Which would you choose?

Grocery shopping:

Sunday afternoon in a store sooo packed and insane that traffic lights need to be installed ... the trip takes 2 hours, but no kids are with you.

OR

Weekday morning, a few people shopping in a patterned and orderly fashion ... the trip takes an hour, but that's because the kids are with you.

Simon

We bought a dog. No, we did not leave the house, this morning, and say, "let's buy a dog, today." We left the house thinking, "let's go to Home Depot and buy some faucets, and then let's go work out at the gym." Long story short, we went to a pet store to let the kids giggle at the animals, and ended up leaving with a 13 week old male sheltie. My husband says I can name him whatever I want, but that he will call him Simon. So, Simon it is. (I was rooting for "snuffles" or "albus")

I was supposed to send email of pictures to family. I decided it would be easier to post them here. As he is not a child, and neither myself nor my husband, I do not feel I am breaking any of my own rules to post them. :-p

Besides, you'd never understand how darn cute this puppy is if you didn't see him for yourself!!

go figure!

"It's not about winning, it's about playing the game." --my 5 year old.

Maybe I am doing something right ...

reasons why I love Valentines Day

I was recently in an email conversation with my single brother, regarding valentines day. For the most part, I think the whole hting is retarded, but did remember some reasons to like the day. I emailed him my list. His reply was,"Thats really cool about why you like Valentine's Day - thats a GREAT list." So, it occured to me that I'd like to post it here, too...

**Daddy Daughter Date Nights – several years in a row (from about 9-10 years old until 12?? consisting of a park district dance and cookie decorating. Dad would buy me a corsage, hold the doors for me, and take me out for ice cream afterwards. Precious memories, especially now that he is no longer with us.)

**The neat cards we would put on each others plates at dinner, and mom would put out the china?. (my mom says she doesn't remember that china, but I think my brothers and I would do that part...again, when we were younger...)

**Coincidence only (I cannot stress that enough) it’s when my husband proposed. (seriously … completely separate from it being “the day,” as well as being unplanned)

other than that, and those similar things for other's, it’s pretty much a holiday for commercial revenue … people doing for their s/o , and thinking of their s/o in ways that they should strive for all the time.

ON a family level, however, it can be a very endearing holiday, as I discovered recently. My daughter is a very wonderful, loving, and thoughtful 5 year old.


Love is unconditional. Love goes beyond physicality. LOVE, true love, is not limited to romance. True love is experienced in bad times, good times, boring times, regular times ... true love is also not limited to romantic love.

Love is truly one the most powerful forces on earth. May you all experience it. May you all be true to it.

Party in the Potty!!

ANNOUNCING: The Potty Training of my son.

I had been trying to potty train him for some time, and finally decided to back off for a little while. This past Thursday, he got and used the potty by himself. Yes. By himself! Since then he's done a good job of keeping his pull-ups dry. He's worn "big boy pants" a few times, too!

We still have a little way to go, but this is fast breaking news, I needed to share.

I like this picture .... and, no ... it has nothing to do with post. :-)


Without getting into details, I wanted to tell you all about 2 nice things that happened today ...

First, I get an email from my husband, asking what we should do for Valentines day. (We stopped doing "couple-y" things on Valentines Day a very long time ago. In fact, I really only remember 3 times in 10+ years that we did anything ...) I emailed him back wondering why he was suddenly wanting to celebrate the day. His reply was that he knew he'd been working alot, and away, and that we hadn't spent enought time together lately, and he wanted to simply be with me. --doesn't get much nicer that that, no? (I hope he doesn't maim me for publicizing this exchange ... with any luck, he won't read it!!) I am definitely married to a "winner." Trust me when I say that I know how lucky I am.

Secondly, my sister-in-law called me and asked if it would be helpful if she were to take a day off this week, and come over to watch the kids. I need to sleep. And, by Thursday, which is when she likely coming ... I will REALLY need to sleep.

She's a first grade teacher, and I know it isn't easy to take a day off of work.--It's not like she can leave the work on her desk, and tackle it later. (!) She and I are pretty good friends, but even so - I can't get over how sweet this gesture/offer was.

Neat!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/everydaylife365/sets/72157594462246118/

If you're looking for a new site ... here are some neat pictures ...

update on a quest ...

I've joined a gym! --Okay, so I'm currently suffering from major shin splints, but at least I'm trying. I have also learned that I should not jog on the treadmill at an incline

I also had the pleasure of discovering that I've dropped another pant size. Let me be clear -- I'm going for whole-body health, here ... The pant size came with those efforts, I guess. I've gone from the size 12 I was in highschool up to size 16 (after my first pregnancy) to a size 6. It's weird. Shouldn't I feel like I'm totally skinny? This is a size that I used to think my bones kept me incapable of ("big-boned"). The sad truth is that although I feel good at my "achievment," I do not feel skinny. All of my problem areas, all of my visual insecurities still exist. -they're just on a smaller scale, now. I'm okay with that. really. truly. It's just weird, because I always figured those insecurities would go away if I ate better, got into shape, et al...

I need to restate that I am on a quest for ultimate healthiness. I want to feel good inside and out. I want to model a good lifestyle to my children, and teach them an abundance of good habits. I want to know that I am doing all that I can do for myself and my family. I am taking responsibility for our well-being and peace of mind.

Do I sound like some kind of commerical?? Probably. DO I sound like some kind of fruit?? Most likely. That's okay, though. This has become very important to me, and I'd love to make it more important for others. I guess that's why I'm suddenly talking about it more. I know I usually write about the kids ... there are plenty of stories I plan to tell...but I think I may write more about my lifestyle transition...