counting blessings

our most recent weekend was not the family-fun-errand-outing-weekend we're used to upon hub's return home from... where did you go again this time, hun?  indianapolis?  i think that's it. 

gracie's symptoms hit her harder thursday night.  an early flu?  nothing a little knowledge and run to the vitamin store couldn't tackle.  friday morning, we retrieved hubs from the airport.  needless to say, friday and saturday were good times.  did i mention hubs was sick, too?  yeah.  poor guy.  no grillin' goin' on in our hizz-ay over the weekend. 

my poor momma and wifey heart.

thankfully, nator was well... and eager to help.  she's a handy girlie to have around.  nurturing seems an innate quality in this little bundle of joy.  she's gonna make a wonderful wifey and mother... one day. 

sunday, theater called a 4 hour rehearsal.  we tucked dad in at home, while nator and i tucked gracie in at the theater.  she was feeling well enough to watch and say a few lines.

we also got word from a dear family member that their health is potentially more serious than your momentary flu.  sometimes, life just seems unfair.  it's hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel in those moments.

i have to be reminded that they are just that.  moments.  

it's up to me as to how i react.  i know that.  but sometimes... well, i honestly want to throw a good two-or-three-year-old-tantrum.  our hearts are tempted to become anxious.



then... i'm reminded of his goodness.  god's goodness.  and all that he's done for us already.  for starters, the gift of his son.  it's all perspective, really.

light is to darkness, as thankfulness is to complaint.


so this holiday season, while we are working on a stuff-mart list of wanted-fun-items under the tree, we also remember what's important.  the needed things that can never be wrapped...


pure love.  cherished family memories.  hugs till you can't breath.  laughter till your tummy hurts.  health.  wellsprings of patience.  trust.  kindness.  honesty.  true beauty.  perseverance.  close friendship.  seeing the goodness in others... and yourself.  hope for what is to come.  child-like faith.  compassion.  loyalty.  and joy... unspeakable joy.

and may you have it all.  pressed down, shaken together, and running over.  completely full. 

counting blessings.  as numerous as the stars.  

or christmas lights.

{L}ife {L}ately

{L}ive performances.

seems we didn't get enough of our own. the girls were eager to watch the other cast in their o{L}iver performance.  well, that... and mom was needed to snap a few pix. ;)

sisterly {L}ove. 

the best.

{L}oving others.

operation christmas child.

{L}earning... with our furry side-kicks.

{L}ong division for a certain 4th grader. the pillars of is{L}am. george washington. shakespeare. beethoven. nations of the world. adverbs. dolphins. and fashion 101.   

{L}ong socks don't necessarily go with shorts.  

mom learns that this is shocking news to a certain 11 yo.  

but we let it s{L}ide.  because she's so stinkin' cute.

{L}aughing.  furry side-kicks bring welcome comedic relief during learning fun.  we've really enjoyed having our day-time hours back to fit a relaxing school day.  can you tell? ;)

i{LL}ustration.

we've been studying vincent van gogh's {L}ife and works.  here is our interpretation of the starry night.  can you name the artists of the above originals? ;)  

nator calls it "sunny morning". sounds much happier, yes?  mr. van gogh didn't seem at peace with himself.  poor guy.

the girls thought {L}umping leftover paint colors together just as interesting as any priceless van gogh.  

i love the care-free-playfulness of these 9 and 11 year old girls. 

{L}ittle girl {L}ovin'.

this girlie needed to catch up on some daddy. so... he took her for a treat at non other than panera.  quality time was had as they checked off the grocery list, too.

nator and i enjoyed some quiet time at home. ;)

funny how many definitions there are to romance.  hubs being home on the weekends to cook breakfast and help with the grocery shopping = sanity saver priceless.

time with the hubster

we picked up hubs from the airport on thursday.  he worked friday.
by friday eve, mama. was. drained.
{seems to be a theme lately}

being the intuitive guy hubs is, he took the girls on a lil' daddy/daughter outing...
per mama's request.

while mama ran off some stress at the gym, daddy had fun with his girls.
after picking up gracie from dance, they hit the book store, pei wei, vitamin shoppe, tarjet, and a second grocery store.
hubs was earning some brownie points.

saturday, his boss called.
which required us to do a favor for him...  on the other side of the big city.

{crocheting on the go}

 

it's more because hubs is a friend, too.  i get that.

{packing for the boss-man}

which meant we were driving by the cheesecake factory.
aaaand since we had to eat dinner anyway,

{hershey's chocolate cheesecake-cake}

we had to order a piece of cheesecake.
it would have been a sin not to; i'm pretty sure.
so we ordered one piece to share between the 4 of us.

the girls only put their forks down for the picture;
they were still scraping the plate.
at home, they may have licked it.

i believe there was an arm wrestling match, too.
we're quite refined, yes?
{*googles etiquette schools*}

we eventually hit the hay for a night-time nap.
awake at 5:15 a.m., my internal alarm went off.
why would i get up that early, you say?
to take hubs to the airport.
because that's how i roll these days.

for the saints game.  because i'm a good wifey.

at least he opted not to leave on saturday, meeting all the guys at the ufc fight.
it just feels like he's barely been home much this month.
*sigh*
they're getting him the rest of the week...
they have to share, you know?

many of my sweet bloggy friends are quite complementary about how i handle hubs being out of town so much.  {you guys are too sweet.}
truth is, we do okay.
some trips are harder than others.  especially those that invade our weekend family time.

but we deal with it by....
remembering to be thankful for his job, during a time in which many have lost jobs. 
girlie movie nights.  nail painting.  dining out.  and, to be completely honest...

 

{sitting pretty}

jasmine.  she's my buddy, especially while hubs is away.  i guess that would justify the bazillion posts about her?  maybe.  she's {at least} entertaining, right?  ;)

i think she may even have a lil' fan club brewing.  *giggle*  for those who've asked, her paw is doing seemingly well.  she is no longer limping.  even runs, at times.  she thinks one must continue to let the cat know who's boss.  her bandage comes off tuesday.  she's really excited about that... and the fact that another kennel has not taken the place of the old one in our home. ;)

okay... gotta run.  i'm feeling a bit like jazzy in these last pix.  i sent my girls to clean their rooms, but all i wanna do is sleep.  i forgot that cloudy, drizzly days do that to an already tired person.  {thankyoujesusfordrizzle}

{pretty exhausted}

and that one would have to tape one's bandage in plastic, due to wet ground.
go saints!

life is not always this busy

i'm not one to usually over-plan my days.
possible case of denial.
i'm a parent.
busy comes with the territory.

but you know... i like quiet.
quiet doesn't always come with the territory.

our girlies have been looking forward to their 'summer' activities all year.
it's here.
as well as the much anticipated mommy-daddy get a way.

hubs hugged me this morning on his way out the door.
headed to dallas.
WAAAAAAAAAH!
okay, i'm done.
maybe.
*sniff*

in the dark, he whispered in my ear, 'just think.  this time next week, we'll be headed to a helicopter, on our way to a glacier.'

these words excite me, yet they don't compute.
this is soooo out of the ordinary, yet i long for an adventure outside of my daily routine.
i love my daily routine.
it involves my girlies.
i love my girlies.

now... if only i can survive this week's routine.

today...

nator's tennis lessons.  check.
take pictures of her.  to come.

talk gracie into makeup lesson while sister is in tennis lesson so that i have time to shower before dance camp.

instead of doing this again.
it's hot.

 

and dry.
i miss the sound of rain.

the ground agrees.

gracie may have almost gotten lost in a rather large hole.

and fallen to her doom to the center of earth.

she informed me that lava was there, during yesterday's tennis lesson.

follow up eye apt.
i've been testing new contacts.
with a new prescription.
reading up close is a problem with said contacts.
it wasn't in my old prescription.
i called the next day... lady with a tude told me i'm pushing 40.
in my pms state, i thought it was great she chose to say this via phone.

don't be skeered.
i wouldn't have done anything other than smile and nod in person either.
what happened to good costumer service these days?

pick up gracie.
come home.
make dinner.
wishing i could collapse on sofa.
but will make sure funky laundry and dirty dishes are tended to.
then collapse.
and maybe watch the voice.
have you seen it?

tomorrow will be the same, minus the eye apt.
that will be replaced by taking nator to join her sister in the swimming part of dance camp.

thursday will be the same, minus the swimming.
that will be replaced by final preparations in packing.

friday will be the same.
and we'll add making a refreshment to bring to mini-dance recital, then getting two girlies dolled up for a daddy/daughter dance.

saturday we hit the road. 
destination: granny's house.

sunday...
*shivers*
i get so giddy just thinking about it.
minus the expected tsa pat-down when i 'opt-out' of the radiation/nude pic box machine.
we fly north.

 

escaping the 'oppressive heat', as my hubby rightly calls it.

i nearly shaved myself bald yesterday.

it was considered, anyway.

signing off...

this sleep-deprived-mama-hen needs to stir the baby chicks. 

there's breakfast to make before the marathon begins.

team work

we picked hubs up from the airport on friday... sandwiched between gracie's hip hop class and preparing for a garage sale.

i know.  i never thought i'd have another one.  it turns out when you procrastinate long enough... well, eventually you'll end up with too much to haul to the salvation army.  no worries, though.  my mom-wagon is loaded with left-overs for the cause.

where was i again?  oh... yes, hubs.

he keeps quite the schedule.  i know that i was not built for his schedule.  i do well to keep up with the one i have.  and although we gals like to do things, we long for the stay-at-home days the most...

most days.



hubs.  he was taking a business call at midnight last night.  my heart doesn't skip a beat with middle-of-the-night calls anymore since he's been in this line of work.  it's just par for the course.  tech-savvy jobs are always on call.

don't get me wrong.  having a tech-savvy husband has its perks, too.  i know who to call if there's a glitch.  he's usually great about not making me feel completely silly if the solution was something obvious.  umm... to him, that is.  ;)



i've informed him that he's in charge of teaching gracie's guitar lessons and all computer courses.  you know, since i'm in charge of teaching them how to read, write, solve equations, learn from history, the function of dendrites, and the everyday daily grind. ;)

he works hard, but squeezes in quality time as best he can.  like here.  he taught gracie the g chord before leaving out of town.  she was oh-so-proud to show nator and me all week.  sweet girl.

we are all looking forward to the next lesson.  you know... another chord.  ehem.



just excuse the glowing bella eyes and piles of mess.  soak in the tender moment instead.

we do sort of a tag-team garage sale.  mama organizes and prices.  dad works the sale.  he's much better at saying good-bye to our things.  they're just things, i know.   hubs has to remind me that we're not selling the memories.  see?  he's much better at this.

i love having him home.

not only did he get to help with a garage sale...

he got to kill a bug, too.

hahhh...

life is good.

our {girlie} spa night

our girlie nights vary from week to week... or night, depending.  distraction is key.  with the number of nights hubs has been out of town on business, mama needed to think of something... 

ahhh... spa night!

too bad hubs missed out on this one.  in our ancient history lesson today, we learned that in india it was a sign of manhood and bravery for boys to have painted nails.  maybe that could have convinced hubs to join us?  then again... maybe not.

the girls were so excited.  truthfully, i was a lil' pumped about it, too.

it twas a very busy day, indeed. 

thankfully, i had already determined that morning that it didn't matter how messy the house was by the end of the day. when it was spa time, mama was going to ignore all that had not been accomplished.  i mean... the overloaded checklist is not going anywhere, right?

truthfully, we did manage to get a lot done today.  no matter what the house looked like.  it was time to kick our heels up.



sometimes... life demands us to take note of the fact that we need to giggle more.

smear banana on our faces.

paint outside the lines.



or have fun with polka dots.



laugh.

watch little house on the prairie.
then sharpay's fabulous adventure.
makes sense, no?

the girls are tucked into bed...
smelling of freshly shampooed hair, banana, and nail polish.

i'm soon to follow.
after i make sure the tooth fairy has done her duty in gracie's room tonight.

silly tooth fairy.
she's been tardy before.
maybe two or three times.

we forgive her.
we know she's busy, too.

Mom-Taxi Chronicles, Insomnia & Paint fumes

After a full weekend, the girls are now snuggled in bed.  Bedtime giggles truly are the best.

I do my best to nibble on 'neck pie'.  It wouldn't be right to leave goose bumps down one leg.  Mama must nibble on the other side of the neck to make both legs match.  Ha.  The best.

We are all so happy to have had a little time with Daddy before he had to leave.  Again, we hope this will be his last trip for a while... but we never really know for sure.  We take it one day at a time.  One trip at a time.

He gets the full winter experience every time he travels.  We, on the other hand, are still praying the few little freezing temps we've managed to reach will be enough to kill off the mosquitoes.  

I don't sleep while he's away, so by the time he returns, I will be in full-sleep-walking-mode.

Most importantly, Daddy will be here in time for Gracie's birthday.  Not that we are counting down to the second, or anything.  ;)

I'm a little sore tonight from my workout.  The soreness took longer to settle in this time.  Weird.  I must rest for 3 days.  I kid.  I don't wear makeup to the gym.  I scare people.  I kid.  Maybe.

Photoshop must find a way to let a tired, busy mama edit videos.  But then again, who would have time to edit them?

No one looks cute when they sneeze, right?

I need to dust off my camera more. 




{please excuse our mess.  furniture from my bedroom has been moved into the loft... and it hasn't been arranged yet.  the american girl doll students don't seem to mind.}

I've been busy decorating and painting our bedroom.  For now, this is the only presentable picture I can muster.  We're so happy with our homemade headboard.  It really pops against the blue, yes?



Ignore the fact that my room has no crown molding.

The rest of the room may or may not resemble an obstacle course.  It's all a work in progress.  This could be hazardous during middle of the night potty trips.  Not that I would know.

Here's to nights of insomnia, paint fumes, goose bumps, sore muscles, birthday celebrations, silly school days... and the hope of less travel.  Amen.

Then and Now

The journey of 17 years...

"If I had it all over to do again, I would have only found you sooner so that I could love you longer." -DK

Then: Fancy dates were not our forte'.

Now: We still delight in the sentimental.  Anniversary gifts that include: a scrapbook of days gone by... of course, flowers and chocolate don't hurt either.

 

Then: We paid a photographer and struggled with the tripod.

Now:  We take our own pictures... and still struggle with the tripod, on occasion.

Then:  Our home was filled with the laughter of two.
Now:  There is never a dull moment.  We're a silly family.

Then:  He asked if he could hold my hand.

Now:  He better.  It's a given.

Then:  We honeymooned in Cancun...
Now:  We build sand castles with two extra set of hands.

Then:  Our lives were headed in the same direction.
Now:  Hindsight is 20/20.   Little did we know just how alike we really were in the ways that matter most.

Then:  My head barely escaped it's graduation cap when wed...
Now: It feels the love of a sunhat given by my sweet mother-in-law.  I {still} couldn't ask for anyone better.

Then:  We once celebrated together in an old house over candlelit hotdogs {yes, hotdogs} with our legs wrapped around the legs of the table {because the floor wasn't level and our chairs had wheels}.
Now:  We celebrate with 2 beautiful girls being entertained... hibachi style!  {Yes, so this is where you just overlook all the 'health' stuff.} ;)

Then:  I used to ride wild rides at 6 flags.
Now:  We take turns riding the merry-go-round and train with our girls.

This life is an adventure.
I couldn't imagine sitting next to anyone else for the ride.

I get it right... sometimes

We got an A+ from the dentist!
(Mental note: When you are 15 min. early for an appointment, never expect to be applauded. When you are 15 late, expect to be asked to leave politely reminded by the dental assistant that you are, in fact, 15 min. late. She may or may not hold this over your head throughout your entire stay.)

I managed to get the girls to scouts and not have Gracie looking like the 80's version of Punky Brewster.

After dropping off the girls, I realized time was not on my side.
I grabbed lunch with DK and we cruised the aisles of Tarjet together on a quick romantic get-a-way grocery run.
I hurriedly packed the girl's dance gear, complete with snacks, water in stainless steel bottles, and blankets to turn the car into a dressing room... later.
We picked up Jasmine and the girls, then headed to the airport.

You guessed it.
Hubby is out of town yet again.
Sometimes it's tough being married to a 'wanted' man. ;)

It's also a bit challenging to drive through construction while trying to get your dog to be "sick" in the Tarjet bag you've had tucked away in your purse for a "just in case" situation such as this... but you get it right here too. Thankfully, the dog is in the passenger seat and not in the back seat. I suppose it's all a bit TMI? Just keepin' it real.

First dance lessons of the new year...
Arriving at the dance studio 3 minutes late, we use the blankets to cover the windows. Feet were flying in the air as two little girls were trying to figure out the combination of putting on stockings. in. the. car. This was quite a test of womanhood! I think most of us would agree.

I manage to get a healthy meal on the table for everyone. Yay me! ;)

We can't forget our girl movie and popcorn night when Dad goes out of town.
This is usually a good distraction.
We watched "Doogal"... Then Mom caught up on messages.

I promptly tucked in the paparazzi and looked for my pillow as well.
Tomorrow is another day.