courage to try my very first one. I will keep you posted on how it goes but I really feel confident that it will work out. I did a $500 Visa card one... I had to sign up for 8 offers and I have $27 into it. This is how they usually work. 5 of the offers are trial ones so you just have to keep track of the dates when the trial ends so you don't get charged. You cancel before then. 2 of the offers were for kids books. One for Disney books, and 1 for Dr. Seuss. One of my trials is Netflix, that one wasn't too hard to do.. 2 week trial. I figure for 3 hrs of my time, $27 of my money out of pocket.... $500 will be worth it. Like I said I will keep you posted on how it turns out... and if you want more info on any of these offers let me know. I have some great links and info. on what are legit places and what aren't.

Also, I am preparing a 3 night workshop on Frugal Living for my Relief Society ladies as an enrichment activity. I am so excited about it, but it has taken LOTS of time to gather and put together info., so its not so darn overwhelming. I have the July presidency talk in RS so I am going to do my talk on some of the articles in the June Ensign in regards to "Stretching Your Dollar" etc and that will be how we kick off our workshops for the fall. Anyway, there will be a couponing class, a planning your meals around the ads class, and a build your food storage while you budget class. There are a few people that want this information that aren't in my ward. Since I will have all the info. and handouts and the classes prepared, I was thinking maybe I would take another night and teach a class to the community. I want so much for people to save and be wise about their shopping! Also for Utah residents there are TONS of amazing resources to you and places you can get the info already put together for you. Us Wyoming people have to do it all ourselves. :) There will be a very minimal cost maybe $10 just to cover the cost of all the copies and handouts etc. , and if I have to rent a building to meet in. If you are interested I have a list going and when the time comes, probably September sometime, I will let you know the date and time so you can come. You can comment here or email me at sammi_nickel@yahoo.com and put Classes in the subject line please. Thanks.

Let's see.... My kids are doing great. Kash is still on a healthy streak, and is his happy go-lucky self. Kadence is still amazing me every day with the things she remembers and observes. I can't believe both their birthdays are coming up soon, and then they will officially be a year older! Speaking of my kids, I have been contemplating for a while seperating my personal blog from my kids's and making a family blog that is private. I keep hearing of stories where people get on other peoples websites and blogs and steal their pictures and create their own stories and lives with them. I really don't want anyone else to have MY Kadence and Kash hanging on their walls or a store window in another country as Holly's story goes. Also, I liked Holly's idea of a blog for each kid, then thought I could just print it off at the end of the year and add their joural/blog to their scrapbook. Perfect. So that is now added to my list of "to do's".

We are enjoying the rain..... as you can see. :) She gets her style from me.

I have been taking more pictures... I am LOVING it. Another thing I would like to do before the end of the year is start a website or blog or something where you can view what I have done and to help advertise. I have 2 baby shoots and hopefully (crossing fingers) 2 family shoots coming up in July, it is such great practice for me!! If you are needing/wanting pictures please give me a chance to do them. I am cheap right now because you are doing me a favor, by giving me practice. I have been only charging $50 and that is for the sitting fee, and ALL the picures, and the hours and hours of editing. I have just been taking them, then I edit them all and give you the copywrite AND the cd full of pics for you to develop where you like. So, Keep ME in mind!!

Kade and Nicole married for time and all eternity on June 6, 2002 in the Jordan River Temple.

Happy Anniversary to us! I honestly can't believe its been 7 years. Some days just drug on and on, but for the most part time has really flown. Its sad that I am getting old enough now to look back at these pictures.... we look younger. :( Before I didn't think we looked much different, now we are fatter and older. I thought that would never happen!!!

We didn't do much to celebrate, Friday we went to Ogden for Kade's Dr.'s appt and went to dinner after with just us and Kadence. She thought she was so big to be by herself but kept getting a sad face and we would say "whats wrong?" she would then reply "I miss my brudder". Then it would pass for a while. Saturday I cleaned all day and Kade worked on the ranch, then that night we went to the Series rodeo that started and stayed long enough to watch the nephews rope... then I ran in Walmart. Woo Hoo, we are party animals. :)

Are you prepared?

With Jeremy's death it has made me extra sensitive to having our paperwork all in order, life is fragile and you just don't know when your time is up. We have a lot of stuff set up already, but need to change some things and finish others.
Suze Orman has a great freebie right now to help you get yours in order all online. I have worked on mine the last two nights and it is so easy and straight forward. Go HERE to begin and use the code : PEOPLE FIRST to get it FREE.

Also get a free photo notebook and 50 free prints when you register with Snapfish HERE. Today only. They are so cute and I LOVE snapfish.

Summer Free Days from HP Snapfish! Get your FREE product of the day! New freebie every day from now until July 17th!

RECALL: Carters Fall 2007 clothes

About 4 months ago, Carter's put out a "recall" of their "tag-less" labels in their Fall 2007 clothing line. The labels were causing an irratation (even burn) to babies skin. They are taking back your appropriate clothing items for the Suggested Retail Price. For example - that means if you got a onesie on sale (that is on the recall list) for $3, they will take it back for the SRP of $18 (if that was the SRP.) Most of Carter's clothes are tag-less so realize it is not every Carter's item in your closet. Go to THIS LINK to see if you have any of these items.

WARNING: This is looooooooong

2009-06-04T13:48:00.015-06:00

As most of you already know, May has just not been a great month in our little family. We started the month off with me getting my tonsils out, which thankfully wasn't as bad as I had anticipated. My sister-in-law Mindi, and one of my best friends, that I have spoke of in the earlier posts about my tonsils.... was one of my greatest blessings through my whole recovery. She called me first thing in the mornings to see what kind of day it was going to be for me. She took my kids on multiple occasions so I could rest and not be chasing 2 wild kids around. She cleaned, chased cows out of my yard, and did way more than I wanted her too. :) Towards that 2nd week of my recovery, things started to change at her little house as well. Her tough, hard working husband started not feeling well, and that week will forever be imprinted in my mind. Its still amazing to me how quickly and un-expectedly life can slip away right in front of your eyes. Its humbling to accept God's will and have faith that what he wants will be ok for you, even when it hurts terribly. All of our testimonys have been strengthened of this, and we are so grateful for the atonement and the knowledge we have and belief in life after death. Families ARE Forever. What a comfort these things have been in our family.

Jeremy Douglas Matthews
5/1/77-5/24/09

This is the poem that little Morgan (Jeremy's niece) read at the funeral. I think it was written by Grandma Ilene, Cindy Matthews, and Kim Matthews. (sorry if I missed someone)

Dear Daddy,

I really feel quite special that Heavenly Father gave me to you,
To be your little princess, your little Lexi Sue.

I know how much you love me, you told me everyday
Jesus needs your help now but you won’t be far away.

I will always remember the times that we’ve shared
By the things that you taught me I know that you cared.

You worried that the things I was learning were more for a little boy,
But knowing the way you did things will always bring me joy.

I loved to bring my tool box and help you as I could,
Cause now dear daddy I can do things exactly like you would!

The rides we took in the big truck spotting Kenworth’s made us happy,
Cause they’re the best…and we don’t like Peterbilt’s , do we Daddy?

Daddy, thanks for taking me to the Prom when I was only three,
They’re aren’t very many girls who are as lucky as me!

To have your picture taken was not something you liked to do,
But I’m sure glad I have the one of me kissing you.

I know you loved to hear me sing when I climbed up on your knee,
Snuggling close to you will always be my most cherished memory.

“You are my Sunshine” was your favorite song to hear,
And every time I sing it now I’ll feel you very near.

Don’t worry about us Daddy, Mommy and me have got a plan,
We’ll work hard and be real strong because we know we can.

Watch over us Daddy, we’ll be with you someday
Families are Forever..that’s Heavenly Father’s way.

Lexi Sue at the graveside photo courtesy of Kim Matthews

Afterwards Lexi got up and sang in her adorable sweet little voice "You are my Sunshine" just for her Daddy, perfectly. All of us were talking afterwards how amazing it was Lex got up and sang like she was so happy and carefree with no shyness at all, BUT the neatest part was she lookedout above the audience and kept her eyes stationed on the air above all our heads, with a huge grin on her face.

We all believe she was singing right to Jere, and that she could see him plain as day.
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LOOK AT MY BOY!!!!

On a happier note, look at this sweet, adorable, gorgeous little Garrett. I don't know how his mommy resists giving into his every single request. I know I sure couldn't. :)

I am so glad you guys were able to come up for the reunion.... thanks for letting me hug and squeeze him to pieces.
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Update on Kash

First of all Thank you for all your concern, prayers, and thoughts for Kash. It is amazing the community support, phone calls, emails, comments to family and friends that we have recieved about him.
The day of Jeremy's viewing was the long 3 month awaited appointment at Primary Childrens Medical Center in Salt Lake. The reason we were going there is because when I met with my ENT doctor about my tonsils, we took Kash in for a consult as well. The Dr. was such a smart guy that he decided he wanted to test his immune system before he just went in and hacked out his tonsils. Its because of this we found out Kash does have an immune deficientcy, and most likely him being sick every other week has nothing to do with his tonsils. Once we found this out, I scheduled an appointment with an immunologist at Primarys. The week before the appointment, I took Kash to the hospital here for a full blood panel of tests so that when we got to the immunologist there were results for them to look at with us, to discuss what is going on and treatment options. So I take Kash to the lab and I sit for about an hour, because when I hand them the stack of paperwork with the dozens of tests they wanted ran, it made everything more complicated. So about 4 lab techs sat with the tests and had to calculate how much blood they needed to draw from my little 23 pound boy, and what the max. amt was they could draw vs. his weight. Then they had to calculate how much blood each individual test needed and how many vials were needed for each test etc. It made me more and more nervous as I realized how awful this could be for him. Finally they had everything calculated and they open the lab door only to wheel out the cart with a couple handfuls of vials to tell me they want to do it in the ER where they can lay him down on a bed. As we walk to the ER I said a prayer the whole length of the hallway; they pull back a curtain and I sit him on the bed. 4 lab ladies come in and stand around us in this small little curtained room and I just keep waiting for him to totally freak. Kash is not a social kid. He doesn't like being talked to by strangers, looked at by strangers, in the same room as strangers.... let alone pinned to a bed by 4 strangers while they put a needle in his arm and draw 9, yes I said 9 vials of blood. Anyway, I lay him down and he doesn't make a peep. He lays their content as can be, the cute little girl drawing his blood was FABULOUS with him. Her name is Gem and she is an absolute Gem. She did amazing. I sat and talked to him about our dog Jake, and if he wanted an ice cream after he was done, if he wanted to go home and rope with his dad etc. He watched the needle and them changing out the vials the whole time, but was calm and kept smiling and nodding his head and smiling at everything I asked him. It was perfect. Afterwards they gave him this cute little bag with a sucker and then all was well with him. As we were leaving one of the gals dropped a glass vile full of blood on the tile floor. It NEVER broke. My prayers could not have been answered more completely. They were worried I might have to bring him back again for more blood, if they didn't get enough. So surely a broken vile full would have meant doing it all again, and I am sure the 2nd time wouldn't have been as smooth.

Back to the story... sorry. We go to U of U hospital (thats where the dr's office was) in a rush for the day, exhausted, and emotionally drained. We all have to wake up early to get to our appointment, and the kids are both hungry and tired when we get there. We sit in the room... and in walks a lady. NOT the male immunologist I made the appt with 3 months earlier. She was a physicians assistant.... I was TICKED!!!!! I dont' know how they can do that without asking you if that is what you want. I handed her the stack of test results we worked so hard to get again... there are ALERTS by a lot of them and L's meaning low by a lot of them and she barely even looked at them. I handed her the other stack of papers, which was a copy of his chart she hardley skimmed it at all either. All she did was sit and stare at my skinny, every rib showing little boy. She examined him (if that is what you would call it) in like 3 minutes and then she sat and talked to me about his weight and argued with me about how much he gained. He weighed 20 lbs at that office but the week before weighed 24 here at the office he has been weighed at his whole life. She went on and on about him only gaining 2 lbs since he was 1, because he was 18 pds when he turned 1. I kept trying to explain to her that wasn't a fair statement, because she was comparing the 18 pd mark on the scale here to the 20 pd mark on the scale there. Obviously the scales were not measuring the same. I told her that the same scale that showed 18 pds at 1 showed 24 pds a week before. That is a fair assumption, that 6 pds has been gained in a year, not 2 pds in a year. Duh! Anyway she left and came back with the doctor who was in there long enough to tell me my kid had a big head and "boy he really is a skinny little guy" blah blah. Then told us they wanted to run all these tests for his "failure to thrive" and gave me paperwork to walk over to Primarys for those tests.
We got there at 1 and they said they couldn't do the cystic fibrosis test until 3... I explained I would have to drive back down then for that test because we had to be home for a viewing at 5 pm. Thankfully the 1 o clock was late so they fit us in. They did a sweat test on Kash where they shocked his arms for 5 minutes (which he cried the whole time) and then wrapped his arms in all this plastic and stuff to make him sweat. Then we took him to a long hall and tried to have him run up and down with his coat and blanket on to make him sweat for that test. We went back and thankfully again our prayers were answered and there was enough sweat for the test, so we didn't have to re-do it. They drew blood for other tests and we were on our way. In the middle of the funeral luncheon they called and said the Cystic Fibrosis test was negative so that was good, but I didn't feel in my mommy heart thats what it was anyway. Then yesterday morning they called and told me all the other tests were negative as well, such as Ciliac Disease. They are concerned because he isn't making white blood cells, they actually keep decreasing and are lower than they were even the week before. He definately has an in-ability to fight bacterial infections. They referred me to the failure to thrive clinic who called me, and their first appt is the middle of September... wow. They want me to get him into a GI Dr..., I am done for now. Honestly our main concern is his health, of course. The immune thing is not really treatable. There is no medicine to fix it, we hope he will grow out of it. The weight thing is coming along, and I am actually encouraged that he has grown more in the last 2 months than he has in the last year. He is a happy, active, sweet little boy. His gums are healthy, his skin is healthy, his hair is thick and growing... I am not starving him, which is how they treated us. Kade finally TOLD her that we feed him all day long, he is NOT starving and we even are spending hundreds of dollars a month to give him Pediasure as well. That shut her up finally. I know she is just trying to do her job, but that isn't even why we were there. We were there for the immune thing. Sooo the answer to everyones questions, we still don't know what we are doing with Kash. We don't know what is wrong with him, if there is anything physically wrong with him, or where we are going from here. All I know is he is still not going anywhere real public, and will not be in Walmart for some time. Especially after there have been 2 confirmed Swine Flu cases now in Uinta county.

I know this is long. More like looooooong. Thats how it has felt to me too. :)

**********************************************************

Practicing for the Testicle Festival
Since we didn't know what was coming up the following week, Kadence had gotten all psyched about participating in the kids events at the annual Testicle Festival. She was planning on toughing it out to ride a sheep, doing the chicken chase, and of course the stick horse barrel racing. Oh well, at least we have the fun memories of practicing.

Getting instruction from her dad

She's turnin' and burnin' now

Look at that SPEED
Ahh the sense of accomplishment :)

Then of course Kash had to give it a try....

Grateful, Blessed, Thankful

2009-05-17T21:31:00.003-06:00

Just checking in with all you sweeties who are wanting an update on how I am doing. First off, thanks for all the generosity from so so many of you wonderful people. The babysitting, cleaning, running errands, cooking, and loving supportive phone calls. They have all been so so needed and loved, and I am so thankful to have you in my life.

Honestly things have been going really smooth, and I have been grateful to how well my body has been recovering to everything. I started out with liquid Lortab in the beginning.... but soon learned that even though you have taken something a million times you can develop an allergy to it. I hated the way it made me feel so I didn't take pain medicine hardly at all the first 5 days. Off and on I would slip in a tylenol or two though. Suddenly out of nowhere I started experiencing this stinging inside my mouth on Thursday night, and the pain went from like a 5 to a 20 in my throat over night. Friday... was awful, thats all I am going to say about that. I had sores on both sides of my tongue, the roof of my mouth and all along the insides of my cheeks. Everytime I even drank water it stung so so bad. My tongue was white and yucky looking, and finally I called my Dr. in Ogden and said I have got to have something else to take. I am in so much pain and the lortab is out of the question. I really wanted to try percoset but I guess you have to have that hand written and delivered in person and it can't be phoned in anywhere so they shut me down on that but called me in Tylenol 3 and also something for my mouth in case it was thrush... even though I wasn't on anti-biotics I have been for like the last 5 months of my life. lol Also at about 2 p.m. they suggested I try and get into a doctor here to just make sure my mouth looked ok and it wasn't really infection or something complicating the healing. So I started (or my mom I should say because I couldn't talk hardly at all) calling around the different Dr.'s and NO ONE would fit me in. In fact some places were out and out rude about even trying to fit me in because you know they are just "too busy." Since it was Friday I knew I had to get something taken care of or the weekend we would be making a trip to the ER. Finally I called my wonderful, selfless, bend over backwards helful, sweet, loving... and the list goes on, sister in law Mindi, but really she is just like a true sister to me, and asked her what I should do. She called her pediatrian and that sweet woman agreed to see me at 6:30 pm, the woman never goes home. Not only did Mindi work magic, but she came and picked me up because you know "I can't drive on pain medicine" is what she said.... and honestly you never win with Mindi on a good day let alone a day you just drool more than you can talk. That doctor hooked me up. She gave me percoset, she gave me magic mouth wash to help numb my sores so I could at least take medicine without screaming, she gave me a minute of her time which is all I had needed from those other doctors that we spend hundreds at each year, and she gave me a hug. She didn't think my mouth was thrush but I picked up the medicine and took it anyway and after 2 doses in the middle of the night by morning my sores were almost gone and with the percoset life was liveable and not to shabby again AND I wasn't feeling like my skin was crawling and so drugged I couldn't hold my eyes open. I honestly think if I could have gotten the right pain medicine from the beginning things would have been going even better, but its not like we could have for-seen a new allergy.

Saturday was a good day. Food is still not my friend, but I don't feel that starving hunger at all. I don't feel like I am missing out on anything, and I can sit and watch people eat and I don't just want to rip the food out of their hands and stuff my face at all. I am lucky. For those that say ice cream is good and your lucky because you get to eat it the whole time. That is a filthy lie. Ice cream is too darn thick to eat and the dairy causes mucus. I think we should just buy out the Snack Packs pudding company... that is what we are stocked with at the moment. My Grandpa Doug and Grandma Elaine came up from CO Friday and Saturday to see everyone. Matt and Aubri brought Garrett down to introduce him to them and Aubri got to meet them too for the first time. For some reason they had never met... Matt got married right after Xmas and the weather was horrible so they couldn't make the trip out for it, and I think they were in California for Matt's internship last time Gpa was here. Anyway it was fun for them to finally meet in person. Its tradition Grandpa takes us out for dinner when he visits, and I was so glad I felt up to going when the time came on Saturday. After Fridays drama I was so exhausted and I actually even slept 5 hours straight that night, but Saturday morning I still was just so tired. I slept until almost 3 pm I think. Mom had my kids and they were visiting with Gma and Gpa at her house, so I took advantage of the quiet. I ordered mashed potatoes at the restaurant but just ate the gravy off because like ice cream, potatoes are too thick too. It was still so fun to visit though and I had the honor of holding Garrett while everyone else ate, so it worked out in my favor in the end anyway.

Today has been hectic again though, I woke up this morning to Kash barking like a seal in his room. I thought for sure he had croup, and I was so disappointed that the great health streak this kid has been on was now over. We are going on 6 weeks healthy and I know that doesn't seem all that great, but guys that is the longest he has been healthy in his life! I gave him a breathing treatment and he went back to bed, and another one when we all got up and they did help him but he still was deep and raspy. I called my pediatrician but she was out of town this weekend and wouldn't you know it... she left on her answering machine a message to her patients in an emergency to call the Dr./pediatrician that had seen me Friday after she had refused. So I gladly did, and that sweet woman had me come in and she saw Kash and gave him stickers and spoiled us rotten. He has an ear infection, which he has only had one small one ever and then allergies, allergies, allergies. Same old story. Its sad to be happy that is what your kid is sick with huh! But I was glad because "technically" that doesn't ruin his winning health streak right? I mean yeah he is a little uncomfortable, BUT he doesn't have a virus and he isn't contagious and he probably won't lose weight over it. So I am justifying that the streak goes on.

Now on to the AWESOME thing...... Kash has gained 4 pounds since his last Dr. visit 6 weeks ago. It was so joyful to see the scale say more than 20 pds I almost kissed it. I have thought lately that he looked a little filled out in his cheeks, but I wasn't sure if that was wishful thinking or not. I knew he was growing taller because all of his pants are now pretty much capris. For those of you that don't know... Kash is very tiny for his age. He wasn't even on the growth chart until his 18 mo. checkup and even then it was 3%. Over the last 8 months he has only gained about 6-8 oz and in December he was looking so so skinny it was sad. He eats.. he eats and eats and eats. His reflux and then we just found out he has an immune disorder (more on that later) that is causing him to be sick all the time and then just not gain weight or lose weight from being sick. Its a challenge. I am grateful the $30 a week we spend on pediasure a new trial we have been doing is paying off and will continue to pray for his health and strength.

I know this is lengthy, but I can't wait to get caught up on what all you have been up to and get back to living again. This week probably will still be pretty rough but hopefully I am on the downslide.

For all you Digi lovers.....

2009-05-11T18:20:00.004-06:00

I thought I would pass on these fun, cheap deals... after all thats the fun of blogging is sharing things that are neat and important to me, with you all. Now that I have a new computer I am re-filling it with digital kits and found some really really cute $1 deals. So here ya go.... some are on sale right now and they will be for limited time only. :)

http://www.designsbykrista.net/ way way cute $1 kits on sale my FAV is the cupcake kit which is now $3 but still $3 is cheap.

http://www.elementalscraps.com/ click on 5/11 dollar deals. There are some cute $1 templates too.

you can't forget $1 Wednesdays on Little Dreamer http://www.littledreamerdesigns.com/newshoppe/home.php

sweet shoppe has a .1 penny candy section too you should check out.
Every Saturday their new kits are on sale as well. http://sweetshoppedesigns.com/

Enjoy shopping... you will probably find out like I did that $1 adds up a lot faster then you would think. :)

Shutterfly : 25 Free Prints for Mothers Day

25 Free 4X6 Prints

Offer Ends: May 13, 2009

Offer Code : PRINTS

1 Day Down

2009-05-09T19:14:00.007-06:00

Yesterday morning I got my tonsils out, we had to be to Ogden by 7 so it was an early morning. The surgery went well, the Dr. was outstanding, and the recovery nurse couldn't have been any better. After the surgery the Dr. came out and told Kade that he was very surprised how many pockets and pits were actually in my tonsils, and that he is very optomistic that there will be vast improvment in my glands and lymph nodes from getting them removed. (crossing fingers) The anesthesia made me very, very sick and I have been fighting nausea ever since more so than the pain. Today has been a little better, but I haven't stayed on top of the pain medicine because I can't stand to be sick to my stomach, I would rather have the pain. Kade has been taking EXCELLENT care of me and it is amazing all the wonderful people in my life that have expressed concern through phone calls, texts, emails, and visits. You are all so sweet. I found some nausea meds from my pregnancys so I have been taking them and they have helped for the most part so that has made today a lot more bareable. My sweet mother has been here today helping me with the kids and I have mostly laid and gotten much needed rest.

I am not on my death bed though and I am just taking things 1 day at a time. Sooo 1 down almost 2 down.... checking them off the recovery list. :) And from what I hear.. the worst is NOT over yet and is still to come. Yay can't wait... Bring-It-On! (thats the meds talking :)

I must add, Thursday night when I tucked Kadence in:

Me: "Josh will be here in the morning with you when you wake up,because I am getting my tonsils out, but Dad and I will be home after lunch ok?"
Kadence: "Ok mom"
Me: "Goodnight, I love you to pieces! Always remember that."
Kadence: " I will always remember that mom, and I also remember that you are going to the hospital tomorrow and YOU remember mom 'Big Girls Don't Cry'".
Me: "Ok thanks Kadence, goodnight."

Where to even start?

2009-05-09T18:10:00.007-06:00

Its so nice to be back in the computer world and a little more in touch with everyone and whats going on. You don't realize how much you depend on this darn thing until you don't have one anymore. I think my mom was so sick of me calling to have her look up recipes or phone numbers; she may have been more happy for me to get a new computer than I was. Especially- 90% of our bills are paid online now...so that is a real pain not to have access to monitor/check bank accts and pay bills. So the last two weeks have been super busy, but I guess thats not really anything new for us or anyone else this time of year.

Womens Conference

This is a horrid picture... we were all so so tired but this is at the concert which was a blast.
This was leaving the conference center, headed home... by this time I was way sick of women and the feeling of Blackout Friday. lol

The highlight of my month was definately Elise coming to stay for a week. I have missed her so so much and it was so fun to see her face and lips moving when I talk to her instead of just having a phone conversation. My mom, Elise, and I were able to attend Womens Conference at BYU it was such a fun and enjoyable activity. I attended a parenting class that was worth the whole trip, time, and money that was spent those two days. Some other highlights of the trip were Megan joining us for the concert Thursday night and way fun entertainment all three sisters and mom together, Elise locking the keys in my moms car and walking around at 11 pm after the concert to catch a bus to get my car... what a dork, listening to Sister Beck and Elder Perry's wonderful talks along with the other classes we attended, and singing at the top of our lungs on the way home (Elise and I). Mom rode home in her quiet car which I am sure she enjoyed very much. lol

Thanksgiving Point Dinosaur Museum

Saturday Kade was branding all day and we wanted to do some fun things while Elise was here... we planned on the zoo but the weather was seriously horrible. I have never driven in such a rain storm ever in my life. Thankfully it didn't crush Kadence's plans too bad for us to change our minds and we just adjusted to indoor activities. Kadence's cute little friend Cambria had a birthday party that morning so we headed to that first and even though we were an hour late due to weather conditions and construction she still had a great time and I got to visit with one of my funnest, sweetest, bestest friends Candie.

This was at Chili's waiting for lunch... that took F O R E V E R!

Then from the party we (Megan, Elise, Mom, Kash, Kadence and I) went and got some lunch at Chili's, then we went and visited "old Grandma Cox" as Kadence calls her. She is my dad's mom and my sweet grandma that I grew up 2 blocks away from my whole life and I miss her dearly. I try and see her every chance I can but that is not nearly enough. Then after visiting my Grandma it was still raining so we decided the zoo would not be a fun idea, or going to the tulip festival that I have wanted to do for years now... so we opted for the Dinosaur Museum. It was a blast... the kids (all of us) had a fun time and we spent a couple hours in there. I have about 60 pictures from the day of course, but for some reason after they were downloaded to my new computer I have no idea why I can't access them... so all I have are all these thumbnails to document our weekend together. :( Stupid Lightroom.

Garrett and Nora's Blessing

Kadence has a watering obsession. She waters rocks, dirt, and wood and then occassionally real plants. Its still precious and cute.

This is Nora one of the guests of honor: she is a sweet little content baby. For those of you wondering.... I didn't experience one second of being baby hungry. I still am content with my almost 2 year old I guess. :)

Then Sunday... the double blessing. My cousin Becky and brother Matt blessed their babies together, so that we could all attend one meeting and have a BIG family celebration rather than two seperate smaller ones. It was so fun. Our family/cousins get along so well that it is always a joyous time to be together and eat, eat, eat, of course and eat. We were able to visit, laugh, and take family pictures (as seen in the previous post) and feel the blessings and gratitude of such a wonderful family. Thanks to all that helped and sacrificed to make that day possible. It is always fun too to hold those precious innocent babies and everyone got a turn at that.

Up and Running Again

2009-05-03T19:54:00.005-06:00

This gorgeous brown eyed boy recieved the most BEAUTIFUL blessing today from his loving daddy Matt.

I was so so so so so proud of my little brother today! He did the most amazing job on Garretts blessing, and then he also bore his testimony later on during sacrament meeting and he almost outdid himself again. Everytime he talked today my eyes automatically started to well up with tears. It was just a wonderful spirtual day that I will never forget.

This was a sweet tender moment I caught while we were gathering up my family for a group picture. Garrett was crying and Matt was blowing raspberries with his lips at him trying to entertain him. It was so darn cute. (This picture looks a little over exposed on blogger but it is way cute otherwise)

The whole family minus Elise's husband Todd. We wish he were here too, but took advantage of having 99% off us together for once. Note: My husband really was a lot happier to be there than he appears in this picture. However: Kash was NOT.

Matt and Aubri wanted a family picture with Garrett, I love this one but I am trying to make it not so slanted.... but I like the flowers on the right too. I am still getting used to this new computer and haven't gotten all my software on yet either. Its still cute, just tilt your head. lol

That is scab on Kadence's nose.

THIS was the best picture I got off all three grandkids. So sad huh. Oh well there is definately a story behind it. :)

Please be patient with me....

2009-04-23T19:00:00.002-06:00

I FINALLY have a computer on order!! It will be here around the 6th of May. That is the soonest it will be here and I am pulling my hair out!! But please don't give up on me I will be back to my blogging self shortly!! I am scheduled for my tonsils on May 8th!!! Yuk!!

Anyway I hope your all doing fabulous!! Have a great rest of April!