Gratitude

This morning I am grateful for many things.

Spring is my favorite season and every time I look outside and see the world covered in GREEN I smile. I love Daffodils. I love the smell of Jasmine. I love Mike and how he knows these things and brings me these gifts from the earth for no reason at all. I love that flowers don't mean " I'm sorry or Happy Anniversary" at our home, but rather "I saw these and knew that you would love them and the surprise of getting them" .

I love my family and the joy that they bring to me each and every day. I love how Blake and Julia squeal with delight each time their daddy walks through the door after work. I love that one sister lives so close and that my other sister is coming home to California after being abroad for 3 years. I love how my mother loves me perfectly and unconditionally. (eventhough she will always bemoan the fact that I will never set foot inside our garden)

I love that soon (24 days) we will be welcoming a new baby into our home. There is something so magical about holding someone so fresh from heaven.

I love my health. Yesterday I had the 24 hour stomach flu and it feels so good to be feeling normal again. I am grateful that Mike is such a loving husband and helped me feel better even as I barfed literally in front of his face. I am grateful for a body that can exercise (albeit in a limited fashion nowadays) and do all the things that I need it to do.

and the list could go on and on....... Happy Spring everyone!!!!

Accepting Limitations

My instrument of torture:
I absolutely HATE to exercise indoors. My advanced stage of pregnancy has taken away my favorite form of exercising which is running, and it is too cold to go swimming, so biking is my only outdoor option. About 2-3 times a week I strap the kids in the bike trailer and off we go. Unfortunately the farther along I get, the more difficult this becomes. I am realizing that I need to accept the fact that I cannot go very far and that I cannot go very fast. It is rather frustrating to feel so winded when I am doing something that is normally not that difficult. I'm embarrassed when I see anyone I know on the streets because I'm sure I look completely pathetic, but oh well, at least I'm outside, and not on our elliptical machine (which I hate) indoors.
I can't wait to run again!!!!!!!!

The belly button violator

Pictured above is "the belly button violator". One of the things that I really don't enjoy about being pregnant is the conversion of my innie belly button to an outie belly button. Around 5-6 months the thing just pops out. I also don't enjoy it when people come up to me and push my belly button. (yes it has happened several times with each pregnancy) I still am trying to figure out why complete strangers feel they have a right to touch pregnant women's bellys. My belly button is very sensitive and I am half tempted to tape it down every day.
Anyway, yesterday the sweet but not so innocent little violator above saw my belly button which was visible through my shirt and thought it might be interesting to bite. She came right up to me and chomped down hard. Let's just hope her 2 year old friends don't get the same idea when they are around me.

You know you are old school when....

Tales from the babysitting adventure:
Last Saturday night I came downstairs late at night to remind my 16 year old neice and her friend who was spending the night that it was daylight savings and that they would be getting one less hour of sleep. She said, "ohhh Amy I'm so glad you are still awake. We are trying to make some frosting for these brownies and didn't know how so we looked it up on youtube but we don't know if it will turn out." WHAT- she looked on YouTube for a frosting recipe??????? Is that weird to any of you over the age of 30? Wouldn't it have been much easier to simply pull out her mother's Betty Crocker cookbook out and look there????? I guess I'm old.........

My babysiting chore

These are my sister, Jeans kids that i have been well-feeding and making sure they are in much health and getting everything they need. i am a great aunt i believe.