clarissa

wishes today that i could finally be a stay at home mom. i want to be able to just play with abigail and right now i can’t do that. i wish i could stay at home so my husband had more time for himself. i don’t think my house would be any cleaner or the stacks of papers filed away, and i do think we will still be busy.

 

to help me reach to my ultimate wish, i decided that i am going to add a countdown to my first day as a stay-at-home mom… with a university degree. on that day, we will celebrate by sleeping in, eating pancakes (not rushed to get out the door), and just playing… together. i crave that day…

the link

for those who were interested in the bed that we made abi, here is the link where i got the idea. design sponge

just as a side note: REMEMBER to change the sizes for your mattress size! we had a standard crib mattress and so here are our materials list and dimensions/directions. (plus, we only made one bed instead of two).

we bought-

• one sheet of 1/2" plywood (4x8) – and had Lowe’s cut two 12” lengths on the 8’ side
• one 2”x2”x8’ and had Lowe’s cut it in half
• one box of screws
• a staple gun and staples
• queen size batting
• 2.5 yards of upholstery fabric

our measurements

• the two 8’x12” lengths of plywood, we cut 53” and 29” with 14” left over
• the extra large piece of plywood, we cut two 28” pieces to get two 28”x24” pieces. these pieces will rest on the runners to cover your storage area, and give strength to your bed). Abi likes to really jump on hers and i am already glad we have the strength.

we want cake!

we have been able to go to some BYU basketball games this past week. we have even taken Abi... which has been very enjoyable and she has been wonderful. she loves putting her hands in the air and giving spirit fingers when we are shooting free-throws. then she will drop them and and say "wish" when we make it. she’s great! if BYU makes over 80 points a local restaurant gives out free chocolate cake during the week if you take your tickets in. so everyone yells for cake starting around 76 points. we have reached it with standing ovation both games we have been to. the cake is delish too!

 

 

I have a professor who teaches my parenting class. he tends to throw in his parenting pet-peeves as he likes to call them. well last week he went on, very negatively, about parents who take their children to basketball games because the kids don’t even know what is going or even care. it really doesn’t help my opinion of him when he rails on young parents like me. (i happen to be the only parent in this class, ps). he went on about why can’t parents get baby sitters or just stay home and be parents. do you see some problems in the fact that he is supposed to be teaching us about good parenting? (he always soap boxes about parents in sacrament too). anyway, in spite of him i went out and bought tickets to three bball games after that class. i was so upset and wanted to show him that i can and will take my child to events.

to my complete delight, this game just happened to be FAMILY DAY!!! there were LOADS of children and babies. none of which paid attention to the game (i’ll give you props for that professor), but the parents and other fans alike seemed to enjoy every moment of the game. i know we did. we did have time out once, but overall--- TAKE THAT PROFESSOR, I WIN! now i am going to eat my cake.

and it was only $40.00 which is why we built instead of bought...

a day well spent

with our little Abigail being so tall, she doesn’t fit into her pack-n-play anymore. so for our monday holiday, we spent it in creation/project mode. here's what we came up with...

to top it off, she slept in it with only one peep during the night! it was heaven since she has been getting up multiple times during the night lately. i am thankful the transition at night has been good so far... but i am worried about nap time which we haven't had to do at home yet. it has been the hardest because she is contained in the pack-n-play... but not anymore. plus, she knows how to open doors. maybe some more toddler proofing is in the mix.

funny story about her first night in the bed. i got up at 1 am to help her since she was crying, but didn't hear her after that. when i went and checked on her around 6 am, i couldn't open the door. she had rolled off her bed, onto the floor (we had some pillows there) and rolled in her sleep another 10 feet! i could tell becuase she left a trail of binky and blankets. silly, sweet girl! here's to our second night!

So good and SO easy!

Doesn’t this just look so good! It was! :)

I took a recipe I found from Our Best Bites and revamped it the Clarissa way. However, the original is still way good. Try it!

I loved that it took all but 5 minutes to whip up a dozen of these Dessert Wontons and they not only tasted good, but looked so beautiful!

I can’t wait to serve these for dessert with some friends.

Anniversed

Being an even year, it was my year to plan our anniversary celebration. Nuff said about plans since nothing ever goes as planned in this family!

 

I did take Dan to JumpOnIt in Lindon. It is a place full of tramps… HA! Trampolines.

Us in midflight…

 

Cute, sweaty us...

Every year Dan gets me roses. One for each year we have been hitched. It gets me excited for 3,500,398,394 years we have been married!

 

I walked out to my car... I can’t bear to wash it yet. It makes me so happy driving! Dan is always so creative!

Ensign Quote

My dad guided me to this quote in the ensign this month. It was the perfect answer to what I have been going through this week. A hard week! It didn’t solve my problems, but it sure helped give me more endurance. The Lord is so great! He allows us trials to grow, but doesn’t leave us to bear them alone. He is there.

THE GROWTH REQUIRED TO RETURN HOME
“One’s life . . . cannot be both faith-filled and stress-free. . . .“Therefore, how can you and
I really expect to glide naively through life, as if to say, ‘Lord, give me experience, but not grief, not sorrow, not pain, not opposition,not betrayal, and certainly not to be forsaken. Keep from me, Lord, all those experiences which made Thee what Thou art! Then let me come and dwell with Thee and fully share Thy joy!’ . . .“Real faith . . . is required to endure this necessary but painful developmental process.”
Elder Neal A. Maxwell (1926–2004) of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, “Lest Ye Be Wearied and Faint in Your Minds,” Ensign, May
1991, 88, 90.

Abigail Today

 

The hat from the Thun’s. She loves it.

She was off to do something.

How she spent most of the afternoon...with Dad’s dirty socks.

Four years...

 

Four years ago today, my wonderful husband and I started down such an adventurous road. We have been through the good, the bad, the ugly, but we are still holding hands.

When I look over the time I have been with Dan, I see more growth, more laughter, and more love in my life than ever before. My husband is my best friend and He has helped me reach a potential that I didn’t think was ever possible for myself. I am so grateful for him.

Here’s the next four years… and some.

She looks so much like her dad!

My brother Erik was showing off his manliness with a Cinderella Tattoo from the Nickelcade.

I have been waiting to post this photo for a couple of weeks. These are two dresses I made Abi and her cousin Libby for Christmas. They turned out SO cute!