i like my Megs sunny-side up

New Post - Thursday Three

2012-01-26T20:17:00.001-08:00

Click Here to see why I should be the Next Food Network Star.

New Post - Thursday three

2012-01-13T11:52:00.000-08:00

Click HERE for Thursday Three...NYC style.

New Post - Birthday

2012-01-09T07:39:00.000-08:00

Click HERE to find out why I am such a awesome mom. Just kidding but still click!

Wrong holiday but pictures none the less

2012-01-03T11:56:00.001-08:00

Click HERE to see how far behind I am in blogging.

So big

2011-12-26T10:04:00.000-08:00

Click HERE to see how big Josh is.

The Big Time

2011-12-24T15:06:00.001-08:00

Click HERE to read about why Blake never wants to come home.

Thursday Three - I'm Back

2011-12-22T07:22:00.001-08:00

Click HERE to see how we roll when using a public bathroom.

New Post - Yatzee

2011-12-22T07:21:00.001-08:00

Click HERE for my favorite game.

Party time

2011-07-08T10:09:00.000-07:00

Click HERE to see how good I look in a tiara.

The fun mobile

2011-07-05T13:00:00.000-07:00

Click HERE to see how we roll.

world cup 2022

2011-07-03T12:03:00.000-07:00

Click HERE to see Blake in Action.

Jacob or Edward

2011-06-02T13:05:00.001-07:00

Click HERE to find out if Josh is a Jacob or Edward fan.

Easter

2011-05-31T16:38:00.001-07:00

Click HERE to see that we celebrate holidays too.

Thusday Three

2011-05-26T18:00:00.000-07:00

Click HERE to see why bad things happen to good people.

New Post 4/21 - Thursday Three

2011-04-21T08:29:00.001-07:00

Click HERE to see proof that Josh exists.

New Post 4/19

2011-04-19T08:14:00.000-07:00

Click HERE to see us out and about.

New Post 4/14

2011-04-14T10:44:00.000-07:00

Click HERE to see why I should never be allowed to use a hammer.

Thursday Three - Texas edition (early)

2011-03-30T09:39:00.001-07:00

CLICK HERE

Thursday Three

2011-03-03T20:27:00.001-08:00

Click HERE to find out about my week.

New Post 2/28

2011-02-24T14:53:00.001-08:00

Click HERE for Thursday Three

New Post 1/28/11

2011-01-28T16:34:00.001-08:00

Click HERE for 2010 in review.

New Post 12/18 - Pack it in

2010-12-17T07:00:00.000-08:00

Click HERE

New Post 12/15 - mix it up

2010-12-15T07:00:00.000-08:00

Click HERE

New Post 12/13 - Blesing and a Birthday

2010-12-13T20:22:00.000-08:00

Click HERE

New Blog Post 11/11 - Thursday Three

2010-11-11T14:50:00.002-08:00

Click HERE.

New Blog Post 11/4 - Thursday Three

2010-11-04T21:42:00.000-07:00

Thursday Three - HERE

New Blog Post 11/3

2010-11-03T09:27:00.001-07:00

A few things on my mind - CLICK HERE

New Blog Post 10/29 - Thursday Three

2010-10-29T11:01:00.000-07:00

Three TV shows I am watching - LINK

New Blog Post 10/25 - NEW GYM

2010-10-25T20:49:00.000-07:00

Click Here

New Blog Post 10/14 - Thursday Three

2010-10-14T22:18:00.000-07:00

New Post on the new blog

2010-09-27T16:29:00.005-07:00

New post on our new blog. Just sent invites to your email addresses. If you didn't get one leave a comment or send me an email and we'll get you all set up. Come check it out.

meganmullins2.blogspot.com

Email me

2010-08-24T07:53:00.004-07:00

We have decided to make our blog private. Are you annoyed? Either way, leave me your email address and I will make sure to give you an invitation. I know it can sometimes make it harder to check the private blogs but hopefully you will still find your way over to us and see how we are doing.

As you can see in the picture, I don't think we are going to have any adjustment issues when Rocket arrives.

Church Perks

2010-08-23T06:00:00.001-07:00

Our ward gives away free bread after church. That's right, the church might just be a little more true here in the pacific northwest. A local bakery gives away what they can't sell at the end of the week. Some goes to homeless shelters (I have been told) and then our ward takes a bunch. Even though it is free and an unexpected treat when we first moved here as time goes by I find myself really annoyed on the Sundays there is not free bread. I rarely buy bread at the store anymore so when Sunday rolls around and there are not stacks of bread, donuts, hoagie rolls, hamburger buns and english muffins to choose from I find myself getting angry. WHERE IS MY FREE BREAD? I try not to let it ruin the spirit of Sunday but sometimes I can't help myself.

Grill

2010-08-19T13:45:00.003-07:00

We have had a list of things we were going to buy for the house our first year. Since we are both so indecisive we have put off these purchases until recently trying to get everything done before the baby comes. Our latest house purchase was the grill. We love it. First three things we have grilled.

1. burgers

2. chicken

3. burgers

I can't wait to try more. Blake is in love with the idea of cooking on the grill. I am not so in love with the sock choice with sandals but I have to pick my battles.

I am so cool

2010-08-05T20:43:00.004-07:00

Three reasons why I am so happy.

1. We got central air.

2. We got central air.

3. We got central air.

People kept telling us that we wouldn't need central air here in the pacific northwest. Those people lied. It is our third summer here and we decided it was something we definitely wanted (though I like to think of it more as need) to do. I was a little sad to get rid of our white trash window unit set up but I got over that after feeling the cool crisp air flowing out of the vents.

We did just celebrate our 7 year anniversary and the traditional gift is copper so the new a/c unit fits perfectly.

BEFORE

AFTER

Thursday Three - Three trips to JoAnn Fabric

2010-07-22T17:22:00.006-07:00

I just finished a baby quilt for Rocket. I wanted to try piecing it together and doing binding that didn't just come from folding the back over to the front. Here is the final product. It did take me three trips to the fabric store which I was not anticipating but all and all I am really happy with the finished product.

Thanks again to online tutorials - One and Two

Thursday Three - 3 fun filled days

2010-07-08T12:47:00.004-07:00

I was really fortunate in college to meet some of my best friends. We have stayed really close since we left school and since then we have done two roommate runions. One of which was about two months ago. We space them three years apart and I am already looking forward to the next one.

I was so happy to have everyone agree to come to Seattle so I could host this year. We laughed, ate, hung out, got pedicures, went to the temple, saw Seattle sites, ate (did I mention that) and really enjoyed being together. Between the 7 of us it was a small miracle that we were all able to make it leaving husbands and kids at home.

Sorry for the small pictures. I hate small pictures.

Garden Update

2010-07-03T16:38:00.002-07:00

Things are going fairly well in the garden. Slugs keep eating things but I try to go out daily to pick them out and hope they have not done too much damage. We ate our first broccoli the other night. Truth be told, it was not that good. A little disappointing but I am not giving up. The weather here makes gardening a little tricky but Blake and I are enjoying watching things grow. He was so excited to pick the broccoli and couldn't wait to eat it for dinner.

Thursday Three - HOT HOT HOT

2010-06-30T09:29:00.014-07:00

We just got back from a great vacation with my family. Blake and I started off by a quick stop in NYC to spend some time with my parents. We walked all over the city, enjoyed good food, the zoo, time at the park with David Letterman, the Central Park Carousel (this is a staple when we go and no matter how many times I do it, it is still one of my favorite things), Chelsea Market, High Line Park, City Quilter and two great toy stores.

Next we flew to South Carolina to meet up with Matt and the rest of my family for a week at the beach. Blake loved his time with his cousins. It was so great to spend time with my parents and siblings and it always make me wish we lived closer together. The weather was HOT, but thanks to lots of pool time we stayed fairly cool.

You can see me on the right side of the picture. Dave was just talking my ear off!

Thursday Three

2010-05-26T12:55:00.017-07:00

I realized that if I am going to continue posting on the blog I need to disclose some information otherwise people are just going to think I am getting really really fat in my pictures!!

Blake is going to have a baby brother this fall. We are beyond excited. It has been a long and somewhat painful process to get here but for now we are glad all of that is behind us.

I won't give all the details here but would really like to say thank you to our friends and especially our families for helping us get here. The last two years have been full of lots of emotions, loss, needles, doctor visits, tears (both happy and sad), and now such happiness and gratitude as we wait for the birth of a new baby.

Waiting for baby number 2 was much harder for me than waiting for Blake. Watching Blake get bigger and reach milestones was really difficult. I almost didn't enjoy them because all I could think was that he would be so old by the time he got a sibling. Lucky for me Blake decided he would hold off on potty training so he wouldn't get too big too fast. He is so good to me.

With that said, to make this a true Thursday three here are three things about this pregnancy:

1. Feeling your baby move is so fun. Sometimes it is a little creepy and uncomfortable but I really love it.

2. Blake also thinks he is pregnant. He doesn't believe me when I say only ladies have babies.

3. We will never be able to come up with a name for this baby. My nephew came up with Rocket and Blake has decided that is the perfect name. So unless Matt and I get serious, Rocket it is!

Thursday Three - Things I am working on

2010-04-29T09:35:00.015-07:00

I have doing a few projects around the house and wanted to share.

1. I repainted a gross dresser that we have had since we got married. I have always wanted to do something with it and I can't believe it took me so long. My good friend Juleen came over and helped me with the project. The furniture she had done is amazing so I was glad to have her expertise. I have another dresser in my room and can't wait to get started on that one.

The Before

The After - I painted and then distressed with some sanding and then added a stain.

2. We are doing a garden! I have never done it before and have no idea how things will turn out. Thanks to a sweet friend Fonnell I at least have a good start. We are doing the square foot garden approach and she is the master. We are doing 16 squares and three herbs pots. Blake loves checking on the seeds.

3. I finally pulled my sewing machine back out after a few months of not doing anything. I found this purse I wanted to make and my awesome friend Jessica said she would do it with me. I did a trial run by myself and then we got together and each made one. On the second time around I adjusted the pattern to make it bigger and it turned out pretty well. This project required a zipper so I was impressed we finished. Luckily Blake played well with her boys so we were able to work while the kids played. Thank goodness for on-line tutorials and good friends to help me do these projects. I could never come up with this stuff on my own.

No Thursday Three

2010-04-22T20:40:00.005-07:00

Here are some pictures of the Tulip festival we went to last week with some friends. I am throwing in a few Easter pictures just for fun. Thursday three will return next week. I can tell you are all on the edge of your seats.

Sandwich

2010-04-21T13:15:00.003-07:00

I never thought a sandwich could bring people together but Matt and my newest brother-in-law both want to try The KFC Double Down. I thought they were both kidding but they have assured me they are not.

Matt sent me This blog post about the sandwich which pretty much made my week. It is totally worth the three minutes it will take you to read it. I also recommend their show, Wait Wait Don't Tell Me.

Swim lessons

2010-03-30T16:01:00.004-07:00

Blake just started swimming lessons. My only real hope for the lessons is that he would at least get in the water as that seems to be our biggest problem when it comes to the pool. And seeing as you can't learn anything else until you actually GET IN, I figured this was a logical first step.

On day one of lessons I got Blake all pumped up. He was so excited until I told him he was going to get wet. His reply, "I don't want to get wet." Awesome, I can see this is going to go well.

We just had lesson five today and things are actually going great. He gets in, kicks, blows bubbles and I even had to do a Bay Watch save when Blake slowly started sinking to the bottom and the teacher didn't notice. Not only was I the big hero but Blake is under the impression that he "swam by himself" and could not be more proud of him accomplishment.

Mixed Signals

2010-03-28T07:51:00.010-07:00

I think my dad wants me to blog more but maybe I am reading too much into his last comment. Maybe someone else can help me figure it out. I wish he was more direct.

"This blog never changes. I want a refund."

I plan to get back at it this week. As a follow up to my m&m post I have to admit that I found a green gummy bear in the bottom of my church bag today and ate that too! I don't know what is happening to me but it felt like Christmas when I saw it. Sunday school was about to start so that might have had something to do with my excitement.

It's no Thursday Three...

2010-02-24T15:07:00.004-08:00

The other day I was straightening my area rug and out popped a green peanut m&m. Best. Day. Ever. Not only did I eat it but I was REALLY excited about finding it.

Blake

2010-02-15T16:54:00.012-08:00

Blake is making me crazy. I know when you see his cute face you can't imagine him ever doing anything other than make you smile, but don't let him fool you. Blake is his own man. He is super stubborn. I wonder where he gets it??

Right now we are battling out the Potty Training. Before any of you calculate just how old Blake is....STOP. He really should be all done but allow this post to explain. Here is what is making me so mad. He can do it. He has been pooping on the toilet for a few months. He just refuses to finally conquer the pee. After some tears (mostly mine), lots of clean up and many loads of laundry, I finally have decided that he'll just do it when he wants. He has a track record of taking his sweet time.

Walking - 14 months. He could totally do it but just refused. It was funny to watch his buddies run circles around him for months.
Eating Solid food - 12 months. Yes, most of your little ones start about 4-6 months but Blake REFUSED anything but liquids until he had a full set of teeth! It was crazy.
Talking - I don't remember when but let's just say he kept to himself to quite awhile. He was happy with his "noise" for communication. If you know about the noise, I hope your ears have recovered.

So, I guess on potty training we are on Blake Time. He can do it. We both know he can but I can feel him holding out on me. I am sure one day I will be so glad that Blake knows what he wants and how to get it but for now we'll just keep buying diapers.

Side note: I would say leave your advice and you are welcome to do that but chances are we have tried it. Most things seem to backfire or have zero effect. Take for instance our sticker chart. Notice how many stickers there are. Really Blake, how many more stickers do we need to go through to figure this out?

Thursday Three - Camera

2010-01-14T19:50:00.005-08:00

Grandma and Grandpa gave Blakester a digital camera for Christmas. It has proved to be a great gift. I think we have some real talent on our hands! Here are 3 favorites.

Thursday Three - Christmas Vacation

2010-01-04T19:27:00.009-08:00

Three things that happen when you leave to see family and cousins for Christmas Vacation.

1. Your house feels really empty when you get home with no cousins to play with.

2. Your 3 year old figures out that our names are Matt and Megan and has been using them frequently to get our attention. Too many days with nieces and nephews calling us that and it has caught on. It is actually really funny to me and I am sure it will wear off soon.

3. You end up staying up too late and eating too much but it is totally worth it.

Here are some pictures of the holiday. This really doesn't do justice to what we did, who we saw and how much fun we had but it is all I got for now.

Blake loving the airplane

He is obsessed with flashlights right now.

Breakfast with cousins.

Snowmobiling

Hardcore

Bowling

Faces of Blake

2009-12-08T09:27:00.008-08:00

Three Reasons to not use your self timer when taking your Christmas card photo:

1. You will be sweating for the photo from running back and forth trying to get in the picture.

2. It takes forever.

See photos for reason number 3.

I realize it is an early Thursday Three but wanted to post these cute pictures.

Thursday Three - dedicated to Grandma Jan

2009-12-03T19:30:00.007-08:00

Three things going on with us.

1. Blake's birthday. He loved his birthday this year and it was really fun to see him get into it.

2. Holiday Decorating. In our marriage I have never really done a ton of holiday decorating. Our last place was so small I didn't need one more thing taking up space. This year I did my best to make things look festive. Thanks Paiger for the wooden nativity. I love it!

3. I finally put a nail hole in our new walls. I am still no where close to really decorating but we have done two things that I am excited about. Our new clock for the living room. I think we could have gone even bigger but I am still happy with our choice. I would like to thank my friend AB for helping me make the tree wall hanging. I chose to hang it in my bathroom and couldn't be happier with my decision. My trips to the bathroom are much more cozy with the new decor.

On a side note, we are potty training the Blake Man. Going great!! Today he watched himself go pee all over the kitchen floor. He seriously just stood there and watched and had no idea what was going on. The best part was that when he was done he couldn't wait to help me clean it up. Not sure we are all on the same page.

Today during a church meeting at my house every time (seriously every time) I looked over at Blake he had no clothes on from the waist down from "going potty" on the toilet. He heads in to sit on the toilet about 30 times a day. I was not going to push the potty training stuff until after the holidays but he is so into it. Hopefully at some point his body catches up with his enthusiasm for the toilet paper going down the tunnel that goes under the house.

Thursday Three - House stuff

2009-10-28T14:28:00.012-07:00

Blake is LOVING Halloween this year. Grandma Wendy sent him a fun dragon costume that has been attached to Blake's body since it arrived. We have had a lot of fun this Halloween and look forward to more fun this weekend.

Three projects we have done in our house.

1. Blinds. I am so excited to finally have them up. They look great and I don't feel so exposed. Matt did a great job installing them and I like to believe I was a fabulous assistant. Thanks to our friends for all the recommendations on how and where to buy our blinds.

2. Staining the fence. I was actually kind of excited about doing this one but the fun of the painting wore off after only a few minutes. We still managed to get it done and just in time because we have had rain ever since. As you can imagine, Blake was a HUGE help with this project.

3. Shelves in the garage. We are slowly working our way to fitting both cars in the garage. Matt worked for two Saturdays with our friend Kevin (who was a big help and who we hope still calls us friends after taking up two of his Saturdays. Thank you so much!). They busted these shelves out and we love them!

Thursday Three

2009-10-22T14:25:00.012-07:00

I am back. Not sure why I was gone for so long. Here are three things Matt has bought from Amazon in the last six weeks. Not the only three but it is Thursday so I will limit myself.

1. garage door opener.

2. bungee cords (because seriously the number of times I have said if only I had one more bungee cord I could ___________. We are set for awhile.)

3. umbrella (where does he think we live?)

So what I am telling you is before you buy anything ask yourself this, "Could I find it cheaper on Amazon?" I am not saying you will but I sure get asked this question a lot!!

Tips

2009-09-23T08:51:00.005-07:00

When we moved into our house we got lots of advice and tips from our realtor, inspector and people who worked with the builder. Since we have never owned a home before we were taking notes and trying to remember everything.

I think the most important advice we got was during our final walk through when we were told this,

"When you go number one, flush one. When you go number two, flush two."

I think that is something we can live by.

Thursday Three - Dinner

2009-09-17T12:04:00.010-07:00

We are in the middle of packing to move to our new house this weekend and while the packing is going well our standard of living is going down. Here are the three things we ate for dinner last night.

1. Frozen burritos

2. Frozen pizza (are you seeing a trend?)

3. Instant mashed potatoes

I have packed our entire kitchen save a few bowls, cups and utensils. Blake got a vegetable with today's lunch so I have not totally given up. His lunch yesterday however was 90% hostess cupcake and 10% baked beans.

We'll survive two more days of this, no problem. I do have a feeling that at some point during dinner tonight we'll hear the phrase, "would you like fries with that?" You do what you have to do and we are loving it.

I hate posts with no pictures and that is all I have been doing lately. Here is a cute one of Blake until I have time to take more. If you would like to see the Troll in person, we have a guest room waiting for you!

Thursday Three

2009-09-10T17:56:00.008-07:00

Three Thoughts

1. I had a birthday this week and it was great. I really love birthdays and I especially loved the carrot cake Matt made. So good!! I was sitting in Barnes and Noble on my birthday and Blake decided that would be a great time to take a large, stinky poop. (sorry for that description, but I call them like I see them, and smell them). I decided that the sales lady really should change it for me since it was my birthday. I waited and waited until I knew she could smell it, but I could tell she was not going to make a move so I just did it myself. I was explaining this to my new brother-in-law, Eric, and he made this clever observation,

"That's the bummer with birthdays and good haircuts. You walk around thinking everyone notices this new thing about you but nobody does except those who care."

I guess the Barnes and Noble lady and me are not as close as I thought.

2. I had a few requests for this recipe. You must make them now!! Matt's brother Todd always doubles the recipe and makes them in a cookie sheet and since he taught me how to make them, I go big. You won't regret the massive amounts of scoobs it makes. Don't bother with the fact that the recipe calls them Scotcheroos. Scooby Snacks sounds much more sophisticated.

3. Having pancake night once a week for dinner was a genius idea. They are from scratch so at least it shows some effort on my part.

Edited to add: I use milk chocolate chips in the scoobs. Much better choice.

Every Gym Has Them...

2009-09-05T21:06:00.003-07:00

I recently joined a gym and am finally getting comfortable with all the machines and knowing where things are. I have only sat backwards on a machine once and quickly figured it out before anyone saw (at least I like to believe no one saw). I have perfected the "stretching of my calves" as I casually glance at the directions for machines I am not familiar with. I think it was my sister who pointed out that the directions are on the machines for a reason, but somehow I still feel like a loser stopping to read how they work.

Here are my favorite people at the gym:

Intense lady who goes to every class. She doesn't just attend, but she is always doing something extra. When everyone else is just walking it out, she is walking it out and pumping her arms in the air. Give it up lady, you are not better than everyone else.

There are the group worker outers who always seem to be having a good time and working hard together. In my case it is two guys and a girl. Maybe one day I can be your 4th when you do your sit-ups. Would it hurt you to just ask?

Then there is the guy that is too cool. When I showed up to spin class and put on a bandanna just like his, he left early. Chill out, there is room for two of us, cowboy.

Then there are the guys who chill in the free weight section who are super intense and act like I am in their way when doing my lunges. Just because we can't swap steroid stories and give each other supplement advice doesn't mean we can't share the mirror.

I am sad that I will have to quit this gym. It is too far from our new house. I am really going to miss my new friends.

Thursday Three - Comfort food

2009-09-03T14:42:00.005-07:00

You know how people say if you don't laugh, you'll cry. Well, today I chose crying. Sometimes it is just the better choice. Here are three other things that cheered me up today.

1. Scooby Snacks. So glad I froze some from my last batch. There are so many reasons that I am happy that I married Matt, but a big one is that his brother Todd introduced me to scoobs.

2. Blake. Do you see those pictures below? Enough said.

3. Naps. You know the kind I am talking about. The get your jammies back on, slide under the covers, snuggle up even though you know you should do the dishes kind of nap.

Everyone has bad days. I am sure tomorrow will be better. But just in case there are more scoobs in the freezer.

Here are some pictures from our hike last weekend. We are not so much campers and even hiking is not always high on our list, but we heard this hike was fun. Blake loved it. For the next two days he just wanted to go back and "climb the mountain." If I got to ride on Matt's shoulders the whole way then I might like "climbing the mountain" a whole lot more.

a little off the top

2009-08-25T20:22:00.005-07:00

I just may have gotten a little carried away with my new clippers. Luckily Blake seems pretty happy with it.

Late Thursday Three - Anniversary Style

2009-07-26T21:07:00.011-07:00

Matt and I are celebrating six years today. Last night we thought it would be fun to go to dinner to celebrate and have a nice romantic evening. As it turns out, we decided to go to dinner with Blake instead.

Here is the night broken down in ratios.

1. 1/3 of us couldn't find his quiet voice to use during dinner (or any other time for that matter.)

2. 2/3 of us needed new outfits by the time dinner was over. You can see why Blake needed a new shirt. I won't show you my pants, but let's just say that a tall glass of ice water found itself in my lap early on in the meal.

3. 3/3 of use enjoyed some good dancing on the ride home.

Thursday Three - Poop Talk Ahead, you have been warned

2009-07-09T19:33:00.010-07:00

Poor Blake is constipated. I feel so bad. The words "my bum hurts" are said about 50 times a day. We are trying every method possible to remedy the situation. Wouldn't you know that the three things he has been asking to eat ALL day today have been

1. cheese

2. milk

3. bananas.

As it turns out, they are the worst offenders for constipation. So, not only does his bum hurt, I won't let him eat anything he asks for. He does not understand our little dilemma!!

He did find his spider man suit today though and I am hoping his super powers will help to create a super poop!!

Ikea

2009-06-19T17:30:00.005-07:00

Here are a few things you should know before going to Ikea.
First, bring bread. You must leave a bread trail behind you or you will never ever get out on your own. Trust me. Second, don't buy anything unless you know it will fit in your car. Seems like common sense I know, but thought it was worth a mention. It was great when it started to rain on the way home. Don't worry, we are not white trash all the time.

Third, if let your kid push the cute kid carts around Ikea you are in for a long trip. Sure at first it is super fun, but after about 20 minutes of walking at a snails pace as they navigate through the store you want to die and regret fully your decision to not strap them into a regular cart. And lastly plan on your child using the .99 cent shoe horn as a weapon. They can and will hurt themselves and possibly others. Luckily the lady who Blake hit was kind and just kept walking.
The trip was worth it though and we now have cubbies for Blake's toys! I am looking forward to filling it up and organizing it tomorrow.

Thursday Three on Steroids

2009-06-18T20:38:00.006-07:00

Lots and lots of Thursday Three. There really should be more pictures, but I don't have any.

Three fun pictures of Meredith's Wedding. We had so much fun in NYC and it was really nice to be there with my whole family.
1. Lots and lots of cousin time. Blake was in heaven.2.Blake getting his grove on at the wedding dinner. Mere and Eric picked great music and we all had a great time dancing. Paige even busted out the robot and I may have done the sprinkler.
3. Meredith looking beautiful with all her nieces and nephews. Pictures in Central Park were really fun despite how hot we were.

Three fun things we did in SLC with Matt's family. We enjoy a fun filled week and here are a few highlights. I wish we had more pictures or any pictures. As usual we had way too many late nights with Des and Eric, but it was worth it.

1. Lots of playing outside with cousins. Poor Blake has not know what to do with himself since we got home and there are no kids.

2. A tour of Kennecott Mines and eating at our favorite Utah places!! Thanks Sheri.

3. Watching our nephews finish out their baseball season. Way to go boys.

Three things that make traveling super fun.

1. Blake throwing up in cab ride to the airport all over himself and his blanket. Great way to start the trip.

2. Me getting really sick just as the plane took off and trying to get warm under the super nice airline blankets. Just two quick hours in the walk in clicic (for the second time since we moved here six weeks ago) and I got my second prescription. Let the healing begin.

3. The delicious bag of 10 peanuts they give you like it will really tied you over the whole six hour flight.

Three things we love about our new place. We are still renting while we look for a house, but we are loving our new set up.

1. A real dishwasher.

2. A garage. Our first one since we have been married and totally worth the wait.

3. An island in the kitchen.

Now that we are back home and settled, please please come and visit. That means you!!

Thursday Three

2009-05-20T17:17:00.004-07:00

We had our good friends come and visit us last week. It was so fun to see familiar faces. We had a great time hanging out with them. They did have a little trouble with their rental car and you can read it about it here. I really enjoyed her new slogan for enterprise.

It got me thinking about some sinus medication I took last weekend. Before reading the box I took them and got really sleepy. I checked the box later and it read, "Marked drowsiness may occur." With the way I felt after taking them I came up with three other much more appropriate warnings that I think they should consider printing instead:

1. May cause you to be put into a sleep-induced coma.

2. May cause you to feel like you have been hit by a large truck.

3. May cause you to slur your words and not think clearly.

Here are some pictures of our little man. He loves his new back pack, loves climbing out of his crib and enjoys long naps especially right now while he is recovering from a cold.

Knock three times on the window if you want me

2009-05-09T18:44:00.004-07:00

We got the best seats in the house on our flight across the country, all the way in the back right next to the bathrooms. Luckily our seats still reclined, but there is something disturbing about waking up from a little snooze only to find a man looming over you while he waits for his turn in the bathroom.

I did over hear this while in our prime seats:

Steward: Are you okay in there?

Person in the bathroom: Silence

Steward: Are you okay in there? Just give me a quick knock if you are okay?

Person in the bathroom: Silence

Steward: Just a quick knock so I know you're okay.

I am so glad that I was not on either end of that conversation. I was a little worried that he might ask me to be back up if he had to go in there. We are getting settled and hoping Blake will adjust to our new time zone and stop waking up so early.

Thursday Three

2009-05-06T17:54:00.004-07:00

Tomorrow is the big day where we say good-bye to student housing, good friends and Ann Arbor and hello again to the Pacific time Zone.

Here are three fast food meals/desserts I have enjoyed while we have had no kitchen.

1. McDonalds Southwest Grilled Chicken Salad.

2. Wendy's small frosty.

3. Chipotle Burrito (rice, black beans, corn salsa, tomato salsa, lettuce).

We're leaving with great friends and good mems. What more could you ask for??

Bringing Blogging Back

2009-05-04T19:16:00.003-07:00

That's right. I think I am bringing it back. Things will be busy for awhile, but wanted to share these photos. Matt graduated and as you can see Blake really enjoyed the ceremony.

It turns out letting him watch Handy Manny has really paid off because he was so helpful today with the real tools as we were preparing for the big move.

Thursday Three

2009-03-12T16:35:00.008-07:00

We just got back from a fun spring break to NYC and Puerto Rico. We spent a few days with my parents and then headed off for some sun. Blake stayed behind and had a great time with Grandma and Grandpa. Here are three pictures of Blake in NYC and three pictures from Puerto Rico. (Blake's pictures might be small because they are from a cell phone.)

Lent update - it is a good thing I am not Catholic because I am struggling a little bit. I was however proud of myself for passing up the cheap diet coke as Costco today. I really wanted it.

Thursday Three

2009-02-25T19:36:00.006-08:00

My sister Paige had a great idea to give something up for lent. I still want to give something up, but since we are leaving on vacation for a week I will start when we get back. I know, I know you are thinking that it is not a huge sacrifice since I am bending the rules to accommodate my schedule and pretty much you are right, but I still want to do it.

1. No television during Blake's nap. I think I could use my time more wisely.

2. No diet coke. I am not an avid drinker, but I will be sad to give it up.

3. Sleep. I am going to give up 10 minutes of my morning sleep and read my scriptures.

On a side note, we took Blake to Chuck e cheese today and we are now huge fans. We had a great morning. Hopefully the Tophams will want to go back again for more fun.

Thursday Three

2009-02-12T15:35:00.004-08:00

I love checking the weather on weather.com. It always tells you the temperature and then underneath it says what it feels like. Example, 45 degree but feels like 17 degrees. Big difference. I find this helpful and a little comical. Here are some more examples from my life like this.

What actually happened: 30 minutes on the treadmill
What it feels like: 2 hours on the treadmill. I hope it warms up soon so I can run outside instead.

What actually happened: 30 minute nap
Feels like: 5 minute nap

What actually happened: Changed two poops
Feels like: I change diapers all day long!

Anyone else??
Here are a couple cute shots of my little man. I think weather.com must have said it was cold, but not that cold. He thought the ear warmer would be enough.

Thursday Three - Three things that make Blake, Blake

2009-01-29T12:31:00.004-08:00

1. His noise. If I could describe it I would. If you have heard it, you know what I am talking about. Just imagine "the most annoying sound in the world" from Dumb and Dumber. Blake has perfected it and makes it while doing anything that requires concentration. It is really funny, but I will say my ears could use a break.

2. He calls everyone buddy. When I walk into his room to get him up he says "hey buddy." If he doesn't want someone to do something he says, "No, buddy." Also a quick update, he now calls me mom. Sure it took two years, but he always comes around.

3. He likes to wear his socks on his hands during nap time. This is not the first occasion we have found him like this.

Thursday Three

2009-01-22T14:59:00.004-08:00

Three fun things about our Monday holiday.

1. Three 50 cent tickets to the dollar movie to see Madagascar. (We got lucky to hit up the dollar theater on discount Monday!)
2. Three boxes of candy on sale at Walgreens.
3. Three of the last few seats together at the packed show.

We had a great time taking Blake to the movies for the first time.

Thursday Three

2009-01-08T14:21:00.004-08:00

Three things I wish never happened today.
1. Blake waking up at 5:30am (again)
2. Getting a flat tire as we headed out on errands.
3. Walking over a mile home in the freezing cold from the above mentioned flat tire incident. It was especially handy that it has snowed yesterday so pushing a stroller was super easy!!

With that said, it actually was a good day. Plus dinner is already made so my night is looking up!! Here are a couple of pictures from NYC when we went to see Santa at Macy's.

The reason I have not blogged....

2008-12-20T05:54:00.002-08:00

is because we have been really really busy.

I'm sure no one noticed

2008-11-25T07:58:00.006-08:00

What do you think?

It was a nice surprise when I looked down at my NEW, FRESH OUT OF THE PACKAGE nylons to find this. Of course I didn't notice until I was in the car on the way to church and there was no going back. Thank goodness for long coats.

Thursday Three

2008-11-19T06:50:00.004-08:00

Three fun things going on at our house.

1. Matt's birthday. We had a whole weekend of celebrating. I feel like most of it was centered on food, but that is what Matt likes best!! We ate at an Indian restaurant on Saturday night (thanks, Missy). Sunday was full of cinnamon rolls, homemade carrot cake, homemade mac and cheese, and hamburgers. The celebration continued on Monday with more cake and ice cream with some friends. 30 is going to be a great year!!

2. Blake is finally feeling better! While he we sick he pretty much sat around all day. Now he is back to his normal happy self. His grandparents got him a fun new table and he loves it. He sits and does his puzzle, reads his books, eats breakfast, and colors. It is a perfect size just for him. He also got some new Sunday clothes and I think he looks really sharp!

Blake being sick (sorry Matt, not your best shot)
Feeling better working at his new table.

3. The anticipation of the BYU/Utah game. Yesterday morning Matt said, and I quote, "I am so nervous about the BYU game." It was only Wednesday folks and the game is three days away. I can't imagine how the rest of the week is going to go for Matt. So in lieu of gifts this year for Matt's birthday, please just sing the Cougar fight song for Matt in hopes of a big win this year.

My Two Dads

2008-11-10T15:24:00.006-08:00

Today is Blake's birthday!! We are so excited that he is part of our family. He makes everyday an adventure. He is sick on his birthday, but we managed to make it out to deliver some cupcakes to his friends. He refused to have one himself, but all that means is more for me!!

Just a few things about the birthday boy.
1. He loves bath time.
2. He really likes play house Disney and since he has been sick it has been on a lot at our house.
3. He drinks a lot of milk.
4. He has a hard time remembering that we only color on paper, not walls or our bodies.
5. He loves going on the swings.
6. He really likes going to nursery.
7. He loves playing with other kids.
8. He finally figured out how to drink from a straw.
9. Riding in the shopping cart has lost its appeal for Blake. I need to start getting creative.
10. And my favorite. He calls both Matt and me dada. I think only once has he actually called me mom. At first I thought it was funny, but Blake if you are reading this, it is getting old.

We love our birthday boy.

Thursday Three

2008-10-30T04:49:00.011-07:00

I really don't like road trips, but thought we should see some of the East Coast while we are living here. Matt had fall break so we hopped in the car, packed up lots of treats, toys and music and headed to Niagara Falls and Palmyra, NY. We had a great time. Blake was a super star in the car making the trip very enjoyable.

Three fun things were did on our vacation.

1. Niagara Falls. We saw the Canadian side and the American side.

2. Palmyra, NY. We were able to go the Sacred Grove, The Hill Cumorah and the publishing site of the Book of Mormon. All three were very interesting and we each learned a few new things. I am so glad we were able to see these sacred places.

We had to give Blake a mini candy bar to keep him quiet during our walk through the Sacred Grove. Do you think he liked it?

3. Eating. We were laughing as we found ourselves taking pictures at all the places we ate. We found a couple really fun restaurants/diners.

Seriously Megan, did you just ask that?

2008-10-28T19:09:00.005-07:00

Tonight at book club a girl was recommending a book for an upcoming month entitled, Pope Joan. She starts describing it and I look at her and say, "is it non-fiction?"
Yeah Megan, it is non-fiction. You remember Pope Joan, right?? Ladies if you were there last night, forgive me. I promise to bring more to the table next time. It has been a long couple of days, but I do have more to offer. Well, at least I will have good treats to offer.

Thursday Three

2008-10-15T16:32:00.012-07:00

Thursday Three - Three things I have been doing while I have not been blogging.

1. Heading to the Cider Mill for fresh donuts, animals and lots of hay.

2. Running a 5K race. It was the first race since Blake was born and I finally got into action and did it. I even won a medal!! 2nd place in my age group. It was a small race, but I am still proud. When do you think I should stop wearing my medal?

3. Going to NYC to see my parents. Blake and I had such a great time thanks to my parents and sisters (and Brent). I won't give all the details, but let's just say it involved lots of laughs, food, time in the park, walking and Wicked.

Friday Three (let's be honest here)

2008-09-19T06:37:00.003-07:00

Three reasons why I love checking the mail.
1. It is a reason to go back outside at the end of the day. Blake loves trying to open all the other mailboxes with my keys.
2. I love the anticipation of what might possibly be inside. Sounds a little sad to be that excited about it, but it is true none the less.
3. Some days there is a huge surprise inside like an unexpected check for $85 from a hospital stay almost two years ago when I had Blake. Matt said he would split it with me, but seeing as I am the one who actually had to go through labor that didn't really seem like a fair deal.

Thursday Three

2008-09-11T17:30:00.002-07:00

Three things that made me so happy today:

1. Matt not going to school until noon.
2. Blake eating his whole dinner and then later having half of Matt's burrito. It makes me feel so good when Blake eats well.
3. Cilantro Lime Rice!! So good.

Thursday Three

2008-09-05T11:18:00.008-07:00

Three things that a child does that are not super cute:

1. Touches his poop during a diaper change.
2. Screams bloody murder while trying to leave the library.
3. Not calling you mom or mama (or anything for that matter, funny how he can say dada though!)

Not that Blake has done any of these things (multiple times), but if he did, it wouldn't be very cute. He does love scooters though. He can go pretty fast and it is so funny to watch him do it .

Back away slowly

2008-08-29T04:24:00.008-07:00

Apparently there is a raccoon out there with a score to settle. Let's just say I will be keeping my doors and windows locked tight and I won't be going out late at night. We can't afford professional counseling right now for another round of Megan versus the Raccoon. I am not even sure it helped the first time!!

Thursday Three

2008-08-28T05:17:00.010-07:00

Three additions to our place that have made a huge difference this year.

1. The Hoop. Such a great find on craigslist and Blake is loving it.

2. The basement. It might not look like much, but we put carpet down and made it a play room for Blake. It has been a life saver when our place starts to feel cramped upstairs (hard to imagine we would feel cramped in our luxurious 800 square feet, but it happens from time to time)

3. The Satellite. Matt, being the die-hard that he is, worked his way into the the hearts of the satellite company's staff to get a great deal so he could watch the Cougars play this year.

PS We also got a dishwasher. To quote my friend Barb when I asked her how she liked her "new" dishwasher she said, "it has rocked my world." I couldn't agree more. It doesn't even bother me that it takes up our whole entire kitchen when we wheel it in to hook it up every couple of days. The best part of the deal is it was FREE!!

Thursday Three (late edition, but are you really surprised at this point?)

2008-08-22T17:29:00.004-07:00

Three pictures of Blake having a man's afternoon. Matt, Andy and Blake enjoyed playing smash brothers today. Blake felt especially lucky since he got to play with the boys instead of taking a nap. Blake had the best time. Andy was nice enough to take some time to cut Blake's hair. We figured if he was going to be part of the man's afternoon he needed a man's haircut. I was sad to see it go, but I kept it together. As you can see, Andy did a great job.

Before

After

We're number one, We're number one

2008-08-17T07:20:00.007-07:00

It has been a week of firsts for us. It was our first week back in Michigan and we are loving it. Our friends gave a great welcome home and it was nice to feel missed.

Blake got his first trike. Our neighbors have one just like it and every time we walk past he has to get on. We figured it was a good time to get him his own!!

Last night was Blake's first night without Mr. Binks. It was a little rough on everyone, but it went better than expected. We have been bink free for the last four days and decided to give the night a try. I think night two will be very telling for how this is going to go.

I went blueberry picking for the first time. I am not a huge blueberry fan, but freshly picked berries are actually quite tasty. We have had some interesting colors show up in Blake's diaper, but he seems to love them too!! (didn't think you needed a picture of the poop)

It is Matt's first time as MBA Second year. We are so excited to enjoy one more year of school, but are also grateful that it is just one more year.

2008-08-12T07:35:00.001-07:00

Things I will miss about Seattle:

1. Pike's Market. I love this place. I am such a fan of outdoor markets. I feel like such a local and even though on most trips I didn't buy things I love to walk through and see all the great stuff.

2. Walking. I know my family is thinking "yeah right" since I whined all summer about not having a car, but overall it was fun to live in a place where you can do so many things within walking distance. A car would have been a nice addition don't get me wrong, but I will miss having access to so much.

3. The library. The Seattle library is amazing. I love it. Blake finished the summer reading program and got his free book today. We went twice a week most weeks for story time and Blake really got the hang of the routine.

4. The maid Service. Does this really need an explanation.

5. The water. It has been really fun to live surrounded by water. It is beautiful here and luckily we had really pretty views from where we live.

6. Friends. We have made some fun friends while we lived here at church, at our apartment and at work. We didn't expect to meet so many great people in such a short time, but it has been wonderful.

7. The Lusty Lady. While I have never been inside, but billboards are my favorite. This week in honor of the Olympics they read, All Perfect Tens and The Pole Vault. So Classy. I am glad we have been neighbors all summer.

Things I will not miss about Seattle:

1. Not having an A/C.

2. Not having a car.

3. Not having a big grocery store.

4. Our mattress.

5. The super small washer and dryer that has ruined many of our clothes.

6. The bus. I am taking back all sorts of memories of the bus, but glad to be leaving it behind.

I am glad the first list is longer than the second (even if it was the Lusty Lady that put list one to seven things)!! Thank you Seattle for a great summer. Thank you to all of you that have been supportive all summer and a HUGE thank you to all those that have visited. All the visits came at the perfect time and we can't believe how many people were in our neck of the woods. All I can say now is, East Coast Time here I come. I can't wait.

If you can't say something nice...

2008-08-11T15:31:00.009-07:00

Is anyone else tired of hearing the commentators at the Olympics say things like,

"Wow, that is going to cost them"

"That is at least a tenth of a point deduction"

"That was a huge miss"

"They can't do it better than that" (in reference to a dive which I thought was going to be a compliment until she followed up with, "I have seen the Chinese do it better, but they can't do it better")

The list goes on. You get the point. They are Olympians, they rock. Let it go and enjoy.

Thursday Three

2008-08-01T08:06:00.005-07:00

Three things about living in Pacific Standard Time:

1. I feel so behind (and you know me, I hate to be late). Maybe I feel behind because all my family lives East of me so I feel like I am playing catch up all day. It is hard work.

2. Prime time starts late even though you would think it would start early. I can't stay up until 10:00 to watch Project Runway, therefore I have to watch it later in the week and then we are back at number 1. I am behind again.

3. The one good thing is that sporting events start early!! Watching the NBA play-offs was fantastic.

We have not experience General Conference here yet which definitely plays a role in how much I like or dislike my time zone.

We had a bonus this week. Patrick was in town for one night and we got to have dinner with him. It was so fun and Blake couldn't get enough of him. He thought Patrick was great and it was funny to watch him follow him around.

2008-07-24T22:10:00.009-07:00

Five Years,

Four time zones,

Three cars,

Two college degrees, and

One cute boy later....

Happy Anniversary Matt!!

July 26th, 2008

Utah 4th of July, 2008

Mariners/Red Sox Game, Seattle 2008

Sailing Trip, Seattle 2008

Thursday Three

2008-07-24T22:07:00.001-07:00

My Thursday three is in honor of my new niece. She is girl number three for my brother and sister-in-law. Check her out here.

Say Cheese

2008-07-22T08:14:00.002-07:00

We headed to Utah for a fun trip to see friends and family. Little Mere was a great host for Blake and me for the first few days and then we enjoyed a long weekend with Des and Eric and their crew. We survived two sets of family pictures with no lasting scars. Our favorite part of the trip was watching Blake enjoy his cousins. It was great to see everyone and it always seems like our time in Utah is never long enough. Here are pictures of us enjoying fireworks, the slip and slide (sorry Gavin for the Black eye Blake gave you), and lunch with my old roommates.

Thursday Three - White lights lead to red lights which then indicate the exit.

2008-07-17T10:56:00.010-07:00

Three items I would love to purchase from Sky Mall magazine. I know I am not the only one who loves to flip through this on a flight. What would you buy?

Travel Pillow

The Six Device Electronics Charger

Comfort-U Pillow

Pictures and links from Sky Mall

Mrs. Pigs Bulk Buy

2008-07-10T20:06:00.005-07:00

Well, I had another issue with Costco. (If you remember back a few months this is not my first bad experience, read here). I rented a car for two hours on Monday so I could go stock up our kitchen again after being in Utah for a week. I was so excited to have a car and even more excited to go to Costco!! I pull up at 9:30am having made good time with a bonus of not getting lost only to remember that Costco opens late and that my membership doesn't let me in until 11:00am. Some people may have taken a moment to think about what to do next. I took a different route. Tears. Lots of Tears. After three calls to Matt and my mom I decide to go up to the door and see if they will let me shop despite the fact that I am only a gold star member. I got myself together and even though my face was red and blotchy I had stopped crying long enough to explain my situation. The sweet lady told me I could go ahead and shop. I almost hugged her. I go to thank her and I can't help the tears that start streaming down my face.

So, you might be thinking, Was it worth making a fool of myself just to shop at Costco? As I had my really delicious strawberries I got for less than $2 a pound after dinner, you bet it was!!

I see London, I see France, I see Seattle's under....ground?

2008-07-10T20:04:00.006-07:00

Our good friends Roger and Angie came to town and they made sure we took advantage of all 24 hours they were here. We took a ferry ride to Bainbridge island, went to the market, we did the underground tour of Seattle, and even had time for a round of wizard before they left. Thanks for coming to see us and for making it such a fun weekend.

Thursday Three - our little man

2008-07-10T19:55:00.003-07:00

1. cruising around at home

2. trying to stay cool for family pictures

3. enjoying the slip and slide with cousins.

3 things causing me some anxiety today

2008-06-27T09:08:00.002-07:00

1. The two block walk to my rental car for the morning with Blake, a stroller, diaper bag and car seat (uphill).

2. Finding my way to the mall and target and then back home again.

3. Getting back in my three hour time limit with the car!

Can you sense that I am feeling a little nervous about this? I'll let you know if I make it back.

Keepin' it green

2008-06-19T15:52:00.007-07:00

There are many perks to living downtown as I have mentioned in previous posts, but I think the best thing about our apartment complex is that they are really concerned about the environment.

Just a little off the top

2008-06-19T15:51:00.004-07:00

With my mom in town we decided to give Blake just a little hair cut. He still doesn't have much hair to begin with, but we decided the mullet needed a little trim. (I am talking about Blake's not Matt's)