For all you stay-at-home moms

I just read this in a book and thought it was pretty witty...

Author and teacher Tony Campolo says his wife has an excellent comeback for people who condescendingly ask what it is moms do all day: "I am socializing two Homo sapiens into the dominant values of the Judeo-Christian tradition in order that they might be instruments for the transformations of the social order into the kind of eschatological utopia that God willed from the beginning of creation." Tony reports that often she would look at the person who had asked and inquire sweetly, "and what is it that YOU do?" Frequently the reply, "Uh, I'm a lawyer," was made in a very subdued voice.

Tag...I'm it

I've been tagged! I'm supposed to write 5-7 random facts about myself. So lets see..

1. I have really bad OCD. For example, things have to be in a row and straight. I can't stand when my shoes are in my closet and not touching eachother perfectly. I hate when Gracie's diapers are in uneven stacks, for each diaper change I have to use a different stack so they stay even. I stress when Levi changes her and throws off the stacks. I also can't look at book shelves that don't have books exactly lined up. They must go from bigggest to smallest. I have even tried to mess up my own bookshelf to try and break these crazy obsessions but it just causes unnecessary stress.

2. I, too, am obsessed with Jon and Kate Plus 8. I feel like I know them, like we are best friends. I completely relate to Kate's personality and feel like Levi is a lot like Jon. I wonder how many people in this country think they are best friends with them. I guess that is why their show is so popular!

3. On Saturday I fit into some of my prepregnancy pants. This is huge!

4. I LOVE to cook. I like creating new meals and trying things I see on the food network. One of my favorite things to do with my husband is cook with him. We make a pretty good team in the kitchen. I love trying new foods. There is very little that I won't try just once.

5. I have difficulty throwing things away and getting rid of stuff. I hate clutter but struggle with downsizing. I always think "I might want that one day" or "this might have sentimental value later on in life". It's a little selfish because I frequently yell at Levi that his hunting stuff is taking up too much room. If I would just clean out my closet...

6. I HATE seeing dishes sitting in the sink with ANY bit of food or liquid on them. I have to scrub the dishes just to set them in the sink. It's very stupid because after I scrub them they're pretty much clean away. I can't even peel potatoes or carrots in the sink because I freaks me out to see food in the sink! Yes, I know, I have issues.

7. The last thing about me is that it is going to kill me to leave Gracie to go back to work, next week. I think about it and am already tearing up. I love that baby so much. Luckily I have the best babysitters in the world! (Thanks mom and Meg)

Okay, I tag... Bonnie, Mallory and Theresa!

He says I'm lock obsessed...

My husband thinks I'm obsessed, he think's I have OCD about a lot of things and he's right, but thinks my obsession about locking doors is the worst. First, I have to explain where this behavior stems from. When my parents first got married, a crazy man came into their condo with a gun and threatened to shoot them if they didn't do what he says. (We think he was going to try and rape my mom because there was a serial rapist going around the same time this happened) Luckily, my dad the hero refused to cooperate with the guy. Back then they didn't have 911, you actually had to call a 7 digit number to get through to the police station. My mom couldn't think of the number so she called my grandparents. She couldn't talk to them because the guy would have noticed so she just left the phone off the hook. My grandparents could hear something was really wrong so they called the police and my grandpa headed over with a shotgun. (kinda funny if you know my grandpa) The guy heard the police sirens and got spooked and took off. Unfortunately the police never caught him. Well, my parents never totally got over that experience and needless to say, it was pounded into my brain as a child that whenever you open or close a door you MUST lock it. I remember being grounded for leaving the house and forgetting to lock the door. I thought I had the craziest parents alive! Anyways, now whenever I go in or out, I lock the door behind me. Well, sometimes I lock the door behind me without remembering my keys....Levi was thrilled about that. :) But what usually happens is that I will come in from our backyard while Levi is still outside and lock the door. Actually that happens quite frequently. He thinks I'm a little crazy. Now that it's starting to to get cooler at night Levi wants to sleep with the windows open. That was a big NO-NO in my parents house. I couldn't believe Levi would even suggest to leave the windows open while we slept. How dangerous! We got into a little nice argument and fortunately I won, or else I wouldn't have been able to sleep, but he still thinks I have issues... :) I have a feeling this is not over yet. So what do you think? Am I really crazy? Do you sleep with your windows open at night? Do I need to break this obession with locking the door what was pounded into me as a kid? Hmmmm... I don't think Levi is going to let me ground Gracie for not locking the door.

On a brighter note, Clancy (Levi's brother) and Missy's wedding was this weekend. It was in a beautiful backyard and the weather was perfect. We had fun. I even got Levi out on the dance floor. Go me!

This is one of our rare family photos. I always forget to get family pics.

I love my sister Carolyn and her beautiful baby. They're the best.

Another rare photo. I'm always the one taking pics so there are few of mommy and Grace.

We decided to go with a western theme. I'm wearing my red cowboy boots and Levi is all cowboy'd out.

It got so cold at the end. Gracie was pretty content all night.

Gracie with her great-grandpa. She loved him and wouldn't stop smiling.

My little girl is getting big!

Gracie and her aunt bug.

Happy Birthday Levi!

Today is Levi's 24th birthday! He won't tell anyone it's his bday but I will! I don't want this blog to become a shrine to my husband but warning, this post is. Levi is an amazing husband and the best dad. I knew when I married him what an amazing person he is but I didn't didn't have any idea of how great our lives would be. Some reasons why I love him....hmmm....where do I even start??? 1. He has a love for God that I respect and admire. It is so important to him that we, as a family, go to church weekly. Even when I try and talk him into sleeping in on a Sunday he firmly insists on church. 2. His voice and guitar abilities are beautiful. I could sit and listen to him sing forever. Grace loves his voice too. When daddy starts to sing or even just talk she listens and looks for him til she can lock eyes on him. 3. Levi is the best cook. He can create the best dinners and does it happily. 4. Levi is the best big brother to Brandon. Brandon completely adores him. 5. He puts up with me...need I say more? 6. Levi is totally hot, I know I sound like a silly high school girl but he really is. 7. He can fix or build anything and he does it with his shirt off. :) The crib he built for Gracie was so important to him and it came out beautiful. 8. He can make me feel beautiful even on my worst days. 9. Levi comes up with the crazy most hilarious theories and conspiracies that never fail to give me a good laugh. 10. He is an incredibly devoted dad, husband, son, brother, and friend. He will do anything for someone he loves. And I love him!


My Handsome man.


This picture is the scariest thing I've ever seen.


Levi doing what he loves...hunting.


Levi and Wyatt trying out for male model of the year.


Daddy loving his baby.

reminiscing....then a beautiful weekend

We had a pretty busy week wnd weekend. On Friday, I was the maid of honor in my friend Kim's wedding. It was beautiful and so fun to watch. I enjoyed being a part of the wedding and not being the bride, no stress except for the speech. Kim has been my friend since 5th grade and it was so weird for me to see her get married. She looked beautiful and her husband Chris was in awe. Watching their wedding brought back memories of my own. I can't believe that it's been a year and a half! It's a little sad that times goes by so fast. Within a year and a half my life has taken a totally different spin. It has all been for the good. I still am so in love with Levi but it's deeper, stronger. A different kind than the honeymoon, googly eyed kind. I love him for going out of his way to see his grandma when we'd both rather be taking a nap at home. I love him for being such a devoted dad and giving up that poker game on a Friday night to stay home with his baby. And I love him for making me feel beautiful when really I am covered in stretch marks and can't fit into my prepregnancy jeans yet. Those are just a few reasons....

Okay enough of this mushy business.... We had another beautiful weekend. It's because of this amazing weather. Saturday morning Levi woke up and had this great idea to walk to Joe's Farm Grill. We got Gracie all bundled up and took the dogs and off we went. I love walking around in Agritopia, it has such a fun feel, like you're not in Arizona but somewhere in the east coast. After breakfast we went and bought plants for our backyard. I was so excited because we bought a lemon tree. Free lemons for everyone! Levi name the tree Lenny. On Sunday, we went to church and to visit Levi's grandma. He's such a good grandson. Then we went to my parent's house to be lazy and watch them, once again, just love on Grace. They're so funny. You'll see a picture of them fussing over her. That was literally what it looked like the whole time we were there. It was another great weekend for the Stocktons!

I can't believe Grace is 7 weeks old today. Wow time flies!


My family loving Grace.


Such a little princess



Bundled up and ready to go for a walk.


Walking through Joe's garden. It was really pretty.



At Joe's. It was pretty cold!

Gracie found her thumb. She gets so mad when she looses it and can't find it again. Thank goodness for Soothies!

Roxy just adores Gracie. She has to be where Grace is.

What's your "back-up" dinner?

Just curious.... what is your back-up dinner? You know, the dinner you go to when you are in a hurry or forgot to take the meat out of the freezer. What do you always keep in your pantry that makes a fast dinner? I'm always looking for fast, easy dinner ideas. I love to cook but with a baby in the house it's not always so easy. Here are a few of our favorite back-up dinners:

1. Zataran's Red Beans and Rice. This is soooo yummy and super easy. We always add kielbosa sausage and extra rice to it because it is pretty saucy. You'll find at least 2 of these boxes in our pantry at all times.

2. Target's Archer Farms Puttanesca sauce with Costco's frozen meatballs. If you like spaghetti sauce you will love this one. It's way better than just plain old red sauce.

3. Tortilla soup: 1 can of chicken (you'll find it with the tuna), 1 can of rotel (it's tomatoes and diced green chili's), 1 can of ranch or texas beans, and a family size can of Cambell's chicken and rice soup. All you do is dump all the cans, don't drain any of them, into a pan and heat. To serve, crush tortilla chips on the bottom of a bowl and pour the soup over. It's so easy and so good.

I'd love to hear your easy dinner ideas. Thanks!