St. Paddy's day fun

Hello there! I hope you had a wonderful weekend sans hangover ;) I know I did. Did you all enjoy your St Paddy's day? Ours was a typical day.. only with a little bit of added fun. We had green pancakes and green milk for  breakfast mmmmmm (but in all the excitement I forgot to take pictures). Kids thought it was a real hoot. Yay! Kiddos (& myself) dressed for the occassion.. ok well I only wore a green cardigan but still. Haha. They sure were cute though!

 I sure love my little leprechauns!! Already trying to think of some fun ways to celebrate next year! :)

I am simple. I am me.

That title about hits the nail on the head. I am simple. It's just me. I don't get over joyed about much. I am a realist.. too much so sometimes. Like.. I need to learn to get excited about things realist. I don't know where it came from or when it started but I just don't do excited.. if that makes sense. It does to me. I try to.. I can smile and say that I am but to actually feel it.. whole nother ball game. A ball game I just don't attend in my mind. Kinda sucks.. sounds depressing right? Don't get me wrong, I love my life, I love my family but I just don't do happy dances and fluttery "I can't wait" excitedness. For example: We are going on a vacation (our first big vaca as a family actually) and we are going with two other families (cousins) and I am reallly looking forward to it but instead of getting excited about the fun we will have I instead focus on the worries I have. Like.. 11 hours in a car with two kiddos who ask "are we there yet" and "how much longer" when we are heading out to the mall.. 15 minutes away!! To say I am skeptical is an understatement. I am diligently praying that it will be successful. What are wrong with kids today? lol. I mean when I was a little girl we used to take trips to Tennessee to see my aunt on my moms side and we would go to Illinois for Easter to see my dads side of the family and I loved going on vacation. It was an adventure with an exciting place to go and fun things to do. WAAAAAY more fun than the usualness of being at home. I am hoping that my kids will get that and that they will get along on the long trip. Anyway, long example. Redirecting....

It's going to be super duper (is duper a word? haha) beautiful out again today. I love me some 70-something weather. I would totally dig it year round fo shizzle. ;) I am ready to throw on some jeans and a tee and spend the day enjoying the warmth, basking in the beautiful outdoors with the family, and shooting some mini hoops w/ the little guy here in a few minutes.

Enjoy your day and do something warm today.. you know like sip iced tea outside while the kids play or take a good old fashioned bike ride (walk) or better yet BBQ.. mmmmmm.

Warm days warm my heart

Ohhh my is today going to be a nice day for March! I mean 70 degrees in March? Really? I do not recall this month ever being this warm.. course my memory isnt what it used to be, lol. Anyway, moving along.. yesterday was a beautiful day as well.. 62 degrees-ish I do believe. It sure did warm my heart! I played out in our florida room with James while I drank my morning coffee. It was so blissful watching him play with the kitchen set and entertain himself. We did a puzzle together and it quickly reminded me how fast my sweet boy is growing up. I mean my daugher was his age yesterday and now she is going to be 9. NINE!? Yeah! That's a blog for another day. Where were we? Oh yes, that enjoyable florida room play w/ little man. Uh-mazing way to start off my morning and a dose of goodness to my soul. It only got better from there. We took a nice leisurely stroll (bike ride for little man) corner to corner and then had an easy pizza lunch. After my sweet bird (thats what we lovingly call her) got home from school, we all got in some more exercise going around the block together (them again on bike & hubby & I hand in hand.. just the way I like it!) We grilled some steaks, cut them into strips and I sauteed some green&yellow peppers & onions and made some rice and then we rolled it up into wraps fajita style. Freaking delish! Hubby & I watched the kids play together awhile before deciding we needed to take a drive, windows down soaking in that fabulous air, and get ourselves a coffee from good old Tim Hortons. I seriously think they need to open one on my street corner..just sayin. So, yesterday being such a nice relaxing day I am welcoming today with open arms and looking forward to the warm day & if all goes well.. a warm heart again! :) Enjoy your day & I hope it finds you in good spirits and warms your heart!

Headaches & handling a household

Most days being a mom (and wife)  is a lot of work. I know I get to stay at home, which is amazing in and of itself, don't get me wrong, but it isn't just staying at home like some people seem to imply. It is a tough job on a good day. On a bad day, *insert headache & congestion here* it's even tougher! Even when I try to let things go for a little while (an afternoon or God forbid an evening too) they just pile up. More dishes to catch up on, more laundry to sort & wash, more dog hair to vacuum up, etc. You get it I'm sure. However, there are those other things like making breakfast for the kids (they think they need to eat everyday, geesh! ;) , carting one off to school by 7:50 before the bell rings, feeding & letting out the dog AND momma needs her coffee people...necessity.. and the list goes on.

Sometimes I get tired & cranky & feel unappreciated. Mom isn't allowed to get or feel sick. It just isn't possible. Who is going to keep things running smoothly if mom isn't at her best? It's days like these that I wish we had a pause button. You know, so mom's could rest, rejuvenate and feel ready to tackle the daunting tasks of life. It's a never ending job, but even as tough as it gets, (headache and all) it is a job I couldn't be more thankful to have. It is that exact thing, thankfulness, that I have to remind myself of on a regular basis. I know that there are some people who are not as lucky and that have it far far worse. I think I'll take my headache, suck it up and get my things done without complaining today (well outloud anyway haha).

Remember moms, we may feel underappreciated for our efforts a lot of the time, but those smiles, cuddles, hugs & laughter always find a way to soften the blow. Keep reminding yourself that thankfulness is a powerful thing!

Tuesday Randomness

Ever have one of those days where you feel like you have about a  thousand million things to do or that you should be doing but you don't feel like doing a darn one? Oh good! Me too ;) Today to be exact! Sooo...instead I will post some silly randomness about yours truly.

1. I might have a slight obsession w/ Adam Levine. *drool* I mean have you seen him? I find myself smiling while I watch "The Voice".. pathetic much? Yeah I know. ;)

2. I can do SO stinkin well eating during the day and then BAM night hits. Hubs at work, kids in bed, momma over indulging in *insert yummy food everything here* I'll do it again tonight.. while watching Biggest Loser! Yep, I digress.

3. My kids are the absolute loves of my life. They drive me screaming mad sometimes but at the end of the day they are the only two little beings that I can NEVER go to bed mad at. <3 adore my two.

4. I am always cold. Like right now. Brrrr. And yes I have my robe on!

5. I may also be slightly obsessed with coffee. So much so that I crave mornings for that sole reason. mmmmmmmm. Something about that warm goodness that makes all things be well.

6. I want to go to Disney World with my family as soon as possible. I think probably more than the kids!!

7. Doing laundry is actually kinda fun. Yes, I said that. P.S. I do it daily!

8. I think Dove chocolate makes the world go round. My world anyway. Eating 2 or 3 (or 7) is okay now and then.

9. Life would not be what it is without my husband. He is the love of my life and my ever present rock. So nice to have someone supportive to lean on when I need him and laugh & be silly with.

and to rap up for today:

10. I really really REALLY want some pancakes today. Most likely b/c it is national pancake day and I feel like the rest of the world is probably eating them and well.. lets face it.. I don't wanna miss out! :)

Have a terrific Tuesday and enjoy all the randomness that occurs no matter how boring or exciting or normal it may be! <3

I have enjoyed the mild winter thus far!

I very much dislike the cold. As a matter of fact as I type this my fingrs are frozen little icicles. I swear I should wear gloves even in the house. Winter has been so super mild this year. I myself have loved it. It's always such a drag trying to motivate myself to get outside and warm up the car and brush of snow at 7:30 in the morning to take Madison to school. This year I havent even used the snow brush yet and we are nearing the end of February. Really?! LOVE! My kids on the other hand really would like some snow. Would be nice to be able to actually have some packing snow for a snowman. That could happen tonight. They are callin for 4 inches or so. (of course I am standing up in a wedding tomorrow! brrr) But anyway, after this one good snow (that I hope for the kids sake we get)I will be ready for Spring! I wanna clean, get organized and purge all the extra crap we have seemed to aquire. Good grief.. how can a family of four collect so much stuff?? Looking forward to sunshine and a clean house!

What are you looking forward to?

Attitude is a powerful thing

Yesterday, (well today if you go by when someone was "prounounced passed".. which in my heart I do not.) marked 9 years since my dad passed. 9 years! That is SO incredibly long. I feel like it was so much more recent that I was talking to my dad about life in general. Every year the date of his passing is hard for me. I miss my dad everyday. Every.single.day. Honestly, there is not a day that goes by that I don't think about him. Sometimes it isnt until bedtime, but regardless of when it is, it always is. My dad is gone everyday, not just on the anniversary of his death, yet that day always seems to make me in a somber mood for some reason. Well, this year that wasn't the case. I made it a point to keep a positive attitude and focus on all the good times I had with him, and how blessed I am with my life..amazing husband & kids. I'm not a perfect mother or wife, but I do the best I can to make sure that when I look back I will be proud of the one I worked so hard to be. I know my dad would be proud & that I am the person I am today because of him ALWAYS being there for me. So when you have a day that you feel down or like things just are not fair, it's the mind that truly is a powerful thing. I have learned in retrospect that every year that I was down about it I had a terrible, emotional day. This year telling myself I would not do that honestly made it a better day than most days. I laughed, I smiled, I focused on the present, and I thanked God for the good moments. Like the great Abe Lincoln said: "Most folks are as happy as they make up their minds to be." 

Blessed beyond measure,

Alecia

    With moments like these and faces like this to wake up to each day, how can you not feel blessed?