Things That Make Me Happy

What better way to lift my spirits than to post about THINGS THAT MAKE ME HAPPY right now:

1. It is 8:30 AM, and I have nothing pressing that needs to be done, so I get to post about happy things!

2. We are taking the girls camping tonight!

3. Mikayla and I are meeting Amelia for lunch at school and she gets to show Mikayla how to hold a tray and pick yummy food!

4. Dave is finally home after a week away on business.

5. I had time to sit and work out the family budget to keep us on track after some big purchases lately.

6. I've talked to every member of my family this week (except for Elder Stout, of course).

7. I love volunteering in Amelia's class and get to see first hand how great she is doing in Kindergarten!

8. Amelia is doing great in cheerleading and even won the spirit stick on Wednesday.

9. Mikayla loves preschool, and even though she cried at ballet this week (after doing so well last week), at least I know how much she loves her mama.

10. Good friends.

11. A clean house.

12. I had time to SHOP yesterday at the outlet mall, and bought lots of clothes for Dave, and some for me and the girls too.

13. I can see that the sky is going to turn blue, even though we woke up to muggy-grayness.

14. The yard doesn't need to be done this weekend (dormant grass does have its perks).

15. My hair looks good right now...Dave brought his brush home, and it's the only one I can really do my hair with, so when he's gone, it doesn't look so good.

16. I decided to be the Girl Scout troop leader, and even though it's totally disorganized, it will be fun for the girls once we can get started.

17. Good books. I know I already posted about it, but I seriously loved the newest Harry Potter...I couldn't put it down.

18. College football and getting together with friends.

19. Healthy kids.

20. Knowing that God answers my prayers and loves me.

21. Knowing that my kids know that God loves them and answers their prayers too.

22. And last but not least: Friends that unexpectedly drop off goodies that seriously brightened my day and helped me get out of my seasonal rut!

Update!

Here is Amelia stretching before the big event. She took it VERY seriously.

Look at that red face from all that running!
She did it! She ran 30 laps! That was totally unexpected for a kindergartner...she did great!

Thank you Aunt Chellie & Uncle Damien and Nana & Granddad for helping her earn money for each lap that she ran!


I am finally reading the new Harry Potter book. I am 400 pages into it and loving every minute of it. It has sure moved from a magical junior high book to a scary novel, but I still love it, although I can't recommend it now to younger kids.




Now for an easy recipe, where you probably have everything on hand:

15 minute Chicken Soft Tacos
three chicken breasts
two cups water
two cups rice
one cup salsa
one taco seasoning packet
tortillas, sour cream, grated cheese

Cut chicken in strips and cook in skillet with a little olive oil. Pour in water, salsa, and seasoning and bring to a boil. Reduce to simmer and pour in rice. Cover and simmer until rice is done and water is absorbed. Spoon into tortillas and top with cheese and sour cream.




Now for a deep thought: I think I might be a little depressed. I should be so happy. The kids love school. I have breaks during the week that I"ve never had before, but I've been down. I'm tired and get easily overwhelmed with the kids. I know it's the weather. It's crazy that it affects me so much. I think we need to move to some island where it NEVER gets below 85 degrees. I know in time my body will acclimate and I'll be fine, but right now I don't know how to get out of the dumps. I heard that visiting tanning beds works, but the last time I went to the dermatologist, she told me that I need to stop being a "sun goddess" and use some sunscreen!

Teachers...and stuff.

My baby started preschool Wednesday. I have to admit, it was not the typical first day. Mikayla is a hard one...she is so sassy and opinionated, flirty and emotional, but she is also so shy and attached to her mama. She has cried every time I drop her off at ballet and holds the teacher's hand the entire hour. It took her seven months to walk out on the gymnastics floor by herself and she also was the only 3 year old at the preschool Mom's Tea that had to be held by the teacher while she twirled the runway. SO, what is a mom to do when she is starting her first day of 4 year old preschool at a brand new school?

Should a mom walk her into class, carrying her camera, giving kisses and hugs and helping her meet friends? NOPE! I actually drove through the carpool line, dropped her off and let one of the teachers get her to class. I felt terrible, but guess what? It worked! I solved the separation anxiety. She walked on in with her friend Bailey that I also drove for carpool that morning and didn't even look back!

But, that's not what my post is about. My post is about teachers. I am so grateful for the good teachers in this world. I am so grateful for the teachers that love the kids and are patient with the kids. I am grateful that both my girls have wonderful teachers this year. I wish they knew how much of a difference they make in not only the life of these sweet little kids, but in the families that these kids come home to.

When I was teaching preschool last year, my assistant teacher and I would always half-way joke to each other (after a child had hit us, threw up or peed on the slide) that "someone loves this kid more than anything else in the world, even as much as we love our kids." It kind of gave us perspective on the whole thing. Anyway, I digress...I'm just happy that there are people out there that love kids and want them to love school and to LEARN and to LOVE TO LEARN.

Look Alike Fun

Yes, it's a new post! Thanks, Wyoming Guy for calling attention to that! I have more exciting things to post later, but for now, this was fun (thanks, Chell):

It's true! My oldest does resemble her mom!



And on a second test:



And my youngest that loves her mama so much? Here are the results:


But wait, on second try, with the same family photo I used on the oldest, check out these results:



Fun, give it a try! Jessie, you need to do it on all your girls!