A New Blog: A New Me

On the path to discovering myself, I have decided to start a blog. Another blog. I will post family related things, Parker stuff, just whatever over here- but I will also be posting over at

http://sweetnessoftheeveryday.blogspot.com/

This is a space for me to be creative and quirky, and to learn, love, laugh, and find

the sweetness of the everyday. 

I would love if you went over and checked out my first post over there. It's a big one. 

If you like it- let me know! 

Anyways, happy day friends. Happy day.

p.s. I'm gonna be 22. WHOA!

Happy 22nd, Aubrey!

This post is from Jed this time. Since Aubrey's birthday is coming up on Monday, I wanted to do a special post.

Here are 22 of things I love about Aubrey, one for each year:

1) Her Smile

2) Her laugh

3) The way she kisses me

4) The way Mother she is to Parker

5) Her ambition to be a school teacher

6) Her toughness

7) Her love for other people

8) How she always

9) Her eyes

10) How she makes her own cleaning products

11) The care she puts into our home

12) The way she focuses on the Savior

13) How she loves her family

14) How she cares about people she barely knows

15) The thought she puts into gifts

16) The way she loves being social

17) Her spontaneity

18) Dancing with her

19) How excited she gets playing taboo

20) How smart she is about everything that I'm not

21) Her hugs

22) That she is my Wife! 

I love you, Aubrey.

Product Review: All You magazine

I've been reading couponing/meal planning/frugal blogs for awhile now. I haven't always been interested in couponing or anything like that- but when money's tight, you do what you have to. I decided that I really wanted to jump on the bandwagon full throttle, so I started getting the Sunday paper and the All You magazine because most seasoned coupon-ers will tell you to.

I can't even stop raving about this magazine. I love it. Every time it comes in the mail I pour over it's pages and hang on every last idea within. It's SAD. But, it has TONS of great ideas, coupons, craft ideas, work out ideas, weight loss tips, fashion advice- you name it. 

You can get this on nearly every magazine rack- so the next time you are browsing, take a look. Then, if you are serious about wanting a subscription- look online. There are tons of offers so you aren't stuck paying the $4 for every issue. Get it. And I promise you, you too will squeal every time it comes.

Site Review: Zenni Optical

Being blind stinks. I mean, it's kind of a crucial sense. 

So I wear glasses. Or contacts. But this post is about getting CHEAP glasses. 

Backtracking. 

I have had terrible luck with glasses. You name it, I have done it to my glasses. No joke. I once went in to a Dr. appt. to get my glasses fixed, when my Dr. looked up at me and said, "Man, it looks like you ran into a tree!" When I dumbfoundly said, "Wait, did my mom tell you?" Yes. I had run into a tree. So yeah, I have needed my fair share of glasses. 

A few years ago, my sister told me about Zenni Optical. I'm not sure where she had heard about it, but after looking at the site- I thought it couldn't hurt to order one more pair of glasses. Guess how much they cost me? 12.99+shipping. It was under $20. For prescription glasses. AND, it came with a case and a wipe. 

HOLY COW! I love them! I have gotten 2 pairs of the same glasses- and they have lasted forever! In all fairness, I'm not at a neighbor's playing baseball every day, but I do have a 1 year old. And they have withstood. 

IF you are one of us blind guys walking around- DON'T pay hundreds of dollars for glasses- I know. I've been there. Well, mostly I need to apologize to my poor mother who had to continually shell out the cash for yet another pair of glasses for me.

Go to zennioptical.com. It WILL change your life.

Sa-tur-day is a spe-cial day...

In our house- 

Saturday is a special day. 

A very, very special day. 

When Parker was first born, I was going to school and working from home. I felt very overwhelmed at times but I loved everything I was doing and wasn't willing to give it up. My choice. 

It was also my choice to implement "Saturday is a Special Day."

Basically, Jed is in charge on Saturday. Of basically everything. All things Parker. Meals, decisions, whatever. He runs the show. 

Normally, we do a lot of things together. We enjoy planning things, laughing together, helping Parker etc. 

NOT Saturday's. 

After 21 years- I have learned that I just need a day to be told what to do and to not to anything. 

It is magnificent. And it has saved our marriage in a lot of ways. 

When it comes to Parker, there are specific ways I like things done. I used to nag on Jed that he wasn't holding him right, wasn't changing the diaper fast enough or used too many wipes (really!! in worst cases you only need 2!!) and it made Jed feel like he couldn't do anything right. 

Thus-- Saturday is a Special day. 

Now that Jed has taken care of Parker nearly every Saturday since he was born, he has learned how to do everything, I have gotten the much needed rest that every Mom needs, and Parker gets to spend Q-T with his daddy. 

Win. Win... win.

[Office anyone?]

The Yeast Free Diet

After getting a recommendation to a Dr. in Provo (my previous Dr. was in American Fork) I went in for an appointment to get a different type of birth control. I have been on several different kinds- basically everything you can think of- I've tried. Anyways, the BC I was most recently put on made me sick... yet again. The only type of BC I have been on that didn't made me sick is the mini-pill- commonly prescribed to breastfeeding mom's for several reasons. Then after I stopped breastfeeding and running out of the mini-pill I went back to the same BC I used before getting pregnant- one that at the time worked fine- and it made me sick. Yay. OKAY- this post is not about BC. I was just trying to point out that I went to the Dr. for a new prescription. 

Whew. 

After taking a life-long medical history- NO JOKE!- and taking a few tests and doing a physical, the Dr. prescribed a yeast free diet- also referred to as the Candida diet. My diet (many yeast free diets differ) is no sugar or sugar containing foods, no white flour or refined grain products, no cheese, no alcohol, no fruit or fruit juices, no coffee/tee/caffeine containing herbal teas, mushrooms, peanuts and peanut products, all processed meats and lunch meats, artificial sweetener, and vinegar.

Nearly every product on the market has sugar in it!

The list is overbearing at times- like when I'm trying to eat- but I've done some reading and it sounds like it has potential. There are several books, articles, forums, and websites where people can discuss this diet and can help each other with it. It's not easy- that's for sure. I'm on day 2. Of at least 4 weeks. Gosh I didn't realize how unhealthy my diet was until I started reading labels. Wake up call. 

I have always been the "sick kid." My immune system has always been weak and I seem to catch EVERYTHING. I've had strep throat 4 times since being married- not to mention impetigo, a staph infection, bronchitis, pink eye and a billion other things just in the past few years. 

 

If I have to ultimately eliminate some foods from my diet- I'm okay with that. Especially if that means being more healthy. Being a mom is that much harder when I feel like I'm on my deathbed with another bout of strep. ugh. For now I have researching recipes and meal substitutions that don't break my budget. It's not easy- but I know it's gonna be worth it. 

Isn't everything that way?