In My Thoughts and Prayers

Dear Diary,

It has been over a week since I have written on here. I am not sure why I am slacking in the blog entry department, but I guess being busy has a lot to do with it.

So, here is a quick update on life - It is almost March, which means it is almost Olivia's 1st Birthday. I thought Addalyn's 1st year of life went fast, but Olivia's went much faster. She may be walking around and learning new things daily, but that little booger doesn't look anywhere near 1 years old. She's my little shorty and about the sweetest kid in the world. But, I'll leave all that for her Birthday post =)

I finally got a Kindle. I've been debating for a long time whether I wanted one. I thought I'd miss holding a book, but after having the Kindle for 5 minutes I realized I should have gotten one a long time ago. It is fantastic! My reading addiction just got a whole lot worse.

The Academy Awards are on tonight which I am excited for, although I am anticipating my Sunday headache so I may not be able to watch. I am not sure why my headaches are back in full force and taking over my Sundays, but here's to hoping they give me a break this week.

And on a deeper note, I'd like to share my feelings on something that has really weighed heavily on my heart lately. It seems as if I have come across so many stories of little babies fighting for their lives. I know children are faced with these obstacles every single day, but over the past few months my FB newsfeed seems to be filled with children and their parents needing prayers and it breaks my heart.

I can't speak for everyone, but I know that I take having 2 healthy children for granted. I feel guilty for wishing for early bedtimes and long naps and a few minutes of "playing nice" together so I can get things done. I am sure all of these parents who are spending their time in the hospital would love to stay up late rocking their baby or could be "wasting" their day playing with a healthy child.

I cant imagine what a parent would feel like going through such a scary situation. It absolutely breaks my heart and I hate that it takes little doses of reality like this to make me fully appreciate how lucky we are to have healthy babies. I will continue praying for all of these children and their parents and I plan to say an extra prayer for all of those families whose stories I haven't heard. I can't pay for their medical bills or take their worry away, but I can pray.

Sincerely Yours,

Breathe

Dear Diary,

Last weekend I was on a hunt for my Alanis Morissette CD's when I came across every CD I have ever owned. From Wilson Phillips to Hanson to about 3 dozen mixed CD's that I wish I had time to sit and listen to because I have no doubt there'd be some doosies.

I scanned through each one, snagging a few that I felt needed to come out of hiding, and among them was Michelle Branch's "The Spirit Room" and "Hotel Paper" CD's. I cannot tell you how often I listened to these in high school and how many memories that go along with them.

I think the primary reason I like them so much is because they remind me of Garrett and I at such a young age. "The Spirit Room" came out in 2001 when we first met and "Hotel Paper" came out in 2003 when we had 2 years of dating under our belt. In fact, Garrett surprised me by buying "Hotel Paper" before I could get a copy and he gave it to me for no reason at all, you know, back when CD's were still something people purchased.

I found the CD's in the playroom storage closet so I put it in the girl's DVD player for a quick listen. Here we were, in the middle of toys and playhouses with our two little girls running around and all I could picture was a 16 year old me and a 17 year old Garrett driving around Pittsburg in his Plymouth Laser.

I love those years of our life and I love that listening to one song can put me back in that moment in an instant. Not very many people can say they were high school sweethearts and I admit that it makes me proud that we belong in that category. We have spent a lot of years together for as young as we are and I feel so lucky to have as many memories as we do - teenage parties, high school dances, graduations, college years and now building our family together.

It is special, and sometimes I need a little Michelle Branch to remind me of that.

Sincerely Yours,

Sunday, Funday

Dear Diary,

Annnnddd it's Sunday. We had another good, and slightly busy, weekend. We mostly did a lot of debating on what to do, and then not really doing it, which makes you feel like you are busier than you actually are. Get me? It's okay, sometimes I am hard to follow.

Parent's Night Out
Garrett and I actually ventured out of our house this weekend without our kids. It is rare for us, but definitely something we should do more often. Thanks to Chelsea and Kyle making the trip up to KC to handle the ladies, we got to enjoy ourselves for a few hours with some friends.

I would be lying if I said the night didn't start out a little rocky. My awesome husband, who NEVER has an opinion about anything, decided to tell me 45 minutes before we were leaving the house that I shouldn't wear what I had planned on wearing. This statement would have been okay if he would have mentioned it 2 DAYS ago when we discussed wardrobe, BUT instead, my "never has an opinion" husband decided that minutes before leaving the house would be a good time to bring it up.

So as you would expect, I tore through my closet trying to find option #2. This would be a problem for any woman, but an even bigger problem for me, who literally has only two "nice outfit," choices - one of which I wore the last time we were with these people. I figured it out but not without a lot of eye rolling and choice words. It is safe to say that Garrett has learned his lesson. =)

Sunday Walking
Olivia is at the stage where she does not want to sit in the pew at mass for an hour when she could be walking all over the place instead. I remember going through the phase with Addy so I suppose Olivia and I will be spending our church time exploring the next few Sundays until she ventures her way back to the pew again. She sure did enjoy herself though. Especially crossing over the "river of doom," otherwise known as the two strips of black tile amongst the cream tile in the church lobby. My child would stop dead in her tracks before walking across the "oh so strange" black tiles and once she braved herself to make it over, would glance back with a look on her face like, "that was a close one... the river of doom almost had me that time."  I love kids =)

Baby Fever
I felt myself get a slight hint of "baby fever" over the weekend only to quickly hit myself over the head and say, "No Way!"  Lord knows I have my hands about as full as they could possibly be right now so why did the thought even enter my mind? I am not saying a 3rd baby isn't in my future, I am just saying it isn't in my near future. Pregnancy, blah. Breastfeeding, blah. Tiny Baby Schedule, blah, blah blah! Sometimes I just need that small little dose of reality to get me back in check so thanks for listening =)

Night O' Telo'
Tonight is the Grammy's. To which they already have a tribute in the works for Whitney Houston. I feel like I am 85 years old when I say I will likely have no idea who most of the nominees are, but that will not stop me from watching the show. PLUS Garrett and I's favorite show is back on tonight - The Walking Dead... Love. It. So it'll be a night of trying to entertain the girls while also trying to entertain ourselves. Always proves to be interesting...

Hope everyone had a nice weekend!

Sincerely Yours,

Yay, Me!

Dear Diary,

Both of my girls are asleep, a very rare occasion, although one is due to wake up any minute. My house is clean, the sheets are washed, part of my dinner is already made, a Target list is ready to go for later this afternoon and I actually got my hair washed and clothes on for the day.

I think anyone who stays at home for a living, or even if you don't, can appreciate the feeling of getting so much done around the house. As a stay at home Mom, I don't get a raise for doing well, a pat on the back for the job well done or a yearly review to go over my accomplishments. My girls are too small to realize everything Mommy does and my husband appreciates me of course, but I don't get a high five every time he walks in the door and sees the day's progress.

So I guess it is up to me to congratulate myself. I love productive days and I love even more having a clean house. As the caretaker of the home, I think it's important to pat yourself on the back for everything you do in a day's work and give yourself a gold star for crossing everything, plus some, off your list. If you can't congratulate yourself then you may never feel appreciated.

So, Lindsey, I want to say awesome job on the house cleaning today. Way to go on the sheets and the laundry and an extra pat on the back for actually moving all the living room furniture to vacuum underneath and also for scrubbing the floors. Not only do you deserve wife of the year for having tonight's dinner already started, but also for whipping up some little smokies for your husband to take to his poker night tonight AND for folding all of his laundry that he decided to start at 8:00 last night. A big thanks goes out to you for taking care of the girlie's all day AND for taking a little extra time to start movies, fix lunches, clean up toys and change diapers. You. Are. The. Bomb.

Sincerely Yours,