Op Zoek Naar Maria (Watch out For Maria!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vq6b9bMBXpg
One of my companions from my mission sent this to me a couple of weeks ago. I know it's making it's way around the web, but I still laugh every time I see it. So, I just had to add it here.
This brings me joy for a couple of reasons. First, it's just so funny how spontaneous it appears. And I love how the on-lookers react...some join in, others just gawk. Second, since this happened in the Antwerpe Train Station, I feel a little connection to it. While serving my mission in Belguim, I went through this train station a few times. It's really a beautiful station. But I also love the announcer over the intercom. Mooi!

Motherhood

I've heard comments before about how much life changes when you have a baby. It's true. Life does change. Sure, there's the little sleep from multiple middle-of-the-night feedings. There's events you may have to miss out on because you have a baby. Your time is no longer yours. Life really does change.
But...it's all for the better. I can't even imagine life before I had kids. That life seems like such a distant world. I've become less selfish (I hope). I've made small sacrifices that before kids would have seemed huge. And...life has become so much more meaningful. I love motherhood!
Yes, it's hard when your toddler throws tantrums in the middle of church (thank goodness it doesn't happen often). Yes, it's hard when you get halfway through your morning workout and your baby wakes up and wants to eat NOW. But nothing is harder than the opportunities I would miss if I weren't a mother.
Since my 2 1/2 year old was born, I have never missed an opportunity to go into his room at night before I go to bed to whisper, "I love you, " and kiss him goodnight. I now get to do the same with my baby. I often wonder how long I will get to do that.
I love having playtime with my kids. Nothing beats building a train track with your toddler only to watch the baby crawl over and try her hardest to destroy it. We all laugh and then get into tickle wars. Such sweet sounds!
Neither of my kids are real "mama's" kids. They enjoy going to and playing with their dad, or other people. But I love the reception I get when I come home after leaving them to go to meetings or grocery shopping.
Being a mother has made me realize just how precious life is! I do dread my kids getting older, but I know that as they do, there will be even more of them to enjoy. I am so grateful that my parents set a great example of family life. I now have that desire to build strong relations with my kids and make great memories.
I remember my toddler going through a phase of calling me, "Mama." It was kind of funny and not what I expected to ever be called (I thought for sure "mommy" would be first). But, I felt this way then and I feel this way now...how ever it is said, "Mom" is the sweetest thing I've ever heard and being a mom is the best career I could have ever chosen!

Popcorn Popping

Since we have been experiencing some beautiful weather the past few days, we've been able to go out to enjoy it. This morning we went for a walk and I noticed that most trees are budding...popcorn! Although, I hate to admit it, I've been dreeding having to go outside to work (I don't know why, normally I enjoy working in the gardens), it was nice to get out to clean up the flowerbeads and get them ready for the tulips and daffodils to look beautiful when they bloom (there's just something about weeds that can take away from the beauty). I enjoy this time of year. I really don't know anybody that doesn't like spring. It's a nice change from the winter. It's not too hot to enjoy. There's a lot of new stuff going on. It's just a great time of year, and I'm happy it's just about here.
Oh, yeah, did I mention that I'm also excited for tax season to be over with?!!! Oh, I love spring!

24

Okay, I thought this was pretty funny that it was a tie. Am I really like Jack and Chloe?

Which 24 Character Are You?
	You are part Jack Bauer. You are an aggressive and heroic figure. You think rules are only for kids, and try to break them at least once everyday (or hour). You like to get help from others especially your best friends. To complete a task, you are willing to do whatever it takes - be it the right way or the wrong one. Also, you could totally kick Chuck Norris' ass.
	You are part Chloe. You are the doer in any group. This is not a bad thing, as you are the only person who can do those things beyond the control and realm of other beings. As a very caring person, you're emotionally attached to others, though from the outside you might seem to be very aggressive.
Find Your Character @ BrainFall.com

A Few of My Favorite Things

Yes, The Sound of Music is one of my favorite movies, but I wanted to write about another of my favorite things...great deals! I've always loved getting great deals. I guess I enjoy making my "dollar stretch" a little further. Last fall I really got into coupon clipping. I've been amazed at the great deals I can get. For example: 10 bags of Malt-o-Meal cereal for free! Yep, FREE! I recently bought boneless, skinless chicken breasts for $1.30/ lb. Awesome! And just the other day, I bought my daughter 3 pairs of pants for $1 each. I just love a great deal. I would much rather buy something when it is cheaper and stock up on it than to have to pay full price for it. As a result, I've been able to build up our food storage pretty good. We've still got a long way to get to the 2 year supply, but we're working on it.
So, speaking of my favorite things and great deals...I've mentioned before that I've become a digital scrapbook addict. It is so easy to do and fun! I have completed my son's 2 second year album and am working on the third year. The other day I came across a digital scrapbooking website. It's actually a blog that a stay at home mom has and she creates and posts kits on her blog. They are the cutest kits I've come across. The boy kits actually look boyish, not babyish. The best part about it...you can download the kits for FREE! Oh, I was happy about that. I'll admit, it took a while to download all the kits, but it has been worth it. This woman is truly amazing and talented. Thank you Summer!!! (I'll include a link on the side so you can check it out.)

And so it begins...

We're into the third year of it; yet, I haven't found it any easier. Tax Season!!! Steve is now gone from 6:30 in the morning until around 7 at night and gone on Saturdays, too. We all miss him. "A" struggles waking up and not seeing his daddy...several mornings I've had to run to him (so he doesn't wake up the baby) as he is calling (not screaming or crying) for daddy. No, I'm not sad he doesn't call for me and it doesn't surprise me. For a while now, he has been getting up and spending morning time with daddy (either playing, watching cartoons or reading). Of course, this all started when I had the baby and Steve wanted to give me a little more sleep so he would get up with the older one and I could take care of myself and the baby. It has been great! As for the baby...she notices that her daddy isn't around much, too. As soon as Steve walks in the door at night, she starts kicking her legs, grinning and doing whatever she can to get his attention. She has become a little Daddy's Girl. As for me, oh how I miss him. I've never taken him for granted, but tax season reminds me how nice it is to have him around. I want the kids to get to see him at night, so I let them stay up a little longer than usual, but at the same time, I want some alone time with him as well. So it's been kind of tricky getting a routine that we can all work with.
I know that I reflect on my joys on this blog, so you're probably wondering where it's at. Well, I think about the rest of the year when we get to have Steve home on a lot of Fridays, it's pretty easy for him to take time off for family vacations, his hard work allows me to stay home with the kids, and April 15th is just around the corner...kind of. Okay, I know it's still a couple of months away, but who's counting? We haven't made our chain-link count-down (you know, the ones you made in elementary school to count down the days until Christmas) and hung it up...yet! And so, it is just the end of January and it has already begun!

Mamma Mia!

Here I go again....So, can you guess what this post about? I really don't know when I started liking ABBA, but I don't ever remember them not being one of my favorite groups. I know, I'm not really old enough to be apart of that era, but I love their music. ABBA Gold was one of the first cd's I ever bought (second to Yani...remember him?). Anyway, several years ago, before I was even married, I had the opportunity to go see the broadway production of Mamma Mia in Tempe, AZ with several good friends of mine. I really enjoyed it then and I was so happy I had all the songs on cd already...that meant I could sing along at the top of my lungs right away. But, after a few months, it went back into my cd case and was listened to only on occassion. Well, with the release of Mamma Mia, the movie, my love for ABBA has been renewed. Over the holiday break, we (my mom, sisters, sisters-in-law and nieces and even the "men" occasionally popped in to watch the flipper scene) watched it a couple of times and everytime, we all belted out the songs and, when possible, broke out in spontaneous dance. Even my little girl got a few dance moves in with me. It was so fun and just shows that ABBA is a classic. Mamma Mia definately ranks right up there with Grease and Girls Just Wanna Have Fun. I don't own the movie; yet, but one day it will be added to my classic movie collection!