Experimentation in Home Decoration

Every once in a while on my blog I am going to post different "home" projects i've been working on and it's going to be called "Experimentation in Home Decoration." Ok? So here's my first one. Don't make fun! I'm new at this stuff and on a tight budget! (I also have little creative ability, despite what I lead people to believe. Lol.)

Rickety old shelf that I think I got from a yard sale= $5
Pretty contact paper from Target= $6


BEFORE:



AFTER:




What do you think?
Should I cover the sides on the insides as well?
Have any advice for the little bubbles on the side where the screws are underneath?

BESTfeeding

My friend Sandra just blogged today about why she loves breastfeeding, and I thought it would be a REALLY good idea for me to post about it, as a reminder to myself for the next time I have a baby.
So, if you don't feel like reading about breastfeeding, go ahead and stop reading right here. :)

I LOVE breastfeeding.
LOVE LOVE LOVE it.
I remember before I had Katie, and even those first few VERY painful weeks, that so many women were telling me about how much they love(d) breastfeeding. About how they wish they were nursing right at that very moment. How they would have DREAMS about nursing a baby! I seriously thought these women were crazy.
They would look at me so longingly while I would be feeding Katie and I just couldn't understand it!
Sure, I knew that I was giving her the best nutrition possible. I liked the cuddle time. I loved saving tons of money by not buying formula. But longing to breastfeed? I didn't understand it. Especially not when I was in just-about-excruciating pain for what seemed like forever.
But somewhere around the 7 or 8 month mark I began to really enjoy nursing. Around the 8-9 month area, I began to love it, and from 9 months on, I now never ever want to stop breastfeeding!
I love how my baby cuddles up to me. How she knows exactly what "milk" means. I love seeing her sweet face and just how much she loves it. Breastmilk is definitely her favorite food. I love how she can be totally crazy and toddler-like, and then she'll settle down and be completely sweet and nurse.
Katie is 11 months old and honestly, breastfeeding is still her main source of food. I'd say that I breastfeed her about 5 times a day, and once or twice during the night. I give her some snacks throughout the day, and usually a little bit of cereal or oatmeal for breakfast and some fruit for lunch, and then she get's a real dinner at night. But for the most part, most of her food is still breastmilk. And since she is growing just right and is super smart for her age, I think there is no problem with letting breastmilk still be her main source of nutrition.
I'm sure many people think i'm crazy. Most moms at this point only nurse 2 or 3 times a day. Many moms switch to a lot more real food, or even formula at night to get their babies to sleep through the night. (Katie has still never slept through the night. Meaning that since before I even gave birth, I haven't slept for more than 4 or 5 hours at a time. and I am TOTALLY OK with that, since everyone asks.) But me, I'm doing what I feel is right for Katie. I'm feeding her her favorite thing, which also happens to be the healthiest and best thing for her. How awesome is that?! So many parents struggle getting their toddlers to eat their veggies or whatever, but the healthiest thing I can give my baby (for free!) is also her favorite thing! Yay!
I know this seems like a lot to say just about breastfeeding, but future Kim is going to need to read this and remind herself that she DOES like to breastfeed! That the pain goes away! That it is SERIOUSLY WORTH IT!
So future Kim- I know you are probably sad because Katie got too old to breastfeed, or stopped being interested. I know that you are excited to nurse your next baby because you have such fond memories of it. But beware! It is SO painful for a little while, and you might feel like giving up, but DON'T! You can have those wonderful memories again! You will absolutely love it again! Just be patient. Just keep truckin'. Breastfeeding is amazing.

Ever heard of cruise control? or your blinker?

(That title is referring to Utah drivers. Haha!)
Alright, sorry I haven't posted yet about our move, but i'm posting now!
The first couple days here were kind of a blur or unpacking and organizing as much as possible before I headed back to Rexburg! I got to Utah on Sunday night and then left for Rexburg again on Tuesday night.
After cleaning my apartment, with the help of my wonderful mother, on Wednesday, Katie and I stayed with my parents at a hotel in the burg Wednesday night and then headed back down here on Thursday afternoon and my parents left to head home on Thursday night.
Since then, we've just continued to unpack and get our home set up and just get settled in overall.
We've been to church 3 times now (only 2 for me because I woke up puking at 4 in the morning) and the ward seems good. There are so many young children, it's a little overwhelming, and there are SO MANY little boys! I'm talking boys under 2 years of age. They probably outnumber the little girls 5 or 6 to 1. Luckily Katie likes little boys more than girls. Haha!
Brad has been enjoying work and i've been enjoying living so close to some of my favorite stores. However, I deeply miss my Albertson's. Is it wrong to want to cry over a grocery store?
The weather has been better than Idaho, but the driving has been awful. (Utah drivers. I think most of you know what i'm talking about.)
I LOVE finally being able to have kittens but I miss my Rexburg friends, and ward, dearly.
It's been great to be able to finally buy real and comfortable furniture, but I really really miss free utilities.
There are a lot of positives and negatives but I won't get into them all.
For now, I am just going day to day and waiting for warmer weather so we can start swimming!

As far as Katie news, she is super crazy. She is not yet 11 months and practically running around the apartment 24 hours a day! She walks SO GOOD and has such great balance for such a little girl. Really, it makes me sad to not have my baby girl anymore but she is so fun to watch and play with that it's ok.
We'll just have to work on making a little little teeny baby for me to cuddle with because Katie is too busy to cuddle anymore.
She doesn't talk yet, but the sounds she makes have improved. Still no "mama" sound yet though. :(
She eats everything and only has a few foods that she doesn't really like including: bananas, strawberries that are too tart, broccoli (although she hasn't tried it pureed yet), and plain cheerios. Well, I guess she's alright with plain cheerios, but she would prefer something with more flavor.
She likes to dance and clap and she LOVES the kitties! I keep trying to get a picture of video of her with them, but the second she sees the camera, she forgets everything else and just wants to smile and grab it.
She likes to pick them up a lot, and while they don't particularly like it, I think they are getting used to it.
All the recent pictures are on my Facebook, so you can see them there.
I think that's about all the updates. I hope everyone has a great week!

A Very Sad Post

Today is my last day living in my home.
It's like leaving my hometown all over again.
When I left for college over 3 1/2 years ago, it was REALLY hard on me. Harder than I think anyone knew. I had lived in the same place, in the same house, knowing all the same people, for 18 years! I left everything I loved and knew to go to BYU-Idaho.
Only it was different from what's happening now.
It was also exciting. Starting college, living on my own for the first time, meeting cute (Mormon!) boys.
Now it's not so exciting. Moving to Utah.
We're starting a "real life" now so I should be excited, right?
Brad is starting his career, no more school, we'll be buying real furniture and paying real bills and living day to day as grown ups.
Ahhhh!!!
I cried when I woke up this morning because this is my home!
This is where I met my husband, where we had our first home together, where we made our first "couple" friends, where we got pregnant, where we had our baby, where we raised her for almost the entire first year of her life.
This is where "we" happened. Brad and I. And then Katie. It's hard to leave where your family started. Where your entire life changed so drastically, for the better.
Where you met amazing friends and some of the most wonderful people you'll ever meet in this life.
I can't believe i'm leaving. I can't believe this is happening.
Can I be more dramatic? Haha.
I'm sure my last day in the best ward in the whole wide world today will be so hard.
Such a sad day.
Having to say good-bye to so many of my wonderfully amazing neighbors and friends.
While I don't like Rexburg at all, I LOVE the experiences i've had, the people i've met, the fact that the cashiers at the grocery store know who I am!
Rexburg is where I became who I am, and I actually really like who I am!
I'm so much more of a better person now than I was before I came here.
And now i'm leaving here.
Listen up Utah! You have some big shoes to fill!

And off I go. . .

101 in 1001

My friend Trish posted a list on her blog of 101 things she wanted to do in the next 1001 days (well, she made the list a couple years ago and posted it recently) and then invited everyone else to do the same. So here goes!

1. Take Brad on a cruise
2. See my sister's book published
3. Have another baby
4. Buy a 4-door car
5. Sew Katie a dress
6. See The Hunger Games movie at midnight
7. Go on a date with the hubs every week
8. Go to the temple every month
9. See another Broadway show in NYC
10. Have enough money saved up to last for 1 year
11. Quit playing Facebook games!! (At least the Zynga ones!)
12. Skype my family more often
13. Go camping in Yellowstone
14. Go camping a LOT!
15. Drink more water
16. Smell desert rain at least one more time
17. See Jeni get married
18. See Nicole get married ;) (This one is in the works!)
19. Grow out my natural hair color
20. Use less electricity
21. Live someplace where I can paint the walls!
22. Get a kitten
23. Convince Brad to walk with me in the rain
24. (This list is hard! I can't think of anything!) Family vacay to the California coast!
25. Go to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Orlando
26. Ride a train
27. Limit fast food to twice a month
28. Work out at LEAST two times a week
29. Get my California tan back!
30. Keep a plant alive for more than a month
31. Have my very own little black dress. :)
32. Read the scriptures every night for at least a month
33. Go to bed before midnight for at least a week
34. Watch every Harry Potter movie in one day!
35. Re-Upholster something!
36. Make cookies for a neighbor
37. Make cookies for a stranger
38. Make something really cool (what qualifies as really cool to be determined at a later date)
39. Make 72 hour kits to keep in the car
    
40. Visit Alaska again
41. Write to my missionaries (Jeni and Ana) at least once a month!
42. Successfully make a loaf of delicious bread
43. Hold a TacOdasso party :D
44. Blog at least once every two weeks
45. Finish our wedding scrapbook
46. Take a picture everyday for one month
47. Start a  Coupon Cooking! Blog
48. (I'm not even halfway through?!?!) Either replace the missing keys on my lappy or get a new one
49. Go to General Conference
50. Write a letter to the editor of something!
51. Vote!
52. See Mitt Romney succeed in next year's Republican primaries! (Ok. This one isn't really up to me. Haha)
    
53. Re-read the Twilight Saga (for the 4th time. hehe.)
54. Go ONE WEEK without Facebook. Ahh!
55. Be 100% on my visiting teaching for a full year
56. Attend Brad's 10 year HS reunion (if they have one. Crazy!)
57. Make my mom and dad's egg rolls
58. Find some family history names to take to the temple
59. Attend a live session at the SLC Temple
60. Find a new couponing buddy in Utah (I'll miss you Daryn!)
61. Take Katie on a walk at least once a week when weather permits
62. Lose 15 pounds :)
63. Have the ability to swim a 500 again
64. Keep our car crumb-free
65. Listen to the entire Tennis Shoes Among the Nephites series again (amazing!)
66. Fill my coin jar to the brim!
67. Turn in my coin jar and buy a special treat for myself and for Brad
68. Send out Christmas cards finally! And on time!
69. Go on vacation with friends
70. Hike a mountain. It's been far too long since I have.
71. Go ice fishing
72. Go regular fishing
73. Go hunting (although I don't want to actually kill anything)
74. Discover an amazing local restaurant
75. Buy snow boots
76. Bear my testimony in sacrament meeting
77. Donate at least 4 pairs of shoes. :/
78. Actually cross something off this list
79. Throw an amazing party with a sit-down dinner and place cards and everything
80. Get involved in a community event
81. Donate to a food bank
82. Make an apron for myself
83. Make super yummy salt water taffy
84. Swim in the Atlantic ocean
85. See Niagra Falls
86. Figure out how to hem Brad's pants
87. Hike in Zion National Park
88. Take a spontaneous trip. VERY spontaneous!
89. Road trip out to the East Coast and make Brad enjoy it!
90. Teach someone in my (future) new ward to coupon
91. Drive to the airport and just fly somewhere! Anywhere!
92. (101 is a LOT of things!!!!!!!!) Learn to play golf
93. Get a part time job
94. Remember to ALWAYS take my reusable bags to the grocery store
95. Have a game night with friends every month for 6 months
96. Visit my sister in Portland
97. Cross 50 things off this list!
98. Read the entire Book of Mormon in less than 6 months
99. Invent another amazing family favorite recipe :)
100. Sew a couch slipcover
101. Never make a list this long again!!!

The end
:D

WHERE DID FEBRUARY GO?!?!

Yes, I put the title in caps for a reason. Where the heck did February go?! I feel like that was the fastest Feb i've ever experienced.
Updates since my last post:

• Katie is SO close to walking. She can now take four steps or stand on her own for a while. We don't even have to stand her up. She does it on her own and will let go of the couch, table, etc, on her own.
• She now has 7 teeth. It's so cute! But not so cute when she bites me.
  
• Brad is SO close to be done with school! Only one month left and then he is done forever! You know he started college back in 2002? Crazy, right?! It's even crazier that I wasn't even in high school yet. Hehe. ;)
• I bought a case of 9 pineapples as extra with my Bountiful Basket and we are overflowing with pineapples now! Good thing though, because we love em!
• Oh! My coupon class! So many people ask me ALL THE TIME about how I use coupons and how to get started and so I decided to just put together a little class, invite everyone, and teach em all at once! I think it went well. I'm not a great public speaker, or teacher for that matter, but I think everyone got some good information and I know at least a few people have started couponing from it! It was fun and I think I may do another one in the next month or so.
• In sad news, Brad was laid off a few weeks ago. It was VERY sudden (his last day of work was the same day he found out) and it happened to about 80% of the other employees as well. I don't know about Brad, but I always try to stay optimistic and I constantly repeat my mantra "We pay our tithing. Everything will be ok." And it has been.
  

There really isn't too much else going on. Katie gets older every day and it's a little sad, but exciting at the same time. Brad is just truckin' through his last semester and I know he is so ready to be done. I just keep doing the homemaker thing, cooking, cleaning, trying to sew, babysitting, couponing, loving, and trying to maintain a social life. We have a very comfortable, very happy, and very blessed life and I am so grateful for everything. The smile on my daughters face everyday is just a constant reminder of the pure and simple joys in life that Heavenly Father has blessed us with. (Random, but I use a lot of dangling participles)

BIG changes are coming in the NEAR future, so be on the lookout!




Sorry. No pictures this time! Chack my Facebook if you are really curious.

I'm Blogging!!!!!!!!

Miss me?
Sorry I haven't been keeping up with this thing.
Our little Katie is just keeping me so busy, because she is so busy!
Things Katie currently loves:

• Getting into EVERYTHING
  
• Anything that she isn't supposed to get into (i.e. the internet router, video game boxes, Xbox controllers)
• The dishwasher. She squeals in delight when she sees or hears me open it.
• Refried beans (picture to follow)
• The keyboard and her little play keyboard
• Pulling our big lamp down
• Putting bath toys in the toilet
• Bath toys in general
• Lemons
• Climbing in the refrigerator the second I open it
• The bathroom. She would play in there all day if I let her
• Very short naps
• Climbing! She climbs on top of whatever is short enough for her to get on top of.

So, what's happened since I last blogged? Hmm?
We went to Pennsylvania for Christmas and it was SO GREAT for Katie to spend some time with her Grandma Odasso!
She also LOVED the kitties!
I took Katie and flew out to Cali in January to babysit my sister's 3 girls for a week.
It was pretty crazy but so great to spend time with my little nieces!
My sister also has two cats, so of course Katie loved being out there.
Umm...... Oh! Katie has 5 teeth!
She's had two on the bottom for a while but about 3 weeks ago, she got 3 more on the top. I'm not sure where the fourth one on the top is, but I guess it'll come out eventually.
Ok, the real reason I decided to finally blog:
Katie took two steps today!
We've been making her stand on her own and practice balance for a while now, but today when I set her on her feet, she stood there for a full minute on her own, then took two steps towards me and then fell into my lap!
It was awesome!
I tried to get her to do it again, but she just sits back down and crawls instead.
Oh well. I'm sure she'll be full on walking soon enough.
And truth be told, she can take as long as she likes to walk. She gets into everything enough as it is. Haha.

Picture time!
Most of these are on Facebook, but oh well.


For Christmas, I got Katie this set of kitchen utensils. Isn't it so cute? I laid it out next to mine to show how great they match! She also has a pink spatula, ladle, and mixing spoon, but I don't have those (yet, wink wink to the hubby) so I didn't show em.
See what I said about refried beans? Haha!

The happiest baby around!
See how she climbs? She does this on everything!
Oh yeah, she also loves chocolate. I tell you, she finds every little thing on the floor that I miss, like this Dove chocolate that she devoured while I was in the bathroom.
Katie and her cousin Peyton when I was in Cali.
Isn't she sweet?
Best $5 I ever spent at the DI!
Like mommy, like baby. Anyone out there remember all my old mirror Myspace pics?
I threw a baby shower for my awesome friend Tara a few Saturdays ago. It was pretty stressful, but I think it came out cute in the end! Thank you to Daryn for all your help and to Brad for being patient with me while I obsessed over this for days!
Snowman cake pops
I displayed some of the cake pops in these glass bottles
Just little Hershey bars
Peppermint Fudge cupcakes with royal icing snowflakes that were SUCH a pain to make!
Chocolate/sprinkle dipped marshmallows
Oreo truffles that came out a little messy looking



More big news: I chopped off a BUNCH of my hair last week, but I have yet to get a really good picture, so that will have to wait. There are a couple blurry pics on Facebook if you want to see.
The end!