Thankful Thursday

No graphic this week. We lost our internet connection on our home computer where all my pictures are, and I don't want to bother copying it to this computer (Dan's work laptop.) Anyway, on to more important matters....

1. Rare moments of feeling good. I hardly ever have a moment when I'm not in pain or feeling awful, so when they come along I try to be VERY grateful for them and enjoy life.

2. Clean, drinkable water. Isn't that such a blessing? I think we totally take it for granted.

3. A bath for my car!! My dad washed our car last week without us even asking for it. So kind! I haven't washed it in probably close to a year, so it really needed it. I feel like we have a brand new car! You can actually see out the windows..... imagine that!!!

4. Lean Cuisines and the like. I have them for lunch several times a week. It's sometimes the only well-rounded meal I get. If they weren't so quick to make I probably wouldn't get lunch much of the time.

5. Spending time as a family. I love it when the four of us get to do something together and we're all in good moods. I love making happy memories together.

6. Puzzles. A friend of ours is moving and wanted to get rid of some toys her kids never play with. She passed along to us some puzzles among other things. Matty has spent literally hours today doing 3 puzzles over and over. He loves them.


What are you thankful for today???

Morning Entertainment

This is how Matty and I spent some time this morning. We love getting her to smile and listening to her talk.

Weekend Pictures

I love to share pictures of my kids so I hope no one minds looking at them. Here are a few from our long weekend at my parents' house.

Grandpa set up the little pool again, complete with observation deck for the adults. LOL

Matty and his cousin Emi had fun splashing eachother. They even got to dog-pile Aunt Dawn and ride around on her back.

Jocelyn relaxed in the shade with the adults.

Having a nice little chat with her Daddy.

I wish this one wasn't fuzzy, but I had to show what it looks like when Matty goes for a ride on Dawn's bike. The helmet is HUGE on him! And he has to be in a superman pose just to reach the handlebars. Cracks us up.Jocelyn taking a nap with Grandma (who refused to have her picture taken.)

Ladybug, Ladybug

We spent the holiday weekend at my parent's house. That's our form of a vacation: free stay, home cooked meals, no chores, and lots of people to help Matty stay entertained! Just before we left, my sister Dawn had Matty and some neighborhood kids help release 1500 ladybugs she had bought into the garden (they help control aphids.) Of course, I had to take pictures of the whole thing. Matty doesn't like bugs (his mother's fault) so I didn't know how he'd do, but he actually did okay with the ladybugs crawling on him. I was very proud of him.

This is how they come.

Matty's first ladybug

There were so many on the ground of the garden that they just started crawling into Matty's sandles. We had to pick him up and take off his shoes so he wouldn't squish them. That's when he decided he was done. I was done when they started flying onto my neck.

Thankful Thursday

I had already determined earlier in this week that I would not do Thankful Thursday because I was just so down. My health is not good for many different reasons which I won't sit here and list. It's only gotten worse since Jocelyn was born. I had a CT scan last Thursday (hence the last Thursday's list being so short) to look for what's causing me terrible pain in my side (one of my problems). Nothing was found. Next step is an EGD I think. There's a lot more to the story, and I could go on and on about this whole thing and everything I've gone through and how I feel, but I'm just going to blow past it today and try to get a small list of gratitude.

1. Priesthood blessings. Often they are the only thing that gets me through my trials. They give me hope and comfort. I am so grateful to have a worthy husband who can give me a blessing whenever I ask. And I'm thankful for a Father in heaven who doesn't get tired of me asking.

2. Being able to breastfeed. Some of my friends don't have an easy time with supply or their baby doesn't cooperate. I'm thankful that I can give that nourishment to my daughter and that it goes well for us. It is a demanding job to have, but it's worth it.

3. Vanilla. Usually my favorite scent.

4. Making soaps. I called a friend over to make homemade soap with me last week to get my mind off how sad I was. We ran to the store for supplies and had some fun.
5. My beautiful baby. I'll admit that I'm not one to fall in love with my kids the second they're born. It takes time for me to really feel connected to them. The more I'm around Jocelyn, the more amazing and wonderful I think she is. I love her so much! She is a wonderful gift from heaven.

Thankful Thursday

I am soooo not in the mood for this today, but given that I've never missed a Thursday yet (including the week I had a baby) I don't think I should miss today.

1. Jocelyn's smile. Believe it or not, she's actually been smiling since she was 3 or 4 days old (not just in her sleep, but reacting to things). Now she's doing it several times a day. I live for those smiles.

That's it for today. I'm sorry. Hopefully next week is better.

Little Houdini

Arm stuck in your blanket? No problem! Just take your arm out of the sleeve, out the neck hole, and you're free!

Confession

Here's something you may not know about me: I'm guilty of participating in a little retail therapy when I get depressed or upset.

Why is it that spending a little cash can make someone feel better? It really doesn't even matter how much with me. It's just getting out there and buying something I hadn't planned on solely to buy something. When Dan and I were college students and had practically ZERO money, I would do my therapy at the dollar store and allow myself TWO WHOLE DOLLARS to spend on something that we didn't need. Shocking I'm so careless huh?!? :) Yep, I sure know how to throw caution to the wind! My sister once told me that one time she was really upset and needed to spend some serious money so her husband suggested they run to the bank and pay off their car. That's the smart way to do it!

So after a rough last couple days, I took the kids to Costco just to buy some milk and bread. We ended up with a bill of $80+. (Of course, that is Costco for you.) Most of it was food, but I also bought a VHS to DVD converter. Do we need it? Not really. But at least it's something I'll use.

I know I can't be the only one who spends money when they feel low. Anyone else want to fess up?

Thankful Thursday

My days are running together so much lately that if it weren't for others' Thankful Thursday posts I would totally forget it was Thursday! So thanks to everyone who plays along and reminds me what day of the week it is!

1. Costco shopping carts. I took both kids out on my own this week for the first time. We just went to Walmart to do some grocery shopping. I can't fit a carseat, a 3-year-old, and a big pile of groceries in that cart so Matty had to walk along side me. It made me really grateful for the honkin big carts at Costco with 2 seats up front. I wish everywhere had those carts (and the aisles to fit them.)

2. Matty playing quietly. He got up extra early this morning and we knew we weren't going to get him to go back to sleep. So I let him watch cartoons in the living room on the condition that he let Mommy and Daddy keep sleeping. He actually did it! We've tried this before and he's only given us 15-30 minutes of quiet time, but today he was quiet and left us alone for 90 minutes. It made me very happy.

3. Enrichment groups. Half the time I don't even really care what the group is doing. I just want a reason to get out of the house and be around adults. The groups give me that excuse. It saves my sanity!

4. The Ensign. I know I've mentioned this before, but I really love it. I usually read it all the way through within a few days. It gives me added strength each month, and I'm always happy to have a brand new issue to read. I'm suddenly flashing back to college when you'd have to fight over a single copy with roommates. Good times. :)

5. Four day weekend. Dan had Thursday and Friday off last week. I loved having him around so much. Wish he could be home that much every week.

6. Cell phones. What a convenience! I think it's funny that when Dan and I were first married we fought because he wanted us to get a cell phone and I wanted a land line. We could only afford one. He won, and we've never had a land line since. ha ha

7. Blogs. There are so many friends I would've lost touch with for good if it weren't for blogs. I love reading what everyone's doing. And it's such an easy way to update others on our lives (boring as they may be.) I'm glad I finally got on the bandwagon with this one.

8. Our baby swing. I'm so thankful to have somewhere I can put Jocelyn where she can be happy for a few minutes while we eat dinner. Nothing else works as long as that swing does. And the music on it is actually pleasant!

9. Sixletts. Am I the only one who really likes these?

10. Naptime. Have I mentioned this one before??? LOL

Sibling Resemblance

Some people can't see how much Matty and Jocelyn look alike, but Dan and I see it. They are definately different, but every once in a while I'll look at her and all I can see is baby Matty with light hair. Here's an example of a picture of him and two of her.


I have several more examples I could share, but since Matty's pictures aren't digital, that would involve a lot of scanning. Maybe another time.

Enjoying the 4th

Since we go to fireworks on the 3rd, our actual Fourth is pretty laid back. This year we took Matty to see the movie "WALL-E". He didn't really care for it and to be honest neither did Dan and I. (Maybe it will be better next time we see it.) After a nice lunch and nap, Matty went swimming in a little pool Grandpa had just bought. He loved it and had so much fun with his Aunt Dawn swimming and splashing.
The dog wanted to drink from the pool and somehow managed to balance on the inflatable wall without falling in. (We were all hoping she'd lose her balance. LOL)While big brother Matty was enjoying the pool, Jocelyn was doing what she loves most: sleeping.

In the evening, Grandpa took Matty and I along with Aunt Dawn for a ride in his Mustang convertible, something Matty has wanted to do for a long time. Matty kept throwing his arms up like it was a roller coaster ride. He had so much fun. Of course the dog had to come along. We had a nice ride to the Bountiful Temple and back.

Fireworks

Our 4th of July celebration always includes watching fireworks on the 3rd in North Salt Lake. We love it because Grandma's house is so close to the show that we never have to deal with parking and can just walk.

Can you just feel Jocelyn's excitement as we arrived??

Matty with his uncle Brandon.

Matty with his light sword

This is what happens when your shutter speed is too slow, but I thought it was a cool picture.Jocelyn hanging out on Mom's shoulder, waiting for the show to start

As a kid I really loved to go see fireworks on the 4th. Now it's not the fireworks that I go to see. It's my kids' faces. That's so much more entertaining than the fireworks. Matty loved how loud they were. Jocelyn even enjoyed watching them, but lost interest after a few minutes and fell asleep.

Watching the show

Thankful Thursday

I totally thought it was Saturday because Dan has the day off. It wasn't until I saw several others' Thankful Thursday posts that I realized it IS Thursday! Silly me!

1. 4 hours of uninterrupted sleep. Jocelyn slept from 10:30 to 2:30 last night. That's the longest stretch yet! Felt soooo good!

2. Sleeping on my stomach and back. I'm really more of a side sleeper, but it's nice to have more options now that the enormous belly is gone. :)

3. Ice packs. I threw my back out on Sunday getting Jocelyn's carseat out of the car. Ice packs have become my best friends.

4. So You Think You Can Dance. Dan and I love watching this show. Totally entertaining. This was my favorite dance from last week.

5. The great old US of A! I'm with Laura on this one. What a wonderful country we live in! I feel so grateful and blessed to call it home.

That's all I have time for today. We're in a rush to get to Grandma's for some early fireworks.

What are you feeling thankful for today???

One Month Gone By

Jocelyn a few days old

Jocelyn today, one month old

One month old today and we're all still alive!
(Now if we could just get me to actually feel good. . . .)

I have friends who take a picture each month for a year of their baby with the same object so you can actually see how they are growing. I want to do that for Jocelyn, so that's why she has a koala bear in her picture today.