Today....

I woke up with less sleep than I would have liked.
Today I woke up an hour before I was supposed to have my boys to a dentist appointment. I remembered the appointment when I woke up, but sometime before the actual appointment I forgot to get all of us ready and leave the house. I remembered just in time for us to be there (not the first time I've done that in my life)....and then it started snowing :(
Today "W" peed on my couch.
Today ET bit "W" on the back and a few hours later bit LuLu on the arm.
Today "W" and LuLu toilet papered my front room with half a bag of wipes while I was sorting laundry.
Today I saw gas was 15 cents per gallon more than I paid 2 days ago.
Today ET made a lovely little mess with kitty litter and water.
Today I suffered through my 5th day of allergies, darn the contraindications of taking pills during pregnancy.
Today ET dumped half of all of his meals on the floor...oh wait, he does that everyday.
Today I was seconds away from running away from home, when my knight in shining armor came through the door.
Today I am grateful for my knight in shining armor.
Today I am grateful that we have enough money to put food on the table....even if that's basicly the extent of it a lot of times :)
Today I am grateful for my beautiful children and my hard-working husband....not a soul on this earth works as hard as he does.
Today I am grateful that we are not living at the mercy of a natural disaster.
Today I am grateful for a Heavenly Father who knows and meets my needs, a lot of times before I even realize it's a need.
Today I am grateful for good health and the new life that will be joining us.
Today I am grateful for the knowledge that I have so much to be grateful for....even on a day like today.

Shock & Awe

Yes folks, it's true. We are capable of making baby......GIRLS around here. We will be welcoming baby GIRL, who's pen name will be Swiss Miss (for no reason other than "because I decided to"), on or around 9-10-11.

Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite

"W" turned 3 1/2 in February and he is growing and changing so much I just had to dedicate a post to him.
"W" has been able to make everyone in his life feel loved from the time he was little. Not by kissing or hugging, he's not the most affectionate kid. Instead he just expresses interest in being around you and now, it's evolved into compliments. He randomly tells me things like "Mom, I want you on my team." "Good job!, (ET, Mom, etc.)." "You're being so good!" "Mommy, I'm so proud of you!" Today he asked me what letter his name started with and when I said "W", he told me "Good guess, Mom!" He loves to say "Just kidding" after saying some ridiculous thing.
He is still in LOVE with animals and so concerned with their well-being. Every time I ask him what he did at pre-school, he tells me he played with the animals. Today he asked me (pointing to a picture in an animal book) "Mom, is this a female ostrich?" I didn't know so I had to call PBTB.
I LOVE his little prayers and he even said a prayer in Primary for the first time last Sunday. Along with a scripture. He was so good about practicing his scripture and he did such a good job. We have been told over and over by a lot of credible (pre-school teacher, pediatrician, a speech therapist) people that he has an incredible ability to pay attention. It's funny the things you don't recognize yourself when you don't know any different.
I was struggling trying to teach him his numbers, trying different techniques (songs, books, puzzles) without much luck. His favorite animal is an Oryx. So I bought an Oryx toy and told him he could have it if he learned to count to 5. He spent hours (like 3 or 4) practicing and practicing until he got it. He must be an audio/pattern learner because what finally worked was saying the numbers really fast out loud over and over. Which, I think I was just doing out of exasperation. I couldn't believe he WOULD NOT give up. He wanted that Oryx.
He LOVES puzzles. He has 8 of them and he will put them all together, then break them all apart over and over again for hours.
"W"....I LOVE being your Mom! You are such a great kid and I am so happy every time I look into your happy, excited little face.