Auction!

I'm doing an auction on my Facebook Page to help with the high costs of fertility treatments.  There has been so many donations, we are truly grateful for the support of our friends and family.  You can bid on these items by clicking this link: Auction!. To bid, simply enter your bid amount as a comment.  Bidding ends Sunday, March 31, 2013 at midnight (MST).

Thank you again!!

Blessed, but frustrated

Okay, so here's another reason that I'm back to blogging. I need an outlet! My poor hubby is probably beyond tired of hearing me complain, vent, and cry! I have been re-reading my posts/journal about getting pregnant with Londyn and it has left me with a lot of mixed emotions. I am, again, wanting a baby so badly it hurts! I'm digging myself into a hole where I don't want to come out. I have been getting some pretty outrageous comments lately or hearing of some that have been said about me and even though I tell myself that it doesn't matter, it hurts. I have realized that people aren't intentionally trying to hurt me or others going through infertility, instead they are simply ignorant. They don't know what it's like, even though they claim to know. If you got pregnant in months with NO fertility treatments, I'm sorry but, no...you don't know what I'm going through! Sure you may have some of the same feelings, but have you spent hundreds or thousands of dollars on Dr. appts, tests, ovulation kits, ultra sounds, shots etc.??? Do you have to remember to take your fertility pill on days 3-7 of your cycle? Then, remember to do your ovulation predictor kit which is super frustrating because it looks just like a freaking pregnancy test! Not only do you have to pee on the dang stick, but you want those two blue lines to tell you that you're ovulating. But not just any two lines, the one line has to be darker than the first line. Otherwise, you still haven't detected it. So, you have to continue for another day or two or three till you get a positive. It plays with your mind!! I get excited when I get two lines, but then remind myself that this isn't a pregnancy test!! And what about the humiliation of going through each round of IUI??? Not for just me, but for my husband??? Tagg is one amazing man! I don't know too many guys that would keep doing this!! So...if one more person tells me to relax, it'll happen when ya least expect it, I may just flick your mouth. Not really, but I may want to!! I read this fabulous artice, it said that relaxation may work for some couples. But, if you have tried for a year with no luck of getting pregnant, then relaxation is not what you need. You probably need fertility treatment and relaxation is NOT a medical cure!! So please, don't tell me to go on a vacation and relax!! It took 7 rounds of IUI to get Londyn. We just completed round 7 for baby #2...and now we wait to see if it worked. I'm not saying all of this for sympathy. I am not shy at all about talking about our journey with this, but I do hope that people will be more sensitive. There are so many people that have contacted me from my frustrated facebook posts, that I feel blessed to know that they feel like they can talk to me. It's nice to know that we're not alone and not the only one going through this!! A couple weeks ago, Londyn (my 3 year old daughter) came home from church asking where her brother and sister are. Apparently, they had learned about families in class and it broke my heart!! She is the only one in her class that doesn't have a sibling! She is going to make a fabulous sister one day! We hope that we will be able to have another child. I long to be pregnant again, for the miracle that it brings!! I long to have a newborn in our home again, to see my sweet Londyn with her brother or sister. I am very blessed. I have a beautiful, healthy daughter and a wonderful, loving, supportive husband. I am very thankful that I was able to experience motherhood at least once, it truly is a blessing in my life! I just have to say that I am frustrated. I am frustrated that we're going through this again. I'm mad. I have no control over this. It is what it is, I cannot change it, but I can accept it. It's hard, it's a rollercoaster, but it's my trial and I can do hard things....

Londyn turned 3!

Our very girly girl turned three! Thanks Melonie, for taking these cute pics of her!

So, sweet! She is very loving and kind hearted! She loves princesses and dressing up. She is super easy going and loves to learn new things. She is a curious and observant little thing! She gets her calm demeanor from her daddy and her picky, attention to detail, from mom. Londyn is a funny girl too, she loves to make you laugh and really is quite funny. She truly has brought us so much joy and laughter. We love you, Miss Londyn!

Thank you Brittney for this perfect princess cake!! She was SO excited about the crown and wand! I can't believe she's three!!

Family reunion 2011

The Williams Fam!! I love, love, love spending time with family!! And the Williams' know how to par-tay!! We have a family reunion every other year, and rotate on who plans it and they decide where we're going. This year we went to Island Park, it was fabulous! And just to explain Tagg's haircut...for the last 7 years of our marriage, he has been bugging me to buzz cut his hair. So, I finally just did it! Let's just say he hasn't bugged me to buzz it since. :)

Love this girl! She loved playing with her cousins! She played with hulu hoops, built sand castles, went boating, blew a ton of bubbles...or split them. :) We had a fun raffle where Pen and Taun created a trivia quiz and you got points for each question. Then, you could use those points to buy things that people brought in an auction style bid. It was fun to see the different things people wanted. A huge hit were my feather extensions that I brought. I think every grandchild and Aunt got feathers put in!

Journaling

Wow, I went a whole year without a single blog post! I guess I can fairly say that I got preoccupied with facebook and neglected my blog. So, please don't mind this super old post, yes it's the last few months of 2010.

What's hiding in the leaves???

Peek-a-boo, Ritzy!! Londyn playing with our kitten. I always told Tagg that if I ever saw a mouse in, around, by, near, the house that I would be getting a cat. Well, unfortunately that day came! Tagg was at ISP academy in Boise and I was just pulling into our house when I saw a mouse running across the street, toward our house. I freaked!! Later that day, we got Ritzy. :) This was in Sept. of 2010 in our Rigby house, we do not have Ritzy anymore. When we moved to Chubbuck, she kept running of to the neighbors and she is still there. (We don't mind!)

Londyn loved these teeth from Halloween. She would walk around growling at us, too cute!

Lou was a duck for Halloween. She absolutely loved walking around asking for candy!

Summer happened so fast...

This summer was so much fun with Londyn! She's at a fun age and does so many sillythings. So, this picture tells a funny story! With Tagg being gone, I've had the pleasure of taking care of the lawn and making it the greenest it's ever been! Sorry Tagg, but it's true, you kinda turned our yard into a brown, weed fest last year. :o) Anyway, I'm a perfectionist in a lot of things that probably doesn't matter. Sad, but I can admit it. Well, it takes me awhile to get the sprinklers set in just the right spot so that it waters the corners AND the flowers. So, I move the sprinklers around, run up onto the porch, stick my leg through the railing and turn the water on with my foot, run back onto the sidewalk to make sure it's where I want it. If not, I run back up and turn the water off and re-position them. I repeat this several times until the three heads are all in the right spot. Apparently, Londyn - being the observant child that she is - thought she could save me a few steps. :o) As I was re-positioning one of the heads, the water turns on! I scream, and back away, and then notice Londyn with her foot through the railing, turning the water on. Then, I hear laughter behind me, and see that Kris (our across the street neighbor) saw the whole thing. How embarrassing. I still can't believe that Lou could reach it and actually turn it on. The little stink! :o)



It's always fun to have cousins over! Luckily, Londyn has a few bikes to share. Indee even hopped on my bike and pulled Londyn and Mia behind her in the bike trailer. I was pretty impressed cuz it was a little big for her. If you know Indee though, you know that she was determined to do it! We sure wish we were staying here, these cute girls and family just moved to Ririe. And Penny & Eric finally moved back from Portland to Tetonia. So, we have been spending time with them and it's been a blast! At least we won't be too far away.



We've spent a lot of time on the phone with Daddy, too! Every time my phone rings, Lou rushes to it and says daddy, daddy, daddy until I answer it. I'm glad she's at this age while he's been away. She's not quite old enough to really realize that he's gone for so long. But yet, she's still at the age where she'll snuggle me so I'm not so lonely. :o)

P.O.S.T. and ATC

I've realized that I am WAY behind on blogging! I'm sure most of you know that Tagg has been hired to be a Trooper for Idaho State Police. It was a lengthy process, and it's a long training schedule, but it will be so very worth it in the end! Tagg began POST (it stands for Peace Officers Standards and Training, a.k.a. Police Academy) on July 19th in Meridian. He was there for 10 weeks. I must say, it really did go by quickly. He got to come home on the weekends, which of course flew by! He didn't get home on Friday night till about 9:30 and would have to leave on Sunday at 5p.m. Tagg was elected Class President, so he had to speak at graduation. He did a great job and we were so proud of him! Thank you, Jan and Jerry for coming and also to my mom and Grandma Sakota and Kris and Holly for driving there and back just for graduation! We really appreciate all of our families and friends support! Tagg was then able to come home and be with us for an entire week! We kept it very low key and just enjoyed having him home.

Now Tagg has started ATC, which is ISP's advanced training academy. It is BRUTAL!! They started with 9 officers for ISP, and before ATC even began on Monday, Oct. 4th, one quit that same morning!! Then, on Tuesday...Day Two, another one quit at noon!! Grr!! I know I have no clue how hard it really is, but quitting, really? I shouldn't judge, but considering the fact that Tagg almost didn't get hired really ticks me off. He was initially told no, they could only hire 8 and that he was #9 or 10 and they didn't have the budget for all of them. This is a long story, but I want to "journal" it. In addition to the 8 that they hired, they hired 4 laterals. Which means, these 4 were officers for different departments so they didn't have to go through POST, since they already had completed it. They just had to go through ATC. So, those 4 started ATC in March and two weeks into it, someone quit. Well, they called Tagg to see if he was still interested and he was hired! Good thing too! :o) They also decided to hire one more person, so that made 10 and 3 laterals. Well, the second week of POST, one of these 10 ISP guys also quit!! So, I'm just a little shocked that after such a grueling hiring process, someone would just drop out! I am just thankful that Tagg was hired and that he's doing so well. (And to think they almost passed him up) So, the upside to these last two that just quit, is that we may get to be in Region 5 instead of 4. That means, instead of Burley, we may be in Pocatello. (These two that quit were assigned to Poky.) And we could be assigned any city within the Pocatello Region, which could be as close as Shelley. So, that would be great...the closer to home, the better. Back to ATC, Tagg has said this is the hardest thing he's ever had to do! They yell at them and try and break them down. He's physically and mentally fatigued! He said the first day, they had to max out on Leg Presses. Then, the second day they had to do "Rabbit Runs." You start by all holding a rope, in a single file line and run. Then, the person in the back has to run to the front. They had to continue doing this for 2 miles. Ugh! They were up to a 6 mile run in POST and Tagg has heard that they'll finish ATC running 13 miles. ATC graduation will be Dec. 23rd, just in time for Christmas, YAY! Here's to hoping that these next 12 weeks fly by!

Summer fun!

It's been a long time since I've posted! So, I've got a lot of catching up to do. Lots of pics for this post, but also a lot of journaling, so just skip all of that. I just need to start blogging more before I forget. This has been a fun summer for the most part. Londyn will be two on the 25th and I seriously cannot believe it! This is a super fun age. She's learning new things and I love to be the one to introduce her to those new things. She is finally talking more than signing and it's been a blast to hear her put things together. My three favorite things she says is, "Mmm, nummy!" "There it is" and "Oh, cute!" I was getting her dressed this morning and she stood up, looked down at her shirt, and said "oh cute!" Then when I came outta my bedroom after getting comfy's on, she said it again. Too funny! So, here are a few things we've been doing to keep ourselves busy while Tagg is away. I'll post more about that later.

This is Londyn's first time playing with play-dough. We had so much fun and it even came with a little duffle bag to store everything in. She loved rolling it out and then cutting out shapes.

If you remember, she got this fun musical bike for her birthday last year from two of our neighbors. It has absolutely been one of her favorite things! I've had it in the house for her to ride around, but decided to let her ride it outside. As you can see, she was super excited!

Okay, seriously I'm not an artist AT ALL!!! So, please don't laugh at my sorry attempts for side-walk chalk kitty and puppy. But hey, at least Lou knows what they are right? :o) She loves to color and side-walk chalk is no different. She'll bring me the chalk and say "Meow?" then after I draw the kitty, she hands it to me again and says, "ruff?" She will then go play for a bit and then come back to say hi to the cat and dog. She has even gotten down on her belly to say hi and give them kisses.

My friend, Heidi was so nice to give us this fun slide. Sadly, it's the only backyard toy since we know we're moving, Tagg won't let us get anything yet so we don't have to pack it up. :o) But, this has been great to keep Lond entertained. She'll throw her ball down it and then run and get her baby cuz she wants to share the fun. Lond will sit there for a minute sometimes with her arms up and will say, one...two...three (kind of says it anyways) and then slide down.

And what's a summer without bubbles? I found a little bubble maker that I thought you could just set on the ground and it would blow them out. Oops, that's what I get for not reading the directions. You have to dip it into the bubbles and then it's like one of those mini fans. Luckily Tagg was there to get it working for us. Lou was loving it, too!

Londyn's Many Faces

Londy will bring the remote to us so we can turn on her shows. She is addicted I tell ya! But, what's not to love about The Backyardigans or Little Einsteins?

Every time we grab the camera and tell Londyn to look at us, she squints her nose and breaths in and out really fast. I'm glad we've got a few on camera now since she usually stops by the time it actually takes the pic.

This cute little face is a new one. She'll go around dancing like a crazy person and sing. She'll also do this face and say ooo, ooo, ooo a bunch as she's doing tippy toes or spinning in a circle. :o)

She loves to brush her teeth, which is an easy way to get her hair done. People always ask me how I get her to hold still and honestly, it hasn't been an issue. I just sit her on the bathroom counter, turn on the water just a tad, and she takes our toothbrushes in and out of the holder and also puts them under the water. I also think it helps that I've been doing her hair since day one. So, I think she's just used to it. I'll even ask her, "Londyn, should we go fix your pretty hair?" And she taps her hand on her head and walks right to the bathroom. She's a pretty good kid. Friends and family keep reminding us that we'll never have another "Londyn". And Tagg says, "then why try for any more and risk gettin a naughty kid?" Hmmm...

Updates on Lou

I haven't posted anything about Londyn for quite some time. Actually, since she turned one. Londyn started walking at 13 months. She is 16 months now. Crazy! She's a funny little girl. She likes to tease you, especially Tagg. She is at that stage where she loves to sit on things. She loves her Dora chair she got for Christmas, she likes to take my sewing container and sit on it by her activity table, and if she has a box, she drags it all over and sits on it. She's also at the age where she likes to stand on things, like the containers and boxes. Londyn also loves to sing and dance. She will do Ring around the Rosie all by herself, sings and does the actions for Monkey's jumping on the bed, and Monkey's swinging in a tree.



My friend, Katie Wells, has been taking some photo's for my new hobby business. She's awesome and if you're looking for a photographer, click HERE to go to her blog. This is one of my newest patterns, a cap sleeve dress with a sash. I love it!

See that nasty red crusty thing on Londyn's forehead? Yep, it's Impetigo. She did so good not scratching it and took all of her Anti-biotic. It took awhile to heal up and got pretty nasty. It started out looking like a little zit and then she bumped her head on the corner of our computer desk and it all went downhill from there. It got really yellowish and filled with pus, it was nasty! I'm glad that the meds worked and is all healed up. :o) This is the Dora chair that she loves. She also love the piano. She keeps us pretty entertained and she is a very mild mannered girl.

Londyn is a smart little girl! She catches on very quickly and is very observant. This is her signing "more". She knows a lot of signs now and people are so funny when they see her sign, they are amazed. To me, it's not a new concept. I was impressed when one of my friends started teaching her daughter a few signs like more, please, milk, etc. I have always loved Sign Language and knew that I wanted to teach my kids. Some people say it can affect them in not talking cuz they'll just sign, but it has been so helpful during this stage cuz she can't talk yet. So, we'll see how she does. Some more signs she's learned are: Thank you, sorry, I love you, milk, candy, more, baby, brush your teeth, cheese, eat, all done, please, again, no no.

One of her many faces. She was teasing Tagg, he wanted kisses and she would get off this little car and start walking towards him and when she was in arms reach, she'd hurry and run back to the car. I think she thought she was "safe". Tagg bought her a basketball hoop and she's a little short for it, but she will sit on the couch and we'll put the hoop next to it and she will "dunk" it in. She's so funny. Tagg was watching a basketball game and Londyn came into the room and as she did a guy hit a three point shot and the crowd was cheering. Right when he made it, she said, "OOOhh." Then the other team went and scored and she said it again. Do you think she's been to basketball games or what? :o) Don't get me wrong though, she is still very much a girly girl. She still loves her babies and must sleep with one of them. She likes to play dress-up with our clothes and hats and shoes. This is such a fun age!

Christmas Cards

Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Contest and Sale!

Check out londylouboutique.blogspot.com for sale prices going on until January 1st. And we're having a contest to win a $10 gift certificate to use on any item from our boutique. :o)

Londy Lou Boutique

Bows and flowers starting at $4.50 and range up to $6.50.

Ties! These ties have an adjustable neck strap and a clasp for easy on and off, without untying the actual tie. Fabric is machine washable.

Sizes: 18m-4T; 4T-7yrs; and 7-12yrs.

Prices: $12.50 each or 2 for $22

How cute is this skirt? Londyn has been sporting this around at church, Jamie's wedding, etc. These skirts have an elastic waist, or we can sew belt loops and make a matching belt to tie in a big bow on the side (like a sash). Seriously, these are adorable! We have found a few great fabric stores, but patterns aren't guaranteed as the material comes and goes. We will do our best to match the color schemes wanted.

Sizes: 6-12 months up to 10 years

Price: $20.00

Dresses: These dresses are so fun! Grab a cute flower and clip it onto the ribbon for an even cuter look. We have lots of fun fabric that is sure to catch the eyes of many! We can do two borders on the bottom or just one, which ever you prefer. These have been worn as a dress or long shirt, with leggings, tights, and jeans. So many cute things to do with these!!

Sizes: 3-6 months up to 7 years

Price: $20.00

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Well, it's official, I have started a boutique! My sister, Courtney, and I have been busy making things for a craft fair we did at the Madison Jr. High. It was a great success! We were going to do the Rigby Craft Fair, but our sister, Jamie, got married that same day. Anyway, we have started a blog: londylouboutique.blogspot.com. It is still a work in progress, so be sure to check back often. We will be running specials and will have some awesome give-aways, so stay tuned! :o) Also, we are doing HOME PARTIES! We offer fabulous hostess rewards and are really excited about it. We bring our bows/flowers, ties, skirts, and dresses. Because we're cosmetologists, we will show fun, easy, and super cute hair styles and show different ways to accessorize with our products. These types of parties have been our biggest hit. But, if you would rather just have us come and display items only, we can do that too! Both parties have been successful. Please contact us for more information. Also, we accept CUSTOM ORDERS on all of our items. So, if you see something that you've gotta have, let us know! :o) And of course, we love feedback, so any tips, advise, or ideas you may have, please comment or contact us! If your interested in hosting a show before the holidays, please contact me soon as dates are filling up fast. I can send you an email with more info and what the hostess benefits are. Email me at: londylouboutique@gmail.com

Happy Halloween!

A couple of weeks ago, we had a couples only Halloween Party. We have lots of fun neighbors and we have been getting together each month for a party. This month was the Howard's turn to plan and it was a blast! We had yummy food, played fun games, which included musical chairs outside in the freezing cold. Great party, great company!! Can't wait for next month!


Burgess & April

Kris & Holly

Josh & Amanda

Us: Tagg's idea, by the way. He was Hannah Montana if you couldn't guess and I was her friend Lola.


Justin & Vanessa

Here is Londyn - our little "stinker". Isn't she the cutest?

I seriously love this costume! Thanks again mom for finding it!! It's been a hit so far, can't wait to show her off some more tomorrow for Halloween. I'll have to try and get a pic of Londyn crawling with this. The bottom of her feet have paws, so "stinkin" cute!! :o)



Couldn't resist - sorry babe! ;o)

Londyn's ONE!

AAHHHH!!! My baby is ONE!!! Well, she actually has been one now for a few weeks. I've got a million things on my plate right now, but I'll skip the excuses and just get straight to the fun we've been up to, and of course some pics. :o) Londyn turned one on the 25th of September. We started her morning off by getting some pics done by Katie Wells. We had this cute cake done by Violet's Custom Cakes and I guess Londyn thought it was too cute to dig into it. She took the little swirly ribbon off the top and that was pretty much the only part of the cake she ate.

Then we had a birthday party for her at the park with family and some neighborhood friends. It was so much fun! One of her favorite things she got was from the Howard's and Barnes', they got her this cute musical activity cruiser. She LOVES music and loves to scoot around and walk behind it. Here are some things I want to remember:

*Has four bottom teeth

*Signs: baby, more/eat (she thinks these mean the same), please, all done

*Says: mama, mom, dada, hi, and hi da (in a really cute high pitch voice)

*Took three steps by herself and will stand alone for a quick second or two :o)

*Blows kisses, waves hi and bye

*Puts her hands on her ears and shakes her head, as we say "I'm not listening"

*Loves Little Einsteins and will pat and raise her hands to the air when they do, then she'll crawl around in circles as they "blast off" and she says, vvrrrooom. Pretty funny to watch!

*Loves dancing and music, she'll see Tagg's phone and get super excited and will grab it and hand it to us until we turn on the music for her.

*When she wants something, she holds her hand out and says, "Ehh" -hard to describe in words, but it's pretty funny to hear her repeat it over and over until you figure out what she wants. Usually it is her binky or baby or some stuffed animal she sees at the store.

*She likes to "try" and put her socks and shoes on. She has also been putting my flip flops on one foot.

Londyn is very much a girly, girl. She loves her babies and stuffed animals and will sign "baby" by putting her hands on her chest and rocking her body back and forth - seriously, so cute! She has also been giving BIG hugs which are to die for! As you can tell, we can't get enough of her. She is still very cuddly and I still rock her to sleep for naps and bedtime. This is a routine I love and look forward too. She, of course, still has to rub her hands on my arms. She just has to touch my skin, even in the car, I have to reach back to her so she can hold or rub my hand. And, since I wrote this a week ago, Londyn has now taken 10 steps on her own. She's a very determined little thing. When she falls, she gets right back up and tries again. Won't be too long before we're running after her!

Oregon Coast vacation

We went to Portland for Labor Day weekend with Tagg's parents to visit Tagg's sister, Penny and her family. We had so much fun and even after the drive, are so glad we went! We went to the OMNI Max, Comedy Sportz Center, Saturday's Market, and even squeezed in time to go to Lincoln City so we could spend the day at the beach. It was BEAUTIFUL! The weather couldn't have been better considering it rained the first two days we were there. The Oregon Coast was nothing like I had imagined. Here are a few pics of our trip. Eric is a pro with his camera and thanks to him, we have some great pics! Londyn's first time to the ocean, the water was FREEZING, I'm not even kidding!!

Walking on the beach with Daddy. Don't you love her "squinty" face?

Londyn and her cousin Canon, he's only 5 months younger than her and already weighs more than her. He's slighly taller too, can you believe that? He's the cutest, chunkiest boy ever! And they both were so good! :o)

What would a trip to the beach be if you don't eat a little sand? :o)