Birthday Wishes

Okay, I can't get the tone of this post right. Here's my point. I'm special to you. You're special to me. Buy me a present, it's not that hard. There's lots of things I'd like. You can't go wrong, pinky-swear. Yes, it's the thought that counts, but giving me nothing does not count as having a thought.

My birthday's coming up. How are your birthdays?

It occurred to me that *some* people may think I'm hard to buy for. My parents gave me a fabulous gift this year, an early birthday present, a new laptop. Doesn't get much better than that, does it? I think they're entitled to take the next 10 birthdays off. However, just to prove to myself that I'm not too difficult to buy for, here's a list of my birthday wishes for this year, in no particular order:

• 10-inch cast-iron skillet. I have a larger one and I love it. I use it frequently. I'd like to have a 10 and someday, a 12-inch as well.
• Photoshop Elements. I guess the more interested you become in photography it's inevitable that you're going to want to play around with editing software.
• A haircut, or a pedicure from my new place, Kenneths. I've bounced around a lot the last few years trying to find a stylist I like. I finally realized I was comparing them all to Pam, the person I went to for years and the reasons I had stopped going there weren't as important anymore (they had nothing to do with Pam). I got my haircut last night and it was wonderful to be back in Pam's hands. I'm sure many things beat a good haircut, but it's a good place to start when you're trying to feel good about yourself.
  
• Giada at Home. Giada DeLaurentis' new cookbook.
• Home Cooking with Tricia Yearwood. I enjoyed her first cookbook, I'm betting I'd like this one too.
• A movie gift certificate. Mark and I love to go out, the budget's tight, gift certificate's for a night out are always welcome.
• An inexpensive dinner gift certificate. See above.
• A gift certificate to King Arthur Flour. I love poking around their site, putting items in my cart, but in the end, it always feels just a tad too frivolous to actually buy the things.
• A gift certificate to Williams Sonoma or Sur La Table. Better yet, a cooking class from Sur La Table. Again, always sounded fun, just never had the money to set aside and try it.
• A photography class. There's a new arts center in town, they're offering a photography class. I'd love the opportunity to learn to really use my camera.
• A gift certificate to a local knitting shop.
• An ipod/walkman/mp3 player/portable radio, whatever. I really feel ready to begin an exercise regimen, it would be great to be able to have music to take along with me. I'd especially love something with an FM tuner so when I go to the gym to work out I can tune into their stations.
  

There it is, not too difficult right? Lots of different budgets, lots of different ideas. I'm more than just "a mom". I'm still a person with lots of different interests. I promise I'm easy to please, and I love it when someone stops and thinks about what I might like, just for me.

What about you? What happens on your birthday?

Random Dozen #10 Happy Easter

Thanks to Linda from 2nd cup of coffee

1. How do you feel about the marshmallow Easter Peeps?
I like to have one or two a year, very, very stale.

2. Chickens are notoriously nervous creatures. When you are nervous, what is the best way to calm down?
God's winking at me with this one, because I'm really struggling to learn what works for me. Sorry, don't have the answer yet. Prayer helps. So does reading, taking a walk.

3. People say, "April showers bring May flowers." Do you enjoy Spring rains?
I love spring rains. Love them. I love a good rainy day when I can enjoy the coziness of my home.

4. When I was randomly flipping through TV channels this week, I saw a show in which tattoo parlor employees received tattoos of a co-worker's face on their bodies. I can't imagine having a portrait of a colleague tattooed on me. But if someone forced you to receive a portrait tattoo (face only) of anyone, who would it be? Why?
Sorry, can't play along with this one, I'm completely against tatooing.

5. Would you rather have a tattoo (any kind) or a nose ring?
Nope, against those too.

6. Do you have any special plans for Easter?
Church. Hopefully no one throws up this year, it's happened the last three years. Then we'll visit a bit with my parents.

7. Cadbury Eggs or Reese Eggs?
Once upon a time, it was miniature Reese's eggs. Now I don't really enjoy either. This year I'm loving Whopper Eggs. Mmmmm.

8. What was the last thing/person you took a picture of?


There was a squirrel this morning laying on top of our neighbor's fence. Not sure why it captured me, but it did.

9. What book are you reading now, or what was the last one?
Nanny Returns, the sequel to The Nanny Diaries.

10. What do you think is the most difficult task when it comes to Spring cleaning?
All of it. I'm just not a cleaner by nature. *sigh*

11. How many pairs of flip-flops do you own?
Two, but one's just a super cheap pair I use for the shower when we camp. The other's are Reef's which I really, really love. A couple of year's ago when we were in Hilton Head we were souvenir shopping for the kids. The guy at the shop convinced me to try on a pair of Reef sandals. I could not bear to take them back off. They're truly awesome. When the weather breaks I wear them all the time.

They're getting pretty old, I really should buy a new pair, but I just can't bring myself to spend that kind of money on flip flops again. They're by far the most comfortable shoes I've ever worn though.

12. Which color makes you happiest?
Depends on the day. Right now I'm really loving orange because it's Julianna's favorite and she's infectious with her enthusiasm for things.

Bonus Joke (not part of the Random): Why did the Easter egg hide?
He was a little chicken!

Yeah! I love fun jokes. I try to put one in my kid's lunches a couple of times a week. If you know a good one, please share.

Have a great week everyone.

Family--Project 365 #12 & PSF

March 19, 2010
Give the girl some construction paper and scotch tape and there's no stopping her.
This time she's iCarly with a video camera.

March 20, 2010
When you become a Nana and your babies are 3 and 5,
you don't get those "Oh if I knew grandchildren were so fun I'd have had them first" kind of feelings. I love being a mommy, I love having my kids. I love that they're still little. Still, I do adore my grandkids. They're absolutely wonderful and the sun shines just a bit brighter when they're visiting. We offer to watch them whenever Jason & Lori want to get away for a bit. Last weekend they went to a wedding in another town. It was the first time Lily spent the night at Nana and Pop's. It went great. We all had a wonderful time.

You'll have to indulge the break from a picture a day. I couldn't resist.

We wore them out...Matt collapsed into Leapster.
Lily napped on Aunt Rebekah.

They're all out of order, but we went to the playground, and played and played.

They did not have shoes this cute when my girls were little.

Jacob definitely has quite a soft spot for his niece.
I love this picture.
Too bad it has so much clutter in it.

Isn't she the cutest thing?

Him too?

March 21, 2010
Mommy and Daddy are back.
Who's happier, them or Lily?
She did have a wonderful time while they were away though...so did we. :)

March 22, 2010
Sign over our dining room entry.
It fits out family.

March 23, 2010
Julianna loves to play conductor.

That's all I'm sayin'. :)

March 24, 2010
In case you were wondering,
don't taste old gel blue icing. Yuck!

March 25, 2010
I'm so lucky to have this girl. I love finding little notes around the house.
If only she dated them. :) I've no idea when I was supposed to meet her at the playground.

I'm so thankful our week ended with a happy ending.

Hope you had a good week too.

Hosted by Cecily and Momma

Hosted by Chris

Prayers WW

Check out more Wordless Wednesdays

Please pray for Matthew, my grandson, and his family.
They're in Orlando for what was supposed to be a wonderful family vacation before they move to Columbus and vacation time will be scarce. Instead, Matthew's in the hospital there with an asthma attack. Lily, their one year old, is not allowed at the hospital. It's difficult for all of them. We're hoping he'll be allowed out of the hospital today. Maybe they'll even be able to continue on with their vacation, albeit much altered.

Unfortunately, Disney World has not been accommodating at all about rescheduling character meals, etc. Sad. You would have hoped such a large, wealthy corporation could have had a bigger heart.

Most of all though, I'm just praying that he gets better. That they can figure out the magic combination of medicines that will allow his chest congestion to clear and his asthma to be under control. That his Mom and Dad will be able to handle the incredible amount of stress that they're under. That they'll feel the support of those who love them so very far away.

Update: He's been discharged! Yeah! They'll be able to leave the hospital in an hour or so and hopefully salvage some of their vacation. Most importantly, hopefully, Matthew will be all right and his asthma will be under control. Thanks for all your prayers and good wishes.

Prayers Needed

Jason, Lori, Matt and Lily are in Orlando. They're supposed to be enjoying a family vacation at Walt Disney World. Unfortunately, Matt's in the hospital with an asthma attack. It's the second time he's had to be hospitalized in his young life for asthma. Please say a prayer that they can get this under control--quickly. That God will be with them all as they're going through so much, so far from home. That He will be with them when they eventually head back here, and then home. So scary. The last time he was hospitalized was Christmas, 2007, and I was able to be with him and Jason in the hospital much of the time. It's very hard to be so far away right now.

I'm very thankful that we live in a country where insurance companies will never be able to deny Matthew coverage because of his asthma, a preexisting condition.

Help! WWYD

All right, I need all you teachers, administrators, or just plain cool-headed parents to help me with this one. I'm pretty frustrated and am not sure I'm looking at this objectively.

Jacob checked several books out of the school library back in December. He read the books and returned them. The next time they had library, he was told he hadn't returned one. He said he thought he had, came home and searched for it, couldn't find it, and in the ways of a nine year old boy, forgot about it...until the next library day. This went on for a long time. He talked to me about it, in truth, I wasn't too worried, I figured it would show up. Well, it didn't and I finally opened my eyes and realized he was very upset about it and we needed to step things up and work it out. We searched and searched, but I was sure in my guy that Jacob was right and he had returned it. He said maybe it had been returned to the public library. Feasible. We checked into that, nope. So, I wrote an email to the librarian at school:

Mrs. XXXXXXXXXXXX,
Jacob has been very upset and looking for the book Tales of King Arthur. At this point we just can not seem to come up with it. He thought he returned it to school long ago. Could you please recheck the shelves and if it does not turn up let me know what we owe. I'll pay for it if it is not found.

I would appreciate it if Jacob could be allowed to check books out again. He's been dreading library and I did not realize it's because he's not allowed to check out books and that he's afraid of getting in trouble because of the book. Life's too short for that, this one's easily solved, unlike so many of life's problems.

Thanks for all your help.

I received this reply this morning, frankly, I'm mad. This isn't the first time something like this has happened, and I don't like the tone in her email of blaming Jacob for something that in my opinion, is clearly not a 9 year old's fault. He returned the book. He told her he returned the book. No, he did not shout it from the rooftops and make a big stink about it because he respects authority. The authority figure kept insisting he was wrong. He was in trouble. He was upset. I'm glad the book is found, but this isn't the first, second or even third time that a book my kids have returned has not been checked in correctly at the library. It's also a pattern that she blames the kids instead of accepting responsibility for the mix-up. My question is, what would you do? Let it go or address it? If I address it, how? With her or higher up? I'm really, really tired of this.

Stacey,

I have checked the shelf this morning and it was there. Jacob had continued to tell me that it was at home and he was looking for it. I generally go to the shelf with the child if they think they've returned it. I'm sorry we had not done this with Jacob. Jacob needs to communicate that he thinks it's here in the future. He will be in the library on Thursday I believe and will be able to check out books. Thank you for getting with me and assisting in this matter.

XXXXX XXXXXXXXX

So Internets, What Would You Do?

2010 Meal Plan #11

Check out organizing junkie's for more meal plans.

Crazy week again. I think they all are actually. Jason and Lori are attending a wedding this weekend so we’ll have Matthew again and Lily too. Last week she had to stay home since she wasn't feeling well . Busy, busy, busy. :) I hope whatever your week holds it's a good one.

Last week I made the piano teacher's family Pioneer Woman's Chicken Spaghetti casserole. I snuck a little taste. It was fabulous. I'll definitely be making it for us soon. Highly recommended. I did switch up a couple of things, I used cream of chicken soup as we do not like cream of mushroom. Additionally, I didn't use the green pepper or roasted red peppers, instead I added frozen green peas to the cooking water of the pasta during the last 30 seconds or so. When I measured out 3c. of broken spaghetti it was apx. three quarters of the package, so I decided to just go ahead and use the whole package. It worked out fine and I hate having boxes of a little bit here and there taking up space in my pantry. Also, I only had cheddar/monterey jack cheeses so that's what I used.

Friday: Deep Dish Pizza, pizza for kids
Saturday lunch (Matt & Lily): Ruebens, sandwiches for kids, chips
Saturday dinner (Matt & Lily): Fish sandwiches, mac and cheese, green beans, applesauce or Salmon patties, buttered noodles, creamed peas
Sunday lunch (Jason, Matt & Lily): Southwestern Grilled Chicken Salads
Sunday dinner: BBQ Cheddar Pizza Roll Ups, potluck for the kids
Monday (dance, Me out): Mark cooks, hash and eggs
Tuesday (jazz band, piano): Baked Potato Soup, corn muffins, cookies
Wednesday (jazz): Plum Chicken, roasted veggie long grain and wild rice, sugar snap peas
Thursday (Jacob dentist appt., jazz band, sax lesson): Pulled Pork Sandwiches (combination of the two recipes), cole slaw, chips, veggies

Jason's a vegetarian, and I always struggle with what to make when he's here. Since, fortunately, they're going to be here a lot more after they move, and because pasta can get very boring, if you have any great vegetarian ideas I'd love to have them.

Have a great week.

365 Project #11 and PSF Normal

I continued embracing the "normal" this week.
With the possible exception of the cute little monkey.
It's not quite normal to have him with us, yet--
I can't wait until they move.

March 12, 2010
Quite possible the most creative AP Lit project ever.

March 13, 2010
I absolutely love our bedding.
One of the most purely indulgent things we've ever bought--
but it makes me happy every.single.night.

March 14, 2010
The cutest little monkey ever.

March 15, 2010
Sound asleep after a long day at the spa.

March 16, 2010
Gratuitous cute, creative kid shot.
She designed and made this herself.

Finished!
I didn't see the bunny ears until I went to upload.
At least he's consistent.

March 17, 2010
I could never do this in a million years,
but Mark could.
An impossible photomosaic, conquered.

March 18, 2010
Look Ma, no holes. Yeah!

Hosted by Cecily

Hosted by Chris

Ah, Life in the 21st Century

So, I got my mail today. There was an envelope from UPS. Odd.

I opened it, and it was a bill. Very odd. For $365.00. Did you even know UPS bills? I didn't. I didn't know you could set up a UPS account. Funny because I have one.

Evidently it's very easy to set up an account. So easy in fact that the fraud department informed me you can do it with a telephone book.

Fortunately, UPS had decided yesterday that the account was fraudulent. After someone used my name and information to ship three packages, with all the extras.

How crazy is that? I can't believe UPS is such an irresponsible company. You shouldn't be able to open an account with information that's available in any public telephone book. That's just insane to me.

Hopefully there's no more surprises coming, hopefully my identity hasn't been compromised more than it seems. In January my checking account and I paid someone's cable bill. Sometimes I'm not so sure we're better off in the 21st century.

Random Dozen #10--Ides of March

Thanks to Linda at 2nd cup of coffee.

1. On a scale of 1-10, how superstitious are you, honestly?
Two. I'd say a one, but that seems like asking for trouble. :)

2. Julius Caesar is quoted as saying, "I came, I saw, I conquered." Which circumstance or experience of yours does this saying best describe?
Cleaning my bathrooms. It always reminds me of that saying. Weird.

3. If I peeked in on your day like a mischievous little leprechaun, at what time would I most likely find you blogging?
I'm taking the fifth on this one. Let's just say you'd have pretty good odds if you peeked any time.

4. Re springing forward for Daylight Saving Time, is there anything you've ever been really early or really late for?
Nope. I'm compulsive about time. I hate to be late so I'm always aware what time it is.

5. What are you most looking forward to concerning Spring?
Well, I love when everything gets green. When my kids play outside. Taking them to a park. I'm very much looking forward to spring break and not having to pack any school lunches.

6. Shamrocks are the national flower of Ireland and are picked on St. Patrick's Day and worn on the lapel or shoulder. Do you wear green on St. Patty's Day?
Yes. I don't want to get pinched!

7. One of Caesar's assassins, Casca, said, "But, for my own part, it was Greek to me," which of course means he didn't understand something. Probably his own lines in the play. Anyway, what is something that is "Greek to you," something incomprehensible or indecipherable?
So very many things are above my pay scale. I don't understand why bad things happen to good people. I don't understand why some prayers are answered and others aren't. I don't understand why some people are cured and others die horrible, painful deaths. I have a hard time expressing my good fortune...I feel blessed, but then it seems as though the flip side of that is cursed and I definitely can't believe in that. So many things...


8. Is March behaving more like a lion or a lamb where you live?
So far, it's been a beautiful March. That's probably not completely a good thing, is it? Sooner or later we'll pay...probably spring break week.

9. "An extra yawn one morning in the springtime, an extra snooze one night in the autumn is all that we ask in return for dazzling gifts. We borrow an hour one night in April; we pay it back with golden interest five months later." -Winston Churchill. If you had one extra hour per day every day, what would you do with it?
A soul searching question. What would I do with it or what should I do with it? Truly, I think if I had one precious hour that could be mine every day, that wouldn't affect anyone around me, I'd exercise.

10. Legend says that every Leprechaun has a pot of gold hidden deep in the Irish countryside. Aside from real gold or money, what material item would be in your dream pot of gold?
Hmmm, material item? I'm going on the assumption it can't be money and it has to be tangible, so that leaves out help for college. I'd say contacts and glasses for Rebekah. Braces for Julianna would be lovely to find in there too.

11. "The best things are nearest: breath in your nostrils, light in your eyes, flowers at your feet, duties at your hand, the path of God just before you." Robert Louis Stevenson. Look around you right now and tell us about something essential or beautiful very near you that you take for granted every day.
Well, at first my eyes lit upon my 9 year old, but I definitely don't take him for granted. I don't think I'm the kind of person to take much for granted, but of course someone living in a third world country would be able to correct that thinking. My cats beside me purring and flipping on her belly to get attention, but I'd say what I take most for granted is electricity. I learned that two years ago when we lost it for a week.

12. Just for a bit o' fun, click here, and then report your Irish name. Mine is "Zoe O'Sullivan." I love it!
Chloe Daly. But, I had to click 10 times to get one I liked. If at first you don't like yours, try, try again. ;)

Normal Day

Have you noticed the new quote at the top of my blog? Don't worry if you haven't, it's the type of thing I wouldn't necessarily notice on yours either. Lately, I'm really struggling with our lives. We work so hard. We try so hard to do the right things, and lately it feels like it's just not enough. Lately it feels like we're doing nothing right, or treading water, or even moving backward and everyone else has figured out the answer to some secret and we're just not privy to it. *sigh* Lately, life's a bit of a struggle.

Today I woke up at 4:00 in the morning. Yes, while every normal person is having trouble waking up, thanks to the time change, I'm still waking up at ridiculous hours.

As I lay in bed, trying hard not to wake up anyone else, things just ran through my mind...stressing over the fact that our health savings account is empty and we have prescriptions to order, $400; doctor bills to pay; physical therapy bills to pay; Rebekah needs contacts and glasses; Jacob needs a cavity filled; the insurance denied part of the kid's last dentist visits...whoever thinks high deductible health insurance plans are the answer to the insurance mess is out of their mind. Our family pays almost $500.00 a month for health insurance. For that we have zero coverage until we pay our deductibles--$6000.00 per person. It's almost the same thing as not having insurance, unless, God forbid, something catastrophic happens. Also, you know how you read all those fantastic tips about asking doctors, hospitals, etc., to reduce the bill in exchange for full payment? Well, any office I've asked says that because we do have insurance, not helpful though it may be, they will not reduce bills.

My parents are having problems. Water in their house. I can relate. My mom's having some issues too with their health. I hate that the reality of our lives is that I'm not really close enough to help them, to be there for them.

My mind moved on...it's Tuesday. Piano day. That means I need to make two dinners today. I'm making corned beef and cabbage for us and Pioneer Woman's Chicken Spaghetti casserole for the teacher and her family. I need to work out the timing of that. Also, making grasshopper pie, so I need to get going on that first thing...Passover starts March 30. That's a Tuesday. I'm going to have to get organized so I can pull of Seder on my craziest day of the week, not to mention make the piano teacher's meal a day ahead or I'm going to be completely overwhelmed that day.

I tried to roll over and go back to sleep. Ouch! For some reason my breasts are killing me. This is starting to happen every month and I can't figure out why. I'm on the pill, shouldn't that eliminate things like this. I hurt like I did when I was breastfeeding and it had been a while since the baby ate. Not normal, but nothing I'm ready to go to the doctor about either. Dr. Google's not too alarming on it so I'll wait for my next appointment.

Thought about the literal mountains of laundry I have to work on. Why is that I can't seem to make real progress on it? I used to be able to "catch up" with laundry. Now that's a completely foreign concept.

Moving on again...I start watching a new child today. At first I said no. It's two days a week, at the most insane part of my day, 2:30-4:30, so it won't be a lot of money. Didn't seem worth the insantiy. Then, we found out someone hit Mark's car so we have to pay a deductible to have his passenger side fixed. Also, I mentioned a while back he had spun out on the highway, well my guess is he knocked the car out of alignment. Instead of having it looked at then, he decided he was just paranoid and kept driving it. Well, weeks later, he finally took it in. Yup, it needed aligned and now the fairly new tires are ruined. Between that and the deductible we're out $900.00. Saying no to any job no longer feels like I luxury I can afford.

I got smart and gave up on sleep, got up, got ready for my day. Started the grasshopper pies. The baby I watch came. He's having a hard time adjusting to the time change too. Completely understandable but it's tough to get the day off to a good start with a baby who cries and cries. Loudly. I woke Jacob and Julianna. They grumped a bit, they don't enjoy this time change either. Get them going with showers, back to finish the pies, have to make lunches, we're running late, and Julianna asks for pancakes. Grrr. Unfortunately that led to me yelling and stomping and acting like an idiot just because I was feeling completely stressed and overwhelmed. I yelled at Jacob because he doesn't pour his own cereal. I yelled at him for things that had nothing to do with the moment. I yelled at Julianna. Great, forget the crying baby. I'm not a great way to get the morning started. I calmed down, apologized to both of them, explained that I was feeling really stressed, that it wasn't their fault, that I shouldn't have agreed to make pancakes if I didn't have the time to do it. Tried to fix things as best I could, although if you've ever yelled at your kids irrationally you know you can't really fix that.

Did the things I had to do. Finished the pies. Made the lunches. Made the pancakes. Took the kids to school. Put the baby down for a nap. Walked away from the kitchen that now looks like a bomb hit it. Opened my laptop, found a note from a blog friend, and determined to take a breath, stop worrying, stop looking so far ahead, and just try to appreciate this normal day--for all that it is, good and bad.

Normal day, let me be aware of the treasure you are…
Let me not pass you by in quest of some rare and perfect Tomorrow.
One day I shall dig my nails into the earth,
or bury my face in my pillow,
or stretch myself taut, or raise my hands to the sky
and want, more than all the world, your return.
Mary Jean Iron

2010 Meal Plan #10

Wow! Mid-March already, how did that happen? The year's almost 1/4 over. Time sure is flying. We still have a couple of weeks until our spring break, it's very late this year, which I'm thankful for. Hopefully we'll actually get some good weather out of it.

Saturday lunch: Sloppy Joes
Saturday dinner: Flank steak, w/burgandy mushrooms, baked potatoes, zucchini straws (I'm struggling with veggies guys. I'm tired of carrots, green beans, broccoli, asparagus, brussels sprouts and cauliflower. What else is there?)

Sunday lunch Pi day (with Matthew): Homemade pizza
Sunday dinner: ?? we'll see
Monday (dance): Chicken & Stuffing Casserole, candied sweet potato casserole, sauteed green beans
Tuesday (piano, sax): Piano Teacher: The Only Chicken Casserole...,broccoli, Grasshopper Ice cream Pie. We'll celebrate St. Patrick's Day: Corned Beef and Cabbage, boiled potatoes, caraway soda bread, brown sugar oven roasted carrots, Grasshopper Ice Cream Pie
Wednesday (St. Patrick's Day, dance, scouts): Chicken Pot Pies
Thursday (Mark out for basketball tourney): pot luck for me and the kids
Friday: Salmon Patties, buttered noodles, creamed peas

To be worked in sometime soon: Almost-Famous Broccoli Cheddar Soup, Vermont Whole Wheat Oatmeal Honey Bread

Thanks to Organizing Junkie for hosting. Check out other meal plans.

Things That Make Me Happy...

Just when I've been feeling a bit down in the dumps lately, Melissa from Root and Sprout, tagged me with the Things That Make Me Happy meme. Just the kick in the pants I needed to focus on something positive.

In no particular order, 10 things that make me happy:

1. Being a mom. It's my favorite thing in the world. I can't imagine my life without my kids, they truly are my pride and joy. They're good people, it's fun to watch them all spread out in all their different stages of development, and I'm blessed to have a loving relationship with each of them. I enjoy them immensely.

2. Pedicures. Love them. Very, very rare treat, they are expensive after all, but they feel wonderful, and I love having my toes all bright and shiny.

3. Fish. Fish tanks to be more specific. I don't enjoy cleaning them out, but I do enjoy sitting back and watching them in an aquarium. There are aquariums in both kid's rooms and it's very peaceful to just sit and watch them once in a while.

4. The time after my youngest two go to bed and before I do. I truly do love my kids, but it's so peaceful and renewing to have that time to recharge.

5. My kitchen cabinets. When we redid our kitchen a lifetime couple of years ago, we got a quote from Lowes. I was horrified by how much it was, and we decided to check with a local, fancy, kitchen remodelling company. Well, they were awesome to work with. Not only was their quote significantly less for the exact same product, than Lowes, they also asked lots of questions and were wonderful about pointing out options we hadn't known to consider. We ended up with beautiful cabinets, with several significant upgrades that still kept us under Lowe's price, but greatly enhanced the functionality of our kitchen. I love that we upgraded to deluxe drawers, with gentle glides and that are self-closing. It's the little things, but in our tiny kitchen, little things add up to big differences.

6. A clean house. Doesn't happy often enough because cleaning does not make me happy, but a clean house does make me happy. :)

7. Zoos. I love to visit zoos with my kids. We've been to the Miami zoo (before hurricane Andrew heavily damaged it), the National zoo (definitely a favorite), the Cincinnati zoo, the Cleveland zoo and the Columbus zoo.

8. New bulbs peeking out of the earth. Such a reminder that life goes on, good things are coming. Actually, I'll throw in here, just because it's my list, spring in general. Definitely my favorite season.

9. Reading. I love to read. Lately, I'm double blessed because my mom's been giving me lots of good books that she's enjoyed and it's always fun to have something else to share with her. I just finished Tending Roses by Lisa Wingate. I enjoyed it a lot. Bittersweet because it's never fun to think about someone you love dying, but definitely a good book.

10. The Good Wife. I LOVE this show. Smart television that's very compelling. I look forward to it all week.

Rules of the meme are to tag 10 people for them to do this. I'm just going to leave it open. If you'd like to take the opportunity to focus on the positive and post about it, tell me in your comment so I'll be sure not to miss it. Have fun.

PS--I've worked on this post for a few days and have changed my list several times. It's good to be reminded there are so very many things that make me happy. Thanks Melissa.

Matthew

Way too early on a Sunday morning.
I very much dislike this time change.
The four of them are going to be mucho cranky later.

So, Matthew spent the night last night. Jacob elected to sleep in the girls' room in a sleeping bag because Matt was in there--special occasion indeed, Jacob loves his bedtime routine. After they had done their talking and giggling and things were finally starting to settle down, Matthew stumbled out to the living room rubbing his eyes, obviously stalling and trying to fend off sleep.

"What do you need Matt?"

Short pause while he tries to figure out what to do next.

"I just need to tell you somfin."

"Okay sweetie, what is it?"

short pause again...

"Nana, I really love you."

Yeah, he's that good. :) I really love you too Matt.

Scout Sunday PSF

Scout Sunday.

Jacob and Julianna served as greeters.

Aww, couldn't resist that one.

Unfortunately, this is the best shot I got of the actual service.
My camera refused to take the shot of Julianna receiving her God and Family medal.
Or the shot of the pastor shaking her hand.
*sigh*
Picture it: I crept up the aisle, in front of everyone, intent on getting that
important shot of an important milestone, in my fourth child's life.
My fourth child, the one who pictures and records and momentos mean so much.
Poor child. To have me for a mother, not so good at pictures and momentos.
She doesn't even have a baby book. Then again, neither does her brother or sister.

You knew this shot was going to be in here somewhere, didn't you?
He just can't help himself, although he had the grace
to be mortified when he saw that I had spotted him.

So, even though I don't have a wonderful picture to commemorate it,
Julianna worked very hard to earn her God and Family medal.
Maybe this will be almost as good as a baby book. :)