Day 189

I woke up this morning and got out of bed....a pretty good step in the right direction for the day since it was cold, dark, and I felt so yucky.  So getting out of bed was quite the accomplishment for me today!

I had a really positive experience at physical therapy this morning and I told my PT that I really want to push myself and get my arm nice and strong before the surgery.  If that means doing lots of repetition with small weights...so be it, but there WILL be muscle tone to my arm before this next surgery so it is nice and strong going in.

Connor had a great day at speech therapy and it was nice to get to listen in to his session and hear how well he is progressing....nothing could make his speech therapist of a mother feel better than him saying 3-4 word sentences now!

Joel got a "sparkle" at school today which is a small recognition for a type of good behavior.  He was so proud and happy and I was really happy for him.  I am so glad that he loves kindergarten so much!

I sat in bed a lot this afternoon, after putting Connor down to nap and getting Joel situated with books and lunch.  It was nice to rest a bit, and when it came time to cook dinner...well...didn't happen tonight but I have everything ready to go for tomorrow.  Speaking of tomorrow, the boys start their new daycare tomorrow.  I hope they enjoy their new playmates and that Joel makes it to school...that will hopefully be a happy moment for me tomorrow that everything went well.

Well, the day is done and I have a lot I have to do in the morning to get us all ready for our day.  I am grateful I made it through today in one piece.  I woke up this morning hoping that yesterday had just been a very bad dream.  I am going to do my best to keep moving forward, finding the joy, and hold on to the things that make me smile.  Night all.

Day 188

Well, it has been quite the emotional day today.  Happy moment: I will once again be able to enjoy the tasty Jello and meat loaf from the kitchen of Mission Hosptial.  Not so happy moment...more surgery, and this time, it's big....BIG BIG.

Through the ups and downs of the day, I found the happy moments that came along in the form of wonderful conversations with family members, offers of a shoulder to cry on, ice cream and chocolate ganache, and lots of opportunities for prayer.

Today was one of those days where this blog is my reason for finding the joy, and I am so very glad that I can.  After my surgery, it is going to take a while to get my hand up and working again as the nerve will be pulled once more....this blog TRULY helped me get my fingers moving again, and when I couldn't do it, I had David to help me...so there will be loving husband moments coming :-)

Tomorrow is another day, and I have thought of so very many things already today.  I look forward to making each day before my next surgery (sometime mid March) count.  Because I am all too aware of what post surgery days will bring (lots of weight loss and television shows...)  ok not just that, pain pain, and certainly MORE pain being off any and ALL anti-inflammatory medication.  But I know we can do it, I know I am going to learn more about myself from this next part of my journey, and I know that I will not be alone.  I am grateful for all of that knowing that lies ahead!  Happy Monday all!

Day 187

So the weekend is done again.  I can't believe that March is almost upon us!  It has been a very nice February so far. We have had a lot of fun and I am grateful that Spring is almost here!  Here are some happy Sunday moments!

• Ok, so this isn't necessarily a happy moment per se, but in years to come, this will go down as one FUNNY moment in our congregation's history.  Usually our sacramental bread is white bread, the plain store variety.  Long ago in another congregation, we had a member who had a bread factory, and the bread we had for sacrament bread was AMAZING!  Especially eating one piece of that bread (that had been freshly made at 5 AM that morning) on a fast Sunday, and that made you feel a bit better.  Well today, that was not exactly how we were feeling.  As the sacrement plate came to me, I got a whiff of the bread....as I took it and put it into my mouth, it hit me....RYE bread!  I LOATHE rye bread so very much and so does David.  I leaned over to him and said "For the love of all that's holy this is RYE bread!  How am I supposed to swallow this!"  He whispered back, "It's like a bandaid! Just chew twice and swallow!"  Poor Joel had proudly taken a piece of the bread two and was making and ACH sound.  We all swallowed the bread with much effort and then got out the kids sippy cups from the diaper bag and took big gulps of water.  To make matters worse, a SEED got stuck in my back molar.  Thankfully an animal cracker helped solve that problem lol.  So not a happy moment, but a moment we will all remember for a very long time!  Other families told me they were having the same problem when their kids took the bread lol...I pity the 12 yr old boy who brought that bread this morning!
• So teaching 4-5 year olds was fun.  I run a very tight ship and I am a really fun teacher, but I also demand respect and expect the kiddos to listen.  It went really well and I look forward to teaching again next week!
• I got to take a nice Sunday nap when we got home...have I said in past Sunday blogs just how much I LOVE this 9-12 church time?
• After nap our home teacher came over!  We have one now!  9 months and 4 surgeries later....so happy to have a lesson from a wonderful guy in our congregation...YEA!
• Dinner with the parents was great and afterward I went to a meeting for all primary teachers...we learned how to teach with love and it was a really good meeting!
• I came home and watched the DVRd version of the Oscars...didn't see who won best Movie, but Billy Crystal was a great host, and Sadie sat on the bed next to met and watched it with me so yea!
• Right now Aladdin, my other kitty, is on my lap while I am typing.  I am grateful for another beautiful Sabbath day today.  I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow to take a look and the arm and see if there has been any progress...praying that there HAS been.  We shall see..................

Day 186

Saturday is done?  I don't know, I think maybe 3 day weekends ought to be the norm from now on...they feel like they are getting shorter and shorter!

Woke up this morning and discovered David had fed the kids and was headed out on a bike ride...I got to sleep in!  What a nice man he is :-)  After some laundry and getting everyone ready for the day, we met my dad for lunch at one of our favorite Mongolian BBQ places.  After that, we headed down to the kid's favorite part of Grandad's work and played for a bit.

Joel and Connor both had fun running around and being ALL boy for the afternoon!  We drove home and I dropped all my boys off and then went out to get my nails done.  At the nail place, I saw a friend that I had not seen in ages!  It was nice to catch up with her and hang out for a bit while we waited.  I got a very pretty purple shade of polish with a silver overcoat today.  If I can't ride right now, might as well have pretty nails.  Since my arm breaking, my closet has grown in the amount of clothing I own, and my nails have had many more colors on them than normal.  I'm not going to lie though, I really would like to have filed down nails and my workout shirts and jeans each Saturday.  What I wouldn't give to hop up on Jazz and head out on the trails for the morning.  The creek beds are full of water right now and I bet the ducks and other wildlife are starting their Spring return to the wilderness where I used to ride...I miss it.  It is so beautiful and I hope I get a chance to enjoy that quiet beauty again someday.  For now, pretty nails and a lotta clothes that are pretty will have to do lol.

We came home and I made tacos for dinner.  The boys both loved em!  It was so cute to watch those little mouths maneuver the hard taco shell and try to figure the best way to crunch down and enjoy the meal.  That is one meal I will be making again soon for sure!  Not once did I have to hear, "do I like this?" A happy moment to have everyone happy and enjoying dinner at the table!

After dinner, my mom picked me up and we headed out to the movies.  I haven't been to the movies with her in a really long time, so it was a happy memory made!  We even saw a Chick Flick so it made it all that much more special!

Today was a good Saturday and I am grateful for all of the happy family times I had.  I am looking forward to tomorrow and being able to teach my first lesson to the 4-5 year old kids at church! Wish me luck and that my teaching moment proves to be a HAPPY moment for me to write down here tomorrow!

Day 185

Started out this day sprinting and finally got to slow down after putting the boys to bed!  WHEW!

I am the chair for the corporate sponsors for Joel's school Jog a Thon this year.  It is a fun position and I am becoming pretty good friends with the PTA president.  She also attends MOPS, as does her sister, and all of our kids went to preschool together, so it is fun getting together for our meetings!  It just happened that it was at 8 AM, Joel and Connor both needed to get ready for the day, and I had to get to MOPS by 9:15 because it was Connor's first day of doing daycare there.  Thankfully David stayed home late and got the kiddos ready for the day, fed them a great breakfast, and all I had to do was come home and get Connor because David took Joel to school.  I like it when we are a team :-)

MOPS, as usual, was wonderful and we had the chance to make a craft today.  Now, I am a bit on the artistically challenged side of my family, so my craft was nothing fantastic, but we got clear plates to decorate, and I made mine into a nutritional chart.  I will have to take a pic and post it up on here...the plate has meat, veggie, fruit, and bread painted on with "Food Groups" painted in the middle.  It turned out pretty cute and I can't wait to see how Joel likes using it lol.  Connor had a great time as a MOPPET today and he was all smiles when I picked him up.  I called my mom, hadn't seen her in almost a week, and we went to lunch with her today.  It was a nice time and Connor, as always, enjoyed making us laugh our way through the meal....he is such a clown!

After school was done and naps were over, we headed to our local park where lots of neighbors hang out right before dinner.  Joel and Connor were able to get their wiggles out with TONS of kids tonight!  I don't think I have ever seen the park that busy!  People were letting these special balloons go and make noise, another mom had a bubble maker and the kids were having a blast popping the bubbles as they landed on the grass, and other kids were riding bikes around.  It was such a fun time to be a parent and hang out!  It was getting pretty cold, so we headed inside and had some chicken noodle soup for dinner...yum!

After dinner, I came up and played Words With Friends on the computer as the boys ran all around and played with each other.  They are so kind to one another and I hope that keeps!  Connor asks Joel for help and Joel helps him.  Joel grabs toys for them to play with and they are off giggling....such fun sounds!  Thankfully now they are both in bed and quiet time has set in to our home.  Time to head down, make a cup of herbal tea, and watch some DVRd shows from the week with David....a very nice, inexpensive, date night indeed!  Happy Friday and YEA! The weekend is here!

Day 185

My goodness what a day it was today!  I am proud to say that I have been working out for three days in a row!  My arm still hurts the same, and my physical therapist even said that gaining more muscle in the arm might help to heal the bone.  I am going to hit it with my best shot!  I so so do not want to have to find another doctor or go through another surgery if I don't have to. 

So lots of walking today.  After dropping Joel off at school, I pushed Connor in the stroller all the way up to our local restaurant that serves breakfast.  I bought myself a "victory waffle" lol that Connor and I shared.  It was piled with strawberries and oh so good!  We saw my friend Tara and another neighbor that I met for the first time today.  They headed over to the grassy area near the restaurant, and after Connor and I finished breakfast, we joined them.  Connor got to play with the one neighbor's son, and I got to pet Tara's two adorable Golden Retrievers and see her baby!  It was nice chatting and playing and after a little while it was time for us to head home to get some chores done.

So home we went...we walked for almost 2 hours today!  I did some laundry, made Connor and Joel some lunch, and felt really pleased at all that I had accomplished today!  I even got a television show DVRd from Monday in!

I picked up Joel from school so he could have a play-date at the park with one of his friends...well, that didn't work out too well, but we came home and both boys took a long nap...so I did get some free time in.  It was such a beautiful day outside!  I am so glad we were outdoors most of the day to enjoy it!  I am so happy that I am able to finally BE a mom and do mom things again!  It only took me 10 months, but I am feeling like ME again and it is really nice!

We went to dinner at our local pizza place tonight and even though only Joel actually had pizza...I did the soup and salad dinner, it was a nice time.  Home cooked meal again for tomorrow for sure, but this mom needed a break from the kitchen.  It was good to get out and we saw some people from church so that was fun! 

Today was what being a mom was all about.  Being embarrassed by things your child does or says....part of life...spending quality time with your kids, and teaching your kids lessons about life.  I am thankful I was able to be up and about and share this day with my children.  There are times I really enjoy being a mostly stay at home mom, and today was one of those days.  I am glad I had somewhere to share my happiness and joy of today!

Day 184

I really like Wednesdays.  The week is heading towards the weekend, I am done working for the week, and we usually have finished eating our leftovers of whatever I have made on the previous two days.  It is a good day!

I went to work early this morning and got some paperwork done.  During my lunch break, I headed home and got to see Connor for a bit.  Then I headed out to lunch and to run errands....er....um....at the mall...and...um....buy some clothes....hey that's an errand right?  What can I say?  Trying on clothing with no children around makes it SO much easier to buy said clothing.  I say if malls knew this about us moms, they would put a childcare place every few stores so we could have the chance to try on clothing WITHOUT having to entertain our 2 yr olds at the same time lol.

After work I came home and put a ton of leftovers in the microwave....everyone had something different to eat tonight...that's the fun part about leftover night!  We ate and then set up the table for an exciting game of Candyland DISNEY version that we bought a few weeks back.  Joel was thrilled to win and we finished the night off with some cupcakes that we bought in Carlsbad at this AMAZING cupcake store by the outlets....you have to try them if you are ever down there...it is like a Golden Spoon....but for cupcakes!  We love that place!

We read stories, brushed teeth, and by some miracle the kids are in bed by 7 tonight!  David is down washing dishes, I am doing a load of laundry and then off to clean the clothes off of the eliptical machine and actually get ON the dang thing!  I am a mere 10 pounds (I gained some...no it wasn't the cupcakes lol) from getting to my goal weight and if I have to work out every day to get there than by golly I am gonna do it!  So have a good night all and here is to Thursday being a day of joy leading into our Friday!

Day 183

Oh that my arm would let me type everyday!  I found myself tonight thinking that I felt like I had JUST woke up and was looking around the room in my PJs....except for the fact that is is 8 at night and I am ready for bed.  WHOOSH went my day....but not without some happy moments of course :)

Today I went on a walk....a very very long walk that will most likely make my legs ache tomorrow but my work out regime has GOT to start somewhere!  I am so tired of being tired and in pain!  I figure I can do that AND burn some calories...why not?  I felt good after the walk...pushing Connor along in the stroller...and hopefully it will pay off!

After OT, I took the boys to a park where some ladies from our congregation had their kids.  Joel and Connor played for about an hour and I had several really nice visits with people I don't see too often.  I brought the boys home and they helped me cook a chicken!  We also had mashed potatoes...thanks to our veggie box!

We put the kids to bed and then I got to read some more of some of the books I am reading....I LOVE reading more than one book at a time...I can't wait to see which one I finish first!  Well that is pretty much it for the moments of joy on this Tuesday.  I am looking forward to bed and some much needed zzzzs later :)

Day 182 HALF WAY THERE!

Can I really be half way done with this blog?  I can't believe I have been blogging for 6 months now!  I can't believe Connor is going to be 2 and a half as well!  I started this blog on his birthday, so I will end it then too....wow time is going by!

I wish I could say that the past 6 months have been SO much better than the months leading up to this blog.  Unfortunately I think I was only at surgery number 2 when I started this blog and I had 3 more after that.  My arm is in excruciating pain all day, every day, these days and I have no idea when it is NOT going to be broken anymore.  My RA symptoms are far worse than they were 6 months ago and I LONG for the day that I can get back on my medication and be flare-free once more. Yes, a lot of unhappy with the happy, BUT, I have this blog to help me to appreciate the good that each day does bring.

I guess this blog is my version of whistling a happy tune (see The King and I in order to understand that reference lol)  but it is my happy tune, and it DOES make me less afraid.  Fear doesn't really get you far in life...just makes you want to curl up in a ball and give up.  I don't want to do that.  I have learned so much and gained so much strength from these trials I have had.  I AM a stronger person, I AM a more empathetic person, and I DO appreciate others and their trials so much more now.  How can any of that not bring me peace?

So my happy moments for the day:
Went to Legoland with David and the family.  It was SO cold that we decided to do the Sea Life Aquarium instead.  It was a lot of fun and so many underwater legos to see!  Something funny happened there as well...now some of you know I am a bit obsessed with the ocean and all of its creatures.  If you didn't know, the shark is my favorite animal and I know A LOT about them.  I love learning about oceanic animals, took oceanography in Jr. high, and I love seeing documentaries on the ocean.  So, today we were viewing one of the tanks with sharks and rays and I pointed out a shark to Joel and said "ooooh I think that one is a scalloped hammer head!"  I didn't know that there was a Sea Life worker just around the corner...he came up to me and said "ah we have a marine biologist here today!" Well...no, but someday maybe :-) I told him I just really really like ocean animals.  This mom on the other side of HIM told me she was impressed...that was nice :-)  We continued looking at the animals from another view point and I pointed out a White tip Shark...I told Joel how when airplanes crash or ships sink, those are the first sharks to arrive on the scene to eat the people....LOL the mom was within ear shot of us again so she started pointing to other animals and asking me questions....it was really fun because I just happened to spot a shark egg...or purse...and pointed that out to her.  Her words were "if you aren't a Marine Biologist, you missed your calling!" Yeah well...they didn't exactly HAVE marine biology in Arizona lol.

It was a fun day and the boys had a great time wandering and I got some really cute pictures of them all.  We all came home and napped after that.  Onto Family Night and then bed time we go!  Hope all of you did something fun on this President's Day!

Day 181

Today was a good, but fast Sunday!  The day seemed to just fly by!  We started off to church this morning and I got the news that I have been released from my callings as chorister and Music Chairperson.  Although I am sad that I won't have a musical calling for my congregation anymore, I am happy to be teaching Sunday School lessons to 4-5 year olds!  It will be fun to sing Primary songs and see Joel,and then next year Connor, in primary.  So onto different things and happy memories to be made!

I pulled my back out a couple of days ago and it has been difficult to sit at the computer and type.  I may be doing the every other day thing for a while until it is comfortable and I don't have muscle spasms when I type lol.

After church it was lunch time.  I made a frittata of broccoli, onion, and cheese...with eggs of course...so yummy!  I made some cinnamon rolls as well because Joel and Connor were not too fond of my frittata...they are kids, can't blame em.  It was delicious for us adults, however, and I am happy that I am plowing through our veggies and fruits that were delivered.  Up this week, a roasted chicken with veggies and potato leek soup with some of THE biggest leeks I have ever seen before!

After lunch, I headed over to meet up with a new babysitter that will be watching the boys, mostly Connor, while I work on Wednesdays.  It is always a little scary (for those of you who know about our past sitters....REALLY scary) for me to trust someone new with my kiddos.  But this woman is a mom, close to our home, and made a pretty nice impression...my crazy radar didn't go off at all so that is a happy thing!  Connor will get to play with her son who is just a few DAYS younger than he, and she is willing to take Joel to school...so all signs point to it being good so far.

After I got back home, I took a nice long nap.  Then we all woke up and it was off to dinner to one of our favorite Mexican places with my parents.  We had a lot of fun with the waiters and Connor officially knows when to ask for a box now LOL.  We came home and read stories, watched some TV, and cuddled.  Bed time went pretty smoothly as well.  All good things.

I LOVE watching this show called Once Upon a Time.  I am just now sure how I feel about TWO of the characters knowing they are from a fairytale land.  It was a good show and then bed time.  What a nice day!

Day 180

What a fun and busy Saturday it was today!

We started off the morning hanging out at home.  It was nice to sleep in, eat breakfast at a leisurely pace (which consisted of whatever we wanted to eat this morning so I got chopped strawberries, vanilla bean yogurt, and granola...my all time favorite breakfast!)

After a while, we all got showered and dressed and headed to Costco to do some shopping and get lunch for the kids in the form of lots of samples lol.  Ok we DID get pizza afterwards because they were still hungry, but it was a fun time shopping there for all!

It was then nap time for Connor and Joel did some catching up on his school work.  It was fun helping him do math, reading, coloring, and language arts...good Mommy quality time!  It also took about 2 hours to rearrange the freezer to fit all of the stuff we bought from Costco lol  We did it though!

I took Joel to our neighbor's birthday party at a really fun play gym.  They said they would bring Joel home for me and I headed back to get ready for date night with David.  We went out with a couple from church and had THE best time at the restaurant and movies!  The movie was a perfect combination of action and romantic comedy.  It was nice to get out with other people and we are really looking forward to doing it again soon!

Today was what Saturdays are supposed to be all about...lots of fun and catching up on things you didn't get to do during the week.  I only wish there were more time for MORE fun, but Joel IS off of school and I don't have to work on Monday so I am sure another adventure awaits us!  Until tomorrow....have happy dreams all!

Day 179....Friday

So, our computer once again decided that I would not be aloud to post my blog lol.  We couldn't find the tablet anywhere in the house, so around 11pm I gave up and went to bed...not without writing down my happy thoughts and moments for the day, however.  So here they are

• Even though I pulled my back out, I was able to have fun with the kids all day
• Went to lunch with my mom and came home.  We sat on the couch and talked while the boys ran ALL OVER the house laughing and screaming...it was a lot of fun to hear them
• Took a bit of a nap, thanks to my muscle relaxers, and woke up ready to make dinner
• Made a fabulous meal that I hope to make again very soon thanks to all of the veggies and fruit I have in my fridge!.,....on a sad note, as we were turning over the 450 degree buttermilk bites onto a platter, the butter washed over my hands....thankfully some running water and the cold side of my Snapple made it feel better, but no hospital so happy! lol
• My parents came over for dinner and brought some amazing cupcakes from a bakery for dessert.  Everyone had a great time laughing and eating at the dinner table...quality family time and we loved every minute!
• I got to watch some TV shows with David after we put the kids to bed.  It was quiet and dark and...quiet...we like quiet at the end of the day :-)
• I remembered to use my bone stimulator now for days and days in a row.  I wasn't doing too well remembering to use it...do I think it is helping? Not sure but I sure hope so!

And there is my Friday.  So many happy memories made and dishes to be cleaned on Saturday lol.  I am so grateful for my family and the fun we have together.  I love my noisy boy house with all of it's childhood laughter and love.  We are very blessed indeed.

Day 178

It feels like the end of the week!  Joel doesn't have school tomorrow or Monday, and it this week went by so much faster than last week!

Got up this morning, took Joel to school, got our box of fresh produce on the doorstep, and I went to work on the computer for recipes for all of the veggies!  I found some amazing recipes thanks to Food Network and an app I have on my phone!  This is going to be fun and hopefully get us eating even healthier than we were before!

After looking online, texting with my mother-in-law, and making sure Connor was behaving (sort of lol) we washed up, got dressed, and headed to Mission San Juan Capistrano.  I had bought a Groupon a while ago for a season pass there, but hadn't used it until today.  We spent about an hour walking in the gardens, looking at the chapel, and watching the fishies swim in the pond.  It was great to get outdoors and Connor had so much fun!  I hope we get to do that again really soon!  We then stopped and ate at one of the local Mexican restaurants only to find out it is closing soon...that is sad because I can remember that restaurant being there FOREVER!

We got home in time to get Joel from school and then headed to our local park to play.  About half of Joel's class was at the park and Joel had so much fun playing with all of the boys in their "fort" they have made out of some bushes.  Connor was having a blast with Joel's classmates as well on the main part of the playground.  After park time, I brought the boys home and BOTH of them took naps....going to have to remember that little trick for next Thursday lol.

Well, I pulled my back out earlier this evening, but thank goodness my chiropractor was still in for the day.  I will go back and see him in the morning as well, but for now hopefully some nice ice and sleep will do the trick.  Such a happy day with my boys today!  It was a beautiful day after being so rainy and cold yesterday.  It was nice to get out and be in the sunshine!  Hope all of you get to enjoy the sunshine wherever you are!

Day 177

Well the migraine is still looming today, but I was able to go to work this morning...it was a good distraction from the pounding in my head.

Work was fun and then I hit the mall for some shopping...some post Christmas returns actually lol.  After that, I stopped into a make-up store called Sephora....yeah, now I know why I DON'T shop there that often!  A tiny little bag of a few make-up items and A LOT of money later, I was out of there.  I sure hope this make-up produces some sort of facial miracle for what I paid for it lol.

I then headed off to Panera Bread for lunch.  I must say, that was almost the best part of my day, sitting quietly beside a window, eating broccoli cheddar soup from a bread bowl, and playing Words With Friends on my phone...it was lovely!  After last week's insanity, I had a very Zen moment to myself and I enjoyed it immensely!

I got to spend a lot of time with the boys this afternoon because a few of my clients cancelled this afternoon.  It was nice watching Batman with Joel and snuggling in the cold, rainy, weather.  After work, we had a nice dinner at home and had fun giggling about "toots" that Connor was making.....I truly DO live in a boy's world lol.

Well, bath time for the kiddos and then bed.  I am going to snuggle down with a HUGE cup of hot chamomile tea and watch some good TV shows.  BLISSFUL happy moments!  Hoping the headache is gone by the time I wake up in the morning as well!  Thanks for reading :)

Day 176 Valentine's Day

I was so drugged up last night that I forgot to type! OH NO!  thankfully I write down my happy moments by the computer most days as they come so I don't forget at the end of the day what they were...so day 176...

Spent the morning getting Joel ready for school and preparing Valentine's for him.  I dressed him in a red shirt and was so excited to hear how his party for school went.  Happy moment for me...he got CANDY and Valentines!  Now, his principal is a bit strict on the whole no candy policy, but to me, what the heck IS Valentine's Day without Candy Hearts?!  So he got them and it made me so happy that he had such a fun day and came home with a bag full of Valentines....so fun for him!

I got not one but two bouquets of flowers from David.  The dark red roses were lovely and blooming a lot by the time we left for dinner!

David and I got a babysitter and did dinner out.  We were supposed to do a movie as well, but I had a hideous migraine last night and all I wanted to do was come home and snuggle into bed.  2 Advil PM and an Excedrine Migraine later...I am pretty sure that is where my night ended.  I am thankful David stayed with me and played with my hair....see? Couldn't have written that happy moment down if I had blogged yesterday.  It was a tiring day yesterday, but the boys loved the cards they got from Mommy and Daddy, and Connor had fun playing with his Elmo stickers.  And thus ended V-day 2012 :-)

Day 175

Bullet form happy moments and then bed time....

• Life went back to normal today!  Connor went to playgroup and Joel went to school.  It was a little weird having the house so absolutely quiet today...but I quickly got over it and counted my quiet moment blessings!
• I accomplished so many things today!  Valentine's for Joel bought, signed, and in a bag to go to school tomorrow.  We even made his teacher a little present of cut out hands and gum balls...not too bad for one tired Mama!
• I got a bath at the end of the day....hey....at least it happened at all!  Gone are the days of my early 20s wondering why moms always complained about finding time to shower...now I know...no judgment please lol
• I spend about an hour wandering the isles of Trader Joe's today...kid free, and able to pick up anything I wanted to, stare at it, and put it either in my cart or back on the shelf...it's the little things in life lol
• We have been so far so good on our new house cleaning and laundry routine...hope it lasts because I am LOVING the look of the house these days!

That is all for tonight. Hoping for a good night's sleep and some arm healing time!  I am one content lady tonight and happy that this week is starting off SO much better than last week!

Day 174

Here we are on Sunday night once more!  It has been an interesting day.  Cold, cloudy, and noisy lol, but I am happy it is the beginning of a new week!

 Tomorrow Joel will go back to school and I have the Dr. note to go with him!  Yea for his pediatrician living two doors down from us!

Church was good today.  We came home and napped....seeing a recurring theme in these posts as of late? lol I am so tired!

We went out to dinner with my parents and had a fun time at the restaurant.  They were playing music pretty loudly there and Joel and Connor would not STOP bobbing their heads and rocking out.  We all had a good time laughing as they danced....in their seats...to the beat of each song.  Really happy my kiddos love music so much...and they have a wide variety of likes as well...from Veggie Tales to Madonna lol.

We came home tonight and talked with family on the phone.  It was nice to catch up with everyone and see how well some family members we have been worried about are doing.  Everyone is getting healthier and I am so happy about that!
After our phone calls, we settled down with popcorn and candy and did a family movie night per Joel's request.  It was really nice and Joel and Connor danced to every song that was playing in the Disney cartoon!  I loved watching little Connor, with a bowl of popcorn in his lap, watch the move and grab handfulls of popcorn and stuff his little cheeks.  So cute!

I found this great website that we signed up for tonight.  It is called Farm Fresh to you.  A lot of my friends use this website to have fresh veggies and fruit delivered to their door.  For me, it is a GREAT way to avoid the grocery store even MORE now!  It is less expensive than produce at the grocery store, I already have a milk man that delivers milk to me each week, and I shop at Costco for most of my meats.  I may never have to step foot in an overpriced chain store again! LOL we shall see about that, but it is nice to know there are other options out there for us.

That is pretty much our excitement for the day.  I am SO ready for tomorrow when Joel will go to school and Connor will go to playgroup and I will accomplish the errands that I did not get to do last week being home every second of every day!  I wonder how much I am going to miss my boys...just you wait...I am going to be SO sad to not be with them like I was last week...oh the irony of motherhood!  Have a happy Sunday all!

Day 173

Busy Saturday but it was so great to get OUT OUT OUT of the house!

We started our day at Home Depot.  We were told that they sell headboards for beds there....well no, they sell those online.  I don't know, I have a real problem with buying something that I have never seen, touched, or tried out before.  There is one place in town with headboards for about 1000 dollars, but at least I can SEE them in person!  I am going to have to look into return policies for other places...because we want a headboard, but what if it is really ugly when it gets here?

Ok so no luck with headboard hunting, but we DID find a mandarine orange tree that we brought home and planted in a pot outside our door!  I am so excited to get to have those oranges on a tree so I don't have to buy them in a store for the boys!  This could be really fun!

We went to my dad's work where we were hosting a birthday party for a friend of the family.  Joel got to attend the party and hang out with the birthday boy.  We all got to eat lunch there as well...an unexpected surprise!

We came home and all took naps...again....naps were a MUST this past week for us all and I am so thankful that Joel was not BELOW taking one with the rest of us lol.

When we woke up, we headed down to San Clemente and ate at the "Appetizer" restaurant on the pier.  Joel has been craving popcorn shrimp and they give you a pound basket of it there!  We also got the biggest bucket of clams I have ever seen and sourdough bread and one bowl of clam chowder.  We all shared and Connor learned that as well as shrimp and scallops, he is in LOVE with clams now!  So proud of that boy!  We sat out on the patio under head lamps and listened to the waves crash beneath us.  It was a nice family dinner and nice to spend some much needed family time together.  Well, thus ends our Saturday!  Time for bed and looking forward to putting this week to bed as well!  So glad it ended on a happy note.  Hoping the computer gets fixed tomorrow so I can actually post this post!  Night all!

Day 172

FRIDAY!  Joel didn't make it to school today.  Still had a fever and a nasty cough.  Oh how I need to remember that we are ALL getting the flu shot next year!

My morning began by getting up, feeding the boys, getting dressed, and hearing the babysitter arrive so I could go to MOPS! I LEFT the house!  Joel and Connor were happy to have someone new to watch them as well lol.  My time at MOPS was wonderful.  As someone said "you looked like you were skipping into here this morning!"  Truth is, I probably did have a skip in my step...but being surrounded by other women who know what it is like to mother and have those days, or even those weeks, was refreshing.  We had a great speaker talk about mothering and bringing our children to Jesus.  I felt so much lighter in my heart and soul!

After MOPS I got a pedicure!  Yes, I was pushing my time away from the boys to the limit, but I couldn't help it.  I felt so FREE lol.  I went home and we all had lunch and I dropped Nancy off at my dad's work....she works there in the afternoon.  Connor took a nap in his crib, and Joel and I took a nap in my bed.  It was so sweet to wake up and see him curled up in a ball with his little eyes closed.  I am a blessed mommy for having made it through this week!

After naps, we picked up Nancy from her other job, drove thru McDonald's and I came home for about 3 seconds.  I finally got to do a night out with a friend.  David would be coming home to the boys in about 2 hours as well.  My friend and I ate at a local burger joint and then went to see a movie.  It was nice going to the movies with my movie buddy!

I came home and David was there!  We were both so tired and he is still not feeling well.  Off to bed we went and I am so thankful that my little family is all back together.  Happy moment indeed!

Day 171...the return of our computer!

When our hard-drive is dead, it is a bit difficult to write in an electronic blog lol.  I did the best I could writing down each happy moment that came along...so we begin with day 171 Thursday...

The cleaners came today YEA!  It only took me about 5 hours to pick up the place but the place IS picked up and now cleaned from top to bottom.  Hopefully all of the flu germs were wiped down as well!
Just another day here at home with the boys today.  We watched TV, ate lunch, and had dinner together.

Joel is still not feeling well, still has a fever and a nasty cough, so we will see if he makes it to school tomorrow.  He headed to bed VERY early tonight with a bad attitude, but Connor was tired too so he headed to bed a little while later.  That meant both boys were in bed before 7pm!

I took a bath, watched Gilmore Girls, drank chamomile tea, and ate Lorna Dunes.  When I got out of the bath, I had time to watch a Thursday night show.  Living life as a quarantined family can be a bit dull, and we all get on each other's nerves, but my babysitter said she can babysit tomorrow...YEA!  So off to bed and looking forward to David returning home and life getting back to us being able to leave the house!

Day 170

Interesting day...long and David and Joel are still sick but...

Joel ate a lot more today and was not as out of it as previous days...I think we are on the mend!  No school tomorrow still, still has a fever as of tonight.
David was taken care of by his mom and Aunt today and he made it to an Urgent Care this morning for medical treatment.  OY

I worked...meaning I got out of the house for just a bit, for 1.5 hours today....it was pretty quiet and nice to work with other people's children.  My mom watched the boys...the boys slept most of the time while she was there, but she brought us lunch AND my dishes were washed when I got home.....yea for Mommies!

A dear friend's husband from church came over and took my trash out for me...we have dumpsters with lids and trying to hold the lid open with ONE arm and throw in the trash with ONE arm is kind of impossible....so grateful for kind people and their acts of service to us...we are blessed!
My house is picked up and ready for the cleaners to come tomorrow and clean clean clean....yea for that!

I am somehow making it through each day.  I am grateful for prayers of all those around me and so thankful that my RA is not flaring as bad as it COULD be with all of this illness and stress around me.  I am off to bed and can't wait to turn on my TV in the morning and find out what I DVRd tonight!  Thanks for reading :-)

Day 169

Type A Influenza diagnosis today...David in the ER in New Mexico with the same things because HE didn't get t flu shot this year....Joel got the nasal mist one, but Connor and I got the shot.  LONG day...few happy moments, but here they are

Spending time with the kiddos reading stories, giving back rubs and kisses, and being a mommy who was needed very much....not always going to happen.

Having a member of our congregation bring us dinner (David is their home teacher and they asked if they could bring us dinner while he is out of town all week)  I am so glad I said yes they could, because I was not emotionally or physically able to do it tonight.

Today is almost over, David only has maybe an hour of waiting time left for the ER until he can get his Tamiflu and hopefully feel better, and I can get a GOOD night sleep!  It was an emotional day.  When I am not the one with the physical problems, I have to multitask and take care of everyone else.  I would rather be the one in the bed.  I have a disease that does not allow for stress or severe emotional ups and downs, so even in times of trial I have to keep a steady constant.  It is a good thing, but I would really like to just break down and cry and say "I want MY mommy"  there....have a happy night all....Tomorrow is another day :-)

Day 168

It's been a LONG day today friends.  Joel was home sick all day and got worse tonight.  We have a doctor's appt in the morning for him, but it was an overwhelming day!  Hope he gets some meds and feels better tomorrow...my poor lil guy!
Happy moments today were that I reorganized my kitchen a bit while Connor was out and Joel was watching TV on the couch.  Joel went to my room and took a good nap and I took out trash, emptied boxes of things, and did laundry...quite the productive day! 

David is out of town so my parents came over and helped with the boys tonight.  They had a lot of fun hanging out.  Joel stayed on the couch all glassy eyed and Connor played his heart out with my dad...yea for big toys!  Both are off to dreamland now and I am really hoping Joel feels better tomorrow.

I got to take a nice, long, bath tonight and am headed to sleep in a bed all by myself...get to stretch out and not wake someone up telling them to roll over because they are snoring...absence makes the heart grow fonder friends :-)  Hope all of you get a good rest and enjoyed your Monday!  Tuesday will be here before we know it and then POOF, here is March!  It is going by a little too fast these days!

Day 167 Sunday

We woke up early this morning, got ready for church, and headed out.  I did pretty well leading the music today!  It was nice to see my boys down in the congregation behaving and being kind to one another....all that Disney love leftover from yesterday lol.

We came home and took naps.  Then we headed to my parent's house for a certain game that was on the television.  I must say I certainly enjoyed the commercials, the half time music, AND the fact that I picked the winning team!  All many happy moments!  It was fun to tease my dad back and forth all afternoon.  We bonded over football...happy!

Joel started to not feel too good, so he headed home early with David.  Connor enjoyed getting ALL of the attention from his grandparents for once.  He was having SO much fun getting attention that he decided to set off their house alarm and call the police!  A huge siren went off and the police called my parents.  Thankfully my dad took care of it, but Connor is the first grandchild to set off the alarm...way to go BOO BOO....hmmmm.

Hope Joel feels better tomorrow.  I don't want him to miss too much school.  Thinking happy thoughts about Connor at playgroup and Joel at school and all of the things that I need to get done lol.

Day 166

Can't believe it is already Saturday!  What an amazing weekend it has been so far!
We finished up out time at the Disneyland Hotel with a dip in the pool this morning brrrr and also YEA lol.  It was so neat to swim somewhere that I have DREAMED of swimming for a very long time.  The boys had fun, but lasted about 30 minutes because it was so cold!
We packed up our bags in our room and did some shopping in the hotel lobby....a bit different from other hotel lobbys lol this was basically a version of the Disney Store.

We headed home but first did a detour over to visit my dad and play in the kid's area for a bit.  The boys were little balls of ENERGY still, mommy and daddy were ready for nap time!

After we came home and took naps, we made dinner for the Mormon Missionaries.  We had a fun time hearing stories about where they were from and getting to know them better.  Being a future mommy of a missionary I welcome the opportunity to feed these boys and hope people do the same for mine someday.

We are so sleepy!  What a beautiful time we had together as a family.  It was a great opportunity.  I don't know if we will ever do it again someday, but the Disney memories we made this weekend were so wonderful.  LOL Connor just kept saying WOW to everything and Joel gave two thumbs up to the fast rides this time.  We had such great opportunities to bond and share love with our boys.  Happy!

Day 165 FRIDAY!

WOW!  Again with so many happy moments today! My head is swimming with them all!  I will start by saying that It's a Small World was OPEN today, and that moment of taking my boys on that ride and watching Connor as his jaw hung open the ENTIRE time was so neat!  He kept looking around at it all, pointing out animals or simply saying "wow!" I loved it!
So we began day two of our fun adventure.  Now, David and I had talked and said it would be SO nice to be able to stay at the Disneyland Hotel for one more night.  Especially since the boys would be so tired today and would need naps.  Well, we got a piece of paper in our check out paperwork that invited us to stay for about 60 percent off the cost of the room!  Yea for staying during the off season!  So the boys....and we....had a place to take a much needed nap, and continue the rest of our fun day!
Disney Junior, live on stage was a favorite with them today.  Connor would not stop asking for the "horse" ride and "elephant" ride ALL day!  Joel wanted to do Star Tours over and over again.
We ate at the Blue Bayou for dinner tonight as well.  We haven't eaten there in YEARS, but it was so fun to see Joel GET that we were at the restaurant that we always pass by on Pirate's ride.  The food was AMAZING as well!
After dinner, we ran into my cousins that live in Utah!  What are the odds of that?!  It was so nice to see them, catch up, and make some plans on visiting them this summer...too fun!
The fireworks were cancelled due to crazy windy weather, so off to Star Tours David and Joel went, and I did my first date night with a single guy at Disneyland in YEARS!  He has good taste too :-) We went on Finding Nemo and Autopia or "car...beep beep" ride as he called it.
We got to walk back to our room, tired as ever, and all fall asleep quickly!  It was such a great day today....again!  We had the best family together time we have had in a long while. LOL I kept telling everyone "NO ER visits on this trip!" Can't imagine why I would be so paranoid as to say that lol.
It was just so neat to have everyone together, spending quality time.  Joel is growing up!  Can't believe he was tall enough to ride some of the rides.  It was fun to end our night at Disneyland in the Tiki room.  My grandma used to take me there.  As I sat there with the boys I could HEAR her singing some of the songs.  It is amazing that a fourth generation is now enjoying Disneyland....so many happy moments!

Day 164 THURSDAY!

What a fantastic day! 

• We began our morning at Goofy's Kitchen and had breakfast with all kinds of Disney characters.  Connor would not stop staring at Goofy and he got pictures with several of the characters.  One even gave him a "First Visit" pin for Disneyland...a very important thing in our family!
• We did Disneyland and California Adventure.  SO many happy moments!  Joel going on Space Mountain and Star Tours for the first time ever. Connor watching everything and enjoying every ride we went on.
• Connor kept asking for more after we went on the Carosel and Dumbo rides.  
• One of our favorite parts of the day was heading back to our hotel room at the Disneyland Hotel. It was so fun to turn on a light and listen to music and see fireworks above our headboards.  The boys loved listening to the bed time story.  They took baths and snuggled down to dreamland pretty quickly!  Connor even got to sleep in his OWN big boy bed for the first time!  LOL he did fall out of it in the middle of the night, but we put him right back in.

Today was one of those days that you wait for from the moment you are married and realize that you want children.  I took my CHILDREN to Disneyland :-)  Getting to watch it all through their eyes was priceless!  It's a Small World was closed, so didn't get to have that moment with them, but maybe next time.  I am just so happy that my sweet boys loved it all and took it all in.  Oh oh, and Joel got to fight Darth Vader in a Jedi Academy battle...how many kids get to do that?  SO fun!  I am so grateful for today!

Day 163

Not too bad of a day today.  It was long and we were pretty tired from being up since 4 AM lol but we made it through and can't wait for our adventure in the next couple of days!  I might not be able to post, but I will write it down and post when I am able to once more.
Aladdin seems to be doing well.  We are now sedating him a few times a day (via Vet orders) to keep him calm and happy.  I am pretty sure he is enjoying all of the pretty colors swirling around him lol.
Lots of work today, but it was good and some of my itty bitty kidos worked so hard!  It is so nice to see them smile and be happy as they have mini break-throughs in their language. 

-I got to blow dry my hair this morning and it felt great!  The brush worked really well in my hand and I am so grateful that the strength is coming back again!

- We had a nice family dinner sharing what our favorite things of the day were.  Joel had a great time doing his OT and Connor was excited about playing with his babysitter building sand castles with "sand toys" so cute! 

Well I am really looking forward to some much needed family time tomorrow!  So excited to get to watch and enjoy through a child's eye.  It has been my dream for YEARS to do what we are doing tomorrow.  I  have both of my children and we are going to have a great day.  Happy thoughts to you all!  Happy moments here I come!

Day 162

Well, we are in for a long night again tonight.  Aladdin got his bandages off...oy vey!  We are going to call the vet in the morning to see what we can do to help him.

So I bring you happy moments in bullet form and then bed time for me!

• It was nice to have the day not working.  I started my morning walking Joel to school and then walking with my friend Tara and her doggies all over town.  SO nice to hit our trails and see nature and enjoy the outdoors!  It was a good walk, good talk, and we bumped into our friend Jennifer on the way back...happy girl moments!

• Connor behaved REALLY well while Joel was at OT today.  We read books in the car and talked.  It is so nice when he isn't throwing a 2 yr old fit...that time of day can be bad because it is naptime, so it is nice when he doesn't act up. 
•  We went to the park and played with kids from our congregation.  Since I was having a MUCH better day than last Tuesday, it was nice to be able to function mentally and talk with the other moms.  Last week I came home from the park and cried myself to sleep over everything going on.  This week I felt so much LIGHTER and happier.  See what happy moments can do for you?
• Finding the joy was easy to do today and I am grateful for that.  I feel so blessed and loved by God every day and I wish others could have that feeling as well.  We live in a world full of evil and negativity my friends.  I am just grateful to be able to push most of it out of the way and focus on the good.  Now onto getting my kitty cat and husband some much needed rest!  Night all!