My New Blog

I have been busy, very, very busy.  I made a new blog to sell handmade nursing covers.  I have made several covers as gifts in the past and have had several people ask if I sell them, so I thought - "hey why not?"  I have been working like a maniac on my new blog site for the past several days trying to get it working the way I want.  Almost every minute was surprisingly fun.  (Minus the two days I spent stewing over those stinking Paypal buttons).  I really enjoyed the creative aspect of the whole thing.  Trying to come up with ideas of ways to make things work, expanding my small skill base of computer programming (still very basic), taking pictures (still very novice), editing pictures, sewing, shopping for fabric.  This project has given me something to create.  Elder Uchtdorf talked about creativity bringing happiness last year in the General Relief Society Conference.  Click here if you want to read it again.  It really has brought enjoyment to my life.  I don't really expect a lot out of it.  I am not looking to make handfuls of money...would be nice though....  I am just glad that I had so much fun working on it! 

So, now that that is all explained, on to the really fun stuff!  I am doing a free nursing cover giveaway in a shameless advertising effort.  And besides, I have always wanted to do it just for fun!  Go to Covers by Camilla for the details - check out the site and enter to win!  Ha ha, yes, I used my full first name, Camilla, because it sounds fancier, you know? :)You can enter up to four times if you help me spread the word.  Enter even if you have no need for a nursing cover right now, you can always save it for later or give it as a gift.  Like they say in the medicine adds all the time, "if you are nursing, pregnant, or may become pregnant!" 

Jack's Gotta Go

This actually happend last week - only three days after we carved him...he is already long gone.  But it applies to now because this is how my brain feels right now.  Mushy and fuzzy...and white? It has been a LONG day.   

Oh, and in case you were wondering.  The photo shoot was fine on Monday.  "Sam" didn't say anything about what we were wearing.  We were all in blue (is purple blue?) shirts and khaki pants.  Scott hated what he had to wear.  I have no idea if we will like the pictures or not!  I know I should be more assertive in these situations and stand up for myself.  I had all of these smart things worked out in my head to say so Sam would know what I thought about being sent away on Friday.  Of course, I didn't say a word - typical for me.

GRRRRR

My mom acquired some professional photography gift cards and gave them as a gift to my brother and I to have our little families' pictures taken.  I spent the whole week hunting for the perfect clothing for my little family.  This was very stressful and intensive work.  Just this morning I found the last items to finish up the perfect coordinating color scheme.

Our photo shoot was scheduled for 5:00 PM.  I know - not ideal - but with Scott having work and school everyday we didn't have much of a choice.  Of course Stephen decided to throw a huge tantrum as we were getting ready to leave - he was totally uncooperative. Scott was late getting home from work, and I was still frantically trying to get everyone dressed by myself at the time we were supposed to be heading out the door.  Finally, only 10 minutes behind schedule, we left.  I was not too happy about the stress but we managed to hold it together because I knew that in a while the whole thing would be over and we would have some family pictures to show for it.

We showed up at "Sam's" house for our photo shoot - he has a studio in his basement.  After walking all the way through his house and down the stairs Sam looked at us for a minute and asked me if I only brought a skirt to wear.  "Yup."  He didn't seem too thrilled about that.  Then he said that he thought our clothes were going to clash.  "Those stripes on the baby's shirt will look terrible with the stripes on dad's shirt."  Uhhhhhh... Boston's shirt had a nice green stripe that matched perfectly the color of Scott's green and white striped shirt (very subtle stripes - from a distance it looked solid).  Sam wanted to have Boston wear only his plain blue undershirt onesie for the pictures.  It is stained and too small so I vetoed that idea.  Sam just kept looking at all of us and finally he said, "how about you guys come back on Monday?"  SAY WHAT??? (That was in my head).  Sam insisted that we would not be happy with the way the pictures looked.  I was ticked - TICKED! I am still so mad just thinking about it.  After all of that planning and stress and running around to all of those stores I couldn't believe that he would refuse to take our pictures in what were wearing.

Sam said that we all needed to be wearing the same color.  I don't know much about photography so I am sure that he knows what he is talking about when it comes to what looks good.  I know that he is trying to give us the best pictures he can.  I know that he just wants us to be pleased with the results.  But SERIOUSLY - what photographer tells you to go home and change because they don't like what you are wearing???  Hey, I picked out the clothes - maybe they would look terrible in the pictures but wouldn't that be my problem?  If it is that important to all be wearing the SAME color, shouldn't he have told me that when I made the appointment?  I felt so stupid because five minutes before I felt that we all looked so nice and then in a blink of an eye we suddenly were not appropriate for family pictures.  Is my taste really that bad?  The other part that ticks me off is that I have to pull together more outfits for Monday and now that we have worn the new clothes we can't return them to get something else that matches better.  I am so done with the whole thing.  That is all.

*If you are wondering why we don't go with another photographer - it is a long and complicated story that I can't explain on my blog.  I don't want to tarnish this man's reputation, but let's just say I won't be reccomending him to my friends.  No, I will not be posting pictures of the original outfits I choose.  I don't want to know anyone else's opinion on whether or not they match.

Carving Pumpkins

 This is Sunday evening at Grandma Smith's house.  Is it cheating to wear gloves to clean out the pumpkins?  Our pumpkin was filled with extra weird stuff - the seeds had started to sprout!  I am pretty sure Scott made this same exact face as he carved pumkins two years ago with the Quists.  It must be his pumpkin carving face.  Maybe he is trying to get inspired?  Boston got involved by sucking on a permanent marker (lid on) while watching with mild interest.  I think carving pumpkins is really an adult activity.  But, that said, Stephen really liked his "silly" (never scarry) pumpkin when it was finished. 

This year and two years ago...scarry, isn't it?

I Heart Google Reader

If you use Google Reader and you want to keep up on my blog without having to make a special "trip" here, I have a solution for you!

Subscribe to http://smithupdater.blogspot.com.

Each time I post to "dasmithfam" blog I also make a post on my "updater" blog and let you know there is something to see here. Because you are already logged into Google when you use Google Reader it will automatically sign you in when you click on my link and voila - here you are!

Another Family Member

There is another member of the Smith Family...rarely pictured on the blog...will turn five in December...pure bread...deceptively adorable...very stinky!

Her name is Kloie (named after the character on Smallville) and she is our (nearly) five year old beagle. I just HAD to have her when I was a new school teacher and was stressed to the max and just wanted to get pregnant so that I wouldn't have to teach school the next year. She was our compromise - I got some stress relief and something to baby while we enjoyed the "just the two of us" stage for another year. The other excuse for the $300 purchase (yes we paid cold hard cash for her - man I wish I still had that kind of money) was that she was to be a friend for our other dog, Kal-el, who is another story altogether. Really, she was just the most ADORABLE sassy little puppy. Even her howl-bark was cute. When she was a tiny puppy she caught Parvo (deadly doggy disease) and almost died. She turned into a little skeleton dog because she lost so much weight and we thought she was a gonner for sure but then she proved what a fighter she was and pulled through! I have to admit that things have changed a little since then. For one thing we have two children who take most of my time, attention, and affection. She was always supposed to be an "outside dog" but of course her bad barking habits forced us to let her sleep inside. Now that we live in a house without a yard she is always inside. It makes me a little crazy sweeping up her hair all of the time. She is strictly trained to stay off of all carpets in the house and is never allowed near couches or beds. Of course she"cheats" sometimes and I will find her lounging on the rug in Stephen's room or on the bathmats...grrrrr. She thinks it is cool to bark in her kennel at 6:45 AM when both boys (and myself) are still sleeping so that I will let her out! No it is NOT because she needs to go to the bathroom. When I finally let her out she runs around the house for 10 minutes and begs for food before she finally heads outside for a potty break.

Have you ever been near a dog when it toots?? Let me tell you - it is a NASTY experience. You are sitting there minding your own business and - WHAM - out of nowhere - dog poop smell is in your face. Ususally there is no warning - since they are normally silent but deadly. (I will let your imagination figure out why they are usually silent.) I say USUALLY because tonight as I was looking at blogs Kloie kept "letting them rip" right next to me and they were audible - what the heck!? I was so grossed out. So of course, it inspired me to share this post about her. I tricked you into reading about something gross again. I guess I can't help myself, or maybe my life is just full of gross things.

Okay, now that I have written all of that I feel bad. She really is a pretty cute dog. She is usually quite obedient and I don't know what I would do without her cleaning up every miniscule scrap of food that we drop on the floor. I cleaned up so many doggy messes when she was a puppy that now my boys' messes are "weak sauce" in comparison - no "human" mess can compare in grossness to a dog mess. So she was invaluable in training me. She has beautiful brown eyes and is very sensitive to my emotional state. If she sees me upset she whines and cries and wants to be close to me. Maybe its TMI but she will follow me into the bathroom everytime she can manage it and want me to pet her while I am sitting there. It is anoying but endearing at the same time. At times I am ready to kick her to the curb but I know I would never go through with it. It comes down to this:

I can't live with her - I can't live without her.

*Scott says all I post is gross stuff - he is probably right. Sorry.

Today was Sunday tomorrow will be Monday.

No pictures...no theme...I just felt like jotting a line...

When we went to church today I had to wear flip-flops to accommodate my injured toe. GRRRRRR I really dislike wearing flip-flops to church. It is so TACKY. (I am sorry if I offend you with my statements but it is more that I feel tacky wearing them, then that I think others are tacky for wearing them). Maybe I am too vain, but I was really perturbed by my flip flops because we were visiting Josh and Shea's ward for their baby's blessing so there was a lot of family there. Obviously, I need to focus on the real reason for being at church and not worry about what I am wearing but I think that wearing real dress shoes will help me focus better in the future.

Boston looked really handsome today: wearing a "new" tie, white shirt and khaki pants. But then he started to drool when I fed him little sweet potato puffs and his nice white shirt became soggy and orange around the neck leaving him looking, well, sort of gross and dare I say tacky? We forgot to bring Boston's pacifier to church so I spent a good portion of the meeting out in the foyer breaking my back as I tried rocking him to sleep. He is SOOO heavy! We have noticed that when he gets agitated he stiffens his legs out and circles his cute little chubby feet around and around. It is such a funny little quirk!

Stephen has started saying his own personal prayers instead of repeating after me. It is absolutely a delight to listen to the things he is grateful for and the things he prays for. He is more original than I would expect - no vain repetitions for him! I would like to share some of what he says but it seems a little too private for a blog. How long will he let me listen to him say his nightly prayers? The other day we asked him "what is your full name?" His response, "Stevareno!!" Even after coaching, "no, your name is..." his was insistent that his name was STEVE-A-RENO. I asked him today what his full name was and he said it correctly. (Oh, and by the way, Daddy's name is Scott and his last name is Daddy - what else would it be?)

Scott and I had a good conversation on our way home from my parents house this evening. Just like when we were dating. I love these non-essential, non-stressful conversations. He is still my best friend and the number one person I like to talk to. We were so wrapped up in our conversation that we forgot how we got home - "how did we end up on this road? - I thought we took the freeway." (We didn't!) I will let you wonder what we talked about.

Boston is 6 months!

Propped up in Grandma and Grandpa Quist's wagon for a Sunday walk. He loved it!

Wearing the cute ASU baby hat that my Grandma Hatch picked out for Stephen about 2 years ago to match Scott. Can't get enough of those hand-me-downs!

Where did the time go? General Conference weekend in April was spent in the hospital having my sweet Baby Boston. With the arrival of October General Conference it means that it has already been six months since Boston was born! He is such a delight and joy every day. He has the sweetest smiles and giggles. Boston has his daddy's beautiful big eyes and those eyelashes will melt many a girl's heart someday. (Starting with mine!) He loves to cuddle and already enjoys "wrestling" with Daddy and Stephen. Boston will give big slimy "kisses" and wraps his arms around my neck for a hug. Sometimes he makes sweet noises "aaaaaaahhhhh" during the hugs and kisses. He sleeps really well at night except that he likes to wake up at 6:00 AM now. We need to work on that one! He has been rolling from his back to his stomach for a while and he has finally figured out how to roll from his stomach to his back. He is starting to sit up for a few seconds at a time. He is eating baby food like a champ: some of his favorites are sweet potatoes (isn't that every baby's favorite?), green beans, and all fruit. We are so blessed to have Boston's sweet, gentle spirit in our lives. He is so precious to us! We love you Baby Boston!

Pinkie Pinkie

So, I was in kick boxing class yesterday and while working with the heavy bag I got a little carried away and took out my left pinkie toe! I heard an audible crack. It hurt so bad and I could tell just by looking at it that it was broken.

Okay, the truth is that I was walking by the couch in our living room to get a blanket for Stephen and I kicked the leg of my couch. The part about the audible crack and my pinkie toe looking broken is true. After a two and a half hour trip to urgent care it was determined that it is NOT broken - just a little misaligned. It sure hurts like it is broken though. They didn't want to mess with it because they said it might just make things worse so they just slapped some tape on it and gave me this awesome shoe to wear until I could stand real shoes. I have already used motorized scooters in the grocery store and at Walmart - I really like those things although it is a little embarrassing at first.

Scott helped me make up that other story so that I could sound cooler than saying, "I kicked the couch while walking." Too bad I am not really into kick boxing...it might be fun!

Smelly and Green

It has been almost a whole week since I have posted something gross on my blog...this time is not in reference to "#2" or cockroaches though....
I noticed a foul odor emanating from Stephen's right ear last week. Luckily, we had his "well visit" scheduled at the doctor on Thursday. I mentioned the smell to the doctor and he discovered that Stephen's ear was full of green puss!! Sick! The doctor even made me come look through the ear scope thingy and see it. To me it appeared to be something out of a movie - kind of fake bright green. It is an unfortunate reality however and it means he has an ear infection.

This will be the first one in over a year since he had tubes put in his ears. He used to have at least one ear infection a month and so having those tubes put in was a WONDERFUL thing. The ear was so yucky that the doctor couldn't even tell if the tube was still in there. Luckily, Stephen is not uncomfortable or in pain in anyway.

The doctor prescribed Augmentin...unfortunately-I forgot-Stephen will NOT take this antibiotic! (If you are familiar with the antibiotics you will remember this one as the NASTY chalky white stuff - I don't even like the smell when I open the bottle). To get Stephen to take it this morning I had to sit on him, pin his arms down, squirt it down his throat and pinch his nose to get him to swallow, all while he was kicking and screaming. I felt AWFUL!! There is no way I am going to do that twice a day for ten days! So, I called the doctor to explain the dilemma and they called in another prescription - Azythromycin- the good stuff - it is pink and tastes like bubble gum. After a dose of that tonight, Stephen was begging for more! So much better!

Other than that Stephen is healthy, wealthy (he got 10 bucks for his b-day - more money than I've got) and wise! He weighs 36lbs 8oz and is some inches tall. (I forget how many). He is in the 75th percentile for his height and the 90th percentile for his weight...or was it the other way around? They didn't write it down for me like they do when I take Boston in.