Twenty loads of laundry washed, dried and folded.
One reorganized kitchen.
Countless hours of playing, reading and imagining.
A trip to the museum and Mrs. Teapots.
Tons of snuggles and hugs.
The start of crib bootcamp.
A tiny bit of a screaming baby.
Lots of laughs.
And more than a few tears shed when, after nine days, Gramma headed home.

Something New

So I am monkeying around with this happy little blog.  I thought it needed a little updating...What do you think?   Keep? Revert?  I don't know yet.

It occurred to me that Brenna will be three months old next week...perhaps it was time to incorporate her into the blog's name? 
Like I said earlier this week, coherent thoughts are not my strong suit these days, apparently creativity is not either - Have a better name for our blog?  I am open for suggestions.

I was up at 5:30 this morning feeding the littlest lady and I should have brewed myself a cup of coffee, started some laundry and sat down to write while the house was quiet.  Instead I was was lured back to my big, fluffy pillow and the warmth of our down comforter for another hour and a half.  And now, here I am trying to write again as Abby Cadabby tries to capture a rogue pair of dancing shoes and Addie munches on an English Muffin she made for herself.  I am starting to here squeaks from the baby monitor and the moment to jot down a thought is gone.

That being said I keep a running idea of blog posts on my phone...perhaps while Gramma is here to entertain the natives I will be able to get some of them over here.
Ambitious, I know.

I miss my blog.

I miss having time to write.  Scratch, that.  I have time to write, what I miss is having the ability to craft a coherent sentence.  Being able to sit down and write has always helped me clear my head, and these days I find my head rather cluttered.  I am going to try to set aside time a few times a week  to sit and write.  Real time to really write without interruption after interruption - not half thoughts shoved together while a cartoon drones on in the background. 

This, however, is not one of those times (and just so you know the theme song to Wonder Pets is slamming through my brain).  I thought, however, that you all could use some love from my little Valentines. 

Thankful Thursday

This Thursday I am thankful for:

Smiles

and cupcakes.

And that's enough to be thankful for, I think.

Yesterday was a mixed bag.  Beautiful weather allowed us to go to the playground and dust off our winter blues, but an exhausted preschooler was quick to cry.  A sweet baby had one of those days - crying, screaming, general unhappiness.  Poor Andy came home to a messy house, no dinner, a frazzled me, a miserable Brenna and an exhausted Addie.

Instead of focusing on the parts of the day that found me hiding in my room by seven o'clock, under the covers, sneaking peanut M&Ms, I'll highlight the better things.

We had beautiful weather - sweatshirt and jeans kind of weather.  Run around outside and play kind of weather.  Weather that begged us to play a the park - the perfect weather to try out a tire swing for the first time.

After our trip to the park we headed out to find jeans that might be long enough to go all the way Addie's ankles while also staying up over her nonexistent behind.  The shopping trip was a success overall, particularly when we discovered that Addie can absolutely rock a pair of skinny jeans - something her mother could never dream of.

After hiding out with my M&Ms, I took a stab in the dark at dinner and it turned into a huge success - huge in that it was delicious and that I made enough to feed the neighborhood.  But truly, nothing tastes better after a bad day than homemade chicken noodle soup (adapted from this recipe).

Once her screams turned to coos I had was able to realize how amazing it is that this time last year, I wasn't even pregnant and now my babiest baby is ten weeks old.  She laughs and smiles (when not screaming), she can get her hand into her mouth, recognize our faces and do some impressive tummy time.    And those wide eyes of her's - those can make my day.