May Book Club

So...its a lot of pressure being the one choosing the book to read. :) But after giving it some thought, I decided on These is My Words by Nancy E. Turner. I actually don't know too much about it, but its been recommended to me by a few different people and its a hot book club book right now, so I've decided that we can all read it together. :) If too many people have read it already, just comment here and I can switch the book (I have a lot of runners-up in my mind...). Anyway, we'll read it in May and discuss it in June...so HAPPY READING!! :)

Wednesday Weekly

What is your favorite color?

Great Autism Post on Tales

There's a great post on Tales about Autism, a topic near and dear to my heart as most of you know. I think the author does a great job answering important and common questions with a very balanced perspective. Enjoy!

Jeans

Where does everyone buy their jeans? What is your favorite brand? I'm a HUGE thrift store shopper, and I usually get my jeans there, but it tends to be hit and miss and well this time was a miss. I am in desperate need of a new pair and I looked at some stores around here, but I am very unhappy with what they had to offer. My biggest (ha ha) problem is my hips. They are huge, and my waist is much smaller. So in order for jeans to fit, they have to get over my birthing hips.... and with the way so many jeans are made now (low rise, etc) it seems like if I want anything to fit, I have to buy 3 sizes too big everywhere else so I can button them. Anyone else frusterated with this problem?

Money-saving May

During the month of May, we hope to share knowledge, thoughts, experiences and questions about money/finances. The goal is to help you spend less and save more. There will be questions posted and hopefully posts from you or someone you know who have accumulated knowledge on any finanical topic: from saving money at the grocery store and inexpensive gift ideas to emergency funds, trusts and wills. Feel free to post a question any time in the month and to share your knowledge! This would be a great month to invite a guest author to post. For example, several months ago, my SIL wrote a "guest post" about digital scrapbooking. She sent me a write-up and photos, and then I posted them onto the blog. Here's to a money-saving May!

Next Month's Book

I just realized that I haven't picked anyone for next month's book club book! Claire, I'm going to tag you for the month of May. Sorry it took me so long!

*Revision: Tiffany is tagged for next month instead!

toddler meals

I know this seems to be a frequent subject, so sorry! What are your toddler's favorite meals? My daughter is semi-picky, and getting bored of my meals, so I need some new ideas. Also, have you found any ways to get non-veggie eaters to like them? I offer them all the time, but she isn't catching on. Thanks!

My Sister's Keeper

I know of at least a few of you who have read My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult... I just finished reading it and I'm just wondering what other people thought of it. I'll add my thoughts as a comment since I certainly don't want to ruin the book for anyone who hasn't read it yet.

Face Wash Anyone?

I'm in need of some help. I've never really had a face wash that I love and I'm wondering if anyone has one that they would recommend? I've tried several different brands but nothing has really impressed me yet. What do you guys use?

The More Depressing Side of Preparedness

Not to bring up a totally depressing subject, but because its such an important one... I was wondering what plans you girls have set in place in case anything were to happen to you and your husband? This is SO something I don't like to think about, but at the same time, I hate to think what would happen to Cecelia if something did happen to Scott and I and we hadn't made our wishes known.

Right now we are in the process of setting up a trust. In my research on the topic, a trust seems a better option than a will as it takes less processing time and doesn't involve as many legal fees. Obviously, our trust will be constantly changing as we have more children and such, but as of right now, if anything were to happen to us, Cecelia would be placed in the care of my sister Kayti and her husband. We are also setting it up so that whoever was caring for Cecelia would get a certain allowance of money from our life insurance policies each month to help provide for Cecelia's needs, but that the bulk of the money would not be available to Cecelia until she was in college or married.

So, what do you girls have set up? Is this something you and your husbands talk about?

Why I love/hate being a woman

Why I love being a woman:

I love getting to have children and being able to stay home with them and watch them grow. Being a mother is the best job in the world and I wouldn't trade it for anything!

Why I (sometimes) hate being a woman:

I hate the look and how my body feels after having children.
What I hate the most is how I am now trying to get back in shape. I spent all last week exercizing every day (sometimes twice a day!), eating smaller-portioned, healthy meals and I lost a grand total of 1/2 a pound in one week. My husband eats out every night almost, while on duty and played basketball one night last week and lost 5 pounds.

Can anyone relate to my frustration!?!?

gas mileage

Okay, all you current and former Utahns! My car used to get a good 330 miles to the tank when we lived in the midwest-we were happy with that gas mileage. However, we just moved to Utah and now we're getting over 400 to the tank! Anyone know Why????

Goodreads.com

I just joined goodreads.com and was wondering if anyone else was on there. I really like it because you can find ratings on different books and I already have a list of books I want to read. Let me know if your on there so we can be friends and see each others favorite books. If your not on there sign up! It is easy and a great way to find good books to read.

Wednesday Weekly

If you were the founder of your own charitable foundation, what would be your cause?

Another Semi-New Contributor

I'm not officially a new contributor, because I have browsed sugar and spice from the very beginning, but I have never gotten around to introducing myself and my family! I was kind of waiting until we had our baby to officially join the club. My name is Lindsey and I knew Lindsay at MSU like many of the contributors on here. I am married to Troy, which was another romance sparked from the 'Living Center' at MSU, where many of us all lived. There were a lot of marriages that came out of that place! Stephanie and I counted once, and we came up with 30 before we stopped counting! Troy and I live in Utah now because he transferred to BYU after his mission. He graduates this Friday and will be starting a job in Salt Lake next month. We never really thought we would end up here, but it looks like we're staying for a few years at least. We're still adjusting to the culture. I taught kindergarten before having our son Blake, who is now 4 1/2 mos. Now I stay home with him and enjoy being a mom! Our blog is http://www.troyandlindsey.blogspot.com/ and I'm so glad to be apart of this great wealth of info and advice on S&S!

Costco Diapers

Does anyone else buy diapers at Costco? Perhaps this is old news but I just went to their website and discovered that they sell the Kirkland brand diapers and wipes online! We have a costco about 5 minutes away but this is great in case I ever live somewhere that doesn't have a costco nearby.

New Contributor

Hello everyone, my name is Molly Stump and I have been a reader of this blog for some time now and Linz just asked me to join. My sister is Katie Brooks from this blog and I know Linz from Michigan State as well. My husband Robert and I have a 4 year old son Austin and an almost 3 month old baby girl named Kalli. My husband is a police officer and I am fortunate enough to get to stay home with my kids and I love it. I will eventually post a family picture but haven't taken one since Kalli arrived and I am yet to shed pregnancy pounds and still avoid cameras like the plague! I am not sure how to add my blog site to the side list, but it is http://stumpsnippets.blogspot.com/
I look forward to contributing to this blog and for the great advice and knowledge I will receive from all of you!

Freebie on my blog

Check out the freebie on my blog! Its seriously free... absolutely no cost involved. All you have to do is leave any random comment, even just the word "hi", on the freebie post, and you will be entered. Check it out!!

Cool Freebie on Tales

Check out this cool freebie on Tales from the Crib. Keep checking the blog over the coming weeks for more freebies.

Belated March Book Club!

Hi ladies! I'm moved and kind of settled so I wanted to finally discuss Life of Pi! I hope the remaining girls who were waiting for it from the library got it!

I got this book from my Mother in law a few years ago but couldn't make it past the prologue. I forgot about it for a while and then pulled it out this winter to try it again. This time I flew through the book. Don't laugh at me, but through the whole thing, I kept thinking, Is this a true story???

Some of the things I enjoyed in this book were: Pi's faith and desire to take all of the best things from the faiths he studied; how Pi trained the tiger so that he could live; the second version to the story-the one without animals and all of the parallels between them; the allusions to Pi's future; his survival techniques and how his upbringing prepared him for that; his name!

Some of the things I didn't quite get were: what was with the floating island? I wanted more confirmation about whether his story was believed or not. Maybe it doesn't really matter though! I hope you liked it, I was totally wrapped up in how and whether he'd live or not!! I found a good list of questions and discussion points online.

Wednesday Weekly

If you owned a restaurant, what kind of food would you serve?

Desert Skin

I have lived in humid Minnesota for six years. I just moved back west and have apparently forgotten how dry it is! I feel like I'm putting on lotion all day but nothing helps! What tricks have you learned to keeping your skin from flaking off all the time??? What lotions/soaps work to keep your skin moist??

What would you do?

Let's say you have some friends over and they bring their kids. You have a great time. After they leave you find out that something has been broken (likely by the kids). Do you tell them or suck it up? If you tell them, how?

What's your burp tolerance?

What's the burp tolerance in your household?

A. Everyone of us can burp the ABC's and are proud of it.
B. Burping is allowed as long as you say "Excuse me" afterwards.
C. Burping is forbidden. If you must burp, your mouth better be closed with a hand covering it for extra protection from seeping out or making a noise.
D. Other (please specify)

Wednesday Weekly

If you are given a talk assignment in church, along with a length of time to speak for, do you time yourself before you actually give the talk?

General Conference

I figured it is a Sugar and Spice tradition to mention some of our favorite talks from Conference, and since I have a busy week ahead and don't know when I'll be online again, I thought I'd just go ahead and start it! I first of all have to say that every General Conference I temporarily miss the days of when I actually got to savor every word of every talk, instead of desperately try to hear ANY talk in between taking care of a toddler! It's worth it though, and as we learned in many of the talks, raising a family is what it's all about! Obviously all the talks were wonderful, and were inspired. I was especially grateful for the ones by Elder Ballard and Sister Tanner that talked a lot about motherhood and the divinity of womanhood. I got really emotional when I realized during those talks, my responsibility to teach my precious daughter of HER divinity. I loved how Elder Ballard specifically said that there is no "right" way to be a mother, and that everyone's situation is different. It spoke straight to my heart. I also thought he gave a lot of great advice about not overscheduling our children or ourselves, and not wasting too much time with television, internet, etc. yet making sure we make time for ourselves as mothers too. Anyway, I made note of some talks that I would really like to hear again, due to a somewhat needy 18 mos. old, that I think my husband and I are going to listen to for the next few FHE's. Like I said, all the talks are inspired, and I enjoyed everything I heard. But what talks felt like they were given for you???

Games and activities at home

I'd love some ideas for simple activities, games, or crafts that you do at home with your kids. This will be especially helpful to me as I will probably be spending less time at the parks and more time inside as the summer approaches. (I live in Texas and have an extreme dislike for hot weather-- I know I shouldn't complain after the harsh winters that so many of you have experienced.) Here are a few activities that we enjoy, though not very innovative!

1. Hide and Seek (I seem to be doing all the hiding at this point!)
2. Family dance party (just put on some music and go! You could make it a freeze dance game, too.)
3. My husband made a house out of a large cardboard moving box with a wrapping paper tube as the chimney. He cut out windows and a door. Later we colored the outside and the inside with crayons.
4. Easter Egg Hunt all year round. I had my 18 month old do an egg hunt dress rehearsal before our ward activity. I hid all of our Basic Beat shaker eggs around the living room and she collected them in her basket. Little did I know she would enjoy this beyond Easter! We did it several times today even though she would watch as I "hid" the eggs. We did it once also using all of her Fisher Price animals. I was thinking you could probably use other sets of objects too: beanbags, small balls, etc.
5. Bug hunt. Walk along the sidewalk or at a park and look for bugs. This idea was created completely by my daughter.

Please share your fave activities via a post or a comment!

More Decorating Ideas

I love creative decorating ideas! I'm attempting to do my own painting right now because artwork is so expensive. I haven't taken many pictures of the things that I have done, but here is something one of my friends did with her curtains - adorable and so easy!

Ensign article for moms

In this month's Ensign there is an article called "The Joy of Nurturing Children". I have only read the first mom's account ("The Gift of Memories"), but was touched by it. I like to enrich my child's life with outings and activities (I'm better at it some days than others). This article gave me extra motivation to fill her life with fun and uplifting experiences. It also made me feel like my efforts were not in vain. I know she is too young to remember the fun things we do right now, but it's great to be in the habit of doing it and to think that it will positively influence her entire life. To paraphrase one quote, Don't think about the messes, think about the memories.

Personalized License Plate

If you were to get a personalized license plate, what would it say and why?

We *might* be getting a new car this weekend and if we do, we've been joking around about what we would put on the license plate. I highly doubt we'd actually get personalized plates, but it made me wonder what you girls would put...

Cecelia Made It To Round 2!!

Cecelia has made it to round 2 of Baby Idol 2008. Thanks to everyone who has voted for her to this point. The round 2 voting page can be found here. Cecelia is contestant #44. Vote often!

Make your own pictures

I started to comment on Stacibee's post below on home decor but she asked for pictures so here's my followup post to her question.

With our house recently on the market we had to take down all our photos and do lots of small things to replace them and also some other things to "spruce it up". I found a lot of great cheap things at HomeGoods (part of TJMaxx I think?), WalMart and Target. I redid the curtains in my living room for 30 bucks and it changed how the whole room looked, for example. I added a seven dollar pot with some greenery in my bedroom and it added a ton more than i though it would!

My favorite thing I did was in my kitchen though. I couldn't find anything to hang in there to match my theme. I have a red and blue kitchen and tons of cherries in there. I love cherries!! But I couldn't find any art or anything I liked for the walls. so I bought some cheap 12x12 canvases at Michael's ($3/each) and some red craft paint (<$1) and painted them red and took some pictures from old calendars I had (since I love cherries, I used pictures from Mary Engelbriet calendars and a dollar calendar with vintage fruit pictures from michael's) and mod podged them onto the canvases. Sorry the pictures are smaller in the picture than I meant them to be!