This Owl

I'm not really sure what this is called, but it is the coolest.  Whoever invented these things was pure genius. 

So, as many parents have probably learned (as we have), when a baby grows into a toddler and learns to do new things, it's both a blessing and a curse.  When our girl started sleeping in a toddler bed, it was great.  She was learning new things and gaining more independence. 

It also meant she could just get up out of bed whenever she darn well pleased.  And she did just that.  If she woke up in the middle of the night, she came out of the room.  If she woke up at 5 in the morning, she came out of the room.  And any attempts to tell her she had to go back to bed were usually met with screams of indignation. 

But then we got this cool owl from my awesome friend April.  She is seriously awesome and always picks out amazing gifts for my kids.  This was a Christmas present.  My little girl thought it was super cool because it was an owl.  We thought it was super-cool because it is designed to help our girl understand about appropriate times to get up.  And okay, so she stopped thinking it was as cool for a while once she started realizing what it was for...

But now she loves it. 

If she wakes up and gets out of bed before 7, we take her back to bed and say "Let's see what owl says!"  If it's not 7, he stays orange and tells her to go back to sleep.  She doesn't scream at the owl, by the way.  She crawls back in bed without issue, we sing a verse of I Am a Child of God, and she goes back to sleep.  It's amazing. 

And when she wakes up after 7...  Well, the owl is lit-up green. And she comes out excitedly and says "Mommy!  Owl turned green!" 

Seriously, a genius, whoever came up with this. 

Beautiful Art (By a Beautiful Artist)

The other day, I was over visiting a sweet friend and helping her with a few things on her computer.  As we sat in her computer room, I happened to notice a beautiful canvas painting.  I knew she is an artist, so I commented on how beautiful it was.  She told me she had always wanted to live in an Irish Cottage, so she envisioned it in her mind, and she painted it. 

I also noticed there were some other paintings behind that one, so I asked if I could look at her other work.  The one behind it was a beautiful sunrise.  I was drawn in by the colors.  Honestly, I love sunrises and sunsets.  The are so beautiful.  And so this painting was.  She told me the story behind the sunrise painting. 

And then she told me I was welcome to take a painting.  Or even two. 

I was shocked.  And hesitant, honestly.  Could I really take these treasures home when they meant something to her?  The thought made me feel almost greedy!  But with the sweetest smile, she assured me she wanted me to have them if I appreciated them so.  She said she wanted them to go to a place they would be appreciated.  She then told me of others who had loved others of her paintings and now those paintings are theirs.  She laughed as she told me one lady saw one and said, "Oh that is so beautiful!  Can you leave it to me when you die?"  Instead, this beautiful artist insisted the woman take the painting right then.  Just as she insisted I do.

And so I did.  I still feel just a little guilty.  But I am excited to have them hanging in my home. 

So many pieces of art are beautiful.  I am no artist.  That is definitely not a talent I have.  I am grateful there are those who do have the talent and can create beauty.  And, to me, art is more beautiful when I know the artist.  These will be treasured for as long as I live.  As will the artist.


What are you grateful for today?

My Diffuser (and These Two Oils)

I'm a relatively new user of essential oils.  But I will say I have loved my experience so far.

Especially when my kids get a cold.

Because now, at the first sign of stuffy nose, I run my diffuser with the Respiratory Blend (in this case, it is called Breathe) and the Protective Blend (which is called On Guard).  And seriously, the stuffy noses start to clear fast.  For example, my daughter had a stuffy nose about an hour before nap-time.  I started the diffuser, and by nap-time, she was breathing clear through her nose.  Makes all the difference come nap time, let me tell you. 

And I have noticed our colds don't hang around as long.
At least, that's been the case in the past.  So we'll see if that is true this time as well. 

So, yeah...  I'm a fan.  Because I've noticed a difference with the way colds go in this household. 


What are you grateful for today?

My Mom's GPS

It may be sad that my mom has a GPS, and I do not.  Alas, I am practically in the dark ages ;).  I don't even own a Smartphone.

But I'm planning to upgrade soon, which is why I have put off buying a GPS.  I know there's an app for that.  Hahahaha.

Anyway.  I will confess:  I'm a late adopter of technology.  Mostly because I get comfortable with what I have, and I figure if it ain't broken, I don't need to fix it.  Because, usually, the fixing it thing costs more money.  And I'm kinda cheap.

But I digress.  The point is, my mom has a GPS.  And she always lets me borrow it when I ask.  And so Friday, when I went to the Marine Science Center, where I've never been before, I was able to ask her if I could borrow it, and she said yes.  And it got me there!

I love that I don't have to do what I otherwise do and sit down to study a map (google maps is my preference) and then jot down some directions on scratch paper to take with me.  I love that I can just get in the car, plug in the GPS, and enter in my location.  I don't even need to have the address sometimes!  Truly exciting.  It's totally sort of 1984-ish, considering there is a sattellite somewhere tracking my every move...  But so awesome and handy!

Technology is a great thing.  And GPS is pretty much the bees' knees, in my humble opinion.  So here's to my mom's GPS!  And here's to 2016 when I plan to get a Smartphone (and bite the bullet and pay the price) and then get the app for that ;).


What are you grateful for today?

Our Afghan

There is a sort of tradition in my husband's family (he is one of 5 boys) in which my mother-in-law would crochet an afghan for her son and new daughter-in-law when they got married.  Over the years, crocheting has become harder and harder on my mother-in-law's fingers and such an undertaking as this beautiful blanket took great effort for her.  In fact, her sister helped her finish ours so we could have it this past year.

But what a beautiful act of love.  What a precious gift.  And so I am thankful for this treasure.  And thankful (a tad belatedly) for the love and effort given by our mom and our aunt.  What an amazing talent.

And isn't it awesome that it matches our recliner so well :)?


What are you grateful for today?

That I Didn't Get As Sick As the Rest

It's been a fun couple of days in our household.  (That's sarcasm, if you couldn't tell ;)). 

It all started Tuesday night/Wednesday morning when my 2 1/2 year old woke up crying because she'd thrown up in bed.  Strip the sheets, strip the kid, bathe the kid (her hair was matted with the nastiness), re-make the bed, convince the 2 1/2 year old it really is still sleeping time.  Feed her crackers.  Get her to agree to try to sleep if mommy sleeps in her room on the floor.  By this time, it's 1:30, the baby wakes up in the next room, so Mommy gets up to go put him back down and in the 2 minutes she's gone... Yep, little girl pukes again.  And so...  we repeated the process (minus the bath, since it wasn't as bad this time, but still needed new jammies!).

So Wednesday was full of a clear liquid diet and trying to convince a 2 1/2 year old (a very energetic one) that she needs to be still and rest.  Ha!

By Wednesday night, I wasn't feeling so great.  I got the kids down (hubby has been on swing shift) by 9 and got into bed with chills and aches around 9:45.  I was miserable.  And so cold -- like I couldn't get warm.  Baby woke up at 4 to eat.  Then woke up at 5 to puke.  Poor guy.  But by then, I was feeling tons better, and my fever was gone.  And by the time both kids were up for the day at 8 (thank goodness for that!), I felt almost 100% -- just very tired.  So I got a nap in. 

And that's when my husband got sick.  And he has had it worst of all :(.  But I've been well enough to care for everyone, and that is a great blessing indeed.  Because it's awful being sick.  But it's even more awful to be sick when you have to take care of all the other sickies!  So I'm grateful I didn't get as sick as the rest (no pukies for me!).


What are you grateful for today?

That My Husband Got Up with the Baby This Morning

Maybe my little guy is teething.  Because he isn't having such great nights of sleep lately.  He is up every 4 hours or less.  Yuck.

My husband knew how many times I got up in the middle of the night.  And so, when our little guy woke up at 6:30 this morning, my husband (who has to work a late shift) took the baby to the living room and fed him and played with him and let me sleep.  I didn't get up until 8.  It was a beautiful thing. 


What are you grateful for today?

That My Kids Woke Up

So lately, I've been kind of in a funk.  It's not a fun place to be.  And it's not a good place to be.  It impacts everything from the way I feel about myself to my relationships with my husband and my kids.  It also means I haven't dealt with things like no sleep well.

And when you're a parent...  Especially when you're a mom...  Well, lack of sleep comes with the territory.

And yesterday was a morning following a night where my little man had a particularly crappy night.  Which meant I had a particularly crappy (read: sleepless) night.  But I'd gotten him back down around 5:30 and was hoping to get another 2 to 2 1/2 hours of sleep before he woke again, and since my sweet girl had been sleeping in until about 7:30 recently, I thought there was an actual chance it might happen.

But it didn't.

My girl was up at 6:30 and went right into the room where her baby brother was sleeping and excitedly called out to him.  Which woke him up.  And well, I just was grumpy from then on.  Which made my husband grumpy.

I've decided grumpiness is the gift that keeps on giving.

Anyway, around 8:30, we all went down for a much-needed nap:  Daddy and baby boy in our bedroom and Mommy and our sweet girl on the couch.  And as I lay there, I thought about something my awesome friend Andrea had just posted on facebook the day before about gratitude.

In my grumpy state, I wanted to say there was nothing for which to be grateful in regards to losing sleep because my kids wake up early.  But I decided, as I lay there next to my precious little girl, that maybe I should look for the silver lining in even the most annoying of circumstances.  And I forced myself to look for one in that scenario.

And when I did, I actually teared up.  Because here's the silver lining:  my kids both woke up.  Sometimes, somewhere, a mother loses a baby or child in sleep.  And every day my babies wake up, I am blessed.

And so, though it is hard to not get enough sleep day after day.  And though I wouldn't mind it if the baby would sleep through the night or the 2 year old would stay asleep until 8 in the morning...  The truth is, I'm infinitely grateful that my babies woke up yesterday.  And today.  And I pray that I don't ever encounter a day when that isn't true.  I just have to remember that there is generally always a silver lining -- even in the most annoying of circumstances.  I just have to look for it a little harder some days.

And I'm working on that.  Because I believe it will help me get out of my funk :).


What are you grateful for today?

Milo (Pronounced Mee-low) ;)

Okay, so this stuff isn't the greatest chocolate drink mix ever.  My love of Milo is not really about the Milo.  It's about the memories. 

Memories of sitting at the kitchen table at 7229-B Rybicki Road in Cardenas with Brad and Christina.  Memories of our glasses of Milo set before us (probably the first time we ever tried the stuff).  Memories of our -- I don't know: shock?  annoyance?  laughter? -- that the stuff didn't mix in at all.  Like, at all.

And most definitely memories of Brad (ever the comedian), lifting his spoonful of Milo, proffering it to me and saying, "Hila, would you like a bite of my Milo?" 

And memories of the laughter that followed. 

It's why I buy this stuff for him (and myself) every time I go home to Alabama (I can't find it in regular grocery stores up here).  Because, trust me, it's not about the Milo (seriously, the stuff doesn't mix in!  Hence the lovely layer in the pictures above!  And hence Brad's burning question!) ;).


What are you grateful for today?

Airport Play Areas

We recently took a vacation.  To Alabama, as usual :).  Always worth it, don't get me wrong.  But Washington is on the opposite side of the States.  So this makes for a looooong day of travel.  Especially with 2 kiddos!  (And let's just say that we were particularly worried about how our little man would fare on the flights.  But we learned that he is just about as awesome a flyer as his sister is!).

Anyway, long day of travel.  And a 2 year old with a ton of energy.  And an airplane ride (or two) in which she will be required to sit almost 100% of the time. 

And that's why I think the person who developed the idea of airport play areas was a pure genius.  Pure.  Genius.  Or someone who has been there, done that with children.

So this was our first stop once we got through security at SeaTac!  It was so awesome.  Plus it had a family bathroom and a mother's nursing area attached.  Again -- genius!  We were able to stop and regroup while our Energizer Bunny ran around jumping on all these airplanes and such.  She was generally contained, and while we were always vigilant and watching, we didn't have to be as nervous about her wandering away and getting lost in huge airport. 

They had one of these in Dallas where we stopped on the way to Alabama.  They also had a small one in the Birmingham, AL airport.  We love them. 

Three cheers for airports with play areas!  They are the life-saver of parents with young children who are traveling all day :)!!


What are you grateful for today?

Fruity Pebbles

Judge me if you will, but I have a category of things in life I like to call guilty pleasures.  They are things I know I probably shouldn't enjoy...  But I do.  And so, on occasion, I allow myself the guilty pleasure of enjoying them.

Well, Fruity Pebbles is one of them.  I am fully aware they are packed-full of food colors and dyes.  And sugar.  And I am fully aware that is not healthy for me. 

But there's just something about those Fruity Pebbles that, to me, is oh-so-yummy.  (My husband thinks I'm crazy.  He thinks they leave a waxy coating in his mouth, so he doesn't enjoy them.  But I do!)

So, because I know they aren't the best option for me, I don't buy them.  But sometimes you just have awesome friends who know you like certain things.  And sometimes those awesome friends bring you those very things you like as a "hey, you just pushed a huge baby out of your body!  You should enjoy something you like!" gift. 

And so I've been doing just that with these -- in those very very very very rare quiet moments when it's just me.  So I'm grateful for Fruity Pebbles to enjoy.  And the awesome friend who brought them for me to enjoy :).

What are you grateful for today?

Compassionate Service and Those Who Render It

Five days ago I gave birth to a healthy (and big!) baby boy.  It's a blessing. 

It also means lots of adjusting for everyone, and lots of sleepless nights for mommy and daddy.

And every day since we've been home from the hospital, we have been blessed by the love and service of others who are caring for us by bringing us meals to help alleviate the "things to do" on our list every day.

I cannot even adequately begin to express my gratitude for these wonderful people who so abundantly bless our lives.  With post-pregnancy hormones raging through my body, the truth is I get choked up when I think about how much this service has meant to our little family.  Truly these wonderful people exemplify Christ-like love.  Their generosity has been enormous.  And there truly are not words enough to thank them. 

I know there are others more needing and more deserving of this service.  But it has been so wonderful to have one less thing to think about these days. 

And just as I'm thankful to be receiving this service at this time in our lives, I'm thankful that I have opportunities to serve others when they are in need.  I'm grateful to be able to help, even in a small way.  And I'm grateful that, through receiving the service we are receiving, we have an even better appreciation for and desire to do such service to others -- for we know what a blessing it is.

So to all you wonderful people (some of whom may read this and others who may not), thank you.  Thank you for blessing our lives.


What are you grateful for today?

Our Recliner!

I've been meaning to post this for a while.  But time is not really something I have a lot of these days and before I know it, it's 10 p.m. and I'm trying to convince myself it's time to go to bed ;).

After going through the newborn phase with our little girl, I realized that a recliner would have been nice.  So I told my husband I wanted a recliner with the next baby.  He thought I was crazy.  Because recliners take up a lot of space.  And they aren't fun to move, because they are heavy.  But he loves me.  And so he looked for a recliner.  And he hit paydirt a couple weeks ago!  Sometimes I love Craigslist!

So he found this recliner, called the lady and we drove out and bought it.  It's a swivel rocker recliner and it is so awesome.  Microfiber, so easy to clean.  Enormous, so will fit me and two kiddos (because I'm sure my toddler will want to sit with me a lot when I'm rocking in it with a newborn).  And we got it at a great price. 

Sometimes (well, most times) I consider these happenings as tender mercies from the Lord.  Because I really wanted a good recliner.  And, since we were getting it second-hand, I wanted it to be clean and all that.  Well, we went to pick it up, and I had no concerns over the history of this recliner. 

My munchkin loves it.  It is now where we sit and read our stories before bedtime every night.  I love this recliner because it's comfortable and I enjoy laying back and relaxing with my huge belly.  And I'm pretty positive I'm going to be able to sleep in this thing with a newborn.  And that is a beautiful thing!

So I'm so very grateful for this new acquisition in our home.  Even if it does take up a ton of room ;). 

And I'm quite grateful for that cutie who is sitting in it in the picture above.  I love that little girl!

What are you grateful for today?

My Stand Mixer

Friday night, I decided to get adventurous in the kitchen and try a new twist on an old favorite and made these.  And as I was cranking up the speed on my beautiful stand mixer, it occurred to me that I love this thing.  I am pretty sure I use it at least once a week -- but probably more.  Just tonight, I was using it to make pizza dough (pictured above ;)). 

I can say I've used a hand mixer to make dough for cinnamon rolls and such.  And don't get me wrong:  hand mixers are fabulous too.  For pudding and boxed cake mixes.  But when it comes to making bread dough...  Yeah, a hand mixer can't hack it for long -- and then you're mixing by hand.  I've done it a couple times, because I was making cinnamon rolls for people I love dearly.  But Friday night, as I thought about that...  I really thought how grateful I am for a stand mixer :).  It does all the work for me!  And quickly!  And I usually get yummy results ;)!

What are you grateful for today?

Ultrasound Technology

I know women have been having babies from the beginning of time.  And now that I have participated in this miraculous event, I realize why something that is so natural was also so incredibly dangerous.  I understand more now why so many sweet babes were lost during childbirth -- and why so many mothers were too. 

I wish our technology had made those tragedies obsolete, but I know it has not.  Nevertheless, our technology has certainly helped doctors be aware of possible complications in some cases, and for that I am grateful.  Because I had a possible complication this pregnancy, and ultrasound technology was able to not only alert my doctor to the possibility but also let us know that all is well.

The concern was that at my 19 week ultrasound, they found my placenta to be low-lying and very near the cervix.  There were not major concerns at that point, because I had plenty of time for my uterus to grow and for that placenta to migrate up during the growth.  But it told the doctor they wanted to check again at around 32 weeks to make sure the placenta had migrated.  If not, I would have been scheduled for a c-section.  Tuesday was my 33 week check-up and they did the ultrasound.  Thankfully, my placenta is now plenty high and away from my cervix, so we do not anticipate any problems there. 

And while it's not my dream to have a c-section (though that can certainly still be required for other reasons... one never knows until at the moment!), I'm grateful that I could have found out if it was necessary with plenty of time to prepare. 

It's also nice to get bonus pictures of our little one growing.  We still don't know if we are having a boy or a girl, but we're so glad to see our little munchkin growing! (The quality of these weren't the greatest, but that's a face profile ;)...  Plus then I was too lazy to scan it, so I just took a picture of the picture!)


What are you grateful for today?

Friends Who Come to the Rescue!

My husband has been put on graveyard shift for the next two weeks.  Two weeks.  I can officially say (after 3 nights of this already) that I am not grateful for that!

But I am grateful for awesome friends who come to the rescue.  And this is how they do it:  They are always up for play dates so the munchkin and I can get out of the house in the mornings and let my sweetie get some solid hours of shut-eye. 

True, I could just leave the house every morning and go to a park by myself or something.  But it's so much more fun with friends!  So I have some awesome friends who are helping me fill my mornings for the next two weeks with play-dates at parks as well as play-dates at their homes.  It's great to watch our kiddos play together, too :).

Seriously, ladies, I cannot thank you enough!  I owe you big time!!!

What are you grateful for today?

Elmo

Seriously, who knew I'd come to appreciate (and know way too much about) this little red monster?  I remember when the "Tickle Me Elmo" was all the rage, and I couldn't understand it. 

I think I get it a little bit more now... 

Because last week I was beyond exhausted.  I think I had a mild bug of some sort that just wiped me out.  (For a while there I was concerned it was just 'old very pregnant lady' syndrome, and I was dreading feeling like that for 8 more weeks!)  So guess who came to the rescue every time I needed to lay on the couch and rest (which was roughly every 1 to 2 hours, sadly...). 

Yep, it was Elmo.  On DVD.  Because we own a few, and we borrow them from the library too.  And you know what?  Last week, I needed Elmo to lend me a hand.  He kept my toddler happy and entertained for 30 minutes at a time while I got the rest I needed. 

So yes, Elmo...  Years ago, I couldn't understand the wonderfulness of you.  Nor did I ever think I would agree.  But I totally get it now.

What are you grateful for today?

No Gestational Diabetes!

For both of my pregnancies which got to the point of being tested for this dreaded thing, I was sure I'd probably test positive. 

I crave nothing but junk food -- especially sweets... and especially chocolate.  And I have very little willpower.  Ergo, I figured I was due diabetes. 

But, for the second time, I am gestational diabetes free!  And I'm so grateful!  It would be really hard for me (although probably better for me...). 

I'm a huge carb eater on top of the whole sweets thing, so yeah.  I'm glad.


What are you grateful for today?

My Beband

What the heck is that!?! you may be wondering.  Well, I'll tell you (though, if you're a pregnant lady -- or if you ever have been -- you probably know ;)).

At 26 (almost) weeks pregnant, my midsection has started to expand quite a bit.  Which means my maternity wardrobe is now in full-swing.  But I don't have the largest maternity wardrobe.  I mean, I kind of think I shouldn't have a large selection of fat clothes I could be totally comfortable in while carrying around an extra 20 or 30 pounds.  It may lead me to some serious contemplations of filling said fat clothes when not pregnant ;). 

Anyway, so my maternity wardrobe isn't huge.  And my Sunday maternity wardrobe is even less so.  I think I own one maternity skirt.  (Perhaps I'll rectify this soon, but I'm a cheap person when it comes to some things, and I buy my maternity clothes at thrift stores.  So I have to be happy with what I can find there ;)).  As a result, I still use some of my non-maternity skirts.  That have zippers. 

Ordinarily, this would not be a possibility.  I'd take a picture to prove that, but let's just say it ain't cute.  Pretty much, I have a skirt I can't zip at all now.  And while it obviously won't fall off in my rotund state...  I think it's be kind of noticeable if I wore an unzipped skirt.  Except for the wonderful creation of the beband!

This stretchy little wonder is designed to go over your unzipped clothes, camouflaging their unzipped state, and feel nice and snug against your ever-expanding tummy -- stretching, since it's nylon or spandex or something.  And, since it's black (mine is at least), it's pretty easy to match and make it not look like you're wearing something to hide the fact that you can't zip up your pants (or skirt...).  So it makes it possible for me to not have to buy more maternity clothes if I don't really want to.  And still give my one maternity skirt a break.

It's a beautiful thing.

What are you grateful for today?

The Smell of Jergens Lotion

Is that the most ridiculous thing ever for which to be grateful?  Perhaps.

But I love this scent.

Even more than I love the smell of vanilla, Juliebean ;)!

Perhaps it is the nostalgic in me...  I remember this scent from my childhood, because my mom used the Jergens lotion, and that smell of cherry and almond just stuck with me and has always been a smell I could smell all day long and never get tired of!

The soap in the bathrooms at the Seattle Temple smells like this.  And it always makes me smile when I wash my hands and smell that wonderful cherry-almond smell.

And yeah, it's a small thing.  But sometimes it's all about the small things that make us happy :).


What are you grateful for today?