I heart you Valentine

Valentines Day around our house was pretty laid back this year. I got up early and made heart shaped chocolate chip and strawberry pancakes. Nathan got to open his Valentine's "loot" after Breakfast, he enjoyed it all! My hubby took Nathan out to "run errands"...which means go get my Valentines gift! He asked me what I wanted, I told him I only wanted his famous homemade chocolate chip cookies. I don't think we've made them since Nathan was born. Well, he and Nathan went above and beyond! They came back with a balloon, roses, cards, candy...and the ingredients for the cookies! I told him not be buy me flowers, but he insisted Nathan wanted to get them for me....too sweet! I got B a few things, but the most important thing was his Valentines card. I wrote 10 things I truly appreciate about him in his card. We went out to dinner, did a little shopping after dinner and hit Starbucks for an after dinner treat. My husband and I got a little sick from something we ate (we ate the same thing), but all in all, it was a great day!

Trying to Simplify....

Lately I have been feeling like I am never at home and not taking care of things around the home as much as I should. A lot of this has to do with poor planning, too much time on the computer, and always being on the go. I love being a "stay at home mom", but lately we haven't been staying home much! There is always something on the calendar. I am not complaining about that because I love to GO (unless it's to a dr.'s appo, which I feel like I have to go to too much)! I love to get out and see people, and let Nathan experience new things, have fun outdoors, etc. I love that we have the opportunity to go a lot, have things on the calendar to do, have lots of friends, and are able to go. However, I am also one of those people who feels guilty if there is something on the calendar and we don't go. I am working on this personality "flaw".

I also enjoy staying at home, cooking breakfast, Nathan and I chatting over our quiet, not rushed, breakfast, and I enjoy drinking my coffee while playing with Nathan in the mornings.

I enjoy planning our meals for the week, making shopping lists, eating lunch outside on the patio when it's pretty out, (Nathan always says this is us "having a picnic"). I enjoy my quiet time while Nathan naps, or has his quiet time. I also enjoy cooking dinner, my husband getting home, and all of us sitting down to eat dinner together.

So I guess what I'm saying is I enjoy BOTH these things, going AND staying at home. I just need to find the right balance. After a couple of days staying at home, I'm ready to get out and do something, whether it's just going to Target, the park, the bounce house, or dinner with friends...I'm ready to go. And after being gone somewhere everyday for 7 days straight, I'm ready to stay at home for a few days and relish our home life. I enjoy the simple, everyday things I get to do with my son.

Lately I have really been reading up on simple mom's blog. I love her blog! I love to cook, but lately I haven't done a good job at planning our meals so I feel rushed when dinner rolls around. So her post http://simplemom.net/how-to-menu-plan/ has helped a lot with that. They are simple things that most of us already know, but just don't do. So it encourages me to do these things to make life more simple.

I also recently joined a "cooking co-op". There are 6 of us and we each prepare 6 of the same dish (2 people do a chicken dish, 2 beef, 1 pork, and 1 seafood/vegetarian), then we get together twice a month and exchange our meals. We end up w/ 6 main dishes each time that we can freeze and use whenever, so far it has been good! I think this will help simplify my menu planning. I have the main dish, I just need to come up with sides. Simple!

Now, if I could just come up with a way to simplify our laundry!!!! HA!!

What about you, what are some things you do to simplify your life? Comment or post a blog about it, I would love to read it!!

Nathan enjoying his heart shaped pancakes Valentine's morning

Things that make me happy.....

Since it's so close to Valentine's Day I wanted to write about a few things that make me happy all the time, and some recent things that have been making me happy!
Of course my son, Nathan, makes me happy! Lately he's been making me all kinds of valentine's and gifts for Valentine's Day, which are by far my favorite Valentine's Day gifts...ever! He has also started saying prayers for people that are sick or sad....this of course makes me cry! We've always said prayers with him, but now, I think he is really understanding what he's praying for, and when we should pray for someone. Recently, a close friend of ours, little baby got sick. I started crying on the phone talking about it and Nathan asked me what was wrong. So I told him this little baby was sick and didn't feel good and that that made me sad. He said, "mommy it's ok, I'll say a prayer to God for him". He prayed, "Dear God, please take care of Baby E and make him feel better, Amen". Well I just started crying harder because that was so sweet!! He continues to amaze me every day! I love that little guy to pieces!
Someone else that makes me happy is my sweet husband. He is so good to us. He doesn't complain when the house gets messy, or I haven't cooked dinner, etc. He just goes on like it doesn't bother him. We recently watched "Fireproof", which btw is a GREAT movie! It really makes you think about the things we do and say to our spouse and how it affects them. I have really been trying harder to make sure he knows he's appreciated, respected, and loved. Our Sunday School lesson this past week is based on the "Love Dare" from "Fireproof". Our "homework" for the week was to list 10 positive things about our spouse that we love about them, and make sure our spouse knows we think these positive things about them. If you know those positive things, then you're more likely to talk about those things with your spouse and your friends and family. When your friends ask how your spouse is doing, you're more likely to tell them something good about your spouse instead of something negative (like leaving his shoes out). I wrote my list, but I haven't actually told him yet, I'm going to list them in his Valentines card.
Speaking of Sunday School, that is another thing that has recently made me happy! We started going to a new church and I went to a new connection group last Sunday, which I really enjoyed! While I was introducing myself, one of the teachers said, "I know you, I read your blog!".....WOW, how awesome is that! :-) Thanks "K", you have inspired me to keep it caught up, so hopefully I'll do a better job now!
I love all my blog readers, and I love their blogs as well! One in particular that has made me very happy recently is this blog. I'm so happy baby Harper is home from the hospital and doing good!
One of my best friends, Christy, sent me flowers this week. Beautiful flowers...tulips! They made my day! She is just so kind like that! Thanks Christy, they truely made me happy!
Bliss Chocolates.....something that makes me very happy!!! They are awesome!!!
Another thing I'm very happy/excited about is finding out what my sister is having next week!! I can't wait to find out if it's a boy or girl! I can't wait to start buying for my new niece or nephew! ( I think it's a boy, but I guess we'll have to wait and see!)
Ok, so there is my list of happiness! Of couse there are plenty more things that I'm happy with, but if you're still reading this, bless your heart, I was very long winded!

So tell me, What makes YOU happy? (leave it as a comment, or post a blog about it!)

Have a wonderful Valentine's Day weekend!!