Thankful Thursday

I've officially caught the crud that's going around. But God says to praise Him in the good times and bad, so here it goes..

1)I'm thankful for Alka Seltzer Cold! In the midst of feeling like a big pile of poop, it gives me a little relief atleast.

2)I'm thankful that the rest of my family hasn't caught this yet!

3)I'm thankful that we took this week off from school!

4)I'm thankful that I have pretty much lost my voice, so that way if I'm asked a question I don't want to answer, I can plead the 5th! LOL!

5)I'm thankful for the ability to stay in my pajamas all day if I want.

6)I'm thankful that my husband loves me for who I am and not what I look like, because I haven't looked good at all this week. LOL!

7)I'm thankful that my daughter knows how to make her own waffles(frozen) in the morning so I can still sleep even if she wakes up before me.

8)I'm thankful for my comforter set because it came at a good time!

9)I'm thankful for the black out curtains we bought to go along with the set. They filter 98% of the light that comes through our room so it's nice and dark in there!

10)I'm thankful for a very independent daughter, who understands when her mommy is sick and knows how to play by herself.

So, there you have it! I can be sick and still be thankful! Gosh I surprised myself!

This is what my sweet daughter did all afternoon while her sick mama was in bed!!

Ooops...let me add something here. Since my uncle likes to stalk my blog, here is a shout out to him...
I am thankful for my uncle, Keith. I am thankful that he (so far atleast) is the only sane uncle I have, he doesn't scratch and sniff like someone else I know, and for giving me those mudslides and strawberry shortcakes years ago. Haha!

Thankful Thursday

I know, it's Wednesday. But I only have approximately 45 minutes until it's Thursday, so I'm getting an early start. Because that's how I roll! Always thinking one step ahead, and that's a good thing! So to give me some motivation to start blogging again on a more regular basis, I'm following in many other bloggers footsteps and stealing..um..I mean...borrowing their ideas! ; ) I'm not making any promises, but I will atleast *try* to blog every Thursday to post what I am thankful for that given week.

1)For my loving husband who works so that I can stay home and take care of our daughter and the house. I am working my dream job thanks to him!

2)For my beautiful daughter, Maddy. She means the world to me and I would be so lost without her. She tells the funniest jokes ever and her crazy dance moves and off the wall questions make me fall in love with her over and over again on a daily basis. Not to mention her adorable freckles spread all over her sweet face!!

3)For fall weather!!! Fall is my favorite season and it brings with it the atmosphere that I wish could stay year round.

4)For Pumpkin Spice Frappucinos at Starbucks!! =P

5)For the priviledge to homeschool my daughter. Some would look at it as a burden, something they dread doing or wouldn't/couldn't do, but I love it and it's truly a blessing!

6)For the fact that my teaching is paying off! Maddy has passed every test so far with flying colors. I guess I'm doing something right!

7)For a field trip to Happy Cow tomorrow!

8)For the season premier of new shows! Greys Anatomy, Private Practice, and SVU! Gets me all excited!

9)For the consignment sale coming up in 2 days! It's one for the whole family..not just for kids! I hope to find some good fall clothes!

10)For Bargain Foods! Funny, I know, but I LOVE this grocery store! And I am going there tomorrow!!! YAY!!

Monday Mumblings

It's been a while since I updated, but I've just been waiting to get that "perfect" post in my head. No, this one is not it. So for now, just some things going on in our lives.

This past Friday marked a year from when baby E came to live with us. I always thought she'd be here to celebrate that milestone with us, but God had other plans for her life. As time goes by, I miss her more. When she first left us, I was too numb to realize what had happened. I tried to supress my tears from coming, and tried to carry on with my life. It's been over 3 months and I can't say that it ever got any easier. I did okay for a while, but when that anniversary date came last Friday, it was a constant reminder that she is no longer in my arms! I know the whole "5 stages of grief" thing, but I think that was wrote by someone who has never really experienced grief. The final stage is apparently acceptance. I know I'm not there, or if I'll ever be there. I had a dream a few nights ago about her leaving, and the very thing that happened that day, was played out in my dream that night...every single horrifying detail. So, no, I am not at the 5th stage yet. I don't know what stage I'd be considered at this point. But I do know that my life will never be the same. Losing a child is life changing, just as welcoming a child is. It becomes a part of you, a part that I will carry on for the rest of my life. I hope that I don't always tear up when her name is mentioned or thought of, but losing her will always be a part of me. Why does God think it's in mine or his best interest for me to experience losing children? I don't know the answer to that question. Hopefully one day I will. Ryan always said that he thinks God allowed us to go through 2 miscarriages to teach us how to truly love a child. Maybe he's right about that, because I love Maddy so much that words can't describe. So why did He allow us to lose the other child that we wanted so desperately to be ours (legally)? I don't know yet...maybe there are more children in our future. Maybe not. But I will keep praising Him either way and letting Him live through me. It would be very easy to get bitter at God. I'm thankful for my faith in Him, and know that He holds my future!

We are in our 6th week of 1st grade! Next week is a break week! We're on a 6 week on/1 week off schedule, so I'm really looking forward to having a nice long break next week to do...nothing! Maddy is doing exceptionally well this year so far. She has passed every single test that I've given her!

Ryan and I saw Mark Lowry in concert last Friday night. Grandma kept Maddy overnight and we had a date night! It was so nice to see him in concert and just LAUGH OUT LOUD! If you ever get to see him in concert, GO! You will not be disappointed.

So, those are my random mumblings! I'll try to get my mind wrapped around something in particular for the next post! : ) Happy Monday, everyone!

First Grade

We started our school year today. Maddy is a big First Grader this year! Our subjects are English, Math, Spelling, Handwriting, Science, and Heritage Studies..aka Social Studies. So far this morning has gone pretty well. I fully intended on getting up early and working out before starting school, but the beauty of homeschool is that if plans change, so be it, as long as we still get the work done! : ) Needless to say, I'll be working out this evening instead of this morning!

We started with Bible reading for about 30 minutes. We started in Genesis, and I hope to have the whole Bible read with her by the end of the school year. Then we went downstairs to the school room for the rest of the subjects. English, Handwriting, Spelling, and Math will take up the whole year. There are 54 Science lessons, so we're doing Science 3 days a week. There are 60 Heritage Studies lessons, but most require 2-4 days per lesson, so that will take up most of the school year, give or take about 20-30 days. Ryan will be doing music lessons with her on Thursday evenings. Our schedule is so jam packed in the evenings, that we don't have time to do music everyday, but she is such a fast learner that I think she'll pick it up in no time. Mondays she goes to gymnastics for an hour and a half, Tuesday nights are soccer practice nights for an hour, Wednesday is Church, and Ryan and I are teaching the first grade class, so that keeps up busy! Thursday is gymnastics again for an hour, so our free nights are Friday and Saturdays. Maddy also joined the Kid's Choir at Church so that will keep her busy on Sunday afternoons.
Well, I must go. Our lunch time has went a little past what it should. We're off to do a science experiement right in our front yard. Ahh..the beauty of homeschool! The world is our classroom!

We survived Atlanta!

We decided to take Maddy on a little trip to Atlanta last weekend. Our purpose for going down there was to go to Six Flags, thanks to a generous friend who gave us some complimentary tickets! We had a lot of fun, although Maddy is still scared of most rides. She must get that from her daddy! He never rode a roller coaster until he met me, and now he is a thrill seeker too. Well, he has yet to ride the one where you lay on your back, but he's making progress! I, being a big thrill seeker, did something that I never thought I'd do. I chickened out of riding something for the first time in my life! The ride is called Acrophobia. It looks like the devil designed it. It's a 200 foot pole and there are seats all around the pole. It's very similar to any of those "drop" rides, but this one appears (remember, I didn't ride it, so I have to say appears) to be much more intense. It takes you up 200 feet, while spinning you. Strike one! I get very sick on "spinny" rides. Yes, even the Carousel! Then, once you're at the very top, it tilts your seat to where you're looking straight down at the ground, instead of looking out like most *sane* rides do. Then after about 5 seconds of looking straight down at the ground and hoping that you don't fall out, it drops you....very fast. I couldn't do it! I stood in line trying to find my courage from somewhere, but when Ryan looked at me from the outside of the line and (laughed first) told me that I didn't have to do it, I took his advice and got the heck out of line! Maybe one day I'll ride it, but I'll have to be knocked out first!

Saturday, we went to Underground Atlanta. When Ryan and I were dating, we went and had a blast. Oh, how that place has changed. It was down right scary, and definitely not a place for kids, so we left. We went to the mall and they had a Disney Store, so we bought Maddy's Halloween costume early! She will be Hannah Montana this year. We ate at Joes Crab Shack after the mall and then Ryan suggested Toys R Us. Thanks, dad! ; ) Maddy got a new backpack for co-op, and if you bought a backpack, you got a free lunch box! Can you guess what kind she picked out? You got it! None other than Hannah Montana!

Sunday was probably the highlight of our trip, according to Maddy. She got to go to the American Girl store for the first time! She had a BLAST! She didn't know what to think as she was walking around looking at everything. She ended up with a big Kaya doll, a Ruthie mini-doll, and a Felicity book. She tried to talk us into getting Chrissa (her modern doll) a new hairstyle and some earrings! She's sneaky like that! We told her that she had to leave something for when we go back in November. I bet you can't guess why we're going back!!! Ahh, you should know! It's to see Miley Cyrus! HA! ; ) We got to eat at the American Girl Bistro. A 60-something dollar meal for 3 people, but she's our only one...she's allowed to be spoiled! : ) The food was great, and EVERYTHING in the bistro was PINK!!! Ryan looked so happy to be sitting there in a pink room with pink columns, pink tables, pink chairs, pink menus, and everything else pink! No, really, he did enjoy it. He wanted Maddy to be a boy so bad he could taste it, but I know he wouldn't have it any other way now.

I guess I should talk about our hotel. When we booked our hotel through Expedia, I had no clue that it was going to be where it was. We booked it because it was cheap, and it was less than a mile from Six Flags. When we turned down the road to get to it, there were 5 strip clubs, 2 "toy" stores, and a liquor store! If that wasn't bad enough, there were 3 or 4 "undesirable women" selling their services! Ahhh!!! The hotel itself wasn't too bad, although the beds were so hard that Ryan and I debated about sleeping on the floor instead. It really made me sick to my stomach to think that we had brought our daughter to a location like that. There was nothing we could do about it, since it had already been paid for. Trying to get out of it and get our $ back would have been like pulling teeth. Trust me, we've tried before! On Saturday night, Ryan was getting out of the van and sorting our bags, and Maddy and I were still sitting in the van. A lady that would make a corpse look good, came walking up to Ryan. She said, "How are you doing, honey?" Ryan cut his eyes at me in shock and then looked down and tried to ignore her. She kept coming!! It wasn't until I got out of the car, that she turned around and walked off. I told Ryan that he should have asked her how much she charged, in case times get tough, I'll know what the market is. HAHA! TOTALLY KIDDING!!!! I have never been in a situation like that and it just blowed my mind! And Ryan's too! At least we know not to ever go back there again!

So, all in all, we had a great trip, despite the skanky women and the scary people at Underground! When we go back in November, we'll definitely put more $ towards a hotel, and hope and pray that the beds are softer, and the only people offering "services" are the people doing valet parking! ; )

Our Own Horror Film!

On the way home from grandmas last night, Maddy said, "My nose is bleeding." Well, I figured it was just a little nose bleed, but when I turned around to look, she had blood everywhere! It scared me to the point I was shaking. Luckily, we had to pass my parents house on the way home, so we made a stop there. My poor baby had blood all over her dress, her face, her arms, legs, everywhere! I have never seen anything like it, and the end was no where in sight. Her whole face was red from where she was trying to wipe it. I tried my best to keep her away from the mirror while I got her cleaned up, but she managed to catch a glimpse of herself. I thought, "oh no...she's gonna flip out!" Lord knows I was flipping out! When she looked at herself in the mirror, her exact words were, "This is cool! I look like a clown!"

So much for my girly girl! She has moved on!

Lazy Summer

Not much to post this time. We've been enjoying our summer by sleeping late, having breakfast on the couch, lounging around in our pajamas all day...not doing much of anything except relaxing! So as you can see, there isn't a whole lot to talk about this time. LOL! Maddy is closer to 7 than 6 now and it's breaking my heart that she's growing so fast! I want her to grow up and be a successful adult (and hopefully wife and mommy some day, although she tells me NO!), but another year older is another year closer to her being gone. She thinks she is about 16 and is already laying out a plan for getting her first car. She wants a yellow Volkswagon Beetle! What's so funny is that when I was a kid, a little older than her, I used to want a yellow Bettle too! I never told her that, and when she picked that as her first car, it was really sweet. She is so much like me, and she has a few of her daddy's personality traits, but for the most part, she's a mini-me! She now knows how to get on the internet, and her favorite site is youtube. I really thought I had more time before any of this happened!! She likes to listen to Taylor Swift, Miley Cyrus, and Carrie Underwood songs, and will type them in herself. I made her a list of their names that she keeps right by the computer so she can search them. This afternoon, Ryan and I told her that we were going to take a nap, and she said, "Okay, well, I'll be doing my normal Sunday thing...listening on youtube!" LOL!!! When I woke up, she told me she had a music video that she wanted me to watch. She said, "I think you'll recognize it." Turns out it was *Just A Dream* by Carrie Underwood. I started crying, because it's such a sad song and she looked over at me, laid her head on my shoulder and said, "Yeah, it really is sad, isn't it?" Little stinker!!!
So, that's it for now. We'll be starting school again next month. We've taken too long of a break this summer, but I'm starting to find the motivation again. I've switched curriculum this year, so that helps to motivate me. Maddy is ready and would start back tomorrow if I was ready. I'm thinking of closing the homeschooling blog, since I don't use it very often. I'll be making a decision about that soon. If I do, I'll post all of her school stuff here. Who knows! All I know is that it's summer, and I just want to be lazy! : )