Day 988: We Needed A Friday

So, thank goodness we got one!

The kids were so tired all day from getting home late from the lake last night.  Which meant extra whines for me.  Fun stuff.

But, we made it through.  Darling A did her best to provide Joyful Moments with her adorable smiles.  HH came home and we had a good evening, in spite of the the ongoing whining.

And then, he and I relaxed and watched half of a movie together (we're too tired to make it through a whole one!).  It's been a while since we did that.  Lazy, I know.  But, it's nice to just cuddle up with him and chill.  A chill Joyful Moment for us both, I think.

Wishing you all chill Joyful Moments!

Day 987: Fine... Let It Be A Good Day

Started the morning off with a super tough treadmill class.  Followed by a ridiculously tough ab class.  Aside from a little bit of my Plantar Fascitis trying to return and a yucky pinched nerve-type pain in my neck and shoulder, it was a great morning!  I even got a super cute key chain holder thingy (can't think of the real term) sewn by one of my friends for my birthday.  I love that almost all of my friends are members of the same gym as me.  Anyway, so it was a morning of Joyful Moments.

Then a yummy lunch of leftover pasta primavera with Baby B and some funny chatter with him, too.  Joyful Moments.

I pretty much took it easy all afternoon because the pain in my neck has been so painful, but it wasn't too bad.

Then I had a brief exchange with HH via instant messaging and I got a bit annoyed with him and began my cycle downward into focusing on the negative and making it a bad day.

But, Little M and Sweet P came home and reported that Little M had been a super good boy all day and had even been helpful to those he'd been hurtful to yesterday.  That was a Joyful Moment--as far as I felt I could believe him, anyway.  He was in a really good mood though, along with everyone else, so my bad mood started retreating.

Then, HH came home and I still felt annoyed, but we got him and the oldest three kids out the door to go on a fun boating outing at the lake with Sweet P's Primary (Sunday School for children) class.

Meanwhile, Darling A and I stayed home and just smiled and gurgled at each other for a while.  I don't have to tell you what a fun Joyful Moment that was.  Then we got ready and headed off for Curriculum Night at the school.  I had a bit of trepidation because I knew I'd finally be meeting Little M's teacher and could get a better idea of how things were going from her perspective.

On the way there this song came on.

Remember the CD HH made for me on my birthday?  This was the final song on it.  From the first time I heard this song, it made me think of HH.  It's pretty much the same thing he's told me over and over these past 9 years.  He's never given up on me.

It's amazing what thinking about all of that did to my prior annoyance with him.  Completely banished.  I just thought, it's really not worth getting/being/staying mad.  I mean, why?  Really.  It's been a while since I could make myself just get over negative feelings like that.  And realizing that I'm regaining that skill was another Joyful Moment for me.

Next up:  Curriculum Night.  Plenty of Joyful Moments in watching everyone enjoy Darling A and her sweet cheeks.  And finally, at the very end, I got to talk to Little M's teacher.  After introducing myself, she got a big smile and told me that his biggest challenge is that he's a flirt.  Not a fighter.  I can't tell you how relieved I was to hear this.  I already knew he has a bit of a problem with all of his little "girlfriends", so that wasn't a surprise, or of much concern to me.  We can work on keeping his Social Butterfly restrained.  At least he isn't hurting anyone, or being more disruptive than your average Kindergartner.

Hah.  It was like a huge weight was lifted from my shoulders.  And such a Joyful Moment.

Came home and had more snuggles with my sweet little Darling A.  Then HH and the kids came home and couldn't wait to tell me all about all of the fun they had at the lake.  This was another Joyful Moment for me.

So, it was a really good day after all.  How blessed am I?

Wishing you all Joyful Moments and someone who won't give up on you...no matter what!

Day 986: Go Back To Preschool

The photos from yesterday were so fun, i just might keep sharing them for a while.

Okay friends, I am at a loss.

Since Darling A joined our family, Little M has been getting increasingly violent.  It got really bad at the end of the summer because he wasn't getting the discipline that he needed.  Not that I blame his grandma--discipline is no fun.  Plus, he's a tricky one and I'm constantly having to re-tailor my techniques.

But, I've kind of stalled out here.  I have no clue how to motivate this boy to be good when we are apart for several hours of the day.  Every day the kids come home with more stories of who he has hurt.  This is challenging on multiple fronts--the foremost being that since I'm not there, I'm sure I'm not getting a fully truthful account.  But also, Sweet P has been his victim multiple times, along with her friends, and the neighbor girl.  So, I don't think his actions are being reported as they normally would, so he's not getting in trouble at school.  At least, as far as I know.  And he has more than a little bit of a fibbing problem, so I really can't trust what he says.

Urg!  This is so frustrating!  I'm seriously starting to question whether, or not he's truly ready for school.  He is definitely smart enough, but I don't know if he has the self control.  Kindergarten is all day here, so it's a really long time and I know he's tired and that is making it harder for him.  I'm not super worried about him seriously injuring someone.  I'm mostly worried about the reputation he is making for himself, both with the teachers and with his fellow students.  I never thought I'd be the mom of a bully.

Does anyone have any advice for how to help him?  It's always a matter of finding the right motivation that works best for this boy.  But I'm worried that the school day is just too long for him to go without any reminders or interventions from me.

And I'm pretty sure his teacher would frown on me popping in every 20 minutes to remind him that he really is a good boy.

Although, right now, I'm even struggling to remember this.  He is driving me absolutely crazy!  After he gets home, he spends the rest of the day bugging everyone, being mean, and disobeying.

So, any help would be appreciated!

Fortunately, before he came home, we had plenty of Joyful Moments.  More snuggles and smiles and coos with my Darling A.  Reading and snuggling with Baby B before naps.  Being able to my three one-mile repeats a good 30-45 seconds faster than I thought I could.  Being able to watch my friend's little boy so she could go to her doctor's appointment toddler-free.  Researching raw milk and grass finished beef and discovering that we have a decent supply of local producers.  And a fired up discussion with HH about implementing these products into our diet. (c:

Wishing you all Joyful Moments and peaceful afternoons!

Day 985: Better Smiles

How sweet is this?

"OhmygoodnessIjustloveher SO MUCH!" is the thought that goes through my head all day long.  And I have a hard time not kissing her cheeks over and over and over all day long.

Well, I do.  She is such a Joyful Moment for me!

And pretty much everyone else who sees her.

Today was pretty routine.  Which, in and of itself, is quite an accomplishment.  And a Joyful Moment in its own right.  We just plain had a good day.  We even had a friend over for a play date.

Life is good.

Wishing you all Joyful Moments with a play date thrown in, just to spice things up!

Day 984: Barefoot Cheryl

If you want to understand my title, watch this.  I think it's pretty funny.  Mainly because it seems to be making fun of the guy, but I (sadly) relate to him quite a bit and have found myself saying a lot of the same things he says.

And you really should read Born To Run.

Moving on, this morning I ran a little over 7 miles.  That is the furthest I've run since getting my Vibram Five Fingers almost two years ago.  I think I finally can say I've mastered the art of barefoot running.  This makes me happy.  Joyful Moment.

Then I visited with a friend and learned that she will be coming to church with me on Sunday for Darling A's baby blessing.  I'm so touched that she is willing to come even though she is not a member of our faith.  That was a Joyful Moment, too.  Such a great one that I had to call HH on my way home to tell him.

The rest of the day went well.  Darling A has been so sweet and smiley.  She even did a little half giggle!  And when she gets tired of smiling and cooing at me, she gets all sweet and snuggly and goes to sleep.  I love her.  So many Joyful Moments from her all day!

Wishing you all barefoot Joyful Moments!

Day 983: Back In The Groove

I'm nowhere near being there, but I'm making progress little by little.

Today was monumental because we had people over for dinner for the first time in a long while.  The missionaries.  I was excited about this and initially went a little overboard on my dinner plans.  But, as we drove home from church and discussed the remainder of the day and things going on during the week (which had quickly added up while we were at church!), I became increasingly overwhelmed.  Combine that with the stress of making dinner and being incredibly exhausted from my late night last night, and I knew I was heading down a dangerous path.j

So, I scaled back my dinner plans, took care of the important decisions, and then took things one hour at a time.

And I got through the day with my mental state in tact.

I'm proud of that.

Dinner was still yummy (if I do say so myself):  Linguine Alfredo (Trader Joe's doesn't carry fettucine--who knew?), a yummy salad full of veggies from our garden, homemade French baguettes (not the yummier Italian bread I was planning to make, but still tasty and requiring several hours less of preparation), and then an apple pie to top things off.  Discovering that everything tasted yummy was a Joyful Moment.  Especially the apple pie.  I've never made an apple pie with Gala apples before and I was a little nervous since they are quite a bit sweeter than my typical tart go-to apples for pie.  Fortunately, my guess in the sugar reduction seemed to have been just right and it wasn't too sweet.

The exuberant appreciation of the talkative elder (we only got about 5 words out of the other) was another Joyful Moment.  His mama would have been pleased to hear how kind and complimentary he was.

So, it was a good day.

Wishing you all Joyful Moments and some apple pie to top it off!

Day 982: My Friends Are Awesome

Yoga was great this morning.  Our regular instructor is back and I didn't have to teach!  She's amazing. She killed my abs.  This was a Joyful Moment because I'm really missing my abs since getting pregnant and having a baby and I know this is the quickest way to find them again.  This was also a Joyful Moment because I finally feel that I know and am friends with most of the yoga peeps.  This is the kind of thing that makes me happy.

Then the rest of the day was kind of 'meh'.  I was able to get a little straightening done while Darling A napped not in my arms.  That was nice because the clutter in my house is taking over.  So, that was a Joyful Moment.

Little M got to go to a birthday party that we originally thought he couldn't because of my party.  So, he pointed out the silver lining on the cloud that cancelled my party (no pun intended (c:).  And then, I discovered that we had some stuff on hand to make a perfect gift for a 5-year old girl without having to run to Target.  Another Joyful Moment.  But the best part of that Joyful Moment was how excited Little M was to be able to give her a hair flower hand made by me.  Not the store bought pack of Littlest Pet Shop critters.  Is it normal to be that flattered by the admiration of a 5-year old?

Anyway, the day wore on and I kept waiting for the surprise that HH had hinted at.  I was completely baffled by the time dinner rolled around and instead of picking up a babysitter and heading out with him, I was making dinner and we were staying home and then he took all of the kids out to ride their bikes after while I cleaned up the kitchen.

I was beginning to think he really had nothing planned and was going to pretend that watching a movie borrowed from the library was almost as cool as a pool party with all of my friends.  (Birthday Diva strikes again!)  We got all of the kids to bed and I went back to my room to feed Darling A and read a book, having pretty much given up on the night.  But then, he told me to go into the living room.  And to bring my nursing cover up.

Wait... what?

Then I heard Sweet P excitedly call out, "Dad!  Look what's going on out front!"  And then a bunch of my girlfriends came in the front door, shouting "surprise!"

Apparently, they threw this all together last minute after seeing me at the baptism last night.  They had treats and cute (homemade!) gifts.  But most of all, it was the simple act of coordinating this and then just showing up that meant the most to me.  I couldn't believe how many of them came.  I feel honored to have such great, sweet, thoughtful, and fun friends.

It was just the girls, so we put on "The Hunger Games", at yummy food, and talked the night away.  Nobody really watched the movie.  There are plenty of us that have plenty to say.

I meant to get a picture of everyone all together, but I forgot.  So, here are some of my pretty friends.  Even two with babies about the same age as Darling A who ventured out in spite of the challenges accompanying going out with little babies.  My friends are awesome.

So, it ended up being an evening full of Joyful Moments and I went to bed with the Birthday Diva in me being fully satisfied and overwhelmed by the love and kindness of my friends.

I love my friends.

Wishing you all Joyful Moments and truly awesome friends!