Thankful in November XXIX

{Day Twenty Nine}

I'm thankful today that I get to go to my sisters baby shower.
There was a little while there where I just didn't know if I was going to be able to go and I was really bummed about it...REALLY bummed. Luckily it all worked out and I am going to be making a trip to Texas to be there just for that. There is just something about your only sister having her first baby that makes you want to be there for her as much as you can. I wish so badly that I could be in Texas with her every single day, but I live in California and I have no plans on moving back to Texas anytime soon, so being there for the big stuff will have to do. It's about two weeks away and I am counting down every day!

Talk to you soon,
J

Thankful in November XXVIII

{Day Twenty Eight}

I'm thankful today for replacement plans.

It may sound silly but, Gabriella (Ariel these days) has had her tablet less than a week and already the screen is broken. Not really her fault cause it just slipped from her hands as she was trying to hand it to my mom, and we just happened to be in the kitchen but, super frustrating. I called and asked for it to be replaced and I am actually getting one a little sturdier so if it drops again it wont break like that...but if it does, I got another warranty haha! Better safe than sorry right?! 

Talk to you soonm
J

Thankful in November XXVII

{Day Twenty Seven}

Today I am thankful that I still have goals.

I wouldn't want to live a life where I wasn't still striving every day to make myself the best person I can be. Not just for me though, for my kids, and for my husband. I want them to see the absolute best version of myself that I can be every day. Not that I don't have bad days like everyone else, but I am very aware when I have those days. And I know that I have to try harder the next day. I'm glad that my children will know that I didn't stop trying to reach my educational goals because they were born. I'm thankful that they will know that no matter what I was faced with, I overcame it and made myself better for it. I never want to NOT have a goal.

Talk to you soon,
J

Thankful in November XXIV, XXV, & XXVI

I'm just gonna go ahead and post all three together since I didn't have time to do them on their respective days...well except today's, but I might as well just add it in too. 

{Day Twenty Four}

We were actually supposed to leave from my brothers on the 24th (Saturday) but, I was talked into staying an extra day. I knew it was going to be a while before I saw Hugo and Sandy again so we went ahead and stayed the extra day. And for that I am thankful. I originally planned to be home early early Sunday morning that way I would have all day to get the laundry done and it would give Ryan and Max some come down time before the work/school week started. So even though nothing went the way I planned it and Max and Ryan were both really tired this morning, I'm still thankful for those extra hours I got to spend with my family.

{Day Twenty Five}

I was so so so so thankful on Sunday that we get SUCH good gas mileage now! I haven't seen any downsides to having a new car/car payment yet! It is so worth it to pay that payment every month. We hardly spent anything on gas going 12 hours each way on this trip. I'd say that's probably the best thing about the car so far! And now with school for me starting soon I'm going to be commuting like twice a week so its not going to hurt us on gas money ya know?!

{Day Twenty Six} 

Today I am honestly thankful to be HOME. There is no place like it after you've been gone for a little while and out of your usual surroundings and comforts. I was so excited to climb into bed last night when we got home that I bet it didnt even take me more than five minutes from walking in the door to lay Gabriella in bed (Ryan had Maximus), take my vitamins, wash my face, brush my teeth, change clothes, set my alarm and hop into my comfy bed! I love going on vacation, and all the things that come with it, but its just a whole other feeling to come into a sparkly clean house with nothing to do but get into bed, lay in my mans arms, and go to sleep.

Talk to you soon,
 J

Thankful in November XXIII

{Day Twenty Three}

I'm thankful today that we were able to have a double date night with my brother and sister in law. It was so nice to just have some grown up time with them. My mom agreed to watch the kids while we went to Tomo's, an amazing sushi restaurant in the Arcata Plaza, and then went and had some frozen yogurt. Since we are leaving tomorrow I'm really glad that we were able to take some time to have some adult conversation, haha!

I'll talk to you soon,
J

Thankful in November XXII

{Day Twenty Two}

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Man what an awesome, glorious, blessed day I'm having! I am beyond thankful today for my family. You know everyone has something to say about my family this or my family that, but at the end of the day (in most cases) your family is really all you have. You can have tons of friends or tons of things, but those things can go away so easily. Your family is much harder to get rid of haha! I don't have any idea, nor do I want to have any idea, what it would be like without my family. Through every thing they are there. Through every triumph, failure, milestone, mistake, celebration, and so much more. My family is the center of my world. I would do anything I could for anyone in my family, no matter what. I put them first before anyone and that wont every change.

So Thanksgiving is for me a day to celebrate my family and let them know how thankful I am for them, and how much I love them.

I'll talk to you soon,
J

Thankful in November XXI

{Day Twenty One}

Man another day late! I'm surprised I'm even able to sit down and type this post out, since I've been so busy! We drove all night on Tuesday night to get up North to Arcata, CA at 6:30 in the morning on Wednesday. My little brother lives up here with my sister in law, and we all came up to spend Thanksgiving at there house. So we've been going non stop and that mixed with my lack of sleep from traveling all night made me super tired!

Anyways, I'm catching up right now and wanted to post what I was most thankful for yesterday. I was thankful that we made it here safe and sound, and in good time. I am an EXTREMELY nervous driver/passenger. I will always let Ryan drive if he's up for it. So you know I was praying like crazy on the drive up here to keep us safe!

I'll talk to you soon,
J

Thankful in November XX

{Day Twenty}

I'm not going to be able to write my Thankful post tonight because we will be traveling, so I figured I would just go ahead and tell you what I'm thankful for right now because I already know what it is!

I'm thankful that we can travel! Its not too often that we can make the trip up North to see my brother and my sister in law. I'm thankful that we are going to spend a holiday with them. I'm thankful that we get to spend time in general with them. I so wish that they lived closer to us, or that we lived closer to them. But that isn't the case so we do what we can, and I am so so thankful that we are able to go to them again. It's been far too long.

I'll talk to you soon,
J

Thankful in November XIX

{Day Nineteen}

Today was the Thanksgiving lunch at Max's school. I am sure that to most parents that isn't any big deal but for me its a lot of fun and something that I actually look forward to. I relish every moment with my kids anyways, but I especially love going to things at Max's school. Doing stuff at the school is what I've been looking forward to since I was pregnant with Max. So the fact that so far I've been able to go to Thanksgiving this year and last year is a major blessing for me. I only with that Ryan could go to. But, alas taking the day off work to go to lunch with Max doesn't really make much sense at this point.

So I'm thankful that I am blessed enough to not have to miss anything when it comes to my kids.

I'll talk to you soon,
J

Thankful in November XVIII

{Day Eighteen}

Yesterday I put up and decorated our Christmas tree. I was so thankful and excited to see how pumped my kids were, especially Gabriella! This is the first year that she really knows whats going on and she was skipping around saying "It's Christmas! It's Christmas!" She was really excited to help put the ornaments on too. Max was more interested in other things of course but when he was her age. Now they are asking non stop when Santa will be here and how many days until then. I just am so thankful to be able to make my kids so happy so easily.

It's the little things.
I'll talk to you soon,
J

Thankful in November XVI & XVII

{Day Sixteen}

Yesterday I was really thankful to get into bed. It was just a long long day and I was really tired by the end of it. So getting into bed was a relief!

{Day Seventeen}

Today I am super excited and thankful that I got to go see "Breaking Dawn Part 2"! I didn't think I was going to be able to go see it until after we got back from our Thanksgiving trip. So today when I found the time to go I went, AND Ryan went with me! Annnnddddd before we went to the movies I got to spend some alone time with my Momma! It was just a good day. Now I'm going to get into bed with a new book and get lost in another world for a little while.

I'll talk to you soon,
J

Thankful in November XV

{Day Fifteen}

Today I am thankful for my husbands smile.

He is soooooo excited about his new game.
It makes me happy that he is so happy.

I'll talk to you soon,
J

Thankful in November XIV

{Day Fourteen}

I'm thankful today for my home.

It may not be the best, and it may not even be really mine. But it's where my husband and my children are, so therefore it is my home. A lot of people don't have somewhere to call home, so for me to be unhappy with mine is selfish and wrong. I've been having to remind myself about that lately because I have my moments (like everyone else that rents) of frustration with the house we live in. I know though that one day, we will live in the kind of house I want to live in, and mine and Ryan's names will be on that deed. Until then, this is my home, and I love it because it is where the people I love most in the world are, and for that I'm thankful.

I'll talk to you soon,
J

Here & Now

So its been a nice long while since I've done one of these posts.
What I really want to do is write a blog without a prompt and without it being one of my daily or weekly ones. I am lacking some serious creative inspiration though. I guess its a good thing though, if there is nothing weighing heavily enough on my mind for me to write about it then I should be happy. So I thought I'd just do a Here & Now and maybe it will get my creative juices flowing.

Soooooo lately I've been...

Obsessing Over: I'm not even going to lie...my weight. I wish I could say that I don't care, but I do. After losing nearly 50 pounds this year, there is no way I'm going to gain that back willingly. Unfortunately with colder weather comes comfort foods and laziness. So I have to just keep myself in check and keep on with my tiny portions, smarter choices, and I have to force myself to stay active. It's not really a number that I focus on, its how I feel when I look in the mirror. That makes one of my top goals for this winter, to make sure that by Spring, I'm still happy when I look in the mirror. 

Thinking About: Christmas! We are going up North for Thanksgiving this year so I am totally skipping the harvest decor. I haven't decorated for anything this year. Actually, I did decorate for Valentines day, but I'm pretty sure that's it. Anyways, since we are leaving before Thanksgiving I've been thinking about putting up our Christmas tree the day before we leave. I like to deep clean the entire house the day we leave for any vacation. I cannot stand coming home from any where to a dirty house. Blame it on my mom. I like to come into a clean house that way when all the mess from the car, suitcases, backpacks, and whatever other stuff we bring home comes into the house, that's all I have to deal with. It just makes life so much easier. But back to my point, I am thinking I'd rather put it up before, and have the mess all cleaned up that way when we come home, the tree is up and I don't have to even think about anything except getting everything put away from the trip.

Whoa...that was a novel.

Working On: Getting the house (even more) organized. I like to always have some kind of organization project going on. Right now I'm in the middle of organizing all of the books in my garage so I can have a giant book/garage sale. I don't really have much to sell besides books, but hey why not call it both and let my friends sell some stuff too?

Anticipating: My trip to Texas! It was totally supposed to be a surprise for my sister but there were things beyond my control so I ended up having to tell her. I am so excited for my nephew to get here and there was just no way I was going to miss her baby shower. I already missed my other nephews baby shower, I couldn't even imagine missing this one.
 
Listening To: The Oxygen Networks show "My Shopping Addiction". I love reality shows, and I especially love seeing people doing crazy things! If a shopping addiction isn't crazy, I don't know what is!

Eating: Nothing! And I'm happy about it!

Wishing: That I could hit the lottery! I mean who doesn't wish that sometimes? Not just for myself, but for everyone I know that needs help every once in a while. I have some kind of need to fix things for people and it can seriously hurt your bank account. Blame that one on my mom too. We are fixers, and we can't help it.

Well this was fun!
I'll talk to you soon,
J

Thankful in November XIII

{Day Thirteen}

Another day late...so sorry. I just get so caught up with the family that I don't remember until I'm laying cozy in bed with my man and we're talking about our day. And by then I don't want to get out of bed to get on the computer, or grab my laptop.

So anyways, yesterday I was thankful to have such a sweet husband. We were looking at Gabriella, who had fallen asleep on Ryan, and he told me "I hope our next daughter will be as perfect as Gabriella.". It was just such a cute thing to say. I don't know of any other man that is so excited to have more children. He is just such a good daddy. Because of him, I am okay with having more kids.

I'll talk to you soon,
J

Thankful in November XII

{Day Twelve}

Today I'm thankful for supportive family.

My family is so amazing.
That's all.

I'll talk to you soon,
J

Thankful in November XI

{Day Eleven}

I know I'm a little late with this one, but oh well.

Yesterday I was really thankful for the long weekend.

Who doesn't love an extra day to just chill out and hang out at home all day with your loved ones? It's nice to be able to stay up a little later after the kids are in bed and watch TV with Ryan. Then I got to sleep in today which made it an even better weekend!

I hope you all had a good weekend too.
I'll talk to you soon,
J

Thankful in November X

{Day Ten}

I'm thankful today for colder weather.

It's kinda simple. I would prefer to be cold than hot any day.
I like to wear big comfy sweaters, long socks, slippers, matching long sleeve and pants jammies! I like making chili for dinner, or nice thick soups. I love seeing my kids all bundled up with beanies and jackets. There are just so many positive things that I associate with cold weather, its the happiest time of the year for me. One of the things at the very top of my list though, is snuggling up with Peaches any time we are able to. He makes me happy. I just felt a massive rush of mushiness towards him...now I need to go bug him for a little while. So I'll end this now. :)

I'll talk to you soon,
J

Thankful in November IX

{Day Nine}

Today I am thankful for my mom.

As I get older I get closer to my mom. I don't know if its because I am a mom now and I am going through some of the things she went through as a young mom. Or if its because as an adult with adult problems I can now relate to her better than I could as a teenager. It really doesn't matter what the reason is. Its a wonderful thing to know my mom better now than I ever have, and know that even though she still may not "get me" she still "gets me" haha! I love my mom. She unknowingly gave me a strength that most women don't have. For that and tons of other things, I am thankful. Had I been raised by anyone else, I wouldn't be the person I am today. (Well that's kinda obvious.)

Thanks Mom.

I'll talk to you soon,
J

Thankful in November VIII

{Day Eight}

I found this little image online that made me say, "Aint that the truth.".

I mean can I say it any better? How many times in life do you come across people that really remind you exactly who you DON'T want to be. Even though it may be hard to deal with these people (if you even have to) it's almost worth it to know that you are learning from them traits that you don't want to have.

So today I am thankful for those difficult people that I've had to deal with. I'm a better person thanks to them.

I'll talk to you soon,
J

Thankful in November VII

{Day Seven}

Today I am thankful for Max's imagination and his gorgeous smile.

If I haven't told you, I'll tell you now. Max is extremely creative and imaginative. It's like the creative genius inside of him never sleeps! Every morning he checks his Lego world (This week its a zombie battle field.) to see if there were any changes made over night (I have no idea who he thinks is going to mess with his stuff in the middle of the night.) and then every day after school he rushes into his room to make sure his little sister hasn't messed it up. After homework and snack time he is in his room building onto the world and creating mini scenarios for all of the little people (er, I mean zombies). I love it. I love knowing that he is as creative as I am, maybe even more so. My mom swears I was never happy playing alone as a child and that I always had to be up in the mix with everyone else (Surprise surprise right?). 

As I was working on my coupon plan Max came to show me that he had created his own version of The Krusty Krab, complete with a grill and everything. As he was explaining what everything was with the hugest smile on his face I couldn't help but be not only proud but completely awed by the fact that he is mine, and that the beautiful toothless grin I was getting was so genuine and happy. I almost cried...but of course I didn't because then he would have thought I was losing it over a Lego creation. SO not cool, mom! Haha!

I'll talk to you soon,
J

Thankful in November VI

{Day Six}

I dont know why you make friends, but I do know why I do. I know that I may not have too many friends, but the ones that I do have are actual friends. When I take the time to actually get to know someone its not just because I need to have a friend to hang out with. I take that time because there is something in that other person that speaks to a piece of my soul. The people that I consider friends are people that I dont just want as friends for the short term, these are life long friends that I intend to know and be close with for the rest of my life.

All of that being said, one of those friends is moving away (FAR AWAY) in just a few days and I am pretty heart broken over it. I one hundred percent believe that Ashley was put into my life for a reason. I know that not only did we become friends because we have so many similar qualities, we became friends because God knew I would need someone exactly like her to help navigate me through one of the biggest battles of my life, thus far. I was also given the opportunity to be in the life of yet another baby that I cant imagine going long without seeing. In Ashley and her baby girl I found a little girl I love for all her cute and craziness and a woman that I admire so very much for doing what her heart tells her to do.

So today I am thankful for real friendships.

Talk to you soon,
J

Thankful in November V

{Day Five}

Today was an exceptional day!

I'm thankful the most today for the relationship between me and my husband. We are "as thick as thieves" (Caroline from The Real Housewives from New Jersey hahaha!). We're "the two best friends that anyone could have!" (The Hangover!). "Oh yes we're two of a kind, working on a full house." (Garth Brooks!) Man I just cant stop! I could think of hundreds of witty lyrics/quotes haha!

But anywayssssss. I am so thankful that we are as close as we are. I know that no matter what happens EVER, I will have him by my side. He is my numero uno, top dawg, first mate, bestie, right hand man, and "best friend with benefits" (Alanis Morisette haha!).

There aren't enough words to explain how thankful I am for our relationship. There is no one else in this world better suited for me than him, and the fact that he "found me when no one else was looking" (Kelly Clarkson!) makes me happier than a monkey in a banana tree.

Talk to you soon,
J

Thankful in November IV

{Day Four}

Today, I am thankful for the everyday things in life. Things like electricity and running warm water. Things that so many families are going without right now on the East Coast. I watched a 20/20 show the other day on the devastation from Hurricane Sandy and it made me so so sad for the people who are still suffering from the damage the hurricane left in its wake. I wish there was something more I could do to help those in need but there isn't much. For now all I can do is donate money and keep an eye out for any other ways to help. Being that we are in America, where we bounce back from tragedy fairly quickly, I am praying that the mess and damage left behind can be cleaned up and repaired fast and that the families affected can heal with time.

Talk to you soon,
J

Thankful in November III

{Day Three}

Today was such an easy day. We had soccer (early as heck) this morning, and then spent the rest of the day playing with the kids and just hanging out having relaxing family time.

So I want to say I'm thankful today for days like this. I'm thankful for a relatively clear schedule that allowed us to just spend time together. Family is what my life revolves around and I make it a huge point to keep myself attentive to my kids and keep myself present in their everyday lives. I want to know that when my kids get older and they think back to their childhood, they wont be asking themselves where their mommy was when this or that happened. I want to know that in every part of their lives (for as long as they let me be) I am involved in a real way. So days like this, though uneventful, are important for our family. Where was I when Max's 4th tooth came out today? Right there on the couch with him. Where was I when Gabriella woke up from her nap with leg cramps? Right there at the kitchen table playing with Max, and then with her in my lap while I rubbed the cramp out. I'm thankful that I was home today with nothing else to do except make my presence known to my children.

I'll talk to you soon,
J

Thankful in November II

{Day Two}

Today I am thankful for the health of my gorgeous babies! This is not something that I ever ever take for granted, and every night when I pray, I thank God. I can't imagine living any day of my life without them now. I know how fortunate I am, and I wont be forgetting it any time soon.

Talk to you soon,
J

Thankful in November I

{Day One}

Well because today is technically the second day of the month I have to play a little catch up right now.

Yesterday I was really thankful that I am a SAHM and that I have more "free" time than moms that leave the house to work everyday do. I was able to deep clean before Max was out of school, AND do the laundry (wash, dry, fold, AND put away) before bedtime. Most people wouldn't think that's much to be thankful for but because I am so busy everyday taking care of the kids and my husband, it is extremely helpful that when two of the three people I take care of are gone, I can get things done much much quicker!

Talk to you soon,
J

Hello Again Stranger

So I've been on a mighty long blog hiatus! It definitely wasn't something I planned out, I just seriously get the worst writers block sometimes! I wish I could pinpoint what brings on these blocks, but I cant. I just get to where nothing I write sounds/looks good to me, so I delete everything. I love to write so when this happens its especially frustrating and I just say forget it, I'll do something else. I'm gonna get back to it though....or try to at least.

Now, for just a quick little update! Everything around here has been just as normal and routine as always. Max is in the midst of his first grade year and all the changes that come with growing older. He lost his third tooth (top right), hes wrapping up his first soccer season, and he is getting smarter and smarter every single day. Gabriella is doing amazing as well, she is seriously every single thing I ever wanted in a little girl, including the sometimes brattyness. It is the number one craziest thing I have ever gone through to watch my kids grow up. I was recently finishing up my long long project of putting alllll of the pictures I have in chronological order and seeing Max go from baby to basically grown man was sooo wild! Watching kids not know how to do anything to learning how to everything is surreal.

I'm going to try this thing I have seen going around on Facebook for November. It's like a TOAT, but for EVERYDAY! Fun! I am so thankful for every single thing in my life, I could talk forever about different things so I thought it would be neat to take the idea and turn it into a little blog series. Why not, right?!

Sooooo, I'll talk to you soon!
For real this time!
J