Mahalo, 2010...

This year started out with four bouts of pre-term labor, my birthday (on which I received a heart-shaped funfetti cake made with love by my son and his grandma and a promise of a date when I was no longer pregnant by my husband which he has still yet to comply with), and the arrival of my baby girl, Ava Layne.

I'll never forget each and every day I've had with Ava. It started out rough with post-partum depression, but with help quickly turned into the most joyous months I've had in a long time. Before Ava arrived, I wondered how I'd ever love another baby as much as I love Ryan. God knows though...somehow, you do. The human heart has an eerie way of going all Grinch (at the end of the book) and growing three sizes in one day. My children are such a blessing.

Ryan has grown from a child into a young little man. It breaks my heart but makes me so proud at the same time. He's witty, funny, mischievous, lovable, and sharp as a tack. It was he and I against the world for a long time, and I hope we never lose the close bond that we have. I am immensely proud of him and his accomplishments: Accelerated Reader, Football MVP in his first year playing, all-around athlete (the kid plays baseball, football, soccer, basketball, and takes swimming lessons), wonderful son, grandson and nephew, and above all....child of GOD. It kinda makes me think I must be doing something right.

My husband Stephen is chugging along in school full-time (with a virtual 4.0 mind you), while all the while working full-time. I remember working and being in school with a 2-3 year old, and it ain't easy. I can't tell him enough how much I appreciate what he's doing for our family. With all he has gone through last year and this year, a weaker person would have crumbled. But not one of the strongest men I know. He has grown in the Lord as well, and that is something I'm thankful that this year brought for him.

God, my husband, and my children are my world. Yes, there have been plenty of setbacks this year. But I might as well throw that out with the trash tonight....no sense in dwelling, right? There are a lot of changes ahead for me and my family. (One for me will be getting to my goal weight, but that is so not a New Year's Resolution, it's a life resolution. That journey is just that....a journey, not a destination.)

I'm just gonna do my best to be the best wife, mommy, daughter, sister, daughter-in-law, co-worker, and friend that I can possibly be.

Just keep swimming, just keep swimming, just keep swimming, swimming, swimming......

:)

Happy New Year, folks....here's to 2011.

I'm Back!

I will resume my 30 Day Challenge soon, but I wanted to start my return back with a picture of my sweetie. She decided that the day after Christmas would be a good time to show her Mommy and Papa that she could pull herself up in her Pack-N-Play...it's a sad day when you realize your last baby is growing up, but how could I be mad at this face?!

30 Day Challenge Hiatus

So if you haven't noticed, I've been having a bit of a problem sticking to my 30 Day Challenge. I should have made it a 30 Blog Post Challenge instead. Have no fear, I still plan on completing the challenge, I've just had a lot going on lately.

Case in point? I'm having surgery tomorrow. Tonsillectomy and sinus surgery, simultaneously. Yikes, right?

I just want to let you all know that I will most likely be drugged up for a good few days, and won't be doing anything for awhile.

Just hold tight, and I will return in all my blogging wonder.

P.S. All prayers and well wishes for tomorrow are not only accepted but GREATLY appreciated.

Love all of you!

And so the Christmas season begins!

Let's start it out with a picture that will make you smile for sure :)

30 Day Challenge- Day Eight

DAY EIGHT

*Two favorite movies, and why*

My numero uno, bestest, most favorite movie of all time?

Oooooooo yeah. Make fun of me all you want, but I DARE you to watch this movie, and NOT sing along. I own the soundtrack as well, and listen to it on a consistent basis. I can even (on a good day) hit the high note that Ryan Toby does in "Oh Happy Day". Plus, I adore Whoopi Goldberg in this, and Lauryn Hill is beyond, beyond amazing. THIS makes me so happy, and I instantly am in a better mood, and I feel closer to God. I mean, how could you not be? If you have not seen this movie, you must watch it ASAP. It's a tragedy if you already haven't. What are you waiting for? Go, watch it! Now!

Okay, on to my second all-time favorite. (By the way, as a movie lover, this is super hard to pick only two movies.) Yeaaaaaahhhh...here we go...

Office Space. Doesn't that sum it up? It came out in 1999, has Ron Livingston and Jennifer Aniston in it (one of her first movies) and it is utterly and completely hilarious. If you have worked or currently work in an office, this movie is for you. If you like comedies, this movie is for you. If you plain ole' just like to LAUGH, this movie is for you. I will share some tasty little morsels with you:

Dom Portwood: Hi, Peter. What's happening? We need to talk about your TPS reports.

Peter Gibbons: Yeah. The coversheet. I know, I know. Uh, Bill talked to me about it.
Dom Portwood: Yeah. Did you get that memo?
Peter Gibbons: Yeah. I got the memo. And I understand the policy. And the problem is just that I forgot the one time. And I've already taken care of it so it's not even really a problem anymore.
Dom Portwood: Ah! Yeah. It's just we're putting new coversheets on all the TPS reports before they go out now. So if you could go ahead and try to remember to do that from now on, that'd be great. All right! 

and... (sorry about the language on this next one)

Samir: No one in this country can ever pronounce my name right. It's not that hard: Na-ghee-na-na-jar. Nagheenanajar.

Michael Bolton: Yeah, well, at least your name isn't Michael Bolton.
Samir: You know, there's nothing wrong with that name.
Michael Bolton: There *was* nothing wrong with it... until I was about twelve years old and that no-talent ass clown became famous and started winning Grammys.
Samir: Hmm... well, why don't you just go by Mike instead of Michael?
Michael Bolton: No way! Why should I change? He's the one who sucks.

hahaha, I totally could see this happening...

Bob Slydell: Milton Waddams.

Dom Portwood: Who's he?
Bob Porter: You know, squirrely looking guy, mumbles a lot.
Dom Portwood: Oh, yeah.
Bob Slydell: Yeah, we can't actually find a record of him being a current employee here.
Bob Porter: I looked into it more deeply and I found that apparently what happened is that he was laid off five years ago and no one ever told him about it; but through some kind of glitch in the payroll department, he still gets a paycheck.
Bob Slydell: So we just went ahead and fixed the glitch.
Bill Lumbergh: Great.
Dom Portwood: So, uh, Milton has been let go?
Bob Slydell: Well, just a second there, professor. We, uh, we fixed the *glitch*. So he won't be receiving a paycheck anymore, so it'll just work itself out naturally.
Bob Porter: We always like to avoid confrontation, whenever possible. Problem is solved from your end.

Oh, Milton...

Bill Lumbergh: Milt, we're gonna need to go ahead and move you downstairs into storage B. We have some new people coming in, and we need all the space we can get. So if you could just go ahead and pack up your stuff and move it down there, that would be terrific, OK?

Milton Waddams: Excuse me, I believe you have my stapler...

Best for last...

Milton Waddams: [talking on the phone] And I said, I don't care if they lay me off either, because I told, I told Bill that if they move my desk one more time, then, then I'm, I'm quitting, I'm going to quit. And, and I told Don too, because they've moved my desk four times already this year, and I used to be over by the window, and I could see the squirrels, and they were married, but then, they switched from the Swingline to the Boston stapler, but I kept my Swingline stapler because it didn't bind up as much, and I kept the staples for the Swingline stapler and it's not okay because if they take my stapler then I'll set the building on fire...

If you have no idea what the quotes are saying, or just (shockingly) have not seen "Office Space", this is a must see. I even have two copies in case one burns out. Seriously. I leave you with a picture that is an ode to Milton and his stapler (which I have a collector's item replica on my office desk)...Enjoy, and go watch some movies!

 



30 Day Challenge- Day Seven

DAY SEVEN

*A sport you love to watch/play*

Are you ready for some FOOTBALL?!

Oh yes, I love me some football. I didn't use to, it's the weirdest thing. I believe it all began during a dark time in my life when the only sense of normalcy I had was when I was "allowed" to watch football on Sundays. That's when I started to love it, and Jerry Rice, simultaneously. (The rest is history, and no longer important in the grand scheme of things.)

I am now an avid Tennessee Titans fan, and watch them religiously. I know for a fact that my husband was astonished when we met. A girl who likes football, actually knows what 1st and 10 means, and can hold her own in a conversation about Tom Brady and why he's a jerk? Oh yes. That may just be the reason why he started to like me. :)

Football aside, my other favorite sports are any sports that my son plays. Even if he decided to play croquet competitively, I would watch it and cheer, and it would become my new favorite sport. I enjoy watching him play sports, because I see the sparkle in his eyes and the pure joy he radiates when he's on the field. It's so fun to see him grow as an athlete and as a boy. He truly enjoys what he does, and he does it well.

Bottom line? I love most all sports, but anything Ryan plays holds a special place in my heart.

Awwww.

30 Day Challenge- Day Six

DAY SIX

*Your favorite season, and why*

I bet you're expecting me to say spring, summer, fall, or winter. NOPE! My favorite season is.....

CHRISTMAS!

I have been absolutely and completely in love with the Christmas season since I was a little girl. There was always a sense of magic surrounding it, and the magic has continued well into my adulthood. I always get happier and more nostalgic at this time of year, and I try to instill in my children the "reason for the season", which is God. Baby Jesus was born on Christmas Day, first and foremost. Santa Claus came later. In fact, I told Ryan last year that Santa is Jesus's helper. Oh yeah, who's the best mom now?! But really, in all seriousness, I felt it was important to tie the two together. There's such a focus on presents, shopping, and Santa, that I felt I had to somehow merge my two favorite reasons for Christmas together. One that is very much real, and the other that is all in fun. I almost even believe myself. This is our tradition: we all gather together at my parent's house and eat homemade pizza, watch "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation", and open gifts that we give to each other. We then go home, lay out cookies and milk for Santa, "reindeer food" for Rudolph and the gang, and get snuggled up in our beds and go to sleep so Santa will come. I thought Christmas morning as a child was fun, but nothing compares to Christmas morning as a mother. The twinkle in your child's eyes as they see what Santa brought them under the tree, (all wrapped up though, that's how Santa rolls in my house) and as they open each and every present to see what it is.

There's just nothing better.

I look forward to this Christmas season with Ava, (last year didn't count because she was still in my belly) and seeing what she thinks about the lights, the tree, and her gifts. Everything is better through a child's eyes. Now I see why my parents made Christmas such a big holiday at our house, and why I will continue to do the same. :)