our fun day in the spring weather....then it snowed.

home grown.

I have decided that in attempts to get healthy and fit (which has taken a back burner lately and I dont know why.) I have decided that this spring/summer I am going to have an organic garden. I will soon start composting so I will have natural fertilizer and am hoping to try my green thumb at a variety of fresh fruits and veggies and herbs....I have NEVER gardned before so it could get very interesting. If anyone has any tips, good foods bad foods to garden....i have so much to learn:)

I am feeling in desperate need of a vacation. a week, not to go anywhere, but just to stay at home, get some stuff done, sleep in, nap....listen to music, sing etc.....

someday....

"sometimes you gotta learn to love whats good for you, ya know?"

Tomorrow- St Patricks Day is one of my favorite days all year long! i adore all things Irish and am so excited! I think we will try to continue on the tradition (started last year) for me to make the a full on Irish meal (corned beef, veggies, colcannon potatoes, irish soda bread etc.) and have everyone over to my parents for dinner. I just love it. Last year we played games etc but this year I have just been too busy to plan. I cant wait.....and the rueben sammies the next day...amazing!
:)

I got some AWESOME news at the doctors on Monday. (I had a check up in Iowa City.) I GOT MY TWO YEAR RELEASE! (basically this means that I dont have to go back for two solid years!) I have been waiting for that moment since I got sick! It was pretty neat, my doctor (who lacks all bedside manners) called in a room full of people, told them my story- said he thought I was a miracle and God had Big plans for me so they should just take a good long look at me and held my hand and said he'll be seeing me the rest of my life but not for another two years :) I was so excited I cried! he said I am in the "safe zone" if there is such a thing. Praise Jesus!

On a funny note- Tonight, V was being really ornery when i put her to bed and she was acting like she was going to hit me in the face and then stopped her hand started giggling when i acted mad and she said "April Fools Mommy!" How does she even know what April fools is? Apparently to her its a way to stay out of trouble. .It just made me giggle. That silly girl.
She is sure going to keep my hands full!

I have gotten a "wild hair" to learn sign language. I dont know that i will ever be proficient at it but would like to learn...maybe I ll see if I can find a DVD to teach me! i would like Ve to learn too....who knows- maybe someday God will put a deaf person in my life and how will I ever talk to them if I dont learn...right?

HAPPY ST PATRICKS DAY EVERYONE! WEAR YOUR GREEN!

Today, I feel like crap. I have a migraine. My theory is that since I am losing my voice, the new "man voice" that I have adapted is giving me a headache. guess I wouldnt make a good man....thankfully- i dont have to worry too much about that.

I had a fun, adult conversation with Vaughn on the way home today that blew my mind. Remember, she's only 2.5. She said "thank you Jesus for my sun coming out! Its out Mommy, he found a way out!" and I said "where was he hiding?" And she said "i dont know but I want to climb up there and touch it. It will be VERY hot, it will take a VERY long time. I want to touch it and say thank you for coming out and melting all my snow Oh Mr Sun!!!" Praise my Jesus for the bright sunshiny weather today. She also reminded me to put on my sunglasses so my eyes dont hurt.


Humiliating story- I have debated with a long time about what to call "private parts" with Vaughn. I decided, i dont want her to be embarrassed or thing that what they are called is a bad word and i dont want her to learn about them in school and be totally embarassed. They are what they are. So, the other day I was naked and she pointed to my "front butt" as she calls it and I said "No vaughnie, thats mommies VA----." (I wont write it as to not embarass you reading.) and she started singing a song about my V and how mommies and Vaughnies have them." Rudy just looked at me and said "way to go...thats fantastic." then Sunday, after a couple days of not hearing this word from her, we went to the grocery store....all was okay for a while and right in the middle of the produce section Vaughn started screeming "Vag---, Vag----, mommy has a vag----.....WE Dont say Nipples! WE dont Touch Mommy's Nipples!!"!!!!!!!! I was MORTIFIEd. I mean, people were laughing and staring at us. She did this through the ENTIRE store. I was like 15 shades of read and I kept opening stuff trying to get her to shut up, i opened like half of the things in the cart...to no avail.

Rudy thought it was hysterical, though he was not there, he just said "thats what you get politically correct Mommy."

on another note, going to Women of Faith this weekend and am pumped. Cant wait. :)

cough..cough...

Still sick...getting worse I hate to say. Today is the last day i can stay home so I think my mom is staying tomorrow and rudy thursday and Friday. Poor thing. I will give the meds a couple days and if she's not getting better we are going back to the doctor. V was up all night coughing, I was up all night worried, getting in bed with her, checking on her, propping her up. Then in the middle of the night alfie went CRAZY! He NEVER barks at night...never. In fact the whole time we have had him I dont think he has EVER barked in the night, meaning afte we went to bed. I was TERRIFIED and jumped out of bed as fast as I could and almost fell flat on my face becuase my feet were tangled in the stupid sheets.....The only thing I could think was that someone was breaking in and I thought for some reason it was in Vaughns room. I also realized, in the event that that ever happened Rudy would be worthless. He sat straight up and yelled at Alfie to shut up and then rolled back over and went to sleep....leaving me to investigate. Fantastic. Maybe I need to enroll in self defense classes. Rudy takes a good 30 minutes to even be able to fully open his eyes in the mornings and I hear my alarm and am in the shower within 30 seconds. Ve is just like me, her feet hit the floor with plans in mind. She does like to take her time once she's up and has her routine but she cant just lay around in bed very often. Oh well.

On a good note/dangerous note. My girl scout cookies are being delivered tonight!!! Why do I do that to myself? Ahh yes, because the pleasure is worth the guilt!

Some updated pics. The Hells Kitchen one is where we ate at 2 times in MN. It was AMAZING!

I stayed home with V today and took her to the doctor. she had the croup 2 weeks ago with a high fever, after steroids she seemed to be doing better...until 2 days ago when she spiked a high fever again and has been coughing lots. I took her in today and the poor thing has pneumonia!!!! i will stay home with her again tomorrow and then see how she is after that, if she's strong enough/back to normal- she'll go back to the sitters. If she's not 100% better in 10 days they want her back and may have to do breathing treatments after that. Hopefully though, she'll be all better- the doctor thought we caught it pretty early so he said this extra strenth meds should help her alot. Even now, sitting on the couch with the TV on low and the soundspa on in her new room, I can hear her in there wheezing. Poor thing. Tomorrow I will post pics of her new room....we got carpet laid in the bedrooms last friday and let me tell you what a difference it makes. I hated the bedrooms, they seemed more like storage rooms, cold, hard...now they are so cute! V is soo proud of her room and her new bed that "mommy put together all by herself!"

She is just so cute. Her new thing is that everyone is "my best friend EVER and I love them soo much." One minute its me, one minute its alfie, one minute its gma and papa..... but they are her BEST FRIEND IN THE WHOLE WORLD. She is just so kind and loving and always asking "you doin okay mama? you need me to help you? " and saying thanks and please and how much she loves someone and is just soo thankful for everything, whether its me helping her put her socks on or getting her a snack or building legos with her she is just genuinely thankful. Dont get me wrong, she's spunky and understands how to push buttons, but she really just amazes me everyday. When I tell her "no" she says "okay mama, maybe next time we can" . i just love that. I love that she doesnt throw a fit in the store when I tell her she cant have something she just says "oh okay, maybe next time." and she's right, because generally when she's patient she ends up getting to do what she wants. I just think its pretty big of a 2 year old to understand that.

Women of faith is in 2 weeks and I cannot wait for that conference. I have some check ups (routine) in IC on the 15th and then the Casting Crowns concert and then a shopping trip to IC with some girlfriends from work and I am soo ready for spring. all these plans make it feel like its just around the corner. the weather was about 35 today and it was soo refreshing. it didnt hurt to walk outside and some of the snow is melting finally, though we still have ice cycles hanging off the front of our house that are at least 9 inches across and 5 ft long, some of them go from the roof to the ground. We have been physcially unable to get our front door open for about 3 months. the snow drifts there really bad and is now a solid block of ice about 6 inches high. which makes getting the mail very challenging, ive about lost a finger several times trying to wedge my finger in the 1/2 inch slot to get the mailbox open (which hangs on the side of the house) and get the mail out. Oh spring- please hurry!!!