Thankful Thursday

Thanks again to Tib for sharing her banner and letting others play along!

1. I'm thankful for my kids individually, as well as together. Addie spent the night with her cousins last night since it's spring break, and it's given me an unplanned break from her. I miss her, and I've enjoyed having some alone time with Sam today. The two of them have been so much fun lately. Addie makes Sam roar with laughter, and there is not a sweeter sound then the two of them enjoying each other. I can tell Sam has been a little lost without her today.
2. Good insurance. Today we received a 3 month supply of our prescriptions for less than what a one month supply of ONE of Pat's drugs cost with our old insurance. It's unbelievable! And we paid hardly anything for Sam's tubes. Even though we're actually paying some for our insurance, I don't think we've ever had an insurance plan this rich, and for some of the things our family deals with, it's a huge blessing.
3. Good friends. Over the past few months I've really realized how out of balance my life was in the friends aspect. I felt kind of lonely sometimes because it was pretty much me and the kids all day every day. I've extended myself some, and it's made such a difference to be doing things with friends more often. I've reconnected with some old friends and it's been so fun to realize how much more we have in common now than we did when we were friends ages ago! And an added blessing is keeping my house cleaner so I can have them all over throughout my weeks!
4. Visiting teaching. I had a great visit yesterday with one of my sisters who is moving soon, and I'm going to miss her dearly. I shared at our recent visiting teaching conference that I feel so lucky to be friends with all of those I visit, and I didn't just pull some strings as the coordinator, but I've become friends with them through consistently visiting and fulfilling this calling. A visiting teaching route is always the first thing I ask for when I'm new to a ward because I need the instant friends I will make in a companion and the sisters I visit. It's such a wonderful program.
5. Plants- they add so much beauty to our world, and I'm learning more about them all the time as we work on getting our yard planned. I love the attention to detail in our world- Heavenly Father didn't cut corners, and it's one more way His love is made manifest.

Ok, that about wraps it up for now. I need to make the most of this time I have with Addie still gone and Sam napping!

Shout Out

There's a little store I've been dieing to visit but haven't made my way to yet. I drool over their online selection regularly, and I can't count the number of times I've filled my virtual shopping cart but haven't followed through to place my order. Oneity is on my list of places to visit ASAP. Their girls selection is totally right up my alley, especially with all the Peter Pan collar dresses. I'm loving the following:
But what I'm loving even more today is that I won a contest from Oneity! Not only do they have a brick and mortar store in SLC and offer some of their wares on line, but they also have a blog, and that's where my winning comes in. Check out today's post and you can see my winning entry. A $50 Visa gift card is making it's way to my pocket, to be used towards the serious amounts of landscaping to be done in my yard in the next several weeks. It couldn't be more perfect with the Extreme Yard Makeover I've got going on. Thanks, Oneity! I love you even more, and you'd best bet that I'll be making my way to your store very soon!

See No Evil, Hear No Evil...

Today we had Sam's eye dr. appointment. He has a condition call anisocoria which is pretty much all cosmetic and means that one of his pupils is larger than the other. It's noticeable to me as his mama, not so noticeable to everyone else. It is sometimes caused other issues, but luckily today we found out we're free and clear of those issues and my boy is doing fine. So, one down, one to go this week. Tomorrow we're back to the ENT for a follow-up appointment on his tubes to make sure they're functioning well. Hopefully we'll make it through the week without any dr. visits relating to the mouth or nose, but I suppose if we did we could round out our rousing chorus of Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes.

Getting All Dressered Up

Sheesh, I got a lot done this weekend, with the help of Pat, of course. Would you like the play by play? If not, don't keep reading!

Friday started out with Pat getting his haircut (a task that's needed done for weeks) and then we were off for shopping and lunch at IKEA- who doesn't love a little meatball in their life? We came home with two new dressers, put Sam down for his nap, and spent the next 2 hours putting them together. Then I went to town with serious reorganizing in the kids' rooms. It feels so good to purge and get rid of crap! Now that we have a great piece of furniture in Addie's room exactly where I want it, I can finally hang some of the art/stuff I've been accumulating. I'll have to post pics soon as I get her room more the way I've been wanting it! Friday night was our turn to babysit, so it was a fun night with cousins playing.

Saturday morning was our visiting teaching conference- a brunch with about 30 sisters. I spoke on giving as a visiting teacher, then another sister spoke on receiving your visiting teachers, and then our Relief Society pres gave some brief closing remarks for only maybe 25 minutes of talking- it was great! I helped clean the chapel and then hurried home to continue to seize the day! I pulled weeds, we made a Costco trip, cleaned house, and then prepared a primary lesson because we were subbing for the CTR 7 teachers today. It feels so nice to have gotten so much done! It's a busy week ahead, and our fence installations starts Friday, so if anyone has yard planning advice, let me know!

Thankful Thursday

Thursday already? Thanks again Tib for the banner and the reminder to count our blessings!

1. General Conference. I know I've already talked about it, but I'm still really thankful for it. It's been a bright spot I've reflected back to throughout the week!
2. I'm thankful Sam is ok. The dresser fiasco could've been much worse. I feel so blessed that with just a couple of bruises my boy is on his way again.
3. Speaking of Sam, his steps are something to be thankful for! He's pushing himself up from the floor and his record is 12 steps. He's taking off, and it's taken a while, so it's nice to see.
4. Good examples who surround me. I think that's one thing that I really look for in a friend is someone who makes me want to be better. I'm blessed to have some great examples in my life who help me do the things I know I should.
5. Developing new talents. I'm piecing my quilt and loving it. I just wish I was working on it more often!
6. A good husband. He is a fantastic dad. I was putting Sam to bed when he got home last night, but he came in and finished the job because he wanted to see his boy. I think pillow talk is one of the best parts of being married, and it was so nice to talk for a while last night. I'm excited for his long weekend.
7. Watching my kids grow. Addie is so full of creativity and imagination, and it's such a gift to be there as the world unfolds to her. I love it.

We'll stop at lucky 7 for today. Give Tib credit for the banner and play along.

Such a Boy

I wonder at what point it is that boys start to laugh at crude things like arm-pit noises or potty jokes. I think I may have an early bloomer here. Sam has been in fits of giggles the past few days when we've been singing the ABC's every time I reach a certain letter- P. Yes, folks, P makes him laugh hysterically. I'm guessing it's more the sound of the letter or the way my mouth moves or something as opposed to the relation to a bodily function, but it does make me wonder. I think little boys are hard-wired for some of that kind of humor. Sam is not proving me wrong in that theory. If it's like this at 1, I really wonder what I have in store.

Today's Public Service Announcement

If you have any furniture that needs to be anchored to the wall, do it today!
This afternoon I heard a huge crash, and upon entering Addie's room I found Sam pinned under her dresser which had fallen on top of him. He is constantly pulling her drawers out a little and using them to pull himself up, and I think he must've pulled out too many drawers too far, causing the dresser to fall over. He seems to be ok. His mouth was bleeding a lot. It looked like one of his bottom teeth went into his upper lip, so his lip is really fat. He has two huge goose eggs on his forehead and a long skinny bruise where the dresser pressed against his head. Other than that, he seems to be doing great. I, on the other hand, have felt terrible all afternoon. In some reading I did this afternoon, I found that on average 100 children are killed annually from tv or furniture tip-over accidents, and thousands are injured.
I think we're going dresser shopping tonight for something long, low, and easily anchored to the wall.