Birthday Week, Day 4

Wednesday was day 4...and you won't believe how I spent it. My mom kept C&C all day and I shopped. Yup, all day! I went to every mall in Richmond and TJ Maxx and Marshalls. Unfortunately I didn't find anything at all for myself (big bummer), but I did find a cute outfit for Carly and a baby gift. It was so nice to be able to amble slowly, without the pressure to move quickly and attend to an anxious and fidgety toddler. I grabbed an Auntie Anne's pretzel for lunch and ate while I walked. It was absolutely heavenly.

Then Wednesday evening, straight from shopping, I met up some very close girlfriends for dinner at Olive Garden. I ordered my regular (eggplant parmesan) and very much enjoyed the company of my friends. I was so touched that they took time away from their families to spend the evening with me. We drank, talked, and laughed, and drank some more. SO so fun! Thanks girls!

Wow...what a Wednesday to remember!

Birthday Week, Day 3

Nothing too exciting today...took Connor to preschool in the morning, went to work, etc... BUT I have enrolled in a "Bible" Study at Church entitled "The Case for Faith" by Lee Strobel. It is a six-session investigation of the toughest objections to Christianity, and tonight was the first night! I'm anxious to see what it will be all about - sure to be interesting!

Birthday Week, Day 2

Yesterday (Monday), Matt had off from school because of the President's Day holiday and, since the children were with my mom overnight, we were able to sleep in! We took full advantage of that and enjoyed the low stress of having a quiet, lazy morning at home. The plan was to pick the kids up at my mom's around 10:00 and head over to Pottery Barn Kids to see the Cat in the Hat. She called around 9:00 she mentioned that they were all doing great and relaxing and offered to keep them until after lunch if we didn't have our hearts set on going to see the Cat in the Hat. Of course, we accepted! What to do with our newly free morning/afternoon??? We lounged around and paid bills, ate breakfast (slowly), and chatted. I ran out to do some shopping and when I came home, I got a call from my mother. She had gotten a phone call from the family who's home I stayed in for 6 weeks while I taught in England during college. (some background...we stayed in touch and visited each other on several occasions after college. Diane had suffered with cancer, had the cancer removed, and inevitably it would come back. A couple of years ago, we lost touch. We didn't hear from them on Christmas and my birthday like we traditionally had. They stopped e-mailing. Nothing. On several occasions I had thought about calling, but I was too afraid that I would learn that something had happened to Diane. I just couldn't handle that call. So I did nothing...just always wondered, in the back of my mind, what they were up to. Recently, my mom tried to contact them. Their phone number was disconnected, phone number unlisted. Fearful for the worst, she decided to write to them asking them to please get in touch with us. Thus the phone call.) Diane was okay and as chipper as could be. They talked for quite a while and then Diane called me but had to leave a message. So after my mom relayed the good news to me, I got right on the phone and called them back. It was so wonderful to catch up and be in touch. Right now, she is healthy and the family is all doing well...all grown up, but well. I was elated!

After that high, I randomly decided it was time to do something about the office closet. It is jam-packed with gifts, Christmas/gift wrapping supplies, MOPS materials, pictures, crafts waiting to happen, etc...I would never open it in front of anyone for fear that something might fall out. Seriously I am a fairly organized person, but this closet has just been taken advantage of since we moved in two years ago and it has been a thorn in my side. Today was the day. I pulled it all out and attempted to sort everything into piles (gifts, wrapping supplies, etc...) That's about as far as I got (and the office still looks that way). Check out the mess I have to maneuver through in order to get to the computer...

Anyway, the rest of the afternoon was fairly normal...naptime, dinner, bedtime.

Birthday Week, Day 1

Yesterday began the week of celebration leading up to my birthday (Yes, birthdays are a week-long celebration in our house). We spent the day doing normal Sunday activities (church, grocery shopping, etc...) and then we took C&C to my mom's for the night. Date night with my honey! Matt and I drove down to Chesterfield (yes, all the way down there!) and enjoyed a delicious dinner at Bonefish Grill. YUM! Afterwards we went to Barnes and Noble and scoured the shelves for some fun reading material. We each picked a book and plunked ourselves down in some comfortable chairs. Unfortunately our evening ended short because we forgot that it was a Sunday night and the store closed early. It really wasn't too disappointing though, because although it was only 9:00pm, we were both exhausted! At home, my arms were tickled until I fell asleep...awww.... (that is my most favorite thing ever...to have my arms and hands "tickled" at bedtime). 6 more days of celebrating to go...

Handmade Valentines

In preparation for Connor's Valentine's Day party at school, I made his valentines. I knew the little 4 year olds wouldn't care about them one bit, but I was excited to have a creative project. "I Dig You" was the phrase that caught my attention and this is what I came up with...

I, of course, sought inspiration online and saw something along the same lines at splitcoaststampers.com and tweeked it a little. They were so much fun to make! I used my new Cricut machine to cut the tags and the little hearts and used scraps of ribbon from my own stash. Connor signed every one of them.

And this is what I finally decided on for Mrs. Hurt. A mug with a Starbucks gift card inside...the tag reads I like you a latte.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Thankful Thursday

I have much to be thankful for, but this week it is simple. Two words. My mother.

Read this story below, written by her (sent to my mother-in-law, and she doesn't know I'm posting it!)

Tues. a.m. we awoke to a covering of wet snow - the kind that makes great snowballs and snowmen. My first thought was what a great day to make a snowman with Connor and Carly after their naps. Unfortunately, when Carly arrived, so did the sun, and the snow quickly began to melt. She and I went outside to the shady side of the hill, and made a few snowballs and threw them. And since snowballs remind us of snowmen, I thought it would be fun to make a mini snowman with what little snow we could find, since we may never have the opportunity again this winter. Carly and I made a couple small balls for our snowman's body, found some twigs and pieces of wood for the eyes and arms. He was so cute that I was disappointed that Connor had to miss it since he was still in PreSchool. So, I brought the snowman to the patio and left him in a shady spot, out of the sun, hoping he would last until Connor could see him. He obliged, and as soon as Connor saw him, he ran to the refrigerator to get a carrot for his nose. He then got his hat and put it on the snowman's head.
After the photo session, I went into the kitchen to make lunch. Connor remained outside talking to the snowman. A few minutes later, I looked up, and Connor was crossing the threshold, dripping snowman in hand, despairing that we had to keep him cold as he was melting - all over the rug at the moment. I quickly got a plastic dish to put Mr. Snowman in, and Connor thought we should put him in the freezer to keep him cold. Which we did of course - until Mommy arrived. Connor proudly showed off his snowman in my freezer, and then asked Mommy if she had a freezer. An affirmative response was all he needed. We promptly transferred Mr. Snowman into an insulated bag, under Connor's care and protection until he reached home, and he is now residing in Mommy's freezer.

My mother never ceases to amaze me. She is always coming up with fun filled activities for Connor and Carly to do while they are with her. She actually plans activities in advance. As a former teacher, she definitely utilizes the teachable moments and lets them guide their day often times, based on whatever their interest of the day is. If they see a bird out the window, she will pull out a bird identification book and let Connor try to find the bird in the book. Then the next day, they will make pinecone birdfeeders with peanut butter and birdseed. After I mentioned that I wanted to begin potty training Carly, she took the initiative at her house and stuck with it. She devoted the time and energy to it. And we all know how much time and energy that takes!) She is so patient with them - how come I never got an ounce of that??? - I am so so so thankful that she is such an important figure in the lives of my children. I am truly blessed. I love you mom.