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.

I Love Summer Weekends!

Today's Be Happy Song of the Day: Sunshine Day by The Brady Bunch

Today's Smileys:

1. Walking through Gerten's looking at all the beautiful flowers and plants and dreaming about future projects.

2. Picking out flowers for our house and seeing them planted in front of the house.

3. Peder "helping" Jake plant the flowers.

4. Creating beautiful things through my hobbies.

5. Mari pretending to be Mommy.

6. All my children snuggling in Peder's bed. It was time for "nigh-nigh"....at 6:30p. :)

7. Mari loving on the baby doll and rocking it in the rocking chair.

8. Making plans for Peder's bedroom and hoping to surprise him with it if he stays with Grandpa and Grandma at their cabin next week.

9. Getting excited about all the projects I want to do and finish around the house.

10. Summer weekends at home relaxing and doing things around the house.

A Really Good Day

Be Happy Song of the Day: Beautiful Wreck by Shawn Mullins (For those that know this song, I always laugh about it because when Jake first heard it he thought he was saying, "What a beautiful red guitar." Still makes me laugh....)

Today's Smileys:

1. Getting some time to scrapbook.

2. Really liking the pages I did today.

3. Time to myself.

4. Working on my cross stitch projects

5. Playing some of the balance games on my Wii Fit. It's fun. I can't wait till my hip is better and I can do some more of the stuff on it that strengthens the lower body.

6. Going "browsing" for new furniture for our living room. We found some stuff we like, got ideas for what we definitely don't want and I found some GREAT fabrics that I want to put on a chair once we get new furniture.

7. Telling Emmy "Bye bye Emmy!" when she wouldn't stay with us in the store and hearing her yell, "NO!" and come running after me. She was the best kid while shopping today, held my hand almost the whole time and stayed with me so well.

8. Telling Emmy "Bye bye" while at Toys 'R Us and have her come around the corner carrying a baby doll in a baby carrier. She is definitely in baby mode and loves all things baby. It's super cute.

9. My hip had a pretty good day and didn't start getting bad until around 7-7:30 tonight.

10. Reading

11. Jake and I agreeing that it has been a good weekend and it's nice to just hang out.

A Golden Day

Today's Be Happy Song of the Day: Happy Birthday


Today's Smileys:


1. A back rub while half asleep this morning.

2. Being fully woken up by Emmy and Peder sitting on my bed, both eating a piece of bread and holding my gift from the kids.

3. An iTunes gift card....and downloading some songs with it!


4. Peder asking Auntie Chanda how the baby in her belly is doing.

5. Emmy singing along to my iPod.


6. Jake singing "Step by Step" by the New Kids on the Block to me on the phone this evening.


7. A message from my mom with a bunch of her co-workers singing "Happy Golden Birthday to You"


8. My new Wii Fit! WA-HOO!

9. Mari showing signs of being ready to potty train

10. Mark and Deb singing to me over the phone.

11. Some very nice phone calls to wish me Happy Birthday.

12. Going to the drive-in to see UP. (Very cute movie!)

13. Movie Theatre popcorn

14. Peder doing his "job" while waiting for the movie to start. (His job is coloring in his color wonder book.)

15. Dairy Queen Ice Cream Cake

16. Chicken Kiev

17. A fabulous husband doing whatever he can to make my day special and being understanding of my feelings.

18. Great kids

Summer Evenings

Today's Be Happy Song of the Day: Steal my Sunshine by Len

Today's Smileys:


1. Deserving Design. I love what they do for people who have faced difficulties or are doing great things in their communities. Today's was about a family with quadruplets with special needs....that made it hit a little closer to home. They talked about their concerns for one of their children in particular and it made me think of some of the concerns we have for Emmy and her future.


2. Refreshing tears.


3. Alone time with Peder.

4. Peder pushing Emmy in the swing.

5. Mari going down the slide and clapping at the bottom

6. A meal cooked on the grill

7. Making summer plans

8. Sundresses on little girls

9. Wearing a tank top for the first time this summer.

10. Peder telling me I looked like The Little Mermaid because of the sequence on my "bra" (tank top). And then asking me why I was wearing a bra outside and telling me I needed to get a shirt.

Laid Back Day

Today's Be Happy Song of the Day: So What by Pink

Today's Smileys:
1. The girls yelling up the stairs to Jake while he's up there working. Lots to tell Daddy throughout the day.

2. Emmy coming up to me, patting me on the cheek and saying, "Oh, baby, baby." She is very into calling everything a baby lately and passing out love.

3. The girls reading books together.

4. Peder snuggling me.

5. Sudoku on the iPod.

6. Lilacs

7. Renaissance Spirea blooming all over the place. I love how they look weighed down by their flowers.

8. Playing on the floor with the kids.

9. Planning Peder's bedroom re-do

10. A husband who still thinks I'm hot 10 years and 40 pounds later. :)

11. Wonderful smelling bubble baths

Not Myself

On my way home from Book Group tonight I was thinking about how down in the dumps I've been lately. I am not feeling like myself and it's because I can't be MYSELF! I can't go outside with the kids by myself because I physically can't keep up with that. I can't play on the floor with the kids because I can't get up off the floor without help. I can't scrapbook because sitting and moving around in my scrap area causes me to be very uncomfortable. I love my book group, but 30 minutes into it tonight I was SO uncomfortable I was having trouble focusing on the topics we were discussing.

Jake tells me it takes awhile to get used to, but part of my problem is I DON'T want to get used to it. I want to do those things and I get pretty ticked off when I can't live my life because of this stupid hip. I'm just once again frustrated by this circumstance and keep hoping for a faster resolution then I'm getting. Sorry for the downer post, now on to the good stuff.

Today's Be Happy Song of the Day: Santa Monica by Everclear

My Smileys for the Day:

1. Beth telling me about electronic books for my iPod Touch.

2. Long, hot baths

3. Reading in the bath tub

4. Emmy knocking on the door and yelling, "Mama!" while I'm in the bath tub. Just like every other time I take a bath.

5. My book group ladies....giving me much needed laughter.

6. Jake knowing when I'm having a rough time without me telling him and giving me big hugs.

7. John and Jill's new adventure and their excitement for it.

8. How singing Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star to my kids immediately results in them laying down and snuggling into bed.

9. The millions of hugs and kisses I get from Peder while singing Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star to him.

10. Wondering what my life's adventure is.

11. Jake doing the grocery shopping

12. Friends doing things for each other

Memorial Day Weekend

We are home from our weekend at my parents' cabin. The weekend was great most of the time, the only downers were my hip and the kids had a difficult time falling asleep at least one night we were there. Otherwise, it was fabulous. We played, sat on the porch and just spent time together. Jake and my dad went golfing twice.

Here are the smileys for the weekend:

1. Leaving on time.

2. Taco John's for supper...love me some potato oles and nacho cheese sauce.

3. Stopping at Crafts Direct and getting 3 new cross stitch projects for my sister's new baby that is due on November!

4. Starting one of the projects for the baby.

5. Scrapbook store shopping with my mom. Got some great new stuff!

6. Lunch out with my mom.

7. Peder's love of fishing and constantly asking Grandpa to go fishing.

8. Hanging out on the porch with my parents.

9. The girls getting all excited when they'd wake up in the morning and see Jake and me laying in bed.

10. Emmy just wanting her mommy in the middle of the night.

11. Lunch out with Jake.

12. The cuteness of the kids walking along with my mom or Jake all holding hands. Emmy insisted on holding both Jake's and Peder's hands.

13. The kids going to get treats with Grandma and bringing me back some treats of my own.

14. Buffalo Chicken pizza for my special birthday dinner

15. Cherry Dream Squares as my birthday cake. CANNOT get any better.

16. Watching the kids have fun with my parents.

17. The great fun a bubble machine can bring.

18. Cherry Dream Squares and bacon for breakfast. I'm SO spoiled.

19. Singing and dancing with the kids on the car ride home.

20. Spending time together as a family.

Getting Ready

We are getting ready to go to my parents' cabin. I made the list of things to pack and Jake has been packing. I'm SO excited to be heading up there and we'll be leaving as soon as Jake gets home from work tomorrow. I'll probably start bringing the kids outside when he gets close....yes, I'm that excited to get out of dodge! I can't even remember the last time we went somewhere for the weekend, probably last summer when we went to my parents' cabin. :) So I won't be updating my blog at all until at least Monday.

Be Happy Song of the Day: Vacation by The Go-Gos

My Smileys of the Day:

1. The girls giving each other kisses.

2. The joy a rocking unicorn can bring to a toddler.

3. Peder's new ceiling fan and how excited he is about it.

4. Jake trying to figure out the labels on our electrical box. "Is the light in his room on now? How about now? How about now?" Me, "No, but now the TV is off." LOL...it was on the fuse labeled living room.

5. Peder and Mari fixing the old ceiling fan while Jake was installing the new one.

6. Peder telling Jake, "Dad leave us alone, we're trying to work here."

7. Pizza Hut's quepapas. YUM

8. Jake's appreciation for the fact that I usually do the packing

9. Jake trying to figure out the girls' outfits and what shirts went with what pants or shorts. HILARIOUS. Complete confusion!

10. My House is Worth What? I love that show.

11. Sleeping with the windows open.

12. Peder being sad that we weren't leaving for Grandpa and Grandma's tonight.

What a Wednesday

Be Happy Song of the Day: Uptown Girl by Billy Joel

My Smileys of the Day:

1. Criminal Minds

2. Peder's reaction when he saw the Lightning McQueen/Cars ceiling fan at Menards. Since we'll be redecorating his room in a Cars theme this summer we bought it.

3. The candy aisle at Menards....reminds me of when we'd go to Menards or Fleet Farm with my dad when we were younger.

4. Lik-M-Aid Fun Dip

5. Ceiling Fans

6. How much my kids love dancing

7. Baths

8. An old stand-by for supper that is super delicious!

9. Talking my mom's ear off on the phone this evening.

Today has been a rough day. Lots of tantrums, fighting and crabbiness from all three kids. I did a lot of intervening, which means my hip is killing me. It was hard for me to enjoy things, even things that I normally really like. I'm also getting REALLY bored. There is only so much you can do from the couch. Hopefully this weekend I'll get some fun cross stitch projects to work on.

Be Happy Song of the Day: Maggie Mae by Rod Stewart

My smileys for the day:

1. Jake bringing me a Nerds Concrete Mixer from Culvers when he picked me up from book group. YUM-O!

2. Sitting outside for book group

3. Thought provoking discussions at book group

4. Getting an adult Do-Over Novel from Beth. I'm excited to read it! :)

5. "I SO love you Mommy"

6. The girls saying "Yum, Yum!" when they want more ice cream.

7. Friends. I like emailing with them, and I emailed with a couple today. Helped break up the day.

8. Starting to look forward to the weekend.

Monday, Monday

Be Happy Song of the Day: Beverly Hills by Weezer

Smileys of the day:

1. My hammock

2. Jake's understanding

3. "Mommy, I need to snuggle with you."

4. My pelvis getting realigned

5. My bedroom being rearranged (Jake did it last night, but I didn't realize it until I went up to bed last night).

6. A gorgeous evening

7. Sundresses on little girls

8. Peder finally being ok wearing shorts

9. Conversations with a 3 year old

Quiet Time

Be Happy Song of the Day: Passinate Kisses by Mary Chapin Carpenter

Today's Smileys:

1. Sleeping in till 10:15a. I can't remember the last time I did that. Probably before the girls were born.

2. Breakfast in Bed.

3. Finally watching the Pride & Prejudice mini-series. It's 6 hours long, so there aren't many opportunities to do that. A bum hip and no kids equals an opportunity.

4. The smell of fresh cut grass.

5. Finishing my book group book.

6. Starting to read Pride & Prejudice.

7. Jake's laughter....and actually snorting once while doing it. I think I'm rubbing off on him. :)

8. Running hugs from my kiddos.

9. Peder never fully waking up when he got home.

10. Mari going to bed in Peder's bed. I'm thinking we'll have to do toddler beds soon.

Happy

I look at my life and can't help but be happy. Everything I have done has brought me to this point in my life. The horrible decisions that I look back on with sadness and the decisions that brought me great happiness have made me who I am today. And I am happy with this person. Sometimes I still do stupid things, say the wrong thing at the wrong time or just blow it, but I know that those who love me will forgive me. And those who are going to let who I am or what I believe affect their feelings or respect for me probably aren't people I should be around anyway.

So I look around me and I see my family whom I couldn't love any more if I tried. I see a wonderful, caring, loving, hilarious husband and wonderful father. I see a little boy who is full of energy, testing his limits, handing out hugs left and right, and loves to play games. I see two girls who are learning who they are, one is shy, the other little miss independent. One with a flair for the dramatic, a love of books, a deep affection for all things stuffed and a tendency to follow the crowd. The other is one tough cookie, a HUGE risk taker, a major snuggler and a social butterfly. I helped make this family and they couldn't be more beautiful.

We may not have a ton of money, a large, beautiful house and we give up things for ourselves so our children can have more, but we are still happy. We have fun together. There is a lot of laughter in our house. Love lives here.

Be Happy Song of the Day: Say Hey (I Love You) by Michael Franti and Spearhead

Today's Smileys:

1. A Father and Son spending the afternoon together.


3. The unadultered joy of a 3 year old.


3. Spending time together as a family, even if it is just for a few minutes.

4. Mari's first ponytail.

5. Having twins.

6. Mari taking care of me and tucking me in with her stuffed animals.

7. My parents taking the kids over the night tonight so Jake has a chance to work on projects around the house tomorrow.

8. The girls waving bye to me on their way out to the van. They were all excited to go to Grandpa and Grandma's and would turn around on their way down the sidewalk and yell, "BYE MOM!" and wave to me. Way too cute.

9. Getting some quiet time today.

10. Jake picking up Pride & Prejudice from the library for me.

11. Realizing how lucky we are to want the same things and that the most important of those things is time together as a family.

Finally Friday

I had a doctor's appointment today as a follow up to my SI Joint cortisone shot. The doctor I saw was a pain management doctor and she basically said that I need to stay off my feet as much as possible, try not to limp (WAY easier said then done) and continue to try to keep my pelvis in alignment until I have my appointment with the hip specialist. If I do all of that, I should be much better by the time the shot wears off and not need any more.

Be Happy Song of the Day: Accidentally in Love by the Counting Crows

My Smileys of the day:

1. Popcorn and a movie.

2. My iPod Touch so I had something to do while I waited a half hour for my appointment this afternoon.

3. Taking a nap.

4. Cheddarwurst

5. Mari's joy at seeing that I was awake from my nap.

6. The girls petting Jesse and giving him kisses.

7. Peder's sweetness with his sisters. He gave Emmy the rest of his cookie when hers was all gone.

8. Mari reading in bed. This is what I saw when I walked into her room while Jake was changing Emmy's diaper after they had been in bed for about an hour. I asked her what she was doing and she said, "Reading the book." Very, VERY cute!

Smiles

Today was a pretty good day. I am stressing a little bit because our Chrysler dealership is one that Chrysler wants to close. This stresses me out because of some of the things we were promised when we bought the van 2 years ago, like life time free oil changes. In order to qualify for that you have to do your regular maintenance with the dealership and we've been doing it for the last 2 years. If it closes I'm going to feel a little lost and little annoyed about that.

Today's Be Happy song of the day: Rock & Roll by Eric Hutchinson

Today's Smileys:

1. A visit from Leslie. She brought us supper and hung out for awhile. I got to chat with her and the kids showered her with attention. I know we enjoyed having her and it sure seemed like she enjoyed being here. :)

2. A card in the mail saying I was being thought of and prayed for. It warmed my heart.

3. A REALLY good morning this morning. I made it until lunch time with very well controlled pain and barely limping. It was SO nice.

4. Peder's confusion over no longer having quiet time. Super cute.

5. The girls playing peek together on the couch.

6. A nice dinner that we only have to throw in the oven. Gives Jake some time to do other things since I can't do much around the house.


7. The kids wrestling with Jake and all 4 of them giggling away!

8. Getting into my scrap area for a little bit. I finished one layout and then Jake caught me overdoing it. :) He yelled up the stairs, "Meliss, are you overdoing it?" To which I responded, "Maybe...." That resulted in me being told to get back downstairs and sit on the couch. LOL....oops. :)

9. Jake making chocolate chip cookies because I said that I wanted some to celebrate National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day tomorrow. He's so sweet.

10. Naked baby butts walking into the bathroom for their bath.

11. Bath and Body Works Shower Gel

12. PartyLite candles

Happy Birthday Mom!

I'm exhausted today. It's a good exhaustion though, because we went up to my parents' house to celebrate my mom's birthday. We weren't there for long, but everyone seemed to have a good time and we got a good meal out of the deal.

Today's Be Happy Song of the Day: Happy Girl by Martina McBride

Today's smileys:

1. Jake working from home and changing all the diapers for me. One less thing to put stress on my hip.

2. My mom's birthday and the fact that we were able to make it up there this time.

3. Megan's "Windows Down" playlist. We started listening to it on our trip to and from my parents'. I say started because it's 6 CDs long and we got through 1 and a half.

4. Seeing my sister and Randy one last time before they move to Pennsylvania.

5. A surprise phone call that a friend is bringing us dinner for tomorrow night. Two nights in a row of not having to cook....Jake's getting a much deserved break!

6. The fact that Peder asks me to sing Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star to him every night before he goes to sleep. I get a big hug from him the whole time. It's very sweet.

7. The shocked and worried look on Mari's face when Grandpa knocked over the row of dominoes. Then the excitement when she realized that it was supposed to happen!

8. Peder loving being at my parents' house so much that he doesn't want to leave.

9. My little beggar children going from adult to adult asking for bites of their strawberry pie.

Let's Be Honest

Ok, let's be honest. This pain is turning me into a crab. I'm struggling to find things to smile about and am having mini breakdowns on a regular basis. I'm feeling a bit defeated and discouraged. Add to that the fact that today has been the most painful day I've had since my cortisone shot kicked in and it makes for emotional frailty and fast tears. This isn't easy. I am FORCING myself to find things to smile about and am hoping that by continuing to do so my mood will be lifted. So there, an honest assessment of how I'm doing. Now for the the things that make me smile.

My Be Happy song of the day: Boys with Girlfriends by Meiko

My Smileys of the day:

1. Insight from book club that brings peace with it.

2. My book group friends. A lot of us arrived crabby and we were still able to laugh a lot.

3. Brownies

4. Sudoku to take my mind off the pain

5. Discovering there are adult versions of the choose your own story books of our youth.

6. The kids playing with their baby dolls.

7. Taking a nap.

8. Friends who listen.

9. Bedtime hugs and kisses

10. Watching The Biggest Loser with Jake

I'm such a cliche

As in, I hate Mondays. The kids are sad that Daddy is back at work. It's difficult to get back into our routine...even if we don't have much of a routine left right now. We're all exhausted from the weekend and everyone seems to be just a bit crabby, including me.

My Be Happy song of the day: "Stupid Boy" by the Gear Daddies

My smileys for today:

1. Friends to vent with and to.

2. My mom. She's really nice and we rarely ever fight.

3. Jake bringing home Reese's peanut butter cup miniatures and Twizzlers for comfort food for me.

4. Mari's deep need for her Mommy today. We spent a lot of time snuggling and talking.

5. Peder comforting me today during a difficult time with pain, he truly is the sweetest boy. "Mommy, do you need a hug?"

6. My Be Happy song list and all the suggestions I've gotten for it!

7. Emmy's bravery with the vacuum and her excitement over it.

8. Scented body lotion, it makes me feel partially human.

9. One Minute Hand Scrub from Bath & Body Works, it's amazing what it can do for your hands!

10. Thoughts from my book group book.

11. Brothers and Sisters that love hanging out together (Jake took this picture while I was trying to nap on the couch. All three kids sitting in the front door looking at our front porch).

Happy Mother's Day

Today has been a painful day. I was able to make it to church, even though it was a difficult thing to sit for that hour and I eventually stopped standing up to sing, it was nice to get there. I've been wanting to go, but have been unable to. I spent the rest of the day on the couch, but it was worth it.

Things that made me smile today:

1. All three kids laying on the air mattress with me after breakfast this morning.


2. The look on Megan's face when the projector at church went into stand by mode. I had to contain my laughter. :)

3. Downloading new songs to my iPod Touch. I love that thing. Right now I'm trying to only do HAPPY, upbeat songs. Suggestions are more then welcome, especially if you have a song that you hear that ALWAYS gets you smiling or dancing.

4. Mari's great love of shoes.

5. Emmy's great love of hats.

6. Peder helping his sister up when she fell over. He's a sweet big brother.

7. A delicious Mother's Day dinner. Chicken, cheesy potatoes and corn. YUM-O!

8. Playing catch with Emmy today and her bubbling giggles.

9. Our church praying for my hip and the offers of help.

10. The "train" making it's way through our house. Mari is the engine, Jake and Emmy are the passenger cars and Peder is the caboose. Very cute.


11. A sweet husband.

12. Being a Mommy.

Ups and Downs

Today has been a difficult day because I've been dealing with a lot of pain. But I still have wonderful moments of happiness. I have really been appreciating my bright spots lately and am SO in love with my family, it's probably a bit nauseating for everyone else to listen to!


Today's smileys:


1. "Say Hey (I love you)" by Michael Franti and Spearhead. Seriously, this song makes us all dance....even if it means moving my arms around like Mari and Emmy because I can't get up to do it.


2. Peder picked out Madagascar 2 to give to me for Mother's Day. It's cute and hilarious all at once. We will be watching it tonight at our slumber party.


3. Our annual Mother's Day slumber party. Peder and I started the tradition last year and will be continuing it tonight. Next year the girls will be old enough to join us. We have so much fun watching movies, eating popcorn and snuggling on the air mattress.

4. I got an iPod Touch for Mother's Day. I LOVE IT! Seriously, it's SO nice. I will now have something small to keep in my purse for scheduling all of our appointments. Plus it has an address book, internet accessible through any wi-fi, email, weather and I added a lists application. SO COOL!


5. Chipotle for lunch. YUM-O!


6. I got my mom's birthday present today and I think she is going to LOVE it.

7. Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. I've had discussions about the addictive properties of the minis. I think it applies to all chocolate and peanut butter cup sizes. I CRAVE them, constantly.

8. Cheeseburgers off the grill for supper. (Huh, just realized a lot of my smileys today have to do with food. LOL....I find that SO typical.)

9. Lidocaine Patches. I know I've said it before, but it bears repeating today. Necessary and helpful.

Fabulous Friday

My Fabulous Friday Smileys:

1. My parents came to visit and the kids were SO happy. Stampedes to the doorway. Mari adoring Grandma. Emmy pushing Grandma out of the way to get to Grandpa. Peder talking their ears off. And cute new jammies and outfits for all 3 kids.

2. Free HBO all weekend on DirecTV. Time to load up the DVR for rainy nights this summer!

3. I called my new doctor's office this morning to check for cancellations and my appointment is now scheduled for July 2nd....3 WEEKS EARLIER! Yes, I will be calling again next week, but I was SO excited by that news this morning that if I could have I would have done a happy dance! WA-HOO!

4. Sleeping in bed again last night and being able to cuddle with Jake. We both missed it! It took awhile to get comfortable enough to sleep (it took an ice pack on the hip for that to happen), but I slept much better last night then I had been on the couch.

5. Hearing Mari yell, "EMMY!" while they are supposed to be napping.

6. Grey's Anatomy. I LOVE THIS SHOW! And I am really liking Carev.

7. Peder pulling Mari around the house in the wagon.

8. The girls waving bye-bye to me as they walk into another room....or two feet from me....then two more feet....etc.

9. Peder eating a water chestnut at supper and doing the typical "kid eating something they think is disgusting" facial expressions and gagging.

10. Emmy giving Mari hugs.

11. That 70's Show. Always makes me smile.

12. Jake's Mickey Mouse voice

Keeping it up

So I've decided to keep up the power of positive thinking. This is something we discussed at book group this week and I'm implementing it to make it through the pain and my days. Biggest thing: I'm going to think positively about their being a cancellation at the doctor's office so I can get in before July 22nd. Let's go positive thinking!

My smiley moments for the day:

1. Waking up in the middle of the night to Peder crawling onto the couch next to me to snuggle. This morning he told me he had a bad dream and told me he was happy I was on the couch to snuggle with.

2. Waking up in the middle of the night to Jake snuggled up next to me on the couch. He came downstairs to go to the bathroom and told me he missed me and wanted to cuddle for a bit. (Can you tell I have very sweet men in my life?)

3. Getting the pictures I ordered in the mail. 630 pictures for Peder's scrapbooks. I am now caught up on printing out pictures for Emmy and Peder through December 2008. Now to get started on printing off some more Mari pictures!

4. Having Savory Chicken (formerly Egg Noodle Chicken) by Kraft for lunch. It's a childhood favorite of mine, kind of a comfort food, and the kids LOVED it. Now Jake is the only one in the house that doesn't like it. Good thing we have lunches without daddy 4 days a week.

5. Being able to hang outside with the kids, even if I only observed from my hammock (and had to be helped getting into and out of it, etc.).

6. Getting lots of love and affection from all my kiddos during random "pauses" in play time.

Mari was my biggest snuggler today. She threw an absolute fit when she couldn't get into the hammock right away.

The girls.....I love getting lots of love!

Mari being so cute.

7. Peder's never ending energy...and the lovely outfit he picked out by himself today.

8. Emmy's crazy hair. Her hair is ALWAYS a mess, even when it's combed.

9. Eating supper outside.

10. Overheard conversations with a 3 year old. Peder's quote of the day, "Daddy, is my poop swimming?" Sorry if that offends some of you, but I thought it was HILARIOUS! I'm still laughing about it and that's why it HAD to be on my list today.

Positive Thinking

I've been really crabby and down in the dumps lately because of the pain I've had over the last 3 weeks. Although the 2 cortisone shots I had have helped, I continue to be in enough pain that I spend almost 24 hours a day on the couch. I even change the girls' diapers there so I don't have to get on the floor. The good news is that it sounds like it is a cam lesion that is causing all of this and that it can most likely be surgically repaired. The bad news is that I have to wait until July 22nd to see the only surgeon in the area that does this kind of procedure arthroscopically. Major bummer, but at least we have the next step in place.

So because of the grumpiness, I've decided to make a list of things that made me smile today:

1. Emmy asking for a high five after every kiss she gave me....even if she just blew me one.
2. Sonic ice cream treats to help with the heart burn this pain med is causing me....and a husband who will go get them for me at 9:30 at night.
3. A husband who will was my hair for me when I can't do it on my own.
4. Every single one of my kids wanting to cuddle with me after their baths. Every time the kids take a bath, I get a ton of snuggle time from little cuties wrapped in towels.
5. Finding new things to fill my time.
6. Watching a couple of interesting/good movies today
7. Pizza delivery
8. Lidocaine patches
9. Seeing other people very happy with their lives. Lots of my friends seem to be bubbling with joy and it's nice to have that bubble over to me.
10. Tri Towers Solitaire on Facebook....addicting

So there ya go....some good things going on during a bad situation. I've become a lot more appreciative of those joys!