Day 4, 5, 6, and 7 of Our Week Of Love...We are busy people...

I haven't gotten on the computer, except to check and see if the parent in Jake's class that was supposed to bring the cupcakes on V-day is going to...They aren't...Which means I am the lucky one that gets to bring them, and you can't bring any anything homemade...Huh?!? I know right. Times they are a changin' people-I had to buy 36 cupcakes (there are only 28 kiddos...only!..but you can't buy 28. I had to buy 24 and another 12 so that they would match. The pack of 6 didn't match...I am the class mom and will NOT be buying anything else for the rest of the school year. Slacker parents...), not cheap!...That is me venting...Sorry. Here is the rest of our uneventful week of love that I totally lost steam midway through...
Day 4: We had our friends over and made some yummy homemade heart shaped pizzas! It was so much fun! I was in need of a girls night and Jake needed a play date so it worked out great. Poor Aaron had one of his long school to work days...We missed you!

Erin and Abby
My well loved cookie sheets with our heart shaped crust.
Jake, Griffin and Abby...This was about 20 minutes before Jake started to not feel so hot...Sorry for the poor picture quality. The prayer had been said and they were ready to eat, another shot was not going to happen...

Day 5: Leftovers and hugs and kisses. This after Jake stayed home from school...He had a stomach thing...kind of. I know he wasn't feeling well but he may have faked it a little to stay home....I had to go to work (I usually only work while Jake is at school-this would be one of those times when he should have been...) and felt GUILTY. Aaron was there of course but he had just gotten home from 36 hours of no sleep so he hit the sack...If Jake had been throwing up and stuff I wouldn't have gone...but I still felt guilty. When I came home Aaron told me that I shouldn't have worried. About 30 minutes after I left Jake made a remarkable recovery and made enough noise that Aaron knew he was feeling okay. :) But he still had to stay in bed. Jake, when you fake sick and stay home, that is one less fun day off we can take on random dude! I don't believe in the whole try not to miss a day of school and you will get a little certificate at the end of the year. That is just called not having fun parents. :) No offense if you are into not missing any school...I would love to miss every day of it!!!! Enough rambling...
...Still surprised that Jake hasn't written any love notes!!!! He usually loves this kind of thing.

Day 6: I worked until 7 (boo! Holiday weekends are all hands on deck...People grocery shop like crazy for any occasion!), so Jake and Aaron had frozen pizza and probably played video games and watched TV most of the day. Oh that's right they did both do homework and Jake had a b-ball game that he scored several shots in. Good job dude! When I got home I was greeted with love and we ended the evening watching a new show called: Only in America (or something like that) with Larry the Cable Guy as the host. Can you say FUNNY?!? Watch it, you will love it. He goes around the country and learns about different traditions that are celebrated in different areas. It was educational (the one we watched was about how boot legging lead to Nascar in GA, Mark Twain wrote about a frog jumping competition in CA, and etiquette in VT-was the lady who wrote that book a long time ago named Post? Okay so maybe I didn't retain all that I learned, but it was great!), and HYSTERICAL at the same time!

Day 7: Finally a love note for me and Daddy from Jake! Aaron and Jake got their favorite hot cocoa (land-o-lakes makes the BEST) in their boxes too. It was Jake's favorite meal today and I forgot to take a picture of his happy face eating it off our fun heart shaped plates (I found at Walmart for $1)...Jake LOVES creamy crock pot chicken so that is what I made. I kind of forgot about the homemade rolls so I will have to make those tomorrow with our extra special Valentine day celebration of love!!!!! Even though our week of love was rather uneventful at the end of the week tomorrow I will make up for it!!!!

This weeks Highs and Lows...

Have you checked out the awesome blog Memoirs of Mrs. Harris ? You need to if you want an awesome take on the highs and lows of life and motherhood. When she decided to link up and see what other peoples highs and lows were for the week I had to do it! Here are my highs and lows for the week...

High: We had an awesome play date today that made me clean up the piles of stuff...
Low: Jake was a witness to me "stuffing away the stuff"...His bottom drawer of his dresser is refilled with all the clothes he out grew that I just took out of it...and several other random things I didn't have time to find a home for. To this he said something like "what did you do with my mommy? That was a kid thing to do!"

High: This play date was for me and Jake. Erin is a great friend of mine and her son is a great friend to Jake.
Low: Did we just contaminate our friends with sick germs...(you will see why I say this next...)

High: We made heart shaped home made pizza's to continue our love week.
Low: Almost immediately after eating it Jake was in tears with a stomach ache. I don't think it was the pizza, the rest of us are fine. The stomach bug is making its rounds at school and it may have just found its way into our house.

High: Penny and Pooha (in-laws dogs we are puppy sitting) are SO fun to have around! Our home is in need of a dog bad.
Low: Unfortunately we don't know Pooha's (she is an older dog), "I really have to go pee you crazy humans! Let me out NOW" face because the poor thing tinkled in Jake's room while I was getting him settled with a puke bucket by the bed, just in case...

High: My legs are recovering from my exercising the past couple of days.
Low: The reason they are recovering is because I didn't exercise today...

High: Monday is Valentine's Day and Aaron doesn't have school or work!
Low: Since Valentine's Day is Monday and grocery stores are busy for ever holiday imaginable, I have to work from 10:30-7 (might as well say the best part of the day...I hardly ever have to work any time other than when Jake is in school...) on Saturday. I am missing Jakes' b-ball game...bummer!

High: It snowed last night and already melted with no ice problems at all!
Low: It didn't snow enough to give us the chance to have a fun PJ day off...maybe next time..

Do you have highs and lows from the week you want to share? Come on people venting always make you feel better!

Day 3 of Our Week of Love...and it snowed I think...

Last night we had Aaron's favorite meal: homemade lasagna....

Aaron is a P.T.P.P (picture taking party pooper) on most occasions. I am just glad that he decided to act crazy for this picture rather than ignoring the camera completely like he usually does...
Yummmmm..

I love the old school doily (that is how spell check said to spell it...) hearts so much I had to put some up in the front windows of the house. The shade not going all the way up is driving me a little crazy..

The real reason I went outside was to take a picture of what appeared to be the snow we were told we were going to get. Depending on where you get your information we were told we would get any where from nothing all the way to 3 to 4 inches...This was pretty much nothing. But it was enough that Jake got to stare at the snow that covered the window on the roof of the car as we drove to school, which I thought of taking a picture of but it was already melted. And in some places you could actually tell it was snow. :) Hold on Winter don't give up yet!

I got a love note yesterday. Thanks Aaron for the sweet note. And to your P.S.-yes I will finish the Thomas Jefferson Education book so you can read it soon I swear! :)

Wordful Wednesday: Random acts of kindness

I have so many acts of kindness that come to mind, so this one may sound silly but I still think about it often. It reminds me that things you don't even think twice about doing may be a random act of kindness that you didn't even know you did!
When my son was born I had a number of friends from church bring in meals. It was amazing to be taken care of by my sisters, but one part of one meal still sticks out in my mind. I am not even sure what the main course was, but I remember that along with it came a mason jar of home grown green beans. I knew how hard this family worked together to grow their garden. I knew how much joy they had spending time canning it together. I knew all the love that was put into this jar of green beans. For some reason this family giving me that mason jar of green beans they labored over really touched me. They were the best green beans that I have every had. Maybe it was the hormones from just giving birth...I think it was the Spirit touching my heart and reminding me that simple things can change the way a person feels. I have kept that in mind and because of it have been touched by the Spirit to give small and simple acts of kindness that I would have other wise probably not even thought twice about actually doing. Sometimes the simplest acts of kindness come from something you don't even know you did. Things that you don't even think about can be exactly what someone needs.

I just thought of something else! Jake loves to help people in the grocery store parking lot by putting up their shopping cart for them. I have witnessed many faces warm with a smile at this simple and random act of kindness. A smile on the strangers face, Jake's face, and of course mine. :) I think these little acts of kindness really are contagious because you can't help but feel better when someone serves you...It is the whole "pay it forward" phenomenon.

Read about other peoples random acts of kindness here at Chocolate on my Cranium

Wordless Wednesday...Day 2 Of Our Week Of Love

Check out other peoples Wordless Wednesday here.

Our Week of Love: Day 1

This week I am making everyone's favorite meals. I guess I got mine last night! We splurged. We went out to dinner. Don't get me wrong we occasionally hit the Taco Bell drive through, but going out to dinner almost never happens. The last time we went to a sit down restaurant was last summer when we went to IHOP with the Powell's (Jake and I). The last time we all went to a sit down restaurant together was when Nee and Papa got their mission call and we took Papa out to celebrate (Nee was in Uruguay with the Powell's. We opened the mission call on speaker phone...you can see that post here.), and went to Chilli's. That was over a year ago! Last night we went to Olive Garden-one of my favorite restaurants. I had a coupon. (Did you even know Olive Garden had coupons? I got it out of the newspaper.) It was for $4 off....But it is still expensive and I admit I felt a little guilty, but once a year it is okay right? It was a fun splurge to start off our week of love leading up to Valentine's day. Jake watched as a couple left their table and said: "You mean we just leave our plates on the table and they come and clean it off?"...See what I mean by never going out to dinner? We spent the whole afternoon out, again something we NEVER do.Aaron and I both needed new sneakers. It is so hard to buy things like shoes for us. If Jake needs them okay, but we need to really need them to break down and get them. We also made a Target run and got tissues (it turns out Jake takes after me and is allergic to long haired dogs...), and a few things of that nature. We spent time together-the whole afternoon! We lived a little. :) Usually our afternoons consist of homework (Aaron and Jake's) that takes forever (Jake is not a fan...7 hours at school...I don't blame him!), cleaning, cooking, etc. It was a fun way to start the week off. Will it happen again? Not for a LONG time. Maybe when Nee and Papa get back from their mission in August. :) It was not the Family Home Evening I had planned but it was amazing. At dinner we wondered how many of the people in Olive Garden went out to dinner every night...Probably a lot! We made lists of places we would each want to go out to eat if we were rich. It was pretty fun to think of, but what a waste of money going out to eat all the time must be! It is much more fun when it is a treat that only happens...once or twice a year I guess! :) At Target I got my guys a little 1st day of a week of love treat...

Here is part of our new tradition for a week of love....(That we were to busy to even look in this morning since we had to finish some homework that didn't happen last night. Plus the guys didn't know about it since we didn't get to have the planned FHE last night...That is why my mailbox's flag isn't up.) We are going to write little love notes to each other every day this week. I just stuck a kiss and a little post it note folded in half that has something I love about each of my guys inside. Aaron will have to check his tomorrow since today is his school/work day. (We won't see him until tomorrow morning and he left this morning...).




For anyone who is wondering, I got these cute little mail boxes at Target for $1 a piece. I love a deal. :)

Schedule revamp and Aaron...

Another week over...another one beginning. The cycle sometimes seems monotonous: wake up, hurry, feed, hurry, clean, hurry, work, hurry, study, hurry...You know the never ending cycle right? I love being a mom. I love being a wife. I loved being an organized homemaker. Loved because I am not that now and feel like I haven't been for months (Aaron would probably say years, but he better not). My main problem is that I had a cleaning schedule that worked pretty well, but then when our life changed (Aaron-in school again and working 3rd shift, and me working part time outside the home for the first time since before Jake was born), I refused to change the schedule. Over a year later and Aaron saying (on numerous occasions), I can't take it any more, I am agreeing that neither can I! When we say we can't take it anymore we are referring to: not a pair of clean socks in the house, dinner?...what time is it?, no there isn't any gas in the car, why do I always wait until the last minute?, where is-fill in the blank depending on the day (for example tonight it was the stapler...where does a stapler end up if not on the desk?)? I am pulling my hair out! My old schedule is impossible to follow since I am not here to do it and it is time for me to give up on it and make a new one! Duh, right? Smarter people wouldn't have taken a year to figure that out...This is a new week and a new schedule....That I am going to come up with before my head hits the pillow tonight!!!! Sorry for the rambling...

This past week,I am sad to say was NOT spent: studying the scriptures, eating right, exercising, keeping on top of my cleaning schedule, or making good use of time in general. But, we DID have family home evening...Yippee, for accomplishing one thing...Oh yeah, I did manage to get Jake almost a whole new wardrobe (he likes to grow in the middle of winter. When I say grow, I mean he wakes up and nothing fits...THANK YOU TARGET FOR YOUR CLEARANCE!), for not much money. I also saved tons of $$$ with my awesome coupon skills too. And the house was clean for almost one whole day...except laundry in our room. Never mind, scratch that off the list, the whole house was never clean all at once. Oh well.

This week can only get better since I was so slack last week, right?! Family Home Evening is planned and tomorrow we are starting a brand new tradition I am calling: "A Week Of Love", as we lead up to Valentine's day. We need a week of love and appreciation for each other! We kind of started today with a "Daddy Appreciation Day". Aaron was too tired to make it to church today (I am not sure how he functions...Thurs. through Mon. he gets only a few short hours of sleep when he gets home at 7am. He only has Mon. and Wed. nights off and he goes to school all day Tues. and Thurs., so the end of the week is the long sleepless part...) because he had to catch up on some much needed z's. When we got home from church, Jake and I cleaned up the living room (so we could hang out in it stress free) before Aaron woke up. We then spent the afternoon bringing him things he needed and taking care of him. What did he think of this? He asked me "What did you guys do? Did you break something?" :) We obviously need to do a better job of showing our appreciation on a more regular basis. What started Daddy appreciation day was when Jake and I were at church. Jake said "Mommy will you bare your testimony? You really should." I sat and thought about it. When was the last time I bore my testimony? I couldn't remember...Sad, I know. So, I did. I needed it. Jake needed to hear it. I felt a weight lift off my shoulders as I realized (again) in our crazy, hectic life I had a testimony of how mindful Heavenly Father is of my little family. How Jesus Christ atoned for me and everyone. How my husband sacrifices sleeping and a normal life in general because he loves us. Aaron takes his responsibility of caring for and providing for our family very seriously. I know that the only way we have made it through this year, and we will make it through the next, is because we know what we are doing right now, is what we need to be doing. Is it fun? Nope. Is it easy? Not at all. Am I handling it the best I can? Not even close. But, when I think of what Aaron sacrifices for Jake and me I can't help but want to do better. Is this where we thought we would be 13 1/2 years into marriage and back in school? NO. We are going to be stronger for it. I am even more thankful for my awesome husband than I ever was before. He amazes me every day. I can't keep up with the laundry, but he can ace all his classes (he is a math major people!!!) on little, to no sleep? I can and will do better. It feels good just to make the declaration. Now I just have to do it!!!

While I was laying on the coach being a lazy bones today and drifting off into my much loved Sunday afternoon nap. I caught a bit of Aaron and Jake's conversation. It went something like this: Aaron "So why are you being extra nice to me today Jake?" Jake: "Because we appreciate you. Especially Mommy. She REALLY appreciates you. She bore her testimony and talked about it today." :) I will be a better home maker again. I may not be a home maker full time, but life is so much better when I don't make it so obvious that I am not. Here's to a new week! Here is too a husband who works hard for his family! Aaron will probably get a chance to read this some time in the middle of the night when he has a little down time so Thank you Aaron. We love and appreciate everything you do for us. I love you more than you know. You are my hero. :)

And just because I love pictures...
Jake and Aaron with all our lovely Super Bowl snacks on our cocoa table (isn't it so cool? I saw it at the store and loved how it looked-Aaron realized it pulled up into a table and was sold on it). Smoothies (one healthy thing), pigs in a blanket, cheese sticks, pizza rolls...This is the first year in as long as I can remember that we haven't thrown/gone to a Super Bowl party. (I ended up having Primary leadership training with the stake leaders tonight before Aaron went to work any way.)


This picture?...Nothing to do with what I talked about...just because I love this face! We were sitting and playing with Legos today while Aaron tried to catch an afternoon power nap and Jake just looked so cute in his "lumberjack shirt" as he calls it. It does have something to do with what I was talking about! This is one of the new shirts from Targets clearance rack, it was only $3.98. :)..Notice the full laundry basket in the background...and who knows what is in that grocery bag. Oh I know, it was little trinkets that we were going to trade in at geo-cashing spots when Tina and the kiddos where here...3 weeks ago? That bag stayed on there even when we rearranged Jake's room. Oh yeah add that to the list of things I did accomplish....priorities: laundry or rearranging furniture...hmmm. I may have made a wrong choice there...But Jake's room feels so much bigger now. :)