Thankful Thursday

1. Healthy kids - My kids were sick for almost a month with various illnesses. Now they are back to 100% and Hailey is completely exhausting me!! I'm glad they are both healthy and happy though.
2. We don't have to pay for repairs - The other day I found water coming out of a hole in the ceiling in the garage. They had to cut a huge square hole in the ceiling yesterday and replace some of the pipes and shower drain. It took 3 hours and they are currently patching it right now today. It totally stressed me out, but thank goodness we don't have to fit the bill. It's a big reason I much prefer to rent right now.
3. Koreena called yesterday - My old roommate Koreena called yesterday while all the work was being done and distracted me from how much it stresses me out to have strangers making big holes in my garage. Thanks Koreena!
4. Piano - I love to play the piano, I wish I had more uninterrupted time to do it. I love teaching piano lessons too. My students are really starting to show progress and I feel good that I helped them do it.
5. My gym is finally open! - I joined a gym but the location closest to me was still being built. It finally opened last week and I am so excited to go have my kids babysat for free for a couple hours whenever I want and not have to drive very far and get the exercise I need. Yippee!
6. Good kids this morning - For the first time in months Ian behaved this morning and watched TV, was quiet, ate breakfast, and didn't have an "accident" so Adam and I could sleep in (or at least just stay in bed). Hailey also woke up at some point but went back to sleep till 9. I really really needed that.
7. Talking to Adam - Lately the biggest reason I'm so tired is because I stay up late talking to Adam. I'm glad he lets me talk his ear off and I'm so thankful we have a good relationship and still can't get enough of each other. But we do need to go to bed earlier!!
8. Laughing - It really is good medicine.
9. Being flexible - We are going to have to reschedule our vacation because of things that have come up for Adam at work. I'm glad we don't have anything on our calendar (besides vacation) so it's easy to find a different week to go, and I'm thankful my parents put up with our changes too (we'll be staying at their house).
10. Hailey is one tough cookie - Hailey fell down the stairs the other day and was perfectly fine. Thank heavens!!
11. A second shower - Yesterday the repair guy told me we can't use our shower for at least 24 hours so everything could dry. I thought "well how are we going to get clean tomorrow?" Duh Lisa, you have another shower. I know I'm dumb, but I'm really glad we have a second shower, even if I don't think of it as a shower because it's only used for the kids' baths.

Thankful Thursday

1. Hailey is 18 months old today! - Yay she can go to nursery on her own now!
2. My babysitter - I have my regular babysitter come on most Tuesday afternoons to watch the kids just so I can get chores caught up on or run an errand or take a nap. This week I just laid on my bed for a while and then took a shower and it was worth every penny. My babysitter is also one of my piano students and after piano yesterday she just wanted to stay and hang out and play with the kids. I'm glad I found someone who loves my kids and is responsible, it really helps me stay sane.
3. I'm not the first mother in the world - Sometimes it just reassures me to know that millions and millions of people have gone through parenting before me and they survived, so I'm sure I will too.
4. Ian doesn't know the difference between a penny and a quarter - Ian recently got a new piggy bank and he wants to put money in it all the time. I sometimes give him a couple pennies for cleaning up the living room and thankfully he thinks they are just as exciting as any other kind of money.
5. Generous friends and family - I have a couple friends who give me clothes for Hailey quite often. I really don't have to buy her anything, it's wonderful. Ian also gets hand-me-downs from his cousins, what a blessing.
6. My little singer - Ian is singing along to a Thomas song right now and just asked me if I like his singing. I really do! Everyone at church always tells me what a great singer he is in Primary and I always have my own little concert in the car. I hope he loves singing and music his whole life, what a sweety.
7. Vacation is coming! - I can't wait to get Adam away from work for a whole week!
8. A cool weekend - The weather has been weird lately, it was over 100 for a couple days but is cooling off for the weekend. It actually feels almost nice enough to go to the park today.
9. Hailey will eat just about anything - I know I've got to enjoy it while it lasts.
10. Clorox wipes - Whoever invented them was a genius.

Books I've read and love (and recommend)

In the last year I have read a few books that I really feel have changed and bettered my life so I thought I would share them. I would recommend these to anyone who is married and/or has children:

For All Eternity by Dr. John L. Lund - This isn't actually a book, it is some talks on CD. Dr. Lund discusses better ways to communicate and understand each other in a marriage. It is logical and entertaining. I wish I listened to this before I got married. These talks completely changed our marriage. We are happier than we have ever been, no kidding.
The Proper Care and Feeding of Husbands by Dr. Laura Schlessinger - Many women (and some men) find the title of this book offensive, but let me tell you, it is a real eye opener. I recommend this book to every married woman. She also wrote a book called The Proper Care and Feeding of Marriage which is a really good one for both husband and wife.
Woman Power by Dr. Laura Schlessinger - The sequel to The Proper Care and Feeding of Husbands. It is short because there are a bunch of pages to write in, but I loved it maybe even more than the first one.

Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child by Marc Weissbluth - This book (and some advice from a friend who read it) seriously changed my life. If you are going to buy a book about getting your baby or child to sleep this is the one to get. Best sleep book ever, in my opinion.
On Becoming Baby Wise by Gary Ezzo and Robert Bucknam - This has some great advice on scheduling your baby and so forth. This one and Healthy Sleep Habits is a winning combination for sure.
Love and Logic Magic for Early Childhood by Jim Fay and Charles Fay - I have learned some good parenting tools from the Fays and their associates. This book is great for my kids' age, and they have a whole bunch of other books. They have come up with some great "thinking outside the box" strategies for dealing with kids.

I am currently checking out the Supernanny book which I love so far, and the new Dr. Laura book, Stop Whining Start Living which I haven't started yet. I'll let you know how I like them!

What have you been reading?

Happy Birthday Adam!

Here are some pics from Adam's birthday, and other stuff. Jill's family came down for dinner and cake. It was a Jell-o cake, YUM. We decided to put all 26 candles on the cake this year, a first for me (I don't usually do the tons of candles thing). I think Adam had a good birthday.

Adam, Ian, and the Wii.

We didn't get much sleep over the weekend so I let Adam sleep in on his birthday, then he let me take a nap and the kids played in the backyard. It was the first "pool time" of the year. Aren't they cute?

After the pool the kids played in the cupboard.

Ian wants to play "Daddy's Wii game" every second of the day. He is actually pretty good. He got a 225 on bowling the other day. Amazing!

Me and Mom.

Thankful Thursday

1. Air conditioning - Summer has arrived!
2. Community centers - So far Ian has been able to do gymnastics and swimming lessons at quite a reasonable price.
3. Summer - I really hate the heat in Las Vegas but I am looking forward to going swimming and going on vacation and letting the kids play in their little pool and sprinkler in the backyard. They also have some really cool water playgrounds at a lot of the parks here and those are always fun to visit.
4. Instant oatmeal - Hailey eats it almost every day.
5. Online shopping - If you can't find it at the store you can always find it online.
6. Little girls - Hailey is starting to like baby dolls and little girlie things. So cute!
7. A comfortable home - This townhome is just right for our little family. There's no way we could have stayed in an apartment any longer.
8. Dessert - It helps me feel a little better when I'm down.
9. Curious George - That little monkey makes it so I can get a shower.

Update

I don't really have any pictures, but I thought I'd just write what we've been up to lately for a little update. Grandma is visiting and Ian had fun making banana bread with her yesterday. That is the first thing he always wants to do when she comes. We have all been sick with a cold and Ian has a pretty bad cough but we're hanging in there.
Adam got a Wii a week and a half ago as an early birthday present. He and Ian have pretty much been playing non-stop any chance they get. Ian is actually pretty good at bowling and boxing. He calls it "goxing." Adam is, of course, a pro at everything.
Ian started swim lessons this week, he is doing pretty well, but he seems to be cold in the pool and shivers most of the time. I hope he learns some things so we can go swimming more this summer.
Hailey has been my champion sleeper lately. Sunday she slept from 3:30pm till 6:45am the next morning. Monday she slept from 6pm till almost 9am. I guess that's her way of coping with illness. We haven't really seen much of her lately because she is always in bed.
I am still trying to catch up with chores around the house and things like that. We wanted to go out and do some fun stuff with my mom this week but since all the kids are sick (including Jill's kids) we haven't really been able to.
Mother's day was pretty good. Adam was the lucky winner to speak in sacrament meeting and was the only adult speaker. We made a big roast and potatoes dinner for everyone (Jill's kids and my mom and our family). Yum yum. Adam and the kids gave me the America's Test Kitchen family cookbook. It is AWESOME. I would highly recommend it to everyone.
So all in all, things are going pretty well. Someday I'll put pictures and interesting stuff on here. I'm working on it.

Thankful Thursday

The weeks seem to go by faster when I do this, I guess that's something else I'm thankful for!

1. Grandma is visiting! - We just picked up my mom at the airport this morning. Ian was so excited he woke up extra early and couldn't even eat until we picked her up. He has been so sweet and cute all day, a nice change.
2. I'm not pregnant - I have enough problems as it is.
3. Public libraries - We go at least once a week. It's nice to have a free and educational activity to do, and you can check out 7 movies at a time!
4. Online banking - How else could you do it?
5. A clean kitchen floor - It feels so good.
6. Online reviews - I always look at reviews of things I buy, it helps me to be a lot more confident in my purchases and not waste money on trash.
7. A husband who isn't a clean freak - Although I know Adam would probably like it if I was better about cleaning the house, he doesn't complain and tries to not see the mess. Thank goodness!

Pat-a-cake

I have been trying to get this video on here for quite a while but I have stupid internet so I used my sister's internet and finally got it working. Yay!

Thankful Thursday

1. Benadryl - Not for the reason you would think. My doctor actually prescribed it for sleeping and it has been quite effective with no side effects. Yippee!
2. Hailey is finally getting some hair on her poor little bald head.
3. Washer and dryer - Laundry is one of the easiest chores, don't you think?
4. Supernanny - I like to watch Supernanny not just because it gives me good ideas of things I can do as a parent, but also because it helps me remember that my kids aren't all that bad and I'm doing an ok job raising them.
5. PBS - I can always trust that their programming is appropriate for my kids.
6. A yard I don't have to take care of - We have got the best deal here. A private yard the kids can play in and somebody else mows it, weedwacks it, rakes it, etc. What more could we ask for?
7. Silky blankets - They sure make Hailey happy.
8. Ant and roach bate - Right before we left on our trip we saw some ants in our kitchen. We bought some ant and roach bate and put them out all over the house before we left. When we got back there were no pests to be seen. Thank goodness!
9. People who talk to me on the phone - Just about anyone who has talked to me on the phone knows that it is hard for me to hang up. Thanks to those who let me talk their ears off for hours at a time. It is my sanity a lot of days.
10. Adam is coming home tomorrow - I miss him so much!!