Day 365 FIND THE JOY

Finding the joy has been what this blog has been all about.  I hope that any person who happened upon this blog either by chance, or by me sharing it, that you found that my happy moments reminded you of similar happy moments in your own life, and that a smile crossed your face.

Today I had a cold.  Appropriate for my 365th day of blogging.  It wouldn't be a happy CHALLENGE without some moments of yuckiness thrown in!  I went about my day and I made it to the end of today!  Happy!

We started off this morning by going out to Chick-fil-A for an early lunch and play time.  I swear my children knew that I was feeling under the weather, so they made it extra fun by being especially difficult today.  I am so glad we got to go and they were able to play in the play area of Chick-fil-A for the better part of an hour!  I have had so many happy moments at that place and I am thankful for my phone which lets me read emails, keep updated on people's Facebook profiles, and talk to people.  I got to watch the boys play and quietly pin...very nice!

After lunch, we had some extra time before the boys went to their dental appointment, so we stopped over at my dad's work and the boys got to play with Nancy for a while.  Connor also requested to go pee pee in the potty!  He did that a total of 4 times today and I am SO thankful he is asking to do that now...pooping in the toilet can't be far behind now...or it will take a year, either way I will take the happy moments and the "mommy's SO happy!" from my little Boo Boo.  He even asked for a hug after one of the times he went....those are the mommy moments I will treasure forever!

So off to the dentist we went.  The boys both don't have any cavities and their mouths are looking good!  Here are some pictures I took of them sitting in their chairs.  They brought a smile to my face.  I remember not long ago, getting teeth cleaned for Joel was a very scary thing.  That is why we go to the dentist we do because he is so gentle and kind.  Joel smiles for him now and loves getting his teeth cleaned.






                                                                       

After we got the teeth cleaned, it was off to get Joel's haircut, get an Icee, and order Connor's birthday cake!  When we got to the grocery store, I was so tired and feeling yucky.  So I got the wheelchair cart and held hands with the boys.  They were so helpful and they even unloaded the cart for me!  I am so grateful to have boys who see that their mommy can't always go 100 miles per hour and that they help me.  I know they are being taught to be kind and caring to others and to help them when they see they need it.  Hopefully teaching Joel and Connor over and over and over again to be KIND when they are young will pay off someday when they grow older.  Oh how I can't wait to have one of those "YES!" moments!  Ok I can wait a little while because I am loving my little boys for now!

We came home from the store and David got home early and I slept the rest of the day.  That is it!  I helped put the boys to bed and now here I am.  So there were some happy moments to blog after all today!

With this being my last entry, I want to share some of the happy moments that maybe didn't make it in, but these are things on a weekly, if not daily, basis that bring a smile to my face and make me grateful for the little moments.

• When people wave their thanks after slowing down to let them over in front of you...getting a thank you is rare these days and it is nice to get one!
• Hearing my favorite song come on the radio or Pandora...my whole body gets a warm feeling and I am swept away to the music!
• Hearing "I Love You" said by my loved ones or friends...three little words are so precious
• Having those moments where I laugh so hard that I have tears in my eyes.  It is a great feeling to let loose and laugh with joy!
• The quiet time that comes just after putting the kids to bed.  I am able to refocus, read my scriptures in peace, and then finish out my day being able to THINK once more :-)

A year's worth of posts about someone should tell you a lot about that person.  I can't think of much more to write.  There is a year's worth of writing already done!  I wish for anyone to read this to try to FIND THE JOY in their lives.  I hope that if people read this, they get a picture of someone who went through some very difficult times, but managed to have a smile through it.  I hope people know it wasn't a fake smile.  There is nothing fake about the joys that I have had because there is absolutely NOTHING fake about the emotional and physical struggles that I have had.  There are two paths that are placed in front of each and every person in this life when they are about to go through very difficult times.  I have chosen the path of peace and happiness instead of the path of anger and bitterness.  I hope that this blog can help someone make their own choice for their own path a little easier.  Thank you for reading and being with me for this year.  I am so grateful for this blog and the Happy Challenge and I can say for certain that I won the challenge!                                                                               

Day 364

HOLY COW!!!!  This is my second to last blog!  I am feeling the emotion of being done now.  Tomorrow is going to be hard!  This was something I have looked forward to doing every day for a year.  It doesn't mean I will stop doing it on paper, but this blog WILL be done tomorrow.  No doing day 366 or something silly like that.  I committed to a year and I am sticking to it, no more, no less.

Today was a long day with lots of activities, because Summer time needs to be busy or we get bored, then whiny, then no happy moments lol.

So we started off our morning going to the vet for miss Ginger.  She has gained 5 pounds in 3 weeks!  That's our girl!  She is getting bigger everyday and it makes me sad that the puppy stage doesn't last very long.  We still have so much to teach her and lots of love at this stage to give and pictures to take!  It really does go by fast!

After the vet, I took the boys to our local water park.  They had THE best time splashing, playing with friends, swimming, and smiling!  They have both come such a long way in their swimming skills this summer and Connor was going UNDER the water crawling to a pool toy over and over!  It freaked me out at times, but then he would pop his head up out of the water and smile a great big smile...melted my heart!  While there, we played with my moms group friends and there were some people from church too.  It is so nice to get to know people from church a bit more this summer!  I am so thankful to be able to go up to people and know who they are and talk with them about life a little bit.  Connor was getting tired after playing for an hour and a half so it was time to head home for naps.

When we got home, Connor went down for a nap and Joel went out to water the plants.  He has become the best helper and more responsible this summer and I am so thankful for that!  I can't believe in just a couple of weeks, he is going to be in first grade!  He has grown so much and continues to amaze me with how smart he is!

Off to work I went today....I only worked for 30 minutes so I got to get home and spend some time with Ginger and David and the boys before I went to my MOPS mom's night out.  The moms met up at a place nearby which was really nice because there was a quick drive there and a quick drive home!  It was nice to see familiar faces and meet some new moms who are coming into MOPS this year.  I can't wait until October and MOPS begins!  I am so excited about being a table leader this year and leading the women in prayer and being there for the other moms.  I hope to meet some more moms with boys my kid's age as well!  Joel and Connor have so much fun playing with other boys (there are SO many girls in our neighborhood and they like playing with them, but boys just play differently!)

It was a great night out and I am so happy to come home and blog!  Someone asked me tonight if the happy moments are going to stop because the happy moment blog will be over...for sure...NO!  I am so grateful to have learned this past year how to stop and TRULY soak in the happy moments.  I savor each one and save some of them for not so happy moment times that come.  There have been days on this blog when the whole day was nothing but stress and exhaustion, but there were little slivers of moments that I thought, "ah hah! I will save this to post later on!"  So good night dear readers.  Until tomorrow and the end of a years journey and challenge!

Day 363

Wow, three more posts.  I am really amazed right now.  I feel like I accomplished something really big.  And I did, but I am still amazed that I have blogged for a whole year, that the year is almost up, and that my journey to the end of the blog is almost done as well!

I woke up this morning and headed to the gym.  My arm is getting stronger and stronger every day.  I am determined to lose the weight and get back in shape.  Being in bed for the last year has made many of my body parts jiggly and bigger than they were a year ago, but now is the time for me to do something about it.  I feel like my arm is almost healed and that there are not too many unexpected surgeries in my future...hopefully none, but you know, they didn't take my appendix out last year when I asked them to so never say never lol.

I worked really hard at the gym and Connor and Joel had a great time playing in the kid's gym.  Joel was so cute.  He told me he had a play date at the gym with his "gym friend."  When I asked what his name is Joel said to me, "Mom, I don't KNOW what his name is!  You have to play with a person more than 3 times to learn their name."  Oh how true that is lol.  Sometimes I can know someone for months and still forget their name!

After the gym, we came home and cleaned up and then we went to my dad's work.  The boys had so much fun playing with their nanny from last year.  We ordered lunch and ate, then the boys watched a movie and I did paperwork with my mom and her friend, Alice.  It was a great time and I am so thankful that we have an air conditioned place for the boys to play!  They love visiting their Grand-dad so much!  Couldn't POSSIBLY be because he gives them cookies all the time!

We came home late this afternoon and Connor and I took a nap.  I feel so bad for all of the times when I was little that I didn't want to take a nap.  I take it back!  I want all of the naps I missed as a kid!  Nap time was great and it gave me a chance to get my energy back.  We had a nice dinner together as a family and then we met up with our neighbors.  Joel and his friend and the two dads did soccer practice with the boys while Connor played with all of us and Ginger played with our neighbor's dog, Oliver, and I talked with the mom neighbor!  We were out there for over an hour and it was such a great time!  I am so thankful we have neighbors nearby to hang out with and that Joel can practice his soccer skills in between soccer practice and games.  Very soon I will be a soccer mom!  I am still not sure how I feel about that, but I am all in nonetheless because it is what Joel wants to do this year and I want to show him I am behind him 100 percent in all that he does in life!

Well, it is my last Tuesday of blogging.  Very soon, I will be able to go and work at the Family History Library on Tuesday nights once more.  It has been so long and I miss it so much, but I got an email saying my spot on Tuesdays is waiting for me!  I am so thankful to have the chance to do some serious genealogy research again soon!  Today was a great day all around.  My two little ones went potty a lot where they were SUPPOSED to go today.  What a feeling of relief that was LOL!  Have a great night and just two more blogs to go!

Day 362

Three days to go!  Tonight I am going to blog, probably for the last time, in bullet form....

• woke up this morning with a Connor snuggle bug.  He watched Yo Gabba Gabba while I tried to sleep with a pillow over my head.  I used to do that with Joel when he would wake up early.  It was nice to do that with him today!

• I met my mom and her friend for lunch and got to take Joel home with me after he spent the night at my mom's house.  He had fun and I think he was glad to be back with Connor.  When we got home, the two of them played upstairs for a while and I rested on the couch
•  Work today was good and challenging.  There is a fine line between a melt down for an autistic child and them just not wanting to do something.  I skirted that line today while I made one of my clients work and thankfully, he did try to work hard...whew!
• I pinned like crazy today!  There are so many recipes on Pinterest!  I think I will probably have one of the world's largest cook books online by the time I am done finding all of the recipes I want to try!
• After dinner tonight, we did a nice family home evening and Joel was eager to participate.  Then David took the boys swimming at our local pool and I went to the gym with my friend Jennifer.  We swam and swam and got a good workout in!  Then we drove home and talked and talked....such a nice time with one of the world's nicest and kindest girl!
• When I got in the house, Joel had taken a spill so he was on his bed with ice on his chest.  Those little tears made me so sad, but it was so nice to scoop him up into my arms and sing to him and give him kisses.  He went right to sleep after that and I am so grateful to have had that healing mommy moment with him!

Well, it is getting pretty late and I am so sleepy!  Time to head to bed and begin again tomorrow.  I am so thankful for all of the happy moment Mondays I have had.  I can't wait to look back and see what different themes of Family Home Evenings we did over the course of about 52 Mondays posted.  Good night and catch day 363 tomorrow!

Day 361

Well, today is my last Sunday for blogging.  It is interesting as each DAY is done with blogging, I can go back in my mind and think about what happy moments are the usual for that day.  By now most people know going to church and Sunday naps are the top two happy moments of these days!

I am so thankful I belong to my church.  Today, as we sat and listened to a young man who prepared for the past years of his life to go on a mission, and then got called to El Salvadore and Belize, I was so thankful to get to hear his talk.  As he thanked his mom for all of the love and support she gave him, as he told his siblings how much he loves them, and as he shared his joy and love for the gospel of Jesus Christ, I thought about Joel and Connor and all of the many years I need to prepare them for that moment!  When that day comes for each of them, I pray I get the moment where my sons look down into the congregation and are grateful for the spiritual preparation and great love I taught them for our Savior each and every day.  I hope they take with them the spirit of joy that our family has to whatever culture they get sent to on their mission.  So many tears in the audience today from us women all thinking the same thing...that mom did it RIGHT and we all hope to be able to get there ourselves!


Church went by quickly today.  During the third hour with the younger primary learning songs and a lesson, Joel sat on my lap most of the time.  It is fun to be able to teach the 5 year olds and have Joel's class right behind me.  I am thankful that I can watch both Joel AND Connor next year in primary...it will be fun and hopefully little Connor will behave!

We came home to Connor and David (both of them not feeling so good today) and relaxed.  I sat with the boys and ate popcorn and watched a movie while David took a nap.  It was a really nice snuggle time with them!  After that, I took Ginger to puppy social at the vet office where she played HARD for an hour with two "double doodles."  Face it folks, if your golden doodle was bred with a labra-doodle...you have a mutt....not some new designer dog lol.  Four different dogs were involved in the process....if you can't tell what your dog is and have to say FOUR different doggie names...yeah...mutt lol!  They were really cute dogs and Ginger had the best time running around.  I got a really cute picture of her "frog dog" pose that she does.  I will post it on here.  Hoping she sleeps well tonight!  So far she is down in the crate crying her little puppy heart out...this too shall pass.

 

We did dinner with my parents tonight because David was feeling hungry and a little better.  I am going to take Connor to the doctor tomorrow...at this point I am thinking ear infection but we will see!  We all had a good dinner and Joel go to go spend the night at my parent's house.  Something he loves doing so much and I am so grateful for his little smile and joyful walk as he headed to their car tonight.

Well, the rest of the evening was pretty much just resting.  I am so tired lately and hoping to perk up soon!  I am grateful for all of the Sundays that I have had the chance to write about.  I hope that in these blogs, anyone reading can see that I dedicate my life to being obedient to God and his teachings.  I am so thankful to have the opportunity each Sunday to attend church, take the sacrament, and renew my promises that I made to God and Jesus.  To always remember them and keep their commandments.  I hope my life each day can be an example for others to follow, or want to follow at least.  I am so very thankful for my loving Father in Heaven.  I know Jesus died for me.  I taught that today to my little children.  That it was difficult for him, that he prayed for another way, but that he accepted his Father's will in the end.  Our Father in Heaven has a plan for us.  We have to have faith in His timing of all things.  That is something I have TRULY learned in the last 361 days.  Have a good night all!

Day 360 FIVE days to go!

Well, the blog is beginning to wind down, but the happy moments from today still need to get posted!

We woke up this morning and David headed to the Cannery to do some canning of food storage with other people from the ward.  Connor and Joel played downstairs and I was on Facebook.  I found this amazing doughnut shop that just opened and someone posted how amazing it is.  So I posted pictures of it and that I would love to go sometime.  Well, before I knew it, a friend had said she would meet me there in 20 minutes and the kids and I were off!  There was also another person from the ward with his kids that had seen my post on Facebook.  It was a great morning with some really interesting doughnuts!  I got a few dozen for the guys at my dad's work and they were all oohing and aaahing over the different kinds.  It was great to see their faces light up as they opened each box to find crazy doughnuts like blueberry madness or Nutella with rainbow sprinkles.  The one I had was a peaches and cream and it was OH so yummy!  The boys were in doughnut heaven as well!

It was a really fun morning and I am so glad we had a fun doughnut adventure!  It was great meeting my friend, Lori, and her kids at the doughnut place as well.  We got to chat for a while which is ALWAYS nice to have girl talk.  However, we now understand why we usually leave the kids at home and do frozen yogurt and movies just the two of us lol.  We didn't get to talk as much as usual.

I got to take a nice couple hour nap today!  It was LOVELY.  I have been so sleepy and exhausted lately.  Pretty sure it has to do with the progression of my RA, but I am so thankful for David watching Joel and playing with him while Connor and I took naps.  When Connor woke up, he came into my room for a long snuggle...oh so nice!

We hired a babysitter and went out tonight!!!  It has been a long time coming, but I am so thankful we got to do something just the two of us.  We went to dinner at a restaurant that was new to us.  It was nice and hopefully we can go again sometime.  Then we went and saw The Dark Knight Rises in an IMAX theater...that was totally worth it!  The floor rumbled during the action scenes and it was an amazing movie to watch on a really big screen!  David and I had such a nice time being together kid free tonight.  It just took us a little while to get to the theater because we were both talking and forgot to get off at the exit on the freeway by about 5 miles.  We laughed so hard!  We never get to talk UN interrupted and we were both enjoying the moment so much we weren't paying attention to the road....we both thought that was pretty funny! 

I am so glad for Saturdays and the joy that can be found with spending time with the family.  From going to theme parks, the beach, the pool, walks, flying kites, or just sitting in PJs all day long snuggling and cleaning, there is so much opportunity for happy moments on the weekend.  I treasure my weekends with the boys.  As they get older, they will want to go out with friends and not be around us as much.  I am so thankful for the time that I DO have to create happy moments with them.  Joel learned how to put laundry away in his drawers today.  His "allowance" is either money or spending a few hours playing video games.  I am so thankful that he did his chores and was eager to get his reward.  Time is slipping through my fingers with them, but I try to make the most of each day that I can.  At times I fail miserably as a mom, but I kneel down and pray each night and ask to do better the next day.  To love MORE the next day and be able to teach my children how to find their own joy.  Today is the last Saturday of my happy moment blog.  I am thankful for each and every Saturday I have to look back and read the weekend happy moments of our lives.  I look forward to all of the Saturdays and happy moments included in them in the years to come!

Day 359

The weekend has arrived!  Lots of happy moments today....

I got up and went to physical therapy early this morning.  My PT worked me hard and I am hoping all of those arm muscles start remembering how they used to be used lol

After PT, I took the boys with me to the gym and my personal trainer worked me even harder.  It is great to be sweating again!  It was such a happy moment when my personal trainer told me that I inspired her!  Last time, she was making me do an exercise and I was almost out of breath and it was getting harder and harder with each step.  She told me, "I know this is really hard but keep going!"  I told her, "don't say hard! It makes it even harder to do....just keep telling me how easy I am making it look!"  So today she told me that while she was leading a work out class, she kept telling the people, "Just keep going this is so easy you can do it!"  Someone came up to her afterwards and told her what an inspirational class it was and that they really did feel like it was easier!  My personal trainer was so happy to tell me that and said to me, "What a fun mom you must be!  You are just so happy and you look at things in such a great way!"  One of my happiest moments in a long time to not just find the joy, but pass it along!  SO WONDERFUL!

There are those moments during life when we don't think we are doing enough, or we feel like we are failing (potty training a dog and a kid...I feel so down sometimes) but then when someone comes your way and tells you that you made a difference in their life, it really perks you up and makes you want to keep going!  So thankful for that moment today!

After the gym, Connor seemed to not be feeling so well, so we came home and did lunch.  After lunch, Connor was pretty sleepy and I was SO tired, so we took naps and Joel got to play his favorite computer game.  After naps, Joel and I cleaned up the house together while Connor rested some more.  Joel has become such a great helper and he is really getting in to doing "chores" now.  He wants me to make him a chore chart...how cool is that?

David came home tonight and I was so tired still, so we ate out.  Right after dinner we put the kids to bed and then watched some Friday night TV and played with Ginger for a few hours.  It was a nice time with Ginger with the adults...she felt like an only child for a while lol.

Well, today was a happy but hot day!  Hopefully Connor will feel better tomorrow and we can do some fun Saturday things!  Have a happy Friday all!

Day 358

Happy Thursday!

Today was filled with lots of kids and lots of happy moments!  Joel spent the night at my parent's so it was just Connor and me this morning.  We went to the gym and then home...happy to be working out once more!

At noon today, I had my class party down at my dad's work.  They had so much fun playing, eating pizza, and watching Disney movies.  I am so glad I could do that for my Primary class!  They are one great group of kiddos and I am so thankful for the smiles they all had today while playing.  Joel and Connor got to play too and it totally wore Connor out!

Which leads us to coming home and taking naps! YEA!  I don't get many naps these days, so I am grateful for when I DO get a chance to lie down and snooze for a bit!

After naps, Joel and I headed out and got on a train to Anaheim.  We went to another Angel's Game and had a blast!  We loved eating the food, watching the game, and talking.  There is nothing better in this world than having a good conversation with your kiddo...they are so funny and clever and with each age, something new comes along.  Joel really got into the baseball game and how fast they were throwing the balls.  The Angels lost BIG time tonight, but it was still one happy moment after another with Joel.  After the game, we walked back to the train area and watched the Disneyland fireworks.  Joel loved it because he could SEE them but not HEAR them.  They were beautiful and I love watching things I love through Joel's eyes...so fun!

So we took the train home and sleepy Joel is in bed.  I myself and now off to bed as well.  I am so thankful for this day and all of the happy moments.  Children are amazing and have so much joy and energy!! Would that I could bottle some of it for myself!  Have a great night all!

Day 357

The middle of the week is here!  This blog will probably get done before my bathroom does, but just know, it was a VERY happy moment when the bathroom was finished lol.

Today we woke up and headed out early to meet some friends from church for breakfast.  It was really nice and the boys pretty much behaved.  There were lots of little ones there and it was nice to chat and see how cute everyone's babies were! 

After breakfast, we headed to the doctor for another X-ray.  I am sad to say that this blog will end without anyone ever knowing if my arm really did heal or not.  It IS healing, but it isn't HEALED and for that I am so thankful and happy to share that happy moment.  But I am constantly filled with dread because until I hear that it is OVER, that this arm is HEALED, I can never really feel like I can move on from this.  Now, people get really excited for me when they hear my arm is healing and that brings so much joy to my life.  But I hope people understand that I have lived with this for 15 months now and the ONLY thing that is going to have me TRULY filled with joy and make me believe it is over is when the doctor SAYS it is OVER and that my arm is whole once more.  Until then, I feel like I am floating through life, waiting for the lightening bolt to shoot down from above and rip my arm in half again.  I hate feeling scared all of the time!  I don't like feeling weary and uncertain, but I am pretty sure ANYONE who had their arm in HALF for over a year would want to hear that it is OVER before doing a celebratory dance lol.

So after the doctor I talked and texted family members.  It was nice to hear people so joyful and happy!  We played with Ginger for a while and then headed to lunch with my mom.  Then we did some shopping at Target...well, I think we all know how shopping at Target goes lol.  We went in to buy a few things and came out with a basket full of items!  Hey, we NEEDED the paper towels and the groceries, and the school supplies, and the lunchables!

After Target, it was time to head home, unload, and head to work.  Work was good and it kept me busy and happy.  Joel went off to spend the night at my parent's house so it was just the three of us.  David wasn't feeling so well, so Connor and I ordered Pizza Hut and had a little dinner just the two of us.  It was really cute.  I LOVE watching toddlers eat pizza.  There is something so simple and SO funny how they always flip it upside down and take big bites.  He was so serious when he chewed too!

Well, here I am ready for tomorrow!  Below I will post the most recent pic of my arm.  Feel free and send the happy moments you had looking at it my way!  It always brings joy to my heart to hear that people were praying for me and sending me good thoughts.  I appreciate it OH SO MUCH!  Have a great night all and catch me tomorrow for day 358!

Day 356...9 Days left...

The count down is on!  If you don't read it now, it'll be gone soon!  Let's do happy moments in bullet form shall we?

• got up this morning, got the kids dressed and out the door and we were on our way to the gym.  Joel got to play for free there while I did my first session with my personal trainer.  For now, shocking as it is, I will not be riding horses much.  I will still try to do some trail rides and train with a person every now and then, but my body and getting it in shape and HEALTHY is most important to me right now.  Working out is a big part of feeling better all around and I am excited to be doing this a couple of times a week now!  I worked hard and pushed myself during the 30 minutes and here is hoping I see some results in a few weeks!
• After the gym, we came home and Joel asked if our neighbor could come with us to a Lego play day near the movie theaters we go to.  His mom said yes and so we were off to the Lego playtime with 2 adults and 3 kids.  It was SUPER hot there, but all of the boys had SO much fun playing and making towers.  We were drenched in sweat by the time we were done, but it was nice to go with our neighbor and see friends from my MOPS group, and see friends from my moms group, and see a person and her children from church!  
• After Lego playtime, we headed to Island's to eat.  It was so nice and cool inside!  We had a nice lunch and talk time and then headed home.
• When we got home, our neighbor, her son, and her Corgi puppy came over for some more play time.  Connor took a nap and Joel and his friend played for a bit and then we all watched The Lorax....interesting movie...
• Ginger and little Oliver played for SO long today and I think she is tuckered out tonight YES!  
• After dinner that I MADE...you read that right....I helped get the boys to bed and then I got to go back to the gym for a swim.  The main reason I joined this gym is because there is an indoor swimming pool like the one where we lived in Brea before and my body LOVES the water!  I feel almost totally flare-free in the water so it was a nice break at the end of the day!

Well, that is pretty much it for today!  I am looking forward to watching some Shark Week with David and then heading to bed.  It has been a fun but long day.  The heat and humidity make me tired quickly!  I am ever so grateful for this blog and the joy that comes from typing the fun things and happy moments that come my way!  Until tomorrow...oh how I hope to have the happiest of ALL happy moments to share on this blog tomorrow!  X-ray!

Day 355 10 DAYS TO GO!

WOW!  I cannot believe I am down to just ten days until my Happy Challenge is over!  It is truly amazing that I have been able to find happy moments each day.  It is funny that I wrote that last sentence because today truly was a happy CHALLENGE.  So much went wrong today.  It was just one of those really bad crazy mommy days!  But, at the end of the day, there were happy moments to be found!

The kids and I did not get out too much today.  Work was good and I enjoyed each one of the children I worked with.  I love it when the 2 yr olds I work with giggle.  Nothing brings me more joy than to have them laughing and happy and talking!

After work, I went by TOGO'S and got dinner for us.  The boys and David were already at one of the pools in our ward with some members of our congregation and their families.  It was a really fun time to swim and talk.  Connor and Joel had SO much fun and were so happy.  That made coming back to my family after work so nice!  After swimming, we ate dinner and got to know the people in our ward better.  I think I have said before that we don't do much with members of our ward and this was SO wonderful to be invited and hang out!  The boys had so much fun and it was hours and hours of happy moments!

Finally it was time to leave and get the kids to bed.  It was a great way to end a crazy day!  I have officially given up trying to get Connor to poop in the potty.  It has to be his choice.  He CAN do it, he just does NOT want to, and my couch keeps suffering for it!  At some point in the future I hope to be able to LOL about all of that, but until that someday comes, I am thankful for the lessons I learned on patience and being able to say I made it through today and tomorrow will come!

Day 354

Happy Sunday!  Today is the end of a long weekend.  One filled with lots of potty accidents, but hopefully we can gear up and get inspired to carry on in the battle of potty training this coming week!

We woke up this morning and had a slower morning than normal.  It is nice to wake up at a decent hour on Sunday and not feel so tired.  We all had breakfast, got dressed, and made it to church on time!  That hasn't happened in a while so it was indeed a happy moment!

I came home early with a pretty bad headache, so I got my Sunday nap in early today!  David took Ginger to puppy social today, so I spent time playing games and reading to the boys while he was gone.  It was a nice time with them.

Also while David was gone, we got to talk to our family back in Louisiana.  David talked to them when he got home.  It was nice to chat for about an hour with several people and get an update on what is going on.  Joel can't wait to get back there and bake cupcakes with Aunt Joyce!  He also asked if she could make a cape for Connor with a C instead of a J for him....such a sweet thoughtful thing to ask!

After the boy's naps, we met up with my parents for dinner.  The boys were GREAT at dinner tonight and I think we might have finally gotten over the hurdle of MOST of the terrible twos! Now if only I could get my almost 3 year old to potty train, life would be good lol.  Someday I hope Connor gets to read this blog and see what grief and what joy he brought to my life during his 2 years.  I LOVE the fact that I got to blog during his 2 yr old phase of life!

After dinner, we came home and got the boys mostly ready for bed....doing that and THEN doing Skype with my in-laws is far less stressful.  They can act so badly when we Skype and I feel so bad for my in-laws that they have to deal with two crazies that they are trying to ask questions and talk to!  They were pretty good at the end and Connor even said a very sweet goodbye, so I will take it!

Well, off to bed now!  Looking forward to tomorrow and hoping this next week is far slower than the previous week.  Got to get the bathtub ordered so it gets installed...I want my bathroom back! LOL  Have a great night and I look forward to the 10 day count down of The Happy Challenge Blog beginning tomorrow!

Day 353

Saturday came and went quickly today, but there was a lot to get done!  With our house being torn to shreds from the bathroom being torn to shreds, us all sharing one bathroom, and me being wiped out from the stress of it all.  Today was a day to clean and put things away.  But first up for me was the gym and then a girls day with my mom and niece!


My mom came and picked me up this morning and we went to a tile store to figure out what kind of tile I liked for the bathroom floor.  Happy moment was deciding and being on our way.  My niece was an angel for us and we had fun holding hands and looking at the pretty stones.

After the tile place, we headed to the Lazy Dog Cafe for lunch.  David goes there sometimes for lunch and now I know why!  It is SO tasty!  We had a nice time relaxing at lunch and eating yummy sandwiches.  Then it was time to go home.

At home, I felt pretty productive as I did a couple of loads of laundry, picked up, and then watched about 40 hours of Olympics in just 2 hours lol.

Before dinner, we decided to go for a family swim in the nearby pool.  It was a great time and I think the kids could have swam for at least another 2 hours, but it was nearly 7 and we had to eat dinner.  So home we came for dinner and then bedtime.  The boys had so much fun hanging out with us and doing FUN things tonight!  It has been a while since we didn't feel stressed and it was nice to unwind in the pool and then at home together.

I had a nice time browsing Facebook tonight and catching up on some Pinterest things.  After that, I read the scriptures and I am now ready for 9 AM church in the morning!  Not a lot of exciting happy moments today, living live and just taking it in.  I am thankful that there are DULL days where things are not going so horribly wrong that there are sweeping highs and lows.  Quiet time is a blessing for us and for the most part, today was a good, quiet, happy moment kind of day!

Day 352

Well, the bathroom machines got turned off today! HAPPY MOMENT!  And while I am on the topic of the bathroom, I found a bathtub that will work with the budget and is nicer than our last one so yea for that!  Did you know there are now bathtubs out there that will re heat the water for you?  There are also bathtubs with jets, bubbles, and a myriad of other fancy stuff...really interesting!

So I went to physical therapy this morning.  I am finally in the weight lifting stage of my healing!  I really hope my arm is TOTALLY healed by the time my blog is up...what a great way to end this 365 day journey to be WHOLE once more!

I took Joel to his last day of Ocean Camp, and Connor and I headed to the baby beach at Dana Point.  We were there for 3 hours while Connor splashed in the water and met new friends to play with.  It was a really fun time and I hope we get the chance to go back next week.

After the beach, we headed home and got ready for nap time.  Miss Ginger ran all over the house to get her wiggles out from Mommy being gone all morning, and Connor and I washed off.  Then we ALL went down for naps and I actually got to take a nap for the first time in 5 days!  OH IT WAS SO WONDERFUL!  I even went all out and took a nap in my own bed!  WAHOO!

After nap time, we picked Joel up and headed to San Juan Capistrano for dinner at Ruby's Diner.  It was good and Joel ate all his dinner AND got a milk shake!  Being out in the sun for hours and hours at a time really increased his appetite this week!

We put the kids to bed tonight and David and I finally got a mini date night downstairs watching some DVR TV shows.  It was really nice and pleasant until we heard Connor crying upstairs.....well...he had gone into Joel's room to play and was jumping off of Joel's bed and hit his nose.  It isn't broken, but it is pretty darn bruised!  Joel and Connor both got a big talking to and then Connor came down to snuggle with us and get an ice pack for the nose.  So the date night was short lived, but Connor was pretty adorable snuggled up between the two of us.  David and I SO need to get out!  Hoping to find a babysitter for next week!


Well that is all for tonight.  Gonna get ready for bed and look ahead to the week!  Hope all of you had a happy Friday!

Day 351

Hello all!  Well, today was mostly about poop.  Being pooped, cleaning dog poop, and having Connor NOT poop in the toilet.  Among the poop today came the happy moments, so here they are!  Enjoy!


Joel had a great time at Ocean Camp today!  They got to see dolphins and sea lions.  It was so great to hear about his fun times and it was such a happy moment to see his excitement as he told me about his day!

Before all of that, though, I did lunch/a late breakfast with my visiting teachers today.  It always amazing me that, no matter where we go, we are able to share so much joy with one another and so much life.  I have shed more tears with those ladies and am so very thankful for the love that they give me each time they visit!  Also at the restaurant, I got up to get Connor because he had run outside to try and hide and poop...that child!  Well, on my way back in with Connor, I bumped into a friend from high school eating lunch with friends.  She had her adorable daughter there and it was so nice to meet her and get to give my friend a hug!  SUCH a surprise happy moment!

Connor and I had a lot of fun in his room today.  He played with toys as I was cleaning out his closets getting things to donate and putting all of his 4T (yes a 2 yr old wearing 4T!) clothes in his closet. He has so many!  So while I cleaned, he played in his room and had a great time finding new toys he has not seen in a while.  He was so cute playing pretent with a cow puppet and hugging stuffed animals he hasn't seen in a while.  He cares SO much about stuffed animals and takes inventory each day on who is present for his nap time lol.

After David got home from work, I picked up a friend and we went to the mall to visit our friend who works at GAP.  We had a nice time chatting and shopping.  I also got a surprise happy moment of seeing my friend Lisa and her two daughters shopping there as well!  We never get to hang out as much as we would like, so it was nice to stop and chat with her for a bit.  I found some great things on sale for Joel (NOT for Connor because that kid does not need one more article of 4T clothing! I already feel guilty for how much he has!)  After shopping, the three of us went to the Cheesecake Factory and sat and talked for the next 2 hours...it was great!  Such a fun way to end a crazy day and it was so nice to unwind.  Well, time for bed now and physical therapy in the early morning.  I am really hoping I get a nap in somewhere tomorrow.  Fingers crossed!  I can't believe tomorrow is Friday already, but I am looking forward to a relaxing weekend and hopefully one without any machines in my bathroom!

Day 350

Well, just 15 days left of the blog...and that much time until my lil 2 year old turns 3...I can't believe it!

I barely slept last night because the air mattress had a hole and Ginger was up at 6....sure feel like a mom of a newborn now!

This morning was a bit crazy, but I am thankful Joel made it off to Ocean Camp, Connor and I made it home, and we both got to eat breakfast...it was indeed a happy moment to SIT and eat my breakfast after attempting to for 2 hours lol.

I found out my babysitter had the flu and so did her children, so Connor was off to my mom's house today.  I am SO thankful that worked out alright!  It was rough going for a while, but I got to play with Ginger on and off today and that was a lot of fun.  Her retriever instinct is starting to kick in and it is fun to throw toys and have her bring them to me!

I was off to work today for a bit and that was nice.  I had a good time with my kids and then I did dinner with my mom, David, and the boys at a Greek restaurant.  My boys love gyros!  There is a little water area out in front of the restaurant and the boys were giddy that we let them play in the water tonight.  It has been so hot, and it was only water.  They had a blast and wore themselves out splashing and running around.  It is always nice to see how well they get along and how much they love one another.

The bathroom continues to dry out and get cleaned out.  I talked with the contractor tonight and he said we can choose a bathtub that we want as well as tile for the flooring, so that was a happy moment! 

The boys are asleep now and I am so thankful for that!  I am hoping to head to bed in a few minutes.  Today, the happy moments were the little things like getting my hair done for the first time in almost 3 months.  I got it cut shorter because I can FINALLY blow dry it with a round brush!  What a happy moment to be able to do that with my arm!  I am thankful for the happy moments on Facebook and finding really funny phrases to post about mommyhood.  I am looking forward to tomorrow and hoping that we get to do some fun things along with the necessary things of the week!  Have a good night all!

Day 349

WOW!  Tuesday is over!  Hope all of you had a good day with happy moments.  I am so sleepy!  Well, time to bring on the happiness from the day!

I dropped a happy Joel off at Ocean Camp again today.  I am so happy that it makes him happy!  We stopped by to visit my dad at his work for a bit.  It always brightens Connor's day to hang out there and get fed whatever my dad has stashed in his desk lol.  After Dad's work, Connor and I came home and hung out for a while and did the potty training thing....this kid is SO stubborn!  Hoping all of the bribes that I keep telling him he will get will start to work soon! 

I got my lunch ready and put Connor down for a nap...what a nice little break to watch the Olympics!  Equestrian Jumping is one of my favorites and it was fun to catch up with some other sports as well.  After nap, it was time to pick Joel up.  We got him and headed to a pizza place for an early dinner. 

David watched the kids so I could go to my first MOPS meeting as a table leader.  I am so blessed to be doing that this year and I can't wait to meet the ladies at my table and lead them in prayer and help them on their journeys as moms and women of God.  It was so nice spending time with my friends and learning more about MOPS.  We had some great dessert and fun lady talk time.  It was truly needed this week!


Well, the bathroom is coming along.  They ripped out everything and put in a dehumidifier today.  That has to stay in and then they are putting in a HEPA filter tomorrow to get rid of the rest of the mold.  The happy moment will be when my bathroom is put back together and is an entirely new bathroom!  REALLY looking forward to that!


I hope I get some sleep tonight on the air mattress my parents lent to us.  We can't really sleep in our room right now because it is like a sauna and the machine is pretty noisy...fun times camping in the boy's room!

Day 348

Good evening all!  Tonight will be happy moments bullet style....enjoy!

• Got up this morning and, after our crazy dash out the door and letting the contracters in to demolish the bathroom, Joel was at Ocean Camp, and Connor and I enjoyed a nice breakfast at a restaurant in Dana Point.
• I took Connor and Ginger to a park after dropping off my timecard...payday!!  We had fun playing there and lots of little kids came to pet Ginger.  Also, one of Joel's good friends from school was there.  It was nice to see her mom and the kids.  We made plans to get together next week and play at a different park when Joel is available...so fun!
• We came home and Connor took a nap and I started cleaning up the kitchen a bit.  I made a good dent in the cleaning and got to take a nice break.
• Work went by quickly today and it was a good day!  I came home and we headed OUT to dinner and off to PetSmart to get some more items for miss Ginger...buying her things is just as bad as buying the kids things!  I really wish I could throw a puppy shower...that would help a lot lol.

We got home and Ginger and I headed to my neighbor's house so she could play with their puppy and I could have some girl adult talk time.  David put the kids to bed tonight.  They were not behaving well at all the WHOLE way home, so we will try to do Family Home Evening tomorrow night....their chances of survival are much better that way lol.

Well I am off to bed!  I hope all of you had a great Monday.  Joel had so much fun at camp today and learned so much.  I am so jealous he gets to go to an ocean camp and learn about different things in the ocean!  I would have died and gone to heaven if my parents had signed me up for this when I was little!  I did take an Oceanography class in Jr. High and loved every minute of that....so there is that lol.  Well, all done for the night and ready for sleep.  The demolition continues in the morning.  I hope it all gets put back together better than it was put together the first time!  Boy are they finding nasty stuff in our bathroom!

Day 347

Super excited that Sunday is over and the new week is beginning!  I have a lot planned this week and I hoping that it all happens and is great!

For starters, we made it to church almost on time today and enjoyed a great Sunday!  I got to get up and bear my testimony in church and testify of God's love and how grateful I am for the Book of Mormon, my family, and the gospel of Jesus Christ.  Little Connor asked me when I got back to my seat, "mommy talk, mommy crying?"  So precious...I told him they were tears of joy :-)

So I got back and taught my class today.  Well, another teacher was not there, so what WAS just 4 of my kids today, turned into 12 4 year olds in a cramped little room...but I managed them!  HAPPY!

It was fun being back in primary and singing songs with the kids. 

When we got home, I took lil Ginger to puppy social at the vet office.  She had a great time playing with other puppies!  I hope she is more worn out tonight...she has more energy than Joel and Connor combined!  But she keeps the boys busy and they all played together this afternoon.  Tonight, Connor fell asleep in just 10 minutes thanks to Ginger!

I got to take a little Sunday nap today and that was SO needed!

Well, it is time to get back to work.  We are cleaning out our bathroom because they are ripping out our tub and replacing the tiles this week.  A homeowner lawsuit is a big happy moment for me because I get a new sparkling bathtub!  I will take it!  It is just going to be a lot of work packing up our bathroom and moving into the boy's for a while.

Well, I am off, but I am so thankful for this beautiful Sunday and all of the happy moments.  I am looking forward to Joel being in camp all week long...he is going to have so much fun!  Take care all!

Day 346

What a fun Saturday today!  It was a busy day full of exciting and happy moments...

We started off the morning getting up and eating a yummy breakfast of Cinnamon coffee cake from Trader Joe's...SUCH a great recipe!

Then we were out the door early this morning to the Circus!  The boys had THE best time watching all of the acts, taking pictures with clowns, taking pictures with family, running around a bouncy house at the Honda Center, and looking at elephants!  I loved sitting there watching them watch it all.  That is one of my favorite things as a parent.  Getting to see things that I did as a child through the eyes of MY own children is simply priceless!  There are no words to describe my joy as I watched Connor, all big eyed, watching the lions roar or the elephants do tricks.  It was so fun snuggling with Joel as we watched 8 motorcycles vroom around in a circular cage!  So thrilling!

After the circus, we went to one of our favorite restaurants in the area.  Twice today, Connor told me he had to use the restroom and he did!  72 hours of naked potty training REALLY paid off this week and I am so happy about that!

We came home and played with Ginger for a little bit.  Then Connor and I took naps while David took Joel to the pool with some friends.

It was a really busy day today, but everyone had so much fun, Ginger included.  I am so thankful for some wonderful happy moments that came our way.  What a great way to end the night!  I teach my class at church tomorrow, so I am off to prepare for that.  Many more happy moments coming tomorrow!

Day 345...20 DAYS to go?!

WOW!  I cannot believe there are only 20 days left of bloggging!  Which also means there are not so many days left until my little 2 year old turns 3!  It is a bit overwhelming, but with each year, the kids do get more and more fun, and we are able to plan different things than when they were younger.

Today was one of those trying days that we moms have sometimes.  Joel woke up and threw up...no fever, just one of his random things he does sometimes.  Connor and Ginger were demanding breakfast, and by 10 AM, I was drenched in sweat and calling David BEGGING him to come home lol.  Thankfully he DID come home by about 1.  I managed to save the day with lots of Nick Jr., Disney Jr. and movies (oh and I just realized why they call it Disney Jr. after all of this time LOL ....it used to be called Playhouse Disney)

So for most of the morning it was taking care of one kiddo, or puppy.  I did alright and when David came home, I got to get out, eat lunch, and go grocery shopping.  So yea we have food now!  I came back home and Joel's friend was headed to a park and we all got invited to go.  So off to the park Joel, Connor, Ginger, and I went to play.  Ginger got to play with our neighbor's puppy and she truly wore herself out...for a little while anyway.

We had fun at the park and we came home and rested from the heat for a little while.  Joel was feeling MUCH better, and because Connor did such a great job potty training, we all went to McDonald's to celebrate.  Connor kept shouting at all of us that we were at McDonald's lol.  We pulled into the parking spot and he kept yelling our names and saying "MCDONALD'S!! LOOK! MCDONALD'S!"  I am not sure if he thought we weren't going to go in or what, but he was sure one happy kid to get to go there.  We ate dinner and the boys played for a long time.  Joel found a little girl to play with and was REALLY sad to leave when it was time. 

We came home and ate some chocolate chip cookies I bought at the store today and all finished watching The Incredibles together.  Even Ginger sat on our laps and was a good girl...yea for family time!  Then it was time to put the little ones to bed.  So I got to read Joel and Connor a story each tonight.  That was nice that there wasn't a mad dash for bed and that I got to really enjoy bedtime tonight.

I am so thankful for my kiddos.  They mean the world to me.  I am so excited for the fun family time we get to do this weekend!  I am looking forward to more happy moments and finding the joy in all that we will do together!  Have a great Friday night all!

Day 344

Pretty boring day today...lots and lots of taking care of three kiddos...I bring you happy moments in bullet form...

• Connor's potty training came along really well today!  He only went through 2 pull ups, so not too bad!  We stayed home most of the day to do naked potty training, but I got a bit cabin feverish, so out to the park we went....Connor's bare tooshie and all lol.  Hey, we had fun and he had a longer shirt on AND he came home and peed in the toilet...I will take what I can get!
• Miss Ginger is still the highlight of our days.  She is so precious and cute and we love her so much.  Training her is tough, and she is for sure more stubborn than Daisy ever was.  My goal is to stop comparing the two and start loving Ginger for who she is....a little stinker lol
• Joel is growing up so much!  He is for sure a KID now and not a preschooler or kindergartner.  He amazes me with how clever he is and how computer smart he is!  He plays video games that David does and loves it!  
• I made dinner tonight for the first time in about 2 weeks!  It was a great meal and I am thankful that we have fruit and veggies delivered to our door every couple of weeks so that I can prepare amazingly fresh meals for the family...YUM!  And who knew Asian Egg Plant could taste so good! LOL

Well that is about it for tonight.  I am so so sleepy!  Hoping to sleep well and make it through my last weekday of the week!  Have a great night and yea for it being almost Friday!

Day 343

Happy Wednesday all!  This week is just flying by and there is so much to do!  Ginger kept us pretty busy today....as expected, but we were able to find some happy moments in the day and enjoy our time as a family.

We started out the morning potty traning both Ginger and Connor.  Connor is being naked potty trained and by about 11 I had pretty much caught cabin fever.  So out to the park, with just a shirt on and nothing else, went Connor, me, and Ginger.  We had fun playing around and Ginger wore herself out!

My parents came over to see Ginger for the first time this afternoon and it was fun to see them meet their newest grand-daughter!  Joel had a fun time telling them about our trip to Utah and all of the fun that he had.

I got to go back to work today, and it was so nice to be back with some of my favorite kiddos.  One kid has come so far, that I am going to be dismissing him at the end of the month.  It makes me sad to see him go, but I am so happy how far his language development has come! 

After work, we left Ginger at home and headed over to Chick-fiil-A for dinner.  Now, the line was about an hour long out the door, and the drive thru was pretty long as well.  Today was support Chick-fil-A day as they have been verbally bashed in the media recently for the head of the company saying that this restaurant is run on biblical values such as traditional marriage and not operating on Sundays.  Well, there were people protesting and boycotting Chick-fil-A after people heard that, twisted it, and turned it into some sort of hateful speech.  So, those of us who support Chick-fil-A and their biblical standards, went there and supported them...us and about a million other people...it was quite a sight!

As we were getting ready to leave the restaurant, David's boss, and owner of his company, walked in with his wife.  David's co-workers also had their wives post on Facebook that they were all going out tonight to Chick fil A as well.  It was fun to see so many people we know there tonight and hear about others going to their nearest restaurant.

To some, this might seem like a weird happy moment, supporting a cause that so many people are against, or think hateful.  But I believe in standing up for what I think is correct and true, and I believe everyone should have a right to their own opinion and not have an OPINION protested.  It was a happy moment for us to stand up and show support for a restaurant that does so so so much GOOD for so many people.

After we came home, Joel and I snuggled on the couch and watched the Olympics for a while as Ginger ran around us and played with her toys.  It was a fun day today and I am hoping to be able to get out a bit more tomorrow with Connor having clothes on....we shall see!  I am so thankful for my little family and all of the blessings that we are enjoying right now!