Yeah....exhausted again

I'm exhausted again. It's unbelievable how tired I am right now. I crashed last night and when my alarm went off this morning it went right into my dream. I was annoyed at someone because they couldn't figure out how to turn off their iPod alarm (that's what mine is) and in my dream I finally ripped the iPod out of the person's hand to shut it off and Jake woke me up to tell me my alarm was going off. Ha ha...oops.

Today's Smileys:

1. A smooth drop off and pick up at preschool. No tantrums from the girls this time.

2. A yummy left over lunch.

3. "If Grace is True " by Philip Gulley and James Mulholland. Everyone should read this book. It has some wonderful, thought provoking points. I can't wait to read more about it.

4. Funny emails from some funny girls in my life.

5. Jake's mom got a job in Atlanta...I think they are very excited about the move. It's something they've been hoping for for quite some time.

6. Goofing off with the family when Jake got home from work.

7. Yummy strawberries and a visit from Leslie.

8. Mari blowing kisses to Leslie when she left. Really cute.

9. My book group. What a great group of ladies.

10. Some really thought provoking discussions tonight at book group. Learning how much I have in common with these women. I loved our discussion tonight.

11. Going to bed. I will be in bed within 10 minutes of this being published. Night!

What a Day....

Today has been a day that I just seem to be overloaded. Lots of information and lots of screaming kids. I'm glad I'll be going to bed soon....

Today's Smileys:

1. My friend Megan gave me a blog award today. She said some very nice things about me on her blog....something I needed today. Thanks Megan for brightening my day....even though you didn't know how much I needed it.

2. One of my friends knew exactly what I was feeling from a one sentence email I sent her today. It made me laugh.

3. "Many, like me, have experienced God's love but have misunderstood salvation. We've thought it a trophy rather than a gift, a personal achievement rather than a work of God. We've gloried in our salvation and damned those whose obstacles have far exceeded our own." -If Grace is True by Philip Gulley and James Mulholland

4. Working on my cross stich again.

5. Excited discussions about possibilities for the future.

6. The girls giving each other hugs and kisses to say they are sorry for hurting the other one.

7. Peder spent the day asking me what things are for. "What's the floor do? What's the roof for? What are hands for?" etc. So I asked him, "What are Mommy's for?" His response, "To snuggle with."

8. Chatting with my dad on the phone this afternoon and hearing more stories about fishing with Peder.

9. A walk down the block as a family.

10. Some quiet time today.

11. Counting down to answers about my hip: less then 3 days.

Another weekend gone...

Another weekend is gone. A short week coming up and Thursday afternoon I finally get to find out about my hip. It's about time! WA-HOO!

Today's Smileys:

1. Waking up to Peder cuddling up with Jake. I hadn't even realized he climbed into bed with us, but he was OUT.

2. Pancakes and bacon for breakfast. Our kids LOVE pancakes.

3. A two and a half hour nap. I was OUT.

4. Aveda Color Conserve Shampoo and Conditioner. I love the smell!

5. Robert Downey Jr. I am SO glad he got sober and is acting. He is AMAZING. He is not recognizable in Tropic Thunder. Just unbelievable talent.

6. Chex Mix for a snack.

7. "If Grace is True." I think this book is really going to speak to me.

8. A little time to work on my cross stitch.

9. Finding a ton of adorable cake possibilities for the kids' birthdays.

10. Challenge shows on the Food Network. They're fun to watch.

Satisfying Saturday

I'm writing this as I'm watching Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. I am SO confused. I'm hoping I understand it by the end. WEIRD!

Today's Smileys:

1. I spent the day scrapbooking. Made a HUGE amount of progress on Emmy's scrapbook pages. It was FUN!

2. Jake put the quarter round up in our laundry area. That means that the floor is finished up there. Now the celing just needs to be fixed and it will be done.

3. The girls running around the house in their diapers, they didn't want to be wearing those either.

4. A lot of dancing in our house. It's hilarious when the girls really start getting into it.

5. Emmy spinning around like crazy and then just plopping on her butt when she got too dizzy.

6. Emmy's singing. It is the cutest and funniest thing I have ever heard in my life.

7. A yummy dinner...kielbasa, lemon garlic potatoes and veggies. Yum.

8. Jake and Peder brought me a fan to help cool me off while I was scrapbooking. So sweet.

9. Peder helping Jake put up the quarter round.

10. All three kids "helping" Jake put my lamp back up on the wall. Everyone took a turn hammering in the wall anchors with their plastic hammers. Very cute.

11. An evening to myself, while Jake is out with his friends.

Scrapbooking! WA-HOO!

Today's Smileys:

1. Went Scrapbooking with my sister-in-law Krista. A BLAST!

2. Didn't spend a dime while scrapbooking tonight, despite the great amount of temptation.

3. Mexican for dinner...YUMMY!

4. The people we shared our table with were very nice.

5. Compliments on my hair....Thanks!

6. Peder calling me while scrapbooking and asking me to sing "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" to him before he went to sleep. And yes, I sang it while standing in Archiver's.

7. Chatting with Mari on the phone....she really needed her Mommy today.

8. A great husband who has no problem letting me go do my thing.

9. The kids found the girls' sleeping bags today and made me unroll them on the living room floor for them.

10. Mari saying, "Get up. Get up." after her nap today.

11. Emmy's sweet independence.

12. Looking forward to a day full of scrapbooking tomorrow. I love making progress!

13. Planning a camping weekend with Tom and Krista.

Drum Roll Please

Today's Smileys:

1. A new hairdo. This was the risk I was talking about yesterday. You'll see why in the last picture.

Before - Unstyled, before bed.

After - Once again unstyled

After, back - And there is the risk I took. Those streaks are primary red. Very subtle, but VERY fun. I love it!

2. Peder's projects from school and how proud he was of them.

His binoculars.

A frog. It ribbits at you if Peder is in the room. :)

3. My girls singing away in the car.

4. Our "train" walking into the school. Me holding Mari's hand, Mari holding Peder's, and Peder holding Emmy's. Cute, cute.

5. An evening out of the house.

6. I love the girl that did my hair. I will be going back to her at least until she graduates.

7. All packed up for scrapbooking tomorrow night.

8. Goofing off with the kiddos this afternoon.

9. Lots of giggles in our house.

10. ScrapFest information is up. WA-HOO!

So Many Emotions

Today's Smileys:

1. When justice is given to those that deserve it. When it serves it's purpose. When innocence is restored.

2. I am SO proud of the women in Iran. I cannot contain it within my body. These women are standing up for what they believe in, their rights as people and the future of their country. They are the faces of a revolution. What amazing women they are!

3. Getting my scrap room cleaned up....and partially packed for my scrapping night on Friday night.

4. Looking forward to big scrapping weekends to come: ScrapFest in September and retreats in October and February.

5. Jake working from home....the kids were CRABS today.

6. 100 calorie pack snacks. Very helpful when I'm feeling snacky.

7. Making progress on my cross stitch project again.

8. Peder "reading" the nightly bedtime story to me and the girls. "The farmer was painting the house and while he was gone the pig knocked over the bucket. Now touch the bucket."

9. Getting ready to take a risk...you'll see pictures tomorrow night! (How's that for a teaser?)

10. Jesse trying to catch the flies in the house. He's so funny.

Sheer Exhaustion

I'm exhausted. I'tmes been a long and busy day.

Today's smileys:

1. Peder's excitement at school.

2. Emmy carrying Peder's backpack to school for him.

3. Emmy trying to go to school with Peder and throwing a massive tantrum when she couldn't.

4. A successful vegan cake.

5. A successful wedding shower.

6. A new book group book.

7. Talking with my book group ladies again. It was nice to just chat.

8. A clean living room when I got home from the shower.

9. Beth giving me a ride to and from the shower so Jake didn't have to load the kids into and out of the van.

10. Peder scolding me for forgetting my phone at home.

11. Saying good night to each of my kids when I got home.

12. Falling asleep in Jake's arms while he watches a movie.

I didn't update our weightloss challenge yesterday because the post was dedicated to Father's Day. So now let's get down to business.

Jake - on 6/14/09 he had 10.5 pounds to lose to reach his goal. As of this evening he has 12 pounds, which is actually a pound less then he had earlier this week, so that's good. :)

Melissa - on 6/14/09 I had 7.5 pounds to lose. As of this evening I have 4.5 pounds to lose. NICE! I'm especially happy because I did it mostly through changing my eating habits, because any exercise causes pretty bad pain. WA-HOO!

On a related note, I had the last of the popcorn in our house tonight. I will not be buying more until I've lost 15 pounds. I can have it as a special treat when we go to the movies or something, but otherwise no more popcorn until I've lost that weight. For those of you that know me, you know how HUGE of a deal this is for me.

Today's smileys:

1. 3 pounds lost! WA-HOO!

2. Savoring my last bowl of popcorn for awhile.

3. A short nap this afternoon with Jesse. It was very nice!

4. Playing and giggling and tickling with Emmy. So cute.

5. Peder and Mari helping Jake do the dishes.

6. Jake's practice cake for the girls' birthday in a couple of weeks. Pretty cool.

7. Peder and Mari helping with the cake for the wedding shower tomorrow night.

8. A HUGE hug from all four of my family members....at the same time. Once again, super cute.

9. All 6 of us (including Jesse) snuggling on the couch together watching some of Wall-E.

10. Window air conditioners on a roaster of a day.

Happy Father's Day

I am SO proud to call Jake my husband and that he is the father to my children. I could not have asked for a better man. He is SO good to us, always here for us and unfailing source of support in our life. So this post is dedicated to him and my dad...another wonderful man.

Jake as a man, husband and father:

1. Has given me the 3 best days of my life.

Saturday, October 5th, 2002

Wednesday, October 12th, 2005

Monday, July 9th, 2007

2. He has given me a son who is loving, caring and a wondeful big brother.

3. He gave me adorable twin girls.

4. A follower, filled with affection, and always doing things to make her sister and brother happy.

5. An independent, firecracker, who loves to sing.

6. He lets the kids help him with chores, even if it takes him twice as long, because he knows that they just want to spend time with him and help out.

7. He's supportive and one of his kids' biggest cheerleaders (the other being me, of course).

8. He loves spending time with us.

9. He goofs around with the kids and plays with them even when he's exhausted.

10. He thinks he has the best life ever because he has us.


Now, here's a picture of my dad from when he was over for dinner last night.

A couple of my favorite things about my dad:

1. I have someone to call when Jake doesn't laugh at my jokes, because I know he ALWAYS will.

2. I grew up watching Westerns rather then Sci-Fi.

3. He happily takes Peder fishing.

4. He loves to spoil his grandkids and spend time with them.

5. He still talks about how cute my mom is, after 31 years of marriage.

6. He buys me sunflower seeds.

Bringing Joy

Tonight Jake and I watched "The Bucket List." In one of the scenes the two men are looking at the pyramids in Egypt and talking about faith, God and the afterlife. Morgan Freeman's character talks about how ancient Egyptians believed that you got into heaven depending on your answer to two questions: 1. Did you find joy in your life? 2. Did you bring joy to others' lives? (I don't know how accurate this is, it is from a movie afterall. But I did find references to it when I did a google search.) I think this is a GREAT way to live your life. If you aren't living with joy, how can you change your life so you are? What can you do to ensure that the way you are living your life is bringing joy to other people?

Today's Smileys:

1. Sleeping in till 8:45a. Nice.

2. Making Father's Day cards.

3. The kids playing in the pool.

4. Making a nice Father's Day supper for my dad: stir fried mushrooms, cream cheese wontons (yep, I made them myself) and thai chicken stir fry.

5. Eating dinner outside.

6. The girls and grandma singing "We All Live in a Yellow Submarine"

7. Emmy howling at Grandma's singing....too funny.

8. Little kids playing outside all evening in their swimsuits.

9. The Bucket List....it was very thought provoking for me.

10. Free movie channels all weekend on DirecTV....once again loading up the DVR!

11. A beautiful evening to sit outside and chat.

Mega Late

This is WAY late. We were busy playing with Jake's Father's Day present!

Today's Smileys:

1. Making some real progress on the girls' birthday invites. Hopefully can mail them tomorrow!

2. Got a new pool for the kids and I to play in this summer. Just in time for the 90 degree weather coming next week.

3. Supper from Baker's Square. We got gift cards in the mail from some members of our church, so we got to eat out tonight.

4. Choosing the healthy option on the menu, not adding the teriyaki sauce that came with it and still thinking it was really good.

5. Jake's Father's Day present: Guitar Hero World Tour and an extra guitar so we can "battle."

6. Starting to potty train the girls and the nakedness that ensues.

7. A MAJOR dance party at our house this morning. All three kids were dancing and Emmy was singing. Can't get much cuter!

8. No snacking this evening. ROCK ON!

9. Making a definitive plan for weight loss. I want to reach a certain weight by my 30th birthday (in just over a year) and today was a major step towards that.

10. A goofball of a husband. I love that I have a man that makes me laugh every day and cheers me up when I'm down.

11. Starting my new devotional Bible.

Day 2

It's hard to write happy thoughts when I'm in a lot of pain, so I'm gritting my teeth and remembering the happy moments of the day.

Today's Smileys:

1. I got all 3 kids ready and out the door and Peder was at preschool on time all by myself. Painful, but I did it!

2. Peder painted for us at preschool.

3. After working on them for over 4 hours and debating about just buying them this year, I finally got a design that I approve of for the girls' birthday party invites. Now to get them finished and mailed out.

4. Red onions, they're my fave.

5. Getting the girls new swimsuits.

6. Trying on one piece swimsuits today. Seriously, HILARIOUS! There is a reason I get tankinis.

7. Getting a new devotional Bible. I'm starting tomorrow morning!

8. Getting a new journal to do my devotions.

9. I bought Jake a surprise present tonight. I was walking past a table of books at one caught my eye: "Lies my Teacher Told Me: Everything your American History Textbook Got Wrong." If you know Jake, you will know why I had to buy this book the instant I saw it. Seriously, he burst out laughing when I handed it to him, because it is SO him.

10. "Ace of Cakes" - This is probably my new favorite show. I love what they create and am convinced Jake can start decorating cakes using fondant. :)

11. Peace and quiet.

Midweek

Today's Smileys:

1. Emmy our daredevil, going headfirst over the side of the couch onto a pillow, repeatedly.

2. Individual snuggle time with each of my kids.

3. I smacked my foot on the corner of our bathroom vanity today and split my second and third toes around it. OUCH! Peder brought me my crutches when I told him what happened.

4. Peder kissed my foot where my "owie" is.

5. Emmy's excitement at seeing her painted toenails when I took her jammies off this morning.

6. The only person in our house without painted toenails is Jake. :)

7. Finishing another book.

8. Fajitas for supper....yummy.

9. Mari deciding that she's too big for a booster seat. She refused to eat her lunch and got down from the table. She played for about 5 minutes and then climbed into Peder's seat and ate his lunch.

10. Peder's excitement about going to see his friends at school again tomorrow.

A BIG Day

Today was a big day in the Early household. Peder started preschool today. I was SO excited for him, because I knew how much he was going to love it. Then, we got to school, he met his teacher and he was off. I made it out to the van before I burst into tears. All the sudden it hit me, my baby boy was going to his first day of "school." It was such a bittersweet moment. I've been a bit of an emotional mess today since then.

Today's Smileys:

1. Peder's excitement over going to school. I couldn't even get a good picture of him. This is the best I got. This is in front of the school.

Walking into the school holding his backpack.

2. Talking to Peder about his first day of school and all the fun he had.

3. Lunch out, just Peder and I

4. Tears of joy and sadness about my little boy growing up.

5. Emmy singing to me at the top of her lungs and then clapping when she is all done.

6. The whole family dancing to the songs in the movie Alvin and The Chipmunks.

7. My parents coming to visit and checking out Peder's new bedroom.

8. Playing ball with all the kids.

9. Peder's giggles when I try to lift his arms over his head. He anticipates me tickling him, so even though I don't do it, he giggles uncontrollably thinking I'm going to.

10. Mari's curly hair. She's starting to get ringlets.

11. Thunder. It was nice to hear it today.

12. Jake's tears of joy at Fred Claus.

13. The best compliment in the world from Jake: "You are one of those moms you read about in books. You know, a really great mom."

14. Hugs and kisses before bedtime.

Back to Reality

Today's Smileys:

1. Finishing Pride and Prejudice.

2. Starting a "Do Over" novel. Very interesting.

3. Keeping my snacking to a minimum.

4. A menu of healthy meals.

5. Getting Peder ready for his first day of summer preschool tomorrow.

6. Getting some more time on the Wii Fit. Not as much as yesterday, but exercise is exercise.

7. Bath time hysterics. Quote of the day, from Peder, "Mari, get your butt out of my face!"

8. Peder's new haircut.

9. Making plans to scrapbook with my sister-in-law next Friday. The first time we've gone since February!

10. 100 Calorie packs

11. Everyone together again

Super Sunday

We had a big day today, but it was excellent.

Today's smileys:

1. Jake and I started our weight loss challenge. I have 7.5 pounds to lose, he has 10.5. Let the healthy living and eating commence!

2. Peder is HOME!

3. The pure excitement all three kids had when they saw each other this evening. I asked Peder for another hug and he said, "Just wait mom, I have to go see Emmy." Super cute.

4. Emmy putting her finger to her lips and saying, "Shhhh!" while snuggling with Daddy today.

5. The girls snuggling with Jake. Really cute. Oh, and notice Jesse in the background? He's kind of claimed that as his chair.

6. Peder discovering the new books we got him. The cars one is actually 5 books in a puzzle format. Pretty cool. He sat down to work on them right away.

7. Peder's excitement and confusion when seeing his room redone. He had just woken up from a nap on the way home and DID NOT want to wake up. I took awhile for it to sink in....then he asked for red paint on the bottom half of the wall too. :)

"What is going on in here?"

"WOW!"

8. Getting Peder's room mostly done. If you couldn't tell from the above pictures, we did it in a Cars theme. Jake set up a bunch of his Cars on the table in his bedroom to greet Peder when he got home.

Facing the door from the far corner. We'll be putting a glider in this corner so I can sit in there with the kids. That's nearly impossible right now with how bad my hip has been.

The view from the door. My glider will be between the windows.

Lightning McQueen and Mater. This is right next to his bed and by the temporary home of my glider. Once we get Peder a twin size bed it will go along this wall and they'll be right next to his bed.

The ceiling fan we got for in there. SO FUN!

9. Spending an hour on the Wii Fit and actually working up a sweat without aggitating my pelvis.

10. A beautiful day! These are the days I've been waiting for!

Splendid Saturday

Did you notice the weather this afternoon? At least in the TC? GORGEOUS! GORGEOUS! GORGEOUS!

Today's Smileys:

1. The girls helping Jake do the dishes this morning. Super cute.

2. Reading Pride and Prejudice on my iPod. Super cool.

3. New blinds in Peder's room....they look so much better then the old ones!

4. Talking to Peder this morning and having him tell me, "Thunder is cool." Nice that he is no longer afraid of it.

5. Three phone calls from my mom in a matter of 15 minutes. She's funny.

6. Eating dinner outside at Jake's sister's house. It was gorgeous.

7. Looking at Chris' (Jake's sister) garden. It's huge, super nice and has a BIG variety of food. I'm impressed by her gardening skills.

8. Hanging out with Jake's family and seeing some of our nieces and nephews. We hadn't seen one nephew in a year, so it was nice to see him again.

9. A nice chat with Chris and Nate. They make me laugh.

10. Bobbi and Nick showing me new games for my iPod. I am now addicted to "Unblock Me."

11. Getting closer to being done with Peder's room.

12. Jake and I are starting a contest or new goal. We are going to see who can lose a certain percentage of our weight first. I'm not going to tell you the percentage, but I will let you know the weights we want to lose. We weigh in tomorrow morning on the Wii and want us both to reach the percentage by the girls' birthday party on July 11th. Let the healthy living begin!

On the mend

Most of the day today I was still really sick. I finally started feeling better around dinner time. What a relief! I took 2 baths and 2 naps today. I spent most of the day laying on the couch.

Today's Smileys:

1. Not a single perscription pain pill today. I took 3 Advil for a killer headache, but that was all. WA-HOO!

2. No hip pain until 7:30p today. Probably because I spent most of the day on the couch, but it was still a relief!

3. The girls' pure excitement at seeing all the fish in the aquariums at WalMart. I wanted to bring home an aquarium.

4. Peder calling this morning and saying he wanted to come home. He got hurt and wanted Mommy and Daddy.

5. Calling Peder twice later in the day and he was too busy to talk to me....that's more like it.

6. The girls' sweet hugs and kisses today.

7. The girls' closing the door to Peder's room and playing in there by themselves most of the morning. Every time we would go check on them we got pushed out of the empty room and the door was closed on us. They had their own little club.

8. My dad's stories about his adventures with Peder today. Two hours in the boat with Grandpa and almost falling asleep on the floor of the boat. Running down the dock and catching himself right before he fell in (Grandpa thought he'd be going for a swim...LOL). The last time I called they were sitting around the campfire.

9. Getting a new puzzle book and activity book for Peder and I to do together while his sisters are napping.

10. Jake's brother Nick came for a short visit tonight. The girls had a lot of fun with him. For some reason Mari always really likes Nick and she is SO shy with almost everyone else.

11. Warm brownies out of the oven.

12. I will laugh at a movie and seconds later I will hear Mari laughing from her bed where she is supposed to be sleeping. Super cute.

CLEAN!

No song of the day....I'm not feeling very well. I'm just doing my list and then going back to laying on the couch.

Today's Smileys:

1. Carpets are cleaned, at least as clean as they are going to get. Now we're going to start saving for new wood floors for the living room and kitchen.

2. Spinning the girls around and putting on the floor to walk. Giggles from the girls while they were spinning and giglgles from Jake and I as we watched them try to walk. Emmy has much better equilibrium then Mari. It would take several minutes for Mari to recover. She'd try to get up and would fall over giggling. SO FUNNY!

3. Lunch out with Jake, Emmy and Mari.

4. Several phone conversations from Peder.

5. "I love you Mommy" over the phone. I miss my boy.

6. Jake laughing uproariously while watching a movie.

7. The girls splayed on our bed watching Cars...very cute.

8. Getting to spend some more time scrapbooking....I'm done with Emmy's NICU pictures! WA-HOO!

9. We're almost to the end of the week! Another WA-HOO!

What a Wednesday

Today was a very up and down day. I did really well until about 1:30 or 2 this afternoon and then I got stopped in my tracks by pain. I rested, took some pain pills and was better by this evening so I could continue with my evening plans. WA-HOO!

Be Happy Song of the Day: We're Going to Be Friends by The White Stripes

1. Peder asking to talk to his sisters on the phone.

2. Peder telling me that the fish Grandpa caught was too scary to touch, but Grandma did touch it.

3. Being almost completely pain free until almost 2p today. WA-HOO!

4. Getting a lot done before the pain set in.

5. Pain pills that work on the pain so I can go have fun!

6. Dessert at Applebee's with Beth. YUMMY food and GREAT conversation. We had fun, even if they didn't have the sizzling apple dessert that we wanted!

7. Mari saying, "I poop." It's so cute and funny. Sometimes she even pats herself on the butt when she says it.

8. My handsome man doing the dishes.

9. Looking up new books to read.

10. Discovering 30 books in our garage that I've wanted to read but didn't know what happened to them.

11. Getting rid of a TON of stuff.

12. Emmy yelling, "STOP IT!" when I'm telling her no about something. It's naughty, but cute.

Weird Day

For some reason today was weird for me. I was crabby, impatient and frustrated....and I have NO idea why. I almost didn't go to book group, but am VERY glad I did. My spirits got lifted!

Today's Be Happy Song of the Day: Love Song by Taylor Swift

Today's Smileys:

1. Peder's phone call about dropping his fishing pole in the water. "It's swimming with the fishies!"

2. The fact that Peder is doing so well with my parents. I miss him, but am glad he is happy.

3. Doing some scrapbooking this evening. I missed my room and things SO much. I loved spending some time in there.

4. Jesse's ears are looking better...still very swollen, but not as much "junk" in his ears.

5. My friend Beth's Tuesday Tribute was to me. She's SO nice. :)

6. Book group tonight. Lots of laughter.

7. I had both sets of house keys in my purse tonight, so Jake got home and realized he was locked out of the house. So he came back to church and had the girls play in the nursery until they go too tired.

8. Mari's sobbing and Emmy's flirting with my book group. They are so cute and you can definitely see their different personalities.

9. Both girls talking my ear off on the way home. "Mama. Mama. Mama. Blah, blah, blah, blah."

10. Getting the evite done.

11. Seeing Peder's room starting to take shape.

Home Again

We are home from a long weekend up at the cabin again. The weather was crummy and I ended up in the ER again because of hip pain, but overall I think we all had a good time. Here's a summary of some of the good things from the last 4 days.

1. Peder's excitement about going up to the cabin.

2. All 3 kids being SO excited to see Grandpa and Grandma

3. My parents willingness to help out with the kids.

4. Rice Crispy Bars with a caramel layer in the center....delectable.

5. Buffalo Chicken Pizza

6. Peder calling my grandpa (his Great Grandpa) OK Grandpa. My dad and I taught him that....we thought it was hilarious. I guess the whole car ride with him he kept talking to him saying, OK Grandpa, blah blah blah. And Great Grandma is still Great Grandma.

7. Seeing my grandparents that live in Arkansas. It was nice to see them and talk for the short time that we got.

8. Napping with Peder.

9. Emmy snuggling in bed with Jake and I for 2 of the 3 nights we were up there. Jake said she curled up next to him and threw her arm over him and it made him smile because that is exactly how I snuggle with him.

10. The girls waking up in the morning and being SO excited to see us sleeping in the same room as them.

11. Peder's excitement about fishing.

12. Peder telling Grandpa that they couldn't fish with corn, they had to go buy worms.

13. Visiting the winery in Alexandria and the girls' reactions to the carved bears. Mari was in LOVE and kept giving them hugs, kisses and pats on the head. Emmy was a little nervous. Until she saw Mari giving them hugs, she didn't want to be within 2 feet of them.

14. Our long drive to the winery because of all the road closures up around it.

15. Working on my cross stitch and making a TON of progress.

16. Jake getting to go golfing with my dad again. He deserved some time away.

17. The Jimmy Jig drawing in the Alex ER. They have a drawing of a fisherman and on it are markings of where people have come in with a hook stuck in them or an injury from a hook. I thought it was hilarious....especially with the special drugs they gave me.

18. Small town service. The pharmacist at the Walgreens up there was SO nice and made sure I had a good understanding of my newly prescribed medication.

19. Spending my birthday money on some new scrapbook paper. I wasn't able to make it to stores up there, but did make a brief stop at Archiver's tonight and found some of the papers I've been in love with for a long time.

20. Getting everything for Peder's bedroom redo. I'll show pictures once it is finished. We got new paint, a border that will be at chair rail height, some wall art and wall shelves to redo toy storage. SO EXCITED!

21. Peder's excitement about staying at Grandpa and Grandma's cabin without the rest of us.

22. My phone call with Peder this evening. Talking about fishing and the baby loon and mommy he saw.

23. My girls giving me hugs and kisses all the time.

Packing Machines

We are once again leaving for a long weekend to my parents' cabin tomorrow. We'll be leaving right after Jake gets home from work and staying until nap time on Monday. It's the time of year for the family reunion on my dad's side of the family and my grandparents will be up from Arkansas. So we get to see a bunch of people that we usually only see at this reunion and it is always a good time. We'll be leaving on Monday, but I have a feeling that Peder will stay up there when we come home. He is SO excited and wanted to leave tonight.

Be Happy Song of the Day: Love Song by Taylor Swift

Today's Smileys:

1. Finishing a big project for Mark. Now I won't have to worry about spending my weekend typing!

2. Pork loin and mashed potatoes....a favorite in our house.

3. Chatting with friends via email....a great way to break up the day!

4. Cleaning out the bathroom cabinet. So refreshing!

5. Peder coming in from playing outside soaking wet.

6. Peder's LONG conversation with my dad about their plans for the weekend. I know that there was some talk about fishing involved. Peder pretty much talked his ear off.

7. Sales Fliers for Crafts Direct from my mom. She's such an enabler! :)

8. Mahjong on my iPod

9. Sleeping in till past 8a.

10. Scheduling to get our carpet cleaned.

11. Making plans for Peder's room redo.

A Day Off

I took yesterday off. Now today I have a list again. :)

Be Happy Song of the Day: SOS by Rhianna

Today's Smileys:

1. Jason Statham. He's hot. I mean H-O-T!

2. Mari was my sunshine today. We had many conversations, she was happy and snuggily and just a bright ray of sunshine.

3. All the kids running around with Jake.

4. The girls pretending to spray me with the water nozzle

5. Reading Pride & Prejudice and eating a Nerds Concrete Mixer while soaking in a warm bath.

6. Cheddarwurst

7. Emmy's great curiosity in getting her first non-hospital related band-aid.

8. Love

9. Fancy cakes with beautiful decorating. I'm SO impressed with the art that some people can create.

10. Planning the girls' birthday party

A Year Gone By

When people wish you a Happy Birthday, they often wish you another wonderful year. After receiving that well-wish several times on Friday, I started thinking about our last year. It was rough. As a family we had some really big challenges and individually I have been in a constant battle with my hip and pelvis. Things are starting to look up. Emmy is a a fiesty little girl that you wouldn't know was ever sick. People who will meet her now will just think she's small for her age. How wonderful is that?

After having over a month of severe pain, I'm starting to do better. I can make it through the whole morning without having to take a pain pill on most days. I'm still very uncomfortable in the evening and there are certain things that set me off (like walking for extended periods, getting up off the floor, driving and sitting with my hip at a 90 degree or smaller angle), but I'm doing SO much better then I was even 2 weeks ago. Another, how wonderful is that?

Today's Be Happy Song of the Day: Bubbly by Colby Caillat

Today's Smileys:

1. Peder coloring a picture for someone special.

2. Emmy trying to dress herself in her jammies tonight.

3. Emmy helping Jake "fold" the laundry by moving everything he hadn't folded from the chair to the couch.

4. Emmy dressing herself in shorts and then a shirt over her pajama pants and walking around the living room and in to see Daddy in Peder's room.

5. Jake's reaction when he saw Emmy waddling in with a shirt around her ankles.

6. Jake's demonstration of his hula-hooping on the Wii Fit.

7. Making more progress on my cross stitch.

8. A great coupon for Archiver's cardstock.

9. Hopefully getting Jesse's ears taken care of so he is without an infection and can hear us again.

10. My big goon of a lap dog.