Snow Day Photos!

The following post is a reason NOT to let a scrapbooking camera wielding Momma have a snow day with her kids...

It started off as a peaceful day...

Jackson and I finally got the tree trimmed...

JT watched Jackson and I bake three dozen oatmeal and honey cookies

...and then things got just a little crazy...

...but it was totally worth it!!!

Snow Day...

How many times have I just WISHED for a day that I didn't have to go to work and stay home snuggling with my boys and what happens when I actually get one??? I go STIR CRAZY! A giant dump of snow 14 inches deep came through over the last two days just in time for the wind to kick up and drift it up five feet in my driveway...it definitely makes me glad that Courtney convinced me to buy the BIG snowblower when we were shopping for one last year - sure it may not be paid off yet but I am now reasonably convinced that I will be able to leave my driveway (whenever that may be).

At 4:20PM we have dug out the driveway, completed The Firm "High Def Sculpt" workout, scrapped two pages, drank a pot of coffee, trimmed the tree, baked three dozen cookies, harvested two full crops of blueberries in farmville, made a casserole for dinner and I'm getting ready to sweep, mop and vacuum the floors and groom the cat. Jackson has been my big helper and has watched about four hours worth of PBS kids (which was not all bad - he did come in when I was taking cookies out of the oven and told me the difference between a hard "G" sound and a soft "G" sound...thanks Electric Company...)

I'm thinking about setting up a photo session in front of the tree later - hmmm...wonder if he would be up for that...he does have a new haircut...and the baby has been good...and mommy is bored...pictures will be forthcoming no matter what...

**update** Just found out that Southeast Polk has already cancelled school for tomorrow - jeez one more day of this and my entire house will be SPOTLESS

SO much going on!

It feels like life has been SO insane lately - I guess that is partly because it actually has been! Work has been going well - if they ever decide to pay me (!!!) It has taken this long from being back to work to start getting regular paychecks again which has caused quite a bit of heartburn on my part - Luckily I have a lot of business that should place rather quickly so the tightness in my budget should loosen up soon (PTL!!!) See we have worn out the baby too!

The only way to describe my boys at this point is Fat and Happy. JT got baptized on the 15th, Jackson turned FIVE years old on the 22nd, 2 Thanksgiving celebrations on the 26th and we have a Preschool program to go to tonight and the Church Christmas play on Sunday. Somewhere in all of that we have managed to put up the tree but haven't gotten it decorated yet and I am in the process of rearranging my room and closet. No wonder I'm exhausted. But I wouldn't have it any other way.

In case I don't get much blogging done between here and there, Merry Christmas to all of you! Thank you for the blessing of your friendship!

I'm so Thankful (2009 edition)

In no particular order I am incredibly grateful for:

An amazing family and friends that I couldn't have handpicked better if I tried. ~~ TWO healthy, happy, intelligent, cuddly boys ~~ A God that watches over me and brings me through dark times ~~ Learning the very definition of unconditional love ~~A cozy, warm roof over our heads ~~ Employment in a time where jobs are scarce ~~ The opportunities that lie ahead of me in 2010 ~~ Getting to meet some lovely ladies in Texas who proved to be more of an inspiration in person than they are online ~~ Ann Taylor ~~ Did I mention my parents? They get two spots ~~ The 50 pounds that I left in 2009 ~~ my blackberry ~~ The ladies in my small group for teaching me how to love and pray ~~ having my Mac hard drive covered under warranty and replaced for free! ~~ Adventure Life Preschool for helping Jackson learn and grow ~~ Dr Roose and the staff at Mercy Medical Center ~~ Burt's Bees Lip balm ~~ Did I mention my amazing friends? They get two spots too...

...and for having so many blessings that I wouldn't even know how to count them all!

Back to Work

Back to work - and back to blogging - isn't that funny how that works out. Seriously though, I wanted to spend the six weeks I had off totally and completely drinking my children in. Yeah - it still sounds weird to me to say childREN instead of just child but may oh my how I have been blessed by these two little miracles in my life. It was SO hard to leave them to go back full time but money needs to be made lol. We are nearing the end of our second week and have fallen into a new routine...not as fun as the "sleep in and watch cartoons" routine of my leave but its working for us either way.

There is nothing more satisfying than waking up in the morning and having JT on one side of me and Jackson curled up at my back. It makes for cramped sleeping quarters but it is a true reminder of God's blessings in my life. Know what the best part is? Seeing the two of them together. Jackson just LOVES his baby brother...and is so protective of him. It's something that I pray the two of them never ever lose. Last night, Jackson conned his way into getting to sleep over at Nana and Papa's house and he wanted me to put JT in bed with him so they could snuggle before I went home with him. They just layed there in each other's arms and cuddled while Jackson listened to his audio book before bedtime and JT stared adoringly at his big brother. It brought tears to my eyes to see that between them.

My mom is keeping the boys during the day (speaking of blessings) and it works out amazing. Jackson goes to preschool in the afternoon and my brother comes over and sits with JT so mom doesn't have to take him out when she goes to take Jack to school. My kids are surrounded by the love of their entire family all day long. No center could ever compare to that(!!!) Watching Jackson learn and grow in school is just tremendous. He loves to go and see his friends and I can see a definite difference in his maturity levels and his intelligence levels too. He's even voluntarily participating in the Christmas musical at church as well!

I couldn't be a prouder momma (can you tell?) But they make it so easy on me that it is hard not to be. *sigh* I'm going home to hug on them some. Until next week...