project

i've been really busy around here. so busy that you may have noticed i haven't blogged since before christmas. and even that post wasn't much. i wish i had something to show for all my time spent away from here, but really it's all been due to this one particular project:

okay, so really i haven't been busy at all. just plain old lazy. this thing has been sucking the life out of me for 16 weeks. nash and haven have become so used to that phrase that if i'm laying around (which is pretty much the case at any given moment) nash will say, "mom, is the baby sucking your life away?" i signed up for this, but holy moly, i did not know what i was signing up for! this is not the same experience i've had before. i feel like it's the biggest joke anyone's ever played on me. maybe it's karma kicking my butt for judging lazy, "sick" pregnant women in the past. never again. now, having been the most lazy, sick pregnant woman i know, i have some major sympathy. i've had every symptom in the book along with excessive fatigue, diziness, and just general apathy (due largely in part to my MS since I had to stop my usual therapy to get pregnant). luckily, though, i have not been emotional, because that would put me over the edge. so, while i feel sick, tired, ugly (the acne is unreal) and fat at least i don't feel crazy! knock on wood.

baby is due july 13th and with any luck we'll find out the gender next week!

p.s. now that i'm starting to feel like i can function again, i'd like to say i'm going to catch up on the past few months. but i don't know if i can promise anything good. since i got my iPhone in october i think i've pulled my real camera out twice. i'm already regretting this and have vowed to return to my camera crazy ways. until then you can follow me on instagram for a few random updates (@lizzythebotanist).

2011 Card

josh & kristi's announcement

josh & kristi

bevie's little brother, josh, got married this summer and i got to take the happy couple's engagements AND design their announcement. kristi wanted to include their story as part of the announcement and she did a great job making it cute and interesting. i think i did a great job of fitting it all in ;) it wasn't as easy as it looks!

here's the front:


and the back:


there was a also a sealing insert and family dinner invite. then those things, along with their engagement photo were tied up with bakers twine and tucked into the envelope (as seen in the first photo). i was so happy with the final product and it was such a fun project.


and, of course, the wedding was amazing...i'll have to post about that soon. nash & haven (and all the other cousins) were adorable, the decor was beautiful, the food was delish, and there was dancing. which is always a good thing.

from across the nile...

halloween happenings

my energy levels are at an all-time low and have been for a few months (you probably noticed that i rarely post here anymore). halloween is in the air and i am doing my best to make it awesome for the kids, despite not caring about it at all (which has never happened to me in. my. life). you can call me debbie downer if you want to. i don't mind. two points for honesty, right?

i think i'm doing pretty well, considering. we decorated. we went to the pumpkin patch tonight with the cousins. we've watched labrynth and hocus pocus + set the dvr to record all the halloween specials. 

we've made a round of sugar cookies with friends and are planning to do another round this week so that i can perfect my glazing skills. and, my favorite thing so far: we've been reading a different halloween book every night (and will continue to for the entire month of october). our favorite book so far is "a woggle of witches." steve read this book as a kid. i'd never heard of it, but when i googled it and saw the cover i knew i had to have it. the illustrations are amazing. if the book wasn't out of print and hard to get (i managed to score an ex-library copy on paperbackswap) i'd rip all the pages out and frame them.

so now i'm caught up on october. now i just need to get our costumes ready and blog/catch-up on the entire summer + september. excuse me while my head begins to spin...

just because

photo from our recent utah trip when we drove the alpine loop to see the leaves.

sunday school

since this month's primary* theme is on being a missionary (and i'm the new ward primary president. what? yeah, i don't know what they were thinking either. clearly they are desperate;), i thought i'd share some church related news on the blog.

remember how i mentioned that nash knows more 'book of mormon stories' than i do? here's some proof. a child's 6-minute interpretation of the book or mormon. he may or may not have left out some key events and confused some others, but he's four!



also, my dad was interviewed for our newspaper back home. the article is an overview of our religion and focuses on the fact that we are, contrary to what some believe about us, christian. nash almost blew that for us when he skipped over the birth of christ. good thing he has goodly parents to show him the way ;)

*primary is the children's organization within our church. 

First Day: Preschool

it was the perfect back-to-school morning: thunderstorms and chilly air. the kid ran out of the car and straight into class without so much as a glance back at me. he was SO ready. all of his friends started kindergarten two weeks ago (seriously, every single kid he knows) and he has felt a little left out. he's definitely a little guy and it's a good thing he's got another year before he starts kindergarten, but it's hard when he wants to play with friends and i have to remind him that everyone is at school.

there's a little mommy & child interview floating around the web that i decided i want to do with my kids each year as they start school. i decided i'd video it rather than write it, since a. i love videos, b. they don't take up physical space in my house, and c. my printer is out of ink. here's our little pre-schooler:



despite being a little guy, nash has grown so much over the summer i can't even wrap my head around it. suddenly things have just clicked for him and he's writing letters and numbers everywhere, understanding more, and just soaking things up. he seems to really love stories and numbers. he knows more 'book of mormon' stories than i do and has been figuring out addition all on his own. he loves when i quiz him (he uses his fingers to figure it out, but the fact that he even grasps the concept is awesome at this point). he also loves to draw. his drawings are usually variations on pirate ships or buildings, but always include details like plumbing and "in ways and out ways." (thus, the goal to be a "machine maker" when he grows up). growing up is so bittersweet; i'm excited for him to learn and grow and i'm glad i get to watch him do it, but i'm also just a teeny bit sad with every step that takes my kids into the real world without me. i just hope he will be as good as i know he is and that others will see what i see.



when haven and i were driving back home after dropping nash off this morning, she said, "i hope nash is having fun." she was so excited for nash to start school that she packed herself a lunchbox for the car ride.



she was a little sad that she wasn't going, too, but we're looking forward to having some girl time together. i'm also looking forward to life again. i have never been so over everything as i was this last two months. summer in vegas is just way. too. long.

video notes: 

• nash and i talked a lot about 'being a friend' to get him ready for school. i'm not as worried about him doing well school-wise because i know him; he is a pleaser and he will try his best if for no other reason than to make me and miss heather proud. so i decided i want to focus on helping him learn to be a friend this year. i think being a friend is an art and friendship is something everyone needs. i want him to learn to be a friend to everyone, including that kid that no one else seems to notice or that has knock-off shoes (that's a jab at steven and his turn techs). 
• i also love how his answer to"what day is today?" was "saturday." he loves saturdays because that's the day dad is home and we get to play with him. and i love that halloween was his second answer because, well, i love halloween. 
• i also love (and hate) that he can't sit still at all. and that when i ask him questions he always starts to rub his eyes or pick his nose. always. 

grow with me mocassin giveaway

do you read freshly picked? if not, i'm going to help you out. start reading it. susan has amazing taste, mad sewing skills, a great sense of humor (she keeps it real), and two adorable kids (who happen to have two of my favorite names). i met susan at the park last year and, while it was weird introducing myself as a blog-stalker, it paid off. we became instant friends. she's one of those people who's easy and fun and hilarious. anyway, she's about to blow up. her mocs are ridiculously cute and she's getting more popular by the day. mason kardashian wears her mocs all over town, so it's only a matter of time, right? she's trying to win a small business grant from intuit to give her a boost. will you help her? go vote HERE. and then start reading her blog so you can claim to have discovered her before she was "famous."

oh, and if you'd like a chance to win nine pairs of her mocs go here. if you win, contact me and i'll give you my address to ship them to me. what? you thought i'd let you have them?

girly girls

haven and ella, age 3
very, very serious about their dress-up time during our recent utah trip
they couldn't be any cuter

photos by jessie (thanks!!!)