Ramblings....and Deep Thoughts!

Hey everybody! I hope everyone is having a great day! I am so glad that it is Thursday! All week I have been thinking it is Thursday….but now that it is, it doesn’t feel like Thursday! Does that make sense? And I really don’t know what is so special about Thursday….other than that it is close to Friday!!! Yeah, I know I am rambling about stupid stuff. But that is the kind of mood I am in!

Before I forget….I lost 1.2 pounds this week on WW. I am not doing so good on that….and it is frustrating! I just can’t seem to get-with-it! However, I did go to Zumba with Kelli on Monday & Tuesday (btw…I am not going to use nicknames anymore, that is driving me crazy!). I really think that that helps a lot – the activity! We have so much fun! I would’ve gone last night, but I helped out at church last night. But it is a ton of fun…we laugh a lot, which is also a good way to burn calories! But anyways….still, I thought I was going to gain weight (because I ate so much at the Women’s thing on Saturday…that was delicious, but not good in points)….so I was pretty happy with a loss yesterday!

Okay…different topic! That one is no fun!

The kids are all doing good – everyone is healthy (knock on wood) and doing good! It is certainly interesting having a family with 3 kids! Things aren’t as easy as they used to be. I really can’t explain it, but it is interesting! I feel like we are busy all the time – and that is only going to get worse!

Isaac is doing okay in school. He got his report card for the 2nd nine weeks and there are some areas that he is doing great in and other areas that he needs to improve in. It is so weird to be the mommy when it comes to this school stuff. I was always an A+ kid and always in honor classes and all that….it just came very easily to me. So, to be the parent and to be worried about how my kid is doing in school…that is all so new to me! I know that we started him early, so that is a big part of why he is struggling. But the teacher says he gives up easily…or he will just ask for help instead of trying to do it himself. So, we have to figure out how to work on that. The biggest thing is that we need to be working with him more at home….which is so much easier said than done! Especially having a very demanding 2 year old and a baby! And I think his other problem is that he enjoys the social aspect of school so much that he doesn’t realize that that is not the only reason he is at school! He gets that from both of his parents, I think! But anyways…I can’t believe that I have a kid old enough to be bringing home a report card! Man, time flies by so fast!!!

Faith Anne is well, Faith Anne! She did poop on the potty once this week at my Aunt’s house. Barbara is so good at working with her…we are too lazy about it at home. Plus I get frustrated because she shows no interest. Isaac was so easy…this is a whole new ballgame! So, anyways….once she pooped on the potty! Baby steps are better than no steps, I guess. She has been very sweet this week. One minute I am ready to strangle her because she doesn’t listen or whatever…then the next minute she is hugging and kissing you and telling you how much she loves you. Yeah, she knows how to play us! She has been waking up nearly every night and trying to come and get into bed with us. Luckily, she is pretty easy to take back to her own bed. I don’t know why that is happening so much lately, though. She is VERY excited about going to Abbey’s birthday party tonight! When I was on maternity leave, we would meet with Mandy and Abbey every Thursday and she is DEFINITELY missing those two! She calls them Mandy-Abbey….like all in one word. Very cute. And on Sunday, the other Abbi (well, one of 3 that we know, actually!) but Dawn’s Abbi asked me where Faith Anne’s cousin is? Dawn and I just looked at each other…but I think that Abbi has heard us talk about our cousin Abbey…so she asked about her! How cute. Kids are such little sponges….so “Be careful little mouths what you say!”

And Gracie….she is so stinking cute! I swear that I hold her and look at her and think how uncanny it is how much she resembles Faith Anne at that age – just not as much hair! She is so chubby! She is not sleeping as well as we would like her to. Scott tries to feed her once more before he goes to bed (11 or later) and she still wakes up sometime between 4:50 and 6:30 to eat again. I know that isn’t bad….but it could be better! The other night is was 3:30! I think we need to start feeding her cereal in the evening…that would probably help. She still spits up so much, I am a little leery to add too much into her diet. Maybe that will help, though. Anyways….when she wakes us up so early (well, I get up at 5:15 anyways…but you know what I mean), I want to be mad at her….but she just laughs and smiles at you…and you can’t be mad at her for depriving you of sleep! So, she knows how to play us too! We got her 3 month pictures back and they are very cute. I will have to scan them…but I still don’t remember how to post pictures on here, so it might not do us any good. Anyways….she is doing good. She is really starting to get active – grabbing things and laughing and kicking her feet a lot. It is so fun to see her interact with Isaac and Faith Anne. They just love her so much!

Everything else at our house is going pretty good too. God has just blessed us so much. Scott’s job is going well. We did our taxes (thanks to Turbo Tax) and we are getting back a lot of money! I kinda thought it would be more than what it is….but it is still $2,000 more than last year….so I guess that is pretty good! Our plan is that I am going to get Lasik eye surgery done (YAHOO!!!) and we are going to buy a new shed. We’ll see. Like someone else said (I think it was Sara)…it seems like something always happens and you have to spend the money on something else. But…I am going to a doctor on Monday to talk about the surgery. Scott’s insurance gives us a discount on the procedure (it doesn’t cover it), but you have to see a doctor first who then refers you to a surgeon. So, who knows how long this whole process will take. I am so excited!!! It is a lot of money, but we are going to put some down and then take advantage of their interest-free financing for a year. It will be so worth it in the long run. I mean, seriously. Even with insurance, last year when I went to get my glasses, it still cost me a couple of hundred dollars. And it only covers every other year. And I wear my glasses all the time…so they won’t last me two years! So, that will be very exciting!!!

My parents are up here…both of them! I saw my Dad yesterday for the first time since New Years….you can really tell that the anxieties of everything going on with them right now (retirement, selling their house, etc.) is really worrying him. He just didn’t seem like himself. I can only imagine what they must be going through. As exciting as it is for him to be able to retire….it is also just as scary! My kids were so ecstatic to see my dad! I got teary just watching Faith Anne with him. She just sat on his lap and looked up at him with sheer adoration. I was on my way to work this morning thinking about that…and remembering when I was a kid and sitting on my Dad’s lap. I used to love to come downstairs in the wee hours of the morning and sit on his lap with my head on his chest and listen to him talk. I remember that as if it were yesterday….from the smell of the coffee to the warmth of our old kitchen. Anyways (tearing up again!), I drive past Hospice every morning and I always say a prayer for the people coming and going from there….and I just started crying today. I guess seeing my parents enter this new stage of their lives has just got my head spinning on the realization that they are not immortal. I have always thought of them as invincible and all that….but there will come a day that I will have to wake up in the morning without them….and man, that hit me like a ton of bricks today – not just with them, but with all the people in my life. It made me think of how I take advantage of every morning…of every minute…of every phone call…of every “I love you”…and I need to stop running from this thing to the next and really take the time to make sure that the people in my life know how much I love them. So, talk about deep thoughts this morning! I know that God is nudging at my heart….in more ways than one! Take the time today to tell someone you love them…and then say a prayer for that person!

On another topic, I am not sure if I have shared this here yet or not….but my MIL and her boyfriend are getting pretty serious. He is basically living with her on the weekends…and has his house on the market. She says that he isn’t moving in with her until they are engaged. Whatever. Anyways, yesterday she sent me an email about something else and I responded…but then I really feel like God laid it on my heart to say something else to her. So, I put in the email that I just wanted her to know that I was praying for her and her relationship with Rob. I told her that I was praying that God would bless their relationship and that it would continue to grow. I told her that I know that it would be so much easier on both of them – financially – to just have one house payment and upkeep – but that I hoped she was careful and sure that he was the one she wants to spend the rest of her life with first. I also told her to make sure that Rob cares for her as much as she cares for him and to guard her heart. I told her that she is so loving and giving and I just don’t want to see her get hurt. I also told her that kids only want what is best for their parents…and that is all that Scott and I want for her. I also said that I wasn’t putting Rob down….we would scrutinize anyone she is with….but that we love her and just want her to be happy. Well, I haven’t heard back from her since that. So, I am assuming she took it the wrong way. I mentioned it to Scott last night…just in case she says something to him. I really didn’t want to offend her…I just – at the spur of the moment – felt compelled to say something about it. Scott has said stuff to her…and bless his heart, he doesn’t always say the right thing….or if he does, his delivery sometimes comes off as being judgmental instead of being concerned….so I just felt like I needed to say something. So, it might back-fire on me. Please keep her in your prayers. I really do worry about her….there are quite a few of her family members who don’t like Rob…and Scott and I definitely have our reservations about him….so you do begin to wonder if there is a good reason for that. In my heart of hearts, I think she is just settling. I think she could so much better….but I think she has just settled on him. And I really can’t blame her….but it makes me worry about her!

Okay…I have rambled just about long enough! If you are still with me….thanks! I forgot to mention that I am typing this on my ultra-cool new laptop! I just got I yesterday and I LOVE it!!!!

Have a great Thursday…and a great Super Bowl Weekend!

Love you all!!!