Nutshell

Well, this pretty much sums up the week I have been having….

Never Say Never

Tis the season for colds, sinus infections, flu and other glorious bacteria that seemingly won’t go away.  My girls have been sick with colds, croup, runny noses, and coughs that also won’t go away.  Thankfully my kids have NEVER had ear infections…NEVER.  I count my blessings on this.  I have friends whose kids have been suffering ear infections for wks now.  I feel so badly for them.  I HATE getting them and man do they hurt! I told a friend last week that my kids have NEVER gotten one and how I am so thankful.  Blah blah blah…

THIS MORNING:

My 2 yr old kept me up all night long with fever and complaining that her left ear hurt.  She fell asleep on the couch this morning (pic above) and whimpered the whole time in her sleep.  Bless. I am not familiar with kids with ear infections…but I sure as heck know that I will NEVER say NEVER again!!

Any advice??

BESTEST ever

One more year behind me. A lot happened last year.  I haven’t even had the pleasure of living in Charlotte for a year yet.   This last year has quite honestly been one of the hardest for me. It was the first year, since I have been married, that my husband and I have not been in full time ministry.  I have felt like a fish out of water.  My hubby and I are in a wonderful, yet straining process of transition and it has proven to take longer than anticipated.  Trying to stay upbeat and be encouraging to my husband, and my girls has been really difficult as of late.  I can’t speak for my  husband, but I have felt useless for a whole year.  It has been a journey of being quiet before the Lord and really soaking up the promises that He has for me and my family.  That’s all I have been able to hold on to.  Since the beginning of 2009, God has dropped little flashes of meaning right in front of me.  They have uplifted me, encouraged me, and have given me new meaning for this season of my life and especially for this year.  I know we have all heard it.  It’s a motto in my Church and in Premier (jewelry business): The Best is Yet to Come!!  I believe that and claim it for this year.  Sure I have to work hard and really stay motivated, and be encouraging as well as encouraged, but this year is going to be the BESTEST ever!!!  I can’t wait to see what God has in store for me and my family this year.  We aren’t promised tomorrow, but I hope that I have many more years ahead.

The Darndest Things

My 2yo has been sick this week.  High fever and croup.  Yuck.  She hasn’t been sleeping well at night, and keeps crawling in bed with us.  The other night I was just so tired and after putting her back to bed two or three times, I just gave up.  The little furnace stayed in our bed.  She kept me warm and talked all night long.  She told me stories, wrapped herself around me and talked and talked and talked.  Srsly ALL NIGHT LONG!!

She did say some random things though.  I don’t know if it was because she was overtired, or if it was the fever talking.

Some examples of her randomness:

“My spy with mine eye something, mmm, pink.” – 2yo
“It’s dark, I can’t see anything pink. Is it your underwear?” – me
“Yep.” – 2yo

“Take mine shoes off.  Take mine shoes off now.” – 2yo
“Baby, you aren’t wearing shoes.” – me

“NO, that’s Dahson’s.” – 2yo
{she leans over the side of the bed and starts whisper yelling for her sister}
“DAHSON. DAHSON.” – 2yo
“Dahson is in bed sleeping, like you should be.” – me 

At least I was entertained while I was NOT getting any sleep!!

She is still running a low grade fever and her cough is a wet cough, not croupy.  Hopefully she will get better soon! 

Good vs. Bad

The Goodwill is an amazing place.  I LOVE finding little treasures and fun things for cheap. HERE and HERE are some recent treasures I found.  My friend Jen is a pro at junkin in her Goodwill. See for yourself HERE. However, I sometimes think that the store near her is rigged.  Srsly, some of the things she finds…Geez. My friends, Brian and Tina also find some good digs at the local goodwill. Check their’s out HERE.  Makes me proud!!

Anway, I went through my girl’s rooms, and I mean every drawer, toybox, and closet, to make room for their new Christmas stuff.  I took the old stuff to the Goodwill yesterday and then asked the girls if they wanted to go in.  NOPE.  Such a shame.  I didn’t want to fight with them in the store, so we left…without going in. {The things I do.} We went to the mall and then when we got back in the car, I asked them where they wanted to go next, since I was totally procrastinating on coming home and putting Christmas away.
This is how the conversation went:

“Where do you guys want to go next?” – Me
“We’ll go where EVER you want to go Mom.” – 6yo
“REALLY??? Where EVER I want to go??” – Me
“Yes.  Except Goodwill.  We DO NOT want to go there.” – 6yo
“Anywhere but Goodwill huh? Hmmm.” – Me
“Yeah, Goodwill is like Badwill.  Srsly Mom. Bad. Will.” – 6yo

WHERE DID I GO WRONG???

*sigh*

 

Deep Breath

The time has come to take down all the Christmas decor.  I just LOVE Christmas and I am sad to have to take it all down.
Plus I have NO ENERGY to do it.
Maybe if I had more than THIS:

 

 

OR THIS:

TO PACK IN…
I would be more energized to do it!! 

Talk about organization.  I think I need to invest in some good Christmas storage bins or something!!  Might make packing and unpacking a little bit more enjoyable!!

Have you packed all your Christmas stuff??
I know that Jen has and I envy her.  Such determination.

Anyone want to come over and help??

I’m gettin to it…DEEP BREATH.

NEW FAMILY MEMBER

Just wanted to give you the heads up that someone moved in over the Christmas holiday.  She is super sweet and the girls are LOVING her.  She will be one of the fam from here on out.

 

We welcome her into our home.

 

 

PLEASE WELCOME:

That’s right…Hannah Montana moved in.

She might as well, all her stuff is here.

Almost everything my girls opened had Hannah Montana on it.

Srsly people.

 

MY ROCKSTARS:
 

MY LITTLE PRINCESS:

MY GIRLS:

 

RISING STAR:

 

As you can see, we had a super fun Christmas.

I hope yours was wonderful!!

 

Baby Chicken

Conversation over breakfast (eggs) this morning went like this:

~~~

“Did you know the yolk, which is the yellow stuff, is a baby chicken?” – 5yo

“Awe. The baby chicken seeping.” – 2yo

“It’s not sleeping, the chicken is dead.” – 5yo

“No.  It’s seeping.” – 2yo

“No it’s not.  It’s dead.” – 5yo

“Whatever.  Just eat it.” – 4yo

~~~

I thought it was really funny!!!

Comfort Food

It’s days like these:

That make me want comfort food.

Which is why I had this for lunch:

Creamy Bean and Ham Soup with Cornbread.

Mmmmmmmmmm

I am the cook who makes stuff with a handful of this and a dash of that.
Here are the ingredients…don’t ask me for the exact amount!!

1lb Pinto beans
Ham
Celery
Carrots
Onion
2-4 cloves of Garlic {love it}
Salt and Pepper
1 can Evaporated Milk
6-ish cups of Water
2 Bay Leaves

I didn’t soak my beans.  I degassed them by bringing the dried beans to a boil with a sprinkle {maybe 2 tbs?} of baking soda. Rinse them thoroughly and repeat the process three times.

Put everything in a big pot and let simmer for 2 hrs, or until veggies are tender.
{The longer it simmers, the tastier it gets.} 

Very tasty and totally hit the spot today. 

 What is your comfort food?

Ice-Skating

Hubby and I took the girls ice-skating this weekend.   The initial plan was to go to the outdoor Christmas rink in uptown Charlotte.  It was crazy busy there, so we decided to try out our local ice skating rink.

My friend, Emily, was in town and she and another friend Jeremy came with us.  It was so much fun, and much warmer than skating outside!!

Here are some of the pics.

{ ENJOY }

{ Me and hubby with 2 of our 3 girls }