1.30.2009

Crippling Crafters

I am very frustrated about a new law that is in affect starting on February 10. Basically it is making it impossible for people like me to sell items that are made for children under the age of 12! The reason why law makers approved this is because of all the mess with lead and childrens toys! I am glad that people are looking out for our children but I don't think that this law was well planned. To read more about it click here.
There are so many stay at home moms that have created a little career for themselves. It's been so great for me to have something to use my creativity and to feel successful. I had so many plans for the future of my business. I am feeling sad and disappointed and let down. I have so much inventory and what am I to do now? Really....how many women were in that room as they were passing this law? And if there were women voting in there...they were politicians and not stay at home moms! I'm also sad as a consumer! How am I going to find all of the wonderfully adorable handmade goods for my children that so many of my fellow women are providing! I'm still waiting for this all to go away and for it not to REALLY be happening!
So the question is-how DO we make sure that our children are not coming in contact with harmful things and STILL have the freedom to make and sell inspirational items? I don't know!
If we are so worried about our economy...this is certainly not going to help! Think about all of the craft stores and fabric stores that won't have customers purchasing their items. What about girls like me who use the money that I profit to spend on things that I wouldn't typically buy or be able to afford?
The wheels in my brain are turning as I try to grasp all that this law means to me! It's not good.

1.17.2009

Talon's Blessing Day

January 4, 2009
Talon was very lucky to have so many people that love him, participate in his blessing. With both of our families in Utah and many people in town for the Holidays, and many others who traveled for this occasion, we had a great day. John was disappointed that his two brothers, Peter and James, were not able to be there as they were both back East (and were going to be able to come to Virginia if we blessed him there).
We were not organized enough to take a group picture after church to document this special occasion but I did gather some photos at the celebration lunch that we had afterwards. We blessed Talon in John's parents ward in Orem and then drove back to Saratoga Springs to have the luncheon at my parents home.
John's blessing to Talon was beautiful. I'm so thankful to have a husband who holds the priesthood and strives daily to be worthy to bless our children. Talon was fussy all morning and I kept telling John that he was going to cry all during his blessing and sure enough...that's exactly what happened. YUP...my little boy screamed from the start to the finish of his blessing. I tried so hard to time his sleep and his feeding JUST RIGHT (all of you moms know exactly what I'm talking about) but I couldn't get him to nurse just before Sacrament meeting and my plans were destroyed. SIGH. It was still beautiful and it was so great to meet with so many people that we love.
Talon at 4 1/2 months old is a lot different than he was at 4 months! I feel like such a naive person to think that Talon's fussiness had nothing to do with me. After our nightmare experience with broccoli I realized that there are probably many other things that have made him uncomfortable and therefore...fussy. Here are a list of things that I have learned make my son fussy:

Chocolate- This one is first because it's the saddest for me! It's still worth giving up but oh so sad!
Cabbage- I actually really like cabbage and have had to pick it out of salads and avoid it a few other times.
Broccoli-OBVIOUSLY....from my 24 hours from you know where!
Cow's milk- No cereal for me...that's the only time that I even drink it but I do love cereal for breakfast.
Anything too spicy- I'm okay with this one!
Whole Wheat- WHAT?!?!?! So after about 3 days of not having any of the above items, I was enjoying my mother-in-laws fresh ground whole wheat waffles and bread and Talon was a wreck! Ugh! No more whole wheat for me! This was a similar 24 hours like the broccoli 24 hours. I love her homemade bread-the best I've ever had!

I know that lots of moms have been giving up food while nursing but I just haven't thought about it and made the connection with Talon. I feel awful that he has had tummy aches for 4 months and I wasn't catching on!


Talon's sisters who adore him!



Congratulations to John's sister Emily!! She and Travis just got engaged on the 26th of December!



Talon slept during the entire luncheon! We sure did have fun celebrating him though!
Don't you just love pictures of people eating!! Sorry Corey! Most of the pictures I took look like this!
John and his dad!
We had so much yummy food!

1.15.2009

Our last minute trip to Utah

For the last few months, John and I had been trying to figure out the best time to get to Utah to visit both of our families and possibly bless little Talon. John had applied for an interview in Utah and we were waiting to hear about that before we bought any tickets. My entire family was going to be at my parents house for the week after Christmas and we so badly wanted to be there too. My amazing husband was asked to interview and so at the last minute, we booked our flights and now here we are. John was with us for the first week of January and we had so much fun visiting with not only my parents but his as well. He has now gone onto more interviewing and we miss him so much! Here are a few highlights of our first few days in Utah!


Our plane trip was an adventure in itself. I had eaten broccoli the night before our flight (OH NO) and it was awful. Talon cried ALL night long and all day on the flight. John and I were both so sleep deprived that the trip is mostly a blur to me now...thank goodness. It was a huge juggling act trying to get Talon and Izzie to sleep on the flight and it makes me SOOOOOOOOO nervous about my flight home with the kids all by myself.




We came at the perfect time to enjoy the snow. I found the girls snow suits the day before we left for Utah. It's hard to find snow clothes in Virginia because the snow is less common but I lucked out. They were even on clearance. Hailey had so much fun with her cousin Annie who she adores. My brothers had made the most fun sledding slope that was about 1/4 of a mile long. Most of the girls time was spent out there! My sister-in-law, Leah took the picture of Hailey in the AIR and she said that Hailey just rolled with laughter on this jump!


My brother Corey works at BYU and was able to get us into the BYU Football Practice Stadium. The kids just loved running around and it was so fun to let them! We took this photo of the family! We ate lunch at the Creamery and reminisced as we all walked around the campus. All of us (even mom and dad) had graduated from BYU so it was really fun to be there together. The picture of Isabella having a breakdown is so funny to me because this has been more common for our little angel. She has always been so mild tempered and easy going but she is swiftly having a personality change. Check out Talon in my baby carrier...poor little guy!


My mom and dad loved having all of their grandchildren together. My brothers and I are spread out from California to Virginia and so it's hard to get all of us together. Bath time sure was fun for everyone. Isabella has a terrible scratch under her nose from falling down my parents stairs. The poor girl fell at Johns families house also and re cut the same bump! She is not used to stairs...obviously.


We wore these girls out!!
The sister-in-laws and I also enjoyed some great shopping and we couldn't get enough of Cafe Rio! The kids and I are going to be in Utah until the 24th! These pictures are only from the first three days of our 24 day stay.We are having a blast and I'll update you on the latest happenings so soon.