Day 735: Return of The Plague

Sweet P came into our room last night announcing she was sick.  HH handled it and came back and told me she was fine.

This morning she first said she felt fine and okay to go to school.  But as the morning progressed she began asking to stay home.  This is very unlike her, but as far as I could tell, she seemed fine, so I told her I thought she should go.

About 60 seconds before her ride was to come pick her up, she dashed off to the bathroom and it was Christmas morning all over again.

Minus the presents.

And all the fun.

But quite like it with all the laundry and bathroom cleaning for me.  Yay!

Fortunately, she seems to be doing much better.  Unfortunately, poor HH seems to have finally succumbed to it.  And my tummy seems to still be sitting on the fence as to whether I'll get a Round 2 like Sweet P, or manage to let it pass me by.

The good news is, Little M and Baby B both seem to have been spared.  Knock on wood.  Really hard.

Fortunately for today, it was Sweet P's parent/teacher conference tonight.  So, Joyful Moments were still to be had.  It was a great visit with her teacher.  It's so satisfying to see how much she genuinely cares for my daughter.  I love it.  She's such a great teacher too.  Yes.  Joyful Moments for sure.

And then I ventured over to the Book Fair, per Sweet P's instructions.  She had found a book that she thinks Little M will just love and wanted to buy it for him for his birthday next month.  With her own money.  How sweet is that?  It's no wonder he adores her.  So, picking that up for her was another really sweet Joyful Moment for this mama.

And actually, the rest of the day was not a total loss either.  The kids were actually pretty well-behaved and we still managed to have a good day, all things considered.

Wishing you all Joyful Moments brought to you by snake books that include 3-D glasses!

Day 734: Satisfactory

Today was a good day.

Yesterday, I wrote several letters that I've been putting off (I'm the worst at sending mail) and I made the kids draw accompanying pictures and letters as well (they were all for family).

Today, I mailed them.  Including a copy of the Book of Mormon for someone I care about very much who has recently expressed interest in what we members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believe.

That was a Joyful Moment.  Both for sharing something so special to me and simply for finally crossing many things off my to-do list.

And then the rest of the day just went well.  I'm not saying things were perfect.  We still had our tantrums and issues.  Baby B actually sent me to my room for looking at him.  Like this, "Go Bed!"  I was smiling at him and he was happy moments before.

That kid has some attitude issues.

But he's adorable.

Anyway, it was kind of a Joyful Moment because it was so funny.

Then we got even more to-do items checked off this evening, including dropping about 5 bags worth of stuff of at Goodwill.  Hooray for de-junking and donating!

Capping off the evening with a great Family Home Evening and some yummy Oh Henry Bars for treats!

Wishing you all Joyful Moments and a timely "Time Out" from time to time!

Day 733: Sick Day

Well, we've all been fighting off a nasty cold for the past few days.  We weren't feeling fantastic when we went to bed last night, and you know how you always feel kind of the worst first thing in the morning?

And HH hadn't been able to get us fully "dug out" yesterday.  The snow was pretty deep and heavy and he was already pretty sick.

And that's why we missed church today.

But, we did get to skype with my parents this morning.  And that was my Joyful Moment.  It was so fun to see and chat with them.  We love you!

Later in the day, we ventured out to finish un-burying our house.  Or, at least our road.  They don't really get the whole concept of "plowing" out here.  Worst I've ever seen.  So, we had to shovel all of the snow off of our road in order to be able to escape tomorrow.

HH tried to keep me inside, but I'm worried about him being sick, too, so I helped out.

And at some point, the kids snuck off to do this:

Not the best activity for the Sabbath, but they've been so cooped up with Mom and Dad being sick, I had a hard time telling them no.

And I have to admit that it was a Joyful Moment watching them have so much fun together, too.  But then the snow shoveling, sickness, and pregnancy caught up with me and it was all I could do to get myself back up that hill and into the house to rest.

I'm.  So.  Tired.

At least we had a slow, restful day today.

Wishing you all happy smiles and chubby faces (my kids, not my parents) to bring you Joyful Moments on your sick days!

Day 732: Snowed In

We really haven't had much snow to speak of this year.  In fact, if you've been reading this all week, you know we've actually been having pretty pleasant weather.

So, when I heard the forecast for massive amounts of snow piling in overnight, I kind of didn't believe them.

Then I peaked out the window early this morning and saw several inches piled up on the little tiny branches of the very thin trees outside my bedroom window.  And much much more on the ground.  There was well over a foot piled up on top of the grill.

I guess we won't be having ribs any time soon.

The kids could hardly wait to get outside and get playing.

This was Baby B's first time out in the snow and I'm afraid he was severely disappointed.

He is not upset over wearing a girly, pink scarf--I promise.

He's mad because he has gloves on his hands and they get in the way of everything he does.  I eventually conceded and pulled them off, but he still had a rough go of it.  The snow was so deep and thick and he was virtually immobilized by all of his snow gear that every time he fell over (often), he was completely helpless to get up.

Fortunately, they all went back out later in the day to shovel the driveway.  And this time, I just put some mittens on, so his hands weren't completely frozen right away, but he could still move them.  And HH was out there to help him when he fell down.  He lasted much much longer this time and actually had some fun.

These three had a grand old time, however.

It was a Joyful Moment watching them play and build and truly enjoy themselves.

Baby B didn't last too long.  After warming up with a sippy cup of hot cocoa, he asked to go "nigh, nigh" and took a super long nap.  Apparently, the cold done wore him out.

And then HH and I set to work on more bedroom improvements.

We have stuff hung on our walls now!

And I uploaded today's photos fulling expecting to see the pictures I took of the latest improvements.

Unfortunately, they were a figment of my imagination.  I must have thought about taking pictures so many times that I eventually just believed I'd already done it.

So, another day.

But looking at everything we hung gives me a Joyful Moment every time.  HH and I do not share the same taste.  However, I think that the combination of both of our tastes is actually pretty nice.

And we even found a way to make all of the furniture in our bedroom actually fit in our bedroom.  That was another Joyful Moment.

Hooray for a super productive snow day!

Wishing you all the occasional (very occasional, if you're anything like me) Joyful Moment found on a snowy, wintry day!

Day 731: Light Heart

Okay, pictures first--because I don't want Megan to die.

It's important to me that that not happen.

The bedding took longer to resolve than I expected.  I can't even tell you how many white down-alternative comforters I have looked at over the past few days.  Billions, probably.  This was my first foray into the world of duvets.

In the end, Target was the answer for both the duvet cover and the comforter.  Target makes me happy.

Before:

There really isn't place in my room to take a picture that does the layout justice.  This was the best overall.  It's funny to look at it now and see all of the ugly, mismatched furniture that we've collected along the way.  We always planned on getting something nice, new, and matchy, so we didn't really think about how awful it all looked together.

After (as of now, but there is more to come):

Again, sadly, this is the best angle I could do.  The dresser matches the nightstands and is quite large.  But pretty and not overly ornate like the old one.

But you can see there is a bit of a space issue.  The recliner really needs to go, but it's where I feed my babies in the night, so we could kick it out temporarily, but it will need to come back in a few months.  So, we're tossing around different ideas of what to do.

Tomorrow we plan to begin hanging stuff on the walls, though.  I'm pretty excited about that.

While finally deciding on the right comforter and seeing how pretty it makes the duvet look was definitely a Joyful Moment, it's not the one I'm choosing tonight.

Tonight I went to the temple with my HH.

It was just what I needed.  I've been getting bogged down with icky feelings the past few days, but after going to the temple, I feel refreshed and my heart is so much lighter.  And while I was there, I was able to find a quiet moment to pray for all of the people I love who are dealing with really tough things right now.  And the peaceful, sweet spirit residing in the temple really helped me feel more at peace for all of these good people.  Things will get better for all.

Plus, HH and I had the long drives there and back to just enjoy each other's company (and some deliciously yummy Jimmy John's sandwiches on the way home!).  And then a bonus of a spontaneous donut stop.  More yums.

Joyful Moments all around.

Wishing you all Joyful Moments all around!

Day 730: Good Talk

Today is my dad's birthday.

And I actually had 20 minutes of time without kids to talk to him.  Not that talking to him with the kids is entirely bad.  They all love and adore each other.  So, talking between them is a good thing.

But, it's nice to be able to have a grown up conversation with my own dad once in a while.

I think I might have mentioned it here once or twice, but I really love my dad.  He's such a great guy.  And that chat with him was hands down today's Joyful Moment.

Happy Birthday, Dad!

Wishing you all 20 minutes of time to do something that gives you a Joyful Moment!

Day 729: It's HUGE!

Our new bedroom furniture came today and that is the only thing HH said to me for the next 5 minutes.

Seriously.

And then we parted ways so he could take one child to taekwondo at one location and I could take one to another location.

As soon as we were all back home together, wanna guess what he said to me?

"It's HUGE!!!"

I guess it's a big step to go from a queen-size bed sitting only on a metal frame and two modest, mismatched nightstands to a king-size with headboard and foot board and a pair of decent-sized night stands.

Unfortunately, I don't have a picture for you.

We decided that we didn't really like how the new comforter fit inside the duvet and we disassembled the bedding before I remembered to take a picture.  And now it's really not looking its best, so it's going to wait until I get the new comforter tomorrow night.

Still... getting the new, pretty furniture here at my house was definitely today's Joyful Moment.

Well, that and when HH told me (with great enthusiasm) that I look really great today.  I'm not sure if it's my growing belly, or the fact that I'm usually in pajama pants by the time he gets home, but I haven't been hearing that as often lately.  So, it was extra appreciated tonight.

Wishing you all HUGE Joyful Moments!