And the Winner Is. . .

Thanks everyone for your input on dresses! The order has now been placed. This was our final pick. Although, Nya is not a fan of ivory. So, the actual dress is darker. . .more of a champagne color. When given the choice between pure white, ivory, and champagne, Nya liked the champagne. I think she will look fabulous for her baptism!

Baptism Dress

As many of you know Nya will be turning 8 in November. Aahh! I can't believe how old she is getting!! Anyway, we are having a bit of a challenge deciding on a dress for her to wear after she is baptized. So, we decided it would be fun to put it to a vote. I have included photos of the 3 dresses we have narrowed it down to. Please leave your comment with your top pick.

Thank You Holly!

O.K. so this is long overdue post, but I wanted to thank my friend Holly for the cute apron she sent me this summer. My favorite thing about the apron is that she created the artwork herself. It's a darling screenprint of a 1950's lady holding a pie. I love aprons, and I wear this one all the time. So, I decided to take a pic during my latest bout of insanity making grape juice and jelly.

Holly is super talented and creates all sorts of fun things. She has two stores on etsy. One store has her original paintings, and the other store has various unique creations by her. Both stores can be viewed at http://www.etsy.com/ under the store names Hollydoodle and Hollydoodad. Thanks again Holly! I'm so glad we still keep in touch after all these years!

A Bugs Life

Those of you who know Nya, know about her exploits with the animal kingdom. She has been known to bring home snakes, horny toads, birds, kittens, frogs, lizards, and various members of the insect and arachnid families. So, what's her latest passion? The Praying Mantis. Here are a couple photos of one she caught. Unfortunately the only insect Nya is uncomfortable catching is the cricket. Since her Praying Mantis needs to eat crickets to survive, I have the honor of collecting them. Yesterday I caught one and asked Nya, "Who has the Rockinest mom in the whole world?" To my dismay, she hesitated before answering. Perhaps it's because I won't touch anything she brings home. . . The following photos are of a Katydid Corbin caught. I guess he's following in Nya's footsteps. If you look closely at the first photo, you can see the Katydid amongst the leaves. Unfortunately, we can't really pic her up. (Since I don't want a Katydid flying around my house!) In the 2nd picture, you can see eggs she layed last night. The eggs are stuck to a leaf in the front of the photo.

Seussical the Musical

Our family saw the colleges production of Seussical the Musical this week. It was darling! I was really worried that Corbin would lose interest quickly, but he never did. He and Nya had their eyes locked on the stage the entire time.


The set was full of vibrant colors and the cast were wearing pretty outrageous costumes. The show features The Cat in the Hat and Horton Hears a Who. Also, it didn't drag on the way some productions can. It is long enough that you feel like you got your monies worth, but short enough that the kids aren't going bonkers. If you ever get a chance to see it, be sure to take your kids. They would love it!

Great Book Series

Lately Nya and I have been satisfying our addiction to good books. Our latest favorite is a series called "The Sisters Grimm" by Michael Buckley. These books are perfect for children ages 7 to I dunno 89 maybe? They're suspenseful, funny, and (most importantly these days)they're content is clean!

The premise of the books is that the famous Brothers Grimm were actually fairytale detectives and have passed on this responsibility through generations. Now, the main characters who previously thought they were orphans, have learned that they are the descendants of the Brothers Grimm. They find themselves caught up in all sorts of mischief. There are six books in the series so far, and each one gets better and better.

Previously Nya and I have been fans of The Spiderwick Chronicles and Harry Potter. If you liked those books, you'll probably enjoy these as well. Actually, I like The Sisters Grimm better than The Spiderwick Chronicles.

Nya is so engrossed in the series that she has been coming home from school and going straight to her room to read. (She doesn't even want to go outside to play!!!)
I've actually had to ration her reading time a little bit to ensure physical activity.

Dr. Phil Show

O.K. so I just found out that Dr. Phil is going to be having a show about "alternative birthing methods." I never watch the show, but this has peaked my interrest. I went to his website, and they are still looking for people to bring on the show. One of the "alternative methods" they are investigating is HypnoBirthing.

Years ago, after having a painful (and quite lengthy) unmedicated birth with Nya, I found HypnoBirthing. I can honestly say that Corbin's birth was completely painless. (As well as fast.) I know people who haven't learned about HypnoBirthing often think it sounds a little crazy. I used to try to explain the method to friends because it worked so well for me. I wanted my friends to have the same comfort during their births that I had.

Now, after becoming trained to teach this method, I have been able to witness some of my students having the same success I did. Luckily, Grand Junction seems to be very open. I haven't even advertised yet, and have had full classes. Anyway, for those of you who are still interrested in having more children, I highly recommend looking into HypnoBirthing. It can change your life. (I have the website listed on my sidebar;)

At the very least, keep your eye out for this episode of the Dr. Phil show. I'm really hoping they will bring Marie Mongan, founder of HypnoBirthing, onto the show. She is truly amazing! I hope this show will be a catalyst for moms who otherwise wouldn't have, to give natural childbirth a shot. For those of you who are already into natural childbirth, I know the show is also looking for homebirth moms to bring on. Hopefully they will present an unbiased show that will truly benefit the audience and increase awareness.