Cold days

One reason I love the fall:  Lots of snugglin' time with this guy.

He lets me put my freezing feet all over his legs at night and doesn't even complain. (That's not to say he doesn't squeal like a girl when he first feels how cold they are ;)

Today he was cozy in his sleeping bag sitting on the couch when I so intrusively unzipped the bag and invited myself in.  And there I stayed for hours while we napped and the girls watched Dining with the Dean on the computer.   Now if that isn't a perfect Sunday evening....

Ty took his first trip to nursery today.  J was a little hesitant to let him go, but Ty had NO problem being left by himself with all of the toys.  J came and got me out of primary so we could spy on the little boy through the window on the nursery door.  When I got there, he was trying to take a toy away from a little girl.  How adorable is that?  ;)

By the second half of nursery he was exhausted which caused him to have a pretty major breakdown.  Daddy happily came to his rescue.

Tia came home from school the other day so giddy.  She threw her bag down and said "Mom guess what!   Mom!! Today Vincent stood by me in line AND when it was time to go, he waved at me!!"

Hayley responded by saying "She got the boy!"

There were lots of smiles, and giggling, and jumping up and down after that.  It was a sweet moment in her life.   But seriously if this kid lays a finger on my little girl, so help me.......(and her father)...

Hayley is loving Girls on the Run, and is getting ready to run a 5k with her team (and I) in a couple of weekends.  She is also a member of a Lego League, and is really enjoying all of her time spent with friends.  I love the phase of life my kids are in right now.  So easily excited about everything...so eager to learn, so proud of their little accomplishments...self confident and outgoing. I hope they will carry those qualities with them throughout their teenage years.

Anyway, just wanted to do a quick update.  It's time for me to go warm my cold feet ;)

P.S.  One of these days, I will actually put pictures of our family in that empty frame hanging on our wall.  Right now it's a space filler.

I am a super adorable fire man.

I am a cutie patootie getting my morning sugar fix before school.

And I am a sicky, sleeping on the couch...

 juuuuust after I went into my mom and dad's bedroom and puked all over their bed and floor.

(Mom also got puked on a little.)

 But don't worry, she's used to it.

This is what I do when someone comes up to me that I don't know.  If I don't see them, they don't exist.  

We are the crabs that were steamed to death in the Smith kitchen.  

We were cracked/de-shelled/ and eaten.

Actually, only one of us were eaten...since the lady that cooked us couldn't stop gagging.  The rest of us died in vain.

 Even though my big sister pushes me off of couches, falls with me in her arms down the STAIRS,  takes away my toys, invades my personal space, and makes me cry, I will choose her over anyone else, every single time.

Girl Talk

I don't think my mom knew I had an interest in boys until I was 14 when I started going to dances.  

She didn't know  that my crushes actually started as early as kindergarten,  and that I was kissed on the cheek by 4 different boys in the first grade.  

I also recall  peeing  my pants in the first grade.  One of the boys I liked came up to me and said "Sarah said you peed your pants.  Did you?"

I completely denied it,  then I saw his eyes wander to the puddle of pee underneath my seat.  It was probably even still dripping FROM the seat.  I was mortified.

My mom never heard about that either.

Some things I just didn't tell her, not because I was afraid of her reaction, but because I was too embarrassed to tell ANYbody.

This is why I was a little surprised to hear Tia come home from school the other day, and like it was nothing, say,

"Hey mom, did you know that I like a boy at school named Vincent?"  as if it were any other piece of information from her day.

"Oh really?"  I asked.  "Who is this young chap?"

She told me that he was in a different class and 

that he was really cute and had kind of a piggy nose, but not really.  She then left me for a few minutes and came back down with a poem that she had written about him.  I copied it exactly as she wrote it.

"I love a boy Namde Vinny.

i just Think he is so ckyoote.

i just just hope he likes me,

Plees Plees say he likse me or all even die for you."

Curious about this young love, I started asking questions.

Does he know you like him?   "No."  she said.

"What do you do when you see him?"  She then showed me exactly what she does in the hall as she passes him by.  She looks at him very seriously and lifts up her hand and waves.  No smile.

"I always try to get his attention, but he never pays attention to me!"  She said.

Do you ever have a cute moment with your kids and you just want to squeeeeeeeze the heck out of them, because you don't know how else to express how much you love them at that moment.  That was all I could do right then.   

Boy does she have a lot to learn in the next few years.

Fun times for J and I ahead. 

Plank

"Whatever the question is, Love is the answer."

That is a quote J brought home to me from his meeting tonight that I will remember forever.

Speaking of things I love...

This child had a load in his pants and thought it would be funny to sit all over Daddy's head.

He is his father's son.

And here is my family practicing planking.

What, you're family doesn't do things like this?  ;)

Up-Date

Laying here on the couch with a belly full of roast beef and potatoes...along with some other things I will not mention.  I just thought, before I got swept away into my nightly routine of cleaning house, that I would do a quick update on  the family.

We've been busy, and I must tell you how much we ALL love school being back in session.. with extra emphasis on me,  because in all honesty...3 months of little girls fighting and trashing the house, and fighting, was 3 months too long for me.  It's a phase that I assume most siblings pass through.  They love to push eachother's buttons...copy what the other person says,  tattle, over dramatize...yell.  It really has been exhausting.  Now that we all have a little space we are getting along fabulously.

 Both girls couldn't be happier with their teachers.  Tia has a new bff to make crafts, cards and pictures for.  She got her first phone call from a friend the other night and spent the entire time giggling.  I don't even think they talked at all...just giggled.  She comes home every day with a little certificate that says she reached "Outstanding level" which is for extra good behavior and makes her mom very proud.

Hayley has joined a team called "Girls on the Run."  It's a program where the girls are given motivational lessons, and then are led in running games and challenges to get them ready for a 5k at the end of November. She really loves it, and it is a fantastic way to get her to expend all of that energy she has after school.  She has a blog...a new blog that she has been adding posts to about once a week.  I find her posts hilarious because they are so random, and so....her.  Check it out if you have a few extra seconds.  She is always checking for new comments and would LOVE it if she checked and actually found one! ;)    www.fightinglegos.blogspot.com

As for Ty, you've seen a little bit of his budding personality lately, through the videos.  His cheeks have my lips all over them all day long because I can't even resist.  He's starting to throw some non-words out there, so at least he's trying.  The word that he uses most often is "nam". So far It seems to be the word for  "Mom"  "I want some"  "Stop that"  "milk" ...and whatever else he has on his mind.  We've taught him a couple of words in sign language to help us decipher his baby code....but most of the time we just have to guess.

J is doing great.  I keep looking over at him...his long body all squished on the little love seat, while I'm sprawled out on the long couch with room to spare.  Haha.  That is pretty much the story of our marriage.  He is giving and loving, selfless, and sacrificing.  He is my life coach, my sounding board...my shrink.
My arm candy ;)
His work is going well, still.  No new developments to report.

I've been spending my time lately trying to figure out what it is that lights my fire.   What excites me enough to put my time and effort toward.  My mind changes with the wind.  One day I have an amAZING idea that I tell J all about when he gets home from work....and then by breakfast the next morning I tell him I'm over it.  On to the next.  It has been like this for weeks.  I think he secretly thinks I'm crazy...but he just puts on his supportive smile and is all on board with whatever I come up with.   I secretly think I'm going crazy too, for the record.
When I figure myself out, I'll let you know.

Life is good.  We feel blessed and grateful.

Here are a couple of videos that I posted way back when, that I ran into last night.  Had to repost.

He may be a little crazy.

But he's OUR little crazy. ;)

Let us pray.