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