Sometimes It's The Simple Things

• a little man who stills wants me to snuggle him (because I know this won't last forever)
• my sweet little Audge who can be the best little mommy's helper
• my baby girl who woke up this morning and said she dreamed about "toots" last nite (always the silly entertainer)
• a husband who gets up and goes to work everyday, long before I open my sleepy eyes
• a dog who wakes up to excitedly greet me even at 4 in the morning

• a cup (or 2) of coffee in the morning
• warm flannel sheets
• reading the newspaper
• a new recipe
• clean laundry

I could probably sit here and add to my list for hours. Life is hard. Life is messy. Life is far from perfect. But even now, in all the struggles, God is good and there is so much to be thankful for. Sometimes it's the simple things.

I Need A Chill Pill

One.Of.Those.Days.


I failed as a mother.
I failed as a wife.
I failed as a friend.
I failed as a FREAKING HUMAN BEING!!!
Enough said.


(and usually Mondays are so wonderful)

Flashback Friday

My Little "Baller"

December 2004

I'm 9 - 2 Now

I'm not doing so well on this once a day posting challenge. Once again, I got busy and completely forgot... until I was at work and there was nothing I could do about it. I need something quick, I need something easy, so I'm stealing ideas. This one, I found on Leslie's blog, but now I'll claim it as my own;)

3 NAMES I GO BY:

1. Maria
2. Mommy
3. Ria
   

3 JOBS I HAVE HAD IN MY LIFE:

1. Basically Bulk


2. B&G at Amway


3. SAHM (my personal fave;)

3 PLACES I HAVE LIVED:

1. Jackson


2. Sparta


3. Grand Rapids

3 TV SHOWS THAT I WATCH:

1. Diners, Drive Ins, & Dives


2. Cake Boss


3. Little People, Big World

3 PLACES I HAVE BEEN:

1. Orlando


2. Austin


3. Chicago

3 PLACES I WANT TO GO:

1. Hawaii


2. Tahiti


3. Mediterranean

3 OF MY FAVORITE FOODS:

1. dessert


2. cheeseburgers


3. Mexican

3 THINGS I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO:

1. Thanksgiving


2. Christmas


3. Tom finishing up his degree

3 ANIMALS WHO I HAVE BEEN FRIENDS WITH:

umm, I don't get really "friendly" with animals, but Eddy is my favorite and my best

(how could you not be friendly to a face like that?)

3 THINGS I AM REALLY SCARED OF:

1. our finances;P


2. not being able to see my kids grow up


3. not being in control

3 FAVORITE BOOKS:

1. anything Nicholas Sparks


2. Twilight saga


3. Marley & Me

3 FAVORITE BANDS/SINGERS:

1. Nickleback


2. Alanis Morissette


3. Jars of Clay (blast from the past;)

3 FAVORITE MOVIES:

1. Dirty Dancing


2. Never Been Kissed


3. The Proposal (new fave)

3 FAVORITE DRINKS:

1. Captain Morgan and vanilla Coke or cider


2. Cherry Pepsi


3. Dr. Pepper

3 THINGS I FIND MOST ATTRACTIVE IN A GUY:

1. tall


2. dark


3. handsome (that describes Tom, right?;)

3 THINGS I COULDN'T LIVE WITHOUT:

1. family


2. my laptop


3. my van

Monday Mojo

Yay for Monday!!! My favorite day of the week! Most people dread Monday mornings, but since I work all weekend and Monday is my day off, it can't come soon enough. Usually, I am super ambitious in my plans to get things accomplished. All weekend long I make lists in my head of what I'm going to get done and then life ends up getting in the way and I never get done as much as I wanted to. So, today I'm keeping track of all things I manage to accomplish on my great day off:

1. got out of bed (hey, you gotta start somewhere;)
2. Austin dressed, lunch packed, homework completed, breakfast made, out the door to carpool by 8! Without a single whine or complaint (BIG accomplishment=)
3. budget and checkbook balanced
4. scheduled online van payment
5. started today's blog post
6. read thru Sunday's paper
7. started dishwasher load #1
8. cleaned out the science experiments from the refrigerator
9. rocked baby Ruby to sleep
10. made beds
11. packed away the Halloween decor
12. caught up Lexi's scrapbook to her 3rd birthday
13. restored order to the living room after our busy Sunday
14. went thru a pile of paperwork that had been sitting in my kitchen cabinet since July
15. picked up Austin and JoJo from school
16. went to the high school for team pictures
17. took back a van~load of recycles
18. put gas in the van
19. played P-I-G and H-O-R-S-E with Austin. (He blew me away all 3 times)
20. brought out a tub of Thanksgiving decor
21. made dinner (burritos and spanish rice)
22. cleaned up the kitchen & started dishwasher load #2
23. bathed & jammied all 3 kids
24. tucked 3 super~hyper kids (because Grandma showed up to do bedtime) into bed
25. re~tucked said hyper kids into bed multiple times after potty breaks, drinks of water, and tattle telling on offending siblings
26. scrapbooked 4 pages for Audrey's scrapbook

So much more could be done but now I'm preparing for my tomorrow... by going to bed! Happy Monday & good nite!!!

See? I Told Ya

What did I say earlier this week? Check back and I'll probably have missed a day already with this whole NaNoMoBlo thing. And I did. It wasn't exactly intentional. I thought about it last nite, but wasn't in the mood. I was planning on doing it later and then forgot until late this morning. So, I'm out. But I'll try my best to keep up with the daily postings thru the rest of the month.

I enjoyed a quiet evening to myself because Tom took the kids for a sleepover at his parent's last nite. I've had 2 WHOLE hours to myself this afternoon between cheerleading practice and work. The house is completely picked up and I have gotten quite a bit done (yay, me!;) But, as always, I could keep myself busy for hours. So now I'm getting ready to head into work Somehow I need to come up with a recipe for Hosmer Thanksgiving that I can make tonite when I get home. Something that doesn't require a lot of energy (so no pie this time;) and something that will sit well in the car for a couple of hours (while we're in church.)

I've never had Thanksgiving weeks before Thanksgiving before, but I'm looking forward to all the yummy food! (and spending time with the family, too;)

A Little Somethin' To Share

How Convenient

2 special birthdays, one special day.

23 birthday wishes for Micah, aka "Bubba" in Hosmerville:

17 birthday wishes for Lori, aka "War~wee" in Hosmerville:

Why Is Trust Such A Hard Thing To Learn?

Is it ever a good thing when the doctor calls and wants to discuss test results 2 weeks before your scheduled appointment to discuss said results? I just received a message from my doctor's office saying that's exactly what he wants to do. Of course, I called back and they are closed for the evening. My natural tendency to worry panic has me already thinking the worst possible. And yet, I can hear God whispering, "Trust me". Trust. It's such a hard thing to do. Especially for my type A, control freak personality.

Tonite is going to be hard. I'm working third. I'll be up most of the nite. It's quiet. I'm (for the most part) by myself. I'm tired. My mind starts to wander. I will try not to dwell on what I may be hearing when I call tomorrow morning. I will try to trust.

2 For 2

It's only 9am and I already have my post done for the day! You can find it here: halloween trickORtreats.

It's The Thought That Counts

Ok, technically I haven't failed miserably on the very first day of the NaMoBlo~thingy. You know, the thingy where you commit to writing a blog post every single day in the month of November. So even when I post this and the date reads November 2nd, technically, it's really still November 1st because I haven't gone to bed yet. And everyone knows that it's not a new day until you've been able to go to bed and wake up, right?

Ok, so I'm still in this. (Like it's some sort of competition that I'm afraid to lose;) (Like in a week I won't have been MIA from my blog for, oh, a week.) Ha ha. But for now, I'm still in the game. Right?

Just checkin'.