after church pictures

from sunday, november 9th.

sometimes my kids are so precious, i just can't help but try to get a decent picture of them that actually showcases their preciousness.  it normally doesn't take long for me to remember why those pictures are so few and far between...

umm, this was the best we got.

picture time over

brady and abigail.... umm, playing football?

or duck duck goose?

or dress up?

and here we have just one kid.  one precious cross dressing little boy.  ; )

at 10.5 weeks pregnant

i hope you thoroughly enjoyed this bunch of dimly lit, grainy, iphone photos... stay tuned for next time!

technology troubles solved!

technology creates and solves so many of my problems.

we got a video monitor for abigail about two months ago.  i'm one of those people that reads reviews obsessively.  it's not enough for me to read a hundred reviews on amazon.  nooo, i'm the person that will find that same product listed online at bed bath and beyond, target, and walmart so i can read those online reviews too.*  so of course i did that when shopping for our video monitor.  and i ended up getting a monitor for 70% off and it's working great and i love it but there's just one thing about it...

it messes with our wireless.  when i have the monitor on, my internet is super slow.  like my blog page could take minutes to load.  the text would be there but the pictures would gradually load from top to bottom and it was impossible to do stuff online.  luckily, i remembered that one of the reviews mentioned that the monitor interfered with their wireless.  i think their problem was that it kicked them off the network but i decided to experiment and see if it would help.  i turned off the monitor, clicked refresh, and all my pages were instantly loaded.  YEAY!  what an easy fix!  this would be more annoying that what it is if 1. i had paid more for the monitor (they're typically a few hundred dollars!) and 2. if i needed it on all the time.  luckily i only need it on occasionally.  i put baby girl down for nap and then turn on the monitor after 30 minutes or so to make sure she's still asleep.  in the morning i just click it on every fifteen minutes or so to see if she's awake yet or what she's up to or if she's taken her diaper off again.  it's not like i need to sit there and watch her every move... although that is fun sometimes.

yesterday i was trying desperately to put pictures from my phone to picasa on my computer.  i have over a thousand pictures on my phone and at least 10-15 minutes of video and i'm almost out of memory.  unfortunately though, picasa was retrieving the pictures soooo slowly.  like maybe 20 pictures over the course of an hour.  which won't work for 1000 pictures.  and i kept closing and opening picasa, checking for updates, unplugging and replugging in my phone... nothing was working and then this morning i tried again and picasa wasn't even recognizing my phone as a device to retrieve pictures from.  enter google.  there are a million forums on this and what worked and what didn't.  a lot of people said to just plug the cord into a different usb.  or to try a different cord.  i tried both... about fifteen times.  they mentioned to turn your phone off and on again.  still didn't work.  and then i started noticing a pattern where people said their printer was the culprit and once they unplugged the printer it was fine.  i thought this for sure couldn't be the problem because our printer doesn't plug into my computer.  it's wireless.  ohhh hmmm let me check and see if i turned it off after i used it the other day.  oh yes, i did.  it's off.  hmmm.  and then i stood there thinking, "should i unplug it?" which i thought was really silly since it was already off... why would unplugging it make a difference?  but what did i have to lose?  so i unplugged it, came back to my computer, clicked the import button in picasa and...

BAM!  not only did it now recognize my phone again, i had over 1000 pictures instantly.  hallelujah!  that's crazy, right?  how on earth would i have figured this out without google?  i mean, that's got to be one of the most random things ever, right?  picasa on your laptop won't recognize your iphone as a camera device unless you manually unplug your printer (on the other side of your house) from the wall.

technology is a tricky, tricky thing.

Jack of all trades

*this post is so disjointed because i wrote it over the course of multiple days... who has time to write a whole post in one sitting?  not me.*

i know this is old news for people.  people that have had an iphone for more than 2 months.  but it is wonderful and special news for me because i am still taking the time daily to bask in the amazingness of not still having one of the many crappy cell phones i've sported before.

i'm continually realizing just how much easier it is makes life to have so much condensed and simplified to one device.  and i know it's great that my phone also replaces a calculator, but most phones do.  and who carries a calculator with them anyways?  so what i'm loving is the lack of clutter in my purse when i go places and not having to carry four things around the house with me. here's my list of things that are now just backups...

my trusty camera is still much better for taking video but as far as spur of the moment pictures go, my phone is way easier because it's most likely already by my side and i can text/email/blog those pictures instantly.

i literally dusted off my book of mormon yesterday.  i'm still keeping it by my bedside, but truth is, when we're reading scriptures together at night, it's easier on the eyes, to use the scriptures on my phone.

which means my phone also replaces this little reading flashlight that i used to keep on top of my scriptures.  see the dust?!

my grocery list.  it's still in its place on top of the microwave, but when i run out of something, i enter it in my running list on my phone so i'm guaranteed to never find myself in the grocery store parking lot having forgotten my list at home.

my trusty itzbeen!  i use the free ibabylog app and it's great.  and it keeps record of everything and i can make notes on it and if i forget to press the button when i put brady down for nap and remember 30 minutes later, i can manually enter the correct time.  and now i don't have to carry my phone, camera, and itzbeen to every room of the house.  i only have so many hands and pockets.

that nifty little app also keeps track of medications.  so i should probably take these two papers off my fridge now...

the google maps app does this for me and i never have to worry that i won't have a gps with me when i need one.

okay, it doesn't completely replace my laptop, but i spend much less time on my computer these days because of my phone.  if i just need to see if someone has emailed me back, i can press a button on my phone (i made my settings so that i manually have to retrieve it... i don't like all those dings for every crappy email) instead of pulling out my computer, waiting for it to start up, and then most likely getting distracted on there with other things. also, i used to drag my laptop around the house when i wanted to listen to pandora or when i was cooking with an online recipe.  not anymore!  pandora and recipes can come with me anywhere! 

and because i hate spending money and paying the extra money each month for a data package was tough to swallow (i think my honey did everything with verizon, right down to activating my phone, before giving it to me, so that there was no way i could turn back) i'm loving that it's actually saving me money in other ways.  

1. my camera up there with the rubberband?  it's kind of a pain to deal with since the rubber band is necessary to keep the broken battery compartment closed but it makes getting to some of the buttons more difficult and it makes zooming in and out a huge, huge pain.  new camera would be over $100.  and if i was using this camera as much as i used to, a replacement would be necessary. since i don't use it as often anymore, this one is okay to stay!

2. my laptop battery has been near death for about ten months.  if i unplug it, it's good for maaaaybe 30 minutes and will shut off with no "your battery is running low, find a power source to plug in" notice.  which is painfully annoying when you're using it in the kitchen to cook something and have to run it back to your bedroom and wait ten minutes for it to restart and reopen everything to find your recipe again.  according to the customer service guy i talked to on the phone, a new battery is about $90... plus shipping.  which, is that really worth it for a three year old laptop?  probably not.  not needing to unplug my computer pretty much ever, the short battery life is pretty much a non issue.  as is the fact that my laptop cord died and i had to steal honey's.  which he doesn't ever use because his laptop is crap and he relies almost entirely on his work ipad... but that would be his blog post, not mine.  so let's throw in another $25 of savings for that cord.

3. for christmas a year ago, my parents gave me a gps.  i actually already had one that i got as a college graduation gift but sometimes honey would take it with him on business trips and then it wouldn't be in my car when i needed it.  it happened enough times that it was worth it to me to ask for a second gps for christmas so we had one in each of our cars.  well, the charger for the gps broke but since it was from costco, i just took it back for a full refund.  i was going to buy a replacement that day but the other gps options they had were $170 to $200 which is a bit much when it's your family's second gps and you really don't use it all that often.

my phone has also saved me money by being able to pull up internet coupons (like how hobby lobby has the show and save coupons online) and saved me time by being able to pull up an email on my phone instead of having to go home to check that information, and saved my butt when i've been in sticky situations (the one i'm thinking of was 100% not my fault) and i've been able to pull up information that's saved online.  

also, the "reminders" thing that it has, has made me much more productive.  always having that to do list available so that i don't forget something before i can write it down.  and that i can set times and locations that i can be reminded of certain things.

other honorable mentions go out to... 

the "clock" which is not only my alarm clock when i need one but it was also an awesome stopwatch when i was timing contractions.

the "weather" button, which i'm sure many people find convenient, is something that makes me giddy.  i'm someone that keeps the weather for my area on my toolbar so it's always only a click away.  now that i have it at my fingertips 24/7, i couldn't be happier.  

the lds tools app.  because i used to keep a copies of our updated relief society directory in my purses and all over the house.  heaven forbid should i need to stop by someone's house or give them a call and not have their address or phone number on hand.  now i always have it!

so when i write it all out... the iphone is still a chunk of money but it feels like pennies with how worth it it is.  how did i live without this thing?!  and what a shame that it took me five years to jump on this bandwagon.

Revolving around kids

My life revolves around these two kids. Today especially felt like that. I woke up, fed Brady, and then wrapped presents after he fell back asleep. Baby girl had two birthday parties today.

We pulled her out of bed at 9:40 even though she was still happily playing because she'd been awake for over an hour and the first party started at ten. She loved it. But when I picked her up you could tell she was tired.  she instantly put her head on my shoulder and in her sleepy voice told me she wanted to go home and watch thomas.

but as we walked to the car i reminded her about lucy's birthday party and tried to get her pumped. lucy is our neighbor and was the only person at the party that abigail knew.  it was a parents-stay-too party so i tried to get baby girl into it.  we were an hour and a half late and it was a three hour party... but we left after about 30 minutes.  i think baby girl told me at least twelve times that she wanted to go home.  she seemed soooo tired and was not her usual self.  as we drove away she told me she wanted to go to lucy's house.  maybe that was the disappointment?  that she wanted a regular playdate with her friend and not a big party (it was at our neighborhood clubhouse) where her friend was too busy with all of the other guests.

also today, baby girl still loves taking pictures of herself with my phone, brady is still doing better and better, we watched an avs game tonight together as a family because thank goodness the hockey season actually started, and i've been trying to find a baby app to use with brady.  i've been using my itzbeen this time around but itz kinda inconvenient that i keep leaving it all around the house and losing it whenever i'm needing it.  so i'm trying out apps now.  so far i hate the similac app and am thinking i'll stick with the ibabylog baby tracker.  we'll see how things go more long term.  and as of yesterday and today, baby girl is back to whining and begging for naps and bedtime.  i know she's getting another molar right now... maybe that's contributing to the crankiness too?

it's been a good day (i even got a [terrible sleep quality] nap!) but busy enough that i'm super excited to sleep and not that excited about sunday.  i get overwhelmed too easily these days and meetings and church just seems like a lot.  especially because i'm hugely sucking at my calling lately.  oh the guilt.

ummm, miracle of miracles!  my pictures actually posted in order!!!  how do i get that to happen every time?!

Aspiring photographer

Baby girl kept getting my phone and taking pictures but since she just had the phone laying on the bed they all looked like a green screen. So honey taught her how to take pictures on his phone.

the green screen.  what all of her photos look like when taken with my phone.

taking a picture of me.

reviewing her work.

showing me how it works

"take a picture of daddy!"

don't ask why but she prefers to wear her necklaces like this.

what a precious little child she is.  did i mention she was wearing no diaper when honey got her out of her soaking wet bed this morning?  ha.

and here are her latest works... sent to me from honey's phone.

she's got real talent, i can tell.  even though i'm still blown away that she can unlock my phone, open the camera app, and press the correct button to take pictures.  how do kids learn so fast?!  my mother had to be taught how to do that on her ipad mini.  i guess she should have just watched baby girl a little more...

37 week bump

ps- i love when people make "swallowed a basketball comments."  like i really really do.

belated pictures from atl to dia and "fearless"

and here are pictures from this past friday's wonderful whirlwind that go along with that novel of a post i wrote. 

when baby girl decided she was done with us, she left our booth and spent at least five minutes with this nice man and his three kids.  two year olds are oblivious and except from social norms.  my dad took this picture with his blackberry and emailed it to me with the title "no fear."

this has got to be at the top of my list from favorite pictures from this trip.  ps- typical varsity that you get a full mix of customers.  us in the middle, the semi-ghetto lady to the left, and the ultra prep southern frat boy to the right.

how perfect that my shirt was the very color of a frosted orange!

precious.  she kept calling it ice cream.  and as i've mentioned, grandpa never says no.

they're an adorable pair.

i wonder what the poundage was that i was lugging through the airport.  baby girl weighs 23 lbs, that carseat  weighs 25 lbs, my suitcase weighed at least 40 and the duffle bag almost broke my back.  and because i can, i'm going to add my unborn child in utero to that list.  because, despite it being constant, i was carrying him too.

sleep deprived baby catching a power nap on the way from the airport to the game.  she seriously NEVER falls asleep in her carseat.  unless she's been awake for 11 hours i guess.

well hello there.

family photo!

not napping... just super tired and snuggly.

like snuggly enough to curl up with this stranger down the row.

and i mean, all the way down the row.

we convinced her to come back and snuggle with us though.  

honey caught one of the rockies t shirts they sling shotted out while we were waiting for fireworks. 

it's good to be back as our little family of three.

also, about the lack of stranger danger, here's an email about it that i wrote to my parents yesterday (titled "fearless part two")...

remember this picture from friday at the varsity when abigail left usto sit with the family nearby?  well, we went to a rockies game thatnight after our plane landed and part way through chris turned to meand said "ummm, the people down the row are holding our baby."  sureenough.  and she sat with them for a long time before chris finallywent down there to retrieve her. 

today we were at a playdate at the park.  abigail was crying while iwas away putting something in my car.  when i came back she wassitting on my friend's lap (we never hang out with these friends soabigail really didn't know who she was).  so i said "thanks forholding my crying child" to which my friend replied "oh no problem...i was just surprised that she actually came to me and let me holdher." 

ha.  you're surprised?  i'm not.

at what age are you supposed to teach your child about this sort of stuff?  currently, she calls everyone "friends" in any context that any adult would just use the word "people."  like yesterday when we were playing out on the driveway and she saw a woman walking her dog up the street (in the direction of our neighborhood playground) and she kept telling me that our friend was going to the playground.  if we're in the car and she sees two men jogging on the sidewalk, she'll tell me that she sees her friends running or that her friends are running fast.

oh baby girl, with that mentality, the world really is your oyster.