Day 742: Be Mine...Oh, Wait, You Already Are!

Today was wonderful.

(Minus one bit in the middle.  Baby B has been threatening to give up naps the last couple days.  And today he topped it off by discovering how to get out of his crib.  I might have been sitting outside his bedroom door crying when HH surprised me by arriving home early).

But it started off well.

I walked into the kitchen and learned the real reason why HH returned home late from the gym last night.  And what took him so long to come to bed.  He even trimmed all the stems!

And all day long, every time I walked into the kitchen I was greeted by their amazingly delightful scent.

As much as I hate being stereotypical--I'm quite partial to roses.

So, they were a Joyful Moment source and will be for days to come.  Yay for flowers!

I made this fun (and super simple) breakfast for the kids.  They were pretty excited about it!  Joyful Moment for me.

And then after HH's early arrival home, he pampered me, took care of me, and truly made my evening wonderful.

He is a Joyful Moment in my life.

Happy Valentine's Day, my love!

Wishing you all Joyful Moments and someone to love on this loving holiday!

Day 741: Sweethearts

Today's Joyful Moment was making these sweetheart cupcakes:

With a couple of my very own sweethearts here at home.  They did a great job and we all had a lot of fun doing it.

And we had a lot fun eating them for Family Home Evening treats tonight.  After our second year of the Valentine's tradition where everyone takes turns going around and say what we love about each person.  Lots of fun.  And HH waxed super sweet and lengthy in his list of things I love about me.

Isn't he a sweetheart?!

Wishing you all sweetheart Joyful Moments!

Day 740: Sticker Chart

A couple weeks ago, HH was in charge of our Family Home Evening lesson.  Among other things, he decided to help us each come up with a way to make the hardest part of our day easier.

For the kids, the hardest part of the day is typically violin practice.  So, Sweet P decided to work on "focusing better", meaning that she'll actually listen and respond when I remind her of the posture point she's supposed to be working on for that day.  Little M promised to not whine before, or during his practice each day.

You can tell that HH's real motive was to find ways to make my day easier. (c:

We've been working on our goals for a week now.  It's been modest progress, at best.

But today was amazing.  They both did fantastic.  Especially Sweet P (who has not been doing as well at her goal as Little M has).  She made huge progress on a couple songs that she's really been struggling with for a while.

Ah, I cannot express what a wonderful Joyful Moment that was for me!

Wishing you all Joyful Moments that are music to your ears!

Day 739: Fireman

Something weird happened yesterday.  Not really sure what, but I've just felt "off".  Every time I go up my stairs I have to sit down.  It's weird.

So, we didn't do a ton today.

But that didn't stop this little guy from getting all dressed up.  He actually put this outfit together all by himself.   I'm pretty sure that he had no idea that the overalls and boots made him look just like a real fireman.  He was just excited about this "aht".  And he looked so cute, I didn't even mind that it is actually the top of Little M's lamp, and not a dress up.

And the cuteness of it all was a Joyful Moment.

As was making a fun Valentine's Chex mix with the kids and then coming up with the perfect containers to package it in for their teachers at church tomorrow.

It's the little things that brought Joyful Moments today.

And some good, relaxing family time.

Wishing you all little sources of Joyful Moments!

Day 738: Date Night!!!

This is the day that is looked forward to year round at our house.

The day of the Daddy Daughter Dance.  Sweet P love love loves this night out with her daddy.

She got a little upset when I told her to go put on a dress.  So, I told her she could pick her outfit, but it needed to be nice.  This is what she came up with.  HH said she was by far, the most casually dressed daughter there.  She just doesn't get into all of that girly stuff.

And even though I kind of wish she did, I'm glad she's not afraid to be true to herself and do what she wants.

They had an absolute blast!

Meanwhile, the boys and I shared the traditional Mommy Son Donut Date.

Not sure what setting the camera was on for this beauty, but it was the best of the bunch.

This was Baby B's first year being invited.  He was not as enthusiastic as you might think.  Sure, he was happy to eat all of the frosting and sprinkles off of the top of his donut.  But then he was mad mad mad.

So, we put him to bed and then watch "The Incredibles" together until HH and Sweet P returned home from their night out on the town.

And truthfully, I think everyone (including Baby B) was doing exactly what they were happiest doing.

Joyful Moments were had by all and sweet memories were made.

Wishing you all Joyful Moments worthy of year-long anticipation!

Day 737: Cutie Patooties

This morning Baby B started crying as soon as we walked into the childcare center at my gym.  He usually puts up a bit of a fuss when I start to leave him and then he settles down as soon as I'm gone (he just likes to make me feel guilty).  But today he was upset the second we walked through the door.  So, I hung up his coat and diaper bag and then went back to him.  I asked him if he wanted a snuggle and a hug and he walked over with his arms open wide, signaling 'yes'.

We stood there like that for at least a minute or two (actually, I wasn't standing.  I have to crouch to be short enough to schnuggle that little guy).  I rubbed his bag and he just burrowed in.  And then he pulled away and walked over to the play area.

And it was a Joyful Moment.  I love that he is still so young and sweet that just having his mama's love gives him the comfort and confidence to face the things that worry him.

Speaking of Baby B, he did a couple cute things today that I just need to record somewhere, so here is the place for tonight.

Yesterday I had a scented candle burning on the stove.  I rarely do that because of Sweet P's allergies, but this one is soy, so I think it's better.  Anyway, he walked over and pointed to it a couple times saying something that sounded like, "choo choo".  I've tried to teach him what a train says, but he's never really been interested enough to pick up on it.  He's just more than content to play with the actually "chain" (train).

Well, he did it again this morning and I listened closer and realized that he was actually saying, "Appy Birsday choo you".

Oh, melt my heart!  It was soooooo cute!

Later, when he woke up from his nap, he began hitting one fist against his other open palm and then said, "Wock, sis-sor".  Funny and darling!  I didn't realize we did much of that around here.  Apparently, we do.

Anyway, I just have one more Joyful Moment to share with you.  This afternoon I posted on facebook something about needing a fresh baked chocolate chip cookie.

Well, HH read that and promptly announced that he would make me cookies while I was out this evening.  (I had a fairly busy night with a variety of odds and ends).  And that announcement was a total Joyful Moment for me.  I love how quick he is to make me happy.

And he would have, too.  But I returned home an hour early.  He still wanted to, but I talked him out of it (and put all the ingredients away) because I'd really rather just spend time with him.

And with that, I close this sort of lengthy post, so I can go do just that.

Wishing you all Joyful Moments filled with darlingness and/or fresh baked cookies!

Day 736: Succumbed

Yes, I went to bed last night knowing that my body had given up the fight and I, too, had fallen victim to the dreaded Plague.

But, I survived today.

For the most part, the kids took it easy on me and we had mac n' cheese from a box for dinner.  Well, they did.  Fortunately for HH, he had a work dinner.

I'm not sure if it was a Joyful Moment, but a moment I'm really grateful for is when Little M asked me "what's that burning smell?"  I replied that it was probably just something on the burner, under the saucepan.  Then I looked over to check and there was Baby B, sitting on a stool with the unopened box of mac n' cheese laying on the burner, next to the now-pushed-aside saucepan.

Smoking.

As in, about to start on fire.

Thanks to Little M's acute nose, disaster was averted.  I just had to sort out a few burned noodles.

So much better than what could have been.

But, like I said, the feeling was more one of relief and gratitude than joy.

I guess my Joyful Moment would have to be selling our old dresser on Craigslist today.  This means someone else is going to come take it off our hands and we got some money for it!  Yay!

Wishing you all Joyful Moments and fire-free evenings!