Scott & Janessa

My Sweet Girls

2013-05-09T21:25:00.000-06:00

When Vivi was only 3 weeks old, she got to meet her half-sister Ella! Ella’s family came to visit us and stayed with my parent’s for a few times and we had a great time with them. Ella adored her little sister and kept asking to hold her and saying how cute she was.

I loved seeing them together and although I was quite sleep deprived the whole time, I am very grateful for the time I did get to spend with Ella. She is a such a sweet little 5 year old. We got to play Barbie's together and make bracelets.

We spent one of the days at the Provo Beach Resort together and the kids had a great time. That place has tons of fun stuff to do and Ella loved it. The carousel was so cute and Ella’s little sister Mimi was adorable on it; huge smiles all around.

I can’t believe these two sweet girls came from my body, it is truly amazing! Twice now I have become pregnant; one worked for and one feared. But whether or not a pregnancy is planned, I think it is almost always desired; sometimes the timing is just not right. Women desire love, relationship and purpose and being a mother can give us all of that. Women love to be in love and having a child or expecting one is a sure way to fall in love. With each of my pregnancies, I fell in love with my baby long before I heard their heartbeats or saw their faces. The moment I knew there was a life inside of me I loved that precious tiny spirit. I loved what it was, what it would grow to be and who it had and would transform me into.

Being a mother of any type absolutely does transform you; there is no avoiding or denying that. Women of all situations and choices are emotionally altered, for the positive or negative. The moment I knew I was pregnant and going to place Ella for adoption 6 years ago, I was changed forever. From that point on, everything I did was for her. In my mind I had no choice but to be responsible and loving. I did all I could to fall deep in love with the life inside of me and cherished every moment I had with her, since I knew this would be the only time that she was mine. I immediately changed my life for the better and gave her what I knew to be the best, at the cost of so much sacrifice and heartache for me. After placement with her new family, I constantly tried to live a life that she could be proud of and become a birth mother worth loving. That struggle and journey never ends.

When I found out I was pregnant with Vivienne after months of hoping and planning for her, I was elated but cautious to become attached to her and the pregnancy. After giving up my chance to be a mother once before, I worried that my one true desire would somehow be taken away from me again. I knew that the heartache of losing this baby would be too much to bear, and so I avoided the intense motherly tendencies to love the life inside of me until I knew for sure that she would be okay. It would be easier that way, I thought. I lived in fear during those mine months, but my fear couldn't stop me from bonding with my unborn baby and once Vivi was safely delivered and healthy, I fell deeper in love.

Memories of the first moments in the hospital with each of my girls are my most prized possessions. Their precious, perfect little bodies came from me, their mother! It is such an overwhelming, emotional and amazing experience to create a life.

But now that I know what being a full time mother truly consists of after these first 8 weeks of Vivi's life, I know that giving birth isn't all that makes you a mother; there is so much more. Being a mother is a constant, lifelong calling and I now know that the work and joy truly never ends. That is overwhelming at times for me to think of, but it also makes me excited for all that is to come. My baby girl is mine forever and though there will be ups and downs, we can be together through it all. These weeks have also given me so much perspective on my choice to place Ella for adoption.

I know now more than ever that I wasn't ready to give Ella all that she deserved in a mother. At that time I didn't have the knowledge or the patience and experience. I don't think you can ever be wholly prepared for motherhood, but I know that Ella's adoptive mom was the best mother for her. I know and I've always known that Ella's mother is her true mother and not just her adoptive mother; simply because of the love and service she offers every day and night. That knowledge used to hurt me so bad; to know that I wasn't and never would be Ella's mom. Now it gives me peace. She had the love of a mother that she deserved and she will always have that love.

With Birth Mother's Day and Mother's Day approaching this weekend, my husband asked me how I wanted to celebrate. To be honest, I haven't even had the time to think about it because I've been so busy being a mother to my sweet baby Vivi! I do appreciate the holidays, because I want the mothers in my life to know how grateful I am for them and I want all birth moms to be remembered. So this year I think I will celebrate by thanking the mothers in my life for their undying love and cherishing the precious moments I've had and continue to have with my sweet girls.

Zucchini Crust Pizza

2013-05-08T21:30:00.001-06:00

My mom shared this recipe with me recently and I finally made it tonight. And it was super yummy! Scott loved it as well and thought it tasted like Costco’s cheese pizza, but I thought it tasted kind of like lasagna. But, basically it was good and we will definitely be having it regularly! And a major plus; it was really easy to make.

Ingredients:

2 medium sized zucchini, shredded

1 cup shredded cheese (of your choice) ~I used Cheddar

2 egg whites

1 tblsp melted butter

2 tblsp soft cream cheese

Directions:

Shred your zucchini and cheese (I used my food processor), and mix with all other ingredients (I mixed it by hand). Mix well and then press into a greased 9 x 13.

Bake @ 425 for 15-20 minutes until firm.

Add sauce and toppings as you wish and then bake for another10 minutes. I added homemade pizza sauce, pepperoni and a little cheese (you dont need much!).

Enjoy! {Its not crispy like regular pizza, you will need to eat it with a fork.} Yum!

Vivienne’s Blessing Day

2013-04-22T22:48:00.000-06:00

We blessed our sweet Vivi on April14th at my grandparent’s clubhouse. We invited family and some close friends and it was such a special night. Scott’s parents and uncle came all the way from Seattle and we loved having them there.

Until I moved to Utah I had never heard of people blessing their babies outside of church, but we found out that you can and it worked out much better than having everyone meet at our 8:30am sacrament meeting! One of the counselors in our ward’s bishopric attended and conducted for us. Scott gave Vivienne such a sweet father’s blessing. He blessed her to have joy in this life and to rely on her Heavenly Father. He told her how much we loved her and how wonderful her life would be. Scott invited his father, my father and grandfathers and Chris into the circle (Unfortunately none of Scott’s grandparents are living and neither of his brothers were able to be there).

After the blessing, we took some pictures and enjoyed all the desserts. It was so fun to see everyone and I am so grateful to everyone that came to show their support and love.

Our 4 generation picture: Me, Vivi, my grandma and mother.

Here we are with Scott’s parents~

It was a great night!

Easter

2013-04-02T15:16:00.000-06:00

This year we spent Easter at my parent’s home. Vivi wore the adorable Easter dress that my cousin Nick bought for her. He has down syndrome and is the sweetest friend you could have; he spent his own money to buy it and even picked it out! Vivi loved it, I’m sure. ;)

I didn’t do Easter baskets for my little family this year, simply because I had a 3 week old baby and that somehow seems to take up all of my time! Luckily my mom made us all little Easter bags filled with goodies. My sister Tiff even bought me some beautiful tulips.

My brother and his family were also there, which meant sweet little Trinelle got to see Vivi. She loves her cousin and is so soft and gentle with her. Luckily we now have 2 little ladies to fight over at my parent’s house. Grandpa somehow managed to score some time with both of them at once~

Trinelle had fun collecting all the eggs ‘hidden’ around the backyard, but probably not as much fun as we had watching her. I think there were 3 cameras out and a video camera watching her every move!

My parent’s made us a delicious ham dinner and I even got to go to an hour of church with Scott while Tiff watched Vivi (Yes, I was anxious and missing my baby girl the whole time!). I love Easter and all that it means. For us this year it meant the beginning of our new life together as a family of three!

Our Little Model

2013-03-25T22:22:00.000-06:00

When Vivi was 15 days old, she had her first photo shoot! Well, at least her first official one (we have been taking pictures non stop since she was born, of course). My mom drove me to her appointment and we had so much fun. A great photographer that we have known since living in Walla Walla took her photos and did an amazing job. She is a pro at taking newborn photos and had a whole bunch of tricks and was well prepared for the accidents Vivi had throughout the shoot. It was hilarious because she just thought it was no big deal after Vivi left a big yellow stain on a gorgeous piece of fabric while my mom and I were anxious.

It took some coaxing and a lot of feeding to get her to cooperate, but after awhile, she felt right asleep and let us put her in some adorable little poses. Here is a behind the scenes shot:

And here are a few of my favorites:

In this last one, Vivienne is wrapped up in the blanket that my grandma Virginia made for me (which also matches the blessing dress she made for me). Vivi’s middle name is Virginia, in honor of her and the great matriarch and loving grandma that she was. She passed away about 7 years ago and we miss her greatly. Having a photo of Vivi with a piece of her life is so precious to me.

Carrie did an amazing job and really captured my sweet girl’s personality. I cherish these photos and can’t wait to receive all the prints and gallery wraps that I ordered!

Vivienne’s Birth

2013-03-18T19:55:00.000-06:00

Well, as you probably all know by now, our sweet baby girl is here!

On March 12th, Scott and I arrived at the Timpanogos Regional Hospital at 5:35 am (we were 5 minutes late, which probably annoyed a couple nurses, but c’mon, it was 5 am!). I immediately had to disrobe, put on my fancy hospital gown and have my blood drawn and an IV started. They needed to find out my blood type in order to give the blood bank enough notice before my surgery, in case I needed it. IV’s are so much fun (note the bloody bed).

Nurses came in and out for a couple hours, asking questions and getting forms signed. The photo below is taken about 20 minutes before I was wheeled to the OR (Operating Room). It felt so strange to know that my little girl would be here within a few minutes. And without any contractions! It didn’t feel right and was hard to believe it was happening. Scott asked if I was nervous and I wasn’t really, mostly because I didn’t have any idea what it would be like. I was just hoping and praying everything would go smoothly and that my baby would arrive safely.

The anesthesiologist came in and talked to me about what he would do in the OR and how everything would work. Scott waited in the prep room while I was wheeled to the OR. It was really cold as we entered and I laid on the flat table, ready to be prepped. By then, everything started happening really quickly. I was given some sort of relaxer through my IV, and then the anesthesiologist started giving me the spinal. ‘A little pressure’ was an understatement and I hated it. Ugh, it felt like the epidural felt when I was in labor with Ella. Avoid it if you can!

From then on, things moved even quicker. My midwife, the surgeon, and nurses filled the room as my body began to numb. I was washed and pricked and moved around (insert catheter while I cry a little inside) as they rushed to get ready for the incision to be cut. If I didn’t have the anesthesiologist there to help comfort me, I might have panicked. I wasn’t sure if I was really numb, so I had the anesthesiologist do a ‘wet test’ with a wipe. But I was, I guess. Scott was finally able to come in and held my anxious hand.

They cut me open and again, ‘a little pressure’ meant a lot & they were pushing my body and pulling to get my baby out. I have no idea how long it took, it felt like forever and yet like no time at all. I hated feeling like this, having no control. The anesthesiologist told Scott and I what was happening. Scott had decided beforehand that he wasn’t going to watch, but as they were pulling her out, the anesthesiologist convinced him to look and I think Scott was glad he did. You’ll have to ask him what that was like; I was trying not to think about it.

I heard people say that she was out; she was here! I waited until I heard a cry. There it was! My baby was here and alive! I asked Scott if she had hair. He said yes, lots. I wished I could see her. He left to go be with her and luckily the anesthesiologist was there to help me get through the rest of the process. I started feeling panicked and that I couldn’t breathe easily. He gave me something to help and it did after a few minutes. While they were closing me up, they brought Vivienne over to lay on my chest and neck. They were hoping this would help her color. I felt her skin and chubbiness against me and soaked in her breaths. She was so sweet and I wished I could wrap my arms around her. After a couple minutes they took her to the nursery because she wasn’t ‘pinking’ up.

Once I was closed and the surgery complete, I was hefted back on my bed and wheeled to the recovery room. My mom and sisters were waiting there, I think. After this, things were a blur for awhile. Vivi was in the nursery for a couple hours while she was on oxygen and monitored. The whole surgery felt very traumatic for me and I was exhausted. I tried to relax and was in and out of sleep. Apparently I said a few strange things as well as “was it a girl or boy?” (although to be fair, no one ever confirmed that Vivi was a girl at this point!).

Finally I got to see my sweet girl and hold her and love on her. She was so little and precious. Vivi was born at 7:59 am, was 20 inches long and 8 pounds 2 ounces (according to the OR scale, which all the nurses agreed was a little off and we really think she was around 7lbs 10 oz.).

They took her back to the nursery to be bathed and monitored again. Scott went with her and luckily documented it for me. Meanwhile I was wheeled to my post partum room and set up with my new nurse. At some point the surgeon and my midwife came in to tell me that all went well. The surgeon told me that I have a heart shaped uterus. This makes me very prone to breech babies. If they don’t turn before they are a certain size, there isn’t enough room to turn while inside my uterus. This helps explain why the version to turn her didn’t work and all the natural methods I tried as well. I hope I can somehow avoid another C-Section in the future!

When Vivi finally got to come to my room, I fed her for the first time and she actually latched on and although a bit painful, nursing was a success! We had some precious skin to skin time as well. Even though her birth was not natural or didn’t go according to my plans, it was still such a miracle. Holding her sweet, healthy body in my arms was so amazing and precious. It is so overwhelming to think that she grew inside of me and is just so perfect! God is truly a God of miracles and every single life is evidence of that.

We spent another four long, very painful days in the hospital as I recovered and Vivi did as well. Scott was a great daddy and hubby, taking care of us all day and night. I was so grateful when I was finally able to get up and walk around, although it hurt! It was hard to not be able to get up and take care of my baby girl. It was an emotional, trying week, but I loved every second that I got to spend with Vivi. We slept together and learned about nursing together and became a little family.

We love our sweet baby girl {and I am so happy to not be pregnant anymore…}! It is so amazing to have her here with us and sometimes I just can’t believe she is ours forever. We are so blessed to have her in our family.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day

2013-03-17T15:16:00.000-06:00

~from our sweet little {5 day old} Vivienne

Vivi’s Aunt Tiffany made her this adorable tutu & Aunt Mandy bought her the onesie to match.

Pregnancy Update! 37 Weeks

2013-02-26T16:55:00.001-07:00

This week has been very stressful for me! Last Tuesday we found out at our appointment with the midwife that Vivi was breech. I have been planning and preparing for a natural birth and hospitals these days will not deliver a breech baby if they know beforehand. So, I learned that if she doesn’t move, I will have to have a C-Section. This was hard for me to hear because of my birth plan for a natural birth and the fact that all my babies after Vivi would probably have to be delivered via C-section as well.

So, we scheduled an “External Cephalic Version” {‘version’ for short} at the hospital. That took place this morning and was not very fun. The doctor basically tries to move your baby by pushing on her head and butt and trying to guide her to move. {Yes it hurts pretty dang bad. My belly is sore and bruising.} After a few tries, the doctor let me know that Vivi was not going to move. Versions only work about 50% of the time.

I stayed for awhile after for them to monitor the baby and I to make sure Vivi wasn’t under any stress. Luckily, she did great and didn’t seem to be bothered at all {especially not to move!}, so no emergency C-Section for us today. Now we will be scheduling a C-section for 39 weeks. Only 2 weeks away!!! If she moves before then, we might not have to do it though. We’ll see!

How far along? 37 weeks {full-term}

Baby size: 18.75 inches & 5.75 lbs

Total weight gain/loss: +43 pounds

Maternity clothes? Only. Except at home this means my comfy leggings and the hubby’s oversized hoodies/undershirts. My pants are getting tight and uncomfortable, which means I’ve gained weight in more than just my belly. :( But hey, its expected and I’m almost done!

Stretch marks? My existing ones are almost entirely stretched out.

Sleep: Sleep? What is sleep? Haha, but truly I don’t get much sleep lately. I wake up almost every hour on the hour; Either to pee or because I have a leg cramp or my hip hurts from laying on that side of my body so I’ve gotta switch.

Best moment this week: Having everything completely done in the nursery & hanging out with my siblings in Salt Lake, shopping.

Worst moment this week: Finding out Vivienne was ‘frank breech’ and stressing over trying to figure out how to get her to move.

Movement: She is an active, happy baby, even if she is breech!

Have you started to show yet: Yes ma’am! Although I don’t feel like I am as big as I was with Ella. But, its definitely as painful, if not more so than I remember.

Symptoms: Lots and lots of pressure in my pelvis area and it hurts to walk. By the end of the work day, I am ready to lay down the rest of the day.

Labor Signs: None!

Belly Button in or out? Out.

Wedding rings on or off? On. No swelling in my hands and very little in my ankles/feet ever. Woohoo!

Happy or Moody?: Sad. I think I am already experiencing {pre} post partum depression or something, or maybe it has just been the stress of this last week. But, I cry almost every night and if I don’t, it’s because I’m trying hard not to. I just want my baby girl to be here and am tired of worrying!

13 for Thursday

2013-02-21T19:11:00.001-07:00

Today I decided to share 13 of Vivienne’s favorite things! Most of them were received at her baby shower. Sorry for the abundance of baby-ness lately, but that’s pretty much what I think about all the time these days as I wait for her arrival!

1. Her crocheted Minnie Mouse outfit! My good friend Tasha made this for Vivi! Inspired by this photo. I can’t wait to see her in it! {Tasha’s site is here and she makes things by custom order!}

2. Another favorite is her new swimsuit with matching flip flops! Her aunt Mandy gave it to her and the polka dots are adorable. And it makes me super excited for summer!

3. Vivi’s brown boots are the cutest things ever and she’ll look super hip in them with little skinny jeans!

4. I’m sure Vivi will love her handmade doll given to her by her Aunt Tara. It is sitting in her crib, waiting to be cuddled!

5. Another favorite is her handmade blanket from my cousin Laura. Laura is an amazing quilt and blanket maker and I love the fabric she chose! It is super soft and bright.

6. I love this outfit that my mom gave Vivi. She is going to be one stylish little lady at church (and of course she will match her momma, who doesn’t stray from black and white very often).

7. This adorable elf hat was made by one of Scott’s coworkers that I haven’t even met. She is super sweet for thinking of Vivi and I think this hat will look incredibly cute on our little baby girl!

8. Vivi’s Aunt Sammy sent her this pretty little Sunday dress and I love it! I’m sure Vivi will be grateful for so many aunt’s that have great taste.

9. More handmade creations from Tasha! These little booties are adorable and perfect for keeping her feet warm. You can order some here. I might buy a couple other colors as well.

10. I brought this sweet fuzzy lamb back from New Zealand so that Vivi can remember when she got to visit the island {even if it was in the womb!}.

11. I’m sure this handmade blanket made by Vivi’s Great Grandma Veteto will be well used. It is thick and warm and super cozy (or sozy, as we say in our house).

12. Our little girl definitely got spoiled when she received her first blue box! My cousin Jessica (Auntie Jess to Vivi) bought her a beautiful Silver Spoon. It is meant to be used, but will also be a beautiful item to be passed down to her own baby someday.

13. And last but not least, this beautiful blanket was handmade by Vivi’s great great Aunt Janine. It is super soft and beautiful. I know it will be well used.

These are just a few of the wonderful gifts our friends and family lovingly gave us for our baby girl. I wish I could share everything with you, but you are probably bored already. And now you have an excuse to come see Vivi and her nursery once she is born! Thank you all!

My Baby Shower

2013-02-18T14:42:00.001-07:00

On Saturday morning, my sister & mother hosted a baby shower for me! It was so much fun and I was looking forward to it for weeks. Tiff put in a ton of work and everything looked so amazing {It was so fun to attend a pretty party that I didn’t have to help with at all! Haha}.

She made dozens of mini cookies: Oatmeal Sugar cookies, Ginger Creams and delicious Snickerdoodles. My Aunt Janine also dipped strawberries! She is a pro with chocolate and they were beautiful and amazingly good. A few people helped make delicious salads and there were adorable mini croissants with chicken salad.

I love how Tiff decorated the food table with baby photos of Scott, me, my grandma Virginia and my great grandma Vivienne. All the candy was pink and so yummy. My diet was definitely 90% sugar all day, I promise. My mom even made homemade bubblegum ice cream {SO good!}

We played a couple games downstairs and everyone gave me some ‘motherly advice’, which I loved. Opening presents was of course the most fun and I loved seeing all the adorable clothes that Vivi got. She is going to be a stylish little girl, that’s for sure!

Here are some of the goods that Vivi got!

I will try to take some close ups of some of my favorite items and post them soon. I love everything and there were no duplicates. There were so many thoughtful gifts; a handmade diaper bag, crocheted clothes, handmade quilts and blankets, etc etc. Too many to list! I am keeping everything and can definitely use it all. I am soo grateful that I had a shower and everyone was so supportive and incredibly generous! Paying baby bills is enough of an expense, so gifts like these are greatly appreciated & needed. My parents even got us a stroller and car seat, which was unexpected! I felt overwhelmingly blessed the whole day and felt so undeserving.

I spent the rest of the weekend organizing everything and putting the finishing touches on the nursery. Now we are just anxiously awaiting the arrival of our baby girl!

Scott didn’t stick around for the shower; all the boys went gun shopping and out to lunch. They ended up being gone a lot longer than the shower lasted, and I’m glad Scott got to have a fun day as well.

Apparently this is the real me {& Chris}, hanging out after the shower. Weird, but it’s the only picture that shows off my belly well! :-)

Glimpses of Valentine’s Day 2013

2013-02-15T16:05:00.001-07:00

This year I made our favorite Valentine Oatmeal Cut-Out Cookies for Scott and my co-workers; decorated with cinnamon lips and cute little hearts (found in bulk at Winco). I made the shortbread ‘flower’ bouquet last week {It is a long time family tradition that my mom always made while we were growing up}. I also made these little chocolate Kiss cookies. They didn’t turn out as good as I hoped, but the dough was yummy!

After work, I got to open this little envelope that Scott had left for me that morning.

I sighed as I opened it and read the Scavenger Hunt words, hoping I wouldn’t have to drive around or do too much (8 months pregnant much?). But as I found all the clues, I was smiling ear to ear and loved all the cute little things he said. I can’t believe he made everything up on his own. It sounded to official!

After about 20 minutes, I found my prize in our mailbox. I have to say, Scott did great at giving me 'good’ chocolates! It was super fun and I love him for putting in the effort to surprise me.

He came home once I was done and we got a takeout pizza from Brick Oven (my surprise for Scott). Instead of a home cooked, candlelight dinner, all he wanted was a Napoli Pizza! I was happy to oblige. :-)

We spent the rest of the night together, watching a cute love story on Netflix (The Giant Mechanical Man), enjoying our cake (so good!) and cuddling. I love my hubby and am so glad I get to be his valentine.

Valentine Brownie & Cream Cake

2013-02-14T16:16:00.001-07:00

This beautiful little cake is for my hubby and I to enjoy after our dinner tonight. I wanted to make something easy and pretty {I am all about easy these days, let me tell you}. I don’t have much {good} experience with making layered cakes, which is why I usually stick with cupcakes. So, instead of risking the chance of my cakes falling and crumbling, I decided to use brownies instead! It was super easy to make and I love how it turned out.

Cake

1 Brownie Box Mix, made as directed on the box {I used Ghirardelli's Triple Chocolate box}

3 6-inch cake pans {greased}

Bake for less time than the box directs, since the cake pans are smaller than normal brownie pans. Bake until a toothpick comes out clean when stuck through the center {mine ended up baking for about 22 minutes}. Cool entirely in the freezer before taking out of the pans.

Icing

6 oz. Cream Cheese {softened}

1 stick butter {softened}

1/4 C. Sour Cream

4 1/2 C. Powdered Sugar

1 Tbsp. Milk

1 tsp. Vanilla

Mix together cream cheese, butter and sour cream until smooth. Gradually add in Powdered sugar, Milk & Vanilla until desired consistency is met. Feel free to add more powdered sugar or milk. You want the icing to be thick and creamy.

Pipe a layer of frosting between the brownie cakes. Top with extra frosting than in the centers. Let cool {I left mine in the freezer overnight}.

Decorate with raspberries, strawberries, cherries or your favorite fruit or nuts. Drizzle chocolate on the top and sides, if desired. Let the cake thaw before eating. :-)

Chocolate Drizzle

4 Tbsp. Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips

1.5 Tbsp. Coconut Oil

Heat chocolate and oil together until smooth. Drizzle on top of your cold cake.

ENJOY!

Homemade Valentines!

2013-02-13T11:36:00.000-07:00

Over the last few days I have been making handmade Valentines for my family and have loved doing it. Sitting in my craft room, creating sparkly things is therapy to me and super relaxing!

Here are a few of my favorite from this year. And in case you haven’t finished yours yet, feel free to copy me!

My cousin Nick loves purple and puppies:

I call my dad “Papa Murph”, so this seemed fitting:

My niece Trinelle is loving Hello Kitty these days:

This last one was for my brother Jared, the techy of the family:

Happy Valentine’s Day! Be sure to let people know that you love them.

Valentine’s Sugar Cookie Bars

2013-02-12T11:59:00.001-07:00

If you didn’t already know, I love Valentine’s Day. It is definitely one of my very favorite holidays. So, I have been celebrating it and preparing over the last couple weeks. Last Sunday, I made these delicious bars and took them to a family dinner. I made a couple changes to this recipe and here they are~

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 egg white
1 Tbsp sour cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond extract
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Butter a 13″ x 9″ baking dish, set aside (with real butter, not spray). In a mixing bowl combine flour, baking powder and salt, set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer, whip together butter and sugar until fluffy. Stir in egg and egg white. Add sour cream, vanilla & almond extract and mix until blended. Slowly add dry mixture and mix until well combine. With buttered hands, gently press mixture into buttered baking dish. Bake 14-15 minutes until toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean and edges are lightly golden. Cool completely, then take out of the dish (I loosened the sides with a knife then flipped it over and it came out all together). Put onto a cutting board and frost/decorate, then cut into squares

Frosting

Ingredients:
1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup cream cheese, softened
3 cups powdered sugar
1-2 Tbsp milk (I used almond milk)
1 tsp vanilla
Food coloring (optional)

In a mixing bowl, whip together butter & cream cheese. Add powdered sugar and milk until fluffy. Stir in vanilla. Add more powdered sugar to get desired consistency. Add in food coloring and mix until well blended. (I separated mine first to make both Pink and Red)

Decorate them with as many sprinkles you can stand, of course. Enjoy!

Groundhog Day Brunch

2013-02-07T16:13:00.001-07:00

This year I invited my family over for a small Groundhog Day Brunch. It was a smaller scale celebration than last year, mainly because my house is a lot smaller and I am 8 months pregnant! Decorating for parties is one of the last things my baby belly wants me to do these days. So, I kept it simple with some yummy breakfast items featured in the movie, Groundhog Day and some sweets.

I will share my mom’s Sticky Bun recipe someday. It is super easy and delicious.

My favorite part of the brunch were the little cake ball groundhogs that I made. They were dipped in dark chocolate and decorated with butterscotch chips, chocolate chips, white chocolate and premade (store bought) candy eyes. I found little paper doilies to set them on (Martha Stewart craft section of Michaels) and piped some green frosting around their heads to make them look like they were popping out of the grass.

After eating, we all watched the movie together for the millionth time. It never gets old, I promise.

We also played trivia games again this year. My brother Jared was in charge (since it really isn’t fair when he plays; he is bound to beat the crap out of every one) & the prize was a roll of quarters. If you ever get bored, go onto IMDB.com and check out the random facts about Groundhog Day, some of them are pretty great.

Overall, it was another successful Groundhog Day celebration!

And remember, its never too early for flapjacks!

Until next year, woodchuck-chuckers.

DIY Felt Flower on Canvas

2013-01-25T14:01:00.001-07:00

I have seen these pretty flowers all over Pinterest lately and never found a tutorial, so I created one! It ended up being much easier than I thought. Once I had all the materials, it only took me about 25 minutes to make.

What you need:

Scissors
2+ sheets of felt (I only used 2, but if you will need more if you make a larger flower)
Stapler
Fabric
Artist Canvas (whatever size you want, I used a 9”x9” square)
Hot glue & gun

1. Cover canvas with pressed fabric. Stretch evenly and staple onto the back. Staple into the wood with an open stapler. Try to press hard to the staples are flat and go completely in. You could need a staple gun if the wood is really hard, but I never have.

2. Cut out your first petals. (I made 5, about 4.5 inches tall. I made them all the exact same.)

3. Hot glue the base of the petal together completely. This will add dimension.

4. Space your petals & place them how you want them on the canvas. Hot glue them to the canvas at the base and back of each petal. (I only put glue about halfway up the back, so that the tips weren’t flat against the canvas) Leave a little circle in the middle.

5. Cut 5 more petals, just a little smaller this time. (Mine were about 3 inches)

6. Hot glue the base of these together as well, but not entirely. Then they spread out wider.

7. Place them between the larger petals and glue them in between at the base.

8. Cut 5 smaller petals (mine were 2 inches and exactly the same). Put aside.

9. Now make a center for your flower out of another 5 pieces of felt. I cut 5 petals that were about 1.5 inches tall and thinner than the others. I glued 3 pieces together first and then added the last 2 on the outside. Wrap them around each other (and try not to burn yourself like I did!) to create a blossoming effect.

10. Glue your center into the small hole that should be within your current flower.

11. Glue on the remaining 5 petals (the ones you cut in step 8) in between your blossom center and the middle layer of petals. Hot glue them at the base, flat.

And here is the finished product:

I put it up on the wall that will be behind Vivi’s crib. As you can tell, my nursery colors are pink, grey and white.

I used fabric mod-podge and glitter to put the different fabrics on the VIVI letters. Scott made the framed picture on the far right. It is an outline of the state of Virginia (her middle name) and the little hammer represents our last name (it means hammer in German). I love it! The framed bracelet was my great grandma Vivienne’s that my mom gave me when I was 8 years old and will someday be Vivi’s.

How To: Ice Queen Make-Up

2013-01-17T15:08:00.000-07:00

I know this post is overdue, but I just found these photos and realized I never did the tutorial.

Here it is:

1. Wash your face with a skin cleanser and apply a moisturizer (this will help prevent breaking out after wearing lots of makeup).

2. Mix White Cream Makeup with a little of your regular foundation and rub over your face and neck (if your foundation is too dark, use a little of your moisturizer). The Cream makeup can be hard to work with, so the less movements you make, the better.

3. Powder your face with baby powder to get rid of the wet greasy look caused by the cream makeup.

(I used my Large Bare Essentials brush, dabbing it in a little bowl of baby powder)

4. Now apply eye shadow on your eyelids and lips. To get the shadow to stay on your lips, apply chapstick first and then smooth on the shadow with your finger. It will last quite awhile. I used Ulta’s “Key West” Eye Shadow.

5. My eyebrows were still too dark for me, so I applied White Aqua Cream (found here) to them. You could also just use more white cream makeup.

6. Next, I applied this Ulta’s sparkly “Ice Queen” Eye Shadow on my eyelids and around my eyes (found here). I also put ‘white’ mascara on my eyes. I couldn’t find white mascara, so I used a primer (found here) and then dusted them with baby powder while still wet.

7. Lastly, I put rhinestones on my forehead. I glued them with eye lash glue , just to add some bling. Another night that I dressed up, I put the rhinestones across my eyebrows and liked that even better.

8. Finish your look with a white wig (I got mine here) and a crown/tiara and you are good to go!

Here’s how it looked the 2nd time I dressed up:

{More photos found here & here.}

Pregnancy Update! 31 Weeks

2013-01-14T10:55:00.001-07:00

How far along? 31 weeks (But at my 28 week appointment, I was measuring at 31 weeks)

Baby size: 16.25 inches & 3.3 lbs

Total weight gain/loss: +23 pounds

Maternity clothes? I can only wear maternity pants now, but I still wear/fit into regular shirts if they are stretchy or flowy. I just ordered 4 new shirts from Motherhood Maternity and they should be delivered today. Woohoo!

Stretch marks? My existing ones are stretching out, but not to the max yet.

Sleep: Sucks. I’ve tried lots of different pillows and a bed wedge and I still toss and turn and wake up all night. Also I can rarely fall asleep if Scott is already asleep (he snores). So, he has sweetly slept on the couch for me a lot lately. :-( I did sleep for 12 hours the other night though and I’m thinking I should every night, honestly. I get tired about 8:30 pm and don’t want to go to bed that early, so I stay up, which I need to change.

Best moment this week: Buying a few things for the nursery {Crib bedding fabric, baskets and some décor}. I am definitely in nesting mode and wanting to get everything ready and perfect for the nursery. I get frustrated that I can’t do everything right away because I need help and get tired.

Movement: She is an active, happy baby! I love feeling her move. Sometimes it hurts, but mostly its fun. I love that Scott can feel her too.

Miss anything?: Sleeping on my stomach, working out, having energy.

Anything making you queasy or sick: Not really. I just have to eat regularly and I’m fine.

Have you started to show yet: Um yes, I am huge. I will get a lot bigger though, I’m sure.

Symptoms: Back aches. Scott rubs my back every night and that helps a ton.

Labor Signs: None, thankfully!

Belly Button in or out? IN, I guess, its mostly just stretched out and flat.

Wedding rings on or off? On. Still only growing in my mid section. My legs are a little swollen after work sometimes.

Happy or Moody?: Moody. I have been really anxious this last week and irritated. Poor Scott gets to deal with me. I am happy overall, I just definitely get emotional over things that shouldn’t matter that much. I’m tired mostly.

Baby Names: We have actually chosen our baby’s name! It will be Vivienne Virginia. Vivienne is my great grandma on my mother’s side and Virginia is my grandma on my dad’s side. I have always loved the name Vivienne and ever since we decided on it for our baby, I have had dreams remembering my times with her. We will call her ‘Vivi’. :)

Just another {homemade} Christmas

2012-12-26T09:44:00.000-07:00

The title is from one of my very favorite Christmas songs, “Another Homemade Christmas in Kentucky” by Kenny Rogers. Check it out, its great. I grew up listening to the album at Christmas and so did Scott.

Any way, Christmas this year was spent with my family here in Utah. Scott and I stayed at my parent’s home for a few nights so we had fun spending some quality time with them. On Christmas Eve day we had a few errands to run and gifts to deliver to family. We got caught in a white out blizzard and had some good times trying to stay on the road. But, we were happy that we were having a {very} White Christmas!

In our family, we do the big Christmas dinner on Christmas Eve. Our tradition is steak and shrimp. Yes, it is delicious. And yes, my mom is an amazing cook and makes everything look so special.

After dinner Tiffany made us delicious shortbread cookies while the rest of us played Monopoly {Chris won}. We ended the night by watching “A Christmas Carol” per my dad’s tradition!

Christmas morning:

We got to sleep in, which I was grateful for! I think I got out of bed around 9am and we all started going through our stockings. Scott and I only did stocking gifts for each other this year, since we don’t need much and we are saving for our baby girl. (Not to mention I just went on a 2 week vacation…) But, he did great and got me some awesome stocking stuffers! Thanks for helping him, Tiff.

I bought Scott a Super Nintendo/Original Nintendo combo console and Super Mario. He loved it and I will actually want to play it with him since it doesn’t have zombies or machine guns or blood.

And here’s me in my favorite gift: a ‘glider’ for our nursery! It also has a foot rest that rocks back and forth. Love it! Now I just need a baby to rock.

We all were overly blessed and got awesome gifts. Baby Girl Schlegel had a fabulous Christmas and she didn’t even know it! Lots of adorable clothes, handmade blankets and shoes. It made me super anxious for her to arrive. Only 12 more weeks though!

The aftermath:

We spent the rest of the day in our pajamas, snacking on yummy food and playing way too much Monopoly {Chris won, again}. We got to Skype with Scott’s family which was really fun.

It was a wonderful Christmas and we are truly blessed!

Cathedral Cove

2012-12-23T12:02:00.000-07:00

Visiting Cathedral Cove was easily part of my favorite day in New Zealand. It was a gorgeous, warm, sunny day and the sights were breathtaking. We went there right after visiting Hot Water Beach.

Cathedral Cove is only accessible on foot or by boat. There is a 45 minute hike that starts at Hahei Beach (also beautiful & where we stopped for lunch). Honestly, the hike was pretty dang hard for me, being 6 months pregnant and all. Normally, I think it would have been much simpler, but still great exercise. There are stairs and hills and you’re going up and down. It is a gorgeous hike and every once in awhile the bush opens up to views like the ones above and below.

The hike alone is an awesome experience, and then you get to Cathedral Cove and the views are even more amazing.

This place is so awesome and part of the 2nd Narnia movie was actually filmed here. Quite a few tourists were there and you could hear all different languages. Luckily, our friend Leka was there and he talked to everyone and found out where they were from. Seriously, everyone. If we couldn’t find him, he was always behind us caught up in talking to someone from England or Switzerland or something. While we were on the trail, he asked everyone we passed where they were from and that made it so fun. So many different accents! I’d say most people seemed to be from Europe and a good handful were American as well.

We stayed and swam and laid on the beach, soaking up the rays. There were a group of kayakers that came ashore who were on a tour. I think if I ever get to go to New Zealand again, I will take a kayak tour of Hahei and Cathedral Cove. There are so many unbelievable views.

I had an amazing time just taking in all the scenery and sitting on the sand letting the refreshing water surround me. It was a great experience, I just wish I had my sweet husband sitting next to me enjoying it as well!

After a couple hours we headed back onto the trail and Leka had us try and figure out riddles all the way back to the car. We stopped for dinner once we got back to the city and when we finally got home I think I slept for like 20 hours. It was a tiring, but amazing, day for this pregnant lady!

Hot Water Beach

2012-12-23T11:13:00.000-07:00

Hot water beach is on the east coast of the Coromandel Peninsula, which is decidedly my favorite part of New Zealand. On a sunny morning, Ailia, Leilani (Ailia’s sister), their friend Leka and I hopped in the car for a beautiful ride through the Waikato Region. Coromandel Peninsula is about 175 kilometers from Auckland. We had to stop a couple times to avoid getting sick on the ride there because the road had so many turns and curves, driving over and around the mountains.

It was a prefect day for the beach with very few tourists. At hot water beach you can dig a hole into the sand at low tide to find ‘hot water’. The water comes from underground hot springs.

Ailia and I relaxed on the beach and took a swim while Leilani and Leka got to work digging our hot water pool! We brought a little shovel and bucket, which was definitely needed. They finally hit water, but it was way too warm to sit in! It was steaming and we only touched it with our toes and decided it was too hot.

We checked out other people’s pools and some people were sitting in them for hours, just relaxing and soaking in the thermal water. It was pretty awesome.

We stayed for a couple hours before we headed to lunch and on to another beach!

Hamilton New Zealand Temple

2012-12-22T17:01:00.000-07:00

Ailia and I spent an afternoon in the beautiful Hamilton LDS Temple. Hamilton is about a 1.5 hour drive from Auckland but is well worth it. It is located on a hill outside the city of Hamilton on a huge plot of land owned by the church. There are about 85 acres total and the Church College of New Zealand is there. The college was a boarding high school that recently closed in 2009. Now the college is used for conferences and events and you can also rent out rooms when you come to do temple work.

The temple president and his wife live directly behind the temple in this pretty home.

There is a Visitor’s Center across from the temple where you can watch church videos and talk to missionaries about the temple. Inside is a beautiful Christus Statue.

During the month of December, the temple grounds are covered with beautiful lights. We came back later on in the day to look at them. There were hundreds of people there to see them. Not many people decorate their homes with Christmas lights in New Zealand, so people come from all over the island to see the lights.

Danny’s 1st Birthday!

2012-12-22T15:14:00.000-07:00

Luckily, I was in New Zealand while Ailia’s adorable little nephew Danny turned 1! I got to help with the party a tiny bit by taking photos. Ailia’s sister Jamie married a Tongan {Sioeli} & in the Tongan culture, the firstborn’s 1st birthday celebration is huge. They went all out with this party and the kids had a blast.

The theme was “The Lion King” because Danny loves watching it so much. He loves all the songs and stops everything when he hears one. All his aunties and cousins came together to help prepare for the party. On first birthdays, food is prepared for days and no one leaves the party hungry or without lots of leftovers.

There was face painting, personalized balloon toys, pin the tail on the lion, tons of food…oh and a bouncy castle!

Here is Danny and his sweet little family {with another baby boy on the way!}

Above is a photo of some of Ailia’s family. I stayed at her parent’s home with her and her sister Leilani. They are wonderful people and I loved getting to know them better as well as the rest of her family. And they all have adorable babies!

Happy Birthday Danny! You are the cutest little lion ever.

Tawharanui Beach

2012-12-21T11:28:00.000-07:00

On a beautiful morning, we left Ailia’s home in Auckland and drove north for about 80 miles to Tawharanui Regional Park (pronounced ta-fah-rah-new-e).

This park is beautiful and contains many of the protected animals and birds of New Zealand. We drove through and open field of all these cute little lambs. There is a cattle guard preventing them from going to the beach, which is right around the corner below.

And here is the beach!

It was a low tide while we were there, so we were able to climb up on this big rock and explore.

I found this big hole about 5 feet deep full of warm water and lots of ocean life inside. So of course, I got in.

It was a very nice, relaxing afternoon with my girl. We slept on the beach, walked the shore, and soaked up the sun for a few hours. On the way home, we stopped for dinner at a cute little town called “Warkworth” where Ailia accidently locked the keys in the car. We had fun exploring, asking some local teenage boys for help and then waiting for roadside service. It didn’t help that all the stores in that town close at 5pm. But, we made it home and it made for a good adventure.

Hobbiton

2012-12-20T10:02:00.000-07:00

I have lots to share with you about my 2 week trip to New Zealand! I will start with one of the main highlights of my trip; Hobbiton. Hobbiton is where they filmed parts of all 3 Lord of the Rings movies and also the new film, The Hobbit.

While in New Zealand, I stayed with my good friend Ailia, who lives in South Auckland. On an overcast morning we drove about 2 hours from Auckland to Matamata to visit Hobbiton. Ailia’s friend Anna also came and she is awesome. It was a gorgeous, green drive and I loved seeing all the back roads and beautiful properties. There were sheep and cows everywhere! We also passed a few big horse racing tracks and lots of horse raising properties. The road was super windy for awhile and we realized we took the long way to Hobbiton. Instead of using google’s directions we should have used the ones on www.hobbitontours.com.

By the time we arrived, it was pouring rain, although it wasn’t cold at all, just humid. We parked at the “Shire Rest Café” where we checked in and got onto the bus for our tour. I found out you cannot get into Hobbiton except by tour bus or tour guide. It is private property, owned by the "Alexander Family” and they manage the tour business. An adult ticket costs $62 USD ($75 NZD) and for me, it was worth every cent! We booked our tickets online the day before, but you can also buy them at the café and catch the next tour (they are every 15 minutes).

While on the bus, our tour guide started giving us all kinds of cool facts about the property. I could go on forever about everything, but I will keep it short here! The photo below is while on the bus, heading to hobbiton. There are 17,000 sheep on the Alexander property and here are some of them (p.s. None of them made it into the movies because they didn’t look English enough).

Although it was raining during our entire tour, it really didn’t hamper it at all. They provided us with nice umbrellas and I was still able to get some great photos. Walking into Hobbiton was almost exactly as I had imagined, because everything looked just how it was filmed in the movies.

There was so much detail, it was incredible. Each and every flower or plant was chosen with a purpose. The gardens were created to look like old English gardens. Hobbiton currently employs 5 full time gardeners. The little benches were handmade and they had everything set up the way it was shown in the movies.

The photo below is the only real roof on a hobbit hole in all of Hobbiton.

The size of the holes varied, some were tall enough to stand inside and others were only about 4 feet tall. The ones whose doors opened did not have real ‘insides’. There was just enough room to walk in and shut the door, in order to get a shot. The interiors that are shown in the movies are all filmed off site in a studio.

We walked up the hill and got a great view across the lake. The city center is across the lake which includes the stables and the Green Dragon.

And here is Bilbo’s home, aka Bag End! Random fact: it was actually entirely torn down and rebuilt before The Hobbit was filmed.

Another random fact: All the mailboxes in Hobbiton are painted to match the profession of the owner. This guy was the aviculturist.

We walked around Hobbiton and this is the view from the bridge that takes you to the city center.

Then we got to visit the Green Dragon! They have rebuilt it (so it looks much different than the one in the movies) so that full-size people can go inside. They gave us a ‘free’ drink of either Ginger Beer, Beer or alcoholic Apple Cider. So for me, Ginger Beer it was! It was actually really delicious.

The interior was beautiful with awesome woodwork. I also bought a warm muffin to snack on. My baby was hungry since the tour had already been about an hour and a half.

After the Green Dragon, we walked back to the entrance of Hobbiton and waited for our bus to take us back to the Shire Rest Café.

At the café we were able to buy some cool souvenirs and lunch if we wanted. I bought some Christmas gifts for my family. Overall, it was an incredible experience! I left out a lot of the details, but just know it was awesome. :)