11-11-11

YOU WERE GOOD TO ME!

First of all, it was Veterans Day, so we had Maverick home until work time which was 3pm.

So my day started with a 9am sleep in.

After breakfast we headed out so that we can do this,

11:11am on 11-11-11 on 11th Street.

The park was right across 11th Street so we let Hyrum play for a bit.

 

Then we headed off to feed the ducks.

Hyrum was sooo excited that he had a bounce on his stride and this cheeky grin.

Too bad the ducks didnt quite like us (I dont think they are used to having people feed them).

 

So we went to the shops instead and finally found baby girl her going home outfit.

Hyrum had a football going home outfit so I was in search for a ballet one that wasnt pink.

Then, we headed home to take a nap while Mav goes off to work.

We Skyped with my parents after nap time which was great.

After dinner we had some good wholesome family fun and put up our Christmas tree.

I know some people think that its a little early to be all Christmassy, but its Mavericks favourite holiday and he gets all giddy and cant wait to decorate.

It was lots of fun! Hyrum had a blast helping out.

He would hand us the tree branches with a "heeya go mommy/daddy".

and go around and around the tree saying "cush me kishkish (Christmas) twee".

Then we helped him put ornaments on then sat back to say "oooo, pwitty".

Then we sat down for a movie and called it a night.

MUCH MAHALO for being GREAT 11-11-11.

BLESSINGS

Every single day is a mystery.

New problems, new challenges, new accomplishments.

And the past few months for us have been just that,

A MYSTERY.

My pregnancy...purpose in life...sanity...

Maverick's schooling...job search...GRE preparations....

Hyrum's mood...appetite...developing mind...

and so on...

But mostly, our livelihood has been a mystery.

and it has been TOUGH!

BUT

I FEEL BLESSED!!!

"Across the world, this is a time of economic instability and financial uncertainty. In April general conference, President Thomas S. Monson said: "If you are concerned about providing financially for a family, may I assure you that there is no shame in a couple having to scrimp and save. It is generally during these challenging times that you will grow closer together as you learn to sacrifice and to make difficult decisions." -Elder Neil L. Anderson

Despite all our 'problems', we are surviving.

we are happy. we are BLESSED.

Blessed by our Heavenly Father,

to have both sides of our families supporting us,

to be surrounded with wonderful members of the church who genuinely cares,

to be given things that is just what we needed,

to have enough for the necessities.

I AM BLESSED.

and I can never say it enough.

TO BE LIVING THE LIFE THAT I AM LIVING.

BACK IN BUSINESS!

Sometime in January my DSLR Rebel camera took its last breathe and gave up on me with an "error 99".

Given to me as a payment for doing my internship with an advertising company, it served me well with numerous photo sessions and random shoots of the little monkey.

Funnily enough, this is the last picture that it took.

Being very low on funds, I didnt know the next time that I would own a DSLR camera.

In comes my wonderful parents.  Who got me a brand new Canon 600D! 

(Although, I think they put it in my tab of 'to pay back when we get out of our student financial status')

WOOOHOOO!!!

So with the financial problems that we are in right now, I am hoping to put this baby to work and book a few photo sessions so I can help pay for rent and not have to move out.

 Soooo help us out a little here. 

If you or anyone you know has photography or design needs and lives fairly close to where we are, please direct them over my way.

Or just simply spread the word for me.

My Facebook page is:

www.facebook.com/AissaMittonphotodesign

THANK YOU!

Potty Training Preparation

ALRIGHT!

Im taking on the challenge of potty training in one week.

I figured Hyrum is ready since he gets ANNOYED of his soiled diapers and he FREQUENTLY takes it off himself.

We bought him a seat that goes on top of our toilet seat a few months ago and he has gone pee-pee in it a few times.  But I/we havent been consistent about it to stick. 

I've been reading about it recently and I am definetly motivated. (Lets see how motivated I will be during it though).

So for the rest of this week I will be gathering my weapons. 

Potty charts, stickers, treats, rewards, bribes...

Potty Chart from here.

I know one week is quite a fantasy. If that doesnt happen then I will keep going in hopes to have only one child in diapers. 

Wish me all the luck in the world! Come Monday, ITS ON!!!

Food Glorious FOOD!

I WAS NOT A COOK!

(key word: WAS)

So much that when Maverick asked my dad if he could marry me, my dads first response was, 

"You know she can't cook right?" HA!

The kitchen and I didnt have a relationship seeing as I burned everything that I attempted to make.

I always had the mindset of 'my poor kids will not know what a genuine home cooked meal taste like'.

BOOOYAAHHHH!!!

Enter my new HOMEMAKER title. 

(Im sooo sorry! Blog post about being a stay-at-home mom will be a frequent topic for a while.)

I am now proud to say that my family has a home cooked meal for the majority of the time. 

I do have my 'lazy' moments where I would go back to my old ways and succumbed to serving $5 Papa Johns Pizzas instead. But I honestly dont feel good after it.

It could be the whole pregnancy thing, but I just feel icky after eating fast food.

But, I guess thats a good thing. Since I now demand that we have a frequent stock of fruits, veggies, meat and other ingredients in our fridge and pantry.

Oh, my mother would be sooooo proud!

Here are some of the big hits that ive cooked recently. Not my pictures since I was so hungry to stop and take a pic. hehe! But they all tasted pretty good. And I know I've done a good job when the toddler and the picky eater husband goes back for seconds. 

Potato and corn chowder with bacon.

Cabbage beef casserole

Shepard's pie

Eggplant parmesan

Chicken pasta bake

Lemon and rosemary chicken bake

Kumara (sweet potato) soup

Cream of broccoli soup

Chicken adobo

Peppered Steak 

Spinach pasta with asparagus

Stir fry with my own teriyaki sauce

Although, I am not IN LOVE with cooking, its not such a chore to do anymore. 

And it makes me feel good inside and accomplished knowing what was exactly in the food that we are eating. We even had organic ingredients since my mother-in-law has a huge garden with all sort of fruits and veggies.

Crochet Creations

I cant remember the last time that I had spent this little time on Blogspot and Facebook. 

(Hence, the lack of blog updates).

A new 'time-waster' has taken over my life.

PINTEREST.

But I say this 'time-waster' is a little bit more productive than all the others in ways that I actually do something productive because of it.

Couldn't have come at a more perfect time since I was in search of something to keep me sane.

and not feel like a lazy bum watching life go by in front of the computer screen and TV.

This whole 'I am a HOMEMAKER' card is new to me and was very hard to swallow in the beginning.

But I am starting to get the hang of it now and finding a lot of joy at it.

So with that, here are some examples of what's been keeping my sanity in check.

Slippers

Beanie and bootie for baby girl

Baby earflap beanie

Headband with interchangeable flowers

First attempt on an adult size beanie. Sorry for the blurry photo

Butterfly baby beanie for my cousins baby

Earflap beanie for baby (I forgot to finish it off)

Baby booties and earflap beanie for Auna baby boy (i ran out of the multi colored yarn so I had to improvise)

Hair clips - Ok this isnt crochet but I made it during a Relief Society activity

It really is quite exciting seeing a ball of yarn turn into a wonderful creation.

Its very addictive.

Also, what's GREAT is that one of my best friend is in this journey with me of finding the homemaker within us. So its been fun to compare and share our creations with each other. See her blog here.


Watch this space for future creations.

Pinterest

You know that its a serious addiction when I am on it more than Facebook...

I guess its more 'productive' than FB.

If only I can get off it and actually do some of the stuff that ive pinned.

Baby No.2 - First Post

I just realized that besides the 'announcement' post, I havent really blogged about my second pregnancy.

Soooo, here is me now at 23 weeks

I think I look a lot different from 23 weeks with Hyrum

Im a lot pointier this time which is great coz I didnt like my squareness last time.

Being pregnant with a crazy toddler around is a lot different from being pregnant with nothing to do.

For one thing, I am more motivated to go on walks since its hard to keep Hyrum indoors.

Which is great coz that means I will most probly not gain anywhere near the 60 lbs. that I gained with Hyrum. I have been trying to pay good attention to my weight gain this time around coz I worked really hard to get back to my pre-pregnancy weight last time. Plus, it really isnt very healthy to gain that much that fast. So far im at 11 lbs!

Anyways, I had a fairly easy pregnancy with Hyrum and so far, this one has lived up to the same expectations (knock on wood). Besides the usual 'I gotta eat every 2 hours', I havent really had any sort of cravings. Well, I guess except for that one time that I saw someone eating mint chocolate chip ice cream on Desperate Housewife.

I have noticed a BIG difference on movement though. By this time with Hyrum, I was feeling somersaults a la Cirque du Soleil circus happening in my tummy. I guess that is probably why Hyrum is a GREAT big ball of energy! This one is very timid. I only feel her 2-4 times a day and are usually very very light taps. Maybe its coz its a girl but hopefully its coz she is going to be a timid baby who will be satisfied just sitting there observing her crazy brother run around like a mad dog. Well, one can hope right...

As for names, I THINK we have one picked out. Still not 100% sure about it though. We havent told anyone yet (even parents) but I am am pretty happy about it because it has a great meaning which is really near and dear to me.

We are still very much STRESSED and WORRIED about our financial situations with this baby seeing that I dont have any insurance BUT we are happy that we are all healthy and we are happy that we are all HAPPY! Which is the most important thing. Besides, its only fitting that the girl is already costing us sooooo much. (First pregnancy was under 'government insurance Quest' so we didnt see any bills).

Wells, thats about it for now...

Fail-proof Foods

I was NOT born a cook.

Quite the opposite actually.

I HATED cooking!

BUT,

I think i've someone grown out of it now...SOMEWHAT...

I don't actually mind cooking now,

Maybe coz I am at home all day with no husband to cook for me and a son who has a bottomless appetite.

BUT,

Thinking of WHAT to cook for meals or even just for snacks is STRESSFUL!

So im asking for HELP...

All you veterans (or not) mommies out there,

What are your favorite, tried and tested meals???

Also for munchies? 

The little boy LOVES to eat! But sometimes we miss the target and buy something that is not acceptable. Then it ends up being left alone for weeks and thrown away coz its stale.

He loves fruits and other fruity stuff like raisins. Not very into candy cept for fruit snacks and gummi stuff. Likes crackers like wheat thins but not ritz. 

Sooo what snacks do you have on your cupboard at all times? Id like to try more stuff and see what works and what doesnt.

Much Mahalos!

(I really miss saying that)

Birthday Wish

TWENTY SIX

REALLY?!?!

I have lived twenty-six years come 16th of this month,

and life has never been harder...

The past couple of weeks has been quite a challenge in our household.

We had financial "downfalls" one after another.

LOTS of heartbreak and stress.

Enough to last us for the next couple of years,

at least I hope so...

But we are optimistic about the future

Maverick and I have had many talks,

with parents,

families,

friends,

each other,

HEAVENLY FATHER.

and I have a feeling that

EVERYTHING IS GOING TO BE ALRIGHT.

We have a long road ahead of us.

BUT

My wish is that we will come out of it 

Stronger

Smarter

and with a better relationship with each other

and with the important people in our lives

including our Heavenly Father.

Just gotta keep on going forward.

Besides, finding this FIVE LEAF CLOVER can only mean good luck.