Day 728: A Gem

Well, today was a long drop from yesterday's high.  I think I just have the pregnancy crankies.  I'm trying hard to shake them, though, and just enjoy the privilege and blessing it is.

I did get some excellent de-junking done today in preparation for the arrival of our new furniture tomorrow (yay!) and in response to some killer nesting instincts going on.  I reach a point during every pregnancy where I just want to throw most of our stuff away, or donate it to Goodwill.

I'm definitely there now.

Anyone need a very large, super fancy dresser?!  It has two mirrors...

Anyway, so the de-junking was a bit of a Joyful Moment.

And agreeing to let the neighbor kids come over for a play date was another.  I've been meaning to do that since they moved in months ago, it just hasn't worked out.

Unfortunately, that Joyful Moment was quickly dashed when I realized that instead of keeping each other busy with fun play so I could get more cleaning/de-junking done, I was going to have to play referee every 3 minutes as one child was a bit of a tattle tale and an instigator.

Ah well.  I still want to become better friends with our neighbors, so this is just going to be the price to pay, I suppose.

Anyway, I think the true Joyful Moment came tonight as I stepped outside of my crankies just long enough to realize what an amazing man I married.  After a long day at work, he came home ready to listen to me gripe and complain about all of the bizarre and crazy bad things that happened to me today, then asked what he could do to help and immediately set about doing it.  He repeatedly complimented me on dinner (this was probably helped by the fact that it's a dish he loves, but I hate so I rarely make it).  Then he put in some good quality time with each of our children.  Then proceeded to help me get things ready for tomorrow after putting the kids to bed (while allowing me to have a nice talk with my big brother on the phone--definitely a Joyful Moment!).  And in the middle of this work, he took the time to take the phone call of a guy that he has sort of taken under his wing and dedicates much of his time and energy into helping.

And I just was amazed at how selfless and giving he is.

And he's mine.

I love you, HH.  Thanks for putting up with me and doing all you did tonight.

Wishing you all Joyful Moments and someone amazing in your own life!

Day 727: Today Was A Gift

I couldn't help but think that to myself, as I went for a super fabulous run in the beautiful sunshine.  Wearing shorts and a t-shirt, no less.  Today was close to 70!  It was beautiful and warm and fantastic.  You can bet that run was a perfect Joyful Moment for me.

But it was made all the better by the splendid morning I'd had.

First, HH did all he could to make my morning as pleasant and smooth as possible.  Even inconveniencing himself quite a bit.

Thanks, HH.  I love you.

But the real Joyful Moment of the day goes to the little one growing in my belly.

This morning was my official ultrasound.  Where we saw this:

Don't get me wrong.  I would have been happy with a boy.  We were thrilled to learn that, as far as tests and pictures can tell she is healthy and perfect in every way.  But we were already thrilled to be having a baby, no matter the gender or the conditions.

But I really really REALLY wanted a girl.  For so many reasons.  I just wanted a girl.  And Sweet P was really longing for a sister.

It was so fun sharing the news with her after school today.  Little M wanted to be the one and she just went wild after he told her.  So cute.

So many Joyful Moments.

But this was my favorite of all the photos.  It's one of those "4-D" images.  I love how cute and precious that little hand looks.

Oh, Baby Girl* I can't wait to hold you!

Wishing you all Joyful Moments on days that feel just like a perfect gift from God!

*Not her permanent name here.  I'm still deliberating.

Day 726: Garlic Bread

I have been absolutely craving garlic bread for a couple weeks now.  Not quite as bad as the cinnamon roll craving, but close.

We ordered some at the restaurant on Friday night and while it was delicious, it turned out to be more of a cheese-laden bread and not the buttery, garlicky mess I'd been fantasizing about.

So, I picked some up while I was out grocery shopping last night and baked it when we got home from church today.

It made me happy.

And that was my Joyful Moment.

Wishing you all buttery, garlicky Joyful Moments!

Day 725: Bedroom Fixins

I'm not sure that I can express how nice it was to sleep in a bit this morning and wake up without any rush, or pressure from needy, wide-awake children.  That was a Joyful Moment in and of itself!

But then HH and I enjoyed a nice, leisurely, late breakfast at a cute cafe.  More Joyful Moments enjoying yummy food and good conversation.  It's amazing what you can discuss without three cute, little interrupters!

And THEN...

We went bedroom furniture shopping.  It turned into a bit of a snowball effect when we discovered that our Olympic queen-size bed is not something they make any more.  Nor do they make headboards or foot boards, or anything really, to accommodate such a bed.

Which meant that we had to buy a new mattress.  HH is a tall gentleman and we both need our own space when we sleep, so we decided to go up, rather than down, in bed size and picked out a nice king-size bed.

Then we found a furniture set that we really like and are quite excited about (we haven't had one at all up to this point in our marriage).  More Joyful Moments.

But then, of course, we also needed new bedding.  And fast.  Because our new bed comes on Wednesday.  Fortunately, I've already had my eye on some new bedding, so this didn't take too long.  Well, maybe a couple hours, but at least it didn't take days of trying to decide what we like!

Anyway, we also enjoyed another nice, quiet lunch together at Panera (one of my favorites!) and picked up some stuff for camping/emergency preparedness.  More Joyful Moments, of course.

And then it was time to head back home, and pick up those we're responsible for and re-enter real life.  It went by really fast, but it was a much needed break and time to reconnect for us.

And tonight, I realized that I'm almost back to feeling normal again.  I've been in a really really bad depressed slump for the last several weeks and I'm hoping this is the boost I needed to really rise above it and become a happier me again.

Wishing you all Joyful Moments and beautiful bedrooms!

Day 724: Getaway

This afternoon HH and I dropped off the kids and then the dog and then headed off for a quick romantic getaway.

It's not to any place exciting or exotic, but we get to be just the two of us for 24 hours.  And the anticipation of that has been several Joyful Moments over the last while.

More Joyful Moments in the car talking and laughing together on the way there.

And then a great Joyful Moment during a romantic (and yummy!) candlelit dinner at a nice restaurant suggested by good friends.

Super excited for the rest of this weekend!

Wishing you all Joyful Moments that are 24 hours of just what you need!

Day 723: Naughty

Little M was on a roll today.

I'm pretty sure he did every naughty thing he could think of.  And I put him to bed with the sinking feeling that, most likely, he probably did at least 50 more naughty things today than I am even aware of.

It was seriously a day for the record books.

Kind of a downer as a mom.  This child has a knack for doing that to me.  I just feel like he's totally out of control and I have no idea where I went wrong, or even how to discipline 85% of what he's doing.

Frustrating!!!

Anyway, one of the naughty things he did was keep Baby B up at nap time.

One of the times I went in to check on/scold them, I discovered that Baby B had dismantled his bedding.  This is something he does frequently.  As in, throwing all bedding out of the crib--including the fitted sheet.

Only this time, he had only pulled off three corners and then was sitting under it.  Like a ghost.  He was totally still and quiet when I walked in, but come on, it was pretty obvious he was sitting under there.  So, I walked over and lifted up the sheet.  He smiled sweetly up at me and proudly declared, "Boo!"

How can you scold that?

It was so cute/funny/sweet/adorable.  I knew it shouldn't be, but it was today's Joyful Moment.  It was just so cute!

I didn't get the photo of it since I feel strongly against taking photos of children when they are misbehaving--no matter how cute the misbehavior is--because I think it sends a mixed message.  And the only time I wanted to take a picture today, I again resisted because this time Baby B was nude.  But he was attempting to sweep my living room floor (carpeted).  Actually, he was wearing socks.  It was hilarious.  Sorry you had to miss it, but I'm still undecided on nudie pics.

So, here is this gem I came across last night from nearly a year ago.

Wishing you all Joyful Moments and control over the preschoolers in your life!

Day 722: I Like To Make Others Move It

Tonight I got to go teach yoga to a group of girls ranging in ages from 8 to 12.

So fun!

They were super cute and enthusiastic.  And it was a great time.  Plus, I got to get a little bit preachy about health and physical fitness.  And that always makes me happy.

Total Joyful Moment experience, though it was almost deterred by the hubcap falling off of a tire on HH's car while I drove to the activity.  Fortunately, I saw it and was able to hop out and get it.  Never a dull moment.

Wishing you all Joyful Moments in whatever pose brings you peace!

P.S.  While looking up some stuff to help inspire these young girls to a lifetime of physical activity and wellness, I came across this quote.  It's from the 1800's, so the language is a little funny, but I love it!

Brigham Young, 2nd President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints:

"Instead of doing two days' work in our day, wisdom would dictate to [the Saints], that if they desire long life and good health, they must, after sufficient exertion, allow the body to rest before it is entirely exhausted. When exhausted, some argue that they need stimulants in the shape of tea, coffee, spirituous liquors, tobacco, or some of those narcotic substances which are often taken to goad on the lagging powers to greater exertions. But instead of these kind of stimulants they should recruit by rest. Work less, wear less, eat less, and we shall be a great deal wiser, healthier, and wealthier people than by taking the course we now do. "
- Teachings of Presidents of the Church , Brigham Young, p, 212

Day 721: I Like To Move It

Tonight the kids had a blast dancing around the living room while HH "sang" the Indiana Jones theme song.

It's one of their favorite things to dance to.

Watching them all dance around with huge smiles and plenty of laughter was tonight's Joyful Moment.  Especially, watching Baby B.  He's got some amazing moves.

You haven't really lived until you've seen my Baby B dance.

Wishing you all Joyful Moments that constitute truly living!

Day 720: Once There Was A Snowman

We got a little snow last night.

Emphasis on "little".

That didn't stop these two from building a snowman.  Can you see it?  Seeing their pride and joy was a Joyful Moment this afternoon.

And then we tried to have a Joyful Moment by going out for Chinese.  Did you know that the Year of the Dragon officially starts today?  Happy Chinese New Year!

Baby B had other plans in mind and sort of ruined most of the Joyfulness of the Moment.

But the Mongolian beef was delicious.

Wishing you all Joyful Moments and a Happy Chinese New Year!

Day 719: Do You Know Who Loves You?

I have low blood pressure issues and sometimes I can't stand up without getting super dizzy and having my vision go dark.  It's only momentary, but it has a tendency to worry my HH.  It happened a few times tonight, so he sent me to the couch to lay down while he tucked the older two in.

Baby B likes to take advantage of the moments when I'm laying down for some good cuddles.  Tonight he came and snuggled next to me.  He had a piece of cheese to snack on and thus, was quite content.  So we laid there cuddling as I listed to him one-by-one the people who love him.

"Daddy loves you.  Mommy loves you.  Sweet P loves you.  Little M loves you..."


And after each one he would nod his head and say, "Yeah."

It's hard to capture the peace and sweetness of the moment here, but it was my Joyful Moment.  It was just one of those perfect moments I want to capture and keep locked in my memory forever.

Wishing you all perfect Joyful Moments!

Day 718: Craving Satisfied

A friend mentioned cinnamon rolls on facebook earlier in the week.

I have been craving them ever since.

C-R-A-V-I-N-G.

Big time.  But it had to be gooey, buttery, extra cinnamony, and did I mention buttery?  There was this fabulously seedy restaurant where I grew up that had the MOST amazing cinnamon rolls.  I think an entire stick of butter was used in the making of each individual roll.  Granted, they were pretty large cinnamon rolls... so, that it was justifiable.

Anyway, that is what sounded good to me.  Unfortunately, I'm a long way away from there.  And I have no clue where to find a gem like that.

So, I was forced to make my own.  Which meant, I had to wait for a day that I had energy for it.  Which didn't really happen, so yesterday I broke down and bought some frozen dough to help out.  Did you know Rhodes now makes a frozen "sweet" dough?

Truth.

So, I thawed the dough yesterday, but that plum wore me out, so I had to wait to make them until this morning.  And then I had a random bout of morning sickness for most of the day, so they sat uncooked in my fridge until tonight.

When I finally felt better and baked them.  The kids were about to mutiny by this time.

I won't confess to you what all we had for dinner.

But I did take it with an extra large helping of salad.

Anyway, those cinnamon rolls were delightful.  And finally satisfying that craving was a very satisfying Joyful Moment.

And now, I'm discovering that maybe that craving was actually a subliminal message from the little one because someone (don't worry, we find out the gender in a little over a week and then I will come up with a name to use here!) has been doing somersaults in my belly ever since.

Wishing you all Joyful Moments that make you want to somersault!

Day 717: Honestly, Honesty

Today's Joyful Moment came after sitting on hold with the front desk at my gym for several minutes, when they informed me that someone had just turned in the ipod I was asking about.

HUGE sigh of relief.

I had left it on the machine I used earlier in the day and didn't realize I'd forgotten it until I got home and began unpacking my things.  Major stress because another friend's ipod was stolen there.

So, "Thank You" to the honest person who turned it in and spared me sadness and frustration!

Other Joyful Moments included--the arrival of my new phone (old one has one foot in the grave and is quickly threatening to place the other one there, too), but I've been too busy to do anything with it, or even to switch over to it, so this will probably be more of a Joyful Moment tomorrow.

--HH's work party tonight.  The whole party was not necessarily a Joyful Moment, but there were Joyful Moments in getting to know some of his co-workers better, being able to sit next to my good friend, and holding hands with HH in the car during the long drive there and back.

Good times.

Wishing you all honest to goodness Joyful Moments!

Day 716: Baby Sitter

This really has nothing to do with today's Joyful Moment, but I haven't posted any pictures in a while, so here ya go.  I guess a screw was coming loose in the bottom of one of our chairs, so HH was tightening it.  Baby B got a hold of the screwdriver and decided to help out.  He was so happy.  It was adorable.

And a bit of a Joyful Moment, as well.

But the Joyful Moment I want to share happened this morning.

Back up.

With all of the madness going on around here, HH and I both spaced finding a baby sitter for tomorrow.  Not a big deal, it's just his work party that he's kind of in charge of.  I did try to find one earlier in the week, but she must be out of town, because she never called back.

So, last night I (somewhat frantically) called a sweet pair of sisters to see if either of them could do it.  No one answered, I left a message informing them to go ahead and call me even if it was late last night,... and they never called.

So, I fretted a bit about it while I was laying awake in bed at some point during the night.  Because now I knew I would have to wait until they were home from school to try to call again before I could know if I needed to try someone else.

STRESS!!!

But then, early this morning, the phone rang.  It was their sweet sweet mama calling to tell me that one of them was, in fact, available and could do it.

Huge sigh of relief from me, plus many gratitudes expressed to their mama for anticipating my need to get her phone call that morning.  And that was today's Joyful Moment.

The End.

Wishing you all Joyful Moments that remove all sorts of stress from your life!

Day 715: Keep-a-Busy, Cinderella

Such a great song.

Today was just one of those days where we bounced right from one thing straight into the next.  Or, sometimes things overlapped.  But, it wasn't frantic.  And most of it was good things.

And the one thing I've learned, as my family has grown (both in number and age) and I've consequently gotten busier--busyness is sometimes the best antidote to depression.  And I realized at some point today, that this was the happiest I'd been in several days.

And that was probably my Joyful Moment there.  Finally feeling a bit of fruition to the hope I've been so desperately holding onto that things will get better again.

But, all the busyness has left me very very tired.  So, it's prenatal yoga time and then off to bed with me.

Wishing you all Joyful Moments--and hope when they are lacking.

Day 715: Sister-to-Sister

Today was kinda crummy again.  Nothing to get alarmed about.  We don't know why, but pregnancy hormones have a tendency to do that to me.

But tonight I got to talk to my little sister on the phone.  She's been going through some less than joyful moments lately, but it was still really great to talk to her.  All because she had a question about a recipe I shared with her years ago.

The funny thing is--I've never actually made the recipe myself.  I'm weird like that.  So, I couldn't really answer the question she called with, but it led to a really great conversation with her.

And that was today's Joyful Moment.

I hope it was joyful for you, too, Little Sis--even if the subject matter wasn't always the most joyful.  Love you!

Wishing you all Joyful Moments filled with deliciously moist cake!

Day 714: Clipping Coupons

After the gym this morning, the kids and I headed to the church.  We met some friends there and let the kids run around in the gym with all sorts of balls and fun things to do.

It was great because the kids were contained and needed minimal supervision (there weren't even any fights, or injuries!), so we moms (and a couple dads) could just hang out.  One of my friends had previously snagged a ton of coupon inserts from the newspapers in the recycling.  And I mean, A TON.

So, we clipped coupons and chatted away.  I didn't need very many, so I mostly sat back and watched them.  But it was fun to do something different and let the kids burn off energy with their friends.  Joyful Moments all around.

Wishing you all Joyful Moments that save you money!

Day 713: My Sous Chef

This afternoon HH decided to help me out in the kitchen.  He actually offered to do it all himself, but lasagna was on the menu and that's one of those dishes I don't have a recipe for.  So, I knew it would be more effort for me to try and walk him through the whole process than to just make it together.

And making it together ended up being a lot of fun.  And really nice for me.  He fetched things for me, spooned sauce when I asked, and took care of Baby B's every whim.  Leaving me free to actually focus on what I was doing for a change.  Really nice.

Cooking with HH = Joyful Moments.

And we were able to make an extra pan to share with the missionaries.  As we all know, sharing is always a Joyful Moment.

Wishing you all Joyful Moments with the opportunity to have a sous chef!

Day 712: Here She Is

Tonight I went to a little shindig with some friends.

Actually, it turned out to be kind of a big shindig.

One of my fun friends came up with the idea for a Miss America party.  You might not have realized that was going on last night.  I hear some people were quite preoccupied with some football game? (c:

But several of us were aware and we dressed up, complete with sashes and tiara's and each represented a state to cheer on as we watched the show.  Actually, there was a lot more chatting than watching.  But that's more fun anyway, right?

It was good to be out among so many friends.  That was my Joyful Moment of it all.

Wishing you all Joyful Moments and sparkling tiaras!

Day 711: Group Hugs

Today's Joyful Moments came in receiving hugs from each member of my family.  Sweet, heartfelt hugs.

I needed those.

Wishing you all Joyful Moments and lots of love!

Day 710: Aunt Rhody

Today was awful.

In a very personal way.

Today HH helped out with Little M's violin practice.  Little M has been working on "Go Tell Aunt Rhody" for the past few weeks.  He seemed like he almost had it at one point, but then for some reason, really slid back as far as progress goes.

But, I listened to him play all of the notes perfectly this morning.  And HH doesn't know violin notes on the strings, so I knew it was all Little M.  I was quite proud of him.

My Joyful Moment came from his hard work and determination.

Sometimes, I can learn a lot from my 4-year old.

Wishing you all Joyful Moments that take hard work and determination!

Day 709: The Key To Sharing

This morning Little M was kind of freaking out because he didn't know what Show and Tell to bring that starts with the Letter K.

We have big stresses at our house sometimes.

I was trying to come up with ideas, but most of the items we didn't have and the others weren't "cool" enough for preschool, apparently.

Then Sweet P came out of her room with a key chain and a key.  She told Little M he could take both.  He was ecstatic!

I love when my children do kind things for each other without any prodding from me.  It was really sweet way to begin my day and my Joyful Moment.

Wishing you all Joyful Moments in sharing!

Day 708: Hard Core

I just have to say that Little M was ridiculous today.  He whined over everything.  And I mean EVERYTHING.


Okay.  Thanks for letting me vent that.

We set some goals as a family last night.  One of HH's goals is to get a stronger core.  Guess who gets to be his personal trainer?  (Insert devil smiley face here).

It's me.

This is my Joyful Moment tonight.

Wishing you all Joyful Moments in being that thing that doesn't kill someone, but makes them stronger!

Day 707: Mellow

My mom used to always describe me as "the perfect last child".  Which is funny because I'm not the last child.

But apparently, I was pretty mellow and chill.

This came up at dinner a couple nights ago and HH made some comment about how I'm sort of the total opposite now.

(Not funny or appreciated at all, HH.)

But today, I think I did a pretty good job of rolling with the punches.

Things started off rough from almost the get go when Baby B woke up slightly before 7 (along with the other two, but it's okay for them to be up at that time on a school morning).  But we managed.  And even got ready 20 minutes early.

And then all kinds things popped up all day, not all of them were "bad" things, but things that would normally throw me for a loop because they weren't in alignment with my routine that I was so excited to get back to finally now that school is in session again.  However, I handled them like a champ (if I do say so myself) and took everything in stride.

So, reflecting back on that just now is a bit of a proud Joyful Moment for me.

But the true Joyful Moments of the day came from celebrating a friend's birthday this morning with a sort of impromptu potluck lunch, cupcakes, and more of my awesome friends.  It was a lot of fun.

Wishing you all mellow Joyful Moments!

Day 706: Bosoms

Call me immature, but that word always makes me kind of giggle.  Partly because I can always hear in my head as my little sister struggled to pronounce it--"boooo-isms".

Everybody needs a bosom for a pillow.

That's from a song.  I didn't make it up.

We'll come to its purpose as today's title in a bit.

Today was a good day.  Last week I had a string of not-so-good days.  Really really bad days, to be more accurate.  Pregnancy hormones wreak havoc with my depression, so that's to be expected.  Oddly enough, Friday's scare appears to be what shook me out of it.

And, in what never ceases to baffle HH, I've made a complete 180 and am feeling on top of the world.  You know how that is, right?  One day, you've got it all figured out.  You're in a great routine, really happy with all that you're filling your life with, organized and progressing.  But, it's only a matter of time until I'm back to wondering what is wrong with me and why my life is so messed up.

Ah, fabulousness.

Anyway, I'll take days like today whenever I can get them.

This afternoon I went Visiting Teaching.  This is a thing we do as women in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  It's an opportunity to visit other women, to make sure their physical and spiritual needs are being met, and to just uplift each other with love and friendship.  Typically, we go out in pairs called "companionships".  And I just absolutely love my companion.  She's a wonderfully talented and genuine person and I feel as close to her as I do to my own sisters.

Today, we were finally able to visit with a woman who is not new to our area, but is new to our list of women to visit.  I don't know her super well, so it was great to get to meet her.  She is a fascinating person and just has a wonderful, loving attitude about her.

I was able to share this quote with her as part of our spiritual discussion:

Eliza R. Snow (1804–87), second Relief Society general president, explained: “A teacher … should surely have so much of the Spirit of the Lord, as she enters a house to know what spirit she meets in there. … Plead before God and the Holy Ghost to get [the Spirit] so that you will be able to meet that spirit that prevails in that house … and you may feel to talk words of peace and comfort, and if you find a sister feeling cold, take her to your heart as you would a child to your bosom and warm [her] up.

Hence, the title of this blog post.  But I really do like that quote.  I think that women have the capacity to connect in a way that men don't.  I think a part of that is because we need each other in a way that men don't.  But I love the message in this quote, about being in tune with one another's needs and meeting them with pure love and affection.  That is what we should be doing as followers of Christ.

So, it was a Joyful Moment for me to share that moment with these two other remarkable women that I am privileged to interact with.

Wishing you all Joyful Moments and a warm bosom when you need one! (c:

Day 705: Good Saturday*

In the summer, it seems like most Saturdays whiz by and are over before I really realized it was Saturday. Just because they're so busy.

And in the winter, it seems that we have a tendency to just kind of lounge around and get going so slowly that they're just over before they really begin.

But today was pretty perfect.  HH was up early to play basketball.  The kids and I got a reasonable start at 7:30.  We made a yummy breakfast together and it was just coming out of the oven when HH got home.  So, after a nice family breakfast (Joyful Moment), HH headed out to do some more cleaning in the garage, while the kids and I headed down to tackle the toy room.

It hasn't been that long since I went through things, so it wasn't terrible.  But, I was inspired by a friend yesterday and decided to go through it once again.  We filled one box to overflowing with toys to take to Goodwill and then remembered that another friend might want the pirate ship, so we were able to give that to them (Joyful Moment).  We also filled a box with broken stuff to be recycled and then had a little pile to be thrown away.

And then I reorganized the toy storage which led to reorganizing Little M's closet, so it's much more user-friendly for him now.  HUGE Joyful Moment!

After our cleaning, HH took Sweet P and Little M with him on some errands.  He even did some of my shopping errands while I got to stay home with a napping Baby B.  Sweet!  I used my time wisely and, among other things, did an hour of prenatal yoga (thank you for that DVD, my friend!).  I love yoga anytime, but my lower back has really been giving me grief the last few weeks and that yoga helps more than anything else, so that was another Joyful Moment.

HH and the kids finally returned.  We had a late lunch and then played some games as a family.  More Joyful Moments.

And then we remembered to do all the things we need to do tonight in order to be ready for early church tomorrow.  A pleasing Joyful Moment, as well.

And we had the kids in bed by 7!!!  Joyful Moment because now we can spend some time together, but still get to bed early ourselves.

Wishing you all a perfect Saturday full of Joyful Moments!

*Just in case we look like a perfect family in this post, don't be jealous.  I left out the whining over certain toys and junk I got rid of, little fights, some disobedience creating a frustrated HH, a huge mess made when Little M decided to pull all the games out of the recently re-organized game cupboard, the bit where I was kind of grumpy with everyone, complaints over the yucky dinner I made, and a whiny Baby B.

Day 704: More Beating Hearts

This morning started off rough.  And then it went from bad to worse when I discovered blood where no pregnant woman wants to discover blood.

So, it was a fretful morning of talking to different doctors and then waiting while things go scheduled.  Of course, my doctor's office doesn't do ultrasounds on Fridays, so they had to schedule it at the hospital.  Yay.  And Baby B must have picked up on my stress because he followed me around the house crying, demanding to be held and carried.

Fortunately, a friend was able to watch the kids on short notice, so I didn't have to lug them all to the hospital and deal with them there.

After what felt like a really long wait, the technician finally squirted the goop on my belly and got started. Almost instantly, she located the heart.  And it was just beating away, steady as can be.  I can't tell you what a huge relief of a Joyful Moment that was.  I almost started crying.

And the fetus was quite active and really tested her abilities to keep up during the whole scan.  Until right at the very end when Baby started rubbing sleepy little eyes and finally settled down.  It was really cute to see.  More Joyful Moments throughout.

As an added bonus, the technician says my due date should be moved up a week.  No complaints here.

And I guess all of the non-baby parts checked out just fine as well because they sent me home with an a-okay.

So, I'm closing my day more appreciative of what I have growing inside of me.  So thankful that everything is okay because I know how easily things could have gone the other way.

Wishing you all Joyful Moments that are tiny and perfect!

Day 703: Right Now

Can I pick "right now" as today's Joyful Moment?  Because Baby B has been screaming for over an hour now, only stopping when I pick him up and snuggle him.  But starting up again as soon as I put him back to bed--even though he's practically falling asleep in my arms!

But just now, he stopped.  There is peace in my house.  I'm going to do some prenatal yoga, then hopefully, get tons of restful sleep.

Hopefully.

Meeting a bunch of friends and taking my kiddos to the children's museum had some Joyful Moments, too though.  (And that is Baby B--he finally got a haircut!)

Wishing you all Joyful Moments right now!

Day 702: Best North Pole Winter Ever

I hope I'm not jinxing it by saying that.  But, it has seriously been so nice.

I mean, relatively speaking.  It's no Florida.  But I'll take 40's and 50's.  And tomorrow it's supposed to be in the 60's!!!

So, this morning I went for another lovely run.  It was still a bit chilly, given that it was early.  But it was outside and therefore, fabulous.  And Z gets more restless every day, so I think it's safe to say it was a Joyful Moment for us both.

Wishing you all Joyful Moments in weather that is more like Florida and less like the North Pole (unless you like to be a frozen popsicle)!

*UPDATE!  Here's how scattered brained I've become these days.

While the run was lovely, my true Joyful Moment today was actually the birth of my niece.  Congratulations to my brother and his wife on yet another beautiful beautiful baby girl!

Day 701: In A Heartbeat

I spent the hours between 1:30 AM and 3:30 AM discovering that Baby B is still not ready for soy milk to be reintroduced to his diet.  My poor, poor baby.

But I'm sure the washing machine was relieved to know it's still needed after it's one day off.

So, mostly I was too tired to really get the joy in any moments that might have been joyful.  There were a few small ones here and there--it wasn't a bad day.  But, the definite standout would have to be letting all the kids tag along with me to my doctor's appointment (at their request), so they could hear that tiny little heart beating in my lower abdomen.

Yes, this is an announcement.

They already knew and were super excited to hear that sweet little heartbeat.  And sharing that with them was today's best Joyful Moment.

Wishing you all miraculous Joyful Moments shared with some of your favorite people!

Day 700: Sweet P Seven

I cannot believe that today marks seven years for me being a mommy.  Seven.

This little sweetheart is great at showing her appreciation for any and all effort made to make her day special, so you can bet that today was full of Joyful Moments for all of us.

We started it off with the crepes with real maple syrup she requested.  With a candle in it, of course.  After breakfast, HH had to go help a family load a moving truck, so the kids played while I decorated the cake. She was pretty excited about that because she designed it herself.

Here she is placing the finishing touches on her Littlest Pet Shop cake.  It was probably the easiest cake I've ever done, but it was what she wanted.  She even drew me a picture to help out.

And yes, those party hats stayed on pretty much ALL day.

When HH returned we had lunch--squid hot dogs (hot dogs with cooked spaghetti in them) and tomato soup.  And a special fruity drink.  Oh, and edamame, her favorite veggie.

Then we went to the dreaded Chuck E. Cheese to let the kids burn off some of their excited energy.  It actually wasn't too bad.  And the kids all had a blast.

Then later on this evening, we headed out to Texas Roadhouse.  Sweet P had earned a couple of free kids' meals there and I told her we'd go when she finished that last song in Book 1 for violin.  It worked out nicely that it coincided with her birthday, too.  She had a lot of fun there and was shyly pleased to have her birthday announced to everyone there.

Then home again to open presents and eat cake.  And, like I said, she's really great at showing appreciation, so giving her gifts is always a Joyful Moment.  And she devoured her cake.  Yay.

Wonderful day celebrating my sweet sweet little girl.  Who is growing up way too quickly.  I love you, Sweet P.

Wishing you all Joyful Moments with someone as sweet as my Sweet P!

Day 699: Happy New 2012!

Where we live, three different congregations share the same building.  So, we rotate starting times each year.  Last year we met at 1 PM.  Today we began a year of meeting at 9 AM.

I definitely prefer going to church in the morning, but the adjustment today was a little rough.  We were a tad late.

But, we made it.  And as I sat there, I realized how wonderful it felt to start the new year off in church, worshiping my Savior Jesus Christ.  And that was a sweet Joyful Moment for me there.

Today has actually been a really nice day, with plenty of Joyful Moments.  But, I'm just going to share one more.

As you know, Sweet P has been taking violin lessons for quite some time.  Just over two years.  She is learning via the Suzuki method.  She has been on Book 1 this whole time.  Tonight, she finally learned the last two measures of the last song in the book.  It still has quite a bit of polishing needed, but it's a super long song.  And she has the whole thing memorized!  She has worked so hard to get to this point and I was seriously busting with pride for her.

Huge Huge Huge HUGE Joyful Moment for us both.

Wishing you all Joyful Moments that are HUGE!

Oh, and a Happy New Year!