Terrific Tuesday

We have moved! Thank you GOD! Thanks to friends and family, we got most of our things in on Sunday. We slept there for the first time last night as Noah's allergies have been through havoc with us stirring up dust from moving. We got him an air purifier so we can get rid of the coughing (again).

We are so thrilled to be able to rent such a pretty home!

Wonderful Wednesday

Last night we went and looked in the house we are moving to and now I am 3x as excited! I am so thrilled that it will be a 'real' house and that it is so bright and cheery. Brian and I packed more last night and got rid of a lot of junk :) That makes me happy too!
We spent a very nice weekend in Tampa and then when we got home within an hour Brian and I had sore throats and Noah was coughing. Just another confirmation that we need to get out of that house! We have help on Sunday to move some big things. We will probably be sleeping on an air mattress next week, but I don't care!

Fuzzy Friday

Mean Moms

Someday when my children are old enough to
understand the logic that motivates a parent, I will tell them, as my Mean Mom told me:
I loved you enough . . .
to ask where you were going, with whom,
and what time you would be home.

I loved you enough to be silent and let you
discover that your new best friend was a creep.

I loved you enough to stand over you for two hours while you cleaned your room, a job that should have taken 15 minutes.

I loved you enough to let you see anger,
disappointment, and tears in my eyes. Children must learn that their parents aren't perfect.

I loved you enough to let you assume the
responsibility for your actions even when the
penalties were so harsh they almost broke my heart.

But most of all, I loved you enough . . . to say
NO when I knew you would hate me for it.

Those were the most difficult battles of all. I'm
glad I won them, because in the end you won, too.
And someday when your children are old enough to understand the logic that motivates parents, you will tell them.

Was your Mom mean? I know mine was. We had the meanest mother in the whole world! While other kids ate candy for breakfast, we had to have cereal, eggs, and toast.
When others had a Pepsi and a Twinkie for lunch, we had to eat sandwiches.
And you can guess our mother fixed us a dinner that was different from what other kids had, too.

Mother insisted on knowing where we were at all times. You'd think we were convicts in a prison.
She had to know who our friends were, and what we were doing with them.
She insisted that if we said we
would be gone for an hour, we would be gone for an hour or less.

We were ashamed to admit it, but she had the nerve to break the Child Labor Laws by making us work.
We had to wash the dishes, make the beds, learn to cook, vacuum the floor, do laundry, empty the trash and all sorts of cruel jobs. I think she would lie awake at night thinking of more things for us to do.

She always insisted on us telling the truth, the
whole truth, and nothing but the truth. By the time we were teenagers, she could read our minds and had eyes in the back of her head. Then, life was really tough!

Mother wouldn't let our friends just honk the horn when they drove up. They had to come up to the door so she could meet them While everyone else could date when they were 12 or 13, we had to wait until we were 16.

Because of our mother , we missed out on lots of
things other kids experienced. None of us have ever been caught shoplifting, vandalizing other's
property or ever arrested for any crime. It was all her fault.
Now that we have left home, we are all educated, honest adults.
We are doing our best to be mean parents just like Mom was.

I think that is what's wrong with the world today.
It just doesn't have enough mean moms!


PASS THIS ON TO ALL THE MEAN MOTHERS YOU KNOW.
(And Their Kids!!!)

Tubular Thursday

I am SO glad it's Thursday at 4:42! I only have to work 4.25 hours and then I am free for the long weekend! Yeah!

We are signing our new lease tonight for the house we are moving to...yah-hoo!

Noah slept through the night two nights in a row...WOO hoo!

I walked on the treadmill for 30 minutes today....yee-haw!!

So we are officially moving. It is a nice 3br/1ba house with a fenced in yard, new paint in and out, new roof, new a/c, carport....good stuff. Hopefully that will ease the boys allergies. Now the packing begins. We want to be in by the 1st and we are going to Tampa for the long weekend, which leaves us very little time to pack and move. Noah has been a champ with the rice cereal. We are kind of winging it as far as amounts go. He'll eat anywhere from 1-4 tbs. He turned 6 months on Sunday! We took a great 6month photo that I am going to use for his baptism e-vite. It's March 9th in Tampa :) Aside from a crazy week at work things are great. I cannot wait for the long weekend!

Thankful Thursday

We got some sleep last night:) in fact I overslept after Bri left with the baby and I was late for work :(
But now I am here and thankful. I am thankful that Noah is with my mom today, I am thankful my sister is reaching out for support, I am thankful for my sponsor, I am thankful that being an hour late to work in this office is no big deal, I am thankful that I am meeting a friend for dinner tonight, I am thankful for my friends and I am SO thankful tomorrow is FRIDAY!

Wake-up Wednesday

All of the sudden Noah loves Rice Cereal. He was spitting it at me last week, now I cannot shovel it in fast enough.

My poor baby is still coughing, it's been since early November! Now they are thinking it is allergies and they want me to give him benedryl every 6 hours. I am going to have one sleepy baby. But if it helps we'll know it's allergies and our musty trailer is not helping. We are scrambling to try to move asap.

Two things I read today that I really liked (while on the treadmill I might add...)

"Students who kept a gratitude journal got sick less often, exercised more, and were more optimistic about the upcoming week than those who wrote about hassles and mundane events, found a Univ. of California study. Writing forces you to delve into why you're grateful and honor the blessing." redbook

Ashley Judd talking about her life after being in a treatment center "Now I am much better able to detach and let people have the dignity of their own experience and realize it has very little to do with me. I was resistant to certain things. But eventually, I realized 'my way' was what got me into treatment, and maybe it was time to try it someone else's way. That's the beauty of hitting the bottom: the pain of changing is less than the pain of staying the same." redbook

I have been carrying the stress of $, Noah's cold, the house, wanting to be home with Noah and I have forgotten to be grateful. I have been fearful, resentful and overwhelmed. This morning I gave it to God, all of it. I just hope I can refrain from taking it back from him. My way, controlling everything and figuring everything out in my head keeps me trapped in self. If I can get out of myself I am healthy, sane and ready to do what God has planned for me today. I got a new sponsee this week and God has perfect timing. Already my food is cleaner and I am out of self for today! Thank you God!

Walk like an Egyptian

So I started on the treadmill yesterday, 30 minutes (we have a work gym). I have put in my online agenda so I will be prompted to do it daily. I figured if I wrote about it here I would actually have some accountability. I have not accepted that I may never get into my size 14 pants again. I have this vision of a healthier, leaner me and I want it come true. A wise friend said it's more about the consistency of exercise as opposed to the actual exercise I get done. I want more energy and to live a happy, long life.

A co-worker sent this email below...too funny

----- Walking can add minutes to your life.

• This enables you at 85 years old to spend an additional 5 months in a nursing home at $5000 per month.
• My grandmother started walking five miles a day when she was 60 Now she's 97 years old and we don't know where the hell she is.
• I joined a health club last year, spent about 400 bucks. Haven't lost a pound. Apparently you have to go there.
• I have to exercise early in the morning before my brain figures out what I'm doing.
• I like long walks, especially when they are taken by people who annoy me.
• I have flabby thighs, but fortunately my stomach covers them.
• The advantage of exercising every day is that you die healthier.
• If you are going to try cross-country skiing, start with a small country.
• .............And last but not least, You could run this over to your friends but why not just e-mail it to them!

Post-Holiday Back-2-Work Blues

Ugh.....back to work today





So for the 30-second holiday synopsis...





Kaeden had pneumonia and Yosie was still recovering from his pneumonia so we could not be together for Christmas since that would have been very bad for Noah. So, Brian brought most our gifts to Jenn's house at 6:30am Christmas morning so Santa could make his appearance. Bri, Noah and I had opened gifts Christmas Eve at Mom and Dads and we slept over so I wouldnt be alone on Christmas morning. Needless to say, this was not ideal for anyone, but the boys were happy Brian was there.



Noah had an ear infection, but no pneumonia/asthma (we did another chest x-ray since he is still coughing). He cut a tooth on the bottom last night and we started trying him on rice cereal last weekend (he kind of despises it at the moment).

He started his new daycare today and I just checked on him and he is sleeping so I guess that means he is ok. I am still not ok with any daycare but for today I am trusting that God has a plan and I just have to put one foot in front of another.