Phillip and Jennifer +1

MLK Day

2012-01-17T16:11:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Phil had the day off for Martin Luther King Day. We thought we would take advantage and do some Michigan sight seeing. We opted for The Henry Ford Museum since it was free for the holiday. It was awesome. Henry Ford amassed a lot of historical objects and now the public gets to see them. We got to see awesome things such as the car JFK was assassinated in, the chair Lincoln was assassinated in, and the bus in which Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat. There were a lot of cool things to see. On top of that there's a huge collection of trains, planes and cars.

We kept saying over and over again that if Felix were a few years older he would love it. But, he seemed to enjoy himself by occupying his time chewing the strap on his stroller.

He was actually surprisingly well-behaved. Since he's so mobile now crawling and standing up its harder and harder to keep him still (i.e. 3 hours of church). But I think as long as he could chew on something and he had things to look at he was just fine!

Crawling and Standing

2012-01-03T07:51:00.000-07:00

Felix has been crawling for about three weeks now. Once he started to get the hang of that he started pulling himself up on things. He's getting stronger and stronger and it seems like he's learning to do new things everyday. It really is amazing to me that he's already able to crawl! Anyway, here are some videos of him in action.

The Time Has Come

2011-12-09T07:08:00.001-07:00

(Disclaimer: Phil got him dressed that day)

The time has come when Felix gets into anything and everything (as long as its at floor level of course). Everything from the DVD player to the Christmas lights. He has become so much more mobile now and curious about his surroundings. He's not doing the traditional crawl, but does what we call the scoot and lunge. He gets on his hands and knees, scoots his knees forward and then lunges forward with his body. It's possibly the cutest thing. He also does this thing where he gets up on his tippy toes. It kind of looks like a cross between a downward dog yoga pose and Mowgli from The Jungle Book (minus the elephant and the actual movement forward). I've been trying to get a picture of it, but Felix is too quick for me.

Felix loves to play with the blinds on our wall of windows.

I've even tried putting pillows and toys in front of the windows to try and prevent him from getting over there, but that doesn't stop him.

This morning I looked over and I couldn't find Felix. Can you spot him? Yup that's him between his toys and the window. Nothing will stop this kid from his goal. This time it was the baby wipes box, which I think next to the blinds is one of his favorite toys.

Very frequently I will find him underneath his Jumperoo or the table.

Speaking of tables, check out his sweet booster.

Can I be honest? I think I like my son a lot more now that he's more mobile and interactive. Don't get me wrong I've loved him since the day we first saw him on the sonogram, but he's fun now! I hope that doesn't make me a bad mother.

A Typical Day

2011-11-23T07:32:00.001-07:00

Here are some things you would see Felix doing in a typical day here around the house.

Getting up on his hands and knees!

Scooting himself until he gets stuck under the couch

Playing in his jumperoo

Sporting his two new teeth!!!!!

(they both came in last week!)

Oh the Things He Does!

2011-11-05T09:54:00.000-06:00

I can't believe how big Felix is getting! I think I say that all the time...but really, he's huge! We took him in for his 6 month appointment this week and he weighed in at 18lbs 14oz and 28.25" long. He stayed in the 75th percentile for weight, but shot up to 94th percentile for height!

Waiting on the exam table

Chewing on his monkey to pass the time

Oh how I love that smile and those cheeks!

He no longer looks like a baby to me. His features are filling out and he's getting a little personality...although I'm sure most of his current "personality" is the result of teething. No teeth are visible yet, but they sure are taking their time.

He does this a lot. Lots of drooling too.

Reading with Dad

We're also working on sitting up with Felix. He's getting better and better but still tips over on occasion. Below he's sitting in the boppy pillow which helps. He loves to sit up and play!

I took these pictures one day while we were playing. He just looked so grown up in his jeans and polo shirt.

Yesterday we started solids. He did really well. Early in the afternoon I gave him a few tastes of applesauce which he loved and last night for dinner we gave him some sweet potatoes. I'm attempting to make his baby food, which, if I can stick with it, will be much cheaper for us. I spent about an hour and fifteen minutes on Thursday making baby food, spent about $6 or so on produce and got about 32 servings of food (sweet potato, butternut squash, peas, and prunes), plus I had leftovers and made some sweet potato and butternut squash soup for us. Delish.

Here's Felix rather confused at being put on top of the table.

He began to be more interested in sucking the sweet potato off his bib than eating it from the spoon, but he ended up finishing the whole bowl!

Last weekend Felix and I drove down to PA to visit Jon and Deb. Owen had an emergency appendectomy which partially ruptured last week. My mom flew out to help out so I thought I would drive down and see everyone and help out if I could. Owen is doing great and recovering well. I think being there and seeing family was really good for me. They probably did more for me than I did for them! It's been hard for me to make the adjustment to Ann Arbor being away from family and friends, but being able to see Jon, Deb, Isaac, Owen and my Mom gave a little bit of added strength. There's nothing better than getting a hug from your mom when you need a little encouragement!

It snowed while I was there. Here's Jon and Isaac making a snowman. Owen had a hard time just sitting on the couch during the first snow of the year, so he got bundled up and went outside to watch.

Here's Nana snuggling her youngest grandchild. It's hard to resist those cheeks!

Sweet Owie taking a self portrait!

Picnic in the Park

2011-10-10T12:06:00.001-06:00

Yesterday was such a beautiful day here in Ann Arbor. Sunny, clear skies, leaves changing, and 80! We decided to spend Sunday afternoon at the park w/ a picnic. We went to Gallup Park and I think we'll be going back there again. It's a beautiful park with a playground, biking/walking paths, picnic benches and beautiful scenery.

Felix in his new ride! We cashed in credit card points and got the Phil & Teds Explorer w/ doubles kit (this was a surprise when we opened the box...so we kind of have to have more kids right?). We got a great deal at Buy Buy Baby and we love it!

Mommy and Felix photo session (I won't tell you about the really thick and wavy long gray hair I had to edit out...I quickly pulled that out once I saw the pictures!!)

Daddy and Felix photo session! The second picture was completely by accident. Like father like son.

One of a few family pictures we have! We experimented with the self timer on the camera and I think it turned out pretty great.

The many faces of Felix Robert Singer. Isn't he a cutie?

Dad's about the get a nice little surprise on the face!!

There's a pond and a river by the park and Phil got these great pictures of the swans. Aren't they beautiful?

I think this was our favorite day in Ann Arbor thus far. After a few hours Felix fell asleep in my arms and Phil and I sat on a bench by the pond reading our books. There's nothing better than taking a break and relaxing with my two best guys.

Is this our boy?!

2011-10-07T14:09:00.000-06:00

I can't believe how much Felix has changed in the last few months. He's so much more interactive and mobile!

I'm not sure I've mentioned here on the blog before, but Felix has Torticollis. You can see it in almost every picture of him. He tilts his head to one side.

We started taking him to physical therapy a few weeks ago and he's doing so good! I love to go and watch him get stronger and stronger while he "plays" with the therapist. This week one of the things she tried to get him to do is holding up his upper body with his arms while on his stomach. He has a tough time doing this, so she did something a little easier and put him on his knees and rested his arms on a short bench with a toy on it! It's by far one of the cutest things to see him do. I recreated it at home using his trusty bouncy chair.

Felix is also rolling over a ton! Mostly from his back to tummy, but he doesn't like playing on his tummy very much. So we flip him onto his back again and then he flips back to his tummy. We're working on getting him to flip to his back on his own. But now that he can roll over he's started doing it when we lay him down to sleep. I snapped these pics today during a marathon nap...

Phil and I were so scared when he started doing this. I mean SIDS is one of our biggest fears. I know that once they are strong enough to roll over there's not too much you can do about it, but still...Anyway, he's fine and actually falls asleep on his tummy with every nap. I have been flipping him onto his back once he's asleep because he tends to sleep longer on his back...until today. He took a 2 hour+ nap this afternoon and he was on his tummy, so I don't think I'll touch him anymore!

Oh and here's a cute picture featuring Phil and Felix's fingers...

He's getting so much more interactive when he's eating. He tries to grab at his bottle. He's very strong and sometimes it results in a wrestling match...

Then and Now: 4 Months!

2011-09-09T12:03:00.001-06:00

This week we took Felix in for his 4 month appointment. Felix is now 16 lbs 7 oz and 26" long. He's in the 75th percentile for both. I can't believe this is the same little baby we had in April! Here are some then and now pics.

THEN:

Now:

We love our little man!

Some Newness Around Here

2011-09-01T12:49:00.000-06:00

There have been a lot of new things going on in our household in the past few weeks. I guess the biggest new thing being that we are now living in Ann Arbor, MI! I don't think we ever posted about this here on the blog, but Phil decided on the University of Michigan for grad school. He got into a lot of different schools, but ultimately Michigan ended up being the best fit. So here we are! Phil's been doing orientation this week and will start classes next week.

We're living in family student housing which couldn't be any more convenient for Phil. He hops on a UofM bus right outside our parking lot and about 15 minutes later it drops him off right outside his building. The apartment is a two-story, two-bedroom town-house type apartment. The basement is not finished, but there's tons of storage space and a washer and dryer down there. Here are some pictures of our place.

The front entry w/ coat closet/pantry

Dining room/office

Our front room. We love the amount of light the glass doors allow into the apartment!

The kitchen. It's small and there's no dishwasher, but it has a stove and oven!

And we finally have a crib for Felix! (he's been sleeping in his pack n' play, which worked quite well) We stole the crib from Brian and Erin, and Phil's Dad repainted it. Doesn't it look great!? Up on the wall are some framed pages from a used Curious George book. Very cheap nursery art!

Felix has adjusted really well to the move. Here's what he's been doing lately...

Falling asleep and drooling on Dad

Taking a walk on campus (Felix seems to prefer chewing on his burp cloths rather than his toys!)

Getting all dressed up for church

Playing in his new (well, new to us) jumperoo!

Chewing on his hands any chance he gets!

First...

2011-08-29T06:05:00.000-06:00

I'm working on a post to update you on all the changes happening recently in the Singer household, but first here are some recent pics of Felix. He's getting so big!

Kicking Maniac!

2011-07-28T10:43:00.000-06:00

One of the many things Phil and I love about Felix is how much he loves to kick his legs! It's one of the funniest things to watch when he really gets going. Here are a few videos. There's a special treat at the end of the second video!

What I've been up to

2011-07-08T15:09:00.000-06:00

Here's what I have have been up to in pictures....

Video chatting with Dad

Stretching and falling asleep mid stretch

Looking dreamy

Getting ready to go to the aquarium with the Bradfords

Riding to the aquarium with cousins

Hanging out with the seals

Pulling my weight and carrying the drinks

Checking out the seals again

Posing (i.e. crying) with cousin Kade

Snuggling with Mom (Mom sure likes to do that a lot)

Playing with Daddy

Being burped...this happens a lot

In the car with Nana on the way to church to be blessed (Mom forgot to get any pictures with me and my Daddy...what was she thinking?)

Hanging out with my Papa...still in my blessing outfit!

Learning to sit in the bumbo seat Sadie and Elise's Mommy and Daddy gave me!

Smiling!!!

Hanging out with my Dad.

Last Week

2011-06-18T17:52:00.000-06:00

Last week was a stressful one for us and Felix.

A few weeks ago our pediatrician was concerned about Felix's weight gain. In two weeks he only gained 4 oz. To help him get more nutrients she put him on a two hour feeding schedule during the day and three hours at night. Previously I was nursing him every three hours during the day and on demand at night. We went to see her again to get him weighed and he had only gained another 2 oz. So then we started supplementing his feedings with formula since obviously he wasn't getting enough from me. Unfortunately he vomited after I would give him any formula. I called the pediatrician Thursday and she suggested thickening the formula with a little rice cereal to see if its a reflux issue and that would help it stay down in his stomach. We had previously done this while Felix was in the hospital and it seemed to help. But the doctor said that if he throws up again I would need to take him to the ER so they could run some tests and in the meantime she got us an appointment with a pediatric GI doc at Children's on Friday morning. So Thursday afternoon I did two feedings with thickened formula and he kept them down! I thought we had found our solution, he was just experiencing reflux. Then about an hour after the next feeding he threw up quite a lot. I called the pediatrician and she had us take Felix into the ER at Children's.

The ER was an exhausting experience. Mainly because we were there from about 9pm until 3am. Luckily Phil had just landed from Chicago about the time I called the pediatrician, so he met me at Children's. In the course of the evening Felix got an IV (which took them 3 attempts...this was probably the most stressful for Felix) where they gave him fluids, had his blood tested, had an ultrasound and x-rays. In the end everything looked fine. They couldn't find any obstructions (which is what our pedi feared) or any other issues. They only thing they could see was that he had a lot of gas, which we already knew.

It was so sad for Phillip and I to see Felix going through all these things. Because we was vomiting the doctors didn't want me to nurse him until they determined there was no obstruction. So other than the fluids Felix got through the IV, he didn't eat for over six hours and because he was so hungry he had a tough time sleeping. His poor little eyes were so bloodshot! So they sent us home from the ER. We got home around 3:15am took a little nap and then woke up again for a 9am upper GI scan and appointment with the GI doc. Needless to say Friday was an exhausting day for all of us!

When we got to Children's we went up to radiology and they got Felix prepped for his scan. This included getting into a really adorable baby hospital gown with clowns on it.

While they were scanning him they fed him a tiny bit of formula with barium in it so they could see how his body handled eating. The scan went well and everything looked normal. We then went up and met with the GI doc. After talking with her for quite a bit, examining Felix and testing his stools she determined Felix is allergic to the proteins in cow's milk and possibly soy as well. She prescribed him medication for acid reflux and put him on hypoallergenic formula.

In order for him to gain weight we had to feed him this past week small amounts every hour during the day and every 2 hours at night. It was exhausting! I was on my own again for a little while because Phillip had to head back to Chicago, so luckily I was able to get some help from some women from church during the day on Tuesday and Wednesday so I could take a nap! But it paid off. We took Felix in to be weighed by his pediatrician on Thursday and he is now 9lbs 4.5oz, up from 7lbs 6oz the week before! Almost 2 lbs in one week!

Felix as of today June 18, 2011

Felix is a totally different baby! His face is filling out as well as the rest of his body. When I look at him he just looks healthier to me. He's less yellow (his pediatrician was worried about his bilirubin a few weeks ago, but it was normal) and he had a rash on his cheeks and neck that has cleared up. We're finally on our way to getting a little chubby baby!

Here are some pictures I just downloaded from the camera. All of them were taken before he started to beef up except for the last one.

These two pictures were taken about one second apart. Something obviously upset him!

Grandma and Grandpa were in town for Mary's baptism, so Felix got to spend a lot of quality time with them!

This picture perfectly captures how large his hands are! And the one below gives you an idea of how big his feet are. I predict we're going to have one big kid!

One Month Old!

2011-05-28T14:12:00.001-06:00

Today Felix is one Month old! He's been home from the hospital for almost two weeks and we've survived. More importantly, I have survived! Phil started traveling again this week to Chicago and I had to brave it alone. I think I did pretty well if I do say so myself. I mean I only occasionally showered and we wouldn't emerge from the bedroom in the morning until 11 or 12, but I did ok.

Felix is still in newborn mode, but making strides to becoming a full fledged infant. He sleeps most of the time...except for occasional bouts of alertness, some of which occur during the middle of the night. He hates getting his diaper changed and don't even think about changing his clothes and trying to get that onesie over his head. Boy does he hate that. So other than those moments on the changing table he's a pretty calm guy. We took him to the pediatrician to get weighed on Monday and he's 7lbs! We will take him in again this week for his one month check-up, so hopefully he's still steadily gaining.

Here are some pictures for your enjoyment.

We have to give a big shout out to Nana and Grandma Rita for their help. Felix loves his grandmothers!

Oh and without further ado, I would like to introduce you to Felix's webbed toes! He has two toes that are partially webbed on both feet. It took us about a week after his birth for us to notice those. They're pretty funny. Apparently it comes from the Singer side of the family. We sure hope he doesn't resent his genes for giving him these babies, we'll just have to keep telling him that he'll appreciate them when he's at a party and they play two truths and a lie....it's a conversation starter.

Welcome Home Felix!

2011-05-17T08:55:00.000-06:00

Felix was discharged from the hospital on Sunday morning. 17 days old and we finally got to bring him home!

First picture at home

We didn't know what time he would be able to come home. They said it all depended on when the pediatrician could do the discharge exam. Well, when we got there around 8am the doctor had already examined and discharged him. He was no longer hooked up to all the monitors! I fed him, dressed him in his elephant jammies (the only Newborn sized piece of clothing I purchased on the off chance I might have a little baby) put him in his car seat and away we went. Well actually, before we left we stole stuff from the nursery...diapers, wipes, bulb syringe, petroleum jelly, balmex, etc. (Don't worry we were given permission to pilfer).

Yesterday he had a doctors appointment with his pediatrician. Since leaving the hospital 24 hrs before, he had gained 4 oz. He now weighs 6 lbs 12oz and is 21.5" long. He is getting big so fast!

Phillip and I are so grateful to have Felix home with us. I definitely do not miss being at the hospital everyday, but I do miss all the nurses we got to know and who were always there if we had questions! Now we're fully entrenched in the sleepless nights and figuring things out on our own and we couldn't be happier.

Hiccups and a Smile

2011-05-06T19:38:00.000-06:00

This little guy gets hiccups almost every time he eats. I laugh every time.

Felix Robert Singer's Birth Story

2011-05-03T19:12:00.001-06:00

Oh where to begin! I feel like so much has happened in the past few days I'm still trying to get my mind wrapped around it. We are so thrilled that our little man is here. So I guess I should start his birth story from the day my water broke...

Phillip arrived home from Chicago on Thursday morning at 1:30 am. He typically comes home from Chicago every week on Thursday nights in order to be there for my Friday appointments, but this week my appointments were scheduled for Thursday morning and I was starting weekly non stress tests. So the previous weekend I asked Phillip to change his flights so he could come with me to those appointments. So Phil gets home, and hops in bed around 1:45 am or so. Then around 2:15 am I felt a weird kind of pop/kick sensation which I had never felt before, but thought it was just normal baby movement. Within seconds I noticed I was peeing my pants a little, which was strange since I had never done that unless I coughed or sneezed. So I got up and went to the bathroom, but then noticed that more stuff was coming out involuntarily in copious amounts. I immediately kind of panicked knowing this was my water breaking and I was only at 35 weeks. I then went into the bedroom and woke up Phil and told him I thought my water just broke and asked him if he thought I should call my mom (who was upstairs watching Erin's kids for the week). So I called my mom and she confirmed that it was probably my water breaking. I called my OB and she said she agreed it sounds like my water broke. She said to take a shower, pack a bag and come in and meet her at labor and delivery. The funny thing is that my OB is our neighbor and we totally could have car pooled to the hospital!

At this point I'm feeling rather nervous and totally unprepared! We hadn't even packing a hospital bag yet and had no idea what we needed to bring. We just started throwing stuff into a bag for me, Phil and baby. I took a shower and when I got out noticed I was still leaking fluid!! I got dressed and we headed to the hospital. By the time we got to the hospital it must have been 3:30am so we had to enter through the Emergency Department and head up to the 5th floor to labor and delivery. Because with every step I took more fluid would gush out Phil put me in a wheelchair and wheeled me up. My OB beat us to L&D by only a few minutes.

Last picture of me before Felix was born (between contractions). Also the last picture of my truly swollen pregnant face. Enjoy!

The delivery nurse got Phil and I settled in room 4 and by this point I was starting to feel some small contractions, but nothing too strong. Because I tested positive for Group B Strep they immediately got my IV in and started me on antibiotics. They then started a drip of pitocin to help my contractions along. It was only a little bit but it really pushed those contractions along. To be honest I don't know how long I contracted for, the whole 12 hours went pretty quickly for me. But I contracted for a little bit and then they started getting a bit too unbearable for me so they gave me some painkillers (a.k.a narcotics) to take the edge off for a little while before getting the epidural. Now at this point my OB hadn't examined me to see how far along I was. Her philosophy is to not disturb that area as much as possible, which I appreciated. So I labored for a little while with just the painkillers until the contractions became unbearable again (I'm kind of wimpy). I then got the epidrual, which was an interesting experience. Mostly because I was still kind of out of it because of the painkillers they had given me earlier. I always thought the epidural was given while the mother laid on her side curled up, but the anesthesiologist had me sit up on the side of the bed, lean against my nurse and lean forward. I feel bad for my nurse Emily (who I called Sarah because I was so out of it) because I had to put most of my weight on her. I'm sure my head left it's mark on her chest!

At this point I started to feel a little bit better because I was no longer in intense pain. I'm not sure how long it was after the epidural, but then my OB came in and did her first internal exam. She told Phil and I that I was at 9+ cm and would probably start pushing in the next hour! I couldn't believe it. Phil (who at the time was still kind of dozing off (neither of us had gotten any sleep) sits up and says "really?" Our OB laughed and insisted that I was at 9+ cm already and would be pushing soon. I couldn't believe I had progressed that much in what seemed to me such a short amount of time. Nor could I believe that in just a short while I would meet our baby boy. I had mentally prepared myself for a long labor.

So at about 1:15 or so I started pushing. At this point the monitors were not picking up my contractions for some reason so my doctor, nurse and Phillip had to rely on me to tell them when each one was coming. At 2:01 I had my last push and our beautiful baby boy was born. The doctor immediately placed him on my belly. My initial feelings were of amazement that he was here and so quickly. I was overwhelmed with a feeling of joy to see our baby boy for the first time. I could even see his little finger nails!

They had him lay on my belly for a few minutes while they cleaned him off a little and the doctor cut the cord. Then they took him away to do some stuff. I believe they took him over to the warming table and took his APGAR score, which at that time they gave him a 9.5. My OB then gave me a few stitches for some minor tears and then they brought him back over to me.

Because he was born at 35 weeks they had a pediatrician and team in the room, which is standard protocol. After they weighed him (6lbs 0.3oz) they brought him back over to me so he could breastfeed. He latched on pretty quickly. It's amazing that they come out with that sucking reflex already. At this point the nurses and doctors were cleaning up and then they left the room. It was just Phil and I in the room with our son. Phil decided to call his Mom and while he was on the phone with Rita I noticed that Felix had stopped nursing and fallen asleep. But then I noticed he was losing his pink color and starting to turn ashen. I tried to see if he was breathing and then called the nurses in. The nurse that came in immediately took him from me and took him over to the warming table where the oxygen is. She called for help and said "I have a blue baby." That got everyone's attention. Everyone came running back into the room, including the pediatrician and her team that were in the room during the birth. My OB and delivery nurse came back into the room and came over to me to calm me down. At this point I was sick with worry and crying. But within a few seconds of everyone coming back into the room I heard Felix let out a little cry and felt an overwhelming sense of relief knowing that he was breathing again. That was a pretty traumatic moment for Phil and I. I won't go into all the different thoughts and emotions that went through my mind at that time. Even now thinking about it makes me feel so sick to my stomach. I am just so grateful that I noticed the change in him and was able to get the nurses and doctors into the room.

After they got him breathing again they took him over to the Level 2 Special Care Nursery. Phil stayed with me for a few minutes and then went over to the nursery to check on Felix. They put him on a warming bed under heat lamps while they ran some test and checked him out. I had to stay in my labor and delivery room until I was able to stand up. Phil came back and reported to me that Felix was doing well. We found out what recovery room we were going to be put in, so Phil took our stuff over there and ran into the pediatrician on her way over to talk to us. She told Phil that Felix had had two more "spells" since being over in the nursery. She said that he would have to stay in the nursery for at least 5 days, probably more. But other than his breathing everything else looked great.

The first time I saw Felix after they took him away.

We've since learned that this is a very common thing for premature babies. They haven't yet learned to remember to breath or take deep breaths and they also have a tough time coordinating breathing and eating at the same time. So far Felix has been in the Special Care Nursery for 5 days and is still experiencing spells, which means that his oxygen levels drop below 90% oxygen saturation in the blood. We are told that every baby is different and it could take Felix many weeks to teach himself to keep his oxygen levels up. All the nurses and pediatricians in the special care nursery assure us that it's simply an issue of gestational age. At 35 weeks he's not mature enough and typically they see babies turn the corner once they reach term age of 37 weeks+. As of today Felix is 36 weeks 1 day gestational age. He will have to go 5 days without any spells until they release him to come home. All the nurses refer to this as the "white boy" syndrome. Apparently white males have a tougher time maturing as premies than females and babies of other races. And there are two other little baby boys in the Special Care Nursery that have the same issue as Felix.

Phil and I spend our nights at home and our days at the hospital. We come in for his morning feeding and stay until after his evening feeding. He's a really good eater and is getting bigger and stronger everyday. I'm surprised at how good he's doing with breastfeeding considering he's a premie. As of right now he is almost all on breast milk with very little formula supplement now that my milk is coming in. I feed him, pump, eat, sleep and then start the cycle again. I do four feedings everyday with him. These are the best moments of my day. I love being able to hold him. Because he's still so small they want him to get as much sleep as he can. So we only typically get to hold him during a feeding, plus being held tuckers him out pretty quick.

This is not how I imagined bringing our baby boy into the world. It's been pretty hard on both Phil and I emotionally. We know on an intellectual level that Felix is fine and that for his gestational maturity he's where he should be, but it doesn't make it any less stressful and emotional for us. Leaving him every night is the hardest thing I do each day. I think the nurses are pretty used to me blubbering like a fountain after that evening feeding. But we know that this is the best place for him to be right now. The nurses and doctors couldn't be better. Most of the nurses in the Special Care Nursery have been in that unit for 10, 15, 20+ years. They all have so much experience with babies just like Felix. It's a comforting feeling to know he is getting such good care.

We want to thank all our friends and family for their love, support and most importantly their prayers for little Felix. We know he is being watched over daily by angels.

A Few Quick Pictures

2011-05-02T19:58:00.000-06:00

He's Here!

2011-04-29T17:29:00.001-06:00

Well, he's here! He came 4 weeks and 4 days early, but he's here!

Felix Robert Singer was born at 2:01 pm Thursday, April 28, 2011 weighing in at 6 lbs 0.3oz. and measuring at 19.5" long. I am recovering well and we're just hoping for a quick recovery of our little man. He's still in the special care nursery and will be for at least 5 more days, but considering he was an early arrival he's doing rather well. I will post a more in-depth birth story with more details soon, but for now here are some pictures.

weighing in

discovering tongue

first bath

hanging out under the heater

Daddy sticking his tongue out at Felix

eyes wide open

Mysterious smell in the kitchen...

2011-04-01T12:49:00.000-06:00

On Wednesday when I came home from work, as I walked through the kitchen I smelled something funky. I figured it was the three days worth of dishes I had sitting in the sink. I know I know. Three days is kind of a long time, but you also have to keep in mind that I'm pregnant (i.e. too tired) and Phil's gone during the week, so usually there aren't that many dishes to do. So I set to the task of unloading the dishwasher before tackling the dirty, smelly mess. Well, to my surprise, as I opened up a cupboard to put away some dishes I found this...

Yup that's a container of strawberries. The ones on the bottom were rotting. I had found my smelly culprit. Apparently on Monday morning after I cut up a few Strawberries to take with me to work for my 2nd breakfast (1st breakfast @ 6:30 before I leave the house, 2nd breakfast at 9:30 at my desk) I mistakenly put them away in the cupboard instead of the more appropriate refrigerator. I laughed out loud pretty hard. Apparently pregnancy brain is real! Even this morning I went into my bedroom to retrieve something and when I got there I completely forgot what I was doing and had to take a few minutes to jog my ever escaping memory! Hopefully this only lasts for 8 more weeks!

New Camera!!!

2011-03-27T08:47:00.000-06:00

We FINALLY got a new camera. We got the new Nikon Coolpix L120 in bronze. We decided to not go the DSLR route which is originally what I thought I wanted. But I figured that if I really wasn't going to make photography a hobby of mine then we probably shouldn't invest that kind of money. So we decided on this point and shoot because it has a little bit more functionality and a good zoom. I'm still learning about the settings and how to use it, but so far it's been fun!

The camera came on Friday evening. Phillip and I found the box on our porch after we came home from a date of Sarah Vowell, Henrietta's Table and L.A. Burdick Hot Chocolate. (As a side note, if you're ever in the Harvard Square area you should definitely hit up L.A. Burdick. Their white hot chocolate was so heavenly! I told Phil that we would have to stop in again before the weather starts getting too warm.)

Anyway, here are some of the first photos we took with the camera.

Phillip drinking his dark hot chocolate

I look strange in this one...but here's my face after finishing my delicious cup of white hot chocolate! (sorry for the extreme close-up)

Here is said cup of white hot chocolate.

Oh and this is the camera strap cover I made last night because I was feeling crafty! I will try and get a better picture of it...

Here it is taken with my trusty computer.

We're both really glad we got this camera BEFORE the baby boy comes....this will be sitting right next to the hospital bag!

Our first diapers!

2011-03-18T12:29:00.001-06:00

We got some free samples of diapers in the mail yesterday. Oh the perks of parenthood! Aren't they so tiny? I really can't believe his bum is going to be so tiny...well, for a little while anyway.

Oh and in other related news...we had an ultrasound today...and our baby boy is healthy! We had a follow-up ultrasound because in our 19 week ultrasound the size of his kidneys were a little larger than normal so they wanted to just make sure everything was back to normal. (Phillip is currently trying to scan the pictures we got...so if that is successful then I will post a pic here in a sec). It was interesting seeing him so much more developed! He measured right on track for growth at 2 lbs 14 oz.

Ok so the scanner didn't work...here are some pictures of the sonogram...

Here's his profile

and here's a shot straight on! It's so fun to see his little face.

After the sonogram we celebrated and went to the S&S restaurant in Inman Square. I figured he deserved a little french toast for being such a healthy boy!

Preparation for Fatherhood

2011-02-18T15:00:00.001-07:00

Look who fell asleep this afternoon on Uncle Phil's lap!

This is momentous. Matthew has been a little bit scared of Phil ever since he came home one day using these huge metal things....crutches. Ever since then Matthew seems to get a little scared when Uncle Phil comes around. Whenever he sees me head back downstairs to our apartment Matthew always says "see phil?" then he'll follow me down the stairs halfway and then turn around and run back upstairs crying for Mom or Dad. I think it's a little game he likes to play with himself...but every time there seem to be real tears. He's such a funny little man.

This afternoon he made the whole trip down to our apartment and stopped by for a little visit. He sat on uncle Phil's lap and after about 5 minutes was snoozing away!! Hopefully this means he will no longer cry at the sight of Uncle Phil.

Oh and for the record, Matthew is probably overly tired because he's now sleeping in a big boy bed...

That's Our Boy

2011-02-11T11:53:00.000-07:00

I've imagined what it would be like to be pregnant all my life. I believe I glorified what it would be like. I imagined it would be a euphoric experience between me and the baby filled with smiles and new discoveries along the way...all rainbows and butterflies.

It is not all rainbows and butterflies. I cry rather easily. Pretty much anything makes me cry...happy things, sad things, things in between. I have heartburn nearly everyday after eating nearly anything. I can't sleep at night because (1) I'm peeing every couple of hours or (2) I can't seem to get comfortable because I'm used to sleeping on my stomach. And 1+2 = a rather sleepless night. And as much as I love shopping, shopping for maternity clothes is just plain frustrating and often demoralizing. (Am I really going to get THAT big? I'm only 6 months along, this should fit me right?) My body aches in places it never has before and there seems to be no relief. Standing for more than a few minutes seems to be nearly impossible because my feet start throbbing. Breathing through my nose is becoming increasingly difficult. And there are loads of other complaints I have that aren't appropriate to share over the blogosphere.

But all the frustration and annoyances melt away when I'm laying in my bed late at night, or sitting in traffic, or sitting at my desk at work and I feel him. I feel him inside me moving, kicking, or jumping on mommy's bladder. That's our boy! A smile creeps up on my face and I think about this little life that has entered our family. This little life that Phillip and I created together. It's mind blowing to realize that WE DID THIS. But you know what makes this ten times more special? Having Phillip finally feel our little boy too. Putting his hand on my stomach and feeling those little movements going on in my belly and seeing the look on his face. Yes, that's him! That's our boy.

Mama sews!

2011-01-30T09:23:00.000-07:00

I just made my first thing for my baby boy! I found this tutorial on how to make baby pants and thought I would use it to make reversible pants. They turned out pretty well if I do say so myself. I used an old shirt of phil's for the striped side and some old fabric I had stashed away for the other. I used a pair of size 0-3 sweatpants that I had already purchased as a template. So really these pants didn't cost me anything...which is awesome.

STRIPES

POLKADOTS

These pants are tiny! I don't think I will ever get over how tiny baby clothes are. Every time I see them I just ooh and ahh. I can't wait to try them on baby boy Singer.

Guess what just joined our family?

2011-01-28T05:46:00.000-07:00

Say hello to my new computer!!! Isn't she lovely?

I am so thrilled about it. I haven't had a computer at home for a long time ever since my trusty, grad-school laptop broke down last year. While Phillip's been gone during the week with his laptop I've been doing all of my "computering" (not a word...I know) on my ipod touch. This will also make my third trimester a little more pleasant because now I can work from home occasionally. Oh and maybe this means we will blog more?...We shall see.

Drum roll please...

2011-01-03T13:10:00.000-07:00

We had our ultrasound this morning and it's a......

BOY!!!!

Sorry we didn't get a picture of his boy bits, but he definitely has them!! Here's a good profile pic.

The ultrasound went great. The babe looks healthy. He moves around A LOT (more than I can tell right now) and he kept opening and closing his mouth. It was so cute. I think I could have looked at that screen for hours!

Ok, so now that we know we're going to have this baby boy our next step is preparation! So in light of this, I want to know what everyone's must haves are for a new baby? Hit me up in the comments!

Christmas Message

2010-12-15T07:59:00.001-07:00

Every year my dad sends out a Christmas message to the BYU-I faculty, staff and student body. You can read the message here and I have posted the video below. He's a natural on the screen, don't you think?

I really enjoyed his message this year of the gift we can give Christ, ourselves. I think it's something I will be thinking about a lot over the next few weeks.

I hope you all have a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS!

New Drinkware

2010-12-06T12:20:00.001-07:00

Aren't they pretty? We got 6 of the large ones from Bed Bath and Beyond and it has totally opened up a whole new world of beverage enjoyment for us. Phil and I have both commented how much better drinks taste from nice glasses. (sorry no pictures of the real thing...we're still in limbo between old junky camera and a nice baby ready camera...)

In other drink updates...I have a new favorite. Phil calls it a Mormon Mimosa.

1. Fill your glass half full of chopped ice (from our ice maker on our side by side)

2. Pour in a little of this in your glass( simply orange w/ pineapple!!)

3. Then top it off with some ginger ale

4. Enjoy.

Update

2010-11-17T09:57:00.001-07:00

Wow! 10 comments? 10 whole comments?! I don't think I've ever had that many comments on a blog post before. I feel quite loved!

Thank you all for your kind words and congratulations. Phillip and I are extremely excited about this little addition to the family. We've known for quite some time and it has been the hardest secret to keep for me! I wanted to tell everyone....including the nice gas station attendant! It's so liberating to talk about it freely, even though I'm pretty sure most people don't believe me...I catch people looking down at my stomach. Only I (and my pants) can tell the changes happening down there thus far.

The picture from the previous post is from our first ultrasound that we had this past Friday. It made the pregnancy so much more real to see the little one on the screen. And man! that ultrasound gel is so awesomely warm...I was expecting cold stuff. Bonus! And yes, that little white blob above the babes' face is it's fist. How cute is that?

So here are some of my thoughts/observations thus far on pregnancy....

1. Heartburn stinks. I have heartburn a lot and most of the time it's pretty bad. Sometimes it's so bad I feel like my chest is going to spontaneously combust. Fortunately I am starting to recognize what my triggers are...lemonade, orange juice, too much of a good thing...

2. Pregnancy is a great excuse to eat hamburgers and lots of them! I normally wouldn't advocate eating a hamburger once a week, but right now I'm craving one almost everyday! But I'm a good girl and only give into it maybe every other week.

3. I can't eat as much in one sitting. Before I could manage a hamburger and french fries or two pieces of pizza and some salad, but lately I can't do the fries or that second slice of pizza. Did anyone else experience this? I was always told that when you're pregnant you feel like your stomach is a bottomless pit and you never really feel full. Frankly, I hope that never does happen to me.

4. I have a weird aftertaste in my mouth almost all the time, but it's especially strong after I eat. Apparently it's called Dysgeusia. It's annoying. The most common recommendation for getting that taste out of your mouth is citrus juices! Catch 22...So I can either choose between heartburn and funny taste in my mouth. That's easy, I choose funny taste in my mouth. At least that doesn't hurt.

5. Naked pregnancy pictures are weird. I'm confused about the purpose of them because I'm pretty sure your kid doesn't want to see that. (This is just my opinion here)

6. Maternity shirts are awesome, maternity pants...not so much. I've found tons of shirts! So far GAP maternity has been my best bet. But I haven't had so much luck in the pants department. Most maternity pants are too short for me or they are too ugly. I think my best bet is to order some online...

7. I can't get enough ice water! I love the stuff. If I see someone else drinking water it makes me so thirsty! I was at a Relief Society meeting the other night and one of the women had a water bottle of ice water. It was pure torture! Phil and I have both agreed that the best water is Dasani bottled water. It's expensive to keep Dasani bottled water around, but if I had a choice, it's my #1. I typically just have water from a water cooler at work and from our fridge dispenser.
8. I'm exhausted. I wasn't prepared for this. One day I took two naps. But it's worth it. Totally worth it.

9. I'm still waiting for my hair to start looking better. I hear your hair can either get strong and shiny, or it gets stringy and thin. I'm crossing my fingers that for once in my life I can experience strong shiny hair! (Oh and while we're talking about hair...I'm getting much more little peach fuzz patches on my face. Joy)

10. Husbands are awesome! Especially mine. Phillip has been so great. So supportive. I couldn't ever imagine doing pregnancy on my own. I know a lot of times I usually just sound like a hormone pumped complaining crazy lady, but he puts up with me. He so concerned about me and the baby. If we're laying in bed at night just about to fall asleep and he finds out I haven't taken my prenatal vitamin, he jumps out of bed and gets me that vitamin and a glass of water. He'll even do the same if I'm having heartburn, but in stead of the vitamin it's my friend TUMS. He's even reading books about babies. Last night on the phone he suggested we get rid of the plastic cups we use almost everyday and go buy some glass ones. I loved this because not only was he concerned about my intake of BPA, but I've been wanting new glasses for a while now! (Thanks baby for my new drinking glasses!)

A post in a picture

2010-11-14T14:14:00.000-07:00

Due: May 30th

Age: 12 weeks

Posting from my iPod touch

2010-09-11T09:14:00.000-06:00

Phil gave me a new iPod touch for my birthday!! This was totally unexpected but totally worth it. Part of the present was that he got himself one too so we can facetime while he's in Chicago. If you haven't seen the iPhone commercials about FaceTime I suggest you look them up!! I LOVE THIS THING!

Phil Singer is published in Oxford University Press!!!

2010-05-05T07:05:00.001-06:00

No really, the words Phil Singer are in print! See?

Phil did research for Richard Davis, a political science professor at BYU, on political blogging, and he was recognized in his book under acknowledgments. Notice the names are given in alphabetical order, but I'm pretty sure that if they were given in order of importance Phil would fall in the top three...Davis just wanted to make sure no one's feeling's were hurt. : ) Just Kidding! But really, pretty cool that he's mentioned.

I'm not entirely sure the exact work that Phil did, I just know it took a long time and he monopolized my computer sometimes, but regardless, I am proud of him!

Yummmm

2010-03-26T12:42:00.000-06:00

This picture speaks for itself

Aren't I the best wife?

2010-02-10T10:36:00.004-07:00

I'm going to blog about this because I'm so excited about the sweet deal that I got.

For valentines day I got Phil this watch. (No worries, I'm not ruining the surprise. I gave it to him when it came in the mail...I couldn't wait!) Isn't it lovely?
For those of you who know Phil, he's kind of hard to buy for (or maybe easy depending on the way you look at it). Whenever I ask him what he would like, he always says "I don't need anything" or "whatever" or "you're all I want" (this last one is my particular favorite...isn't he sweet?) Well if you know Phil, then you also know that he loves watches. A while back, Morgan (of Ramblings of Morgan Hawley, married to the ever so wonderful Val, father of Finners...) found a nice Invicta watch while hiking or biking or something or other in Provo. The watch was a little big for Morgan, so he gifted it to Phil. Phil loves this watch, and has worn it ever since. Lately he's been having problems with the pins coming out that keep the watch face fastened to the strap. He's had to have them replaced a few times, which by the way has actually given us the opportunity to get to know our local Jeweler. Very friendly. So finally, I had THE perfect gift idea...a new Invicta watch, another color option and one that has intact pins. I was floored when I searched amazon and found that they have FANTASTIC prices on Invicta watches! Anyway, Phil loved it!

Thanks Morgan for introducing us to Invicta!

The Tall Guy in the Back

2010-01-15T06:55:00.003-07:00

If you notice closely you'll notice that the tall guy in the back of this lovely choir is none other than Phil Singer. Luckily Phil was wearing his red cashmere sweater (thanks mom) that day so he fit perfectly in with this holiday group of singers at the Beaver Dam Community Hospital. Luckily for us someone at the hospital was kind enough to scan this and send it to Phil. Apparently Phil was walking down the halls of the hospital one day and he noticed a choir forming so he joined. I always wonder what he does for fun in Wisconsin every week!

Christmas Message

2009-12-15T07:13:00.002-07:00

Baby H

2009-12-10T11:22:00.007-07:00

Baby Henry David Moss is here!

Isn't he adorable!?!?!

swaddled in the blankie his auntie Jen made for him!

Go HERE for more pics, etc.

Link to post

2009-10-20T06:48:00.001-06:00

This is the problem with having two different blogs...I get them mixed up when I'm writing posts. This is a blog post I had intended to post on here...but it ended up over here. Enjoy!

Online Sample Sale Shopping

2009-10-02T11:33:00.004-06:00

Ok, so I belong to LOTS of invitation only sample sale websites. I'm not sure WHY...I mean I haven't bought anything yet, but maybe in the future it will be a beneficial relationship for me. Anywhoooo...

I just joined the site called Rue La La. For example, today they are having sales for Tahari, Spanx, and Laundry by Shelli Segal to name a few. Anyway, if you sign up (HERE) before Oct. 10th you get a $10 credit added to your account to use toward anything you purchase on the site. I would take advantage of this deal. I mean it's like free money!

Here are the other sites I belong to:

www.ideeli.com: I think this is my favorite site of all of them. One day they had a Cuisinart sample sale! I laughed at first, then thought "wow, that's a great price for that blender!" They also had a Kate Spade sale a couple weeks ago...nothing to complain about there.
www.beyondtherack.com
www.gilt.com
www.secretstyle.com: They have health and beauty sales. If you want an invite to this one, let me know.

The Ole' Ball and Chain

2009-08-11T13:25:00.004-06:00

Since it's the eve of our 3rd Anniversary, I thought I would post a blag (brag+blog?). I know Phil won't be happy about this...but here it goes.

Phil has been working from home more lately, so he's been taking on more of the dinner preparation. Usually he consults me on things and asks me how to do this or that, but the other day I was not consulted about anything and I came home to this masterpiece. Look how he cutely arranged the broccoli!

It was a delicious chicken penne broccoli alfredo casserole. The brown stuff on top is Parmesan cheese! He layered in the cheese throughout the dish to give a yummy creaminess. And it was great for lunch the next day too.

Best Little Vacuum

2009-07-13T09:05:00.001-06:00

I wouldn't say that I hate cleaning, but it definitely isn't my favorite activity. I especially hate the concept of sweeping. I mean there's no way that bristly brush is going to pick EVERYTHING up. It seems so futile.

My world of cleaning changed drastically last Christmas when Phil and I ordered this little gem from Black & Decker (thanks Dad!).

This is the best little vacuum ever. It's perfect for our little kitchen and bathroom. I no longer own a broom because of this little guy. It adjusts to go flat to fit under furniture. And the best part is that it's so easy to clean out (just open and dump into the trash). It came with a convenient docking station so the little guy can rest up and recharge. Anyway, if you're looking for something convenient to replace your broom check this one out, it's worth the investment.

Rocket Ships and D.C.

2009-06-19T12:12:00.007-06:00

Before I report on our trip to D.C. a couple of weeks ago, I have to share these pictures which were still on my camera. Phil was playing with the boys in the front room one day and Mason came up with the idea of pretending the coffee table was a rocket ship. I can't believe they got uncle Phil to climb in!

Now on to our trip to D.C. We had a really good time and loved exploring a city neither one of us had been to before. Here are some pics from our adventures.

I know this one isn't that exciting. I mean really, a picture of a Metro escalator? But check it out! I think when I snapped this we were almost half way up. These are longer than the ones in the Tube stations in London! Anyway, I thought I would share.

Here's a panda at the zoo (which is part of the Smithsonian, so it's FREE!!!) Panda's are huge! and quite strong. This guy just picked up a bamboo branch and snapped in half like it was no big deal.

If you look closely you can see a segway tour! I was so jealous, especially after a whole day of walking around! But I think the next time we go, we'll do one those tours. It would be more relaxing, plus we could ride a segway!

U.S Capitol

Lincoln Memorial

Lincoln Memorial from the reflecting pool.

Phil at the WWII Memorial

Least attractive picture of me...but one of the only ones! It's kind of hard to get pictures of the both of us when we don't have anyone else around...well, except for 1000's of other tourists!

Washington Monument + Phil

U.S. Capitol from afar

White House. No tour for us, but still pretty awesome to see it.

While in D.C. we also went to the Museum of American History, the Museum of Natural History, the National Archives, and The Holocaust Museum. All of these were free, which was great for the wallet! We really loved the city and the great architecture and cool neighborhoods. I think we will definately be going back.

The Bradford Kids @ The Singers

2009-05-16T12:18:00.005-06:00

Last weekend we "supervised" Kira while she was watching the boys while E & B went out. Usually this just means that if she needs anything she comes down and gets us. But since it had been a while since Phil and I had played with the kids we brought them downstairs before we put them to bed. First, Mason came down. We had some strawberries out on the counter, and because I know Mason loves strawberries I gave him one. And yes, he thoroughly enjoyed it. A couple of minutes later he says "my body's hungry", we ask "well, what are you hungry for?" He kept quiet and wouldn't say anything. We then figured out he was too shy to ask for more strawberries. So after giving him another strawberry, he said the same thing. He's such a cute little guy.

So here are some pictures from the night. Including videos I took of Matthew crawling around on the floor. He's getting there, but he still needs to figure out the whole moving the legs and the arms at the same time to crawl.

Etsy Shop

2009-04-28T08:24:00.002-06:00

I just posted about my new etsy shop over on my other blog, but then realized no one really goes to that blog. So, here's a link. Check it out.

Are you going to go back to your country?

2009-04-20T15:39:00.002-06:00

Kade asked us this question last night. I believe he still thinks we're visiting.

Call me...on my new phone!

2009-04-17T06:23:00.004-06:00

I got a new phone yesterday! Thanks to M and D having a killer Sprint deal through BYU-I Phil and I now will have a lower mobile phone bill each month, and the best part is that I added unlimited data service for only an additional $4 a month. And since my phone is 2.5 years old, I figured it was time for an upgrade. I picked out the Palm Centro in black (my other options were green and pink).

I was expecting the phone to be a lot bigger than it really is. But its a perfect little size for my pocket or purse. And the greatest thing about having this is that I will be able to access my work email and calendar on it. But before I got it I had to promise Phil that I wouldn't become a phone email junkie. I don't imagine that will happen, considering I am on the computer everyday all day.

What I really wanted the phone for was to access my calendar, which would be really useful. For example, a couple weekends ago I was perusing the sales at the mall and my friend Mel called from Austin. We chatted for a while (as I rested on a rather comfy chair in sears) and then she invited me down for a visit. But because I did not know what my work schedule was like, I couldn't give her a definitive answer. Here's another example...I'm sitting in a meeting at work and the group wants to schedule a follow-up meeting. I am the only one in the room without a blackberry/iPhone/some kind of cool all-in-one gizmo and I have to tell them I will get back to them. Of course, this hasn't happened yet, but it could and I want to be prepared.

In addition to the unlimited data, we also have unlimited text messaging. So for all of those who already text me, keep on doing what you're doing because I no longer have to pay $.20 for each one I get. And for those of you who do not text me...feel free, because I imagine I will be doing a lot more of it!

Motherly-in-law Request

2009-04-13T06:39:00.002-06:00

Rita, this is for you!

Last night I had a request from my mother-in-law to blog about my new dress. Well...here it is. It's from Target. And I love it. It was the last dress of its kind and the belt was missing. Which for me worked out pretty well because they gave me 20% off.

I wore it for the first time to church yesterday. I wore a basic long-sleeved white button-up underneath and paired it with brown boots and a white ribbon around the waist.

I find it hard to find dresses which means I usually stick with the skirt because I am different sizes on top and bottom. But this one fit perfectly. I was so excited about this purchase until Phil took the wind out of my sails because he said I spent more than he thought I was going to spend. (I think Phil is still trying to get used to me spending more than $10 on things now that we are both gainfully employed) The dress was $35! Which in my opinion, is a fair (and rather good) price for a dress that fits me well and will serve many purposes. But being the good husband he is, he saw the dress on and agreed with me that it is a great dress and worth the $35.

Newest Purchase

2009-03-23T06:54:00.003-06:00

So I made a purchase on Saturday which I don't think I would normally make, except they are absolutely perfect.

The ones I purchased from T.J Maxx for $39.99 look more like the ones on the bottom, but are the leather color of the ones on the top (sorry, I couldn't find a picture of them on the interweb). I usually never buy heels, and never 3" heels . But I couldn't pass these up.

4 reasons why I love love love these shoes.

1. Soft and suptle. My feet are usually prone to getting blisters when walking in any shoes other than a sneaker. I don't know if that's because they're mis-shaped or because they are so delicate (I'll stick with the latter), but it happens. The leather on these shoes is so soft I'm not sure there's any way I could get a blister.

2. Heaven in a shoes. The insole of these shoes is padded. PADDED! It's like a soft pillow for my feet.

3. Lock and Load. There's a huge thick strap locking my feet in. See the problem I always have with wearing high heels is that my foot always slips out...I always seem to just walk out of the shoes. I don't have that issue with these ones.

4. Versatile. They're a very pretty neutral color which I think I can wear with all colors.

Last night Phil and I were playing a lively game of cribbage (which we are usually doing most Sunday evenings, or any evening for that matter...huge cribbage fans) and he caught me looking over at my shoes giving them a contented sigh. Needless to say my husband thinks I am very silly. Maybe I am very silly, but its hard for a big footed, picky shoe wearer to actually find shoes that satisfy. The end.

The Contents of My purse

2009-03-04T08:34:00.005-07:00

Because I know you all have been wondering....

wallet (of course)
checkbook
car keys
mobile phone
pens and mechanical pencils (i use mechanical pencils at work because they write better than the pens they give us...and they always seem to end up in my purse)
receipts
chapstick (x5)
gum
lip gloss
$5 worth of Dunkin Donuts bucks (have had in there for months now...not conducive to low-carb eating)
Pay-stub
bracelet Phil got me in Namibia
old iPod shuffle, but no headphones to listen to it...darn.
loose change
various old gift cards, some of which still have some money on them. I really should use those

Well, that's it. By evidence of my purse, I really am not an interesting person. But at least I'm prepared for a wind-chapped trip to Dunkin Donuts where a mechanical pencil is required.

This is not my purse, but wouldn't it be nice if it were?

My new love

2009-02-18T07:23:00.002-07:00

I have looked at this website before (thanks Val), but it wasn't until yesterday that I really found my love for it. www.Etsy.com is a site where anyone can buy and sell handmade items. You can find pretty much anything you want (or don't want) on there from handmade jewelry, clothing, to even tie-dyed tightie-whities. Here is one etsy store that I totally fell in love with. She makes the most amazingly beautiful jewelry. I was so enthralled by it that I even went to her blog and left her a message. I NEVER do that! (I sure hope she doesn't think I'm weird) But here are a few of her pieces that caught my eye:

This is a bracelet I particularly love.

And I love the color combination in this necklace.

I love Etsy so much that I've been brainstorming ideas of what I could sell on here and of course I don't really have any of the skills required to do them (sewing, painting, etc). I think having another creative outlet is always good for the soul. Anyone have any ideas? Really, I'm not cfrafty whatsoever. I think the only VERY crafty thing I have done that has worked was a stool that I decoupaged in high school. Right now it seems like my very own Etsy store is not in the stars. But at least I can window shop and gaze at (and maybe one day purchase) everyone else's creative outlets.

Really????

2009-02-02T11:01:00.002-07:00

WARNING: the following post is a result of having nothing to do at work and doing lots of internet window shopping and may not have any pertinence at all, but afforded me the opportunity to do something for 15 minutes.

A furry purse and a purse that looks like a school project!? Someone would actually purchase these insanely ugly things? It's amazing that just because it's a Versace or Fendi original people would purchase them. I'm a firm believer of purchasing things if you LIKE them not if you like the label that's on them. These two are good examples of this.

The furry blue number is a Versace that retails for $4,710.00, but you can get it today at Bluefly.com for the very low bargain-basement price of $2,722.54! (NOTE: it is made of fox fur...so if you're an animal lover you might want to stay away from this one) This one reminds me of those furry-topped pencils that Cher on Clueless made so popular. They're so phat.

The art project gone wrong is made by Fendi and retials for $5,190.00 and is on sale at Bluefly.com for $2,699.59. And this one isn't even made of leather...it's woven nylon.

(I don't want you all to get the wrong idea. I DO have a job...they just haven't released me into the water on my own yet. But I have been told that in our department we are either EXTREMELY busy or EXTREMELY bored. We'll see how that pans out.)

Evidence

2009-01-28T12:32:00.008-07:00

Here's some evidence of Phil and I's trip to San Diego for Dan's wedding (see...palm trees!). We forgot our cameras and so we relied on others to snap photos for us. I rarely like pictures taken of me, but I think Brittney did a fantastic job on these.

The Singer Brothers (staring into the sun)
Matt, Phil, Dan, and Nate

We had a great time in San Diego. It's funny because every time Phil and I have ever talked about where we want to live California has always been out of the running due to crowded cities and over-priced cost of living (and this is coming from a couple who lives in Boston!? I know our logic makes no sense). But having experienced the pleasures of San Diego we are amending this statement to: "we want to live nowhere else but San Diego!" The weather was wonderful while we were there (mid - high 70's!). In fact, while we were there we dodged the below zero weather in Boston. It was such a relief to slip on flip flops and t-shirts and walk along the beach! And traffic in San Diego is no worse than here in Boston (if not better), and I'm more than positive it's ten times better than L.A.'s traffic. Even if Phil and I never move to San Diego, I think we have decided that we are definitely going back...many many times.

Thanks to Dan and Wendy for having the wedding in San Dieogo and thanks to Rita Clem for making the stay so wonderful!

Our new place

2009-01-01T13:28:00.005-07:00

Now that we are back from Oregon and the busy holidays are over I have finally found a few moments to take some pictures and blog about our new space in the basement of Erin and Brian's. We love being down here. This is by far the largest place we have lived in since being married. So here is the grand tour...

Our lovely front porch and door

Our front room

(thanks to Erin and Brian for the extra couch, rug, ottoman, and book shelves below!!!)

Dining area with our favorite bar height table

The desk, which has stayed down here since Jon and Deb lived here. I guess they nor Andrew and Rebekah wanted to keep it and we thank them for that!

This is our kitchen. Andrew and Rebekah painted the wall red and we liked it so much we kept it.

As you can see we don't have a stove top or an oven but we survive. Andrew and Rebekah left us their two burner hot plate and the microwave is also a convection oven (which currently doesn't work, so we borrow on the good graces of Erin and Brian if we need to bake something).

Our very own laundry room! This is thrilling for me to have this much space to fold laundry and it has lots of cupboard space.

The bathroom was the largest project I under took when we moved in. I took down old fixtures, patched holes, painted the walls blue (they used to be red), put up the wainscoting and chair rail, and repainted all of the moldings and cabinetry. Then Phil helped me put in the new fixtures we got with our awesome Black and Decker perk (thanks Dad!).

This is what you see when you walk into our bedroom.

This is the smaller closet that we use for Phil's shoes and our coats.

The bedroom used to be all yellow. Brian was kind enough to paint our bedroom for us. We chose a chocolate brown for the accent wall behind our bed and a cream color for the rest of the walls.

And our very own walk-in closet!

So that's our place. But here are a couple pictures from our travels to the Northwest.

This is a double rainbow we saw on our way back up to Portland. The picture below is the right side of the rainbow! It was a really large beautiful sight.

Phil and I are excited about this new year. We both have new jobs and we're in a new place. We hope it brings many new things for us! Happy New Year to all of you!

I got a job!

2008-12-18T19:44:00.003-07:00

So I got a job as a Project Analyst for a large healthcare compant in their finance department! I interviewed for this job back in September. I will start in January after the new year. This job has worked out rather perfectly. Being that the country is in a recession and the job market is awful I thought there would be no way I would get a job offer in the near future. So I consider myself extremely lucky. Anyway, thanks to all our friends and family for your prayers, love, and support.

p.s. keep tuned for pictures and detailed post about our new place!

Getting Ready for the Big Move

2008-12-01T13:56:00.003-07:00

This next weekend Phil and I will be moving downstairs to the basement apartment! Andrew and Rebekah found a house to rent (just a couple blocks away). We are really excited to get all of our stuff out of storage and find out what we have been missing for the past 5 months. I of course am thrilled to have a space I can make our own, i.e. paint, decorate, etc. I have some pretty big plans for the bathroom, so I will take pictures when that project is done.

Along with the exciting news of our move, Phil has a new job! He started it last week and I think he is really liking it. (Check this out to get his take on it.) I am really proud of him and very grateful he was able to get this position. It finally makes a little more sense to us now why we moved here. We ultimately moved here so Phil could find a job and get some work experience before graduate school. It took a little longer than we expected, but we are thrilled with the results.

Anyway, stay tuned for pictures of our new place as we settle in and decorate!

More pretty pictures

2008-10-28T13:05:00.004-06:00

So Phil and I took these pictures a couple of weeks ago at Mt. Auburn Cemetery, but we haven't shared them with all of you yet. The last three are taken from the top of the tower, which was closed the last time we went.

This picture does not do this tree justice. It was the most beautifully colored tree in the cemetery and it looked so eerily bright amidst all the graves.

If you look closely you can see the temple up on the hill in the distance
(sorry, my camera is a bit "dated" as far as technology goes and I couldn't zoom in much more and the mega pixels are a bit low)

Needless to say, Phil and I are really enjoying the fall here on the East Coast. You definately don't get colors on the trees in Utah like you do here.

Updates of all updates...

2008-10-13T08:06:00.003-06:00

Every time I look at Julia and Dave's blog I get upset that there are no new posts to look through (I mean how else am I going to keep in touch with my twin sister who's 2,000 miles away? I know, phone, email...but it's just not the same). Then I realized others might feel the same about our blog, seeing as my last post has been up just as long as Julia's. So, I think it's time I updated our loyal readers of our life here in Boston.

So Phil and I have been her in Belmont for 3 months. We currently reside in the "Yellow Room" in the Barbara Rd. house while our stuff resides in storage. Both of us have actively been pursuing gainful employment. We have written numerous emails, sent in a plethora of applications, had phone interviews and real interviews...but to no avail. We are still looking! It doesn't seem like the best time right now to be looking for jobs with the way the economy is going. But we're pretty sure higher ed, health care, and nonprofit organizations aren't suffering as bad as financial institutions, so we're hopeful.

But with all our free time Phil and I have discovered a love for the local Belmont Library. Sure, it's old and smells funny, but it has lots of great books. Those of you who know Phil know that he is an avid readers, reading 2 or 3 books at a time (I'm a one book kind of girl) and since all of our books are in storage and we don't have the money or the space to purchase new books, the library has been our closest resource for our reading enjoyment. Here are two recommendations that I have:
1. Leaving Microsoft to Change the World, by John Wood is a really good read about the struggles of starting an internationally operated nonprofit, plus I really enjoyed his casual style of writing.
2. North and South (this one is more for the ladies, unless you gentlemen get as much enjoyment out of a love story) by Elizabeth Gaskell. I read this book because my sister-in-law Hannah recommended it. And let me tell you ladies, this one is great. I would also recommend viewing the the miniseries BBC produced, I would put it on par with the miniseries A&E did for Pride and Prejudice.

I guess another update that needs to be done is on my diet. As many of you may know, I have been on the Atkins diet for the past 12 weeks. I have never really done any dieting in my life and I felt it would be a waste of time to try because I just wouldn't have the sticktoitiveness (many may think this is not a word, and it most likely isn't, but dictionary.com has it, check it out) to see it through. Surprisingly I have been able to stick with it rather well and I have lost...drum roll please...28 lbs! I know I know, you want to see pictures, but I promise that results will be better when January comes and I have hit my goal...then I will share pictures of my new frame. For now, I still have a lot of work to do. I work out three days a week (on Erin's treadmill in the attic) along with the diet, which I think helps. Although, technically you don't have to work out to lose weight with Atkins, I find I feel better if I do. Well anyway, I don't usually like to talk about my weight...but I wanted to share this accomplishment with all of you.

So that's pretty much the Jen and Phil update. If anyone knows of any good jobs available in the Boston area, let us know! For now, I will leave you with some pictures from a trip we took up to Kittery, ME this past Friday. (the last three pictures were taken at a beach in York, ME just past Kittery)

pretty tree

another pretty tree

pretty jen and phil

pretty beach

pretty beach houses

Twinship

2008-09-13T08:48:00.004-06:00

Today is the 24th anniversary of my birth, when I came into this world following one of the most amazing women I know. I was born September 13, 1984 10 minutes after Julia. Growing up, Julia would always tease me by telling me she was older (yeah, I know just 10 minutes, but somehow it worked) but then I would just tease her back and tell her I was taller (half an inch but that only lasted until ninth grade I think). But despite the fact that we were twins and I was taller, I somehow always looked up to Jules. She is one of the strongest women I know, who can take ANY challenge that is thrown at her. I mean, she beat CANCER of all things! She really has been a saving grace in my life. I want her (and everyone out there on the blog-o-sphere) to know how much I love my twin sister and what an amazing woman she is. So, here's a few pictures for your enjoyment.

Funny, now it's the other way around...I wear glasses and she doesn't.

Jules on the beach in Hawaii. Sisters trip '07. Thanks Erin for having a business trip and giving us the excuse to soak up some sun on the beaches of Hawaii!

Here's Jules in the sunset in Hawaii...I told her to smile, she took a bite of her ice cream, figures.

Here we are sporting the fashion choices of one Sue Clark. Even at the age of 21 mom felt we needed somewhat matching things. Fuzzy coats mom? really? (There is another version of this picture where you can see the humongous night shirt that Jules is wearing, sporting a frog I think, which was also a part of the plethora of strange gifts that Christmas) But we quickly forgave our mother and realized she had done all her Christmas shopping at T.J.Maxx on Christmas Eve (considering she couldn't fly gifts over from Rexburg) and was at the mercy of what was in the store!

Here's Jules sporting one of her more creative Halloween costumes...dressing up as our friend Amy, crutches and all.

Jules being Jules!

Twins being Twins
(I'm still not sure what we were looking at here)

Jules, I can't imagine a person that I would rather share my birthday with than you. Happy 24th.

MOZY.com

2008-09-12T10:23:00.002-06:00

So I have recently noticed how old my computer is getting (over 3 years, which is OLD for a computer) and hoping that it won't crash and Phil and I won't lose all our files.... so I decided to sign up for a free service that automatically backs up my files. I got 2GB of free storage space, but if I refer others, I get more free storage space and so do you. So, if you have also been looking for something to back up your important files, click on this link:

https://mozy.com/?ref=NXFMSH

Or you can enter NXFMSH as a referral code during registration.

It's really easy to sign up and use. You have to download something onto your computer that locates your files, but it's easy and simple. You can set it to backup as often as you would like. I have it set up to backup every week during the middle of the night, so it won't slow down our computer when Phil or I am using it during the day.

So if you want this service and want to help me and you get some more free space, just click the link above!

New Blog

2008-09-06T10:38:00.002-06:00

So I started a blog of my very own. I decided to dedicate space just to my obsession with digital scrap-booking and blog templates. It's called Singer Designs. Yes, I know, rather cheesy, but I couldn't think of anything better. Take a look and let me know what you think.

holla atcha boy***

2008-08-24T21:52:00.004-06:00

So I just want to give a shout out to my wonderful husband. He started his own blog (PMSinger). Every Sunday he does a spiritual post with his testimony and thoughts about the gospel. (If you aren't familiar with the LDS church, check out www.LDS.org) Anyway, I think he has some great insights and I encourage you, our faithful readers, to take a look. Besides, he's a pretty interesting guy and his other posts are pretty great too....and occasionally humorous.

***translation: please check out Phil's blog at your earliest convenience

Little Boys and Wild Turkeys

2008-08-18T09:13:00.007-06:00

So I have two topics that I want to touch on today and I will do so in one blog post. First, I would like to dedicate some of my blog space to two little boys named Mason (2) and Kade (4). They are by far two of the greatest little boys and they are so fun to play with. A couple weeks ago while driving home from church we introduced them to the fine world of dance parties in the car...after that Mason walked around the house saying "dance party, dance party..." as his 2-year old little arms started swinging back and forth trying to resemble dance moves. We have since had dance parties everywhere, including on our bed. Here is a video for your viewing pleasure.

Onto my next topic...wild turkeys. I had never seen a wild turkey walking around this house while I lived here and Erin and Brian had always told us they had seen them. But about two weeks ago, while sitting in the front living room we looked out the window and there were about 15 wild turkeys walking along our driveway! I had never seen such a sight. They are pretty cool to look at. Then yesterday morning I was making breakfast and there they were just in the backyard nibbling at the grass and perching on the swing set.

The first thing I thought of when I saw them was how my mom always uses "turkey" as an insult. For example, when she's driving and someone cuts her off, she puts her fist up and shouts "you turkey!" and then immediately apologizes for using such a bad word.

If you would like to see these wild turkeys in action, here is a video. Man, I should work for National Geographic with these skills!

My new diet...

2008-07-30T07:24:00.002-06:00

I've never been one to diet...ever. I have been known to cut certain things out of my diet, but I have never quite limited myself completely. I never thought I had the self control to ever do a diet until now. Yes, I have gained quite a bit of weight since getting married and starting graduate school. But I figure, now that we've been married for almost two years and I have graduated that it's about time for me to get my act together.

My sister Erin (who's house we live in) just had a baby and decided she needed to lose some weight too (even thought I think she looks great!). In the past Erin has gone on the Atkins diet and has always lost a lot of weight, so she started it again and a week later I joined her.

So the Atkins diet, as most of you know, is a low carb diet and claims to burn more fat. I've always been a skeptic about these things. It seem intuitively wrong that by eating lots of meat and cheese you can lose weight. But I started this diet hoping it would work for me. I thought it was going to be really hard, but it has helped to have Erin in the house doing it too. (Now I just need to get Phil on board to make it easier for me when we move out!) No matter what foods you eat, you will always eat better when you plan your meals. Each day I like to plan what I'm going to eat the next day, this way I don't just walk into the kitchen and scrummage though the cupboard landing my hand on a big box of crackers. It also helps to only keep things in the house that you can eat (not so easy with a 4 year old and a 2 year old running around).

Erin has shown me around the grocery store and pointed out the foods I can and cannot eat. Did you know they make sugar free Reese's Peanut Butter Cups?? Well, they do and they're delicious. It's always nice to have a piece of candy once and a while, because even when you're dieting, you always have to satisfy your sweet tooth. I have to say that the one thing I really miss is fruit. Fruit has always been so refreshing to me, but at this stage of Atkins it's not allowed because of all the sugar in it.

Yes, there are stages to Atkins. You start at the induction phase, which limits you to 20 grams of carbs a day, which is not a lot at all. You stay in this phase until you have reached a certain weight, or BMI range, or something like that. I'm going to stay at this phase until I lose 20 lbs. Then each week you can add 5 more grams of carbs to your daily allotment. You do this until you're not losing weight anymore and then you scale back 5 lbs until you find your ideal carb count.

So it's been a week now and I have lost (drum roll please...) 6 lbs already! I figure that in a month or so I can reach my 20 lbs goal and move on from there. And no worries, I'm not going to use my blog as my diet journal, I just wanted to tell you all about my new venture, because I figure the more I talk about it and the more people know that I'm doing it, the more accountable I will feel to stick with it!

Jen's Barber Shop

2008-07-26T20:45:00.006-06:00

I gave Phil, Mason and Kade haircuts today. I was surprised at how good the boys were at sitting still...even though the wind (we did it outside on the porch) blew hair in their faces and into their mouths. Yes, I had to sway Phil with a lollipop, but he was a good boy and sat very still. Here are a few pics of Phil and the boys with their new 'dos.

Kade and Mason love their Uncle Phil. They were crawling all over him while watching the Incredibles down at Andrew and Rebekah's. They're the cutest little boys.

We are enjoying ourselves here in Belmont. We are still both on the job hunt and we will keep our loyal readers (yes, I know you're out there!) posted on any developments. Cross your fingers for us!

Wicked!!!

2008-07-04T13:48:00.000-06:00

Well folks, its official. Phil and I are moving to the Bay State. Phil has decided that he wants to work for a couple of years before graduate school, and of our options we figure Boston will be the best place to be right now.

We made this decision Monday night (yes, just 4 days ago) and we're leaving this Wednesday (yup that's just 5 days away). Phil's dad is flying out to help Phil drive the truck. I, on the other hand, will be flying on jetBlue in the comfort of my leather seat, free Direct TV, and free snacks.

Roses???

2008-07-01T11:20:00.000-06:00

So, Phil came home last night and brought home roses for me! Why you might ask would Phil bring me roses on a day that's not any more special than another and the week of his birthday? Well, the only answer I can come up with is that he's a thoughtful husband and knows how much I LOVE fresh flowers. I'm a lucky woman.

Also, here are some pictures from our trip last week to Boston.

Mason playing with the hose

Kade with his really awesome water gun. These boys LOVE playing outside in the water. They even love playing in the water in the sink in the bathroom...water babies.

Phil and baby Matthew

We have a new nephew and a new niece we were able to meet in Boston! In this picture Matthew was about a week and a half old and still weighed as much as when he was born. He's a skinny little thing. I didn't take any pictures of Rachel, who's about a month old! But check out Andrew and Rebekah's blog for some pictures of their beautiful little girl!

More Blogger Templates

2008-06-30T17:28:00.000-06:00

Here are some more Blogger templates I have created...I know they're not the prettiest things, but I'm working on my craft. Just follow the directions in the post below to add one to your blog.

http://i286.photobucket.com/albums/ll81/jngrl7/grandmascouch.gif

http://i286.photobucket.com/albums/ll81/jngrl7/greenandpinkgarden.gif

http://i286.photobucket.com/albums/ll81/jngrl7/pearlsofwisdom.gif

http://i286.photobucket.com/albums/ll81/jngrl7/AndrewandRebekahBlog.gif

http://i286.photobucket.com/albums/ll81/jngrl7/AndrewandRebekahBlog2.gif

http://i286.photobucket.com/albums/ll81/jngrl7/AndrewandRebekahBlog3.gif

http://i286.photobucket.com/albums/ll81/jngrl7/bluebird.gif

http://i286.photobucket.com/albums/ll81/jngrl7/colorblocksunburst.gif

Digital Scrap Booking?

2008-06-18T11:19:00.000-06:00

So, recently while I was trying to figure out how to design my own blog templates and I got emerged in the world of digital scrap booking. Who knew this was such a huge thing? I definately didn't. There are websites upon website where you can get digital paper, embellishments, pictures, ribbons...everything you need to do some memory keeping. And you can even find much of the stuff for free. (Here's a good website: digiscrapdepot) I've already downloaded a lot of stuff (much of which I probably won't use). And this whole digital scrap booking (which Phil refers to as "crap-booking") is huge over in Europe. I've never been one for scrap booking, but this way there's no mess and no glue to deal with.

So far, all I have done other than download a bunch of stuff, is design some blog templates for blogger. Here's what I've come up with:

http://i286.photobucket.com/albums/ll81/jngrl7/brownbag3.gif

http://i286.photobucket.com/albums/ll81/jngrl7/brownfloral.gif

http://i286.photobucket.com/albums/ll81/jngrl7/pinkpaisley.gif

http://i286.photobucket.com/albums/ll81/jngrl7/redpaisley.gif

http://i286.photobucket.com/albums/ll81/jngrl7/YellowTree.gif

If you want to use these, just follow these directions:

Log into your blog

Next go to ‘customize’ then ‘layout’ then ‘pick a new template’ then choose a minima template.

Then click on "edit HTML:" and scroll down to where it says:

body { background:$bgcolor; margin:0; color:$textcolor; font:x-small Georgia Serif; font-size/* */:/**/small; font-size: /**/small; text-align: center;

Change that part of the code to say this:

body {

background:$bgcolor;background-image:url(direct link);background-position: center; background-repeat:no-repeat; background-attachment: fixed;

margin:0; color:$textcolor; font:x-small Georgia Serif; font-size/* */:/**/small; font-size: /**/small; text-align: center;

Now copy the address of the picture where it says "direct link"

Click Save!

I know these aren't the best, but I'm still trying to figure out how to use a program other than ppt or publisher.

If you want more information about how to make your own blog template, visit: www.cutestblogontheblock.com

Happy blogging and digital scrap booking!

Camera Dump

2008-06-11T17:29:00.000-06:00

So I haven't downloaded pictures from my camera in a while and I found a few from February when I flew to Boston for Julia and Dave's open house/engagement party. Not surprisingly, most of the pictures are of the kids.....

Mason

Dad testing his fancy web cam...

Jules and Mason

Mason

video playing cousins Isaac and Kade...gotta love that DS

Kade being Kade

Me and Kade

Owen

Me and Kira

Chameleon

2008-05-29T10:29:00.001-06:00

So I keep changing my blog template and layout. I think I've changed it three or four times in the past two days. I think it's because its the one thing in my life right now I can control, but I'm never happy with anything I do to it. It really makes me wish I knew more about html and web design. Well I guess there's still time...

I've been thinking A LOT lately about those other things in my life I can't control. I have an amazing husband who has the ability to remain calm and collected in times of change, while I'm dying inside feeling like I'm never going to see the end of the road.

(Who knew a Chameleon could be this small. Yes folks, thats the smallest Chameleon in the world).

Its like the things in my life I can change are the small things (noted picture above), and the big things are the ones I have no control over. It's so frustrating.....but I think that's the way its supposed to be. If we had full control over the bigger, more important things in our lives, then what would be the need for faith? Yes, we do help to direct the paths in our lives, but there is a larger force at play. He's the one that directs you to where you should go to school, who you're going to marry, where you should work, and who the one landlord in Minneapolis is who will rent you a spacious apartment for less than $1000/month. Yes, God works in mysterious ways, but at least we know he's there helping us...holding our hands when we can't see the end of the road.

Possible Dwelling

2008-05-25T19:18:00.000-06:00

UPDATE ON THE UPDATE: The landlord found another renter....darn! So we're back to the beginning again. Anyone want to give us a place to live in Minneapolis????? PLEASE!?

UPDATE: We just found out that it doesn't have A/C and the landlord is still showing it to people...so if he doesn't find anyone else to start renting it June 1st, he'll offer it to us for July 1st. But we have to wait and see.

So Phil and I have been searching and searching for a place to live in Minneapolis and we think we have found a great place. We just want to see what you, our avid readers, think. So leave us a comment and let us know if you think we should rent it after reading the below information.

(Click HERE to see the listing on Craigslist)
It's about 4 miles from downtown and the U of M campus (Click here to see map). It's a 2 bedroom 1 bath apartment with a dishwasher and free laundry in the basement. It has recently been updated with new stainless steel appliances, paint, and refinished hardwood floors. It has plenty of closet space (or so they say) and storage in the basement. We would have a reserved two car parking spot in the back of the building (uncovered). The rent is $850/month and we have to pay electric, gas, and cable/internet. The apartment is on the first floor of a 4 unit building. We are not sure yet if it has air conditioning....I guess if it doesn't we can use window units...

The guy renting it says he would be willing to lease it to us for 3 months in case we decide we don't like it and want to find somewhere else to live. Its a good neighborhood with a park down the street. Here are some pictures.

Questions we are asking ourselves....
1. Would it be worth it to live there without a/c for three months (July, August, September....assuming that it doesn't have it)?
2. Do we want to be on the first floor?
3. Would it be awful in the winter to park our car outside? (although not too many apartments offer covered parking)
4. Do we want to rent something that we have never seen or met the landlord?

Please let us know what you think.

What a Funny Kid

2008-05-15T11:18:00.001-06:00

So for those of you who have never met my nephew Kade...here's a video you can watch on my sister's blog. Despite the awful lighting this is pretty much the funniest thing EVER!

Here's a picture of Kade one morning last summer, eating a donut for breakfast. It's pretty much the only thing he will eat for breakfast these days.

The Blog Heard 'Round the World

2008-04-23T18:56:00.000-06:00

So this morning I put this cool tool on our blog that keeps track of the statistics of those of you who view our blog. Its a really cool service provided by www.statcounter.com...check it out! Anyway, I was looking up our stats just from today and I noticed we had someone visit our blog from The Netherlands! I think thats pretty awesome. I never knew the words I write could reach so many. The glory of the world wide web!

Welkom mijn vrienden!!

I Was Tagged

2008-04-16T18:09:00.000-06:00

Because I have been accused of not blogging enough, I am fulfilling a request from my good friend Margaret Elva "Prego" Tueller Proffitt to answer the following questions:

4 Jobs I have had:
Instructor - MyGym children's fitness center
Intern ("do anything for anyone-tern") - HBS Executive Education
Intern - Community Action Services and Food Bank (a local nonprofit in Provo)
Research Assistant - doing lit review upon lit review on business ethics

4 TV Shows I watch:
American Idol
Law and Order
House Hunters
Oprah (cheesy I know, but sometimes interesting)

4 Places I have been:
Bermuda
Aruba
Ghana
Hawaii
(And all in the last year and 8 months!)

4 People that email me:
CNN Breaking News
Jules
Phil
Fellow students I'm working on projects with (I get LOTS of these...but not anymore come Monday!!!)

4 of my favorite foods:
Pad Tai
Cannolis....yummy
Cookie dough Sonic blasts (only for a limited time)
Sweet potatoe fries (because that's what I'm making for dinner tonight!)

4 Friends I Tag:
I abstain....

4 things I am looking forward to in 2008:
Moving to Minneapolis (or so we think)
Moving above the federal poverty line (based on whether or not I can find a job!!!)
Decorating a new apartment!
Being done with school (next week!!)

news

2008-04-01T15:24:00.000-06:00

So this morning we found out Phil was accepted to George Washington University in D.C.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now our decision about where to move is more complicated. Please vote (see question to the right) to help us make this decision!

I'm a Butterfinger!!

2008-03-10T11:45:00.000-06:00

So according to a precise test of my personality, likes, and dislikes, it has been determined that I am more like a butterfinger than any other candy bar....hmm I'm yummy.

What Kind of Candy Are You?

Phil's Gubernatorial Meeting

2008-03-07T18:51:00.001-07:00

Wednesday was Phil's last day of his internship. The legislative session ended at midnight, and he finally made it home by 2 am! But at least he got a sweet pic with the gov.

GRADUATION ANNOUNCEMENT

2008-03-03T12:56:00.000-07:00

So because I'm cheap and don't want to pay $ for graduation announcements...i'm using our blog to announce this momentous occasion in our lives

PHILLIP MCMINN SINGER
and
JENNIFER ANN CLARK SINGER
Are graduating!!!!!!!!!!

Phillip is graduating with his Bachelor's of Science with a double major in Political Science and Anthropology

Jennifer is graduating with her Masters of Public Administration

Please make checks payable to Jennifer or Phillip....hahaha just kidding! But we are both excited to move on to another phase in our lives and want to express our appreciation for all of you who supported us and helped us while we were here at BYU!

So What Does Phil Do When He Sleeps?

2008-03-03T00:05:00.001-07:00

I know you all have been wondering....and now I have an answer for you.

Lately I have had trouble falling asleep at night, so i just lay there and daydream. But I am occasionally pulled away from my daydreaming by Phil's right arm sticking straight up into the air. He then takes his left arm and strokes his right arm rhythmically as if its some kind of instrument playing a melodious tune. I first noticed this last week, but he did it again last night...twice!! It took everything in me to keep from laughing out loud! I get so frustrated when I can't sleep, and this just made the experience so much better.

I would love to get a picture or video of it....stay tuned.

The best (and only) good thing about Birmingham, AL

2008-02-25T11:08:00.000-07:00

So you may have heard that Phil has heard back from his first school. He was accepted to the University of Alabama, Birmingham to the school of public health. With the possibility of moving to Birmingham, I decided to look into housing costs. Did you know that Phil and I could buy a house for as little as $60,000??? That's nuts! I mean granted, it would not be an updated house...but still.

update

2008-02-09T21:41:00.000-07:00

After careful consideration, I decided not to buy Phil the ride on cooler. Since we rarely use a cooler, I figured it would mostly be Phil riding around on it in our parking lot. And since there's a 5 inch slab of ice covering it right now...the cooler would be of no use. I'm pretty confident the cooler doesn't have 4wheel drive.

But on another note, Phil has started his internship at the Utah Legislature, working for Rep. Ron Bigelow. He seems to be enjoying the experience and learning a lot. He gets to wear a sweet security badge with his picture on it, and carry around a blackberry so he can be at the beck and call of his representative. But Phil is not enjoying the 1 1/2-2 hour bus trip it takes to get to Salt Lake and back. He frequently complains about not being able to sleep during the commute because some girl is yapping away on her cell phone. But it is only a 6 week internship and his bus pass was the same price as one tank of gas....thank you UTA

Phil has submitted most of his applications for grad school, and I think he still has one or two to finish before their March deadline. We hope to start to hear back from schools starting in March. This will decide the fate of our future....so we're pretty anxious about it.

I'm still plugging away at school. Being my last semester, I have to be honest, I have little motivation, and school seems less fun. But don't worry, I'm still learning a lot, and getting my stafford loan's worth. It might get better once we know where we're going to live and I can actually start to look for a job....albeit one I probably don't want, since I have no long term work experience. But such is the life of the grad student, who decided not to take off a couple years before working on her degree to get work experience. But let's face it folks, if I had left school and started working full time, I probably wouldn't have gone back. So it worked out in the end.

Phil and I are looking into buying a new car. But this has not been a smooth process considering we have no time to do it and can't find a car in our price range that Phil's tall 6'6" frame will fit into comfortably. It would be a lot simpler if we were rich and could just walk next door to the dealership next to our building and point our finger and take one home with us. But alas, it is not, and we are still on the hunt for a good deal.

'til later....

The Best Gift Idea Ever!!!

2007-11-30T11:48:00.000-07:00

So a couple of weeks ago I was trying to figure out what to get Phil for Christmas. I decided to use one of the best research tools out there....the internet. My first stop was Gifts.com, and as I was searching through the items I found this:

The Cruzin Cooler! This special scooter allows the rider to cruise up to 14 M.P.H.! Who thinks of these things? Our world is full of useless things. But this is just the start, this lovely contraption has an optional attachment.

If you are interested in purchasing this item visit this link: Gifts.com

Sisters Trip to Hawaii

2007-11-03T17:10:00.000-06:00

Here are some pictures from our sisters trip to Hawaii. Enjoy! Here's Jules eating her McFlurry (yes I know, not very Hawaiian, but rather delicious) and basking in the sunset.

More sunset. Isn't it beautiful?

Here we are at Senior Frog's wearing our silly balloon hats. The food was quite good, but if you don't like heavy drinkers, loud music, and a guy walking around with a microphone talking to people, then I wouldn't go.

Here's Jules wearing her snorkel gear. Although the snorkeling wasn't as good as we thought it was going to be.

The view from our hotel room.

5 Things

2007-10-20T18:28:00.000-06:00

So we were tagged by Ms. Margaret Tueller Proffitt to create this list...you might be next...

5 things we were doing 10 years ago:
1. Phillip was the starting center for the Joseph Lane Junior High School Freshman Basketball Team
2. Jen was playing in BYBA (Belmont Youth Basketball Association) on the maroon team
3. Jen had just turned 13 and was excited to start being a teenager...although it didn't afford her any special privileges...none the less it was an exciting time
4. Not thinking about paying for rent/utilities/food....no financial stresses at 13/14 (how nice)
5. Not watching the Red Sox play in the World Series (its going to different this time...i just know it)

* Frankly it was hard to think about things we did 10 years ago. I mean who really thinks about that? Plus what kind of 13/14 year old really takes all that much in?

5 things on our "to-do list" tomorrow:
1. Watch game 7....yes folks, we're going to take it to 7 and all the way to the World Series!!
2. Go to church (and try and be on time at 8am!)
3. Take a nap
4. Pack to go to Hawaii!!! YES! (just Jen of course...Phil has to stay in Provo and work/study, poor guy)
5. Grade more poorly written freshman papers

5 things we would do if we had a million dollars:
1. pay off my student loans and pay for Phil's graduate school tuition (wherever that may be)
2. buy a house
3. have babies
4. invest in the stock market
5. travel to Africa (together this time) and climb Kilimanjaro as Jen waits at the bottom hanging with the monkeys

5 things we will never wear again:
1. Acid wash jeans
2. plaid-flannel shirts
3. hyper color shirts
4. overalls
5. tapered jeans

5 favorite toys:
1. baseball and mitt (2 mitts preferably)
2. our BOSE CD player (graciously give to us by Kim and Sue last Christmas!)
3. Tim and Anna's Wii before they moved :(
4. blogger.com...we love being able to "stalk" our family and friends
5. wikipedia.org...it's the best website and it knows everything (or close to everything worth knowing)

5 people we're tagging...

Clarky Cubed, The Bradfords, BookerBean (yes you can do it Book, even though you weren't alive 10 years ago; have an imagination), Mike and Hannah (if they ever get their blog back up!), and Julia Clark (yes Julia, you need to start a blog and I think this will be a great way to do it!)

Boston, Aruba, and Connecticut Trip

2007-08-30T19:51:00.001-06:00

So we're back now from our travels to the east coast and the Lesser Antilles. We had a great time seeing family in Boston and Connecticut. We also had a great time relaxing in Aruba. Here is a link to our pictures on-line.

Phil and I are starting school again this coming Tuesday. This is our last year here at BYU! We're excited to move on to a new place next year. We'll keep you all posted on those developments.

News Worthy Quote

2007-08-01T13:31:00.001-06:00

Ok so here's an article from BYU news about our trip to Ghana. Check out my sweet quote!

Beauty

2007-05-26T09:19:00.000-06:00

So while we were in Ghana we had a woman and her son cater dinners for us at the church temple dorms we were staying at while in Accra. The son had just joined the church 6 months ago. He got to talking with one of the girls in our group and basically asked her to find him a wife. She obviously didn't take him very seriously, but still asked him what his qualifications were. He pointed to me and said he would like to marry someone like me because I'm "strong." She reminded him that I was married, but needless to say I felt a little awkward around him after that.

I was told many times that I "looked like" an African because I had African hips. My first reaction was to be offended, but then realized that it was actually a compliment from them. In fact, while I was going through a security check point before hopping on the plane home my bags were being searched by a lady, and then these two guys walked up and started talking to me. The first one commented that he thought I was very beautiful, then the other said he liked my shape and waved his hands in the shape of a large round ball, and then the first one asked me if I was married. I guess I should have been flattered, but my first thought was "which one of these guys is the wing-man?"

These experiences made me ponder the perception of beauty and how culturally different they are. The African sense of beauty is much different than here in the states; they treasure the curves of a women. Before heading off to Ghana I read an article in an on-line Ghanain publication about a modeling agency in Ghana. They were discussing how there are many beautiful African models, but they could never break into any other market outside of Africa because they weren't stick thin and didn't fit the mold of the western world's view of beauty.

Through my interactions with the people there and my people watching (because I do that a lot), I couldn't help thinking "these people are some of the most beautiful people I have ever seen." And I don't think it was all due to their physical features, but also due to their kindness, sincerity and knowing everything they have in their lives they worked extremely hard for.

So I guess there's no real moral to this blog post, but just to provide some food for thought.

Jen's African Adventures

2007-05-23T22:43:00.000-06:00

So I'm back from Ghana, after two weeks of amazing experiences. I had the opportunity to learn a lot about International Development and the challenges that these countries face.

I learned a lot about the Ghanain culture and the wonderful people there. They are the kindest people you will meet in the world. It is normal to wave and say hello to everyone you meet on the streets. The country is predominantly Christian, and you can feel the love of Christ emanating from their smiles and handshakes.

I fully enjoyed my time in Ghana, despite the extreme heat and humidity. There is much to tell, but for now here is a link to my pictures. Much of our time was spent on a bus traveling to different regions, so many of my pictures were taken through the bus window. The pictures don't adequately capture the beauty and wonder of Ghana, but I hope my memories have.

Phil's Adventures in Namibia

2007-05-05T11:53:00.000-06:00

So here is Phil in Namibia last summer. He was there for 2 months. For the first month he lived in the bush with the Himba tribe doing anthropological research. For the second month he traveled around the country. Click here for more pictures!
WARNING: contains nudity

Traveling to Ghana!!

2007-04-30T14:55:00.000-06:00

This is where I (Jen) am going in one week. I will travle to Ghana, Africa and will spend two weeks traveling to Accra, Cape Coast, and Kumasi visiting different NGOs. I am also doing management training sessions for local NGO leaders and one for local members of the church and their friends. I am excited about the opportunity that I will have to experience a new culture and have exposure to the problems that local NGOs have. But I am humbled with the trust that my professors and the local NGOs have in me to do training about budget principles!

Pray that I remember to take my medications everyday and don't get Malaria!!!!

About Us!

2007-04-01T22:06:00.000-06:00

This is Phil and I on the banks of Crater Lake!

Phillip and I were married on August 12, 2006 in the Boston, Massachusetts LDS Temple. We are both students at Brigham Young University. I am working towards my Masters of Public Administration, with an emphasis in non-profit management. Phillip is doing a double major in Anthropology and Political Science and we both graduate in April of 2008! After that we will be moving for Phillip to do his graduate work.

Welcome!

2007-04-01T21:57:00.000-06:00

Welcome to our blog. In order for us to stay in touch with family and friends we have created this blog so you can be informed about the exciting lives of Jennifer Ann and Phillip McMinn Singer.