Magic in a box

I have discovered magic in a box.
I was trying a homemade, more natural dishwashing deturgent and Russ was dying. It left a gross film and I probably could have lived with it longer than he did, but he hated it. He asked if I could please buy normal detergent. So I went to the store and usually I get the cheapest kind (remember, I'm cheap) but this time I thought that I would make Russ happy and get something that worked. I saw this box that said "no pre-wash needed". Well I HATE to pre-wash my dishes. What is that all about, "pre"wash. Why don't we just call it what it is, washing your dishes twice. Once with soap and once without.
I came home with this stuff and said to myself and Russ, "I am going to put this to the test. I let pans sit and dry with the food in it and I did not rinse it or even get it wet and guess what? It came out clean!!! I love it! I never rinse anything. Just think of all the water I am saving! As soon as I am done using something I just throw it in the dishwasher. No more stuff in the sink. Sometimes I catch Russ rinsing and have to run in and turn the water off and scold him.
This may not be a big deal to anyone else, maybe you all have been living the good life for quite some time now. But, if you have been like me trying to save a few bucks let me tell you now- It is NOT worth it. Go and get Cascade Complete.

Craft Room Envy

Today I made a stop at the good ole' Martha Stewart home page and they had pictures of her craft room. I this woman for real? Why am I not her?

Can you imagine a different desk for every different kind of craft? I can.

Oooooohhh.

Aaaaaahhh.

Okay, this is a little too much. You can't really be a crafty person if you are this organized. I mean, after you have used the fabric once it can never look like that again. Unless of course it is someones full time job t make sure it looks like that. Which I am guessing this is the case.

If I had a room like this I would pee my pants everyday because I would not want to get up to go to the bathroom. (Russ actually peed behind his couch when he was a kid because he did not want to miss the show he was watching.) Maybe I could be like psycho, astronaut, kidnapper, lady and wear a diaper. Gross.

This is exactly what I want in a craft room, but I would need more curved lines and color. Martha Stewarts decor is so dang boring to me, but she sure knows how to craft, or at least her staff does. You could take a peak into other rooms in her house and nothing appealed to me execpt how would you like this little space in your kitchen?

Again, it is a little to straight line for me, but the ideas is great. We might get some exceptionally better meals if I had that tv in my kitchen.Or how about this little station in your basement? This is probobally the closest I will ever get to a craft room. Which would be nice because as of right now it looks like this -

Sad, huh. I don't feel too bad that it looks this terrible, because I have not even tried to organize it. I am getting this place in order a little bit at a time. I will probably have the whole place in order about the time we need to move.

I should probably stop covetting now, I am going to read my scriptures.

P.S. for some reason spell check won't work so, Jacie, go ahead and edit it for me.

6 Months Old

Today Gracie is 6 months old. She had her check up today and is a perfect baby in the 25% for pretty much everything. She is 24 3/4 inches and 14lbs 3oz. And we love ever single oz.

A post about my Prophet

I found out about his death last night and immediately felt happy for him. I know that this is what he wanted and although I will miss him, I know he is happier where he is. I remember very clearly sitting in my living room some 13 years ago watching the General Conference where he would be sustained the Prophet of the Church. I don't remember a ton of details, but I prayed to know if he was a true prophet and I do remember getting a very strong confirmation that he was truly a prophet called of God. I don't know how to describe it, I just knew and I have never doubted it since. I have always loved to hear him speak. He is always so uplifting and always makes me feel good about being the woman I want to be. I always feel the urge to be better and kinder after I hear him speak. Tonight I was reading my scriptures and I happened to be reading in D&C section 21 that is God organizing his church and the role of the prophet (coincidence, there's no such thing). As I read it, I again felt a very strong confirmation that Gordan B. Hinckley was and is a man of God. I feel unbelievably lucky to know this. It has made my life so much easier and made me so much happier. I know that God just wants us to be happy and I am thankful to him for letting us have a "mouthpiece" to let us know how. I wish I had the courage to share it with others. I want the whole world to know. How much better the world would be if we all listened and followed the living prophet. He was such a great man that did so many great things. Truly a disciple of Christ. He will always hold a very special place in my heart.

No time

So, I make this blog for myself and never post. I have just not had a lot of time lately. Thanks to some pushing, I have decided to open and Etsy shop. You can get to it at http://debsfreckles.etsy.com/. Let's see if any of my crafts sell (none have yet). If you don't know what Etsy is you should check it out. It is a place to sell all things hand made. I have spent a lot of my spare time (which hasn't been much) this past week making stuff to put on there. These are a couple of things I have gottan on there.

These are some things that I made today. A sneak peak if you will. They are not done yet and won't be for awhile. They are fun party hats, in case you could not tell.

My goal is to post something on this blog every day this week. We will see if it happens.

This week

Gracie started sticking her tounge out when she gets happy.


and she can sit up for a little while by herself.


She is growing way to fast.

Guess What?

Chicken Butt!




I made the mistake of reverting back to my 4th grade ways, and said this to William. I in turn heard it back approximately 140 times in the next 15 min. William cracked up hysterically every time. It was an evening of silliness.

Better late than never

Before we went to the valley for Christmas we went to the scrapbook store here to get pictures with Santa. They said if you brought a new toy for a toy drive then you could get your picture taken for free. Well, I had some other stuff I had to do there so we went. We went to the valley and I forgot about it. Yesterday I went to the store and they had 9 different prints for us and all the pictures on CD. I thought that was nice and the pictures are good too.

William discussing a certain sword with Santa


Notice anything about this picture?

Her hair looks RED! I love it, it is my new favorite picture.

Quiet baby

I posted a video of Gracie "talking" a few posts back. The video that you see below is of her trying to talk now. She is sick. It's nothing serious, just a cold, but enough to make her loose her voice. She is trying to talk in this video, it just takes a couple of second. You should hear her cry, it is so sad.

Quiet Baby

Guesstures

Because of MLK day there was no school on Monday. We had a BBQ at our friends the Browns. We ate some great food and then played a little game called Guesstures. Not this old school game

A new and awesome electronic one.
Everyone was getting really into it and after a couple of rounds I decided I needed to get my camera out. It turns out when you are under pressure to get others to guess an action you are doing your faces become really over exaggerated. It was awesome. If you put the arrow on the pics in the slide show it will show you the word they were acting out. If it says "not sure" that is because I don't remember. If you are one of the party animals and you remember one I forgot or if I got one wrong, comment and let me know.
WARNING: The faces you are about to see are not expressions that are typically see on these faces. Enjoy.

Guesstures

So because there was no school yesterday we had a bbq over at our friends the Browns house.

News Flash

I, Debbie, have decided to start my own blog. This blog you are at now is and will be the family blog featuring our kids. My blog will be about whatever I want. You can find it at debsfreckles.blogspot.com There is also a link in my links list. Feel free to pop in anytime.

Loud Baby

Bed Head Boy

If you give a baby a cookie, chances are...

Looking Good

So those who have seen me can say that I am not the most fashionably dressed person they ever met. Jeans and a solid shirt just about sums up my wardrobe. But, I do have a eye for fashion - or at least I would like to think so. I just don't have the time or means for it (right now, hopefully). So here I am to pass on my sisters post...to spread the good news. There is a fashion magazine out that was created for those of us who might not feel comfortable walking around in next to nothing, or seeing others dressed that way (be it in person or print). Eliza Magazine. The mastermind behind this is a woman I have actually met, in fact I slept on her floor. About three years ago we went with some friends to California and stayed and my friends cousins apt. We slept on their floor and his wife was then a model and looks like she is doing more than just that now.

http://www.elizamagazine.com/

Check out their statement on their my space page:

ELIZA magazine was created for women who want to be stylish, sexy, and still keep high standards in dress, entertainment, and lifestyle. In a media culture that frequently objectifies and commercializes women and their bodies, ELIZA strives to provide an alternative to the current mainstream media that emphasizes sex and skin in order to push products or sell magazines. ELIZA magazine was created for women who want high-fashion that encourages and inspires them, providing hip and current styles that enhance the whole woman. Each issue will provide exciting and informative features in Fashion, Beauty, Health,

I am all for anyone who is trying to change the image of women as sex symbols. Let's be stylish instead, shall we? And speaking of style, check out these gorgeous dresses-

I want you.I want you.

I really want you.

I want you.

These beauties come from a little place called Shabby Apple.

(visit them at http://shabbyapple.com/) And here is their purpose:

After years of not being able to find stylish dresses that covered enough skin to make you really feel comfortable (without wearing a tank top, cardigan or long slip), owners Emily and CK decided to do something about it.
They visited trade shows, marketplaces and designer studios only to discover the problem was not that department stores weren't buying the right dresses, but that designers weren't designing them.
Shabby Apple is proud to offer you fantastic dresses that allow you to look fabulous, without having to compromise anything else.

I found this funny because there is a dress hanging in my closet that I love, but have only worn twice because I have to wear an undershirt and a shrug and it is just not worth it to me. There dresses are a little pricey, but my man even said that once we have money I can buy them. Yeah. I will too because, even though I am cheap, I want to support those who are trying to change the way we look at fashion and make my life easier. Plus, it isn't just that they cover you up, they look great too (at least I think so).

Spread the word!

New Snacks

Gracie found some new snacks...

Yep, her toes.


and...

...my hair. Yummm.

She is just too cute.

That is why we love her sooo much!

My Blog - It's MINE!

So here it is. I have been blogging for over a year in a family blog about, well, my kids. I have always had things I wanted to blog about, but knowing it was our family journal I refrained. Well, no more. I will now be posting anything I want to. Watch out.

Attention

Below is Russ' first post ever! You should see this video with him. He laughs so hard he sounds like a woman. Also I would like to apologize for the absence in the blogging world. I took a break over the Holidays. And since I am going to make a book out of this blog and it will serve as our family journal, I had a lot to catch up on. There are a couple really long posts. Sorry.

Hot Hot Feet

This is funny.

New Years

New Years Eve was kinda low key for us, but a lot of fun. We hung out at my parents house and played guitar hero. That was a lot of fun. I had to wait until a lot of the people were gone before I really gave it a try and there is no pressuring me into it, Russ learned the hard way. We let the kids have a little party early in the evening and then they went to bed. At midnight we drank sparkling cider and I made gourmet macaroni and cheese, a tradition that began when we were young and wanted to make a fancy dinner and that was all we could make. Every year after that we have had macaroni and cheese. It was yummy.












Sorry there are so many pictures, but what are you going to do when your husband is such a stud.