Saturday, November 24, 2012

30 Days of Thankfulness: 19th - 24th

November 19, 2012

Today I'm thankful for chocolate.  Cause sometimes a girl just needs a piece of chocolate.  :)

November 20, 2012

Today I'm thankful for Jacob's preschool and his wonderful teachers.  He seems to really like it there and seems to be doing really well in all his lessons.  His teachers speak very highly of him, and he of them, so we're very happy with our decision to send him there.

November 21, 2012

Today I'm thankful for my good doctors and my good health.  I know that's a two-parter, but I can't narrow it down to just one today.  I have an excellent team of doctors.  My OB was amazing when I had both my kids and I'm super thankful to them.  And, my primary care doctor is equally as amazing.  She's super thorough and very friendly.  She seems to genuinely care about my well-being.

And, I was very concerned about my health after this whole thing with my sister (even though she had had a pre-existing condition her whole life), so I'm thankful after two trips to the doctor in the past month to be checked over, it has been determined that I'm in good health, for the most part.

November 22, 2012

Today I'm thankful to not have to cook a big meal for Thanksgiving.  I know that sounds horrible, but my heart really isn't in it this year.  I'm thankful my family was all okay with going out to eat as an alternative.  :)  It doesn't matter what we eat anyway, just so long as we're all together.

November 23, 2012

Today I'm thankful to my husband for going out to Kohls at midnight for me to get a few things that were on sale.  He knew I didn't want to go out, but I felt like I had to.  And, he knows I don't like coming home when it's so dark outside, plus he didn't want me out on the roads, so he offered to go for me.  He's too good to me. :)

November 24, 2012

Today I'm thankful for a husband who not only CAN cook, but one who ENJOYS it.  John made dinner tonight and it was so yummy!!

Sunday, November 18, 2012

30 Days of Thankfulness: 16th - 18th

Day 16

Today I'm thankful for my wonderful parents. They are such a huge help to us each and every day that I don't know where I'd be without them.  They watch the kids for us whenever we need them without so much as a second thought.  They're loving, caring and supportive in all of our decisions.  We love you, Gee and Pap! :)

Day 17

Today I'm thankful for my wonderful in-law family.  I know so many people who cannot stand their in-laws, so I feel so blessed to know that I love and get along so well with my mine.  :)

Day 18

Today I'm thankful for modern technology.  There is no way I could survive without it!  If I didn't have the internet, a computer and/or my cell phone, I would truly me lost!!

Thursday, November 15, 2012

30 Days of Thankfulness: 14th & 15th

Day 14

Today I'm thankful for the ability to cook, and to cook well.  I love cooking, so the fact that I'm pretty good at it and able to cook my family good, wholesome meals most nights (not every night, we do like eating out too :)), is so wonderful to me, and I know they appreciate it too!  I love pinterest, as you all know by now.  I try a lot of new recipes from there and some things we just make up on our own, but they all turn out really good!!

Day 15

Today I'm thankful that I'm able to work from home.  I love that I can stay at home with my kids when they're small and still contribute financially to our household.  I wouldn't be able to stay at home if not for my part-time income.  It might not be a lot, but it's enough to make the difference between me having to work full-time and me being able to stay at home with my little monkeys and fulfill my lifelong dream of being a SAHM (or rather I should stay a WAHM).  :) 

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

30 Days of Thankfulness: 11th - 13th

Playing catch-up today ...

Day 11

Today I'm thankful for the men and women who have served, currently serve or will serve in the United States military.  Specifically, today's thankfulness will be dedicated to my friends, Matt (U.S. Army) and his wife, Jackie.  They are two of the strongest people I know.  Married for almost 7 years, they are on deployment number five!  That's insanity!  I hate being away from my husband for a night or two, I couldn't imagine months on end, and FIVE times in SEVEN years.

So, today I want to thank all of the U.S. military and their families, plus I want to say a very special thank you to Matt and Jackie (and all of their family members) who sacrifice their time and life together so that we can live in this wonderful, free country.  They pay the ultimate sacrifice every day and are not thanked enough for it!  Love you guys! xoxo

Day 12

Today I'm thankful for Monday night television!!!  Seriously, I'm convinced that network Presidents have decided to make Monday night television so awesome because Mondays, in general, just suck so much.  haha  My Monday this week was pretty decent, though, but a lot of the times they just aren't.  I actually have so many shows I like to watch on Monday nights that I can't DVR them all!  I have to watch Dancing with the Stars on-demand now because John watches How I Met Your Mother and I record The Voice.  Then later, at 10 PM, I also record The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills and now Teen Mom 2 is back on!  (Have I mentioned how much I LOVE reality TV??? lol) .. so anyway, Mondays may suck, but Monday nights ROCK!! :)

Day 13

Today I'm thankful for all the time we've had over the past few weeks together as a family.  I know not everyone is as fortunate as I am to have a wonderful family and have them at home the way I do, so I'm super thankful for that.  John's been off for four weeks because of his back surgery with the first week being spent in the hospital (so I was between home and the hospital a LOT!).  I thought after the first week at home with him I'd be ready for him to go back, and maybe under different circumstances I would have been, but not this time!  It was a blessing to have him at home because of all that has gone on with my sister passing away the way she did.  For a little while there I wasn't sure he'd be able to make the ride to Pittsburgh for the funeral, but thankfully he was able to accompany me.  He's kept me company, been supportive and helped keep my mind occupied.  Yesterday he went back to working in the office full-time, and while getting the kids and I back on a routine was nice, I still missed him like crazy.

Footprint Turkeys Anyone??

I'm FINALLY getting to do some art projects with the kids.  This has been what I've been waiting for ever since I became a SAHM.  Specifically, I was waiting for the holidays to roll around, so we could do some pretty awesome crafts.  Now that I'm home all day, we actually have the time to do them.

I found this little gem on Pinterest, and since we actually had all the supplies on hand, we did this one on Monday morning.

Here are all the supplies you'll need, although I will say that I learned a little lesson with this project ... use glue sticks instead of glue. Regardless of whether it's white or clear, it's going to bleed through the paper, especially when your four year old cakes on big, huge globs of it. :)

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 We painted the bottom of their feet with the brown paint and then they made footprints on white construction paper. Once the paint dried we glued on googly eyes, and feathers, beaks and gobbler-thingys (what are they called??) that were just cut from colored construction paper (by Jacob). It was pretty simple and a lot of fun! Here is our "art wall" which is just our coat closet door located right inside the front door, so all our visitors will see them as soon as they enter the house. :)

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 And, a close up of each ... Jacob's (he even wrote his name on his himself!)  :)

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See how the glue bled through the paper ... booo! Must.buy.glue.sticks. 

 And, here's Henry's (I had to improvise on the toes, he scooted his foot around on the paper and it smeared)  :)

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Monday, November 12, 2012

Giveaway Time!

I never do these, but this one is just too good to pass up!  A blog I've been following for sometime now has this listed, so in order to gain an extra entry, I'm posting it on my blog also.  The original post can be viewed here.  

Deux des Amis is hosting an awesome giveaway!!

One lucky reader will win a $50 gift certificate to their Etsy shop.
They are so reasonably priced that $50 can go a long way. :)
They even take custom orders, so if there is something you want but don't see, 
just ask - they can probably make it!

Here's How to Enter:
(There are three options available)

1 - Leave a comment on the original post located here. NOT ON MY BLOG. :)

And for extra entries, you can:

1 - "Share" this giveaway via Facebook or your own blog.
2 - Follow Deux des Amis on Facebook.

The winner will be announced on Wednesday, November 14th - GOOD LUCK!


Saturday, November 10, 2012

30 Days of Thankfulness: November 10, 2012

Day 10

Today (or tonight, rather) I'm thankful for bedtime.  Or, the kids' bedtime, that is.  As much as I love them and love being with them and hanging out and playing ... I love bedtime just as much.  It's that first plop down on the couch after getting two very rowdy boys in bed that is, sometimes, what I look forward to most.  Oh, who am I kidding?? Most nights I look forward to that.  I love them to pieces but they are two of the most rambunctious kid I've never seen.  I'm not sure if it's cause they're boys or just at that age, but I'm not used to it.  I'm pretty sure I was never that crazy!  So, once I get the little maniacs all tucked in to bed I sit with John and just enjoy the quiet. :)

Friday, November 9, 2012

30 Days of Thankfulness: November 9, 2012

Day 9

Today I'm actually thankful for two things:

First, I'm thankful for good friends!  Specifically my friends Noelle and Jessica who graciously agreed to come stay with me tonight while John has a night out with his friends.  I'm too emotional and paranoid/anxious to be alone right now, so having them here with me is going to be just what I need.  I also have a dear friend who sent me flowers tonight just because she was thinking of me .. I can't even begin to tell you how that made me feel.  It brought tears to my eyes.  I love you girls, thank you for being so good to me!

And, second I'm thankful for the tiny pleasures I have with my children.  Tonight we were watching TV and both the boys were sitting on my lap taking turns kissing my cheeks.  It went on for about 20 minutes and I was giggling the whole time.  At one point I actually had tears from laughing so hard.  They are so cute and so precious.  I love them so much!

Thursday, November 8, 2012

30 Days of Thankfulness: November 8, 2012

Day 8

Today I'm thankful for a warm home.  It's starting to get MIGHTY cold outside, so I'm super thankful to have a warm home to come home to.  So many people out there are not as fortunate as we are to have just a place to call home, so I try to remind myself to be thankful for the basic pleasures in life.

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

30 Days of Thankfulness: November 7, 2012

Day 7

Today I'm thankful for the opportunity to be a SAHM.  I've fought for this for 4 years now, so I'm incredibly thankful to finally get to live out my dream - raising my babies.  It's not always easy and there have been a few days lately where I've wished I had an office job to escape to, but I really wouldn't change this for anything in the world.  I hope John's job and the economy continue to allow me to stay at home.  We will do everything in our power to keep it this way.  Being able to teach my children new things, participate in school activities and watch them accomplish milestones is a true gift.

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Jacob's Bedroom: Before and After Pics

I'm FINALLY getting around to blogging about Jacob's bedroom.  It was the first room in the house I painted before we moved in and it's my favorite room in the whole house!  I want to sleep in there!

Here are some before pictures.  Not the best because I forgot to take them until I was halfway done ripping down the border, but one wall was navy blue and the other three were white.  The entire room had this navy blue boat border around it.  The navy wall took two coats of paint to cover, but the rest only took one coat. I used Sherwin Williams "Butter Up" for the walls.  It was the second cheapest paint they sell, so I know it was really good quality, and it has the washability in it in case little hands decide to draw all over the walls.  :)


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And, here are the afters ... 


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 Jacob's sign that's on the front of his bedroom door. Gee got that for him this past summer while we were at the beach.


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Here you can see the letters that I'm so proud of.  I made them myself, and came up with the design on my own, so I'm VERY proud of them!  You can check out the DIY post here.

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30 Days of Thankfulness: November 6, 2012

Day 6

Today I'm thankful for my health and the health of my family.  We have our issues, but we're a lot healthier than many other people in this world.

I was thinking this morning that my sister's heart condition she was born with was just a freak thing.  It's not genetic, it was just something that happened and unfortunately it happened to her.  It could have very easily been me that was born with that defect, so I'm counting my blessings that I am relatively healthy.

When I was pregnant with Jacob I had major issues towards the end which then made my pregnancy with Henry a high risk one, and any subsequent pregnancies would be high risk, also.  After I had Henry I weighed more than I have weighed my whole life.  My BP was still high for a long time after I had him, too.  Back in January, I started watching what I was eating and exercising and I lost about 15 lbs or so.  I was hoping that losing some weight would help my BP, but I never rechecked it, so I had no clue how it was going.  Yesterday I finally went to see my doctor and found out two things ... a) I'm 17 lb lighter than the last time I was there - which was about 10 months ago, and b) my BP was really good even though I was nervous (I always get nervous when I go to the doctor) and I wasn't taking any BP meds.  So, I'm headed in the right direction - just need to get back out there and start exercising again!

I'm also very thankful that my husband and my children are healthy.  There are so many people who are not that lucky and my heart breaks for them.

Monday, November 5, 2012

30 Days of Thankfulness: November 5, 2012

November 5, 2012

Day 5 - Today I'm thankful for my cat, Bella.  I know it sounds crazy-cat-lady-like, but this cat is so special to me.  We got her when she was only a day old.  A co-worker and friend of mine found a whole litter of kittens behind out warehouse at work.  I took the entire litter home with me to raise and then give away.  I was 7 months pregnant with Jacob at the time.  To make a long story short, there were only two kittens of the five that lived, and our little Bella is one of them.

She's not really into other people.  In fact, she's kind of mean to other people, but she loves her mama!  She comes to sit with me all the time.  She's sitting next to me right now, actually.  She follows me around the house like one of the kids.  And, two weeks ago when I got the news that my sister had passed away, she got past the baby gate and shut bedroom door that I usually put up to keep her out at night, just so she could sleep with me and make sure I was okay.  She was attached to me those first three days that we were at home before we left for Pittsburgh. She only left my side to go eat or go to the bathroom.  John was still so sore that he had to sleep in the recliner downstairs, so having her keep me company was the best thing ever. I'm so thankful for this little kitty - she loves her mama and I love her!


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Sunday, November 4, 2012

30 Days of Thankfulness: November 4, 2012

November 4, 2012

Today, in honor and memory of my baby sister, I'm thankful that I had the privilege of being a sibling, a SISTER, for the short 29 years that I did.  I wasn't always the best sister, but I loved her no matter what, and I know she loved me just as much.  Ashlee had one of the biggest hearts of anyone I've ever known.  She was always looking for the good in people even if they were treating her badly.  She rarely got mad at anyone and if she did, she never held a grudge.

One of the great things about having a sibling is that you have a built-in lifelong best friend.  That's what Ashlee was for me.  Our relationship may have grown apart some as we grew in to adults, but she was, and will remain, my first best friend.  She's the only person in the entire world that knows all of what we went through as children and knows how it felt to go through everything that we did.

Today would have been Ashlee's 30th birthday.  It's hard to believe that just three weeks ago we were talking about her birthday and how she was going to be 30.  I don't think she was super excited about that milestone, but I was excited for her as she would be joining me in the 30-club.

The past few days the anxiety that I've been feeling had multiplied a LOT.  Friday night I barely slept that's how bad it was.  I know it was because deep down I was dreading today.  I didn't know how I was going to make it through the day.  It was the strangest thing ... this morning when I woke up and got out of bed, I had this odd, but nice, peace about me.  My mind and heart both felt at ease.  No anxiety, whatsoever.  It was so odd, especially since I've been feeling anxiety since the day Ashlee died, but whatever ... I'll take it!  So, all day I pretty much just felt like my old normal self.  I was happy because it was my sister's birthday and I thought about her all day.  This evening, though, the anxiety returned, but I was still happy to feel so good for even just a short time.  I know that was Ashlee working in my heart and mind to let me be at ease if only for a few hours.  That's our Ashlee .. always looking out for everyone else.  :)

We never got to celebrate that birthday with her, but we still celebrated FOR her today.  My parents came over around 2 this afternoon, and we Skyped with Mike, my brother-in-law.  We blew up 30 balloons and let them go in our side yard.  I hope Ashlee was able to see them from Heaven, and I hope she knows just how much we love and miss her.

Happy 30th birthday, Ash!  I hope you're eating all the cake you want today ... there is no "point-counting" in Heaven.  :)

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(Last summer, 2011, in the Outer Banks)

Saturday, November 3, 2012

30 Days of Thankfulness: November 3, 2012

November 3, 2012

Day 3 - I'm thankful for the two miracles God (and my husband) gave me.  It was a life long dream of mine to be a mama, and I'm so grateful for these two little monkeys.  As crazy as they may make me at times, they also brighten up my days when I need it the most.  The make me laugh and cry.  They humble me, and they remind me what it's like to be a child again.  Through them I GET to be a child again, and I'm loving every minute of it.

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Pumpkin Patch ~ 2012

This year we got to go to the pumpkin patch ON Henry's birthday.  It was the last weekend day we were going to be able to before John's surgery, so why not.  It's a pretty fun place to spend your birthday, after all!  We normally go to Ticonderoga Farms in Chantilly, but this year I was looking to do something a bit different, so we went out to Leesburg to Pumpkinville.  This place was so much better.  It was a little cheaper and had way more fun stuff for the kids to do.  The only thing they don't have that the other place did was the "pick your own pumpkin" thing from the pumpkin patch and that was fine.  I ended up getting them nicer pumpkins then they'd have gotten at the patch for less money at Giant.  Lol!


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The kids had fun playing on the little jungle gyms they had, and Jacob watched the VERY funny magician put on a magic show.  They had quite a few hay slides that the kids rode down.  It was Henry's first year riding down one and he's still so small that he had to ride with someone.  Jacob rode with someone the first time, but after that he was good to go by himself.  So, I took Henry and Pap took Jacob.  We had a bit of a race, but I'm still not sure who won.  haha


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Both the kids had fun on the moon bounces  Jacob even had some fun on the obstacle course moon bounce.   He was a total pro!


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We did get to go on a hayride even though we weren't going to the pumpkin patch, and that was fun - they always are!  And, the kids ran through a hay maze.  


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Jacob didn't want his face painted, so my mom and I stood in line with Henry, but of course after he had his done, Jacob decided he DID want his done.  So, later after John and I left with Henry, Jacob stayed with my parents and got his face painted too.


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 And, the finished product ...

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All those tears and it turned out so cute!

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 One really awesome thing about Pumpkinville is the animal park they have. Here are some cute pictures of some of the animals at the Leesburg Animal Park ...

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 I'd say it's safe to say that someone had a fun birthday day at the pumpkin patch this year!

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