#18: up early

Whew!  I have been trying to get up early this week, and I am 2-for-2!

Hallelujah!

Our poor little man has been sick all weekend and is still sick.  That is NO GOOD, my friends!

I think the only good thing that has come from this is all of the cuddles.  I get lots of hugs and kisses usually, but I only get a few cuddles when E is tired--and he doesn't act tired very often.

So, I am enjoying all of the extra love and attention--and getting to shower him with back tickles, kisses, and cuddles.

Oh, I wish he would just get feeling better.

Dane is being a great sport and has taken the day off to care for E--he took Friday off too.  I know this is an especially stressful time for him at work, so I really do appreciate all that he does to help take care of us.

He is really teaching me what a great father and husband should be like.

I think I could be easier on him too--be a little more grateful. Lately I think I have just gotten so caught up in life--in the hustle and bustle--in the rat race--to stop and see how beautiful this life--and my husband--truly is.

I think Dane and I could use a nice little Valentine's Day!  I have some fun little things planned to remind Dane just how much I do love him, even though lately I haven't seemed quite as full of love.

My dear Project 2013, please help me!  That's right, I need you!

So, I think I will really focus on serving my family, especially Dane, over these next few weeks.  He could use a little more love!

I am starting to serve him right now (or after I finish writing this post).

I am about to go and get dinner cooking in the crockpot, get the house picked up, and get the laundry finished up--before he wakes up.

Then he doesn't have to worry about any house-related duties.  He can snuggle up with Enzo and do a little work and enjoy the day sans dish washing.

So, I had better get it done.  I only have about 30 minutes now before I need to read for class and get ready for the day.

Toodles!

#17: dinner with friends

I resigned from my admissions counselor/recruiter position about 6 months ago now.  Holy cow, has it really been that long?  Yikes!  Anyway, my coworker Shawnee and I had babies about two months apart while I was working.  These babies are going to have some school spirit, that's for sure.

We have wanted to get them together for quite some time, but we just haven't done it!  So, I decided to be a doer and invited them over for dinner and a play date.

Shawnee is still working, and her husband is living in another town during the week. She is balancing a big load--and is doing is so very gracefully. She is one supportive, hard-working mom, that's for sure!

A girls' night with an episode of "The Office" was just what I needed.  And I hope it was just what Shawnee needed too!

It really is fun to see these little toddlers playing together!  I really hope these two can become good little friends!

*The picture is from Halloween, but I just had to post it of the two little kiddos!  They are adorable, don't ya think!

 

#14 & #15 & #16: my Super Bowl

One of these days I am really going to get into professional football.  Right now, I generally just watch the Super Bowl.  Now college football, that's another story.

Anyway, I am trying to decide just how much information I should give you--some of it could really damage my maternal reputation...Oh, well...

So, here is the play-by-play (check out my sports reference):

I had planned to cook ribs for dinner for the big game.  It was just going to be Dane, the little one, and me. It would be low-key, relaxing, and filled with some football-ish food.  

Dane called me about 30 minutes before he was planning to get home from his internship to tell me that a friend and his little boy would be coming over, but it would be a while.  That will be fun, I thought.

Little E and I snuggled up again on the big air mattress to finish watching our movie when I heard a knock on the door.  I thought I had more time!   Craig and his little man were here.

I got everyone settled in when Dane got home just moments later, giving me some time to go and throw on a bra.  (Don't judge.)

Dane steals me into the kitchen to ask what we were doing for dinner.  We had already discussed the ribs, so I reminded him about that plan.  What about burgers?  Sure, I could do hamburgers. So, I immediately took to unthawing the burger meat and preparing the homemade hamburger buns. Dane got the ribs ready.

Our visitors had a family dinner to get to, so we were only able to share our ribs with Craig (he had to save some room for the other dinner).  (Technically, that is #14.)

Oh, Dane ate those ribs like a professional.  Craig and I, mostly me, were trying to be all proper and clean and respectable--making those ribs a monumental eating challenge.  Finally, I gave in and ate like an animal.  Those ribs were mine!

While Craig was gone, some women from church came over for a meeting.  Even though it was the Super Bowl, I told them that it was still okay for them come over.  (Technically, that is #15. Don't you think that counts? I was trying to be flexible and accommodating.....um...yeah, it counts.) We started planning for some upcoming activities together right after I sent Dane to his room to watch the game on our laptop.  

Now for the embarrassment.  Little E came out with a bare naked bum, and I didn't realize that until he sat on my lap.  I sent him to Dane to get a diaper on.  Women were here.  Enzo returns sans diaper and again sits on my lap.  For the second time I sent him back. Then I notice it--the smell.  The messy bum smell.

E had pooped, and it was on me!  I tried to keep my cool, but I couldn't help it.  I announced to the women that I had to clean up and apologized when I noticed two big you-know-what's on the floor next to our couch. I tried to nonchalantly pick them up, but I am sure the women noticed.  Epic mom fail!

Craig came back, and after the women left, we resumed watching the game.  Dane gave me a couple of solid glares for sending him to the bedroom to watch the biggest football game of the year, but he seemed very forgiving.  I simply had to pay my penitence--I had to bake brownies. (Technically that is #16.)

I whipped up some homemade brownies for the boys (and of course I consumed most of them), and I felt a little better for what I did. Everything seemed to work itself right out.

So, there you have the Super Bowl evening.  I am counting 3 acts of service, and I hope that is okey-dokey.

image found here

#13: it's not everyday

#1: It's not everyday that a school bus parks in front of my house.

#2: It's not everyday that I get to host 15 super-cute cheerleaders for a visit.

#3: It's not everyday that my little boy gets attention from that many girls at once (and he was in heaven)

#4: It's not everyday that I get so many compliments on my baking skills (I am usually too scared to bake for anyone other than my little husband and kiddo)

#3: It's not everyday that I cover my entire floor with air mattresses (and then keep them up for another 24 hours)

#4:  It's not everyday that I get to cram people in like sardines.

#5:  It's not everyday that I have this much fun!

#12: gah-budge

I can't quite pinpoint when I was this way, but at one point in my life I would constantly go around picking up garbage.

I wasn't obsessed, but I remember feeling like I was making the world a better place.

And then my intense fear of germs entered the picture.  Now, I think that came sometime around 7th grade.  I remember wearing my awesome (and by awesome I mean AWESOME) Adidas shoes to gym class. At the end of class, one girl noticed that I had a band-aid stuck to the bottom of my shoe (the toilet paper of the germ world). Now, I was concurrently learning about HIV and AIDS in my health class--keep this in mind.  Now, after peeling off band-aid with 12 layers of paper towels, I suddenly believed that I could very well have contracted HIV.  Oh, I know that was a serious misinterpretation (and one now that I wouldn't take lightly), but I will never forget that formidable melt-down.  

After that moment you had better believe I would take germs seriously.  So, my germaphobic self was born.

Anyway, I really do think that I should help out more--pick up some loose garbage and make the world better for animals, custodians, friends, myself, my kids, etc.

So, just the other day I picked up some paper from off the floor at the student union building on campus.  

And I think I just might keep doing similar things--as long as I have my antibacterial hand sanitizer in tote!

image found here

11: adventures in babysitting

I never liked babysitting when I was growing up....

My last adolescent memory of babysitting involved me locking myself in a food pantry, huddled in the fetal position, crying.

Thank heavens babysitting on Saturday night didn't induce that type of reaction.

Well, what did it induce?

Lots
and
lots
and
lots
and
lots

of

GIGGLES
and
SNUGGLES
and
TICKLES
and
HUGS.

Now that's my kind of babysitting!

I am super grateful for wonderful people in my life...
who are FUN to serve
who HELP me
who are KIND to others
who teach me how to LOVE

Thank heavens for my dear mentor and friend Missy, a person I LOVE, RESPECT, and ADMIRE dearly!

#10: making the most

I was making some cookies for another one of my little service projects when I ran out of powdered sugar.  

So, I jumped online (knowing that there was really nothing I could substitute), looking for confectioner's sugar substitutes.

One website noted using a blender to make a homemade version comprised of granulated sugar and corn starch.  Well, I had both--and I had time--and I was still in my pajamas, so I decided to give it a try.

Yeeaahh, that really didn't work out for me. 

So, going to the store became my only option.

Those cheerleaders needed cookies, and I was not about to disappoint!

Only problem--it was quite possibly the biggest food-shopping day I have ever personally encountered. 

Whew!

E and I had to practice a little patience.  Instead of speed-carting through the store at 35 miles per hour and swiping items as I pass, I had to slow down and just take in the moment with all of its crying-kids-bumper-carts-12-point-turns-inching through craziness.  

And I actually embraced it.

My usual Type-A, gotta-hurry, on a mission self was okay.

I slowed down.

And I smiled at everyone, even if they didn't smile back at me. (Let's be honest, it was stressful for a lot of us.)

And I even told a little girl that she was adorable, making her parents smile too.  

Then, as I rolled off, I whispered to Enzo that I think he is crazy-adorable too.  

And what could have been a nightmare wasn't really so bad at all.

Whew!