1. What is about the act of sighing that just makes us feel so much better? I sigh. A lot, apparently. And each time I do it, I can just feel a load lift off.

2. Sometimes I think that 3.5 is the best age ever! That we’ve turned the corner away from tantrums and fits. And then I remember that boys will be boys and kids are kids. And jealousy strikes and all of a sudden we’re in the middle of a tantrum.

3. And, goodness. Maybe it’s because Hayes is my second toddler, so there’s no point in repeating things I’ve already said. But toddlers are seriously into everything. He. Touches. Everything.

4. I saw Silver Linings Playbook today and absolutely loved it! Todd and Hudson went to the Monster Jam (monster trucks) event at the Colonial Life Arena, and Todd’s parents were kind enough to hang out with Hayes while he napped so I could go to the movie by myself. Seeing movies alone is really one of my favorite things to do. And I highly recommend seeing Silver Linings Playbook.

5. My mom and I are planning a little getaway to NYC for a few weeks from now. I just mentioned to her over Christmas how I’d love for us to go together again soon, and we were able to make it happen. All we really want to do is see a few shows, so we’re making plans. Do you all have any theater recommendations?

6. I’ve recently rediscovered my love for Felicity and I just started watching season 4 again. I could seriously watch that show over and over again.

7. And Smash returned this week! I’m so excited to see what happens with Karen, Ivy, Derek, and Julia! Do you watch Smash? I thought Jennifer Hudson was great this week! Two Idol rejects in one show? I love it. And I still don’t like Ivy. Are we supposed to like Ivy? I can’t figure it out.

8. Hayes has been so funny lately, and he says “okay” to everything. We’ll ask a question and he says “okay.” We’ll tell him that we’re going to go to RC and PC’s house and he says, “okay.” I love hearing his little voice. It was absolutely worth the wait.

9. Hudson has been really agreeable, and when we ask him to do something for us, his common response is, “Sure, I can do that!” He’s agreeable and enthusiastic. 3.5 isn’t so bad at all.

Okay, so have you seen any good movies lately? Do you watch Smash? Are you reading any good books?

Thank you so much for your encouraging words and emails yesterday. I really appreciated those of you who shared your stories of loss, as well. One of the reasons I continue to blog is because of the connections we can all make with people we otherwise wouldn’t have the opportunity to “know.” I wasn’t sure if I would share this story on my blog or not, but I’m glad that I did, if only for the chance to connect others with similar experiences. 

I’m so thankful for God’s goodness. I trust His plan completely. My peace and hope come from Him alone, and that is such a huge source of comfort to me. 

Today, I wanted to share just a couple of funny videos that I took on my phone when we were visiting my parents after Christmas. I finally put them on You Tube and they just make me giggle.

When we were at KK and Poppie’s house, we happened to turn the TV past the Lawrence Welk Show. Hayes and Hudson love music, and Hayes is still at the fun age where he completely lacks self awareness and is willing to dance his little tail off whenever the mood strikes him.

He absolutely loved the Lawrence Welk Show. I’m sure that will be a statement he’ll be trying to live down for many years, but we loved watching him watch the show.

My dad played the trumpet for a long time, and still has his trumpet. Hudson is fascinated by instruments. So when my dad got his trumpet out for Hudson to see, Hudson was so excited to try to play it.

We were just impressed that he was able to make a sound!

 

We had a really quiet weekend around here.

On Friday night, Todd and I went to dinner with some of our friends that we hadn’t seen in a really long time. We had a blast catching up over dinner. But we got a call from Todd’s dad that Hayes had gotten sick at dinner.

So we went to check on Hayes. His grandparents had gotten him cleaned up and put to bed. He was in good spirits and slept great that night.

But around midnight, we woke up to the sound of Hudson crying. And he had gotten sick, too. We spent most of the night up with Hudson trying to keep him comfortable. Changing and washing sheets and changing his clothes. Our house fell victim to the stomach bug of 2013 and I just felt so bad for the boys.

On Saturday, I worked my Clean Sweep for Junior League early that morning and then went to get some crackers and ginger ale for Hudson. He had a much better day, and neither boy got sick that day.

But they spent all day Saturday and Sunday at home, just making sure they were feeling great and not contagious before being exposed to others.

Todd and I felt pretty crummy today, and we’re praying that it doesn’t get much worse.

At some point on Friday, I completely lost my voice and it didn’t return until about mid-way through the day on Sunday. Not having a voice can be so frustrating.

But it also made me think a lot about using my words carefully. I’ve touched on this before, but when you don’t have a voice, you know you need to save your voice for when you really need it. So I did my best not to talk most of the weekend except when I absolutely had to.

And so I’m going to try to carry that with me this week, with a perfectly fine voice. I don’t want to speak too much “noise” into my family’s day, and don’t want to do it with my online relationships either.

If you follow me on Instagram, you’ve seen all of these pictures already, but these are just tidbits from our lazy weekend at home while we all recovered from the sickies.

My sweet baby just doing his best to distract himself from the sickies.

When we took this picture, he said, “Oh my gosh!” Ha! This is his “oh my gosh” face.

He loves his “Melmo” slippers.

Sweet little Hudson was so sad on Saturday. He just kept saying, “I think I’m feeling better. I don’t want to be sick anymore.” On Saturday afternoon he had a bit of a fever, but he was back to his happy self by that evening.

Hudson’s favorite bed time book is his Zonderkids Beginner’s Bible . His favorite story lately has been the story of John the Baptist. Hudson thinks he’s funny “because he eats honey and bugs.” John the Baptist was an interesting guy. I love getting to see the Bible stories through Hudson’s eyes and seeing which stories he thinks are the most interesting.

I hope you all had a great weekend. We’re looking forward to a good week and looking forward to being healthy this week!

 

 

 

 

 

These are just a few of my favorite posts from this week (or last week) around the blogsophere. They’re inspiring me and encouraging me and they’re life-giving. I hope you enjoy them, too!

 

In which I am damaged goods by Sarah Bessey at A Deeper Story

be mine: vday paper picks ’13 by Kate (this one isn’t exactly from this week, but I wanted to share her cute Valentine’s Day finds)

Valentine’s Treat Bags for Toddlers by According to Nina

What to do when a conversation drags you down by Holley Gerth

And under that same category of being a light to others and giving life to others, this post is another great one

Our Team Speaks Life by Jessi Connolly over at The Influence Network Blog