Life In Paradise

Scott and I had a blast in Mexico. When my sister pick us up from the airport and asked what our favourite parts were, I said, Reading (I read The Help and The Secret Daughter)! And Scott said, the Tours we went on. But there was many favorite parts. Another one of my favorite parts was the fact I had a nap every day! The sun started to set around 4:30 pm. At that point we went back to our room for a afternoon nap before dinner! Lovely!

We stayed at a really nice 5 star hotel called, Sunset Princess, in the Maya Riveria. It was a massive resort, which was nice because we were able to walk off the huge amounts of foods we consumed. I will be honest and say we didn't love all the food but a few things we could always count on being really good was the bread, ice cream and mango's!

We left the resort 2 times. The rest of the days we enjoyed the warm weather and the sun! The first time we left the resort we went into Playa de Carmen and walked the 5th avenue strip. Which had tons of little shops and restaurants. We bought Boston some Mexican dress up clothes. The other time we left we did a tour of Tulum and did a tour by a LDS company called Alma's Tours. 

The tour only took a few hours and after that we went to Xel Ha which is basically an outdoor water park. We went snorkelling, floated down a river and just enjoyed the water, wildlife and sun.

And of course, we missed Boston. We skyped him 3 times. He was excited to see us the first time but by the last time, we only got a few waved from a far.

My favourite story from my mom over the week was when she went into get him after a nap. Boston first showed her his socks, then his pants and then Boston pulled his diaper up from the play pin. Then he pointed to a spot in the bed where he had peed! Scott's mom said that he got this from Scott. Scott did that to his mom when he around Boston's age, but in his case poop was involved!

Boston was very sad to leave. He loved all the attention from my family. He had more fun in Edmonton in one week than he probably has in Regina in about 1 year!

My sister and mom took a few pictures to document his time in Sherwood Park.

Thanks Mom, Dad and Alyssa for watching Boston! We can't wait for the next time!

Staying In

January caused our little family to be very lazy. I think it is the weather and the blues. We tend to stay inside on the weekends and evenings. If only we were being productive as we stay inside, but honestly we aren't!

We keep ourselves entertained with tons of dance parties...

Dress up....

Sticky Note Parties...

Swimming...



I guess Scott and Boston did get out and go for a walk one day...



iPhone/iPad games and and books...



Scott has started applying for jobs. I think we both are excited to start the next chapter of our life. If anyone knows anyone that works in the Alberta government and can get Scott a job, please let me know. His masters is in Public Administration, basically a lot of policy. We both want to move back to Alberta! I had a huge cry last night because I get discouraged and think it will never happen...

BUT to lift our spirits, in less than 24 hours, Scott and I are on a plane headed for Mexico!! Boston gets to spend a week with Grandpa and Grandma Woolley and Aunt Alyssa! I'm unsure how he is going to take it considering it will be Boston and my very first night away from each other!

Down to Only One Blog

After much thought and debate, I realized WHAT WAS I THINKING, I cant handle two blogs, I barely write on one!

Then the debate came, well which one do I keep. The Striped Box gets way more reads than Scotty and Tara plus it looks way nicer, but Scotty and Tara has been with me since the beginning. In the end, I have decided to just blog on Scotty and Tara! I have added most of my posts from The Striped Box over and in the process of making it a little more user friendly. Just need to work on a header and a few other small items. If you enjoyed The Striped Box, please follow me here.

We have a busy year ahead of us. By spring we should be in a new place, way bigger place (we only have 850 sq ft right now) and with new places, mean tons and tons of home décor projects! I don't know about you, but I cant wait.


Maybe one day I will start up blogging on two blogs again, but right now with working full time and trying to find motivation to clean our apartment and feed my husband and child every night, it won't be any time soon...


**I'm trying to come up with a creating blog name... other than Scotty and Tara to put as my header. If you think of a good one, let me know :)

Autumn Chopped Salad - Weight Watchers

Have you seen this recipe going around Pinterest?? Honestly sooo yummy!! Scott and I have made in a bunch of times and could eat it every night if we wanted too.

The last time I made it, I decided to count weight watchers points and see how healthy I can make it without losing all the great flavours in every bite.

Here is my breakdown on how to make it a little more friendly to anyone trying to lose some weight.

Autumn Chopped Salad – Weight Watchers

		PointsPlus
	Romaine lettuce, chopped	0
1/2	Pear, chopped	0
1/4 cup	Dried cranberries	2
1/8 cup	Pecans, chopped	2
2	Turkey bacon slices, cooked crispy and sliced into pieces	2
3 cm cube	Feta cheese, crumbled	3
1 tbsp	Calorie-Wise Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing	1
	Total Points	10

Enjoy!

Christmas 2011

There is something extra special about Christmas when you have little ones around the house. Boston had a blast with all the family jam packed into one week. We arrived in Sherwood Park late Friday night and had a quick visit with my family before heading to bed. The next day we went to visit Santa (posted about that here) and then my brother and his family came over for Christmas Eve. 

Christmas Day was wonderful. Boston was very excited to open his stocking and all his presents. 

Christmas Eve and also Christmas night we watched movies, very traditional in our family. Scott begged up to watch his favourite christmas movie on Christmas Eve, A Family Stone.

Boxing day, my brother, Tami, Deb (Tami's mom), Scott and I went to the new Mission Impossible movie, after we went back to my parents house and we played a very friendly long game of rook. We also took a few minutes to teach Boston a few tips.

We didn't get to see everyone we wanted in Edmonton, but did get a chance to visit with a few really good friends. After our time in Sherwood Park came to an end, we headed to Calgary. Boston got to open presents once again and play with new toys and his cousins. He also got to go to his Grandpa's work and try out some heavy machinery.

Sadly Boston got sick on Saturday (New Years Eve) and threw up all day and continued to throw up for 5 days straight. He stayed right here in this position on the Fullmer's couch for 2 days before we loaded him into the car for a long drive home. Boston doesn't talk too much, but after he would throw up, he would start shaking his head no and say, "I Don't, I Don't", in the saddest little voice!

We arrived home in Regina around 12:30 in the morning and I had to work in the morning. Scott was especially worried about Boston since he was getting so skinny and hadn't kept anything down for 2 days. We ended up going to the hospital to get Boston some good medicine to help keep down some liquid! I'm not a good mother and thought he would be fine and didn't want to go. After my recent adventure to the hospital, I just didn't want to go through that again.

The hospital went good. They said he had really low blood sugar and wouldn't let us leave till it went up. He also weighed a few ounzes less than what he did on November 9, at his shots (24 lbs 12 oz). We weren't there too long and I was able to get in 1 hour of sleep before going to work. The next 3 days, Boston slowly made his recovery. 

Luckily Boston got better after the 5th day. He is eating so much, it's getting ridicules. Making up for 5 days of no food. 

One Word - Nourish

Have you heard of the one word goal for 2012? I have seen it all over the blog world (here is one example) and I heard a word that summed up my goals for the new year.

nour·ish
1. to sustain with food or nutriment; supply with what is necessary for life, health, and growth.

2. to cherish, foster, keep alive, etc.: He had long nourished the dream of living abroad.

3. to strengthen, build up, or promote: to nourish discontent among the workers; to nourish the arts in one's community.

(dictionary.com)

My goals for 2012.

Nourish my body - I started back on weight watchers in October and from my experience with weight loss/gain, i know i need to eat almost perfectly. I am starting this week working out on my lunch hour with a few people from work. Plus my work offers yoga every Tuesday right in my office.

Nourish relationships with friends and family - I love friends, I need friends. But I am too scared make friends. I'm hoping to move back to Edmonton in May and I'm looking forward to mending old friendships. It has been almost 8 years since I have lived in Edmonton (Sherwood Park). Luckily I get a long great with my family and when I am in town, we do things like movies, games, dinners, etc. and those are great friends to have.

Nourish me - I need to build myself up, I need to work on my happiness. I want to focus on doing things I love, like reading... over 2011 I think i maybe read... 1 book. I also love decorating, scrapbooking and doing crafts. I just need to make time and ask Scott for time so I can once again enjoy all the things that bring my a little bit of happiness.

Nourish my spirit and my families - I need to work on all spiritual aspects of my life. One small goal I have is to have Family Home Evening once a week.

Merry Christmas

A little late??

But MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!

Boston hated Santa. He loved him last year. This Santa was actually really nice, just a bad photo all together. But every child needs a crying with Santa picture!

New Chair

I noticed that Boston started to make his own "chairs" around the house lately with random objects and toys. I realized we are lacking good comfortable seating for Boston and went to the dollarstore and bought Boston his own chair. Now he carries it around with him where ever he goes. Our little dare devil decided that the best place for his chair is on the coffee table... not quite the location i had intended it to stay.

And yes the chair has fallen off the table with Boston tumbling after... but no lesson was learned!

Happy 5 Years

Scott and I had our 5 year wedding anniversary on Thursday! Wow, 5 years seems like a long time. But at the same time, it feels we have been together and through so much that I can't believe it has only been 5 years!

I chose this picture to post as a memory, kind of a cheese picture, but it's cute. You can see the professional photos here.

To celebrate, my friend from work came over to babysit and Scott and I went to a really nice restaurant called The Creek. After we went to chapters! Haha, real romantic I know! We weren't the only couple thinking Chapters. We ran into our bishop and his wife who were also celebrating their wedding anniversary of 12 years. 

We didn't plan to spend any money on gifts, but we both ended up getting each other something. Scott bought me earrings and nail polish, which lately i always seem to have my finger and toe nails painted something funky. So very fitting gift. I decided that I didn't want to spend any money (since we don't have any) and did an idea like this.

It was actually pretty fun to do. Since we have Boston to take care of (and little money), we do stay in a lot and really don't mind, but we are boring and when Boston goes to bed, we basically watch tv or play on our computers/phones. For this reason, I thought of 12 stay at home dates! I didn't go all out and include everything I needed for each date into the envelopes but I did wrote up 12 date nights and simple descriptions and placed in each monthly envelope.


I found a few dating websites, but The Dating Divas had the best ideas for what I was looking for. I'm not going to post the 12 date nights I picked, don't want to spoil the dates for Scott. I will try and remember to post about them after each month.

Happy Birthday Scott

Scott turned 28 on Wednesday. He requested pizza and home made Oreo cookies. All great choices. Boston went a little crazy over the pizza. After he finished his plate, he went into the kitchen, pulled the pizza box off the counter and once the pizza fell to the floor, picked up a piece and ran into the living room one happy guy.

Scott was surprised at his collection of gifts. I am assuming since we live far from our family he thought that he wasn't getting much. But my family and his parents would never have forgotten about him! It is fun having a little person in the house now, makes birthdays and opening gifts more special and entertaining.

Scott scored a new book to teach Boston Steve Jobs best quotes, a winter dress coat, $50 cash to spend on something special (like me), mini eggs, $50 iTunes gift card, A&F sweatpants and A&F cable knit sweater!

Happy Birthday Scott, we love you!

Gingerbread Apartment

Last night our little family made our first ever gingerbread house. I thought since Boston has never lived in a house, only apartments, that we should make a gingerbread apartment!

Boston like all kids, was more interested in eating the candy than anything. The marshmallows and smarties were his favorite.

Ever Feel Like Your To Do List Is This LONG?

I have a busy week this week; I’m sure like most people. I typed a very detailed to do list while at work yesterday and printed it on a legal size paper. I WAS feeling pretty good about getting everything done in time for the church Christmas party this Saturday.. until Scott on the way home from work decided to throw a little curve ball at me. He told me that on Wednesday he is headed to Saskatoon for a managers meeting and will be coming back late Thursday night. I took a deep breath and realized it wasn’t his fault, but now I’m not sure how I am going to get everything done in time!

Hopefully little Boston can do what he did last night and go to bed at 7:45 with no fuss and no sadness every night this week. Expect for the night I will have to drag the little guy out in the cold and deliver turkeys to all the ladies that volunteer to cook.

I’m not complaining I actually really like my calling. We moved to Regina and had no friends, it has been a really nice calling to get to know some people in the ward. I just don’t handle stress well; I’m super exhausted and have pimples all over my face. 

I decided to go with center piece no. 2! Thank you for all your suggestions and comments on my other blog!

Christmas Centre Pieces

I need your help! I am trying to come up with an inexpensive DIY centre piece for my church christmas party. I am borrowing these great vintage canning jars from a friend and trying to come up with a filler for the inside. I did the christmas party last year, so i am reusing the green branches and bought new berries this year. The centre piece last year wasn't see through and a tad smaller, so i am stuck on ideas. I have also tried, ornaments inside, but those either don't look nice or they don't fit. I also have thought about popcorn, but Boston isn't fully sleeping yet and i don't want to wake him.


What is everyones pick? Or take your favourite and make adjustments. Or trust tell me to scratch these and start all over again!

The one that looks like ice is water and saran wrap. Thanks Liam for the idea!


And also what should i put the jar on? The stripes in the first few pictures were from last year and the red dots are a napkin. But open to any cheap idea.


I should mention the party is Saturday and i am busy doing a lot of other things for the party plus going to work every day. Please suggest nothing time consuming ;)

Blog Thoughts

Who ever thought that i would have time to have two blogs, because i dont! I havent blogged on my other blog for months (but i did today). Anyways, i was just thinking, what should i do...

1. Just use the blog "scotty and tara"... even though we arent just scott and tara anymore.
2. Juse use the blog "the striped box" and add everything into the one.
3. Start fresh and do a fullmer family type blog.

What are your thoughts? You my friends out there, are you guys still into blogging and reading friends blogs? I know I got way to busy to read stranger blogs and go to only friends and then pinterest.

Let me know!

A Service Exchange

I organized a service exchange for our Relief Society activity last night. As many of you ladies know, when you organize an event you want people to actually show up! At 5 minutes to 7, there was no one at the church but me. At 4 minutes to 7, one lady showed up and then about 10 minutes after 7, 17 more ladies showed up! I even got a thumb up from the Relief Society President regarding the turn out. I personally am just happy at least one person showed up!

I know many of you know what a service exchange is, but for those of you who don’t know, here is what the invite said.

You are invited to a service exchange party

Wednesday, November 23, 7:00 pm at the church

Think of a service, any service, whether it is baking a pie, sewing, knitting a scarf,

cleaning, babysitting or organizing a kitchen.  Next write your service, your name and

phone number on a piece of paper and place into an envelope.

Finally, bring your envelope to our Relief Society party!

We then played Chinese gift exchange (or white elephant) to exchange the services. We had tons of different services offered from; fudge, knitting a scarf, gift wrapping, cookies, cinnamon buns, canned peaches & jams, decorating consultant, 3 hours of cleaning, hair cuts for the whole family (a lady with 3 boys and 2 girls happily got this), homemade cards, pies, canvas picture craft, and the list goes on! And what did I exchange; well I gave away the 2 hours of organizing service and received, a night of babysitting! I’m so excited! I really want to go see the new Twilight movie or maybe i should use it for the night my work has its christmas party.

Our ward was having a fast for a lady in the ward last night, so the RS presidency didn’t want to offer refreshments. Instead they asked me to make take home refreshments. I had no time to bake or really do anything huge, so simple store bought caramel popcorn it was.

I found the cute printable here.

We also did an optional cookie exchange at the end of the service exchange. As of Sunday we had 12 ladies signed up. But by yesterday only 8 ladies participated. But that is fine with me considering I am trying to lose weight, not gain it!

I made these yummy cookies. Honestly, yummy!

And on a side note, if you can tell by my picture of the popcorn, my laundry room has become my little do it room. Since our kitchen has no counter space and my desk is in the living room and Boston can climb up on it, I had to find another space for me.  My laundry room has become this space.  I cool cookies, do crafts, store items, take pictures, etc, on the washer and dryer! I even moved most of my little craft items and stationary into the laundry room. Oh how I cant wait for a day when I can have a “office” with a door!